A7S + Shogun Project - "Rockout" Music Video

R

Ryan Lightbourn

Well-known member
Not sure how I feel about this setup for a A-cam. I love stills mode & the A7S' low light capabilities (it definitely speeds/cheapens up micro-budget productions), but I found the footage to be insanely difficult to grade (more so than F3/Shogun Slog). I shot this with Slog2 + Cine color. I tried my best to nail white balance on set, but that was another thing I seemed to struggle with & I've been using this thing for months now. I'm just not completely happy with the images.

https://vimeo.com/123752224

Maybe with the Shogun's 3D LUT option, things will be a little easier, but right now the raw capabilities of Red, Blackmagic, and even Magic Lantern are making me lean back in that direction for an A-cam. However, for stills and extreme low light scenarios, the A7S won't be leaving my camera bag any time soon.

PS my lead actor/friend/colleague Jack IS actually "pink", so that didn't help the cause.
 
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I think I know what you mean. Compared to the FS700 (both rewording internally) the A7s can look so much better, but somehow the FS700 produces much more reliable results. As in less surprises ;)

I saw some of the purple/magenta lips syndrome too. I tend to get that with the FS700 when grading...
 
Despite what you say, on a Macbook retina screen the colours look really good! And I've seen a lot of A7s footage with dodgy looking skin and white balances - some of it my own!

He does appear to have deep purple lips though! Quite unsettling... did he have a few glasses of red wine before shooting, or is that a symptom of the grade?
 
Austinchimp said:
did he have a few glasses of red wine before shooting, or is that a symptom of the grade?
Click to expand...

They most definitely have a purplish tint off camera!

Thanks for the positive comments. I just don't know about the A7S...I'm keeping it for stills & B-cam, but for video I just feel like it's let me down in so many situations.

Here, for example, is a project I shot in an extremely similar environment (as Rockout) with the Red One...again, micro budget, barely any lighting/bounce/etc., but it was just so, so much faster/easier to grade & gave me what I feel is a more "pro" image overall: https://vimeo.com/77088101
***Red having a superior image is to be expected...I guess I've just been hoping that the A7S + Shogun would be my saving grace from the pricey world of R3D.
 
Man....you know some FREAKS!
My kind of people! I gotta hang with y'all next time I get to Fla.

I'm curious - would lighting conditions like what you're talking about be well served by a 5D3 w/M.L. RAW?
I ask because although I've got 3 cameras that do fine in a production environment, I don't have anything that could be called a low-light killer.

Thanks.
 
DPStewart said:
I'm curious - would lighting conditions like what you're talking about be well served by a 5D3 w/M.L. RAW?
I ask because although I've got 3 cameras that do fine in a production environment, I don't have anything that could be called a low-light killer.

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Aside from the A7S + Shogun combo; 5D3-raw was solid, but definitely not as good. I'd also consider BMCC w. BMCC edition speedbooster, or even a BMPCC with BMPCC edition Speedbooster (which actually is a monster in low light and your cheapest option).

A7S wins over everything for low light though.
 
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