crap venue lighting

[Al Gardner]

I think what Paul is facing is much more than a fill light issue.

Al

[Robert Bale]

This is why we only use real video cameras, 2 sony PMW200, Never had the issue. Low light and any type of led, Not a problem. Thats one of the problems shooting video on a stills camera. Sorry but you will all ways have that problem and it will only get more of a problem as more and more people move to led lighting.

[Noa Put]

I have encountered this strobing kind of effect (grey lines or waves moving from top to bottom of screen) several times last year with one venue that was really bad, changing shutter to a lower speed did help but couldn't get rid of it. I was told also that with ccd you wouldn't have this issue but with cmos you would, there is no plugin that can remove these strobing and you are stuck with it.

Mostly it is because of the DJ light but you are scr*wed if the venue uses cheapo leds as their main light source (which I encountered once last year)
Telling the couple this is no use, they book a venue for different reasons but the fact that our equipment is not up to the task is not one of them, it's like not booking a venue because it has candle lit tables and your videographer says he can't film there because his camera needs lots of light.
Putting it into your contract to protect yourself seems like the best option and hope you won't encounter too many of these situations.

[Steve Slattery]

Without question you have to light it to fix it, the flicker is a nightmare I find its not always as noticeable when shooting in those conditions. It really comes down to if you are happy to keep turning work out like that?

Steve

[James Manford]

I have experienced this, but switching the camera to AUTO got rid of it. The EA50 was pretty good detecting it.

[Bill Grant]

Robert,
Not to make light of your crass generalization, but I had this problem many times on "proper" video cameras. I would rather put up with strobing occasionally than have to deal with the image I detest from a "proper" video camera :)
Bill

[Paul Mailath]

Ahh - you beat me to it Bill - in fact I did say something similar in my email to the venue coordinator

"I don't want to go back to 'video' style footage"

I included an example of the problem and talked about the possible solutions and even included a few quotes from you guy's - how did it go?... well I never sent it.

while checking over the comments I thought I'd have a look at something Jim Schuchmann mentioned

BCC Flicker fixer

**holy snapping duck crap! - it actually works!

BCC on Vimeo

now I havent read up on exactly how to fine tune the tool and what it does to the footage but I think this has got me out of a nasty hole - I owe you a beer Jim!


** Urban Dictionary: holy snapping duck crap!

[Long Truong]

That's amazing. Thanks for sharing the result. I need to get myself this plugin too.

Although BCC seems to be a last resort fix, I would still address the issue with the venue AND my clients.

It is something they need to know and understand. Whether they care or not at the end of the day is not something you can control but at least you would have made sure that they are aware of what would happen to the video.

Before sending the email, I would probably look for clips of comparable shots taken from other venues where lighting was ideal and edit a comparison video to show them the differences.

It is also recommended to include some suggestions of reasonable lighting solutions so they can be left with realistic options to choose from instead of feeling like you are just sending a straightforward complaint email.

And most importantly, I would make sure everyone knows that this is not about you and how you do your job but all about THEM. The clients need to understand that your goal is to make them look their best in their video. By showing them the difference between poor lighting and ideal lighting setup, they will most likely desire the better one. And the venue also needs to understand that not only are clients getting educated and more informed about lighting requirements (which will potentially affect their choice of venue), an ideal lighting setup that looks good on video will also make their venue look much more attractive when people watch it.

If you really want to secure your relationship with the venue and make sure they will still keep on sending you clients, you could offer to make them a short commercial video to promote their venue. They will then probably feel like your email is not just a complaint but also an interesting offer. This could make them actually consider listening to you.

[Long Truong]

As an additional note, Paul, you should probably send your last video to www.borisfx.com because your sample is much better than the elephant clip they have on their website :)

[Jim Schuchmann]

Originally Posted by Paul Mailath

now I havent read up on exactly how to fine tune the tool and what it does to the footage but I think this has got me out of a nasty hole - I owe you a beer Jim!

Glad it worked for you. The people at Boris make some impressive stuff.
John Rofrano does an excellent tutorial about this plug-in here Remove Flicker with BCC Flicker Fixer. Well worth the watching.

[Tim Bakland]

Hi Paul and company,

That flicker reducer really looks like a God-send. Nice work.

But I'd still stick with my comment about a little fill light. I know it's a matter of taste. But I still prefer (with or without the flicker issue) a little fill light on the immediate subject to make them pop out. It looks like deer-in-headlights with bad low-light cameras (even sometimes with the XF300); but with good low-light cameras, it looks natural and beautiful. At least to my eye.

[Nigel Barker]

That BCC Flicker Fixer looks really impressive but it's not a cheap option as it doesn't appear that you can buy it as a standalone plugin just as a component of Boris Continuum Complete at $995 or Boris Continuum Image Restoration Unit with nine other plugins at £299. However maybe it should be apart of everyone's toolkit as these LED lights are becoming more & more common at venues.

[Paul R Johnson]

Really impressive! A nice solution, and what also looks like a simple one too! Worth the £300 I think - to those who have these problems.