C200: Vertical filming - 9x16

[rob norton]

I'm shooting some 9x16 for vertical phone viewing with my c200. This gaffer and gear episode had me interested in whether the positions of the exhaust/intake are important - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PIKplXdrbB0

Cann said as long as there's enough room for the intake vent to take in cool air and exhause vent to emit warm air, either orientation is fine. I wasn't too concerned but just wanted to make sure becaue it'd be a stupid reason for needing a repair.

They also mentioned "when the camera is rotated, image stabiliser, exposure metering and autofocus might not work as good as it should be. As the lens mount is designed for horizontal use, use a rig or rods to hold the lens as required."

This might be old news to people but do your own testing if you have any AF-heavy projects where you plan to mount the camea sideways.

 

[Run&Gun]

I would think you'd want the exhaust vent to be oriented up, since hot air rises. And I don't follow the thinking on the lens mount. Still cams shoot in vertical orientation all of the time and the cameras and lenses function properly and normally.

 

[rob norton]

I would think you'd want the exhaust vent to be oriented up, since hot air rises. And I don't follow the thinking on the lens mount. Still cams shoot in vertical orientation all of the time and the cameras and lenses function properly and normally.

I agree. Unless it's actually a more vanilla EF mount but I don't think that's the case. I was more surprised at the AF potentially taking a hit. I'm sure you'd be hard pressed to actually see these issues and it could just be their language for warranties etc.

 

[Clermond]

rob, may I ask if you shoot vertical only? I just have a request from a client for shooting vertical for his FB and custom for his YT channel. You can imagine that his approach is cropping the vertical from the custom camera. I'm trying to figure out a solution that looks good and covers both but doesn't need double shooting.

 

[puredrifting]

rob, may I ask if you shoot vertical only? I just have a request from a client for shooting vertical for his FB and custom for his YT channel. You can imagine that his approach is cropping the vertical from the custom camera. I'm trying to figure out a solution that looks good and covers both but doesn't need double shooting.

With the C200, shooting RAW 4K, I can easily grab a 9 x 16 vertical extraction that at 720 or 1080 for social media, looks fine. I don't see a purpose for shooting vertically for social media. But for vertical monitor exhibition, sure.

 

[Liam Hall]

With the C200, shooting RAW 4K, I can easily grab a 9 x 16 vertical extraction that at 720 or 1080 for social media, looks fine. I don't see a purpose for shooting vertically for social media. But for vertical monitor exhibition, sure.

I agree and do this all the time.

 

[Clermond]

With the C200, shooting RAW 4K, I can easily grab a 9 x 16 vertical extraction that at 720 or 1080 for social media, looks fine. I don't see a purpose for shooting vertically for social media. But for vertical monitor exhibition, sure.

I don't see that neither but client get's what he is willing to pay for.
The thing with the crop is that the full landscape 16:9 image is quite useless if you frame it for a 9:16 crop. Why then shoot 16:9 at all?

 

[puredrifting]

I don't see that either but client get's what he is willing to pay for.
The thing with the crop is that the full landscape 16:9 image is quite useless if you frame it for a 9:16 crop. Why then shoot 16:9 at all?

For us, we are shooting a docu series in DCI and UHD, the extraction is simply for our Instagram. We still post 16:9 for Facebook. I hate vertical video with a fervor
but in 2020, you have to deal with it and serve it, that's just life. If a client wants it and is willing to pay for it, WTH, flip your camera on it's side, I would be fine with that.
The paycheck is really what matters.

 

[morgan_moore]

when the camera is rotated, i..... exposure metering ...might not work as good as it should be.

This is because a 'typical scene' is dark at the bottom and in vert mode that would be the left or the right. unlike a stills cam where one assumes the fancy metering flips with the camera on a mercury switch or something.

 

[rob norton]

rob, may I ask if you shoot vertical only? I just have a request from a client for shooting vertical for his FB and custom for his YT channel. You can imagine that his approach is cropping the vertical from the custom camera. I'm trying to figure out a solution that looks good and covers both but doesn't need double shooting.

A simple way is to shoot within a square as your frame guide. You still need to be careful but it's one way to keep things easy.

I think it's really obvious when you see instagram sponsored commercials, where they've cropped into 16x9 images rather than shooting a dedicated version. I'm not speaking about resolution but framing, where if you shoot for both formats at once, you often end up with two mediocre compositions.

I really like this quote from David Mullen ASC (from a cinematography.com) thread:

"Personally I am opposed to post reframing of shots except to fix mistakes, I don't believe one can zoom into a carefully composed frame and somehow magically create another carefully composed frame... Generally the technique just reinforces the modern tendency to make a movie into a bunch of close-ups".

He's speaking about 16x9 shooting but I think the sentiment still applies.

But like other have said, it could be appropriate shooting only one way then doing all the work in post e.g. not worth the extra time

 

[chris f]

I did a shoot last year that was going to be exported in all manner of formats across different channels and I ended up shooting everything in 4K raw on my C200 and just created a bunch of custom guides on my SmallHD monitors for both me and the director and it worked great. A 9x16 extraction from a 4K raw file will be plenty sharp.

Like puredrifting alluded to, unless you're doing something for hi resolution 9x16 display (like for big vertically oriented flat screen TV's at the airport, etc.), an extraction will be plenty good, unless you're specifically looking for the unique distortion that comes from filming on a wide angle lens with the camera mounted vertically (which is a real thing that can't really be replicated unless shooting vertically).

 

[Run&Gun]

A simple way is to shoot within a square as your frame guide. You still need to be careful but it's one way to keep things easy.

I think it's really obvious when you see instagram sponsored commercials, where they've cropped into 16x9 images rather than shooting a dedicated version. I'm not speaking about resolution but framing, where if you shoot for both formats at once, you often end up with two mediocre compositions.

I really like this quote from David Mullen ASC (from a cinematography.com) thread:

"Personally I am opposed to post reframing of shots except to fix mistakes, I don't believe one can zoom into a carefully composed frame and somehow magically create another carefully composed frame... Generally the technique just reinforces the modern tendency to make a movie into a bunch of close-ups".

He's speaking about 16x9 shooting but I think the sentiment still applies.

But like other have said, it could be appropriate shooting only one way then doing all the work in post e.g. not worth the extra time

Yep. Already been through that $h!t once during the original SD to HD transition. But this is that cranked to 11.

 

[rob norton]

Depending on how someone charges, a dedicated vertical shoot in addition to horizontal could be a good thing. It's doubling the production time - either increasing the total duration of the shoot or reducing the coverage. There are endless reasons for only shooting one way and cropping in post but increased production values can never be one of them.

Actually, maybe a scenario where the horizontal monitoring allows you to capture an action that you couldn't when vertical. Like with older cameras where the frame guides go beyond the captured image and you can see things happening before they enter the frame.

 

[Clermond]

I played around with the S1 and the GH5s. The small Feisol ball head is very stable and allows me to frame the GH5s. You may laugh but I will give that a try. I will just set the GH5s a bit wider. It should work with the C300 / EVA1 too

 

[rob norton]

I played around with the S1 and the GH5s. The small Feisol ball head is very stable and allows me to frame the GH5s. You may laugh but I will give that a try. I will just set the GH5s a bit wider. It should work with the C300 / EVA1 too

View attachment 139275

Looks good - great to take advantage of smaller cameras where possible.

Here's my poor man's "internal L bracket":







If you did enough of this I'd buy something like the WC vertical camera bracket - https://woodencamera.com/products/vertical-camera-bracket

Or just get SMM to make me one out of a huge block of steel!