So here is an 8-minute piece I did for my son's end of season party. It's about 90% Letus Flip Enhanced and the rest is with the stock lens. Every shot in this piece is handheld, grip and rip style. I lucked out mostly on focus but some shots are slightly off but I had to include them because of what they recorded. The first part of this is deliberately made to look like the opening of a major motion picture...I figured the kids would get a thrill out of it.

Party is friday night so the team hasn't seen it yet :)

The compression is pretty high but it still looks good to me. I didn't want to break it into smaller pieces because it is meant to be watched all the way through.

It's a 720p size and the file is about 300mb

http://www.pinelakefilms.com/XHA1/baseballfinalweb.wmv

Nice job. Reminds me of really clean 16mm. Did you use your VividRGB setting? Doesn't look that saturated to me. I like the skin tones. Very natural. Also, was that running at 23.98? I've never figured out how to tell the frame rate in Media Player.

Thanks,
Blake

I think your host is getting hammered hahah. Anyways itll be a while before I can comment on the video itself, but i would like to thank you again for all you videos you show us here. Each one is very inspirational, and even as someone who has never ever done any video before is making an itching to get the same "look" as you do, that is a GOOD thing. I will comment after i am done downloading!

beautiful as always. what lenses did you use for this piece? did you find it difficult to match letus and stock footage?

Blake, yes it was all shot at 23.98

Paul, I used primarily a 100mm f2.8 Nikon. Some of the wider shots are done with the 28mm f2.8 and medium shots are with the 50mm f1.8.

Because these shots were taken at all times of the day over a long period of time, I didn't really have to worry about matching all of them. I didn't have any problems mixing the Letus stuff with the stock lens.

I took the sharpness down to zero and in some cases down to -5 using the stock lens to make the shots a little more compatible.

I used vividrgb for all of these shots although I have to say, as is typical with me, there were many variations and experimentation over the course of this shoot. The color gain was zero for both the Letus and stock lens. I find the color gain to be a little intense using the Nikons so I pull it back to make it feel a little more natural.

Thanks for watching...

Steve, was the WMV you uploaded 23.98? I was trying to see if you're adding pulldown for the copy you're showing at the event, i.e. on a DVD or tape? Or is it staying 23.98 all the way through? Motion looks real good. So many folks often complain of "judder", but I see almost none and you do a good amount of panning, etc. Thanks.

Yeah Blake, this WMV is 24p version, no pulldown. Burning to a 24p DVD. I am downrezzing to SD (for the party) which looks great using Vegas.

Excellent. Thanks for the info and posting the footage!

Excellent camerawork and editing, I'm sure the team will love it.

Your matte (2.35?) doesn't appear black on my screen, is that intended?

Fantastic stuff. Your hands must be made of concrete.

Very nice :) I love what the Letus can do when used properly :) I am sure the kids will love it.

Camera man sighting @ 3:47 :-)

Steven that was just plain awesome. Im sure when the kids look back on that years from now it will be very special.

Thanks for the comments.

Rene, I think the problem with the matte color is due to some kind of gamma shift during compression. The matte on the original is black.

Josh, I'm intrigued by your comment "Camera man sighting @ 3:47 :-)" because I looked at the file at that timecode and saw nothing... :)

Steven,
It is *so* beautiful!! Thanks so much for posting this.
One question: when you're shooting handheld with the letus, is the weight of the camera with the additional lens not a big burden? I'm asking because I notice the weight of the A1 already without additional lenses - it's heavy on my wrist...

Thanks again for the fantastic movie!!

Dino

Thanks for the comments.

Rene, I think the problem with the matte color is due to some kind of gamma shift during compression. The matte on the original is black.

Josh, I'm intrigued by your comment "Camera man sighting @ 3:47 :-)" because I looked at the file at that timecode and saw nothing... :)

I just took a look again. its 3:46.. and only a little of 3:47. (in flip 4 mac) A reflection on the woman's sun glasses. Her left lens. One guy looking at the game another looking down at something, I assume it is you filming :p

Not me....someone else :)

Ahh... wonder what that guy was up to then.

Oh no wait, that is me! I just took another look at it. Good call. Actually, that's generally way I shoot with the camera cradled and pushed against my stomach. It has the least shake and I can use my whole body to move instead of moving the camera separately.

Haha... I was wondering... "I film like that when I am without a tripod... what the heck was that guy up to then?!"

Oh no wait, that is me! I just took another look at it. Good call. Actually, that's generally way I shoot with the camera cradled and pushed against my stomach. It has the least shake and I can use my whole body to move instead of moving the camera separately.

OK, please, can you explain to us how *exactly* you're holding the cam?

Dino

I have one hand under the camera, the other hand on the focus ring of the Nikon lens. The back of the camera is pressed up against my stomach for stability. When I need to pan the camera I turn my whole body. Does that make sense? I can't explain it any better than that.

I have one hand under the camera, the other hand on the focus ring of the Nikon lens. The back of the camera is pressed up against my stomach for stability. When I need to pan the camera I turn my whole body. Does that make sense? I can't explain it any better than that.

Thanks so much for explaining. I'll have to try this out.
Dino

Steven, I am sure you are probably tired of all the credit, but GEEZ, your a genius with that camera! You may shoot mostly nature stuff, but if I had the finances and was shooting a full feature, I would certainly be looking for you! I cannot tell you how much enjoyment I got out of that piece. I was so inspired, I am going to attempt the same thing for my daughters ASA softball little league team. I think it will make for some great memories. Thanks for the Charge! J

If you do not mind me asking, I have a Letus FE also, when you zoom in to fill the picture area of the letus, do you zoom past just filling the area or just enough to fill it? One final Question: did you use the 1/48 shutter with this 24P? I don't believe I have ever seen 24P footage as smooth as this on pans.

Hi Steven, When shooting your 24F, are you using the image stabilization in the camera? J

Steven simply amazing, very emotional ... opening was very effective ....
can you talk a bit about he music ...
I really loved it at times when you moves to the original ambiance sounds... very effective and smart ..:)

I wish if you can document the impact on the audience ... even on a mobile video ... please ...
I call this emotional cutting ... your sense of sound / image relationship is very powerful man, God Bless you and you family :)

Steven,

...as usual...your footage looks so much like film...

incredibly clean!!!

Steven,

So far, how do you like your A1 compared to your XLH1 ?

Could you post a picture of your camera with the Letus ?

I'm curious...

thanks

Steven... Just curious what you were using for the music? Songs or software or both?

Thanks for all the comments, they are very meaningful to me.

I'll try to address some of your questions:

1. I never use OIS when I have the letus attached. It has a negative impact because it responds to the subtle vibration of the ground glass and tries to stabilize that instead of the picture. The result is that the picture frame bounces from left to right and up and down. So, never use OIS with a 35mm adapter.

2. I zoom into the letus picture just enough to completely fill the frame. I try to utilize as much of the focal length of the attached lens as I can.

3. All of this was shot with a shutter speed of 1/48 and a frame rate of 24, no exceptions.

4. Being a musician, I have a keen ear for using sound and visual together. Amr, I'm glad that was communicated to you by watching and listening to the piece. When I played the film to my audience last night, some were in tears. It's a very emotional thing to see your kid so involved in a game as intense as baseball when the season is over. Giving parents and players an opportunity to see a rare retrospective of the season is a gift.

5. I don't miss my XLH1 in the slightest. I love the portability of the XHA1 much better and the tweakability is much greater as far as the picture is concerned. Regarding the basics of resolution and overall clarity of image...no difference.

6. This is music I used from a library...not software.

I think that's everything. Thanks again for taking the time to comment. I appreciate it.

6. This is music I used from a library...not software.



Any particular libraries you would advise?

www.killertracks.com

Steven,

Please show a picture of the A1 with the Letus.
I want to appreciate the look and protability of the "kit".

Again, great work! Superb image quality.

BTW...Did you CC in post ?

Antoine, I will post a picture soon... :)

Regarding CC, I did some in post but I could have spent a lot more time grading the picture to make everything look a little more consistent. Thing is, I was shooting at all times of the day and in all different weather conditions (welcome to Seattle!) so I decided to do minimal CC work. Also, for the audience this was meant for, it wasn't really worth the additional time I could have put into it.

Great resource Steven. Thank you for posting that link...

Thank you Steven for answering all of my questions..I am very appreciative. J

OK ,
i'll wait to see the A1/Letus picture

thanks Steven,

Much appreciated.

Okay Antoine, not a great picture but here it is in action...

Thanks Steven,

Looks like it is small and lightweight enough...Great!

Ah, you just rekindled my love of baseball in its purest form.... youth baseball...

Beautiful stuff, again, Steven....

Steven,

That movie rocks. Thanks so much for sharing...

Jon

Steven,

How is the Letus solidly attached, i dont see metal rods ?

I converted it to a 720 24P M2t and played it on my PS3 and it was freaking AWESOME. I wish I could make a movie that was 10% as good. I think my favorite shot is the the through the fence shot of the kid sliding into home.

Steven,

I love the audio you have in that piece. Would you mind letting me know which tracks you used from killertracks.com that you used to compose that? It would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks,

Jon

Great videography and editing as usual.

However, I think the initial intro sets the atmosphere and this is where it is too slow. Even the title is very sappy for this age range.

For this age range, I think even with low initial video action, the intro, you need faster and a hipper soundtrack. If this is for home use and not distribution, you don't really need royalty free music.

I really don't mean to criticize, but this is the kind of video and age range I shoot occasionally. It is tough to keep kids entertained nowdays, just look at any music video style, crazy.

Great videography and editing as usual.

However, I think the initial intro sets the atmosphere and this is where it is too slow. Even the title is very sappy for this age range.

For this age range, I think even with low initial video action, the intro, you need faster and a hipper soundtrack. If this is for home use and not distribution, you don't really need royalty free music.

I really don't mean to criticize, but this is the kind of video and age range I shoot occasionally. It is tough to keep kids entertained nowdays, just look at any music video style, crazy.

I couldn't disagree more. I'm sure the kids didn't have *any* problems whatsoever seeing themselves and their friends and weren't tempted by their iPod's, PS3's, and Cell Phones. I think it's people who keep producing faster and faster content because they *think* that's what they have to do to keep "current" are forcing the issue. Is the tail wagging the dog?!?!?

The music choice was, in my opinion, perfect. Who needs to produce content with the same old "tribute" songs you hear everywhere else. I credit Steven for doing this just the way he did and I can guarantee everybody involved loved it.

Jon

I couldn't disagree more. I'm sure the kids didn't have *any* problems whatsoever seeing themselves and their friends and weren't tempted by their iPod's, PS3's, and Cell Phones. I think it's people who keep producing faster and faster content because they *think* that's what they have to do to keep "current" are forcing the issue. Is the tail wagging the dog?!?!?

The music choice was, in my opinion, perfect. Who needs to produce content with the same old "tribute" songs you hear everywhere else. I credit Steven for doing this just the way he did and I can guarantee everybody involved loved it.

Jon

I do agree with your "tail wagging the dog" observation. You know it has gone too far when you almost get motion sickness looking at a video.

To clarify, I was talking about the soundtrack of the intro, not the video content. You have about 15 seconds to capture most adolescents attention or you are done. The slow soundtrack drags on for more than 1:30 into the production (including the PLF intro). Once the PLF intro is over, there should be a sharp crack of a bat and a roar of a crowd dubbed in to contrast the intro and wake everyone up. Then perhaps, some batter up baseball organ music.

A ton of great stuff is available at baseball music and stadium sounds websites.

I'm glad my piece is being re-conceived :)

It's all good and interesting to see another's take on it.

Although the intro maybe a big snooze fest and over the top for a lot of people, it was very deliberate on my part and I had the kids hooked from the minute it began because they all wanted to see their names on there and the candid nature of the shots, to me and the parents, showed some depth of each personality. And yes, I did want to slow it down because I don't like really choppy editing. It's a shame that some kids nowadays have the attention span of a flea so, ironically, the fact that they were expecting the usual kind of music associated with baseball led to a surprise and attentiveness when they heard it was different.

It's all subjective.

Thanks for the comments.