Brent Dunn
Forum Replies Created
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https://www.lcd4video.com/products/HDV%252dZ96-LED-On%252dCamera-Light-Kit.html
On sale for $200. Much more power, longer throw.
https://www.lcd4video.com/products/R%252d3-LED-Video-Light-%252d-Panasonic.html
On sale for $100I actually use this light and it is amazing. They’ve dropped their pricing since coming out with the other lite above.
I have the expensive lighting as listed in the other posts. But you guys will be kicking yourselves whcn you buy one of these. I’ve even used them in a corporate interview setting. You can set up a 3 point lighting with the included warm filter, and it just looks great.
I did the same shoot earlier in the day with my Lowell Riffa soft box and lighting kit. Honestly, I’ll probably only use the softbox for appearance sake, because these little lights did the job. They are alo easier to setup.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
We sometimes have 3-4 cameras on a shoot. In the early days, being inexperienced, I’d shoot everything.
I non-stop roll 2 of the cameras during the ceremony only, 3rd & 4th camera are used for the more creative shooting and the vows, rings, down the isle.
I shoot to edit. Pre-Wedding, I’d say I have about 15 minutes tops total footage per camera. This comes from experience, knowing the shots I want and will actually use. I don’t shoot the same shot 3 times unless I’m having trouble nailing the shot. I may practice the shot first and then record. This saves valuable editing time.
Wedding time depends on the length of the ceremony and what the Bride / groom have agreed upon per our discussion. Catholic weddings are one hour. I try to talk them out of keeping all the full mass stuff. Therefore, I may run one camera non-stop for safety sake and the other’s only for the ceremony portion.
I’ve had weddings less than 10 minutes in length. I’m always excited to edit those.
Reception, on average, 50 minutes of footage per camera, using two cameras. 3rd – 4th camera, only key moments, bridal party entry, first dance. Maybe 15 minutes of footage.
As you learn an edit, you’ll know not to waste time just shooting junk you won’t use. I had a bride ask me to film her as she was going from table to table, & another wanted me to film a candy bar table, stuff I knew I wouldn’t need, so I recorded about 2 minutes and then pointed the camera without recording to please the client.
Efficient execution will stremline your production and give you a better final product. It’ll also make you profitable. We all want to deliver a top quality product, but we also have to run a business that is being paid for the time.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
Save your BPAV folder and then you can use it on any platform. If you convert it to use in Final Cut, that converted footage will only be able to be used in Final Cut.
You should always keep the BPAV footage as is for later retrieval.
I have both platforms and have had to deal with cross-platform editing. I have installed the “Mac Drive” software on my PC, which allows me to read my Mac formated drive on either computer. You can get a free 30 day trial. It only cost’s around $30.
https://www.mediafour.com/products/macdrive
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
Glad to help. That’s why the creative cow is so good. We are all here to learn and help each other.
Enjoy your new toy. I’d also recommend the Canon 5D if you are really going to get into independent film making. You’ll see all kind of cool films on Vimeo and YouTube using this camera.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
Re: the camera shutting off. I’ve publicly admitted to not being to bright and letting my battery run down and shutting off the camera. If you are using non-sony batteries, you may not get a warning. So, always put in a charged battery between your wedding and reception to make sure this doesn’t happen.
The battery or camera being shut off while recording is like yanking the power cord out on your computer. The card is being used and the the brakes are being slammed on, stopping mid recording. This may have damaged your card.
I’ve lost footage having this happen when using an SD card adapter. Fortunately the last time my other shooter let this happen, I had the very expensive, but reliable, SxS card in the camera and it fully restored the footage. I certainly understand the sinking feeling you get when seeing the Restore Media message in the middle of the shoot.
If you camera continues to shut off without notice, try a different battery and make sure it’s fully charged. Also, if you leave your battery in the camera, even when it’s off, it’ll drain your battery. Always take the battery out when not in use.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
Like Michael said, review the Vortex Media DVD. Very informative.
Cameras are shipped with the settings usually right down the middle. Meaning they have a basic profile for the settings. This allows the user to customize their looks through the profile settings in order to get the look they want out of their camera.
The more you shoot and practice with these settings the better understanding you’ll have. Shoot one minute shots similar to what you normally would shoot. Shoot in different lighting, locations, etc to give you a good basis to start. At each location or shot, change your profile settings, make note of each one you use, and repeat this for each profile, making the same shot with each profile.
Then when you import your footage, you’ll have a good reference and understanding how it’ll look with each profile setting, thus allowing you to quickly change according to your location or shoot.
As always, take the time to practice with these cameras. Shoot for yourself as much as possible to really learn the possibilities. There is so much you can do with this camera, but we all get caught up in the business end and rarely take the time to educate ourselves.
I hope this helps.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
You also get the jello effect on the canon 5D MII and 7D cameras. The sensor doesn’t have the stabilization built in to fix the shakes of a hand-held camera.
If this is an issue, always use a tripod and tell your shooter to keep his hand off the camera if possible. Use a remote control for zooming.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
Like Craig said, set your camera to get a good color, then do your color grading in post. You already have a good understanding of lighting, 24p etc.
You really won’t get a film look right out of the camera. You can use prime lenses for more depth of field looks for certain parts of the film.
For a serious film maker, a colorist or someone to do the color grading that understands moods, story, and how to use color to help tell your story is key.
I understand you would like the magic settings, but as was prevously said, there is so many variables depending on the script and your personal taste.
I’ve seen some amazing independent films shot with the Canon 5D. I think you will get more of what you want and the look you need more from that camera with prime lenses than with the EX-1 or EX-3…and I love my EX-1.
Just my 2 cents. Sorry I couldn’t offer you what you needed.
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
I do shoot a lot of fast action sporting events. I’ve done a lot of soccer and football games with the EX-1 and a V1U, both CMOS.
I’ve shot both in 1080p and 1080i formats. 1080i tends to be a bit better with fast action movement.
If you are doing High School or College sports for review sake, then you don’t need to go out and spend a bunch of money. If there is no editing and you are also burning direct to DVD, you should be able to do this during the event without post burning.
If you are covering a lot of games, it’s almost better to stick with tape for ease of storage of media. Otherwise with a XD Cam, SD, or CF media recording format, you will have to spend time transferring this media to a hard drive and then making a 2nd copy to another drive or archiving media.
It’s not cheaper going tapeless. It’s not really a timesaver except when ingesting media for editing. Tape is the original file. You will need to re-use your SxS or SD cards over and over again. Therefore you will need to transfer the media to a computer, back it up, & then erase your cards for the next shoot.
I find that there really isn’t going to be much difference in your product if your shooting in HD. It sounds like you have an SD camera, so you will notice much better detail. Unfortunately, I haven’t seen much quality in the “Direct to DVD” recorders.
Good luck..and never miss the goal of touchdown : )
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite -
I like the word “automagically.” I think I’ll borrow that one. : )
Brent Dunn
Owner / Director / Editor
DunnRight Films
DunnRight Video.com
Video Marketing Toolbox.netSony EX-1,
Canon 5D Mark II
Canon 7D
Mac Pro Tower, Quad Core,
with Final Cut StudioHP i7 Quad laptop
Adobe CS-5 Production Suite