Grading test...Can someone do one?

Adam J McKay

Adam J McKay

Veteran
Hello friends.

Is anyone willing to throw together a grading test. I am really interested in how far you can push A the native footage, B the native footage which has been converted to prores and C some higher bitrate footage from the nano or similar external recording. I have been hearing that the native codec performs and looks the same as higher bitrate stuff on a monitor, but what about in the grade.

I do not own a AF and there is no place in Vancouver to currently rent one or I would try it out myself.

Thanks,
Adam
 
I can't speak for everyone, but in my case the test period is over; the jury has returned a verdict. We are now busy shooting.

We've encountered no problems in grading, but we've had no footage shot completely in left field.

Good shooting and best regards,

Leo
 
i did this the other day, it was too cold to shoot longer. this is an uneducated test mind you. just fooled around purely on looks and how some shots may look with different options.

while i did like most of these images from outside, i am still battling my scene preferences to see what i like, and also m noise levels. for me, the af100 is fairly noisey, much more than i would have wanted. i am not sure what it could be, but i am still testing around for a good in camera look, with benefits to post grading.

this footage was a harsh b press norm 2 setting with -4 pedistal. probably too crushed for a post grade. ill keep my hopes up as i like the camera, but havent gotten consistent results yet with high ISO or low light images.

http://www.vimeo.com/19352719
 
My question isn't really if people have had problems, but rather how much better is recording to an external device. Can you push it an extra stop? 2? 1/2? What about colour isolations? Has anyone done a similar test already?
 
Adam J McKay said:
My question isn't really if people have had problems, but rather how much better is recording to an external device. Can you push it an extra stop? 2? 1/2? What about colour isolations? Has anyone done a similar test already?
Click to expand...

Based on my experiences, it depends on what you're shooting. During the post-production for "A Verse…", we saw very little difference (if any) in gradability between the native AF footage and the Nano footage. We couldn't see any real-world advantages of 8-bit 4:2:2 (Nano) versus 8-bit 4:2:0. Now, if you're shooting for VFX or Matte work, that's when I think you'd see an improvement in the ability to pull keys from AF footage.

Having previously owned a Nano, where it really seemed to shine is when you pair it with a camera whose codec can't really deal very well with high-detail and motion. The Nano's ability to shoot high-bitrate I-Frame or Long-GOP can really help some cameras, but we didn't see a real-world difference with the AF-100.
 
I have footage currently being tested in a Da Vinci Resolve grading suite.

Should have some results / opinions later in the week.

FWIW: I have found no problems in my own Colorista Suite. In fact I found it excellent to work with in combination with Colorista II. ( and MBLs). THis was using the codec natively.

In the Resolve Suite we are working non native (AVCHD) and are using Avid DXnHD Codec. That is a workflow we have decided is best for us currently.
 
In my grading suite most recently Ive had footage from RED, 5dMK11, HPX2700 and the AF100. All grading was undertaken in prores 4:2:2 HQ, except for the HPX2700 which was in AVCIntra.

All footage was shot with the grade in mind, and all stood up perfectly to the grade applied. The point really is in real world shooting just about any footage shot for the look intended will be fine. As Stephen said you may get a bit more leverage from an external recorder for keys / fx.

But specifically to the AF100, well shot footage looks great and grades very nicely. If you blow your shot out completely, no grading will recover it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top