Interview Shots from a Corporate Project

Not the gear, the people behind it - Michael Schoenfeld

Not the gear, the people behind it - Michael Schoenfeld

Hey there,

I'm the "photographer" who was hired to produce this stuff, and the client had complete faith in my commitment to delivering the quality I promised.

But,

The quality only partially comes the the 5DII - the real quality comes from Barlow Elton and Matt Hepworth - multi-disciplinary, geniuses I can COUNT on to pretty darn near do anything. This is what really matters - it's how I've built trust for years as a creative person, and it works without fail. Ethics matter - period. Gear is really down the list for me.

Some interesting factoids about this shoot.

Low profile DID matter greatly - I have worked with the television commercial crew which shot 35mm film, High end Video, and Redone cameras while I shot print advertising on jobs like this, and the hospitals ALWAYS HATE the interruption to their mission - ALWAYS. We were complimented this week everywhere we went due to the small size of our crew. That was a bigger plus than a puny camera ever will be a minus.

On Tuesday the 24th of Feb, we shot 9 interviews in 8 different locations - all of the locations were MILES apart in the metro Salt Lake City area - 8 locations - 3 people, with sound and lighting ALL the sets, oh yes, and NOT compromising the stills photography, which I assured the client would look like the movies - and they really do - the images posted by Barlow are indeed from the QT movies - no grading either.

This is a revolutionary camera; it's low-light capabilities really matter to me; but a 3 person crew, with battery powered lights, great audio capabilities, and a really low footprint, that can produce images like we did this week...... That's the real revolution. This camera is KOOKY; Canon knows it by now; It desperately needs manual control and I personally would like variable frame rates and decent on-board audio much more than 24p, but that's just me opening a giant can 'O worms - hah!

MAJOR kudos to Barlow and Matt (And of course, our CRAZY make-up, hair, production coordinator, Penny G).

I would have been content with these people and 2 HVX's (which I do also own BTW) if I had to choose - but I didn't.

Michael Schoenfeld
 
StormFactory said:
Do you make good work?

Did your clients hire you based on your good work?

If so, if and when they question what equipment you use, just tell them that you are using the same equipment you used for the project they saw that impressed them enough to give you the job.

Some clients care, most don't. They care about the bottom line and final result. I would say very very few would know the difference between an HVX200 and HVX200A or HPX170.

Yes, the Canon 5D Mark II looks like a DSLR and not a big "impressive" video camera, but if your work is good nobody really cares.

We as filmmakers, photographers, etc. get so caught up in the nerdiness of what specs this and what gear that, that it keeps up from focusing on the final product... which is the final product.

I could show you my photography portfolio and would bet that you couldn't tell whether I shot a photo with my 6MP 300D, the 10MP 40D, or the 21MP 5D Mark II.

Better gear doesn't make you better. Striving to be better makes you better. And the better you are, the more clients will want to hire you. And that brings me back to the original point -- if they like your work, they won't care how or what you shoot on.
Click to expand...

I get your point.
This discussion weather tools or talent get the job done has been going on since the beginning of this site.
I´m not here to prove anything or anyone wrong here.
i just happened to have made other experiences in my carrer as others here have.

I´ve seen stunning footage comming from the 5DII and I´m shure a lot of clients will see 5DII reels and say "This looks gorgeous, I want this too" or sth.

I will be more than happy to serve all the rest of those clients, who appreciate good work and get wet dreams because of our clumsy HVXsgpro setup with all those Kinos and HMIs getting in their way:beer:
 
Unless they client is paying huge sums, I don't think they care about the equipment, especially if they look good.

1) Script (if you don't know where you are going, you will never get there)

2) Directing (it helps to be able to fly the plane)

3) Editing & DP (tie) (it also helps if the plane can fly)

That said, good production quality is like clean seats and good flight attendants...what the customer sees most.

:)
 
Here are a few uncorrected shots that you might recognize from a previous post.

17mm-35mm Nikon, F2.8 (I believe this is at about 20mm)
1236130032.jpg


85mm Nikon, not sure...I think F 2.8
1236129993.jpg


Footage is 30p with 180 degree shutter. I'm editing currently and will post some material later on.
 
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Thanks for posting Elton.

I have a question. How do you feel about the dynamic range of the compressed 5D footage. For example, are you able to get the detail back in the brightest part of her forhead in the first shot or is it clipped?

I am doing some tests with my Diva kit and I am finding that because this thing is so light sensitive I have to dial back on my usual setup. When I have shots where I want to bring back a bit of detail, it's often not there... What do you think?
 
Wow ok...now throw an HVX with adapter into the mix with battery powered LED lights...no way no how can you get that type of exposure. Bye Bye adapter, I don't care about 24p...i'll convert it. I keep downloading clips from this thing and playing them on my PS3...this camera is the shizzle.
 
Oynk:

I feel like the dynamic range is exceptional for the $; it is crunched down to 8bit video after all, but I am seeing recoverable detail that I've never experienced with low cost HD cameras. And the way this camera handles whites...wow.

Yes, like my good friend Michael Schoenfeld (photographer/DP on this project) says...this camera is waaaay kooky, but the core image is insanely good...if you can find the sweet spots.

My own experience working with it tells me that you need to possibly *slightly* protect for highlights in order to exploit the overall image better. You can lift shadows all day long on most stuff ISO 1600 or lower and not pay too much of a price.

a few more grabs...

1236140626.jpg


1236140664.jpg
 
Nice. I am going to do some more dynamic range tests.

These grabs are amazing. It makes me wish that HD went higher than 1080p. The limitation become the format specs not the glass or imaging sensor.

Good stuff!
 
Elton said:
Oynk:

I feel like the dynamic range is exceptional for the $; it is crunched down to 8bit video after all, but I am seeing recoverable detail that I've never experienced with low cost HD cameras. And the way this camera handles whites...wow.

Yes, like my good friend Michael Schoenfeld (photographer/DP on this project) says...this camera is waaaay kooky, but the core image is insanely good...if you can find the sweet spots.

My own experience working with it tells me that you need to possibly *slightly* protect for highlights in order to exploit the overall image better. You can lift shadows all day long on most stuff ISO 1600 or lower and not pay too much of a price.

a few more grabs...

1236140626.jpg


1236140664.jpg
Click to expand...
Great framing on the 1st shot Barlow. 2nd goes well too. Who's the 'Sundance' director? :)

Moreover, I will probably have my unit in stock today or by tomorrow. A special concern: codec. Fair enough for a 35mm blow-up to the theatrical big screen plus? Or should I expect compression artifacts which it shall regret my prior option? What's your entry or guess on the matter?

:dankk2:
E.
 
Amazing shots!
I may have my doubts about the formfactor, but those grabs impressively show, what a talented DP can do with this baby...!
Am I the only one who´s dreams will be shattered if Canon WON`T release sth similar groundbreaking for the "regular" video market at NAB?
 
Here is a sample interview shot. This was a really small room to shoot in and I think it was amazing to even get the books in the background to go slightly soft with so little distance between them and the subject. That's one big advantage to full frame DOF

http://www.vimeo.com/3604357 720p QT is available for download.

.
 
Elton said:
Here is a sample interview shot. This was a really small room to shoot in and I think it was amazing to even get the books in the background to go slightly soft with so little distance between them and the subject. That's one big advantage to full frame DOF

http://www.vimeo.com/3604357 720p QT is available for download.

.
Click to expand...

I am surprised that I am getting fairly shallow DOF even with wide angle lenses with the MarkII.
 
Elton said:
Here is a sample interview shot.
.
Click to expand...

Your posts from this project are very helpful Elton. Thanks!

Just curious, have you tried intercutting HDV footage with 5d footage? Even as a stylized 2nd camera (the way we used to shoot DV as a second camera to beta).

I am really curious how it cuts. Also, if I had to cut the two I wonder if I would down-convert the 5D to 1080i or up-convert the XHA1 to 1080p. :huh:

Thanks, as always!
 
Oynk said:
Just curious, have you tried intercutting HDV footage with 5d footage? Even as a stylized 2nd camera (the way we used to shoot DV as a second camera to beta).

I am really curious how it cuts. Also, if I had to cut the two I wonder if I would down-convert the 5D to 1080i or up-convert the XHA1 to 1080p. :huh:

Thanks, as always!
Click to expand...

Yeah, I intercut H1 and A1 footage all the time...and they always need a lot of CC to intercut reasonably well with Mark II footage. I also intercut HVX footage quite often, and it's the same story there too.

To me, it just comes down to superior image density and processing in the Mark II, and it's just a different core image in general.
 
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