HelsinkiZim

21 hours ago, OliKMIA said:

I did a quick test shooting 180 VFR and apply twixtor (10%). This slow mo is equivalent of shooting at 600fps. Each sequence that last 10 sec in the video was 0.5 sec in real life.

Obviously this is far from behind perfect, the subject it boring, twixtor soften the image and generates artifacts. Just a test to see how far I could push the slomo mode with somehow decent results.

 

Very cool, no visible artifacts on 1080p mobile. Nice! Thx!

One last thought before much needed rest, after a brutal week (filming sat so 2mrw sleep late, binge ALL of Sunday's shows and family time) - 

... eh, who cares.

13 minutes ago, HelsinkiZim said:

You missed last call....

And people obsessed with liquorice should be watched like a hawk.

... but that wasn't the thought.

1 hour ago, Cinegain said:

Not sure where you're going with that? Are you leaving EOSHD because you feel like you've outgrown it or something? Or was it just the point of saying 'thanks' for allowing the guidance of your journey to your present day situation?

So, I take it everyone is welcome here whether you own a cellphone or a RED. But... there's a lot of people that could use some help figuring all this shit out when starting out. And there's just too many places that are too pro, too serious and couldn't care less about n3wbz. I feel like here, there's no judgement, whether you're using a Sony F35, URSA Mini, GH5 or T2i/550D... it's all good, it's about getting the basics right and being able to deliver convincing content and there's more to that than an expensive camera. Think the crowd here is mix of professionals and enthusiasts that aren't quick to judge and are supportive of eachother. Positive vibes. There's too few places like that around on the good ol' interw3bz. Anyways. There's continuously going to be people starting out and not that quick to drop $3k+ on a camera and of course the core that gets more experience and higher end equipment as time goes on. That just allows for more interesting insights and knowledge to be spread around here, so personally I don't see the DSLR community going anywhere... if by that you mean the users of consumer & prosumer DSLR and mirrorless cameras that want to practice their art and be executing their talent as cinematographer or filmmaker. And isn't an URSA Mini a mirrorless camera at the end of the day either? And one more accessible than an ARRI?

Seems there are a lot of 'coffee and <insert interest>' events popping up everywhere. I feel like maybe this is a 'coffee and filmmaking' hangout, where you can just talk about whatever is on your mind filmmaking related (or occassionally even otherwise) amongst people with similar interests.

Gotcha talking.. 

9 minutes ago, Cinegain said:

Time to bring out the Salmiakki.

You missed last call....

I give up with this typepad... iphone, here I retirn... you Satan of a mistress 

And what is newbie and pro these days?

Pros 'quote' are asking.me for my input 

Based on dslr knowlrdfe from here. 

That iis an actial.fact and not.fake.

Edit -  bloody cheap phone, c i rses3 4 7! (Curses)

Just wanted to say thanks.

Im verbose. Nothing more, nothing less.

1 hour ago, HelsinkiZim said:

I am going to go out on a limb here and direct a post to you.

Lemme explain...

I first popped my head inside this circus around the summer of 2015 after moving to Europe from Africa.

You have to understand, at that point, even in an industrialised city like Johannesburg, we had only heard rumours about the wonders of the Canon 5d series, and only some fortunate few in my school or in the industry had ever used a dslr on a project. Our lecturer made reference to getting one for the graduate school, but I dont know if they did eventually. Knowing Africa, probably not.

Your forum blew my mind. I read almost every post for about 6 months before I jumped in the water and got a GH4. From AaronChicago's v log tests and advice)and partly the reason I went for the ursa based on his dng post a while back) to the Ibrahim scandal, and lest we forget the exile of a few (well, one I know of) more exurberant contributors. We speak your name.(starts with a Z__, or am I wrong?)

I was a believer.

I write this now because my URSA 4.6K arrived yesterday and somehow it made me sad.

What happened is that I realised the frustration of running a small video business based on dslr's is not for me. 

I wanted a camcorder back. 

The cameras I grew up on in order -

canon xl1 - i was a PA to a then semi-famous ad director, now LA based straight-to-streaming dierector, who lent me his camera to film weddings on weekends circa 2006 in london... btw, there is a huge market for straight to streaming aparently... if you know what your doing budget-wise and leverage torrenting and bootleg streaming sites. I think they even advertise as popular downloads/ streams there to create a buzz - hoping to go viral.

sony z1 - used for 5 years on weddings... it turned into a business - number 4 in UK google search at my peak. Funny story, I had a freelance camera lady work for me and she came back with the most beautiful skintomes I had ever seen. Only until joining this community did I realise she just knew how to white balance and expose the cera properly. I thought she was a magician.

And before I left graduate school they had just got an hvx200 (no more capturing! Do people even remember that nightmare?).

I digress...

The Ursa was simply a choice that allowed me to stay in the community, but get the form factor and operation I needed in order to forget about the camera and concentrate on the buisness. I could have just as easily got a fixed lens panasonic (emotiinally) or something, but they are roughly the same price (if you have the v mount batts,ef lenses etc. Which I did.) and thought what the hell. At least the Ursa is only hell in the edit...

Truth be told, I felt almost imprisoned by the quirks and adaptations that I had to do to get the image and functionality I wanted out of the GH4. Some suggested getting an assistant, but I felt I could put their energy elsewhere than monitoring camera reability on set and putting out fires.

It was also depressing to watch how fast the landscape is changing at this prosummer (and pro tbh) level, where you begin to feel stupid and ripped off when a manufacturer releases a better version or paid upgrade to fix something (you know) they knew was faulty or simply lacking.

I went with Blackmagic because, admidst all the changes, they seem the most honest about truly disrupting this industry. Yes, Panasonic too - but if I see another speed-booster or cage I am going to hurt something or someone.

Anyways, enough rambling.. my question is-

I know your thoughts on individual cameras and software...

... but what are your thoughts about the DSLR community as a whole?

Where do you think its going?

What have you learnt so far about technology and, being the wizard behind the curtain, us?

If you cant be bothered to answer its all good, but I will say this - 

Thank you. Its been a blast and I look forward to where this journey takes us all! 

Always remember there is an idiot in Helsink that wouldn't appreciate s your gh4 step up guide, straight talk, posts, aryicles and commitment. Nuff respect. 

Especially because this site is probably a commitment with minimal rewards. Jeez, even phillip bloom threw in the towel... thanks for hanging in there!

We all don't say that often enough.

Ps... I do still have an a6500, but that is for mostly auto setting home videos and super low budget promos. I will be getting procolor soon!

Edit: appreciates your gh4 guide! Not wouldnt....

Tried to change it but too many edits.

I am going to go out on a limb here and direct a post to you.

Lemme explain...

I first popped my head inside this circus around the summer of 2015 after moving to Europe from Africa.

You have to understand, at that point, even in an industrialised city like Johannesburg, we had only heard rumours about the wonders of the Canon 5d series, and only some fortunate few in my school or in the industry had ever used a dslr on a project. Our lecturer made reference to getting one for the graduate school, but I dont know if they did eventually. Knowing Africa, probably not.

Your forum blew my mind. I read almost every post for about 6 months before I jumped in the water and got a GH4. From AaronChicago's v log tests and advice)and partly the reason I went for the ursa based on his dng post a while back) to the Ibrahim scandal, and lest we forget the exile of a few (well, one I know of) more exurberant contributors. We speak your name.(starts with a Z__, or am I wrong?)

I was a believer.

I write this now because my URSA 4.6K arrived yesterday and somehow it made me sad.

What happened is that I realised the frustration of running a small video business based on dslr's is not for me. 

I wanted a camcorder back. 

The cameras I grew up on in order -

canon xl1 - i was a PA to a then semi-famous ad director, now LA based straight-to-streaming dierector, who lent me his camera to film weddings on weekends circa 2006 in london... btw, there is a huge market for straight to streaming aparently... if you know what your doing budget-wise and leverage torrenting and bootleg streaming sites. I think they even advertise as popular downloads/ streams there to create a buzz - hoping to go viral.

sony z1 - used for 5 years on weddings... it turned into a business - number 4 in UK google search at my peak. Funny story, I had a freelance camera lady work for me and she came back with the most beautiful skintomes I had ever seen. Only until joining this community did I realise she just knew how to white balance and expose the cera properly. I thought she was a magician.

And before I left graduate school they had just got an hvx200 (no more capturing! Do people even remember that nightmare?).

I digress...

The Ursa was simply a choice that allowed me to stay in the community, but get the form factor and operation I needed in order to forget about the camera and concentrate on the buisness. I could have just as easily got a fixed lens panasonic (emotiinally) or something, but they are roughly the same price (if you have the v mount batts,ef lenses etc. Which I did.) and thought what the hell. At least the Ursa is only hell in the edit...

Truth be told, I felt almost imprisoned by the quirks and adaptations that I had to do to get the image and functionality I wanted out of the GH4. Some suggested getting an assistant, but I felt I could put their energy elsewhere than monitoring camera reability on set and putting out fires.

It was also depressing to watch how fast the landscape is changing at this prosummer (and pro tbh) level, where you begin to feel stupid and ripped off when a manufacturer releases a better version or paid upgrade to fix something (you know) they knew was faulty or simply lacking.

I went with Blackmagic because, admidst all the changes, they seem the most honest about truly disrupting this industry. Yes, Panasonic too - but if I see another speed-booster or cage I am going to hurt something or someone.

Anyways, enough rambling.. my question is-

I know your thoughts on individual cameras and software...

... but what are your thoughts about the DSLR community as a whole?

Where do you think its going?

What have you learnt so far about technology and, being the wizard behind the curtain, us?

If you cant be bothered to answer its all good, but I will say this - 

Thank you. Its been a blast and I look forward to where this journey takes us all! 

Always remember there is an idiot in Helsink that wouldn't appreciate s your gh4 step up guide, straight talk, posts, aryicles and commitment. Nuff respect. 

Especially because this site is probably a commitment with minimal rewards. Jeez, even phillip bloom threw in the towel... thanks for hanging in there!

We all don't say that often enough.

Ps... I do still have an a6500, but that is for mostly auto setting home videos and super low budget promos. I will be getting procolor soon!

17 hours ago, funkyou86 said:

@HelsinkiZim I shot some 96fps with my gh4 and then twixtored it, it was absolutely usable, so I bet that you can do some great stuff with the 180fps.

I shot some chicken last week, here's the footage. Probably not the best for twixtoring (the fence will cause some issues), but at least you'll get the idea how it looks.

I shot in to Vlog, so not the greatest quality, artifacts, noise, etc.

The link will expire within 12 hours: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B58lJC1ZGzPZaHNualBHVnE1Ukk

Thanks! Will have a look-see...

Lets look at theme - Blade Runner got us feeling because the droids were relatable and not totally alien. 

Ex Machina tackled this theme beautifully. Prometheus did too. So did 2001, which probably inspired them all. 

Scott has to transcend the drone as relatable (but ultimately ruthless) genre before he gets my attenion. The AI as thriller genre lost its bubble since the abstract 'ghost in the machine' film Her. Which I see as peak.

Someone needs to reinvent it.

Speaking of douches (damn auto type!) in machines, I loved Johansson in, yea, Ghost in a Shell. Remineded me of The Departed (remake). Dunno why....

1 hour ago, BTM_Pix said:

Its interesting how when you're using a hybrid camera you'll switch your mindset when you switch your modes.

On Wednesday, when I'm using the X-T2 for shooting some build up footage of fans around the stadium then it'll be in manual focus all the way but then as soon as I'm inside and flick the switch to stills mode then I'll be using every tweakable part of its autofocus system to the maximum I can manipulate it to in order to get the shots I need. 

I could probably do both equally as well using a common fairly simple AF setting to be honest but its just ingrained in as being 'the way you're supposed to do it' isn't it?

Sticking dogmatically to both has caused me problems with missing focus when using manual in video and - just as problematic- disappearing up my own arse tweaking AF modes and custom ballistics and actually degrading AF performance.

For stills, I often use a hybrid of constant AF-C for tracking players but then a quick jab on the AF-On button to zone focus if its a fixed action like a corner kick or penalty where the AF system can get triggered by closer players crossing the frame.

It easy doing that with stills though as you just keep the focus point on centre frame and quickly point the camera temporarily where you want it to set the zone.

Different for video where you need to keep rolling with the camera in a fixed position and its not always possible to use touch focus or even move the focus point selector stick if it has one like the X-T2.

Thats why I'm interested in the Aputure lens regain focus system in that you can effectively use it to make two focus zones and rapidly switch between them and I think the way forward is for a camera manufacturer to incorporate that with multiple zones that perhaps have aperture and iso integrated into them.

On the Ricoh GR for example, it has a Snap Focus function that you set at a defined distance and then select your aperture and shutter speed. It illustrates the depth of field in front and behind the focus point for that distance set with the aperture selected and then the auto ISO takes care of the exposure given the aperture and shutter you've selected. This means that if you do a full press of the shutter it won't AF but will take the shot on manual focus with those settings. If you do a half press, it will AF as normal. It makes it incredibly good for street shooting as after a little bit of practice you get proficient at estimating the best working distance to set the focus point at (and your increasing accuracy means you can set wider apertures) and you can take the shot without bringing your eye to the screen for long if at all in a lot of cases if you are trying to be stealthy.

For a lot of run and gun video, as its akin to street photography in many ways, a two or three zone system like that operated from user buttons on the camera would be a good hybrid solution option for me.

So I could have a near zone at say f2.8, a mid zone at f5.6 and a far zone at f11 and when I pressed each one it would change the focus distance, aperture but also the ISO to keep the exposure consistent and that way I could be confident that I could quickly get something in focus. 

I also think we might see some tag based AF being incorporated into hybrid cameras fairly soon.

Either physical tags like the Soloshot system or screen based ones like on the Osmo Mobile or Mavic to track multiple subjects on a priority selection basis. The LS300 has a priority selection mode in its Face Detect AF but I haven't tried it as yet.

People are used to it at the consumer level with things like the Osmo Mobile and the selfie drones and its one of those things that will filter up rather than down.

Might not be for everyone but I could definitely see this sort of thing being a boon for people who shoot weddings to set the bride as the MVP in any shot she wanders through via a small wearable tag.

Dont u wish 'getting to know your dslr' was a college course credit! Lol - we would all pass with flying colors (of shit). 

I sometimes think if we applied the same resolve as you have just demonstrated to an actual money making industry you would easily pass an LSAT or Series 7!

God, what have we become.

I blame Spielberg and Rodriguez. Tarantino too. Much explaining thrm folks need to do... to us.

1 hour ago, jonpais said:

Just out of curiosity, I would like to see footage of moving subjects or where there is camera movement by some of these manual focus zealots on paid jobs where there is no focus puller. This might be more convincing than twenty pages of comments. Also, I don't understand why these MF crusaders must be so condescending and resort to profanity to make their point.

I think you miss my point. 

I would like to forget aboutwhat is 'wrong' or 'right'.

It is a feeling. Trusting your gear. Going to war.

You want a sniper or an automatic. Sometimes both. Question is 'when'.

An automatic is useful (fot murderous bastards in ex. Nigeria), but sometimes control means a lot - and Clint Eastwood will make a film about you.

Would love to see this...

Maybe we could get to Mythbusters slo-mo standards?!?

Even just send a 180fps shot to dropbox and lets have fun with it.

Remember, Twixtor works like a rotoscope track key - so film your subject against a plain background like the sky, or a wall...

If you don't have Twixtor - dropbox it and I will work it...

13 minutes ago, Stab said:

Nope. Because my GH5 shoots 180 fps

nuff said

Will a combo work for extreme slomo? Test anyone...?

would love to see that!

7 minutes ago, Stab said:

Autofocus for video will never work for 100% of the situations. It's that simple in my opinion. And since it won't, it's better to become the master of manual focus so you will never ever have the problem of becoming dependable on autofocus, until you find yourself in a situation where it doesn't work.

For instance, you're filming a wedding. You have a beautiful shot on the bride and all of a sudden her father walks in the room. You quickly zoom out to get him or them both in the frame. You want to focus on him but still keep the frame like an over-the-shoulder. How does the autofocus know what to focus on here? It doesn't know, so you have to tell it.

So do you physically have to touch the touchscreen here or press some buttons to transfer the focus from one point to another? On any camera without voice-command, most likely.
And are you able to do so without moving or shaking the camera and maintaining the exact frame? Not with my setup.

I can however with my middle finger just slightly move the focus ring of my lens whilst holding my rig steady, and the focus peaking confirms my new focus point. 0.02 seconds of work with great results.

I do not need to discuss autofocus for video ever nor while I ever rely on it for the things that I do such as weddings. 'Sorry that I messed up your ceremony, the autofocus didn't work apparently'. No.

On a professional movie set with expensive props, gear and talent? Nope. 
As a vlogger or to hold your cat in focus while it moves towards you? Yep, might be handy. Surely there are and will be camera's who will be up to this task but so is my $150 phone.

So yea, I agree with you. No perfectionist, which every cameraman or cinematographer should be, would actually care about autofocus.

For me - autofocus is a tool, like digital crop (not even n the level of zebra, histogram and peaking - definately not false color).

I use it, but watch it like a hawk, and turn it off as soon as my a6500 leaves a tripod. Its a bit 'less' worry in this regard, and quite helpful (with only native lenses and settings set precisely for the situation).

It is useful . like Siri...

I think it is about time we talk about autofocus. Rather, have a debate.

I think that autofucus is at its incubator stage, much like automatic driving cars, where some people hold the best patents - but even then, it is not a 100% working technology.

I truly believe it is the futre, as much as Siri and Alexa do wonders for not needing to type normal search queries, but if you are serious about your video - it is not for you.

This riles people up, something of a Pro vs Amateur war, but I want to look at the word "serious" - forget the word "pro".

Buying a video camera for more than 500 bucks makes you 'serious' - or stupid. Take yourself back 5 years ago and talk about spending 2 grand on a camera (with lenses) - it would only make sense if you were serious. Why is it different now? What more are you achieving? Why get higher specs if your focus makes your shots unusable (if serious)?

If you care about DR, ISO, zebras, histograms, false color, law of 3rds, luts, audio, minus *blah, saturation and plus detail or whatever... why the fuck would you pass on focus to a computer still attempting to make sense?

It takes a few minutes to get used to having to manually focus and eventually it becomes second nature. Tools like focus peaking and lenses where you can zoom in and get focus (parfocal?) are the best. On a gimbal you may need to have a calculation for distance vs focal plane (via f/t-stop), but jesus, that is not that hard - especially on a wide angle lens, which is where a gimbal works best.

How much more convincing does Telsla need to do to get you to climb in the back seat, take a nap, and arrive at your destination?

Auto focus is the same - I need a lot more convincing before I trust my shots with an algorithm... no matter the reviews and hype. Especially when being paid.

If you care - you will manually focus. But I know - caring is subjective. For me, I am a perfectionist (in "my empire of dirt" - org. Trent Reznor) - For you, you may be happy to see what suprises you get in the edit. Home video or not...

Why and why not?

Just wondering...

On 5/5/2017 at 10:45 AM, pablogrollan said:

There actually is a Sony to Sony speedboster, obviously Sony A-mount to Sony E-mount... and Kiwis do fly, mostly with Air New Zealand and Qantas  

Nice! Ha ha

Just some tests I was doing after researching settings and figuring out the 'menu' (random lists) :/

Testing ETTR with slog3 with modified PP8 profile for skintones. I think they came out looking good at times, let me know what you think.

Also tested focus responsiveness settings, slo motion, noise, etc...

Not really a story in here or anything fancy just freestyle shots and edit!

Doubt I will be going back to Panasonic - not having to fight against the GH4's pull to 'just ok' footage was liberating!

6 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

Empower your (good) actors as true collaborators. Let them bring their best skills to the process and you'll be rewarded for it.

Change the article from "the" to "a" and I'll agree with that.  His "oner(s)" are a simple conceit, but take alot of work.  Consider that he copped a lot of this technique from Kurosawa (among numerous others) but, really, Akira was ahead of the curve with modern film making craft.  And, of course, Wells sort of re-defined the whole process of American cinema waaaay back in the day...

I would be horrified if my legacy was being good at 'blocking'.

Literally, being the best at telling an actor how not to trip over their counterpart.

I would imagine this would be a 2nd AD role at Spielberg's level.

If we are, in fact, talking about the theatrical genesis of the term.

34 minutes ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Clarify.

In laymans term:

People are freaking out right now about many emotional issues. It is a great time for a up-and-coming director to try and explore different opinions on a variety of hot topics. We are seeing loyalty on measures unknown to even Facebook.

Niche thought leaders have more power than they ever have had.

It is a good time to build a following.

By doing so, filmmakers may form an style of their own - by which they can proceed to pay da bills.

I cannot simplify any further.

29 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

Man Shane has a Beautiful wife. He is a lucky guy what she is capable of doing with him. They make one heck of a team. They have known each other since they were 3 years old.

Im on his side - if his response was doing what he is doing now, then that is a lesson for all of us in resilience.

30 minutes ago, mercer said:

Idk, god forbid Christian Bale, with his 20 million dollar paycheck, can handle acting, the reason he gets 20 million, while some lowly crew member is in his line of sight...

I would wager that in 10 years time Shane will have a comfortable living with a loving famiyl and Bale will be in all sorts of actor forgotten-ness.

But its still funny. It hurts, but its funny.

I trained under directors who said similar to me. It is not uncommon and tht is why he guy leaked.

He wanted to show what it is really like - sometimes, not all the times, when you are working with millionaires/ assholes. Directors, producers, actors - the lot.

17 minutes ago, HockeyFan12 said:

Good advice.

I'll go one step further.. we all know about having a 'social footprint' and how important it is to be on Instagram, Facebook, Linkdin, Twitter - with BTS, marketing etc...

... but I think we are in an age of 'emotional footprint's', whereby someone hires you/ watches you for your values and your connection to a like-minded group.

Less everything will mean more - but those things that are - are fully committed - and will fight for you, your work and pay top dollar to get it.

We should start acknowledging this shift in buyer mentality.

9 minutes ago, webrunner5 said:

I bet you could Never learn how to do this stuff well without actually being on a big time move lot a lot. I would imagine we can't imagine what all goes into it without seeing it in action! I guess. I am a big fan of  Shane Hurlbut, I know he is a DoP, but this website does show a lot of "On Lot" type stuff.  Well worth anyone visiting it often.

He does update it a lot, and what I like, answers peoples questions. http://www.thehurlblog.com/

I love Shane Hurlbut's contribution to the digital community - and especially admire his buisness model - which is ahead of its time.

But I cannot, lest I try, forget his bollocking on set by Christian Bale.

Has he ever talked about that incident?

Talk about a meltdown....

Another thing... I truly believe that filmmaking is no different to painting, woodwork or sculpting - you only get better by actually buying the tools and materials, and doing it.

Books, forums, Youtube videos... are mainly useful for supplementing and encouraging the act of actually doing something. There is no book that will stop you from falling on your ass in the beginning.

In fact, you will repeatedly fail, but books will help ease your mind that many others have made the same mistakes and offer some solutions for how to avoid them again.

Unfortunately, the minute you feel you need to stop learning is the minute you need to quit this game and get a real job - because we are never better than our last film/ promo/ music video/ recommendation.

That is even a tougher standard than medical personnel live by. Well, maybe. I flatter myself (us).

But truthfully - reading about film, current affairs, fiction, non-fiction, scripts... are just founding blocks for finding your own unique voice (however, writers just need to read 24/7 - no practical).

The reason someone will hire you or watch your film is because you are different. And if everyone has the same camera and knows the same skills, you are only different because of the stories you choose to tell.

There are so many fractured societies right now, that finding a niche in this day and age is easier than it probably ever has been.

Just do what you love to do, talk about what you like to talk about, film what you want to film... BUT understand the conventions in your niche... and then break them!

You learn those conventions from books. You find your voice from looking at (reading about) the world around you - and then re-presenting it in your body of work.

I am still looking for my voice - and fuck if I won't die trying.