What post process did The Office (BBC) use? at DVinfo.net

Ronald Lee · August 29th, 2004, 04:16 AM

Saw the office. Really funny show.
Comparing the raw footage from the deleted scenes disc with what made it to air, it looks like it was shot on video and a film filter was applied.

A previous post about that here surmised that they used betacam or digibeta.

I figure we can get the same clean high quality look with a DVX100 or a PD170.

Then perhaps go to Magic Bullet with the footage to give it the film look? I mean what they did looks really good, with the film look, it looks like it was shot on a high end 24p camera.

What are some suggestions on how we can make cheap(er) video, such as the DVX100 (or XL2 if it's good) look like film, to be broadcast on TV? A professional post house, or will magicbullit do the trick?

Rob Lohman · August 29th, 2004, 08:15 AM

There has been some discussion on this already, see:

http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=23735

Ronald Lee · August 29th, 2004, 01:05 PM

Yep, I saw that post. So I've asked questions that are beyond that. Pretty much about the DVX100 and magic bullet I suppose, which is at a MUCH lower price point to the betacam and post production it seems they used.....unless the original post was wrong and they used VX2000's?

Ben Gurvich · September 12th, 2004, 04:30 PM

I am still interested in getting to the bottom of this. There is no info anywhere! Maybe its kept under wraps becasue it looks so good.

I have a feeling they are pumping the signal thru some sort of hardware and not software soloution like Magic Bullet.

If anyone knows anything else, speak up please.

Shealan Forshaw · September 13th, 2004, 11:08 AM

The office is filmed on high end cameras, not pro-sumer cams like the VX2000 or DVX100. The effect will then be obtained by grading the colour.

Ben Gurvich · September 13th, 2004, 10:44 PM

Digibeta to be exact. Theres more going on there than color correcting. The motion is completely different

Charles Papert · September 13th, 2004, 11:04 PM

Agreed. Considering that the show was shot nearly 4 years ago, it's a reasonable bet that a "black box" process was used, similar to Filmlook.

Ben Gurvich · September 13th, 2004, 11:26 PM

Charles,

Do you know if they Filmlook HD films such as Spy kids2, Starwars 2, Once Upon a time in Mexico.

The reason i ask is there are some shows in my country that shoot with f900's and they still look like video.

IMHO Honeslty in these films its hard to tell, (except for star wars, seems a lot sharper)

Anyway thanks for the info. I guess thats that for "The Office".

Maybe we can get Juan from the Uncompressed DVX forums to make us one of them boxes!

CHeers,
Ben Gurvich

Charles Papert · September 14th, 2004, 12:56 AM

The primary component of Filmlook is to convert 60i into, effectively, 24p that has gone through a 3:2 pulldown back to 60i. This is essentially what the DVX100a does in 24p mode, or what Magic Bullet does. The thing is that Filmlook was basically the first to do it (I think I first started using them around '91) and luckily for them, their patent requires camera manufacturers who are making 24p cameras to pay them licensing fees.

Features shot on 24p cameras like the ones you mentioned don't require conversion software to be output to film.

My personal opinion is that the single biggest element in making video look like film is selection of frame rate; I have yet to see 60i look anything like film. But simply shooting in 24p does not guarantee a convincing film look. Lighting and composition has a lot to do with it also.

August 29th, 2004, 04:16 AM	#1
Ronald Lee Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 435	What post process did The Office (BBC) use? Saw the office. Really funny show. Comparing the raw footage from the deleted scenes disc with what made it to air, it looks like it was shot on video and a film filter was applied. A previous post about that here surmised that they used betacam or digibeta. I figure we can get the same clean high quality look with a DVX100 or a PD170. Then perhaps go to Magic Bullet with the footage to give it the film look? I mean what they did looks really good, with the film look, it looks like it was shot on a high end 24p camera. What are some suggestions on how we can make cheap(er) video, such as the DVX100 (or XL2 if it's good) look like film, to be broadcast on TV? A professional post house, or will magicbullit do the trick?

August 29th, 2004, 08:15 AM	#2
Rob Lohman RED Code Chef Join Date: Oct 2001 Location: Holland Posts: 12,514	There has been some discussion on this already, see: http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/showthrea...threadid=23735 __________________ 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 13th, 2004, 11:04 PM	#7
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	Agreed. Considering that the show was shot nearly 4 years ago, it's a reasonable bet that a "black box" process was used, similar to Filmlook. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

September 14th, 2004, 12:56 AM	#9
Charles Papert Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 6,810	The primary component of Filmlook is to convert 60i into, effectively, 24p that has gone through a 3:2 pulldown back to 60i. This is essentially what the DVX100a does in 24p mode, or what Magic Bullet does. The thing is that Filmlook was basically the first to do it (I think I first started using them around '91) and luckily for them, their patent requires camera manufacturers who are making 24p cameras to pay them licensing fees. Features shot on 24p cameras like the ones you mentioned don't require conversion software to be output to film. My personal opinion is that the single biggest element in making video look like film is selection of frame rate; I have yet to see 60i look anything like film. But simply shooting in 24p does not guarantee a convincing film look. Lighting and composition has a lot to do with it also. __________________ Charles Papert www.charlespapert.com

August 29th, 2004, 01:05 PM	#3
Ronald Lee Major Player Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 435	Yep, I saw that post. So I've asked questions that are beyond that. Pretty much about the DVX100 and magic bullet I suppose, which is at a MUCH lower price point to the betacam and post production it seems they used.....unless the original post was wrong and they used VX2000's?

September 12th, 2004, 04:30 PM	#4
Ben Gurvich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 329	I am still interested in getting to the bottom of this. There is no info anywhere! Maybe its kept under wraps becasue it looks so good. I have a feeling they are pumping the signal thru some sort of hardware and not software soloution like Magic Bullet. If anyone knows anything else, speak up please.

September 13th, 2004, 11:08 AM	#5
Shealan Forshaw New Boot Join Date: May 2004 Posts: 21	The office is filmed on high end cameras, not pro-sumer cams like the VX2000 or DVX100. The effect will then be obtained by grading the colour.

September 13th, 2004, 10:44 PM	#6
Ben Gurvich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 329	Digibeta to be exact. Theres more going on there than color correcting. The motion is completely different

September 13th, 2004, 11:26 PM	#8
Ben Gurvich Major Player Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Australia Posts: 329	Charles, Do you know if they Filmlook HD films such as Spy kids2, Starwars 2, Once Upon a time in Mexico. The reason i ask is there are some shows in my country that shoot with f900's and they still look like video. IMHO Honeslty in these films its hard to tell, (except for star wars, seems a lot sharper) Anyway thanks for the info. I guess thats that for "The Office". Maybe we can get Juan from the Uncompressed DVX forums to make us one of them boxes! CHeers, Ben Gurvich