Talk me out of tape

Wayne Avanson · May 27th, 2008, 04:41 PM

Not sure if you're allowed to digress on a forum, don't they make you start a new thread or something? :-)

I guess I like slightly less saturation because I like a more filmic look and will be aiming towards getting something like that. Not bland so much as 'less garish'. I am trying now to upload a clip to Vimeo with a seriously de-saturated effect which I used as a styling experiment for the opening credits of our next film. I also have some highly coloured stuff which I shall do tomorrow and let you guys have the link.

Claus Bier · May 27th, 2008, 05:43 PM

That would be cool! Thanks in advance!

Wayne Avanson · May 29th, 2008, 01:20 AM

Hi Guys,

have put a couple of experimental pieces up on Vimeo

http://www.vimeo.com/user506080/videos

These were both done with the HD7, the first one desaturated to about 30% and the second was two lots of incense smoke overlayed and recoloured from a rich blue to these colours. Both are simple experiments for a title sequence for a short film which we will be doing this summer. The film itself will be shot on an A1E and a Z1 though.

I'm new to Vimeo and they don't seem to have come out the other end as well as they went in, so maybe I got my compressions and codecs slightly wrong before uploading? possibly. If you go to 'full screen', make sure scaling is off.

Steve Mullen · May 29th, 2008, 03:55 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wayne Avanson

I'm new to Vimeo and they don't seem to have come out the other end as well as they went in, so maybe I got my compressions and codecs slightly wrong before uploading? possibly. If you go to 'full screen', make sure scaling is off.

Wonderful!

Because Vimeo recompress everything -- you need to make a version for them. To keep motion smooth, it has to be 24fps. And, you can NOT add film grain as that drives compressors crazy.

Try another version without grain.

Did you convert 60i to 24p? Use DVFILM to do this.

Where will you be shooting?

PS1: I would not do anything to create a FILM look because that simply ignores what film looks like. Film can and does have any saturation you want.

Create a look that reinforces your story. #2 is perfectly saturated to me and #1 is way too gray and grimey.

Which best sets the mood for the story you are telling? Or, perhaps more importantly -- which best leads into the first scene?

PS2: DVFILM rebalances color to match how film captures color.

Wayne Avanson · May 29th, 2008, 10:25 AM

Cheers for that Steve.

These were just simple experiments that I did at home as part of my 'let's see what short DoF I can get with the HD7' and 'Let's just mess about in FCP and see what I can do with it' kind of thing. Never intended for anything more than a discussion with my cameraman about styles and mood etc.

They certainly weren't ever intended for posting online until we got talking here about the HD7 with Claus, and of course, Kaushik's and Jeff's uploaded clips. Then I just thought, why not?, I'll upload them.

I have another one somewhere filmed in the pouring rain, highlights just catching a streetlight, just for mood. Now that WOULD mess with the compressors I'm sure. Wonder where I put that clip…

I'm in PAL land, as you call us, and I generally just followed the settings on the Vimeo help page using MPEG Streamclip, pushing out an MPEG4 H.264 thing. I'm still new to all this and I'm struggling with file formats, codecs, bitrates, etc etc etc, and to be honest, I wish it was just straight forward so I could get on with the creative stuff. With your excellent book, I'll get the hang of it all eventually.

Shooting should start next month and run through the summer over 9 or so shoots, usually weekends. Everyone involved is amateur but there's some good bods in there. Good actors and crew, everyone from a theatre background, all just wanting to have a go at something new. Should be interesting.

The look of the piece I'm keeping open at the moment, but it is set in World War Two France so the grey and grimy thing was a nod to Schindler's List/Saving Private Ryan and the coloured smoke was simply, well, messing about really.

I guess at the heart of it all is the fact that I don't actually like the look of video, which is a big stumbling block when it's all I can afford, so to me, anything that doesn't look like video and looks more 'filmic' or even 'painterly' is more pleasing to the eye. Just a personal preference.

May 27th, 2008, 04:41 PM	#16
Wayne Avanson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancashire UK Posts: 496	Not sure if you're allowed to digress on a forum, don't they make you start a new thread or something? :-) I guess I like slightly less saturation because I like a more filmic look and will be aiming towards getting something like that. Not bland so much as 'less garish'. I am trying now to upload a clip to Vimeo with a seriously de-saturated effect which I used as a styling experiment for the opening credits of our next film. I also have some highly coloured stuff which I shall do tomorrow and let you guys have the link.

May 27th, 2008, 05:43 PM	#17
Claus Bier Regular Crew Join Date: May 2008 Location: Saipan, USA Posts: 28	That would be cool! Thanks in advance!

May 29th, 2008, 01:20 AM	#18
Wayne Avanson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancashire UK Posts: 496	Hi Guys, have put a couple of experimental pieces up on Vimeo http://www.vimeo.com/user506080/videos These were both done with the HD7, the first one desaturated to about 30% and the second was two lots of incense smoke overlayed and recoloured from a rich blue to these colours. Both are simple experiments for a title sequence for a short film which we will be doing this summer. The film itself will be shot on an A1E and a Z1 though. I'm new to Vimeo and they don't seem to have come out the other end as well as they went in, so maybe I got my compressions and codecs slightly wrong before uploading? possibly. If you go to 'full screen', make sure scaling is off.

May 29th, 2008, 10:25 AM	#20
Wayne Avanson Major Player Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Lancashire UK Posts: 496	Cheers for that Steve. These were just simple experiments that I did at home as part of my 'let's see what short DoF I can get with the HD7' and 'Let's just mess about in FCP and see what I can do with it' kind of thing. Never intended for anything more than a discussion with my cameraman about styles and mood etc. They certainly weren't ever intended for posting online until we got talking here about the HD7 with Claus, and of course, Kaushik's and Jeff's uploaded clips. Then I just thought, why not?, I'll upload them. I have another one somewhere filmed in the pouring rain, highlights just catching a streetlight, just for mood. Now that WOULD mess with the compressors I'm sure. Wonder where I put that clip… I'm in PAL land, as you call us, and I generally just followed the settings on the Vimeo help page using MPEG Streamclip, pushing out an MPEG4 H.264 thing. I'm still new to all this and I'm struggling with file formats, codecs, bitrates, etc etc etc, and to be honest, I wish it was just straight forward so I could get on with the creative stuff. With your excellent book, I'll get the hang of it all eventually. Shooting should start next month and run through the summer over 9 or so shoots, usually weekends. Everyone involved is amateur but there's some good bods in there. Good actors and crew, everyone from a theatre background, all just wanting to have a go at something new. Should be interesting. The look of the piece I'm keeping open at the moment, but it is set in World War Two France so the grey and grimy thing was a nod to Schindler's List/Saving Private Ryan and the coloured smoke was simply, well, messing about really. I guess at the heart of it all is the fact that I don't actually like the look of video, which is a big stumbling block when it's all I can afford, so to me, anything that doesn't look like video and looks more 'filmic' or even 'painterly' is more pleasing to the eye. Just a personal preference.