XL H1 Black & White 30 sec spot at DVinfo.net

David H. Castillo · May 10th, 2008, 02:45 PM

The 30 sec spot was done to promote the Brooklyn Blogfest 08 link below. A 4 minute piece that opened the event will be posted Monday May 12th.

How it was done:
Two XL H1 with EF to XL adapters
Lens 50mm and 24mm
1/60 @ F 3.5
HDV Frame rate 60i (NTSC 29.97 fps)
Gama was set to Cine2
Set up -1
Black at middle

Lighting
1k soft box Photoflex
1k Fresnel with diffusion gel
Bounce for men
650 with diffusion for women

Audio
Shot gun mic boomed sent into both cameras

The footage was desaturated in post
Compression H264 at 25 Fps embedded in flash

30 sec spot
http://bluebarnpictures.com/blog/?p=547

Nick Hiltgen · May 11th, 2008, 07:51 AM

David The spot looks good. I'm curious as why you chose to use the ef adapter as opposed to the stocks lenses with the black background. (is it only a black background for the 30 second spot?) How was the cutting between two cameras on one subject?

Marty Hudzik · May 12th, 2008, 07:40 AM

Spot looks good but I am curious about the EF adapter and lenses also. With a black background in these clips you can't tell if the DOF is shallow or not. Can you shed some light on this also? In addition....how far back did you have to stand to get these angles? with the 7X magnification of the add on EF lenses I'd think you'd have to get back pretty far to get these angles.

Thanks.

David H. Castillo · May 12th, 2008, 12:13 PM

I choose to use the EF to XL adapter because the EF lenses give a softer bloom to highlights. The EF lenses also take off the steely quality of video when it comes to skin. The 30 sec spot was used for web only while the 4 minute final video was projected 50' diagonal. Filtration was not an option with the concern of mudding the final projected image. The EF lenses gave me just the right amount of diffusion without losing quality.

The cameras were set back 12 feet.

Since genlock was not available with the XL H1 in HDV mode, the script supervisor took timecode off both cameras and logged the drift. In post the editor took the log sheet and adjusted 13 frame here or there and matched eye blinks to sync both cameras

Photos of the studio set up are at the link below

http://bluebarnpictures.com/blog/?p=456

The 4 minute final video is at the link below

http://bluebarnpictures.com/blog/

Marty Hudzik · May 12th, 2008, 01:11 PM

Watched it and it looked good. It is hard to see in a smallish web video but I can't really tell how much better the diffusion is with the EF lenses vs. the stock lens, but I would guess you wouldn't go through all the effort if it wasn't there. I'm sure it is more obvious at full screen or projected than on the web.

Nice job.

On a few shots (not to be nitpicky) it seemd almost as though the camera were moving or floating ever so slightly, kinda OIS style, yet I know it was on a tripod with non OIS lenses. It was just in 1-2 shots and I am guessing the talent moved a little while talking and created this "optical illusion" in my brain. Did you notice this or am I just seeing things?

David H. Castillo · May 13th, 2008, 04:35 PM

Marty

What you are seeing is HDV.

Marty Hudzik · May 13th, 2008, 06:47 PM

I don't understand your response. What does it being HDV material have to do with OIS? I shoot with an XLh1 in HDV all the time and only ever notice this "look" when I am shooting handheld with OIS on. The OIS kind of floats to compensate for my inability to stay perfectly still. It looks better than shaky footage but does have floaty feel. That is what I thought I saw in your clips....at least a little. Was just asking if you noticed it too or I'm just crazy.

Thanks.

Robert Sanders · May 14th, 2008, 07:37 PM

I think what David is implying is that this phenomenon is caused by Long GOP compression. However, this is usually only evident in digital broadcasting where the compression is very high and motion artifacts like "floating" become evident.

HDV camera origination usually never produces this problem. At least not the current crop of HDV cameras. And I will say that I have NEVER seen this issue with any of the projects I've shot with the H1.

May 10th, 2008, 02:45 PM	#1
David H. Castillo Cinematographer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 152	XL H1 Black & White 30 sec spot The 30 sec spot was done to promote the Brooklyn Blogfest 08 link below. A 4 minute piece that opened the event will be posted Monday May 12th. How it was done: Two XL H1 with EF to XL adapters Lens 50mm and 24mm 1/60 @ F 3.5 HDV Frame rate 60i (NTSC 29.97 fps) Gama was set to Cine2 Set up -1 Black at middle Lighting 1k soft box Photoflex 1k Fresnel with diffusion gel Bounce for men 650 with diffusion for women Audio Shot gun mic boomed sent into both cameras The footage was desaturated in post Compression H264 at 25 Fps embedded in flash 30 sec spot http://bluebarnpictures.com/blog/?p=547

May 11th, 2008, 07:51 AM	#2
Nick Hiltgen Trustee Join Date: May 2003 Location: Atlanta GA Posts: 1,427	David The spot looks good. I'm curious as why you chose to use the ef adapter as opposed to the stocks lenses with the black background. (is it only a black background for the 30 second spot?) How was the cutting between two cameras on one subject? __________________ I have a dream that one day canon will release a 35mm ef to xl adapter and I'll have iris control and a 35mm dof of all my ef lenses, and it will be awesome...

May 14th, 2008, 07:37 PM	#8
Robert Sanders Starway Pictures Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Studio City Posts: 581	I think what David is implying is that this phenomenon is caused by Long GOP compression. However, this is usually only evident in digital broadcasting where the compression is very high and motion artifacts like "floating" become evident. HDV camera origination usually never produces this problem. At least not the current crop of HDV cameras. And I will say that I have NEVER seen this issue with any of the projects I've shot with the H1. __________________ http://www.starwaypictures.com http://starwaypictures.blogspot.com/

May 12th, 2008, 07:40 AM	#3
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	Spot looks good but I am curious about the EF adapter and lenses also. With a black background in these clips you can't tell if the DOF is shallow or not. Can you shed some light on this also? In addition....how far back did you have to stand to get these angles? with the 7X magnification of the add on EF lenses I'd think you'd have to get back pretty far to get these angles. Thanks.

May 12th, 2008, 12:13 PM	#4
David H. Castillo Cinematographer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 152	I choose to use the EF to XL adapter because the EF lenses give a softer bloom to highlights. The EF lenses also take off the steely quality of video when it comes to skin. The 30 sec spot was used for web only while the 4 minute final video was projected 50' diagonal. Filtration was not an option with the concern of mudding the final projected image. The EF lenses gave me just the right amount of diffusion without losing quality. The cameras were set back 12 feet. Since genlock was not available with the XL H1 in HDV mode, the script supervisor took timecode off both cameras and logged the drift. In post the editor took the log sheet and adjusted 13 frame here or there and matched eye blinks to sync both cameras Photos of the studio set up are at the link below http://bluebarnpictures.com/blog/?p=456 The 4 minute final video is at the link below http://bluebarnpictures.com/blog/

May 12th, 2008, 01:11 PM	#5
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	Watched it and it looked good. It is hard to see in a smallish web video but I can't really tell how much better the diffusion is with the EF lenses vs. the stock lens, but I would guess you wouldn't go through all the effort if it wasn't there. I'm sure it is more obvious at full screen or projected than on the web. Nice job. On a few shots (not to be nitpicky) it seemd almost as though the camera were moving or floating ever so slightly, kinda OIS style, yet I know it was on a tripod with non OIS lenses. It was just in 1-2 shots and I am guessing the talent moved a little while talking and created this "optical illusion" in my brain. Did you notice this or am I just seeing things?

May 13th, 2008, 04:35 PM	#6
David H. Castillo Cinematographer Join Date: May 2006 Location: Brooklyn, NY Posts: 152	Marty What you are seeing is HDV.

May 13th, 2008, 06:47 PM	#7
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	I don't understand your response. What does it being HDV material have to do with OIS? I shoot with an XLh1 in HDV all the time and only ever notice this "look" when I am shooting handheld with OIS on. The OIS kind of floats to compensate for my inability to stay perfectly still. It looks better than shaky footage but does have floaty feel. That is what I thought I saw in your clips....at least a little. Was just asking if you noticed it too or I'm just crazy. Thanks.