Christian Garaud at G2cine.com asked me recently, “I am planing to buy a 5D or 7D. It will be mainly used for TV Commercial production and cannot decide which one is best. Any advice will be welcomed.”
I recommended going with the Canon 7D. Why?
Being able to change the frame rate will be extremely useful in commercial production. Shooting at 50 or 60p then editing at 25 or 30p produces the smoothest slo-mo possible, lovely for all kinds of effects in commercial production. Even just a shot of a model walking looks a million times better in slo-mo.
I just came across this video shot on a 7D where they did exactly that – all the sequences were shot at 24p except those in the field. They were shot at 60p. This is why I believe this camera is a better choice for most commercial projects. Take a look and tell me what you think.
The Heart Won’t Be Denied from sebastian lopez on Vimeo.
According to an interview on DigitalCinemaFoundry.com they used natural light for everything but the party scene. Grading was kept to improving flesh tones and adding a color cast to warm things up. They must have not color balanced all the night shots as he mentions having lots of work getting the green out of some of those shots.
Like I’ve said – either you shoot it right and use your tools to make it even better or you’ll be using all that post-production power to make it not suck. I like the first option.
One other point – they shot all of this using a Captain Stubling rig from RedRock Micro. After about a minute of that and I’m ready for some decent steady shots – it’s just a bit too much for me.
In another post I’ll link to a video I just found with a Hollywood DP talking about shooting handheld with a Canon 5D and having to get better support for the camera after shooting for a while. The rolling-shutter jello was not helping. Guess what he went with…
A monopod.
Yep, one of my favorite ways to shoot with a DSLR on location is to put it on a good monopod. If you’re moving it adds weight and balance to the camera. If you’re grabbing regular shots it will be almost as stable as a tripod. And if you want to give the shot a little movement to match the action it’s easy to bob-and-weave just a bit without making your audience toss their cookies.
Here’s a link to the monopod I use. Everyone who’s touched it wants one.
[AFFILIATE LINK]
