How to make video look like film

Films look subtly different to raw video footage and a lot more professional. There are various techniques used to make video footage have a 'film' look.

Frames per second 

Shooting 24 frames means that the camera captures 24 new images in one second this is slightly slower than how most HD video cameras shoot as they tend to shoot 30 frames per second, by using 24p the sequence appears less smooth which makes it look more like a film than a documentary.


Depth of focus
 Focus also has a big difference on the look of a shot. Digital video cameras will shoot with everything in the frame in focus which means that the object for example a phone is not the only thing in the frame that has got the audiences attention and so they may be distracted by other objects in the background, by using a shallow focus the phone would be the only object in focus therefore it forces the audience to identify this object. Also by using shallow focus it makes the object in focus appear more clear and gives the film a more professional, 'high definition' look. 

This shows a deep focus where the background is in focus but the tree in the foreground is not



 

Whereas with a shallow focus the tree is in focus but the background is not

Colour correction

Something that can be done in editing to make digital footage look more like film is colour correcting the shots.
Shots are often colour corrected depending on the mood of the scene and the genre of film to create a certain atmosphere. For example in the Tim Burton version of Alice in Wonderland the colours are extremely bright and vivid to create a fantasy feel. Whereas in the TV series The Vampire Diaries a constant dark, yellow correction is used to highlight that it is a dark and sinister theme.
By slightly reducing the brightness and increasing the contrast the shot still look realistic however appears to be a more ideal colour than the real world, this is often used as it makes the audience want to be part of the film.
We plan to change the brightness and contrast in our film particularly towards the end as we want the shots to appear very dark and sinister compared to the earlier bright, vivid shots at the beginning of the film.

By colour correcting this shot it makes the setting appear more ideal to the audience

Framing

How a shot is framed affects how the character is portrayed in a scene.

The amount of head room given to a character determines whether the shot looks like a professional film. The character should have a very small amount of room between the top of their head and the top of the frame like this:

If the character is given too much room above their head this is known as dead space and draws the attention of the audience away from the character as well as making the shot look more like digital video than film.

Also as the character is positioned more towards the left of the frame rather than the centre  suggests that he is diverting his attention and energy towards something or someone else in the room. We plan to use a similar technique in certain shots in our film.