Not the look I want

P

PheelGoodInc

Member
Hi, I've already read the sticky and many other topics on this. None of them seem to help me out to much.

I have a dvx 100b and I shoot regularly as it is a part of my job. When I look back over the footage it looks clean, like something would from any 3 chip camera. Even shooting at 24p and 30p I can't get a film look to it. I've tried playing around with just about all of the settings, adjusting the shutter and all. Is there something I may be overlooking here? My other buddy has a 100a. We shot something together last week at the same settings and his came out MUCH more film like than mine. I'm starting to think I have a faulty camera. Help would be great. Thanks.

Philip

(this is what the videos look like after shooting)

http://www.mthigh.com/video/05_6/park_v3.html
 
i hope people will adress your issue here...think we all can learn from it.

still i find it hard to believe...but ppl say its the Lighting and post production that makes the film look....rather than the shooting+camera settings themselves.
but what do you actually do to get a choppier\filmy movement to the picture?
kinda like http://www.firefoxflicks.com/flick/index.php?id=20274&c=false
cool video btw...does miss that look youre searching for :]
 
I dunno, I'm in the same boat as you, but I believe it has something to do with Color Correcting, have you tried that?
 
It may be depressing to hear but yeah, it does really come down to a lot of other factors like lighting, angles, color correcting, etc that give it a filmic look. I'm not a 100% certain since I haven't personally seen your footage (maybe something actually is wrong with your camera, though i doubt it) but if I shoot my camera with flat settings (which I usually do so I can play with it in post) it looks like how it looks like. No one's gonna mistake it for film.

Remember, the 24p part only gives motion a filmic look. It's not gonna give your colors or dynamic range any boost, although yeah, I'd remember to shoot with the cine-like modes on to help if you already haven't.

24p is only the first part. I think it sounds like you'll need to learn color correction to help your footage.

P.S. that doesn't allow you to forget other important factors, like lighting and whatnot. If the lighting on your footage is bad to start out with then color correction can only do so much.
 
ok so theres color correcting...bla bla... :]
but i think its the MOTION of the movie as you said here-will give that filmy look.
Anyways..thats what IM looking for and thats why i dont understand how lighting and color correcting effects the MOTION of the movie!?
Logic tells me its the shooting mode [24/25p and the camera's settings]. but then again..im not a pro :]

If you say lighting is the key-whats the problem with the lighting in his clip? vice versa!This guy shot in snow!light reflects well there! so? still no filmy look.

Dammit!what is it then?
 
no man... jeez lol. first of all, welcome tothe boards.

when we say lighting, its not having the entire frame equally lit seeing all characteristics. When lighting for film, you generally use 3 point lighting, unless your going for another effect.

one light, called a key light, is the main source of light for the subject on screen. Shadows are filled or softened by a less powerful or further back light called the fill light. Then a light is either placed behind on ontop of the subject to seperate them from the background. This is called backlight.

all these three things combined come together to make the term lighting for film.

the second thing would be framing. Your frame is not consistant. Think of how that would have looked had the camera been stable. stabilizer? cool maybe. but it does add alot of value to your shoots.

the next is the use of editing, using multiple angles on a subject to allow the viewer to see what is happening from multiple points of view, allowing the camera to tel a story at the same time the script, actor and sound are.

could write a book about thi stuff. but it not just to do with the fact that your using 24p or 24pa. That is just the frame rate.
 
oh....forgot..
and to Prove lighting doesnt have anything to do with "filmy motion quality":
http://thenovaproject.com/
look at OUR WORK.
this guy is using a DVX100! no A..no B.. with crappy lighting often..but still.. great look feel and motion.
http://thenovaproject.com/bcr_video_player.html
and anyways...u cannot ALL the time control lighting [in wide open aread in daylight for example]...so still ppl achieve results without controlling it.

Edit:PAPA-
that is not the case-dude. im speaking Technical only! not script..no multiple angles.. non of that.
i dont wanna make a film.i wanna make a feeling and quality of film's picture...purely technical.
look at the 2nd link.[crappy lighting-still great!].
 
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you are right about the outside daylight, but there are times of the day that are better to shoot than others. for example, that footage, seeing from the shadow,s was anywhere from 12-3 pm. for better resulsts, you want more of a back/side lighting outside because having the sun hit any subject directly in the face is not the best and gets rid of alot of definition. Try shooting more towards the 4 pm and onward or 10 am or ealier.

but besides that, you could try setting your shutter speed to at least 1/120th to give it a choppier feel. youll get more strobing when panning but since your always following the subject like you shot, shouldnt be a problem.
 
just watched it, the only thing that felt filmlike to me was the intro. notice the time of day they shot? closer to nightfall than mid day. this changes the colours and tone dramatically. giving it more of a film look. he also played with focus going in and out of focus, another quality found more in film. he also had quick cuts with interesting effects. another quality in film. But mainly its the lighting, the CC if there is any, cant really tell.
 
meh, just trial and error.

i find i like shooting flatter in camera, so cinelike D cinelike, pedestal at +2 for more maneuverabliityaizity in post. just play around with it. its quite easy if you got premier pro.
 
ok..thanks for adressing what i wrote.
first...How would low light give a choppier feeling?
ok..i felt that your tip about the shutter speed was the first relevant thing to get that look...i dunno how it will effect..but i feel this camera setting thing will do more than lighting.

still...there are clips of this guy in full Daylight..and Dusk..still..same quality look.
well...maybe my taste is more of a Video Clip\Documentry...so i might confuse u guys saying its a Filmy look.

and about all the Focus tricks...quick shots...thats great...but i dont look at it as this is how good u r in editing...im looking at the RAW picture and Motion.

look towards 3\4 of the clip..where he is in the recording booth with all the small light bulbs.....man its looks fine!!! dvx100...thats it! :]
 
Thanks guys, but still not what i was looking for.

Me and my buddy with his 100A shot the SAME exact thing last week. Without post we played them both back on a monitor and his was much better than mine. With the same lighting. Is there any secret settings or something I should know about? Whats the difference between cinelike v and d?
 
PheelGoodInc said:
Thanks guys, but still not what i was looking for.

Me and my buddy with his 100A shot the SAME exact thing last week. Without post we played them both back on a monitor and his was much better than mine. With the same lighting. Is there any secret settings or something I should know about? Whats the difference between cinelike v and d?
Click to expand...

Every student knows its better to get an A than a B!

Seriously though, cine-like d has more dynamic range than cine-like v which is optimzed more for contrast. Cine-like d internally boosts the electronic gain a bit to accomplish the extra dynamic range and is therefore more susceptable to noise. Both cine-like d and v both provide knee protection against blown out highlights.

For the most film like look though, just plain old cine-gamma is the way I go. The brightness range is reduced and squeezed or compressed. This gives you some extra head room, although in this mode, at least on the A, there is no knee protection so exposure is more critical for avoiding blowouts.
 
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