Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? at DVinfo.net

Dan Brockett · October 19th, 2016, 05:14 PM

In the middle of a spec project, have shot first round interviews and b-roll and I am basically happy with the look we created but I am interested in possibly shooting round 2 interviews with the Tilt & Shift Canon 45mm 2.8 TS-e lens. Anyone shoot with one? Because of subject matter, we are often having to shoot stand ups and interviews in locations that are cluttered, no time or crew for art direction to dress the backgrounds, I am think T&S will help us with backgrounds and also give some of the interviews a different kind of look. I wouldn't use it for all interviews, the effect would get old if used for everything, but for the primary, sit down interviews, I am liking the idea. Pretty cheap to rent and it's our show so no client to be beholden to, we can create whatever look we deem appropriate for the subject matter. Anyone shoot interviews with T&S, any tips, pointers, comments on doing so?

Gary Huff · October 20th, 2016, 07:54 AM

I haven't used a tilt-shift lens for interviews, but have in other projects, and I think the look would be very distracting.

Jon Roemer · October 20th, 2016, 08:33 AM

I agree with Gary.

I have used the tilt/shift lenses a lot filming architecture projects and they are great for that. Especially the 24 TSE II and the 17mm TSE.

I have shot portraits, stills, using the TSE lenses to intentionally change the plane of focus. I haven't tried it for filming an interview. I would think that the margin for error, focus wise, may be less than a fast lens shot wide open.

The 45mm TSE is the weakest of Canon's four TSE lenses. It is long overdue for a Mark II version. It is the least sharp and the most prone to chromatic aberration.

Dan Brockett · October 20th, 2016, 09:08 AM

Ah jeez, I totally respect both of your work and opinion and you are talking me out of it. I just look at the interviews we shot and they look fine but are mostly outdoors. No time or budget for art direction or really spending a lot of time crafting a specific look. We tamed the insane alternating heavy cloud cover and nuclear sun with a scrim and lit them with a kicker and a fill so they look fine but just so "plain". This is for a docu/reality show pitch, got any other ideas to "jazz up" our interviews? What I don't like about many ideas including the T&S is that we're committed once we shoot with that lens, there is no way to get rid of the effect if others find it too distracting.

Maybe we should look into the grade and doing some fun stuff with grain/color? This isn't a real doc style so we are free to mess about with the image as much as the format allows. Our main subject is super cool, chill and has a relaxed, positive outlook on life and her world so trying to come up with a visual metaphor that supports her viewpoint. This is just the sizzle, I would anticipate that if we can sell the show, we will hire a DP and really develop a look but for now, it's just myself and our other producer and assorted PAs/assistants so we are limited in lighting setups and art direction.

Ideas? Thanks for the feedback guys.

Seth Bloombaum · October 20th, 2016, 06:35 PM

Forgive my ignorance, I'm only marginally familiar with the tilt/shift concept. We're talking something like the tilting lensboard of a view camera?

Would the desire be to create a custom plane of focus, such that a face would be in focus, but the shoulders would be out of focus.

Does geometric distortion come into what you're trying for? (rising/falling lensboard)

Have you looked into Lensbaby products?

I'm a fan of big-head spokespeople, shot from above, using a high tripod with an UWA lens, somewhere... here's a sample... Scroll down on that page for thumbnails of some alternate looks. This may be way more crazy than you're intending.

Gary Huff · October 20th, 2016, 06:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

I'm a fan of big-head spokespeople, shot from above, using a high tripod with an UWA lens, somewhere... here's a sample... this may be way more crazy than you're intending.

Oh god, that makes me think of Fox network afternoons circa 1990s. I had hoped that had died with that.

Dan Brockett · October 21st, 2016, 03:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Seth Bloombaum

Forgive my ignorance, I'm only marginally familiar with the tilt/shift concept. We're talking something like the tilting lensboard of a view camera?

Would the desire be to create a custom plane of focus, such that a face would be in focus, but the shoulders would be out of focus.

Does geometric distortion come into what you're trying for? (rising/falling lensboard)

Have you looked into Lensbaby products?

I'm a fan of big-head spokespeople, shot from above, using a high tripod with an UWA lens, somewhere... here's a sample... Scroll down on that page for thumbnails of some alternate looks. This may be way more crazy than you're intending.

T&S let's you tilt or shift the focal plane, exactly. It was very in vogue in 90s music videos, then went out, then came back, now is out again. My purpose would be to make ugly or distracting BG and foreground elements seem less prominent in the frame, we are shooting dirty machine shops, cluttered back yards, etc. it is a very distinct look but the consensus from Gary and Jon is that the look is a non-starter.

I do have a LensBaby and IMHO, that look would be even more distracting than a regular T&S lens. I bought it just to play with on still cameras for shooting small objects and I ended up not really liking it so it just sits in a cabinet now. Visual styles come and go and right now, we have a very clean, normal look for the A camera, we are shooting B camera with a gimbal setup and C camera is on sticks, shooting a more profile frame. It doesn't look bad at all, but it's pretty much what you would expect to see.

Slavik Boyechko · October 22nd, 2016, 02:00 PM

Give the ShrinkRay X plugin a try, from Crumplepop. Could be just enough of a tilt shift effect without becoming distracting.

Dan Brockett · October 23rd, 2016, 09:26 AM

Will check that out Slavik, thanks for the tip. Always better to shoot clean and apply in post. Then if the audience doesn't dig it, easy to remove.

October 19th, 2016, 05:14 PM	#1
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? In the middle of a spec project, have shot first round interviews and b-roll and I am basically happy with the look we created but I am interested in possibly shooting round 2 interviews with the Tilt & Shift Canon 45mm 2.8 TS-e lens. Anyone shoot with one? Because of subject matter, we are often having to shoot stand ups and interviews in locations that are cluttered, no time or crew for art direction to dress the backgrounds, I am think T&S will help us with backgrounds and also give some of the interviews a different kind of look. I wouldn't use it for all interviews, the effect would get old if used for everything, but for the primary, sit down interviews, I am liking the idea. Pretty cheap to rent and it's our show so no client to be beholden to, we can create whatever look we deem appropriate for the subject matter. Anyone shoot interviews with T&S, any tips, pointers, comments on doing so? Last edited by Dan Brockett; October 19th, 2016 at 06:26 PM.

October 20th, 2016, 07:54 AM	#2
Gary Huff Inner Circle Join Date: Jan 2013 Location: Austin, Texas Posts: 2,006	Re: Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? I haven't used a tilt-shift lens for interviews, but have in other projects, and I think the look would be very distracting.

October 20th, 2016, 08:33 AM	#3
Jon Roemer Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2012 Location: Princeton, NJ Posts: 123	Re: Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? I agree with Gary. I have used the tilt/shift lenses a lot filming architecture projects and they are great for that. Especially the 24 TSE II and the 17mm TSE. I have shot portraits, stills, using the TSE lenses to intentionally change the plane of focus. I haven't tried it for filming an interview. I would think that the margin for error, focus wise, may be less than a fast lens shot wide open. The 45mm TSE is the weakest of Canon's four TSE lenses. It is long overdue for a Mark II version. It is the least sharp and the most prone to chromatic aberration. __________________ Site Last edited by Jon Roemer; October 20th, 2016 at 09:16 AM.

October 20th, 2016, 09:08 AM	#4
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Re: Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? Ah jeez, I totally respect both of your work and opinion and you are talking me out of it. I just look at the interviews we shot and they look fine but are mostly outdoors. No time or budget for art direction or really spending a lot of time crafting a specific look. We tamed the insane alternating heavy cloud cover and nuclear sun with a scrim and lit them with a kicker and a fill so they look fine but just so "plain". This is for a docu/reality show pitch, got any other ideas to "jazz up" our interviews? What I don't like about many ideas including the T&S is that we're committed once we shoot with that lens, there is no way to get rid of the effect if others find it too distracting. Maybe we should look into the grade and doing some fun stuff with grain/color? This isn't a real doc style so we are free to mess about with the image as much as the format allows. Our main subject is super cool, chill and has a relaxed, positive outlook on life and her world so trying to come up with a visual metaphor that supports her viewpoint. This is just the sizzle, I would anticipate that if we can sell the show, we will hire a DP and really develop a look but for now, it's just myself and our other producer and assorted PAs/assistants so we are limited in lighting setups and art direction. Ideas? Thanks for the feedback guys.

October 20th, 2016, 06:35 PM	#5
Seth Bloombaum Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Portland, Oregon Posts: 3,420	Re: Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? Forgive my ignorance, I'm only marginally familiar with the tilt/shift concept. We're talking something like the tilting lensboard of a view camera? Would the desire be to create a custom plane of focus, such that a face would be in focus, but the shoulders would be out of focus. Does geometric distortion come into what you're trying for? (rising/falling lensboard) Have you looked into Lensbaby products? I'm a fan of big-head spokespeople, shot from above, using a high tripod with an UWA lens, somewhere... here's a sample... Scroll down on that page for thumbnails of some alternate looks. This may be way more crazy than you're intending. __________________ 30 years of pro media production. Vegas user since 1.0. Webcaster since 1997. Freelancer since 2000. College instructor since 2001.

October 22nd, 2016, 02:00 PM	#8
Slavik Boyechko Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2012 Location: Corvallis, OR Posts: 67	Re: Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? Give the ShrinkRay X plugin a try, from Crumplepop. Could be just enough of a tilt shift effect without becoming distracting.

October 23rd, 2016, 09:26 AM	#9
Dan Brockett Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Los Angeles, California Posts: 2,109	Re: Anyone have any T&S Interviews Shot on the C100/300MKII they can share? Will check that out Slavik, thanks for the tip. Always better to shoot clean and apply in post. Then if the audience doesn't dig it, easy to remove.