The beauty of a real mirror board is that it has a pin and can be mounted on a highboy, and thus adusted to whatever position you need quickly. which is important when youre trying to follow the sun.
"A Verse Before Dying" - AF-100 Western Short
- Thread starter Stephen Mick
- Start date
A Verse Before Dying Lighting Setup 2 - Town
We last examined the first interior setup of "A Verse Before Dying", this time lets take a closer look at the exterior scenes.
Camera:
The low noise, high dynamic range signal of the AF100 allows you a lot of room to internally prepare your footage for the post process. Much like the "superflat" settings of the 5DmkII and 7D, or the sLOG of the Alexa, or FilmREC of the Varicam, the AF100 has a sort of super flat built in. I know I said NEVER use it... But DRS1 is the first step towards retaining the maximum dynamic range in a high contrast setting. In testing with Barry Green, he informed me that the DRS1 setting, pulls down your high lights by about a stop, and adds approximatly 3dB gain to the shadows The ONLY time you can use this is outdoors, in broad daylight, at ISO 200. The 200ISO setting is so clean that adding the 3dB gain to the shadows is insignificant as far as perceptible grain goes, and the highlight protection is far more valuable in a sunlit setting.
This is why we have barely any over exposure in this film. I opened up till we hit 105 IRE on the brightest parts of the image, and if i could net it i did. The rest of the image just fell into a nice place, where with some simple fill, i was able to create a soft tone to the look of the film.
Here are the still and lighting setups:
So for now we will focus on the basic coverage for the scene.
One man, back lit, one man front lit, and a wide. Essentially i allowed the front lit man, the "bad guy with the scar" to fall where he did in the sun and just gave him a slight edge light with a mirror board from about 45 degrees off angle from behind. I took careful measure to ensure he was perfectly exposed, to ensure he had a proper skin tone.
The wide again was practically untouched, except for a fill light on the man in the white shirt with a mirror board to camera right, reflecting the sun in his face.
The trickery begins with the back lit protagonist. Here is the lighting diagram for him:
I used a triple net, ie a single and a double net, to cut the sun off his shoulder, to help bring his white shirt back form the brink of going too far in to over exposure. I then took two mirror boards, with the hard side reflecting direct sunlight into a 6x6 silk to his right positioned low to the ground, to simulate the naturally occurring scatter of light from the white sandstone sand on the ground , and the white adobe buildings to his left. The mirror board is the unsung hero of out door light control. When pushed through a silk, its as powerful as a 6k HMI, perhaps even more, when its catching direct sunlight. When you start multiplying them up, 2,3,4 mirror boards, you can almost over power the sun in a close up. As you can see the light is soft and simulates what was naturally occurring in the location. Just a little boost to help the camera resolve the image more faithfully.
Next up.... the cabin.......
Feel free to ask any questions....
We last examined the first interior setup of "A Verse Before Dying", this time lets take a closer look at the exterior scenes.
Camera:
The low noise, high dynamic range signal of the AF100 allows you a lot of room to internally prepare your footage for the post process. Much like the "superflat" settings of the 5DmkII and 7D, or the sLOG of the Alexa, or FilmREC of the Varicam, the AF100 has a sort of super flat built in. I know I said NEVER use it... But DRS1 is the first step towards retaining the maximum dynamic range in a high contrast setting. In testing with Barry Green, he informed me that the DRS1 setting, pulls down your high lights by about a stop, and adds approximatly 3dB gain to the shadows The ONLY time you can use this is outdoors, in broad daylight, at ISO 200. The 200ISO setting is so clean that adding the 3dB gain to the shadows is insignificant as far as perceptible grain goes, and the highlight protection is far more valuable in a sunlit setting.
This is why we have barely any over exposure in this film. I opened up till we hit 105 IRE on the brightest parts of the image, and if i could net it i did. The rest of the image just fell into a nice place, where with some simple fill, i was able to create a soft tone to the look of the film.
Here are the still and lighting setups:
So for now we will focus on the basic coverage for the scene.
One man, back lit, one man front lit, and a wide. Essentially i allowed the front lit man, the "bad guy with the scar" to fall where he did in the sun and just gave him a slight edge light with a mirror board from about 45 degrees off angle from behind. I took careful measure to ensure he was perfectly exposed, to ensure he had a proper skin tone.
The wide again was practically untouched, except for a fill light on the man in the white shirt with a mirror board to camera right, reflecting the sun in his face.
The trickery begins with the back lit protagonist. Here is the lighting diagram for him:
I used a triple net, ie a single and a double net, to cut the sun off his shoulder, to help bring his white shirt back form the brink of going too far in to over exposure. I then took two mirror boards, with the hard side reflecting direct sunlight into a 6x6 silk to his right positioned low to the ground, to simulate the naturally occurring scatter of light from the white sandstone sand on the ground , and the white adobe buildings to his left. The mirror board is the unsung hero of out door light control. When pushed through a silk, its as powerful as a 6k HMI, perhaps even more, when its catching direct sunlight. When you start multiplying them up, 2,3,4 mirror boards, you can almost over power the sun in a close up. As you can see the light is soft and simulates what was naturally occurring in the location. Just a little boost to help the camera resolve the image more faithfully.
Next up.... the cabin.......
Feel free to ask any questions....
Stephen Mick
Totally Usable
There's so much involved in pre-production, it's hard to know where to start.
So I'll start close to the beginning.
This all pretty much came together in less than a month. In fact, I think Barry and I first started talking about this project just before Halloween. We exchanged a few PMs about the AF-100, and about how we'd really like to see some cinematic/narrative footage shot with it, the kind of stuff that you'd get with a good crew, some good gear, and good actors.
We also quickly realized that the only way to get that footage was to shoot it ourselves.
So we started thinking of story ideas, and we kicked around a few different directions with Timur, but nothing felt "big" enough. Then I remembered I had this script from WestFest sitting around, and while we knew it was going to be ambitious to pull off, we figured we'd give it a go.
That was November 3rd, exactly one month before the first day of shooting.
In one month, we had to pull together an authentic-looking location, an all-star crew, a talented cast, the right equipment, wardrobe, props and everything else you need to make a shoot like this happen. Oh, and we had to do all of this while still holding down day jobs.
One of the things we've stressed throughout the process is that, while we were "testing" the camera, we were also shooting a short film, and we wanted the story to be every bit as interesting as what we did with the AF-100. When we found our location, we actually re-wrote the script to reflect, and in many cases, take advantage of, what we had to work with.
Luis, Cliff and I (and many others) put so much flat-out effort into pre-production that it really allowed Timur and I to focus on the creative aspects of production on set. I think that's the biggest key in pre-production, to do your due diligence so you can think about the things you should be thinking about on shoot days.
As far as the specifics of what was shot on which particular day, and in what order, that was really determined by Cliff and Luis mainly. Those decisions were largely made based on availability of talent, the need to minimize the amount of days we needed talent on set, and to make things as efficient as possible.
Now, no matter how much effort you put into pre-production, unexpected things are going to happen. Some good. Some not so good. The beauty of pre-production is that, if you've done everything you can reasonably be expected to in that phase, you'll be better equipped to adjust and make changes when things go a bit wrong. And they will.
Matt Gottshalk
Resident Preditor
I'll have to just add to what SM has said in regards to pre-production.
I have worked in this industry for over 20 years and this is, by far, the best example of a well-planned production that I have ever worked on.
By day 3 I believe we were AHEAD of schedule.
That is so rare in an indy production as to be a statistical anomaly.
Except when you have a crew like Cliff and Luis keeping the production running on time while also keeping track of all of the hundreds of things a project of this scope needs to get the footage and performances in the can.
They were phenomenal.
I have worked in this industry for over 20 years and this is, by far, the best example of a well-planned production that I have ever worked on.
By day 3 I believe we were AHEAD of schedule.
That is so rare in an indy production as to be a statistical anomaly.
Except when you have a crew like Cliff and Luis keeping the production running on time while also keeping track of all of the hundreds of things a project of this scope needs to get the footage and performances in the can.
They were phenomenal.
Stephen Mick
Totally Usable
I have to second what McGee said about Cliff and Luis.
The two best decisions that were made in pre-production were choosing our location, and bringing Cliff and Luis aboard. The first meant we had something that would look great on film/video. The second ensured we'd have the right people, equipment and plan to shoot it.
The two best decisions that were made in pre-production were choosing our location, and bringing Cliff and Luis aboard. The first meant we had something that would look great on film/video. The second ensured we'd have the right people, equipment and plan to shoot it.
Taylor Rudd
Veteran
Cliff Wildman
WildMember
mcgeedigital - I have worked in this industry for over 20 years and this is, by far, the best example of a well-planned production that I have ever worked on.
Stephen Mick - I have to second what McGee said about Cliff and Luis.
Taylor Rudd - Originally Posted by mcgeedigital
They were phenomenal.
Perhaps the biggest understatement of 2010. They were effing phenomenal
Gents, you just made my year. Good timing, the clock was running out on 2010!
I have to stress one thing about this shoot. Egos. Or rather, the lack of them on set. I can only imagine this type of teamwork is rarely seen on Hollywood sets or even pro-sports teams.
For emphasis: The weak link was the camera... because we didn't have a manual (j/k)
This shoot will be the standard by which I grade every set I'm on from now on.
Stephen Mick - I have to second what McGee said about Cliff and Luis.
Taylor Rudd - Originally Posted by mcgeedigital
They were phenomenal.
Perhaps the biggest understatement of 2010. They were effing phenomenal
Gents, you just made my year. Good timing, the clock was running out on 2010!
I have to stress one thing about this shoot. Egos. Or rather, the lack of them on set. I can only imagine this type of teamwork is rarely seen on Hollywood sets or even pro-sports teams.
For emphasis: The weak link was the camera... because we didn't have a manual (j/k)
This shoot will be the standard by which I grade every set I'm on from now on.
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Luis Caffesse
Admin
What he said.
Jan_Crittenden
Veteran
Hi Cliff, While I know it was not the finished manual, Barry did have a manual.
Barry_Green
Moderator
I'm proud of the team we put together, and doubly proud at the lack of ego. To me, life is far too short to deal with egotistical primadonnas. Whenever I encounter one, I mentally check them "off" my list of "those to work with in the future", and if they disrupt a shoot, they're gone. No questions asked, just gone. I don't care how "good" they may be at their job -- if they ruin the flow and disrupt the set and rain on everyone else's parade, they're gone. It only takes a few drops to poison the whole well.
Guys like Timur, Mikko, Taylor, Drew, Cliff, Luis, Stephen, Brandon, Mcgee, Marcel, and all the rest we had out there -- all had exactly the perfect attitude, which is why I'd love to work with each and every one of them in the future. Even when Cliff had to speak loudly (and yes, sometimes, you do have to exhort the crew to maintain their schedule) he did it in a professional, free-of-buttholedness way. He'd say "We're halfway through lunch, so -- if you've wasted half your lunch hour, then... you've wasted half your lunch hour." But never, ever in any manner of degrading, mocking, belittling, or otherwise unpleasant way. We were all professionals and should be treated as such and it was our duty to present ourselves as such, and -- that's just how it went, every single day we were there. Which is exactly the way I like it. :thumbsup:
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Barry_Green
Moderator
Normally my job on these shoots is to *be* the manual. :thumbsup:
And yes, there was a printed early version of the manual in the camera case.
Cliff Wildman
WildMember
Hi Jan,
Sorry, that wasn't meant as a dig on you or the cameras. I was just joking because we had such a great crew!
Thanks for making this all possible - the AF100 is going to be a game changer!
Sorry, that wasn't meant as a dig on you or the cameras. I was just joking because we had such a great crew!
Thanks for making this all possible - the AF100 is going to be a game changer!
MattinSTL
Sound Modulator
I have to comment on this... just to say that yes, this is a very important point as it relates to the satisfaction in working on the project.
I've been saying "I have no ego"... for years... and many people mistake this for "no pride" or "no confidence" or whatever... but this shoot epitomized what I mean by that. It's great to work with people who are all there to serve the production... NOT self-interests... or to prove something about themselves "beyond" the production. Everyone wants to be a part of something good, but there's a majority of the tiny video community that doesn't operate in a "production FIRST" attitude.
This project went exactly how a project should go... in terms of "ego" vs "serving the production". I was never stressed beyond my own challenges on set... everybody was great to work with, and to hang out with afterward. It was all "up" and all professional.
This left me thinking "how do I get more of THAT into my life?"... This is the kind of project that makes you feel blessed to have chosen the path you chose.
Since I had somebody PM me asking about sound on Verse... here you go (Matt Gottshalk provided the SD gear and location bag, thanks Matt!) This is the return PM that I sent r.e. location sound:
I ran sound using a Sound Devices 442 mixer, linked to the camera via a "snake"... which is the same as an XLR (a snake is an XLR pair, inside one cable... with a headphone return so I can hear what the camera is actually recording). When the cam is steadicam... i.e. all the floating shots... then I used a pair of Lectrosonics 211 wireless... with the receivers mounted to the camera... and the transmitters on the outputs of the 442 mixer... so that sound was sent wirelessly... but with no way for me to monitor it. I've been doing this long enough though... that there's little risk in running a wireless hop... especially with Lectro.
Actors were boomed with a KTek graphite pole w/ 416... and/or wired with Lectro and Trams. I used a combination of my own home-brew lav wind/noise solutions and some Rycote undercover/overcover + fur. When a mic didn't need to be hidden, I didn't hide it (OTS shots, etc)... but generally the lavs WERE hidden... especially in the windy scenes where the hiding was part of my wind control.
I ran a digital recorder as backup... (for insurance on the wireless hop)... but we watched clips each night and the sound straight off the cam sounds like a ready-to-go mix. When I was on set I matched the return levels from the phone out to my mixer levels, so that I could switch back and forth on the fly... and there was little difference in the sound. After running through the cam and coming back to me it has a little hiss... but we're talking very little... and considering I was running a serious sound-bag to feed the cam, that's actually saying a lot for the cam's excellent audio.
I find this kind attitude and working environment exist typically with people that are extremely competent in what they do. And it sounds like that's what you had on set. When skill sets are lacking, oddly, egos seem to get bigger and pissing contests begin. It's a phenomenon that probably only Einstein can explain.
Luis Caffesse
Admin
No worries, Jan - I'm pretty sure he was kidding.
Though to be honest, there was never any need for a manual on set. Once the excitement of using the new camera wore off on set we didn't really think about the camera much.
(which is the way it should be)
Anyone who has ever shot with a similar Panasonic camera should be able to seamlessly move into shooting with the AF100 - I felt right at home with it coming from the DVX... HVX200... HPX170... etc.
oh yea about sound.....
The postion of the XLR's seems weird at first, but its actually PERFECT!!!! the snake was NEVER in my way when trying to access camera, or buttons, and i felt like there was no sound guy attached to me at all. its great. Plus this makes his life easier because he can make adjustments while we prep with no crossed wires.
The postion of the XLR's seems weird at first, but its actually PERFECT!!!! the snake was NEVER in my way when trying to access camera, or buttons, and i felt like there was no sound guy attached to me at all. its great. Plus this makes his life easier because he can make adjustments while we prep with no crossed wires.
Cliff Wildman
WildMember
To kick in on-top of Luis on this point - I'm not a camera guy. I know my way around the HVX-200 (enough to be competent) and I was really really impressed with the form factor/button lay-out. If I was told I had to go pick up a b-camera shot, I feel like I would have been able to pull it off with just my HVX know-how.
A couple of the button placement changes were slick and very smart...
A couple of the button placement changes were slick and very smart...
heavyG
Underwater Giraffe Member
I wanted to ask about the PL adapter that you guys used - was it the ciecio7 from Poland /Ebay? Did you bolt the shoe to the Zacuto baseplate? If so did you need workarounds to make it happen, or was it a good match? How was the (all related) backfocus / infinity focus / focus witness marks when you used this adapter?
G.
G.