Visua: Discussion - Is 3D a good thing or a bad thing?

Hey guys it's Visua here,


If any of you are like me you would love seeing movies in theater when a good looking new flick makes it way to the big screen. As the film industry grows with each year, we as viewers begin to notice a trend catching on with every new blockbuster that comes out; they all in 3D.


Being viewers, we all know there are pros and cons to watching films in 3D.

PROS:
A different experience. Every now and then we love to have something feel like it is chucked right as us from the screen.
New possibilities. Sometimes filmmakers can do some really creative things with 3D, adding a whole new dynamic to certain sequences.
It's an idea that filmmakers have been wanting for decades. Although the 3D we have isn't perfect, it's a stepping stone to a potential way of seeing movies so it might be easier to get into the director's head (debatable).

CONS:
Nobody likes to wear special glasses. I mean we don't pay good money to go put those silly glasses on. I don't know if you have ever walked into a theater near the beginning of a 3D movie and you see the whole audience as you scout out a seat, everybody looks like a dumb-ass with their "special glasses" gazing at the screen. Try putting those special glasses over real glasses. Not fun.
It makes people sick. I've heard stories of motion sickness, but another big thing is headaches. Some people have actually had migraines.
It's distracting. Sometimes I miss just the plain old 2D so I can grasp the emotional factor of the film more. 3D doesn't have a direct way of contributing positively to the understanding of the storytelling.


3D viewing is becoming more and more common for some reason but how could it if receives such mixed feelings from the masses? Right now I want to get at why more and more films are implementing it.
One easy reason is money which i'm sure anyone could have guessed. It's a fad! An that isn't a debatable point because now TV and video games are starting to get in on it. Even youtube! For some reason there is actually money being made off this stuff where I personally don't understand because 3D is so insignificant to me. But that's business; money money money.
Now the second reason, which I actually support, is a technical reason that filmmakers took seriously. The amount of movies being torrented and watched online is growing fast, so the movie industry has to backlash because this is ruining them. Having movies filmed by 3D cameras, or made 3D in post-production prevents douchebags with cameras from filming the big screen. Cam-version are always the first movie torrents to be up for download soon after a movie's release, but if its footage by someone who filmed a 3D movie, things might not look so good. A pretty smart move on Hollywood's behalf, making things more visually complex so consumer cameras will not take advantage of them. Bravo.

As a film connoisseur, 3D isn't a big deal to me, storytelling is where it's all at. I'd prefer if it didn't exist but if it's done right then I'd be up for it. I want you guys to ask yourself if you like 3D or not. If you do then great! You'll probably see much more of it in the future! If you don't....STOP TORRENTING! 

Tell me your thoughts on this subject.

Cheers,
-Visua, AudioVisua Productions

Visua: Tips For Starters - What Camera Should I Buy?

(for any questions email us at audiovisua@gmail.com! If you wish to speak with a Video expert title your subject with Visua:_______, if its for Audio you want then title it with Audio:_____)

Hey Visua here,

Many young filmmakers out there who don't have that big of a budget always struggle with what camera they should buy to produce their next work of art as they aspire to their passion of film-making. You want a new camera but you don't know which one to get!

First ask yourself two questions, "How much am I willing to spend?" and "What type of camera do I want?"

The amount you are willing to spend is a very important thing to know before you go out an shop. Let's start with the lowest prices. You can always go with the $200-$300 digital camcorders who MIGHT have HD, but if you have more money to spend, might as well get the best you can. The next step up are the HD digital camcorders around $400-$900 bucks. The Canon Vixia (Legria in Europe) series has been promising to me, with moderate quality HD and easy-to-use interface. Shooting in 24 and 30 fps has always been fun.
The best camcorder to get that gives you the best quality for the best price is the Canon HV40. Now this is an HDV camcorder so you will be using mini-DV tapes (or firewire to connect to your computer), BUT this gives you incredibly good quality for a price of about $400-$600 bucks!

Next up is the dslr cameras that will take you at a higher price but a much better quality of HD digital video. The Canon T2i rebel is an affordable dslr camera with surprisingly good video which will bee around $600-$800 bucks for the body. The Canon 60D and 7D are the leading slr's that people buy for unbelievably crisp HD video, there have been multiple short films that made it to Sundance filmed on the 60D and 7D's. Now which one, the 60D or the 7D? Now there is a $600 price difference (60D body = $1000, 7D body = $1600), because the 7D has much better photograph features and is more durable, but the video is virtually exactly the same, so it all depends on what you want it for.

***NOTE: A lot of money will be spent on SLR's because it really the lenses that give you picture you want and they can get expensive, so budget properly!

So the main types of cameras that young filmmakers should look at are digital camcorders, HDV camcorders, and Dslr's. Find which price range is best for you and browse the models and see what features you want. The cameras I listed above will do the trick for you if you use them properly!

I have one big piece of advice that someone very skilled once told me: It's not about the camera you have, its about your storytelling. So aim for the right camera for you but don't hinge your talent on the visual quality of your videos, otherwise you'll lose touch why you are making them in the first place. Focus on story telling!

Happy Filming!
-Visua, AudioVisua Productions


Here are some videos filmed with the Canon Vixia HFS 10 (HD digital camcorder)!

Courtesy of DarthXboxian.

Visua: The Film Look

Hey guys,

I know a lot of amateurs out there struggle with finding the 'film look' that we see and love in all our favorite hollywood films. How can someone with no budget and no big equipment achieve this look? This post will let you explore many cost-efficient and simple ways to get the "film look" as we explore shots, lighting, programs and colour grading. Also you will find some basics good for starters here.

The first thing I want to say is that it really doesn't matter what type of camera you have! It really doesn't! Although it is nice to have HD camcorders or dslr's and of course good old HDV cameras. One of the most important things one can do to get even close to getting the 'film look' is how he sets up his shots! Follow the guidelines for mid-shots, close ups, wide shots, extreme wide shots, two shots. Look at this link for examples of these: http://www.mediacollege.com/video/shots/. 

Next up you want to make sure what your shooting in the frame is well lit! If the original lighting is bad (too dark is worst case scenario), then there is no way you are going to get close to the film look. Here is a quick education of types of lighting: http://www.cybercollege.com/tvp027.htm

Now that you have filmed your shots in the best way you could have, but its still not cinematic enough for you, here comes the magic of post-production to fix that! Many ask what programs they should get. I personally love to use Final Cut Pro but that isn't available to everyone. If you have a mac iMovie has some beginner colour settings (which i wouldn't recommend if you have a better program), here you want to mess with the brightness by making is slighter darker, same with the exposure and the colour level bars (so you can get a small black vignette). Sony Vegas will have coulour correcting settings which you mess around with, and also (very important!) look at their widescreen settings so you can get the famous panoramic black bars to accompany your colour-graded look. No matter what program you use, you always want to make the footage a tad darker, and add some colour to it (green, yellow) and never saturate too much. If there are widescreen settings, I suggest you fiddle around with that to your liking.

The trick to colour grading is to mix about two or 3 coulours. If you want that yellowish film look (like seen in the social network) I would only use yellow, green and some darkening.

If you want to achieve whatever film look that you've seen in a movie but you just can't get it right, email us at audiovisua@gmail.com and begin the title of your subject with "Visua: enter subject here"

Hope this helps you guys!

-Visua, AudioVisua Productions