Tips for Smooth Panning

hi there,

long time no see?

your very own 'filmaker' is finally out of the darkness :-)

it's been long time since i posted anything. life has become very different during this time and i've been through many things. i finished my phd, stayed jobless for few months, then got a job in a software firm, moved from one place to another to another, etc. etc. anyways, it's a long story and not the topic of today's blog.

remember that i wrote in my last post that i will be making notes on the filmmaking as i learn new things along the road and post them here. though i didn't publish anything since my last entry, but i swear i learnt a lot of new exciting stuff, and my urge to become a filmmaker is growing day by day.

so back to the topic of 'making notes on filmmaking'. i don't know where to start? there are so many things i've been studying these days. but may be i won't be able to name all of them in one post. so for now, i will start with what i am learning right now. i am now reading about the "recommended panning speed".

sometimes you might have noticed the stuttering of images in the videos when panning especially when you pan fast. i've always wondered how to overcome this issue. frame rate and shutter speed/angle are the main issue i guess. ok, but what exactly is needed to avoid the pan 'strobes'? because the panning on the film certainly looks much smoother than it does on 24p video. my objective was to find if there exist some sort of 'rules of thumbs' in cinematography for making panning look smooth.

here is the summary of the guidelines, i found so far. a good read on this topic is this article.

1. prefer shallow depth of field as it smoothes the background and reduces the visible 'strobing'

2. low contrast situations are less vulnerable to 'pan strobes' than high-contrast, high detail situations. reducing the contrast of sharp verticals such as white doors on black walls helps reducing the judder in the panning.

3. panning along a centeral item in the picture, such as an actor, that the eye can lock onto would take the attention away from stuttering.

4. an old rule in the cinematography is, "the subject in the frame should either remain stationary or move slowly". a subject moving across the fame in less than 5-6 seconds will cause strobing.

5. on smaller screen, the judder is more prominent.

6. american cinematographer manual (edition 7, page 310, 311) gives a chart for 35mm camera recommended panning speeds for different framerates and focal lengths. (see below)

i found this chart very interesting. this chart is for 90 degree sweeps. for example a 90 degree sweep on 50mm should take 23 seconds. the time duration is much longer than i originally expected. i remember reading from somewhere that a pan should take about 5 seconds in between when something enters and leaves the frame, but this hint is not very useful because it does not deal with viewing angle. this chart is much more specific. once i get a 35mm camera or HD, i intend to check with these speeds which somehow look very slow to me. let's see later how these rules can be bent/broken :-P there are other issues with the shutter angles in film and HD cameras too, but i'll explore them later.

that's all i've for now. talk to you soon. i promise :-)

A Filmmaker is Born

it is 2:20a.m when i'm writing this blog. few minutes ago in the middle of writing chapter 5 of my doctoral thesis i decided that i'll pursue my career in filmmaking soon after i am done with my studies and once i've paid all my debts. well, this idea didn't just pop out of nowhere. i've been considering it for quite a while. the roots go back to the days when people used to call me photographer. but now you are here to become a witness for future. a new era has just begun. you can call me a filmmaker :-)

why have i decided to start writing blog again after a long gap? because i tend to forget things. my browser favourite list is full with useful links related to filmmaking articles, books, the equipment, reviews etc. often i need to go back to the stuff to remember what i read before. and i hate to read the same stuff again and again. so better i thought should compile my conclusions somewhere (here?). not to forget i'll be also writing about my two other passions. photography and biking.

so, from now on i shall write my day to day progress on the way to be a filmmaker. i should make a point here that i suck in writing. really. and to be honest i don't enjoy writing either. i am more of a visual person. i like pictures. but perhaps i should let my thoughts flow free without any bothering. after all it is just a place to make random notes for myself. ofcourse others can read it too :-)

for now i dont have much to write except that today i haven't done much today. Read some reviews about steadicams. Merlin was my only choice until today I found Pilot. Nice thing about Pilot steadicam is that it is a complete system with steadicam vest, monitor, Iso-Elastic arm etc. for better control. but extra features does not come without a price difference. merlin vs pilot is 800 USD vs 3500 USD. hmmmm. perhaps i should first buy myself a camera then i can think about steadicam.

To The One Who Knows

sinking of a star;
a tiny dot of light
and that moon;
in frenzied ocean of secrets,
a kiss
floating on the pure water,
"happy birthday to you".

Late Night Drama

On a foggy winter night
as he walked out the door
a hand came from behind
and pulled him back,
a curtain blinded the room,
her hot breaths against his skin, she whispered,
"Hurry up!"

No Visa

full moon at border
a nightbird flutters to west
shot of gun!

first date

white silk dress
sand in her shoes; no
school that day

one last look at her

behind the door
wilted lips, shining tears
an unspoken fear