HD100 Series Scene File Recipes & Downloadable .SCN files

David Scattergood · September 17th, 2006, 03:59 PM

Oh - sorry I thought it was the HD100...still fantastic footage.

David Scattergood · September 21st, 2006, 04:17 AM

I may have mentioned this on another thread but I recently used Paulo's tru colour 3 setting on a recent job. It was very bright day and I only had the on board ND filters and iris reduction at hand. From what I've read, this scene file was more for HDV than SD (I was using Standard Def - 25p) - as such some of the colours are a little bleached in parts.
Is there a suitable scene file for Standard Definition - these are small corporate jobs so a middle of the road setting would suffice (mainly filming exterior buildings/inside of shops/bars etc).

Many thanks.

David Scattergood · September 27th, 2006, 09:28 AM

Would I be correct in stating that following the scene files on this forum (which are in the main for the NTSC market) would cause me a little trouble?
They clearly look great from the footage shown on here, but as mentioned on my post above shooting in 25p (SD) some of my outdoor scenes were 'roasted' almost.
I guess I need a British Paulo, Tim et al...other than that hire a DP, which at the moment I can't really afford (same applies to a decent portable monitor).

Cheers,
Dave.

Steve Benner · October 15th, 2006, 03:49 PM

When using one of the Scene Files for a Project, what is the proper way to credit the designers?

George David · October 15th, 2006, 06:48 PM

Steve, I would add a personal thank you note on the end credits (eg. Special thanks to Tim Dashwood for Bleach Bypass - HD100 camera setting, same with Paolo and Stephen's stuff).

Tim Dashwood · October 15th, 2006, 07:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David Scattergood

They clearly look great from the footage shown on here, but as mentioned on my post above shooting in 25p (SD) some of my outdoor scenes were 'roasted' almost.

I think most of us designed our settings in HDV, so switching from 24 to 25 won't make a bit of difference in colour reporoduction or exposure.
The colourspace of standard definition is a little bit different than HDV, but that still shouldn't affect your exposure too much.

David Scattergood · October 17th, 2006, 03:31 AM

Thanks Tim, little concerned that with scenes designed for NTSC might not look the same on PAL? I don't currently have the option of 'painting' scenes via a top end monitor so rely on the generous help offered on this site - there doesn't appear to be the same HD100 community in the UK, on the net at least.

Les Howarth · October 21st, 2006, 07:39 AM

I find the truecolo(u)r 3 file works pretty well in SD PAL.

I use it as a base most of the time, switching in black stretch/crush and tweeking the knee as seems necessary.

If you are shooting urban settings, with a bright-overcast sky, chances are you will get some overexposure in the sky unless filtered. Best to keep an eye on that zebra and perhaps add some black stretch or lift the lower midtones in post if they work out a little dark.

If you are shooting interiors that are not specially lit and/or windows gelled down then it is almost guaranteed that some windows will be blown out, on almost any medium you shoot.

If you can choose your time, you could pick an late afternoon where the light outside would be less intense, or an overcast day- but unless the interior is lit with daylight balanced lights you will still have top contend with the mixed light: cold-outside/warm-inside and choose which, or where in-between to balance for.

Come to think of it it might be possible to mask and selectively correct blue windows in post.

lesh

Daniel Patton · October 25th, 2006, 09:48 PM

Some time back I had asked if anyone had come up with a good scene file for doing green screen work (another thread) with the HD100 with little feedback, so I did my own testing and tweaking during our last full production shoot. I'm posting here since this was the first place I looked originally for these setting, and still nothing to date has been added for this that I could find. I hope no one minds.

We found that by starting with Paolo's TC3 and making a few changes we got the best results with the HD100, when going to post from a well lit talent and screen. For reference, we chose to start from TC3 simply because we prefer to produce our "look" in post giving us the most flexible process, however using TC3 native we found the colors to be just a little too saturated overall for green screen work. The most trouble coming from the the red levels, but the tweaks got us there in the end, so it was a great place to start. I'm not claiming that this is the end all for the HD100 and green screen work, I'm only sharing what produced the best results for us that day with our HD100 and a modified TC3. Thanks for the head start Paolo!

I'm only going to list the settings that we changed from Paolo's original TC3

Detail = -3
This was brought up from "Min" just for that day (we keep it at Min for everything we shoot normally) but as it ended up softening the talents edges a bit much to pull a clean key, we faired better with -3 to 1. Any higher and we risked a more typical and slight ringing of the edges.

Gamma = Standard
Not sure exactly how this helped (perhaps Paolo can explain) but it did bring the color to a more suitable level. Our DP was switching back and forth between Standard and Cinelike comparing and the result was obvious enough on the monitor to change to Standard.

Gamma Level = Normal
Again, our DP's choice but it looked right.

Color Gain = -1
This helped bring the levels down just a notch and kept colors from over saturating.

Red Gain = 2
Dropping back 1 on the red gained helped a fair amount but even still the JVC tends to show blacks with a slightly red hue for us with most everything we have shot. Reducing the red gain a notch was a fairly obvious change for the better with a large green screen involved.

For the most part that was it. I know this is no longer "True Color" but we have it saved as "True Key". At least now we have something to work with and maybe it will help someone else later down the line.

Peace!

George David · October 25th, 2006, 10:52 PM

Daniel, thank you for that wonderful post. I needed that for sure. I did chroma-key shots for 3 long scenes 2 weeks ago and I wasn't very happy with what I did. I will definitely save this scene file for future projects.

Nima Taheri · October 31st, 2006, 06:42 PM

Daniel P:

I didn't see any change in the color matrix of TC3, but just to be sure: would that scene file work with blue screen as well as green screen, or is that setup only for green screens?

Daniel Patton · October 31st, 2006, 09:59 PM

Sorry, not tested, so I can't say for sure. We have only used green in the local larger studio, as well as our smaller in-house setup. But simply from the perspective of a slightly lower overall saturation, I would "guess" the answer might be yes. Regardless, it might be worth doing what we did... start with TC3, tweak it, and test the key then and there. It could be nailed down far more than our little tweaks, I could have spent a full day (and more $$) doing just that.

Marc Colemont · November 1st, 2006, 02:06 AM

Thanks Daniel for sharing the info.

Tommy Davis · November 1st, 2006, 02:26 PM

I am sorry, I read through the post, but I'm not too clear on how to go about actually loading one of these scn files onto my camera. I had thought I could just plug in a firewire cable and pull it off my mac. So I need to load the Scn files onto an 3rd party SD card reader ? Can anyone suggest a card reader?

Thanks,
Tommy Davis

Rati Oneli · December 1st, 2006, 11:30 PM

Hi, I was inputting Paolo's recipe into my HD100 the other day and notices that it didn't speicy some settings like: v/h balance, H Frequency, V Frequency, white paint. Should I worry about it? What should be the settings? I also looked at other recipes and they don't specify these either. Thanks.

October 21st, 2006, 07:39 AM	#83
Les Howarth Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Manchester England Posts: 40	I find the truecolo(u)r 3 file works pretty well in SD PAL. I use it as a base most of the time, switching in black stretch/crush and tweeking the knee as seems necessary. If you are shooting urban settings, with a bright-overcast sky, chances are you will get some overexposure in the sky unless filtered. Best to keep an eye on that zebra and perhaps add some black stretch or lift the lower midtones in post if they work out a little dark. If you are shooting interiors that are not specially lit and/or windows gelled down then it is almost guaranteed that some windows will be blown out, on almost any medium you shoot. If you can choose your time, you could pick an late afternoon where the light outside would be less intense, or an overcast day- but unless the interior is lit with daylight balanced lights you will still have top contend with the mixed light: cold-outside/warm-inside and choose which, or where in-between to balance for. Come to think of it it might be possible to mask and selectively correct blue windows in post. lesh Last edited by Les Howarth; October 22nd, 2006 at 03:30 AM.

October 25th, 2006, 09:48 PM	#84
Daniel Patton Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Knoxville TN Posts: 589	Modified TC3 for green screen Some time back I had asked if anyone had come up with a good scene file for doing green screen work (another thread) with the HD100 with little feedback, so I did my own testing and tweaking during our last full production shoot. I'm posting here since this was the first place I looked originally for these setting, and still nothing to date has been added for this that I could find. I hope no one minds. We found that by starting with Paolo's TC3 and making a few changes we got the best results with the HD100, when going to post from a well lit talent and screen. For reference, we chose to start from TC3 simply because we prefer to produce our "look" in post giving us the most flexible process, however using TC3 native we found the colors to be just a little too saturated overall for green screen work. The most trouble coming from the the red levels, but the tweaks got us there in the end, so it was a great place to start. I'm not claiming that this is the end all for the HD100 and green screen work, I'm only sharing what produced the best results for us that day with our HD100 and a modified TC3. Thanks for the head start Paolo! I'm only going to list the settings that we changed from Paolo's original TC3 Detail = -3 This was brought up from "Min" just for that day (we keep it at Min for everything we shoot normally) but as it ended up softening the talents edges a bit much to pull a clean key, we faired better with -3 to 1. Any higher and we risked a more typical and slight ringing of the edges. Gamma = Standard Not sure exactly how this helped (perhaps Paolo can explain) but it did bring the color to a more suitable level. Our DP was switching back and forth between Standard and Cinelike comparing and the result was obvious enough on the monitor to change to Standard. Gamma Level = Normal Again, our DP's choice but it looked right. Color Gain = -1 This helped bring the levels down just a notch and kept colors from over saturating. Red Gain = 2 Dropping back 1 on the red gained helped a fair amount but even still the JVC tends to show blacks with a slightly red hue for us with most everything we have shot. Reducing the red gain a notch was a fairly obvious change for the better with a large green screen involved. For the most part that was it. I know this is no longer "True Color" but we have it saved as "True Key". At least now we have something to work with and maybe it will help someone else later down the line. Peace! __________________ Our eyes allow us to see the world - The lens allows others to see the world through our eyes. RED ONE #977

October 31st, 2006, 09:59 PM	#87
Daniel Patton Major Player Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Knoxville TN Posts: 589	Sorry, not tested, so I can't say for sure. We have only used green in the local larger studio, as well as our smaller in-house setup. But simply from the perspective of a slightly lower overall saturation, I would "guess" the answer might be yes. Regardless, it might be worth doing what we did... start with TC3, tweak it, and test the key then and there. It could be nailed down far more than our little tweaks, I could have spent a full day (and more $$) doing just that. __________________ Our eyes allow us to see the world - The lens allows others to see the world through our eyes. RED ONE #977

November 1st, 2006, 02:26 PM	#89
Tommy Davis Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 33	Loading SCN Files I am sorry, I read through the post, but I'm not too clear on how to go about actually loading one of these scn files onto my camera. I had thought I could just plug in a firewire cable and pull it off my mac. So I need to load the Scn files onto an 3rd party SD card reader ? Can anyone suggest a card reader? Thanks, Tommy Davis

December 1st, 2006, 11:30 PM	#90
Rati Oneli Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: New York Posts: 60	Other settings for Paolo Ciccone's True Color 3 Hi, I was inputting Paolo's recipe into my HD100 the other day and notices that it didn't speicy some settings like: v/h balance, H Frequency, V Frequency, white paint. Should I worry about it? What should be the settings? I also looked at other recipes and they don't specify these either. Thanks.

September 17th, 2006, 03:59 PM	#76
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	Oh - sorry I thought it was the HD100...still fantastic footage.

September 21st, 2006, 04:17 AM	#77
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	I may have mentioned this on another thread but I recently used Paulo's tru colour 3 setting on a recent job. It was very bright day and I only had the on board ND filters and iris reduction at hand. From what I've read, this scene file was more for HDV than SD (I was using Standard Def - 25p) - as such some of the colours are a little bleached in parts. Is there a suitable scene file for Standard Definition - these are small corporate jobs so a middle of the road setting would suffice (mainly filming exterior buildings/inside of shops/bars etc). Many thanks.

September 27th, 2006, 09:28 AM	#78
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	Would I be correct in stating that following the scene files on this forum (which are in the main for the NTSC market) would cause me a little trouble? They clearly look great from the footage shown on here, but as mentioned on my post above shooting in 25p (SD) some of my outdoor scenes were 'roasted' almost. I guess I need a British Paulo, Tim et al...other than that hire a DP, which at the moment I can't really afford (same applies to a decent portable monitor). Cheers, Dave.

October 15th, 2006, 03:49 PM	#79
Steve Benner Major Player Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: United States Posts: 590	When using one of the Scene Files for a Project, what is the proper way to credit the designers?

October 15th, 2006, 06:48 PM	#80
George David Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 150	Steve, I would add a personal thank you note on the end credits (eg. Special thanks to Tim Dashwood for Bleach Bypass - HD100 camera setting, same with Paolo and Stephen's stuff).

October 17th, 2006, 03:31 AM	#82
David Scattergood Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Manchester, UK Posts: 755	Thanks Tim, little concerned that with scenes designed for NTSC might not look the same on PAL? I don't currently have the option of 'painting' scenes via a top end monitor so rely on the generous help offered on this site - there doesn't appear to be the same HD100 community in the UK, on the net at least.

October 25th, 2006, 10:52 PM	#85
George David Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Utah Posts: 150	Daniel, thank you for that wonderful post. I needed that for sure. I did chroma-key shots for 3 long scenes 2 weeks ago and I wasn't very happy with what I did. I will definitely save this scene file for future projects.

October 31st, 2006, 06:42 PM	#86
Nima Taheri Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Norway Posts: 136	Daniel P: I didn't see any change in the color matrix of TC3, but just to be sure: would that scene file work with blue screen as well as green screen, or is that setup only for green screens?

November 1st, 2006, 02:06 AM	#88
Marc Colemont Major Player Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Belgium Posts: 695	Thanks Daniel for sharing the info.