Lights, Camera, Action! How to direct your own movie using the Xperia 1

We’ve shown you everything from forced perspective toy photography to how to shoot captivating flower imagery, all using Sony’s Xperia 10 and 10 Plus. Now with Sony’s latest flagship Xperia 1, we’ve not only shown you incredible portrait photography, but also how to shoot professional holiday videos – all from the palm of your hand.

With a host of professional-grade technologies, including features such as a 21:9 CinemaWide™ display and a triple camera, Xperia 1 not only captures a cinematic experience but also allows the user more control, meaning that directing your own movie is easier than ever before.

The camera’s default rate is the cinematic standard of 24fps, generating a more professional result compared to the standard 30fps that is usually found on smartphones. This, paired with shooting in 4K HDR in the same 21:9 aspect ratio that a professional videographer would, delivers consistent and quality content, with hardly any post-production needed.

Lady in blue dress climbing stairs

Now, with the Cinema Pro application, shooting video content requires barely any touch ups. The smartphone’s 10-bit equivalent tonal gradation* helps to deliver a myriad of colours without banding, while professional-grade display standards means it offers deeper blacks, natural tones and a wide spectrum of colours with BT2020** colour space – creating the ultimate cinematic experience, true to the creator’s intent.

Tell your story

When telling a story, it is vital that you choose the right lens for the scene. When you change focal length, it isn’t just about changing what you see in the shot but also the way your subject appears and how they relate to the environment they’re in. With Xperia 1’s triple camera, you can now switch between 16mm, 26mm and 52mm to suit the film you’re directing.

Lady in blue dress descending stairs

Take time to experiment with the different lenses in a variety of situations – don’t be afraid to stick to using the 16mm camera for landscapes and likewise, the 52mm for portraits. By playing around with the focal length you’ll find that each one brings a new perspective to what you’re capturing.

In Venice we experimented with the focal length, swapping between 16mm, 26mm to 52mm with the same model in the same location to create a series of different atmospheres and moods. For example, using 52mm allows the user to get a closer shot for a more dramatic effect, whereas when trying the 16mm the viewer feels more distant from the subject.

 

Stabilisation

Whilst shooting on the move, it can generally be difficult to film without your final content looking unsteady, distracting from the story you’re trying to tell.

However, Xperia 1 offers brilliant stabilisation through Optical SteadyShot™ – a Hybrid OIS/EIS video stabilisation with a unique algorithm that will help you capture shake-free, smooth videos for the ultimate keepsakes.

The below clip shows examples of Optical SteadyShot™ on and off, showing a clear difference in shakiness when shooting on the move.

 

Total Control  

The Cinema Pro application allows you to have free reign with your creativity.  Try altering the exposure manually, which prevents the camera changing the exposure automatically. Here you can see that as the gondola goes under the bridge, there is a change in the atmosphere of the clip.

 

Instead of the camera changing the brightness up and down to achieve what it believes is the correct exposure, here you can convey a more natural-feeling, compelling effect.

 

Fancy directing your very own movie? Check out these tips when put to the test in our recent professional holiday movies post.

*8 bit display with 2 bit software smoothing
**Xperia 1 does not cover the BT.2020 colour space in full.

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Source: Sony Mobile Blog