|
crowd sourcing the experts |
|||||||
| |
|||||||
 |
|||||||
(Page 1 of 1 pages for this article ) Filed under: Cameras •Lighting •Production • It’s still not the camera!My recent shoots with the HVX-200 don’t look good just because of the camera. It’s how we used it.
Today, on the CML-Basics list, someone posted that they liked the look of my recent HVX-200 projects so much that they were thinking of asking for an HVX-200 on their next low-budget feature project. This was my response:
The point of my HVX-200 articles is that it’s not necessarily the camera, but how you light and frame, that makes all the difference. A member of CML, director/DP Joseph Murray, is a friend and quite an inspiration. He showed me a music video that he shot for a friend where they used a theatrical set as a background, complete with theatrical lighting, using a large 4’ china ball as key. The performer sat at the front of the set with the china ball directly in front of them, using the inverse square law to keep that light from filling in the set. (By putting the light source very close to the subject, the falloff occurs quite quickly behind them.) Joe then brought up the set lights just enough to dimly illuminate the background. He did some color correction in After Effects, tracking the performer’s face and bleaching it out to a very smooth near-white. It was stunningly beautiful, and all shot on a DVX-100 and a doorway dolly for very little money. I’m convinced you could do the same thing with a DVX-100. The most important thing is to keep the contrast under control as much as possible, because that’s a large part of why my footage looks good: we didn’t put ourselves in situations where we had bright overhead sun and dark shade, because that’s when the camera looks not so good. Beyond that, experiment with combinations of hard and soft light and just try to create something that looks good but natural, or what I call “super natural.” It’s realistic but it also looks good, whereas real light doesn’t always look great on its own. One of the most important tricks I ever learned was to fill from the key side. I’ll usually fill using a large source on the same side of the camera as the key light. This makes all the difference in the world. Filling from the opposite side as the key works on occasion, but it doesn’t create as many subtle shades because there’s a bright key side and a not-so-bright fill side, and that’s it: two shades of brightness. When your fill comes from the same side as your key you create a much larger transition between bright and dark that occurs across the entire subject and can be quite beautiful.
(Page 1 of 1 pages for this article ) 
You must be registered to comment. This is an effort to reduce spam. Please REGISTER HERE.
|
|
||||||
|
|
||||||
The Best of Stunning Good LooksA directory of my best articles, sorted by topic.
This entry is a guide to my best articles, sorted by topic. Enjoy! |
NAB 2012: Assorted SnapshotsA few cool things I saw at the show that didn’t fit into any other articles.
NAB is too big a show in too short a time to see more than a fraction of it. I’ve covered a few things in some depth (as have other PVC folks), but there’s plenty more that slips by without proper coverage. Here, I have a few photos… |
NAB 2012: REDRED’s Ted Schilowitz discusses 2012’s products, and a photo gallery.
RED’s “Leader of the Rebellion” Ted Schilowitz held a press conference at NAB on Monday, describing the projects and products RED is working on. Rather than paraphrase him, I’ve got him on card (well, it’s not “on… |
NAB 2012: Camera SupportA few of the interesting bits ‘n’ bobs that make cameras usable.
At NAB I found support vendors at the affordable end of the spectrum I hadn’t seen before, comfy Aaton-style handgrips, F65 tweaks by Carlos Acosta, and a “drive-by demo” of a handy zoom/focusing lever. |
To be considered for listing, contact pr (at) provideocoalition (dot) com
Copyright © 2012, HD Expo, LLC a division of Diversified Business Communications. DBA Createasphere
All rights reserved. HD EXPO, High Def EXPO, Createasphere, E-Tech, Entertainment Technology Exposition, 3D Production Workshop, VariCamp, P2 Camp, ColorCamp 101, and Lighting, Filters & Gels for HD are all trademarks of HD Expo, LLC.