GH2 for 'Cinematic look'

butler360 said:
Something I have much difficulty finding, though, is good narrative work with the GH2. There's plenty of student shorts with poor production values, but very little that's properly done. That's what I'd really like to see and what would really settle the issue.

The closest I have found is this: http://vimeo.com/18766884
It's the only one where I had to put headphones on because I wanted to hear what was being said because it interested me. Unfortunately it's just a song underneath. But this one stands out because it doesn't have ridiculous DOF and the color/style is very natural, but still very "filmic" or fictional.
Click to expand...

Thanks very much Butler. We shot at f/4-f/8 outside and a f/2.8/4 split inside. Though certain sequences have very shallow DOF achieved with diopters to make a single character feel isolated. And indeed, our color grading is very light and we are going for a very natural look - I don't think cyan shadows and orange faces automatically equals cinematic.
Our new trailer will have some dialogue from the film.
 
Ryan, which film mode / settings did you use for your movie? I'm about to shoot my first short in August and I'd love any input on how you achieved those skin tones / look.

Edit: nvm, found that you mentioned it in a different thread (Smooth with everything -2).
 
Last edited:
ryancglover said:
Thanks very much Butler. We shot at f/4-f/8 outside and a f/2.8/4 split inside. Though certain sequences have very shallow DOF achieved with diopters to make a single character feel isolated. And indeed, our color grading is very light and we are going for a very natural look - I don't think cyan shadows and orange faces automatically equals cinematic.
Our new trailer will have some dialogue from the film.
Click to expand...

I certainly have no problem with shallow DOF in general, just it's over-use. And I forgot to mention that the acting helps a lot with your whole "film look." Acting can seemingly carry just about anything.
 
I know that I'm kinda reviving an old-ish thread but do forgive me.

To the OP, I personally think it is way easier to get a cinematic filmic look out of the GH2, btw I recently got myself one and I love it, I too was debating between it and the cannons but my final decision did not disappoint me...

Here are a few clips that I think are actually pretty cinematic off of the GH2...I'm sure most of you have seen at least one of these clips...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n1Rpg7rON5g&feature=relatedI know that I'm kinda reviving an old-ish thread but do forgive me.
This clip has a lot of filmic shots...specifically the shot looking down at the street and the shot with the face of the guy as hes sitting in the beginning part of the clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FDNVF7E4SZ0&feature=related
This clip is very cinematic looking as well...Especially the second shot, looks very much like some shots in the show Fringe...I love that show btw!

I have more examples but can't seem to find the links right now...
Be sure to check out Philip Bloom's Christmas Shootout videos. Pay attention to the gh2 Footage...he himself says the GH2 is "ridiculous" in terms of image quality and sharpness
http://philipbloom.net/2012/01/06/christmas-shootout/
 
"Wave your arm in front of your face. Choppy with motion blur."

Oooh boy. This is getting good ;0
 
Last edited:
I would like to hear what hack people think has the most potential to produce a 'cinematic' look. So far I think Driftwood v9b but some other clips with GOP in the title (which I don't really understand) are also pretty good.
 
jimmykorea said:
I would like to hear what hack people think has the most potential to produce a 'cinematic' look. So far I think Driftwood v9b but some other clips with GOP in the title (which I don't really understand) are also pretty good.
Click to expand...

Even a non-hacked GH2 can deliver "filmic" looks in the hands of someone who knows how to do so.
That said - the only real obstacles are:
1. Macro-Blocking. This is improved with almost ANY hack that delivers a higher bit-rate.
2. Edge over-sharpening caused by electronic in-camera sharpening. Most problematic with Panasonic lenses. Diffusion filters and "detail -2" help.
3. GOP artifacting. The GH2's compression synthesizes what it "thinks" should be the frames in between actual discrete progressive I-Frames (every 6 or 12 frames) Any hack patch with a GOP of "1" will minimize this by eliminating these synthesized frames.

STAR TREK THE NEXT GENERATION was shot on 35mm film - but most of it looks like VIDEO because they over-lit everything and were very literal with colors, framing, and focal depth.

IT'S NOT THE CAMERA!
 
The Panasonic engineers sprinkle that cinematic pixie dust on all of their cameras. That's why I bought a DVX100A, HVX200A and now a GH2...
 
I'm almost certain some of you have seen this but having read through most of the post I'm pretty sure nobody has posted this yet, so here it is.


Philip Bloom shooting his mom...cooking.

http://vimeo.com/17062701

The quality of the image and color (yes, I know it has been corrected) is still fantastic.

As for the ever elusive "film look" that people are going for. Man, some of you guys gotta kick it old school (cheap inner city school) with pantyhose slipped around the front of your lenses. Maybe get some haze up in your scenes. Give your work that wacky ethereal look!

The stuff I remember doing to try and get my dads Sony Digital8 Camcorder and then later my Sony DCR-TRV18 camcorder to look like film was ridiculous and worked (at least in my mind) to varying degrees.

Regardless of the gear you're using it's all about how you use it beyond its technical specs. I find some shooting angles inherently "video" looking. I also find the same for camera movement and how people go about blocking their scenes. Light and atmosphere play a huge part in the mix as well. I wasn't joking about the haze in your scenes by the way. Too many people rely on their equipment to do the work for them. Don't get me wrong, it certainty helps to have a smorgasbord of lenses, a lighting kit, gels, diffusers and a fog machine :grin:. But if you watch the evolution of cinema there is a drastic change in styles and overall look every 5ish years, not to mention between single films. Whatever your flavor of camera don't use the stock settings and play with the colors in post. That's how they've been making movies for years! That's the end of my not so helpful rant. :)
 
Last edited:
exice said:
i'm almost certain some of you have seen this but having read through most of the post i'm pretty sure nobody has posted this yet, so here it is.


Philip bloom shooting his mom...cooking.

http://vimeo.com/17062701

the quality of the image and color (yes, i know it has been corrected) is still fantastic.

As for the ever elusive "film look" that people are going for. Man, some of you guys gotta kick it old school (cheap inner city school) with pantyhose slipped around the front of your lenses. Maybe get some haze up in your scenes. Give your work that wacky ethereal look!

The stuff i remember doing to try and get my dads sony digital8 camcorder and then later my sony dcr-trv18 camcorder to look like film was ridiculous and worked (at least in my mind) to varying degrees.

Regardless of the gear you're using it's all about how you use it beyond its technical specs. I find some shooting angles inherently "video" looking. I also find the same for camera movement and how people go about blocking their scenes. Light and atmosphere play a huge part in the mix as well. I wasn't joking about the haze in your scenes by the way. Too many people rely on their equipment to do the work for them. Don't get me wrong, it certainty helps to have a smorgasbord of lenses, a lighting kit, gels, diffusers and a fog machine :grin:. But if you watch the evolution of cinema there is a drastic change in styles and overall look every 5ish years, not to mention between single films. Whatever your flavor of camera don't use the stock settings and play with the colors in post. That's how they've been making movies for years! That's the end of my not so helpful rant. :)
Click to expand...

this!
 
Fernando. Just wondering if you think the clip I've linked to below is cinematic. I shot the video with a stock GH2 and a Nikon Nikkor 50mm f1.4. IMHO, the GH2 is as capable of filming 'filmic' footage as its Canon counterparts. You can't really go wrong with either camera unless you're doing much more sophisticated work.

https://vimeo.com/32345582
 
bming1 said:
Fernando. Just wondering if you think the clip I've linked to below is cinematic. I shot the video with a stock GH2 and a Nikon Nikkor 50mm f1.4. IMHO, the GH2 is as capable of filming 'filmic' footage as its Canon counterparts. You can't really go wrong with either camera unless you're doing much more sophisticated work.

https://vimeo.com/32345582
Click to expand...

Yes. It does.
Mainly because it posses the following elements.
Occasional shallow depth of focus.
Very restricted color pallet.
"Artful" framing.
"Artful" editing and pacing.
Unusually beautiful content in every frame.

These are typically the elements that make "Film" look like a movie.
What you did could have been duplicated in pure Sony handycam video and it would still look very pleasant to watch.
And you can put a 35mm film camera on a stationary mount, go full frame, go for "realistic" color, and you'll have something that can look very "Video".

2 cents.
 
When I first started reading this thread, I was vaguely hopeful.
What followed was 16 pages of the usual "film-look" semantics.

As a GH2 owner, and having edited a lot of 5D and 7D footage, here's the aspect of the "film-look", that I'm still greatly missing from the GH2.....

FLAT / LOW-CONTRAST RAW PICTURES.

Out of the camera they'd look.... well, flat and low-contrast. Something like this...

https://vimeo.com/41629648#at=0

Don't tell me it's all in the "cinematic" lighting! If you just walk outside in any conditions with a film camera and start shooting, this is what you'd get.

"Cinestyle" on the Canons pushes this even harder.
The GH2 has been proven to have pretty comparable latitude to the Canons.
Yet, I'm amazed that with all the hacking of the GH2, there's been nothing to give flatter, low-con results!!!!
 
Last edited:
Electric_Haggis said:
As a GH2 owner, and having edited a lot of 5D and 7D footage, here's the aspect of the "film-look", that I'm still greatly missing from the GH2...
Click to expand...

...The big "secret" for the film-look is that it always includes post-production color-correction and grading to achieve the finished image.

I have seen many posts from die-hard Canon DSLR fans who don't seem to realize that you are never going to get a finished cinematic image straight out of the camera no matter what camera you use, and it gets much worse when you start working with the $15,000+ professional cameras that shoot S-Log or RAW sensor formats, as they produce images that look like thick flat mud until they are properly processed.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top