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Are ND grads only used for static shots?
If on a wide shot a grad is taking care of the blown out sky what happens when you zoom into a close up that’s evenly lit? Seems like the upper portion of the frame will be darker. Does this mean grads are only used for fixed shots?
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25 Replies
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Yes unless you have a mattebox which lets you adjust the vertical placement of the filter as you zoom.
I have seen such units on Panavision matte boxes.
Another options is to use a filter software and do the grad effect in post via tracking the zoom move.
Tony Salgado
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You’ve hit the nail squarely on the head; of course real men don’t zoom. We do pan and tilt, however.
Good shooting!
Leo
Director/Cinematographer
Southeast USA -
A tilt wouldn’t work either when the bright area goes out of frame.
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Grads can be used where ever you feel they will work. Yes it will be dark at the top. Instead of a zoom track the camera left to right or pan (limit the camera to horizontal movement) and the grad will keep the effect.
Grads were used on lots of scenery shots in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, and many other movies.
And not to start a thing here, but zooms are perfectly exceptable to use. Whatever you can do to achieve what looks good is acceptable.
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[Ryan] “zooms are perfectly exceptable to use”
By who?
A zoom is only used a last resort in the “cinema” business. In video production, though, it’s as common as everything else.
And if you do decide that a zoom is absolutely necessary, the audience should never see it. Unless you studied under Sergio Leone.
Steve W.
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I agree that zoom’s aren’t common place, and that other shooting techniques are better. And I am also not saying that someone should just use zooms because it is easier…. But I also don’t agree that someone should say that this and that, are and are not acceptable. Many movies in the “cinema” business use zooms to achieve a certain effect whether it be for a last resort or that is the look they want.
To say what the audience wants and does not want is very presumptous. The fellowship of the Ring and Return of the King both had zooms in them, they are two of the highest grossing films in the industry, and they have both won awards for cinematography, as well the later one Best picture.
I am not saying break all the rules of composition, but if someone likes to use a zoom, then use a zoom. Whatever it takes for someone to achieve the final product that they desire should not be toted as the wrong way, just a different way.
This argument could stem into the whole film vs HD argument where someone says that there is no way one will be taken seriously if they shoot on HD. This was one of the original arguments, and a lot of “cinema” people said that HD would never be accepted. Yet many HD movies gain audience approval with them never even knowing they were HD.
In the end you can have the most beautifully shot picture ever, but if the content is bad, then no one will want to watch it.
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Yeah, I guess. With all of the new “films” coming from any one who owns a video camera, everything is now OK.
A live zoom on camera is only used when nothing else works. And I stand by that. If you want to zoom in and out in your movie, you go right ahead.
Steve Wargo
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Your right, anyone who owns a camera, Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings), John Frankenheimer (Ronin), Stephen Spielberg (Jaws), George Lucas (Star Wars), Robert Rodriguez (ONce Upon a Time In Mexico), Tony Scott (Man on Fire), all directors who seem to have no problem utilizing the use of a zoom.
Again, these are examples from directors who have used a zoom in movies that are very high in profitability.
You don’t have to use a zoom, and I would rather not either, but to tell someone that it is unprofessional to use a zoom, is to say that all of these directors are unprofessional in their use of a zoom. And not to insult your ability, but I am pretty sure that they have had a lot more success in giving the audience what they want then you have.
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There is a very good reason professional cinematographers and directors almost never use the in-shot zoom; the effect tends to draw immediate attention to itself and takes the viewer out of the story. Sometimes that’s just what is called for, but it’s extraordinarily rare.
When the zoom is used, it’s most often hidden in another camera move, or almost imperceptibly slow.
Typically, a scene looks better when the camera is repositioned at another location, distance to the subject, and angle of view. When we do wish to close on the subject, a dolly or SteadiCam is preferred; it looks more human, more natural and organic, as if the viewer were moving toward the subject.
Great directors and cinematographers probably are better at getting away with a zoom than less experienced shooters; mostly they have the good judgement to forgo it.
Good shooting!
Leo
Director/Cinematographer
Southeast USA -
I agree with you. The point I am trying to make is that if someone wants to use a zoom, and they think it is suitable for the situation, then no one should sit there and say, “You can’t do that because it is unprofessional”, or “You can do it, but no one will take you seriously.”
It is that same attitude that holds this industry back in so many ways.
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