Cleveland Indians at DVinfo.net

Mark Koha · April 18th, 2014, 10:22 AM

Here is a video I shot for the Cleveland Indians broadcast on Fox Sports/SportsTime Ohio during spring training this year. Shot entirely on a Canon XF305. Let me know what you guys think. There are no lower thirds on it because they were added into the show live.

Tim Polster · April 19th, 2014, 03:05 PM

Hey Mark,

Thanks for sharing. My impression is that you can improve the image quality with some settings changes or post correction. The footage with the XF looked a little too flat for my tastes. Mids, low mids and shadows were a little "milky" and the saturation was a little under. I realize that for broadcast, it probably looked better as when YUV video is converted to RGB for internet use it loses some punch, but it still has some room for improvement imho.

As for the shooting, it looked as if you were at full tele handheld when the player was working out with the coach. Did you have any IS engaged? I have found the Canon has excellent IS just in the normal mode. I am on the fence about cutting off the player's feet during the shoot. You can see his face more but the coach was talking about his footwork.

I liked the interview. Hope the CC is taken in the spirit of improvement and not judgment! I know things happen quickly sometimes and not all things are as we want.

Mark Koha · April 21st, 2014, 03:48 PM

Thanks for the input. I literally know nothing about color correction so all the XF stuff is straight out of the camera.

Tim Polster · April 22nd, 2014, 07:49 AM

That is what I thought it looked like. The XF300 has a pretty flat image out of the box. Maybe it would be worthwhile to buy a 12 pack and take it to a broadcast engineer at the ballpark and have them "setup" your camera. It won't take very long with the right equipment around.

Mark Koha · April 24th, 2014, 11:37 AM

So if you were to do a basic grading of the interview, what would you start with? Push the saturation? I could use some hints on where to start.

Tim Polster · April 26th, 2014, 08:19 PM

Yes, I would push the saturation experimenting with low, mid and high saturation to see which has the most impact. But I would first start out with adjusting contrast in the mids, low mids and shadows. I think the Canon's have a very nice open gamma, but if they are not setup a little the footage will have a milky look to it.

So overall, I would start with the camera and get your look within its settings. That way your grading will not be as drastic, or needed at all. So I would suggest again to tap into your proximity of broadcast people and get 10 minutes of their time which will be a huge benefit for you going forward.

April 18th, 2014, 10:22 AM	#1
Mark Koha Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 243	Cleveland Indians Here is a video I shot for the Cleveland Indians broadcast on Fox Sports/SportsTime Ohio during spring training this year. Shot entirely on a Canon XF305. Let me know what you guys think. There are no lower thirds on it because they were added into the show live. Santana PKG on Vimeo

April 19th, 2014, 03:05 PM	#2
Tim Polster Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 2,231	Re: Cleveland Indians Hey Mark, Thanks for sharing. My impression is that you can improve the image quality with some settings changes or post correction. The footage with the XF looked a little too flat for my tastes. Mids, low mids and shadows were a little "milky" and the saturation was a little under. I realize that for broadcast, it probably looked better as when YUV video is converted to RGB for internet use it loses some punch, but it still has some room for improvement imho. As for the shooting, it looked as if you were at full tele handheld when the player was working out with the coach. Did you have any IS engaged? I have found the Canon has excellent IS just in the normal mode. I am on the fence about cutting off the player's feet during the shoot. You can see his face more but the coach was talking about his footwork. I liked the interview. Hope the CC is taken in the spirit of improvement and not judgment! I know things happen quickly sometimes and not all things are as we want.

April 21st, 2014, 03:48 PM	#3
Mark Koha Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 243	Re: Cleveland Indians Thanks for the input. I literally know nothing about color correction so all the XF stuff is straight out of the camera.

April 22nd, 2014, 07:49 AM	#4
Tim Polster Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 2,231	Re: Cleveland Indians That is what I thought it looked like. The XF300 has a pretty flat image out of the box. Maybe it would be worthwhile to buy a 12 pack and take it to a broadcast engineer at the ballpark and have them "setup" your camera. It won't take very long with the right equipment around.

April 24th, 2014, 11:37 AM	#5
Mark Koha Major Player Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Cleveland, OH Posts: 243	Re: Cleveland Indians So if you were to do a basic grading of the interview, what would you start with? Push the saturation? I could use some hints on where to start.

April 26th, 2014, 08:19 PM	#6
Tim Polster Inner Circle Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Arlington, TX Posts: 2,231	Re: Cleveland Indians Yes, I would push the saturation experimenting with low, mid and high saturation to see which has the most impact. But I would first start out with adjusting contrast in the mids, low mids and shadows. I think the Canon's have a very nice open gamma, but if they are not setup a little the footage will have a milky look to it. So overall, I would start with the camera and get your look within its settings. That way your grading will not be as drastic, or needed at all. So I would suggest again to tap into your proximity of broadcast people and get 10 minutes of their time which will be a huge benefit for you going forward.