Light for Dark?

S

someday

Well-known member
Hi,
as we know, the more the bit depth to represent a level, the more the theoretical SN ratio.
That's why noise is more present on dark areas.

So i would like to know your opinion about this:

When we need dark scene, we could light the set in order to be able to shot at the highest digital level possible.
Then, after converting the HDV to ProRes or Cineform, we could cc it to make it look dark.

This method could result in a cleaner image because there were more bits used to represent the image.
 
Interesting. I've been wondering about this too recently. I'm going to be doing a number of scenes where much of the frame is going to be underexposed to to the point of being all shadows. But I don't want it to be too noisy. Would this be the best way of achieving this?

davide
 
It is an accepted convention to crush the image (gamma) and pull out a lot of the red and green, leaving the image dark and blue. I never liked this convention as it just never really looked real to me. Plus, if you do have anything bright in your scene (like the moon), then you have to have software that can do spot color correction (or superimpose over duplicate footage with different CC values).

Your strategy is to shoot it lighter and pull down the gamma, but I would suggest you think outside of the box if you decide to alter the color as well. What is the light source in the scene? Red numerals off of an LCD clock? One small bulb in a big warehouse? Sodium lights in a parking lot? Little green men that actually glow green? Let the source of your light determine any alterations to your color.

Or just push everything dark and blue...

Bob
 
ProfessorU said:
Google "expose to the right". What's good for stills is good for video, usually.
Click to expand...

Great!
And as video as too little latitude, the challenge is to expose to the right without clipping (video clipping is evil).
I think that the solution is overlighting the shadows, but keeping the light/shadow ratio enough large to allow post black press. And all this without clipping...
It can maybe be done for sure in controlled environments only.
 
This has been the one of the biggest questions I've had with the HVX. I love "moody" scenes but the cam hasn't really allowed me to be free in creating that look without introducing too much noise. It seems we are limited to a rather high key type contrast...I basically do what is already stated by overlighting and then cush the blacks in post. Unfortunately having to grade the footage introduces new a different artifact at times. Curious to hear more responses and techniques on this one.
 
someday said:
When we need dark scene, we could light the set in order to be able to shot at the highest digital level possible.
Then, after converting the HDV to ProRes or Cineform, we could cc it to make it look dark.

This method could result in a cleaner image because there were more bits used to represent the image.
Click to expand...


Well... that's the same approach used in shooting film with slower film stocks. Ever see the behind the scenes footage for a film and how bright everything on the set looks on video?

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As i see it's a consolidated technique.
The question is HOW much key light/dark areas contrast do we need in order to be able to press the dark areas without affecting the highligts...
 
Chris Santucci said:
Well... that's the same approach used in shooting film with slower film stocks. Ever see the behind the scenes footage for a film and how bright everything on the set looks on video?
Click to expand...

Yes, as well as purity in image (emulsion/grain), shooting day for night also allows to capture such depth. Eg: wilderness "night" scenes full of detail.
Not to mention, you get to use the sun, and the sun doesn't always require a large truck (generator) :happy:
 
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