Film Look Attempt

hey there.

Having been someone who sought the film look on video for the longest time, i've come to realize that this will never be quite possible. Although there are great tools such as 24p, color correction and 35mm adapters, the dynamic ranges of these cameras ( prosumer ) cannot quite match something like 16 or 35mm.

I have used adapters and am waiting for my letus extreme order :). But i am now in my second year at film school and have worked with 16 quite a bit. Although the digital image can be stunning if kept within its ranges, it will never look "Just like" film. It will have similar aesthetics, but it will have different qualities than film.

In one of our image classes, the teacher brought up the Red Camera, 4k. He discussed that amount of detail on a high definition 4k image such as that, projected at it's most high resolution, almost rendering it's subjects too sharp. Like, it is fantastic to see digital pushed so such limits, but in 35mm, or 16, even though it retains the same resolution's of 4k and HD, the digital image has it's own look, and film, another. Just two different means of conveying a message.

Digital tends to blow out in the whites, where as film has a smooth transfer, and in high exposure's, still retain some image information, otherwise it creates a nice soft whitening that sometimes may give a slight glow. Now, if there were a way to have a digital camera process, for each frame it takes, the length of time a specific area is overexposed, and then approximate an equasion to similate how that overexposure would effect film grain, and treat that exposed area as so, then maybe things would be different :)
 
Hey Anthony. It didnt look bad at all. Nice picture all together. Obviously you can't get a film look, exactly like the way you see it at the theatre. BUT, you can mimic it in a way. I try to do this alot, and I don't even have lights.

Some tips if you are using the DVX, or even the HVX or any other camera with 24p availability:

-Use 24p (or 24pA, that's what I use)
-Shoot In-camera namorphic, or get an anamorphic adapter
-The letterboxing looks nice
-Audio is important, get an external mic both shotgun and lav.
-The color correction and color grading in the editing process are important to
-The story, the acting, the composition, the camera work all have to do with film like looks also.

It looked like you used some of those suggestions. Like 24p for example.

Use the search function at the top of the page and type in "Film look" or "Getting a film look" because there dozens of pages on this site on how to achieve a close film look, but not exact. Never an exact, and that is what I have learned using my DVX.
 
i do believe someone said that the dvx has a secret button somewhere in the camera labeled "Film Look". might give that a try! ;)
 
OH PAPA I FOUND IT LAST NIGHT!!! This is what you have to do...

Take OFF the viewfinder, and in side you'll find a chromatic screw with a null layer on it. Take off that layer, and parent it to the record button, so whenever you hit record, it will rotate that chromatic screw. Once its recording, and you see the screw rotate, the Film Look button is right under there. It's all about timing because the screw is always rotating when your in record. Your best bet is when you see the Film Look button, STOP recording, and then you can have time to press it...Just my 2 Cents
 
As I've heard it a million times and now believe is that the film look is all in the way motion is processed. 24p is the only way to properly get the "film look" aside from shooting on film. This video was shot in 60i because the camera used does not have a 24p option and that is even further away from fiolm because it is interlaced. And once again like papa said if it isn't film, it won't look like it. Just keep making shorts and it all comes down the the story and how you execute it. I needa work on that big time.
 
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I think we're getting back to the "film look" vs. "movie look" again. Let's not split hair here because 99% of people asking about the film look really means the movie look. I think it's more likely that the video was 60i converted to 24p. I didn't noticed any interlacing and the motion itself has a nice stuttery cadence.

Overall it's great work, very impressive and movie like. The only thing that takes away from it is the overexposed sky in the first shot. It's been mentioned before but film has a very wide dynamic range so you usually don't see pure blown out while skies. I would suggest slightly underexposing your shots and then bring the brightness up in post to retain informations in your highlights.
 
I can never get a shot outside to be perfectly exposed. When the sky is in nice exposure, my actor is to dark, and a reflector wudnt do it because my scene is to big and wide
 
hey anthony I though it looked good, you are on the right track, what were your settings, dont wanna start a fight but I bet this was shot on a dvx100 and I still think to this day after using my hvx200 more than a year that the dvx looks more organic and HD looks too "clean"

just my .00002
 
Try blowing out your sky and matting in a new sky in After Effects. Its the same idea as chroma key, except I believe in this case you would be using a luma key with a garbage matte. You'll have well exposed actors/foreground and a brand new sky of any choosing!
 
well, that solves your sky problems when trying for a film look. Shallow depth of field, slightly crushed blacks, high contrast, and a touch of grain can also add to the film IMITATION, but will never make a perfect film look.
 
24fps4ever said:
hey anthony I though it looked good, you are on the right track, what were your settings, dont wanna start a fight but I bet this was shot on a dvx100 and I still think to this day after using my hvx200 more than a year that the dvx looks more organic and HD looks too "clean"

just my .00002
Click to expand...

hello 24fps4ever, the video was shot using a panasonic MD-10000EN camcorder at 60i down converted to 24p in post. Wish i have a DVX to shoot with though. And i think my camera is no where near the hvx or even the dvx.

The cam was set to auto exposure and shutter speed at 1/60th . Never thought about shooting alil more under exposed. Thanks for the idea jade8472!

And to Everybody thanks for the advice so far ! :)
 
I liked it! what did you do in color correction, out of curiousity?
 
TheComo said:
I can never get a shot outside to be perfectly exposed. When the sky is in nice exposure, my actor is to dark, and a reflector wudnt do it because my scene is to big and wide
Click to expand...

This is exactly why it is very important only to shoot at certain times of the day. Never shoot when the sun is directly overhead. So avoid shooting between 10am and 4 pm, before and after gives great results, but in between, it can be hard to expose.
 
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