Eric Nicastro
Forum Replies Created
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I am located in Erie, PA and can serve, Pittsburgh, PA, Cleveland, OH, and Buffalo, NY (all are at most a two hour drive). I use the Canon 60D with Sigma lenses. I have a Zoom H4n, Rode VideoMic and a set of Sennheiser G3 Evolution 100 series microphones for audio. I have full support equipment of tripods, monopods and a 44 inch slider. The lighting system is on the small side with only an Alzo 790L LED light and 36 inch reflector. I do however have access to a setup of Lowel Pro Lights if needed.
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Well I am happy to report that shooting the trophy against a solid black surface worked great! I used two small Lowel lights with soft umbrellas on either side of the trophy. When I brought it into AE, I drew a mask around it then I changed the blend mode to screen and the trophy became clear and the edges stayed sharp. The white lettering looks great and was perfectly legible. My video appeared behind it perfectly too.
Thank you guys for all your help!
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Well Dave the good part is the trophy is not in motion. I’ll be moving the camera in AE to simulate motion, but it’ll be a flat image of the trophy itself. I like the idea of shooting it on a black background and I have a feeling that will help it key a lot better.
Oh, and I’m the genius that thought up this promo spot, haha. I tend to tackle projects that are way beyond my skill level sometimes. But hey, that’s what CreativeCOW is for! And it does help me learn better trying to figure things like this out.
Thanks for the suggestions guys! Hopefully later today I’ll have some good news to report back.
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I came across this tutorial and it did help me so I wanted to share it: https://www.imagineersystems.com/videos/how-to-shoot-for-planar-tracking/view
While it doesn’t cover everything, it does give a lot of information. Now it’s just a matter of trial and error and testing out different ways of doing this. When I find one that works well, I’ll be certain to share it.
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My camera shoots in a 4:2:0 color space. I’ve used it for key work before and the result was actually decent. Not incredibly perfect, but passable.
I tried using a prop. I took a piece of cardboard, painted it chroma key green, placed tracking points on it but when I tracked it in mocha, the tracking plane did not stay with the shape. The top X’s and corner of the board stayed in place but the bottom corners kept growing outward and made some odd shape.
I’ve done the search for motion tracking tutorials and tips, but all I keep finding are videos or articles that pertain to software, not how to set up the live action portion.
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A JVC HM-700 with a standard ENG lens attached to a Varizoom Navigator.
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Yeah for the most part I used hyperfocal. I tried following focus with my hand on the lens (I couldn’t afford a real follow focus unit) and that just did not work well at all. So I set my focus to a predetermined mark on the lens and just judged distance with my eye. I even stopped down my aperture to give myself some more focus room. I didn’t have everything in pin sharp focus, but it certainly worked well enough.
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I used the Glidecam 4000 Pro with my Canon 60D and Canon 14mm lens for a wedding. Yes it started to get heavy by the end of the day, but it wasn’t terrible. I was moving so much that I didn’t really notice the fatigue setting in. It wasn’t until I put the Glidecam down did I notice my arm and shoulder were sore. If you had a heavier camera, I would certainly say you’ll want a full vest and arm. But if you’re just mounting a camera, lightweight lens and maybe a lightweight shotgun mic, you ought to be fine.
And on a side note, the Canon 60D’s swivel LCD screen made using that Glidecam a breeze!
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There’s always a post about which camera is best. And this seems to fall into that category. But what I think people should be asking themselves is “Which camera is the best for THIS project/film?” Every single camera out there has strengths and weaknesses, every single one! There is no one perfect camera because we always need a camera to do something different. A big thing to factor in is price too. Sometimes we have to buy a camera with less features because it’s all we can afford. Other times, for the lucky few (which is not me) price doesn’t really play a huge role and they can buy the high end gear.
I bought my Canon 60D kit for $5,001.40 (that’s the exact price). What I got with that kit was two Sigma lenses (because I couldn’t afford Canon lenses). I have a 24-70 f/2.8 and a 70-200 f/2.8. Batteries, memory cards, LED light (from Alzo Video not Light Panels), Zoom H4n, cheap Genus LCD screen viewfinder, Rode Video Mic, Igus slider, Manfrotto monopod and HDV head (great for shooting video), Lowepro backpack, lens filters, accessory cables, as well as some items for taking stills with it (external flash, light stand, reflector, etc.)
The point I’m trying to make is I bought that stuff based on my budget and for what I’ll be shooting. I primarily shoot wedding films, some short films and some local commercials. Would I rather have Canon L glass or Zeiss primes? Of course! But my budget didn’t allow it. I had to sacrifice some features because of my budget and take into consideration what I’ll be doing with the camera. I can rent lenses as I need them for cheap and factor that price into the quote I present to my client. There are all kinds of online places to rent from.
Base this decision on your current project or the projects/films you want to do. It’s not always about what everyone else is using, it’s about using the right tool to make your idea or vision work and work within your budget.
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I have a 60D and love it because of the swing out monitor. Same sensor and guts as the 7D, just not as rugged of a body and not as fast for stills. I used my 60D on a Glidecam 4000. Being able to move the monitor and keep it angled towards me was wonderful and made my life so much easier! I even put it on a monopod and held it above my head, pointed the monitor down so I could keep my shot framed. And it’s extremely inexpensive; only about $1,000 for body only.