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The GAF Video and Filmmaking Thread
- Thread starter Thraktor
- Start date
What camera?
Edit: my favorite lens on my 60D(cropped sensor just like the T2i) is the canon 17-55 2.8, not exactly cheap but it's as good as any L lens and well worth the price.
Just placed my order for the items mentioned above, i'm pretty fucking excited. Should be able to play with most of the items by saturday night
Yeah, each station will have their own requirements.
These days, I find that most accept H.264 and/or ProRes. There are some Avid Dnx codecs that they take, but aren't required. You just need to find out what they need...most will need 29.97, too.
Anton Sugar
Member
18-35mm is lovely. Once I save a grand, I'm getting their new 50mm!
killertofu
Member
This is what they gave me.
How can I tell what my black/chroma/luminance levels are? This is so confusing.
This is what they gave me.
How can I tell what my black/chroma/luminance levels are? This is so confusing.
You have to use your histogram and scopes.
You will be able to see if the levels are above or below the thresholds.
killertofu
Member
Gotcha, I'm an idiot. I remembered that a few minutes ago
Its all good man, prepping footage for broadcast can be a pita heh gl.
What camera?
Edit: my favorite lens on my 60D(cropped sensor just like the T2i) is the canon 17-55 2.8, not exactly cheap but it's as good as any L lens and well worth the price.
Just placed my order for the items mentioned above, i'm pretty fucking excited. Should be able to play with most of the items by saturday night
Sorry yeah I picked up the t2i for a damn good price... entry level, but I'm shocked at how far "cheap" cameras have come since the HV20 at 1000 dollars lol.
killertofu
Member
Anyone have any suggestions to making previewing on After Effects work better on an older machine?
I'm trying to create an animation and trying to RAM preview but it's so slow that I can't get a sense of flow with it.
*Edit* I guess turning down the resolution to a quarter helped out but its so ugly
I'm trying to create an animation and trying to RAM preview but it's so slow that I can't get a sense of flow with it.
*Edit* I guess turning down the resolution to a quarter helped out but its so ugly
For a while now I've been thinking about upgrading my T3i to a better camera. Especially after a recent film gig I've noticed that my lovely T3i can't cut it anymore with image quality and especially low light capabilities. For the longest time I thought my next camera would either be the 5DIII or something like a 7D but with the release of the GH4 I'm not so certain anymore.
The image quality of the GH4 seems amazing and the fact that the camera has been made for the filmmakers is definitely showing. Focus peaking, zebrastrips and 1080p 96fps are features I'm super duper excited about. And it's super cheap compared to the 5DIII. But there are some features I'm not so excited about.
The cropfactor seems absolutely insane. I really like the feel of a full frame camera so a two times cropfactor seems ridiculous. And the other issue I have is the Micro 4/3 lens mount. I've got access to some amazing Canon and Nikon lenses which I won't be able to use without an adapter or speedboaster (which I'm still quite fuzzy about how they work). But on the other hand I've read that the Micro 4/3 lens mount is quite versatile and that you can even mount old ass lenses on it. It would be cool to be able to use my dad and granddad lenses.
So what does GAF think of the GH4? How does it compare to other camera's and how does it work with Canon and Nikon lenses? I would love to know what you guys think.
The image quality of the GH4 seems amazing and the fact that the camera has been made for the filmmakers is definitely showing. Focus peaking, zebrastrips and 1080p 96fps are features I'm super duper excited about. And it's super cheap compared to the 5DIII. But there are some features I'm not so excited about.
The cropfactor seems absolutely insane. I really like the feel of a full frame camera so a two times cropfactor seems ridiculous. And the other issue I have is the Micro 4/3 lens mount. I've got access to some amazing Canon and Nikon lenses which I won't be able to use without an adapter or speedboaster (which I'm still quite fuzzy about how they work). But on the other hand I've read that the Micro 4/3 lens mount is quite versatile and that you can even mount old ass lenses on it. It would be cool to be able to use my dad and granddad lenses.
So what does GAF think of the GH4? How does it compare to other camera's and how does it work with Canon and Nikon lenses? I would love to know what you guys think.
Personally, I am all in on the GH4.
The detail that the camera is resolving is pretty amazing, and when you put the adapter (yagc) on it, you get all of the connections you need, twin xlrs, sdi etc. to use it in a production.
Another camera we are looking at for its rediculous lowlight is the Sony a7s. full frame, and that lowlight is astounding.
Its actually a great time to be looking for a new camera, so many options. Part of me wants to get a digital bolex for the nostalgia, first camera I ever worked with was a super 16 bolex
I'm in a similar position, only even more outdated with a T2i. I'm getting sick of having no viable audio option on the camera itself, and I'm looking for an increase in both video and still quality. For what I want, my options are fairly limited. It's essentially upgrading all the way to a 5D miii, which I just rented for a recent shoot and liked (and where I can still use most of my glass), or going to a GH4, which means investing in new lenses. In either case the cost ends up being roughly the same (5D miii body about equals GH4 body + lenses).
I've been weighing my options and I think I'm going all in on a GH4. The 4K, the 96fps 1080p, all the video features, manual audio and headphone jack, built in intervalometer, the list goes on and on. I'll be selling my T2i with kit lens and my other EF-S lenses and putting the money towards a GH4 and at least two lenses to start (probably the Lumix 12-35 f2.8 and the 25mm f1.4 for the nifty 50 equivalent).
Now I just need to wait for it to get in stock at BH or Amazon!
As for working with Canon lenses, you'll have to use an adapter . You'll not have auto focus, limited aperture control (on the one I linked) and no OIS if the lens supports it. Then there's the crop factor of 2x, which can be both a benefit and problem depending on the lens and situation. For Nikon lenses there is the Speed Booster which will cut down on the crop factor (from 2x to around 1.4x) and also add a full stop to the aperture of the lens (2.8 becomes 2, for example). There are also Speed Boosters for other brands/mounts, and they say they are planning on a Canon EF mount one in the future (but not EF-S).
killertofu
Member
Anyone ever have a glitch in After Effects where the cursor stops letting you drag around files?
I'm working with multiple illustrator files and it lets me drag one file onto the comp but then won't let me with any others. I can click anything else, just can't drag.
Kinda odd to me
I'm working with multiple illustrator files and it lets me drag one file onto the comp but then won't let me with any others. I can click anything else, just can't drag.
Kinda odd to me
Yeah, usually I just save close and restart after effects. It seems that the glitch gets more pervasive if my disk cache is full.
DesertEater
Member
So gaf, I've just bought the Panasonic camcorder V720. Been playing with it now for few days, but never took outside my apartment since I've been mostly learning about the possible settings and what have you.
One thing I still don't understand is white balance. I would appreciate if someone can briefly me explain it to me or link me to where I could learn more about this.
The second thing is maybe focus. Now I understand how it works what it does, but I think it's somewhat hard to tell if the the picture is in focus or not from looking at the screen. How do you guys deal with this? There is a Manual Focus Assist that shows you the focused area by coloring in blue but I don't know if I should trust that.
Third, shutter speed. Now this goes from 1/60 up to 1/8000. I do understand that 1/8000 is the fastest. It seems the slower the shutter speed the more light it can get making the video brighter. What I wanna know is what is the average shutter speed that I should use for 60fps video. Or how can I tell which frame speed to use.
Lastly, what sort of accessories should I consider getting? So far I'm considering a shotgun mic(the audio technicha one), and a tripod. I'm not sure that I need the mic anytime soon since I'm still toying with the camera. But I feel the tripod might come in handy. What do you guys think ?
One thing I still don't understand is white balance. I would appreciate if someone can briefly me explain it to me or link me to where I could learn more about this.
The second thing is maybe focus. Now I understand how it works what it does, but I think it's somewhat hard to tell if the the picture is in focus or not from looking at the screen. How do you guys deal with this? There is a Manual Focus Assist that shows you the focused area by coloring in blue but I don't know if I should trust that.
Third, shutter speed. Now this goes from 1/60 up to 1/8000. I do understand that 1/8000 is the fastest. It seems the slower the shutter speed the more light it can get making the video brighter. What I wanna know is what is the average shutter speed that I should use for 60fps video. Or how can I tell which frame speed to use.
Lastly, what sort of accessories should I consider getting? So far I'm considering a shotgun mic(the audio technicha one), and a tripod. I'm not sure that I need the mic anytime soon since I'm still toying with the camera. But I feel the tripod might come in handy. What do you guys think ?
This is a really good write up about what white balancing is.
http://www.cambridgeincolour.com/tutorials/white-balance.htm You set the white balance based on what lighting your shooting in (sunlight, fluorescent etc.) and that way you get accurate color representation.
Focus is something you have to learn to do with your eye, or by using focus assist or focus peaking. The focus assist on panny's is usually ok, but keep in mind that when you get changes in depth ( subject moving closer or farther from the camera or you moving the camera forward or backward) it changes the focus distance, and as a result the camera has to make the adjustments and sometimes, especially if the lighting isn't very good, that can be problematic for the camera. Its something you have to play with to determine what the cameras AF (auto focus) can do.
Shutter speed when shooting video is very important. As you noticed, the higher the shutter speed, the darker the footage gets. this is because shutter speed is literally how many times the shutter opens and closes per second. (In the case of a mechanical shutter that is, and the terminology gets used so its similar).
The lower the shutter speed, the more light, but also the more motion blur you will get. As a result for faster moving subjects, you want a higher shutter speed, so you get less blur. However keep in the mind that the higher the shutter, the more light you will need for a proper exposure ( proper exposure = well lit = an image with less digital noise and possible artifacting and color banding) Your shutter speed as general rule should be a multiple of the framerate. So if your shooting 60 fps, you want a 60/120/180 erc. shutter speed.
Modern movies with a few exceptions are shot at 24 fps. If you shoot at 60 fps, it will have a smoother 'soap opera' look to it. But keep in mind that you can shoot at a higher framerate and conform to a different framerate, or even use a higher fps to do slow motion.
First and formost, get a tripod. This will let you set up your camera for testing purposes, so you can walk around the scene and see how the auto focus does, and also for steady shots. Unless your a surgeon your hand is going to shake, so learn to love your tripod! Also experiment with panning, tilting etc, so you can get smooth motions down. Nothing is worse then a tripod shot with jerky movement. ( a fluid head really helps in this instance! fluid = smooth)
You may also look at a handgrip, suncoast makes a DSRL and small camcorder grip with a scorpion tale you can pick up for like 20 bucks at Bestbuy, and its a decent accesory for starting out.
Experiment alot with you camera, and learn its capabilities, and have fun
killertofu
Member
I am in a funk with coming up with a new idea for a video.
What do you guys do for inspiration?
What do you guys do for inspiration?
DesertEater
Member
Thank you so much for your response. The link you gave me is exactly what I've been looking for.
I'm aware of the frame rate used for films vs tv shows/ soap opera. I tried messing around with the settings in the camera and I don't it has a 24 fps setting. It has iFrame, which seems to be 25 ~ 30 fps. I don't understand how it ranges from 25 to 30. Is this widely used, the iFrame i mean?
Don't use iframe, on that particular camera its shooting 960x540 at a really low bitrate, its sorta crap
With your cam just shoot 60p high using the 28 mbps option for the highest quality footage. If you want 24 fps your going to have to convert, which although easy, sometimes doesn't provide the best results. For now, just shoot at 60 fps and learn your cameras ins and outs
Depends what kind of project your looking to do. The source of my inspiration is just to put the radio on and listen to random music, sometimes even music you dislike can stir up some ideas.
If all else fails, look at what some other people have done and maybe try your own take on it.
I'm having a weird issue with my t2i. The video is coming out especially noisy/grainy/fuzzy.... Looks sort of like 28 days later, as if the contrast was boosted and the framerate super high.
I've tried tons of light, I've tried normal lighting. Low iso, low shutter, etc. And the thing is it looks excellent on my camera itself... that is until it gets transfered to my pc. I was reading another forum where somebody mentioned it was a codec issue, which I'm looking into now. Any other thoughts?
I've tried tons of light, I've tried normal lighting. Low iso, low shutter, etc. And the thing is it looks excellent on my camera itself... that is until it gets transfered to my pc. I was reading another forum where somebody mentioned it was a codec issue, which I'm looking into now. Any other thoughts?
Ill be honest, I really haven't shot with a t2i so I dont know the camera's in's and out's so to speak. Make sure you didn't set the camera to record at a lower bitrate. On a side note, we had a similar issue with a D7000 a couple of years ago and it turned out the sensor was overheating, about a week later the camera died. I don't know if thats your issue but its a possibilty. Have you changed up anything in terms of the way you dump your footage?
The camera is pretty much brand new, I don't think it's that, but that would suck. This is basically the first time I'm using it.
Ah ok, more then likely its something small your missing with either how your recording, or how your dumping the footage. Ill see if I can find anything out.
I'll show you what it looks like. I plugged it in via HDMI and it looked way better like that. I'm dumping it just through the EOS utility via usb.
What lens are you using, what iso settings what kind of lighting?
You may want to check out magic lantern btw, its a firmware 'hack' that allows you to shoot at higher bitrates, it really does make a huge difference if the quality of footage you can record.
http://www.magiclantern.fm/
You may want to check out magic lantern btw, its a firmware 'hack' that allows you to shoot at higher bitrates, it really does make a huge difference if the quality of footage you can record.
http://www.magiclantern.fm/
Ahh yeah, your hdmi feed is going to look very different from what you record, your camera internally compresses the hell out of the footage, so its going to introduce some grain and noise.
The difference between uncompressed hdmi out vs the compressed is literally something like 20 times the ammount of data, so you cant use hdmi out to gauge what a camera can do, unless you have a camera that has a clean hdmi out and use something like an atomos ninja to capture the footage.
For removing noise and grain from the footage, http://www.neatvideo.com/ is fucking astounding. Its literally from the devil.
I got ML installed on there just recently, how do I increase the bitrate through it? I'm sure I can figure it out, I'm just glad it made setting the white balance and allows me to adjust audio levels. Is cinestyle worth looking into as well?
http://wiki.magiclantern.fm/userguide
There is an option to control the bitrate from -16 to +16 I think, its in one of the submenus.
If your going to be color grading your footage, shoot using the flat profile, it will make it easier to bring out the midtones.
Yeah I've been working on that actually getting better with it.
Sorry i can't be more help, all my knowledge about a t2i is second hand from a friend and some research from a couple years ago.
Haha no worries you've helped me a ton thanks!
Is it? This is groundbreaking news, call a network!
Dude my serial number had 666 in it. IT IS TEH EVILE!
Seriously though, its pretty sick how well it works.
https://vimeo.com/94887092
pass: tension
Some friends came down from Canada and we shot a couple of low-budget videos for them in one day. Here's one of them, obviously QT influenced.
pass: tension
Some friends came down from Canada and we shot a couple of low-budget videos for them in one day. Here's one of them, obviously QT influenced.
If you have to record to camera, the Rode is probably fine. If you can record separately, you can buy a cheap wired LAV for around $130 that will give you better audio. For run n gun interviews at E3, the Rode will probably suffice.
What do you mean by which settings are best for interviews?
Very nice, the camera work was really smooth, very well edited as well. What camera did you shoot with?
Shot on a RED Scarlet with mostly Rokinon primes, but most of the wides were on a Tokina 11-16.
killertofu
Member
Can anyone think of any other examples of animation presented in this Spotify video?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1I6-wv0p8k
How the app is 'cut' into smaller bits and then manipulated on the screen? I'm sort of doing the same thing for some websites my job has designed but I'm having trouble looking for more inspiration.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1I6-wv0p8k
How the app is 'cut' into smaller bits and then manipulated on the screen? I'm sort of doing the same thing for some websites my job has designed but I'm having trouble looking for more inspiration.
DesertEater
Member
Film Gaf, With your help, I did this little video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIJEmbjmfs0&feature=youtu.be
I used my Panasonic V 720 camcorder and Adobe Premiere pro 6. I found the tripod to be way more useful than what I had expected. In the video I used a cheap tripod from BestBuy, but I'm returning it for a better one from amazon.
Premiere for some reason couldn't recognize the sound in the clips, which annoyed me to hell at first, but then I decided that it might be for the best since i focused more on the visuals. Is there a way to make Premiere recognize sound parts from .mts file format, or am I doing something wrong?
Another thing that was a bit tricky for me was the white balance. I don't know if I did it well or not and preferred the black/white color scheme. Would it be easier to get gray cards for that?
Any advice or criticism is much appreciated.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yIJEmbjmfs0&feature=youtu.be
I used my Panasonic V 720 camcorder and Adobe Premiere pro 6. I found the tripod to be way more useful than what I had expected. In the video I used a cheap tripod from BestBuy, but I'm returning it for a better one from amazon.
Premiere for some reason couldn't recognize the sound in the clips, which annoyed me to hell at first, but then I decided that it might be for the best since i focused more on the visuals. Is there a way to make Premiere recognize sound parts from .mts file format, or am I doing something wrong?
Another thing that was a bit tricky for me was the white balance. I don't know if I did it well or not and preferred the black/white color scheme. Would it be easier to get gray cards for that?
Any advice or criticism is much appreciated.
Positives
You framed your shots well.
Generally in focus.
Multiple camera angles help bring life to what you shot.
Negativs
You kept hitting the tripod
Was very dark, did you darken it or were you just using the ambient light in the room?
Was sort of washed out (the actual image lacked some definition).
Im assuming that was you in the video? If you can, rather then shooting yourself, attempt to shoot something or someone else in an active way, rather then passively letting the camera run. Go chase squirrels outside if you have to.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWT2QCE/?tag=neogaf0e-20
make sure you hold that in front of the camera from EVERY angle when you shoot, the lighting in the same room will be different from each angle, and that will help you set your white balance either in camera or in post (fast color corrector in Premiere).
Premiere should have no problem injesting .mts audio files, we record in that format all the time and premiere takes it natively. Make sure your dragging the audio to the audio track layer of your timeline, I've seen people try to stick it on the video layer and not be able to figure out what was going on
Not bad for early attempts, but once again, stop kicking the tripod!
EDIT
Hey are you using premiere pro CS6 or premiere 6 from 2001?
DesertEater
Member
Thank you for taking the time watching my video and giving me a thorough feedback.Positives
You framed your shots well.
Generally in focus.
Multiple camera angles help bring life to what you shot.
Negativs
You kept hitting the tripod
Was very dark, did you darken it or were you just using the ambient light in the room?
Was sort of washed out (the actual image lacked some definition).
Im assuming that was you in the video? If you can, rather then shooting yourself, attempt to shoot something or someone else in an active way, rather then passively letting the camera run. Go chase squirrels outside if you have to.
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00AWT2QCE/?tag=neogaf0e-20
make sure you hold that in front of the camera from EVERY angle when you shoot, the lighting in the same room will be different from each angle, and that will help you set your white balance either in camera or in post (fast color corrector in Premiere).
Premiere should have no problem injesting .mts audio files, we record in that format all the time and premiere takes it natively. Make sure your dragging the audio to the audio track layer of your timeline, I've seen people try to stick it on the video layer and not be able to figure out what was going on
Not bad for early attempts, but once again, stop kicking the tripod!
EDIT
Hey are you using premiere pro CS6 or premiere 6 from 2001?
After I read your comment, "Was washed out", I couldn't stop seeing it that way. Yes, it does look washed out. I think I could fix that from the black/white settings on Premiere (I'm using the pro 6). Or is it just the lack of light? because I did shoot using only the ambient light in the room (I guess a pro would've used extra lights?).
For the color card, what is the difference between that one and the single gray card? Because I've been looking at that in amazon and didn't know which one to get.
I also was thinking of shooting something outside, and did a little bit. But then I quickly felt self conscious and thought it I might be bothering people, or something. I might feel better about it if I had a tripod, which I will get on Friday
Again, thank you so much for your help!
EDIT:just looked up a video on how to make black and white look "better". I, now, applied some filters on the video. Rendering it is taking forever haha. I couldn't get a proper view of the video with filters on due to choppiness from viewing on Premiere. Hope it looks good after rendering
Thank you for taking the time watching my video and giving me a thorough feedback.
After I read your comment, "Was washed out", I couldn't stop seeing it that way. Yes, it does look washed out. I think I could fix that from the black/white settings on Premiere (I'm using the pro 6). Or is it just the lack of light? because I did shoot using only the ambient light in the room (I guess a pro would've used extra lights?).
For the color card, what is the difference between that one and the single gray card? Because I've been looking at that in amazon and didn't know which one to get.
I also was thinking of shooting something outside, and did a little bit. But then I quickly felt self conscious and thought it I might be bothering people, or something. I might feel better about it if I had a tripod, which I will get on Friday
Again, thank you so much for your help!
EDIT:just looked up a video on how to make black and white look "better". I, now, applied some filters on the video. Rendering it is taking forever haha. I couldn't get a proper view of the video with filters on due to choppiness from viewing on Premiere. Hope it looks good after rendering
The multi color card will allow you not only white balance, but it helps in color correction in post so that you have a good reference of what colors are supposed to look like based on what you shot. For instance, You shoot someone wearing blue jeans. When you injest the footage, and the colors just look off. You can reference the frames with the color card to use as a basis for color correcting the footage back to natural colors.
One of the main reasons that your color looks a little washed out is that your camera doesn't have that great of dynamic range, hence your losing some of the midtone detail. Thats were lighting your footage better will help. Better lighting will allow your cameras sensor to see the detail that it might not be able to catch in lower light.