How To Make A Video Look Like a Film

How to make a video look like a film -

Most filmmakers want to achieve the film look when shooting video. There is more than one single way to do this:

Framing: 
Proper framing is substantial to a cinematic image. If you do not have the right framing but have the right shallow DOF then everything gets thrown out of the window. Good framing will make your film feel more cinematic but will make your film better as a whole. The framing of an image can tell the story in itself. For example, in the King's Speech, they have used this
framing to convey a feeling of emptiness in the characters life.

Shutter Speed: 
Always make sure you are using the 180 degree rule when shooting. This means you have to set the shutter speed double to that of your frame rate. Having the wrong shutter speed can be possibly destructive to your film e.g. if it is too slow it will portray a ghosting and strobing image and if it is too high, it will look like it has been speed up.



Depth of Field: 
Many filmmakers think that a shallow DOF is the most important thing to get a cinematic look. You have to use a shallow DOF to selectively focus the attention on a person or object.




Camera Movement:
Camera movement is one of the most important aspects of making a video look like a film. It can start from not moving the camera on the tripod and having a still image to it being handheld. The more importance of camera movement the more your film will look cinematic.

Lighting: 
lighting is said to make or break your shot, no matter what medium you shoot in. More low budget filmmakers won't even think about lighting and will jump straight into filming, this is a huge give away. Colour grading won't ever save a shot if it is filmed in poor lighting conditions so you have to make sure your shots are not exposed properly but also lit in a way that sets the mood and tone of the film

Colour Correction:
You can do a lot to make your film look more cinematic during post-production. Often amateurs will over-colour their film as they apply a heavily stylised to every shot making it look more like a music video than a film. You have to make each shot look as natural as possible , once you've got your white balance and exposure to the right balance, you're already there. You also have to consider your black levels and contrast. Most people reduce the contrast and then lift your black levels a touch. Looking at this shot from Upstream Color which was graded quite well  to look more filmic

Film Emulation:
This is a technique that allows you to apply the look of a specific film stock to your footage adjusting the colours and grain to match that of your chosen film stock. This is an example of film emulation, as you can clearly see the difference -


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