Why Film Your Projects with a DSLR

To achieve a film look, DSLR's are the closest thing you can get, unless you have $50,000 in your back pocket to buy an Alexa digital cinema camera that is used by some of today's best directors, because it mimics the natural look of film better than most of it's contemporaries.

The cinematic look, partially created by shooting at 24 frames per second looks much smoother and more organic.  Many newer camcorders do offer 24 FPS shooting, but they consumer camcorders don't yet offer the sensor and lens capabilities in a larger camera.

Shallow depth of field is seen everywhere in professional cinematography, from blockbuster Hollywood films, to indie films, to current TV commercials.  DSLR's paired with f/4 or faster lenses can provide shallow depth of field that looks like something shot for the big screen.

Low light filming that was not possible prior to 2008, continues to get better each year with DSLRs.  Full frame sensors are the best option, and can be had for about $2,000 and up if buying a new camera.  Sony and Canon have been offering great full frame camera options.  However, several other companies compete with them, so in a few years, Nikon or Panasonic may offer something even more appealing.

Color profiles will allow you to shoot your footage flat (less color saturation and lower contrast), allowing you to fine tune the look of your project during editing.

Manual settings set DSLRs apart from prosumer camcorders.  Aperture, ISO, Shutter Speed, and Mic recording level can all be controlled in full manual mode.

DSLR cameras with full frame sensors can shoot footage that still looks great at 3200 ISO, something that wasn't possible before 35mm size sensors became affordable and Canon democratized them with the Canon 5D Mark II in late 2008.

See the benefits visually of DSLR Filmmaking in this tutorial.

Sriracha Documentary - DSLR Filmmaking

The 33 minute Sriracha documentary, produced, shot, and edited by Griffin Hammond is available to purchase for $3 on Amazon (or stream it free with Amazon Prime).

The film screened at 21 festivals in 2014 and won several awards.

Griffin also did a full director's commentary on the making of the film on Youtube.  He shot the film entirely on the Panasonic GH3 micro four-thirds DSLR.

"It’s been 18 months since I released Sriracha, a 33-minute documentary about the iconic hot sauce. This was a passion project — I was curious about my favorite condiment, and wanted a short film on my reel. The goal wasn’t to make money, but after spending $12,728 on production, then $27,807 on merch and distribution, the film has so far generated $76,677 in revenue, or $100 per day."

Learn more about how the film started with an idea and became a successful documentary:

The 73 second trailer on Vimeo that helps sell the film.

5 Lessons Learned from my Profitable Indie Documentary
Griffin details what he learned from using different publishing platforms (Amazon, Vimeo, Hulu, and Youtube).

At the very end of the article, he also lists the revenue and profit margin totals for the first 18 months of distributing the film.

In a world where indie films fight to break even, I’m proud that Sriracha has turned a $36,141 profit so far. But considering the opportunity cost of eight months of producing/shooting/editing, and 18 months as a part-time marketer and DVD shipper, that’s a lot of freelance income I turned down to make this film. 

The real return on investment is bringing a film to life that I wanted to exist, and the unexpected opportunities that result from a passion project. Within a year of its release, Sriracha landed me a documentary filmmaker job at Bloomberg News.