Production Diary: Research into equipment

Throughout the production process of my film, I must utilise an array of basic filmmaking equipment in order to best capture adequate footage.

Filmmaking Equipment: The Basics

Camera

It goes without saying that the camera is inarguably the most important piece of equipment to consider during the filmmaking process. For my film, I will most likely employ the use of my iPhone 11 due to it being extremely compact, whilst also being able to film at a professional quality. However, if I am unhappy with the quality of my camera, I can resort to borrowing a camera from the department at school.

My iPhone 11, which I plan to film with

Lenses

If I do decide to film with a proper camera, I must carefully take different lenses into consideration. Each lens is best utilised for a specific shot type, or to create a specific effect. These include:

• Macro lenses which are best utilised for closeups/extreme closeups with the intention of capturing a colossal amount of detail in a single image
• Telephoto lenses are zoom lenses that have multiple focal points that are best utilised for isolating a subject that is placed far away in the frame.
• Wide angle lenses are used for fitting a large area into a frame. This is very useful for establishing wide shots with an intended deep depth of field.
• Standard lenses have mid-range focal lengths and can be used for a wide variety of shots, including wide angle shots as well as closeups.
• Fisheye lenses are ultra-wide-angle lenses that capture a full 180º radius. In effect, this distorts an image’s field of view and creates a peculiar bubble-like effect.

An array of different lenses

Lighting

As detailed in a previous blog post, most scenes benefit from the implementation of a basic three-point lighting setup. This includes a key light, a fill light and a backlight.

Three-point setup diagram

Tripod

In order to guarantee steady and stable filmmaking, the use of a tripod is imperative. I currently own a basic iPhone tripod, but it is relatively small in height and it has the potential to restrict my filmmaking ability. I am considering the possibility of obtaining a different tripod, but am currently uncertain of the means of doing this.

My current tripod

Microphone

Capturing sound is another vital element of filmmaking which I will most likely achieve through the built-in microphone on my iPhone. Alternatively, I could employ the use of a boom mic and pole for an overall improvement in sound quality, but I do not believe the drastic inconvenience to be worth only a marginal improvement.

A boom mic in action