SmartShoot Producer's Blogg

Fixing Banding on your DSLR Footage

One of the by-products of video from HDSLR is the banding artifacts that can result from the rolling shutter used to capture the video image.

When shooting under fluorescent light (very common in commercial locations) the flickering of the light source can create colored bands across your image which move across teh frame and pretty much ruin your shot.

Simplest fix is to make sure you're shooting at the correct shutterspeed. For the purposes of keeping motion-blur and strobing under controll, the 180-degree shutter rule dictates the shutterspeed be set to 2x the framerate. A 24p framerate would require a shutterspeed of 1/48" (functionally 1/50"). Only problem here is this framerate is too slow to avoid banding. 

In the US fluorescent bulbs have a frequency (flicker) of 60Hz so setting your shutterspeed in multiples of 60 (e.g. 1/60", 1/120", etc.) will negate the banding. Same rule applies for Euro countries where the bulbs are 50Hz. Here's a quick cheat sheet:

US (60Hz)

• IF: Framerate = 24p, 30p or 60i 
• THEN: Shutterspeed = 1/60"
• IF: Framerate = 60p
• THEN: Shutterspeed = 1/120"

EUROPE (50Hz)

• IF: Framerate = 25p or 50i 
• THEN: Shutterspeed = 1/50"
• IF: Framerate = 50p
• THEN: Shutterspeed = 1/100"

 

BUT MY FOOTAGE ALREADY HAS BANDING, WHAT NOW?

This can be a tricky fix to make in post -- but not impossible. All it takes is a little time with a Color-Correction Filter and tweaking some of its masking properties. 

Here's a great guide from DSLR Video Shooter walking through the fix in FCP7:

 

 

 

 

DollarShaveClub.com - Simple Yet Effective Web Video

 

 

What's the latest viral video web? That'd have to the freshly minted ad for DollarShaveClub.com. In just 4 days it's racked up over 2,000,000 views.

Are the production values mind-blowing? Hardly. The humor in the verbiage and touch-in-cheek feel carry the piece along with some humorous use of props. As far as the technical side goes you got some solid steadicam work throughout so not a huge amount of specialized equipment coming into play here. An experience shooter could easily knock this spot out in the space of a couple of hours.

In short a simple concept executed well can make for awesome and memorable video content.

What are some simplified creative or humorous concepts that you've had success implementing in videos? We'd love to hear.

A Great Quick Guide to Using Sliders

 

 

Sliders are a great tool for giving your shots a unique look and movement but can be a somewhat cumbersome and complicated piece of gear.

We came across a great short guide from Preston Kanak on Vimeo for getting awesome tracking shots. Definitely worth a watch.

Enjoy!

 

 

 

Nikon D4 Announced

 

2012 is going to be a big year for DSLR. Lots of new models set to launch but Nikon is going to be first to the market with the D4.

There's loads of new features in this camera that have been noticeably missing from video-enabled DSLR's. A few of the big improvements that the D4 has:

• Uncompressed HDMI output
• 3.5mm audio line-in with adjustable recording levels in 20 increments
• 3.5 mm audio line-out (finally can plug in headphones and monitor audio)
• Full-frame sensor with max ISO of 204,800
• Optional 1.5x and 2.7x crop modes in video shooting -- this essentially turns any lens into a telephoto without compromising image quality
• CF and XQD card slots (this future-proofs the camera for the new digital media card standards coming up)

Looks like launch date is set for February 16th. Price is set at $6,000 USD, huge jump from the likes of the 5D but the D4 is definitely a feature-rich camera.

The D4 is likely better suited to folks looking to do a lot of combination video/photo shooting. For full-on video shooters the Canon XF series, Sony FS100 or Panasonic AF100 are probably better options for the price.

There's a great full write-up by Dan Chung over at DSLR News Shooter that we definitely recommend checking out.

3 Tips for Dealing with Dark Locations

Good Lighting is crucial for good filmmaking and as such always an issue for run-and-gun shooting. Whether it's an SMB profile video or a documentary production you can never be sure if an unscouted location will have adequate lighting to get good exposure in your shots. 

Here's a few quick tips on what to do if you encounter a dark location:

 

ADD MORE LIGHT

      First thing to do is ask the business proprietor or property owner if the lights at the location can be cranked up; this can be a tough sell if the location is a restaurant or some place that offers a certain mood which requires low-light. Never hurts to ask though.

      Alternatively you can also open up the iris on your camera all the way so the maximum amount of light is hitting the sensor. You'll want to be aware of how shallow this makes your Depth of Field, shallow focus may or may not work for a particular shot.

      We also recommend always having an on-camera light in your kit. This will at least give you the advantage of a strong key light to use in your setups. Pair this with a small reflector and you have a miniature 2-light set-up.

 

LOWER YOUR SHUTTERSPEED

      Slowing down the shutterspeed will give you a longer exposure and thus more light hitting the sensor to brigthen up the shot. You'll want to be aware of the 180° Shutter Rule to minimize the motion-blur in your shots. Typically you'll want the inversed shutterspeed to be about 2x the framerate. This means that if you're shooting at 24 fps your shutterspeed will be about 1/50", 30 fps = 1/60", 60 fps = 1/120" and so on.

 

BUMP UP THE GAIN

      If all else fails crank up the gain/exposure setting on your camera (if on a DSLR you'll be adjusting the ISO setting). Adding gain increases the overall exposure of the shot uniformly across the image (similar to adding a brightness filter in post-production). This should be a last resort to get proper exposure since increasing gain also increases the visualize noise in your image and will soften focus.

 

Remember that these are just methods and tools to achieving a quality image. In the field, your judgment and ability to use these tools together effectively is of greatest importance. Consider the possibility of using a small amount of each method in order to improve the image quality overall.

New Version of Magic Lantern Hack for 550D, 60D, 7D and 5D Users

Good news for Canon DSLR shooters; a new version of the awesome Magic Lantern hack is coming. This new version is unified so it'll work across Canon's full video-HDSLR line and has proven pretty darn reliable.

Some of the new features you get with the new version:

• Adjustable Bitrates
• Peaking
• Variable framerates
• HDR Video -  This blends 2 video feeds at different ISO's
• Movie Log - Captures metadata on your camera settings for video and saves a .txt alongside your video files

 

Great in-depth write-up over at EOSHD. Will be interesting to see how the new functions and capabilities will stack up against the hacked GH2

Great Free Lens Calculator

    A quickie but goodie for today;  a really great online lens calculator available.  A big help for getting proper DOF and FOV numbers but what's really nice is this particular site also feature a conversion table for different lenses and sensor formats. Very key if you're shooting multi-camera and you want to match looks across different sensors.

If you're looking for a straight FOV calculator with screenshots of each camera's crop factor check out Abelcine's site

Did anyone else know that geocities sites still existed?

Making the Advertiser Comfortable AND Getting your Video Shot

In a perfect world everyone would want to appear on camera in your videos and give charismatic, articulate soundbites. As we know, this is not always the case. Many advertisers are not comfortable on camera, so you'll want to anticipate this issue and prepare accordingly

Taking 5 minutes to do a little extra prep with the client before rolling can go a long way in getting good interviews so here's a few work-arounds:

 

MAKE SURE THE CLIENT'S IN-THE-KNOW

Take some time to explain how video is made (best soundbites + b-roll). Make a point to mention a couple things (these are obvious to filmmakers but may not to the advertisers):

• Only the best soundbites will be used in the video; their mistakes and flubs get left on the cutting room floor
• Doing multiple takes and/or re-asking questions is common practice in interviews to make sure the soundbites top-notch
• Most of the soundbites will be covered with video; at a minimum the speaker will be seen on camera to be identified (lower-third) and perhaps not much more.

 

LAYOUT ALTERNATIVES TO AN ON-CAMERA INTERVIEW

• Let the subject know they do not have to be seen on camera. Do your interview with the advertiser but point your camera away or at the floor. That should relax most subjects and get them to not worry about the shoot. You are acquiring the soundbites you need, and you'll cover it all with b-roll.
• If it does not make sense for the advertiser to be interviewed either on camera or off, then find an employee and/or client(s) to be interviewed and use their soundbites in the video.
• If the advertiser wants to read a script, that is OK, but make sure they read it well. You may want to wordsmith it a little so it sounds video-ready. Recording multiple read-throughs will lead to more natural readings.

 

There are of course a bevy of other options so never be afraid to think creatively about how to resolve the issue of client comfort. If you need to stray stylisticly from the standard template in order to make a great video don't hesitate to do so.

Video DSLR Finally Gets Line Output - Nikon D800

 

Some new pics and details popping up on the web this week regarding Nikon's successor to the D700. Only a few details right now but some here's some of  the features that we're excited about:

• 36 megapixel sensor
• Frame rates at 1080p/30/25/24 and 720p/60/30/25/24
• An honest-to-goodness line output (3.5mm TRS, allows you to plug in headphone and monitor audio)

If you're not taking advantage of B&H's Canon rebates then it might be worth waiting for the D800 to drop; initial estimates put pricing in the neighborhood at $3900

Check out Engadget and NikonRumors for more info

B&H + Canon DSLR Rebates

 

If you've been debating about jumping into the video DSLR world now might be the right time to take the plunge.

B&H Photo is offering some pretty nice rebates on Canon's full line of DSLR's. The 60D offers the most bang for the buck in terms of video shooting if you don't want to tack on the premium for the 7D or 5D. This being said the Rebel series (T2i, T3i, etc.) uses an identical sensor and processor as the other APS-C models so you get the same image quality for a nicer price.

The rebates run through November 23rd so still some time to take advantage

XLR Inputs for a Great Price = Tascam DR40

 

Great news for all the DSLR video shooters out there in need of pro audio quality and XLR inputs for running dual system sound. Tascam's DR40 is a great affordable option for your audio unit.

Priced at $199 this is the most inexpensive recorder to include XLR inputs (2x combo XLR/TRS jacks). Some other bonuses are 4 track recording and better than decent battery life running off of 3x AA's batteries. Also worthy of note is it's dual recording mode which allows you to simultaneously record a back-up track at a lower level to help protect you from peaks and clipping on your primary track.

A few drawbacks to consider - no 3.5mm line-out and no ability to independantly adjust left and right channels

This being said the DR40 still looks like a solid option if you're not interested in dropping the extra $100 for a DR100 or H4N.

Not a ton of reviews out for this unit yet but check out the great product demo and overview vids we came across. What are your thoughts on the DR40?

 

 

 

Tascam DR-40 Digital Audio Recorder from Olivia Speranza on Vimeo.

 

 

Choosing the Right Camera - Part 2 of Philip Bloom's Chat

 

If you caught part 1 of Philip Bloom's MacVideo Expo presentation we posted last week then you'll definitely want to check out the 2nd part of his presentation.

Great insight how to go about picking your gear for a project. He touches base on everything from the Sony NEX5n to the Red EPIC and how the most expensive camera is not always the best camera to use on a given gig.

Regardless of your equipment budget there's definitely lots of great info here on what to consider when looking at gear

Question of the Month: What's Your All-Time Favorite Long Take?

If you're as big of a film geek as we are then chances are you have a short list of your favorite movies. This month we wanted to drill down and ask what you're single favorite long take is.

We polled our staff and here were some of the top picks (tracking/steadicam shots were a popular choice):

 

TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)

 

 

 GOODFELLAS (1990)

 

 

ROPE (1948)

 

Special Mention - Hitchcock shot the entirety of Rope as long-takes lasting up to 10 minutes (the longest a reel of film would last at the time). The film appears as one single take through clever masking of cuts

 

Got any long takes that are your personal favs? Share your thoughts and links with us!

 

 

 

Picking your Gear - Great Little Vid

 

What's the best camera for video on the market right now? A tricky question that doesn't have a simple answer. Here's great little talk that Philip Bloom gave at MacVideo Expo that takes a stab at answering this conundrum.

Every camera has it's own strengths and shortcomings so saying one is objectively "best" is a bit ludicrous. 

Here's a few features that we think are a must:

• HD resolution
• 1/3" or larger 3-chip sensor OR 4/3" or greater large format single-chip sensor
• Tapeless recording media
• Audio inputs/outputs for mics and headphones (or spend a little extra on accessories to run dual system sound)

Obviously this still gives a wide breadth of options for you to choose from. It really boils down to how much $$$ you have to spend and how well a camera's functionality match your needs. If you're in a run-and-gun situation the functionality of ENG-style camera trumps the aesthetics of a DSLR's image no question. 

Our best advice? Don't spend endless weeks mulling over options or waiting for the new next-gen cam to drop. At the end of the day we all want to be out shooting instead of shopping so buy the camera that fits your needs right now and get going.

 

 

 

 

HD Cams on the Cheap

It goes without saying nowadays that if you're shooting on SD (or even first generation HD gear) that you're seeing your camera show it's age when it's footage is stacked up against the newer models coming out.

Fortunately there are a few excellent options for making the jump to newer HD technology without breaking the bank.

A few notes - all the following cameras shoot at 1080/24p (and other resolution/framerate combos) and record to SDHC cards (tapeless workflows rock BTW)

Without further ado here are some of our favorite budget HD cameras starting with the more traditional HD camcorders:

 

CANON XA10

Pros: XLR inputs, Dual SHDC slots (allows continuous and dual recording), Small form factor (for discrete shooting)

Cons: Fewer manual settings, menus can be cumbersome to navigate

 

CANON XF100

Pros: XLR inputs, Better menu and button layout than XA10, manual control of all settings, Excellent image quality for the price

Cons: Single chip sensor, single ring dedicated to zoom, focus and iris

 

Here's a great in depth review from Philip Bloom on both the XA10 and XF100:

Review of Canon XA10 XF100 XF105 from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

 

PANASONIC HMC40

Pros: Least expensive camera with full-manual audio, 3-chip sensor

Cons: 1/4" chips and old image-processing tech can be trouble in low-light, XLR inputs only available by buying separate hotshoe accessory

 

IF YOU'RE LOOKING TO MAKE A HUGE LEAP IN IMAGE QUALITY THEN A DSLR MAY BE YOUR BEST CHOICE. THESE CAMERAS SHOOT CINEMATIC QUALITY IMAGES BUT LACK THE CONTROL OVER AUDIO LEVELS THAT YOU'RE USED TO SEEING IN A TRADITIONAL VIDEO CAMERA. IF AUDIO IS CRITICAL FOR YOUR PROJECT GRAB AN EXTERNAL AUDIO RECORDER AND RUN DUAL SYSTEM SOUND

 

CANON 60D

Pros: APS-C Sensor, Same imaging system found in the more expensive 7D, Articulated LCD screen

Cons: No audio input = no monitoring w/ headphones, 12-minute record limit on clips

 

PANASONIC GH2

Pros: Easy to navigate menus, very low aliasing and moire in images, bitrates up to 176 MB/S (if you're brave enough to patch the firmware), some manual control over audio levels, can accept a dizzying array of lenses by using inexpensive adapters

Cons: No audio input = no monitoring w/ headphones, Micro 4/3 chip creates a 2x crop factor on lenses, slightly noiser than larger chip cameras at high ISO's

 

At the end of the day it's all about the person behind the camera rather than the camera itself; this being said HD has become the new standard so you've got to keep up with the times.

Sony's A77 Reviewed - Better than the 7D?

 

A really great in-depth look at Sony's new HDSLR from Pop Photo. We've not seen much sample footage from this camera but initial reports are that it hits a few sweet spots.

APS-C sensor - check, dust & moisture proofing - yep, fully articulated LCD - you betcha. Throw in Sony's new translucent mirror technology and you've a camera that can shoot full HD video through an optical viewfinder (as oppose to the delayed visual feedback you get from an EVF).

First official verdict we've heard is that the A77 tops the 7D in overall.

What're your thoughts? Is this camera a must-have for DSLR videographers or should it get a pass?

New DSLR Kids on the Block - Nikon, Panasonic & Canon

 

Well the DSLR revolution has been in full-swing for some time now and the new crop of video DSLR's for 2010 show some promising improvements. The three big releases this season from the major competitors are Nikon's D3100 (left), Panasonic's GH2 (middle) and Canon's 60d (right).

Manufacturers have introduced some noticeable improvements over previous generations of DSLR's; articulated LCD's (60D and GH2), live HDMI monitoring (GH2), the option to purchase 3D lenses (GH2) and dramatically lower pricing (D3100).

With pricing on these new models running b/w $695-$1500 (depending on lens options) it's never been cheaper to make the transition from video camera to video DSLR and acquire the filmic aesthetic in your shooting. There are some important compromises to consider -- e.g. lack of global shutter, weak audio capture capabilities etc -- most of which can be solved with some clever shooting and/or additional equipment.

*For those who are ready to ditch their video camera yet, check out Panasonic's new AF100 available next month