My name is James Matthews and I'm a filmmaker and YouTube content creator based in the UK. Adventure is everything to me, and in my films I try and take my audience on an emotional journey through the use of audio and visual cues. For me, the biggest inspirations to my work are natural landscapes, people and music. I try to incorporate elements from these three themes to create a feeling that my audience can experience.

Never Miss an Opportunity

This project was about communicating the beauty of opportunity. Throughout my life and career, my biggest regrets are always the opportunities I didn't take. This film was about taking an opportunity to visit a country that has always fascinated me and witness something truly magical.

First impressions shooting with the Sony FX30

My favourite feature on the FX30 is the ability to shoot in a beautiful 10-bit 4:2:2 colour space in all the 4K modes - all the way up to 120fps. I love being able to manipulate my look in post-production and this is a big feature that allows me to create the exact mood and look I want in my final image.

The Tally Lights are a godsend for a filmmaker. The large record button along with top, rear and front tally lights give you the confidence that you're actually capturing the shot. We’ve all been there, trust me!

Having such a modular body with mounting points on all sides of the camera is a big win for me. Having the option to rig out the camera straight from the body without the need for a cage is really helpful.

I also found the top handle extremely useful on the shoot - not just for the practicality of carrying and filming, but it also has 2 XLR inputs which are hugely beneficial for anyone who wants top quality audio directly in camera.

Image look and lenses used during the shoot

The main lens I used was the 16-35mm f/2.8 GM. When it comes to an adventure/travel based film where the story is not only about the character, but also the environment, 35mm is a perfect focal length to place the emphasis on the subject's presence in the frame. It's not too tight so we can see the environment, and also not too wide where we lose the subject. It's a nice balance for me, as well as the lens being super sharp.

For the low-light scenes I used the 50mm f/1.2 GM. Apart from having such a wide aperture, this lens also performs brilliantly wide open and it meant I could capture the northern lights easily.

Shooting tips with the Sony FX30 and last thoughts

Try to stick to your native ISO’s of 800 and 2500. This way you'll get the best image quality along with dynamic range to play with. Use your aperture and ND filters to get your exposure right and of course, always keep that 180º shutter angle. I would also recommend exposing your image slightly to the right. I always find that slightly over-exposing and then bringing down your exposure in the grade on Sony footage gives the best and cleanest result when shooting Slog3.

Follow these simple rules you’ve got a recipe for cinematic success.