As I scroll social media, i’m constantly seeing filmmaker’s post about the latest (insert number of k’s) camera, whether it’s the blackmagic pocket 6k camera or even Sony announcing their FX9 camera,it’s hard to keep up with the latest camera tech. I totally get the excitement of better cameras, but are we becoming more dependent on cameras, then the art of storytelling. There are so many variables that go into a great film, the camera the film was shot on is only a small percentage of that.
Resolution
The amount of detail that the camera can capture is called the resolution, and it is measured in pixels. So why is resolution such a big deal? I’ll list out the reasons I think more resolution can help in the process of filmmaking.
PROs
- Re-framing shots
- Image stabilization
- The appearance of sharpness
- More information for VFX artist to work with.
Resolution or more “k’s” can help, but here a few reasons why it could make things more challenging.
CONs
- It cost more in media storage to house all that data.
- Big files mean you need a “beefier” machine, or more time creating proxies.
- False idea of thinking resolution automatically makes your images look better.
There are great films that have been shot with the arri classic which is not even a 4k camera. Films that have been shot on an iphone have gone on to be successful in the film festival circuit.
Here are just a few examples of things shot on an iphone:
In conclusion, I challenge you to not fall into the hype of getting a camera just because it can shoot 6k, 8k, or 12k. Sure having more resolution can help in certain instances, but taking that same effort and learning how to use other tools, lighting, gear, theory to help your films is a much better use of your time.
