Journal.
A collection of stuff we feel is worth sharing.
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Establishing Shot
Things I wish I’d known before becoming a cinematographer
Hi. I’m Lewis. I’m a cinematographer and CTO at Storm & Shelter and here are some things I wish I knew before I started. There really aren’t any shortcuts...
Knowledge
Creating a virtual environment on a budget
One of my favourite things to do as a filmmaker is to look at large scale Hollywood productions and be like ‘Oh I bet I could do that… just...
Cinematography
2020 Camera Updates: What’s going on and should I even care?
2020 — The year the world decided to throw all of its proverbial spanners into the doom blender. We’ve only just crawled our way over the half way mark,...
Cinematography, Filmmaking
How to shoot Super 8 film in 2020: A Digital Native’s Guide
If you’re like me, and you’ve spent the last decade of your life shooting on digital cameras, from 5Dmk2s all the way up to Sony Venices, shooting on film...
Cinematography
The Canon C200: Why did we just buy one and abandon 7 years of Sony?
Anyone who’s read my previous blogs about Sony cameras will know that, with the exception of the Venice (or maybe the F65 if I ever use one), I have...
Cinematography
Capturing on Digital vs Film — What’s the Difference?
This is another question that came to me via a film course lecturer. I’m going to try and give an accurate answer without getting TOO technical, however for a...
Filmmaking
Lewis’ Top Tips for Industry Newcomers
This week, I received an email from a lecturer of an online film course, asking me what my top tips would be for young filmmakers looking to get started...
Post Production, Filmmaking
How to Fix White Balance (Quickly!) In DaVinci Resolve
As much as I’m a stickler for detail when it comes to getting things right in-camera, even I have to concede that sometimes it’s better to get an imperfect...
Cinematography
RED Monstro x IPP2 — First Impressions
About a month ago, I was at a large-format open day that Video Europe held at their Bristol house. The lineup was littered with new offerings from ARRI (LF),...
Cinematography
The Cinematography of: Novo Amor & Ed Tullett Live Sessions
Is it really 2018 already? Heck. It feels like a long time since I’ve had a spare morning to sit down and write one of these cinematography breakdowns, so...
Cinematography
Shooting on RED: My First Time
First times are a funny thing. Rarely do people remember the second time they rode a bike without stabilisers, or the seventh time they fell from a climbing frame....
Cinematography
P+S Technik Kowa Evolution Anamorphic Lenses
As I write this, I’m sat in Video Europe’s rental house in Bristol. Only minutes ago, I begrudgingly handed back these Evos. I guess I shouldn’t be sad that...
Cinematography
Amsterdam Night Portraits: Shooting Like Brandon Woelfel
Upon landing in Amsterdam for IBC last Sunday afternoon, we found ourselves with an evening to kill. Not satisfied with the idea of sitting in a coffeeshop or getting...
Cinematography
IBC 2017 — Cinematographer’s Choice
As if by magic, September had snuck up on us once again, meaning only one thing: it was time for the Storm & Shelter annual trip to IBC. For...
Cinematography
IBC 2017— New Releases, Rumours and More!
It’s that time of the year again. Europe’s biggest tech-petting zoo is about to open its doors once more and play host to all of your favourite manufacturers. 1271...
Cinematography
The Cinematography Of — Ampify “Uncovering Musical Creativity with Slugabed”
Last month, we teamed up with our pals at Focusrite/Novation to produce a commercial for Ampify, a music creativity platform housing popular apps like Blocs Wave, Groovebox and Launchpad...
Cinematography
RED Weapon S35 8K RAW: First Impressions
Usually, when taking a two week holiday from work, most people typically visit a warm country, go for lots of relaxing walks, and generally do whatever they can to...
Cinematography
The Cinematography of — Nineteen Fifty Eight “Dark Blue”
It’s no secret that I’ve had a fascination with achieving beautiful, soft-looking skin for a while now. Not personally of course, it’s unlikely that you’ll catch me with a...
Cinematography, Filmmaking
Jelley’s Q&A #003: Learning Resources
Those of you who read Q&A #002 will know that Alex Banks took advantage of this platform, and asked me two big questions at the same time. So I’ve...
Filmmaking, Cinematography
Jelley’s Q&A #002: The Creative Process
This time, the ‘Q’ of Jelley’s Q&A (still unsure if I like the title…) comes from Alex Banks, who got in touch through the comments section of my last...
Cinematography
Cooke Anamorphic Primes on a Sony a7S
Sometimes, world firsts happen because someone has achieved something great—a true innovation. Sometimes they happen out of pure morbid curiosity mixed with an unhealthy fascination and a can-do attitude....
Cinematography
Cinematography Breakdown: Icarus
As someone who’s idea of creativity revolves around planning everything down to the finest detail, I’m often heard rambling on about how limiting the amount of locations and characters...
Cinematography, Filmmaking
Jelley’s Q&A #001: Analysing a Set
“So like, what’s the first thing you do when walking onto a brand new set?” — Michael Pearce, Filmmaker, Bath Before I jump straight into this one, because Michael...
Cinematography, Filmmaking
Jelley’s Q&A: Send In Your DoP Questions!
Ever since I made the decision to really take a career as a DoP seriously and work out what it actually means to be one (I’m still working on...
Cinematography
Cinematography Tuesday: Into The Ark’s Brightest Creatures
As anyone who’s been watching the latest series of The Voice on ITV would know (not sure how many cinematography fans watch that garbage, but still) Blackwood-based soulful acoustic...
Cinematography
Blackmagic Announce URSA Mini 4.6K Pro
Only two days ago was I inside the Blackmagic show truck at BVE complaining to Glenn the sales rep about how it has been impossible to get hold of...
Cinematography
BSC Expo 2017 — Our Picks
The British Society of Cinematographers holds an expo each year to give industry professionals, students and general kit-dribblers a chance to gaze upon some of the latest offerings in...
Cinematography
How To Choose Your Glass
It’s true what they say, no one lens can do it all. It doesn’t matter how fast it is, how much zoom it has or how sharp it is....
Cinematography
IBC 2016 — The Good, The Bad & The 8K
In the process of flying back to the UK from Amsterdam and the subsequent week of shoots that followed, I’ve had some time to reflect on what this year’s...
Post Production
Cooke Speed Panchros remade? Shut up and take my money!
When combined, the words “Cooke” and “Vintage”are enough to get this DP’s tail wagging like a dog in a sausage factory. In recent years Cooke Speed Panchros were becoming...
Cinematography
Cinematography Tuesday – Time To Change Wales
Firstly, thanks to everyone who spent the time to check out this feature last time around (2 weeks ago). Your feedback has been noted and has encouraged me to...
Cinematography
Welcome to the Big Leagues, Canon! Reaction to the C700
For years, Canon has been well known for it’s photography, broadcast and cinema lenses, even having some success with their Cinema EOS range, but has never really had a...
Cinematography
Cinematography Tuesday – Mustang
Welcome to what is the hopefully the first of many cinematography Tuesdays! I hope that by doing this weekly (or bi-weekly, or however often I get the time to),...
Post Production
Anamorphic to Anamorfake — How To Blag That Bokehlicious Filmic Look
For me, the Anamorphic ‘look’ has always been the true filmmaker’s calling card. Despite being born in a decade that saw anything analogue become superfluous, films shot with anamorphic...
Post Production
Can the a7S’ Cine 4 Profile compete with S-Log2?
“Noisy, but with wide dynamic range.” This is what’s typically heard when a discussion is started about the pros and cons of the a7S’ S-Log2. At Storm & Shelter,...
Post Production
The Storm & Shelter Christmas List
Let’s face it, you never get everything on your Christmas list. Sometimes you don’t get any of it, especially if you come from a working class background and ask...
Post Production
Sony a7S & Atomos Shogun: A Setup Guide
Laurel & Hardy. Bonnie & Clyde. Ant & Dec. All examples of famous partnerships. Decent enough in their own right, but much better together (or worse in Bonnie &...
Post Production
Does the a7S’ HDMI port break S-Log2?
It’s been 18 months since the Sony a7S smashed down the film industry’s doors and proclaimed itself the king of low light. Along with its ability to see in...