{"id":60790,"date":"2015-08-18T12:49:32","date_gmt":"2015-08-18T17:49:32","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?p=60790"},"modified":"2015-08-18T12:49:43","modified_gmt":"2015-08-18T17:49:43","slug":"cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/","title":{"rendered":"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2 id=\"for-those-of-you-just-starting-out-as-dps-here-are-the-six-settings-you-need-to-double-check-every-time-you-get-ready-to-roll-a-take\">For those of you just starting out as DPs, here are the six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.<\/h2>\n<p>It can take years of working as a <strong>professional DP<\/strong> before both the technical and creative sides of the craft start to feel like second nature. Before you can get to that point, there are certain systems and guidelines you need to follow, day in and day out, to work fluidly behind the camera. For the purpose of this cinematography crash course, \u00a0I want to focus on<strong> the six most important camera settings<\/strong> that you always need to double-check before you start to roll:<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"1-frame-rate\">1. Frame Rate<\/h2>\n<p>You may shoot the vast majority of your material at 24fps, but don\u2019t assume your camera is always set that way. There are numerous reasons why your camera won\u2019t be set to the correct frame rate (over-cranked on a previous shot, the camera was rented to someone else, it crashed and reset, etc.), so make sure your camera is <strong>set to your desired frame rate<\/strong> before you start rolling, every time. Here&#8217;s a video from <a title=\"Matthew Pearce on YouTube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/MattsMacintosh\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Matthew Pearce<\/a> that covers the basics of frame rates.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/8c8DrVvELe4?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"2-resolution-format\">2. Resolution\/Format<\/h2>\n<p>We\u2019ve all made the mistake of rolling an amazing take, only to realize the camera was set to a low-quality recording format or resolution. Always be sure to <strong>keep your camera set at the highest recording setting possible<\/strong> (let\u2019s say 4K\/ProRes) unless the settings need to be dialed down for the sake of saving card space.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"3-iso\">3. ISO<\/h2>\n<p>Whatever camera you\u2019re shooting on, you should always know its base ISO and shoot at that setting. On my Blackmagic URSA, the base ISO is 400, so I exclusively <strong>shoot at 400<\/strong> unless I\u2019m in an extreme circumstance. Do your research and learn your camera&#8217;s base ISO so you can rate your camera correctly every time. Here&#8217;s <a title=\"Ryan Connolly Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/ryan_connolly\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Ryan Connolly<\/a> from <a title=\"Film Riot\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/filmriot\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Film Riot<\/a> going over ISO, plus a few terms we&#8217;ll cover below.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/kD8nXGt91yo?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"4-white-balance\">4. White Balance<\/h2>\n<p>Some cameras shoot RAW, which allows for the white balance to be easily adjusted in post&#8230; but most cameras don\u2019t. Get in the habit of always <strong>setting your white balance correctly before each scene<\/strong>, otherwise you\u2019re running the risk of baking in a look on your footage that you may not be happy with in post. Here&#8217;s some white balance knowledge from the great <a title=\"Dave Dugdale on YouTube\" href=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/user\/drumat5280\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Dave Dugdale<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/-o5xif361x0?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<h2 id=\"5-shutter-speed\">5. Shutter Speed<\/h2>\n<p>Typically,<strong> your shutter speed should be double that of your frame rate.<\/strong> So for instance, if you\u2019re shooting at 24fps, your shutter speed should be 1\/48. Because most cameras don\u2019t have a 1\/48 setting, you should opt for the next closest setting, which would be 1\/50 in this particular scenario.<\/p>\n<h2 id=\"6-aperture\">6. Aperture<\/h2>\n<p>Your aperture setting (or F Stop) is critical for achieving the look that you\u2019re aiming for and creating a shallow or deep depth of field. Many amateur DPs will mistakenly adjust their aperture purely as a means of dealing with exposure, but neglect to understand the effect it\u2019ll have on their image\u2019s depth of field.<strong> Always take into account the effect aperture will have on both exposure and aesthetic<\/strong>, if you want to get the best look possible. Here&#8217;s another clip from <a title=\"Matthew Pearce on Twitter\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mattsmacintosh\" target=\"_blank\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">Matthew Pearce<\/a> that touches on the aperture basics.<\/p>\n<p><span class=\"embed-youtube\" style=\"text-align:center; display: block;\"><iframe loading=\"lazy\" class=\"youtube-player\" width=\"640\" height=\"360\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/zVOkCPYoYQk?version=3&#038;rel=1&#038;showsearch=0&#038;showinfo=1&#038;iv_load_policy=1&#038;fs=1&#038;hl=en-US&#038;autohide=2&#038;wmode=transparent\" allowfullscreen=\"true\" style=\"border:0;\" sandbox=\"allow-scripts allow-same-origin allow-popups allow-presentation allow-popups-to-escape-sandbox\"><\/iframe><\/span><\/p>\n<p><strong>Got any other tips for new DPs? What&#8217;s on your pre-shoot checklist?<\/strong> Let us know in the comments below!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>For those of you just starting out as DPs, here are the six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":61652,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[3843,583],"tags":[2689,4351,1093,256,2282,536,3575,43,153,472],"class_list":["post-class-post-60790","post-class-post","post-class-type-post","post-class-status-publish","post-class-format-standard","post-class-has-post-thumbnail","post-class-hentry","post-class-category-filmmaking-2","post-class-category-video-production-2","post-class-tag-basics","post-class-tag-camera-settings","post-class-tag-cinematography","post-class-tag-director-of-photography","post-class-tag-dp","post-class-tag-filmmaking","post-class-tag-location","post-class-tag-tips","post-class-tag-tutorials-2","post-class-tag-video-production"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v18.5 (Yoast SEO v21.5) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"For those of you just starting out in the world of cinematography, here are six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"For those of you just starting out in the world of cinematography, here are six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/premiumbeat\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2015-08-18T17:49:32+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2015-08-18T17:49:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/08\/NOAM.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"584\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Noam Kroll\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Premiumbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Premiumbeat\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Noam Kroll\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/\",\"name\":\"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2015-08-18T17:49:32+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2015-08-18T17:49:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/733de77443ea4e1af0c1cada7a4975f3\"},\"description\":\"For those of you just starting out in the world of cinematography, here are six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Filmmaking\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/category\/filmmaking-2\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":3,\"name\":\"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/733de77443ea4e1af0c1cada7a4975f3\",\"name\":\"Noam Kroll\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55d655025ecaea469368dae84b694979069612720868f6c897136200455ed311?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55d655025ecaea469368dae84b694979069612720868f6c897136200455ed311?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Noam Kroll\"},\"description\":\"Noam Kroll is an award-winning filmmaker based in LA. He is the owner of Creative Rebellion, a boutique production company. In a decade of work in the entertainment industry, Noam has completed over a hundred productions, broadcasts, and commercial works. His hands on directing approach often has him serving as cinematographer and editor on his own projects, many of which have screened and been awarded internationally.\u00a0 His diverse filmmaking background led him to develop many new and innovative techniques, which he regularly shares on his blog at noamkroll.com.\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/author\/noamkroll\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll","description":"For those of you just starting out in the world of cinematography, here are six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll","og_description":"For those of you just starting out in the world of cinematography, here are six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/","og_site_name":"The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/premiumbeat","article_published_time":"2015-08-18T17:49:32+00:00","article_modified_time":"2015-08-18T17:49:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1000,"height":584,"url":"https:\/\/pbblogassets.s3.amazonaws.com\/uploads\/2015\/08\/NOAM.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Noam Kroll","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@Premiumbeat","twitter_site":"@Premiumbeat","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Noam Kroll","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/","url":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/","name":"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2015-08-18T17:49:32+00:00","dateModified":"2015-08-18T17:49:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/733de77443ea4e1af0c1cada7a4975f3"},"description":"For those of you just starting out in the world of cinematography, here are six settings you need to double-check every time you get ready to roll a take.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/cinematography-crash-course-6-settings-you-need-to-check-before-you-roll\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Filmmaking","item":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/category\/filmmaking-2\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"Cinematography Crash Course: 6 Settings You Need to Check Before You Roll"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/","name":"The Beat: A Blog by PremiumBeat","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/733de77443ea4e1af0c1cada7a4975f3","name":"Noam Kroll","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55d655025ecaea469368dae84b694979069612720868f6c897136200455ed311?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/55d655025ecaea469368dae84b694979069612720868f6c897136200455ed311?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Noam Kroll"},"description":"Noam Kroll is an award-winning filmmaker based in LA. He is the owner of Creative Rebellion, a boutique production company. In a decade of work in the entertainment industry, Noam has completed over a hundred productions, broadcasts, and commercial works. His hands on directing approach often has him serving as cinematographer and editor on his own projects, many of which have screened and been awarded internationally.\u00a0 His diverse filmmaking background led him to develop many new and innovative techniques, which he regularly shares on his blog at noamkroll.com.","url":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/author\/noamkroll\/"}]}},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/08\/NOAM.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pab9JK-fOu","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60790","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60790"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60790\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":61648,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60790\/revisions\/61648"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/61652"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60790"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60790"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.premiumbeat.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60790"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}