Announcement

Collapse
No announcement yet.

Okay AF100 users, I need your expertise and opinions.

Collapse
X
 
  • Filter
  • Time
  • Show
Clear All
new posts

    #16
    The AF100 needs to be fed light in order to overcome it's limitations. So if you're shooting package already includes lights and modifiers, then great. If it doesn't, then look into that.

    It sounds like you are committed to making a final product you are proud of; one that will look good and sound good on a screen 60 feet across. IMHO "found" light or flat-as-hell soft source lighting for an entire feature looks uninteresting. Shoot test footage and play around with shadow and sculpting. See how far you can push the camera to get the look you want. That's where I would spend the time/monies with regards to the image side.

    You may very well already know this, but I'm just throwing it out there for the record.

    Anyway best of luck, and make sure to throw the trailer/screen grabs/etc up on the AF100 section as you go.

    Regards,
    Craig
    Craig Pickthorne
    Toronto, Canada

    Comment


      #17
      Originally posted by TomLenham View Post
      If you're shooting over a long period and already have some Nikon glass, then maybe think about buying a Metabones adaptor to speed them up and help your lighting a little. That said, they still won't compare to dedicated cine lenses. It depends on how you're scheduling your shoot I think - if you can block out a couple of weeks with principal cast / locations, etc then you should rent in great cine lenses. If you're having to do things more ad hoc, then perhaps buying would actually be cheaper - especially if you plan to sell the lenses after the shoot. I've done this in the past and it's ended up very cheap (though obviously you need the cashflow). If you absolutely have to buy and keep a lens, then the Nokton 25mm f0.95 is the best around for M43 - not as good as cine glass but gives a lovely dreamy look on the AF and solves lots of lighting hurdles.
      Buying and reselling lenses was my plan, but I have a number of other neat projects that night benefit from me hanging onto a lens. I've looked at that Nokton in the past, and I'm actually a fan of the look. It's a viable option.

      I would really like to play with some nice cine glass, though, as I never have before and I'd like to learn their feel. That may not be a good idea because of how spread out my shoot is, but somewhere down the line it has to happen!

      Originally posted by mcbob View Post
      Apologies, I had somewhere in my head that you were looking for a camera for your project. If you already own the AF100, it'll do very well. However as an aside, the GH4 records its 4K at approximately 100Mbps... or very roughly about 1GB per minute, so not outlandishly large (no bigger than old-timey DVCPROHD, or ~4x bigger than AVCHD). And just because you shoot in 4K doesn't mean you have to finish in 4K... you could down convert with exceptional quality to 1080p at any point along the process.

      For syncing, it can be done automated in a number of NLE's or via PluralEyes... but you'll need a decent scratch track with the video. For that. either a simple shotgun (Rode Videomic or the like) or a wired/wireless feed from the mixer output works. Alternately, a clapper or iDevice slate like Movie*Slate will put visual audio cues at the head of each take.
      There's no questioning that the GH4 takes lovely pictures. I'm still at the point where my AF100 "outshoots" me, though. I'm hoping to skip this generation and see what successor we get down the line... As long as my AF100 can meet my needs (largely weddings and web-stuff after this movie, I'd imagine) I want to keep using it! I got it on the cheap and it has already payed for itself, and I really like the look and feel. And there's just something about walking up to a gig with a camera that looks the part. As silly as it is, that alone has made me money in the past year (although as I said, I'm a hobbyist, I make my money elsewhere).

      Originally posted by EndCredits View Post
      Use what you have, tell an amazing story.
      the speed boosters are a must have. The external recorders are not an improvement in 99% of situations.
      Use the lenses you have or get stills lenses. Spend your money on art department stuffs. Put as much as you can on screen.
      cleaver lighting can be very cheep. And have fun.
      we recently shot our first feature. Don't fear a big project. They are the most rewarding.
      just my thoughts.
      Thanks! The speed boosters seem like a really great fit with the AF100, my question would be which mount to focus on. Glass planning is something I'm totally new to, so I'm unsure of my needs.

      Oh, I've seen your website. You're one of the posters I've stalked; I really like your stuff! Thanks for the tips!

      Originally posted by TomLenham View Post
      +1 to this
      Originally posted by Pickthorne View Post
      The AF100 needs to be fed light in order to overcome it's limitations. So if you're shooting package already includes lights and modifiers, then great. If it doesn't, then look into that.

      It sounds like you are committed to making a final product you are proud of; one that will look good and sound good on a screen 60 feet across. IMHO "found" light or flat-as-hell soft source lighting for an entire feature looks uninteresting. Shoot test footage and play around with shadow and sculpting. See how far you can push the camera to get the look you want. That's where I would spend the time/monies with regards to the image side.

      You may very well already know this, but I'm just throwing it out there for the record.

      Anyway best of luck, and make sure to throw the trailer/screen grabs/etc up on the AF100 section as you go.

      Regards,
      Craig
      Thanks! Yes, I've noticed the AF100 is incredibly light-hungry. I was surprised, given that I thought I was buying a "large-sensor" camera... But in this setting I should be able to make it work. One of my main sets is an empty apartment I have access to for 2 months, so I can completely rearrange lighting and set it up however works... The rooms are sizable when empty. That also leaves all the room I could hope for to set up my art/sets.

      I am looking at buying some new lights (as I've been using borrowed photography umbrellas). I'd like to purchase some LED lights because I shoot on a green screen in my apartment, and bulbs heat the place up really fast. For general setup, is there a massive drawback to buying eBay LED lights? I understand that they're not ARRI's, but renting won't work for me. Ownership for lights is a must.

      So in short, my needs for lighting include largely a controlled-set environment for the film, then a static setup for green-screen work. Any thoughts on lighting selections?

      Comment


        #18
        Originally posted by dreoftheblue View Post
        I'd like to purchase some LED lights because I shoot on a green screen in my apartment, and bulbs heat the place up really fast. For general setup, is there a massive drawback to buying eBay LED lights? I understand that they're not ARRI's, but renting won't work for me. Ownership for lights is a must.

        So in short, my needs for lighting include largely a controlled-set environment for the film, then a static setup for green-screen work. Any thoughts on lighting selections?
        I have limited experience with LED larger than on-camera (and no green screen at all), so I'll let others chime in on those issues. Are you thinking of some of those ARRI LED fresnel knock-offs? They are still 3 times the price of a used tungsten fixture and bulb. Sight unseen I'd be really skeptical, but someone may chime in endorse them.

        However, don't rule out tungsten on price and heat alone. If you prefer a all-LED kit because you like the look then cool. But consider:

        1) A 575 watt Source Four PAR (link to a used $100 eBay listing) can put out almost as much light as a 1000 watt fixture with a traditional filament bulb. It is has enough punch for bounces, diffusion and colour correction, and features 4 different beam angles.

        2) The don't give off as much heat as you'd think for how bright they are. They are still a "hot lamp" but hey, this is art...turn them off when not rolling! And when bounced, which is likely guessing from your film's description, the talent will not get that direct heat to the face.

        3) The cost-to-versatility ratio is really high IMHO with a tungsten lamp, as they are more friendly to light modifiers. Of course there are trade-offs like power requirements, heat, and the need to modify if you want a soft quality. But it is not possible to get a LED panel to do a hard-ish beam. With a fresnel or the PAR linked above the choice is yours.

        Regards,
        Craig
        Craig Pickthorne
        Toronto, Canada

        Comment


          #19
          Lenses: Get the Nikon mount as it can be adapted to anything. Also they usually have good manual controls.
          Older lenses have nicer focus throws as they are not designed for auto focus, so better for us.

          Lighting: Keep an eye out for 2nd hand Lowel light kits, they are cheep and fantastic value and full of light control stuffs so you can get a heap of control out of them. The Tota light is my favorite light and it seems like most people hate them so they are often super super cheep. You just need to control them as they don't have barn doors or focusing a lens.
          Producer-Director at Jackson Speed PTY LTD. Media Production in Sydney
          Also, freelance DOP.


          Web Site: www.jacksonspeed.com
          Show Reel:vimeo
          FaceBook: Jackson Speed
          Blog: AnyCameraWillDo.com
          FaceBook: Any Camera Will Do

          Comment


            #20
            Thoughts?

            http://www.ebay.com/itm/5-LOWEL-LIGH...item20e7039929

            Comment


              #21
              Nice starter kit. You will get a heap out of that. If you go buy some bead board & some reflectors and some cinefoil you will be on your way.
              Get some of these and some rags for them, they are great: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...End_Scrim.html
              Add a pair of c stands, you will need c stands (probably the most expensive part you will have to get) and you will have a solid kit.

              My lowel kit, which I love to bits and is very versatile, is

              3 x Rifa 55 (want a rifa 88 but haven't got yet)
              3 x Omni light
              4 x Pro light
              4 x Tota light
              4 x c stands (Matthews as they were cheeper)
              In the cases are stands, barn doors, all sorts of clamps, frames for gels, dimmers, all sorts of things. I fit this stuff into 2 cases and its often all I need. The Lowel clamps and accessories are really cheep and very fun/versatile. I own quite a lot of lights including 1x1 Light pannels, 3 red head kits, a set of blondies, 2 kinos, some soft box fluro chinese thingys and a bunch of other things, and I have the most fun with with my lowel kits. I think a lot of them are for sale cheep as people don't want to use hot lights any more and the Totas require you learn light control, which a lot of people dont have time for.

              I picked up my Arri 2k's for $50!!!! 3 lights and a huge aluminum box!!!
              The red head kits were swapped for drinks. So much can be found if you ask around.

              If you have any questions or any thing I can help with, let me know. I'm always happy to rabbit on about lighting, its probably my favorite subject and one I love to learn more about every chance I get.
              Producer-Director at Jackson Speed PTY LTD. Media Production in Sydney
              Also, freelance DOP.


              Web Site: www.jacksonspeed.com
              Show Reel:vimeo
              FaceBook: Jackson Speed
              Blog: AnyCameraWillDo.com
              FaceBook: Any Camera Will Do

              Comment


                #22
                Originally posted by EndCredits View Post
                Nice starter kit. You will get a heap out of that. If you go buy some bead board & some reflectors and some cinefoil you will be on your way.
                Get some of these and some rags for them, they are great: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/produc...End_Scrim.html
                Add a pair of c stands, you will need c stands (probably the most expensive part you will have to get) and you will have a solid kit.

                My lowel kit, which I love to bits and is very versatile, is

                3 x Rifa 55 (want a rifa 88 but haven't got yet)
                3 x Omni light
                4 x Pro light
                4 x Tota light
                4 x c stands (Matthews as they were cheeper)
                In the cases are stands, barn doors, all sorts of clamps, frames for gels, dimmers, all sorts of things. I fit this stuff into 2 cases and its often all I need. The Lowel clamps and accessories are really cheep and very fun/versatile. I own quite a lot of lights including 1x1 Light pannels, 3 red head kits, a set of blondies, 2 kinos, some soft box fluro chinese thingys and a bunch of other things, and I have the most fun with with my lowel kits. I think a lot of them are for sale cheep as people don't want to use hot lights any more and the Totas require you learn light control, which a lot of people dont have time for.

                I picked up my Arri 2k's for $50!!!! 3 lights and a huge aluminum box!!!
                The red head kits were swapped for drinks. So much can be found if you ask around.

                If you have any questions or any thing I can help with, let me know. I'm always happy to rabbit on about lighting, its probably my favorite subject and one I love to learn more about every chance I get.

                For this project I feel like subtlety will be my hardest challenge. There will be a lot of "looks" to help tell the jokes, so figuring out to transition between a really stark light and a "regular" look is something I'll have to figure out.

                I'm going to try for pretty fast glass to help out as aforementioned, but I think there's going to be tons of creative space to experiment...

                Comment


                  #23
                  I agree with most of the advice that people here have already given. But just want to add my take on it as well which might be different from some of the others. I was in the same situation one year ago. But no matter what...only you know what is the most important aspects to you and what time and money you are willing to spend. Take any advice in light of that.

                  -The most important thing of all is to spend time on making the script as good as possible. When you sit there with the audience in that auditorium that day at the end of it all the quality of the script is what mainly will decide if they enjoy it or not. Make sure it is entertaining in one way or another. The last thing 99% of that audience will notice is if there is a little bit of noise in a dark corner of a scene you have graded heavily. Most of them will not even notice if the movie is nicely shot either. Be aware that people today have access to endless amounts of TV and movies. If you don't have something important or unique to say or your movie isn't special in one way or another (special could be as simple as the first comedy made in your small hometown, or that the audience knows all the actors personally) then use your time on something else, or just do stuff for yourself or your family. This project WILL take more time and energy than you ever imagined, so make sure it is worth it.

                  -Second....make sure the actors work. If they don't they will destroy your great script.

                  -Third....make sure the dialogue is easy to comprehend and sounds good with not too much noise. If they cant hear what the actors say the film will not work.

                  After you make sure that all this is in place then use the rest of the time and money to get as nice shots and picture quality as possible.

                  -An external recorder is not worth the hassle of carrying it around. I tried one once (if i remember correctly it was the Atomos Ninja). The screen on it is much worse than the LCD on the camera and what little difference in quality it makes is probably not worth the money and hassle. The only point I can see in using it is that recording directly in DNxHD might make the editing process a little simpler (but as long as your not in a rush and have the time to let the editing system convert the material for you while you do something else then I would use the money on something else). If you dont have the need for other people to watch what is being recorded (a director, producer etc) you do not need an external monitor. The LCD on the AF100 is more than good/easy enough to make sure you focus correctly any scene. Just practice. If someone gets a little bit of red in the eye using the "red focus assist" it is in 100% focus. If you get a feeling it might not be in focus, it probably isn't....try again. If you are planning on lots of people moving around in the scene a monitor could be helpful, but then you would need an experienced focus puller as well. If you need people to move and are worried about focus then close the aperture a few f-stops down to be safe.

                  -AVCHD is much better than its rumored to be. And 25 mbps is more than enough for most people/projects. I was worried out of my mind about this before I started using it for a movie/tv-series project since it had such a bad reputation, but watching it in all its 1080p glory after heavy grading/special FX work on a huge movie screen made me realise that it in reality looks stunning to 99,9% of the people including myself. So if you are not planning on selling it to Hollywood or some TV station/client that absolutely demands it to be recorded in at least 50mbps its more than good enough for this. If your main purpose was to make commercials where you have to totally pick the picture apart and keying it in all ways possible then consider another closer to lossless codec.

                  -However....if you do shoot in very low light and push the codec to its very limits you WILL get problems with grading those shots. Lighting the shot properly will make you avoid this. So spend some money on some standard lighting equipment if you are going to shoot indoors in low light. This does not have to be expensive, how it looks is more up to the skills and creativity of the people placing the lights. Nice, creative lighting will add so much more production value to the movie than a nicer codec.

                  -Use tripods ALL the time. Unintentionally shaky pictures will make your movie look cheap. And get a good enough tripod to last the whole shoot without falling apart. If you use a cheap/bad one it will make you insane after a while. If you want to speed up shooting then use one of the monopods that has three foldable small legs at the bottom (I have the one from Manfrotto). It will give you 99% the stability of a tripod (if used correctly), and will save you an incredible amount of time in moving around the tripod, and make it much easier to be creative with the shots. If you need to speed up shooting even more then buy a steadicam. I'm using a "pilot" but the new steadicam Solo (out this month) will work just as well for a camera like the AF100 with its own great LCD. And it only costs 499$. With arm and vest (which you need) it will come in at around 2000$. With this you can move around as fast as you would handheld but still get almost tripod stable shots. If you practice (just a little practice to get good shots, an insane amount of practice to get perfect shots) you can also do moving shots which will increase the production value a lot. You will also be able to use and enjoy this investment in the future.

                  -Invest in a professional shotgun mic (Sennheiser etc) with a "dead cat" dress for it. This is the part where you should not save money. And a nice boom for it.

                  -Record sound internally on the AF100. This will save you a lot of time in post-production. And the sound recording of the AF100 is more than good enough to record a dialogue. Use time and/or money on post processing instead (a good compressor will do wonders here).

                  -If you could afford a second AF100 (used ones are going really cheap at the moment) it could do wonders for the dialogue scenes. If you have two cameras (one for each actor) it will save you a lot of time while shooting. If the actors improvise and nail a scene you have all the footage you need, and can really capture the spontanity of the acting. If you shoot with just one camera (particularly with inexperienced actors) they might never be able to repeat it exactly two times. But you will do nicely with one camera as well. Just wanted to mention it.

                  -Shoot as much as you can with limited depth of field. This is the one thing (apart from lighting) that will make your movie look great. Even a flat lit scene can look quite good with limited depth of field. No matter which lens you choose make sure it has a fast enough aperture to do this. I ended up using the Lumix 12-35mm lens most of the time. It is wide enough for the large shots, and if you go all the way to 2.8 and use the full tele (equal to 70mm) it will give you nice bookeh and make the actors look good. Absolutely love this lens. If you have time and money I am sure you could get better results with a lens with even faster aperture, but if you could afford only one lens, or dont have the time to change lenses all the time, then I can think of no other that covers all that you need.

                  -Grading does wonders. If your not experienced I would recomend something like "magic bullet looks" that is much more intuitive to learn and be creative with than just adjusting numbers and settings.

                  Here is an equipment list:
                  -1 AF100 (or two)
                  -Good tripod
                  -12-35mm lens
                  -At least 3 standard 650W lamps.
                  -Professional shotgun mic with boom

                  With this you could make a great professional looking move. This equipment will not hold you back. It only depends on your own creativity and skill.

                  Good luck with the project. Any questions then just message me. Will be happy to help with what little wisdom I can offer.

                  Comment


                    #24
                    Originally posted by trorvik View Post
                    I agree with most of the advice that people here have already given. But just want to add my take on it as well which might be different from some of the others. I was in the same situation one year ago. But no matter what...only you know what is the most important aspects to you and what time and money you are willing to spend. Take any advice in light of that.

                    -The most important thing of all is to spend time on making the script as good as possible. When you sit there with the audience in that auditorium that day at the end of it all the quality of the script is what mainly will decide if they enjoy it or not. Make sure it is entertaining in one way or another. The last thing 99% of that audience will notice is if there is a little bit of noise in a dark corner of a scene you have graded heavily. Most of them will not even notice if the movie is nicely shot either. Be aware that people today have access to endless amounts of TV and movies. If you don't have something important or unique to say or your movie isn't special in one way or another (special could be as simple as the first comedy made in your small hometown, or that the audience knows all the actors personally) then use your time on something else, or just do stuff for yourself or your family. This project WILL take more time and energy than you ever imagined, so make sure it is worth it.

                    -Second....make sure the actors work. If they don't they will destroy your great script.

                    -Third....make sure the dialogue is easy to comprehend and sounds good with not too much noise. If they cant hear what the actors say the film will not work.

                    After you make sure that all this is in place then use the rest of the time and money to get as nice shots and picture quality as possible.

                    -An external recorder is not worth the hassle of carrying it around. I tried one once (if i remember correctly it was the Atomos Ninja). The screen on it is much worse than the LCD on the camera and what little difference in quality it makes is probably not worth the money and hassle. The only point I can see in using it is that recording directly in DNxHD might make the editing process a little simpler (but as long as your not in a rush and have the time to let the editing system convert the material for you while you do something else then I would use the money on something else). If you dont have the need for other people to watch what is being recorded (a director, producer etc) you do not need an external monitor. The LCD on the AF100 is more than good/easy enough to make sure you focus correctly any scene. Just practice. If someone gets a little bit of red in the eye using the "red focus assist" it is in 100% focus. If you get a feeling it might not be in focus, it probably isn't....try again. If you are planning on lots of people moving around in the scene a monitor could be helpful, but then you would need an experienced focus puller as well. If you need people to move and are worried about focus then close the aperture a few f-stops down to be safe.

                    -AVCHD is much better than its rumored to be. And 25 mbps is more than enough for most people/projects. I was worried out of my mind about this before I started using it for a movie/tv-series project since it had such a bad reputation, but watching it in all its 1080p glory after heavy grading/special FX work on a huge movie screen made me realise that it in reality looks stunning to 99,9% of the people including myself. So if you are not planning on selling it to Hollywood or some TV station/client that absolutely demands it to be recorded in at least 50mbps its more than good enough for this. If your main purpose was to make commercials where you have to totally pick the picture apart and keying it in all ways possible then consider another closer to lossless codec.

                    -However....if you do shoot in very low light and push the codec to its very limits you WILL get problems with grading those shots. Lighting the shot properly will make you avoid this. So spend some money on some standard lighting equipment if you are going to shoot indoors in low light. This does not have to be expensive, how it looks is more up to the skills and creativity of the people placing the lights. Nice, creative lighting will add so much more production value to the movie than a nicer codec.

                    -Use tripods ALL the time. Unintentionally shaky pictures will make your movie look cheap. And get a good enough tripod to last the whole shoot without falling apart. If you use a cheap/bad one it will make you insane after a while. If you want to speed up shooting then use one of the monopods that has three foldable small legs at the bottom (I have the one from Manfrotto). It will give you 99% the stability of a tripod (if used correctly), and will save you an incredible amount of time in moving around the tripod, and make it much easier to be creative with the shots. If you need to speed up shooting even more then buy a steadicam. I'm using a "pilot" but the new steadicam Solo (out this month) will work just as well for a camera like the AF100 with its own great LCD. And it only costs 499$. With arm and vest (which you need) it will come in at around 2000$. With this you can move around as fast as you would handheld but still get almost tripod stable shots. If you practice (just a little practice to get good shots, an insane amount of practice to get perfect shots) you can also do moving shots which will increase the production value a lot. You will also be able to use and enjoy this investment in the future.

                    -Invest in a professional shotgun mic (Sennheiser etc) with a "dead cat" dress for it. This is the part where you should not save money. And a nice boom for it.

                    -Record sound internally on the AF100. This will save you a lot of time in post-production. And the sound recording of the AF100 is more than good enough to record a dialogue. Use time and/or money on post processing instead (a good compressor will do wonders here).

                    -If you could afford a second AF100 (used ones are going really cheap at the moment) it could do wonders for the dialogue scenes. If you have two cameras (one for each actor) it will save you a lot of time while shooting. If the actors improvise and nail a scene you have all the footage you need, and can really capture the spontanity of the acting. If you shoot with just one camera (particularly with inexperienced actors) they might never be able to repeat it exactly two times. But you will do nicely with one camera as well. Just wanted to mention it.

                    -Shoot as much as you can with limited depth of field. This is the one thing (apart from lighting) that will make your movie look great. Even a flat lit scene can look quite good with limited depth of field. No matter which lens you choose make sure it has a fast enough aperture to do this. I ended up using the Lumix 12-35mm lens most of the time. It is wide enough for the large shots, and if you go all the way to 2.8 and use the full tele (equal to 70mm) it will give you nice bookeh and make the actors look good. Absolutely love this lens. If you have time and money I am sure you could get better results with a lens with even faster aperture, but if you could afford only one lens, or dont have the time to change lenses all the time, then I can think of no other that covers all that you need.

                    -Grading does wonders. If your not experienced I would recomend something like "magic bullet looks" that is much more intuitive to learn and be creative with than just adjusting numbers and settings.

                    Here is an equipment list:
                    -1 AF100 (or two)
                    -Good tripod
                    -12-35mm lens
                    -At least 3 standard 650W lamps.
                    -Professional shotgun mic with boom

                    With this you could make a great professional looking move. This equipment will not hold you back. It only depends on your own creativity and skill.

                    Good luck with the project. Any questions then just message me. Will be happy to help with what little wisdom I can offer.
                    Thanks for the tips!

                    2 cameras would be a dream, but I feel like that money can go towards other things. I use a Cartoni tripod with a fluid head, and I feel like for my needs it will suffice well.

                    Comment


                      #25
                      Well, I have lights and a mic on the way, plan on borrowing a mixer from my sound guy.

                      I still have only a Nikon 50mm prime for a "go-to" (along with the good ol' Lumix 14-140)but I'm keeping my eyes peeled for excellent deals on lenses.

                      My key location (interior apartment) is going to be empty by monday, and my script editor and I are rushing through trying to polish the story/jokes... Progress!

                      I'm most anxious to set up lights/sound and start shooting test footage.


                      Here's another important question:
                      I had planned on hiring a local artist to storyboard for me. These boards would also serve as "giveaway" art for collectors-edition DVDs etc in the event that the film winds up being marketable. Is this a good decision, or am I better off shooting still jpgs and putting together a storyboard with adobe?

                      My main motivations were that I cannot draw, and shooting that many photos/editing that many shots adds a ton to my plate, and also that the physical storyboards can be used as mentioned above as physical artwork. The pro to hiring someone is that (presumably) the quality would be higher, but the drawback is budgetary. Will that money be better suited elsewhere? Anybody have any experience?

                      Comment


                        #26
                        It sounds like an ancillary benefit to why you'd want storyboards in the first place which is to pre-visualize and organize your shoot.

                        Comment


                          #27
                          Originally posted by hscully View Post
                          It sounds like an ancillary benefit to why you'd want storyboards in the first place which is to pre-visualize and organize your shoot.
                          Correct! The primary reason would be to plan my shoots, but I'm thinking about getting an actual artist to put a little extra oomph in, making some high-quality copies, and then using them as promotional/incentive products

                          Comment


                            #28
                            That's an interesting notion. I could see where it would be a great perq in an online drive. Kind of like Argo!

                            As with any budget you have to decide which things get the bucks and which don't. For instance, I think it's important to budget for hair and makeup, not just so that looks are consistent and the actresses look good and like their hair, which is important, but because hair and makeup is a valuable transitional place for the actors. That is an ancillary benefit but I think it's valuable. I has been for me, as an actor so it kind of sticks with me when I'm producing.

                            Comment


                              #29
                              Had a good sit-down conversations with one of the godfathers of audio in the American sound industry... I gotta' say, my mind was blown.

                              Comment


                                #30
                                You've got some great advice here from all of the other guys, especially EndCredits - that stuff is gold!

                                I won't repeat everyone else - it sounds like you've got your lighting and audio advice covered, but I do want to echo what hscully said. I can't tell you how many times I've run into people who treat Hair and Makup, as well as Art Department in general, as last priority. You could not make a bigger mistake! Make sure you put emphasis on finding a proper Production Designer to dress your sets and make sure your locations look fantastic. It's impossible to make a bland, boring location look good - no matter how good your camera and glass are - and this makes the Production Designer the DP's best friend!

                                Also, since you're still researching glass and you might want to hold onto it after the shoot wraps, you'd do well to look at the Contax Zeiss still primes. It's old glass, but very sharp and it looks quite nice. My owner/operator set consists of several of these lenses, and it's been an absolutely fantastic investment. If you do look into them though, make sure you get the MM versions (not AE), as the bokeh looks much, much better on that version of the lens. Just in case you haven't found it yet, www.keh.com is a great resource for buying old still glass.

                                As for low-light situations, you'd be surprised with how far you can push the AF100 with the right camera settings, and that's probably my biggest piece of advice: run camera tests. Try every available setting, and find out the limits of the camera. I've personally found that setting both Detail and V.Detail to -4, and using the B.Press gamma with the NORM2 matrix is very, very effective in low-light scenarios. Also, I've found that a DRS (Dynamic Range Stretching) setting of 1 can produce acceptable footage, but I'd not go any higher than that. These settings will let you go up to 1600 ISO only a very small bit of noise in the blacks. I once shot a close-up of someone's face this way lit only by a Zippo lighter in the actor's hand, and the lens we used only opened up to an f/2.

                                All that said, making the camera more sensitive to light (either through fast glass or camera settings) is no substitute for actually lighting the scene with a proper amount of light. If your narrative lighting skills aren't that strong, I'd definitely try to hire someone to do it for you - at least on the more complicated parts of the shoot. Also, try to choose locations that play to your equipment's strengths. For instance, if you don't have the lighting muscle to compete with the sun, then don't frame the shot with a giant picture window in the background. Seriously though, try to keep your subject at least a stop or two brighter than your background - it's a good rule of thumb that'll make your footage look much better in the end.

                                You've got a wonderful camera in the AF100, and it sounds like you're doing all the right research to get ready for your feature! Let us know how it goes - happy shooting!

                                - Jon
                                www.jonathanhout.com

                                Panasonic AG-AF100
                                Panasonic GH2

                                Lens Kit

                                Contax: Zeiss 28mm f/2.8, Zeiss 50mm f/1.7, Zeiss 85mm f/2.8
                                Panasonic: Lumix 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6
                                Nikon: Tokina 11-16 2.8; Nikkor 28mm f/2.8; Nikkor 55mm f/2.8
                                Minolta: Celtic 35mm f/2.8; Rokkor-X 45mm f/2; Rokkor PF 55mm f/2

                                Comment

                                Working...
                                X