LOW BUDGET LENSES : THE ONLY 2 LENSES YOU REALLY NEED

A couple of weeks ago I wrote a blog about a set of low budget Primes for under £50($70), of course they were only suited to mirror-less cameras (You can find it HERE), which came as a bit of a disappointment to those low budget filmmakers still shooting on DSLR's, which are great option for those who can't splash out on something more expensive, but lack some of the cheaper lens options available for MFT (Micro Four Thirds) cameras. A lot of people asked me about options for their Canon EF mount cameras and what options were available to them. 

Since 2010 I have shot on Canon entry level DSLR's, I only recently moved over to using Panasonic in fact.  Over 6 years I shot 4 features between a 550d(T2i) and a 600d(T3i) as well as over 35 music videos and promos that aired on TV in the UK and US, so I know just how much a viable tool these cheap cameras can be. But when it came to budget lenses, there are very few cheaper options available. However that doesn't mean that there are none. 

In the 6 years I've been using the cameras I have had a grand total of '3' lenses and the truth is that I only ever really used 2 of them and the good news is, the two I use are the cheapest lenses available. I shoot narrative films and music videos mainly and so the lenses I use are suited to that and, of course, depending on what you're shooting will determine the lenses that you shoot on, but up until November 2015 I shot using just these two pieces of cheap glass. 

Canon Kit Lens 18-55mm f/3.5 - f/5.6

If you're buying your first Canon DSLR, you most certainly will pick it up with what is known as a 'Kit lens' (a lens that comes packaged with the camera). The Canon standard kit lens is pretty well known for being a decent 'all purpose' piece of glass that covers most bases for the average no budget filmmaker.

It has a decent focal range of 18mm - 55mm that means you can get both wide angles and those tighter shots with nice depth of field. Where this lens really falls down is in low light. It works great if your shooting in bright, sunlight spaces and at it widest it opens up to f/3.5 which is decent enough for most low(ish) light scenarios. But anything closer in anything other than great light is going to mean that you need something a little bit faster to get a good clean image. The lens however is great for things like crane shots, steady cam rigs and dolly moves.

Hollower (2016) Canon 18-55mm f/3.5 (Kit Lens)

One thing I did was pick up a wide angle adapter lens, just to open it up a little more for steady-cam shots etc. It cost me around £15 on ebay and its saved my ass more than a few times when the location just hasn't been open enough and saved me dropping a small fortune on wider lenses. The adapter also screws in half to become a macro lens fort shooting extreme close ups, which came in extremely handy in getting those close up eye shots that I love so much.

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CANON 50mm f/1.8 (The Nifty Fifty)

The cheapest Canon lens outside of picking up the kit lens is the Canon 50mm f.1.8. Its known in the photography and filmmaking community ads the 'Nifty Fifty' and it is definitely the most bang for your buck when it comes to lenses. I picked this up for a steal of £90 back in 2010, for Slasher House, but since then they can be found on ebay for as little as £50 (not to mention cheaper clones etc).

Being a faster lens, and a prime, the image quality that comes out this lens is amazing and it really goes that shallow depth of field that a lot of filmmakers look for in their image. Along with that, you can shoot in some very dimly lit spaces and still get an amazingly usable image.  Mix that with the fact its the cheapest lens available in Canon's range and you're onto a winner. If I shoot outdoors in available light at night (I do fairly often) then this is my go to lens for sure.

Cleaver : Killer Clown (2015) : Canon 50mm f/1.8

This is my work horse lens, meaning that for 5 years, I used it as much as I could and found unless it was a wide angle shot, or I was in an extremely small space, this lens did everything I needed of it and it performs amazingly in low light. I used this lens mainly for mids and close ups and its gives some stunning results. It is easily my favourite Canon lens and well worth the small price. If you're shooting on Canon SLRs this the lens to you want to have in your collection.


TELEPHOTO LENSES?

I considered adding a telephoto lens to the article, but in the end I decided not to. I was given a Canon 70 - 300mm f/4 a few years ago (someone had a spare) and over the course of 4 features I have used the lens 4 times and in all honesty I probably didn't need to (although it was helpful to have it), but really, in modern narrative filmmaking, unless you're shooting westerns, sports or car chases, you aren't gonna crack out that telephoto lens all too often.

In reality its probably better just to drop £10 or so on a Telephoto adapter lens if your using it for a shot every now and then, that way your saving your self a few hundred bucks for something that you'll use infrequently unless your shooting sports stuff.

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There are certainly much better and more expensive lenses out there, but if you're looking for something that gives you bang for your buck without changing up your gear or switching to another camera then these are brilliant options and I know literally dozens of filmmakers who have got by for years using this exact same set up and we've shot dozens of commercially released work on these lenses.

Just remember that what you shoot on is not a substitute for talent or skill and no lens is going to make you a better cinematographer or filmmaker the same way that no lens will make you a worse one. 

MJ

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CREATING LIGHT LEAKS 'IN CAMERA'

If you've been following this blog or if you watched any of our movies, you'll know that we love to try and do things as practically as possible. We try and capture as much as we can in camera, from colour to practical effects. In the age of 'Fix it in post' I have to say that I've always felt more comfortable getting as close as I can to the final product on set than I do trying to get the same effect in post production. Thats just me and how 'I' do things though. 

Ungraded shot from Hollower (2014).

I get it, digital effects and post production does a lot of good, I do use a whole heap of things from Colour correction to Masking to CG and I'm a big promoter of visual effects and post work, if it is needed,  just not if its done for the sake of it. I've saved many shots and even whole scenes in post, because something just didn't work on the day, but surely the goal is to get it right at 'showtime', or as close as you can. My 'opinion', and thats all it is, on digital effects and heavy post production is that its a great tool to help you when all else fails. You're main goal should be that all does not fail.

I started shooting my fourth feature at the end of 2014, the film, Hollower, is the story of anagoraphobic who can't leave his studio apartment. In the film there was a scene in which he attempts to leave his 'fortress of solitude' only to find that his condition won't allow it. My first thought was how I would present this visually, and I immediately jumped to what digital effects I could add in post production to represent the severity of his illness, immediately light leaks and an adding various blurs and distortions sprung to mind. I stopped myself there and just took a step back and remembered my 'Don't fix it on post' rule. How could I do what I wanted to do 'In Camera'? 

Then I realised I had the answer.

LENS WHACKING

Lens Whacking is an old school and pretty well documented photographic technique, that involves creating light leaking directly onto the cameras sensor rather than being filtered solely through the lens. The technique also adds some very interesting blurs and distortion due to the way that the lens is held in front of the camera. In terms of the effect I was looking for in the film 'Lens Whacking' was clea the way to go.

Interchangeable Lens System Camera (Canon 600d/T3i)

First of all, your camera will need to have an interchangeable lens system, this is much more common these days with the advent of DSLR'S and Mirrorless system becoming a pretty standard part of the No/Low Budget filmmakers arsenal.

Remove lens from Camera.

The effect comes from removing the lens and setting your cameras 'Operate without lens attached' to on (It called something different depending on the camera model, but its a pretty universal feature and on the Canon it just involves hitting the Video button without a lens attached) this allows your camera to shoot without having your lens attached (Obviously). 

The option looks different on the Panasonic G7.

Now you have pure, unfiltered light hitting your sensor.  You can now simply hold your lens up to the sensor, but instead of attaching it, you allow light to slip in through the gap between the contacts. Moving it around until you have the desired effect. 

Hold the lens over the sensor without connecting it. 

I've found that the effect works best with Normal or Longer focal lengths and shooting on a Canon 600d (T3i), I got the best results from using the 50mm 1.8 as the shorter focal lengths seemed to give less desirable results. It takes a little experimenting to get it right, but the results can be something fantastic. 

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THE PINSTRIPE PIGEON BAND

A few months after shooting Hollower, I was hired to shoot a video for The Pinstripe Pigeon Band to go with their new track 'Never Be Apart'. The song was a slow ballad and the band wanted something that had a restless, dreamlike feel to go with the song. I immediately thought of 'Lens Whacking' as a way to achieve the look the band wanted. I explained my approach and they loved the idea and so thats what we did, I also shot at high frame rate and played the song a double speed (So that it matched when conformed back to 25fps) to help sell the dreamlike visuals that they were going for and I was very pleased with the results.

Still from 'Never Be Apart' The Pinstripe Pigeon Band

I did hit a snag however. After we shot the story elements using the technique, we arrived on location to shoot the bands 'performance' element. Because we were based about 4 hours away  and the video had come together in relatively short notice, we hadn't seen the location outside of photographs and it was actually much smaller than we thought it would be. This was fine for close ups, but the wide shot was a vfx shot and had to be locked off, this meant that I couldn't take the lens off for the shot and so it suddenly stuck out like a sore thumb compared to the rest of the video. 

This was the one place I knew I would have to 'fix it in post' and add my leaks after. It came out ok, saved by some time in the edit fixing the problem, but it really did hit home just how much difference doing something practically actually makes. It also serves a good example of both approaches. You can check out the full video for 'Never Be Apart' below. 

So overall my point is that you should rely on post to save your ass, doing things after the fact is great, but giving a little bit of forethought to how you want your final piece to look can really, doing as much as you can there physically on set can bring your stuff to life, Plus its a lot more fun :)

MJ

IF YOU FIND THIS BLOG USEFUL. PLEASE SHARE. You can keep up to date with our filming goings on at our FACEBOOK PAGE :)

ALSO IF YOU'RE BASED IN UK, MICROBUDGET MASSACRE AND THE MILTON KEYNES FILM NETWORK ARE HOSTING THE FIRST OF THIS YEARS SPECIAL 'MYCHO MICROBUDGET MASSACRE MASTERCLASS' LIVE SHOWS ON TUESDAY 8TH MARCH.  

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