There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

The place for questions about shooting with Blackmagic Cameras.
  • Author
  • Message
Offline

Kholi Hicks

  • Posts: 732
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 10:23 pm

There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 6:15 am

Alright, I have been coloring my feature and digging around in other people's couches for quarters to pay for chicken tacos for the past few weeks, haven't had a chance to mess with any cameras and I'm still waiting on the Holy Grail that is MFT mount.

My friend just got his EF camera in, he called me over to show him how this "awkward thing works" in his words. After tricking him into thinking that you could really use it as an alarm clock -- I wish you could, I started to explore and I saw the dreaded HALF SCREEN LINE (horrorsting.wav)

It actually kind of freaked me out, but then I went ahead and whipped out my cheap-o light meter to see what was going on.

Here's the solution to the problem: stop underexposing the camera.

If you are seeing that line, you are far too underexposed. A few tips to go along with this:

1. 1600 ISO is actually a decent guide to go by, and by that I mean if you're underexposed there then you should probably not shoot what you're about to shoot, or prepare to Neat Video and add a mask to balance the top and bottom half of the sensor.

2. Get faster glass. I think we all knew this from the start, and while the camera is surprisingly awesome in lowlight, don't kid yourselves. 1.4's are the way to go. Speed Booster and this camera are likely a Match Made. And I can imagine SLR HyperPrimes being even better than that.. Jury's out until someone compares both.

3. Get more light. Kind of self explanatory.

4. Embrace the flaws, fix what you can in post.

5. Pretend you didn't see it and behave like Michael Cera (in every movie aside from Youth In Revolt) if someone else notices it, then walk away. This is kind of how I go about every situation in life, so this is highly recommended.

Use this thread to quiet people down from now on. It contains all you need to tell someone.
Kholi Hicks
Offline
User avatar

adamroberts

  • Posts: 4538
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:27 am
  • Location: England, UK

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 8:08 am

+1

Expose properly and the images are lush.
Offline

C A R

  • Posts: 22
  • Joined: Sat Aug 25, 2012 4:47 pm

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 8:29 am

wise words. raw recording and 13 stops are great, but judging by some of the comments on the forums i'm worried people will rely on them too heavily for getting proper results. post is for subtle tweaking. make that stuff look good on set, in camera.
strongforthefuture.com | @scntfc | https://vimeo.com/48374201
Offline
User avatar

Tom

  • Posts: 1626
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:08 am
  • Location: Manchester, UK

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 10:59 am

There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why : USER ERROR
Tom Majerski
Colourist at Tracks and Layers
http://www.Tracksandlayers.com
Motion Graphics - Colour Grading - VFX
Offline
User avatar

Nick Bedford

  • Posts: 352
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 3:56 am
  • Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 11:11 am

Yep! 13 stops has far less to do with the quantity of light in the scene than it does the contrast of the scene!
Nick Bedford, Photographer
http://www.nickbedford.com/
Offline

steve connor

  • Posts: 76
  • Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 8:07 pm

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 1:50 pm

I suspect as BMD start shipping out in bulk, the forums will be awash with people moaning how difficult the camera is to use and how their pictures don't look like any of the demo footage people are shooting.
Offline
User avatar

Marcel Beck

  • Posts: 314
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 8:45 am
  • Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 4:42 pm

Hahaha I loved this post, tested out the theory and I must say it is confirmed.
Marcel Beck
Cinematographer & Producer
follow me: @mxbstudios
Offline
User avatar

PaulDelVecchio

  • Posts: 799
  • Joined: Wed Aug 22, 2012 5:33 am
  • Location: NY

Re: There's a Line in My Footage | The Reason Why

PostWed Jan 30, 2013 5:00 pm

We're all spoiled by the FS100s and C300s of the world. While low light is amazing, I've learned that even with the FS100, I wouldn't want to shoot anything more than +21 gain because the noise is just too ugly. Also, I love the fact that the camera is $3000. I can easily look away and go, it's $3000... I'm willing to forgive it.

I'm much more willing to do that with a $3000 than if I spend $15,000-$80,000 on other cameras. If I'm spending that type of money, I'd be pissed at every little flaw. At $3000, I'm willing to work around the small nuances which, with this camera specifically, are not that hard to work around and in reality, are not such a big deal. That mindset is very liberating.

Need low light? Shoot on something else. But the results this camera offers, if you use it even remotely properly, are absolutely amazing and truly indistinguishable from other higher end cameras to an audience who isn't pixel peeping, but rather trying to get into the story and characters.
Paul Del Vecchio - Director/Producer
http://www.pauldv.net
http://www.youtube.com/user/pdelvecchio814
http://www.facebook.com/pauldv
http://instagram.com/pdelv
Twitter: @pauldv

Return to Cinematography

Who is online

Users browsing this forum: AndreaR and 78 guests