help me find good looking no budget DVDs...

Jan van den Hemel · July 7th, 2004, 08:37 PM

GL1 is a great camera.

Ryan Martino · July 8th, 2004, 10:29 AM

"It's the artist, not the paintbrush"

preaching to the choir here, Dylan.

if there's one thing i've learned in fifteen years of audio production, it's that the above statement is always true.
i guess i somehow phrased my post to sound like i was blaming the GL1 for my mediocre results -- which is absolutely not so.
i know it's a cool camera. i just also know i want a better one, at some later time after i've learned how to shoot decently on what i have.
i probably should have said nothing about my opinion of my camera, as my statement definately put out the wrong idea about how i approach any kind of production.

-martino

Doug Turner · July 8th, 2004, 03:26 PM

If you're a talented director, lighting cameraperson, sound mixer and editor, then you can make most 3 CCD productions look indistinguishable from those shot on film when it's played back on a standard def TV.

...you just can't fake it on the BIG screen :) - with true HD cameras getting cheaper, we will soon be able to compete with the filmophiles.

Digital artifacts four foot across on the big screen detracts from your storytelling in anyone's language!

Get to know and love the camera you've got, don't blame it for any lack of success.

If your audience just says 'Wow... pwetty pictures' after seeing your film instead of 'Wow.... great story' then I'd think maybe I've failed somewhere along the line!

Bill Pryor · July 8th, 2004, 03:28 PM

How about, "Wow! Great effects!"

Doug Turner · July 8th, 2004, 04:43 PM

'Wow, great jib move'... 'Wow, great dolly'... 'Wow, great bleach bypass plug-in'...

- sounds arrogant, but since getting into making films, watching them isn't quite as much fun as it used to be :(

...I get distracted by the techniques, moves, blocking... instead of getting lost in the story!

Dylan Couper · July 8th, 2004, 09:39 PM

Ryan, no sweat, I'm up to speed now. :)

Glenn Chan · July 9th, 2004, 06:48 AM

Quote:

If you're a talented director, lighting cameraperson, sound mixer and editor, then you can make most 3 CCD productions look indistinguishable from those shot on film when it's played back on a standard def TV.

If the 3CCD cameras you are talking about are on the same level as the DVX100, then it's not too hard to pick them out. Ways to tell it was shot on video:

-On the fringes of highlights you have color shifts to 'pure' colors (usually magenta or cyan).
-The smaller exposure latitude of such 3CCD cameras means there will usually be under or overexposed areas. On outside shots the sky will usually be overexposed unless they add a polarizer.
If the lighting is real good this will not happen. Lighting setups are more difficult however when you have less stops to work with.

*The pro HD cameras have better latitude than prosumer stuff.
-Deep depth of field
-The colors are different. With film, highlights usually have no color and shadows are very saturated. I believe it's possible to change this with video, although I don't see it happen much. I'm not sure if the DVX100 does this.

Video shot wrong:
-excessive edge sharpening
-shaky/bad camerawork (usually correlates with low budget productions)
-fast shutter speed used
-fake film looks. Badly-done grain is one. Another is video that is white balanced to be yellow to emulate what happens with daylight-balanced film shot indoors.
-Film has a gamma curve that looks like an s. With video you can color correct it so it looks that way, or adjust the gamma response in your camera (only some do this, like the DVX100).
-not 24p motion
-video noise from low light situations

But to keep things in perspective, I find I have to specifically look for the things above to check that it's film or video, unless it's bad video which is easy to tell. But now you know how to be picky.

Ryan Martino · July 9th, 2004, 11:02 AM

Dylan - didn't mean to sound so defensive. it's just too easy to shoot off a reply in this internet age!!

Doug - i know, i watch movies now and i'm like "wow - check that move out.... great storyboarding... " it's exciting, and yet it feels like something is lost.

how's this for some perspective -- the band i've been recording played a show the other night and i went and shot some video of it. i showed it to them later and the singer was like, "cool, it looks like a movie."

and i'm sure all it was was the frame mode and the fact that i kept moving the camera around slowly as they played...

July 7th, 2004, 08:37 PM	#16
Jan van den Hemel Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: PAL land Posts: 87	GL1 is a great camera. __________________ J.

July 8th, 2004, 09:39 PM	#21
Dylan Couper Wrangler Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Vancouver, British Columbia Posts: 8,314	Ryan, no sweat, I'm up to speed now. :) __________________ Need to rent camera gear in Vancouver BC? Check me out at camerarentalsvancouver.com

July 8th, 2004, 10:29 AM	#17
Ryan Martino Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 48	"It's the artist, not the paintbrush" preaching to the choir here, Dylan. if there's one thing i've learned in fifteen years of audio production, it's that the above statement is always true. i guess i somehow phrased my post to sound like i was blaming the GL1 for my mediocre results -- which is absolutely not so. i know it's a cool camera. i just also know i want a better one, at some later time after i've learned how to shoot decently on what i have. i probably should have said nothing about my opinion of my camera, as my statement definately put out the wrong idea about how i approach any kind of production. -martino

July 8th, 2004, 03:26 PM	#18
Doug Turner Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia. Posts: 43	If you're a talented director, lighting cameraperson, sound mixer and editor, then you can make most 3 CCD productions look indistinguishable from those shot on film when it's played back on a standard def TV. ...you just can't fake it on the BIG screen :) - with true HD cameras getting cheaper, we will soon be able to compete with the filmophiles. Digital artifacts four foot across on the big screen detracts from your storytelling in anyone's language! Get to know and love the camera you've got, don't blame it for any lack of success. If your audience just says 'Wow... pwetty pictures' after seeing your film instead of 'Wow.... great story' then I'd think maybe I've failed somewhere along the line!

July 8th, 2004, 03:28 PM	#19
Bill Pryor Contributor Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Kansas City, MO Posts: 4,449	How about, "Wow! Great effects!"

July 8th, 2004, 04:43 PM	#20
Doug Turner Regular Crew Join Date: May 2004 Location: Sydney, Australia. Posts: 43	'Wow, great jib move'... 'Wow, great dolly'... 'Wow, great bleach bypass plug-in'... - sounds arrogant, but since getting into making films, watching them isn't quite as much fun as it used to be :( ...I get distracted by the techniques, moves, blocking... instead of getting lost in the story!

July 9th, 2004, 11:02 AM	#23
Ryan Martino Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Albuquerque, New Mexico Posts: 48	Dylan - didn't mean to sound so defensive. it's just too easy to shoot off a reply in this internet age!! Doug - i know, i watch movies now and i'm like "wow - check that move out.... great storyboarding... " it's exciting, and yet it feels like something is lost. how's this for some perspective -- the band i've been recording played a show the other night and i went and shot some video of it. i showed it to them later and the singer was like, "cool, it looks like a movie." and i'm sure all it was was the frame mode and the fact that i kept moving the camera around slowly as they played...