Errands in Cambridge
A Personal Short Film
01. Background
When my wife and I moved to the U.S., we found a beautiful place in Cambridge. It was on the higher end of our budget, but we thought it was worth it because the area had everything within walking distance.
Then, immediately after we moved in, COVID happened.
From one day to the next, it went from "We have so much to do!" to "We have absolutely nothing to do."
This film came from that time. We were going grocery shopping and I brought my camera along.
02. Equipment
My main gear had always been the Canon EOS 1D DSLR, but since I sold everything before moving to the U.S., I decided to try the mirrorless Sony a7 III. For the lens, I used the Sony FE 35mm f/1.4 GM for a natural perspective. Since it was sunny and I wanted a moderately shallow depth of field with smooth background falloff, using aperture between f/2.8 and f/5.6, I attached a fixed ND64 filter.
03. Post Production
For color grading, I aimed for a restrained, naturalistic look that blends Japanese cinematic sensibilities, soft contrast, muted saturation, and gentle highlight rolloff, with Western cinematic contrast and definition.
