Brevis35/HVX low light scene

[getken]

This was recorded with the HVX Cine D 720 24p using a Brevis35 (beta version w/cineform1 diffuser) and Canon lenses. I think I used an 85mm 1.8 and a 50mm 1.4 on these scenes, all wide open. This stuff has not been color corrected. It's also not really edited...I threw this together just so folks could have a look at this setup in low light. It's not a complete scene but just a couple takes that quasi go together (I'm not an editor). H.264 compression. It's a big file (for a very short clip) so may take a few minutes to load and stream.
http://homepage.mac.com/getken/hdtest/iMovieTheater51.html

 

[koala]

nice shots! looks awsome - can you post some grabs in full size please?

thanks a lot

 

[Brandon Rice]

Very nice. Some of the editing was weird, but the image was good.

 

[MojoTrancer]

Nice to see a test clip that isn't just a bunch of shots of some inanimate object. Good acting as well.

 

[Slice]

What was the light set up? How many light sources did you have and what wattage was each light?

 

[mr.terpstar]

Nice to see a test clip that isn't just a bunch of shots of some inanimate object. Good actings as well.

Couldn't agree more. There's hardly any films out there from the Brevis. Once I get mine (hopefully next week) I'll be sure to put it to good dramatic use. :thumbsup:

Looks alright, though a bit dark. Some CC might help to sell the mood better; deepen the blacks. Any closeups? I also noticed it got a bit soft on the edges. Have you addressed this at all?

What was that buzzing sound on the fourth shot? Was that the Brevis? Perhaps the old version?

 

[getken]

can you post some grabs in full size please?

I'll try to do that if I can.

Some of the editing was weird

I made note of that in the initial post...I'm not an editor and this is not a complete edited scene. I put this together because many people had asked about this set up in low light and about Canon lenses.

Good acting as well.

I think they are doing a great job. The script is good and it's a good story so I have high hopes for the final product.

What was the light set up? How many light sources did you have and what wattage was each light?

I'm working with a very small light package. I've got an Arri kit that has 3 300's and a 650 (fresnels). I also have an open face Tota w/Chimera and 3 150 Peppers. The hard part and the challenge, as you all know, is making it look natural. That is really difficult when you are not working on a set but in someones apartment with low ceilings, no place to mount lights, fear of blowing a circuit in the apartment building etc. Also trying to create the specific mood when you don't have a lot of time (the director is a first time director and didn't realize how much time we need between scenes to set up the next lighting for the next shot). The kitchen was meant to be brighter than the room where the other girl comes in. Also I knew that I'd have the tracking shot of her to the kitchen and couldn't see lights in that shot (which showed most of the room so it was difficult). In the first shot I lit her with a focused 150 pepper directly in the face. The kitchen was lit with a bounce from the 650 into the ceiling so the foreground looks good out of focus and the actor in the background had to hit her mark precisely to get that small focused beam of light directly on her face. The other challenge I have is working with dark skin tones. The light gets sucked up, or I also get glare so that is another challenge. But the lighting is what makes this so much fun. I could go into a lot of detail about lighting, but that would take a lot of space and time! And I don't want to bore you.

Looks alright, though a bit dark. Some CC might help to sell the mood better; deepen the blacks. Any closeups? I also noticed it got a bit soft on the edges. Have you addressed this at all?

Dark is what we are going for so that's OK. Unusable was what I wanted to avoid, and I think we now know that this combination of HVX/Brevis in low light dramatic situations will in fact work. I agree that CC will make it look even better and I think deepening the blacks will soidify everything. There are some CU's but I put this together pretty quickly and just picked out four shots, unfortunately that didn't include a CU. I didn't notice the soft edges. Can you point out specifically where? I was looking for that myself and thought it looked pretty clean.

What was that buzzing sound on the fourth shot? Was that the Brevis? Perhaps the old version?

My Brevis is a very old version, that has had some mods but is nothing like what Dennis is now producing. So yes, what you are hearing is channel 3&4 which automatically records on the HVX camera mic. The camera mic is picking up the hum of the Brevis. The new ones will not do this and in fact I've just sent mine back to Dennis to have this issue cleaned up before our next production date. Dennis and Cinevate customer service is the best I've ever dealt with!

 

[mr.terpstar]

Ken, the softness I noticed was on the left of shots #2 & 3. On shot 2 (the end of the tracking) the cabinet and counter items are a bit blury around the edges but other things near their focal plane don't seem to blur. It's less noticable in the next shot but when she's talking to the girl her earing goes from sharp to soft and the back of her head is just a bit blurry as well. Just something subtle I noticed.

Dennis has indeed been great to work with.

 

[danny d]

these adapters with still lenses are way too tricky to use.

 

[Jack Daniel Stanley]

you mean static adaptors?
or adaptors in general?
static adaptors are no harder to use than vibrating ones. lol.

 

[getken]

the softness I noticed was on the left of shots #2 & 3. On shot 2 (the end of the tracking) the cabinet and counter items are a bit blury around the edges but other things near their focal plane don't seem to blur. It's less noticable in the next shot but when she's talking to the girl her earing goes from sharp to soft and the back of her head is just a bit blurry as well.

Thanks for pointing that out. It is very subtle and I didn't notice it. I have a hard time seeing it in the tracking shot but do notice it on the over the shoulder shot. I thought it was just how critical the DoF is in such low light conditions (and why I had to use a focus chart even though I was also using a 17 Panasonic HD monitor), but it may be more than that. The Brevis is currently in for a major upgrade (it's a very early model) so I'm guessing that it will be rectified.