XL2 Mexico footage

[John Wheeler]

Hi all,

Shot this little diddy a few months back ...just had time to edit together a few clips. Used the XL2 ..16:9, 30p ......with a century optics .6 WA adapter. ..put it together in vegas ...didnt use any enhancements. Was going to use the filmic pluggin. ..but it was going to take 2 or 3 hours to render ...so i decided not to use it (very impatient) ...

and for those inquiring minds. The girl singing is a local resident of the city in the video. I recorded her using an audio technica mic, 2 $70 mics for the piano, a 16 channel mackie mixer and an ADAT.

www.elpez.com/mata.wmv

file size is about 20 megs

Feel free to critique the video.

Thanks.

j.

[Kevin Kocak]

Where you using a dolly in those moving shots? They were very smooth. Very beautiful shots. What kind of compression did you use when creating your Windows Media File?? It was very clean.

[John Wheeler]

Kevin,

Yes. I was using a homemade dolly. wood platform, with rubber tires, then built an 8 foot aluminum track. I have some "behind the scenes photos" But I'll have to locate them ..and I'll upload a few. :)

compression? ..hmm ..it was late at night ...i dont know if i can remember. I'll have to check when i get home.

j.

[Kevin Kocak]

The reason I was wondering is because am working for a small company that wants me to learn how to post video on the web. We are using the WMP format. The problem I am having is finding a balance between quality and lower file size. Any ways the photos would be very cool! I have used a home made dolly which consists of plywood rollerskate wheels and PVC pipe but it is not the smoothest and am looking to build a more sturdy dolly. I would be interesting in seeing you design. Thanx again.

[Yi Fong Yu]

please let us see the fotos of your homemade rig. oh my goodness they were silky smooth!!!! build me and send us some!!! lol!

it looks really awesome. are you making this for like a "come to mexico" to vacation ad? cause it felt like that =).

[Curtis Gwinn]

Did you use any special lighting for any of your shots, or were they all natural light?

Looks great man!

[John Wheeler]

Curtis,

All natural light. It was a frustrating few days of shooting. 60 to 70% clouds. I'd have to wait around for 20 or 30 minutes just to get a minute or 2 of total sunlight.

Early one morning. The conditions were perfect. Clear blue sky, Sun rising ..casting this beautiful light over all the buildings. I was running around as fast as I could shooting as much as I could. Got a good 1 hours worth of footage. Checked the footage a few days later, and the entire tape was destroyed. Must have been dirt on the heads, or just a bad tape. :)

j.

[Richard Alvarez]

John,

How frustrating for you! I am curious though, on some of the nice SLOOOW moves, the traffic was going by at a speeded up rate. How slow were those moves?

[Carl Hamilton]

Nicely done! That dolly work elevates this piece to another level. It's amazing what a little creep(an "Andy Rooney" we call it in the biz, get it - a little creep...) can do to raise those production values. How did u get those slow zooms in the time lapse shots? That had to be done in post, right? I just noticed recently that the interval timer feature comes stock, and it's cool to see a sample of what it can do. So what were the settings for that? How often, and for how long did u expose those shots?
I'm also really impressed with the quality of the light in the interior shots. U could have spent hours hanging lights to create that look. I've been struggling with the option of XL2 vs Z1 for my next camera, but i have to say, i'm leaning toward the XL2 after seeing this clip. Anything will be better than my P.O.S. HD10U right now. I swear i'm gonna put a round through that camera as soon as i get a suitable replacement!

[Yi Fong Yu]

i'm interested in time lapse AND zoom as well.

[Alain Aguilar]

I think this is one of the best XL2 footage that I've seen so far. This is the sort of stuff that we are all looking for: elaborate shots with production value. Something other than tests and "on the run" shooting. Nice!!

[John Wheeler]

Ok, heres my best attempt at remembering settings and details about the footage



* XL2 settings = 16:9, 30p ...no customs

* Century Optics .6 WA

* No enhancements were added in post, as far as color
is concerned. What you see, is exactly what the XL2 captured.


* I did not use the time lapse features of the XL2. I just rolled
tape. On the scene with the red house, I shot about 40 minutes
of video.

* I achieved the slow zoom on the time lapse shots, in post. I
simply clicked on the "Event Pan/Crop" option, in Vegas 5.
Added a key frame at the end of the sequence and changed
the size of the image at the last keyframe. I was really happy
with the results. My favorite shot I used this on was the clip
of the guy playing the piano. The combination of the curved
dolly movement + the slow zoom (added in post) really creates
a professional look.

* I didnt use any lighting on any of the shots, other than natural
lighting. Obviously I would try to pick areas where the lighting
was good, but also I think it's a testiment to the abilities of the
camera.

* As far as the settings for the .wmv file, again, using Vegas 5.

-- Video rendering quality "Best"
-- Mode "CBR"
-- Format "Windows Media Video 9"
-- Image size "Keep Original Size"
-- Frame rate "29.970"
-- Video smoothness "90"
-- Bit rate "1 Mbps Video"

Well that about wraps that up. I've included a few behind the scenes pictures. It kind of goes againsts my nature to do this. It's kind of like seeing a really cool magic trick and part of what makes the trick so cool is that it is a mystery as to how it works. But as soon as you find out that the lovely assitant is just walking through a secret door and behind the curtain, then the trick isnt cool anymore.

anyway ...enjoy

www.elpez.com/behind1.jpg
www.elpez.com/behind2.jpg
www.elpez.com/behind3.jpg
www.elpez.com/behind4.jpg

j.

[Kevin Kocak]

Is that a home-made jib in the last shot? Thanks for the pix.

[Donie Kelly]

I tested the time lapse on the Xl1 before and it's kinda useless for clouds as it's suprising how far the clouds move during the non recorded interval. When I played it back it was jerky even with the shortest interval.

Shooting 40 mins as John did and speed it up in post works very well.

Just my 2c
Donie

[Donie Kelly]

Hi John

Meant to ask, did you use longer tracks in some of the shots that what is shown in the still shots you so kindly gace us? Some of those creeps look like you travel a nice distance. Is that a by-product of using the 3x lens?

Thanks for your insights
Donie

Edit: Ok, just noticed it was an 8 foot track, it looks shorter in the shots for some reason.