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Using the lens to zoom, instead of a dolly.

H

harmonica44

I was trying to order a slider online, only to find out you need other accessories, to make it work, and the bill gets high pretty fast. I was thinking instead of using a slider, why not just do what a lot of 60s movies did, and use the lens to zoom. The lenses we have for our DSLRs though, are not constant aperture, and when you zoom in, the light goes dark, then we you stop zooming, the aperture goes back to what it was before. So I would need to correct that with After Effects afterwords. But I already have AE, and it still saves a lot of money for how much a slider costs.

Now me and some people are practicing to make a real professional movie, so would lens zooms look good enough to modern audiences, are there enough people out there who think that they are lame, and it could cost the movie to become amateur by that alone?
 
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Well if I'm going to buy one, I think I am going to a pro one, with all the features, then. Might as well. I was thinking of getting one I saw that is pretty much a slider and jib in one. I was going to put some of my budget aside for buying a steadicam, that is a lot better than my homemade flycam, but perhaps I can get more use of out of this. What do you think is more worth it on a low budget. Pro steadicam, and DIY slider and jib, or pro slider/jib, and DIY steadicam?
 
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With pretty much every cheap (kit) photo lens you'll not only see the aperture change, but the focus too. It's actually a challenge to focus and zoom all together, though not impossible.

It will look funny to a lot of people too, even if done right. It's a video look for sure, not a film look.
 
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Well directed, but not exactly masterfully shot. Don't get me wrong, it's great, but it was done low budget overseas pinching pennies.

Technology and style has advanced since then too. If you're trying to make something old fashioned that's fine, but the art has evolved. I know you're seeking distribution based on posts in other threads, if that's so, look at more modern technique and style as a guide.
 
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To the issue of aperture change while zooming; set the aperture to the number at the far end of the zoom (ie. if your lens is f3.5-f6.0) don't set your f stop lower than 6.0, lock the aperture and light accordingly. As for the audience noticing that you are zooming in lens; most likely. When you zoom using the lens, the lens can transition from wide through normal and into telephoto. As the lens transitions, the viewing angle of the image is reduced while zooming in (telephoto) and increased while zooming out (wide). Although most views won't know why this looks odd, they will probably notice it. To pull focus while zooming takes a lot of skill and patience. If you decide to go this route, practice, practice, practice. Then, once you think you have it down cold, practice some more. To do this right, you must develop muscle memory for the task. The easier thing would be to use a slider, but I say go for it and develop a new skill set that lacking in most camera operators.
 
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I did do that. I set the aperture at 8 actually, and it still gets dark, during the zoom, then goes back. I still have to pull focus whether I zoom on the lens or track the camera forward, so it's just as much effort either way, or so it seems like as I do it. But as Paul said, modern methods are looked at as more professional. Buying a slider is tough though because they all seem have to have trade offs. I want to make a decision by tomorrow though, as me putting it often is costing me not doing track shots, as well as I could be. If I buy a slider, how important is paying a few hundred extra dollars for 'drag control'?
 
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Sure I won't get it I've decided. I think we as filmmakers have gotten hung up on the track forward shot, when a lens zoom can do it easier in some ways. If you zoom in all the way, then zoom back, the shoot the zoom, it stays focused all the way. And you can do it further than a slider as long as it's a long lens, and you don't have to move. How can you beat that. It looks good I think, like you're zooming into a painting, like Barry Lyndon (1975).
 
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Sure. My friend is using our tripod to shoot her movie, but once I can get it, I'll get practicing again. At least one I had was spot on, but I did that on her camera and don't have it. I bought a slider but it's only 3 feet, so if I want to do a tracking shot, that goes beyond that, I will have to use a longer range lens zoom anyway. But if I can use the slider for the shot, I'll do it, now that I sucked it up and bought one. Hopefully it will serve a good purpose.
 
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Zooming and dollying are completely different tools. A zoom simply increases the size of the picture being captured. A dolly push will actually change the sizes of the foreground and background differentially. An off-axis push with a pan to keep frame on the subject will allow the background to slide while keeping your subject in frame.

What extra equipment are you being told you "have" to buy?
 
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Well I guess none of it I have too. I would just like to be able to look at a storyboard and say, I have the equipment to do that, rather than get stuck, and come up with a more still shot instead.
 
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Man, you re fancy... Got sliders, follow focus.. Im still running around with my $30 shoulder mount and a stock 18-55 lens for my abused t2i :)) I guess it limits some fancy choices for the shots.. "let's see, handheld here, there and over there. Set up time - 5 minutes :)
 
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Actually the slider did not ship yet, there was a problem. I think I might just do tracking shots with a steadicam. I have a scene shoot coming up and counted on the slider arriving in time, but all I have is the a DIY steadicam, and a tripod, and wish I had more. I guess I will have to use those, although I hope it looks good. The DIY still looks a bit shaky in my opinion, and can be a little off. Do professional glidecam's actually do a much better job than the DIY out of PCV pipe, or not really, and it's just a matter of I need more practice, even though I've had a lot?
 
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