favourite scene file settings.

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Forgive me guys if this has already been done but wouldnt it be great if you had a dedicated section on this site for all the scene files that people find useful?
I've managed to log about thirty hours on the heads of my new dvx100a testing all the different scene settings to see what they look like. I've made some observations that people may or may not be interested in but it would've been nice to have a guide from the beginning.
The only decent guide around seems to be David Mullens but I cant buy it as I'm in Australia.
So what do you guys think?
What scene settings for lowlight, for increasing clarity without artifacts, for wide shots, for ocean or for forest landscapes etc.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

Yeah I second the low light question. I'm going to be doing a couple of weddings in 24p. Low light HELL! :-/
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

The guide isn't from David Mullen, it's from Steve Mullen. Steve is a writer for VideoSystems, David is a world-class cinematographer who generously spends an inordinate amount of time on various boards giving advice on all sorts of subjects. His work on "Twin Falls Idaho" and "Northfork" are just breathtaking.

As for low light, the #1 answer will always be: more light. Find a way to rig more light. No camera can perform well in low light. You might get an image, but it'll be more pale, washed out, noisy, grainy, and other wise compromised than you'd want. If you can rig a few china lanterns from the ceiling, or slap the DJ into not turning down the lights so far, or strap a softbox/equipped camera light onto your cam... ANYTHING you do to increase the light level in the place will do far more for your picture quality than any in-camera setting you can adjust.

With that said, there are two camera settings to look at: make sure your "auto iris" isn't balanced to the negative, and consider using a slower shutter speed. If shooting 24P, using 1/36 will give you a half-stop better performance.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

It all depends on the look you're going for. 1/24 is going to buy you another half a stop from 1/50th, but the motion blur is going to be significant. Then again, it might be a "look" you like.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

Thanks for correcting me on the two Mullens.
In low light I totally agree with Barry- add more.
But there are a few other things you can do if you cant add more.
I find that the blue color generates the most noise by far. In low light the skin tones also go pale so what I do is turn the color temperature down a few notches. This decreases the blue color and makes people's faces more orange and true.
I find turning down the detail a few notches down from zero again decreases grain. For coring I turn it all the way up to suppress grain.The modes I find useful is cinegamma or low where you get more shadow details. Turning up the master pedestal gives you more shadow details. Gain in progressive on the advance model is tolerable to about 9db above 12 is too grainy. Also shooting in 25fps(pal here) shutter instead of 50fps will give you another stop.
Not sure if shooting in progressive is the best idea for lowlight though. I dont find the image particularly pleasing to be honest unless you have alot of light.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

Doesnt seem many people are interesting in sharing their favourite scene files.
I've burnt about 40 hours on the heads in the last few weeks testing the different settings.
I'll share a few things which are probably obvious to experienced user but hope it helps somebody.

Thick or thin when in progressive?
A caveat before i start is that the following observations apply to wide shots of scenery and people. In find when you do close up shots is when dv really shines. For landscapes I get mixed results which I'm still trying to figure out.
I find that in thin you get those horrible vibrating lines when you increase the detail levels above zero. However in thin you do not see a pronounce increase in sharpening of the image anyway with increased detail levels. In thick mode you do not get the vibrating/flickering but you do get grain in some areas of the picture especially in repetitive patterns and areas of dense green or blue. Yeah weird getting grain in daylight but thats what I see. Again this is pronounced at +4 detail so turn it down to less than zero. I find -2 to -3 best. I have never seen artifacts like this on my old pana mx500 but then you couldnt adjust the detail levels this high. Makes me wonder why you even have the option of going higher with the detail if you get these artifacts?
I find it difficult to get a "punchy" picture with this camera. What i mean is one that is very sharp but without haloing due to increase contrast on the edges.
Also decreasing detail levels will make the pictures look alot smoother but i find it alters the whole mood of the picture. It feels like the lighting is shot in the afternnoon. I dont know why this is so even when you open the aperture more it still feels different. You dont feel the "real' brightness of the day in your shots.

Detail coring- cant really see the effects of this much to be honest. Supppose to decrease grain in shadows at the expense of detail. I do see some improvement in lowlight but you really have to look for it. The effects of coring are more prominent when you have detail a high.

Vertical detail- doensnt seem to change much to my eye. Maybe it decreases some artifacting by decreasing it but I cant really see much change. Changing the detail level affects the image the most I find.

Color temperature- seems useful in artificial lighting to turn it down to -4 to decrease grain and improve skin tones.

Gamma- my favourite is cine D and B press. I find they give the most pleasing colors and scene appearance. Cine v gives a more saturated color palette. I find low, high, norm to be less vibrant. The changes between each are rather subtle. Its not like I can film something and say yep its that gamma setting unless I see them side by side.

Matrix- havent fiddle with it much. Can definitely see a difference in flou but again like the gamma settings subtle.

Interlace- the standard interlace mode is sharpened to the point of producing artifacts. Reducing detail down to -2 will improve your image dramatically. I was starting to have doubts about progressive mode giving more resolution but when I shoot a wide scene of a beach the other day and played back between interlace and progressive mode I definitely saw a difference. It was the first time I really saw a difference but i was impressed. I then shot some guys before they went to surf and after readjusting the tv (again turning contrast level right down and increasing the brightness) I almost fell out of chair. It looked 3-dimensional. What did I do right?

Hmm seems not much for 40 head hours and 5 hours of tape. I need a tape deck i think.

I have a love hate relationship to this camera at the moment. I'm pissed off that the automatic settings arent better- remember the purist who didnt like autofocus on 35mm cameras when it came out? Some of the manual controlls only give you useless artifact( so that it stops you from using it due to artifacts and not aesthetics).

Hell I have no ambitions or pretensions of being a film maker. I just want to shoot small time documentary stuff and I want a different look thats all. Its a steep learning curve. Big gig next week for a community tv station so I get to do some real work.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

Thanks for your views Tungbui! ::) I will try them out tomorrow. I´m doing some testfilming for a music video. Driving, countryside. I am searching previous articles at the moment to get a start for some decent settings on my new DVXae camera. Have not been too impressed with what I have seen from it yet, but hope that will change after I have played around with the settings. If someone out there have any useful tips of where to find some tips on settings for 25p which will be shown on tv, I would be a happy one. ;D
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

I think a reason there isnt much response on "Favorite Scene File Settings" is due to the fact that each and every scene shot is different than the last. What works well in a EXT shot at sundown isn't going to be the same at sunrise or high noon. What works well in an INT shot of a banquest room with flos is not going to give same/similar results of same room with natural light pouring in the window.

I personally use Scene File 6 DEFAULT
Frame the shot
If not using the PRST I'll WB
Hit AUTO exposure and then turn to manual and fine tune to my liking

If I see anything out of the ordinary that requires changing settings I'll do it on the fly. Usually nothing jumps out that requires and adjustment of detail, gamma, matrix etc.

In post is where i color correct and adjust hues or saturation or contrast or whatever it is Im trying to do. Im gearing up to shoot a small short next week and after that I'll (we since I'll be posting it) will be able to determine my technique works or not.

I guess I just don't try and make things harder than they need to be.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

I thought the whole of point of this cam was that you can adjust it to suit the different light levels not to stay in presets. Therefore different setting should suit different scenes. HOwever for us novices it will take alot of testing especailly if you are not familiar with what each setting does.

If someone comes up with a really good guide they will be able to sell it very well.
 
Re: favourite scene file settings.

[quote author=tung bui link=board=Events;num=1080105173;start=0#9 date=04/04/04 at 04:01:29]I thought the whole of point of this cam was that you can adjust it to suit the different light levels not to stay in presets. Therefore different setting should suit different scenes. HOwever for us novices it will take alot of testing especailly if you are not familiar with what each setting does.

If someone comes up with a really good guide they will be able to sell it very well.[/quote]

I agree. This camera is suited for the attention to detail. I dont have a production monitor so I have to wait until I see my footage on my televison :-/

Im sure over time Ill chnage my tune somewhat.
 
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