Music video

Marty Hudzik · February 11th, 2008, 11:29 AM

I'm downloading the lastest version right now but I loved the first. I have to ask.....the DOF is very shallow for having no DOF adapter. I currently have and XLh1 and can get this look if I can get back a little and zoom in. However several of you shots seem to be "medium" shots yet still the wall behind the singer is blurry, despite appearing to be only 4-5 feet away. Is this what I can expect from a 1/2" sensor? Cause this video really looks polished for sure and the cinematography and selective focus are a big reason for it. There are some other shots that are in black and white that seem to be about the same distance where the DOF is much deeper.....can you elaborate or am I imagining that?

Great work.

Christopher Witz · February 11th, 2008, 11:48 AM

yep.... 1/2" does make a big dif. I had Z1's before this cam and could not get this look without being back much further.

I shot everything wide open ( f1.9 ) and was only a few feet away....

I really feel no need for a DOF adaptor ( I had an early letus a few years ago ) with this cam. and believe me.... I shot with a 85mm f 1.2 wide open all the time with my canon 1ds3.... so I know what extreme DOF ( or lack of ) looks like.

The other thing I love about this cam is the CMOS chips handle flair much more like film..... I love to back light, and love flair. CCD chips would smear and just look like video to me.

and did I say I love the workflow? I don't miss tape at all!

Marty Hudzik · February 11th, 2008, 01:56 PM

Thanks for the input. I will seriously consider this camera...the only drawback is I still need to do some longform event recording to continue to fund my "creative projects" so I still need a longer recording medium. Any clue on a firestore device for this unit?

I will post my thoughts on the 4th revision after a while. Sorry to go off-topic slightly......now back to your regularly scheduled program.

Christopher Witz · February 11th, 2008, 02:58 PM

ya know you can just swap cards to and fro while recording with the ex1...... might want to lock it down pretty good to keep from jiggles though.

and one can use the sony hvrdr60 hard disk recorder as well.... but only in sq 25mb hdv setting.

Andrew McMillan · February 11th, 2008, 04:59 PM

Great looking footage, that totally destroys my dsr 300. I am glad i won't be giving up any depth of feild when I switch. One thing though, is that rolling shutter on the drummer shots?

Christopher Witz · February 11th, 2008, 07:40 PM

no those are rubber sticks... hehe..... might be a little roll, but mostly 1/48th shutter blur. Does not bother me.

Marty Hudzik · February 15th, 2008, 08:51 AM

Chris, I finally had the chance to watch the 4th version of the video and liked it a lot, however from a technical point of view, the DOF seemed to be much deeper overall. I'm not dogging it when I say this but it looks more like footage I have shot on my XL-h1, which is still very good, but just a little more videoish.....in my mind. Any ideas? Did you shoot with different settings?

Thanks.

Christopher Witz · February 15th, 2008, 09:09 AM

I played it safe and the angles where much wider.... so the dof is deep.

I'm with you and love sdof.... but sometimes you gotta do what the client wants.... they write the checks!

by the way.... check out the specs for getting this video on itunes.... how old school!

"Preferred tape format is beta sp / digi-beta / DVCAM

We may also send broadcast quality digital files provided they meet the
following requirements or are equivalent to the specs below. Please note
that submission of media as data files may result in an additional charge
based on any required time in their edit bay to output this content to tape
first.

If we wish to send a digital file, here are the desired specs: NTSC:
720x486, 29.97 fps"

such a shame.

Christopher Witz · February 20th, 2008, 09:06 AM

ok.... here's the final edit.....

http://www.witzke-studio.com/labelx/ibelieve.m4v.zip

Christopher Witz · February 20th, 2008, 01:54 PM

and here's the mpeg2 file that the itunes server requires.... (288MB)

http://www.witzke-studio.com/labelx/...7-mp2.mpeg.zip

please be aware that this video has been graded for a certain look... grain, glow, and s-curve.

Daniel Alexander · February 20th, 2008, 02:56 PM

great video, i really like the intimate feel to it. It would be hard not to like to be honest. I like the look you have chosen aswel, suits the piece nicely.

Vladimir Chaloupka · February 23rd, 2008, 01:20 PM

Man, I think you just sold me on the EX1, and that's a good point about the back lighting and flair--I love that kind of stuff!

Steven Thomas · February 24th, 2008, 01:33 PM

very impressive.
Could you gives us the steps you took in having this look so fluid?
It's so consistent, it looks like a multicam shoot.

Jonathan Scruggs · February 25th, 2008, 09:55 AM

I've been watching this thread since you first posted. I like the final version much better than the first (B&W acoustic). How involved were you in the artistic direction? I love the fact that everyone is singing along and smiling even though they aren't mic'd, and the drummer's stick tricks add great nuance. And Peter's spitting all over the sm57 was great to...like he's really singing and not just lip-syncing. Criticisms: we only saw the piano player like twice! and one other minor faux pas...that scarf Peter is wearing is soooo short! Honestly, it's distracting!

The video work is great though! very good, thoughtful shots. you have a real talent, especially if this was a one-man, one-camera job. I find myself in this situation a lot, and I am usually hard pressed to get results like this. I hope they paid you well!

Looking forward to more great footage from you! You've sold me on the camera, and Peter Searcy (I just bought Spark on itunes for "I Believe.")

-Jonathan

Christopher Witz · February 25th, 2008, 01:09 PM

as for artistic direction.... peter picked the location (a working recording studio) and had the basic concept in mind... happy band members and b-roll of them gearing up mixed in.

everything else was up to me..... I'm a one man gig and do all my own grip, lighting, shooting, steadicam, editing, etc. Hell... I don't even like others helping me carry my gear back to the car.

great you bought peters album..... he's been at it a long time and works really hard at it. check out some of the other bands on the labelx label. Digby is one of my favs and hope to do some work with them in the future.

February 25th, 2008, 09:55 AM	#29
Jonathan Scruggs New Boot Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Gastonia, NC Posts: 24	wow I've been watching this thread since you first posted. I like the final version much better than the first (B&W acoustic). How involved were you in the artistic direction? I love the fact that everyone is singing along and smiling even though they aren't mic'd, and the drummer's stick tricks add great nuance. And Peter's spitting all over the sm57 was great to...like he's really singing and not just lip-syncing. Criticisms: we only saw the piano player like twice! and one other minor faux pas...that scarf Peter is wearing is soooo short! Honestly, it's distracting! The video work is great though! very good, thoughtful shots. you have a real talent, especially if this was a one-man, one-camera job. I find myself in this situation a lot, and I am usually hard pressed to get results like this. I hope they paid you well! Looking forward to more great footage from you! You've sold me on the camera, and Peter Searcy (I just bought Spark on itunes for "I Believe.") -Jonathan

February 11th, 2008, 11:29 AM	#16
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	I'm downloading the lastest version right now but I loved the first. I have to ask.....the DOF is very shallow for having no DOF adapter. I currently have and XLh1 and can get this look if I can get back a little and zoom in. However several of you shots seem to be "medium" shots yet still the wall behind the singer is blurry, despite appearing to be only 4-5 feet away. Is this what I can expect from a 1/2" sensor? Cause this video really looks polished for sure and the cinematography and selective focus are a big reason for it. There are some other shots that are in black and white that seem to be about the same distance where the DOF is much deeper.....can you elaborate or am I imagining that? Great work.

February 11th, 2008, 11:48 AM	#17
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	yep.... 1/2" does make a big dif. I had Z1's before this cam and could not get this look without being back much further. I shot everything wide open ( f1.9 ) and was only a few feet away.... I really feel no need for a DOF adaptor ( I had an early letus a few years ago ) with this cam. and believe me.... I shot with a 85mm f 1.2 wide open all the time with my canon 1ds3.... so I know what extreme DOF ( or lack of ) looks like. The other thing I love about this cam is the CMOS chips handle flair much more like film..... I love to back light, and love flair. CCD chips would smear and just look like video to me. and did I say I love the workflow? I don't miss tape at all!

February 11th, 2008, 01:56 PM	#18
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	Thanks for the input. I will seriously consider this camera...the only drawback is I still need to do some longform event recording to continue to fund my "creative projects" so I still need a longer recording medium. Any clue on a firestore device for this unit? I will post my thoughts on the 4th revision after a while. Sorry to go off-topic slightly......now back to your regularly scheduled program.

February 11th, 2008, 02:58 PM	#19
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	ya know you can just swap cards to and fro while recording with the ex1...... might want to lock it down pretty good to keep from jiggles though. and one can use the sony hvrdr60 hard disk recorder as well.... but only in sq 25mb hdv setting.

February 11th, 2008, 04:59 PM	#20
Andrew McMillan Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Colombia Posts: 153	Great looking footage, that totally destroys my dsr 300. I am glad i won't be giving up any depth of feild when I switch. One thing though, is that rolling shutter on the drummer shots?

February 11th, 2008, 07:40 PM	#21
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	no those are rubber sticks... hehe..... might be a little roll, but mostly 1/48th shutter blur. Does not bother me.

February 15th, 2008, 08:51 AM	#22
Marty Hudzik Trustee Join Date: Jul 2004 Location: Canton, Ohio Posts: 1,771	Chris, I finally had the chance to watch the 4th version of the video and liked it a lot, however from a technical point of view, the DOF seemed to be much deeper overall. I'm not dogging it when I say this but it looks more like footage I have shot on my XL-h1, which is still very good, but just a little more videoish.....in my mind. Any ideas? Did you shoot with different settings? Thanks.

February 15th, 2008, 09:09 AM	#23
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	I played it safe and the angles where much wider.... so the dof is deep. I'm with you and love sdof.... but sometimes you gotta do what the client wants.... they write the checks! by the way.... check out the specs for getting this video on itunes.... how old school! "Preferred tape format is beta sp / digi-beta / DVCAM We may also send broadcast quality digital files provided they meet the following requirements or are equivalent to the specs below. Please note that submission of media as data files may result in an additional charge based on any required time in their edit bay to output this content to tape first. If we wish to send a digital file, here are the desired specs: NTSC: 720x486, 29.97 fps" such a shame.

February 20th, 2008, 09:06 AM	#24
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	ok.... here's the final edit..... http://www.witzke-studio.com/labelx/ibelieve.m4v.zip

February 20th, 2008, 01:54 PM	#25
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	and here's the mpeg2 file that the itunes server requires.... (288MB) http://www.witzke-studio.com/labelx/...7-mp2.mpeg.zip please be aware that this video has been graded for a certain look... grain, glow, and s-curve.

February 20th, 2008, 02:56 PM	#26
Daniel Alexander Major Player Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: West Midlands, UK Posts: 320	great video, i really like the intimate feel to it. It would be hard not to like to be honest. I like the look you have chosen aswel, suits the piece nicely.

February 23rd, 2008, 01:20 PM	#27
Vladimir Chaloupka Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Santa Fe, NM Posts: 80	Man, I think you just sold me on the EX1, and that's a good point about the back lighting and flair--I love that kind of stuff!

February 24th, 2008, 01:33 PM	#28
Steven Thomas Trustee Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Gilbert, AZ Posts: 1,896	very impressive. Could you gives us the steps you took in having this look so fluid? It's so consistent, it looks like a multicam shoot.

February 25th, 2008, 01:09 PM	#30
Christopher Witz Major Player Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 591	as for artistic direction.... peter picked the location (a working recording studio) and had the basic concept in mind... happy band members and b-roll of them gearing up mixed in. everything else was up to me..... I'm a one man gig and do all my own grip, lighting, shooting, steadicam, editing, etc. Hell... I don't even like others helping me carry my gear back to the car. great you bought peters album..... he's been at it a long time and works really hard at it. check out some of the other bands on the labelx label. Digby is one of my favs and hope to do some work with them in the future.