dvx AND MAGIC BULLET simulation

[Noel Evans]

Barrys DVD has a few settings you can use on the DVX to simulate magic bullet filters.. just wondering if anyone else has come across any particular settings they think creates a good look. .. please share.. in the great spirit of brotherhood and sharing :beer:

 

[J.R. Hudson]

I don't alter anything in camera; I shoot for the purest image possible and then in post is where I tweak it all to shame.

 

[Jay Rodriguez]

Sure, I switch it to power on and press the red button. hehe

I just stick with F5 & F6 and sometimes play with the settings but haven't found any favorite yet.

 

[Oedipax]

I just went through Barry's DVX DVD the other day and transcribed all the settings in order to try some out. I really like the look of the reversal film setting - it's something I could do in post, sure, but there's also something to be said for knowing the look you're getting while you're shooting. For a serious production, I would want more options (and thus shoot for the cleanest look to be treated later, like John said) but for when I'm experimenting on my own with the camera, messing with the scene files is a lot of fun. In particular I enjoy the look you get with a very low pedestal and some good contrast in the image.

 

[Noel Evans]

How about when there is a standard look you want through the entire movie? I know clean footage can be editied in post however doesnt this have some effect on overall quality?

 

[EA_Cru_2002]

You do degrade the picture quality by altering the picture in post with DV (although it's not as bad as HDV since that's more comperssed) but as long as you use it in moderation I think the benefits of a better looking image outweigh the cost of sacrificing a bit of picture quality. I color correct all my films and I know it looks better because of it. Now if I put something like 15 layers, effects, or modifications, then yes, it'll look like crap (and I have done it before but I was looking for that "crap" look) but just color correcting to give your vid a more film like look in post is esstential in my book.

That said, I do like to shoot as close as I can to my desired look and I do use the "film look" settings on Barry's DVX book/dvd as my default. The reason I don't shoot flat is because I know I want my film to look like the "film look" setting anyway, so that should be my flat. Other people disagree and I can see their point. But for me this works. But WHY do I do that when I could do it in post? Because it makes color correcting easier. If I shoot flat, I would have to experiment more and make bigger modifcations to the color correction. If I shoot with the "film look" setting, the tweaking is a bit less and that makes it easier on me in post and if there's one thing I always like to do, it's cut down on time and effort on things like color correction because just like audio mixing, it's absolutely esstential, but if you do it well, no one should notice. That depresses me. And the longer I stay in front of my computer working on these things, the longer it depresses me. :laugh:

 

[Solomojo]

I also prefer shooting flat and then 3-color correcting in FCP before applying a 'film look' filter. I've found with MB editor presets (using the FCP scopes) having the black at 0-5, mids well spread out, and highs maxed at 90-95 give best overall results with any MB preset. If you go to 0 black and 100 white it will end up too crushed and too overblown then more time tweaking. My most used presets in MB editors are: Basic, Bleach Bypass, Berlin, Curahee, Neo, Basic Warm.

I also like Nattress G Film. His presets all keep a more uniform balance on the scopes. Basic Bleach is less dramatic then MB's. But I prefer the more contrasty, crushed low, high white looks to "devideo" the flatness so I tweak his a bit at both ends. Old Projecter is a very nice blown-own, grainy, vignetted filter that really has a great look.

CGM has a great Film Look preset for the slightly grainy, black lines, flicker, white splotches, and most realistic and random hairs I've seen. Blows away MB Editors misfire which I feel is not that convincing.

I find that I end up desaturating most DVX footage a tad as sometimes the colors are too harsh/fake and going contrasty to make my toes tingle...but that's just me. I've talked to much...hope you get something out of it....