In Episode 3 of 'Reframed With Drew Geraci', the Sony Artisan takes you to the great outdoors to discuss high-resolution cinematography and photography while searching for some of his favorite animals in the area – capturing it all in beautiful 8K and 4K 120p resolution. “Resolution seems to be everything these days,” Geraci explains. “Whether you’re using a pro-sumer camera like the Sony Alpha 7 IV, or a professional-grade camera like the Sony Alpha 1 – you’ll be privy to creating gorgeous content anywhere in the 6K to 8K resolution range which will end up giving you huge advantages when you want to edit or work with your footage in resolution.” Watch as he gets wild in Wyoming, braving the bitter cold temperatures for stunning footage of cold weather wildlife.

Sony Artisan Drew Geraci discusses the use of high-resolution cinematography & photography while searching for the area’s cold weather wildlife.

Geraci explains how 8K resolution allows creatives to do more with the scene because there are more pixels to work with. It allows us to see more detail up-close and is the next evolution for television and film. The Sony Alpha 1 and Sony Venice II are the only two Sony 8K cameras currently on the market, and in the video he uses the Sony Alpha 1 with its new firmware update and provides a step-by-step on how you can set it up to record 8K cinematic footage. For lenses, he brings the Sony 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master II and the Sony 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G for the most range when trying to capture beautiful 8K wildlife footage.

“One of the most important things you can bring with you on any trip, if you’re shooting high-resolution 8K or even 4K 120p, you want to make sure you have a solid tripod,” he explains. “You also want to make sure you have a fluid head. And a fluid head is important because it gives you that nice fluid motion. If you were to use a ball head or a tripod without any fluidity to it, you’re not going to get those nice, fluid motions and it’s all going to be noticeable when you’re actually shooting your content.”

As Geraci is out filming wildlife, he makes sure to maintain a safe distance with a long lens. “Because 8K resolution is so big, I tend to ensure that my shots are a bit wider and have multiple subjects in the frame so if I want to recrop and recompose I can do that later. When you find your subject, try not to touch the lens or the camera while recording unless you’re actively tracking them with the tripod. The less movement or vibration that you add to the scene, the better.”

While out in the field, Geraci isn’t afraid to adapt and overcome in order to get the footage he’s looking for. If he needs more height, he’ll go on top of his car. He also has a quick release on his tripod so he can easily grab it off to shoot handheld in just a second. “Adding this type of tool really helps aiming when you’re in a quick pace situation. When you are tracking your subjects, it’s smart to allow for a bit of buffer room in the direction the subject is moving, that way they're always in frame.”

He continues, “I also recommend turning on Animal Eye AF, especially in video because it’s really going to allow you to track that focus and worry more about the composition and not if the image is sharp or not.”

After providing his shooting tips for 8K and 4K 120p footage, he heads to the editing bay to show how the post-processing part of his workflow. He provides his tips for setting up a system that can handle fluidly working with your high-resolution footage. "I think one thing people often overlook is how much additional horsepower you're going to need when it comes to setting up a proper 8K workflow."

Geraci shows the creative possibilities when editing 8K footage. "You can create mini-sequences of shots that all derive from the same composition," he says. "This can be a huge benefit if you're filming a scene for an interview or you want to create both a wide and tight shot of subject. This is why it's always important to shoot a bit wider when you're filming in 8K. There are a multitude of compositional possibilities when it comes to filming high-resolution content, so the next time you're out give it a try and see what you can come up with!"

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