DOC: Butte Creek: Beyond the Frontier

[NorBro]

Agree with the first part, 100%. The rest? I think this has taken a production diary for a documentary well off-track. We can pixel-peep all day, but I’d much rather keep following Adam’s production process, and see how the completed project turns out.

Not sure what's well off-track as he said it himself and mentioned the recorder multiple times (and a decade-old article), but nonetheless it's important to discuss all parts of the production process if certain questionable information is presented and there is to be a well-rounded conversation and learning experience.

 

[Doug Jensen]

Agree with the first part, 100%. The rest? I think this has taken a production diary for a documentary well off-track. We can pixel-peep all day, but I’d much rather keep following Adam’s production process, and see how the completed project turns out.

This is a forum, not a blog. And I think it is completely appropriate to discuss production gear, methods, better ways of doing things, etc. when the OP has made some comments about things that didn't go as planned. Why shouldn't we offer constructive advice? Especially when the production is still in production and there is time to maybe make some changes that will improve the final product. That's the difference between a forum and a blog.

 

[Adam Grunseth]

Any difference you may be seeing could be from 4:2:2. I don't remember what the first C100 had but IIRC the II had an uncompressed 8-bit 4:2:2 output, which was way more common in pretty much every prosumer camera (4:2:2 output with 8-bits).

10-bit internal or external was almost unheard of in 2012/2013 besides Blackmagic getting it going (at least for that kind of money, and not RED).

Even if it wasn't 4:2:2 I think you could squeeze a bit more IQ from the HDMI recording than vs. the internal.

At the end of the day, the project's completion and your happiness is all that matters, but it's highly unlikely the footage was 10-bit.

It doesn't matter what the recorders say or flag or whatever, it's what goes through the pipeline from the source, the system - and if it was 10-bit I think Canon would say it's 10-bit (recorders don't get to capture 10-bit just because they can, it's up to the camera).

I am aware a camera must output 10-bit video in order for a recorder to be able to record 10-bit. But the scopes also don't lie. Most recorders, including the newer Atomos recorders, only appear to be 8-bit video regardless of the recording codec used. But for some reason, the Ninja Blade and the Ninja 2 recorders, when recording in the DNx codec from the C100 mk1, gives you many more steps on the luma curve than what you get with 8-bit video or what 8-bit is capable of. The increased chromatic resolution of the 4:2:2 video should have nothing to do with it, as it is apparent in a smooth black to white gradient, so there is no chroma information to account for, and if this were the case you would see the same with other 10 bit codecs from other recorders.

This is a forum, not a blog. And I think it is completely appropriate to discuss production gear, methods, better ways of doing things, etc. when the OP has made some comments about things that didn't go as planned. Why shouldn't we offer constructive advice? Especially when the production is still in production and there is time to maybe make some changes that will improve the final product. That's the difference between a forum and a blog.

I don't mind discussing any parts of the production process or talking about why I made the choices I did. However, the filming phase of this production has just about wrapped up at this point. I have three more interviews to do, but that is it. Then I am on to post production.

 

[NorBro]

I am aware a camera must output 10-bit video in order for a recorder to be able to record 10-bit. But the scopes also don't lie. Most recorders, including the newer Atomos recorders, only appear to be 8-bit video regardless of the recording codec used. But for some reason, the Ninja Blade and the Ninja 2 recorders, when recording in the DNx codec from the C100 mk1, gives you many more steps on the luma curve than what you get with 8-bit video or what 8-bit is capable of. The increased chromatic resolution of the 4:2:2 video should have nothing to do with it, as it is apparent in a smooth black to white gradient, so there is no chroma information to account for, and if this were the case you would see the same with other 10 bit codecs from other recorders.

yeah, I don't buy any of that, all good though