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Policar

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  1. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Geoff CB in Is this pro shot interview as terrible as I think?   
    The only thing you need to be a professional is a client.
  2. Like
    Policar got a reaction from SR in Any Vloggers? The Canon M5   
    Couldn't disagree more strongly. Features like image stabilization, miniaturized ergonomics, low light ability, autofocus, and ability to shoot under mixed and poor light are far more important to a blogger than to someone on a controlled set where they have a gaffer, AC, etc. to take care of it. 
    I haven't used the M5, but the feature set sounds good for vloggers.
  3. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Xavier Plagaro Mussard in DCI 4k 24fps Motion Cadence: I need a hero.   
    Attach it to a huge, heavy (but balanced) rig.
  4. Like
    Policar reacted to Grégory LEROY in Sony A7SII colors suck!!!   
    Some guys say to expose slog2 at + 2 stops, what do the Paul leeming's pdf say? 
    Originally, I wanted to rent the canon C300. The rental guy recommend me the sony instead. wrong recommendation.
  5. Like
    Policar got a reaction from sandro in 5DIV full spec and full image leak   
    What's interesting is that they've introduced the "fine detail" picture style, which uses (or seems to use) a better debayering algorithm than their standard one. If you look at 5D Mark 3 JPEGs at 100% the per-pixel detail is poor... same as the video detail at 100%. That's one reason both perform much better in raw, but it's less noticeable in stills because by that point you're pushing the lens's resolving limits.
    Anyhow, there are definitely reasons to go with another brand, particularly if you need 4k in a small camera. But I think Canon's thinking is if you're a working professional you can easily afford a $10k-$30k investment in your camera system.
  6. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Flynn in Red Dragon? Anyone?   
    That has a bit of the Red "look" still but looks great. Much better than the other piece.
    While I stand by my opinion that the fashion piece looks like hot garbage, there are some basic things that are done/emulated well, the clean image among them. Absolutely the Dragon looks best rated at 200-400 ISO. The best looking Dragon footage is shot at a low ISO with tons of fill light to avoid clipping and then aggressively graded. The resultant look is usually very clean with remarkable shadow detail and not so much highlight detail, a bit more saturation in the midtones than the Alexa but still none of the chroma clipping that plagues the Sonys. "Digital" without looking like miniDV. The Alexa, by contrast, has more "film like" color, as well as a definitively more film like over/under and grain distribution and saturation vs luma distribution (emulating color negative very accurately by clamping situation at 30 IRE, something emulated by Canon in SLOG 2 and Sony in their Kodak F5/5 LUTs). I think if you grew up on "film" you automatically like the Alexa more because it is in every way a film emulation camera, but if you like lots of shadow detail and a smooth tonality with more accurate, less rich colors, the Red looks fine and the weird workflow appeals to people who are less lazy than me.
    On the flip side, the Alexa behaves like 50 speed Vision 3 that's actually 800+ ISO. As clean as 50 speed but four stops faster. So there's this tendency to throw on an anamorphic lens and not light anything and while it looks good and even "film like" the overlit Red look can be a nice change of pace. Some of the very high end music videos shot on Red have their own look to them, they look great, and with enough patience (and fill light) you can try to emulate that at home with a cheaper Red camera.
  7. Like
    Policar got a reaction from TwoScoops in Red Dragon? Anyone?   
    They got the model right, but this video looks like shit from an aesthetic and technical perspective.
  8. Like
    Policar got a reaction from vaga in Red Dragon? Anyone?   
    Interesting. I've been working (in post) on ads and network tv this year and so far it has all been Alexa. But I know Netflix won't accept Alexa. I find it the easiest image to work with in post by far.
    The C300 Mk II really should be a lot better post-firmware update and at 13k it's a great deal. Most of my friends are not high end shooters, they have gone the C300 path, and they're working for Vice, etc. and still making really good livings. They got into the game later than the Red owners I know. That said, Red user is proof positive of how well that investment worked out for a substantial plurality of people.
     
  9. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Dave Maze in Red Dragon? Anyone?   
    Interesting. I've been working (in post) on ads and network tv this year and so far it has all been Alexa. But I know Netflix won't accept Alexa. I find it the easiest image to work with in post by far.
    The C300 Mk II really should be a lot better post-firmware update and at 13k it's a great deal. Most of my friends are not high end shooters, they have gone the C300 path, and they're working for Vice, etc. and still making really good livings. They got into the game later than the Red owners I know. That said, Red user is proof positive of how well that investment worked out for a substantial plurality of people.
     
  10. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Dave Maze in Red Dragon? Anyone?   
    I agree with everything you wrote. For $13k I would get a C300 Mk II (post-firmware update it should be much better than it is currently–I have an acquaintance on the ACES board who mentioned to me it has been upgraded substantially with the new firmware for no more sensor banding and for reduced noise), but since your needs are specifically for slow motion I can't recommend that. And your budget seems to be around $13k so I can't recommend buying an Alexa Mini as it is three times the price. However, I agree it is the best "all around" owner/op or production camera available and by no small margin. 
    However, Red users seem to love their Reds, and most of them are very successful pros, whereas this forum is mostly hobbyists. It is interesting to go to Red user and see so many people making a living off their expensive cameras (anecdotally, my friends who went this route are all making six to seven figures a year), whereas very few Alexa owners seem to pay back the investment quickly. The Alexa owner/op path is surprisingly uncommon.
  11. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Michael Coffee in Guess the camera - highlight recovery   
    Wow, that's really awful. Are you sure you're managing your super whites correctly? There doesn't appear to be any detail recovered by the LUT. Try with curves and lift/gamma/gain, anything happening before the LUT. If the LUT is working in RGB, maybe it's losing the extra detail in the YUV to RGB step. I wouldn't blame the camera for such poor performance before looking at the node tree and seeing if the LUT is recognizing super whites. 
  12. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Lintelfilm in C100 MkII vs Ursa Mini 4K   
    You can customize Canon's scene file settings using the given gamma curves and matrices from standard, cinema, wide dr, eos, and canon log to create customized looks and with quite a lot of power (adjusting each color's relative balance, gamma, IRE clipping point, knee, noise reduction, sharpening, etc.).
    However cinema locked is... locked. And I just use those settings. It is undoubtedly the best gamma I've used for getting an image with decent dynamic range and tonality from an 8 bit signal. 
  13. Like
    Policar got a reaction from mercer in First Short Film   
    I was given the same advice from a festival programmer who recommended I cut my stuff down. But festivals are just one route. There are lots of online venues. You're right, but it's also the filmmaker's job to do research into the festival. 
    Eh, forget the AF100. Get an XC10 or a C100.
    Also, get a book on the aesthetics of color grading. Most of the grades I see here are hideous.
  14. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Hanriverprod in Which Camera Today for Indie Feature?   
    The C100 Mk II is sharper than the Alexa (1080p mode vs 1080p mode, but even upscaled to 2k it is arguably sharper, especially if you have an external recorder). The Alexa's 4k is "smoother" and has more resolution, however, and is the best image available affordably.
    It's nowhere near as good a camera, but not on the basis of sharpness. I cut between the CX00 and Alexa all the time and part of Canon's more "video" look is its sharper image (more pixels on the sensor and a sharper downscaling algorithm). I would suggest you did something wrong in post if that's your concern. Other concerns (lack of DR, lack of timecode sync) are worthy of consideration.
  15. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Hanriverprod in Which Camera Today for Indie Feature?   
    Rent an Alexa.
  16. Like
    Policar got a reaction from DevonChris in How I got scammed through "Ebrahim Saadawi"   
    That's too bad. He seemed smart and passionate and had his own aesthetic views. I always liked the t2i, too. I did my best work with that camera.
    I hope he translates his enthusiasm into storytelling and making a short and if he's exiled from this site he forgets its fixation on quantitative metrics. He's honest–too honest. And if too much honesty gets you banned while sociophatic dishonesty gives you empathy, well... I suppose it's good the best of us was banned. He won't get scammed by a sociopath.
    I hope he forgets it all and makes the next Tiny Furniture. The first step is living a life interesting enough to make a film about. That life isn't lived here. Godspeed, Zach. Wherever you are. I look forward to your opus, but think big. The world is huge. Or think small. Our basest emotions run more in common with other people than we ever dare to admit... Admit it–publicly–and you hit a chord.
  17. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Kurtisso in Editing your own footage: How do you look at it all objectively?   
    This is a great question. Walter Murch told me that the first time he watches the footage he treats pretty sacredly and he just tries to not think about anything like structure prematurely. He's editing it for someone whose first impression is key (the audience) so he holds his first impression with respect. He'll observe his emotional response to footage, then try to work around the right emotion, stringing the rest together, and making compromises for continuity etc. along the way. There's no map of the coverage. It's just wow that show has emotion. We'll use it.
    If you're not prepared to throw it all out (not all of it, but any given shot), hire an editor. I mean you need some structure to get things done reasonably quickly so chances are you won't throw every single good shot out. But never consider the time on set because then you'll feel you need to do penance in post spending equally as much time making it work when you can just... delete...
    Getting notes can help. When I feel like I'm up my own ass I get notes. Someone recommended getting client notes often so they feel like they're on the same page. As soon as it's presentable, but make sure it's presentable. For personal work, if I watch something with family members in particular (they're usually by some margin the most critical audience, I've found) I can tell when something is working and it isn't. But they're usually so mean I just give up so I only show them the best stuff and instead I ask friends who offer more constructive criticism generally. 
  18. Like
    Policar got a reaction from freeman in Editing your own footage: How do you look at it all objectively?   
    This is a great question. Walter Murch told me that the first time he watches the footage he treats pretty sacredly and he just tries to not think about anything like structure prematurely. He's editing it for someone whose first impression is key (the audience) so he holds his first impression with respect. He'll observe his emotional response to footage, then try to work around the right emotion, stringing the rest together, and making compromises for continuity etc. along the way. There's no map of the coverage. It's just wow that show has emotion. We'll use it.
    If you're not prepared to throw it all out (not all of it, but any given shot), hire an editor. I mean you need some structure to get things done reasonably quickly so chances are you won't throw every single good shot out. But never consider the time on set because then you'll feel you need to do penance in post spending equally as much time making it work when you can just... delete...
    Getting notes can help. When I feel like I'm up my own ass I get notes. Someone recommended getting client notes often so they feel like they're on the same page. As soon as it's presentable, but make sure it's presentable. For personal work, if I watch something with family members in particular (they're usually by some margin the most critical audience, I've found) I can tell when something is working and it isn't. But they're usually so mean I just give up so I only show them the best stuff and instead I ask friends who offer more constructive criticism generally. 
  19. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Timotheus in Editing your own footage: How do you look at it all objectively?   
    This is a great question. Walter Murch told me that the first time he watches the footage he treats pretty sacredly and he just tries to not think about anything like structure prematurely. He's editing it for someone whose first impression is key (the audience) so he holds his first impression with respect. He'll observe his emotional response to footage, then try to work around the right emotion, stringing the rest together, and making compromises for continuity etc. along the way. There's no map of the coverage. It's just wow that show has emotion. We'll use it.
    If you're not prepared to throw it all out (not all of it, but any given shot), hire an editor. I mean you need some structure to get things done reasonably quickly so chances are you won't throw every single good shot out. But never consider the time on set because then you'll feel you need to do penance in post spending equally as much time making it work when you can just... delete...
    Getting notes can help. When I feel like I'm up my own ass I get notes. Someone recommended getting client notes often so they feel like they're on the same page. As soon as it's presentable, but make sure it's presentable. For personal work, if I watch something with family members in particular (they're usually by some margin the most critical audience, I've found) I can tell when something is working and it isn't. But they're usually so mean I just give up so I only show them the best stuff and instead I ask friends who offer more constructive criticism generally. 
  20. Like
    Policar got a reaction from mercer in C100 MkII vs Ursa Mini 4K   
    You can customize Canon's scene file settings using the given gamma curves and matrices from standard, cinema, wide dr, eos, and canon log to create customized looks and with quite a lot of power (adjusting each color's relative balance, gamma, IRE clipping point, knee, noise reduction, sharpening, etc.).
    However cinema locked is... locked. And I just use those settings. It is undoubtedly the best gamma I've used for getting an image with decent dynamic range and tonality from an 8 bit signal. 
  21. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Shield3 in Canon C100 or C100 Mark II ?   
    That video doesn't look bad (it doesn't look great either, it could be from anything), but those are literally the least challenging conditions imaginable. Let's try mixed lighting. Looking at her hair you can see there might be chroma clipping until challenging light but it's hard to know. I wouldn't go for that camera, at least not without Sony's Alexa emulation LUT (can that be installed on the FS5? it is literally the saving grace of the F5 and F55 because chroma clipping cannot be graded out and it solves it completely in camera). And the codec is still a bit weak from what I've seen. Someone sitting and not moving in a well lit environment won't stress it, but I was surprised even the F5 did not have a strong enough codec to completely transform the image in post. Bottom two stops are very gnarly, needs to be rated at 800-1000 ISO base to function then DR is no better than C300.
    Also the C100 Mk 1's viewfinder is hot garbage. Useable is a very very generous term. The viewfinder with a loupe is 10X better but isn't that what we were trying to get away from when we spend $6000k instead of $600?
    Regarding the above, the 2.5k black magic (haven't used the 4.6k yet) has a nice clean image that cuts well with the Alexa but the rest of the line is not great in terms of IQ. But if you kit that camera out to be production ready it's more expensive than a Canon. Their 4k sensor is rather bad. Like... yikes level.
    This is only advice for the original poster. If you like a video look and/or have a lot of time in post or are on the aggressive LUT covering up natural color train and need 240fps then the FS5 will blow your mind, but for someone who's looking to get a neutral Alexa-like look and doing just regular narrative/doc primarily, the Canons and Black Magic 2.5k are the next best thing.
  22. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Shield3 in Canon C100 or C100 Mark II ?   
    Except that the FS5 has a bad, buggy image with weird video colors in a codec that's too thin to fix them.
    But other than that. Yeah. Maybe with some firmware updates and external recorders it'll be great (the FS7 is pretty great), but it isn't now. Honest question, can you load Sony's F5 film and Alexa emulation LUTs on the FS5? These are awesome and everyone shooting Sony should be using them. Big improvement, completely changes what's possible because the chroma clipping makes those cameras near unusable under some lighting with out of the box settings and with these at least you get a starting point that's really cinematic and workable and with a strong codec you can get a very good image with some work in post.
    The deal killer on the C100 is the horrible EVF and no 60fps. If you use an EVF enough that a loupe on the LCD won't cut it or shoot 60fps and slow motion... really at all (there's a surprisingly okay 60i to 60p to 24fps slow motion Compressor workflow... Compressor's motion estimation deinterlacing is better than any other... but it's unusably slow and like... come on... no one is doing this unless they're truly desperate) it's not much of a choice. I'd spend the extra but I don't know your financial situation or your clients' needs. 
  23. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Shield3 in Finally selling my 5D Mark III...what next?   
    Your inability to expose and grade shouldn't have any bearing on anyone else's purchase. The GH4 has maybe 10-11 stops of DR; Nikons 9-10; the C300 has 12, on par with the Red MX, but below the F5, FS7, AS7, and Dragon (if shot at 5000K+, it's worse than the rest with tungsten).
    If you had trouble shooting and grading so you could access the information (you'll lose the entire advantage if you treat super whites incorrectly and accidentally clip them or apply an S curve instead of hard clipping at the bottom and a life on the gamma and gain, unlike true LOG) that's fine, but for someone with extensive experience in post (like the original poster and myself), you will get far more dynamic range out of the cinema camera. And its weakest point is DR.
    The ergonomics are really easy to use after a week or two. There are more buttons, but each is mapped to a function, unlike the vast menus of dSLRs (which I find confusing, I even find the Amira more confusing than the Alexa, though, to be fair). 
    But "I tried a professional camera and couldn't figure it out" is no reason to dismiss it.
    The viewfinder on the Mk I is the worst thing ever, though, I'll give you that. And it doesn't make exposing easy. I use a 758 cine and have had good luck with that, and after learning the waveform monitor I can expose competently without an external meter. If you're having trouble exposing, I suggest calibrating your meter; the sekonics are often off by as much as a half stop and, to be fair, the internal codec appreciates a little overexposure so it can be tricky. 
  24. Like
    Policar got a reaction from Shield3 in Finally selling my 5D Mark III...what next?   
    Another vote for the C100 Mk II. Far better image quality than the 5D RAW (and black magic for what that's worth) and best in class ergonomics if you like a pineapple/dSLR rig. I too work 95% with Alexa footage (in post), mostly network/tier one cable, advertorial, and indie features, and have found the C100 and C300 to be the best b cameras and I have shot everything out there. I recently rented my C100 kit to the studio where I worked (I would use it as a B camera for their Alexa, after grading we couldn't tell the difference, but the image is much thinner on the Canon, must be exposed much more carefully, and we had an external recorder and frankly I know how to expose correctly as I grew up on 4x5 slide film) and it was their choice and the DP's choice for Alexa B camera. Where I often work now shoots Alexa with a C300 as back up and for pick ups and they intercut much better than Alexa and Red. I know the camera gets a bad rap for its small efficient codec, but in most of the work it's designed for–low end corporate (Alexa being the high end corporate standard), weddings, low end documentary, etc. it's good to have small files. Beware the lack of timecode sync, however.
    The F3 isn't bad but the internal codec (despite a higher bit rate) is poor and the ergonomics are a nightmare, the lens situation is dire due to the PL mount, too. But the F3 is a nice camera, weirdly I have had better luck with it than the F5, though in-camera LUTs can turn the F5's image into a boring one that can be graded well, whereas bare SLOG2 has chroma clipping that's disastrous, a knock against the A7S, too.
  25. Like
    Policar got a reaction from vaga in Lots of C100's at the NBA finals   
    Good focus pullers. A lot of high speed SR3s. NFL films shoots "cinematic" content for highlight reels (a friend used to edit for them); the game itself, of course, is shot and broadcast on video. 
    Not sure what NFL films is shooting now, but it's a separate category from broadcast. They have a lot of money. The NFL is a big organization.
     
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