Screengrabs from DVX100+Letus35a

Bionicpix

Bionicpix

Active member
Here are some grabs from a music video shot last weekend using the DVX100a and a regular Letus35a. Two lenses: Canon 50mm and an old offbrand zoom (forget the name). The concept is an homage to an old Godard film (My Life to Live), so the style is early 60's Paris, i.e clothes, etc. The final is meant to be in Black n White, though that could change a bit. The grading here is all quick test stuff. Many of the clips are raw. Will post a clip as soon as something's ready. Also, the footage will be mixed with black n white Super 8mm, shot simultaneously, so I actually don't want it too sharp. It's a female solo artist, so just her singing. Thanks!

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Hey Man

Nice shots, Ive used the letus35 before but I am not the one who bought it. Does it come with lens's or do you have to provide nikon or canon lens for it?
 
Those shots look really great! In my opinion it would be a shame to have the whole video in black and white. Dont get me wrong your the BW shots look great too, but the color in some shots really adds something for me. My two cents :)
 
im not exactly sure how you got such beautiful skin tones with the black and white ones.
 
PaPa said:
im not exactly sure how you got such beautiful skin tones with the black and white ones.
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Me either! Well, the raw footage was pretty nice to start (thank you DVX). Here's what I did: I used a step process in Vegas (similar to how Magic Bullet works - I reverse engineered Magic Bullet cuz I do not have it). Started with a light contrast increase, then a CC tweak, maybe a color curves tweak (depending on the shot) - so basically I make it look nice in color first. Then I filtered to black n white. Where you place this in the chain matters. For the "overexposed" clip, I used the Radiance plugin from Velvetmatter (I recommend this, but it's pricey and not a cureall. When it "fits" it works well). This definitely softens up the skin tones.

As far as using color, it's an issue. Some of the wardrobe looks so good in color. I'm gonna have to experiment with different options in post. Maybe 2 versions?? Mixing both? Any advice is welcome. I still have another day or two of shooting (interiors, pick-ups). Thanks for the feedback!

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If you're going for the look and feel of that film, then keep it black and white. I might suggest adding some sharpening and maybe upping the contrast just a bit. It might make a difference. But even now you're pretty close. Looks great. I'd love to see more.
 
Yes, #4 is my fav as well.......an option to think about, is some color selection with some B/W as well. The color of the clothes you like slightly color graded with the rest of the shot B/W (washed) May be an option.
 
Outlaw Productions said:
an option to think about, is some color selection with some B/W as well. The color of the clothes you like slightly color graded with the rest of the shot B/W (washed) May be an option.
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EXCELLENT idea! As I was reading it, the idea just seemed like it would fit perfectly with the screengrabs. Just some slight color, though (IMO).
 
Outlaw Productions said:
Yes, #4 is my fav as well.......an option to think about, is some color selection with some B/W as well. The color of the clothes you like slightly color graded with the rest of the shot B/W (washed) May be an option.
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Thanks Outlaw! Good suggestion. A friend who did behind the scenes stills did this test. It's a good idea to consider.

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Are we really that averse to B&W now? Has it really come to that? I admit that most of the time i prefer color, but sometimes B&W does have its use. I think it worked well in Good Night and Good Luck. And it looks like its even more effective in The Good German.

I guess it depends on how true Bionicpix wants to be to the genre. Just seems to me that even a slight bit of color would make a difference in how the film is perceived.
 
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Bionicpix said:
Thanks Outlaw! Good suggestion. A friend who did behind the scenes stills did this test. It's a good idea to consider.

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and how exactly would you go about making movie image like that from the dvx?
 
PaPa said:
and how exactly would you go about making movie image like that from the dvx?
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Good question. But anything is possible in post, I guess. Just "how?" Well, I do know there is a kind of "selective" color removal tool. Something where you can remove all color but, say red. Or maybe desaturate all but certain colors. Honestly, I'm with you - I don't know. I'll have to experiment. But at the end of the day, the plan was to have it black+white with some modern touches, so... At this stage, now that I have the footage, I'm open to possibilities to make it better if there are any. And naturally, that's why I brought it to DVXUSER - gotta luv this place! :happy: Here's another screengrab from the DVX:
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I agree, MojoTrancer. I thought a lot about Gondry's videos for Bjork before I did this. There's a black n white one that is one of my faves (Isobel). I guess that legitimized the black n white for me (as far as music videos go). Some stills from the Bjork video:
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the reason i say is because im not sure this is possible with standard def footage with a 4:1:1 color sampling.

please someone prove me wrong!
 
I was going to budget for the letus but after reading through this forum it's just wayyyy too grainy and soft for my taste. All that said, I love the look of these grabs, especially the colour one of the girl standing against the wall, and the shot of the legs against the wall. Very classy.
 
"im not sure this is possible with standard def footage with a 4:1:1 color sampling." - Good point, PaPa.

frmain said:
I was going to budget for the letus but after reading through this forum it's just wayyyy too grainy and soft for my taste. All that said, I love the look of these grabs, especially the colour one of the girl standing against the wall, and the shot of the legs against the wall. Very classy.
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Thanks, frmain. Yes, the Letus is, IMO, an entry level adapter. I paid $350. The Brevis goes for $1000 or so. But add in lenses, rods, a monitor, etc. It adds up (I almost got the Brevis until I number crunched the "hidden" costs). It works for me and some prefer the look, but there are lots of great options out there. Warning, almost all adapters seem to "soften" the image some, if you're A/Bing against clean DVX footage.
 
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It's EASY to do in any NLE. You use your CC and then apply it to a certain "range" of color. Desaturate everything else.

It's called the "pleasantville" effect, and there's TONS of tutorials on it.

And Yes, papa, you CAN do it with 4:1:1... so consider yourself proven wrong ;)
 
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