mercer
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Posts posted by mercer
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
Love it and keep it.
It being?
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"Perhaps it sounds ridiculous, but the best thing that young filmmakers should do is to get hold of a camera and some film and make a movie of any kind at all."
-Stanley Kubrick
Kept his cameras and never sold them.
He had cameras that never became obsolete. Don't get me wrong, do what you want, I was just offering advice. Edmika adapters are at least a hundred a piece, for that money, plus the sale of your t2i, you could get the new eos-m3, have focus peaking, have access to the newer digic processor and sensor, use the same picture profiles, same workflow, use your FD lenses with 10 dollar adapters. I, finally, just sold my t2i after not using it for two years since I had the eos-m, trust me it's a way better camera for video. It makes sense to me, but it's your life... Just offering some advice.
With that being said, content is king, so use whatever camera you have and tell a story.
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Primarily, I consider myself a writer, where I have had a few successes in the horror genre, with a couple contests.
I made one short film that I entered in a few festivals... Haven't heard anything yet.
With a little luck. and a lot of perseverance, I hope to be making indie horror and thriller features in the future.
In the meantime, I have a few ultra short films in preproduction.
We need more Zach's in here!
I mostly gravitate toward crime fiction. Started a production company with my childhood buddy called The Sabi Company nearly a decade ago. We've made 7 or 8 features in that time. As well as a handful of shorts. Our latest, Down and Dangerous, was our first genre picture and the first to not lose money.We've also created Artis Entertainment to distribute our titles directly and through partnerships with other distributors. Most recently, we signed with Paramount to distribute Down and Dangerous internationally. To a filmmaker like me, that is an unforgettable milestone that I'm very proud of, even if it is a bit like winning the lottery.
The next movies include more action, a sci-fi survival story, a neo-noir, and hopefully countless others. I have no other creative or professional ambitions in life other than to make movies until i'm dead.If you're looking for some material, I have a few scripts I'm doing a final pass on.
Sorry... I just figured I'd put it out there.
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thank you for reminding me why I stopped replying to your comments...
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
Fair enough, I thought you were looking for feedback on how the Match Color worked. Once you're done with all your tests, please do post your findings/conclusions on the pros/cons of different settings.
Oh yes, I am always looking for feedback... This would be a lonely, arbitrary endeavor if I wasn't. In that test, the one, out of camera, shot I liked, I tried to match with the "Match Color" function in FCPX. But I am new to a lot of this, so my theory outweighs my practical ability. I appreciate your comments, and criticisms... They are always welcomed and that's how we grow.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
It looks good overall, but I still see issues with color (they don't look natural) and contrast (not much shadow detail).
A lot of times intent gets perceived as inability. My interest lies within stylized genre narratives. Often, I am not looking for natural color. The contrast I will have to work on. On my first outing with the camera, I found the shadow detail amazing on this camera, so any lack of is my experimenting with different settings. I am learning to subtract and add with each test. My posting these videos isn't a declaration that I love my outcomes, it is an exploration of the trials and tribulations of working with a camera that is entirely different than the canon rebel brand.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
Ok, sorry, I know everybody is A7rii crazy this week, but this is the last, test video from this batch of camera tests. In this test, I edited the 4K prores files in FCPX, used Match Color to give a quick and dirty balance/grade. And then exported to 1080p... well actually 1013p...
Don't worry I made it short... and attempted to make it entertaining... it isn't...
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Or an nx500 (from eBay
)Haha. I'll tell you what, I think the nx500 might just be one of the most underrated cameras of the year. I am not a seasoned pro, I am sure some of you guys will forget more than I'll ever know, but when I figure out the best settings, for this camera, this little bastard is gonna be a beast.
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I'm going to give you an opinion that is completely different from other people. I may have gotten comments that my lighting is bad, but I have proved people that my t2i can look good at the shots Reid has said is not possible with what I have done with it. I have done the searching on the web already far and wide for turning the Rebel series into a cinematic beast in the cheapest way possible.
Keep your T3i, sell your ef lenses, and get these:
http://store.mosaicengineering.com/VAF-TXi-Moire-Aliasing-Filter_p_14.html
http://www.vision-color.com/camera-profiles/
https://bitbucket.org/OtherOnePercent/tragic-lantern-2.0/downloads
(I would suggest FD lenses with the EDmika adapter, but something came up with the guy and I can't seem to find his products. So for now I'm suggesting these. Don't mind the fact that you can not zoom from 18-28 or from 48-50. Usually those are not needed)
with
and
with
Out of curiosity, why do you want the edmika adapters so badly, when you could just sell your t2i (while you can still get a little money for it) and get a mirrorless and you can use your FD lenses with a simple 10 buck adapter? With the money you'd shell out for the edmika adapters, and the sale of the t2i, you could get a Sony a5100, or 6000, or even an eos-m, or better yet an eos-m3 body that has focus peaking and manual audio control?
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For what camera?
The NX500, or the a5100. Btw, I will get to more of your nx500 requests by the end of the week.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
Here's a quick shot I did in 1080p with the updated "pro" setting. It's not really the best example, but I know some people were curious how it looked.
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thanks! Is it the macro version of the lens?
Yes, it's the macro version. It's a newer lens with a rubber focus ring.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
The 1080p video is great enough, love the details. Look forward to the 4K version.
Thanks, I really don't see any loss by downscaling to 1080p.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
Here's the 4K file...
I don't think Vimeo streams 4K yet, but the file is a downloadable prores LT file, if anyone is interested.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
I'm still waiting for the 4K version to upload. About 3 hours and it's halfway done.
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
The first part (normally exposed, till 1:50 or so) looks great, I liked it the best. Natural looking, with nice detail. Seemed a tad contrasty though, for example at 1:00.
Yeah, it's not too bad. I am going to try and grade it tomorrow, but I think it needs to be flatter.
I have more tests to do. I think I need to dial everything down a couple more notches... Maybe to -8. But I do like the standard profile. The Calm Profile looks intriguing as well.
What are the odds they will add rec709 to a future firmware update?
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NX500 Test
In: Cameras
Ok, I was able to do a few more tests today. I used the Standard Profile and dialed Sharpness, Saturation and Contrast to -5. I also dialed down Hue to -15.
I used the Canon FD 28mm f/2 lens and a Canon 35-70mm f/4 zoom.
I converted two versions... One downscaled to 1080p and one 4K version. I tried over and under exposing some shots but haven't graded anything... This is all straight from the camera
Here is the 1080p conversion.
I am waiting for the 4K version to upload, I will post that when it does
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The video looks good. Did you use the same, default settings?
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Picked up a Tessar Carl Zeiss Jena 50mm 2.8 lens today for 20 euros at a Berlin market, perfect condition. Think that's a pretty good price, pretty stoked by how solid it feels. And it is sharp. REALLY sharp.
great little lens.
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I read at one website, that the NX500, and the NX1 record at true 24p and not 23.976, but I cannot find another source that confirms or denies that.
Is this true, and what effect on the iq, if any, would there be if you processed the footage at the wrong frame rate?
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I need to check my settings and do lots more tests. The FD lenses should be plenty good enough, so if my results are poor, then I am lead to believe it is my workflow. Mattias informed me he dials everything down except for leaving a little saturation and contrast.
Love the Miranda 28 shots. I might have to pick that one up. Which mount/ version of the lens do you have?
after a little research, I think Cosina made that Miranda lens.
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I used LT, but I have heard people use proxy as well.
And I think I read that Fincher uses 4K in the same manner.
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I went back and saw your leaf shots (4:35). Hard to say about resolution difference since the profiles are different, but I still think colors are off. Anyway, what I think is irrelevant when it comes to your video; if you like it, that's all matters.
For my clip, I used the Samsung 16-50 lens. And yes, I shot in 4K 24p, converted to 4K ProRes with FFmpeg, and then imported it onto a 1080p project. One potential source of difference is that there is no scaling on my side: the 1080p project cropped the 4K video, so what you're seeing is a portion of the video frame Whereas you scaled the full frame to 1080p at H.265 conversion time and imported a 1080p clip onto a 1080p project. Just for kicks, try this method and see if you prefer that.
Placing 4K clips onto 1080p project is now my preferred method because it lets me do fancy stuff like faking slider moves and two camera shots, like I did with a recent fashion show. I posted it here on EOSHD some time back, but here it is again if you're interested.
I'll give that a go. Just to be clear, do you use prores 444 and by dropping in 1080 timeline, you still have access to the entire 4K frame that you can control the crop, I assume?
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What Kind of Films Do you (want to) shoot?
In: Cameras
Posted
Swanberg is one of those directors, you almost want to hate. When I heard about the mumblecore movement, I saw Big Puffy Chair first and really enjoyed the minimalism, then I heard about this Swanberg guy and what I heard made me roll my eyes, but when I watched Hannah Takes the Stairs, I had to tip my hat. Somehow he was able to recreate not just the scenarios of ambivalent heart break but also that pit in the stomach emotional loss behind it.