07/04/2026
7 Filming tips I used daily ↓
1. Using your camera’s base ISO, gives you the cleanest image possible with the most dynamic range. Check your camera model to find out what that base ISO is and try to stick to it, on our Sony ZV-E1 the base ISO is 640 and 12800 for low light.
2. I shoot all our content in S-Log3 Cine on our Sony camera. It gives the highest dynamic range and flexibility in colour grading. Generally I like to expose our shots at +1.7 over exposed for the cleanest image. I also use zebras set to 95 and check my histogram to avoid clipping highlights.
3. Shutter speed = double your frame rate, If you’re filming at 24fps aim for 1/50 shutter speed, 30fps 1/60, 60fps 1/120 etc. It gives you that natural motion blur that looks cinematic at 24fps and gives you smooth slow motion and crisp shots at 60fps. But remember you can always experiment with shutter speeds to get creative looks sometimes I like to shoot 1/5 sec for motion blur transition shots.
4. VND filters are a must for daylight shooting Without one footage will be way overexposed, especially when sticking to the double shutter speed rule. Go for a good quality VND filter that fits your largest lens thread, then just use step down rings to fit it to your smaller lenses.
5. Use manual white balance instead of auto.
Auto WB shifts around mid shot and makes colour grading a headache. Set it manually or use the camera’s inbuilt presets for consistent colour. On my Sony camera I like to keep it in cloudy preset mode for an extra warm tone.
6. I like to give my shots depth by shooting through out of focus foreground objects. It makes for a more interesting immersive shot.
7. B-roll & cutaways help bring your story to life.
Don’t just film the main scene, get close ups, textures, movements, hands, details. They make a huge difference in editing to bridge/transition shots and make your content more interesting.
📷 ZV-E1 + Sony 24-70 2.8 GM
