House 5D Finale first 2 minutes posted online

Ian-T said:
It reads though as if he chose it as some sort of "effect" which he couldn't duplicate in post with film (shallower shallow DOF).
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Well, yeah. That's what he said. He chose it specifically because it delivered a look he couldn't get with film, and also because the tight constraints of the particular shooting area made using a big bulky camera highly impractical.

If you're trying to infer that I'm saying anything negative, that's not the case at all. Nowhere did Tattersall say that he felt that the show's look was compromised, or anything like that; instead he was very very happy with the quality that they got. But the choice was made specifically because of the aesthetic and practical considerations. Otherwise, he'd have shot on film, like every other episode they've done.

He also talked in that interview of another project he did with Hugh, where they gave the DSLR its "trial run", and how it was the perfect choice for that project. What they were doing was getting shots of a newborn infant, and the regulations on filming infants are so incredibly restrictive (how much time you can have the infant "working", and exposure to lights and everything) that the DSLR was the perfect tool for it. It let them get much more footage, faster and quicker, because they could easily go handheld with smaller light fixtures.

He did say that he would use it again but only if the story called for it.
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Well, yeah, exactly. He didn't choose it because it was "better" than film, or because it was "cheaper" or anything like that. He chose it specifically because it suited the look of the particular episode, and the physical wrangling/geographic restrictions of the set they used it in.

Personally I think he made the perfect choice.
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I do too. It suited the episode very well, it looked fine, and it let them deliver the look they were after.

At first I felt sort of claustrophobic watching the main character crawl through that tunnel. And then most of his interaction with the victim was very intimate. We got a chance to be up close and personal. I think that is what the director was going after when he made the camera choice and it worked out well.
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Yep, exactly.
 
I got the impression from the director's interview on Bloom's site that they really cut a lot to a "rover" camera that was basically shooting wild. They had two other 5D's that were more planned in their positions, but he really loved what the "freelance" camera picked up.

It goes to show - you plan, of course. A show with a set like this is planned and boarded to Shitsva and back. But then, once you've planned, on set you go and be spontaneous and see what else you can find that you never thought of.

That's what filmmakers should do with these cameras for their features or featurettes. Get several to use - they're cheap. You can shoot with it yourself, (producer or director) you don't have to stand there while they're rolling. You don't need a wild camera super-rigged out necessarily. Even with tight focus, hand-held, you can find 3-4 seconds of gold on a hand-held rig when you're shooting a take. That's all you might need.

That's taking advantage of the technology and focusing on what it can do - rather than kvetching about what it can't.
 
I think if anything, this will open the flood gates as a ruling in camera vs camera.

Networks now have a concrete piece of evidence that a cheaper setup in abundance can get similar quality results to the expensive heavy setup. In any situation where you want quick setups with lots of angles, this will serve as the first major network 1st unit DSLR camera success.

I was surprised at how well it did look even though I have seen many examples of the 5D shooting wonderful footage.
 
BradM said:
I think if anything, this will open the flood gates as a ruling in camera vs camera.

Networks now have a concrete piece of evidence that a cheaper setup in abundance can get similar quality results to the expensive heavy setup. In any situation where you want quick setups with lots of angles, this will serve as the first major network 1st unit DSLR camera success.

I was surprised at how well it did look even though I have seen many examples of the 5D shooting wonderful footage.
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Knowing the stupidity of networks, they will take this example the wrong way. Just because this episode seemed visually a success, doesn't mean that network TV shows should be shot with 5D's!

They worked around the limitations of the camera on an episode it was well suited for. I don't think it would work at all for most other major shows, like "Lost", "CSI", etc.
 
Looked great, Im sure there was some heavy color correction and 5d issue fixes (rolling shutter/color aliasing) applied while posting in a million dollar color suite, but it looked great, I honestly wouldn't have believed it was shot on a dslr if I had not read it was prior to watching it, they also did an excellent regrain job as well. Bravo.
 
steventimothy said:
That's taking advantage of the technology and focusing on what it can do - rather than kvetching about what it can't.
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This really reminds me of what Hurlbut said about the 5D, and he went out of his way to emphasize this point. You want these cameras to work for you, you need to embrace them. He definitely had challenges and failures, but he wanted them to work so badly because of the freedom they would offer if he could get them to work image wise. He obviously mastered that aspect and now has the freedom to tell stories in a way that hasn't been done before on a film set.

Something he also mentioned that really hit home with me is that the way films are made traditionally is all about moving mass. Just moving all that weight ripples across the production in many ways from the size of the vehicles to transport all this gear to the size of the crew to the way a set must be constructed to accomodate a 35mm motion film camera as well as scaling down the lighting design because of more light sensitive sensors. I can see this being very appealing to many producers and seems like it would eliminate huge costs from production.

House was a milestone for this technology. Hurlbut's navy seal film will be the next one. He says it looks incredible even projected on Imax. I'm really more interested in how story telling will change due to moving less mass. I think he has a point in saying it's not about rigging these cams up, but keeping their footprint small and agile.
 
My anti-vdslr arguments somehow sound hollow now... ;) Great episode, like most here, I soon forgot what the images were shot on, but simply enjoyed the drama...
 
steventimothy said:
Knowing the stupidity of networks, they will take this example the wrong way. Just because this episode seemed visually a success, doesn't mean that network TV shows should be shot with 5D's!

They worked around the limitations of the camera on an episode it was well suited for. I don't think it would work at all for most other major shows, like "Lost", "CSI", etc.
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we will see next season... A few other major shows are bound to try it out in some capacity. They will for sure at least give it a look, poke and prod.
 
steventimothy said:
When he crawled into that tunnel I almost turned it off... can't STAND tight places!
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Man I'm glad it wasn't just me, for some reason I've become increasingly more claustrophobic as I get older. :(
Anywhoo... I missed the broadcast but found a 720p version and watched it on my PS3 on a 46" 1080p LCD and honestly I didn't think it was gonna turn out as GOOD as it did. I personaly love what the DSLRs have done for filmmaking but also accept that they have severe limitations. The DP and cam-ops on this show clearly understood the strenghts and (more importantly) the limitations and did a SCREAMINGLY BADASS JOB!!!! Of course the overall production and postproduction ultimately made the look work so well; but it's good to know that the DSLR doesn't have to be the achilles heel some people fear it is.
I really feel like this is a huge milestone in the democratization of filmmaking, I am sooooo getting this on Bluray when it comes out just for this one episode!
Oh and really great episode, regardless of camera, format, style, whatever...
 
Yum. Great episode, great, great image.

Man and here I was hoping that the AF100 announcement would lead to a rush of Mark 5D IIs hitting ebay!

Dang you Mister House!!!
 
LOL sometimes i think how moronic i am when thinking "this and that doesnt look filmic enough" while watching DSLR footage but now when watching this episode i think i know why ,its because the sound ,its like 50% of quality.It looks amazing ,if i wouldnt knew then i would never tell that it was shot with equipment much much much cheaper ,this is insane.
Its so weird that sound adds so much to the picture.
 
Barry:
"Sort of like when people watch Bloom's stuff -- he knows exactly how to shoot to avoid any of the drawbacks while extracting the maximum benefit from it. And when you do that, the results can be amazing."

Just like shooting film. Or RED. Or any other camera. Every format/camera will have it's positives and its negatives. And pulling focus is always a ***** with our crew no matter what the camera, 'cause I move the camera around like a jack rabbit...

What is truly - absolutely - amazing is that those results were gotten with something you can buy at Best Buy. Memory cards from Walmart.

What it proves, beyond a shadow, is that a dedicated crew can make a completely professional product with a DLSR. More importantly, they can make a SELLABLE product. The future just keeps getting brighter for film makers of all ages.

And for most of us here, that's the only bottom line that matters.

john
 
bwwd said:
LOL sometimes i think how moronic i am when thinking "this and that doesnt look filmic enough" while watching DSLR footage but now when watching this episode i think i know why ,its because the sound ,its like 50% of quality.It looks amazing ,if i wouldnt knew then i would never tell that it was shot with equipment much much much cheaper ,this is insane.
Its so weird that sound adds so much to the picture.
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This is very true. Good audio definitely helps a lot. Looks like I need to save up for some more mics instead of more lenses.

But it was also the lighting too. The lighting was absolutely beautiful. Its not the camera that makes a good picture. Its the light and the sound. The camera just captures it.
 
Angry Leprechaun said:
Its not the camera that makes a good picture. Its the light and the sound. The camera just captures it.
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And the cameraman, and the set designer, and the guy on the davinci...:happy:
And the "just" part still is a major factor and can be crucial depending on the given task...
And just because pro camera manufacturers are somehow overwhelmed by the VDSLR`s crusade, let´s see what we will be shooting with one year from now...
But now, let me place my order for that 5D muhahaha
 
Ian-T said:
LOL…I was waiting for a comment like this. I’m not sure if you know this but there was a very small piece of this episode that was supposedly shot on 35mm film. The only reason I know this is because of what the director said in his Twitter last week with Phil Bloom and others. I believe he said it was a very small piece…but basically the entire show was with the 5Dll. So…this leads me to say that they (35mm and the 5Dll) matched up perfectly with one another on this episode. I have no clue on which part was 35mm film though.
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I'm interested which shots were 35mm... It might of been the lighting but the above ground disaster conversation with Cutty(of the top) looked videoish. I did like the wide shot at the end of that first scene with the crowd of firefighters, maybe that was the one. Who knows. If the whole thing was shot with 35mm and a "very small piece" of it was 5D then I would say "the 5D matched perfectly with 35mm". But as of now I can only say that the 35mm matched perfectly with the 5D, since we can't pinpoint the specific shot which was a "very small piece" in itself.
 
I was wondering...itunes has en episode called "Help Me" ready for download. Is this the season finale shot on the 5dmkii?
 
jdv said:
Barry:
"Sort of like when people watch Bloom's stuff -- he knows exactly how to shoot to avoid any of the drawbacks while extracting the maximum benefit from it. And when you do that, the results can be amazing."

Just like shooting film. Or RED. Or any other camera. Every format/camera will have it's positives and its negatives. And pulling focus is always a ***** with our crew no matter what the camera, 'cause I move the camera around like a jack rabbit...
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Good point. I will also add that those postives and negatives have more to do with the camera operator than the camera itself.

I wonder if Red will continue to call the 5D a non-professional tool. :)
 
acoelho1 said:
I wonder if Red will continue to call the 5D a non-professional tool. :)
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Hmm....are they allowed to even discuss the show there? <<<On a normal day i would have thought that question was silly...but in light of recent events...who knows..
 
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