XL2 Survived India and Nepal

Michael Nistler · April 26th, 2007, 01:31 PM

Hi Brandon,

Awesome job - I loved it all (video, composition, pacing, music). Any of us who do "regular" shoots certainly appreciate the logistics of slepping all the gear up Everest... I can imagine the thought process:

Pack a gallizion batteries and tapes, Pelican case on the plane - Portacase on trek, 3X stay with the Pelican at the bottom of the hill, pack the fisheye or a wide-angle bayonet, remember filters, 2 Sennheiser systems (in case one fails), tripod and glidecam stay behind, don't forget rain protection gear, lens cleaning... OMG - will I every make it?

You da' man!

Michael

Jimi King · April 26th, 2007, 09:43 PM

Wow man that was excellent.

Kyle Ross · April 27th, 2007, 09:50 AM

That was amazing! The best shot comes at 3:23 in my opinion, with the guy looking out at the mountain range...

What one earth were those people doing with the tree in Nepal? And did you colour correct for the roof of that red hut? It really jumped out from the rest of the scene.

Brandon Katcher · April 27th, 2007, 02:50 PM

Michael-
Yeah, it was pretty much like that. I had 7 of the BP945 batteries ($10 each on ebay, worked really well), 60 tapes, wireless and shotgun mics, a tripod and a backup camera (Small sony). I had it all in a KATA 502 Backpack (not the tripod). Was gonna bring a full boom setup too, but decided against it last minute.

Kyle-
I like to call it the Trojan Christmas tree. It's a festival they have in Kathmandu where they drag this huge thing a couple miles through the city. Not sure why. I just happened to come across it roaming the city. As far as the red hut, I believe I just darkened the shot slightly, no color corrections. The documentary preset does bring up the reds a little bit.

Which brings me back to a question. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to lessen or get rid of the jagged edges and bleeding in reds and pinks? It is noticable in the first shot and the shot with the red building in the hiker's backpacks. It's a problem I have been seeing in a lot of the footage.

Thanks,
Brandon

Bob Thompson · April 27th, 2007, 05:34 PM

Brandon,

Checkout the Natress Big Box of Filter plugin's for FCP, they are definetly worth the money and seem to be able to do most things

Bob

Liam Carlin · April 27th, 2007, 06:21 PM

Amazing! i need to get myself to India! Even Nepal!

Really liked it! :)

Bob Safay · April 28th, 2007, 04:22 PM

Brandon, You really made the XL-2 sing. Fantastic job. I will be trying those settings. I watched it several times and love the crisp clean shots of the mountains. You really had yourself an adventure. Good for you. Bob ps, what rain cover did you use? I am heading for Brazil in June and need to get a good, light weight rain cover. Thanks.

Meryem Ersoz · April 29th, 2007, 09:06 AM

sweet footage, brandon! which everyone has commented on...but where you really shined was the edit. the locked-down trekking shots of the mountains got a little slow towards the end, but this starts out so strong and is sustained for the most part. you put it together so nicely.

really enjoyed this...looking forward to reading the blog.

what are you going to do with this project? or should i read the blog to find out???!

Brandon Katcher · April 30th, 2007, 02:55 PM

Thanks for the replys.

Bob - I used the Kata Rain Cover on the camera. It is good. A little tight around the microphone, which makes it tough to get on quickly, but it was able to cover the camera as well as the Dual Battery Setup on the back. Worked great in rain and snow. There is a full list of the equipment I used on the blog (http://www.lostsummitfilms.com, click on equipment link).

Meryem - I am still figuring out what I want to do with it. Depending on the footage I am still going through, ideally I would like to make a doc/video diary focusing on my attempt to film a catholic zen monk trekking across India and Nepal while at the same time trying to find my own "spiritualiy" (ability to relax) while making a film. During the trek I filmed about 15 journals with myself and my frustrations with being able to get something out of the trip with my head in a camera the entire time. If that doesn't work, maybe a travelogue, or even trying to simply sell some of the footage. I am expecting at least 6 months until I have a full rough cut.

I will be posting updates as well as short videos and screen captures on the blog as often as possible.

Thanks,
Brandon

Meryem Ersoz · April 30th, 2007, 04:04 PM

i'm right there with you. i just got back from bhutan, where i shot a commercial video and a doc for two separate parties, but of course, i shot a lot of footage and am free to use what i don't use in their videos in any way i choose. but i'm not sure which of the many directions i should take it for my personal projects...i have a few ideas.

i could certainly relate to the entire village turning out to mug for the camera.

April 26th, 2007, 01:31 PM	#16
Michael Nistler Major Player Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Petaluma, CA Posts: 456	Congratulations Hi Brandon, Awesome job - I loved it all (video, composition, pacing, music). Any of us who do "regular" shoots certainly appreciate the logistics of slepping all the gear up Everest... I can imagine the thought process: Pack a gallizion batteries and tapes, Pelican case on the plane - Portacase on trek, 3X stay with the Pelican at the bottom of the hill, pack the fisheye or a wide-angle bayonet, remember filters, 2 Sennheiser systems (in case one fails), tripod and glidecam stay behind, don't forget rain protection gear, lens cleaning... OMG - will I every make it? You da' man! Michael

April 27th, 2007, 06:21 PM	#21
Liam Carlin Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: UK Posts: 154	Amazing! i need to get myself to India! Even Nepal! Really liked it! :) __________________ www.basicproduction.co.uk

April 26th, 2007, 09:43 PM	#17
Jimi King Regular Crew Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Long Beach New York Posts: 36	Wow man that was excellent.

April 27th, 2007, 09:50 AM	#18
Kyle Ross Regular Crew Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Surrey, British Columbia Posts: 48	That was amazing! The best shot comes at 3:23 in my opinion, with the guy looking out at the mountain range... What one earth were those people doing with the tree in Nepal? And did you colour correct for the roof of that red hut? It really jumped out from the rest of the scene.

April 27th, 2007, 02:50 PM	#19
Brandon Katcher Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 55	Michael- Yeah, it was pretty much like that. I had 7 of the BP945 batteries ($10 each on ebay, worked really well), 60 tapes, wireless and shotgun mics, a tripod and a backup camera (Small sony). I had it all in a KATA 502 Backpack (not the tripod). Was gonna bring a full boom setup too, but decided against it last minute. Kyle- I like to call it the Trojan Christmas tree. It's a festival they have in Kathmandu where they drag this huge thing a couple miles through the city. Not sure why. I just happened to come across it roaming the city. As far as the red hut, I believe I just darkened the shot slightly, no color corrections. The documentary preset does bring up the reds a little bit. Which brings me back to a question. Does anybody have any suggestions on how to lessen or get rid of the jagged edges and bleeding in reds and pinks? It is noticable in the first shot and the shot with the red building in the hiker's backpacks. It's a problem I have been seeing in a lot of the footage. Thanks, Brandon

April 27th, 2007, 05:34 PM	#20
Bob Thompson Major Player Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: Hong Kong Posts: 340	Brandon, Checkout the Natress Big Box of Filter plugin's for FCP, they are definetly worth the money and seem to be able to do most things Bob

April 28th, 2007, 04:22 PM	#22
Bob Safay Trustee Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 1,557	Brandon, You really made the XL-2 sing. Fantastic job. I will be trying those settings. I watched it several times and love the crisp clean shots of the mountains. You really had yourself an adventure. Good for you. Bob ps, what rain cover did you use? I am heading for Brazil in June and need to get a good, light weight rain cover. Thanks.

April 29th, 2007, 09:06 AM	#23
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	sweet footage, brandon! which everyone has commented on...but where you really shined was the edit. the locked-down trekking shots of the mountains got a little slow towards the end, but this starts out so strong and is sustained for the most part. you put it together so nicely. really enjoyed this...looking forward to reading the blog. what are you going to do with this project? or should i read the blog to find out???!

April 30th, 2007, 02:55 PM	#24
Brandon Katcher Regular Crew Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 55	Thanks for the replys. Bob - I used the Kata Rain Cover on the camera. It is good. A little tight around the microphone, which makes it tough to get on quickly, but it was able to cover the camera as well as the Dual Battery Setup on the back. Worked great in rain and snow. There is a full list of the equipment I used on the blog (http://www.lostsummitfilms.com, click on equipment link). Meryem - I am still figuring out what I want to do with it. Depending on the footage I am still going through, ideally I would like to make a doc/video diary focusing on my attempt to film a catholic zen monk trekking across India and Nepal while at the same time trying to find my own "spiritualiy" (ability to relax) while making a film. During the trek I filmed about 15 journals with myself and my frustrations with being able to get something out of the trip with my head in a camera the entire time. If that doesn't work, maybe a travelogue, or even trying to simply sell some of the footage. I am expecting at least 6 months until I have a full rough cut. I will be posting updates as well as short videos and screen captures on the blog as often as possible. Thanks, Brandon

April 30th, 2007, 04:04 PM	#25
Meryem Ersoz Wrangler Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Boulder, CO Posts: 3,015	i'm right there with you. i just got back from bhutan, where i shot a commercial video and a doc for two separate parties, but of course, i shot a lot of footage and am free to use what i don't use in their videos in any way i choose. but i'm not sure which of the many directions i should take it for my personal projects...i have a few ideas. i could certainly relate to the entire village turning out to mug for the camera.