48 Hour Film Project on AF100

B

Benjamin Eckstein

Well-known member
Last week I did my 7th 48 Hour Film (first time doing so on the AF100). It worked out really well.

Lenses used were the Olympus 14-35 f2, Nikon 28 f2, Nikon 50 1.4, and Nikon 85 1.4. All shot to AVCHD and edited as ProRes in FCP. This version is largely ungraded, but I may upload a new version with some more color tweaks.

http://vimeo.com/23890240

And here is a blog post I wrote about the weekend:

http://benjamineckstein.com/2011/05/and-yet-another-48-hours/
 
Nice work. Only small suggestion would have been that the character as sooo clean! I would imagine them looking a little haggard with unkept clothing. Good blocking.
 
The cinematography is superb.

The skin tones are just beautiful.

Well done Benjamin. I love what you have done.

BTW- I am rolling into a 48 Hour Furious Film Making Comp starting tomorrow night. I decided that I would be the editor only. Kind of wishing I was shooting it after seeing your film.
 
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Jesus, the cinematography is absolutely stellar.

Any BTS stills? Would love to see some of your lighting setups as well as your in camera settings if you don't mind?
 
Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Bgundu, agreed. Sort of something we realized in hindsight and had we had a makeup person or it wasn't a 48 Hour Film Project, we probably would have dirtied up the girls (so to speak). You didn't buy that they were a bunch of renegade fashion models hiding out during the apocalypse?

Shooter, enjoy your 48 Hour project. Yeah, I think it'd be more fun to shoot than just to edit, but it's fun either way. Good luck.

Filmboy, we bombed Boston and called in the National Guard. But really.... I think our effects guy did it in AE but I am not positive. I know he works in Flame, Smoke, etc. as well.

Papa, I have some pics on my blog post. Lighting was pretty spare and we never had more than 2 fixtures used at any one time. It helped that we were going for dark and dramatic. In terms of camera settings, I believe I was running:
Gamma: Cine D
Matrix: Norm2
Detail/V-Detail: -5
Chroma: -2 or -3
Everything else at default.

I monitored via a SmallHD and also had just received my new Panasonic BH-1710 monitor, so we had that for better image reference and for the director. I LOVE this monitor and never want to be without it!
 
Loved it- beautifully lit and shot- very nicely done!
And great story and acting. But did something happen with the sound?
 
Hey Ben

Are you able to get some frame grabs posted yet?

I am considering posting up a few before and after frame grabs. Source shot frame grab and a post CC/Grade frame grab.

If possible , I would love to see something similar from your great looking film.

Thought it maybe educational.
 
There seemed to be a hiss that came and went as the dialogue started and stopped?
Or when the woman moves the last chess piece at 1:02?
Sort of like a limiter/compressor or something? Or maybe it was recorded low and boosted in post?
Not enough that it detracts from the viewing experience, though.
 
Shooter said:
Hey Ben

Are you able to get some frame grabs posted yet?

I am considering posting up a few before and after frame grabs. Source shot frame grab and a post CC/Grade frame grab.

If possible , I would love to see something similar from your great looking film.

Thought it maybe educational.
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That would be great- I'd love to see before & after grading grabs from both films.
 
Grovechuck, I know our composer/mixer said he wanted to do another sound mix. Probably needs to add room tone in during some of the edits. I do find the AF slightly noisier than my EX-1, even through my MixPre (and Sanken CS3e we used on the shoot), but I think what you're hearing is a lack of room tone here and there. This was the mix done that weekend and I wanted to tweak a couple things and so did the mixer.

Shooter, I'll try to do that. I am moving into a new home this weekend, so it may take me a week to get back on track.

B
 
What are you guys using to suspend the kino above the actors? I always find this difficult to do whenever I want above lighting.
 
PaPa said:
What are you guys using to suspend the kino above the actors? I always find this difficult to do whenever I want above lighting.
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For any light weight, lighting unit... usually a boom pole from a floor stand ( counterbalanced / extendable), a scaffold bar, a ceiling rig/clamp if attachment point is available, a lighting grid with dropper bars...

Everything in the air gets "safetys" attached.
 
PaPa said:
What are you guys using to suspend the kino above the actors? I always find this difficult to do whenever I want above lighting.
Click to expand...

I assuming you're referring to the chess scene? That was lit with a Chimera China lantern with mogul base lamp. It's a light weight fixture and was literally just hanging from the cord, supported by a beam that was over the actors. I think the only other light in that scene was an Arri 650 on the background. Simple, yet effective.
 
Yes. I often find the lighting I enjoy the most and find very dramatic is directly above the actors, but i've never had a way of achieving this so it's always been off to a side, which completey changes the effect. Now I own some chinese lanterns from Ikea but have never found bulbs that have worked particularly well with them.
 
Benjamin- lack of room tone, that's probably it. I know the edit and mix must have been crazy on that deadline.
What lamps do you use in the lantern?
Happy moving- are you leaving the "burned out Boston?" ;^) Great location at the Stove Factory, BTW!
 
Would love to hear about the grading of this. Taking the raw Cine-D to this final look which really looks amazing. Your settings match a lot of what I use, and the grading just looks stunning. Thanks.
 
jburke14 said:
Would love to hear about the grading of this. Taking the raw Cine-D to this final look which really looks amazing. Your settings match a lot of what I use, and the grading just looks stunning. Thanks.
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Sorry for the late response, I've been away for a bit. So, this version is actually largely ungraded, Cine-D, straight off the cam. I did some tweaks that the editor/director ended up not applying in the edit, and just preferred how it was shot. After the weekend I did another pass with more of a "look" applied, but that's not this version. So I'm pretty sure that every scene, with the exception of the 2 women by the monitors (where a bit of contrast was added to the flat lighting in that room), is ungraded completely.
 
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