Best Settings for Skin Tones on 7D?

[GRENCH]

Hey Ian-T,

I'm thinking about really diving into the flat settings and see what I can come up with. My problem is that most of my clients are looking for just the opposite so I have to find time outside of my everyday gig for this at the moment. They want crisp contrast filled footage with shallow DOP. I can dig it but I'm going to be shooting a feature this fall and I want to find and master a great look for my movie.

 

[matt9b]

one thing that hasn't been mentioned here yet is that you will want a different mode for different lenses and lighting. I used a canon 50mm 1.8 on the tests near the start of this thread, and that lens gives saturated colours.. my old pentax 50mm m42 mount gives less saturated more filmic colours, so could do with different settings.

 

[Ian-T]

Hey Ian-T,

I'm thinking about really diving into the flat settings and see what I can come up with. My problem is that most of my clients are looking for just the opposite so I have to find time outside of my everyday gig for this at the moment. They want crisp contrast filled footage with shallow DOP. I can dig it but I'm going to be shooting a feature this fall and I want to find and master a great look for my movie.

Yeah, I think a lot of folks are just becoming accustomed to seeing that typical contrasty DSLR look. It's a toss up for me because it looks good for certain things while not for others. But that's the great thing about the DSLRs (Canons especially)...you can tweak them enough to get a flat image and not something that looks "burnt in." Looking forward to your feature.

@Matt9b...I hear you on the old Pentax. I find that I use my old Super Takumar 50mm 1.4 more than I do my other lens for the same reason. Mine also has that ever so slight yellow raidioactive tinge to it (which I refuse to burn out).

 

[J Davis]

one thing that hasn't been mentioned here yet is that you will want a different mode for different lenses and lighting. I used a canon 50mm 1.8 on the tests near the start of this thread, and that lens gives saturated colours.. my old pentax 50mm m42 mount gives less saturated more filmic colours, so could do with different settings.

mentioned on previous page post 75!
in most cases cc can correct of a lens color shift but a profile can really affect
gain and loss of data depending on skin color and lighting

I think you will find that the best settings to achieve maximum results will vary from setup to setup. From tungsten to fluro to daylight. From dark skin to light skin.

 

[matt9b]

mentioned on previous page post 75!
in most cases cc can correct of a lens color shift but a profile can really affect
gain and loss of data depending on skin color and lighting

Yes I realise that, just thought I'd point it out for lenses as well :-Happy(DBG):

 

[rhervag]

pushing the idea a bit further , i will point out *again* how using different lenses recorded through the same picture profile can completely change the resulting look.
we all use the same camera bodies but make unique choices about lens selection, which is indeed a great asset for establishing a specific tone. Even on the cheap for filming as everything goes as far as lenses are concerned : like barry said "video is the great equalizer".
plenty of options at repurposing timeless sleepers awaiting for a second life on video.
really worth considering to use selected old primes with low contrast and softer rendering instead of the latest expensive contrasty super sharp glass. ie. for a vintage feel, shooting lenses from the correct era adds instant subtle character in an elegant manner that camera tweaks and plugins won't match so easily.
many analogue and optical tools from the past are forgotten or just underrrated these days in favour of computers and plugins it's a bit sad to not experiment with what they can offer for the budget conscious indy...
$.02 worth of an opinion really

 

[Ian-T]

$.02 worth of an opinion really

....but a very good one.

 

[ROCKMORE]

In other words I have an early budding suspicion that most pic styles can be graded to look as well, without loosing any info. I think get it right as much as you can in cam and and tweak in post is the best route to go.

I gotta agree with this.
The closest to what you are looking for in camera without added camera sharpening & contrast.
I still think the cameras default neutral 0:0:0:0 is a very good place to start.

 

[J Davis]

I gotta agree with this.
The closest to what you are looking for in camera without added camera sharpening & contrast.
I still think the cameras default neutral 0:0:0:0 is a very good place to start.

at least start with neutral and turn sharpening to -4, as you don't want in camera sharpening

I use -4, -4, -1 as it is much easier to add saturation where you need it during post than it is to take it away

give it a go you might be surprised :laugh:

 

[ROCKMORE]

at least start with neutral and turn sharpening to -4, as you don't want in camera sharpening

I use -4, -4, -1 as it is much easier to add saturation where you need it during post than it is to take it away

give it a go you might be surprised :laugh:

Your probably right on that, I'll fun some of my own tests.

I do think superflat has gone way of the deep end for me.

 

[GRENCH]

" Looking forward to your feature.

So am I

Been putting it off because I was hoping that the Scarlet would be on the market by now, but I've grown tired of waiting. I have access to the RED One and a more than capable DP, but a lot of my shots call for something more compact so I was hoping to find some great setting that would complement the RED. These shots will be medium shots in very hard to light environments. The 7D is so amazing in low light that I was thinking of shooting the entire feature with it.

 

[Snapper123]

Hey guys, I'm filming a scene soon for professional purposes (its going to be displayed on theater screens). The scene is outdoors, in a field, spring/fall, early morning/late noon feel. Overall, I want the texture and tone to generally be like Harmony Korine's Mr. Lonely ( a very beautiful 'film' film). That means I want some contrast, yet a very slight tone of flat film. I'm going to be professionally white balancing the shots, too, and possibly overexposing in the slightest to get rid of noise (it works for me.) The skin tones, I'm aiming for a very pale, soft appearance, nothing really red or orange, if anything, very slight browns in the shadows of the face, with maybe a very slight pink hue to the skin. Not sure....But very pale stuff, almost like the way flash makes a face look.

What would be my overall best preset to use, if I added that I'm not an experienced editor, and that if anything, I only want to adjust the contrast, brightness, and saturation in post, and thats it. The less I have to edit, the happier I am. I also want to add again that theater screens are a big importance to me.

Oh yeah, I'd like to use the same preset for the whole movie, so it's also a priority to have one that looks good indoors and out! Overall, from that one video posted earlier in this thread, I like the "look" of Kodak Portrait the best, but that doesn't always mean you'd use that specific preset to get the most information so...please recommend what preset I should choose so that I do get the best quality video and still able to get that "look" + also holding up on cinema screens.