XDCAM EX1 on the road blog

ahusain said:
welcome!

here is the other kind of footage: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthread.php?t=109613
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Fantastic. I have to thankyou for the time you've spent getting and posting this.

I can say i have no problems with that footage. My one minor gripe is that the shutter speed distracts which may possibly hide the wobble. There's a saving private ryan look that makes judgement a bit harder. If you're tempted to do this again I would like to see same thing but running (slow jog) , handheld (run and gun), more quick left to right pans and a smoother shutter speed to make a better case for this being a non issue.

Thanks again. I think I'm being sold.
 
my blog is updated and includes a link to the first edited short shot on the EX1 clean, with no adaptor. It's only 700x400 at the moment. I don't want to abuse Maxim's generous offer of hosting.

It's a very sweet piece about a protestant family on the Scottish Isle of Mull to run on Channel 5 on Christmas Eve.
 
So much for that. :D

I think the bandwidth is gone again as the link doesn't appear to be working!?!?!?

Can't wait to see your work though! :beer:
 
thats odd. try again! I just uploaded a cleaner version. Dont get too excited. Its very gentlle Sunday evening type thing that will bring a tear to the old folks faces! But is a nice example of the image the ex1 is capable of delivering!
 
Dear Philip,

What beautiful footage! Thank you for posting it.

I have several questions about the camera - perhaps you could touch upon them in the detailed analysis of EX1 you said you'll be writing:

1. Could you comment more extensively on EX1 ergonomics? Some people on this forum expressed quite a bit of discontent with respect to the camera weight balance, button size, positioning of the LCD monitor, and the potential issues with matte boxes.

2. When shooting with a Letus adapter, can you still do handheld work? Forgive my ignorance - I am just starting to learn about these things - but it seems that all the footage featured on Letus site (except your footage in London) - has an HD camera + Letus Extreme + some other lens. Is this also necessary for the EX1, or camera + Letus is a sufficient combination?

3. Can one mix the adapter-free and adapter-enhanced footage in one film without compromising its visual consistency? I noticed that you pointed out to two shots in your fist clip that were done without the adapter, and it worked beautifully, but would this also work for a longer feature, especially when projected on a big screen?

Many thanks,

Katya
 
Very Nice!

The sound was decent as well.

Good throughout. I did notice when they were reading on the bed that there was some deep rumbling. Did you use a lav that might have gotten jostled?

Did you record sound straight into the camera?

Very Nice Piece of Work!
 
katyam said:
2. When shooting with a Letus adapter, can you still do handheld work? Forgive my ignorance - I am just starting to learn about these things - but it seems that all the footage featured on Letus site (except your footage in London) - has an HD camera + Letus Extreme + some other lens. Is this also necessary for the EX1, or camera + Letus is a sufficient combination?

3. Can one mix the adapter-free and adapter-enhanced footage in one film without compromising its visual consistency? I noticed that you pointed out to two shots in your fist clip that were done without the adapter, and it worked beautifully, but would this also work for a longer feature, especially when projected on a big screen?

Many thanks,

Katya
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Most cameras work well with a 35mm adaptor. Everyone should benefit from it too. Handheld is possible but awkward with something like an ex1 and letus combination. A bit unwieldy

Yes you can mike the footage. You will need to slightly soften the clean footage in post with a little bit of diffusion but it should be no problem. The next piece I am cutting has it's interviews and some shots done with the Letus and the rest shot without.
 
Great! Thank you. On another thread, at DVInfo, there was a mention of the listing the equipment that you are using, for others to reference as a guide. I looked, but haven't found the list there. Will you be making it at some point?

Look forward to seeing more of your work,
K.
 
OK.

These are my main lenses.

16mm Zenitar f2.8
18mm Signma f1.8
28mm Nikon F2
35 Nikon F1.4
50mm Zeiss f1.4 and Zeiss Macro T2 and Nikon 50mm F1.4
85mm Zeiss f1.4
105 Nikon f2 DC
135 Vivitar f2.3
180 Nikon F2.8
I also have one Sigma zoom which I think is 28-70mm f2.8
Two swing tilt lenses f2.8. One 50mm and one 85mm

I use the Letus support bracket on a set up mish mash rods that I am still perfecting.

The most solid I have come across are the Cinevate camera base and rod support. I actually use the carbon fibre rods from Cavision. Cavision supports are pretty good and very customisable. I did use my old Redrock one for a bit but it is SOOO heavy.

I used a Marshall 7" monitor when I need external focusing. Helpful but no longer essential with my ex1 and it's amazing LCD screen. But it is still easier to focus using an external monitor. The resolution on the screen can by a 100 billion pixels but it's still small and size is everything!

I sometimes use my redrock follow focus but this is quite rare. I am a fast worker. Constantly changing tools, constantly changing lenses and having a follow focus slows me down. What i do have is the gears on most of my lenses. It helps me to rack focus so much easier.

My tripod is a Miller DS20 solo. i CANNOT rave about this enough. It is a super tripod. It is lightweight but solid. It can go as low as my low boy manfrotto tripod and very high. it has a superb head that can take the weight of a fully laden down 35mm ex1 combo and monitor. It is also super smooth.

I have a few different radio mics. 2 Sennheiser evolution lavalier but not sure of the model number. They are affordable and good quality. I also have recently bought audio technica's dual receiver lavalier system which is great for my larger cameras as it powers off of the 12v camera output. The receiver is a little big for the smaller cameras but it works so well.

I have a wally dolly which is for me the best dolly I have used for the price. So smooth. easy to set up, doesn't need perfect surfaces and is cheap. Oh and it doesn't need a grip!

My main light is a rifa 55 500w soft box with a 45 degree egg crate diffuser. A superb soft key light and it goes everwhere with me. I also have 2 dedo 150 lights which I use for backlights etc. I have a projector and gobos for them. I have redheads and otherlights but rarely use them. I often try to make use of as much natural light as possible. For example if you look at my Anorexia section most of the interviews in parts 1-3 are with available light.

I have three matteboxes. I cheap Indian one which is fine. A cavision one, which keeps falling apart and a lovely Chrosziel one that lives on my DSR 450. I recommend buying the best you can afford as I didn't to start with and just bought cheap. They fell apart quickly. I have formatt and Tiffen 4x4 filters.

I think that's the bulk of my daily kit and set up.
 
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I have a big car...and it isn't that much really! What is the project in Israel? Have shot some great stuff out here. What a beautiful country!! Can I come?
 
katyam said:
Well, actually... I was thinking that in a dream world I'd invite you over as a DOP, because your vision, as far as I can tell from your work, is exactly what I need for my film! But the project has a very skimpy funding - I am still a grad student in Jewish studies, and this is my first serious film. Here is a brief description:

Born as a Master thesis idea, and currently evolved into a full-feature (1.5 hours) documentary production, the movie (working title “Days of Return”) is an exploration of the connection between Jews and their land, the difference between spiritual and physical return from exile and the deep-seated foundations of the Jewish national and religious identity that, if fully brought back to life, could help us build a secure future in Israel. The film will be a series of conversations between Katya (Kathryn) Myer, a Jewish refugee from the Ukraine, who, after living in America for 14 years, comes to Israel to discover her roots, in the process finding out that she is not halachically Jewish, and Israeli scientists, teachers, guides, soldiers, rabbis, social activists, and settlers. As she goes through conversion and probes into the deeper meaning of her heritage, many difficult questions about Jewish identity, unity, and the very possibility of a nation whose existence is premised on its relationship with God and the hope for the renewal of that relationship come to the surface, including the questions of the future of Israel, its survival, and the spiritual destiny of the Jewish people.

Just like you said, Israel is extremely beautiful, and could lend itself so easily to produce an amazing visual line for this type of story. So, in a dream world, I'd definitely invite you over to make that vision a reality :)
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That does sound great. Just my sort of thing. I wish you all the luck in the world with it.

Do you live in Israel yourself?
 
Here is an update version of my Protestant short with magic bullet grading. It looks a lot more 35mm adaptor a like now even though it was shot with the ex1 clean. I will also post a link to my first short on a Buddhist family in the UK for comparison. It was shot on the XDCAM HD F350. One camera cost £20,000 including lens then other cost £4200.

http://aerialsfilm.com/bloom/protestantsnewgradesd.mp4 NEW GRADE 700x400

http://aerialsfilm.com/bloom/protestantsnewgrade720.mp4 NEW GRADE 1280x720

http://aerialsfilm.com/bloom/buddhism sd.mp4 F350 Short 700 x 400
 
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Hi Philip.
Since you own 3 matteboxes, do 1 fit ok the EX?
I'm sure it will be possible to use glass 4x4. I'm most concerned about my (cheap and lovely) Cokin 4x6 vertical grads.
Suggestions?
Cheers
Alvise

btw those sheeps and the boat running everywere are crazy
 
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None of the matte boxes work that great. Due to the lcd placing. Maybe the new Redrock Matte box will the perfect one...
 
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