Here:

http://www.theasc.com/magazine/index.htm?july03/cover/index.html~main

Interesting to hear a full account of a Cinematographer using the XL1S on a film project and talking through the whole process (even to blowing it up to 35mm) in detail.

Enjoy.

I was surprised and encouraged that they used the native 16:9 'format' as opposed to an anamorphic lense. Maybe I don't have to go buy a manual lense and anamorphic adapter after all... :)

So from what I gather, they shot it in standard 4x3 format, and then matted it in post?

I agree with imran, I think it was matted in post.

As far as I'm aware, there is no difference in resolution using either method, however at least with using 4:3 and matting you are able to maintain an undistorted view of what you are filming, and you have some additional freedom when you come to crop the images later (and those 16:9 guidelines relly help too!!)

Is this out on DVD yet? I'll definitely be ordering this since films can take forever getting over here.

It's been released over here in the UK already!

Maybe you guys will get it soon (or you can always import a copy from the UK)

The 28 days later DVD will be released in the US within a couple
of months. www.thedigitalbits.com has the exact date
somewhere in their posts

And gues what...they used frame mode as well.

This pleased me no end!!! I've been a bit gutted since the Panasonic DVX100 came out after I bought my XL1S, but now I feel a little more secure in using the "Frame Mode", despite all the grief about loss of resolution, etc.

I think the article demonstrates that the XL1S can quite plausibly be used for a 'Straight, non-documentary style' mainstream movie (even though the cinematography isn't the primary selling point of this particular movie).

Lets not forget the primary reasons for using DV for making this kind of movie. Gives a raw feel, allowing you to do things and have a look that you otherwise couldn't achieve with 35mm without a LOT of post work to dirty it down.

I doubt it benefits anyone to really try to compete with film for cinematography. Or rather, try to compete with the type of cinematography that goes along with film cameras. With DV you blaze your own trail and create your own look. That's what the DV revolution is all about.

After all, you could have a wonderful 24p cam, great lighting, and mirror large budget filming techniques, but in the end you'll have... a nice looking DV film that still looks like DV.

DV filmmakers have an edge - you can get that cam into places you can't get a film cam. You can go true guerrilla style. You can shove it into corners to get angles you otherwise couldn't. And because you're not intoxicating your audience with effects or puppetry, you have to rely on great stories to captivate your audience. What a novel concept!

I may be an idiot...but what is an HMI...he refers to it in page 2 of the article...

"I had to hit the actors with big HMIs shooting through 4-by-4 and 6-by-6 silks to lift up the contrast and to illuminate the actors' faces so you would sense that there was some moonlight. "

It's a light used for lighting outdoor scenes at night. I didn't know myself until I had been on a set and watched them in action, so ask away all day.

(Disclaimer: I may not be totally on the ball with all this, please correct any errors)

HMI's are kind of an alternative to Tungsten Lighting. They are like fluorescents, similar to daylight colour temperature.

They are also supposed to be more efficient in their use of electricity. Though they are also more expensive than Tungsten!!!

Hope this helps!!

Hey thanks yall.
You helped a lot. I think I might be able to learn a lot from this DV community.
Oh and I went to offthewallstudios.com and it was pretty cool. keep at it!

Yep, they got it. HMI is a daylight balanced light, and they are very expensive compared to tungsten lights.
HMI's have a much higher light output for there given wattage. A 250 watt HMI is comparable to a 1K tungsten set to CTB.

Jason

HMI's were first used in the field in the deer hunter clearly you can see their effect in a lot of scenes along with the incredible use a lot of natural light... they proved to be very portable and at the time they were considered a big risk, today they are a indie's best friend...

just sharing some of my trivial information...