New 550D film... at DVinfo.net

Sean Vincent · August 31st, 2010, 07:03 PM

Scott Brickert · August 31st, 2010, 08:05 PM

Very nice, excellent work. Looks like you employed all your lenses to good effect.

I'd like to hear more about:
-acquisition vs delivered resolution and frame rates
-time lapse...which intervalometer, or did you use a laptop and the Canon software?
-slomo...did you shoot at 720p60
-lens list
-what challenges were you presented with along the way, eg wanting a shallow depth of field, but having too much light...

It felt a bit like I, the viewer, was stuck on the porch, and using the camera to reach out into the environment. Adding natural sound may have given a more immersive feel. Not sure what you were aiming for.

Terry Lee · August 31st, 2010, 09:36 PM

Great job! I thought it was spectacular!

I am interested in what Scott is wanting to know as well!

Don Rumsey · August 31st, 2010, 10:42 PM

Great stuff! Reminds me of many days spent in Ludington on Lake Michigan. Was very calming for me. By chance was the music by a band called The Calm Blue Sea? Otherwise I dunno about that tractor near the end...as I much as I love old tractors, (my Dad has a collection of them).

Sean Vincent · September 1st, 2010, 08:12 AM

Thanks for the comments...much appreciated.

I used:

The stock lens. (18-55mm)
A Pentacon 50mm prime.
A Quantaray 28mm prime.
A Vivanco WA adapter
A cheap intervalometer from eBay...
Pro-Aim MatteBox and Follow Focus..(not used much on this film)
Tiffen ND9 neutral density filter.

Shot mostly at 1920x1080 25p apart from parts i wanted to slo-mo which i shot at 1080x720 50p.

The time lapses were mostly shot at 9 second intervals using the full resolution jpeg. (not RAW)

The night-time star-lapse was shot with a 25second exposure every 30 seconds. I used the 28mm prime with the WA adapter for this. (i've got just as good results, if not better with the stock lens in the past though)

All the time-lapse stills were imported into Quicktime pro using 'import image sequence'. Then they were exported as 720p movies.

Everything was put together in iMovies at 720p resolution. I only use FCP for pro projects....not these little movies which i just do for the fun of it really.

I did actually capture quite a lot of sound with it all, but i was on holiday and there was kids making noise in the background so i didn't bother using it. The waves you hear at the beginning are just a happy coincidence as they are part of the music...which is by BT.

Shallow DoF isn't really difficult with the 550D... it is very easy to get blown-out skies though.. but this is the downside to using such a sensitive camera. You can avoid this with graduated ND filters, but i don't often bother unless it's really bugging me.

The tractor was in the garden of the place we were staying...i just liked the 'cine-film' atmosphere of that particular shot.

The biggest challenge was the wind...it was really gale force on one of the days i was shooting... i got sand on my sensor!!! Nightmare...but got it clean eventually. The wind also buffeted the camera when i was shooting the night time lapses which is why they are slightly blurred.

Other than that, it wasn't too tricky. I took my GlideTrack and kept trying to use it, but i couldn't find a decent shot with it. If i had more time i might have done a tracking shot along the water's edge, but with the tide coming in fast and the severe wind, i didn't want to risk it.

Hope this answers some of your questions..

Sean

August 31st, 2010, 07:03 PM	#1
Sean Vincent Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Hitchin UK Posts: 66	New 550D film... Celestial Coast on Vimeo

August 31st, 2010, 08:05 PM	#2
Scott Brickert Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Crested Butte, CO Posts: 576	Very nice, excellent work. Looks like you employed all your lenses to good effect. I'd like to hear more about: -acquisition vs delivered resolution and frame rates -time lapse...which intervalometer, or did you use a laptop and the Canon software? -slomo...did you shoot at 720p60 -lens list -what challenges were you presented with along the way, eg wanting a shallow depth of field, but having too much light... It felt a bit like I, the viewer, was stuck on the porch, and using the camera to reach out into the environment. Adding natural sound may have given a more immersive feel. Not sure what you were aiming for. __________________ Scott Shot-By-Scott

August 31st, 2010, 09:36 PM	#3
Terry Lee Major Player Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 691	Great job! I thought it was spectacular! I am interested in what Scott is wanting to know as well! __________________ https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=38313004

September 1st, 2010, 08:12 AM	#5
Sean Vincent Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Hitchin UK Posts: 66	Replies... Thanks for the comments...much appreciated. I used: The stock lens. (18-55mm) A Pentacon 50mm prime. A Quantaray 28mm prime. A Vivanco WA adapter A cheap intervalometer from eBay... Pro-Aim MatteBox and Follow Focus..(not used much on this film) Tiffen ND9 neutral density filter. Shot mostly at 1920x1080 25p apart from parts i wanted to slo-mo which i shot at 1080x720 50p. The time lapses were mostly shot at 9 second intervals using the full resolution jpeg. (not RAW) The night-time star-lapse was shot with a 25second exposure every 30 seconds. I used the 28mm prime with the WA adapter for this. (i've got just as good results, if not better with the stock lens in the past though) All the time-lapse stills were imported into Quicktime pro using 'import image sequence'. Then they were exported as 720p movies. Everything was put together in iMovies at 720p resolution. I only use FCP for pro projects....not these little movies which i just do for the fun of it really. I did actually capture quite a lot of sound with it all, but i was on holiday and there was kids making noise in the background so i didn't bother using it. The waves you hear at the beginning are just a happy coincidence as they are part of the music...which is by BT. Shallow DoF isn't really difficult with the 550D... it is very easy to get blown-out skies though.. but this is the downside to using such a sensitive camera. You can avoid this with graduated ND filters, but i don't often bother unless it's really bugging me. The tractor was in the garden of the place we were staying...i just liked the 'cine-film' atmosphere of that particular shot. The biggest challenge was the wind...it was really gale force on one of the days i was shooting... i got sand on my sensor!!! Nightmare...but got it clean eventually. The wind also buffeted the camera when i was shooting the night time lapses which is why they are slightly blurred. Other than that, it wasn't too tricky. I took my GlideTrack and kept trying to use it, but i couldn't find a decent shot with it. If i had more time i might have done a tracking shot along the water's edge, but with the tide coming in fast and the severe wind, i didn't want to risk it. Hope this answers some of your questions.. Sean

August 31st, 2010, 10:42 PM	#4
Don Rumsey Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Jackson, MI Posts: 40	Great stuff! Reminds me of many days spent in Ludington on Lake Michigan. Was very calming for me. By chance was the music by a band called The Calm Blue Sea? Otherwise I dunno about that tractor near the end...as I much as I love old tractors, (my Dad has a collection of them).