Robert Chuck

Aloha everyone, 

I couldn't figure out where to put this, maybe someone can recommend the right category and I can repost.

Anyway, I have a question about making a digital transfer from old source media. I have a client requesting the digital transfer of a film to enable him to upload onto a streaming service. Ordinarily this would be fine, but the best available source material is from a D2 digital video tape. The target resolution is 1080p. My understanding of resolution and scaling is mainly in graphic design and print, so jumping from 486p (SD) to 1080p (Full HD) seems like a pretty significant jump. I've already attempted to up-res the file in DaVanci Resolve (free version) and unsurprisingly the image isn't that great, not terrible, but most likely not what the filmmakers intended. In addition, interlacing lines are also noticeable and deinterlacing the image just makes the image muddy and blocky.

The current plan of action is to have a transfer house rescan the D2 as a Pro Res 422, 486p with an SDI cable, and attempt to up res the file from a new scan. As a note, I have an existing file that is Pro Res 422, 486p but do not know what was used to scan it. I was told by the transfer house that this was doable even as the new scan would still be 486p. 

Is attempting to upgrade the resolution from a D2 digital tape to a 1080p digital file, without a significant loss of quality even possible? Could there be an alternate affordable process I'm missing? 

Thanks in advance to anyone that answers this. 

9 hours ago, Daniel Klockenkemper said:

Intentionally exposing in the toe or shoulder is pretty rare - you have examples like Gordon Willis deliberately pushing and underexposing The Godfather so that the image couldn't be brightened at all in printing, locking in his exposure choices.  On the 2007 film Sunshine, to convey the intensity of the sun up close, Alwin Küchler intentionally overexposed the negative by up to 10 stops in certain scenes so that details were actually "burned out."  It would seem much more common to make small exposure changes to avoid going too far into the toe or shoulder, like underexposing slightly to retain highlight detail, or overexposing a greenscreen shot slightly to get a better key.

Ah, this is an interesting way to put this as far as being able to "lock in exposure choices." I don't think I ever thought of using over/under exposure to that extreme.

9 hours ago, Daniel Klockenkemper said:

Generally, I think the idea is to know where the toe and shoulder start, and how that will translate into the final image via post, so that you can know on set when your exposure is in trouble, and do something about it before it's too late!

So if I'm tracking this right, it is a good idea to know where/what your finishing LUT's thresholds will be beforehand so adjustments can be made, during production.

Awesome, that helps a lot. Thanks Dan. Hope you're doing well dude! 

Hello!

I'm trying to understand the D log E curve beyond my rudimentary understanding of it, if there are any resources/information that can elaborate further on how to understand the DlogE in reference to exposure/dynamic range on a digital film sensor, i'm all ears. 

My understanding of the Dlog E curve is that it is a graphic representation of the dynamic range of the film stock/sensor. It consists of 3 parts the toe, shoulder and the SLP (shadow threshold, highlight threshold and everything in between respectively). Beyond this I feel like I'm missing pieces, is this something that is applicable during shooting or is it more so during processing. When is it appropriate to shoot in either the toe or the shoulder? Basically, Im trying to find an explanation that helps me fill in the gaps. 

Robert

I was recently asked to help shoot a few reenactment boxing sequences for a documentary and was wondering if I could pick some of your brains. After studying a few film scenes and actual boxing and MMA events, I think that a fairly strong (but soft?) top light and some harder sources that can dance around the subjects as a back light would be the simplest approach.

Since I think this will be done on a 'modest' budget, I thought maybe some 4ft quasars through a magic cloth or silk for the top light, and like source 4s or pars for the back lights. I feel like I might be missing something, but I also do like to keep things simple.

Does anyone have any insight on how to light a scene like this, or perhaps any recommendations as far units or approach? Or even references that I could research? So far, I've referenced Ali, Raging Bull and some of the reenactment footage from the Dark Side of the Ring docu-series. 

Any kind if advice would be greatly appreciated, 

RC



 

Thanks. I will definitely look into this. 

Has anyone here shot IR with the Panasonic EVA1? I own an EVA and someone asked me about it, I’ve never had a reason to shoot with this feature but I’m curious as to what situations it would be useful. Or is it something that allows for more creative options. 

 

2 minutes ago, Phil Rhodes said:

Well, unreal engine 4 is free until you start selling lots of copies of the things you make with it. There are already people who specialise in directing realtime animated sequences for games. I could imagine worse uses of time.

I didn’t realize that unreal engine was free to use. That’s interesting. Thanks for the info. 

RC

I have a friend who I graduated with that is pursuing lighting and he always tells me as he’s been playing with virtual lights that he can dial in the values easily, which seems like a lot of fun and allows for a lot more freedom. 

It would seem like a typical starting path would be to familiarize oneself with the programs. 

2 minutes ago, Phil Rhodes said:

As far as I can see the discipline is more or less the same, it's just a lot easier to arbitrarily throw in huge lights and camera moves. There's also a lot of crossover between movies and games in terms of the concept art and design people, even right down to production design using 3D printed parts based on CAD.

Having recently played games on the PS4 like Death Stranding and Detroit: Become Human that seem to rely heavily on the seamlessness between the in game cinematics and gameplay, I’m curious of the overall feeling toward video game cinematography and how the community feels about it’s future. I remember seeing an article in American Cinematographer about Detroit: Become Human, which first piqued my interest in the medium. Is this type of cinematography other DPs are keeping their eye on?

Also, if anyone knows of any resources that are available for someone like me who is interested in the medium but comes from a traditional cinematography background; it would be greatly appreciated if you could point me in the right direction. 

Thanks,

RC

Thanks for the replies.

On a similar note, given the characteristic of each camera would it make sense to treat each camera like a different stock of film. Our film will mostly lean toward shooting in shadow, where I prefer the f55's range. With the c700, I like how it deals with highlights specifically for day exteriors. It came up in a conversation and I wondered if that seemed like a valid idea.

Hello all,

My name is Robert, currently heading into my graduate thesis film production, with a question about shooting two different cameras over one production.

During prep with the director, the idea of shooting 2 cameras came up as I was camera testing with a Canon c700 and the Canon Cine Primes, which I have decided to use as an A camera. As it stands, our budget won't allow for a second c700 to act as B camera, however we currently have an f55 w/ Ultra Primes reserved from the school's equipment house.

Having tested both cameras, I know that each camera possesses different characteristics and will not match right off the bat. That being said, does having a two-camera setup where the cameras are inherently different make sense given the differences in specs (color space, dynamic range, codex etc.)? Is it feasible given that it can be adjusted in the DI, and would it be possible to get the cameras close during production.

Because of the different characteristics and looks, I have toyed with the idea of using each camera situationally based on their given strengths, but in some cases I would need to have a B camera available to support the A camera.

I realize that I may be giving myself more work in the long run, and I'm sure there are things I am missing, but I would greatly appreciate any idea, advice and expertise on the topic.

Thanks in advance,

RC

Hello all,

This coming fall, I'll be heading into my graduate thesis film and I'm considering using a 2 camera set-up. I've used a 2 camera setup once before and it didn't work in the way I thought, nor did it speed up the process. Since then I've seen it used a few times to varying results; the best use being prioritizing for your A cam and then picking off shots where the B cam can be most effective, if it can be at all. In other instances, I've seen B cam placed and it ends up the screwing up the A cam lighting or continuity and eyeline issues occur.

If anyone has had any experiences or advice shooting/staging 2 cameras successfully, using different cameras or can clarify how to properly set it up I'd love to hear about it? Any kind of information is helpful.

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

Well, I suppose you might use them in many different ways. However, longer lenses will allow you to get close-shots and into the action without having to move the camera into the animator's work space. They also offer a shallow depth of field that helps emphasize the puppet's facial reaction shots or other details by isolating the subject from the background. One possible down-side is that long lenses compress distance, and since you are working in a miniature world, and depending on how you are using it, this can sometimes break the illusion.

 

Macros can be used for close-up shots too, but require you to actually get up close. They can reveal amazing amounts of detail, and, for instance, you can put the camera on a slider on the stage itself and move through a scene. You are going to be up in the space of the animators though.

 

You might want to avoid zoom lenses, as they can be disturbed and cause issue. Of course, you could always tape it down to one place, or just be really careful. You could even rely on onion-skinning from a software program to fix the issue, if it gets accidentally turned when trying to manually focus or whatnot.

 

It is often best to pull focus manually, and take care to follow the action with the focus every 6th or 12th frame. If you use autofocus, it is best to do this remotely and don't pull-focus this way on every single frame (some will likely disagree with me on this point, but I think it seems unrealistic). Software like Dragon Frame will help you immensely with many of these issues (it offers onion-skinning, remote trigger, and punch-in focusing).

Wider lenses that are stopped down will offer more area in-focus and require less focus pulling. They also offer less compression of distance so they help to maintain the illusion of a larger world.

This has been extremely information. I really appreciate it.

One more question if you don't mind: What focal lengths do you find to be the most technically effective for stop-motion?

 

The Chiodo Bros mention that they prefer wide-to-normal lenses for proscenium type framing. Longer lenses and macros have their places as well.

Thank you for the advice. When you say longer lenses and macros have their place, in what instances are you referring to?

Hey all,

I'm a cinematography graduate student at Chapman University working on an stop-motion animation film as the cinematographer.

This is my (along with the rest of the crew's) first experience working with stop-motion. Right now, we are in the pre-production stage (character/set design and storyboarding), I'm wondering if anyone on this forum has advice to share in regards to lenses, lighting, tips on shooting small scale sets, experiences, things to avoid, etc. I appreciate the time and any help.

Robert

Hello,

I'm a new cinematography student and I'll be shooting part of my next project on 16mm film. This will be the first time I'm using film on an arriflex SRII, I was wondering if anyone could offer some advice or tips for shooting on 16mm like good practices, metering, bracket testing, etc. I'm very new to this experience so any kind of tips or advice would be greatly appreciated it.

Mahalo,
Robert