Christopher Ruffell's doc-style shoot

Audio sounds too hot IMO. Video looks nice though.

I used my GH1 on a talking heads shoot recently when the main camera went down (we were very short on time and it's fortunate I had a backup with me) and I really enjoyed it. The client was a little hesitant (the main camera rig was an XHA1 w/ 35mm adapter) but I had no complaints about the image afterwards. GH1 to the rescue!
 
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Wondering if this was 720p60 or 1080 - or even 720p MJPEG, and what lens he was using. Am interested because I didn't see any mud in the foliage or grass where one might normally expect it with AVCHD.
 
Yes, the audio does sound like the wireless mic (probably the receiver) was over-driving the GH1's mic input. If so, then this result was likely caused by the GH1's missing headphone "feature". ;-)

(It's also possible the audio was mis-handled in post. Difficult to say by just watching a copy of the video on Vimeo.)

Since I didn't shoot the video I don't know what wireless mic was used. For example, my Sennheiser wireless mics have an output level control on the receiver. I haven't used them with a GH1, but this may allow you to set the output of the receiver so it doesn't over-drive the GH1's mic input. If necessary, an inline pad/attenuator could also be used.

By way of reference, Ozpeter has shown that a GH1 can sound pretty good with external mics (he includes links to audio MP3 files):
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showpost.php?p=1692295&postcount=12
http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=177740

But other than the audio, I think Christopher did a nice job on this shoot.
 
Wondering if this was 720p60 or 1080 - or even 720p MJPEG, and what lens he was using. Am interested because I didn't see any mud in the foliage or grass where one might normally expect it with AVCHD.
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The "mud in the foliage or grass problem" in 1080p is just crap propagated by a few that need more practicing in their filmmmaking skills. If you really know what you are doing you will have no problem with 1080p and create some great looking fottage with it. Here is an example:

http://www.vimeo.com/groups/gh1/videos/7233544
 
Well, John, this has been debated a lot so there's already many threads about this. All I'm going to say is that the "few who need more practice in their filmmaking skills" don't always have the luxury of filming in areas without high contrast where there's lots of green (or even brown mottled) details in the shadow areas.

I'm not trying to start a conflict here. And my statement was not meant as such. I was merely trying to see how the footage linked by the OP was free of mud.

I couldn't help noticing a fair amount of mud in the example you cited. Specifically; in the beginning, under the bridge - again in the second shot of the pagoda, under the eaves - in the next shot around the bell - in the next shot on the left -- I could go on.

So I return to my original statement: "Wondering if this was 720p60 or 1080 - or even 720p MJPEG, and what lens he was using. Am interested because I didn't see any mud in the foliage or grass where one might normally expect it with AVCHD."
 
Well, John, this has been debated a lot so there's already many threads about this. All I'm going to say is that the "few who need more practice in their filmmaking skills" don't always have the luxury of filming in areas without high contrast where there's lots of green (or even brown mottled) details in the shadow areas.
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Just of curiosity, do you own a GH1?
 
Don't see what that has to do with this discussion, but I'm willing to humor you, John. Yes, I'm a very happy owner of a GH1 who's aware of its limitations (under certain conditions) and is constantly trying to learn ways to improve my results.
 
great subject matter and very well done overall!

loved the way you used the lens flare at the end to dissolve to white.

only critique is that the interview shots of the woman seemed gray and overexposed compared to all the other full daylight exteriors and the other 2 interview subjects.
 
Panasonic Lumc GH1 Producer's Follow Up

Panasonic Lumc GH1 Producer's Follow Up



Thanks Peter for posting - got me signed on as a DVXUser user now.

To answer some questions: entirely shot in 60P 720P. Why? Because I read somewhere that there were less artifacts, and, I knew I was going to use/play with the 60P function a lot for the B-Roll, so why not just make it simple and shoot 60P for the whole thing. Far better than figuring out which clip was which, and having mixed footage in a timeline. Note: I edited in 24P in FCP using the ProRes 422 codec - FCP made it's best guess for choosing which frames to get the 24P out of the 60P in the timeline. It was all drag and drop. For the shots that were slowed down 2.5x, I did those manually - exported to Compressor and used the right settings after googling for a while.

The audio - it was a gamble. With no way to monitor the recordings, I worked with what I had. The mics were last minute Sennheiser rentals that I was unfamiliar with, and obviously the gain was 10db higher than it should have been (realizing this in hindsight of course). For the next video I did after this, same setup, I turned them down 10db, and it worked out well. That said, for the GH1 (which you can't monitor the sound), you must record with a second source for this reason if you want to achieve predictable/professional results. That said, I can live with the results of this particular video, though I intend to not repeat them.

The lenses - all interviews were shot with my 1969 Nikkor 50mm F1.4 ;) Oldie, but very evidently a goodie - my favourite lens. It was usually at F2, but when I could (it'd get softer), I opened up to F1.4 for the beautiful smooth, round bokeh look. Bear in mind, with the crop factor, my 50mm behaved like a 100mm lens - was never a problem, I was able to compose my shots fine. I had to use multiple ND filters and a polarizer and increase the shutter speed to use it outside while keeping the iris open. It's sooo fast, so much so that it created quality problems! Far better than being too dark, so I welcomed the challenge.

The wide angle shots and pans were shot with the panasonic kit lens which is a beautiful sharp and modern corrected lens, just it's not fast. At 28mm (35mm equiv) it was a nice wide angle lens that worked great in daylight. It's great that I had the options to swap between the lenses. I had more Nikon lenses in my bag, but never had a reason to use them.

I'm glad you like the last shot averan - works well with the song too. The shots of the woman were the results of documentary shooting - the sun wasn't cooperating, it rained partway through the interview, and there were no plugs (!!) in the buildings next door to be able to even use lights. So we rolled with it - she was a great sport, considering how wet + cold it was!
 
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