iam using the hvx200 to shoot a short, i know its better to keep the image clean
for post. i want to attempt to colorize and commit to a filmlook incamera. Is there something to watch out for that i dont overdo, someone mentioned saturation. thoughts?

Anything that causes you to lose detail either in the exposure or the color should be avoided. If you choose to crush the blacks or blow out the highlights in the camera, you might not be happy once you get to the editing bay.

If you're really serious in wanting to create the look you're after in camera rather than in post, best thing you can do is connect up your camera to a good monitor or well set up TV.

Now you can tripod the camera, point it out the window and fiddle about in the menu all day long. You'll quickly see what gains and losses come with all the various options, and can make decisions based on the pictures you see. Of course if you're monitoring on a CRT then it'll look different on an LCD or plasma, and also once upscaled from SD DVD.

With that in mind I'd say go for the look you want as every display device will show it somewhat differently.

tom.

ok thanks guys

Hey Roshdi
With never seeing the camera please dont quote me, but the hardwork may have ben done for you. If it is capable of loading scene profiles then hunt around on the net for a film look scene that you can download and the save to your camera via a sd card or something.

I agree with Tom, you should hook the camera up to a monitor untill your happy with the look

I would try shooting as wide open as possible and back from your subject to get as little depth of field as possible. This will give you that film look.. Correct the color in post

Hope i could help

I just remembered the most important aspect of getting a good look with video. Make sure you get technically accurate exposure and don't ruin it by overcompensating for difficult shooting conditions. For instance, don't increase the exposure because you are having a tough time seeing the LCD in a bright place. Use the zebra bars (and histogram if you have it) to make sure your exposure is within the limits of your camera. You want to ensure that you have as much information gathered as possible with few clipped highlights and crushed blacks. You can make some adjustments to the color and exposure curves in the camera but you always want to get the most information captured as possible.

The reason to get the most information as possible is due to one of the fundamental weaknesses with video cameras compared to film. Film has a greater exposure latitude so anything that limits your video exposure latitude further moves you away from the film look.

When asking for a film look from a dv/hdv cam, it would have to be depth of field. If you cant mount some fixed lenses i would try and shoot as wide open as possible in a controlled lighting environment and as far away from the subject to achieve this. Of course if you cant control lighting you would alway expose for the best result.

The problem with hdv is the extreame depth of field this taking it to the other end of the scale from film (with some nice prime lenses attatched)

For the shortest D o F you need to be close to your subject with the background as far away as possible. Is this what you mean Allan? Also use very wide apertures and long focal lengths.

But most of all use big chips. HDV doesn't have extreme depth of field Allan, it's simply an MPEG recording system.

tom.

I use my electronic ND at it's highest setting (outside) then even add a ND or two on the lens to force the aperature nearly max wide open... of course shooting 24p at 1/48th or 1/60th of a second.

True tom i should of narrowed it down to the smaller chipped HDV cams

What on earth's an electronic ND, Alex? You can't mean you shorten the shutter speed as you go on to say you shoot at 1/48th sec.

my gatherings: use cinelike gamma curve at 24pa with a shutter of 1/48.
Use ND when outside forcing the opening of the iris for shallower depth of field, go far from subject, or open iris wide or be close to subject who's far from the background for the shallow depth of field. Light it like film, dont overxpose or crush the blacks, record to the dynamic of the camera. Use an external monitor if possible to see how it really looks like. Light like film, record sound like film, let the actors do real acting to make it like a film, edit and post like film

Hey Roshdi

Only use the amount of ND that applies for the lighting conditions. You dont want to knock down the amount of light by 4 stops (for example) only to have to open it up 4 stops to achieve optimal pics.

DEPTH OF FIELD (FOCUS)

The zone in the front and back of the area focused upon that will remain in focus. Anything within this depth of field will appear sharp. Depth of field has the following features:

1. Larger F-numbers give shallower depth of field. The more the iris is stopped down the greater the depth of field.
2. Shorter focal lengths give greater depth of field.
3. Greater subject distance gives greater depth of field.
4. Depth of field is greater behind the subject than in front.

http://www.isorainbow.com/tech/depth.html

See link for formula

thanks allan

Hey Roshdi

Only use the amount of ND that applies for the lighting conditions. You dont want to knock down the amount of light by 4 stops (for example) only to have to open it up 4 stops to achieve optimal pics.

DEPTH OF FIELD (FOCUS)

The zone in the front and back of the area focused upon that will remain in focus. Anything within this depth of field will appear sharp. Depth of field has the following features:

1. Larger F-numbers give shallower depth of field. The more the iris is stopped down the greater the depth of field.
2. Shorter focal lengths give greater depth of field.
3. Greater subject distance gives greater depth of field.
4. Depth of field is greater behind the subject than in front.

http://www.isorainbow.com/tech/depth.html

See link for formula

I believe you copied #1 wrong from the website. The larger the f-stop, the larger the depth of field. So if you want that film like shallow depth of field, you want the f-stop to be as low as possible, which opens up the iris as wide as possible.

Back to your photography classes Adam. The larger the f-stop, the *shorter* the depth of field.

The only thing missing from Allan's list (which he covers by talking about focal lengths) is to insist that if you want limited dof go for the biggest chips (or film gate) available.

tom.

WIKIPEDIA (depth of field):

"For a given subject framing, the DOF is controlled by the lens f-number. Increasing the f-number (reducing the aperture diameter) increases the DOF."

Ah, language at play here. When I said 'larger the f stop' I was talking about the diameter of the aperture. Philippe's use of 'Increasing the f-number' refers to the higher numbers associated with smaller apertures, f/11 as against f/4, say. Sorry for the misunderstanding.

tom.