C500: C500ii: Fixing overexposed/blown out face

Run&Gun said:
There are only certain instances that I'll use false color and false color is at the bottom of my "exposure tool" toolbox. Underneath waveform and underneath zebra. And histogram isn't even in it, period.

With my ENG camera, if I'm in the field and feel that I need a quick check or have a question, I can pop zebra's on and off very quickly. In-fact, I think my VF on my Vari has a three position switch: middle is off, up or down is ON and the other way is just a spring loaded(returns to middle/off) temporary on for 2-3 seconds and then turns back off. For sit-downs, waveform is my first choice if I need to check the shot. For me, I've found the best use for false color is for green screen or if I'm shooting/lighting a solid white background, etc. Histogram has no business in video. That snuck in with all of the DSLR shooters.
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I wasn't a fan of false colour until I got my latest onboard monitor (Swit CM-S75C). I can flick false colour on and off and quickly get a detailed and accurate view of where all the IRE levels are sitting. It works way way better than the false colour on the C500MKII. It also helps that it's 3000 nits, so if Sean had one f those (and they are cheap as chips) he'd have been fine.
 
I don't want to defend histograms, but RED has had them on-camera for a long time

(A food/beverage photographer whose videos I edit recently told me he bought a used Raven and his DP friend told him to "just keep his exposure between the goalposts" lol - do your tests, pal!)
 
seanadl said:
Hi all,

I shot a walk and talk segment yesterday outside. Bright, sunny day here in L.A. Thought I had the exposure nailed (using the camera's built-in false color readings) - but looking at it in the edit, the face is completely over exposed. As this was shot in Rec 709 XF-AVC and not log/raw - am I correct in thinking it might be difficult to recover/salvage in the edit?

Any tips/tricks on exposing skin tones nicely on very sunny days, in a one man run and gun situation? I only have the LCD display and built-in camera tools to guide me.
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That’s a long way overexposed, what colour was his face on the false colour scale?
 
You can't fix it, but you can probably improve it slightly. I remember watching a really good tutorial a few years ago on fixing blown out skin tones in Resolve, but I can't find it for the life of me. Does anyone know of good tutorials that go beyond using the highlight recovery slider?

I use zebras, but that's because I'm shooting with a mirrorless camera. My old Lilliput monitor's false color can't be calibrated to different picture profiles, so it's more useful for judging the evenness of the lighting than gauging exposure.

A little over a decade ago, I significantly under exposed some footage when I first started shooting video with a Sony SR-11, due to setting exposure off the very bright screen and not realizing that it had zebras, and not even knowing what zebras were at the time. :grin:
 
Liam Hall said:
Give the young man a break, he said he was a newbie, but more importantly, shooting in the sun on the C500MKII without a VF is tricky. You really have to understand the exposure tools on the camera because you won't be able to judge exposure by eye.
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I was actually responding to Abe’s comment with that and kind of in a general sense and not directly to the OP, who I do understand is still new and learning(and I’m glad they are actively trying to improve their craft). And it was leading back to my point of setting-up and knowing your VF and camera. Even without a waveform, false color, etc., you should be able to hit your exposure, at least within a fraction or two, especially on a face by just looking in a good VF. I mean we did it for decades with old B&W CRT VF’s on cameras with much less latitude than the cameras we have today that come equipped with color VF’s and monitors. Maybe it’s just the old ENG guy in me, but you should be able to not just get ‘in the ballpark’, but at least into the dugout or standing on-deck with a properly set VF.
 
Grug said:
That’s a long way overexposed, what colour was his face on the false colour scale?
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Some areas of the face were around 18% gray (green). The rest of the face didn't show any of the false color. A tiny part of the hair came up as blue (just above black clipping), a bit of the forehead showed as one stop over 18% gray.
 
Liam Hall said:
I wasn't a fan of false colour until I got my latest onboard monitor (Swit CM-S75C). I can flick false colour on and off and quickly get a detailed and accurate view of where all the IRE levels are sitting. It works way way better than the false colour on the C500MKII. It also helps that it's 3000 nits, so if Sean had one f those (and they are cheap as chips) he'd have been fine.
Click to expand...
Will invest in something like this! Do you use this instead of the LCD the camera is shipped with?
 
Liam Hall said:
I wasn't a fan of false colour until I got my latest onboard monitor (Swit CM-S75C). I can flick false colour on and off and quickly get a detailed and accurate view of where all the IRE levels are sitting. It works way way better than the false colour on the C500MKII. It also helps that it's 3000 nits, so if Sean had one f those (and they are cheap as chips) he'd have been fine.
Click to expand...

I’m not against false color, and I’m glad I have it(I use the ARRI profile). I have it programmed into a quick button on all of my smallHD’s, but I just don’t need it/use it that much. There are times, however, that I have found it very useful for certain situations.
 
Run&Gun said:
I was actually responding to Abe’s comment with that and kind of in a general sense and not directly to the OP, who I do understand is still new and learning(and I’m glad they are actively trying to improve their craft). And it was leading back to my point of setting-up and knowing your VF and camera. Even without a waveform, false color, etc., you should be able to hit your exposure, at least within a fraction or two, especially on a face by just looking in a good VF. I mean we did it for decades with old B&W CRT VF’s on cameras with much less latitude than the cameras we have today that come equipped with color VF’s and monitors. Maybe it’s just the old ENG guy in me, but you should be able to not just get ‘in the ballpark’, but at least into the dugout or standing on-deck with a properly set VF.
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I need to improve on this. Practise and get used to the camera. My only experience shooting was way back in the MTV days when I was an intern we were handed a PD150 and told to go out and film red carpets and stuff. They didn't really care about how it looked. The crappier the better as far as MTV was concerned. Fast forward a fair few years and this is my next camera. World's apart.
 
NorBro said:
REDs also have the "traffic lights" that are helpful for exposing.
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I’ve seen a lot of the guys on RU talk about them, but I’m kind of still having a hard time wrapping my head around it. I need to search out some YouTube videos on it.
 
seanadl said:
Some areas of the face were around 18% gray (green). The rest of the face didn't show any of the false color. A tiny part of the hair came up as blue (just above black clipping), a bit of the forehead showed as one stop over 18% gray.
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Were you shooting log or baked-in? Were you monitoring log, baked-in or with a LUT and was the FC being applied to a log or LUT’ed or baked-in image?
 
Baked-in, and monitoring the baked-in image. The FC was being applied to the baked-in image on the LCD on the camera.
 
seanadl said:
I need to improve on this. Practise and get used to the camera. My only experience shooting was way back in the MTV days when I was an intern we were handed a PD150 and told to go out and film red carpets and stuff. They didn't really care about how it looked. The crappier the better as far as MTV was concerned. Fast forward a fair few years and this is my next camera. World's apart.
Click to expand...

We all remember the old “MTV Days”... ESPN 2 was kind of Wild West/throw-the-rules-out-the-window, in its early days, too.
 
Run&Gun said:
I was actually responding to Abe’s comment with that and kind of in a general sense and not directly to the OP, who I do understand is still new and learning(and I’m glad they are actively trying to improve their craft). And it was leading back to my point of setting-up and knowing your VF and camera. Even without a waveform, false color, etc., you should be able to hit your exposure, at least within a fraction or two, especially on a face by just looking in a good VF. I mean we did it for decades with old B&W CRT VF’s on cameras with much less latitude than the cameras we have today that come equipped with color VF’s and monitors. Maybe it’s just the old ENG guy in me, but you should be able to not just get ‘in the ballpark’, but at least into the dugout or standing on-deck with a properly set VF.
Click to expand...

Fair enough. I take your point and agree re VFs.
 
seanadl said:
Will invest in something like this! Do you use this instead of the LCD the camera is shipped with?
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I use both. I also have a viewfinder so I'm covered for all situations. If you haven't got a viewfinder a high brightness monitor is a must shooting on the C500MKII outside in the sun. The Swits are cheap, very, very bright and have lots of exposure and other tools that can help you.
 
For shooting outdoors, a good EVF is imperative, in my opinion. It also fits the way that I shoot/operate. I like that “connection” to the camera. Not just for being able to see the picture better and more accurately judge the image, but I feel like the camera is an extension of me. Even inside, if I’m shooting interviews and I have someone that is moving around a lot, I’ll get into the VF to follow them around and adjust.
 
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