F3: "I will Love" Episode 3 has now been released.

Duke M.

Duke M.

Veteran
This is a psychological drama about a young woman who discovers she was born a hermaphrodite and must adjust her relationships.

Shot on the Sony F3, this episode was directed by Rick Robinson, starring Kristen Hansen, Dan Saad, Sandra Saad, Iris Karina and others. I was the cinematographer. (consumer cam shots by Dan Saad.) Charlie Valencia as AD, Doc Bernard on audio.

There were some outdoor scenes where the clouds were constantly moving in and out causing the exposure to constantly change while shooting, but overall I'm very happy with the footage.

Episode 4 has been shot and is being edited. The four mini episodes will probably be reedited into a pilot and then shopped around.

 
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Good work Duke, some good lighting in there. Was this slog or cine gammas?

Yes those damn clouds really can bugger up exposure, only solution is having a budget to deal with it ;)

I noticed a lot of magenta in the scene at 2:25 and bluish highlights. Do you know what caused that?

Cheers,
 
Well put together.. but get Resolve!

Luma vs Saturation curve will be your friend - kill those blue windows, kill that nuclear table lamp..
 
I'm sorry to say I didn't like it. I know you are satisfied with the footage but imho you could improve on a number of things. First I find the framing and choice of angle very odd. Secondly you could have blocked out light to create much nicer scenes and third exposure seams to be driven to hard.
 
This wasn't my production. They wanted it shot in Rec709 to minimize post. No money for a colorist. The editor did whatever color changes he and the director agreed upon.

I set the camera up as much as possible for a rich color scheme. I'm not sure why the breakfast scene was colored bluish. Neither the camera nor the lighting were set bluish. It was back-lit of course but I could have pulled detail out of it. Perhaps the editor didn't know how.

As far as camera angles goes, that's a matter of taste and space. Older homes have small rooms. Fit in lights, actors, tripod, etc. and have minimal time for set ups. I thought it was good to get some different angles into it at all.

I agree morgan moore. I'm trying to learn Resolve now for my own productions. I wish Nate or someone in SoCal who knows the program could go over it with me for an hour.
 
You could try what I do sometimes. If I know a client can't make time for a proper grade I do a grade that at least get the footage to look good in my opinion and hand over a project that contains footage with grade. Not always fesable but I do care about what I put out and I just hate it when others frakk up my footage.

When it comes to angles there's always a good angle and often I find it best to reduce the number of angles if I find them to be poor anyways. A close up can be achieved without taking the room in account and these are always a safe shot. Not the most interesting but they always work.

I know you often run into limits of time, money and ambition from others but I also know that it wont do to just let poor footage through. It's always rewarding when you fight to make time to get it right. Once shot there's seldom a second chance.
 
Duke M. said:
This wasn't my production ..minimize post. No money for a colorist.. ... small rooms. .. .. minimal time
Click to expand...

This is really all about relationships, communication and the nature of the project, also you power and how you wield it as a DOP.

Assuming you were not on a huge pay packet (in which case take the money and run) then there is a sort of scale of how to create cheap good looking stuff.

Shooting 709 is the hardest possible, you can do it if.. you restrict the scenes - basically shoot in the shade (which takes some muscle on set - 'we cant shoot here/now') - or of course bring in a, most likely non existent, large lighting budget to fill.

Assuming that lights budget is not there shooting log and doing colour is the cheapest way to shoot in wider DR situations, it is far cheaper/faster than more lights/crew on set to close the DR to a 709 six stops

So IMO it is relationships and communication that create a good look, not the camera or the lights!

Resolve - I think first can you use Photoshop? You have to know colour before you dig in, beyond that it is fairly simple after a few online tutuorials are watched.
I have a few blog posts, http://www.sammorganmoore.com/sorted-by-tech-keyword/davinci-resolve

S
 
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Morgan, I'll get there with Resolve. Some parts of it are similar to Adobe products, and some parts aren't. It would just be faster if I could ask questions. Barring that what's the best tutorial you guys have seen?

Osslund, maybe you'll like some of the angles and lighting in the clips below.

If anyone is interested here is the original teaser:

Here is episode 1:

Episode 2, The dream sequences are lightly graded s-log. The doctor's office rooms were literally 6' wide and the they were trying to use fresnels. Argh.
 
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I think one needs to hit Resolve knowing where you want to go. My photoshop comment is more that if you cant do a still in photoshop you probably dont know where to go in Resolve - once you know where you want to go mainly google will tell you. I linked to a couple on my site and Denver Riddle seems to come up a lot, also Art Adams has a blog post on desaturating the tops, creating an 'Alexa' look.

As for your framing, I think mainly there is too much headroom, especially where that involves cropping hands, I think it is important to morivate a frame by deciding what you want to include and excluding everything else. Personally some of the less usual framings keep it interesting but it seems that sometimes there are some mis frames, particualarly (too much) headroom

In terms of framing also you seem to be hit by the physical difficulty of cinematography with a heavy camera - mainly camera height which is hard to change on sticks, also Im a fan of a 35-70 zoom which IMO can help you frame when working under time pressure.

S
 
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Constructive criticism is always welcome. Do you guys have any thoughts on the other three clips?

I'd like the producer do arrange for an edit and CC on the these put together with some other unused footage for a pilot, because the story line is good.
 
I know what others in this thread are saying, etc.. we all strive for shooting that type of work we can show off after and be very proud we have been able to pull off some "hollywood looks", etc.. we all want to see the best outcome for our time and work....

But forgive me how it sounds, sometimes you are better off to just take the money and run. Trying to get in on some "creative control" can be difficult, stressful, and likely the project is still going to be dealing with other budget constraints so while you might offer to grade for "free" so you can shoot in slog and produce a better looking project, what if the rest of the production is shabby anyways and you have no money for lighting, or the location is bad, walls are white, etc.. ?

Every project is diferent, I'm just saying you need to gauge each one individually and make sure you have ALL the tools you need that will actually benefit for what "more" you might have to offer.

cheers,
 
To me it's a mixed bag of the quality of framing/light/scenery/exposure in your footage. Certain shots looks great but then there are shots with odd framing and many flat surfaces behind actors that doesn't help to draw attention to the action or character. As soon as you drop exposure in the scene and shadows starts to creep into the frame it becomes much better. Absense of light is actually what makes a scene to feel involving and helps to draw attention to the interesting part.
 
That and in someone else's production they get the final say. You can suggest, but so can other people, then the director has to make a decision. Sometimes I can say "Let's try to shoot it this way too." And sometimes the answer is "Sure", but often it's "We don't have time."

But realisticly, if someone is really interested in the story it can all be reshot on their dime at a better location.
 
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