NIce clip shot with mi ex-Canon XL1

[Miguel Lopez]

Hello everyone. Here is a short clip that i shot last month at school. This was the last work done with Canon XL1 (i sold it and i am going to buy the pana DVX100). The result was quiet nice and we even made our first chroma at the end of the clip.

It was shot in Spain, where i live and where i study.

Tell me what you think of it.

Here is the big version in divx (15 Mb):
www.macgregorcorp.com/mac/optica2big.avi

here is the small clip (5 mb):
www.macgregorcorp.com/mac/optica2small.avi

and here for macintosh lovers:
www.macgregorcorp.com/mac/optica2.mov

i hope the links works because i dont know if the server allows this sizes.

[Trey Perrone]

Sigur Rós, good choice my friend. Just out of curiousity what program did you use for editing? FCP?

[John Locke]

Very nicely done, Miguel. Impressive!

Would you mind explaining how you did the slow crawl/fast action shots?

[Miguel Lopez]

well, the technic is very simple, you just have to record in a slow obturation speed (ie:1/6) and then in the editing you put the frame rate again at 25 frames per second.

the final effect wasn´t as good as i expected and i dont like too much. I expected more blurring images, but with the xl1 you cannot shoot any slower.

Also you have to think that the traveling will move 4 times faster than when you took the shot.

It was edited in Vegas 3.0 (arggg, if i knew the version 4 was available postproduction would have taken less time because of the smart time resample). Anyway, i used afeter effects also for the chroma and for duplicating frames and stabilize the footage.

Does anyone know a better software for stabilizing footage?

The 3D was render in Brazil.

And of course, the music was great.

[Trey Perrone]

Just out of curiosity Miguel, did you shoot this in frame or normal mode?

[Ken Tanaka]

Miguel,
Excellent work. Very visually interesting and compelling.

Commotion Pro will perform image stabilization pretty well, at least within reason. It is, however, pretty much as tedius of a process as AE's.

[Robert Poulton]

Great work. I would enjoy hearing more about this process. What you did looks great. I'm just wondering about how you shot these subjects. I kinda get the drift of what your talking about but I dont think it really has sunk in yet.
Anyways I really enjoyed the eye candy. Thx

Rob:D

[John Locke]

Ditto...I've also got more questions (you've obviously gotten our attention, Miguel!). For instance, when you're shooting at such a slow shutter speed, but have a very slow backward dolly at the same time, how did you manage to keep the dolly so smooth?

[Miguel Lopez]

Ok. I will explain a little bit better the process.

With the XL1, there are slow obturation times (1/25, 1/12 and 1/6 of a second). When you use them the record mode is automatically set to frame mode (the images are recorded in progressive mode, not as fields -but we all know that in xl1 movie mode records only one field and the other one is interpolated but we still get good looking images-).

Then, shooting at 1/6 sec, each frame is seeing 4 times. So in order to keep smooth video speed, in post you will have to set the speed of the clip 4.17 times faster to acomplish 25 frames per second.

Ok, now we have footage shot at 1/6 second, that runs at 25 frames per second. But the look of the footage is 4 times faster than reality. So if you have shot a highway for example, cars go at 400 km/h insted of 100 km/h.

you could say, well, for me is easier to record at normal speed and then set the speed 4 times faster, and i get the effect. Yes but no. The speed will be also 4 times faster, but the images are different because there is not motion blurring of moving objets, and people notish that.

Also, when shooting at 1/6, the dolly movements will be more smooth. Still, mi footage was not perfect except for the guy with the mirror which no needed stabilization. The others needed a minor tracking. So i used AE (booooring) to do such thing.

[Miguel Lopez]

Then, everyting is going 4 times faster but if you make someone move slowly or just stand up frozen, and move the dolly very slowly also, you get the clips i recorded. It seems the world moves faster but the person is at "standard" speed.

BUT. 1/6 of a second wasn´t enought for me. I wanted more bluring images of the people in the backwards, so i had to make another effect. Duplicating frames one over the other with opacity set at 50%. So one track is 1 frame ahead. And images will look in theory smoother. I said in theory because i dont like too much the effect, specially with the white coat girl and the moving man in the bridge.

Anyway, i´m glad you like it!!!!!!!!1

[Keith Loh]

Thank you so much for sharing that method!

[Robert Poulton]

Thank you, great explination I got it. I really enjoyed this piece. Did you have any problems with lighting? Asuming that this process takes alot longer than normal. Clouds, time of day and so on?

Rob:D

PS- the large format divx has some compresson issues. Towards the end there was breaking up. Might of just been me.

[Trey Perrone]

i couldnt get the divx to play right at all and i have no issues playing other divx files...oh well. another question, i know im prob buggin the hell outta ya, did you use the standard XL1s lens for all these shots or manual or any filters, etc? im gettin a XL1s soon and seeing this kind of quality makes me want it sooner!

[Miguel Lopez]

This was shot with XL1, not XL1s. No filters at all. Only "correct" white balance and use of lights.

In the first guy we have an HMI and a very cloudy day. With the black girl we use two "theaters" (1000 W open quarz lights), with the boy that sits there were two fluorescent screens (5600 and 3200º K), and in he chroma shot there were: HMI in the back, 5 "theaters" for the blue screen, two fluorescent screens for the face and body of the boy, and probably a softlight in the top of his head.

As i look always for quality, i selled the XL1 and i bought a Panasonic DVX100 PAL qhich will arrive in a week and i hope is as good as people say.

[Tom Christensen]

Very nice. Makes me want to shoot some test footage and play with your method for the effect.

Can't wait to see your work with the DVX.
Tom