Bright midday sun is usually the enemy of a cinematic look. In 2018 I had a sequence in my head, went out in my parents' garden without a bounce board, and still came home happy. Here's how I did it, and my five rules for cinematic footage.
My 5 rules for a cinematic look
1. Shallow depth of field. A buttery bokeh and an out-of-focus background immediately give that film look.
2. Stabilise your footage. Use a 3-axis gimbal, a Glidecam, anything that keeps it steady. Handheld doesn't work for me, I have very shaky hands.
3. Shoot at a high frame rate. I shoot at 120 fps, which gives me footage about five times slower than normal: beautiful, smooth slow motion.
4. Colour grade and add cinebars. Find your own personal look in post. There are lots of presets online, but play with colour and find your own style. Cinema bars bring the viewer's attention to the centre of the scene.
5. Add sound effects. Sound makes the viewer feel they're actually there. Don't overdo it, or it becomes distracting. It needs to be neat and transparent.
Beating the bright sun
Because the day was so bright, I chose my parents' garden for its shade. Photographers and video makers usually use a bounce board, which is very cheap and makes a huge difference, but of course I'd forgotten mine at home. So I played with the natural shade from the trees.
The real key was an ND filter. ND filters are basically sunglasses for your lens: they bring the exposure down without touching your other settings, so you can keep a wide aperture and your slow-motion frame rate in full sun.
I'm no teacher, I'm still learning by doing. A big thanks to Rox for being so patient while I shot the video I had in mind.