John Brawley

Well you're talking about two elements of actor craft here.

Acting performance and then staging (blocking).

Are you worried about the actors performance or how they're blocking and staging the scene ? Or both ?

For sure they're related, but in my view (and I'm a DP not a director) actors want to be lead through a conversation about blocking.  It's a negotiation.  But there's nothing worse than demonstrating by example or showing them another scene or being literal.

Blocking is one of the most mis-understood elements of the craft of filmmaking,.  And no one ever says "great staging" or "amazing blocking" when talking about a film they like.  They're talk about editing, performance, the photography, the design...but never ever blocking.

It takes a while tor realise how powerful a tool this can be and it really SHOULD be the director that drives these choices.  From staging / Blocking comes coverage.  And it factors hugely in performance.

Normally I prefer to have the set cleared, you listen to the actors say the words and then you block.  This is a very very crucial and creative time for the director and actor.  The director may have really specific ideas about how they want the scene to stage and move through it's dramatic beats.  Or you might be looking for them right there and then in that moment and you work WITH the staging as you block to try and labour, extract and bring these beats into the light.

Good actors will be able to adapt their blocking as you talk ab out beats that are important.  They find ways to "physicalise" what you're asking for emotionally and dramatically.

If the issue the OP has here is just "overacting" my best would be to ask the actors to "do less" or "scale it back".  As an experiment sometimes it's fun to run the scene without speaking the lines.  Just do it in body language.  Try a rehearsal like that. Then tell them to do the silent rehearsal with as little body language as possible.

There are some great and obvious examples of blocking WITH CAMERA (hey I'm a DP) and how the actor blocking is DRIVING what you do with a camera.

here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GfqD5WqChUY

and here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2THVvshvq0Q

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gT3FZdMqtVk

https://medium.com/@dalonsoperez/mad-max-silhouette-and-clear-staging-fd67eda4b4d9

JB

On 5/21/2018 at 4:45 PM, jonpais said:

who is we? I use them all the time.

I'll put my hand up too and say I never use AF and only sometimes use IS.  IS is great on static shots, but problematic on moving / tracking shots.  Just like gimbals, with many "tells" for bad operating.

But I'm not everyone.

JB

25 minutes ago, DBounce said:

I reported earlier that that the camera was dropping frames. It may well be that 12bit raw produces too much data for the current cards to write at 30 FPS.

Don’t be surprised to see the specs change on this camera.

Goodness me.

The camera has two card slots. One is SD.  The other is....?????  And it can record through to USB-C as well.

JB

2 minutes ago, sanveer said:

Actually since the sensor is the same as on the GH5s, I am wondering whether Black Magic should also have a 14-bit RAW when one needs to absolutey push the codec and push maybe 3+ stops either way. 

I don’t believe it actually is the same sensor.

All BMD files in RAW are 12bit LOG / 16 BIT LIN.

JB

HLG as I understand it is a standard curve applied to footage for final display on a HDR / HLG complient TV.

I imagine that this is a bit like using REC709 to monitor.  You most likely only want to monitor your image using this curve rather than bake it in.  Otherwise it’s like shooting VIDEO instead of FILM.  

The Pocket 2 does feature the new version of VIDEO, EXTENDED VIDEO.  This is an awesome new curve that I’ve been using a lot in other scenarios.  This is doing what we all wish VIDEO should have done in the first place.  Make a nice looking picture that doens’t require too much post to tweak into something nice.

If you wanted to hit the HLG, I’m sure you could easily do a LUT that would do this as well if EXTENDED VIDEO doesn’t push your buttons.

JB

5 hours ago, mercer said:

I never realized the Ursa was so small and ergonomic. Very interesting to learn a little about your process. The “football pass” seems like a great way to get some impromptu camera and acting moments that basic coverage doesn’t always allow.

Btw, are The Resident’s Ursa shots recorded in 4K and then downsized to match the Alexa? Or do you just shoot in 1080p on the Ursa?

The Resident is “only” shot 1920, but it’s 444ProRes, so 12 bit.  

Fox only air in 720 remember !  I’d say the majority of TV production in the US is still 1920 ProRes.  They’re not interested AT ALL in 4K.

JB

5 minutes ago, mercer said:

B&H still has the Pocket up for sale at its original price.

Nice promo. It’s amazing how well these BM cameras intercut with an Alexa.

So, it makes sense when you would use the Micro or the Pocket, but what makes you decide to use the Ursa over the Alexa? Is it a matter of crew size on the call sheet for certain days? Are you given carte blanche which camera you use, when you want to, or does the line producer have a say?

Sorry for all the questions, but it isn’t often I get the opportunity to pick the brain of an established cinematographer.

Btw, have you been able to use an Olympus on the show?

I think you’ll find the pocket is EOL. 

I have a few different camera builds for different jobs. 

Ursa gets used when we need to be hyper intimate with the actors.  It’s smaller build means you can go inside the acting space.  It gives you more intimate and more reactive coverage. I call this visual jazz.

A scene like the two hander with the leads conspiring together is perfect for this.  The operating is very improvised.  I do multiple takes with very short reset times.  On each pass I emphasise different story telling beats, taking my cues from the actors themselves. Between each setup, often without cutting I tell the actors what I’m hoping to catch and then we dance.  Each take has a different story beat emphasis.  I try to build in the insert shots (like the phone) and also build in trades between the cast to emphasise story moments.

Sometimes you’ll do a regular pass with three cameras, all Alexa.  This tends to be more conventional storytelling coverage.  Then we do a “football” pass with the Ursa at the end in the manner I listed above.  A first started calling it a football because that’s about the size of the camera and the way I tend to hold it.  

I have used the Olympus a little, but not much on the Resident.  I tend to use the EM1 for its stabiliser and small size.injust did a pilot where we used it a bit.  

JB

22 minutes ago, Savannah Miller said:

 

Maybe if you have moire/aliasing you can change how you debayer to help hide some of that too, but I don't work in that area so I wouldn't know how much that helps.  Other people at work sometimes blame keying errors on the internal sharpening that some of our shows shoot with, but I haven't found it a huge problem.

I find ProRes tends to reduce the chance and incidence / severity of moire and aliasing.

JB

24 minutes ago, Savannah Miller said:

Those shots look amazing, but the shot on top of the ambulance, is that done with gopro?  Is it some sort of stock footage?  That's the only shot that looks different from the rest.

If Blackmagic sends only 12-bit, then that's not better than the 12-bit log encoded DNG.  Plus a lot of Blackmagic's proprietary color science info is contained within their DNGs which might not work with Prores raw.    Long story short the only real benefit of Prores raw over Prores 4:4:4 is the ability to change white balance which is not a huge issue because a competent colorist can change the white balance of prores 4:4:4 quite easily.  Secondly, white balance is one of the easiest things to set correctly, so it's not a huge benefit in that area either.  There's nothing wrong with shooting Prores and then for shots where you think you might want to change white balance extreme amounts, to shoot Cinema DNG.  That leaves very little scenarios where Prores raw is helpful.

Well spotted.  Yes the shot of the ambulance lights is a stock shot.

DNG in most BMD cameras is actually 16 bit LIN, but it gets converted to 12 bit LOG to be recorded as a DNG, and then unpacks in Resolve as 16 bit linear again.

And yes. 444 ProRes is mostly what I’m shooting these days and is very very robust.

JB

4 hours ago, mercer said:

 

@John Brawley any chance BM is going to reduce the price of the Pocket or Micro... or maybe another Summer sale?

I have no idea.

As far as I recall, they only did that once with the pocket.

And I do love using the pocket / micro to get shots I can't get any other way.

JB

15 minutes ago, jonpais said:

I've already seen cinematic looking footage. I was merely asking if readers thought the video I shared looked cinematic. The video has gotten lots of love online. I gave my reasons why it doesn't look cinematic  to me at all: reasons which I still continue to stick by.

 

Actually you were pretty harsh on the visual aesthetic and pretty judgy, calling out the filmmaker for being pretentious and daring to call their work a "film".  Not exactly collegiate and something that smacks a little of elitism. 

You weren't just merely asking for an opinion.  You assassinated the work first and then asked for an opinion.  You weren't merely calling for opinions on if it was cinematic.  You slammed the film and a bunch of creative choices that aren't anything to do with the camera it was shot with and asked for consensus on if this was a cinematic piece (and by extention implied if the camera was capable of cinematic work)

Then when someone else posted something you thought did look cinematic, you blew it off as not being the camera but the filmmaker. 

You're tying yourself up in knots a little trying to make a point that I'm not getting.

JB

3 minutes ago, jonpais said:

That is an unusual answer. It sounds as though the BMD expert is saying there is no such thing as ProRes RAW. 

This is someone that's answering questions at BH Photo.  They aren't BMD.

JB

" Show me some cinematic looking footage shot with this camera"

-  shows cinematic footage shot with the camera

"They could make any camera look good"

Yeah we all know that the skills of those shooting are the most important factor in terms of end result. But you asked for cinematic footage from the camera ??

One of those skills though is also choosing a camera / lens package.

There have been Zeiss super 16 format Superspeeds as long as the 35mm format ones have existed.  They're great and actually pretty cheap.  Mostly in AB or PL m ount which can be easily adapted to MFT.

Unfortunately at this price there are many users that are new to filmmaking, or maybe see filmmaking as a hobby.  Blackmagic are exposing many users to a RAW or even high DR LOG workflow for the first time.  I see people slapping on LUTs designed for other cameras, not bothering to grade or even learn Resolve turning out half arsed results.

But.

If you're willing to step up YOUR game, willing to LEARN how to grade within this workflow, the camera will not hold you back.  The codec will not get in your way. 

It won't guarantee success either, you still have to be able to light, make nice frames and have a plan.  But you won't hit a ceiling with the camera very quickly in terms of image fidelity.

JB

Yeah I’m hoping the 12-100 IS works on the Pocket 2. It *should* work but I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, mostly due to not having a 12-100 on hand ! 

JB

1 hour ago, Django said:

Looks like it outputs 1080p max via HDMI period. it's a bit  an odd limitation but then again with internal RAW/ProRes, not much reason to record externally so it seems the video out is there mainly for external monitoring purposes. I hate HDMI, it's unreliable on the field but hey can't have it all at this price point!

And USB-c ? Why bother with HDMI external recording at that point ?

But as a long life connector BNC is much better.

JB

1 hour ago, kye said:

And, just to aim for the moon, if the manufacturer released a set of tools for third party app developers to write their own app interfaces that would be spectacular

ok, back to reality....

like this ?

http://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/Developer/Camera/20180406-ed2af6/BlackmagicCameraControl.pdf

jb

31 minutes ago, Mmmbeats said:

If I'm understanding this correctly it actually sounds quite interesting.  Are you proposing a strap or sling that would alleviate arm fatigue in a hand-held (or, I suppose, chest rig) setup?  Got a diagram? 

I’ve wanted to get one of these for a while but they’re 5k for the Eksovest. 

https://eksobionics.com/eksoworks/

I spoke to one of their managers and he told me that Garret Brown (steadicam inventor) had been helping them design a rig for holding power tools. You can see the heritage in the link.

JB

1 hour ago, jonpais said:

John Brawley must have amazing eyesight, because I can’t see the Video Assist screen in bright light at all. And with the Ninja V coming out soon, I can’t see why anyone would get the BMD, unless you absolutely needed SDI.

Well SDI is the defacto standard. I’m disappointed they went HDMI on the P2.

Im no better than others I don’t think, but I’ve somehow gotten away with it. A shade helps a lot. Tilting the screen can help too (when you can)

Focus peaking on both the Camera and the VA is very good in my view too.

JB

7 hours ago, mercer said:

Any chance of persuading Olympus to include 24p Raw video in the E-M5 III? Even ProRes Raw at 1080p or 2K would be pretty epic with their superior IBIS.

I can’t speak for what Olympus will or won’t do. But they certainly have heard from me about moving in that direction. They genuinely want to do better video, and they need to up their game and then some if they want to truely challenge Panny. 

JB

I’m not sure I can agree with the absolute claim of “not useable” because...well I use them all the time in pretty bright situations.

Yes in some situations the glare makes it impossible but I can make it work the vast majority of the time.

https://www.flickr.com/gp/johnbrawley/10XBcm

Here’s an operator making do on a shoot in colombia.

And here’s a shot on a recent rig  

Yeah it could be brighter. But it’s not unuesable if you want a camera that’s small and compact. Or it functions well enough as your camera function screen once you fit an external monitor that better suits your needs. 

JB

On 4/27/2018 at 12:43 AM, DaveAltizer said:

Is there any real benefit to EM1 II to GH5? I guess color science and IBIS is better? If I were only shooting manual focus I guess its better huh? 

I think the EM1 mark 2 is a far better stills camera. 60fps RAW and ProCapture come to mind.

JB

This is where I have face palm every-time someone says it's the same sensor and then go onto extrapolate on why the images aren't (or are! ) the same.  

There's so many things about how you set up the sensor, from how fast you clock it to what other behind the scenes image processing and pre processing you're doing.

JB

We’re still talking about the fan ?

Like all BMD cameras that have fans (most of them) I’m sure it’s not a problem. 

Theybuse solid state cooling and a heat pump. The fan move air across the heat bump.  It’s low speed and constant. 

JB

3 hours ago, Snowfun said:

The incredible feature of Resolve is just how good and feature packed the free version is.  A real credit to BM. Am I correct in thinking that noise reduction is the primary benefit of the paid version? Looking forward to playing with that in the Pocket version. 

For a lot of things I still find FCP and the add-ons & plug-ins easier (but as a hobbyist I claim next to zero talent in this respect).

Noise reduction I think, maybe using more than one GPUs ?  3D and HDR mastering...  Not much of a difference really, but NR is the one most people miss.

JB