Mount Hamilton from Lick's Observatory F35 test project

S

Samana76

Active member
Hello everyone,

A few weeks ago I went to film some test shots at a nearby observatory. The purpose of the test was to capture high dynamic range images and learn to color grade them in Assimilate Scratch. I am a beginner in color grading and need to practice and learn the tools and techniques and, through experience, the eye for good color.

I am rather pleased with this project and I am posting it here because I would appreciate the feedback from this fine community and it's very talented members. Positive feedback is naturally appreciated, but constructive feedback pointing out the flaws will help me learn more.

Here are is the link to the video on Vimeo. Please download the video file (735MB) if you can for highest quality viewing.

https://vimeo.com/126753628

Following are all the details of the shooting, editing and color grading of this project:

Equipment used:
Sony F35 Cinealta Camera
Red Pro Zoom 18-50
Carl Zeiss Jena Biometar 120mm f2.8
Tiffen Full Spectrum 1.2 IRND
Codex Onboard M Recorder

Camera Settings:
Cine Mode (SLOG, SGAMUT)
White balance set to DAYLIGHT
450 ISO (Native ISO)
800 ISO (only last three shots)
24fps
Uncompressed 12-bit 4:4:4 DPX

Edited from proxy Quicktime files (generated with LUT applied by Codex Desktop Transfer Station)
Edited in Adobe Premiere Pro CS v7
Music by Kevin MacLeod (http://incompetech.com)
Song Title "Destiny Day"

Color Grading and Finishing with Assimilate Scratch v7
Input LUT used "macgregor_12.cube" (http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/printthread.php?t=288192&pp=10&page=101)
Graded by manipulating the primary colors (values of LIFT, GAMMA, and GAIN), secondary colors (very rarely), curves, and, in a few instances with extreme highlights, masks and qualifiers (RGB or LUMA selection masks)
Output directly from Scratch to Apple ProRes 4444 (4.87 GB file)

Compressed for Vimeo in Apple Compressor v.4.1.3


Thank you for your comments and feedback.
Igor
 
Here is a link to the before and after comparison video of the ungraded slog material and the final color corrected version:

https://vimeo.com/126757237

It's impressive to see how much information can be recovered from the highlights when shot in 12bit 444 uncompressed.

Cheers,
Igor
 
Thank you Ed. That is wonderful praise indeed coming from such a talented cinematographer as yourself.
 
Don't take this in the wrong way but amatuers always shoot these kinds of things without faces when that is the only thing that counts in filmmaking so... get past the shyness and line up an actor or two and grade some skin/hair/eyes under some different color temps; this is how you test yourself, camera and grading skills.
 
Samana76 said:
Here is a link to the before and after comparison video of the ungraded slog material and the final color corrected version:

https://vimeo.com/126757237

It's impressive to see how much information can be recovered from the highlights when shot in 12bit 444 uncompressed.

Cheers,
Igor
Click to expand...

A bunch of the shots are over-exposed. But those long takes with the 120mm and the twisty roads are pretty spectacular.
I wouldn't crush the blacks that much, but that's just my taste.
 
I like the look of those long shots, too. And the greens in your grade really pop nicely.

It looks like your camera wobbles on your tripod--could be because of the high center of balance on the camera? I've had trouble with that in the past using an ENG-style shoulder mount and tripod lock system.
 
Thank you, Vince, Macgregor and Hunter, for your comments. They are truly well taken and will help me in my next short project.

Vince, you said a very true thing, which honestly I did not think about. My next project will prominently feature skin tones. Thank you for this comment.

Hunter, yes it does wobble. I'm not exactly sure where it happens. It might be the legs as they are single not double, although they are 3X carbon fiber and can hold the weight. I am attaching a photo of my setup here. Should you have any thoughts on the why it wobbles, I would love to hear them. I like the ENG type shoulder mount locking system as I can go from tripod to shoulder and vice-versa in a matter of seconds.

F35_Codex.jpg

Macgregor, next time I will try to expose better, protect the highlights more, and not crush the blacks so much.

Thank you all again.
Igor
 
Those Sony plates weren't affectionately known as "wobbly plates" for no reason.

I see several potential weak points in that setup, the legs look fairly small and are only single tubes - possibly some flex in there which is part and parcel of having the smaller lightweight setups.

Next up how large is the snap plate connecting to the VCT-14? They can come loose easily, especially if the screws into them aren't done up properly.

The SHAPE brige plate/shoulder pad is obviously not meant for the F35. I notice you've ditched the riser plate, presumably as it put the pad too far down/the camera too high up.

Also, the battery mounted on the back on what looks like 15mm rods - that's effectively prising your camera up, that may be impacting the mount. See if it moves at all.

A bit of threadlock here and there, or a new VCT-14 (if it is an old one) might help you, but that setup is never going to be rock solid in my opinion.
 
It look good but I also think many shots look over exposed. But color is fantastic.
 
http://www.vocas.com/accessories/us...al-shoulder-base-plate-with-balance-dove-tail

From my searches, that was the best option I found for a rod plate with shoulder pad built in that wasn't going to raise the F35 too much. The shape rig is very similar but Vocas uses a sliding bridge plate instead of the Sony quick release which could be sturdier. Still a nice looking rig you got there, how long are you getting on one battery powering that whole rig?
 
Thank you all for your comments and suggestions. I value all of them highly and will consider them on my next shoot.

mlysbakken - the shoulder pad/baseplate I am using is the SHAPE BP0008 V-Lock Quick Release Baseplate (http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1025352-REG/shape_bp0008_8000_v_lock_quick_release.html). I tried a number of them and found that this was the best fit for my purposes and budget.

James - thank you for sharing your knowledge and your suggestions. I thing the weakest points of my rig are indeed the legs and the connecting point between the head and the bowl. I am attaching a photo of this here below. I think a great deal of flex occurs in this one spot.

WP_20150511_11_09_31_Raw.jpg

I checked all the screws on the Shape baseplate and the VCT-14 and they are all tight. Here is a photo of the snap plate connecting to the VCT-14. They are tight and I think the footprint is quite adequate. What do you think?

WP_20150511_11_07_54_Raw.jpg

The battery mounted on the back (yes they are 15mm rods), flexes the rods slightly and the bracket where the rods connect to the baseplate (see photo below).

WP_20150511_11_31_23_Raw.jpg

I don’t think it is contributing to the camera wobble, though. I am fairly sure the wobble comes from the two weak points mentioned above.

I did indeed remove the rise plate to lower the camera slightly, to remove some weight, but also because the holes on the riser plate are horizontally off-center from the lens. I suppose the are centered to the the entire width of the camera, but for me this brought the camera body too close to my head. The way I have it now, I have four contact points when shoulder mounted: shoulder, right hand, eye to viewfinder and the body pressing up against my right ear. I feel I can get very steady shoulder-mounted shots this way.

Thank you all again for your comments.

Cheers,
Igor
 
yachacha - thank you for your comment and posting the link to the Vocas sliding bridge plate. I does seem very similar to my Shape one with the only difference being the sliding bridge plate. It is also twice as expensive as the Shape and I'm not sure who much more study it would be having no support directly under or behind the camera. It looks like all the weight is supported on the front bracket. Regarding the battery life, I have a couple of relatively cheep Lanparte V-lock batteries I got off of Ebay. Last year they would power the camera, Codex, and Ikan LCD for about 2 hours straight. Now I'm down to about 1.5 hours - I think the batteries are not charging all the way any longer. In fact when the on-battery level indicator states 100% charged as soon as I power on the camera the indicator immediately falls to 80%. I think I will need to replace them in the near future.
 
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