-
FCPX or R15?
-
Sure there will be customers for Cioni’s Panavision DXL rig.
And customers for Red rigs.
And customers for C-500s
And customers for BlackMagic’s new “cargo-pocket” camera.
And plenty of customers for iPhones as well.My point is simply that that the performance delta between these tiers keeps getting squeezed.
When I was starting out, anyone, Pro and consumer alike could see at a glance the quality difference between VHS playback and 1” type C.
And I could dependably hear the quality difference between a cassette recording and a reel to reel.
I’m not sure if you took a still image capture from the DXL – and one from my iPhone – at the same physical size – that most people would see a discernible difference.
And I know for sure they couldn’t hear the difference between a VO audio recording done on a studio XLR balanced system or one direct into my phone.
Absolutely the DXL would fill a movie screen WAY better. But for every set of eyeballs that sees it that way, chances are 100 sets of eyes will now watch it on a screen that’s home TV size or smaller and mostly, smaller than a piece of notebook paper.
And the problem is for every minute of content put through the DXL production chain, there are hundreds of hours now that go around that system and go direct from a pocket sized sensor and out into the world – and they serve the needs of their audience every bit as well as the big rig approach.
I don’t dismiss the need for any of those production levels or approaches.including the DXL.
But I know what I’m willing to bet grows fastest and has the most impact on the industry moving forward.
We’ll see in time.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Oliver Peters] “but it’s still a highly compressed image that doesn’t hold up side-by-side.”
In certain circumstances yes, but I’ve used my iPhone 7 and iPhone X as an additional camera in multicam shoots with Sony FS7 and FS700s and it matches pretty well in the right lighting conditions.
\”Traditional NLEs have timelines. FCPX has storylines\” W.Soyka
-
[Robin S. Kurz] “You realize of course, that no one ever even made any claim even vaguely to the contrary, nor was that the point to begin with?”
Go back and read Bill’s posts.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
-
[Robin S. Kurz] ” But if only one lav is involved, which is more often than not, then I use a MKE2 Digital with Apogee’s Metarecorder on an old iPhone with AirPods as monitors. Up to 96kHz, 24bit audio all iXML tagged, named, marked and subsequently exported with a FCPXML file for good measure and single click import and organization. “
But would you be just as happy to use the iphones’s built in mic for recording? With video you are stuck with the built in, cheap, POS lens of the iphone, which is why there is no equivalence between recording audio and video on a smartphone.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin\’ attached to nothin\’
\”Deciding the spine is the process of editing\” F. Bieberkopf -
[Herb Sevush] “But would you be just as happy to use the iphones’s built in mic for recording? With video you are stuck with the built in, cheap, POS lens of the iphone, which is why there is no equivalence between recording audio and video on a smartphone.”
Yes and BS in that order, Herb.
The iPhone mic is capable of excellent, extremely low noise digital audio recordings. No, it can’t beat physics and it has to be used like any other microphone in an appropriate setup. But if it is, it can yield excellent results.
And the lens system on the iPhone works exactly the same way. If the light hitting the sensor is managed properly, the quality of the results you get back can be outstanding.
As evidence, here are three of my iPhone snaps taken in the past few years. A landscape with lots of subtle tones. A heavily backlit full length portrait of my wife on a vacation, and a classic head shot I grabbed of our son in a restaurant one day.
No, they are not large format shots with a grip truck worth of gear on a set with stingers draped everywhere. What they are, instead is evidence of a camera functioning at a level that perfectly let me capture what I judged as being photo worthy without a lot of hassle.
And that’s what a great camera is.
A device that yields quality results when used properly.
Period.
I suspect the iPhone will prove to be the Leica of this generation. Small and simple, accessible, and amazing. That it also has a working phone and a personal computer attached to it is mind boggling.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Robin S. Kurz] “Don’t get it twisted, the iPhone’s no substitute for a 35mm camera; it’s its own thing, and all the better for it.”
I haven’t seen Unsane yet but I have watched the trailer and it’s quite obvious that the visuals are very weak in comparison to a film shot on 35mm like the newly released “A Quiet Place” which I have seen. The question becomes whether an audience can easily get immersed into a story if the technical aspects stand out. Does it become harder to have a suspension of disbelief with an iphone shot film?
Soderbergh has always been a fan of being on the bleeding edge and I have a lot of respect for his efforts to help democratize the industry. To a lesser extent David Lynch could also be noted for his “Inland Empire” which was shot entirely on a Sony DSR-PD150. I recall though, Lynch heavily treating his visuals so it didn’t look like a digital video film.
I also recall with Lynch’s effort that his film involved a lot of sound design which he used to engage the audience since the visuals didn’t help immerse the viewer in the story (although story is as relative term when it comes to Lynch.)
The same might be true for Soderbergh’s film although since it’s a thriller sound design is always a forefront element.
One review of his iphone effort:
In comparison, “A Quiet Place” was shot with traditional 35mm film and it’s a visual tour de force. The cinematography by danish DP Charlotte Bruus Christensen is on an equal level to Bill Butler’s work on Jaws or Vilmos Zsigmond on Close Encounters.
Obviously the iphone vs 35mm is an apples and oranges comparison since an audience is fully conditioned to the look and feel of 35mm. It’s also a matter of 35mm cameras having a variety of lenses to craft that spectacular visual feel.
Here’s an interview article with Christensen that explains her film making approach for “A Quiet Place”:
Windows 10 Pro
i7-5820k CPU
Nvidia GeForce GTX 970
Blackmagic Decklink 4k Mini Monitor
Adobe CC 2018
Renders/cache: Samsung SSD 950 Pro x2 in Raid 0
Media: Samsung SSD 960 PRO PCIe NVMe M.2 2280
Media: OWC Thunderbay 4 x 2 Raid 0 mirrored with FreeFileSync -
[Oliver Peters] “Go back and read Bill’s posts.”
Better yet, read my latest post below where I bolster my contention that the camera section in a modern smart phone is rapidly gaining imaging parity with the best imaging devices of the not too distant past.
And I posted practical self shot images to defend that view.
Michael Cioni, in the video that will be out soon from the Faster Together stage at NAB, makes mathematically supported prognostications that the pace of camera sensor development is following some hard and fast scientific rules that may mean that many of the lines between classic analog and modern digital image acquisition (and storage!) are going to disappear sooner rather than later.
He sees resolution gains (and the practical use of the same) largely unconstrained by hard limits – if I’m interpreting his presentation correctly.
So don’t bet on the distance between the capabilities of a smartphone photo sensor and a “camera” photo sensor staying too far apart.
Particularly when the price commanded by a smart phone and a decent still or video camera keep creeping ever closer to parity.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
Maybe DR15 will open collaborative editing in smaller shops. a place where all bring in their hardware and start working. or connect via internet. Maybe even international collaboration.
This maybe opening a new workflow for independents.Personally i don’t use all DR15 apps but my low end set-up is very capable of running all. so if i need a fusion,fairlight or color specialist he can work on my systems in my studio so i just pay for his knowledge and experience not for his hardware. I’ve done this before. plus i can continue working on something else while still able to supervise;
Its a revolution
Ricardo Marty
-
[Bill Davis] “I suspect the iPhone will prove to be the Leica of this generation. Small and simple, accessible, and amazing. That it also has a working phone and a personal computer attached to it is mind boggling.”
So now you’re comparing a Leica lens to the 30 cent piece of crap in your iPhone. And your comparing your snap shots to professional photography. And previously a scratch track recording to professional VO. If all this is true then why would you ever use your Rode for VO work? It’s not the “grip truck full of equipment” that matters, it’s the quality of the tools. You pay the money so that you don’t “occasionally” get great results, you pay for equipment that will always give you great results, under any conditions. And you know that this is true Bill, everybody does, that’s why you don’t show up on your shoots with only your phone and a prayer.
Herb Sevush
Zebra Productions
—————————
nothin\’ attached to nothin\’
\”Deciding the spine is the process of editing\” F. Bieberkopf -
[Bill Davis] “As evidence, here are three of my iPhone snaps taken in the past few years. A landscape with lots of subtle tones. A heavily backlit full length portrait of my wife on a vacation, and a classic head shot I grabbed of our son in a restaurant one day. “
You’ve proved the point. Take the shot of your wife’s photo and zoom in 100%. The compression level that is being uses together with the in-camera sharpening make the image quality quite poor. Sure, at a distance it looks great, but it simply doesn’t hold up to scrutiny. Of course, the camera you have with you is better than no camera at all, which is why this style of photography is so successful in the marketplace.
– Oliver
Oliver Peters – oliverpeters.com
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up