Cavemandude
Well-known member
Shoot action shots with the GH1 in 720P mode, much less jello if any in most cases. Uprez to 1080p in the edit. Huge difference in jello tolerance between 720p and 1080p with the GH1.
Randy
Randy
GH1's capable of feature films yet?
- Thread starter Azmyth
- Start date
Homunculus
Carbonite Member
just remember on gh1 you can buy it cheap, and buy and own cheap glass. good canon FD lenses go for 20-100$ on ebay/craigslist etc. The lowest priced Red lens is 5000$. the Red zoom lenses are 10,000$ and cost an arm and a leg to rent. Not worth it unless you're on a huge budget
Azmyth
Veteran
what do you consider a huge budget?
biginvegas
Well-known member
"Show me the budget and I will show you the film" J L Godard
You can also try panning slowly and speeding it up in post. It might look good if there is nothing else moving around in the shot.
Blackout
Veteran
Thought about those options Cave and pianoboy, and in a bad pinch it's possible... I use the 720 60p shots blown up to 1080 for slomo, but I still think it can't handle real fast action moves... there is still jello, and I do not like the look of 720 60p conformed to 24p... never have. it works for some people but I can immediately recognize it and the shutter and motion cadence always looks weird to m compared to the beautiful motion cadence of the 1080 24p.
I am not into 'shakey' hand held cam either but a few parts of the story just call for it... so renting a 170 for the day (used to have a 200a but sold it) seems to be the best answer. I prob wil be able to borrow one in trade for doing sound work on someone else's short.
I am not into 'shakey' hand held cam either but a few parts of the story just call for it... so renting a 170 for the day (used to have a 200a but sold it) seems to be the best answer. I prob wil be able to borrow one in trade for doing sound work on someone else's short.
DanDOF
Well-known member
What about "under-cranking" and then speed up in post? Might take some actors' choreography depending on whats in your shot. Fire or smoke might look strange sped up tho.
Just weight the camera down properly.
You'll solve most issues that way.
Good luck on your second feature. All I have to say is play hard, aim high or go home. Too many teams in the tourney now to not play ball like you're here to decimate the planet every time you drive to the hole.
GH-13 will suffice. But if you actually try to look for better youd be surprised what you find.
You'll solve most issues that way.
Good luck on your second feature. All I have to say is play hard, aim high or go home. Too many teams in the tourney now to not play ball like you're here to decimate the planet every time you drive to the hole.
GH-13 will suffice. But if you actually try to look for better youd be surprised what you find.
Azmyth
Veteran
are you meaning looking for a DP?
I think anyone going into a feature film is bat crap insane to not hire a dp that at least understands the fundamentals that will get you a watchable image.
All this noise about sound being the movie is silly. Movies are MOVING IMAGES. You can make a silent film that can tell a story without a shred of audio. Audio is no more an important piece than your motion picture. They all play equal part in your career flourishing.
Walk out on the court crippled if you want. Just don't expect to score much.
All this noise about sound being the movie is silly. Movies are MOVING IMAGES. You can make a silent film that can tell a story without a shred of audio. Audio is no more an important piece than your motion picture. They all play equal part in your career flourishing.
Walk out on the court crippled if you want. Just don't expect to score much.
PhilJackson
Active member
There really shouldn't be much noticeable difference if you are keeping your shutter speed in proportion. But to each their own.
Azmyth
Veteran
I had a DP on my first feature. Let me share a story with you though.
I live in South GA. In BFE pretty much. Nothing like this happens here. When I first started planning for my first feature. I initially tried to find a DP with his own camera. I posted on craigslist, and Mandy. I got alot of hits. Some had DVX100's, some had 7D's, some had EX3's, some had XHA1's and even some RED ONE's. However, over half of them didn't read my ad and had no clue where the project was, how long it was going to last etc. Once I told them, they weren't interested. I went through about 20 different DP's before I said.. screw it.. I'll just buy a camera and do it myself.
So, I went ahead and started researching cameras and one of my locations contacts told me she knew someone who had experience in film and probably had his own camera. She introduced us, and he was on board. He went to SCAD for film, and currently worked for a nationally syndicated TV network. He even had a camera, a DVX100. When I met with him, he said he'd use his camera but he highly suggested we go HD. I told him that I could not afford any of the prosumer HD cameras just yet. So I showed him the Canon HV40, and he did some research on it himself and we decided that it would work for our needs with some tweaking and learning the tricks.
Here's some caps from it. I'm pleased with how its turning out, but I want to always go bigger and better with each film.
So thats how I got a DP for my first film. He's now moved here, and will probably be on board for film #2 but we are back to the same problem.. With every film I do I want to up the production value. The weakest link right now is our Camera, because I'm renting professional lighting and hiring a lighting technician this time around, and we are already pretty anal about our audio as it is (I'm a musician first).
I could look for another DP with a better camera, but I'll probably run into the same issue. The closest place where DP's would be rampant is Atlanta, and I don't know that they'd drive 2 hrs one way for a gig, especially one that might be another weekend warrior gig (I'm trying to figure out a way to shoot consecutively) and I have no idea what it would cost to hire a DP or what is fair, seeing as this is still a low budget production.
That is why I keep coming back to the "buy your own camera" option, and just let my DP who is already on board, run it.
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Yeah, for the record, DP does not mean Man That Owns Camera. Hahaha.
If you have a DP, then just get what you can afford. If you say you can afford to Rent a RED if it comes in at a certain price, then look for a RED at that certain price for the duration of your shoot.
If you can afford a GH1 or GF1 w/a hack, then purchase that
At this point, the cameras REALLY don't matter. A DSLR or a RED or FIlm will all get you what you need to do something great. It's all in front of the camera and behind it, now, that's gonna make the biggest difference.
If you don't have the budget to go RED, then I would just pick up a GH13 or a 5D (one of the two), three fast lenses (wide, medium, tight) and shoot it up.
If you have a DP, then just get what you can afford. If you say you can afford to Rent a RED if it comes in at a certain price, then look for a RED at that certain price for the duration of your shoot.
If you can afford a GH1 or GF1 w/a hack, then purchase that
At this point, the cameras REALLY don't matter. A DSLR or a RED or FIlm will all get you what you need to do something great. It's all in front of the camera and behind it, now, that's gonna make the biggest difference.
If you don't have the budget to go RED, then I would just pick up a GH13 or a 5D (one of the two), three fast lenses (wide, medium, tight) and shoot it up.
Homunculus
Carbonite Member
in the context I was speaking of, a huge budget is one that allows you to purchase the Red and its lenses without much worry so you do the math
Azmyth
Veteran
Yeah I knew that DP doesn't mean man with camera, but alot of the times they are one in the same. man with camera doesn't mean DP either lol Because I know plenty of people with nice cameras, who have no idea how to shoot with them properly. Its like being a musician, I know a guy who has 10 paul reed smiths, but can't play his way out of paper bag, and I also know a guy who has a beat up pawn shop guitar, who can destroy just about anyone who walks with it.
I'm talking to some investors right now, and the only way I'll be shooting on the RED is if that pans out. I'm looking at 800.00 a day to shoot, and judging from the length of this production, probably about 20 days of shooting, give or take. If we shot on weekends like we did this time, we could get the weekend rate, and kill 2-3 days in one rental fee. But judging from how this film went, I'd feel alot safer shooting on something I own til I can surround the whole crew with nothing but professionals. If I have to fund it myself again, then the GH1 or similar will probably be the way I go.
Homunculus
Carbonite Member
your footage looks great to me by the way so personally I don't see the immediate need for much better cam but it's up to you.
one other tip is, remember that when you're talking about buying a DSLR, don't get tricked into thinking all you're buying is the cam, don't forget that for DSLR's you need at least another thousand or two on top of the initial DSLR price for enough rig equipment just to shoot it properly
For example
1. mattebox, with rails. cheapest go for 300-400$ mid range 600 and highest like Chrosziel are 1200-1500$
required?: you can get away with just a lens hood for outdoors I guess, but mattebox is also used to stack filters in the filter trays
2. that brings us to filters. the 4x4, 3x3 or whatever format your mattebox is, glass ones go for anywhere from 50$ to 200$ and up each. you'll need at least a couple ND's for outdoors, a polarizer and possibly graduated ND.
required?: well you can get screw on circular filters that are much cheaper, but so is the quality, cheaper the filter the more it softens your image or otherwise messes with it. but hey just ask Kholi pretty sure he used circular screw ons on his Red for Damages Done..could be wrong and look how fantastic that turned out.
3. shoulder rig: this is not needed but a tiny DSLR needs some sort of stabilization or your image will suck. Either keep it on a tripod or if you need handheld shots then you probably will want a shoulder rig or steadycam. Most cheaper DSLR shoulder rigs like indifocus and such start at 350-400 I think.
so far you're up to anywhere between 600-900$ or more if you're going basic
4. followfocus: especially if your cam is rigged up on a mattebox you'll need a followfocus gears to pull focus for your shots. these start at 200-300$ for cheapest ones and go as high as thousands. you'll also probably want a whip, about 50$
ok this is just basic stuff that you'll most likely need for a good working rig, and as you can see it's at least another 1000-1500+ not to mention you'll need additional lenses which is hundreds $ more.
you CAN shoot a film without any of this stuff, it just may be harder and the image may not be as good looking.
one other tip is, remember that when you're talking about buying a DSLR, don't get tricked into thinking all you're buying is the cam, don't forget that for DSLR's you need at least another thousand or two on top of the initial DSLR price for enough rig equipment just to shoot it properly
For example
1. mattebox, with rails. cheapest go for 300-400$ mid range 600 and highest like Chrosziel are 1200-1500$
required?: you can get away with just a lens hood for outdoors I guess, but mattebox is also used to stack filters in the filter trays
2. that brings us to filters. the 4x4, 3x3 or whatever format your mattebox is, glass ones go for anywhere from 50$ to 200$ and up each. you'll need at least a couple ND's for outdoors, a polarizer and possibly graduated ND.
required?: well you can get screw on circular filters that are much cheaper, but so is the quality, cheaper the filter the more it softens your image or otherwise messes with it. but hey just ask Kholi pretty sure he used circular screw ons on his Red for Damages Done..could be wrong and look how fantastic that turned out.
3. shoulder rig: this is not needed but a tiny DSLR needs some sort of stabilization or your image will suck. Either keep it on a tripod or if you need handheld shots then you probably will want a shoulder rig or steadycam. Most cheaper DSLR shoulder rigs like indifocus and such start at 350-400 I think.
so far you're up to anywhere between 600-900$ or more if you're going basic
4. followfocus: especially if your cam is rigged up on a mattebox you'll need a followfocus gears to pull focus for your shots. these start at 200-300$ for cheapest ones and go as high as thousands. you'll also probably want a whip, about 50$
ok this is just basic stuff that you'll most likely need for a good working rig, and as you can see it's at least another 1000-1500+ not to mention you'll need additional lenses which is hundreds $ more.
you CAN shoot a film without any of this stuff, it just may be harder and the image may not be as good looking.
thisisapocalypse
Well-known member
I think your HV40 shots look quite nice, you mentioned before that the camera was now your weakest link. I find that for most projects I see, the script and the talent are the weakest links. Given that 250K is a pretty decent budget, "going bigger" might mean getting a really, really good damn script and some really good actors and worrying about the cam less - get a GH1 for A Cam, keep your HV40s for shots where the GH1 is less appropriate and upgrade from the Zoom H4n.
steventimothy
Well-known member
Good find, I always think of bad lighting when I think of soap operas. Every shot looks like a portrait that came out of a cheezy photography studio.
(Incidentally, mentalfloss offered me the following additional article: "Why Do Your Dog’s Feet Smell Like Popcorn?")