We’ve all seen them even if we don’t know what they are. They usually hang around the Director’s or Cinematographers neck and we see them picking them up, squinting through them, dropping them and then pushing forward, re-positioning actors to suit. But are they of any us to us, the indie and enthusiast film maker? The answer is yes, as they help you realise the composition of your scene. Human vision is deemed to be about 114 degrees. This means we can consume a lot of vista when we look upon a scene. However, cameras rely upon lens with varying visual fields dictated by their focal length. So when Directors wishes to see what a scene’s composition would look like from the point of view of the camera and its lens they use their Directors viewfinder. These view finders vary in cost from $100 to $5000. The most basic unit will allow you to zoom in and out of a scene and alter the focus, but not really simulate lens used on the cameras. The more expensive units start to be able to offer lens simulations but as a result they rely upon you knowing what lens you should be using and it also assumes you have a number of lens to choose from. In the case of beginners and enthusiasts this is perhaps a step too far, so what can we use instead? I’m sure that you have all seen people lift their hands and turning one hand against the other and using thumbs as verticals and indexer fingers as laterals made a viewing area similar to this. This is great at focusing your view into a much smaller area and concentrate around your image, but it’s not a faithful reproduction of what your camera will actually be shooting. However if you are shooting with a Smart Phone (assuming your not using third party lenses) then use another smart phone to frame and compose your shots. Place the stills camera on your phone into 16x9 mode and you’ll have a pretty good idea about the image that your smart phone will capture when filming. If you shoot with a DSLR this means that you have access to a myriad of lens and so you’ll perhaps what to get a better idea of which lens you should be using to get the right shot. Step up the Directors view finder app! Here you can simulate different lens within the app and see how each lens changes the look and feel of the shot, allowing you the most control over your look and feel. There’s a few to choose from but for most people this becomes a choice between Cadrage and Artemis. We like Cadrage as its function is great and is almost half the price of the Artemis App without loosing any ability. The Artemis App does have a rather cool storyboard feature that is really useful on set or for pre-visualisation work. Both Apps can be used on both Android and iOS.
So there we go. A director’s view finder is used to help fill the frame with the right image. It’s not an essential piece of equipment for beginners, but don’t under estimate the usefulness of being able to see a reduced ‘camera’ view of your scene. So whether you use your fingers or phone to help frame your shot it’s all about appreciating the composition of your scene and getting it right before you shout action. Measure twice, cut one! References and Articles
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