That is some good advice to know Will, Thank You I will keep that in mind. Once again, Killer Captures !!!

Cheese production
 

A little docu from a company in Kezmarok Slovakia. Without narration.
http://www.vimeo.com/1411003

Hey Ivan! Is it a state secret? Cuz it's a "private video".

Sorry- i am new to vimeo. Its public now.

deleted.sorry

Concert at night. (low light test) What do you think?
 

this was my first evening shooting with XHA1. Quite low light. It affected the auto focus a little bit in that it was searching for light to get proper focus.

shot at 25fps, between 2.8 and 4.7, no gain, in manual.

http://www.vimeo.com/1363128
as well as
http://www.vimeo.com/1361972

over all i was quite happy with the outcome, considering that the show was not actually lit for production. i just turned up with my camera.

please let me what you think.

how can i do it better next time? be brutal.

aloha

jai

The vimeo images are quite clean - comments? Well forget autofocus - causes more problems than it solves. In dim light it's just too risk. The lighting goes red and it suddenly hunts away. Focus practice is important, look for clues in the picture, you notice it's a little soft, but which way to go? Look at the background for clues, if that is sharper than the subject, then you need to focus forward, if the back is worse than the subject, then focus back. All this said - yours was quite good.

The biggest issue for me was sound. The guitar in the second clip was good, but the vocal, via the PA spoilt it. Also - was the chair creaking? With planning (which wasn't possible here, I guess) then a direct feed from the vocal mic would have helped. In the Jazz clip, even the bass was clean, which I was surprised by.

Never heard a vocal trumpet before!

cheers paul,

bloody chair! we also had issues with the muso banging the floor with his foot. i was on the same wooden surface so felt every little tremor. note to self.

ok, no autofocus? i think i would like to have a slightly larger....... LCD screen.
i got annoyed with the autofocus when i would try and pull a very slow focus it would kick in and ruin it.

i was just worried that since i was shooting with such a shallow depth of field in very low light that my focus would be all over the shop.

they want me to shoot their next home concert so i will be addressing all the sound issues.

would it be more of a pain in the ass to have them record a master tape with all their equipment and then sync it in post?

or have a couple line ins to the xha1 and save time in post. i have never tried the former.

cheers again, can't wait to shoot the next one in a couple weeks.

aloha

jai

Trailer Shot With XH-A1
 

Hi everyone. This is a 2 minute trailer I shot with my XH-A1 for a film of mine called Kragtown. I had to film the entire thing in one day so some of the shots are not too great but the night shots should give you a good idea of what it's like filming with this camera in total darkness with 2 1k lights.
http://www.kragtown.com/kragtowntrailer.mov

I really enjoyed watching your trailer! At first I thought it was kinda serious, but then realized it was more of a comedy (unless it was supposed to be serious, in which case, sorry).

I was definitely amused, and was also impressed by the image quality. It looks great!

What did you use to get those moving shots at the beginning (and throughout the film)?

Thanks - yeah, it's not written to be a comedy, but no worries, it was filmed super fast and it's just a no budget concept trailer. If filmed as a movie, it will have a much higher quality to it.

The intro shots of the ghost town were filmed using a Merlin steadicam.

Sample Freeze Frame Clips
 

Hey guys
I wanted to put up Freeze Frames from a subject documentary that im shooting to display Steven Dempsey's VividRGB preset, the capabilities of XH A1 and my shot selection.

This was just the bare camera on a 501 HDV Manfrotto head and Amvona tripod legs. It was shot on HDV at 24 fps at 1/48(most of the time).

It was shot in Mississauga,ON Canada - outside a deserted burnt down house.

I will be putting up the video as soon as the editing is done.

Please feel free to comment on these:

http://pyvproductions.files.wordpres...8/img_0130.jpg
http://pyvproductions.files.wordpres...1-01004518.jpg
http://pyvproductions.files.wordpres...1-01072809.jpg
http://pyvproductions.files.wordpres...1-01091307.jpg
http://pyvproductions.files.wordpres...1-01130008.jpg

Prashanna,
These look pretty good but don't necessarily show a whole lot. There are no people in them and no discernable subject. They look good for what they are, but what is this doc all about?
Bill

Hey Bill
Thank you for the comments.
I posted these up just to show the look of vividRGB preset and my shot selection. Unfortunately there ain't gonna be any people in this doc. This doc is about the area by my house, a nature doc if you will. I will put up the video as soon as it has been edited.

Were I live
 

Hi to Everybody

My first post so please be gentle.

I've been reading this forum for some time now and have had my A1 for a couple of weeks. The standard of video's presented here is quiet daunting for a novice to measure up to, but you have to start somewhere so here is a short video I shot of were I live, it's a beautiful part of the world and I hope anyone who has a look enjoys it.
I'm working hard to improve my camera skills and hope to post better video's in the near future.
Any advice would be great and appreciated.

Pete

My playground on Vimeo

Thats a great video,
Im unable to offer any advice as I probably know only 1/50th of what you do but my eyes tell me its good :)

Thats a wonderfull backyard to have !

Thanks for your comment Jayson glad you liked it !!

1 Min Sequence from a Doc- suggestions
 

Hi There,

I am working on a documentary profiling a photographer. I just put together a sequence describing how he chooses his locations. This is a rough cut so no colour correction (although I did include a video transition or two). Comments on composition, etc?

Scouting Sequence on Vimeo

Thanks!

I thought the most interesting part of the video was at the end, when we see the photographer working and making photos - as that showed him using a location he chose. Unfortunately I found the rest of the footage to be ineffective, I thought it a. didn't support the narration, b. didn't tell much of a story, c. was very shaky and d. the audience was way ahead of you for most of the video. I think part of the problem is that you're letting the narration do most of the heavy lifting instead of the images. Try cutting a piece without the narration then add in the narration as needed. If you really want to use that narration, you might want to cut up the narration and give him some pauses, to slow it down a bit. Personally I'd find better images to tell the story.

Thanks Michael! Your comments are appreciated.

I hope you don't mind us being critical.

I second what Michael said.

In my option, try using the "rule of thirds" when framing your subjects. Makes your shots more dynamic. In simpler terms, your subject doesn't have to be in the middle all the time.

However, through effective editing as Micheal had said, I think you can make it MUCH MUCH better. It seems like you're trying to cram all the footage you have.

For future reference, trying bringing a monopod or some shoulder support. Take your time and get more a-rolls. The more problems you eliminate on your set, the less you have to worry about in post.

Good Luck!

Thanks, Tony. I totally agree with the shoulder mount remark. We were walking around this 300,000 sqft building for 12 hours and 8 minidv tapes. Needless to say, my arm was aching with the light and wireless mic mounted on the camera after the first hour!

A1 Stock - Short Film Frame Grabs (No Correction)
 

Hey Everybody,

I recently created a short, 3 and 1/2 minute film for a 24-hour contest in the Washington D.C. Metropolitan area and all I have to say is , "Phew!" . 24 hours is NOT a lot of time to make a short film! The name of my team's film was, "Buried Promises".

Anyway, I am in the process of creating a Directors Cut which will most likely be 5 minutes long and thought you would be interested in some of the frame grabs.

I used available light only. While shooting the night scenes I had gain set to the max and was using the Pana35 custom preset throughout.

Since I am still unable to afford a Letus (or any 35 adapter ) I just use alternate methods of getting a nice DOF. I'll expound upon that if necessary.

Let me know what you guys think!

John

Quote: "Since I am still unable to afford a Letus (or any 35 adapter ) I just use alternate methods of getting a nice DOF. I'll expound upon that if necessary."

Please expound..I'm in the same boat...no more money for 35mm adapter.

Grabs look good by the way..

Thanks,

Mike Watkins

New Music Video
 

This NSM's song "Feel". It was filmed in Pepe's in Valparaiso, IN. I had to dub over the studio version because the audio was shot. (Stock microphones are very good to record live bands)
Filmed with the A1 and G1 on the Panalook2 preset.

Anyways, let me know what you all think! Thanks!!

NSM - Feel on Vimeo

- Jeremy

Hey Jeremy
A few pointers/suggestions:

Too much shaky footage in the beginning of the clip - was that an intro to the video itself?
Not enough light inside the bar/club - was it an organized music video shoot or we just filming their performance. B/C some bar/clubs don't like extra lights or even the band.
Did you try turning your gain up - that would've helped a bit. Thats why you stayed wide most of the time so that it doesn't get darker if you zoomed in.
Overall, its a trial and error process as begin but keep at it.
Good luck.

Prashanna,

Thanks for the feed back!

I forgot to mention that this was kinda spur of the moment thing, just run and gun. I was there to watch the show and decided it would be fun to film partway through the show. There was absolutely no prep time, it just sounded like a good idea at the time.

I only had the gain at +3. I knew most of it would be dark, but wasn't sure how much at the time. I haven't filmed much in low lighting. I knew the lighting was going to be an issue, I just wasnt thinking as clearly inside the bar ;)

As for the intro, the first 3 shots was from some of my 1st letus testing, all hand held as I dont have a good enough tripod to support the camera with the letus. The last intro shot was from a spur of the moment wedding at my local courthouse, hand held as well. I just put it on to as an idea - to see if they'll let me shoot a video to the song on the intro.

All in all, it was a good learning experience. I had alot of fun with all of this.

Thanks again for the feedback!!

- Jeremy

Valparaiso Police Department - Rifle Range
 

Valparaiso Police Department was kind enough to invite me to a training range. This was filmed about 4 months ago, I had really no clue what alot of things were on the camera. Probably about my 3rd or 4th time out with the camera. But I thought it turned out extremely well. Filmed on the Canon XH-G1 with the VividRGB preset.

http://www.vimeo.com/1629871

Let me know what you think...

Thanks!

-Jeremy

where did you get the VIVDRGB preset i can't find where to download it!

Thanks

Harvey

Here's the VIVIDRGB preset (Attached)

Really like those images.

Nice work.

Would love to read about your technique.

cool, a DC XH-A1 owner. I'm hoping to join your club in a few days (for now, I'm a Sony HC1 owner). I'd love to know your methods to get these nice looking screen grabs myself.

I didn't know about a 24 hour festival. I knew there was a 48 hour one.

Hey
 

Thanks for the responses everyone!

Well, in short, my 'technique' for obtaining a pleasing DOF relies on a LOT OF SPACE.

Here's a very, VERY rough diagram that I've drawn up.

The steps which I go through to obtain some nice DOF w/o a 35mm adapter are as follows:

1.) Place camera (Cam) on a tripod 10 - 20 feet from subject (A). MANUAL MODE *

*NOTE: Make sure the background (B) is deep. Works best with backgrounds that are equally as far away from the subject as the camera, if not further.

2.) Zoom to appropriate framing. MCU / CU will work best.

3.) Adjust your iris so it is as wide open as possible.

4.) Adjust your shutter speed accordingly to achieve balanced exposure.

5.) Use your Peaking and Magnification buttons to zoom in on focal point.

6.) Adjust focus until your subject is in focus and the background is out of focus. **

**NOTE: Works best with abundant lighting. Boosting the GAIN may be necessary to maintain balanced exposure.

Here's a great WIKI Page which gives an infinitely more detailed explanation of what's going on here. It's just one of those things that once you understand it, and use it, it comes naturally and QUICKLY while shooting...

Depth of field - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Water Colors
 

Water + Food Coloring = Fun
Water + Food Coloring + XH-A1 = Double Fun!


Time remapping with Premiere CS3.

Music by: Mark Isham "A Four Part Rhythm"

Enjoy!

WATER COLORS on Vimeo

Awesome job! Creative, original, beautiful!

Would you mind sharing how you did it?

Well, I wouldn't say it's "that" creative or original. I was inspired by other videos like it on Vimeo and just had to try it myself.

It's just a 2 gallon fish tank filled with water and dropping a couple drops of food coloring into it. I have a white piece of paper a couple feet behind the tank and it's lit by two 5,200k fluorescent lights. Filmed at 60i with a 1/100th shutter, aperture is wide open.
I think I had the VIVIDRGB preset on.

In order to get the background white you really have to over expose the paper.

And that's it, pretty and simple.

fantastic! - I've seen some fluid video pieces of late and was wondering how it was done

the music was a perfect fit and a nice touch reversing up at the end

thanks for sharing this!
trish

Climate Matters - Competition, please watch
 

I entered a competition on Vimeo for a "Climate Matters" theme about the environment. I need as many people to look at this as possible.

Shot entirely on the XHA1 and mostly Letus Ultimate....some new shots some recycled.

Thanks

Climate Matters on Vimeo

Looks great as always!
Left comment and "like" it for your win!

XH-A1 in Amsterdam
 

Video I made with my XH-A1 in Amsterdam last summer , for your comments please:

Amsterdam journey 2008 on Vimeo