GH4 #60HrFilm Shot on V-LOG L

B

Brandon Freeman

Well-known member
Pretty happy with how this turned out, to be honest. Loving V-LOG L paired with a 10-bit recorder (Atomos Ninja Star). I did have one isolated instance where the card corrupted and deleted footage, but fortunately I was dumping frequently and so I only had to reshoot two shots. Still, it was unnerving. Hasn't happened since, felt like it was a computer issue more than a card issue. Anyway, I'll figure out what that was and keep on going. Eventually I do want to get a proper 4K recorder, I miss being able to play around more with animated crops!

 
wwjd said:
Do you feel this could NOT have been filmed without V-Log L?
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Not to hijack the OP's thread, but I will try to get some footage for you in your thread about not being able to shoot without V-Log. Just been really busy as of late.
 
Lpowell said:
It's personal taste, of course, but I really hope the bleached out "log look" doesn't become the new trend in cinematic grading. To my eyes it's even more dreadful than the orange-teal fad.
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Amen. I've been steeling myself for the coming onslaught of drab "grades."
 
Wow. Tough crowd. Yep. It was graded. I used FilmConvert. I got the look I wanted. And no, this could not have been filmed without V-LOG L (in a manner that would have made me happy). The windows would have been blown out much more than they were (I used the CineLike V profile to check for exposure before recording, and it and portrait easily lose a stop in highlight information).
 
Also, much of the "faded" look being complained about here is intentional - signifying faded memories that shift and distort in color based on the tone. Warmer colors for happier memories, colder, discolored cyan tones for memories of separation and impending death. Add to that I don't care to crush my shadows into oblivion (which is something the GH4 has always done unless shooting with the Master Pedestal at +15).
 
Don't worry Brandon. Sometimes the web and DVX can be a little brutal. You took a new profile in VLOG and went and filmed an actual piece. A narrative no less. I've shot a fair for testing. An industry awards program. And some s*%t surrounding my house.

My simple answer would be to people is let's see what you have applied VLOG to other than s*%t around your house? Or, can we at least see the tests of s*%t you've filmed around your house using VLOG? That way, at least we can talk about your looks. Brandon filmed a narrative in a matter of days. He took a chance. He shared and you guys berated.

Not everybody is the same. And no matter how good you "think" you are, there is always someone better than you........

PS. The film looks fine. If you got a result that pleases you and worked for the situation at hand, who gives a crap about the negative.
 
dustylense said:
Don't worry Brandon. Sometimes the web and DVX can be a little brutal. You took a new profile in VLOG and went and filmed an actual piece. A narrative no less. I've shot a fair for testing. An industry awards program. And some s*%t surrounding my house.

My simple answer would be to people is let's see what you have applied VLOG to other than s*%t around your house? Or, can we at least see the tests of s*%t you've filmed around your house using VLOG? That way, at least we can talk about your looks. Brandon filmed a narrative in a matter of days. He took a chance. He shared and you guys berated.

Not everybody is the same. And no matter how good you "think" you are, there is always someone better than you........

PS. The film looks fine. If you got a result that pleases you and worked for the situation at hand, who gives a crap about the negative.
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+1

It seems people saw the word V-log in the OP post and nothing else. For crying out loud guys!
 
People can grade "artistically" all they want, no rules. When I see it, it looks lazy and unfinished compared to 99% of the quality, commercial stuff on Earth. Just depends on your intentions and delivery end goal. This is just some random guys opinion on the net and doesn't really matter. :)
 
dustylense said:
My simple answer would be to people is let's see what you have applied VLOG to other than s*%t around your house?
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I didn't see anything in the above film that couldn't have been done with normal profiles - maybe with the slightest blowout that didn't matter to the story anyway. VLOG was not out when I shot my last "epic" or I would have used it. After testing it, I don't see the benefits.

I am WAY IMPRESSED with any film maker that completes a project with an actual story! :) Big kudos for that.
 
wwjd said:
People can grade "artistically" all they want, no rules. When I see it, it looks lazy and unfinished compared to 99% of the quality, commercial stuff on Earth. Just depends on your intentions and delivery end goal. This is just some random guys opinion on the net and doesn't really matter. :)
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I'm curious what seems lazy about it? I agree it has a muted contrast (by design), but is quality determined by how punchy the image is? I'm not being combative with that question, genuinely curious. If you want punchy, then yes, it's really silly to shoot V-LOG L as you can get to a good mid-range contrast picture with the built in profiles (such as Portrait) and then punch it the rest of the way to your liking in post. For me, the appeal of V-LOG L is that I'm pushing things down instead of lifting them up - with every other profile, again unless I set Master Pedestal at +15, I'm bringing the blacks up so that they're not super harshly crunched. This gets me where I want to go with my images. I don't want to be shooting with 12 stops of dynamic range and then compress it to 5. I guess for me, I go, "What's the point?" Why not just shoot with the contrast ramped up in camera then? I like my shadows velvety and my highlights smoothly rolled off, and V-LOG L gets me there on this camera. I don't understand how that's lazy but to each their own. Thanks for your insight. :)
 
sorry, that is kind of a harsh word. But, if you start with flat file, barely adjust it, that is not a lot of work, and takes very little skill. I've seen many a film maker going for a flatter look (no idea why), only to press them and find out they don't know how to color correct and grade.

AGAIN, one can't ever comment on someones "Artistic choice" but in my personal experiences with local and online film makers, many don't know HOW to grade... they will just be lazy and claim it as an "artisitc choice". I've viewed and experimented with many coloring tutorials, but will never be done learning, and can get most looks without just dropping a grading LUT on it (not that there is anything wrong with doing that), so I am aware of the time and pain it is to learn grading.

Far as THIS film, first, like I said earlier, BIG PROPS for completing a 60HR film project! I know the stress of those, having done 48HRs myself. Good job! I didn't feel the drab look helped the narrative in anyway, but noticed the changes in the flashbacks etc. And without really thinking about it, the people skin in the spoons game part looked green and magenta to me, mostly, which I don't think is right. After just rewatching it, I (personal opinion only) felt the coloring detracting from the viewing experience. I know 60 hr film/edit does not allow a lot of grading time, but there were easy options available that aren't so flat, nor all color saturated.

Contrast VS flat in camera can come back to an 8-bit thang. Crushing contrast in 8BIT leaves a lot of data in the garbage bin, restricting options - like VLOG, yes, it works, but you are only using half of the color bandwidth ALREADY within the limited 8-bit world. MAny do shoot for contrast in 8-bit camera. I shoot a little flat to capture more DR and shadow stuff, but not so flat it only uses 1/3 of the levels range.

There's nothing wrong with anything, if the end goal is whatever you artistically want it to be. No limits, no rules to making films. However it is good to have a direction, know what the finish line is, to be sure you are headed in the right direction.

-- take with grain of salt, I'm just another guy online :)
 

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wwjd said:
sorry, that is kind of a harsh word. But, if you start with flat file, barely adjust it, that is not a lot of work, and takes very little skill. I've seen many a film maker going for a flatter look (no idea why), only to press them and find out they don't know how to color correct and grade.

AGAIN, one can't ever comment on someones "Artistic choice" but in my personal experiences with local and online film makers, many don't know HOW to grade... they will just be lazy and claim it as an "artisitc choice". I've viewed and experimented with many coloring tutorials, but will never be done learning, and can get most looks without just dropping a grading LUT on it (not that there is anything wrong with doing that), so I am aware of the time and pain it is to learn grading.

Far as THIS film, first, like I said earlier, BIG PROPS for completing a 60HR film project! I know the stress of those, having done 48HRs myself. Good job! I didn't feel the drab look helped the narrative in anyway, but noticed the changes in the flashbacks etc. And without really thinking about it, the people skin in the spoons game part looked green and magenta to me, mostly, which I don't think is right. After just rewatching it, I (personal opinion only) felt the coloring detracting from the viewing experience. I know 60 hr film/edit does not allow a lot of grading time, but there were easy options available that aren't so flat, nor all color saturated.

Contrast VS flat in camera can come back to an 8-bit thang. Crushing contrast in 8BIT leaves a lot of data in the garbage bin, restricting options - like VLOG, yes, it works, but you are only using half of the color bandwidth ALREADY within the limited 8-bit world. MAny do shoot for contrast in 8-bit camera. I shoot a little flat to capture more DR and shadow stuff, but not so flat it only uses 1/3 of the levels range.

There's nothing wrong with anything, if the end goal is whatever you artistically want it to be. No limits, no rules to making films. However it is good to have a direction, know what the finish line is, to be sure you are headed in the right direction.

-- take with grain of salt, I'm just another guy online :)
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Honestly dude. When are you going to finish teen cop? It's been well over a year. Also. The moon people could have been filmed on a camera phone.

Lighten up.
 
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