QuickHitRecord

In the race to 8K, 12K, and beyond, how much resolution do we really need to tell a story? I brought my trusty FZ47 on a little New Year's trip to Arizona, and I think that 640x480 might just be enough:
Technical: I scaled up to 1920x1440 (no "smart" or AI rescaling). I did not add any sharpening or softening to the image, and I resisted the urge to clean up the digital artifacts and just embraced them instead. I did however do a little color work.
I was actually shocked by how good this footage looks, probably because it's progressive and not interlaced. I think I'd put this footage up against the DVX100, XL1/2, or comparable camera. And as we've seen in the 8-bit grading tests that @kye shared with us, it's kind of shocking how much you can push the image around in post (especially if you are either okay with some macro-blocking, or willing to soften/hide it). I think that's part of what makes this camera so much fun.
Is there a unique aesthetic afforded by this low resolution? I'm not sure. I've degraded 1080P footage to have a similar level of detail in the past. The compression artifacts are definitely smaller and easier to hide. But in full motion, I feel like they add a nice texture.

You've been at this for even longer than I have. But I feel that the lines of "commercial" shoots have blurred a lot. I used to think the category of "Commercial" was reserved for high concept crewed shoots that were intended for broadcast. There are still definitely those that fall into that category. But I'm seeing a lot more single creators with no crew and a mirrorless camera shooting social media spots for some brands (of course, it's all professionally color-graded). I personally do a lot of product videos, usually as a crew of two plus a producer, and never with a storyboard. I've never felt comfortable calling them "Commercial", but lately it seems like I might be able to. They are, after all, designed to sell a product. Curious what your thoughts on it are.

I remember your original post and this is still some of the most compelling footage that I have seen on this site.
My working theory is that I think less resolution allows the audience to subconsciously fill in that detail in a way that makes sense to them and sum of their life experience. And the very act of this can make a video more interactive and engaging, kind of like reading a book. And one can argue that this active participation is nostalgic in itself, since a lot of us grew up in the era of film projections and standard definition video.
To me, the same idea applies to keeping the monster in your horror film in the shadows until the last possible minute. It is always going to be scarier in the imagination.
It's also why we gravitate towards keeping half of the face in shadow. It's been proven that humans find symmetrical faces more attractive and very few people actually have them. But if you don't show half of the face, the audience creates their own idea of a face and oftentimes that is going to be more appealing than the actor's real face. This is why I think that some people look great on camera, but not so much in-person; possibly because we never actually see their whole face in flat light, as is more common in the real world.
Here's the same video from the original post, without any processing. To me, it evokes a very different feeling than the original:
 

I remember your original post and this is still some of the most compelling footage that I have seen on this site.
My working theory is that I think less resolution allows the audience to subconsciously fill in that detail in a way that makes sense to them and sum of their life experience. And the very act of this can make a video more interactive and engaging, kind of like reading a book. And one can argue that this active participation is nostalgic in itself, since a lot of us grew up in the era of film projections and standard definition video.
To me, the same idea applies to keeping the monster in your horror film in the shadows until the last possible minute. It is always going to be scarier in the imagination.
It's also why we gravitate towards keeping half of the face in shadow. It's been proven that humans find symmetrical faces more attractive and very few people actually have them. But if you don't show half of the face, the audience creates their own idea of a face and oftentimes that is going to be more appealing than the actor's real face. This is why I think that some people look great on camera, but not so much in-person; possibly because we never actually see their whole face in flat light, as is more common in the real world.
Here's the same video from the original post, without any processing. To me, it evokes a very different feeling than the original:
 

This is the fine example of a juicy thread ; ) Pity we cannot express all the feelings we have towards what we read. A special mention though to a couple among my favs now @QuickHitRecord@kye despite to never undersestimate the contribution of everyone of you... : ) I think it's one of the flaws here when people tend to neglect any of the voices heard. Every simgle one of you always have something to bring for our lives, so take care of each one of you. Your milestones, presence, daily life, even your beloved ones and part of your being, expressed in your stories posted in these lines, reach some other people here. Maybe not everyone but the ones to count.
I believe a bit more of love and compassion for the other one is never enough either.
To read this or that had this or that misfortune is something we should meditate about and feel sympathetic pity and concern for the sufferings of others, as well share their achievements and joy with zero envy. As much as possible. Even though how human this flaw is, unfortunately.
- EAG

As a full-time freelancer, it was a rough year for me. I made about 2/3 of what I did in 2022; it was the worst year I've had since 2018. I'm still trying to understand why. It was probably a lack of focus as I helped my wife through her cancer treatments, the last of which was in April (as far as we know, she is cancer-free). Also, I lost a large account -- a relief for my mental health, but it did account for a double digit percentage of my income over the past two years. And I took two personal trips, which meant turning down quite a bit of work (as they say, "take two weeks off, lose six weeks of work"). But yeah, it just felt really slow, especially the Fall/Winter. I've been watching the rise of AI and big jumps in smartphone technology closely, and I am wondering how much longer my skill set will be relevant. It may be time for a change soon, though I can't think of anything that I would rather do.
Equipment-wise, I bought a second C70, two RF zooms, a Red Scarlet-X, and an M2 Mac Studio + BenQ monitor. I sold about 50 items that I just haven't been using. I probably have another 10 that I can let go of too.
My new reel for 2024:
 

In the race to 8K, 12K, and beyond, how much resolution do we really need to tell a story? I brought my trusty FZ47 on a little New Year's trip to Arizona, and I think that 640x480 might just be enough:
Technical: I scaled up to 1920x1440 (no "smart" or AI rescaling). I did not add any sharpening or softening to the image, and I resisted the urge to clean up the digital artifacts and just embraced them instead. I did however do a little color work.
I was actually shocked by how good this footage looks, probably because it's progressive and not interlaced. I think I'd put this footage up against the DVX100, XL1/2, or comparable camera. And as we've seen in the 8-bit grading tests that @kye shared with us, it's kind of shocking how much you can push the image around in post (especially if you are either okay with some macro-blocking, or willing to soften/hide it). I think that's part of what makes this camera so much fun.
Is there a unique aesthetic afforded by this low resolution? I'm not sure. I've degraded 1080P footage to have a similar level of detail in the past. The compression artifacts are definitely smaller and easier to hide. But in full motion, I feel like they add a nice texture.

In the race to 8K, 12K, and beyond, how much resolution do we really need to tell a story? I brought my trusty FZ47 on a little New Year's trip to Arizona, and I think that 640x480 might just be enough:
Technical: I scaled up to 1920x1440 (no "smart" or AI rescaling). I did not add any sharpening or softening to the image, and I resisted the urge to clean up the digital artifacts and just embraced them instead. I did however do a little color work.
I was actually shocked by how good this footage looks, probably because it's progressive and not interlaced. I think I'd put this footage up against the DVX100, XL1/2, or comparable camera. And as we've seen in the 8-bit grading tests that @kye shared with us, it's kind of shocking how much you can push the image around in post (especially if you are either okay with some macro-blocking, or willing to soften/hide it). I think that's part of what makes this camera so much fun.
Is there a unique aesthetic afforded by this low resolution? I'm not sure. I've degraded 1080P footage to have a similar level of detail in the past. The compression artifacts are definitely smaller and easier to hide. But in full motion, I feel like they add a nice texture.

As a full-time freelancer, it was a rough year for me. I made about 2/3 of what I did in 2022; it was the worst year I've had since 2018. I'm still trying to understand why. It was probably a lack of focus as I helped my wife through her cancer treatments, the last of which was in April (as far as we know, she is cancer-free). Also, I lost a large account -- a relief for my mental health, but it did account for a double digit percentage of my income over the past two years. And I took two personal trips, which meant turning down quite a bit of work (as they say, "take two weeks off, lose six weeks of work"). But yeah, it just felt really slow, especially the Fall/Winter. I've been watching the rise of AI and big jumps in smartphone technology closely, and I am wondering how much longer my skill set will be relevant. It may be time for a change soon, though I can't think of anything that I would rather do.
Equipment-wise, I bought a second C70, two RF zooms, a Red Scarlet-X, and an M2 Mac Studio + BenQ monitor. I sold about 50 items that I just haven't been using. I probably have another 10 that I can let go of too.
My new reel for 2024:
 

In the race to 8K, 12K, and beyond, how much resolution do we really need to tell a story? I brought my trusty FZ47 on a little New Year's trip to Arizona, and I think that 640x480 might just be enough:
Technical: I scaled up to 1920x1440 (no "smart" or AI rescaling). I did not add any sharpening or softening to the image, and I resisted the urge to clean up the digital artifacts and just embraced them instead. I did however do a little color work.
I was actually shocked by how good this footage looks, probably because it's progressive and not interlaced. I think I'd put this footage up against the DVX100, XL1/2, or comparable camera. And as we've seen in the 8-bit grading tests that @kye shared with us, it's kind of shocking how much you can push the image around in post (especially if you are either okay with some macro-blocking, or willing to soften/hide it). I think that's part of what makes this camera so much fun.
Is there a unique aesthetic afforded by this low resolution? I'm not sure. I've degraded 1080P footage to have a similar level of detail in the past. The compression artifacts are definitely smaller and easier to hide. But in full motion, I feel like they add a nice texture.

In the race to 8K, 12K, and beyond, how much resolution do we really need to tell a story? I brought my trusty FZ47 on a little New Year's trip to Arizona, and I think that 640x480 might just be enough:
Technical: I scaled up to 1920x1440 (no "smart" or AI rescaling). I did not add any sharpening or softening to the image, and I resisted the urge to clean up the digital artifacts and just embraced them instead. I did however do a little color work.
I was actually shocked by how good this footage looks, probably because it's progressive and not interlaced. I think I'd put this footage up against the DVX100, XL1/2, or comparable camera. And as we've seen in the 8-bit grading tests that @kye shared with us, it's kind of shocking how much you can push the image around in post (especially if you are either okay with some macro-blocking, or willing to soften/hide it). I think that's part of what makes this camera so much fun.
Is there a unique aesthetic afforded by this low resolution? I'm not sure. I've degraded 1080P footage to have a similar level of detail in the past. The compression artifacts are definitely smaller and easier to hide. But in full motion, I feel like they add a nice texture.

In the race to 8K, 12K, and beyond, how much resolution do we really need to tell a story? I brought my trusty FZ47 on a little New Year's trip to Arizona, and I think that 640x480 might just be enough:
Technical: I scaled up to 1920x1440 (no "smart" or AI rescaling). I did not add any sharpening or softening to the image, and I resisted the urge to clean up the digital artifacts and just embraced them instead. I did however do a little color work.
I was actually shocked by how good this footage looks, probably because it's progressive and not interlaced. I think I'd put this footage up against the DVX100, XL1/2, or comparable camera. And as we've seen in the 8-bit grading tests that @kye shared with us, it's kind of shocking how much you can push the image around in post (especially if you are either okay with some macro-blocking, or willing to soften/hide it). I think that's part of what makes this camera so much fun.
Is there a unique aesthetic afforded by this low resolution? I'm not sure. I've degraded 1080P footage to have a similar level of detail in the past. The compression artifacts are definitely smaller and easier to hide. But in full motion, I feel like they add a nice texture.

As a full-time freelancer, it was a rough year for me. I made about 2/3 of what I did in 2022; it was the worst year I've had since 2018. I'm still trying to understand why. It was probably a lack of focus as I helped my wife through her cancer treatments, the last of which was in April (as far as we know, she is cancer-free). Also, I lost a large account -- a relief for my mental health, but it did account for a double digit percentage of my income over the past two years. And I took two personal trips, which meant turning down quite a bit of work (as they say, "take two weeks off, lose six weeks of work"). But yeah, it just felt really slow, especially the Fall/Winter. I've been watching the rise of AI and big jumps in smartphone technology closely, and I am wondering how much longer my skill set will be relevant. It may be time for a change soon, though I can't think of anything that I would rather do.
Equipment-wise, I bought a second C70, two RF zooms, a Red Scarlet-X, and an M2 Mac Studio + BenQ monitor. I sold about 50 items that I just haven't been using. I probably have another 10 that I can let go of too.
My new reel for 2024:
 

As a full-time freelancer, it was a rough year for me. I made about 2/3 of what I did in 2022; it was the worst year I've had since 2018. I'm still trying to understand why. It was probably a lack of focus as I helped my wife through her cancer treatments, the last of which was in April (as far as we know, she is cancer-free). Also, I lost a large account -- a relief for my mental health, but it did account for a double digit percentage of my income over the past two years. And I took two personal trips, which meant turning down quite a bit of work (as they say, "take two weeks off, lose six weeks of work"). But yeah, it just felt really slow, especially the Fall/Winter. I've been watching the rise of AI and big jumps in smartphone technology closely, and I am wondering how much longer my skill set will be relevant. It may be time for a change soon, though I can't think of anything that I would rather do.
Equipment-wise, I bought a second C70, two RF zooms, a Red Scarlet-X, and an M2 Mac Studio + BenQ monitor. I sold about 50 items that I just haven't been using. I probably have another 10 that I can let go of too.
My new reel for 2024:
 

As a full-time freelancer, it was a rough year for me. I made about 2/3 of what I did in 2022; it was the worst year I've had since 2018. I'm still trying to understand why. It was probably a lack of focus as I helped my wife through her cancer treatments, the last of which was in April (as far as we know, she is cancer-free). Also, I lost a large account -- a relief for my mental health, but it did account for a double digit percentage of my income over the past two years. And I took two personal trips, which meant turning down quite a bit of work (as they say, "take two weeks off, lose six weeks of work"). But yeah, it just felt really slow, especially the Fall/Winter. I've been watching the rise of AI and big jumps in smartphone technology closely, and I am wondering how much longer my skill set will be relevant. It may be time for a change soon, though I can't think of anything that I would rather do.
Equipment-wise, I bought a second C70, two RF zooms, a Red Scarlet-X, and an M2 Mac Studio + BenQ monitor. I sold about 50 items that I just haven't been using. I probably have another 10 that I can let go of too.
My new reel for 2024:
 

I'm a career DP/videographer mostly working in the commercial/corporate space and this is my current kit:
2x Nanlite FS300B lights Two cheap "Travor/Fositan" bicolor 1x1 flex lights 2x Nanlite Pavotube 6Cii 36in and 48in parabolic diffusors + one fresnel I also have a round LED/lantern kit for travel, similar to this kit.
This setup has done very well for me and I have rarely had to rent anything else. It's also important to me that my entire kit for a shoot can fit onto my cart. If more is needed, then I'm going to need to work with a gaffer.
However, if I were starting over from scratch, I would probably get:
Aputure 300x Aputure Amaran F22c Aputure LS 60x with Spotlight Mini Zoom Parabolic diffusors & large 5-in-1 reflectors This would be a very versatile kit that would cover most situations that I could think of. Nanlite also offers comparable lights at even better prices, but they currently don't have anything quite like the F22c. Godox offerings look good. Two years ago when I last updated my kit, I took a long, hard look at them and concluded that their big COB lights had a magenta hue that I did not care for. The B&H house brand GVM lights also look great for the money, but I've never used them.
One other consideration: when shopping for COB lights, it's important to get a sense of how far they can be dimmed down. For instance, my buddy's Aputure 600c lights are great but even at 0.01%, they are too bright for some applications. This is the reason that I've stuck with 300w fixtures, and shooting at my camera's native ISO of 800, I've very rarely encountered any interior shot when I've wanted more light than what I can get from a 300w fixture.

I'm offsetting my timetable by a month. I allowed myself to take advantage of Cyber deals through the end of November. If all goes according to plan, I'll be able to hold off on purchases until Cyber Week 2024 -- I wouldn't deny myself that opportunity!

For me, it's a kitchen remodel and some new clothes. Your reasons are much less selfish.
I'm two weeks in and still holding strong! Lol.

I have been spending too much money on equipment in recent years, and WAY too much time researching it. I really don't need anything else in terms of kit. What I do need is to replace my wardrobe and make some repairs to my home and my vehicle. Also, I'd like to spend more time producing passion projects.

So, I'm making a commitment that I will not buy any new gear between November 30th, 2023 and November 29th, 2024 (got to give myself the option to take advantage of Black Friday deals). If I need a specialty piece of gear, I will rent it.

The exceptions are expendables and direct replacements, should anything I'm using break down.

I've never done this before and I'm posting this to help keep myself accountable.

I have been spending too much money on equipment in recent years, and WAY too much time researching it. I really don't need anything else in terms of kit. What I do need is to replace my wardrobe and make some repairs to my home and my vehicle. Also, I'd like to spend more time producing passion projects.

So, I'm making a commitment that I will not buy any new gear between November 30th, 2023 and November 29th, 2024 (got to give myself the option to take advantage of Black Friday deals). If I need a specialty piece of gear, I will rent it.

The exceptions are expendables and direct replacements, should anything I'm using break down.

I've never done this before and I'm posting this to help keep myself accountable.

I have been spending too much money on equipment in recent years, and WAY too much time researching it. I really don't need anything else in terms of kit. What I do need is to replace my wardrobe and make some repairs to my home and my vehicle. Also, I'd like to spend more time producing passion projects.

So, I'm making a commitment that I will not buy any new gear between November 30th, 2023 and November 29th, 2024 (got to give myself the option to take advantage of Black Friday deals). If I need a specialty piece of gear, I will rent it.

The exceptions are expendables and direct replacements, should anything I'm using break down.

I've never done this before and I'm posting this to help keep myself accountable.

I have been spending too much money on equipment in recent years, and WAY too much time researching it. I really don't need anything else in terms of kit. What I do need is to replace my wardrobe and make some repairs to my home and my vehicle. Also, I'd like to spend more time producing passion projects.

So, I'm making a commitment that I will not buy any new gear between November 30th, 2023 and November 29th, 2024 (got to give myself the option to take advantage of Black Friday deals). If I need a specialty piece of gear, I will rent it.

The exceptions are expendables and direct replacements, should anything I'm using break down.

I've never done this before and I'm posting this to help keep myself accountable.

I have been spending too much money on equipment in recent years, and WAY too much time researching it. I really don't need anything else in terms of kit. What I do need is to replace my wardrobe and make some repairs to my home and my vehicle. Also, I'd like to spend more time producing passion projects.

So, I'm making a commitment that I will not buy any new gear between November 30th, 2023 and November 29th, 2024 (got to give myself the option to take advantage of Black Friday deals). If I need a specialty piece of gear, I will rent it.

The exceptions are expendables and direct replacements, should anything I'm using break down.

I've never done this before and I'm posting this to help keep myself accountable.

I have been spending too much money on equipment in recent years, and WAY too much time researching it. I really don't need anything else in terms of kit. What I do need is to replace my wardrobe and make some repairs to my home and my vehicle. Also, I'd like to spend more time producing passion projects.

So, I'm making a commitment that I will not buy any new gear between November 30th, 2023 and November 29th, 2024 (got to give myself the option to take advantage of Black Friday deals). If I need a specialty piece of gear, I will rent it.

The exceptions are expendables and direct replacements, should anything I'm using break down.

I've never done this before and I'm posting this to help keep myself accountable.

I have so much (including cameras and lenses I've never actually even shot anything with) and yet how many narrative short films have I worked on in the past year?
ONE.
Something has to change!