GH3 Shot a new short film with the GH3 + Samyang primes + Speedbooster. Opinions valued!

S

Stab

Well-known member
A few weeks ago I decided to buy new lenses (Samyang primes) and the Metabones Speed Booster. At first I wanted to shoot a short test film with the new kit, but then I decided that it would be a 'full' short film production. Like always, once you start you keep adding stuff to make it right. We got a (Dutch) famous actor on board so we took it pretty serious.

Ok, so now it is finished but I want to hear your opinion. After I while I can't judge my own creations anymore. Is it good? Does it work? After thinking about it for so long and watching it so many times, I just don't know anymore.

Before I really 'publish' it, I want to know your opinion.
It's a short film (5 min) about a guy who goes to the woods with his new metal detector.


The link:
https://vimeo.com/79220862

Thanks for watching!
 
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Great work Tim.
I can't think of a better compliment than: I wasn't interested in the camera, I was interested in the story.

But technically speaking, as I'm working with 3 systems now all with different lenses, what Samyangs and speedbooster did you get?
How do you like working with them and the SB?

Oh and the only critique, on a few shots particularly, the GH3 magenta bias really showed.
That's one of the reasons I've been using Filmconvert as a first pass on my GH3 footage.

Great storytelling and shooting.

Jim
 
Nice. Visually the exteriors looked great at the beach. Inside looked a bit rough. Music was great but felt just a bit too heavy and strong given the story. The actor laid it on a bit thick at times. Interior audio sounded pretty raw. At first I was going to complain about the flashbacks until I realized you were adding blur to them for a different feel. Overall enjoyable.
 
Great!

My thoughts as I watched through it: I was going to comment that the acting of the main character felt a little forced at times, but with the humorously unexpected ending, it fit quite well. He seemed rather "Mr. Bean'ish" in retrospect. I wonder if there would be a way to introduce that early on in the film without pushing it to heavily. I got the idea was somewhat of a shmuck with his visions of spending his wealth, but wasn't sure if I was supposed to feel that prior to those visions. When he took his boots off, he's socks were rather pristine, likely would have been quite sandy. The audio fit the piece nicely.

Not trying to be picky by anymeans, it's much better than anything I've done! Just giving you my feedback. Keep it up!
 
jimagine said:
Oh and the only critique, on a few shots particularly, the GH3 magenta bias really showed.
That's one of the reasons I've been using Filmconvert as a first pass on my GH3 footage.
Click to expand...

What Filmconvert settings are you using for this? Just got the GH3.
 
Don't want to hijack Tim's thread, but I use different settings depending on the feel of the piece and lighting.
But I use the FJ SuperX 400 on bright outdoor work a lot and also the FJ Velv and FJ Prov a lot.
I never add grain FWIW.
Try shooting an outdoor scene at Natural -5, -5, -2, -5 for instance (with skin tones) (those were the settings I talked about with the FC people when the camera first came out and they didn't have one to profile.)
Use their Natural preset and SuperX and you'll see the skin tones drop nicely onto the skin line on a vectorscope.
Look where they are on the scopes straight out of the camera...magentaville.

Now back to Tim's nice work.
 
Very enjoyable. My only comments are that the hot tub scene feels a little long compared to the other flashbacks rhythm wise, which is fixable. The other was a continuity issue that can't. The main character's clothes were a little too clean when he returned home. Although I think most people wouldn't notice.

Otherwise a well shot short. Some very nice camera angles.

Thanks for sharing.
 
Thanks guys!


My main concern is that the 'main joke' of the film which is shown at the end is not clear, or worse, that it becomes clear to early on in the film. You guys 'got it', right? (without spoiling it here)


The Samyang primes are great. Sharp, usuable wide open and already really really good when stopped down 1 stop. They feel and look professional.


I had 2 adapters with me, a 'regular' one and the Speed Booster. Some shots were done on the regular adapter, most on the Speed Booster.
The Speed Booster is great, feels solid (although there is some small play when you put some force on it) and it makes my lenses act as if they were on a S35 sensor size camera, which is awesome.
The 16mm F2.0 is actually an APS-C lens so I was scared it might have some vignetting with the Speed Booster, but there isn't and it turns out to be a great sharp lens, even wide open. I have some vignetting in my shots however, because I used a smaller ND filter with a step-down ring. With a larger ND filter there wouldn't be any problems.

I use the 16mm F2, the 35mm f1.4 and the 85mm 1.4. Most shots are done with the 35mm which is a perfect lens really. I like the fact that I only have 3 lenses with a focal length so far apart. This makes me think before hand which lens to use and they all have a very different effect on the shot. Really wide? -> 16mm / with SB. 'Normal' -> 35mm with SB. Slight tele - > 35mm no SB. Close up / long shot with blurry background -> 85mm. Keeps the head clear :)


I had a very small crew, all volunteers and we had a very tight schedule for the day. The indoor shots might have needed a bit more work on the lighting, but there was simply no time, nor the right equipment to do that. Looks decent though IMO.


Thanks for watching and commenting!
 
I thought the hole in the toe showing the metal was a great, subtle punch line.

It also resonated immediately.
I finish filming this saturday on a 6 month film on alternative energy for a new museum we designed.
From the mountain top wind facilities to hydro etc., the constant requirement for me and my crew was hard hats, and steel toe boots (and often safety harnesses.)
Yeah, I had to make a film wearing a hard hat for much of the summer.
 
jimagine said:
Don't want to hijack Tim's thread, but I use different settings depending on the feel of the piece and lighting.
But I use the FJ SuperX 400 on bright outdoor work a lot and also the FJ Velv and FJ Prov a lot.
I never add grain FWIW.
Try shooting an outdoor scene at Natural -5, -5, -2, -5 for instance (with skin tones) (those were the settings I talked about with the FC people when the camera first came out and they didn't have one to profile.)
Use their Natural preset and SuperX and you'll see the skin tones drop nicely onto the skin line on a vectorscope.
Look where they are on the scopes straight out of the camera...magentaville.

Now back to Tim's nice work.
Click to expand...

You still getting good results with -2 Saturation? I've started to use 0 Saturation as lower values seems to really 'chalk out' the skin tones.
 
SuperSet said:
You still getting good results with -2 Saturation? I've started to use 0 Saturation as lower values seems to really 'chalk out' the skin tones.
Click to expand...

Actually, my film was also shot at saturation -2. Contrast -3 and Sharpness -4. No sharpness added back in post.
Decide for yourself. I think the skin tones look pretty great, especially in the exterior shots. Maybe in interior shots which are not lit professionally (again, like my short) it's better to leave the saturation at 0. Not sure, just a guess. The GH3 oversaturates the image a lot IMO, even so at -2.
 
Thanks for your input. Your stuff looks totally great.
Did you end up coloring with DaVinci or you using FilmConvert as well?
 
Great short.
It was clear.
Greetings from belgium.

btw, where did you get the EF metabones speedbooster? I thought it was not available yet?

cheers
 
Very nice short! I got the punchline at the end instantly. Worked great.

I agree about the length of the hot tub flashback being too long, but otherwise it's really really nice. The exterior shots looked fantastic. Well done!
 
Great premise. The continuity during the outside scene looks off I’m sure that came from the clouds changing during the shoot. Also the dream sequences feel very uninspired perhaps a foley and/or more distinct sound/visual difference would have sold it better. The dream sequences are softer I’m sure that was intentional, but as an audience member there has to be a little more to sell that visual otherwise it just looks out of focus and to us film nerds we may think you shot wide open with an inadequate lens or of course missed focus. Also, the transition from him digging the deep hole to going into the house was bare. I believe a music score that slowly creeps up when the camera shows this massive hole to sell the idea of defeat which can then bleed a little onto the ending scene.

Great message though of unnecessary greed. No matter how promising a prospect in life looks it should never alter you and those in your life especially since that prospect may turn out to be nothing more than just a misinterpretation. Good work and keep on!
 
Thanks guys.

I added a bit more blur / contrast to the dreams to enhance the effect. Also added some sounds to it to make it more dream like. Did some more small general improvements and sent it to the actor for approval. He really likes it so that's great.
I'm spreading it now on facebook and everything. Thanks for your help and comments.
 
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