mercer

I’ve been watching a friend of a friend’s short films this morning that were shot on a 70D with original Canon FW and they are great, never once did the IQ, or lack of, get in the way of the story or quality of filmmaking skill.

I decided a while ago that for short narrative films, there isn’t a better option, unless you want to go the BlackMagic Pocket/Micro route, but even then the FF sensor of the 5D3 and the native lenses with OIS wins, IMO. With that being said, I’d hate to discourage younger, newer filmmakers from going out and making a movie if they want to but cannot afford a 5D3. For me the best option is the 5D3. If you have a smaller budget, then there are a lot of options. The idea that you need Raw or 4K to shoot a good narrative short film is pushed by people that lack creativity. The best advice is to buy the best camera you can afford, learn how to use it and make the best film you can with the resources you have.

I am sooo tempted to buy an a7s for its amazing lowlight 1080p and then some external 4K ProRes. But it’s still a few hundred away from a must buy for me. When I can get a like new one for $1000 or less, I’m on it. With that being said, I would stick with my 5D3, unless I could afford a C200 or an Alexa Mini. I’ve also been really impressed with a lot of the LS300 footage I’ve been seeing lately. I’m just waiting for an indie film to use that camera. I can’t believe nobody has yet. A friend of mine sent me this link and it looks amazing...

I think people are overthinking this fun hypothetical exercise. I believe the point is... if tech stopped now and we were left with what is available now, then what would people choose based on what is on the market now.

Why not just set the camera to be at 180 Degree shutter angle instead and then you’ll never have to change it?

Dude, just retire from all camera and color testing and shoot a feature film with whatever you just did there. I keep saying a modern day Mean Streets with your visuals would be awesome and this 80s film look is phenomenal!!! PM me the special sauce though. What iso did you shoot that at?

@Andrew Reid how’s the 1080p?

Wicked, I can’t wait to see. Do you just call up models and see if they’re available, or did you already have a shoot planned?

I had the a6500 last year until I got an overheating warning in 40 degree Fahrenheit weather. The camera never shut off, but it scared me so I returned it for a credit... that credit gave me the boost to save up for the 5D3... So I have a soft spot for the a6500 on multiple levels. As far as CineLikeD... I wouldn’t shoot with any other profile on a Panasonic. The perfect bump in DR and with the underexposure, as @kidzrevil mentioned, the color looks great to me.

C’mon you gotta at least try sLog3. I know there are reports of banding issues but I would think that may be limited comsidering you shoot in the city and get very limited open sky shots. The color and detail is insane in sLog3. Honestly, I was kinda hoping your due diligence with testing cameras’ capabilities would crack the sLog3 on the a6500 and tempt me to buy another one eventually.

Hmm, I would buy another Lexar card and test it with global draw on and off. And then add and delete and see what you get.

Thanks, Mike. I really appreciate that. I had nature on my side for most of those, but I couldn’t be more excited and pleased with this camera. I’ll definitely send you a link when I finish something. I was able to get 48p working in 2:35 but it wasn’t full hd. But it was kind of a pain changing all of the settings. Actually it was a major pain.

@sgreszcz that e-m5 Mark II Footage looks great. After shooting with the Oly, what made you choose the GH5 over the e-m1 Mark II?

I get that, but are web series that popular anymore? I don’t really know. I remember them being popular 2-3 years ago but I haven’t heard much about them lately. When I said short film, I meant a 3-5 minute short. I am in the same place as you. I don’t really have the answers, otherwise I’d have an agent and a deal, but I have done a little research and created some theories. In the end, you really just need to do what feels right to you. But I love this discussion. It’s probably the best thread in months.

Well if you’re just looking at making something to showcase your work, to help sell a bigger project, then why bother doing a web series? Just make a short film?

I meant what I wrote, with my lack of color correcting/grading skills I find it easier to make 1080p footage look “cinematic” than it is with 4K. Perhaps it’s the sharpness, either way I find it easier for me. I suppose, but I don’t really see the necessity of 4K when 1080p is often more than enough. I guess it’s an Alexa vs Red argument... Alexa usually wins.

“So... it’s a numbers game?” Extra points for anyone who can guess what movie that line is from. Anyway, thanks for the reply, great information. @kaylee after further thought, I really think that maybe you should write this out as a feature or motw. If you have 90 pages of material structured with “commercial” breaks, every 5 minutes, in mind you can get more episodes out of the story if it starts picking up steam. After an initial run of teasers, promos, BTS footage, banner ads at horror sites, etc... release an episode a week. I would probably have 3-5 episodes ready to release by the time you run the first episode. And then as the first few episodes run, continue to film and edit, while releasing a new episode every week. So, with that in mind, perhaps also have a logical conclusion to the story after 7-10 episodes, just in case you only have a few views... then why bother continuing to film it. If it does pick up viewership, then continue to pump them out. If it doesn’t, you will have a solid short web series and then a feature script you can try and sell or shoot yourself. Also remember you have a built in audience in other filmmakers. So plan on marketing the web series on sites like this with BTS videos you can post across the web. I would think a lot of your initial views could be from other filmmakers interested in how you made the web series and how it looks. Take a look at David Sandburg’s Vimeo page. If you don’t know, he is the filmmaker behind the viral short Light’s Out, the subsequent Hollywood feature of the same name, and the sequel/prequel to Annabelle. He is really good at creating content for other filmmakers... https://vimeo.com/ponysmasher

The OP’s point is hypothetical. Obviously tech will get better as well as IQ, but if it didn’t and this is what we have, then what would you choose based on what is available now? For me, with the budget I have now, I would choose the 5D3 with ML Raw, I already own. If I had a bigger budget, I would go with a C200... my only wish for the C200 is that they add... not a 10bit middle codec, but a 1080p Raw Lite version. So, I guess for the future I would love a 5DC that shoots Raw Lite in 2K or 2.5K full frame with a small, even single input, XLR handle accessory. If Canon would release that camera at below $4000, I’d buy it tomorrow.

So, if somebody, in this case @kaylee, wanted to get some exposure from a web series, then posting an episode a month would not put her episodes at the top of any searches? So, if she started posting a bunch of teasers promoting the web series, then how many and how often should she start posting them to get the most viewership for the actual web series?

Interesting... would love to see a screengrab if you have one?

Yeah, I’ve described the 5D3 as a point and shoot cinema camera... especially since I have been shooting handheld with it with my Canon IS lenses. I’ve been working on a project since April. It was originally intended as a short film designed to get my feet wet with ML Raw, but then I’ve been getting such good footage, it has grown into something more. Here are a few screengrabs from it... Since this project may just end up as an impromptu feature, I’m currently writing some micro short film scripts to shoot in between. I’m hoping to get 60p working and it will be the ultimate camera for my needs. Btw, I really enjoyed you Last Day of Summer short. You obviously have a firm grasp of cinema.

Yeah 67 seems slow. I was getting more that that with the 50D. With the same cards, from BH, I am getting between 85 and 98.

Yeah, I understand glass is jargon for lenses but I guess my confusion lies with phrases like the “Leica Look” and since their lenses are revered like Zeiss lenses are and since Zeiss makes their own glass, or made their own glass, I assumed that the Leica look was attributed to their own glass. It seems some of the higher end manufacturers use Schott Glass now and Schott may use some of the recipes that the client, in this case Leica, used to use. Interesting.

Well, hopefully now that Saudi Arabia realizes that women, over 30, are capable of driving in the daylight, they will influence Nikon to have a woman photographer in their group photo at a camera event #FStop #TheFisForFemale

Strangely, I just started watching some of your shorts on Vimeo a few days ago. Really nice work. As a new 5D3 ML Raw user, your work is definitely inspiring and makes me want to shoot more short films. In fact, that has been the biggest thing I’ve noticed since getting the 5D3... I just want to keep working on projects. I care a lot less about overthinking gear choices since I bought it.