Todd Terry
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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I can’t speak to the XH A1, but there are similar issues with the XL H1 in that some models of third-party lens controllers (Varizoom, etc.) will NOT work with the H1… so I suspect that is the case with the A1 which is fundamentally a very similar camera.
At least it sounds like the controller you had worked to some degree… I’ve heard of some that do not work at all.
[Mark McFarlane] “Is this the expected behavoir with all lanc zoom controllers on this camera?”
I’d say that’s going to be expected behavior with some controllers, perhaps not all. I would contact the manufacturer of the zoom controls you are considering and see if they have a particular make or model that is confirmed operational for Canon’s particular LANC protocol.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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We have done a fairly large number of fleet graphics designs (and contracted the actual installation of the wraps).
We’ve done several vans, a box truck, a half dozen trucks with roll-up side doors, and a couple of 18-wheeler trailers (and their cabs).
Our art director already has the templates in place for just about every make/model/year vehicle there is out there… which is helpful as exact measurement of all the body panels is critical, especially for continuous designs, etc. She’s really really good at it, if I do say so myself.
Vehicle wraps vary wildly… you’ll find great design and poor design, great installation and terrible installation, and extremely high prices and some much more affordable. It just depends on who you use.
Contact me off list (contact info in profile) if you’d like to talk about it.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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I think it would probably be fine.
I’ve never used that exact combo, but our little HV20 matches up with our XL-H1 surprisingly well.
Considering that the HV20 and the XL-H1 are even farther apart in terms of specs/features/price than the HV30 and the XH-A1, I’m betting that you would have reasonably good luck.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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[James Smith] “1. I’ve been told that once you buy a specific brand/type of tape, you should stick to it”
Some people swear by that theory (claming different types of lube turn into gunk), others say that it’s an old wives’ tale that you shouldn’t swap brands (that the different lubes theory is a thing of the past). Who knows? The safest thing would be to always buy the same thing, but if you have to use something different it’s not gonna kill ya.
[James Smith] “…seems like I’ll have to use at least two different types of tapes…”
No, not at all, you can use the same tape. I’d choose and settle on a brand of HDV tape, and use that for everything… SD and HD.
[James Smith] “Can anyone recommend some good HD mini DV tapes?”
Tape brand loyalty is a little like car brand loyalty… there are people who drive a Ford or a Chevy just because that’s what they’ve always driven, and wouldn’t consider the other. So, you’ll find hardcore Sony or Panasonic tape fans, etc. But really, it’s all workable stuff… just check out the selection available from wherever you buy tape (for example, we use Tape Resources in Virginia Beach), see what they have, and pick what you think will be best for you. I wouldn’t worry about the kind of lube in them… any will work.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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As for general tips, there is tons of useful info already on the COW as greenscreening is an often discussed subject. Do searches using the keywords “greenscreen,” “green screen,” “chromakey,” and “chroma key” and you will find lots of threads with good tips. The short list of tips are 1) make sure your background is perfectly evenly lit, 2) make sure the talent it lit completely independently from the background, and 3) minimize green spill onto the talent. Some people also like to 4) add a little bit of minus green gel to the talents’ backlights. Again, a search will yield much more detailed info.
As for frame size, the title of your post asks “1080i or 720p?” That one’s easy, because you are shooting with and XLH1. The H1 is a 1080 camera, you couldn’t shoot 720 with it even if you wanted to… so, 1080.
As for frame rate, I’d say that just depends on the look that you are going for. 24p (or in Canon’s case, 24f) is just going to give a completely different look then 60i. 24p is going to be much more filmic, 60i will be much more “videoy.” Which look are you going for? Let that make the determination. Some people might say that one will key slightly better than the other, but either will yield acceptible keys, if the scene is properly lit for keying.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Ok…what editing platform is that?
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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[Sean ONeil] “What seems odd to me is that prior to 2000 or so, just about every single NTSC video camera ever made only shot at 59.94 fps”
Well, 59.94 FIELDS per second is different than 59.94 FRAMES per second. Those old NTSC cameras were still shooting a “normal” shutter speed of 1/60th.
When you get into 1/120th (or higher) territory your video definitely begins to take on the same choppy stuttery look as when film is shot with a narrow shutter (with variable-shutter film cameras). Then your video begins to look a lot like “Gladiator” or “Saving Private Ryan.”
Lens converters (well, good ones… and the P+S Technik is a great one) work pretty darn flawlessly at 24p (and 60i, for that matter) when shooting with “normal” shutter speeds. But they have fairly narrow paremeters in which they excel. It’s usually when you push those boundaries (with f-stops too high or shutter speeds too fast) that you get into trouble.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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[Sean ONeil] “The shooter shot at 60fps, not 24,”
Ahhh… I’m betting that’s your problem. I didn’t realize you were shooting slow-mo footage, which brings its own set of challenges. With 60fps with the Varicam then your shutter speed was probably 1/120th or maybe even higher. A speed that high allows the shutter to “freeze” the grain pattern on each frame, rather than invisibly blur it out the way that it should.
Actually I had forgotten that you said you were shooting Varicam. I was thinking that it was probably shot with a smaller camera and a not-so-good lens converter. But with Varicam the converter was most likely a P+S Technik Pro35 (I don’t know of any of the cheaper converters that will even fit a Varicam, they are all for 1/3″ cameras).
If that was the case, I’m betting it was an early-model Pro35, which used a spinning groundglass… newer units from P+S Technik have an oscillating groundglass that avoids those “swirls” problems. Earlier models also didn’t have continuously-variable speed controls (I think it was just “high” and “low,” if I recall), so it might not have been possible for the operator to adjust speed well enough to dial out all of the grain. At 60fps it should probably be set to its absolute fastest position anyway.
If you do this again and need to use a lens converter (if, say, you must use the PL mount fisheye because you can’t find a native fisheye for the Varicam), try to get your hands on a current series Pro35… there’s a big rental market for them so they should be available (otherwise, it’s cough up $25K to buy one).
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Canon’s 24f mode should import into a 29.97 timeline just fine, no frame rate chage or frame blending or pulldown removal/addition should be needed at all. Frame blending is typically not for framerate conversion, it is for smoothing out clips that are of different speeds on the timeline, not different framerates. If you have your clip set at any speed other than 100%, try frame blending to see if it gives improved results (sometimes it does, sometimes it doesn’t). If your speed is 100%, leave frame blending off.
T2
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Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com
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Yep, that is absolutely positively the groundglass on the lens apapter.
I’m with Rick, a fellow P+S Technik user… either the speed of the groundglass was not dialed in just right, the partciular converter used does not have adjustible speed, the f-stop was too high, or the shutter speed was too high.
I suspect it was a combination of those things… since it ranges from difficult to impossible to put filters on a fisheye (and certainly not a matte box), I’m betting that to prevent overexposure both the f-stop was increased too high and the shutter speed was cranked up. That would definitely give you the visible grain.
I have a 8mm MC Peleng fisheye lens that I have used with the Mini35 without trouble, but you do have to be careful with it.
As far as removing it, the suggestions given so far are excellent.
As far as Monday-morning-quarterbacking goes and prevent it from happening again… I would say the shooter needs to make sure he is using a real monitor, and not relying on the camera viewfinder (which will not show the grain), and tweak the speed of the groundglass accordingly. Keep the iris pretty wide and the shutter speed “normal” (1/48th if shooting 24p). If overexposure is a problem, most fisheyes will take rear-of-the-lens filters, I would try some ND back there. And… since fisheyes tend to have such infinite depth-of-field, I would explore whether using the DoF converter is even necessary at all with these particular kinds of shots.
T2
__________________________________
Todd Terry
Creative Director
Fantastic Plastic Entertainment, Inc.
fantasticplastic.com