Dear Fellow Filmmaker:
Welcome to the premiere issue of the Access DV Newsletter! In this month's issue:
**Frame Movie Mode on the XL1** -- Should you use it? What to consider. How to get a great Film-look with it.
**Adobe Premiere versus Final Cut Pro** --we've used both. As fellow indies, we tell you how to pick your software.
**Excerpts from an interview with TIM COX**, an indy who shot an entire music video in Frame Movie Mode. What worked, what didn't, and why.
**BOOK REVIEW** "Setting Up Your Shots" by Jeremy Vineyard, Illustrated by Jose Cruz.
Frame Movie Mode on the XL1
There has been a lot of internet buzz and controversy about the practice of shooting Frame Movie Mode on the Canon XL1.
Originally designed so that one could capture continuous digital stills, indies quickly learned the way to a great, quick film look was to shoot in Frame Movie Mode
What's the difference between regular video mode and frame moviemode? Standard video is often quoted as capturing 30 frames a second--that's only partially true. It really captures 60 FIELDS a second, and combines these two fields, one after the other in rapid succession, to complete a full frame of video. This is what gives video it's distinctive look. Frame Movie Mode, on the other hand, captures 30 FULL FRAMES per second--a lot closer to the way film captures motion (usually 24 FPS.) What we've found through continuous use with Frame Movie Mode is that it consistently delivers a more film-like picture than any other straight video source we've ever seen. Occasionally, it looks so good by itself it needs no extra film-looking. Here are a few things we've noticed: (for both frame movie mode and regular video)
1. When everything's "in focus" it's harder to convince people that it's film. We like to use selective focus as much as possible. The simplest example of this is to get away from your subject and zoom in, thus putting the background out of focus, and keeping your main subject sharp. You can also use a Tiffen pro-mist filter to achieve a nice, soft feel, which helps a great deal with the film-look. (The poor-man's way of replacing the pro-mist is to pull panty-hose over the lens--this gives everything a diffused look--careful not to over do it, or to put a run in your girlfriend's stockings!) Also, having something out of focus in the foreground (example: tree branch, blades of grass, telephone cord, etc.) can really help in achieving a picture with lots of depth--and a very filmic appearance.
2. When shooting outside in Frame Movie Mode, use the neutral density filter whenever possible. We also suggest using sun-white reflectors (golden color) to warm up the subjects. It helps so much.
3. EXPOSURE EXPOSURE EXPOSURE--Do not, I repeat, do not over-light. Nothing kills you faster, when trying to achieve a film look, than over-lighting. Under-lighting doesn't help either, so be very careful with your exposure.
KEEP IN MIND: If you're going to blow your DV up to film, make sure you check with the blow-up facility and let them know what you want to do. Many can blow up from frame movie mode, some can't, so cover your bases.
We believe straight frame movie mode with no additional film-look is a great look for documentaries, some music videos, and for those that can't afford to get to the next level of film-look. No, it doesn't look exactly like film straight out of the camera, but it looks damn close, and really, really good.
Next month we'll discuss cinelook, and how gamma correction and color correction can help the frame movie mode footage you've just shot.
Adobe Premiere versus Final Cut Pro
Okay, you probably know that Adobe Premiere is half the price of Final Cut Pro, and that Final Cut Pro is supposed to be the greatest thing since sliced bread. But which one is really right for you?
We've used and continue to use both for differing reasons. Here's what you need to consider:
1. Platform. Right now FCP is only available on the mac. If you have a stoked-out PC, you'd need buy a mac at this time. Are you able to do that?
2. Length of Project. While Adobe Premiere says you can edit movies up to three hours in length, in OUR EXPERIENCE (and please feel free to share your differing experiences, if any) once you get past about the ten-minute mark on Premiere, the whole program slows to an UNBEARABLE pace (we were running Adobe Premiere 5.1a on a Macintosh Blue and White G3, 300mgz, 512 megabytes of ram at the time we noticed this.) We were in the early stages of editing a feature length documentary ( http://www.swdocumentary.com ) and were horrified at the way Premiere began to perform past the ten minute mark. Up until that point, Premiere had been great.We immediately switched to FCP, and all our problems went away. If you're working mainly on short-format work, Premiere is a terrific program, and you will be able to use it with great success.
3. Titling Capabilities. Please note: FINAL CUT PRO'S BUILT IN TITLING CAPABILITIES SUCK!!! We mean, hard-core bad. In this arena, Adobe Premiere has got FCP knocked out cold. If you're using a program like Illustrator or Photoshop to create all your titles, this isn't as much of an issue. If you can't afford one of these programs, know that FCP won't cut it except for the most basic of titles.
4. Compositing. FCP combines all worlds by putting non-linear editing and compositing into the same package. It attempts to do in one program what Adobe Premiere and Adobe After Effects do in two. It does a fairly good job, though it's not really in the same league as After Effects. However, if your compositing needs are fairly simple, FCP is MORE than capable of producing the results you need.
Our final assessment: If you're doing short form work, such as music videos, actors' demo tapes, short industrials, projects with lots of titles and no heavy compositing, Adobe Premiere will work great for you. *Note-- we highly recommend Promax's Firemax Premiere Plug-Ins--they work great--check them out at http://www.promax.com
For long-format programs and projects that require light to medium compositing, go FCP and get another program to create your titles in. FCP is an extremely powerful editor, and our only real complaint is the built-in titler.
TALKING WITH TIM COX
This is condensed from conversations we've had with Tim Cox, who recently shot an entire music video in Frame Movie Mode on the Canon XL1.
TIM: I really couldn't believe it. I transferred the dailies to VHS and I swear it looked like film. When I showed the footage to people no one believed I shot video. Everyone thought it was film--on most of the footage, that is. We made some real mistakes along the way, most noticeably, over-lighting some of the stuff. We thought it might be cool to get some washed out shots, but it totally killed the film look. Besides, we could've washed it out in post.
We used sun-white reflectors to warm everything up, and it added so much to the picture I can't even tell you. I also used the Canon XL1 wide angle lens for a lot of the shoot, and got amazing results.
I don't necessarily agree that you need to blow out the background to get a great film-look. I do, however, feel that lighting and exposure are the most important elements when your on the shoot--get the cleanest, clearest image you can on the set. Save the tricky effects for post. And you'll succeed.
Now we're in post, and using both Cinelook and color correction tools in After Effects to go beyond just a 'film look' and actually emulate different stocks. Everything from Fuji 35mm to Kodak black and white 8mm. (By the way, with that really washed out footage, we found out that if we played with the gamma, and ran it through the color 8mm filter in cinelook, it turned out great. Still though, don't shoot that way!)
I'm a film guy telling you, "man, this really does look great!" I would've never believed it before the shoot. I went in skeptical and came out a believer--and saved a TON of money.
BOOK REVIEW: Setting Up Your Shots
Let's face it, we're not all born great cinematographers. We don't all pop out of the womb with the directing instincts ofSpielberg. And, many of us "wannabe" filmmakers wouldn't know where to put a camera if you put a gun to our heads. Enter, "Setting Up Your Shots" by Jeremy Vineyard. (Michael Wiese Publishing, $19.95.)
Go buy this book. It may be the best 20 dollar book I've ever seen. The back cover of the book describes it as a "...one-stop encyclopedia of visual storytelling techniques for directors, storyboard artists, film students, home video enthusiasts or anyone who simply wants to learn more about how movies are made. Written in clear, non-technical language and laid out in a non-linear format with self contained chapters for easy reference, Setting Up Your Shots is designed to be useful to filmmakers of all experience levels. Beginning filmmakers and students may want to read it through chapter by chapter, while experienced directors or storyboard artists can use it as a quick reference guide."
Not only that, but the book can be really inspirational. I couldn't help reading it and thinking, "Wow, that shot will work for this scene," or "Wow, I can do that instead of a cut there--how cool."
Practically every page of the book has a different type of shot or camera move masterfully illustrated by Jose Cruz. Each page also includes two very simple sections: "What does it look like?" and "Where can I see it." Vineyard has seemingly watched every movie ever made and managed to pull these shots straight from their guts. He then ingeniously remembered to write the movies down, so not only can you read about the shots in his book, you can go down to blockbuster, rent the movies, and watch them yourself.
While this book may seem somewhat simplistic to those that are used to reading film school bibles that make a person drowsy, it's a great reference for beginners and pros alike. And for $19.95, I say run out and get it. Even if you only pull one shot out of this book (my guess is you'll pull more like a hundred) it'll be worth the production value it adds to you next project.
Of course, you can save 20% and help support Access DV by getting it at the link below! Win win! Win win!!!
