T2i Daily #2: Novato - Magic Bullet Looks/T2i/Superflat

[samrvogel]

I was going to post in the "T2i Footage" section, but it seems no one really goes in there very often... so yes, I take full responsibility that there is probably a more appropriate place for this video, but everyone seems to post their vids here anyways so I'm just gunna follow the crowd rogar-BigGrin(DBG) . Anywhoo, here is my 2nd installment (and basically 2nd time shooting with my T2i) of my skate video which is in production. These are called "dailies" so obviously they're just clips I threw together from the day, and they aren't doctored as much as a true proffesion Daily would be. Anyways, I shot most of this with my kit 28-55mm on 720p @60fps. My shutter was 125 @ 100 iso almost all day, and a couple shots were 1000 or 1250 shutter @ anywhere from 100-800 iso. I already posted a video of a clip which is in the daily that I twixtor-ized, which will be the effect on most of the clips in the final product. There's much more conversation and B Roll in this than actual skating, so keep in mind that I AM NOT using ML, so the AGC did a real nice job poo pooing with my audio. I also dont have any mic besides the internal... however you still can hear some pretty funny lines let me know whatcha think.

-Sam

P.S. WATCH IN HD!!

 

[M. Gilden]

Well then. I'm going to ahead and NOT comment on any more videos posted in the wrong section!

Its one thing if people don't realize (and lately I've been pointing it out in comments), but if you KNOW and DELIBERATELY choose not to... well that's a whole 'nother story, aint it.

 

[samrvogel]

I would be happy to post this is the other section... however, it gets hardly as many views as it does here. If the sub-forums were more obvious to users it may be more appealing to use them. Point in Case: people who post videos NOT in the sub forum and have no idea... if THEY can't see the link titled "t2i footage", how is anyone who isn't even posting footage?

 

[M. Gilden]

I would be happy to post this is the other section... however, it gets hardly as many views as it does here. If the sub-forums were more obvious to users it may be more appealing to use them. Point in Case: people who post videos NOT in the sub forum and have no idea... if THEY can't see the link titled "t2i footage", how is anyone who isn't even posting footage?

I posted there. Others have too.
Yes, I see a lot of videos there without any comments. But you know what? Not everyone comes here to comment on videos! THAT's why there are subsections, right? I don't expect everyone to want to see my video (actually, one person commented about the video looking soft within a day of posting it), but I felt like sharing. If no one uses that subforum, the main forum will be just as much "look at this video I made!" as it is community discussions and answers about cameras and tech.

Look, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Its just that you mentioned it.

 

[samrvogel]

I posted there. Others have too.
Yes, I see a lot of videos there without any comments. But you know what? Not everyone comes here to comment on videos! THAT's why there are subsections, right? I don't expect everyone to want to see my video (actually, one person commented about the video looking soft within a day of posting it), but I felt like sharing. If no one uses that subforum, the main forum will be just as much "look at this video I made!" as it is community discussions and answers about cameras and tech.

Look, I'm not trying to give you a hard time. Its just that you mentioned it.

I also just recently posted there. And basically what you're saying is agreeing with me... and yes I know I kinda put myself on the spot but I thought it would be better to own up to it than not.

Any ways, can someone please give me some constructive criticism or am I really gunna have to move this post?

 

[Snapper123]

I think you should always keep doing the flat look - there's enough flatness and washed out sunshine in this to, for the most part, give the illusion that any rare highlights still don't exist, and that's a perfect illusion to have in DSLR shooting; adding that warm effect did a great thing as well, creating a sundown look that truly fits well with natural exposure highs and lows, and all that. The typical horrible look that exists so often is this other type of look where faces have these overblown shines all over the skin that make the person look like they've been rolling in grease, even if their skin is dry as a bone, and it seems to happen when there's just too much contrast and direct sunlight, with the filmmaker trying to go for a polished, Hollywood look. For DSLR filmmaking, looks like this thread's video are truly better at times - it's a look that works well with so many types of documentaries, works well for many short films, and overall, getting the right picture style and the right time of day to use DSLR's to their full potential is very critical, not to mention just a bit of finding which color tone works amazingly for the project in post.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is that there really are tons of serious filmmakers who are getting completely awful looks from these cameras (blown out skin highlights, camcorder contrasts, ect ect), yet it seems like all the young kids are the ones using a bit of common sense and filming things at sundown or on cloudy days, applying some sort of click-of-a-button preset in post, and it all coming out looking pretty amazing in comparison to some of the looks you see around here. Now of coarse, there's always different looks for different purposes; films naturally have to look more polished, clear-toned, and lit. But the thing is, when you're a student of film and you need quick projects and shoots like this, all it takes is some common sense to get a great look that is very natural and easy on the eyes, and I think videos like this always make a great example of that.

One thing I'd like to bring to topic; in videos like this, where the shots start out in blur and then get pulled (or auto'd) into focus, the blur always looks so smooth and establishes a silky quality, but then when everything gets sharp, it's pretty instantly noticeable how digital the textures on hair, jeans, shirts, concrete, ect ect look. I've always disliked that and maybe it's because these cameras are too sharp, maybe they're not sharp enough, maybe it's that line-skipping moire thing getting in the way, or heck, maybe it's just Youtube, but what's a solution to this? Softening filters? A bit of a glaussian blur in post? I happen to do a lot of tests on my cats since they're the only living creatures in my house, and well fur is horrendously chunky and fake looking on these cams...what helps there?

 

[samrvogel]

I think you should always keep doing the flat look - there's enough flatness and washed out sunshine in this to, for the most part, give the illusion that any rare highlights still don't exist, and that's a perfect illusion to have in DSLR shooting; adding that warm effect did a great thing as well, creating a sundown look that truly fits well with natural exposure highs and lows, and all that. The typical horrible look that exists so often is this other type of look where faces have these overblown shines all over the skin that make the person look like they've been rolling in grease, even if their skin is dry as a bone, and it seems to happen when there's just too much contrast and direct sunlight, with the filmmaker trying to go for a polished, Hollywood look. For DSLR filmmaking, looks like this thread's video are truly better at times - it's a look that works well with so many types of documentaries, works well for many short films, and overall, getting the right picture style and the right time of day to use DSLR's to their full potential is very critical, not to mention just a bit of finding which color tone works amazingly for the project in post.

I think the thing that bothers me the most is that there really are tons of serious filmmakers who are getting completely awful looks from these cameras (blown out skin highlights, camcorder contrasts, ect ect), yet it seems like all the young kids are the ones using a bit of common sense and filming things at sundown or on cloudy days, applying some sort of click-of-a-button preset in post, and it all coming out looking pretty amazing in comparison to some of the looks you see around here. Now of coarse, there's always different looks for different purposes; films naturally have to look more polished, clear-toned, and lit. But the thing is, when you're a student of film and you need quick projects and shoots like this, all it takes is some common sense to get a great look that is very natural and easy on the eyes, and I think videos like this always make a great example of that.

One thing I'd like to bring to topic; in videos like this, where the shots start out in blur and then get pulled (or auto'd) into focus, the blur always looks so smooth and establishes a silky quality, but then when everything gets sharp, it's pretty instantly noticeable how digital the textures on hair, jeans, shirts, concrete, ect ect look. I've always disliked that and maybe it's because these cameras are too sharp, maybe they're not sharp enough, maybe it's that line-skipping moire thing getting in the way, or heck, maybe it's just Youtube, but what's a solution to this? Softening filters? A bit of a glaussian blur in post? I happen to do a lot of tests on my cats since they're the only living creatures in my house, and well fur is horrendously chunky and fake looking on these cams...what helps there?

Wow, thanks! You flatter me too much. The funny thing is, when I was CC'ing this in post, I would work with the presets from Magic Bullet Looks to make them fit well with my video, and I actually thought when I started taking that shine off of the small black kids face that I was making it too neutral, and I really debated over whether to keep it like that or not. Glad I did! hahahaha

Also, I do actually know how to do real color correction/grading. I'm much more used to FCP, and since I don't have a mac I've been working in premiere pro. Since I'm not familiar with their color correction, I have dabled in their brightness/contrast, levels, and 3 way CC, but they're much more difficult for me than FCP's 3 way CC. That's why I chose to get Magic Bullet Looks, as for these Daily reels I don't need perfect CC. For my finished product I'll most likely end up learn how to do a good custom color correction/grade, either in premiere or Color Finesse in AE.

In regards to your question, you're asking the wrong guy. I am fairly new to the film scene even though I am in film school, and I'm learning as I go. I still don't fully understand the whole Moire issue, and can't appreciate how much better 35mm film looks than my dslr. For the time being, I'm in ignorant bliss with my T2i and it's working out for me for now. Personally, I like how sharp the images are, but I can understand why some people wouldn't. Someday I'm sure I'll feel the same way you do.

Thanks again.