New CineSlider Review
We were able to test out the new Kessler CineSlider on our last commercial shoot. We really got some nice table tops and bar shots that just were not possible with our doorway dolly. So far this is exceeding our expectations. The crew loves it.
We shot with the HDX-900 on it as well as the Canon 5D.
Color Correcting Red footage
Over the weekend I had a Davinci Resolve session. The footage brought in was all shot on the Red in 4K. The clips were all green screen that had a lot of spill on the sctor and set. Now the big question. Do you correct pre or post keying? We decided to help the animators out and remove the green spill from the talent and set. With different nodes and tracking we were able to seperate the talent from the background and even had time left over to smooth out the green for the animators. We processed 19 clips in 3 hours. We outputted 4K ProRes 444 files at the animators request.
The Davinci Resolve steps up again, I'll let you know when the spot hits the airwaives in a couple months.
The client told me after the fact, that he had booked a full day session out in LA to do the color corection. He was able to cancel his trip and session and was very grateful to have this capability in Las Vegas.
FloLight LED Panels
We bought a pair of Flolight panel lights about 6 months ago and I thought I'd wait a bit and see how they held up over half a year span. The lights we purchased are daylight balanced with an anton bauer battery adaptor on the back. We've taken these lights all the way from red carpets to the middle of the desert and the ease of use and versatility have made us believers in this type of lighting. For ENG, run and gun type productions, to be able to set up quick, toss on a battery and have 1000w of light without the hassel of cords was a life saver in many situations. Top lights sometimes don't cut it. We do plenty of quick shoots and I find myself packing a flolight more often then not.
There are a few problems I've found that should be shared. First off, all are lights come in balanced between 6000k and 6300k, not 5600k as advertised. The lights aren't built tough, meaning in the 6 month time period we've had them in for flicking, dimmer malfunction and one went toast and stop firing all together. The build quality isn't up to what I would consider production standard. The light can also be a little harsh so a couple pieces of diffusion are necessary if doing any sort of interview which drastically cuts the throw of the light. And, even though we have the gel adaptors, adding gels or diffusion isn't an easy endeavor. However, when we 'separately' purchase the barndoors that problem should be solved.
The most common question I'm asked is how do the Flolights compare to the LitePanels. We rented a couple of LitePanels for a shoot and while we had them we decided to do a few tests for comparison. The Flolights, despite being 6300k, had a more realistic daylight apperance then the LitePanels which didn't even make it to 5600k but closer to 5000k. They were almost twice as bright as the LitePanels and lit our subjects at much further distances. The LitePanels did appear to be studier and have a better build and a few more features like the dual color temps. Oh and the one Flolight costs about 1/3 the price of a LitePanel.
I'm not going to use them for everything but these lights do have a place in my packages and I will continue to use Flolights until I see another panel light that can give me the same value. And though they tend to have a few more malfunctions than I'd like, returning the poor units and customer service has been very good to this point.
The f-stops here.
Camera bag for the Canon C300
With our new camera in hand we wanted to find the right case to transport it. For our day to day shoot we opted for the Cinebags camera daddy. The bag holds comfortably the camera body and 4 lenses and accesories. We considered the Pelican 1660 case, I loved the build quality and protection it offered but we would have needed another case just for lenses. I'm sure we will pickup one of these cases for when we travel.
C300 in Low Light
DP David Dalasta of FiveSix Productions, decided to use the Canon C300 for our latest commercial production. Our shoot included filming outdoors at night as well as some driving down the Las Vegas strip shots. We were amazed that we only needed to bump the camera to 6400 ISO to get a properly exposed image. The versatility of the C300 was outstanding and exceeded our expectations.
Our subject a female atop the eiffel tower was lith three LED panels and our Male talent was lit with one LED while driving the car.
Director Bill Aylward, also had us shoot some macro elements using the Canon100mm L Series Lens. We overcranked at 60@24P shooting 720P. Our clients saw the footage and requested an additional spot based just on this footage.
New Cameras Coming to NAB 2012
We are very excited to see what new cameras are going to show up here in Vegas at NAB 2012.
ARRI will showcase its Alexa range of 2K cameras, the Alexa, Alexa Plus, Alexa M, and Alexa Studio, which boasts 14 stops of dynamic range, a base sensitivity of EI 800 and cinematic image quality. Their ergonomics, menu systems and functionality are based on film cameras to provide ease of use for experienced film professionals.
Canon USA will introduce its Cinema EOS Cameras, the Canon EOS C300 and C300PL, designed for digital cinematographers. Available in either EF- or PL-mount configurations, features include a Super 35mm Canon CMOS sensor, Canon DIGIC DV III image processor and 50 Mbps 4:2:2 codec.
Panasonic will showcase the HDC-Z10000, a twin-lenses handheld 2D and 3D camcorder, which is AVCHD 3D/Progressive standard compatible. Also on hand is the AG-3DP1, a 3D integrated twin-lens P2 HD shoulder-mount camcorder providing full 1920x1080 resolution AVC-Intra recording. Another camera debuting is the AG-HPX250, Panasonic's first P2 HD handheld camcorder with 10-bit, 4:2:2 independent-frame, full 1920x1080 resolution AVC-Intra recording.
P+S Technik will show the PS-Cam X35 camera, a combination sync sound workhorse and motion effects camera providing frame rates up to 450, using a 35mm-sized CMOS imager and a global shutter. The film-style digital cinematography camera can be utilized for normal video imaging, as well as slow motion, fast motion, ramped motion and time lapse motion.
Sony Electronics will roll out its F65 CineAlta digital motion picture camera, featuring Sony's 8K image sensor with approximately 20 total megapixels. It provides 16-bit linear RAW file output capability, creating a gateway to an end-to-end 4K file-based mastering workflow. Sony will also showcase its full line of Super 35 mm professional camcorders, including the PMW-F3 and the NEX-FS100U, as well as the HXR-NX70U rain- and dust-proof professional HD camcorder. Two 3D professional camcorders—the PMW-TD300 shoulder-mount model and HXR-NX3D1U NXCAM compact camcorder will also be shown.
It's really up in the air now on which one we will add to the shop here.
Why we picked the Canon EOS C300
After looking at all of the cameras at NAB we choose to add the C300 to our inventory of cameras. If you looked at the white sheets for the differnet cameras our initial reaction was that the C300 didn't have the same bang for the buck as the other cameras out there. Would we like a camera that can shoot super slow mo.... Yes. Do we need it.... No. Does it shoot 4K footage?... No. Have we ever been asked to deliver a project in 4K? No.... After sittiing down with the team we realized that this camera was the best match for 95% of the productions we do.
It delivers the images clients have come to love from the Canon 5D without all of the hassles. It's nice to be shooting on a video camera again. The images are amazing and the camera is very intuative.
When we looked at what we can book, it was a natural fit.(It's on it's 5th day of shooting so far).