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Oli Soravia

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Posts posted by Oli Soravia

  1. Hy Bill, thank you for your comments. In the past I used to edit different versions of showreels from my work, longer, shorter, combined. And there always have been different ways of positive critiques from people, some liked them more, others less. I understand your argument regarding “my own short” - thankfully I know the director doesn`t see it the same way as you :-) - but it was never meant to be that way. As far as that film is a 100 min long feature, my goal focused on showing the consistency of my visual language to other directors and filmmakers. Sometimes I find it hard to figure out a DP`s skills while watching short clips of work. Maybe I`m wrong. But I really like to thank you for the time you`ve taken to watch my work. I really appreciate it! Best! OLI

  2. I`d like to show you my showreel version of an indiefilm I did some time ago. We had a whole budget of about 300.000 EURO (330000 USD) and five weeks of shooting. Camera: RedOne / Lenses: Zeiss HS. Shot in Germany. I had total freedom to visualize the film the way I saw the story. In the end the producers have found a ww distributor. All in all a very nice experience. Will appreciate your comments.

     

     

    https://vimeo.com/57957165

     

    Thank you. OLI

  3. Shooting a short film next month and one of the scenes has 3 characters in a bathroom stall. Obviously with space being the issue, not just for the camera and actors, what's a practical way I can go about lighting this? Most likely we will be using a handicapped stall for extra space.

     

    Putting kinos on arms above, china balls seems too scattershot. Would replacing the bulbs in the practical units give enough punch? And how would I modify to light closeups? The light would seem to be far too toppy for CU's. We're going for a naturalistic look, so nothing too expressionistic. Shooting on HDV as well.

     

    suggestion:

     

    Is there a window in the bathroom? if so, you could place the actors as silhouettes in front of it and shoot straight into the window, exposing to the outside and keeping the characters black. you can do this easily if it`s a day scene without any light. it`s a short, so you probably won`t have too much time to spend in that stall and the changing lighting conditions outside could be handled with some flags and reflectors. If it`s night, do the same but place some single source hmi (+1/4cto) outside high above, straight in the middle of the cam-axis as a moon light. put a small tungsten practical over the mirror and wrapp some nd`s over it in order to get that light exposed by the cam. place some small unit (350-500 fresnel) to the side of the practical to accent the actors bodies and faces. If there is no window: you could place some source from the top only to the backgrounds, not to the actors. practical the same way as described before. for close ups: take some small and diffused source and balance it to about 2,5 stops under key, only to accent the eyes and to give some details in the faces. so the whole idea is about what has to be lit and what not. it`s not always neccesary to light the people in order to make them visible on every inch of their faces. but: in the end all depends certainly from the story, from the whole mood of the film, from the conditions of the set or the location and so on....good luck.

  4. I am shooting a short film for my thesis on Red One.

     

    I have equal number of shots indoors and outdoors. Its a documentary subject shot cinematically. I am looking at a very cinematic feel in terms of color and shots. I want to have a serious tone + cool look.

     

    I would like to know some unique techniques that I could try out with the Red. I have the prime lenses with me and also the zoom.

     

     

    In the end it never depends on the camera system you work with, it only depends on your personal skills. The RED, like all other videocameras, has it`s own limitations which you should test before shooting. Be aware of its limitations and then work the way you`re used to.

     

    Good luck.

  5. I think there are (and have been) some really extremly high skilled cinematographers out there who give/gave us the possibility to learn from their work. For me, in the real end, there remains only one name. Regarding his unique way of thinking and feeling his artistry: Storaro.

  6. Is this a known issue with high-speeds?

    has anyone seen this before?

    Im sure its collimation of the lenses, but it happened on three different sets, and the main camera in 1st unit, I hear doesn't have the issue (havent seen myself)...

    This is very puzzling and mysterious, if anyone can shed some light on the matter I'd be very grateful.

     

     

     

    This sounds really strange. I`ve shot an entire picture only with the HS in all weather conditions, but never had any problems with them. Although the ultra primes are better lenses, I prefere the look of the HS because they are not as crisp as the newer lenses, but still give you enough speed for the low sensitivity of the RED. And, the look doesn`t become too "HD-sharp". Let us know what comes out of it, could be good to be aware of those problems. Best. OLI.

  7. Is there any advice anyone can give me to achieve good blacks with the RED camera? I realize that lighting will be an integral part of the outcome; but is there some advice anyone can give to minimize or do away with noise?

    Thanks Alain.

     

    The RED doens`t really have problems in reproducing black. As long as you`re not going for a flat lighting style, you should provide some highlights in the frame and let the rest go dark, be sure to not overexpose the white to much (+2,5), it`s there where you can get some ugly looking clipping. You can then grade a bit more steeply (depending on your general look) with some hard gamma and some enhanced blacklevel. In my beginning working with the RED I also had these concerns, but it`s really in the blacks where the cam works ok, generally, underexposing 1/2 stop can be helpful for the whole material.

  8. I've just been approached about shooting a documentary on the Red. My information regarding the production is limited as of now (meeting is tomorrow), but I was hoping someone here might be able to share some experiences with doc work and the Red. I do know that my choice in cameras is non-negotioable, and given the rate I was offered along with some other cues, I will probably not have an assistant.

     

    The Red is not exactly the first camera that springs to mind when I think about documentary / verite-style shooting - in fact it's toward the bottom of the list, but that's not to say it can't be done. I imagine a backpack full of batteries and drives will be in my near future.

     

    Am I correct in thinking that I can use super 16 lenses in 2k window mode? I would like to push for either that or switching to a b4 mount. Carrying a selection of short zooms or a prime set in the field for 4k would be murder, let alone the other issues that go along with that...

     

    I've got to figure out a decent configuration for balanced handheld shooting-- something that I can put on shoulder all day if need be. No doubt that the smaller s16 or b4 zooms will help...

     

     

    Regarding the circumstanzes you have to deal with, I would probably think about the possibility, whether the final result has the chance to become as good as it normally would but under better conditions? The RED is really heavy in handheld mode, and as far as I see the cam, not made at all for a documentary working style, even with the new shoulder rig and equipped with prime lenses only. Without any assistant (instead of at least 2) it can become a nightmare to do this job. Good luck anyway. OLI

  9. It is wise to avoid too much humidity, coldness (below O-Celsius) and also heat. The cam is also very sensitive to dust, there`s a problem to protect the whole body because of its blower. On my last feature I had some problems with the cam because of its temperature steadiness. Initially I also had some concerns about the limitations of the cameras exposure curve, and I was really surprised (after checking the material with scratch on a 2K digi-projection screen) that the noise in the blacks is not a problem, even if there is some, you can grade it easily to look good. With the highlights you have to be a bit more careful, if you do a DI and go for a masterneg, they work well washed out or overexposed, if you go for a tv or DVD version, they can look like a bad videoshot. So it could be advisible to do two different DI`s. Regarding the metadata, I can only say, I never worked with them. I keep my lighting color temperature around 5000K and avoid going below. It can also be helpful to do your own exposure tests (generally the material looks better a bit underexposed -1/2) to find the look you are going for, and because all REDS I `ve tested reacted differently. And 320 ASA is - as far as I concern - not realistic. It`s more around 120-200ASA, but this should only be important regarding your lighting list. I would forget the metadata and try to learn how raw reacts. I did two entire features with RED, timed them to 4K DIs and printed them to masternegs. And they look great. Good luck.

    OLI

  10. i am about to shoot my first music video with red one

     

    we shoot in a pool at the back of a house.

     

    the house is off white.

     

    the floor is dark wood.

     

    at the pool we will have colored toys(ball,mattresses,water guns)

     

    the singer and the girls will be in white suite and swimming suits

     

    i want the clip to have a very clean whites

     

    and crispy image

     

    it's a parody on hip hop videos

     

    at the end one of the hot girl's is going out of the water and slip on the floor

     

    and there is blood every where

     

    any tips will be great

     

    thanksprogress.gif

     

     

     

    Hi, expose your whites not higher than 2 stops, don`t let the blacks go deeper than 2,5 stops, than you have enough detail on both sides of the curve to correct the look you look for in the final color correction. >Best, OLI

  11. So..

     

    Unfortunately a nice interface does not a camera make.

     

    First of all - image quality. Irrespective of resolution, the Red does not produce very nice images. It's something about the clippy whites that screams video a mile away. And no matter how much you protect for the highlights, they'll come bite you at some point. Just look at Che - all the shots in the jungle show really ugly clipped highlights in the dappled lighter bits. Check out the trailer. It's almost worse than on most other cameras.

    ---

     

    Hi Adam,

     

    I`ve shot a whole feature for the big screen with RED in 4K for a 4k-DI. To sum up what I had to do, regarding my tests, was that I reduced my whole exposure range to 5 stops. Which is obviously a bit castrating... in the end, with all digital cameras you need to use the noise reduction and compressor tools of the DI-suite, with RED more than with others. Especially with night shots, the cam isn`t probably the best choice for night scenes - but it works, if you treat it with "care". Now, I will shoot a second feature, also 4K-DI.Masterneg...and again with RED, not because I had the wish to use it, but because the production owns one. Now, I will leave some of those "safety thoughts" to the past, I will light it more freely. Unless the system will improve, which will be so, we have to keep an eye to the light levels, but one day it will be usable like a film emulsion.

  12. With this camera as all others, TEST! With this camera more than ANY other, TEST EVERY SITUATION! The problem is that not all RED's are alike, even with the same build. When our production shut down due to RED codec errors, we spoke to a number of other shows using RED in similar situations with the same buid.... and some had the same problems, some didn't. There is no telling whether or not the camera you get will work or not, regardless of firmware, so TEST TEST TEST, every possible lighting situation you can. Our camera failed outdoors, which is now really the only situation I hear of these things failing still. With contrasty lighting, movement, and detailed backgrounds (brick, etc...), build 15 and 16.? both shut down on us, spitting out codec errors until the situation got more front-lit and less contrasty.

     

    I'm definitely not anti-RED, as it may sound...I'm certainly a LOT more hesitant to use the camera based on the last experience with it... but I URGE you to test every possible situation you can before heading into the field with the camera. It's not finished, so don't assume it will work until you test. Good luck, hopefully it works flawlessly for you because the images it's capable of producing are quite nice.

     

    Jaron is absolutly right! I`m just doing a picture for the big screen with RED, which means that a 4K DI will be done and lasered on masternegativ. I`ve tested a build 16 which I use for the entiry shot - and: my camera has definitly an ISO of 100 and an exposure range of 4 stops! Means: my white won`t be exposed higher than + 2 stops, my blacks not more than - 2, still having enough detail in order to prevent any noise on both sides of the curve. Digital doesn`t react like film emulsion. It falls off directly after having clipped the limits. So I have to go for a very sad flat RAW which looks terrible and my lighting is not really exciting. But I have to, to get best results in the end. At least for the big screen where every error is visible, if you do a tv-job, you have a bit more freedom and can correct the RAW errors in post and they won`t be really seen on the small screen unless they are really heavy. I`ve read a lot in the redforum and other users tell from better experiences, maybe, these are my experiences. To avoid any problems, test. GOOD LUCK. Oli

  13. Ok, within the Czech republic itself, no, but in neighboring Germany there are several facilities able to handle the 4k and even 6k scans without trouble. In addition, in a few months a facility within neighboring Slovakia might be available as well.

    OK, thank you. I know, I`m actually shooting a film in germany. In the meantime I found some alternative, for all who might be interested in, there is a lab in hungary www.filmlab.hu , they have the latest spirit and also arrilaser.

  14. EXR? EXR2? E6? K14? D92a? TMax reversal? Foma? What film process do you need developed?

     

    It`s not the film process to become a possible problem, it`s the laser process...I still don`t know if they do 4K`s over there. If there should be a corresponding lab, they will provide us with ecn2...

  15. Hello to all,

     

    we need to find a videolab in Chicago for an upcoming production in may. Regarding the fact that it`s a production from a german based company we don`t know anyone in chicago. Maybe someone has a good advise for us? Thanks a lot for all comments.

    OLI

  16. Hello fellow filmmakers,

    I was wondering if anyone out there could give me some advice about film schools outside the US. I am about to begin my Jr. year in Montana State University's film department. While I am happy here, I am very much interested in doing a semester to a year abroad while I'm still in school and can have student loans pay for travel expenses. The only problem is finding a school that?s the right fit. Most schools I find offer only film studies and film theory. And there is nothing wrong with theory, but I need to be behind a camera or I will go crazy. So, my question is, where in the world can I shoot something on film?

     

    ~ AP Hartman

     

    If you like europe; international filmschool, london (I think Roger Pratts school) - polish filmschool at lodz (Dariusz Kaminskis school) - centro sperimentale di cinematografia, rome (Vittorio Storaro)...and the Filmschool Ludwigshafen in Germany has a good reputation.

     

    OLI

  17. Silly question, but:

    (In no particular order)

    James Wong Howe, Gregg Toland, Stanley Cortez, John Alcott , Robert Flaherty, Karl Fruend, Storarro, Giuseppe Rotunno, Gordon Willis, Michael Chapman, Tonino Delli Colli ...

    this topic would be a good way to kill an afternoon. Would you include DW Griffith's camera-man?

     

     

    Nice to read: Delli Colli hasn`t been named so much in the past while discussing the great DPs.

  18. I am shooting a music video on 35mm with four or five television sets set close together with different videos playing on each television. The attached photo shows what we are going to do... My question is, how do we get all of the televisions to be in sync and not have any flicker problems.

     

    We will be shooting everything with the television sets at 24 FPS.

     

    Thanks for any help on this one.

     

    Hi there,

     

    one the best ways to visualize it is to shoot the screens as green and superimpose the televison shots in post.

     

    greets, oli

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