Basic questions - Scene Files and shooting in bright daylight

MalcolmOng

MalcolmOng

Veteran
Hi, I just got my DVX102b, and straightaway headed here to register. However I have a couple of questions which I didn't really understand from the manual - Whats the difference between scene f5 and f6? Is one preferred over the other? Also, I notice that shooting in bright daylight seems to produce really washed out colors and normally induces the 'home video' look. Any tips on how to achieve better outdoors footage? Heh..I'm a complete noob to video so bear with me...

Thanks in advance for any replies!
 
For sunlight, try the ND filters on the side, it should be like off, 1, 2. The neutral density filter reduces all light and colors equally. This should cut out some of brightness of daylight.

Someone could probably articulate this better than i can.

f5 shoots 24p, f6 is 24pa (aka advance mode) , again someone could probably explain better than me.

I dont own one... yet.
 
Jesus

Buy this now.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0007P8KE6/103-3448861-9055864?v=glance&n=130

thumb-dvx_book_cover.jpg


If you intend to edit on a 24p timeline it is better to shoot 24pa. If you intend to edit on a 60i timeline then shoot 24p. 24p and 24pa are essentially the same thing at the end of the day

I always shoot and edit for 24pa

Adam Wilt says:

Shoot 24p Advanced for:
  • Post-production using tools that understand Advanced pulldown. 24p Advanced footage can be turned into pure 24p footage more cleanly than 24p standard footage, because every frame in the pure 24p timeline is pulled from a whole frame in the 24p Advanced footage, whereas the C frame in 24p Standard footage is split across two different source frames as discussed.
Shoot 24p Standard for:
  • Getting the “film look” on video when you're staying on video and editing at 29.97.
  • Intercutting with film transfers also using 3:2 pulldown, and staying on video at 29.97.
  • Working with traditional film-on-tape tools that understand 3:2 pulldown, but not 2:3:3:2 advanced pulldown, when you need to extract the 24p footage for true 24p processing.
http://www.adamwilt.com/24p/#24pRecording

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I notice that shooting in bright daylight seems to produce really washed out colors and normally induces the 'home video' look
Click to expand...

Dont shoot in a bright sunlight ! It's the stickiest of the icky time to shoot.

Knowing basic photogrpahy skills may help you. Use the ND filters when prompted, use a polorizer to reduce glare, use a UV filter to protect your lens coating if you have not already bought one. Expose your shots properly, get some bounce on your subject matter. Use a Mattebox and White Balancing.
 
Thanks for the replies - I'm only 15..so I guess I've got alot to learn. After spending 3k on a camera, I guess I'm off to wash windows to afford the DVX book too...Hard knock life..
 
Hi MalcolmOng,

1st off, congrads on your new purchase. The DVX100B is wonderful & sophisticated beast. It can do many things, esp in the hands of a skilled cinematagrapher :) epsilonbass is right, use the ND filters. But on a very bright day, even engaging the ND filters to position 2(maximum position) can still show that it still looks a bit overexposed. If this happens, press the auto iris button to disengage the auto iris (which is on by default) & turn the iris dial so that the size of the iris shrinks, thereby cutting out more light.

Or, you could open your DVX's flip-out 3.5" LCD screen. Opening the flip-out screen will reveal a set of buttons on the camera body. There's a button called "shutter". Press this shutter button. Now you can adjust the shutter speed by pressing the speed selection button. On a bright day, setting the shutter speed faster 1/20,000 allows less light to enter the lens making the image less prone to over-exposure. Similarly, setting a slow shutter speed (1/25 or 1/50) makes the shutter open & close slower, thereby letting in more light per oscillation. Use a slow shutter speed to getting the most exposure during low-light shooting.

When you recording using scene setting F5, the detail is set to thick by default. Generally, you should shoot F5 if your final movie will be viewed on a normal TV. Scene setting F6 (also called 24P advanced) sets the detail to thin by default. People usually suggest to shoot 24P advanced (F6) if you want to transfer the image to film to be viewed in a cinema. If you shoot F6, which is thin & play the movie on a TV, chances are very high that you will see some flickering, because the detail is set to thin. If you shoot in F5 (detail set to thick) it will eliminate most of the flickering on a TV. Also play around with the many gamma curves your DVX comes with to get a more film-like look in your movies. Hope this helps. Anyone else have any suggestions?

Andrew
 
MalcomOng, the camera advise is good stuff. If you already have footage that is washed out you may be able to adjust the blacks/whites/midtones in your NLE and enhance the washed out footage. I don't use P.Pro any more but it is very simular to FCP and I just had some washed out footage shot at mid day and was amazed at how it changed everything.
 
Yep, 1/20000 is a typo. Sorry about that. But I sure wish the DVX could achieve such fast shutter speeds;) I use Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5.
 
I personally think you should always shoot on Thin mode. Reason for that is because when you're working with a 3-ccd standard def camera, I want all the resolution I can get. You can always do stuff in post to get rid of flickering or lost detail if it bothers you that much (personally I don't really see much flicker anyway) but you can NEVER do anything in post to make up for the lost resolution you'll throw away.
 
I've also read in numerous threads THIN mode is the way to go. I second EA Cru's stance for the same reasons...you can fix thin in post but not thick.
 
EA_Cru_2002, I'm using Adobe Premiere Pro 1.5 as my NLE. I am interested to know from you if I shoot in THIN mode (Scene F6) & want to eliminate any flickering, how do I eliminate this flicker in Premiere Pro? How about if I shoot in THIN mode (Scene F1), but shooting interlaced mode, do I remove the interlaced flicker the same way as removing it in progressive recording? Thanks in advance.

Andrew
 
I noticed alot more flicker with P.Pro 1.5

I noticed alot more flicker with P.Pro 1.5

I had flicker problems with P.Pro 1.5. No problems with FCP 4.5.
 
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