C100: Video I made on C100 and 5D3

Michael Thames said:
Mere semantics my friend. In the context of your statement I'm sure you knew what I meant. Although I did skim through the link you provided the term "wide focal length" or "Wide open" was nowhere to be found. I assume you were referring to setting your 24-105......... to 24mm for your "wide open shots". Personally I never do that either at 24 or 105 because that particular lens has terrible barrel distortion that even an amateur such as I can see. The lowest I will go on that thing is 35mm, and certainly not the maximum.

Although I'm sure perhaps you and your TV viewers never noticed it.
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"Mere semantics" just doesn't cut it. Make that kind of fundamental mistake on set and you get fired. I use 24mm on the 24 - 105 all the time, try it, you might find it liberating. You are probably right, I and my viewers keep getting distracted by insignificant stuff like strong stories and brilliant talent to notice the important stuff like barrel distortion on a wide angle shot.
 
Michael, are you referring to barrel distortion mostly on the full-frame 5D or also on the cropped C100? I personally don't really notice it much on the C100. Then again, I often switch to my Sigma 18-35 when doing wider shots.


Plexi Head said:
"Mere semantics" just doesn't cut it. Make that kind of fundamental mistake on set and you get fired.
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Wow, your clients are tough. Around 75% of my clients don't even know film terms so I could make stuff up on set for all they cared, and the other 25% generally upon hearing a semantic mistake of mine may correct me, perhaps with a small chuckle over the mistake, and move on with, you know, actual video production, instead of semantics. It'd be crazy to fire a cameraman who is doing good work because he called a C-47 a clothespin, which I regularly do, for example.
 
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Eric Coughlin said:
Wow, your clients are tough.
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My clients aren't tough, my producer is. He has a basic expectation that I understand the difference between wide open and wide focal length. I had that basic expectation of Michael considering his strong opinions and am glad to have helped him out. I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again.
 
The 24-105 suffers quite a lot of barrel distortion, it's a fact. But the average viewer will never notice it. It will be visible if you have many straight lines in your shot (like a brick wall) but then again, the average viewer won't notice.
 
Plexi Head said:
My clients aren't tough, my producer is. He has a basic expectation that I understand the difference between wide open and wide focal length. I had that basic expectation of Michael considering his strong opinions and am glad to have helped him out. I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again.
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I'm sure it's your reality and I respect that. But Michael is his own boss and me and Eric don't work on big productions like you must do. We (at least me) work on small productions...it's usually me and my assistant.
 
Plexi Head said:
"Mere semantics" just doesn't cut it. Make that kind of fundamental mistake on set and you get fired. I use 24mm on the 24 - 105 all the time, try it, you might find it liberating. You are probably right, I and my viewers keep getting distracted by insignificant stuff like strong stories and brilliant talent to notice the important stuff like barrel distortion on a wide angle shot.
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I work for myself so I'm not worried about terminology...... as long as I know what I mean I'm cool, and won't fire myself.

I rarely use 24mm for anything I do, because I just shoot guitar players in my living room. I have tried it on a few other things but when I go down to 24mm I get a dizzy feeling.
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Michael, are you referring to barrel distortion mostly on the full-frame 5D or also on the cropped C100? I personally don't really notice it much on the C100. Then again, I often switch to my Sigma 18-35 when doing wider shots.
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Ahaw...... good question. I guess it was on the 5D3 that I noticed it, then started to look at some reviews of it on Youtube. It's like OK if you don't notice it, but once you see it, I see every time I opened it up...... ur I mean..... open the focal length, or dial it down, or whatever you call it when I turn the dial thingy to 24. I say to myself dang that's pretty bad. I've had the C100 for about a year now and I can't remember ever using the 24-105 on it, and if I did use it a few times I'm sure I was aware not to turn the ring thingy to 24...... I always use the 70-200 or the 50mm. I have a hard time remembering the C100 isn't full frame. it like trying to convert inches into centimeters..... ha ha!
 
Plexi Head said:
My clients aren't tough, my producer is. He has a basic expectation that I understand the difference between wide open and wide focal length. I had that basic expectation of Michael considering his strong opinions and am glad to have helped him out. I'm sure he won't make the same mistake again.
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I do have a pretty good eye for an image I guess, and I really enjoy the whole video world of gadgets and cameras, lens, sliders, and software. Every thing I buy for video and audio has paid for itself 20 fold in guitar sales..... I've made hundreds of thousands of dollars since I first began filming my guitars, I never question any gear stuff because if it helps promote my product it is well worth it to me.

When I'm not working on guitars, I'm surfing the web for my next camera, lens or gear acquisition. If I weren't already a guitar maker, I think I would try to become a professional documentary film maker. The only thing lacking is time. My son took some courses on film making, and got into the Union here in New Mexico for a while, he worked on some films, and history channel stuff but eventually there wasn't enough steady work so he lost interest.

Plexi Head, you are correct to assume I don't know the politically correct video terminology, I'm still struggling with the counter intuitive terminology about aperture, where going down is going up, and going up is going down..... still haven't wrapped my brain around that one yet.

Ulysses S Grant was a very bad speller he once said, "It's a damn poor mind that can't think of two ways to spell a word".
 
Doug_EX said:
The 24-105 suffers quite a lot of barrel distortion, it's a fact. But the average viewer will never notice it. It will be visible if you have many straight lines in your shot (like a brick wall) but then again, the average viewer won't notice.
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Yea then you can tell them that the curved brick wall was an artsy shot. If I turn the daily thingy to 24 mm, my shop work bench looks like it has a hump in the middle...... ha ha I'm not kidding.

Average viewers don't seem to notice anything other than content. But, everyone of us here rush out and buy the newest camera, software etc. for our own satisfaction. If we are pleased then the viewers are pleased.
 
Eric, I saw your thread about Victoria. I didn't want to drag down that thread, and ask a stupid question there. But, what exactly does it mean it was shot in "one take" I never heard about that before, why is that special or unique?
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_take

Most movies consist of hundreds or thousands of shots in which the cast and crew take breaks between each say three second to two minute shot (or half second if it's a Michael Bay film), which makes things easier since not everything has to be done in one take. A long take requires more rehearsal to make sure the various components are all done correctly. A long take of a static shot of actors simply saying various lines tends to not be too complex, such as a theater play or a long take of a guitarist playing a four minute piece which is relatively simple to film, but when there is a lot of choreography, intense acting, lots of actors, locations, camera movements, etc., to do all that in a single take for 2 hours and 18 minutes is extremely difficult and very noteworthy, particularly since the movie Victoria is supposed to be good aside from the long-take gimmick.

The opening of Gravity began with an impressive 17 minute take, though a lot of it was CGI, and then Birdman had several long takes which played out as if it was all one take, though it wasn't.

Going back to wide angle lenses, Birdman and The Revenant both feature extensive use of wide angle lenses; a lot of Birdman was filmed on a 17mm lens and it won Best Cinematography for the year. So while you may not personally like the look of 24mm thinking it too wide and making you dizzy, just recall that wide is not always a bad thing in terms of high end cinematography.
 
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Eric Coughlin said:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_take

Most movies consist of hundreds or thousands of shots in which the cast and crew take breaks between each say three second to two minute shot (or half second if it's a Michael Bay film), which makes things easier since not everything has to be done in one take. A long take requires more rehearsal to make sure the various components are all done correctly. A long take of a static shot of actors simply saying various lines tends to not be too complex, such as a theater play or a long take of a guitarist playing a four minute piece which is relatively simple to film, but when there is a lot of choreography, intense acting, lots of actors, locations, camera movements, etc., to do all that in a single take for 2 hours and 18 minutes is extremely difficult and very noteworthy, particularly since the movie Victoria is supposed to be good aside from the long-take gimmick.

The opening of Gravity began with an impressive 17 minute take, though a lot of it was CGI, and then Birdman had several long takes which played out as if it was all one take, though it wasn't.

Going back to wide angle lenses, Birdman and The Revenant both feature extensive use of wide angle lenses; a lot of Birdman was filmed on a 17mm lens and it won Best Cinematography for the year. So while you may not personally like the look of 24mm thinking it too wide and making you dizzy, just recall that wide is not always a bad thing in terms of high end cinematography.
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Oh OK thanks, still hard to understand why they would want to do this, I guess it shows off the organizational skills of all involved, and gives the film a more realistic feel?

BTW, don't have anything against 24mm other than I never have had a use for it much in what I do. I like the look of wide angle shots in films I've seen. It's not the 24 mm that makes me dizzy it's the barrel distortion in that thing.
 
Michael Thames said:
Oh OK thanks, still hard to understand why they would want to do this, I guess it shows off the organizational skills of all involved, and gives the film a more realistic feel?
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Yeah, pretty much. I believe the DP of Birdman said something along the lines of, "There are no cuts in real life."

I personally love long takes, particularly since I love and do Steadicam work. As far as a commercial, here's a fun long take...

 
Eric Coughlin said:
Yeah, pretty much. I believe the DP of Birdman said something along the lines of, "There are no cuts in real life."

I personally love long takes, particularly since I love and do Steadicam work. As far as a commercial, here's a fun long take...

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Whoa! Amazing, I see what you mean. I might add, I'm so glad I'm not in high school in this day and age..... ha ha!
 
Eric Coughlin said:
Yeah, pretty much. I believe the DP of Birdman said something along the lines of, "There are no cuts in real life." I personally love long takes, particularly since I love and do Steadicam work. As far as a commercial, here's a fun long take...
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This was fun to watch. The fact that I skateboard helped me appreciate it more.
 
I didn't think I would like that Go All Day clip but it was really nicely done, very good blocking, timing. Wonder if it was shot with a Steadicam-like device or a gimbal? I suspect a Steadicam-like device. The first minute would have made for a great opening sequence for a feature, very sort of 80s high school drama, only updated.
 
It was Steadicam. Credits say, "Steadicam Operator | Ben Semanoff." I doubt a gimbal setup could have achieved the same level of nuanced control that was needed for the tracking in that shot, along with it being shot on the Arri Alexa which is too heavy for most gimbal systems, and gimbals weren't out when that video was made.
 
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Eric, I bought a Glide cam 4000 pro from a guy here is town selling it on Graig's list. It was missing some bolts and I just never really bothered to set it up so I've never used it. The good thing is it was pretty cheap.

I took a look at the gear section on your website and saw an array of different size Steadcams. Seems you are a pro at this. What would you recommend to get started or even the best set up for a Stedcam for the C100? Or would you recommend something else entirely to get started?
 
It was interesting to see the technique of the high school video but I could not see the point. I could imagine the ADs on bull horns getting the next segment of kids prepared, that's the sound track I would really like to hear! I'm amazed not one kid looked at the camera.

Here's my favorite 10 minute one taker, it has 5,610,000 views on YT.

It's not as "polished" but it's more complex because of it's intricate timing to the lyrics. After all, if the high school video had a major screw up, an AD would blow a whistle and yell on a bullhorn, "Back to position one everybody." Whereas, what you are about to witness would have to back up fire engines, etc., almost impossible.


After watching it about 20 times over the last 3 years I'm amazed at tight sync points:

2:40 pick up truck
3:47 jester
4:48 forward pass
5:14 marching band
5:38 kayakers fighting the current to stay in place
6:24 flames
8:04 racing to the chopper to time ending with end of music

Whereas the high school video seems to be about not bumping into someone?

This video was made because a major magazine disparaged Grand Rapids, MI and the mayor asked an experienced live event producer to do something special and the entire town got involved. They seem to have gotten the entire populace to participate.

I read extensively all the behind the scenes info and they practiced this for one day. What's amazing (spoiler alert) is the last shot this young Stedicam op gets off the John Deere Gator and puts his butt on the floor of a helicopter. I assume someone grabbed his belt? The take away is that the op is so young that he didn't realize the assignment is impossible! I don't know how he did it. I couldn't handle the stress. It's a little rough because he's doing a lot of standing 360s on a moving Gator, then has to run. Wow. This is my favorite and I've seen many, I have no idea how they agreed to time out the above points and many more:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPjjZCO67WI

I wish I could hear the live audio of the ADs on bullhorns!
 
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