Used to own an XL2. Was awesome with its 16X9 and different frame rates. But I had to sell it. Then recently a shoot came up so I had to rely on my trusty old GL2 and a WA adapt.

Used Frame mode
Added a Magic Bullet Movie Looks filter


http://www.elpez.com/cha.wmv


j.

Outstanding! - This camera just don't wanna die. PLUS John you have a natural eye for this work. The greens and then the WARM reds inside. I just adore the wind on the bride's dress AND the quality of the satin showing. EXCELLENT!!!

Questions?

#1 - Did you use a DOLLY?

#2 - What form of 16x9 did you use? The SQUISHED or did you shoot between the 16x9 LINES and then crop above and below?

#3 - What was your reasoning behind using FRAME mode?

#4 - Any additional lighting?

#5 - What were your presets for any of the setups?

That shot on the bridge!?!?!? WOW!!!

You know, people should watch this and then think on about what they video and select as shots? If they didn't know BEFORE HD, they certainly wont know now!!!!

John, thank you for sharing - and sharing just how good you can make things with this camera.

Best regards,

Graham

Beautiful,... i have to say it.

The shot you have at the end mixing 'fiction and documentary' with the really slow dolly and the photographer that come in (which scream reality in my eyes) was just superb. You have found the exact good amount of representation for making the day 'dreamy' and to 'document' the event.

Amazing job, really.

Phil

Yes Phil, spot on. Spot on. I keep watching it - I wasn't even there! OR part of the family!!

Not only is it beautiful to look at....I think I may have learned a thing or three...

Thank you,
Bob T.

Wow. Thanks for all of the kind comments. Should I reveal my secret? Ok. ..the secret is, I think some part of this shoot or any shoot has luck involved. I was lucky that it was a beautifully lit day outside, a deep blue sky, a gentle wind, the models looked good, the dresses looked good, the location looked good. All of that too me, plays a big part in the final result. To me the GL2 is a trusty, good little camera, but it's amazing how good you can get it to look if you're shooting an awesome location thats lit well. And then add a good camera movement or 2.


Graham:

Yes, I did use a dolly (homemade by my dad) it's about a 6 foot track with a cart that has rubber tires. Sat the tripod on top and just pushed it as smoothly and consistantly as I could down the track.

I was sad that I didnt have true 16X9 for this shoot. So I just made some black bars in photoshop and overlayed the image over all of the video

I've always been obessed with Frame mode. I'm not much of a technical guy. I dont know all of the science. I just like the way frame looks better than 60i. Seems to add more of a motion blur, making it seem more filmic?

The only additional lighting is in the one scene with the model, you can see the guy holding the reflector on the model. Other than that, it was all available light

No presets. Just flipped the camera on in manual mode. I used the default white balance settings. And just dialed in the F stop and shutter until each scene looked good.

The point of me posting this footage, is just to show that this camera can stand up. And I know that there are professionals out there that can do alot more with this camera than I can. It just seems like I see a lot of people really breaking down the technicals of all these cameras and getting caught up in it, instead of just going out and making something out of a little bit of knowledge and a decent camera.


j.

The point of me posting this footage, is just to show that this camera can stand up. . . . . It just seems like I see a lot of people really breaking down the technicals of all these cameras and getting caught up in it, instead of just going out and making something out of a little bit of knowledge and a decent camera.

YES! - This camera still cuts it.

And thanks for the answers.

I said it yesterday, but I have to say it again, this is one nice piece of work....
I can't tell you how many times I've watched it since yesterday...

I had been considering a used GL2 as an upgrade to my current consumer cam.
I found one at a decent price, but I was indecisive due to the fact it is an older design...

This little clip, tipped me in...

So thanks again,
Bob T.

Let me just add my "WOW" to this thread. Your footage is absolutely amazing! I too own a GL2, and while I love it, I have never been able to achieve that kind of incredible look. That is the kind of quality I aspire to. Kudos to you.

Magic Bullet Movie Looks Filter ... is this replicatable (is that a word) with either FCP or AE? That footage is amazing. AMAZING!

I can't say much more than has been written here but what I learned from your footage is how much use you can make out of a 6 foot track. Obviously I will consider building one down the road. Also I really liked your using windows and doorways as a form of composition; this is very japanese as in their arcetecture the windows are always supposed to compose something of intrinsic value. This is exactly what you did here to huge effect. The colors reminded me of the tecnicolor presets for the xl2. I am curious what you did with the rgb for the outside shots.
I to love my gl2 and value it as much as my xl2 and in some areas it is the superior camera.

Thank you for sharing!!!!!

Great footage John! Can you tell us what Magic Bullet Preset you used?
Thanks!

Thanks again for all of the comments.

Alex: I'm not sure about Magic Bullet with FCP or AE

Dale: I'm not quite sure what you mean about RGB settings? I can tell you this much. I did nothing in the camera besides adjust shutter and f-stop
and I did nothing in post besides add the one magic bullet movie looks filter


Todd: I'm using Vegas and it comes with a demo version of Magic Bullet Movie Looks HD. You don't have much control other than just selecting a default. The specific Magic Bullet Movie Looks filter I used is called "Un-Bloom"

j.

John,

On the gl2 the available custom presets allow you to change color gain, color phase (actually runs from green to red) sharpness and set up level. So I threw in the blue which isn't directly there (I must have been thinking of my xl2). Anyway, adjusting these can give you most looks you would be looking for.
Just wondered if you adjusted them off the default setting.

John, were you using a wide on the GL2 or was that stock?

Hot footage! Really demonstrates how important shot composition is. As to the MB stuff being done in FCP...absolutely you can do that as a vanilla FCP solution, it just takes lots of time to set up. You'll be stacking layers, adding blur and changing compositing modes, setting alpha masks to affect different parts of the image. And adding vignetting to the top and bottom where the 16x9 bars cross the screen.

Given a before and after frame, I could probably figure out how to duplicate that...or nearly so.

And did I say that footage was hot?

Jules. I did use a wide angle adapter. It is the Canon WD58. It's been a while now, But I'm more than certain I used it on all of the shots.


Cole. When I can stop working and actually make it back to my house, I will provide a before and after shot.


j.