The GAF Video and Filmmaking Thread

So I am in very early pre-production of a web series. I am almost finished writing the script for episode 1. I have actor friends waiting to jump in, and even have a wardrobe and makeup people who want to help. The only real thing I'm lacking is equipment and locations but working on it. I am using DSLRs to shoot, and have a good mic to use but I'm wondering what else would be ideal for good sound. Should the actors use LAV mics? There will be some heavy effects work as well. Does anyone have experience shooting for effects with and without green screen?

EDIT: Vancouver Film GAF, any help is appreciated with filming if you have the time.
 
super-heated plasma said:
So I am in very early pre-production of a web series. I am almost finished writing the script for episode 1. I have actor friends waiting to jump in, and even have a wardrobe and makeup people who want to help. The only real thing I'm lacking is equipment and locations but working on it. I am using DSLRs to shoot, and have a good mic to use but I'm wondering what else would be ideal for good sound. Should the actors use LAV mics? There will be some heavy effects work as well. Does anyone have experience shooting for effects with and without green screen?

EDIT: Vancouver Film GAF, any help is appreciated with filming if you have the time.
Click to expand...

Which mic are you using? Are you using an external recorder, or are you running the mic to the cams?

Is your series primarily going to be indoor, outdoor or both?
 
I got a Panasonic GH4 last week, and cut together a video with some test stuff from my first few days with the camera. I know some people in this thread expressed interest so figured I'd post it here:
http://youtu.be/DNxxNDOFzzk

Keep in mind it's YouTube so you lose some of the stuff to compression. Specifically the 4K sampled to 1080p, the detail is unreal compared to the regular 1080p. Very noticeable. Only annoyance is the further crop factor at 4K compared to 1080p, but it's not really a problem to plan for that in your shots.

I'm super impressed with the camera so far. As a video camera it's really unmatched, the only thing really holding it back compared to something like the 5Dm3 is low light performance, but you know that going in considering the Micro 4/3 sensor, right?

Here's the thing though, the GH4 will get noisier at lower ISO than the 5D, but I think the noise in the GH4 looks much better than the noise in the 5D when it does get noisy. It's much more natural and analog looking than the fixed pattern noise in the 5D, and therefore more pleasing (to me at least). But don't expect to go out in no light and start shooting at 1600 ISO and expect usable footage.
 
-griffy- said:
I got a Panasonic GH4 last week, and cut together a video with some test stuff from my first few days with the camera. I know some people in this thread expressed interest so figured I'd post it here:
http://youtu.be/DNxxNDOFzzk

Keep in mind it's YouTube so you lose some of the stuff to compression. Specifically the 4K sampled to 1080p, the detail is unreal compared to the regular 1080p. Very noticeable. Only annoyance is the further crop factor at 4K compared to 1080p, but it's not really a problem to plan for that in your shots.

I'm super impressed with the camera so far. As a video camera it's really unmatched, the only thing really holding it back compared to something like the 5Dm3 is low light performance, but you know that going in considering the Micro 4/3 sensor, right?

Here's the thing though, the GH4 will get noisier at lower ISO than the 5D, but I think the noise in the GH4 looks much better than the noise in the 5D when it does get noisy. It's much more natural and analog looking than the fixed pattern noise in the 5D, and therefore more pleasing (to me at least). But don't expect to go out in no light and start shooting at 1600 ISO and expect usable footage.
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Thanks for that, we are getting a pair of them rather soon and its really nice to see more footage from other users :)

Odd request. Do you happen to have any kind of chroma material handy? i would love to see how the downsampled 4k handles green screen, since its supposed to downsample to 10 bit 444 from its native 8 bit 420 color. If you could post some 4k footage of that I would be in your debt! :)
 
guldakot said:
Thanks for that, we are getting a pair of them rather soon and its really nice to see more footage from other users :)

Odd request. Do you happen to have any kind of chroma material handy? i would love to see how the downsampled 4k handles green screen, since its supposed to downsample to 10 bit 444 from its native 8 bit 420 color. If you could post some 4k footage of that I would be in your debt! :)
Click to expand...

Unfortunately I don't have access to a green screen right now, but I'm eager to see that too! I'm going to be shooting some effects heavy stuff later this summer that will require some green screen shooting, so I'm hoping the 4K will key nicely. I might have to bug some of my friends who still work at a news station to get in there and shoot against their weather wall soon to test it out.
 
appreciate the review of the gh4. I was going to post on this thread yesterday asking for advice on what camera to go for in the 2000 dollar range. Was leaning GH4. Did you get the external recorder/YAGH?

edit: oh, also, would you (or anyone) recommend a lens for the GH4. Such a newbie. I'm going to attempt to film 8-10 minute shorts. Mostly outdoors. 2-5 people in frame. Some establishing, scenic shots. Any thing else I should be considering before committing to a lens? Any advice would be golden.
 
Iceman said:
appreciate the review of the gh4. I was going to post on this thread yesterday asking for advice on what camera to go for in the 2000 dollar range. Was leaning GH4. Did you get the external recorder/YAGH?

edit: oh, also, would you (or anyone) recommend a lens for the GH4. Such a newbie. I'm going to attempt to film 8-10 minute shorts. Mostly outdoors. 2-5 people in frame. Some establishing, scenic shots. Any thing else I should be considering before committing to a lens? Any advice would be golden.
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I did not get the YAGH addon, it was a little over kill for anything I'd ever need. I feel like that's more tailored for broadcast as opposed to a post production work flow.

As for lenses, I personally can get by in almost all video situations with a fast prime, and a nice standard zoom lens. I upgraded from a Canon T2i, where I was using a Sigma 28mm f1.8 and the Canon EF-S 17-55m f2.8 IS lens, so I pretty much got the equivalents to those for my GH4. The Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4, and the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8.

For your scenario, the 12-35mm might be a good first lens as it will give you freedom to quickly frame your shots for multiple subjects with the zoom, and get wider for establishing shots. It is a bit pricey though.
 
-griffy- said:
I did not get the YAGH addon, it was a little over kill for anything I'd ever need. I feel like that's more tailored for broadcast as opposed to a post production work flow.

As for lenses, I personally can get by in almost all video situations with a fast prime, and a nice standard zoom lens. I upgraded from a Canon T2i, where I was using a Sigma 28mm f1.8 and the Canon EF-S 17-55m f2.8 IS lens, so I pretty much got the equivalents to those for my GH4. The Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4, and the Panasonic 12-35mm f2.8.

For your scenario, the 12-35mm might be a good first lens as it will give you freedom to quickly frame your shots for multiple subjects with the zoom, and get wider for establishing shots. It is a bit pricey though.
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Thanks for the suggestion. I'll certainly consider the 12-35mm f2.8.

Were the water bath/water ripple slow-mo shots from the f1.4 lens?
 
How is the depth of field compare to a larger frame sensor? Lot's of GH4 test footage seems to have a real deep focus compared to the more shallow focus I'm used to from the Canon camera's I use.
 
super-heated plasma said:
indoor and outdoor. I have a rode video mic pro and a tascam dr-07 pcm recorder
Click to expand...

The rode is very solid for capturing audio outdoors or in large spaces. When you get into tighter spaces however ( 10x10 smaller) the rode starts to pick up a bit of echo. You can fix it in post ( audition is awesome for that) but it will require a bit of work to get crystal audio though. For indoor especially voices your going to want to either go with lavalier or ideally a supercardoid on a boom pole.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/audio/hands-reviews/interior-dialog-boompole-microphone-roundup

The rode video mic is a solid piece of kit however, and if your doing a small or no man crew for your shoots, you can work with it and get decent audio with a bit of post.
 
Sec0nd said:
How is the depth of field compare to a larger frame sensor? Lot's of GH4 test footage seems to have a real deep focus compared to the more shallow focus I'm used to from the Canon camera's I use.
Click to expand...
It does have a greater depth of field than a full frame camera, comparing f-stop to f-stop, but that's just a reality of a micro 4/3 sensor. I find that it still gets plenty shallow. Though supposedly you can get closer to full frame DOF using a speed booster, so if Metabones does make one for Canon EF lenses to micro 4/3, I'll be very curious to try it out.
 
-griffy- said:
It does have a greater depth of field than a full frame camera, comparing f-stop to f-stop, but that's just a reality of a micro 4/3 sensor. I find that it still gets plenty shallow. Though supposedly you can get closer to full frame DOF using a speed booster, so if Metabones does make one for Canon EF lenses to micro 4/3, I'll be very curious to try it out.
Click to expand...

I'm so super hesitant on pulling the trigger on the GH4. Spec-wise it blows everything out of the water in its price range and pretty much comes out of top in a still comparison with every other camera out there. I just don't like the look of the footage it produces for some reason. The stuff I've seen look like they have been shot at f10+ and just look too sharp. It often looks too real and not very cinematic. It's hard to bring into words.

It's a shame since I've really outgrown my T3i at this point but don't have a lot of money to spare. It's quite frustrating because I'm around people with the 1DC, 5DmIII, Red Epic and FS700 in my work environment.

What's your opinion of the GH4 so far Griffy? I saw you upgraded from your T2i, similar to my current camera. What do you think of the footage it produces?
 
Sec0nd said:
I'm so super hesitant on pulling the trigger on the GH4. Spec-wise it blows everything out of the water in its price range and pretty much comes out of top in a still comparison with every other camera out there. I just don't like the look of the footage it produces for some reason. The stuff I've seen look like they have been shot at f10+ and just look too sharp. It often looks too real and not very cinematic. It's hard to bring into words.

It's a shame since I've really outgrown my T3i at this point but don't have a lot of money to spare. It's quite frustrating because I'm around people with the 1DC, 5DmIII, Red Epic and FS700 in my work environment.

What's your opinion of the GH4 so far Griffy? I saw you upgraded from your T2i, similar to my current camera. What do you think of the footage it produces?
Click to expand...

I'm loving it so far. As a video guy, it's such a nice package with so many features it blows away my T2i in every conceivable way. I don't really see the over sharpness you are talking about. A lot of the outdoor stuff in my video was actually shot at a higher f-stop because I didn't have an ND filter yet at that point, but it still gets plenty shallow. I'll try to upload some screengrabs and photos when I get home from work tonight.

I had just done a shoot with a 5Dm3 about a month ago, featuring some night stuff shot with a 50mm at f1.8, so I redid some of those shots with my GH4 with the 25mm at f1.4. So even though I personally owned the T2i I've been comparing it directly to the 5Dm3.The GH4 did have slightly deeper depth of field at f1.4 compared to the 5Dm3 at f1.8, but it's not as if the GH4 looked like it was deep focusing on the foreground and background with no depth of field at all. It still has a very nice bokeh. It actually compares very favorably to the 5Dm3 footage.

I've seen a couple people now comment that GH4 stuff almost looks too sharp when doing 4k down to 1080p, and I honestly think what people are seeing is proper sharpness! It isn't line skipping to shrink the sensor size down to 1080p, there aren't any of the usual artifacts like moire or anything like that. Instead it's a true, 1 to 1 pixel mapped image that is as sharp as it should be, virtually indistinguishable from a still taken by the camera. It's truly beautiful video.

There are obviously limitations to the camera as it is a micro 4/3 sensor, as there are limitations to the 5Dm3 or the Black Magic Cinema Camera or any other camera out there. There are better stills cameras out there if you want to spend more or throw out video functionality, there are more powerful video cameras out there if you want to spend CONSIDERABLY more like the FS700 at $7700.

The fact is the GH4 is probably the most robust video camera of its type on the market right now, especially so considering you are comparing the $1700 GH4 to stuff like the $3400 5Dm3, which still doesn't even have many of the video features the GH4 does even with the benefits of full frame. You need to figure out what is important to you and how much you want to pay for it. I was looking at either upgrading to a 5Dm3 at $3300+another $1000 or so to get a couple new lenses to replace my EF-S lenses that wouldn't work on the new camera, or the GH4 at $1700+another $1000 or so for a couple new lenses.

Coming from the T2i it's like a revelation, a camera that is built for video instead of something that is almost fighting against me. I have to assume coming from the T3i would be similar.
 
guldakot said:
The rode is very solid for capturing audio outdoors or in large spaces. When you get into tighter spaces however ( 10x10 smaller) the rode starts to pick up a bit of echo. You can fix it in post ( audition is awesome for that) but it will require a bit of work to get crystal audio though. For indoor especially voices your going to want to either go with lavalier or ideally a supercardoid on a boom pole.

http://www.bhphotovideo.com/explora/audio/hands-reviews/interior-dialog-boompole-microphone-roundup

The rode video mic is a solid piece of kit however, and if your doing a small or no man crew for your shoots, you can work with it and get decent audio with a bit of post.
Click to expand...

awesome thanks. I love your username by the way. :)
 
Ok guys, I'm gonna be shooting with Canon DSLRs. I have the typical kit lenses 18-55mm lens, 55-250. I also have a 10-22mm wide angle lens, an ef 50mm, and an 85mm. What are the best lenses to shoot with? I assumne a mix depending o nthe shot. Also whats the best way to maintain consisient focus, especially during an action scene. the autofocus sucks for video.
 
super-heated plasma said:
Ok guys, I'm gonna be shooting with Canon DSLRs. I have the typical kit lenses 18-55mm lens, 55-250. I also have a 10-22mm wide angle lens, an ef 50mm, and an 85mm. What are the best lenses to shoot with? I assumne a mix depending o nthe shot. Also whats the best way to maintain consisient focus, especially during an action scene. the autofocus sucks for video.
Click to expand...

You may want to look at a rail system + follow focus setup.

Kamerar makes a really nice follow focus for the price, all metal construction, reversable etc. The rail system we use is a fotga, just make sure if you go with a rail system and ff that you get the correct size (width between rails) for your follow focus, and if you want to attach a mattebox as well, just make sure get the correct size.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZWL940/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F2DTOFW/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thats the setup we use for our GH2's
 
Finally released my lasted video. It's something cool I shot last year. It's the story of a charming old man who used to be so poor he had to make his own clothes from scratch but by following his dreams he ended up being a crazy successful painter. Amazingly cool guy.

The subtitles are a bit wonky but I think it turned out pretty good!

TvBGxTE.jpg
Click to expand...
https://vimeo.com/97104332



-griffy- said:
Massive useful post
Click to expand...

Thanks for the detailed impressions mate. I look forward to seeing your screen grabs. I'm still not entirely sure about the look of the GH4. I'm just a sucker for shallow depth of field (But also for high fidelity images which the GH4 definitely has covered!). I'm waiting for the reviews from Philip Bloom and Dave Dugdale. Seems like they will go in depth.

But in the end I think I just need to try the camera out for myself. I'll see if I could rent it for a couple of days with a speedbooster. I'm just too curious to find out for myself.
 
guldakot said:
You may want to look at a rail system + follow focus setup.

Kamerar makes a really nice follow focus for the price, all metal construction, reversable etc. The rail system we use is a fotga, just make sure if you go with a rail system and ff that you get the correct size (width between rails) for your follow focus, and if you want to attach a mattebox as well, just make sure get the correct size.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B009ZWL940/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00F2DTOFW/?tag=neogaf0e-20

Thats the setup we use for our GH2's
Click to expand...

Great thanks. So do I need the rail for the follow focus, or can I just attach the follow focus?
 
No you need the rail, the thing i like about the kamerar FF is you only attach it via one rail unlike most which uses two which makes it easier to move about. It's a good FF I used it on a shoot before.
 
super-heated plasma said:
Do all FF need rails bought separately?
Click to expand...

yeah, think of the rail system as your base platform for all over your other attachments. That and if put a large tele on your dslr and stick that on a tripod, you can also mount a lens support on the rail so it doesn't put stress and on the camera body, and you dont get lens bounce either.
 
Sec0nd said:
Finally released my lasted video. It's something cool I shot last year. It's the story of a charming old man who used to be so poor he had to make his own clothes from scratch but by following his dreams he ended up being a crazy successful painter. Amazingly cool guy.

The subtitles are a bit wonky but I think it turned out pretty good!


https://vimeo.com/97104332
Click to expand...

I really liked that!

Very well shot, and lots of interesting camera angles. You actually told the story visually to the point that the subtitles although useful weren't all that important.

Well done.
 
Sec0nd said:
Finally released my lasted video. It's something cool I shot last year. It's the story of a charming old man who used to be so poor he had to make his own clothes from scratch but by following his dreams he ended up being a crazy successful painter. Amazingly cool guy.

The subtitles are a bit wonky but I think it turned out pretty good!


https://vimeo.com/97104332





Thanks for the detailed impressions mate. I look forward to seeing your screen grabs. I'm still not entirely sure about the look of the GH4. I'm just a sucker for shallow depth of field (But also for high fidelity images which the GH4 definitely has covered!). I'm waiting for the reviews from Philip Bloom and Dave Dugdale. Seems like they will go in depth.

But in the end I think I just need to try the camera out for myself. I'll see if I could rent it for a couple of days with a speedbooster. I'm just too curious to find out for myself.
Click to expand...

Wow I was blown away when I saw it was shot on a T3i. I assumed it was on something way higher end, it looked gorgeous. Nice work!
 
Has anyone used a Nikon D800e for filming? My mom has one and since I use her lenses all the time on my T3i I might aswel use the camera also. Never really considered it since I don't associate Nikon with film.
 
Anton Sugar said:
Random, but they're using Blackmagic Cinema Cams (could be production cams, too) to film the Nintendo Minute post-conference show. Kinda cool.
Click to expand...
I was trying to figure out what they had because I thought it looked like garbage. Man I was not impressed with any part of their little booth show.
 
super-heated plasma said:
wow, cool, thanks. As for the follow focus you linked, is there anything else I need to buy with it besides the rail system? like a gear ring?
Click to expand...

check the listing, but usually it comes with a gear ring. You may also consider a whip for the follow focus (ours was $12 I think). Btw, that follow focus, needs to be broken in, its a little tight when you first get it, just crank it for a bit, (15 mins or so back and forth) and it will loosen up and your good to go.
 
Sec0nd said:
Finally released my lasted video. It's something cool I shot last year. It's the story of a charming old man who used to be so poor he had to make his own clothes from scratch but by following his dreams he ended up being a crazy successful painter. Amazingly cool guy.

The subtitles are a bit wonky but I think it turned out pretty good!


https://vimeo.com/97104332
Click to expand...

Really liked this, great job! I would have like a few wider shots of his clothing, but other than that, I thought you did a great job.

How was it lit? Looked like a lot of natural/practical light and wouldn't surprise me if someone like him just had a great workshop with natural light, haha.
 
Anton Sugar said:
Really liked this, great job! I would have like a few wider shots of his clothing, but other than that, I thought you did a great job.

How was it lit? Looked like a lot of natural/practical light and wouldn't surprise me if someone like him just had a great workshop with natural light, haha.
Click to expand...

Cheers! It was 100% natural light. In retrospective it could've used a couple of lights in some places but it turned out really cool!
 
Anyone have any tips on location scouting? I'm directing a short film, as my senior thesis in film school, and am having a miserable time locating a motel to film in.

Which is to say, I've found some perfect motels, but when asked, the owners instantly say "no", before I'm even done with the pitch. There's been a mix of calling, and showing up in person; both arriving at the same result between my producers, and I.

I've been pretty successful in finding locations on prior films I've worked on, so I'm not sure if it's in my approach, or just that motels will automatically assume that I'm making porn. My story just calls for a motel as a primary location (one of the main characters owns the motel, that the other lead ends up at), so it's kind of unavoidable. But of course, I can't make the film if I can't find a motel that will agree.

Is there anyone that's either really good at location scouting, or has been able to shoot at a motel, that could offer up some tips? Thanks!
 
Buttonbasher said:
Anyone have any tips on location scouting? I'm directing a short film, as my senior thesis in film school, and am having a miserable time locating a motel to film in.

Which is to say, I've found some perfect motels, but when asked, the owners instantly say "no", before I'm even done with the pitch. There's been a mix of calling, and showing up in person; both arriving at the same result between my producers, and I.

I've been pretty successful in finding locations on prior films I've worked on, so I'm not sure if it's in my approach, or just that motels will automatically assume that I'm making porn. My story just calls for a motel as a primary location (one of the main characters owns the motel, that the other lead ends up at), so it's kind of unavoidable. But of course, I can't make the film if I can't find a motel that will agree.

Is there anyone that's either really good at location scouting, or has been able to shoot at a motel, that could offer up some tips? Thanks!
Click to expand...

Your assumption is correct and the first thing that springs to mind when you ask a hotel manager/owner to shoot a film is that you are probably doing porn. I shot on location at "The Cincinnatian" downtown Cincinnati OH and found in my own personal experience that you should aim for the highest quality hotels in your area possible. For whatever reason they seem much more open to listening to a good pitch and not jumping to the porn conclusion.

Also it may be helpful for you to include the words free advertising in your pitch to the Owner/Manager, also suggest that your filming will not interfere with their daily routine as that is another concern that they will have. Ensure them that you will not disturb their guests and if you need to film a scene at the front desk make it a night scene generally third shift is a bit slower for these hotels and film it during the middle of the week. Tuesday or Wednesday is a day that most hotels can agree to.

Best of luck with your project and I hope that helps.
 
OsirisBlack said:
Your assumption is correct and the first thing that springs to mind when you ask a hotel manager/owner to shoot a film is that you are probably doing porn. I shot on location at "The Cincinnatian" downtown Cincinnati OH and found in my own personal experience that you should aim for the highest quality hotels in your area possible. For whatever reason they seem much more open to listening to a good pitch and not jumping to the porn conclusion.

Also it may be helpful for you to include the words free advertising in your pitch to the Owner/Manager, also suggest that your filming will not interfere with their daily routine as that is another concern that they will have. Ensure them that you will not disturb their guests and if you need to film a scene at the front desk make it a night scene generally third shift is a bit slower for these hotels and film it during the middle of the week. Tuesday or Wednesday is a day that most hotels can agree to.

Best of luck with your project and I hope that helps.
Click to expand...

Thanks! Those are some really good tips. We'll be shooting in the Dayton area, so the in-state knowledge is specifically comforting. I'll keep the thread posted as the project moves forward!
 
How do you guys organize your raw video footage?

I'm starting to have so many old video projects that it's starting to pile up and I can't find what I'm looking for half the time.

Maybe organize by date in the finder...?
 
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