I think this looks like RED footage.....on the internet

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

I just finished toying around with a lighting setup, a turntable and a dolly setup. All homemade stuff. I am trying to replicate Jim's Mysterium X shoot of the epic body on a turntable. His looks absolutely incredible. I took my cheap consumer camera- Sony hdr-sr11:thumbdown: and attempted to recreate what i saw jim create. Now i know this is not at all a complicated setup. In my video, shots at 2:30 to the end are more what i want you guys to see. I know resolution is a large factor, dynamic range, dof...and so on. What im looking for is some criticism on my first attempt. There is absolutly no alteration to the video in terms of color correction, brightness, contrast except for the first 2 clips which i overexposed. so ya just tell me what you guys think! I appreciate all criticism. Here is the video.

http://www.vimeo.com/6774439

Oh and if this is in the wrong category i apologize and ask for a moderator to move it to the proper location.

 

[NateWeaver]

I know resolution is a large factor, dynamic range, dof...and so on.

Not really. Yours shots at the beginning with the dry ice are awesome.

What im looking for is some criticism on my first attempt.

Since your goal is well defined (to make things look like Jim and Jared's product shots in the very particular way they do them), I think this exercise will be pretty quick.

In short, you've missed the mark, in my opinion. Don't fret though. Here's the question's I'd ask you:

1-Where's the light coming from in the reference (J & J's shots)?

2-How many sources are there? One bulb? Two from opposite sides? How "big" does that light feel? Is the "bulb" 2 feet wide? Or is it the size of one xmas tree light? (hint: look at the reflection in the LCD panel as it rotates)

3-How much does the actual OBJECT you're photographing influence your perception of the image (ie. J&J photograph almost matte black, rectangular objects exclusively). Or, put another way: could a shiny, conical, round object could EVER react to light in the same way a dull, square, black object could?

Just a few questions for you to think about...

 

[andrewjwhittaker]

Also, try thinking of lighting in terms of reflections. Try bouncing your lights into white materials and have that be the source of light. You may see it help sculpt your objects better due to the larger and softer source.

 

[Jeremy_Sawatzky]

Thanks for the advice guys, you can see how big the lights are at the end of the video. And a funny thing, u mention christmas tree lights... The turntable im using is made for a christmas tree. The lights im using definitly act like spotlights. I was trying to think of a way to spread them out. how would you do it? in the majority of the shots there are just 2 lights at the back aiming towards the front, you can see the whole setup at the end of the vid.

 

[andrewjwhittaker]

Yes I saw your setup at the end of the video, and that is why I suggest playing with some bounce lighting as well. You are directly nailing some objects when they will be better served by reflections of sources around them.