By Devin R Nunns
I remember growing up with cameras. My friends and I were always trying to make movies with our parents camcorders. We had lots fun whilst doing it but often we faced frustration because weren't able to get the shots we wanted or the look we desired, thanks to the limitations of that generation of video cameras. In my late teens I worked on a film set and got into a conversation with one of the special effects guys. We started talking about shallow depth of field and how it makes footage look more cinematic. I remember both of saying how our ideal camera would be a digital SLR that could shoot video.
Who would have known that several years later out "ideal camera" would become a reality. With the Canon 5D mark 2 it was like all the chains holding film makers back had finally been broken. The ability to change lenses, a massive sensor, excellent low light performance and shallow depth of field were all features we had been longing for for so many years. When I finally got my hands on one it seemed as though life made sense for the first time ever. Finally making movies was more fun than frustration, the footage actually looked the way we wanted it to and there was an excitement that we had never experienced before.
However, the excitement caused a massive distraction. With the image finally looking the way we wanted it to we now desired the handling of a video camera and the physical motion that one so often sees in the movies. So we started adding accessories and equipment. First a rod support so we could add more accessories, then a follow focus, simply for ergonomics. But we didn't stop there, a matte box to block out flare and make our kit look more impressive. Then, handles, shoulder, mount, camera slider, a small jib. Years were going buy and thousands of dollars were being spent and the only filming we were doing was just two minute videos of cats and squirrels. We spent all our time fiddling and configuring our rigs and equipment trying to get things just perfect that we neglected actually making films.
Time went by and we realized that more effort was going into the equipment than the actual films. Which comes to the reason why I am writing this article. Film making can be fun! Now more than ever thanks to DSLR video cameras and buying all the gear is also lots of fun - Jumping up at every knock at the door hoping that it will be my new film making gadget that I ordered online. All the types of shots that we are now able to achieve make it so exciting and it's great. But lets not fall into configuration contemplation, where all we think about is the next piece of gear. Lets get out there and put all our enthusiasm into our films. Lets share our excitement with people in the form of exciting videos and films! Lets enjoy both the equipment and the process and restore the balance between equipment and process.
Why not participate in the fun and head over to http://www.kamerarigs.co.za to start configuring your very own DSLR rig. It might even add some fun back into your filming.
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