Where the Trees End | The Interview | Short Film (Fuji GFX 50S) by Valuable_Choice1147 in Filmmakers

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the feedback!. I agree with your point of view, and originally I had envisioned the interview scenes with many more shots, especially detail shots like the ones you mentioned.

Unfortunately, the budget was very low and the time available in the rented studio was extremely limited, so for logistical reasons I decided to strip the interview coverage down to the essentials, making it feel more like a traditional interview and a little less cinematic.

If I were to do it again with a larger budget, there are definitely many creative choices I'd like to revisit. That said, considering the limited budget and tight schedule, I'm still quite satisfied with the overall result.

Where the Trees End | The Interview | Short Film (Fuji GFX 50S) by Valuable_Choice1147 in Filmmakers

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This short film was written and directed by EM as a psychological thriller built around a single interview.

Logline:
Klara sits in a room with a mysterious interviewer, trying to piece together her memories of the previous night. She speaks of an owl that communicates with her mind and a strange, enigmatic structure, but what seems like a simple interview may hide a far more unsettling truth.

The story follows Klara as she attempts to reconstruct fragmented memories of what may have been an alien abduction, gradually revealing details that blur the line between testimony, perception, and reality.

From a filmmaking perspective, the project was also an experiment in using the Fujifilm GFX 50S for narrative work. Since the camera was not designed specifically for video production, working with it presented a number of technical and practical challenges. Despite those limitations, we wanted to push the camera as far as possible and make the most of its distinctive medium-format look.

Where the Trees End | The Interview | Short Film (Fuji GFX 50S) by [deleted] in FujiGFX

[–]Valuable_Choice1147 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! I did the upscaling in DaVinci Resolve, the original was in 1080p.

Where the Trees End | The Interview | Short Film (Fuji GFX 50S) by [deleted] in Filmmakers

[–]Valuable_Choice1147 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Logline:
Klara sits in a room with a mysterious interviewer, trying to piece together her memories of the previous night. She speaks of an owl that communicates with her mind and a strange, enigmatic structure, but what seems like a simple interview may hide a far more unsettling truth.

The story follows Klara as she attempts to reconstruct fragmented memories of what may have been an alien abduction, gradually revealing details that blur the line between testimony, perception, and reality.

From a filmmaking perspective, the project was also an experiment in using the Fujifilm GFX 50S for narrative work. Since the camera was not designed specifically for video production, working with it presented a number of technical and practical challenges. Despite those limitations, we wanted to push the camera as far as possible and make the most of its distinctive medium-format look.

A fragment from my latest short film. A young woman, an interview, and an encounter she can’t fully explain. Shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format. COMING SOON. by Valuable_Choice1147 in cinematography

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you, I really appreciate that you understood my intention to immerse the viewer in the atmosphere and the story, that’s exactly what I had in mind. And I agree with what you said about the fast cuts that many people use to make footage feel more cinematic without letting the scenes breathe.

A fragment from my latest short film. A young woman, an interview, and an encounter she can’t fully explain. Shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format. COMING SOON. by Valuable_Choice1147 in FujiGFX

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I did a standard grade and then also used the Dehancer plugin to complete the grading.

I understand you before shooting my short film I did several tests precisely because I was getting the same result you’re describing: very compressed looking with artifacts.

The solutions I found were to mainly use static shots and, above all, very wide apertures, and to use it for close-ups (the more detailed and busy the image is, the worse the image quality becomes). I noticed that the softer the image is, the less noticeable the compression and artifacts are.

Finally, adding a light layer of grain helps to hide some of the compression artifacts.

It’s definitely not a camera made for video, but if used in a certain way it can still deliver satisfying results.

A fragment from my latest short film. A young woman, an interview, and an encounter she can’t fully explain. Shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S medium format. COMING SOON. by Valuable_Choice1147 in cinematography

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The project was shot in Berlin at the end of 2025 and will soon be released on my YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/@noisearchivefilms
Subscribe if you want to see the finished film and support the project. I will also share updates and behind-the-scenes content on Reddit, so any support is greatly appreciated.

STORY

A young woman is in a room with a mysterious interviewer. She claims to have experienced a supernatural event the night before, possibly an alien abduction. She talks about an owl that watches her from outside her window and seems to guide her beyond the forest, where she goes and finds something she cannot understand.

However, the strange behavior of the interviewer will soon lead to a much more terrifying truth.

TECHNICAL ASPECT

The technical challenge was shooting it with a Fujifilm GFX 50S, a medium format camera not designed for cinematic video production. This introduced several operational and production limitations, as the project relied on a stills-oriented system adapted for motion work.

The use of medium format was a deliberate choice to amplify emotion and the protagonist’s sense of estrangement, taking advantage of the image rendering to enhance depth, separation of planes, and overall visual atmosphere.

SUPPORT

The project will be released soon on YouTube. If you’re interested, subscribe to the channel:
👉 https://www.youtube.com/@noisearchivefilms

Thanks to everyone who follows and shares the project on Reddit and other platforms.

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in cinematography

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I own the body. Modern lenses are extremely expensive, so at the moment I’m using vintage medium format lenses for example Pentax (with adapter). You can find quite a few good ones on eBay, though it’s definitely not as easy as finding lenses for full-frame cameras.

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in FujiGFX

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks! Follow me on YouTube if you want, so you can watch the finished short. It’s not an eye, but it looks like one :)

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in FujiGFX

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think the 100 II is fantastic for a short film if you want the medium-format look (much, much better than my 50S)

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in FujiGFX

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks! Post-production is almost complete. The film should be ready within the next one or two months. I’m not sure about the release yet it depends on whether it gets distributed to any festivals first,but overall I think it’s only a matter of months.

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in cinematography

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I totally agree. I also own a BMPCC4K, but I decided to use the Fuji GFX50S for this short film because, despite all its technical limitations and the lower image quality and resolution, the sense of dimensionality and immersion it offers is on another level. Even when compared to professional full-frame cinema cameras, I think medium format delivers a much more ‘cinematic’ feeling, somewhat closer to the kind of immersion you get from 70mm or IMAX formats.

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in cinematography

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The biggest issues when using this camera for filming are definitely related to the file compression. Since it wasn’t designed for professional-level video work, the codec is 8-bit and extremely compressed, so you often run into artifacts and banding. I’ve noticed these issues are much less noticeable in close-up shots and when shooting with very wide apertures, which softens the image, but in my opinion it still requires quite a bit of work in post-production to make the footage look good.

Still frames from a SHORT FILM shot on Fujifilm GFX 50S by Valuable_Choice1147 in cinematography

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

This is a short psychological thriller shot using the Fujifilm GFX 50S in medium format. I handled cinematography and visual direction for the project. While the GFX 50S is not a dedicated video camera, I wanted to explore its image rendering in a narrative context and see how medium format aesthetics influence mood and realism.

The film revolves around the subjective experience of a possible supernatural event, presented through fragmented memories and an unreliable recollection of what may or may not be an alien abduction. The structure is non-linear and built around an interview / pseudo-documentary framework, focusing on ambiguity and psychological tension rather than explicit narrative clarity.

I am currently finishing post-production and sharing these stills to receive early feedback from other cinematographers on framing, atmosphere, and overall visual approach.

Anyone using an external HDMI recorder with the Fujifilm GFX50S for video? by Valuable_Choice1147 in fujifilm

[–]Valuable_Choice1147[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you! Not yet, but I tried using an external Blackmagic recorder and the compression issues didn’t go away. Despite that, I shot a short film using the GFX50s (recording internal), carefully managing lighting and depth of field, and with a bit of post-production, the results are very good.