The Basics of Cinematography - Filmmaking for Beginners

[Music] on this video we're learning the  basics of cinematography and that starts right

[Music] now hey guys we're back Ryan here

with Camp films I hope you guys are doing

fantastic today it's a beautiful day here  in North Carolina and today we are talking

about cinematography Basics cinematography is  one of the most important aspects of the film

making process cinematography is one of the  things that I try to work on the most every

time I make a new film I try to improve learn  new things learn new techniques and while I'm

still learning and improving on my cinematography  all the time I thought today we would take a look

at the basics of cinematography so first off what  is cinematography cinematography basically is the

art of visual storytelling its main pillars are

camera work lighting composition movement color

and like I said it's a fundamental aspect of film  making and video production so let's take a look

at every core aspect of cinematography starting  with camera work the camera of course is going

to be your primary tool in cinematography and  whether you're using a DSLR your mobile phone

or a cinema camera understanding your device and  your tool is very crucial to your success as a

cinematographer one of the most important things  you can learn about controlling your camera is how

to manipulate the Holy Trinity of exposure and  that's going to be your aperture shutter speed

and ISO settings understanding the ins and outs

of the camera that you're shooting with is one of

the most basic steps that we can take to improve  our cinematography study the documentation for

your camera to learn how to best set it up for  film making watch YouTube videos dedicated to

setting up your camera to get the best out of  your camera when shooting films and video one

thing I do to improve consist consistency and  ease of use is to set up custom templates on

my camera for when I'm shooting films and video  that way once you find something that works and

looks the best you can easily switch to it at any

time by bringing up your presets but this is just

the start as far as camera work is concerned  learning about the different lenses we can use

is also an important step different lenses are  better for different types of shots learning

basic camera shots and camera angles is also an  important step we can take and as I mentioned

before learning the Holy Trinity of exposure is an  important step you can take to improving each shot

learn your camera and learn how to manipulate the  iso aperture and shutter speeds if you would like

to learn more about the Holy Trinity of exposure  I have a dedicated video for each aspect here on

the channel I'll put a link to those in the

description [Music] below next let's let's

talk about composition composition is basically  how you arrange things in the frame the rule of

thirds leading lines and framing within the frame  learning these techniques what they mean and how

to use them is going to lead your viewer's eye to  the subject you want them to be looking at within

the frame let's take a look at some examples of  good and bad composition camera composition is

crucial in visual storytelling as it affects how  the audience perceives and interprets the scene

here are some examples of good and bad camera  compositions let's start with the good first

the rule of thirds placing the subject off center  at one of the intersections of the dividing lines

in a 3X3 grid this creates a more aesthetically

pleasing and balanced image leading lines using

natural lines in the scene like roads fences or  architectural elements to lead the viewer's eye

towards the main subject depth creating a sens

e  of depth by having objects in the foreground

mid-ground and background this is usually  called creating depth of field where you

have an INF focused character in The foreground  and an out of focus background creating a sense

of three-dimensional space Symmetry and patterns

using symmetry or repeating patterns for visually

striking composition frame within a frame  using elements within the scene to create

a natural frame around the subject such as  a character being viewed through a doorway

focusing the viewer's attention now let's  take a look at some examples of bad camera

composition poor framing subjects are awkwardly  cut off or important elements are partially out

of the frame lack of head room or lead room too

little or too much space above a subject's head

or not enough space in the direction a subject is  looking or moving to Flat compositions composition

that lacks depth with everything in focus focus  and no clear distinction between foreground and