Hey all,
I have a shoot coming up and it's the first time shooting J-log isn't really an option. There are so many settings for a the other Gamma settings, I was wondering what people are using for a 'baked in' kind of colour, that requires next to no grading.

Looking forward to seeing some settings.

I shot this film a while back in cinema gamma and a cinema subdued color matrix, I applied the eoshd LUT which is normally for Panasonic camera's but worked well with the JVC, it is important though if you use this lut to dial back saturation in camera, I didn't do that and had to in post.

Select 4K viewing for best quality because 1080p on vimeo is not full quality if the source upload was 4K


Japanese garden on the JVC GY LS300 on Vimeo

Thanks Noa. I think even adding luts is a stretch on this project. I'm not editing it, and don't want to be giving a list of instructions to the person who is. Ideally I want colours that can go from the camera to air without being touched haha.

I'll do some experimenting over the next few days, but looking for a good starting point for people who've shot like this before

For planning to avoid J-LOG and any color correction or for nature punchiness my settings are pretty mild but I like them. So Noon, Summer, Nor-Cal (worst time of day to record but getting good results)

C4K 24p shutter 1/48th. (I do everything 24p for DVD/Blu-Ray distribution with 4K for later)

1. ISO 400, f 5.6, ND1/64 (reading picked from hand held incident light meter Noon, Summer Nor-Cal)
2. Camera Process: Detail: -10 (though -5 should be good for most situations, but I always do -10)
Black Toe: Stretch 1 (just because),
Knee: Manual: 100%
White Clip: 108%
Gama: Cinema
Color Matrix: ITU709
3. Zebras High/Low: 40/35% for matching up with a grey card if I don't have a light meter handy. (put grey card in direct sunlight but avoid glare)

I'm finding the above pretty good for the moment, gives it some 3D looking punch and life and little or no correction in post.

For indie narrative I'm liking J-Log and now that I have an incident light meter, I think I could get away with not doing any color correction in J-Log in a lot of situations.. The more subdued look, though I think too many movies today are perhaps too subdued for my taste and just look bland.

Here is a quickie sample to go with my info above. These are 3 segments from a few seconds apart. First on the left was the J-Log as it comes off the camera.. the middle section is the J-Log footage with the stock JVC LUT applied, and the final section on the right is the JVC Cinema Gama with the 709 color matrix. Very similar, though there is some color blooming and the middle grey has less variation and less subtle variations as the JLOG. For fast turn around time you could still shoot J-LOG apply the JVC LUT and export out the footage or just shoot Cinema Gama with 709 color matrix and any changes you like on the fly for something almost as good for a quick job. Hope that helps.

Awesome, thanks Alex I'll check it out. I'm sure I'll find it, but is there a way to set presets? I can easily switch between J-log and these settings really quick, instead of setting them up every time I want to switch it up.

EDIT: Yes you can set presets to easily switch, but every time you do change, it resets the ISO levels, and I need to change them back to my own settings. It's irritating, does anyone know how to fix that part?

I agree with the Cinema gamma and Rec709 colour, and in my case, I set the Master Gamma to +2, Colour saturation to +1, and the Knee to 90IRE. The Cinema gamma has less contrast in the Mid and High zones, and so it looks less "video" compared to Standard gamma.

I set my Zebras to 95IRE and set exposure to keep "whites" under 95, which gives plenty of headroom.

If you want punchy images, then I would just use the Standard gamma and be very careful with exposure.

Thanks for your help guys.

I just shot a fashion show and some interviews with the above settings and it turned out really well I think.
I also handed a colleague my Panasonix GX80 for some extra shots during the catwalk, just because... why not. I'm super happy with how the two match up with some light correction on the Panasonic! The LS300 images are straight out of the camera.

Interview is with the LS300, and I'll let you decide which cam is which on the catwalk.

Hi Nick, congrats, nice colors. Which of the two proposed settings did you used, the ones from Alex or Scott? Please, could you pass the exact parameters?

Did you light the interview? Nicer skin tones than in the catwalk shots, btw, closer shot=GX80?

Thanks

Good shout! yes GX80 is the close.

I went off Alex's settings, but when I get home I'll write mine out.

For the catwalk, the GX80 had the Sigma 30mm 1.4 and LS300 had Canon 18-135mm because I needed to get close etc. It's a good lens for the price, but if I did more of this type of shoot I'd definitely go for something better.

The interview was with LS300 and Sigma 18-35mm 1.8. No extra lights, but the door was open, allowing the daylight in, which certainly helped.

EDIT:
Here's my settings that gave me these grabs, let me know what you'd change.

Detail - -5
- V/H Balance - Normal

Master Black - 0
Black Paint - 0, 0
Black Toe - Stretch
Stretch Level - 1
Knee - Manual
Level - 100%
White Clip - 108%
Gamme - Cinema
Level - 0
WDR - Off
White Balance
- Preset Temp. - 5600k
- Alternative Temp. - 3200K
- Clear Paint After WB - On
Color Matrix - ITU709
- Adjust - Red, 0, 0, 0
Color Gain - 0

Then in the Camera Function menu:
Gain L - ISO 800
Gain M - ISO 1250
Gain H - ISO 2000

And the rest to suit your liking.

Nick, thanks a lot for the info!

Awesome shot. I love the color.

Nick, your images look great. Your settings are almost exactly what I used before the J-Log update.

My one problem with the Cinema Gamma and 709 color was, and still is, with women's makeup. I found that the blush (it used to be called rouge) that most women use appears more vibrantly red than it does to the eye. It's almost like IR contamination, so common on BM cameras (which I also use) without the addition of an IR filter... never tried an IR cut on the LS300 though, so that''s just a wild guess...

I'd be interested on your take on this...

Thanks Steve!

I've never really thought about it, I guess I figured it was like moire - just a thing that cameras do. Perhaps you could drop the saturation a touch in post? Reds always take over the frame a little, and draw the most attention.

Magic Bullet has a nice filter called 'Cosmo' in the Looks suite, which lets you set a skin tone and helps to smooth it out. Use it carefully though as it can make faces look very plastic or out of focus in some cases.

Rosy cheeks don't really bother me though, so I've never put much time into hiding it.

The problem I'm alluding to doesn't exist when I shoot J-Log, so I haven't tried much more CC with Cinema. The problem I mentioned is especially noticeable on older women who tend to use a tad too much blush (and I'm not about to tell them so), but I've seen it with well made up women as well... and even with men who have flushed cheeks. I mention it here because I notice it on your interview frame grab.. It's not distracting but it is there...

I first became aware of it when I shot a test with my partner, an attractive older woman, and when she saw herself she shrieked and asked why I didn't tell her that her makeup looked awful... It didn't look awful, the red had only became more pronounced in the footage... That experience made me gun shy...

I want to add (several days later) that the bulk of my client work lately has been short (8-10 minute) documentary bios about generous patrons of hospitals, colleges and universities (my clients)... Interviews with the people honored are shot in their opulent homes in Pebble Beach, Santa Cruz and Carmel Valley. Most of these people are older women and men.

That is the basis for my concern about the overly "rosy" portrayal of cheeks and necks on elderly subjects when using Cinema Gamma...When my partner freaked out about her makeup after she saw herself in the test I did, I got very nervous... It's important that these very wealthy people look good, and that they're happy with the result.

I don't have the rosiness problem with J-Log, so that's all I use now... Sometimes it's like walking on eggshells, but it pays well...