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“Flat” settings for HD Camcorder?
Hi,
I may be completely off on this but I will admit that the whole area of Digital filming is relatively new to me, I have some knowledge that I gathered here and there but far from coherent and well based.
I am seeking some advice as to the best way to capture footage “flat” so that I can achieve a better result when editing / colour correcting later.
I am filming with a Panasonic HDC-HS700, it is the top line of their consumer range, not a “Pro” device (prosumer maybe). It is a Full-HD camcorder that can also record at progressive 50fps (I have the PAL version).
My intended workflow is to edit the recorded footage in Premiere Pro / After Effects and to also apply colour correction etc. there.
As I understand, it is preferrable to record footage “flat”, i.e. without many of the automatic adjustment the camera makes “on-the-fly” if you record in the normal consumer operating modes. Is this the gist of it?
If yes, what would be “typical” settings for a camcorder (the Panasonic has quite a lot of manual options) to record footage that is best suited for post in PPro or AE (especially for Colour Correction?)
As far as I understand, standard camcorders aim at producing images which can be instantly shown on external devices or burned to DVD directly without the need for post-processing, hence the automatic on-the-fly adjustments.
And I am under the impression that if you indend to post-process the footage anyway, it would be better to switch off these automatic adjustments.
Now, it seems fairly common sense but again I am not sure if there are some that are good, even for post-processing and others that aren’t.
I am basically looking do draw on some advice from people who do this professionally. I would be happy for any input to improve my filming and post.
Thanks!
Joe -
2 Replies
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The rule of thumb, which would involve a waveform monitor, is to keep the blacks a bit higher than you’d want and avoid any overexposure to give you freedom in post.
Of course, that’s easier said than done. First you’d need a camera with a high video dynamic range, those are the higher end model, you also need control over the master pedestal, and finally a good broadcast monitor (camera LCD is close to useless) or a waveform monitor. Or you could make use of Adobe OnLocation.
Vince Becquiot
Kaptis Studios
San Francisco – Bay Area -
Thank you, that certainly pointed me in the right direction, and I am not ashamed to admit I had to look up what the master pedestal is.
I am guessing that any consumer camcorder including mine does not go HDR for video, so I will just have to experiment.
Thanks!
Joe
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