Frames from a new project

[Michele Coser]

I'm working on a modern noir short; i used a custom preset that crush blacks and remove a lot of the red from the streetlights. this test was done mostly under aviable light with gain at +6. The latest two frames show the same situation with and without my preset. To me it look very flat and horrible due to the gain; my preset darken the image a lot (maybe too much) but i like it better. I don't know if i'm going to shot with the XL2 'cause i'm planning to switch to hdv (an xl-h1 or a jvc hd 200) and the camera has a few problems.

[Alan Melville]

Michele,

I had a look at your frames and I'm going out on a limb here because I don't shoot this sort of stuff but being a 'Noir' why don't you experiment with shooting at -3 gain, also shift your colour phase down into the negatives, this'll crush your reds. I have no idea of what your trying to do but because you would like a Noir effect, it may pay to keep tight on faces and bodies and keep lit background noise out. No 'twinkle' in the eyes either, unlike some of your frames. Remember Noir is cynical hard characters.

My 2 cents worth and I may be completely off the mark. Good luck.

Al

[Michele Coser]

...mmm shooting at -3 i think is impossibile due to too much darkness, even without a custom preset on; from what i remember even +3 is too dark... I usually use a this kind of custom preset because i found that you cannot get the same result by shooting flat and correcting in post production (at least with the tools i have). I did a medium short a year ago by shooting flat (a director's choice, not mine) and the final edit was'nt very good looking.

But i see if this night i can do another test with a friend and see if i can shot with the settings you suggest.

As for the "noir"... i'm not sure what kind of lighting style i choose; we don't have a budget and using our light on external location probably is impossbile.
But i definitely have to see more classic noir films.

[Michele Coser]

I was playing with Max Payne 2 and i got from this game the idea of showing a tv that is playing another movie (like in the game there are tv that show various things, like a '70 parody of the first max payne, called Dick Justice).

So here is the first episode, a quick thing that shows the character genesis. The lines and tone of the voice over took inspiration from the Rorshach monolgue in Watchmen.

Vimeo

[Dale Guthormsen]

I like what I have seen so far!!!!

Where ere those sub titles for the linguisticly inadept? LOL

I do not think the H1 is as good in low light as my xl2!!


Dale

[Michele Coser]

I see if i can upload a subtitled version.

The goal of this very small short (and eventually the sequels) is to help me test various light/scenes situations and solutions. The theme is obviously not very serious, and each small episode ends with a cliffhanger ending.
As for the low light thing; i too struggle with the XL2; sometimes seems bright enough; sometimes is dark as hell (especially with the custom preset). This was shot all with aviable light; except for the shot where the character light the cigarette and the one where he touch the ground, in this case i used an homemade LED panel (made with 3 x 40led 12v small panel, battery operated). Unfortunatly in outside situation the led panel falloff is very high. I built also a 12v hmi battery powered light and i see if it can be more powerful than the leds.

[Alan Melville]

Michele,

Just viewed your video, I like it....

A couple of personal thoughts;

Can the guy wear a hat, do they do that there (where ever 'there' is) or would it look out of place? A small brim, dark hat. The language matches a hat !!! :)

At the 47 second mark, could you light more from the rear, so when the cigarette is lit it lights his face just for a fraction of a second.

At 1:10 you lose the eyes for a split second. It jumped out at me.

Great ending, loved it.

Al

PS Like Dale, didn't understand a thing that was said........ :)

[Michele Coser]

Sorry, i forgot about this thread.... sadly is from this spring that i did not made any other video, but i plan to do something the next months. Is not time for me to upgrade to hd... (well, it might be the time but some other things, like a new steadicam arm, must be buyed before a new hd camera...)

Anyway, about this video, i replaced a few shots; i admit it needed to be shot wit a tripod, but we were on the run so i did everything handheld. I replaced the shot where i lost is eyes when he stand up, however in this case i lost the eyes when he's crouching; but i think is less noticeable.

As for the hat i planned to use one but i did not find it the day we shot, as for the light when he smoke, the only light i used is the one to light the scene (you can see it in the upper corner of the frame at 00:42)

i'm uploading the updated version, also with subtitles.

[Michele Coser]

Don't know if you followed my profile on vimeo, but here are two other test i did:

Night/DOF (stock lense) shot test on Vimeo

XL2 lens test on Vimeo

[Michele Coser]

Here is, the updated version with subtitles.

Jhonny Black: Inceptus (v3) on Vimeo