Nikon Coolpix S3700 Camera Workshop

Reasoning Behind Chosen Equipment and Learning How to Use It

The Nikon Coolpix S3700 and Canon Rebel t5i are the two devices the film will be shot from. As mentioned previously, the storyline of the film involves the close friendship between two girls; Abby and Pam. This is established in the first scene of the film, as it is supposed to resemble a 'home video' the girls created at Pam's house that will later contrast with a cut to the 'present' – a reality where Abby is no longer alive. This means the cinematography in this first scene would be hand-held and 'unprofessional' to indicate that it is the friend recording. To add to this personal vlog style video we intend to bring to life, I searched through old models of digital video cameras I had and found the jackpot that is the Nikon Coolpix S3700.

The resolution is distinctively different from the average IPhone for its grainy yet soft capturing lens. It instills immediate authenticity for its 'retro aesthetic' that many find nostalgic and a 'personal touch' in film.

The Nikon Coolpix S3700 and a photo we took on it to test the flash and available filter modes on the camera itself.

Due to teenagers being represented in the film and the uprising of early 2000s technology being used by the younger generation, we agreed that using my old camera would build on the narrative that this is a home video for the girls to look back on and was nothing serious at the time.

Thumbnails of the trending comeback of digital camera use among young adults on social media app TikTok.

Screenshot of Mashable article regarding the rise of the digital camera trend on social media, giving statistical data on the millions that are interacting with it online.

With this in mind, I set out to learn how to use the camera alongside my cinematographer. The camera was relatively easy to use and while practicing shots, we questioned the benefit the camera would give us over using our other options. The use of two separate cameras being used in the film not only gives us as filmmakers more to excitingly explore, but would serve meaningfully in their corresponding scenes to help contrast the them as the past versus the present through the difference in saturation levels and resolution. Additionally, the Nikon creates a playful mood being a hand video camera that reflects the girl's friendship, so we ultimately decided to move forward with it. But being the editor, I first wanted to make sure the camera's content could be transferred to another device with the same if not better quality.

An SD card reader I purchased to transfer our practice shots to another device. To use it, I removed the SD card of 8GB from the camera, placed it into the slot of the reader, and connected the attachment to my IPhone. The quality looked even better when imported and this gave us the greenlight that the camera could efficiently be used for me to edit its content later on!

A video of my cinematographer using the 'Toy Camera' effect on the camera that accentuates the blue and green tones in its appearance and testing the zoom feature. 

We do not plan on using this effect in our film because it creates an eerie found footage look, but still wanted to try out every effect so that we could choose the one best suited for our film purposes. Moreover, in the video, when she zoomed in, you can hear the camera lens moving to zoom in closer. This was something that caused us to love the choice of camera even more, especially because the sound design will rely on unsettlingly quiet diegetic sound. During scene one, Pam will question Abby for being under the influence of drugs and Abby will stay silent and continue to be avoidant of the issue while staring at her reflection in the mirror. Pam will zoom in on Abby's reflection while waiting for a response, so the faint creaking noise of this zoom will fill up that silence and increase the tension, disrupting the equilibrium that the home video had at the start successfully!