EphraimP

3 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Don't worry, you're not overspending on a tripod at all! Still only scratching the surface when it comes to costs for a tripod 

Damn, don't I know it. Like I said, it's no OConnor. Heck I make upgrade the sticks next year to a set with the fast lock setup, since I should be able to resell the ones I just got for a decent price compared to what I paid with the head. 

What did the Stones say that one time? It's a GAS, GAS, GAS. Or something like that.

On 11/29/2019 at 8:51 PM, newfoundmass said:

Yeah, Curtis Judd reviewed the Godox 200w recently and the fan noise was a complaint he had. 

It seems that replacing the fans has caused increased flickering in a lot of these lights. 

People complained about the 60w's fan noise but unless your mic is like right on top of it I can't see (or hear!) how it's a problem. I love the light though, it was a lot brighter than I was expecting. 

On 11/29/2019 at 8:57 PM, thebrothersthre3 said:

I've been using the Pixel on set which is 220w, definitely has some fan noise but its not bad. I wonder how much worse it is on the Godox and neewer. I may just get one along with a 60w. I like throwing light in through windows so it could be used for that if nothing else

Funny story. I bought the Godox 60w and did a fan replacement (taught myself to solder along the way). The noise definitely went down, and I'm only using it for interviews so no flicker worries at 1/48 shutter speed. It's bright enough for one or two light interview setups, but I don't think it's powerful enough to blast through a window, unless for something like an intimate kitchen or bathroom scene.

Then I went and got a Ninja V. That fan is way noisier than the original 60w's was.

Moral of the story? I'd like to be a big boy someday and have lights big enough to shine through a window to light my scenes someday... Maybe.

I've been shooting social media videos for nonprofits for a few years and graduated to micro-docs for online distribution. Now, it looks like I'll be able to bundle enough funds from donors (my *real* job is development, aka fundraising) to shoot an ~15-25 minute documentary for online distro plus entering into environmental film festivals and for our main sponsor to play at conferences around the country. 

In real-world cinema terms, it will still be a no-budget production (sub 20k). I'm mainly getting funds for my salary and traveling expenses, plus a tiny bit for gear. I shoot run and gun with my own gear, currently an X-T3/Ninja V rig. I suspect/hope that image quality will be just enough to get by with. I don't expect to get a anamorphic setup going anytime soon, so the question becomes what ratio to shoot in. I was thinking I would film in DCI 4k on the Ninja and drop the footage into a FLAT (1.85:1) timeline and export in either 2 or 4k. However, this Filmmaker article says that unless I'm creating a DCP, festivals that accept digital files do so in 1080. Probably not a big deal, because that means if I shoot in DCI I have more wiggle room in post to compose. I'd love wise words of advice here.

Audio wise, I've just ordered a Mixpre 3 ii and have Deity S-mic 2 and Samson C02 mics to boom for main sound. I hope to pick up a Sennheiser G4 lav for backup sound. If budget allows I'll get a local pro to do post for the sound.

For drone footage, I've been using my M2P with the 4k HQ setting, never the mushy wide angle. I'd skip drone footage entirely, because I don't anticipate being able to shoot on anything better, but it will be a film about forestry, so drone shots are pretty impactful. Plus, my boss goes crazy for drone shots. I have friend with Phantom 4, but I'm not sure the iq is really noticeably better than the HQ setting of the M2P. My best bet is probably to be very, very judicial with drone footage in the final cut and only try to shoot with perfect golden hour light, yeah?

What kinds of things should I be thinking about that I wouldn't necessarily have been shooting shorts for Facebook/YouTube? I should switch from 23.976 to real 24p right? I've shot a few interviews already that might end up in the project, but it's not a deal killer to stretch them in post by a frame a second, right?

I'm currently editing in, and cursing Premiere. I've downloaded the free DaVinci but haven't had time to learn it. I've been shooting in ProRes 422 HQ, even though I edit on a PC. Not sure if I should switch to DNxHD because its been the Windows standard, even though ProRes in now pretty supported by Premiere. 

It's not a sealed deal yet (I've only secured enough funds to shoot a series of 4 social media shorts so far, but I'm pretty sure I'll get enough to move forward with the whole project) yet I'm pretty excited about it. It could be a major step towards moving into videography/cinematography full time. Thanks in advance for the help.

13 hours ago, fuzzynormal said:

I know a successful documentarian that was banging out award winning productions about once a month.  He's always getting complimented for his cinematography, and he told me "Shit man, I just always put the damn camera on a tripod."  Simple as that (well, not really, but that's his "big" piece of craft).  I asked him what he's shooting with and it's mostly the Canon C-series, but he's used anything and everything.  He just refuses to go off sticks.

Thanks for making me feel better about pulling the trigger on a 608 Nitrotech and real video sticks when B&H dropped the price two bills Friday. I was questioning myself, even though I've been feeling that my basic Manfrotto 500 head on Davis and Sanford legs hasn't been cutting it for a while now. It's no OConnor, but the new tripod is kinda a sexy beast, if you're into that sort of things. 

Now I just need to figure out what I don't know that I don't know about shooting... or get that non-working Alexa and fake it ?

4 minutes ago, KnightsFan said:

Yes, that makes perfect sense. With most codecs you can losslessly trim a portion out. It can be done with ffmpeg, I've done it for archiving GoPro footage from long events. I don't know whether any mainstream editing software can do this--there is an option to "only re-encode when necessary" in Resolve but I haven't tried it. On All-I codecs such as ProRes, this should be possible with cuts on any frame, but with intra-frame codecs, you would begin your trim on a I frame.

Unlike an uncompressed format like your TIFFs, cutting out a portion of a compressed codec won't be lossless across edits. For example, you can't color correct it and maintain your complete fidelity with this method.

On the other side, most codecs will not show any degradation over a single re-encoding. Avoid it when possible, but it's usually not the end of the world if you're not doing it a few times.

Thanks, that's super helpful to know. I've not messed with ffmpeg yet. And sound like another in a million reasons why I need to buckle down learn Resolve. 

8 minutes ago, KnightsFan said:

There are lossless formats, including TIFF image sequences. The downside is that file sizes will be astronomical. What type of intermediates are you using, and can you use a proxy workflow instead? Using proxies instead of uncompressed intermediates will have the same fidelity and be a lot less taxing on hard drives.

I'm using ProRes from my Ninja V as much as possible. And I've used proxies, so I get how they help speed up a workflow and take pressure off of my processor. I'm more concerned about intermediate deliverables to a third party, such as cutting the best take from a multiple take sequence to send to a client, or storage. If I shoot a long sequence, such as an interview, and decided that say, 75 percent is garbage and 10-25 percent is perfect, it would be nice to cut the crap out and be able to transcode the good stuff for future use/long term storage without losing quality. Does that make sense?

Is there a solution for lossless or virtually lossless transcoding? That's one of the things that frustrates me about video, coming from a stills background where I could shoot in RAW and edit in TIFF and export JPGs for final delivery. Working with log 4K 422 ProRes files is nice, but it's still like working in a JPG format if every time you export you lose info.

Nice reel. I like the way you highlighted the different types of work you do and the places you've worked in.

I need a bag suggestion as well. I'm sick of breaking down my X-T3 rig and rebuildinging if for every job. I need a bag that can hold a mirrorless rig with 15mm rails and a v-mount. I've been running a Ninja V and expect I'll at least have to take it off the rig, but it would be nice to leave the rest together. Other essential kit included one or two xlr shotgun mics w/pistol grip mount, cables, headphone, 70-200mm zoom and 25mm mini-cine lens, wireless lav, 2 small on camera LED lights, and other standard kit. Space for a Ronin-S in its balanced configuration would be a bonus. Space for a Mavic 2 Pro would also be a bonus.

How do folks like the Port Brace bags? I'm in the Pacific Northwest and do nature/forestry type work often, so water is an issue.

47 minutes ago, IronFilm said:

Am going to get one myself soon, so I can report back some personal findings. 

One of my good buddies who is also a local sound mixer, really likes it himself. 
 

Such as? I can't think of anything notable about Deity Connect Wireless which has been reported as an issue with 2.4GHz

Remember "2.4GHz" is simply a frequency, and there are many many MANY different ways to implement how it is used. 

It is like saying "UHF is bad" just because you had a few bad experiences with a UHF system, or heard some reported, doesn't mean all UHF is bad. 

Don't get a cardioid lav mic

 

Why not a cardioid lav mic? I ask because I'm trying to learn as much about sound as possible.

Also, I'll be very curious to hear what you have to say about the Deity Connect system. I was originally planning to by it because of it's cost to value ratio and because I've been pretty happy with my S-Mic 2. I thought I've read some negative comments about the Connect system on the board and also several recommendations not to buy the first version of a Deity product because they come to market without all the bugs worked out and the second generation is always better.

15 minutes ago, thebrothersthre3 said:

I think you'll do fine. 

Probably. I like to overthink things. ?

12 minutes ago, androidlad said:

You can use Interframe Noise Reduction, since you're not going to film crazy action shots, it'll be very effective in controlling noise.

I've never played with Interfram Noise Reduction. How does it work in camera and what are the pros and cons?

2 hours ago, mkabi said:

I'd actually do a couple of test runs to see what works and what doesn't.... obviously the event isn't tonight right?

If it is tonight, then well... can't do any test runs.

But if its in a week from now, I would go back to the tap, see what works and what doesn't work every night till then... I mean.... you don't have to waste your entire night doing it, just bring your XT3 (its small and fairly covert)... do about 30 min. to an hour every night, try different angles, certain places have more light than others, bring external lights if you can. See what works and what doesn't and exploit the hell out of what works on the actual night.

Good luck.

If I had time and it was a regular paying gig I'd do that. It's this Saturday and they're only going to give me about $300 (in installments) plus a bar tab and hat for the video. And besides my day job I have a two-video job due before veteran's day that I need to wrap edits for. So I probably won't be able to spend a ton of time testing. 

I'll see what I come up with using a combo of lowest shutter speed (within 180 degree rule) highest T-stop, and using the mini led lights we won't use for the photo booth. Plus maybe trying out Neat Video in post if necessary. It's one of those things where if I don't like the end result I won't charge them anything and will chalk the whole thing up as a learning experience with teh setup.

1 hour ago, scotchtape said:

Expired 19/11/6, required promo code that i'm assuming is unique.

Typical. That's a bummer. I see that the version with the cardioid lav mic, the ME 4, is bundled with a $100 B&H gift card, so it's at least somewhat discounted. But I've seen some pretty negative reviews of it. Anyone had experience with either the M2 II or the ME 4, or both? I'm wondering if B&H is willing to discount the ME 4s because they didn't sell well.

Maybe it will drop down again during holiday/end of year sales.

Haven't played with Neatvideo yet. Sounds like I may put a little bit of the cash from this gig into it if need be. Too late to get a speedbooster and lenses, but I'll probably use my Meike 25mm T2.2 mini-cine prime and do everything in 24p.Definitely no Peter McKinnon-ing at 120p for that extra crispy b-roll.

Not s

On 11/5/2019 at 12:43 PM, scotchtape said:

Got the email from BH today, Sennheiser G4 on sale for $450 

I've been kicking around getting the G4. I trash all my promo email frequently, so I didn't see the B&H sale. On the website, they are showing up at full price. Was it a flash sale or something?

Yeah, the test shots I took really quickly at 6400 were 1.5 to 2 under. I'm sure that's part of why it was getting noisy. Any opinion on whether recording to the Ninja will give me files that are easier to make pretty if I do get some noise?

Some friends who run a tap house are having an event this weekend and they asked to borrow my studio lighting kit (nothing fancy, just a Godox SL-60 and soft-box) so their event photographer can set up a photo booth and take pictures of people dressed up as vikings. Since I'm going to be there, they asked if I wanted to shoot them an event video, including shots of the live music they'll be having. 

The place is crazy dark inside and there won't be any stage lighting as they'll be setting up a makeshift stage. I have two small on camera style video lights that I can swap between for candid shots of people at the bar, getting their faces painted, eating giant turkey legs, etc. I don't think the lights will be of much use trying to films the musicians. 

What's the highest ISO you've gotten away with for professional/semi professional shoots? I think ISO 1600 is great, up to 3200 is doable if you don't underexpose too much, but 6400 starts to get noisy.  Has anyone been able to use 6400 or higher ISOs? Does the X-T3 denoise easily in Premiere? I can either shoot to card in camera or to my Ninja V if higher quality ProRes or DNxHR files will make a difference in post.

Thanks in advance for your input.

Didn't think of that. I already have Davinci downloaded and have been meaning to learn it so I can kick the Adobe habit. If I drag files into media viewer, will it create temp versions or files that will increase memory usage or file space? These ProRes 4k files are chunky and eating up space fast.

Since I picked up my Ninja V last week, I've shot some projects in ProRes, both 422 and Light. I know that theoretically DNxHR is made for PC systems, but my first project was a long concert with multiple acts and ProRes Light gave me the best combination of file quality and size to capture the whole event on a 1T drive. It's time to start editing.

My normal editing workflow is to open up each video file after I download it to an editing drive so I can scan it to see if I want to use the footage. The only player on my laptop that opens ProRes files, besides NLEs, is VLC player. But VLC player is really struggling to play the files, so it's really unusable for my workflow. I could load them all into Premiere, but there is some hassle involved with that in terms of deleting files I don't want. 

Is there a better player for ProRes that folks here use for weeding through their clips?

I have a 25mm version of the Meike for X-mount that I use on my X-T3. Personally, I like the damping on the focus ring, but I do use a Tilta Nano Nucleus to focus it. The all metal body is nice and overall the lens seems well built. It's a little tank and pleasure to use. It helps me understand why you'd want to use a cinema lens instead of a photo lens. 

I've shot some tests with a Datacolor SpyderChecker card with the Meike and my 18-55 Fuji kit lens to compare color and sharpness, but haven't gotten around to analyzing them in depth because I've become really busy with video work. I'll get around to it at some point. Maybe. 

Like billdoubleu said, the lens is plenty sharp. It definitely has chromatic aberration in the form of purple fringing. It's not horrible, but it is there. At under $400, it seems like a pretty good deal. The reviews I've seen indicate that it's actually a better lens than the SLR Magic Microprimes and other mini-cine lenses under $1,000.

If it wasn't for the Veydra controversy, I'd definitely be interested in checking a few more focal lengths out if they got around to putting them out in X-mount. If they are truly Veydra ripoffs, I suppose it's possible someone could make lens mount swap kits like Duclos did for Veydra. The screw pattern on the back of my 25mm looks different from that of a Duclos X-mount, so I'm assuming that they changed that up a little. 

I didn't know they were a complete rip off when I bought mine. It's a tough position to be in when you're trying to put a high quality kit together on a budget. It sucks to help people profit off of taking someone else's intellectual property and hard work. I've got the cine lens bug hard now.

1 minute ago, androidlad said:

It has to be PD compatible power source (9V) for continuous power without battery depletion. Regular USB power (5V) can only trickle charge.

That makes sense. I'm using an older Anker battery with a fast 5V port and a regular one. And I'm pretty sure the Ronin's port is only 5V. Guess I'll stick to the dummy battery and V-mount for super long stuff, which really be very often. I had a second Fuji battery, which would have been helpful, but lost the damn thing taking shots while backpacking. Oh well.

Which NLEs does it plug into?

38 minutes ago, steeped-prod said:

I have a handle that comes out of the side of the Ronin s like this one: https://www.amazon.com/Acouto-Lightweight-Stabilizer-Extension-Ronin-S/dp/B07JB7H5XY/ref=sr_1_40?keywords=ronin+s+handle&qid=1571270768&sr=8-40

It gives me a flat surface on top that I just put a piece of velcro tape on and then velcro tape on the battery. I use the smaller anker battery which sits there perfectly and gives me about 4-5 hours. I will go through two obviously on a full day shoot, but never have any issues with it being awkward or falling it off, works really well.

I have the SmallRig handle that mounts to the bottom of the Ronin. It has cutouts, so not a lot of space for something like velcro. I suppose if I really put my mind to it, I could come up with a solution. 

Speaking of running the camera off of usb power, has anyone had the experience of the battery running down over time, even though it was plugged into a power supply (usb or v-mount) that still had plenty of charge. I had that happen this weekend and the camera wouldn't run anymore. Luckily I had a dummy battery that plugged directly into the DC power of my v-mount battery plate.

Thanks for the feedback. I was looking at the Lindy cable, but on Amazon it's only listed as supporting 1080. I see it's listed as 4K on Lindy's website, so I'll give it a go.

On 10/11/2019 at 2:47 PM, BrunoCH said:

Be careful and do tests. I had a problem using the DJI power supply via USB. All my data on the  two cards are erased by switching off/on the DJI to power the XT3 (like explain to 10mm15s in this video). Not all time but twice during my tests. I will never use this technique. And anyway now I have the cable fuji ronin sc to trigger rec on off.

I appreciated your warning this weekend. I tested it out and didn't lose any clips, so I used it on my weekend shoot. Definitely didn't lose footage, but it didn't keep my X-T3 powered for the whole shoot so I had to switch to my handheld rig with a v-mount battery. I do have an Anker power bank I've used with it before. Seems kind of clunky to gaff it to the gimbal though.