All of the footage in this video was shot within about a mile of my home in central Florida during the months of November and December 2018. Actually, about 90% was shot on one Friday evening and the next morning when there was an unexpectedly large number of birds on a nearby pond. Most of it was shot with my PMW-F55, except for the Night Heron which was shot with my Sony PXW-Z280.

As I noted in another thread, I have chosen to linger on each shot longer than I normally would so that more of the behavior of the birds can be seen. To some people it might move too slow, but if I was to edit over again I'd actually make the shots even longer now.

Cameras: Sony PMW-F55 w/ R7 RAW recorder; Sony PXW-Z280
Codec: XOCN-ST RAW 4K @ 120 fps; XAVC-I 4K @ 30 fps
Lens: Canon 200-400 f/4
Tripods: O'Connor 1030D and 35L; Sachtler FSB-10 and Flowtech 100
Grading: DaVinci Resolve
Editing: Adobe Premiere CC




The Birds in my Backyard on Vimeo

Hi Doug,

Congrats! Great to see we are moving to slower cuts again. The 4K era allows us to do so.

I am just wondering what your workflow is with the XOCN footage. Considering to buy an R7, but XOCN did not really find it's way to the NLE platforms. I am working with FCPX, which does not accept XOCN.

Cees

Thanks, Cees. It is great to get a thumbs up from you.

I don't want to get up on a soapbox about grading, but I contend that S-LOG, RAW, and XOCN really demand the power of Resolve. In fact, the workflow is so easy in Resolve that I really enjoy the grading process. I liken it to the modern equivalent of my old B&W darkroom days.

Doug, those are some great shots. I am glad that you extended the length of your clips. Were you at Merritt Island NWR and the Blue Heron? How is the birding this time of year? I will be heading down to Boca Grande the middle of January for a little golfing and thought I would drag my camcorder down along with my clubs. Bob

Thanks, Cees. It is great to get a thumbs up from you.

I don't want to get up on a soapbox about grading, but I contend that S-LOG, RAW, and XOCN really demand the power of Resolve. In fact, the workflow is so easy in Resolve that I really enjoy the grading process. I liken it to the modern equivalent of my old B&W darkroom days.

Thanks Doug. But what about editing? Not making a showreel or so, but making a real edit, like for a film? With a multitude of layers in the timeline. Do you do that in Resolve as well?

Cees, I have two different workflows for different kinds of productions. 1) Sometimes I grade my clips first and then edit in Premiere. 2) Sometimes I edit in Premiere first and the round-trip to Resolve for grading. But either way, all my S-LOG and/or RAW footage is absolutely, without exception, going to be graded in Resolve. I won't cut corners on that settle for a half-assed grade in Premiere or FCP. So if, for whatever reason, I have a project that I don't want to pass the footage through Resolve, then I won't shoot S-LOG at all. In that case I'll choose one of my nice REC709 Scene Files and shoot WYSIWYG -- with just some minor touch-ups in Lumetri.

These days I suppose someone could do all their grading and editing in Resolve, and I'd have no argument with that approach. I may even starting editing in Resolve some day too, but one thing I'll never do is use Premiere for grading S-LOG.

Fully understand what you're saying. For sure no project of mine would be graded in something else than Resolve. You're lucky though to have chosen Premiere. I once decided to go the FCPX-road. And that one does not ingest XOCN. Have to reconsider where to go from here. Probably with proxies in FCP and then do the final grading with the master footage in Resolve. Or forget about FCPX at all. I'll see....

Yeah, once Apple burned FCP7 users I vowed I'd never use FCP again no matter what they did to try to fix it. Besides, I needed to have the rest of the Adobe suite anyway so Premiere was basically included for free. And now it truly is free because I get the whole Adobe suite at no charge because I am a qualified stock footage contributor and that is one of the bonuses.

https://youtu.be/qZqKtn-vyVU

Pl 100-400mm lens. Vlog L.

Mark, does the GH5 have internal ND filters? The reason I ask is because your shutter speed seems really, really, too fast.

Mark, does the GH5 have internal ND filters? The reason I ask is because your shutter speed seems really, really, too fast.

It does not. You got a good eye. I had no time to put one on - I usually use one - to get the shots.

Actually, it's not hard to see! :-)
Gotta be up around 1/500 - 1/1000 I'd say.

Doug, two quick questions.

In your clips of birds in flight are you using any kind of auto focus tracking system or do you shoot straight manual focus?

Do you shot in slow motion or do you do that in post?

Bob

In my opinion, all slow-motion must be captured at the time of shooting. Whatever the camera is capable of is the limit. Slowing things down in post never looks as good and if the footage is for stock the buyer is being ripped off.

No, I don't use auto-focus. Most of my cameras and lenses I own don't have it, but I also know I can do a better job manually. The only camera I've used where it is even within the realm of possibility is the Sony Z90 (and NX80). The Fast Hybrid AF system on the Z90 truly is amazing, but since it only has a 12x lens and is only 8-bit in 4K, it is not a camera that I'd typically use for wildlife.

BTW, it is my contention that any SLR or PL lens that has any AF controls at all (even if you can turn it off) makes a really bad manual focus lens. If you want to focus manually it is best to use a lens that has no AF capability at all. When I'm teaching classes it is cool to see people who have never used a fully manual focus lens find out what a difference it makes. If someone thinks they can't focus manually, then they probably have a camera with a bad viewfinder and/or the wrong lens.

Here's the Z90's AF in action . . .

Demo footage of the Sony PXW-Z90 Fast Hybrid Auto Focus system on Vimeo

Doug, thanks for the reply. I noticed in a lot of your shots you were shooting at 24 fps. What is your typical frame rate and shutter speed combination do you usually use?

These days I mostly shoot 30p and not 24p for stock.

My preferred shutter speed for 30p is 1/80 and for 24p it is 1/60. Yes, those are faster than what most people would consider "normal". Those old "normal" speeds (1/60 and 1/48) came from mechanical reasons and not aesthetics and I believe they are too slow for HD and 4K video today.

For slow-motion, I choose the first choice the camera shows in the viewfinder that is more than 2x the frame rate. For example, if I'm shooting 120 fps then I will want to use the first shutter speed the camera lists that is faster than 240 fps (120 x 2 = 240). So if the camera showed the following speeds: 100, 180, 200, 240, 280, 400, 500, etc. I would choose 280 because it is the first one that is more than 2x the frame rate. Anything below that will be too slow and anything above would be too fast. I hope that makes sense.

Yes, that makes sense. So with the Canon XF-705 for normal shooting I would set the frame rate at 30p and shutter speed at 1/75 sec and for slow motion I can go with a frame rate of 120 fps and a shutter speed of 1/250.

Those sound like perfect settings to me. Have a good trip.

Very nice, and I appreciate reading about the technical aspects of how you shot it.

Doug, thank you. As always I, as well as others, appreciate the professional advise that you are always so kind and so willingly to give. You are a trusted voice in this community. One of the greatest aspects of this forum is the exchange of ideas, technical knowledge, and personal experience. I really appreciate all the professional as well as personal advise you have given me, and others, over these years. Thank you, and I really mean it, thank you. Bob

Bob, that's very nice of you to say but I'm just throwing my opinion and advice into the conversation like everyone else. People can make what they will of it.

I had a great time at Cades Cove. I saw three sets of bear cubs but, it was so crowded that by the time I could get to a pull-over they were gone (I got about 5 seconds of a cub climbing up a tree!!! However, it was still a great trip. I already booked my hotel for the fall.

Yeah, enjoying the trip should be the number one goal. I'll be in Yellowstone again this fall and I don't even care if I shoot any video or not. Depends on the weather, the light, and my mood. It might be time to set the camera aside this time or maybe shoot stills instead.

I shot my first space shuttle launch in 1985 and have shot many shuttles and rocket since then but always through an electronic viewfinder. Last month was the first time I ever just watched a rocket launch (night time) with my naked eyes and it was truly amazing. After all these years, a totally new experience.

Anyone else use their car as a mobile hide(blind)? I do all the time, with a short tripod erected over the front passenger seat, cam aimed out of the window (of course!) and a focussing monitor propped up on a cushion or pillow. Used the Landie with my old XL cameras, then an EX3 and latterly Lumix GH cameras and long lenses.

Here in UK it's my old Land Rover Defender with good off road performance which might only mean the ability to get up onto a roadside verge or down a rough farm track.

When overseas it means a hire car, usually a "SUV' which while not as flexible as a Defender a good deal more comfortable for general driving about plus a bit of off road ability if only via more ground clearance than a standard saloon.

Did this in Kruger Park South Africa in April 2018, where getting out of car is anyway forbidden unless inside a camp or a designated stopping area. Could drive , slowly, with everything set up ready. Only problem being a subject on my, the driver's, side which necessitated the occasional panicky three point turns.


Ron

Doug, you are so right. When I took the "Basic Video Production" course at Rockport Maine back in June of 2002 (God Lord 2002) my instructor Jim Ruddy used to always say that sometime you just need to put the camera down and look, JUST LOOK. I have taken his advise with me on every trip I have been on.

Ronald, I always carry a bean bag with me in my car. Just pop it onto your window sill, fence post, rock or whatever. I have taken mine on numerous overseas trips including three times to Africa. It is light weight and easy to use.

Well, I'm glad I didn't put the camera down and just watch with my naked eyes yesterday! Got some of my best rocket launch footage ever.

NASA Orion Space Capsule Ascent Abort Test on Vimeo

Wow, Doug, that was awesome. Amazing work as usual -- I think "amazing" is the norm for you.

I'm going to copy your post to Show Your Work, as it deserves to stand on its own as a separate discussion thread.

Edit: new thread now located at http://www.dvinfo.net/forum/show-your-work/536840-nasa-orion-space-capsule-ascent-abort-test.html

Doug, Awesome!! I am so glad you did not "set the camera aside" this time. Beautiful, color, movement and music. Glad you are enjoying living in Florida. Bob

Thanks, Bob and Chris.
Yes. I am enjoying the move to Florida. Tons of stuff to shoot. The most photogenic launch of the year is coming up in a couple of weeks and then I am on the road until November.

Doug, I sold my first clip on Shutterstock. I followed the instructions on that great course of yours and it really worked. Thank you. Bob

Bob, Congratulations! And the odds just went up that that clip will sell again because the SS computer will be more likely to push it higher in search results. The more people that see it, the more chances it has to be purchased. Good for you and I'm sure other clips will start selling too.

This is really fantastic. It has given me an entirely new look at the way I am shooting video. Thanks again for the course and your help. Safe travels. Bob