First Shoot with Alexa

mjmcneese

mjmcneese

Veteran
We shot run-n-gun on a tight budget, no lighting, with a very quick turn around. But, we have opportunities to use the camera again and I want to make the most of those opportunities. So, looking for some honest feedback and comments. I know that there are a couple shots that are WAY over-exposed. It was all shot in ProRes4444 LOG C, 23.976, EI800 and CC'd in Speedgrade by yours truly.

Thanks!

 
Shots are fine and plenty to work with. CC and Grading could have a lot more "dynamic" and "punch". Far too safe creatively. IMHO
 
Thanks for the feedback, Shooter. You say more creative with the shots? Or the concept? (my team did the script-to-screen on this one)

Leon, it's heavy! We shot everything handheld. Coming from an environment where we are used to using much smaller cameras, this was a change. I had trouble checking focus in the ARRI EVF - not sure if it just wasn't sharp enough or if the diopter wouldn't dial in right, but I had an AC with FF, so it wasn't an issue. Everything else I loved about it. The dynamic range is way more organic and natural than RED, which was important in the look. The camera system itself is, really, maybe the most simple and intuitive I've ever experienced. Function labels make perfect sense, and the navigation through the menus is very thoughtful. Breeze to use, really. I felt like this is the camera for shooters and DPs who just wanna shoot, and not fart around with a whole bunch of techie details. For instance, we considered using the F55, but I was having nightmares thinking through the I/O with the REC709, the S-LOG, the RAW, and you can only send RAW to the on-board recorder, but then you can't monitor the LUT...it made my eyes go crossed.
 
I was only talking about the grading really. The amount of scope within the images you shot on the Alexa because of RAW/LOG C etc..offer so much "creative opportunity". Basically its a point and shoot camera with a world of "post possibility". That's actually my "criticism" of it! They are a great camera for everyone and a brilliant camera for the skilled and talented D.Ps.
 
Mike McNeese said:
Leon, it's heavy! We shot everything handheld. Coming from an environment where we are used to using much smaller cameras, this was a change. I had trouble checking focus in the ARRI EVF - not sure if it just wasn't sharp enough or if the diopter wouldn't dial in right, but I had an AC with FF, so it wasn't an issue. Everything else I loved about it. The dynamic range is way more organic and natural than RED, which was important in the look. The camera system itself is, really, maybe the most simple and intuitive I've ever experienced. Function labels make perfect sense, and the navigation through the menus is very thoughtful. Breeze to use, really. I felt like this is the camera for shooters and DPs who just wanna shoot, and not fart around with a whole bunch of techie details. For instance, we considered using the F55, but I was having nightmares thinking through the I/O with the REC709, the S-LOG, the RAW, and you can only send RAW to the on-board recorder, but then you can't monitor the LUT...it made my eyes go crossed.
Click to expand...

That is pretty cool. Thanks for the review of using it. Hopefully one day I can get my hands on one.
 
Have to agree about creativity in the grade - it's played very safe, almost to the point where it seems somewhat unnecessary to shoot Alexa.

Overall, not bad, but I personally think you would've benefited from some sort of light control - even flagging and reflecting (even with a cheap poly/bead board) would have helped for a lot of the shots.

Also, the Alexa is a tough one for day exteriors without NDs - I'm curious as to how you checked exposure (and exposed your shots).
 
What was the reason you chose Alexa when you were aware of the limitations of the shoot? I am curious to find out whether you thought that the images will be much nicer in spite of the conditions?

Also what lens did you use?

The reason I ask these questions is I am weighing the purchase of Alexa vs epic and am curious to understand the reasons behind people 's choices of one camera over another .
 
Alexa every time for me. Its better designed and a complete package out of the box. Menus are far more intuitive and simple.
 
Agreed on the above. It's my weapon of choice, it never lets me down and I am always happy with the results. Efficient, reliable and for me, the prettiest images.
 
Looks good to me. As far as grading issues, I think the real problem is the bummer, grey overcast Ohio skies I'm seeing in many of the shots. And at this point there's not much you can do about that. (unless you replaced them in post?)

I do like the barn shots as well.
 
xhridhar said:
What was the reason you chose Alexa when you were aware of the limitations of the shoot? I am curious to find out whether you thought that the images will be much nicer in spite of the conditions?

Also what lens did you use?

The reason I ask these questions is I am weighing the purchase of Alexa vs epic and am curious to understand the reasons behind people 's choices of one camera over another .
Click to expand...

We shot our last series of commercial on the Epic. Looked great, but for this spot we definitely wanted a more organic and natural look. I chose the Alexa because I wanted to get that kind of look as opposed to the crisp (IMHO, video-ish) look of the Epic. The barn shot was the biggest reason we chose to shoot with the Alexa, because I really wanted the exterior of the barn to not be totally blown out. And we got exactly what we wanted, there. Plus, this was all planned as handheld shots. The Alexa really excels here, where an Epic would have to be built in to some sort of rig.

There are certainly times and places for both the Alexa and the Epic. That's why we don't own a dig-cine camera. I would maybe consider owning the F55, but doubt I ever will. Renting offers the most flexibility.
 
Shooter said:
I was only talking about the grading really. The amount of scope within the images you shot on the Alexa because of RAW/LOG C etc..offer so much "creative opportunity". Basically its a point and shoot camera with a world of "post possibility". That's actually my "criticism" of it! They are a great camera for everyone and a brilliant camera for the skilled and talented D.Ps.
Click to expand...

I totally agree with you. Time was the big reason this didn't get sent out to a colorist. Doing it myself, being my first serious attempt at grading, I was totally impressed with the flexibility of the image as ProRes4444.

Here are the spots that we shot with the Epic, graded by D|Post in Buffalo:



And this last one was shot on a mixture of cameras: C300 in C-LOG with CP.2s, GoPro 3, T4i, 5D MkIII

 
jax_rox said:
Have to agree about creativity in the grade - it's played very safe, almost to the point where it seems somewhat unnecessary to shoot Alexa.

Overall, not bad, but I personally think you would've benefited from some sort of light control - even flagging and reflecting (even with a cheap poly/bead board) would have helped for a lot of the shots.

Also, the Alexa is a tough one for day exteriors without NDs - I'm curious as to how you checked exposure (and exposed your shots).
Click to expand...

We had a whole grip truck with us...we tried bounces, silks, rigid reflectors, etc., but we really lost the "naturalness" of the image by doing so. We did use a rigid on the Med shot of the girl in the barn.

Some scenes were shot with ARRI Ultra Primes (filmmaking scene, girl on college tour, florist), and the rest was on Superspeeds. Superspeeds were 20+ years old, and definitely had quite a bit more character than the Ultra Primes. Ultra Primes were pretty crisp and seemed to chill the flesh tones down a bit. Considered using a Cabrio 19-90, but it made the rig too front-heavy.

All of our exposuring efforts were done with the on-board false color. We pulled out a light meter a couple times. Used 3., .6, .9, and 1.2 NDs, and stayed at EI (ISO) 800 the whole time.
 
ALEXA is a real camera :) I would have done the same thing if I got asked to shoot that same project ...
when you shoot alexa you can shoot natural light much more easily , and I personally love when the lighting is perfect already and you can really get a true "natural" look .
 
that being said, being able to shoot natural light and literally only use Negative Fill and/or diffusing/softening the existing light w/ some bounce is way more real looking and organic to me .. plus you dont need an electric truck :)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top