Matching C300 to BMCC

Awesome Box

Awesome Box

Active member
Hi guys,

Firstly, I'm new to the site and I'm loving all of the highly informative threads and posts I've been reading. I've picked up a lot of useful information over the last few days reading through the threads. I've done a quick search pertaining to my topic and couldn't find the information i seek, so I'm posting it in the hopes that someone can help.

So, I've been working in the industry for a couple years now, mainly as a 1st ac and gaffer. And in a few months time i will begin principle photography on my first feature film as DP. It's a low budget project and i look forward to working with the director to create the look of the film.

However, being a low budget film we are limited in access to gear and crew. And i have been forced to source equipment on good faith and favours. And as such i cannot get two matching brands of camera. I have the option of shooting on RED Scarlet, C300 or BMCC, but we really need to shoot with multi-Cam because of time constraints. Otherwise we won't get enough footage to edit a film together. 90 pages in ten days to be exact.

So my dilemma is, which cameras will i be able to match together easiest. We don't have a colourist and i just know that it will be myself and the editor trying to match up shots in post. And neither of us are that good at grading. (I've never used resolve) But even more annoying is that the person whom owns the Scarlet refuses to work on a set with any camera other then a RED. And the condition of using his camera is that he at least operates it.

At this point in pre-production, I'm thinking my only choices are shoot C300 and BMCC match them in post. Or shoot single Cam and compromise the lighting in order to get all the shots.

What is everyone thoughts?

And if i do shoot with the C300 and BMCC, which Cam should i use for the closeups, and which for the wides?
 
First thing you need to answer for yourself is will shooting two-cam REALLY speed up the shoot? Often with multi cam shoots you will either end up sacrificing the lighting heavily, or you will light for both cameras, which will probably end up taking more time than just doing one cam. Not to mention the added time/stress of framing up two shots all the time. People seem to get this idea that with two cameras they can get twice the shots done in one day, but in practicality it really doesn't work that way. At the very least you will need an extremely good 2nd cam operator that you trust, since you can't look at two monitors at once. But if you do decide it's for you, just keep in mind that you will most likely end up making sacrifices with the lighting.

As for matching those two cameras, yeah it's going to be tough. You'll want to make sure that obviously all of your settings are matching at all times, and then you also want to match the look of the glass as often as possible. Even if you do all that, it will most likely take a lot of time in post to get them to edit together seamlessly.

As for wide vs. close, i'm not sure that it matters either way. Both cameras have a crop sensor.
 
A couple good points there that I haven't considered. Thanks

I was thinking that with two Cam's, I would be able to do cross shots for conversations a lot quicker cause I would effectively light both characters so that the key on one becomes the backlight on the other and the backlight on that character becomes the key for the first. The script is pretty dialogue heavy, and the actors we are working with are talented but usually require a couple of takes before they start to bring the magic. I was hoping without the added pressure of having to move a single camera to get the others close-ups they would both be able to focus on bringing it straight away. If you know what I mean.

I do have someone I can trust running 'B' Cam, I've worked with him before on a feature as my 1st A.C. and he operates the camera in a way I like. I do of course like to check his frame before we roll and give a few tips, but most of the time he does something I like or didn't think of to begin with. I'm the sort of DP who likes to work with my guys very closely and I'm open to their suggestions. As filmmaking is a collaborative process I find that more input gets a better result.

Would it be a better option to go with the C300 and use possibly a 5D as a 'B' Cam? Would a camera of the same brand be easier to match in post because of the manufactorer qualities?

With the wide vs. close, I was thinking more about the quality of the image. Would the higher resolution of the BMCC as opposed to the C300 make it better for capturing more detail in wide shots or in close-ups? I've been leaning towards wides on the BMCC myself cause I believe that the higher dynamic range, colour space and resolution would make wide shots look better or at least give me something to play with in post. Or is the safer bet to use it on the closer stuff where the story is really being told?

I will add that the Producer managed to find someone with two identical cameras, but I argued against them because they were Sony HVR-Z7P. And my justification was that we wouldn't be able to achieve shall of depth of field easily and the camera would look more like television then film.
 
If you cross light as you're talking about doing, what you'll wind up with will probably look more like a television interview than a movie. In some situations maybe it could work and look good, but I think approaching an entire feature this way is enormously misguided.

If you really want to move quickly, you have to emphasize to the director how difficult this will be to pull off and that he needs to have the actors REHEARSE as much as possible. If you in your capacity as camera operator and the actors can do your jobs in one or two takes, there's no need to get caught up in the idea that you need anything more than that. The other thing you should do is hire a rigging crew, so you can move from one location / set to another and have the lighting nearly ready to go, with only minor tweaks being necessary. Give them diagrams detailing the setup that they need to complete. Don't skimp on G&E gear. If you only get a few lights, they won't be able to do any work until the lights are free.
 
Moseph said:
If you cross light as you're talking about doing, what you'll wind up with will probably look more like a television interview than a movie. In some situations maybe it could work and look good, but I think approaching an entire feature this way is enormously misguided.

If you really want to move quickly, you have to emphasize to the director how difficult this will be to pull off and that he needs to have the actors REHEARSE as much as possible. If you in your capacity as camera operator and the actors can do your jobs in one or two takes, there's no need to get caught up in the idea that you need anything more than that. The other thing you should do is hire a rigging crew, so you can move from one location / set to another and have the lighting nearly ready to go, with only minor tweaks being necessary. Give them diagrams detailing the setup that they need to complete. Don't skimp on G&E gear. If you only get a few lights, they won't be able to do any work until the lights are free.
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I cannot agree with this more. A good rigging crew is one of the absolute greatest things a film can have.
 
Yeah, you guys are right. I was just trying to justify it to myself and was fishing for even a small opening. I don't want to let the lighting suffer in favour of a few extra angles. And I only wish I could afford a rigging crew. As it stands I'm going to be lucky to get a couple lighting guys and a camera assist for each cam.

I think my work around will be a single cam, but I'll aim for the RED so I can shoot 4K mids and punch in for close-ups in post. This will save a bit of time with not having to change lenses.

I have already stressed to the Director that with such a tight schedule we need to stick to a maximum of three takes per shot and do as much rehearsing as possibly. Though I sort of coped and earful for supposedly telling him how to Direct, so I backed off.

I personally don't want to shoot multi-cam, and I don't think we need too. It's mainly the Director asking for it and me being the good DP and trying to do it. I think we could achieve a better result with fewer shots, but more thought out. I will aim to carefully bring up this discussion with the Director in future meetings and see if we can reach a compromise. Thanks for all your help guys. Sometimes I think you just need to talk it out.

Noel - Yeah man, I was going to give you a call in a few weeks and ask for some advice. Just didn't want to bug you until the shoot was completely locked in and ready to go. Chat soon. :smile:
 
It's a smilingly simple but very complex equation involving resources, crew, time, skill set of the maker... If you've done many multi cams shoots before than you know what you need to get this done: you know what works and what doesn't. If it's your first time it really depends on your bravado because you WILL run into issues and the post will be a nightmare. IF you do go for multicam shoot (which on most low budgeters i would want to go after) DO go with same camera because the savings in time will cost you $$ when trying to match those cameras in the post.
 
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