Filming in the snow.. I want to be prepared

S

shadowknight123

Active member
So this week (thursday morning-sat) ill be up in bigbear for my next short film, (sourthern california for those that dont know.)

Its a short film, half scenes in doors no problem, but outdoors I have 0 expierence with filming in the snow. Still somewhat new to this camera as well (My former camera was the DVX100B)



My other question:
I plan on filming in 1080 24p, though when I burn for DVD its going to have to be standard definition, because alot of people just dont buy bluerays because they dont even own a blueray player yet... So any tips on doing that? Im using Adobe CS3 package, using the panasonic transcoder to make it p2 files (joy.....:Drogar-KnockedOut(D) And is that the format i should be editing in as well? Of course like everyone.. I want the highest most sharpest quality..

Lastly:
Did a few test shots when i first got it in 1080p, and alot of my shots had a great ammount of noise... Any clue why? Gain was off, white balance was good ND filter was on to about 1/4 or 1/16. Never have black balanced it, and im a novice when it comes to shutter speed.. just confuses me i need to do my homework on it.

Usually use the preset F5.


any help greatly appreciated... :badputer:
Justin
 
oh boy.

i'll keep this short.

get a polarizing filter.

don't use CineD if you don't want noise. default F5 is CineV though, i think...which is very good, but might need some tweaking.....you can always make sure detail is set to 0 and boost coring a little and set the knee to low to better handle the highlights in the snow.

don't worry about shutter speed, should default to 180-1/48, which is fine for normal 24p.
 
as averan says... a polorizer is a good start. I would also add a possible haze filter on top of that as well. I tend to shoot with a faster shutter when I'm shooting show to minimize the radical contrast off the snow and the sky. Usually a 1/500th or more... especially if shooting 60p stuff. If you get to shoot snow falling... shot a 1/1000 in 60p looks magical....

cheers
 
From what I understand, get an external focus controller, the focus ring on the camera doesn't like the cold and binds up.

I prefer to edit in a 1080/24p timeline and just before export swap to SD NTSC 24p Widescreen and export to a good old 24p Mpeg-2 DVD Preset, that way you can export a high def version for yourself or the web, but there are many different methods.
 
KnoxHotch said:
From what I understand, get an external focus controller, the focus ring on the camera doesn't like the cold and binds up.

I prefer to edit in a 1080/24p timeline and just before export swap to SD NTSC 24p Widescreen and export to a good old 24p Mpeg-2 DVD Preset, that way you can export a high def version for yourself or the web, but there are many different methods.
Click to expand...

+1 on that!

I use cine-d but drop the ped to -5. Clears the noise.

If you are on snow you might want higher contrast depending on what you are filming so cine v is a viable option.
 
Could someone please recommend a decent external focus control to go with?

Thanks:cheesy:
 
Great thanks for the help guys! Yea i have a few filters, the ones you listed i do have. Anyone know where pana's DL it for all the other scene files? I keep hearing in random thread that theres a link laying around but cant find it... And when you all say "put it on the card" does that mean if i switch cards i wont have the preset anymore? *confused*
 
if you google "panasonic scene files", you will quickly get here:
http://www.panasonic.com/business/provideo/scene_files.asp?model=HPX170

adapt them for your hmc150, or search these forums for my uploaded adapted versions.

to get the files onto your camera you have to put them on your card.
they go into a specific folder on the card.
then you load 1 set of scene files into your camera's memory (into the dialed presets).
the scenes loaded into your memory will stay there.
if you switch or format cards, you'll just wipe off the rest of the sets of scene files, but not the set (of 6) that you loaded into memory.

search the forum for 'scene file' and my username and that should get you all the info you're looking for.
 
varizoom makes some nice focus/zoom/iris controllers though I would like a bigger focus know. I'm going to try and find one as anything that can mount on a standard pot stem should fit.

There are some other companies with larger focus controls though.
 
Justyn said:
a I tend to shoot with a faster shutter when I'm shooting show to minimize the radical contrast off the snow and the sky. Usually a 1/500th or more... especially if shooting 60p stuff. If you get to shoot snow falling... shot a 1/1000 in 60p looks magical....

cheers
Click to expand...

Cool! I so want it to snow so I can try this....
 
Great Post... nice tips... I'm in the tropics but will head to the Alps next week... I'll try the magical snow shoot and can't wait to see it the external focus controller really acts up on the camera ... Temperatures lower than - 15 degrees shouldn't be a problem up there.

Is Cine- V or Cine D the most favourable Cine files to use for a snowy environment? I always feel that Panasonic video cameras tend to give this "cold" look or pastel colored look. Anyone who used a 3CCD Sony or JVC feels the same way? Cine- V or Cine D tends to add to the cold for me. I like it a bit more vivid without rendering time in Post. Something like the LUMIX still photographs on it's line of Panasonic digital photo camera.

I will try the Vivid Scene file and see if it works!
 
I never shoot with the default scene files coming with the HMC. I found the scene files from the Panasonic website for the HPX much more versatile.
 
I generally make up my own. Still waiting for Barry's book. Will check out the ones he came up with.
 
a problem however may be the sticky focus ring issue that i've read on the boards that plague the hmc150 and hpx170 in cold environment. its been a source of problem (and well documented and experimented) over in those forums for the cold weather shooters. I live in the tropics..never even seen snow in person so i can only go off what those guys have said.
 
I took mine out over the weekend, we've got -39c with windchill here.

Ring really does not like the cold, however the motorized focus functions are fine, so yes, external focus control is the best. Unless your shots are fixed focus. It's basically impossible to be recording and work the manual focus ring.

Maybe a firmware update will allow us to use the IRIS dial for focus (as the focus ring can be used for iris). That would be a simple and effective fix for most users. I tend to not play with IRIS when I'm recording anyways.

I would take a gold bounce ring with as well, it will give your faces a bit of a warmer glow, and a white bounce ring to use when subject are not standing on reflective snow.
 
jambredz said:
a problem however may be the sticky focus ring issue that i've read on the boards that plague the hmc150 and hpx170 in cold environment. its been a source of problem (and well documented and experimented) over in those forums for the cold weather shooters. I live in the tropics..never even seen snow in person so i can only go off what those guys have said.
Click to expand...

Hey Jambreads. We're working on a video for Mystic Bowie. It has been really funny watching a Jamaican in the snow. :)
 
When shooting 24P (or any progressive) set the knee to low to help with highlight clipping on snow shots. It will also be important to set the WB offset to give the warmer look you are after. And also set the BB with every camera power up just for good measure.

Don't be afraid to adjust the scene file settings and spend time to get test shots. Make notes and review the test shots.

I have had a little problem with the zoom rocker sticky/clicking in cold weather besides just the focus. It's fine when it warms back up, but be prepared.

I shot some great ski stuff last winter, the HMC-150 will definately do it well.
 
Well the shoot went great!!!! :-)

I'll post some footage up soon. And whoever said the thing about moving the shutter to about 500.. thank you somuch. I did a 720/60p of this guy tossing snow up into the air andas it falls, it looks magical..

Also, im still hard at understandin the shutter speed, when should i use a hier shutter , 500/1000 ect, compared to say 48?

I'm always recording 1080 24p usually, i do short films ect...
 
In the snow and the sun shines... I would have to put neutral density up to 1/64 most of the time. I hope it's normal. In the sunny tropics I seldom or never have to push ND filter up to 1/64.

If it's normal, then I'd say it's fun to shoot in the snow! I don't need to switch the ND filter so often unlike shooting in the tropics. Touching those buttons on the camera body makes undesirable plastic finger stomping sound.

I thought 4-5 seconds for the camera to operate when the switched in ON in the tropics is long. Here in the - 20 environment, it takes at least 6 to 8 seconds for a high capacity battery to wake up a HMC 15X camera! Now that's long!

It's truly a totally new operation all together when operating the HMC in the cold. Feels as though the camera is new and I need to learn how to operate a virgin again! Hopefully all this is normal!
 
Battery life will drop in the cold as well. When it hits the last 10 min mark on the indicator, be prepared to change quick.

Focus rings sticks.

Don't forget as with any electronics, going from cold environment to a toasty warm car etc can lead to condensation. While this is a tapeless cam and thus no worries about tape sticking, it could in theory mess with the electronics and possibly the lens mech.
 
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