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Crazy music video shot on Scarlet-X

Drew Baird

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Hello Everybody! I wanted to tell you about a music video we have been working on for the last few months. It was the last project that my Scarlet-X (#776 - Wendy Peffercorn) worked on before being shipped back to Red for the Epic-X upgrade.

The video was directed by Johnny Bones, Special effects make up and other effects by Eric Zapata (Face Off Season 4&5) Puppet design and Lead actress Sarah Danko, the actress in the monster makeup is her sister Theresa Danko, and I was the DoP.

Our goal was to film this with all of our major elements as PRACTICAL EFFECTS! We have a huge project coming up that will be all practical and we are pulling in some enormous talent to help us with it. This music video is a bit of a proof of concept and I can't wait to show it to you guys!

We had a very limited budget, as this was out of our own pockets so we were forced to cut a few corners with generators and lights, leaving our shots a bit underexposed, but with some color grading it looks AMAZING!!! We mostly shot on Canon L Series lenses, but a few shots were on a Rokinon 35mm Cine lens, which performed pretty damn well in the low light conditions. We filmed everything at 3K 48fps with guides for 2.39:1. The edit is coming along, but we still need to film some stuff with our puppet monster and we have some particle effects to add, but hopefully we will be finished within the next month.

Here are some stills from the RAW files (no color grading applied)
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I can upload the R3D's if you guys want to play with them. I love what people can do with CC for fantasy genres!!
 
Here is a behind the scenes of some of the stuff we have done in the last couple of years:

[video=vimeo;79824621]http://vimeo.com/79824621"]http://vimeo.com/79824621[/video]
PASSWORD: broll

http://vimeo.com/79824621

The BTS from our test footage for the music video is at 1:50

Thanks!
 
What is the overall look you are going for?
 

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Very cool Steve! We have been playing with a very etherial look. A bit of purples in the shadows and a little low contrast. I was thinking about changing the colors of some of the leaves in a few of the shots.
 
Ah, totally different look. Here's a quick grade with over-the-top tinted leaves. :-)Looks like you have room to play. A bit underexposed in certain shots, but a good colorist should be able to work with this and achieve your look.
 

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This was our CC reference still after the first night of filming. All in all we were shooting for 5 nights in a small forest within the Austin city limits.
 

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That monster makeup looks fucking awesome! Do you have any shots of your puppet? People need to get back to practical in this industry. There is something about how tangible it is. CG still can't come close. Awesome work!
 
That monster makeup looks fucking awesome! Do you have any shots of your puppet? People need to get back to practical in this industry. There is something about how tangible it is. CG still can't come close. Awesome work!

Thanks! We have the puppet ready but we are saving the puppet for the final project. The video will be done only a couple of days after we capture the puppet.
 
Any special filters used? Looks pretty damn good; and I agree with the practical effects comments (particularly the monster).
 
Redlogfilm->Resolved. I was trying the Silent Hill approach but started to go my own path.

Thanks for the pixels Drew, nice crew you have there. Give them my thanks for the hard work. :)

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Any special filters used? Looks pretty damn good; and I agree with the practical effects comments (particularly the monster).

Thanks for the kind words Mike! No filters. The light was so low that I couldn't afford to cut any more light out. The softness from shooting in 3k seems to give it filmic like edges without sacrificing too much sharpness. I do miss my Scarlet. She was always good to me.

Redlogfilm->Resolved. I was trying the Silent Hill approach but started to go my own path.

Thanks for the pixels Drew, nice crew you have there. Give them my thanks for the hard work. :)

Kalulu, I love what you did with the monster! The contrast has given it a very cool wood-like finish and the highlights are exactly what I wanted. Very nice job! Did you use any LUT's? I will pass your compliment on to the rest of the crew.
 
Yes I used a LUT for the monster, thanks. Now I am far from good with Resolve, so I continue with my adventures in learning it. Kodak2393 http://juanmelara.com.au/print-film-emulation-luts-for-download/

Thanks for the kind words Mike! No filters. The light was so low that I couldn't afford to cut any more light out. The softness from shooting in 3k seems to give it filmic like edges without sacrificing too much sharpness. I do miss my Scarlet. She was always good to me.



Kalulu, I love what you did with the monster! The contrast has given it a very cool wood-like finish and the highlights are exactly what I wanted. Very nice job! Did you use any LUT's? I will pass your compliment on to the rest of the crew.
 
Scarlet Grades

Scarlet Grades

Man I gotta get this camera. The possibilities are endless. Grades are in the attachments.
 

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I really enjoy seeing the different ways you all approach the same shots. It blows my mind how much the color can change the mood of the material. I can't wait to show you guys more!
 
So, the director might kill me for posting this, but I was just dying to share a little bit! This is the head of our fairy puppet "Princess". We were practicing her walk with 5 puppeteers before we film it next week. isn't she purdy?!
 

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I would love to see some BTS from your puppet tests. How tall is she? Any animatronics?
 
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