First ProRes files from the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera released

[richg101]

I've put the prores files through some cc and some sharpening and am exporting now.  thanks for the Mirror Andrew.

 

I have to say, I am quite impressed with the footage.  or atleast the one shot of the people.  surely this guy could have been a bit more creative with his selection of location.  wow what a dull place!  

[smitty]

This what I came up with

[HurtinMinorKey]

Here is my take. 

 

https://vimeo.com/71782779

 

I'll take whatever JB gives me and like it, but geeez.

[PTRush]

this footage is actually quite nice. i was seeing some of the grades out there and they've looked atrocious. and some of the stuff i was hearing really had me going for a minute. 

for me, the camera seemed to grade just fine imo. and i bet could do very well with a few nodes in resolve. i was able to recoup highlights easily with tonalizer. and much sharper than most 5D3 stuff i've edited at the wide end of the lens anyway-

 

https://vimeo.com/71781899

[Edward Zaee]

I'm sorry to say it, but all John Brawley's videos look like s.....

 

Why the hell Blackmagic gave him a test camera?

[Tone13]

 

I'm sorry to say it, but all John Brawley's videos look like s..hit.

 

Why the hell Blackmagic gave him a test camera?

 

Bothered seeing what else he has shot other than BMCC test footage?

 

Here's something he recently shot. https://vimeo.com/70027687

[HurtinMinorKey]

Bothered seeing what else he has shot other than BMCC test footage?

 

Here's something he recently shot. https://vimeo.com/70027687

 

Him and a small army...

 

But he is legit. He does seem to throw up some random clips.

[richg101]

http://vimeo.com/71783885

 

[richg101]

http://vimeo.com/71785015

 

uprezed to 4k and cropped

[Francisco Rios]

Hey Andrew,

Thanks for sharing through "copy"...better than dropbox!

:-)

[TheCaptainOfObvious]

A little noisy and soft but I still like the image. 

[attachment=601:BMPocket ProRes.jpg]

[pinger007]

https://vimeo.com/71787060

 

The original footage was very flat and neutral, which was nice for grading, but there was little to no highlight recovery possible in this prores file. 

Grading was nothing too special:  7-8 minutes messing around in AE with levels and curves.  No sharpening and no noise reduction.  I might spend some more time tinkering tomorrow in Resolve, but I may just hold out for raw footage or for my own camera's delivery.

 

And I agree with how shoddy this footage is.  You are charged with revealing a highly-anticipated camera's first footage to the world and this is what you come up with???  Is JB instructed by BM to make the footage as amature and boring as possible?  I guess the footage provided us a good test of dynamic range, but if that's the goal, then I'd much rather have a few seconds a raw instead. 

[tosvus]

I wouldn't be too hard on JB. I am guessing he has a busy schedule and did some quick takes when he had the chance. As others have mentioned, it is good it is not too "perfect" either - this gives a pretty realistic idea of what material one may end up having to work with.

 

Enjoying seeing everyone's grades - quite some different takes on it. Must be the most re-graded footage on the internet, today :)

[pinger007]

If this is the kind of "realistic" footage a person ends up with, then they either don't have a clue on how to shoot, or they're an editor/colorist working on an undergrad student film.  :P

 

And I understand that JB is busy, but seriously.  I'm not expecting a huge RED production with all the glitz and glamour, but a little effort would not go unappreciated.  I've had one preordered from day one, but I'm up for ordering several more if quality footage exists for me to convince the investors with...  it just doesn't make sense to put out footage like this.

[418]

I've put the prores files through some cc and some sharpening and am exporting now.  thanks for the Mirror Andrew.

 

I have to say, I am quite impressed with the footage.  or atleast the one shot of the people.  surely this guy could have been a bit more creative with his selection of location.  wow what a dull place!  

 

 

Hey that's directly opposite my old flat :-)

 

The footage was shot on King St, Newtown, Sydney for anyone who is interested, one of the more lively streets in the city believe it or not, although it's a far more interesting place at night.

 

And I agree with tosvus, i'm enjoying seeing the different grades on this.

[tpr]

[attachment=602:bm_pocket_sample_sm-2.jpg]

[lmackreath]

My attempt...

 

https://vimeo.com/71726506

[tony wilson]

inder olden times dayz dem camera folks put der 16mm film camera on a tripod and framed stuff.

i like heads and legs even plastic tripods are nice.

16mm kodak film is nice.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jshPPVOJDb8

[Timothy]

http://vimeo.com/71815690

 

Did a little colour grade in Magic Bullet Looks.

[Axel]

The screen grab you posted above is badly compressed, badly graded (too much magenta, steep roll off in the blacks and highlights). It doesn't do it justice. Sorry!

 

If it's magenta or not is hardly any reason to say that it's 'badly graded'. In the end, as long as the flesh tones convince (which they can even do without following the 'flesh line' in the vectorscope, for example at sunset, when these shots seem to have been taken), it's a matter of personal taste if I grade darker, brighter, more or less saturated or with the colors left unchanged like in this auto-balance-screenshot from Color (midtones lifted though a bit):

 

I don't like the way Brawley grades, but again, that's my problem. I also don't like the opposite of magenta, green, when there was no plausible source of light where this cast could have come from:

 

 

But it's Lee's decision, I don't depreciate his effort, for if this is about achieving a neutral and scientifically correct image, i completely misunderstood the whole purpose of grading. Have a go with the clips yourself and explain why your grading is better.

Hmmm. So, I've seen footage that looks really great coming out of this camera so I have a feeling the softness has more to do with the lens or just plane being out of focus.

 

Or, watch again, the camera has poor resolution. Actually, it looks like a combination of oof, terrible lenses and a resolution around 720p. There is no sharpness in the images to begin with. But one shouldn't mistake softness for poor resolution. Generally. But here, we know the lenses from the Lumix. It's true, they have sharpness added and distortion corrected by the system. But adding sharpness doesn't improve resolution and to de-squeeze the distortion really costs resolution. But nobody ever complained. With this in mind, study areas of the images that strike you as 'sharp' or 'well-defined'. How many are there? Look at the hairs and the fabric of the clothes. The crossing with the red house left: Look at the bricks. 

 

Hmmm. Now that I've looked at the footage in Resolve... Ugh... I really don't understand. Are these actually the files from the camera or are they files that came out of an intermediate step? They don't seem to have any dynamic range at all. The highlights are clipped right at the top and there is no latitude at all. What's up? Anyone?

 

I don't see clipping, if this means that values are cut off abruptly. When you look at the luma waveform. On the other hand, you are quite right: There is not much definition in the highlights nor is there in the shadows. I'm not sure, maybe this is because there is also not much resolution in the midtones. Couldn't this have been shot with any AVCHD camcorder in 8-bit? Sharper though and out-of-the-box? (deliberately exaggerating, a bit). But of course: We haven't seen raw yet.

 

for me, the camera seemed to grade just fine imo. and i bet could do very well with a few nodes in resolve. i was able to recoup highlights easily with tonalizer. and much sharper than most 5D3 stuff i've edited at the wide end of the lens anyway-

 

Now I am relieved.

 

richg101:

 

 

uprezed to 4k and cropped

 

I like the many versions you did. The upsizing also shows that there are not many artifacts which usually become visible then.

 

I don't know. I hope I'm wrong with the bad resolution.