Most videographers beginners have the same question: ‘How can I make my movies appear more professional?’ ‘Would you like something more cinematic?’ They’ve wondered for years, “How can I obtain that movie look?”

Video making is more than a form of expression. Years of experience are required to develop a consistent skill and a strong eye for creating a video. You’ve undoubtedly come across the term “cinematic” while doing so.

But what does it mean to be cinematic? Let’s learn more about what it is before we figure out how to obtain it.

Let’s Define the Meaning of Cinematic

Understanding cinematic is much more than just a definition. According to Merriam-Webster, cinematic means “of, relating to, suggestive of, or suitable for motion pictures or the filming of motion pictures”. It might be something that is shot and shown as a movie.

The term “cinematic” is now widely used, and most people associate it with black bars or wide-screen frame ratios. This word has the same meaning as “this snapshot is similar to a painting.”

Let’s start with a painting comparison. The majority of paintings have a warm or cool hue; the micro-contrast isn’t excessive, and the color transitions are seamless. You must follow these criteria if you want your videos to look like paintings.

A cinematic video is one that looks like a movie. The movie business has evolved significantly in terms of aspect ratio, color, and lighting techniques throughout the years. When we say “cinematic,” we mean that it appears like a movie you’d watch in a theater.

The following explanation will assist you in better comprehending the secret behind that appearance and feel.

The Art of Creating a Cinematic Look and Feel

1. Lighting

Lighting is an important aspect of a cinematic scene because it helps the viewer construct an environment, a visual mood, and a feeling of plot or meaning. It is also one of the main characteristics of effective cinematography and may assist improve the visual quality of the scene.

2. Slow Motion 

Many people believe that slow-motion makes a video cinematic, and it does in some cases, but it’s more about the feeling of something out of this world than the frame rate because we’re not used to seeing things at different frame rates than real life. Everything that deviates from that appearance appears to be from a fairy tale. 

Also read: SFX Meaning and All You Need To Know About Special Effects

3. Color Grading 

Color grading has a surprising impact on the cinematic sense of your video. The videos appear too lifelike without color correcting. This is also true with still photographs.

It’s surprising to learn that mixing warm and cool tones at the appropriate times may make a picture more attractive to the eye and express distinct emotions. Even if you keep to the apparent warm versus cool tone options, when you grade your footage at the end, you may make it appear more like a movie.

4. Contrast

When an amateur cinematic video attempt has simply too much contrast, it’s one of the most evident problems. If you look closely at movies, you’ll see that their black point isn’t completely black, but rather a shade of grey. White, on the other hand, is not necessarily pure white. Even in gloomy settings, a pitch-black patch is uncommon.

5. Composition

The fundamental rules of composition used by renowned painters of the old days are nearly entirely followed by a cinematic style. You’ve heard of the golden ratio, leading lines, symmetry, and the frame within a frame. You will be far closer to the cinematic aesthetic if you aim to make every frame appear like a finely painted picture, independent of frame aspect ratio.

6. Pick the Right Music

Music can make a huge difference in how your movie feels. After all, music is frequently utilized to control your emotions.

In a sorrowful scenario, classical music is played, whereas, in a party setting, dance music is played. Consider how the music in your movie brings the topics in-frame to life as you consider ways to make your movie seem cinematic.

Based on all that, we discovered that the term “cinematic” relates to how we feel when seeing something.

Is it like something out of a movie? It could be something that is happening in our lives or something that is happening while we are watching a movie at home, but cinematic language is so pervasive in our brains that it creates a thought process that allows us to compare and contrast every moment of our lives to what we have seen on screen.

Isn’t it true that all movies are cinematic? Most likely not. Some videos are made specifically for television and have coverage that makes them appear static, play-like, and unfit for the large screen. Not every movie possesses the visual intricacy and language to be considered cinematic. 

A cinematic video is a work of art. It’s almost sinful to reduce it to just slow motion. You need to watch for the details, not the apparent components, if you want to create great cinematic masterpieces. You can’t make every footage seem cinematic since the entire process requires preparation and excellent execution.

Also read: All You Need To Know About Video Production

Start Your Cinematic Video

In the end, of course, we all want our videos to have a theatrical look and feel to them. But how are we going to accomplish it?

The storyboard is the first item you’ll need. One of the most underappreciated yet crucial components of video production is storyboarding.

While you may not be able to storyboard for every project (for example, a documentary), storyboarding for a narrative video is a must. Storyboarding helps you to get your thoughts down on paper and share them with the rest of the team.

Even if you think you have a crystal-clear picture for your video in your brain, you’ll undoubtedly reach a moment on set where your initial creative vision becomes hazy under pressure. Before you get started, take the time to storyboard each shot. You don’t have to be the finest artist on the planet to be successful. Simply scribble down as many composition notes as you can.

After you have the storyboard, now you can try creating a cinematic video!

If you don’t want to spend more money on hiring actors for your cinematic video, you can try creating a cinematic animation. Give animation a chance, and you’ll be amazed at how it can elicit the same emotions as a movie you’ve seen in the theater. Get started with Superpixel as your next cinematic animation partner!