C300: C300 Low-Budget Feature

stefancolson

stefancolson

Well-known member
I can finally share media from a feature I shot last summer on the C300 and Zeiss ZE glass. We did this relatively guerrilla-style, with little gear due to a low budget and a big script that featured many locations and a large ensemble cast (including children) on a schedule of 18 days. Most of the handheld work is with the bare C300 (no rig), and we did the whole thing without a generator. Lighting package consisted of 2 CoolLights CDM150s, some china balls, and a couple of small LED panels.


As always, comments and criticism appreciated.
 
This looks fantastic!!!! I seriously want to see this film.
It's got heart...

JD
 
damn! the quality of this looks absolutely amazing plus the story & acting looks fantastic as well.

could you comment on the specific zeiss glass you used? C-log? were the outside shots lit as well? reflectors? your LED's?

what was your approach to exposure on the outside shots?

what software did you do the final color in? did you edit this as well as shoot?

very inspiring especially not being a large production. could have fooled me.

david
 
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Thanks for the kind words, David. We were lucky to have a couple of supremely talented people in our art department who did miracles with a tiny budget, as well as some very dedicated producers who were able to secure some great locations and pull off some impressive feats given the budget (like shutting down the 6th street bridge in LA for an entire day). We had a bunch of great actors and a wonderful script as a starting point (not to mention the talents of a writer/director with a clear vision and an appreciation for creative collaboration).

Lenses used were: Zeiss ZE 21/2.8, 28/2.8, 35/2.0, 50/1.4, 85/1.4, and a 100 Macro that only got used a couple of times because it was a ZF lens that focused in the opposite direction (I pull my own focus and the focus direction flip takes a few minutes to adjust to). I also used a Tokina 11-16 and a Canon 70-200 IS II a decent amount, and a Canon 28-135 for the shots that are supposed to be the movie that the characters make.

I did the whole thing in C-log. None of the outside shots are lit, but we made liberal use of silks and bounce. Exposed for skin tones, with adjustments made when necessary to keep from clipping.

I didn't do the grade, but our colorist works in Resolve. I was the editor as well and did everything online in Premiere CS5 (I made the transition to CS6 mid-edit). I did some compositing and graphics work in After Effects as well.

I'm more than happy to get more detailed about the technical details if anyone is interested.
 
Truly fantastic work. This film looks promising, which is way more important the technical stuff behind it. Congrats!
 
Nice work stefan - not because its shot on a C300, but because you guys made a feature that from the trailer feels like a movie should.
 
Looks good. Doesn't seem to have been done in a small budget. I hope you get commercial success. All the best!
 
Trailer looks fantastic - definitely something I'd give a couple hours to watch. Well done, sir.
 
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