BBC: Top Gear (Film Look) at DVinfo.net

Robb Swiatek · May 14th, 2007, 11:34 PM

Alright well I've just recently been turned onto this show (via YouTube since I don't get BBC unfortunately) and I have to say it's outstanding.

But what kind of filters/settings/color corrections/etc do you experienced film-look makers see in say, this clip of the show?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIz79hzqKXs

Also, I see a glow effect in many films (Spielberg especially) and it shows through in the aforementioned clip several times. Now is there anything special to this or are they just adding a glow effect or what?

Allan Black · May 15th, 2007, 12:06 AM

Top Gear is full on entertainment, great fx great everything. Is it now on DVD?
Now replaced by Fifth Gear, same cast less fx, read less money. Someone fumbled a change somehow.

Ian Savage · May 15th, 2007, 02:07 AM

Far as I know Top gear is Top gear on the BBC, Fifth Gear is on Channel 5 using some of the presenters chucked out of Top Gear 2 or so years ago, 2 different shows.

Chris Leong · May 15th, 2007, 02:33 PM

Robb

A bunch of ND and tobacco grads on this shoot, I'd say.

Maybe some very light PBMs, and also some (post?) highight diffusion.

All 4x4 or 4x6.5 in a multi-stage matte box, probably.

You could try Cokin P's but I don't think you'd get the height that these filters seem to have. Of course, this is SD and not HD so maybe the Cokins are worth a look. Bear in mind that they're plastic/resin, though, and not glass. Around cars, they'd probably need to be replaced enough so that buying a set of glass would prove a better long term investment.

You could do the same in MB Ed but it's easier in camera, especially video or film with a tap (if you have the filter kit), and a lot faster.

In the UK, they're used to drab skies overhead and like to dress it up as much as possible to take the curse off the grey overcast.

Mike Marriage · May 15th, 2007, 03:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ian Savage

Far as I know Top gear is Top gear on the BBC, Fifth Gear is on Channel 5 using some of the presenters chucked out of Top Gear 2 or so years ago, 2 different shows.

Yep. Fifth Gear is Ch 5's cheaper Topgear copycat. It has Tiff who used to be on Topgear when it was a show about cars.

Topgear was ingeniously reinvented about 5 years ago, reinstating Jeremy Clarkson (who had been doing an amusing talk show). They created a car/talk show/entertainment hybrid complete with a high end visual style. I should think the budget was pretty high by BBC standards too. It paid off though and, according to Clarkson, they have 250M viewers worldwide.

From what I've heard, it uses a mix of video and S16, although I'm not sure if they are still using film on the latest series.

Personally, I have always been a big fan of the show but think it needs a change as it has become increasingly predictable and stale.

Chris Hull · June 10th, 2007, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Chris Leong

Robb

A bunch of ND and tobacco grads on this shoot, I'd say.

Maybe some very light PBMs, and also some (post?) highight diffusion.

All 4x4 or 4x6.5 in a multi-stage matte box, probably.

You could try Cokin P's but I don't think you'd get the height that these filters seem to have. Of course, this is SD and not HD so maybe the Cokins are worth a look. Bear in mind that they're plastic/resin, though, and not glass. Around cars, they'd probably need to be replaced enough so that buying a set of glass would prove a better long term investment.

You could do the same in MB Ed but it's easier in camera, especially video or film with a tap (if you have the filter kit), and a lot faster.

In the UK, they're used to drab skies overhead and like to dress it up as much as possible to take the curse off the grey overcast.

why is my flaming wife always moaning how hot she is all the time then.drab skys my b----y ass.
by the way dr who the picture is brilliant,i think its filmed on tape of some sort ,correct me if i am wrong

Chris Leong · June 10th, 2007, 10:04 AM

nah mate, that's just the national pastime - whinging.
haven't checked dr who out, will do asap.
cheers
c

Robert Ducon · July 22nd, 2007, 01:07 AM

... and back to the topic at hand.

The distinct look - pretty darn sure they used a 35mm lens adapter, and have a slew of lenses to use. Oh, and a damn good DP on the job ;)

a) Their lenses are often very wide - like, the 35mm lens standard, I'd say 20mm-18mm! Pretty cool.

b) Their 35mm lenses allow for a shallow Depth of Field, so they can pull focus and direct the viewer's eye around the screen

c) High shutter speed

d) Vignette around the edges of the frame, again, offers that look

e) Colour treatment - bleach bypass effect.

So, how can WE average joes make this look? Use a decent camera - a Canon HV20 could pull this off with a 35mm adapter, and a nice set of lenses. I like the Brevis (www.cinevate.com) and tehn use Magic Bullet in post. And, then experiment! Voila. :D

Fergus Anderson · July 22nd, 2007, 03:21 AM

Im pretty sure they use magic bullet

Djee Smit · July 22nd, 2007, 05:35 AM

they use grads for shure, (not done in post) one of the presenters holds them in one episode

Simon Wyndham · July 23rd, 2007, 11:52 AM

Fifth Gear is basically the old Top Gear. Same production guys involved, and obviously Tiff and Butler Henderson stayed with it, but it moved to Channel 5.

Top Gear is the 're-invented' version of the program (I think the BBC owned the rights to the name Top Gear or something).

Yeah, they do amazing stuff. I'm told that because of the fast production turn around they do as much of the look as possible in post. They deinterlace SD footage in post. Though they do often use HD cameras as well.

Basically to replicate the TG look you need lots of vignette and grad filters, as well as quirky choices of shot.

Clarkson has a series of DVD's shot by the same crew.

Jason Sovey · July 29th, 2007, 07:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Allan Black

Top Gear is full on entertainment, great fx great everything. Is it now on DVD?

Last time I was in London, I saw a Top Gear box set in HMV. I believe it was a 'best of' rather than a complete season. I'm sure it can be mail ordered, in PAL format of course.

I saw one episode on BBC when I was there, but thanks to YouTube, now I'm hooked.

Simon Wyndham · July 30th, 2007, 02:09 AM

Arrgghh! I meant to say they do as much of the look as possible in camera! Oops.

Look out for the Top Gear special that recently aired on the BBC. It's incredible. They drive a pickuptruck to the North Pole. How the hell they shot it is anyone's guess.

Mike Wade · July 30th, 2007, 04:28 AM

Yes, I watched the Race to the North Pole last night. Clarkson in specially modded truck racing against a traditional husky dog sleigh. Both teams had support crews and neither would have stood a chance without them. I thought I saw (very briefly) 3 backup trucks with Clarkson's team. The most surprising thing - for me at least - was the part where Clarkson is scared they are going to go through the ice. If he only just made it safely what about the other trucks ? Was it as dangerous for them or was there an easier route or was Clarkson not in as much danger as was suggested...? For me an even more interesting program would have been one shot from the DP's perspective but this was classic BBC TV.

Simon Wyndham · July 30th, 2007, 05:25 AM

Yeah, they had supply trucks and support. But any trip to those parts of the world would be very dangerous. I think the thin ice danger was real. Remember that they are literally driving across the sea.

I'd love to know what camera equipment they used. I noticed they used a slow shutter effect in some shots at night.

Shooting there would be dangerous enough, but add to that the time needed to set up camera shots, exceptionally well crafted ones at that, and this production was a major undertaking.

To be honest I wouldn't be at all surprised if they shot many shots of the truck going across the snow closer to the start point as safety for cut-ins.

What did surprise me was that Richard Hammond went on the sled so soon after his recovery from his crash.

May 14th, 2007, 11:34 PM	#1
Robb Swiatek Regular Crew Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: O-Town, CT Posts: 52	BBC: Top Gear (Film Look) Alright well I've just recently been turned onto this show (via YouTube since I don't get BBC unfortunately) and I have to say it's outstanding. But what kind of filters/settings/color corrections/etc do you experienced film-look makers see in say, this clip of the show? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tIz79hzqKXs Also, I see a glow effect in many films (Spielberg especially) and it shows through in the aforementioned clip several times. Now is there anything special to this or are they just adding a glow effect or what?

July 22nd, 2007, 01:07 AM	#8
Robert Ducon Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Victoria BC Posts: 400	... and back to the topic at hand. The distinct look - pretty darn sure they used a 35mm lens adapter, and have a slew of lenses to use. Oh, and a damn good DP on the job ;) a) Their lenses are often very wide - like, the 35mm lens standard, I'd say 20mm-18mm! Pretty cool. b) Their 35mm lenses allow for a shallow Depth of Field, so they can pull focus and direct the viewer's eye around the screen c) High shutter speed d) Vignette around the edges of the frame, again, offers that look e) Colour treatment - bleach bypass effect. So, how can WE average joes make this look? Use a decent camera - a Canon HV20 could pull this off with a 35mm adapter, and a nice set of lenses. I like the Brevis (www.cinevate.com) and tehn use Magic Bullet in post. And, then experiment! Voila. :D __________________ Mac + Canon HV20

July 22nd, 2007, 05:35 AM	#10
Djee Smit Regular Crew Join Date: May 2005 Location: Breda, Netherlands Posts: 141	they use grads for shure, (not done in post) one of the presenters holds them in one episode __________________ www.wanah.nl

May 15th, 2007, 12:06 AM	#2
Allan Black Inner Circle Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Sydney. Posts: 2,928	Top Gear is full on entertainment, great fx great everything. Is it now on DVD? Now replaced by Fifth Gear, same cast less fx, read less money. Someone fumbled a change somehow.

May 15th, 2007, 02:07 AM	#3
Ian Savage Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: England Posts: 88	Far as I know Top gear is Top gear on the BBC, Fifth Gear is on Channel 5 using some of the presenters chucked out of Top Gear 2 or so years ago, 2 different shows.

May 15th, 2007, 02:33 PM	#4
Chris Leong Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Los Angeles CA USA Posts: 507	Robb A bunch of ND and tobacco grads on this shoot, I'd say. Maybe some very light PBMs, and also some (post?) highight diffusion. All 4x4 or 4x6.5 in a multi-stage matte box, probably. You could try Cokin P's but I don't think you'd get the height that these filters seem to have. Of course, this is SD and not HD so maybe the Cokins are worth a look. Bear in mind that they're plastic/resin, though, and not glass. Around cars, they'd probably need to be replaced enough so that buying a set of glass would prove a better long term investment. You could do the same in MB Ed but it's easier in camera, especially video or film with a tap (if you have the filter kit), and a lot faster. In the UK, they're used to drab skies overhead and like to dress it up as much as possible to take the curse off the grey overcast.

June 10th, 2007, 10:04 AM	#7
Chris Leong Major Player Join Date: Mar 2005 Location: Los Angeles CA USA Posts: 507	nah mate, that's just the national pastime - whinging. haven't checked dr who out, will do asap. cheers c

July 22nd, 2007, 03:21 AM	#9
Fergus Anderson Major Player Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: London, UK Posts: 321	Im pretty sure they use magic bullet

July 23rd, 2007, 11:52 AM	#11
Simon Wyndham Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Malvern UK Posts: 1,931	Fifth Gear is basically the old Top Gear. Same production guys involved, and obviously Tiff and Butler Henderson stayed with it, but it moved to Channel 5. Top Gear is the 're-invented' version of the program (I think the BBC owned the rights to the name Top Gear or something). Yeah, they do amazing stuff. I'm told that because of the fast production turn around they do as much of the look as possible in post. They deinterlace SD footage in post. Though they do often use HD cameras as well. Basically to replicate the TG look you need lots of vignette and grad filters, as well as quirky choices of shot. Clarkson has a series of DVD's shot by the same crew.

July 30th, 2007, 02:09 AM	#13
Simon Wyndham Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Malvern UK Posts: 1,931	Arrgghh! I meant to say they do as much of the look as possible in camera! Oops. Look out for the Top Gear special that recently aired on the BBC. It's incredible. They drive a pickuptruck to the North Pole. How the hell they shot it is anyone's guess.

July 30th, 2007, 04:28 AM	#14
Mike Wade Regular Crew Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Holmfirth, West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 161	Yes, I watched the Race to the North Pole last night. Clarkson in specially modded truck racing against a traditional husky dog sleigh. Both teams had support crews and neither would have stood a chance without them. I thought I saw (very briefly) 3 backup trucks with Clarkson's team. The most surprising thing - for me at least - was the part where Clarkson is scared they are going to go through the ice. If he only just made it safely what about the other trucks ? Was it as dangerous for them or was there an easier route or was Clarkson not in as much danger as was suggested...? For me an even more interesting program would have been one shot from the DP's perspective but this was classic BBC TV.

July 30th, 2007, 05:25 AM	#15
Simon Wyndham Trustee Join Date: Dec 2003 Location: Malvern UK Posts: 1,931	Yeah, they had supply trucks and support. But any trip to those parts of the world would be very dangerous. I think the thin ice danger was real. Remember that they are literally driving across the sea. I'd love to know what camera equipment they used. I noticed they used a slow shutter effect in some shots at night. Shooting there would be dangerous enough, but add to that the time needed to set up camera shots, exceptionally well crafted ones at that, and this production was a major undertaking. To be honest I wouldn't be at all surprised if they shot many shots of the truck going across the snow closer to the start point as safety for cut-ins. What did surprise me was that Richard Hammond went on the sled so soon after his recovery from his crash.