I like making short movies and publishing them online. And I like trying different looks. So I decided to give the Dramatic Tone art filter a spin for my latest YouTube endeavor. The art filters for the Olympus OM-D E-M5can be used for both still photography and movies.

Since this was a "quickie," I recorded the piece using the onboard microphone for the OM-D. A Joby GP3 GorillaPodsteadied the camera while recording. And for the lens, I used the Panasonic LUMIX G X VARIO 12-35mm/F2.8 zoomwith the aperture set wide open. I edited the clips and added the Ken Burns effect in Aperture 3.4

The Dramatic Tone look intrigues me. For some scenes, like the first shot of the wall safe, I really like it. For skin tones, I don't care for it at all.

For a more sophisticated movie project, I'd probably limit the use of the filter to specific scenes. The trick would be blending the overall visual feel for the video using different filters and lighting.

But the only way you really get to know this stuff is to fire up the camera and make a movie. After doing so, you can analyze what you like and don't like, then incorporate that knowledge into your next project.

Take a look at the Olympus Micro Four Thirds Gear Guide for an overview of cameras, lenses, and accessories.