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Camcorders: A Camera for a Horror Movie
A Camera for a Horror Movie
by sanitysrequiem - 9/30/07 10:37 PMHi, my friend and I are interested in shooting a horror movie. The script is finished and everything is slowly falling into place; but we haven't a clue as to what type of camera we should buy.
I'd say the price range, at least at this moment, would max out around 1000$. I know that's not going to buy anything phenomenal, but would anyone be able to suggest any digital cameras that would have a pretty good video quality (we want to eliminate the 'homemade' movie look as much as possible) and, in general, would work well for a low, low budget movie?
We plan on shooting mostly on/in an abandoned farm and the last act will be in mostly low-light situations.
As for video editing software, we have Adobe Premiere CS3 and some other stuff to work with.
Look at what the blair witch project used.
by R. Proffitt
- 10/1/07 6:35 AM
In reply to: A Camera for a Horror Movie by sanitysrequiem
It was a camcorder you get from Walmart for 200 bucks. Go figure.
Read -> http://forums.cnet.com/5208-6620_102-0.html?forumID=14&threadID=252238&messageID=2514081#2514081
Hardware and tips at that link.
Bob
It's more than the camera ...
by by James DeRuvo - 10/4/07 10:35 PM In reply to: A Camera for a Horror Movie by sanitysrequiemWhat's going to make your movie is more than camera. It's lighting. It's sound design. It's a good boom mic. And it's also the camera. But the pitfall that budding directors fall into is forgetting the other three. That's what really causes, IMHO, the "home video look." Build yourself a good lighting kit. Learn three point lighting. Study how lighting was used in your favorite horror movies.
That's going to take you to the next level. But if it were me, go with a camera, like the Canon HV20, that can not only shoot widescreen, but in 24P as well.
JD
Digital Camera HQ
Audio, Lighting, Video - is the order I would put it.
by Pixelstuff - 10/8/07 10:59 AM In reply to: A Camera for a Horror Movie by sanitysrequiem... "The pitfall that budding directors fall into is forgetting the other three" ...
I agree. And the biggest of these is the audio. Crappy audio and room reverberation will make even the best looking footage seem like junk. On the other hand great audio will tend to make poor quality video look like a stylistic choice.
Occasionally you can get away with location lighting and maybe a reflector (especially in outdoor shoots), if you are careful. But poor audio never works.
I don't have any specific recommendations under that $1K price. But generally I would say for SD resolution look for a 3CCD camera like one of the Panasonic models. For HD resolution, I'm not aware of any 3 chip models under the 1K price. But a nice feature in upcoming cameras is recording AVCHD rather than Mini DV tapes. Transfer to the computer for editing is much faster.
As far as a general brand, Canon usually makes has some of the best Prosumer cameras in the $2-6K price range. That may apply to their lower consumer range also. I haven't tested. Second on my list would be Panasonic.
Camera suggestion for under a grand
by Sugith - 10/8/07 10:14 PM In reply to: Audio, Lighting, Video - is the order I would put it. by PixelstuffAgree with the above. Lighting/sound are so important, though useless if the story sucks. And good lighting and sound doesn't make bad acting better, either.
Panasonic's SD-1 can be bought for under a grand now, as they just came out with a newer model the SD-5. The great thing about the SD-1 is it's HD using AVCHD and records in 5.1 Dolby Digital sound, plus it has an external mic jack. It is also 3CCD and has a Leica lens. It records an hour of HD/5.1 surround on a 4 gig SD card.
The SD-5, while smaller only records in 2.0 Dolby Stereo and is slightly more expensive since it's the newer model.
One caveat is that you have to convert AVCHD to HDV to edit. So your footage will expand exponentially in size. Just be prepared for the extra conversion step and make sure you have the drive space.
Nite Tales series is coming soon
by alishalee - 7/6/09 1:11 PM In reply to: A Camera for a Horror Movie by sanitysrequiemhey if you are waitn on that one scary series show, well you could stop lookn nite tales is coming to tbs/wgn augs 7 @ 11pm they also have a dvd out you could catch the trailer for that on youtube/nite tales to get a better view of wat the series will be about so dont miss out
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