Maintaining the look

Elie Kamal · September 28, 2008

Hey there,

I?m shooting a sitcom on location(yeah i know it sounds odd but it's really challenging) I?m using the Panasonic P2 (spx800) with canon 8.5mm- 70mm f1.8 digizoom lenses. I?ve set up the camera to the "cleanest options" (mostly a film out scene) (like no color gain, no major matrix changes or color correction, acceptable M.ped,.....) etc... Just what i need to get the desired details, contrast and colors. The result looks pretty fine to me and everyone is happy.

Well i have 1 sony trinitron monitor and 2 other tvs (to view each camera separately for me and the director). of course the image looks much different on the monitors and i was wondering what's the best option to maintain my look in terms of colors, contrast, detail...

since the final output would be the broadcast and every viewer has a different tv at home!

i know about the broadcast and color safety margin and stuff but every other opinion is highly appreciated.

thank you all!

Chad Stockfleth · September 28, 2008

i have this problem frequently where commercials look like poop once they're on air.

most tv's seem to me to enhance contrast, color saturation and warmth so in color correction i usually try to lessen those.

beyond that, i'm curious to hear what others say.

Walter Graff · September 28, 2008

You shoot for the best possible picture, using a waveform to make sure you levels are in legal range, and a vector scope to make sure your colors are in legal range. If you have neither than just shoot for the best looking picture you can with levels that look good and colors that look as natural as you want them. There is no magic here. You don't under saturate colors or anything else. Use your best monitor to make the best picture you can. Nothing more and nothing less. You can't worry that someones TV at home is not set up properly, just that you start out with the best possible picture you can. Whether you shoot 4:3 or 16x9 is up to the producer and the inevitable broadcaster.

Ram Shani · September 28, 2008

did you try to calibrate the monitor with camera bars?

like in multicam shooting there is only one monitor how is in use to judge color and contrast

which is calibrate with color bars

if you can take with you waveform monitor for exp and vector scope for color

Edited September 28, 2008 by Ram Shani

Tim Terner · September 28, 2008

Walk into any electrical store with 50 new TV's playing the same programme and no two will look the same. Use a calibrated monitor when you're doing the shoot and another when/if you're doing the editing/grading

Mitch Lusas · September 29, 2008

Think of it this way: if the audience viewer has a television that is out of sync, then everything they see is out of calibration, and your correctly calibrated production will match everything else. If they don't notice how out of calibration their television is, then they won't be judging anything you put out.

Elie Kamal · September 29, 2008

well, i don't have a vector scope nor a waveform monitor, i rated the camera aftering applying my setting with a grey card which i carry at all times, i'm relying on my meter, the zebra sometimes and my humble eyes specially...

thank you all for your input!!!

cheers!

Walter Graff · September 29, 2008

well, i don't have a vector scope nor a waveform monitor, i rated the camera aftering applying my setting with a grey card which i carry at all times, i'm relying on my meter, the zebra sometimes and my humble eyes specially...
thank you all for your input!!!

cheers!

Good, just know that light does not fall linerally on a CCD as you open and close an iris, aka the MTF is not as skiable like it is with film so while you may have come up with a reading for what some call exposure index at a particular stop, that number may not be accurate at different extremes of the lens. You can blame optics, namely the chips glued to the CCDs to make them more sensative, plus electronic settings in a camera that don't make exposure linear aross the spectrum of exposure. EI is a great ball park, but not as accurate as a monitor with video. It's one of the reasons why manufatuers use such terms as 2000 lux at f7 as a substuitute for EI in video as there is no such thing as EI in video.