One of the best training grounds for learning to efficiently shoot editable coverage is local TV news. Camera/reporter teams shoot and edit their own stories every day under very tight time lines. You learn to think in terms of covering story essence with a minimal amount of footage.
Canon R5 Announced with 8k
- Thread starter Ken1212
- Start date
Run&Gun
Veteran
Yes. I’ve said this for a long time, as well. This used to be SOP in the “TV”/video world. Most people came up through the ranks, so to speak, and by the time they landed at the network level or went into freelancing, they had YEARS of experience and years of experience doing it under tight deadlines and timelines. Now so many people are literally just handed jobs at levels that would have taken them years to get to in the past, and honestly the majority of them are out of their element and with their heads under water. I can’t tell you the number of reporters I’ve worked with, at the network level, that have never worked in local TV or some that have never been on TV/camera period. It honestly blows my mind still, despite this having become the norm over the last 5-10 years.
I look back at some of the great story telling, both visually and the actual story, that was done at the local level in the 80’s and 90’s and into the early 2000’s. Some of it just incredible, and especially when you look at the tools that they had to work with. Now you can’t even get properly exposed or white balanced video and it looks like a colorblind crackhead set the camera up.
AndreeOnline
Veteran
Hey Run&Gun, tell us how you really feel =)
ahalpert
Major Contributor
Check out this sexy 1DX III 4K footage: https://youtu.be/XsBMuW9b6Uk
I like it a lot, and I've actually disliked most of the 1DX III footage I've seen, but I have to remember that people are just grading it unpleasantly.
Interesting that she overexposed it 2 stops, though I think that was an accident.
Her other 1DX III clips don't look as good to me
I like it a lot, and I've actually disliked most of the 1DX III footage I've seen, but I have to remember that people are just grading it unpleasantly.
Interesting that she overexposed it 2 stops, though I think that was an accident.
Her other 1DX III clips don't look as good to me
I was researching if canon plans on releasing an update for the C100 II this year and ran into the video below from 2018. The interview took place at a Canon's expo showcasing a cinema camera with 8k and referencing to release during 2020 for the Olympics. The interview references 2015 as a date when Canon stated developing 8k.
AndreeOnline
Veteran
I honestly don't get how people can't nail exposure, though!? I mean... you are LOOKING at the image right?
Who here points the camera at something, lines up the frame by looking at the image, and then looks away and start "turning the aperture and shutter dials" a bit?
A video camera shows you the ACTUAL image from the get go. And if you're using an optical viewfinder you surely have a monitor hooked up as well.
If a camera offers me something like a toggle button for 'false color', I won't say no to it. But I'll only use it occasionally.... no, I actually do use it a lot since it's so easy... but I consider it a pretty trivial tool and it's just as easy to just look at the screen (which is sealed off, or an EVF I guess).
ahalpert
Major Contributor
Haha - and by 2 whole stops.
Possibilities - autoexposure with the dial at +2 (after all, why was she consistently two stops over). And also maybe she was viewing it without a LUT and didn't know how to interpret it, thus she didn't catch the error
John Brawley
Well-known member
Yeah. x1000.
Documentary / News (used to be) great training grounds for narrative drama.
It forces you to LISTEN. Because LISTENING to what's happening determines if you roll your camera or not. It's the same as UNDERSTANDING story beats in a scene and working out what those moments are. Sound drives vision.
You then have to DECIDE how to cover a scene you'll only get one chance to shoot maybe. So you have to GUESS and anticipate where the best place for a camera might be and then HOW you'll get additional coverage to stitch it together when it's only one camera. (editing your own material to come)
In doing this you're being taught BLOCKING and COVERAGE. One of the most underrated components of storytelling is STAGING / COVERAGE / BLOCKING. No one ever raves about a films staging and blocking but it's EVERYTHING. Real directors know how to block and stage for camera, but it rarely is discussed in craft discussions. Doing doco teaches you a lot about coverage.
Editing your own material. Nothing teaches you faster how to "shoot to edit" than having to edit your own material into something watchable. Same applies for lighting a green screen (having to pull your own mattes) and colour correction (grading your own shots)
All of these will make you a better cinematographer. I started off in doco. Many of the generation of Australian DP's before me came out of news. My mentor told me they basically had 100' (3 mins) of film and they were expected to get the story on that roll of film. All their dailies, all their cutaways.
Many of the best of Australian DP's came out of that system. Documentary and news. (Count the Oscars) John Seale. Andrew Lesnie. Dean Semler. Russell Boyd. Don McAlpine. Deakins too came from Documentary.
Personally, I think it's one of the best training grounds for narrative work. It teaches you to be fast, listen, LOOK and react to what's happening in the moment.
News these days isn't the same at all. But Doco still is.
JB
puredrifting
Major Contributor
That's what frustrates me about mirrorless cameras, few of them have a waveform monitor, instead relying on the vague and imprecise histogram for exposure. ETTR my ass, what about exposing for good skin tones?
I came up shooting film and Betacam SP, where even having Zebras was considered a luxury feature, so I really, really value my waveform monitor and I have rarely, in the past decade, overexposed or underexposed images as I live and die by the waveform monitor and yes,
my eye actually looking at the images. Judging exposure, really, besides framing and focus, is one of our primary jobs as camera ops. How can so many people not get this?
AndreeOnline
Veteran
I always say 'shooter's choice', so I'm not going to comment on if this particular shooter missed the intended exposure (unless maybe it was explicitly stated somewhere), but yes... I always use a View Assist or similar LUT to get the image on camera into Rec.709 territory. It's only good that it's a narrowish target—it helps you choose the correct pivot point for contrast and you'll be pleasantly "surprised" (not really since you need to know your camera) when you look at the actual footage. The contrasty image also makes focusing easier.
AndreeOnline
Veteran
I also don't ETTR. I want correct exposure in camera. Correct meaning 'photographically' and not 'technically' based on SNR.
But the reason I don't need exposure assist tools is that when it comes to my personal cameras (Canon's DSLRs never had assists) is that I'm looking at a sealed off image that is representative of what I'm shooting. If I had to "expose" by looking at a SmallHD (shudders) or similar, I wouldn't pick up the camera in the first place.
An good EVF would also be great, but it's been a rare luxury for the types of cameras I've owned.
NorBro
Major Contributor
ahalpert
Major Contributor
In the description he wrote, "The whole day I shot around 2 stood over exposed, which was way to much the footage was still usable."
Not entirely clear on the meaning, but I think he meant it was either accidental or he was testing its latitude. There's no similar mention on his other videos
Run&Gun
Veteran
It's photography 101. I guess all you need to do today is remember to hit RECORD. They'll sort the rest out in post. Maybe.
combatentropy
Veteran
Run&Gun
Veteran
Maybe they missed
Maybe everyone is on their iPhones or iPads... Lol. I've accidentally done it on my iPad before, too.
G
Guest
Guest
Maybe they missed
Maybe they thought they could change their vote in post, so just hit whichever button?
Run&Gun
Veteran
Now that's funny.