Filming and Photography

The act of recording light with a camera to create photographs and videos, and a core production process of the modern video industry

Filming and Photography

Overview

Filming and photography (촬영) refers to the act of recording light reflected from a subject onto film or an image sensor through optical equipment such as a camera to create still images (photographs) or moving images (videos). It is the most central process in photography and film and broadcast production, and today, with the spread of smartphones, it is both an everyday recording activity performed by anyone and an industry requiring high expertise.

Key Details

Etymology and Concept

The Korean term 촬영 contains the meaning of gathering light to leave an image, while the English word photography is a compound of Greek phos (light) and graphein (to write), meaning drawing with light. In other words, the essence of filming and photography is controlling the amount and direction of light to acquire the intended image.

Photography

The three major elements of photography are the exposure triangle consisting of aperture, shutter speed, and sensitivity (ISO). Combined with lens angle of view, depth of field, white balance, and lighting design, these determine the character of the result. The skills and equipment configuration required differ greatly by genre, including portrait, landscape, product, architecture, sports, documentary, and fashion.

Video Shooting and Cinematography

Video shooting is the work of comprehensively designing frame rate, shutter angle, lens selection, camera movement, shot size (from extreme long shot to extreme close-up), and lighting design. Recently, Log recording and HDR workflows premised on post-production color grading have become standard.

Changes in Equipment and Technology

Film cameras were replaced by digital cameras based on CCD and CMOS sensors, and mirrorless cameras have penetrated broadcast and film sets. Equipment groups for shooting stabilization and viewpoint expansion, such as gimbals, Steadicams, cranes, cable cams, drones, action cams, and PTZ cameras, have also developed rapidly. Storage media changed from tape to memory cards and SSDs, and editing was replaced from analog editing to non-linear editing (NLE).

Position in the Production Process

General video production proceeds in three stages: pre-production (planning, screenplay, storyboard, location scouting) → production (actual shooting) → post-production (editing, color grading, VFX, sound, mixing), and shooting is at the center of the production stage. The quality of the original source secured during the shooting stage effectively determines the possibilities of post-production work.

Personnel Structure

On film and drama sets, the director of photography oversees lighting and camera, while camera operators, 1st and 2nd ACs (camera assistants), focus pullers, DITs, the gaffer and lighting staff, grips, and others form the team. In small-scale productions, one person taking on multiple roles is common.

Legal and Ethical Issues

Filming carries various regulations, including portrait rights and privacy infringement, restrictions on filming in public places and military and security facilities, drone flight permits, copyright and music source use, and criminal punishment for hidden camera filming. Rights handling for distribution and secondary use of filmed material is also an important issue.

Latest Trends

The biggest changes in the filming field in 2024-2025 are the virtualization and automation of production methods. First, virtual production combining large LED walls and real-time rendering is approaching standard status in Hollywood and large domestic productions, replacing a portion of location shooting. Second, with the spread of generative AI and computational photography, upscaling, noise reduction, automatic framing, background compositing, and more are being built into cameras and post-production processes as standard. Third, with large smartphone sensors, 8K shooting, and Log profile support, mobile shooting has entered broadcast and advertising practice. Fourth, with the growth of short-form platforms, vertical (9:16) shooting and the lightweight equipment market for solo creators have grown rapidly. Fifth, in response to the spread of deepfakes and synthesized images, verification of the authenticity of original footage, preservation of shooting metadata, and watermarking norms are being discussed.