3 beatniks, a cooking programme documentary and motor bikes need dvx 100 advise

lee thompson

New member
hey guys, me and 2 friends have just bought a beautiful dvx 100. currently residing in bolivia, we plan on travelling south america by motorbikes creating a beatnik cooking programme/ comedy/ travel documentary. anyways... dont want to give to much away as the idea is genious!!! my question to all you wiz kids who know a thing or two about the dvx is generally... how do i get the best out of the camera to start with. we seak beautiful film quality to express the wonder of the country and terrain we traverse. we also need advice on how to get a saturation, fibrancy when it comes to the presentation of food, also shooting in b/w harse contasts on occasion, then other times perferct tones throughout. also advice on low light situations, focus pulling etc etc would be welcoming. i have extensive experience in still photography, studying the practical aspects of film, composition and the sub jective bollocks of concepualism, but when it comes to digital recording im very much a beginner. im sure to pick things up straight away, but i was hoping you guys could get me started. you maybe thinking we a doomed to failure, but remember we are beatniks, and the nature of the project which will for sure change the face of telivision when broadcast, is in its very nature, spontaneous and rough. thankyou for your time.

spannered productions.
 
Your best option, as a beginner, is to shoot with EVERY LEVEL set to 0 except for gamma, use cinelike for the best dynamic range. Remember to constantly white balance, especially if your outdoors. Color temperature changes a lot outdoors, so I like to white balance between every shot. It only takes a couple of seconds, and can help a lot once you get to post.

If you want to adjust the image, you can do all that in post. If your use Final Cut, Color is amazing and has a lot of preset looks you may or may not like, but you can adjust those presents and get the look that you want. One tip: in post, don't set your render sequence to DV, set it to uncompressed SD. I use Magic Bullet's Deartifactor tool. While it takes a long time, it does make a difference in removing many visible DV compression artifacts in the footage.

Otherwise. Good Luck.
 
i'd say shoot everything 0 except master ped and gamma. cenelike D for best dynamic range...lower master ped for a little more contrast. I guess that can be done in post also. Shoot 24pa and edit on a 24p timeline. For pulling focus keep that iris open and adjust exposure with ur ND filters and shutter. Just keep in mind that the higher the shutter the more choppy it will look especially at the telephoto end. Carry a flexfill with you to take advantage of reflected light for fill and stuff.

have fun.
 
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I would say set your detail level to 3 or 4 and your color temp to -2 to get a nice warm look. Chroma phase and master pedestal set to -3. Cinelike V gamma and Cinelike Matrix. Outside, the 5.6k daylight preset looks nice but always manual white balance when indoors. When you set all the things under the scene filme submenu, you should name it to one of the 6 scene files and be sure to save it so you don't have to reset everytime you power on the camera. If you will be shooting alot of stuff like mountains and landscapes, a polarizer filter would look very nice.
 
Why'd u put up the detail andy?( jus curious). Well personally I put the detail down for a more filmic look. But It really depends on what ur goin for. I agree with a slightly warmer colour temp cuz personally that's what I like...but if u can colour grade then its not a prob. Again it comes down to the look ur going for.
 
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