I just bought an ND Filter which, if you don’t know what it is, it’s basically like sunglasses for you camera

Let me explain why that is important

In movies, when we say something is “hella cinematic” it’s usually because the subject is in-focus, but the background is blurry, making the subject stand out. Here’s an example of a shot in the movie Tenet

Robert Pattinson is in focus, the background is blurry

Movies are shot at 24 frames per second. So the rule is, your shutter speed has to be double that, at 1/48. The problem is, at the shutter speed, your camera is letting in a lot of light and so you when you want a low depth of field, or, in easy terms, you want your background to be blurry, without an ND filter, it’s impossible to shoot in broad daylight

Here is that same shot, same camera settings, without an ND filter

It’s way too f*cking bright

I bought my own ND Filter

We’ll do the same exercise, but using my camera

Here’s a shot at 1/48 shutter speed given I shoot at 24 frames per second, with low depth of field aka lots of background blur, without an ND filter

It’s way too bright

In order to be properly exposed, I would have to increase my aperture, meaning I would lose my background blur, so the shot is less cinematic

Now, using the exact same camera settings, pop on an ND filter, and watch the difference

The buildings, the cars, the bikes, and the trees are all blurry, while my pants/shoes are in focus

With an ND filter, I am able to get that blur during the daytime without changing my camera settings

Childlike curiosity

I’m not a materialistic guy, but I’m so happy with my ND Filter because it’s going to unleash more out of me as a creator and I can make art that I am happy with

I played with this new gadget for 2 hours when I first got it in the mail, and even though making videos is my “job,” I make sure to enjoy the moments where I can just be a kid with a camera

Because at the end of the day, I’m still that 14 year old kid who just wants to make cool videos, and I’m never going to lose that

And keeping that kid alive starts by having fun with your new ND Filter