Biggest lesson learned from my scene assignment is, that while DSLR cameras can do amazing things, they are not very easy to use. DSLRs crush the depth of field to an extreme I wasn't prepared for. With a 55m Zeiss lens, wide shots were almost impossible to film indoors in a confined space. For wide shots, a 24mm or 35mm will be needed. During editing I noticed some shots were not, contrary to my belief, in focus. Any love I previously had with editing died. DSLRs need footage transcoded to ProRes. Without transcoding, editing is very hard. Finalcut drops frames, shuts down, or runs out of memory. When shooting with a DSLR, a field monitor is essential due to the LCD display screen being so small. While the location was not my first choice, props and background detail add a great deal to the overall video. More details, extras, props fill out the shot and make it more compelling and realistic.
Lighting is still hard for me. I often find that you end up needing more lights than you have. Also, any good film really needs at least 4 crew members. Any less makes it very hard, and time consuming to properly film a scene.
Time after time I am shown that I am much better as a director than a cinematographer. It just isn't my strength. I can pre-plan it all out, but when I grab that camera and those lights, it just never seems to turn out the way I wanted. Im more visionary, not very technical. I like framing and composition, and really enjoy working with actors the most. The technical aspects wear me out. I really want to start learning how to be a good director, and hire out a DP for videos/films. Assignments like this make me want to do more narratives only with ample time to work with actors both on set and off at rehearsals. I like doing narrative pieces much more than documentary style film. Documentaries just don't interest me or hold my attention. I like character interaction and development, I need actors and a fourth wall.
