GH4 Need some post advice

[thorn]

Hi everyone,

I'm putting the final touches on a short piece, and have come to a point that I can't tell which of 2 "looks" I prefer. So I thought I'd ask for some opinions...





The difference is in the curves; the B version has the highlights pumped up and shadows barely darkened. I'm trying to avoid looking too overprocessed and "90's betacam", but also don't want to go TOO flat. But I've been staring at it for so long that I've lost visual perspective on which of these treatments is better.

Thanks in advance for your feedback.

 

[Mark Williams]

The first one looks better to me.

 

[TheDingo]

What's the delivery platform ? The web ? Home TVs ?

 

[rsbush]

First one looks better to me too.

 

[stoneinapond]

The first one looks better to me.

+1

 

[Murph100]

Heh, this could be interesting

Second one for me, far more engaging visually.

The first one has the skin tones almost blending with the greys in the background, and the whites ( eyes, teeth & shirt ) are too compressed for my taste.

 

[Batutta]

I prefer the second. The subject separates from the background better. But it's probably impossible for us to judge accurately unless we are all looking at the same, well calibrated monitor.

 

[losmignones]

so interesting
initially I preferred 1, more of a dslr wannabe film look
but look at the sparks in the eyes of nbr 2
my lighting teacher would have kicked my ass for preferring nbr 1

 

[thorn]

Delivery format is purely web at the moment. There's a small chance I might need to do a :30 cutdown for broadcast, but for the moment we'll just assume only web presentation.

(Thanks for the feedback, it's helpful hearing the different perspectives)

 

[wwjd]

2nd looks much better to me and compares favorably to other similar "commercial" content. Most professional/commercial video I see is NOT dull and lifeless. Look at any web content, tv show ads, movie trailers etc.

 

[aljudy]

#1 has a more film look, while #2 is more video look. So which to select depends on the look you want... Al

 

[DBP]

I vote 2nd.

 

[Jaime Valles]

#1 has a more film look, while #2 is more video look. So which to select depends on the look you want... Al

My thoughts exactly. I prefer #1 as well.

 

[TheDingo]

For the web, I would go with the "punchier" 2nd version. ( I've had some issues with very contrasty HD TV sets, so I would go with the 1st version for TV playback )

 

[Intuitive Films]

In my opinion, 1# seems more filmic to me.