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Christopher Curry

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Everything posted by Christopher Curry

  1. When it was transferred I think the grading was kept to a minimum to give more room for adjustment later during the editing process. That said, I didn't touch a thing to change the look of the images. I think the shots with the close up of the singer could do with a bit less brightness and more contrast. Eventually I just left everything as it is as I'm not very experienced with these processes and do not want to risk ruining the natural look of the images. The audio sounds like that because the direct board mix was very dry and "lonely" sounding (I didn't have any control over the individual track levels). It hardly sounded like they were playing in a room full of people at all. Hence why I mixed the ambient sound (taken from a cheap small digital camera) in to the point where you got the "body" of the board mix and "liveliness" of the room. The guitar and drums sound much more alive and cutting from the ambient source. There was also a substantial amount of reverb going through PA on the vocals, from which the ambient source was capturing so that contributed to also a fair amount of distance to the overall blend. It's a compromise but I much prefer it over a dead sounding audio track that gives off a claustrophobic impression of the performance. An improvement would have been to source the all of the individual sound board tracks and originally recorded the ambient sound with a high-quality pair of condenser microphones high up on a mic stand but time and budget constraints prevented such. Yeah, I've got a bid of a bad habit with using the cross fades. I couldn't bring myself to do any straight cuts. If I had a fifth camera shooting (!) then I probably would have put them behind the amplifiers looking at the backs of the musicians and into the crowd. I gave strict instructions to the camera operators to concentrate on the musicians with minimal camera movement as to not mess up the focus and give a more consistent look. In retrospect, I could have done some cutaway shots but I ran out of film!
  2. Thanks! Only the bassist has seen it so far but he seems very happy with it and has been sharing the link with his friends on Facebook. Got some positive comments so far. My next project will be rescanning some older Super 8 footage of the same band I and making some more music vids. After getting the transfer at Uppsala Bildteknik for this particular video I want to give the older stuff the same treatment. Most of it is in Tri-X. There's also some extra 500T footage that never made to the final cut of this video as it doesn't relate to the song performance. I've got a Cinema Products 16mm film camera that I've been meaning to experiment with. Somewhere down the line I'll figure out to use it properly! Cheers! I was quite thrilled once I finally saw the transferred V3 500T footage for the first time. I was chasing the "old school" live concert look and it gave me pretty much exactly what I was after. Plus it holds up incredibly well in low-lighting. Kodak have really pushed Super 8 to a greater potential with this film stock. Granted I was fortunate to have so much strong lighting to work with at the concert, the dynamic range of V3 500T from bright to dim exceeded my expectations. One thing I kept telling myself while undertaking this project is that you have to be almost crazy to do such a project in Super 8. It's almost like taking the path of most resistance. Since the song lasted for more than 2.5 mins, we had to orchestrate the filming so that when we each changed cartridges there would be no gaps in the footage. Trying to sync the footage with the audio was hell! You end up chasing your tail because when you see a certain point is in sync it will only fall out of sync later in the timeline. Then when you adjust the speed to make the later point in sync, the earlier point will now be out of sync. Lots of trial & error, self-doubt, frustration, and stress. You end up working out a compromise that's not perfect, but close enough. At the end of the day, the audience isn't going to be watching the footage as critically as you are for sync issues. The only real way around it all would be to step up 16mm with all the luxuries of crystal sync and the extra magazine capacity. There is certainly a lot more detail in the film grain than what you get on Vimeo and Youtube. It's kind of depressing having to compress it down to a much smaller data-rate knowing that people arn't going to see it in it's original glory. The uncompressed master clip for the final edit is 1.74GB with a datarate of 58.72 mbits/sec. Compressed to mpeg2 in goes down 483MB with a datarate of 20 mbits/sec. The mpeg2 version still looks great on my 42" Sony Bravia TV. If I had a place to host the mpeg2 file, then I would upload it so you could check it out. Any ideas?
  3. Two and a half years ago, I filmed one my friends bands performing a song during their last ever gig. Armed with a Canon 814AZ, 814E, 518SV, Beaulieu 1008XL and 6 carts of Kodak Vision 3 500T, with the help of three other friends we captured the performance from four different angles. Cameras were set to automatic exposure and 24fps. Film was processed by Spectra Film & Video and 1280x720 @ 50p ProRes 422 digital transfer by Kent at Uppsala Bildteknik. Sound was recorded separately at the venue then later on synchronised with Super 8 footage in Final Cut Pro 7. The video speed had to be adjusted to match the sound. This process made up the vast majority the editing process (and a highly frustrating experience at that). Cropped to 16:9 aspect ratio in Compressor (is it me or is Super 8 actually slightly wider than 4:3?). No colour grading or filters added. So without further ado, it can be finally viewed on Vimeo: Or alternatively on Youtube (please watch in 720p): http://
  4. Mine also arrived yesterday in Australia. Very cool book!
  5. I've used my 518sv with V3 500T on auto exposure and the results are great! I used it for a live music video shoot with a tripod sitting next to the drummer. The lighting was changing/flickering (as usual for a music gig) throughout a big chunk of the scene. 500T seems to handle dynamic light/dark changes with ease, but I would make sure first that your scene will be "dark enough" to justify 500T over 200T. As stated before, you don't really need to do a thing to get good exposure. I haven't finished editing yet but here are some stills:
  6. I've never used V2. V3 was most almost literally released the day I started shopping for film for my project. It really is a brillant stock for indoor live concert footage. A dream come true for indie film makers dabbling in the music scene. Now that V3 200T and 100D are available things are even better considering the high-quality and affordable telecine + home NLE options available. Even though Super 8 was more far more widespread 30 years ago, there's never been a more useful time to use it for actual music videos.
  7. Hey Jason, if you can recall our PM discussions earlier this year about filming bands live with Super 8, I've used V3 500T for a live gig music video. Since then I had it transferred but Uppsala Bildteknik in Sweden and have finally only just started editing the footage. I'm quite amazed at how good V3 500T looks. Having also filmed with Tri-x and Ektachrome 64T pushed to 160ASA in the same scenario there is just no comparison. The grain is much finer and the image clearer than I expected. Though, I was lucky that the lighting at the gig was quite a strong and professional setup. Your results may vary depending on your situation but 500T is easily your best bet. I just used auto-exposure. There was really no significant problems with under, over, or wavering exposure except for the when they suddenly activated the stage lights at the start of the song. One of the cameras pulled it's exposure down quickly to compensate and went to darkness for a second but it really isn't a big deal. All of the cameras held up steady with their auto exposure no sweat even though there were lights continuously fading and flashing about during the song. The camera meters will probably only freak out when you get a sudden overall boost or cut of your main lighting source. If the marquee lighting setup is weak then it might be worth considering locking the cameras down for highest exposure possible, best to assess this before the gig if possible when other bands are playing and have a look what your meters are reading through the lens. Even though it's negative film, the image is still warm and colours are really punchy so I wouldn't get hung up about it not being reversal. The telecine service at Uppsala Bildteknik is great value for money so I think it's quite worthwhile to skip the work printer option if you want the best results for your project. When I get some decent time off work I'll be able to finish editing my video and upload the results for you to see.
  8. Nice work! You're right that 500T is perfect for live band performances. Fast enough to pick up the right amount of light in less than ideal and unpredictable situations. The colours saturate very nicely for that "indie" kind of feel. I'm also quite impressed at the crispness of the images. Can you share any more information on what cameras you used? Did you use manual or automatic aperture settings? I shot 6 carts of S8 500T early last year during a live performance. It was a multi-camera setup capturing the entirety of one song with three of my friends operating different cameras around the room including myself on a fourth camera. I haven't got the film transferred to digital yet but I'm hoping it will turn out as nicely as your footage. It's going to be quite a task syncing all the footage up with the sound. Will post finished product here once it's done.
  9. Just realised that you can use JPEGAvi for a free 30 day trial but it will display a "Non-Registered Copy" title at the bottem of the frame during playback.
  10. There's a tiny (430kb) freeware program called JPEGVideo that can convert a series of pictures into an .avi file: http://www.ndrw.co.uk/index.php?f=free/jpgvideo/index All you have to do is organise the images (assuming they're in correct sequence) into a folder and the program makes a video file out of it. You would have to batch convert to the bitmap files to .jpg first. I'm not sure if an .avi file will directly drop directly into a FCP timeline without some prior conversion or tinkering. Alternatively, there is JPEGAVi by the same developers which is a seemingly much more comprehensive program. You can use bmp files. Though, it's not freeware so you'll have to cough up a small fortune to use it: http://www.ndrw.co.uk/index.php?f=shareware/jpgavi/index
  11. Canon 518 SV with the C-8 Wide angle lens converter is a great beginners camera that can be found for almost peanuts.
  12. Wow, the red and blue colours are just beautiful. They really just "bleed" out at you! The zoomed shot with the book cover at the beginning didn't look very crisp but the 200T worked perfectly for the rest. This short really really represents the character in 8mm film stock that doesn't seem apparent in anything else. Well done!
  13. Wowza! Knowing THAT kind of video was released for an international artist makes me a feel a whole lot more confident to be behind a camera!
  14. Thanks for the replies guys. Hmmm, I did have very good results with the 310XL on my last project with Tri-X. The cameras were always in a static position on tripods with minimal movement and zooming, if any zooming at all. Didn't really have too much trouble with focusing. The main subject from that angle was the bassist and singer, from about 7 feet away. The main quibble I have with the 310XL is that it's only 18 fps, not the greatest rate for syncing up audio. Places also seem to charge more sometimes to set up 18 fps telecine. Art, those pictures do demonstrate better contrast and grain with the 310XL over the 814XL. Thanks for sharing them. I'm guessing none of the cartridges were hacked?
  15. Update: I've managed to source another Canon 814 AZ so the 310 XL will probably get bumped off the equipment list.
  16. Hey, Fist time poster here. Been lurking round these parts for a few months now, thought I should step up to the plate and ask some questions. Go easy! Soon, I'm going to be filming a live rock band, for one song, simultaneously with four different S8 cameras. I've organised crew and will be able to obtain sound straight from the desk for syncing in post-production. This will be in a modest sized indoor venue that is fit enough to host international bands. I've never been there but I'm told the capacity, sound system and lighting facilities are by no means lacking. I'll be inspecting it first hand this Saturday night, on a gig night to see it for myself. Here are some youtube clips for a rough idea of the location: http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=s1c73UIfGmQ http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=5brV2uJyg-w&...feature=related http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=QvTEA9ZIPE4 http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=X1wU8f6NM3U http://au.youtube.com/watch?v=d7dZW11Txuw I've done this type of project before, with the same band (not the above bands in the link), except at an inferior venue using Tri-X. Whilst I was generally pleased with the results there was still room for improvement. This was mostly due the Tri-X not being able to keep up with somewhat poor lighting arrangement. So.....I want to give it another go except this time using Kodak Vision3 500T as it seems that this film stock will be ideal for such a situation. Using colour film indoors and catching movement in clarity will be an added bonus. I will be using a Canon 814AZ, 518SV, 310XL and Beaulieu 1008XL. My main concern is with over-exposure. I know I'm probably beating a dead horse by bringing up such an overdone topic here but I'm still not quite sure what to expect. I've never used negative film before and I hope to get the "best" possible film speed out this stock, with the cameras I have. That said, from my research, using 500T, the 518SV and 1008XL should drop down to 250 as they both can read up to 400ASA Tungsten. As for the Canon 814AZ and 310XL, they should drop down to 160 as they both read up to 250ASA Tungsten. Am I correct on this? Now, I've read by cutting out the notch filter you can bring the speed back up to next level, against how Kodak have designed the film to be over-exposed by 1 stop and effectively cutting down the exposure. Kind of a moot question I guess, since it's all relative to how strong the lighting is and how I set the cameras in their different positions, but is it REALLY worth my while performing notch hacks on any of these cameras? I have a particular concern with the Canon 310XL as it is very sensitive to light. How forgiving will the Vision 3 500T be? Will I get finer grain by not using 500T to overexpose to what Kodak have set it to be stock? Any advice? Sorry for the lengthy post.
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