2.35:1 aspect composition practice

comexback_kid

comexback_kid

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http://www.vimeo.com/674848

Just testing out shooting in a 2.35:1 ratio around where I go to school.
Only 30 seconds, didn't feel like standing out in the cold for very long today.
I'll add more shots to this soon.

(sorry for re-posting, meant to put in this section only)
 
Liked the footage (music helps you like it -- evocative.) I am very intermediate as far as post production -- how did you get that 2.35 : 1 ratio? Final Cut Pro? I love that ratio! will it play letterboxed on a high def screen? I just got an XH A1. I have Final Cut Express 4. Just started learning both. (I did just complete a full length feature shot with XL1 at 24 F but I wasn't the DP on that, just a technically challenged director!)

So you shot with the 2.35 : 1 guides on, correct? And I'm guessing you cropped image in FCP. Did you use any particular preset when shooting? How manual did you go -- I'm trying to learn to go manual as much as possible -- what was your approach to the shot as far as gain, focus, zoom, shutter, aperture, etc.
 
It looks like all he did when he exported was make the size 1280x544 quicktime file. At least for the aspect ratio.

I didn't realize vimeo could do this.:)
 
Thanks for the comments.
Yea I left the aspect guides turned on in camera to help compose. To get it to come out in that ratio, when I was done putting it together, I applied the widescreen matte in final cut, and then changed the sequence settings to a custom size so that it crops off the bars, then I exported it.

For settings I had gain at 0, focus was manual, wide for all the shots, shutter I accidently left at 1/24, I didn't want to do that, and aperture was in the middle somewhere I don't recall.. I was using the built in ND filter as well to cut some light.

As for the slow motion in the other video, if you google "60i 24p slow motion" you will find in-depth instructions and stuff on how to do it.

Thanks
 
Could you tell me what was wrong with leaving shutter at 1/24? I notice that while using my auto setting on the A1, the shutter always seems to stay at 1/60. Trying to get a handle on this whole concept of shutter speed. Faster shutter helps you capture motion without blur, right? And requires less light?
 
Nothing "wrong," really, but I noticed that one of the shots had a slight flicker to it and I'm thinking that is what caused it. It's a matter of taste really so there is no right or wrong ya know.
 
In his video you can't really see the affect of the shutter at 24 because there in is not much motion. If there was a lot of motion would see a lot on flicker.

As a general rule of thumb your shutter should double your frame rate.
 
Thanks, milvid. That's what I need -- general rules of thumb, which I can tweak as I get more experience. Tonite I shot some stuff roaming the cold streets of downtown Amherst MA using the Canon A1's "night" mode and everything else on auto except for some focus work now and then. I got a lot of blur with any movement (at least it looked that way on the LCD screen) so I suppose the shutter rate was pretty low (I should check to see what it was). I can guess now that if I sped up the shutter rate manually I probably wouldn't have gotten enough light to see anything, all other settings remaining the same. So motion blur is a tradeoff for being able to shoot in low light?

Also, in night mode out in the country I shot the stars in the sky (60i HDV). I was amazed that the stars actually are visible in the viewfinder (the three stars in Orion's shield, Sirius, the red triangle of Mars, Betelgeuse, Aldebaron...) This is amazing. I could never even dream of doing that with my Sony 250. And the 250 is a great camera.
 
If you just put the cam in full auto, you'll be surprised at how well this camera performs in low light. The auto gain causes a lot of noise, but it's much better (imho) than the effects of a really slow shutter.
 
You're right, JMC, I just looked at the HDV footage I shot tonite and full auto seems to work better than the night mode, at least so far as movement goes (unless for some reason you want that blur effect).

This is the first time I've looked at any of the footage I've shot with the A1 on a big screen monitor. I was very UNPLEASANTLY surprised by the amount of jiggle in the handheld shots. I am an experienced cameraman, I have worked with the Sony DS250 for six years. Even allowing for the fact that the 250 is a shoulder mount, the amount of jiggle in the A1 image seems to me unacceptable. Is this the vaunted stabilization I've heard about for the A1?

I have yet to shoot in SD. I wonder if stabilization works any better for the SD mode...

I'm bumming now because I'm worried I'll never be able to enjoy handheld footage from this thing. Yet it seems a mystery, because in all my research prior to buying the camera, stabilization was touted as one of its best features.
 
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