hints for settings? a colourful, slow documentary-short at DVinfo.net

Joni Hertner · February 22nd, 2007, 08:55 AM

hi
monday I will fly to Paris to shoot a short about an old flower seller. I want the outcome (video, 25p) to look very colourful, dreamy and slow with long shots..not very much motion and a nice depth of field. The camera will be the Z1, which I've never hold in my hands till then (firstly I was supposed to get a 35mm adapter, but unfortunately that's not gonna happen now). as I have only half a day to test the camera and three or four days to shoot, everything's a bit stressful.
after reading almost all the threads in this forum, I decided to start a new topic myself - knowing that many of the issues are more or less well covered in other posts.

the aim is a filmy look without the use of a 35mm adapter and my question. should I rather use the cineframe 25 or 50i and de-interlace in post?

what are your experience with the built-in colour filters?

i read that some of you put the gain up to 12, 15DB or even more to achieve a filmy look... in which case can you recommend that?

one scene will be with the sunrise in the back -- how good is the built-in ND Filter?

how is the cinetone working? better use this feature or add film gamma in the post?

i'll edit the footage with final cut studio, are there any concerns, known problems with the Z1?

that's all for now, i'll probably come up with more :)
thanks very much for helping
-Joni

Christopher Witz · February 22nd, 2007, 06:51 PM

I've messed with the in camera settings and found that I get the most filmic look shooting without cinegamma or CF25/30/24 and sticking to manual 1/60th sec, 0-6 gain, blackstretch on.... then adding nattress FCP plugins to get the gamma and candor of film. For DOF... I back up as far as possible, zoom in, and use as wide open an aperture as possible.

your project sounds fun! good luck!

Joni Hertner · February 23rd, 2007, 08:15 AM

ok, that's helpful already, thank you!

it's just when you ask 3 z1-user about cineframe and cinetone you get 7 opinions..

what about deinterlacing?

is it a good idea to use the built-in ND filter 1 (1/6) the whole time (if its not too low light..) in order to keep the aperture wide open?

Dylan Pank · February 23rd, 2007, 10:09 AM

Hi Joni, Know what you mean about cineframe,cinetone opinions: mine are...

If the shots are generally fairly static, shoot 50i and de-interlace in post with a good smart de-interlacer.

If the shots have a lot of movement, or you're shooting fast moving objects close, shoot cineframe 25. Night shoots I find also look better if shot CF25 rather than de-interlaced, but I've not used every de-interlacer out there.

Cinetone 1 is OK and with Black stretch on gives and alright effect, but cinetone 2 is far too contrasty and unless specifically lit is pretty difficult to expose well. I would use it for a pop video or an extreme effect in a drama for which I had good lighting control, but not for a documentary as it would be virtually impossible to fix satisfactorily on post should any shots need colour correcting.

February 22nd, 2007, 08:55 AM	#1
Joni Hertner Tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Geneva, Switzerland Posts: 3	hints for settings? a colourful, slow documentary-short hi monday I will fly to Paris to shoot a short about an old flower seller. I want the outcome (video, 25p) to look very colourful, dreamy and slow with long shots..not very much motion and a nice depth of field. The camera will be the Z1, which I've never hold in my hands till then (firstly I was supposed to get a 35mm adapter, but unfortunately that's not gonna happen now). as I have only half a day to test the camera and three or four days to shoot, everything's a bit stressful. after reading almost all the threads in this forum, I decided to start a new topic myself - knowing that many of the issues are more or less well covered in other posts. the aim is a filmy look without the use of a 35mm adapter and my question. should I rather use the cineframe 25 or 50i and de-interlace in post? what are your experience with the built-in colour filters? i read that some of you put the gain up to 12, 15DB or even more to achieve a filmy look... in which case can you recommend that? one scene will be with the sunrise in the back -- how good is the built-in ND Filter? how is the cinetone working? better use this feature or add film gamma in the post? i'll edit the footage with final cut studio, are there any concerns, known problems with the Z1? that's all for now, i'll probably come up with more :) thanks very much for helping -Joni Last edited by Joni Hertner; February 22nd, 2007 at 02:31 PM.

February 23rd, 2007, 08:15 AM	#3
Joni Hertner Tourist Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Geneva, Switzerland Posts: 3	ok, that's helpful already, thank you! it's just when you ask 3 z1-user about cineframe and cinetone you get 7 opinions.. what about deinterlacing? is it a good idea to use the built-in ND filter 1 (1/6) the whole time (if its not too low light..) in order to keep the aperture wide open? Last edited by Joni Hertner; February 23rd, 2007 at 09:15 AM.

February 22nd, 2007, 06:51 PM	#2
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	I've messed with the in camera settings and found that I get the most filmic look shooting without cinegamma or CF25/30/24 and sticking to manual 1/60th sec, 0-6 gain, blackstretch on.... then adding nattress FCP plugins to get the gamma and candor of film. For DOF... I back up as far as possible, zoom in, and use as wide open an aperture as possible. your project sounds fun! good luck!

February 23rd, 2007, 10:09 AM	#4
Dylan Pank Major Player Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: Portsmouth, UK Posts: 611	Hi Joni, Know what you mean about cineframe,cinetone opinions: mine are... If the shots are generally fairly static, shoot 50i and de-interlace in post with a good smart de-interlacer. If the shots have a lot of movement, or you're shooting fast moving objects close, shoot cineframe 25. Night shoots I find also look better if shot CF25 rather than de-interlaced, but I've not used every de-interlacer out there. Cinetone 1 is OK and with Black stretch on gives and alright effect, but cinetone 2 is far too contrasty and unless specifically lit is pretty difficult to expose well. I would use it for a pop video or an extreme effect in a drama for which I had good lighting control, but not for a documentary as it would be virtually impossible to fix satisfactorily on post should any shots need colour correcting.