Show Your Work 2003

Mark Randall · August 31st, 2003, 02:43 PM

I've just completed my first video using the DVX100 (and boy are my arms tired!) :-). The camera performed flawlessly and I think the results look sensational.

It's an interesting example of DVX capabilities because the video is comprised almost entirely of chroma key shots, none of which were done in a studio. I think they turned out pretty well (the video is a product demo for a chroma keying system).

You can view it on this page. The video is the first link.
http://www.seriousmagic.com/ukvidsamples.cfm

--- Mark

Chris Mueller · September 1st, 2003, 09:45 AM

Wow, that's pretty amazing. I've always wanted to do work with a green screen, but then I heard about all the work it requires (setting the lights perfectly, etc.). Looks like a great product. The video does an excellent job of demonstrating the power of the software. Congrats!

BJ Thomas · September 1st, 2003, 01:33 PM

Really nice

Dean Harrington · September 1st, 2003, 07:06 PM

this were on the Mac.

Mark Randall · September 2nd, 2003, 07:33 PM

Sorry Dean, no direct Mac support because it relies on Microsoft's DirectX architecture to generate high-speed output from PC graphics cards.

It will however work seamlessly with Quicktime files over a network.

--- Mark

Alex Dunn · September 3rd, 2003, 12:37 PM

This project has been mentioned under three different threads for it's "how to make a dolly" page, but has everyone downloaded the trailer for this movie? This is some of the most spectacular DV footage I've seen. It's all done on a VX2000 (from the production stills) and looks like film. Apparently, it's going to Cannes.

Take a look if you haven't already, it's inspiring.

http://www.shadowgirlproject.com

Brad Simmons · September 4th, 2003, 11:02 AM

wow, that is some amazing footage! Really does look like film. I wonder what methods they used in post.

Alex Dunn · September 4th, 2003, 11:33 AM

If you go to that site and open the production page (it's in French) it has a production and post-production page, but both are "En Contrucion". I hope they eventually post the process they used. The producer is a member of this forum, maybe he'll shed some light on it for us.

Carlos Rego · September 6th, 2003, 02:35 PM

Mark

was that taped in progressive scan mode ?

Mark Randall · September 6th, 2003, 03:31 PM

No, it was shot and edited in interlace since it will eventually also be distributed on DVD. Windows Media Encoder did a de-interlace process on it during the encoding for web streaming (this introduced a few artifacts but nothing too significant).

--- Mark

PS
The DVX100 camera settings were stock, (ie no tweaking of the profiles to goose certain parameters).

Rob Lohman · September 9th, 2003, 09:49 AM

That looks pretty nifty!!

Mike Meyerson · September 9th, 2003, 04:22 PM

Check out my new short..."Dinner For Two"

Just posted on IFILM.

http://www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=2474315

let me know what you think....THANKS!

Randy Reyes · September 20th, 2003, 07:52 AM

WELL DONE!! My gosh, I was really impressed with your lighting. I was wondering what kind of equipment you were using (lights, and audio). Please elaborate because I think you did a very nice job creating atmosphere and mood. The story and the characters were great too. I really liked how that one guy's lips were TOO pink - that was a nice comedic touch! Please fill us in on your experience :] Thanks!!!

Robert Poulton · September 20th, 2003, 11:02 AM

took me sometime to find the one that would play on my computer here at work.

Good job. I thought that the lighting was very well done as well as the audio. I also enjoyed the story but at first I didn't know what to think. Seeing that I didn't read anything about it before viewing the short.

As Randy requested it would be nice if you could describe more about what you did and used.

Rob

Dany Nativel · September 20th, 2003, 11:46 PM

I wanted to try the two infamous modes that everybody is talking about (Frame and Widescreen mode). I used the XM2 miniDV camcorder for this exercise.

1) PAL
Living in a NTSC land but coming from a PAL country I’ve decided to go with PAL so I can keep my tool when coming back to Europe.
The secondary reason is a better resolution and an easier path to NTSC conversion (associated to a closer “film look”).

2) Frame mode
I’m aware that using the Frame mode is cutting down the resolution but in another hand it makes my life easier when converting to NTSC without spending hours and hours on quality de-interlacing.
The final DVD is available in 2 versions :
a) PAL Widescreen, 50i
b) NTSC 24p Widescreen,
To do the NTSC 24p, I just had to slow down the PAL version by about 4% and I got an excellent result without any motion artifact. In fact I noticed that it’s more difficult to correctly slow down the audio track without adding unacceptable noise artifacts.

3) Widescreen
I’ve read that the GL2/XM2 is probably better at Widescreen than tools stretching the picture in post. Yes you don’t have the safety margin that the 4:3 provides when cropping original 4:3 footage so I had tried to make sure to frame correctly.

You can watch the full feature online as well as production stills and DVD cover at http://natzo.com/article.php3?id_article=15

The WD-58H wide angle adapter was on all the time.
A JTL Everlight kit (3 softlights) has been used for the recording session and interviews. Shots inside the Frederick Coffee Company were only lit by the ambient light (mixture of sunlight and tungsten).
Interviews were recorded using a Sony ECM-55B lavalier and a SoundDevices MM-1 pre-amp BUT a big mistake in my design of the attenuator cable between the MM-1 and camcorder is responsible for the additional distortion (I used a 20dB outside instead of 40dB to go from +4dBu to -35dBu). Yes I did monitor (on the pre-amp) and no I didn’t playback (the band only had few minutes for the interview). The compression added by the Quicktime codec makes the streaming version even worse.

August 31st, 2003, 02:43 PM	#466
Mark Randall Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 47	My first DVX video I've just completed my first video using the DVX100 (and boy are my arms tired!) :-). The camera performed flawlessly and I think the results look sensational. It's an interesting example of DVX capabilities because the video is comprised almost entirely of chroma key shots, none of which were done in a studio. I think they turned out pretty well (the video is a product demo for a chroma keying system). You can view it on this page. The video is the first link. http://www.seriousmagic.com/ukvidsamples.cfm --- Mark

September 1st, 2003, 07:06 PM	#469
Dean Harrington Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Tokyo Posts: 898	Wish..... this were on the Mac.

September 3rd, 2003, 12:37 PM	#471
Alex Dunn Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 202	shadowgirlproject This project has been mentioned under three different threads for it's "how to make a dolly" page, but has everyone downloaded the trailer for this movie? This is some of the most spectacular DV footage I've seen. It's all done on a VX2000 (from the production stills) and looks like film. Apparently, it's going to Cannes. Take a look if you haven't already, it's inspiring. http://www.shadowgirlproject.com

September 6th, 2003, 02:35 PM	#474
Carlos Rego Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Mulberry Posts: 37	Mark was that taped in progressive scan mode ? __________________ PD150

September 9th, 2003, 09:49 AM	#476
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	That looks pretty nifty!! __________________ Rob Lohman, visuar@iname.com DV Info Wrangler & RED Code Chef Join the DV Challenge \| Lady X Search DVinfo.net for quick answers \| Buy from the best: DVinfo.net sponsors

September 1st, 2003, 09:45 AM	#467
Chris Mueller Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Washington, DC Posts: 49	Wow, that's pretty amazing. I've always wanted to do work with a green screen, but then I heard about all the work it requires (setting the lights perfectly, etc.). Looks like a great product. The video does an excellent job of demonstrating the power of the software. Congrats!

September 1st, 2003, 01:33 PM	#468
BJ Thomas Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2003 Posts: 39	Really nice

September 2nd, 2003, 07:33 PM	#470
Mark Randall Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 47	Sorry Dean, no direct Mac support because it relies on Microsoft's DirectX architecture to generate high-speed output from PC graphics cards. It will however work seamlessly with Quicktime files over a network. --- Mark

September 4th, 2003, 11:02 AM	#472
Brad Simmons Major Player Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Washington DC Posts: 304	wow, that is some amazing footage! Really does look like film. I wonder what methods they used in post.

September 4th, 2003, 11:33 AM	#473
Alex Dunn Major Player Join Date: Aug 2002 Location: Phoenix, AZ Posts: 202	If you go to that site and open the production page (it's in French) it has a production and post-production page, but both are "En Contrucion". I hope they eventually post the process they used. The producer is a member of this forum, maybe he'll shed some light on it for us.

September 6th, 2003, 03:31 PM	#475
Mark Randall Regular Crew Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Sacramento, CA Posts: 47	No, it was shot and edited in interlace since it will eventually also be distributed on DVD. Windows Media Encoder did a de-interlace process on it during the encoding for web streaming (this introduced a few artifacts but nothing too significant). --- Mark PS The DVX100 camera settings were stock, (ie no tweaking of the profiles to goose certain parameters).

September 9th, 2003, 04:22 PM	#477
Mike Meyerson Major Player Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: mahopac, NY Posts: 293	My new short Check out my new short..."Dinner For Two" Just posted on IFILM. http://www.ifilm.com/filmdetail?ifilmid=2474315 let me know what you think....THANKS!

September 20th, 2003, 07:52 AM	#478
Randy Reyes Regular Crew Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Los Angeles Posts: 54	WELL DONE!! My gosh, I was really impressed with your lighting. I was wondering what kind of equipment you were using (lights, and audio). Please elaborate because I think you did a very nice job creating atmosphere and mood. The story and the characters were great too. I really liked how that one guy's lips were TOO pink - that was a nice comedic touch! Please fill us in on your experience :] Thanks!!!

September 20th, 2003, 11:02 AM	#479
Robert Poulton Major Player Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 245	took me sometime to find the one that would play on my computer here at work. Good job. I thought that the lighting was very well done as well as the audio. I also enjoyed the story but at first I didn't know what to think. Seeing that I didn't read anything about it before viewing the short. As Randy requested it would be nice if you could describe more about what you did and used. Rob

September 20th, 2003, 11:46 PM	#480
Dany Nativel Regular Crew Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Odenton, MD Posts: 106	Here is my feature using Frame and Widescreen modes I wanted to try the two infamous modes that everybody is talking about (Frame and Widescreen mode). I used the XM2 miniDV camcorder for this exercise. 1) PAL Living in a NTSC land but coming from a PAL country I’ve decided to go with PAL so I can keep my tool when coming back to Europe. The secondary reason is a better resolution and an easier path to NTSC conversion (associated to a closer “film look”). 2) Frame mode I’m aware that using the Frame mode is cutting down the resolution but in another hand it makes my life easier when converting to NTSC without spending hours and hours on quality de-interlacing. The final DVD is available in 2 versions : a) PAL Widescreen, 50i b) NTSC 24p Widescreen, To do the NTSC 24p, I just had to slow down the PAL version by about 4% and I got an excellent result without any motion artifact. In fact I noticed that it’s more difficult to correctly slow down the audio track without adding unacceptable noise artifacts. 3) Widescreen I’ve read that the GL2/XM2 is probably better at Widescreen than tools stretching the picture in post. Yes you don’t have the safety margin that the 4:3 provides when cropping original 4:3 footage so I had tried to make sure to frame correctly. You can watch the full feature online as well as production stills and DVD cover at http://natzo.com/article.php3?id_article=15 The WD-58H wide angle adapter was on all the time. A JTL Everlight kit (3 softlights) has been used for the recording session and interviews. Shots inside the Frederick Coffee Company were only lit by the ambient light (mixture of sunlight and tungsten). Interviews were recorded using a Sony ECM-55B lavalier and a SoundDevices MM-1 pre-amp BUT a big mistake in my design of the attenuator cable between the MM-1 and camcorder is responsible for the additional distortion (I used a 20dB outside instead of 40dB to go from +4dBu to -35dBu). Yes I did monitor (on the pre-amp) and no I didn’t playback (the band only had few minutes for the interview). The compression added by the Quicktime codec makes the streaming version even worse.