Dylan Hargreaves
Forum Replies Created
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I would say it’s different tools for different jobs.
There’s this obsession with DSLR’s which seems to be just about the shallow DoF, which has its uses and makes things look nice and arty, but you wouldn’t want to sit through an entire doc slathered in it.
There is nothing, repeat, nothing wrong with the picture you get from a video camera, whether it’s the HVX, the EX3 or whatever.
In a recent edit, we got the grade of the EX3 spot on, and it was virtually indistinguishable from the 5DmkII we used as a B cam.
Of course, in the low light bits of the shoot, the 5D came into its own in a way the EX3 just couldn’t, but as I say, it’s different tools for different jobs.
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Nigel Thomson: “Has anyone done DOF adapters and an HDSLR ?”
Yup. Ex3 with Letus Extreme, swapping to a 550D/T2i when we lost the light. Awesome results all round.
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Thanks all – and thanks Dan for clearing up that typo!
My current thinking is this. Although the work I do is primarily for web, we are currently in development on two commissioned docs, which although are non-broadcast, could be sold as finished films to a broadcaster with a bit of tweaking.
I want to future-proof the work we’re doing now so that if that time comes we won’t be turned down on the grounds it was filmed at 35mbps.
Therefore, I’ve bit the bullet and bought a NanoFlash. I love the EX3, I’ve got a Letus adaptor and a set of fantastic FD lenses for it and it just doesn’t make sense to ditch it all now for a new camera that will no doubt be taken over by either an upgraded model or a rival version within the next two years.
Still, if I had the money…
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“I still dont understand why they build cameras able to use 18db- anything needing that would look TERRIBLE anyway…”
Yes, it does. But there are times when it’s your only option. Obviously it’s not ideal and in any kind of controlled environment would be unacceptable, but I can think of several documentaries/reality shows where the camera has unexpectedly had to film outside in the middle of the night.
If the toss-up is between grainy pictures showing something or black pictures showing nothing, I think most times, the audience will accept some pretty high noise levels on the footage.
On that subject, it might seriously be worth investigating the DSLR route for low light filming in the future. Our shoot yesterday ran longer than anticipated, (the client’s fault I should add) and my humble 550D dug us out of a right hole – an unbelievable and beautiful image using street lighting alone. Awesome for a £900 investment – and I ain’t no DSLR fanboy either!
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Can’t say it’s one I’ve heard either. Probably because it’s not something you’d want to use around a client, but I’d imagine it’s something phallic.
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I’ve found what it is, although I don’t really understand why it’s happening.
I’m extractimg some bitmap images from their plain white background using a mixture of rotobrushing and masking to preserve the white elements I want to keep.
For some reason though, the rotobrushing only lasts for a second or so, so all the background elements suddenly re-appear. Should be a fairly simple fix.
Cheers!
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Thanks Dave, that does look better!
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Cracked it. Thanks Johnny,
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Found em. Always helps if you search for something using its correct name…
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This is probably long gone by now, but could be of use to the next person who has this problem.
Would it be possible to fake the reflection? If the shot was for example, over the talent’s shoulder as they looked out the window and they kept fairly static, you could film the reverse shot, (in this case, straight at em) and position it with a bit of corner pinning and masking in post. Knock the opacity down, and hey presto, a reflection!
Obviously, if the talent was moving around then you’d have a bit of a challenge match moving, but still not impossible.
Other than that, I don’t really see how you’d pull a successful key through a real reflection. That’s got hair pulling out in the edit suite at 2am written all over it!