“What camera do you use?” - It’s the most common question I get. And it’s the WRONG question to ask. We love gadgets, but avoid hard work. Do you spend hours reading about DSLR Rig Reviews, DSLR VS. Film Shootouts, but find it difficult to peel yourself out the chair to create good work? Are we trying to be technology consultants or filmmakers?
But before we jump into HDSLR’s, let me tell you about a book. Every word page between it’s front and back is worth absorbing, implementing, and sharing. I had the urge to tear out pages to put on my wall, time and time again. Seth Godin put it the best “Ignore this book at your own peril.” The book is called “ReWork”. You should purchase it on Amazon.
And this chapter hit me like a ton of bricks:
Focus on what won’t change.
“A lot of companies focus on the next big thing…they follow the latest trends and technology…that’s a fool’s path…the core of your business should be built around things that won’t change. Things that people are going to want today and ten years from now.”
HDSLR video is a revolution, but in a way, it’s also a fad. And we’ve been caught up in it. Caught up in the revolutionary DVX100, RED One, 35MM adaptors, and now HDSLRs. Spending countless hours reading about the minutia of the technology instead of actually implementing what we are learning. And it’s easy to do with Cinema5d, Planet5d, and Phillip Bloom (who I have huge respect for) posting about the next juicy review and video after another.
But at the end of the day, the tools and technology will fade. However, the work will stand, and the talent people behind the work will sustain themselves and their businesses.
Having a background in web development, I’ve seen this with coding languages, social media networks, and countless tools, technologies, and platforms.
So let’s get practical…
What does that mean for me as a filmmaker? What do I invest in? (Invest = Time/Money)
1. DON’T over-invest in cameras. HDSLR a game changer? Yes. But this is just the start, stay on your toes, be ready to invest in a new lens line, or stick to PL mounts- be ready to jump back to RED, Nikon, or whomever. The race is just starting. Do you spend time figuring out which Mac to buy? No. You buy an iMac or Mac Pro, debate over. Don’t get too caught up figuring out what to buy and how it works, the technology changes too fast. Find the right piece of equipment, then move on.
2. DO Invest in quality glass. If you notice, quality lenses hold their resale value. Take the Nikon 28mm 2.0 AIS lens. This lens was built in the 70s, but you still have to pay upwards of $400-600 to purchase a used model. But according to Shane Hulburt, these lenses hold with the best of them. Plus, the build quality is incredible, the focus rings are large, and the pull is smooth like butter.
3. DO Invest in lighting. This is a technology that has not changed much over the past fifty years. LED lighting has emerged but the technology and basics of LED lighting (that’s a whole other blog post) are still in the nascent stages and HMI lighting is still the cinematographers weapon of choice.
4. DO invest in rigging, tripods, and. Gliders, dollies, grip tape, Redrock, Zacuto rigs change relativly slowly. Incremental changes are made, but the investment is solid as we are talking about metal, rubber, and gears here. If it has a good built quality and smart engineering, it will hold its resale value. However, be careful, realize that while camera sizes are shrinking, good lenses and rigging may not shrink very much. So that fluid head rated for 15 pounds may only be useful for a few applications.
5. DO invest in your knowledge of timeless technique and your body of work. Ten years from now, HDSLR video will be a blip on a wikipedia page, and more importantly, the audiences can relatively care less about what camera you shot with. They care about your ability to move them as a storyteller, as a designer, as a curator, as a connector of ideas. Spend time writing your script, fine tuning your knowledge of lighting, go shoot more video.
I liken HDSLRs to the printing press, or development of the papyrus/pen. Everyone has a pen. But can you write?
That’s why HDSLR Video is a fad. What do you have to say?
You’re right, brother. DSLRs are a fad, because in the long run, proper video cameras will get big chips and interchangeable lenses and we’ll drop our kludgy DSLRs like a bad habit. But in the short-term, they’re handy for doing what you say: actually shooting stuff and gaining experience. Thanks for the link to the DSLR guide (and the book recommendation).
I’d venture to say that everything is a fad… in fact, stuff that was a fad decades ago suddenly reappears to be the cool thing now (fashion is a good example.. even low res stills/video now too). So, yeh, I guess I can agree on the Fad remark about HDSLR, but also for almost anything else.
What I will say is that HDSLR is a revolution for price points to enter the market of Depth of Field happiness. Compared to prices for other rigs doing things not much better, it is a revolution. (yes, arguments can be made about the small details of color, image quality, etc.. etc.. that everyone doesn’t care about but the camera geeks)
That said, I agree with you 100% on this statement:
“They care about your ability to move them as a storyteller, as a designer, as a curator, as a connector of ideas.”
exactly. It doesn’t matter what “gear” you have; it matters what you are able to do with it. Skill presides over how many lenses you have. Jane Doe isn’t going to buy a HDSLR and top of the line lens then become the next big thing; if you don’t know how to utilize these instruments, and have a story to tell, its pretty pointless.
It’s hard to get over gear-a-phobia, but once you do, put your mind towards building everything else around your craft.
@ Ryan
Dude, love your website and your guide- I think its the most comprehensive thing on the web, I sent my students to your blog. Are you on twitter?
@ Brian
I totally agree with everything you say. The skill of the talent is the only thing that protects our jobs, right? Kinda scary in a way, but what do we have to lose? We are fighting the big bad boys, the old guard.
Watch out Hollywood- we are gunning for your market- Right now, with DSLRs and social media. Tomorrow? Well, we’ll figure it out faster than you because we are on our toes…
Truth on the fad! But an awesome fad it is. In 5 years the current DSLR look will seem very dated I think, even though I love it.
Also, LOVED ReWork.
Do you get to shoot on that Arri S in the photo all the time? How much do you spend to process your film and get it telecine’d? B&W, Ektachrome, Vision stock? You talk a big game. And then I see a DVX. I just think that guy that but a Letus 35mm adapter and a HVX! (Just got replaced) is really pissed at the HDLSR guys now. Work around your limitations. And If you can tell me a better way to get background blur with your non-DOF adaptered HD cam, without being at full telephoto 30ft away from your subject, let me know. Just because a parade is coming by, you don’t have to rain on it.
@ Chris
I think I hear what you are saying. But, I think your comment is frankly baseless. Check out my website, almost everything I shoot is DSLR.
I fully love and support the parade. I dance in the rain while parading, in fact.
Loving the revolution, just bringing some extra counter points to the table.
Thanks for commenting.
[...] across Benjamin Reece’s blog ToMoveYou.org because of an article he wrote entitled “Why hdslr video is a fad (& five tips to avoid the trap)“. He starts off with a brief book review then goes on to tell the reader how the book’s [...]
What is a fad? What is a trend? I actually disagree, but it’s really a matter of semantics. Fads leave no lasting impression on history, cultural or otherwise, being discarded and forgotten. Trends on the other hand are distinct movements that ebb and flow. DSLRs are not video cameras but we’re al buying them, mostly as secondary cameras but increasingly as principle cameras. Photographers now shooting video, videographers now aspiring (realisitcally) to a cinematic vision. That’s no fad, that is a trend, namely the democratisation of perceived production value. You’re absolutely right, the shelf-life of all these DSLR addons, accessories etc is 18 months, no more than that. So, lenses, microphones, lights, monitors, are good investments. We all remember when the internet was suddenly everywhere, when suddenly everyone had a mobile phone. Make no mistake, this is a defining moment in the history of filmmaking, the genuine democratisation of 35mm production value. The true storytellers will thrive, have the best opportunities to do so and that’s just fantastic. Let’s recognise this moment for what it is and not dismiss it out of hand.