clyde villegas

In both, I'm referring to filming with a Panasonic GH5 on V-Log L

1. Why do we need correct exposure for a particular log? Do colors shift when using wrong IRE? Or is it more for retaining details, not colors?

2. I've seen someone on Youtube (can't remember exactly who) saying that to get proper exposure on V-logL, your subject should be at 42 IRE. Using an 18% gray card, he adjusted the exposure until it's roughly 42 IRE. So i thought to myself that I can adjust exposure even when the subject/actor hasn't arrived on the set yet. I'll hold an 18% gray card on where his face would be and put it at 42 IRE on my waveform (or false color monitor).

However, I've read somewhere that IRE is different for different skin tones, like 55 for caucasians.

So, should I just expose my grey card to 42 IRE of just wait for the actor to arrive and expose for his skin tone? Which one is correct? Thanks advance! God bless.

Thanks David! I understand. I should do some isolated color grading instead of grading the entire frame by slapping on a LUT.

I've seen people using the Leeming LUT or the GHAlex LUT. The creator of the GHAlex LUT promises to make GH5 V-Log L shots to look like Alexa shots. So my plan was to buy the GHAlex LUT, slap it on my V-Log footages as a starting point, and then grade them. However, looking at some samples, I don't like what the GHAlex LUT does with the highlights: they appear to glow and remove some of the details. Can I use this LUT, and then adjust the highlights to bring back the details (after the LUT destroys them)? Is this a good workflow?

Thanks David!

Also, when I "normalize" the shot in post either by applying rec 709 LUT or by bringing back the contrast (or saturation?), it looks like it's shot with a normal profile. No more wide dynamic range (I'm not a professional colorist so I may be wrong). So is it safe to say that log provides wide dynamic range for the colorist to play with, not to the final image the audience is going to watch?

I hope this is the correct forum for my question. I'm using a Panasonic GH5 with V-log L.

I'm a bit confused on using V-log L. I was told that the reason for using log in general is to save the highlights (especially the sky in outdoor shoots). But in most forums, they are advising to over expose the shot to get rid of the noise in the shadows. But doing this blows out the skies.

Therefore, I think there is no sense in shooting with log. Just shoot with a standard profile and light the scene correctly as v-log can't save both highlights and and shadows at the same time. The problem is, it's not easy to do this when shooting outdoors run and gun in the morning when the sky is in the shot. Am I thinking correctly or am I missing something? Thanks! God bless!

I believe the HDMI port on the 5D is 1080 until you hit record - then it scales down to SD - so if you are planning shots rather than run/gun, check focus before you roll.

Also, most small format HDMI monitors are only pumping out about 800x600.

Yes, I've also heard that it's 1080 until you hit record.

I can plan the shot, mark the follow focus, and shoot the scene. If the subject walks toward the camera, I can check focus in the starting point and ending point where he stops walking. This means that I will have sharp focus at those two points. But how about in between those markers while the subject is walking, how do you get critical focus on that? Is it mere luck? Thanks and God bless!

Sorry for this newbee question, but how do you do critical focus with an external monitor? The resolution out of the HDMI port is SD. Thanks and God bless!

I'm looking at purchasing a Canon VIXIA HF M300 and putting a DOF adapter, 35mm lens, and LCD monitor (which I already have). My questions are these:

1. How would you compare the light sensitivity of this camera's CMOS sensor as compared to the Canon XL1? The m300 has 1/4 image sensor and the XL1 has three 1/3 CCDs. My DOF adapter eats up half stop of light, so I'm a bit worried here.

2. Can I capture the video while I'm shooting it through the HDMI out so that I'll capture uncompressed?

3. Most my videos (but not all) will be destined for SD delivery in DVD. According to a review, you can shoot decent quality videos with the m300 when recording at 24Mbps. Should I capture at that rate and then convert the footages to SD? I'm thinking that since the final delivery is SD anyway, I can shoot at 17 Mbps and get longer shooting time.

4. Is the 24p in this camera the same as the 24p in the Panasonic DVX100B (24 fps with pulldown on an NTSC 29.97 timeline)?

Thank you very much guys!

ut in omnibus glorificetur Deus

Hey all... My name is Shaheryar Ahmed and I am primarily a director writer. Along with this I am most of the times a cinematographer too... I own a Sony HVR Z1... I shoot HDV... I happen to know how to light a scene properly... I know how to color correct and grade my scene too...

 

I saw 35mm adapters a year ago... I think it was a Letus... I have never used it... Im making a feature film as a thesis project (I am a filmmaking student). I thought having a 35mm adapter would really make my film look 'film'. But it is EXPENSIVE. I saw a couple of DIY tutorials on making one but a lot of people I know said it is not worth it. DIY that is. I can't afford a letus or redrock.

 

A friend of mine who is a cinematographer said that don't get in the hassle of 35mm adapter. Light your scenes properly and grade them. Even in this way you can do so much!

 

What should I do?

Do both: shoot with the adapter and color grade. I would like to pass this warning to you (someone told me this) that when you use the adapter, you'll need a bigger monitor so you can see if you're in sharp focus. Without the adapter, all you need to do is press the little auto focus button.

DoF Adapters are just a tool. There's no video camera out there that can give you the look of a DoF adapter.

No matter how you light it. Because it has nothing to do with light but with optics.

 

There's pros and cons

 

1) It takes a lot of light. and if you use slower lenses, then you need even more light.

 

2) With a DoF all of a sudden you have the issue of Focus. Focus is crucial and if you are moving the camera (dolly, hand held, etc) you will need a focus assistant because since the depth of field is very shallow, whatever is not in focus it will be out of focus or blurred.

 

3) In my opinion the DoF only works well with lenses from 35mm til 85mm.

Under 35mm you wont see much difference and beyond 85mm the depth of field is very narrow anyway. And the best effect comes from placing you subject near the camera, so you can have the subject in focus and the background completely out of focus.

I am also ordering an adapter from the US (I'm from the Philippines). Someone told me that if I use a 50mm lens and shoot closeup (of a person's face), the nose may become in sharp focus but the ears are blurred. That's how narrow the depth of field will be. If I do a close up shot like the one I described, what will be a better lens to use so that I'll have the whole head in sharp focus but the background (which could be about 5 feet away) blurred. Thanks and God bless!

While shooting my XL1, I'd like to capture straight to my editing system using video composite cable. I'd like to turn off the time-code display (and other indicators) in my view finder so that they won't appear in my captured footages. I tried pressing the EVF Display button to turn them off. All the texts at the left of the screen are gone, but everything at the right (like the time code and battery level indicator) is still there. How do I turn them all off? Thanks and God bless!

Thanks Jack and Phil. The room is about 70 x 30 meters and I'd like to be able to walk freely without any limitation caused by a short video cable. Can I use a microphone XLR cable instead of a coax cable for the video? Then I'll attach RCA connectors on both ends. Is the quality the same? Thanks and God bless.

I'd like to use my XL1 to make image magnification to an LCD TV. I'll be using the video-out composite connector of the XL1 (because there's no other option but the S-Video which will project an inferior image quality).

Since I'll be moving around a very large room, I'm wondering: what is the maximum length of the composite cable without affecting image quality? A salesman in the local audio-video shop told me we can make long composite cable using a long microphone cable and RCA connectors. He also told me I can go 100 meters without sacrificing image quality... which I doubt. I appreciate your answers. Thanks and God bless.

In my XL1, everything that is slower than 1/60 is considered slow shutter (and that goes for my other cameras too). The slow shutter is accessed through the digital effects menu and frame mode should be turned off for it to work. Why is it not possible for both frame mode and slow shutter to work at the same time? Does that mean that the slow shutter is not a real shutter speed but just a simulated digital effect? If that's the case then can I simply shoot 1/60 and simulate the slow shutter speed in a motion graphics software? God bless.

Thanks guys!

I just thought there is something that I can do on my own to fix this problem and without sending the camera again for repair. The last time I sent my XL1 it took more than two months before I got it back.... and some problems are still there. Anyhow, I'll try to call Canon Service Center again. Thanks and God bless.

I've sent it before to the Canon Service Center here but the problem is still there. They're not as good as I expect them to be.

I actually haven't seen a real spacelight. Just read it on the net. Are they made of HMIs? How big are they?

When I zoom in and focus on my subject's eyes, I'm in sharp focus. When I zoom out, the picture softens. I surfed the net and found out that this is a back focus problem. Looking at the lens of the XL1, there is no back focus adjustment. But is there something that I can tweak to adjust it? Are there some "secret" levers inside the back end of the lens? Just like the color bars, the manual speaks nothing of it. But pressing on the up and down buttons of the shutter adjustment at the same time brings out the color bars in the viewfinder. God bless.

Thanks Richard and God bless.

I think my XL1 has backfocus problems. How do I adjust it? There's no backfocus adjustment lever and I was told all cameras that have detachable lenses should have them. Thanks and God bless.

I've shown how to do it before in an article I wrote...

Where can I see that article? Can you send me a link? Thanks and God bless.

config with heat proof artificial silk around it.

Is there a special name for it? I think the people at the fabric store here won't understand me if I don't tell them the exact type/ name of that fabric. Thanks and God bless.

Is HMI the same as metal halide? Can I substitute Metal Halides for HMIs? I find them relatively cheap at Hardware stores.

Can anyone send me web links to making DIY spacelights? Thanks and God bless.

You only need about 30-50 foot candles of light to make a green screen work properly for keying. As was suggested before, space lights, or soft lighting that is no directional works best.

Sorry, I'm very new to this. How do I measure it. Haven't used a light meter. Will a light meter provide me with those readings?

I am coming out with a new green screen instructional DVD POD next month for those on my mailing list where I show that this 'back lighting technique' is useless 99% of the time.

How can I get a copy of that DVD? How much is it? Thanks!