Fall Rain - Short art piece - GH13 (Both AVCHD & MJPEG)

Shawn Storm

Shawn Storm

Active member
Hi People. Here is my new short film that I filmed over the past couple days. It is fairly simply and doesn't have much of a storyline, but there is a story behind it:

I have never been very fond of rain and tend to get slightly melancholy when it comes around. I did this video in attempt to show both myself and others the beauty of rain. It is also a showcase for my friend's music which I have been wanting to use in a video for awhile. I hope you enjoy! :)

Filmed w/ GH13 using both AVCHD (38000000 FHD/SH & 40000000 Overall) and 80Mbps MJPEG. Used kit lens (14-140) and Panny 20mm Pancake. Edited w/ FCE with minimal post processing (just some levels adjustments and some vignetting).


P.S. - I first uploaded it to YouTube and their compression butchered some of the scenes. I now TOTALLY understand why people in this forum prefer Vimeo. It looks so much better there! (Which isn't always my experience - sometimes my videos look about the same on both Vimeo and YouTube).

-Shawn-
 
You're on a roll, Shawn. Great shots, editing and beautiful music. Loved the way you ended with that timelapse with the varied lighting and then the flash to white - perfect - and then the quote. Great little piece, especially when one knows the story behind it. How'd you do those timelapse shots?
 
the doc said:
Beautiful, the music was perfect and the choice of shots spot on. Well done.
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Thanks much! :)

tflak said:
You're on a roll, Shawn. Great shots, editing and beautiful music. Loved the way you ended with that timelapse with the varied lighting and then the flash to white - perfect - and then the quote. Great little piece, especially when one knows the story behind it. How'd you do those timelapse shots?
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Thank you. I have had a fair amount of free time lately and have been focusing on doing more video stuff. Unfortunately I am going to get busy for awhile, so this might be the last one I do for awhile.. but we will see. Now that I have FCP I am quite excited to do some more stuff (especially with 1080p since FCE doesn't touch that footage so I have never used it). :)

There are actually two time lapses (the beginning and end) and the one in the middle is just normal video footage sped up to 200%. The time lapses were done with one of my other cameras (Panasonic FZ50) and an intervalometer set to take a photo once every second for infinite # of shots (I think they were about 400 photos each). I compiled the photos using Quicktime Pro, saved as a Quicktime Movie and imported that into FCE. I have found that the key to good looking time lapses is to do the math such that you can compile the pictures into the same rate as your video project. So for example I decided to speed up the fog scenes by 30X, so I took a photo every second such that I could create a 29.97fps file from them. Making this decision before setting up the intervalometer is crucial for smooth footage and it can be tricky because you basically have to mentally gauge what the subject will look like sped up a certain amount. If that isn't possible I have found that it can look ok (and maybe even kind of cool in a trippy way) to set the timelapse at 15fps and then use frame blending in your NLE.

-Shawn-
 
Now I'm confused! I have an intervalometer coming from China any day now. If you take 1 pic a second... then speed up by 30%... that isnt 29.97fps is it?

Is there a specific reason for using quick time rather than putting the pics in premiere pro or FCP etc and getting them to render the photos in sequence?
 
Hey Shawn, thanks for sharing those timelapse settings. The results were really nice. Was curious whether you used video or stills and turns out you used both.

I've messed around with sunrises shooting RAW to get a lot of latitude in post to account for the changing light - going from very little light to bright can be tricky.

Here's a handy timelapse calculator: http://www.time-science.com/timescience/timelapse.asp#calculator

I have a feeling you'll somehow find the time to continue with your video stuff. After all, this is an addiction. :)
 
AdrianF said:
That's put me in a good frame of mind. Beautiful music and some great shots. Keep going!
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Thank you. :)

the doc said:
Now I'm confused! I have an intervalometer coming from China any day now. If you take 1 pic a second... then speed up by 30%... that isnt 29.97fps is it?

Is there a specific reason for using quick time rather than putting the pics in premiere pro or FCP etc and getting them to render the photos in sequence?
Click to expand...

Its pretty simple. I set the intervalometer to take a picture every second. Then with Quicktime Pro I did an "Open Image Sequence". When you do this it asks what fps setting to use. I choose 29.97 to match my Final Cut Project. This obviously translates to 30 still photos every second of VIDEO, or 1 image per frame of the video. If I had been taking the original photos ever 1/30 of a second, then the final footage would be "real time". Since I was taking the still photos every second, it ends up being 30X the realtime speed. So the clouds were ACTUALLY moving 30 times slower than in my video. Assuming you create the time lapses at 30fps(29.97), you can use a very simple formula to determine the speed of the final video. x / 30 = y where x = speed and then y=time between photos in second. So for example if you want to make a timelapse of clouds going 120X faster than reality, just do 120/30 = y and y=4 so that means take a photo once every 4 seconds. Make sense? And please someone correct me if my logic is incorrect! :)

I use QT Pro because I am used to using it (I was making time lapses way before I had FCP or FCE). It is quick and easy and makes it so I just drop the finished file into FCP as a clip. I could totally do it in FCP as well, but I am not sure what the advantage would be.

tflak said:
Hey Shawn, thanks for sharing those timelapse settings. The results were really nice. Was curious whether you used video or stills and turns out you used both.

I've messed around with sunrises shooting RAW to get a lot of latitude in post to account for the changing light - going from very little light to bright can be tricky.

Here's a handy timelapse calculator: http://www.time-science.com/timescience/timelapse.asp#calculator

I have a feeling you'll somehow find the time to continue with your video stuff. After all, this is an addiction. :)
Click to expand...

Cool calculator, although for some reason I am not figuring out how it works (probably because I am busy working and only devoting half of my brain to it).

Ya - the time lapses with changing light (sunsets, etc) are incredibly tricky. I have read lots of techniques, but so far have just stuck with either the "fade to black" or "fade to white" tactic. Meaning I stick with one exposure setting that somehow works with a fade of some sort (such as the end of my "Fall Rain" video where it fades to white). Another time lapse I did of a sunset started with the scene slightly overexposed (but still looked ok) and then as the sun set it fades to black. To get a semi-consitent exposure means manually adjusting the exposure between each photo and that can be incredibly difficult (both to keep the camera perfectly still and to achieve a smooth end result). I haven't even come close to mastering that technique. :)

-shawn-
 
Hi People,

I stumbled across "Landscape HD" which is a television channel in the UK that gets broadcast all over the world on satellite TV. I sent them a link to my video and they want to use my "Fall Rain" video on their broadcast and have sent me a long contract to sign away some of my rights, etc. The end result is that I get 25% of profits when they sell the video online or via DVD, etc.

So I am wondering if any of you have heard of this company? They seem legit so far, but I am always leery of working with companies overseas. All they have asked for is my mailing address to send the contract, and the name of my PayPal account for paying me (no login info or anything).

What do you think? Ever heard of them? Here is one of their websites: http://www.landscapehd.com/

-Shawn-
 
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Indeed, a lovely piece. So often we talk about doing battle with nature, especially rain in an urban setting.

This, and the quote at the end, shows us the error of our ways.

As to the contract, if the piece is important to you and you want to do more, see a lawyer.
 
stoneinapond said:
Indeed, a lovely piece. So often we talk about doing battle with nature, especially rain in an urban setting.

This, and the quote at the end, shows us the error of our ways.

As to the contract, if the piece is important to you and you want to do more, see a lawyer.
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Thanks for the compliment and the advice. :)

-shawn-
 
Hi Shawn,

how about your negotiations with LandscapeHD? I am in contact with them as well and I wonder if you went on further.

best regards, Gunther
 
GMC said:
Hi Shawn,

how about your negotiations with LandscapeHD? I am in contact with them as well and I wonder if you went on further.

best regards, Gunther
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Hi Gunther,

I am still working out the details. They have sent me a contract in the mail, so I am just waiting to receive it to proceed. The guy I am working with is named Ben. They want 1080p25 footage and I have been exclusively shooting 720p30, so that is a bit of a challenge. I am currently trying to figure out the best way to convert my footage to 1080p25 while maintaining decent image quality and motion smoothness.

I will try to remember to post more details once things move forward.

-shawn-
 
Hi Shawn,

thanks for your reply. I am in the same situation (in contact with Ben). i think it is worth a try, because if I understand the contract correctly you are not binding yourself to them. And if they manage to make some money with that footage, why not. Let me know how you proceed.

best regards, Gunther
 
Hi Shawn and Gunther,

Did you guys go forward with the LandscapeHD project? I have started chatting to them too and am very curious if anyone has received any money from them yet or can comment on their experience with them?

Thanks.
 
underseafan said:
Hi Shawn and Gunther,

Did you guys go forward with the LandscapeHD project? I have started chatting to them too and am very curious if anyone has received any money from them yet or can comment on their experience with them?

Thanks.
Click to expand...

Hi underseafan, I did not go any further so far, hence I cannot tell. I stopped it because when looking at their websites and plans, it did not look realistic to see any money to me. I am curious what Shawn thinks.

best regards, Gunther
 
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