Framing the LCD for 2.35:1 Look

R

ragnar

Active member
Don't own a GH1 yet, but have a quick question. Anyone have an idea of how I might cover up the LCD, top and bottom of the GH1, so that I can frame my video for a 2.35:1 cinema look? I've done this on my Panasonic PVGS-400 camcorder by affixing, very carefully, a piece of paper that bi-secs the timecode on the top of the LCD and another piece at the botom at about the same distance. I shoot, and then it Premiere CS3 I crop 57 pixels top and bottom to achieve the 2.35:1 look.

Thanks,

Ragnar
 
Ragnar, welcome to the boards!

well, your paper technique will approximate the desired framing, and that's pretty inventive i must say.

well, i'm sure a lot of people do this by sight, framing "as-if", but it's different for everyone. there are grid-type guidelines you can enable on the lcd with certain framing, but none of them are "scope"-specific. I miss my Canon xh-a1 for that very reason.

well, hopefully you'll get some responses, because i'm not sure i was any help LOL

welcome nonetheless!
 
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The GH1 LCD has a hard plastic screen. What I've done before on other cameras is stick some translucent grey tape or gel filter ( Rosco had some self-stick ones, but I can't remember what it was) to get the 2:35 and you can still read the screen in the grey area.
 
jleo said:
The GH1 LCD has a hard plastic screen. What I've done before on other cameras is stick some translucent grey tape or gel filter ( Rosco had some self-stick ones, but I can't remember what it was) to get the 2:35 and you can still read the screen in the grey area.
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nice! sounds like the OP is really trying for accuracy in acheiving scope AR on his LCD....man, i just don't know if it's gonna get any more accurate than your best approximation....can't very well count the exact pixel height of the GH1's LCD....
 
Just print out a 2.39:1 square on a paper and frame it so the sides meet the sides of the LCD - then mark off the horizontal lines. If you have your framing more towards the top end of the LCD instead of dead centered you can often make good compositions for both 2:39:1 and 16:9.
 
Martti Ekstrand said:
Just print out a 2.39:1 square on a paper and frame it so the sides meet the sides of the LCD - then mark off the horizontal lines. If you have your framing more towards the top end of the LCD instead of dead centered you can often make good compositions for both 2:39:1 and 16:9.
Click to expand...


The score tonight? Martti :kali: Me.
 
Thanks for the welcome reply, Skinny.

For what it is worth, I'll make a quick correction here. In Premiere CS3, the Crop tool can only be done by percent, this depiste the fact that in the Help file for CS3 it clearly states that cropping can be done by either percent, or pixel. If memory serves, cropping 29% top and bottom when using the Crop Tool is the same as cropping by 57 pixels top and bottom. This to achieve the 2.35:1 aspect ration.

What I did on my camcorder was to put two pieces of transparent tape together, cut it to size, and then lightly taped that over the LCD, without touching the screen with any tape of course. This way I can still see through the now semi-opaque piece of tape if I need to.

Ragnar

P.S. Here's hoping that a GH2 or something like it comes out in March. My 50th birthday is in July and wifey says that's to be my present, GH1 or GH2. A reward for turning 50? I'll take it.:thumbsup:
 
July what?...i'm the 16th.....what a nice wifey you have! my wife did my taxes yesterday, and she came to me today and asked me "so...what camera accessory do you want?, because i want blah blah skin stuff..." the point?...NICE tax return this year. did not expect much of a return at all.

birthday, taxes, excuse to spend money? i love it.
 
I used to do something similar on my site monitors. I'd print an overlay on overhead projector plastic with the ratio I wanted.

Now I don't have the GH1 in front of me to make an accurate measurement, but based on the 3" spec that every site says the LCD is here's one I made 3 really quickly for you:

Black and white
Colour

So here's some instructions:

1- go to your local office supply store and purchase a pack of overhead projector sheets specific to your printer... Inkjet or Laser
2- go home, and open one of the PDFs I made in your PDF viewer (Acrobat, Preview... )
3- Set up the Print settings for overhead paper (it'll most likely be under paper type, but each printer will be different)
4- Print it (be mindful that the sheets have to be fed a specific way).
5- Cut out the overlay.
6- Stick it to your LCD.

The overhead sheets are pretty glossy so you may want to use a hood of some sort.

I hope it works for you... keep me posted on your results.

-Cam
 
Couldn't you get a 2.35:1 anamorphic lens, you save pixels, save ink and so what if you have to squint a bit.
 
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