Ghosts of Door County wraps shooting with HD100's at DVinfo.net

Steve Oakley · June 3rd, 2007, 02:35 PM

We just wrapped a 10 day 2 camera shoot on "The Ghosts of Door County" shot in, Door County WI. the website is http://www.ghostsofdoorcounty.com where we've got some behind the scenes pix & video up. The project is about a bunch of real life paranormal investigators as they check out the haunts of Door County - Mythbusters meets ghostbusters.

Put 30hrs of 24P in the can shooting 18hrs most days. We had a really dedicated crew & cast to pull this off. There was also tremendous support from the local community on this : Landmark Inn, Top Shelf Catering, Van Boxtel RV Rentals, Camera Corner of Green Bay, amongst others - check out the sponsors page.

The shoot pretty much covered the gamut including night exteriors in the rain. Pretty crazy shoot for the number of locations covered. I've been loading footage all week and it looks amazing. I'm using a setup that started with TC3, but then I've tweaked it out a bit. The biggest change was running the color at -2 for a more neutral look as TC3 tends to run too saturated. Also made adjustements to the matrix & gamma.

As for audio,we ran 4 channels of wireless - 2 to each camera. My audio setup ran thru a FP33 first, then into the camera. It was nice to have dedicated audio. sync was via a regular slate.

Looking to have a trailer up in about a month or so.

and the BTS footage was shot on a JVC DV500 - had to keep it in the family :)

Jack Walker · June 3rd, 2007, 11:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Steve Oakley

I'm using a setup that started with TC3, but then I've tweaked it out a bit. The biggest change was running the color at -2 for a more neutral look as TC3 tends to run too saturated. Also made adjustements to the matrix & gamma.

Congratulations! Looking forward to seeing some of the footage.

Can you say exactly what other changes you made to TC3 (matrix and gamma)?

Thanks!

Eric Darling · June 3rd, 2007, 11:27 PM

Kudos, Steve... I'm looking forward to seeing the piece, too. I can see where you might find TC3 a little on the saturated side. I've tamed saturation a time or two in post in FCP, which would seem like an unnecessary step if I'd only reduce the color as you suggest doing. But, I like having it most of the time, and I believe it's easier to tame down chroma than boost it artificially no matter what editing system you use. The 3-way color corrector in FCP is excellent for these sorts of adjustments, and I'm usually there messing with luminance levels anyway, which can be quite tricky on this camera, at least with the stock lens. So, adjusting chroma usually does not require an additional filter in my workflow.

Steve Oakley · June 5th, 2007, 12:18 AM

gamma was adjusted per setup, when I could. same for matrix, I'd nudge it around a little. What is more interesting is that with the matrix settings you have to pay attention to white balance a lot more. Normally I go with preset 3200 or 5200, but not once you push the matrix. I had two 4300 balances with different looks. weird I know, but thats how it was, so I was white balancing much more than normal, and cheated quite a few times with a 1/4 or 1/2 CTB to get what I wanted.

As for post, I shot the chroma a bit low with a more pastel look and figure I can always nudge it up a little. In many respects the color on tape looks a lot like it did to the eye. Its a very subjective thing, even to the project and personal taste. I plan to take this project thru "color" for final finishing. There's also some shots I knew during shooting I was going to mess with in post. THere are other places I forced my 3200K lights blue in camera because I didn't have any HMI's and didn't want to loose 2/3 of a stop from 1/2 CTB. Other shots where I went neutral colorwise to have more room after the fact because I have a few shots that will go day for night. There wasn't much choice in this as the time wasn't there, nor were there a couple of 12K's and condors kicking around to do what I wanted this time around. work with what you got.

June 3rd, 2007, 02:35 PM	#1
Steve Oakley Trustee Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1,158	Ghosts of Door County wraps shooting with HD100's We just wrapped a 10 day 2 camera shoot on "The Ghosts of Door County" shot in, Door County WI. the website is http://www.ghostsofdoorcounty.com where we've got some behind the scenes pix & video up. The project is about a bunch of real life paranormal investigators as they check out the haunts of Door County - Mythbusters meets ghostbusters. Put 30hrs of 24P in the can shooting 18hrs most days. We had a really dedicated crew & cast to pull this off. There was also tremendous support from the local community on this : Landmark Inn, Top Shelf Catering, Van Boxtel RV Rentals, Camera Corner of Green Bay, amongst others - check out the sponsors page. The shoot pretty much covered the gamut including night exteriors in the rain. Pretty crazy shoot for the number of locations covered. I've been loading footage all week and it looks amazing. I'm using a setup that started with TC3, but then I've tweaked it out a bit. The biggest change was running the color at -2 for a more neutral look as TC3 tends to run too saturated. Also made adjustements to the matrix & gamma. As for audio,we ran 4 channels of wireless - 2 to each camera. My audio setup ran thru a FP33 first, then into the camera. It was nice to have dedicated audio. sync was via a regular slate. Looking to have a trailer up in about a month or so. and the BTS footage was shot on a JVC DV500 - had to keep it in the family :)

June 3rd, 2007, 11:27 PM	#3
Eric Darling Major Player Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Savannah, GA Posts: 463	Kudos, Steve... I'm looking forward to seeing the piece, too. I can see where you might find TC3 a little on the saturated side. I've tamed saturation a time or two in post in FCP, which would seem like an unnecessary step if I'd only reduce the color as you suggest doing. But, I like having it most of the time, and I believe it's easier to tame down chroma than boost it artificially no matter what editing system you use. The 3-way color corrector in FCP is excellent for these sorts of adjustments, and I'm usually there messing with luminance levels anyway, which can be quite tricky on this camera, at least with the stock lens. So, adjusting chroma usually does not require an additional filter in my workflow.

June 5th, 2007, 12:18 AM	#4
Steve Oakley Trustee Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: United States Posts: 1,158	gamma was adjusted per setup, when I could. same for matrix, I'd nudge it around a little. What is more interesting is that with the matrix settings you have to pay attention to white balance a lot more. Normally I go with preset 3200 or 5200, but not once you push the matrix. I had two 4300 balances with different looks. weird I know, but thats how it was, so I was white balancing much more than normal, and cheated quite a few times with a 1/4 or 1/2 CTB to get what I wanted. As for post, I shot the chroma a bit low with a more pastel look and figure I can always nudge it up a little. In many respects the color on tape looks a lot like it did to the eye. Its a very subjective thing, even to the project and personal taste. I plan to take this project thru "color" for final finishing. There's also some shots I knew during shooting I was going to mess with in post. THere are other places I forced my 3200K lights blue in camera because I didn't have any HMI's and didn't want to loose 2/3 of a stop from 1/2 CTB. Other shots where I went neutral colorwise to have more room after the fact because I have a few shots that will go day for night. There wasn't much choice in this as the time wasn't there, nor were there a couple of 12K's and condors kicking around to do what I wanted this time around. work with what you got.