Behind The Frame 05

This shot going viral honestly took me by surprise. Not much thought went into it, it was more of a happy accident.

We had just boarded the ferry from Dover to Calais, and I was planning to get a nice shot of the White Cliffs of Dover. While searching for the right frame, I panned across the sea and quickly snapped this short clip. I didn’t think much of it at the time and completely forgot about it afterward.

When I got back home and started going through the footage, I accidentally hit the reverse button, and suddenly, the texture of the waves flowing backward looked mesmerizing. Until today, nobody has even noticed the clip is reversed (I think)! That subtle trick gave it that calm, hypnotic feel that made it stand out in my opinion.

Just goes to show, sometimes, you need a little luck in the edit haha.

Even though I didn’t have much control over the lighting, I was able to move around the ferry and shoot from the side that was backlit by the sun. That small change made a big difference, the texture of the waves became much more visible compared to the other side of the ship.

For the best dynamic range and flexibility in editing, I almost always shoot in Apple Log. Advanced color grading knowledge is mandatory when doing so! If you want my exact camera settings check out this post.

As always, I started by applying my LUT and tweaking the intensity, contrast ratio, and saturation. For this shot, I aimed for a strong, high-contrast look, my go-to style whenever I want to emphasize texture or create a more moody, atmospheric vibe.

To push the contrasty, stylized look even further, I added a vignette that fades open toward the top-right corner. It keeps the focus natural while still enhancing the overall mood.

As a final touch, I added a subtle radial blur in After Effects. I use this effect sparingly since it can easily feel overdone, but for a stylized shot like this, it fit perfectly.

Done!

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Exact camera settings from the Blackmagic Camera app

Thanks so much for being here, I genuinely appreciate every single reader.
If you ever have questions or ideas for future issues, feel free to shoot me a DM on Instagram!

Until next time,

Stefan

Minimal tools. Maximum creativity.