Noel Evans
03-11-2012, 01:51 AM
Hi Guys
Ive been pretty flat out but managed to squeeze this in amongst everything. In an attempt to get a quicker handle on this cam I shot this little piece. Still needs a couple of tweeks in post - but Im out of time for about 2-3 weeks, literally so Ive put it up.
Take a look here
Had a chance to do a small re edit last night.
VIDEO DOWN TEMPORARILY
How about a little post about your workflow experience, how the camera handled in the field, and your impressions of the overall experience shooting with the c300?
Since you asked.
GENERAL: I wanted to turn this around really fast knowing I had a really limited timeframe due to other commitments. Script was based on an idea I had for awhile.
Bit of breakdown on that. I live on the Gold Coast in Australia - just south of Brisbane and just east of me is a place called Springbrook. Its a mountainous area and home to the most sightings of the Australian yowie (bigfoot in the US). Not something I buy into, however I cant ignore the zeal that some people display in their belief. Theres some big male Kangaroos in that same area. There is 0 evidence that Yowie's exist so this story is based on a more supernatural explanation I came up with - think werewolf. Shape shifters.
SHOOTING THE GAOL SEQUENCE.
Pretty straight forward - I had a shot list and some story boards to guide me through. Id also tested the end look I wanted.
We shot this at a place called Boggo Rd Gaol. THe gaol opened in 1903 and closed down in 1989 - these buildings are all heritage listed. The problem of course is limited access. I could not get into the gaol prior to the shoot. SO I had to study the photographs I had access to. As it turned out my assumptions based on the photos were correct so the light set ups I had in mind were usable.
The C300 in the GAOL. Straight forward - I lit for ISO 850 at around T4-5.6. As you'd expect it was the cameras sweet spot so I got pretty much everything as I wanted it. The cells were a bit smaller than Id expected so a couple of moving shots I wanted werent really possible and on the day didnt add a lot to the story. In the opening shot I wanted to throw shadows across the wall and in particular the main characters face as he moved through that area to give a feeling that - well theres something obscured about this guy. At the very rear I added a little splash of extra CTB to the unit to hit the very back right corner. Also to add to the main character - where he is coming from seems cold. Hopefully even looking at this carfully you will find it hard to see it a great deal - thats the point however, its merely meant to be a hint. This is a period piece so lighting was also going to have a commonly recognised period feel. C300 performed beautifully. Id set enough light for the ISO and desired stop - which kept the rear window highlight, but also kept it within an acceptable range. Thats one of the things the C300 does extremely well as most people would be aware by now. The DR lets you create small nuances in the shot across shadows / mids / highlights, which you can keep once you get to your grade.
In the cell on John's I kept his focus a touch softer than Wills. Im trying to make him look like the good guy / saviour at this point. When I say a touch, I really mean a hairs length and was easily able to gauge that with the built in tools.
Used all Ziess - duclos cine modded ZF's. We did have a small accuracy issue on one shot that could have been solved by using high ended cine lenses - nothing terrible however.
FOREST
Id done the recce on a day that I wanted the shoot to be like - low sun casting long shadows through the trees. On the shoot day - pouring rain. The pre graded look from the test shots however did play nicely with the footage shot in these conditions which needed a lot of highlights to really make it work. So all good there.
The day was warm with pouring rain. The camera was getting water drops on it as much as we tried to stop it with umbrellas - and it was constantly being dried. Extreme conditions the camera handled extremely well.
Used the Ziess ZFs again plus the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS L.
OVERALL - Im very happy with the C300. I was never much of a DSLR shooter, though Ive shot a few things on the 5DMKII. Ive never been a fan of the feel of a DSLR for shooting motion. C300 sits differently and it just works. If youve ever been envious of a stills photographer who's out walking around with his 1dX or similar high end DSLR going lightweight grabbing shots - that envy goes away with the C300. You can do just that. I feel like having it with me all the time, not that I often shoot random images. But just to look through the EVF on particular things and grab a few seconds all the time is great for the eye.
DR is excellent - 12 stops? Id say 12 stops + ? Its nothing, and I mean nothing similar to the DR achievable on a 5DMKII, AF100 or anything in that next downward price bracket. TO me thats worth the price of entry.
Direct to camera audio is excellent if you ever need it - we used it.
Lens mount is solid - wasnt bothered at all by having the 70-200 hanging of it without support.
LCD - with the focus peaking (that actually has adjustable settings through the menu as to how much you get), magnify - you can easily use it to pull perfect focus all day. Enough for a focus puller to pull focus with as well. We had a couple of shots where actors over/understepped a mark slightly - you wont notice because my focus puller was able to easily adjust.
Ive been pretty flat out but managed to squeeze this in amongst everything. In an attempt to get a quicker handle on this cam I shot this little piece. Still needs a couple of tweeks in post - but Im out of time for about 2-3 weeks, literally so Ive put it up.
Take a look here
Had a chance to do a small re edit last night.
VIDEO DOWN TEMPORARILY
How about a little post about your workflow experience, how the camera handled in the field, and your impressions of the overall experience shooting with the c300?
Since you asked.
GENERAL: I wanted to turn this around really fast knowing I had a really limited timeframe due to other commitments. Script was based on an idea I had for awhile.
Bit of breakdown on that. I live on the Gold Coast in Australia - just south of Brisbane and just east of me is a place called Springbrook. Its a mountainous area and home to the most sightings of the Australian yowie (bigfoot in the US). Not something I buy into, however I cant ignore the zeal that some people display in their belief. Theres some big male Kangaroos in that same area. There is 0 evidence that Yowie's exist so this story is based on a more supernatural explanation I came up with - think werewolf. Shape shifters.
SHOOTING THE GAOL SEQUENCE.
Pretty straight forward - I had a shot list and some story boards to guide me through. Id also tested the end look I wanted.
We shot this at a place called Boggo Rd Gaol. THe gaol opened in 1903 and closed down in 1989 - these buildings are all heritage listed. The problem of course is limited access. I could not get into the gaol prior to the shoot. SO I had to study the photographs I had access to. As it turned out my assumptions based on the photos were correct so the light set ups I had in mind were usable.
The C300 in the GAOL. Straight forward - I lit for ISO 850 at around T4-5.6. As you'd expect it was the cameras sweet spot so I got pretty much everything as I wanted it. The cells were a bit smaller than Id expected so a couple of moving shots I wanted werent really possible and on the day didnt add a lot to the story. In the opening shot I wanted to throw shadows across the wall and in particular the main characters face as he moved through that area to give a feeling that - well theres something obscured about this guy. At the very rear I added a little splash of extra CTB to the unit to hit the very back right corner. Also to add to the main character - where he is coming from seems cold. Hopefully even looking at this carfully you will find it hard to see it a great deal - thats the point however, its merely meant to be a hint. This is a period piece so lighting was also going to have a commonly recognised period feel. C300 performed beautifully. Id set enough light for the ISO and desired stop - which kept the rear window highlight, but also kept it within an acceptable range. Thats one of the things the C300 does extremely well as most people would be aware by now. The DR lets you create small nuances in the shot across shadows / mids / highlights, which you can keep once you get to your grade.
In the cell on John's I kept his focus a touch softer than Wills. Im trying to make him look like the good guy / saviour at this point. When I say a touch, I really mean a hairs length and was easily able to gauge that with the built in tools.
Used all Ziess - duclos cine modded ZF's. We did have a small accuracy issue on one shot that could have been solved by using high ended cine lenses - nothing terrible however.
FOREST
Id done the recce on a day that I wanted the shoot to be like - low sun casting long shadows through the trees. On the shoot day - pouring rain. The pre graded look from the test shots however did play nicely with the footage shot in these conditions which needed a lot of highlights to really make it work. So all good there.
The day was warm with pouring rain. The camera was getting water drops on it as much as we tried to stop it with umbrellas - and it was constantly being dried. Extreme conditions the camera handled extremely well.
Used the Ziess ZFs again plus the Canon 70-200mm 2.8 IS L.
OVERALL - Im very happy with the C300. I was never much of a DSLR shooter, though Ive shot a few things on the 5DMKII. Ive never been a fan of the feel of a DSLR for shooting motion. C300 sits differently and it just works. If youve ever been envious of a stills photographer who's out walking around with his 1dX or similar high end DSLR going lightweight grabbing shots - that envy goes away with the C300. You can do just that. I feel like having it with me all the time, not that I often shoot random images. But just to look through the EVF on particular things and grab a few seconds all the time is great for the eye.
DR is excellent - 12 stops? Id say 12 stops + ? Its nothing, and I mean nothing similar to the DR achievable on a 5DMKII, AF100 or anything in that next downward price bracket. TO me thats worth the price of entry.
Direct to camera audio is excellent if you ever need it - we used it.
Lens mount is solid - wasnt bothered at all by having the 70-200 hanging of it without support.
LCD - with the focus peaking (that actually has adjustable settings through the menu as to how much you get), magnify - you can easily use it to pull perfect focus all day. Enough for a focus puller to pull focus with as well. We had a couple of shots where actors over/understepped a mark slightly - you wont notice because my focus puller was able to easily adjust.