Louis C.K.'s new show "Louie"

[Ravi Kiran]

File naming remained the same should a conform from the original R3D media be required, say, when it comes time to master for BluRay/1080p/anything higher than 720p...(everything was transcoded to 720p in part because that was the resolution required for delivery, but also because post felt it would be more easily manageable for Louis, considering half the time he was editing off Lacie Rugged drives on a 13" MBP).

Is the Blu-Ray of season 1 720p or 1080p?

Also, get Louie some G-RAIDs :smile5:

 

[Jason Svatos]

I'm about 30 minutes into tonight's episode and I'm already curious about some of these helicopter shots. Very sharp.

And am I correct in understanding that the show is broadcast in 720p?

 

[Paul Koestner]

I'm about 30 minutes into tonight's episode and I'm already curious about some of these helicopter shots. Very sharp.

And am I correct in understanding that the show is broadcast in 720p?

Yes, 720p. Now I happened not to be on that shoot, as I had a previous commitment (our schedule continued to get pushed into a conflict for me), but Alex my AC and Clint took over, and what you see is their work. Very sharp in what sense? And Clint, you would be the one to answer that one.

 

[Oliver Rabinovitch]

Thanks for the great answers Paul. Pretty impressive how tight the feedback is for your crew, as you've indicated Alex exemplifies with clutch sensibility.
Much appreciated.

 

[Jason Svatos]

So Season 3 is starting up pretty soon here... I remember reading somewhere that Louie had purchased a Red Epic. Is it safe to assume at least some of the show is shot on epic now?

 

[A. Clint Litton]

Season 3 is 100% Epic...and it's been a dream in just about every way imaginable.

Louis has put together a pretty solid package, including a few lens sets (Seasons 1 & 2 were shot primarily on Master Primes, he's since purchased UltraPrimes, and has just taken delivery on a set of Cooke Panchros...he did buy a set of Super Baltars last season, which played intermittently).

Due to the shooting style of the show, it's been great having a smaller, lighter camera (that boots up in 10 seconds!), without giving up any of the benefits of Redcode Raw. There are so many circumstances that this has worked in our favor...I can't imagine what it would be like if we had gone with the Alexa (or better yet, the Alexa + Codex). We're a very trim crew, sometimes doing lots of company moves and mini-moves...at times we decide that the second camera is needed to pick up another angle, which is ready to go in under 5. Needless to say it's great knowing that no one is ever waiting on camera.

 

[A. Clint Litton]

I'm about 30 minutes into tonight's episode and I'm already curious about some of these helicopter shots. Very sharp.

And am I correct in understanding that the show is broadcast in 720p?

Sorry for not replying to this sooner...the show is broadcast in 720p, though the Bluray for Season 1 was re-conformed for 1080p (I believe this is the case). Louis is still all over the 13", though has moved on to a G-Raid.

As for lenses, we're almost solely on Master Primes in season 2 (a little Super Baltar, a little Cooke 5i), but Ducklings was Master Primes (A camera) and Angenieux 30-80 (B-camera from the other helicopter). Some of this sharpness could be due to a deeper stop? A lot of times we're shooting close to wide open during most of the season, unless we can sneak a T2.8 in there.

Season 3 will be almost entirely Ultra Primes, with a touch of Cooke Panchros. Only the standup enables us to use a zoom, and usually has a 24-290 in play.

 

[Jerrod Cordell]

Fucking awesome! Can't wait!

You should tell Louie to get his ass on these forums. It'd be great to here from him and hear a bit of his creative process in the show.

 

[A. Clint Litton]

I'll give it a try, Jerrod, though I think he has enough on his plate already (writing, directing, casting, producing, editing, acting...and that's just the show)...

 

[Jerrod Cordell]

Psh, that's nothing. He needs to stop everything and answer questions from camera nerds [Heavy sarcasm in this statement].

He's definitely a hard working guy and definitely understand if he can't. It was just worth a shot.

Thanks again though for yours and Paul's contribution to these forums though. It's really great hearing insight behind the show from you guys. Can't wait for Season 3!

 

[Paul Koestner]

I was just passing through on my way to learn what I could about the technology I’m using these days. As a result of show buzz, I’ve been asked for an interview from a freelance journalist for a tech-minded magazine. I was kind of afraid something like this might happen one day.

I asked Clint if he might take the call for me and give an informed interview (Clint is a quick study. You should hear him do Mark Weston, our Kiwi 2[SUP]nd[/SUP] AC), but he thought I was kidding, so I’m on my own now. Nobody on set takes me seriously, least of all Louie.

Clint is my guru now, and I just cry for him when I’m in trouble, which feels a bit too often for a grown-up. You guys will be well served in this forum by him, and I’d love to see him channel Louie for any of your questions. Because I’m here to tell you it would be akin to pulling all the teeth in Louie’s head to get him to show up here. As Clint said, Louie is getting tugged in every direction right now, and I’m always crossing my fingers he’ll show up on set before the sun goes down. I almost feel sorry for the guy. Almost.

So we’re back at it for Season 3, and Louie is firing on all cylinders. I think you’ll like what’s coming in June.

It's been a while. I hope I did this right.

 

[Jens Jakob Thorsen]

I LOVE the show, but why one would use Master Primes on any digital camera is beyond me...Especially on a gritty N.Y. show...Elites or rehoused Speed Panchros series II/III, would give you a visual egde...

 

[Paul Koestner]

I might suggest that a 4K Epic isn't just any digital camera. Nor is the Alexa. The times, they are a changin'. Yet why indeed? Why shoot 4K when you air in 720? Why dolly when you can zoom? There are myriad whys and wherefores posed during any production. A decision-maker’s passionate belief, rational or otherwise, in the supremacy of any system will fuel many decisions, fund many ventures, and sink many ships along the way.

Further, one man’s gritty is another man’s muddy. I remember trying to watch Hill Street Blues way back when, when they employed a camera technique I'd call "seizurevision". Whose idea was that, and what were they thinking? How a story ought to be told is highly subjective, and Louie knows how he would like his stories told.

Looking presently at the impressive array of glass from globally-recognized leaders, one can find one’s self swimming in possibilities. Frankly I was interested in seeing the newly promised Leicas: fast, lightweight, and, well, Leicas. But then so was everybody else, and we had a show to shoot.

Louie made the call. Having played with Masters, he purchased Super Baltars (now there was a course change), and then Ultras and Panchros (he actually purchased the Panchros first, but they arrived some time after the newly discovered Ultra package was acquired). This, after having looked at S4i’s, 5i’s, Super Speeds, Lomos, and I don’t know what all else back at the beginning of Season 2. Never heard of Elites till now, so there you go.

Frankly I believe the biggest factor in a show’s look is the final timing. I can watch different shows of ours and see The Comedy Cellar footage change from show to show. We go in there and use the same lighting set-up each time. This says a lot about the human factor. We can’t decide what we like from day to day. You say Cookes are warmer than Zeisses? Not if the timer cranks that console knob a bit. Zeisses are contrasty? Tweak the slider on that panel over there.

If I sound at all defensive, it’s because I can’t hardly tell the difference between all this precious glass these days. I’m getting old. The Super Baltars? Well sure, maybe.

 

[Jens Jakob Thorsen]

I might suggest that a 4K Epic isn't just any digital camera. Nor is the Alexa. The times, they are a changin'. Yet why indeed? Why shoot 4K when you air in 720? Why dolly when you can zoom? There are myriad whys and wherefores posed during any production. A decision-maker’s passionate belief, rational or otherwise, in the supremacy of any system will fuel many decisions, fund many ventures, and sink many ships along the way.

Further, one man’s gritty is another man’s muddy. I remember trying to watch Hill Street Blues way back when, when they employed a camera technique I'd call "seizurevision". Whose idea was that, and what were they thinking? How a story ought to be told is highly subjective, and Louie knows how he would like his stories told.

Looking presently at the impressive array of glass from globally-recognized leaders, one can find one’s self swimming in possibilities. Frankly I was interested in seeing the newly promised Leicas: fast, lightweight, and, well, Leicas. But then so was everybody else, and we had a show to shoot.

Louie made the call. Having played with Masters, he purchased Super Baltars (now there was a course change), and then Ultras and Panchros (he actually purchased the Panchros first, but they arrived some time after the newly discovered Ultra package was acquired). This, after having looked at S4i’s, 5i’s, Super Speeds, Lomos, and I don’t know what all else back at the beginning of Season 2. Never heard of Elites till now, so there you go.

Frankly I believe the biggest factor in a show’s look is the final timing. I can watch different shows of ours and see The Comedy Cellar footage change from show to show. We go in there and use the same lighting set-up each time. This says a lot about the human factor. We can’t decide what we like from day to day. You say Cookes are warmer than Zeisses? Not if the timer cranks that console knob a bit. Zeisses are contrasty? Tweak the slider on that panel over there.

If I sound at all defensive, it’s because I can’t hardly tell the difference between all this precious glass these days. I’m getting old. The Super Baltars? Well sure, maybe.

Hey Im 45..And in many respects you are right..I often tell directors, who are in love with a cameramake, that they, nor I can tell the difference, when "properly" graded...This said, the sensor, but mostly the glass wil give a starting point...You mention the Baltars, and this is my very point....Baltars, old Panchros or the Elites will absolutely give you something that you can not achieve from pure grading...on several optical levels...
I would love to see a little more cinematic approach to "Louie"...When I say little I mean little...The worst thing I could imagine is that the realism goes...I guess you have a better change on season 3?

 

[David Granger]

I've been meaning to drop in this thread and say how much I love this show. From a content perspective, it's one of the best shows I have seen in a while. From a visuals/cinematography perspective, it's one of the best shows I have seen in a while

I'd kill to figure out how to get a similar color grade to what is used on "Louie," it just looks gorgeous. I remember earlier in this thread someone mentioning the look was basically tweaked in-camera?

 

[Paul Koestner]

David, Clint should be the one to answer this, and I’ll let him know your post is waiting for him. I can say that on set we do very little with the camera’s menu to affect the look of the show. We rarely, which means almost never, use filtration other than ND, which we use to get a shallow stop no matter where we are. All I want to do is pick a white balance that fundamentally renders flesh tones pleasing to the eye. Where there is no flesh tone present, which is also a rare occurrence, we balance for the primary light source.

This can lead to some very subjective thinking on practical sets that exhibit a lot of conflicting sources. It is not unusual to be in a location that utilizes tungsten, fluorescent (often of various hues), neon, daylight… I’m sure you’ve been there.

Steeled by the fact that we are shooting RAW and that therefore our choices are “non-destructive”, to use the bon mot du jour, we tweak till I go, “Yeah, that seems nice.” It does not take many buttons to get there.

Clint will then do a slight fix to balance shots within a scene before he loads Louie’s laptop full of the day’s work. At least that’s what I think happens.

MegaPlayground does the final color correct, hopefully with Louie there, or at least with a technician familiar with Louie’s visual style. They work with files fiddled with by Louie and his editing software. On rare occasion I'm asked to sit in for Louie, and I find I can always have an opinion.

It’s always nice to get a compliment, but it still kind of befuddles me when faced with commentary about the look of our show. It’s certainly not what I’d call a high concept series, nor is it overwrought with “production value”. Amy Silver is a great production designer, and our location guys find some nice places in which to run our scenes.

As I try to address the issue from a strictly technical perspective, I keep reaching the same conclusion: digital cinematography has come of age. Huge technological advances, championed first by Jim and Co., and subsequently by the trailing hungry pack, are coming at us fast and furiously.

Much of what works here, I think, is owed to the matching of great glass with a great camera, one capable of extended dynamic range, high resolution and a color palette heretofore unavailable in the digital world. It isn’t rocket science. Then again, maybe it is.

 

[Jason Svatos]

Season 3 is already off to a fantastic start, it seems. This show just keeps getting more and more gorgeous to look at. It's interesting, that all the movies in the world can't convince me RED is absolutely the way to go, and then I see a thirty minute episode of a show and I'm ready to put down a deposit...

 

[Brandon J.F.]

I didn't see the new episode yet. Season 3 is shot on Epic, right? Love the series!

 

[Nick Morrison]

I was happy to stumble on Paul and his crew filming at my local coffee shop this summer, Cafe Regular du Nord in Park Slope. They even got my favorite barrista Seth into a scene with Louis himself!

I got a chance to meet Paul in person (you're the coolest dude), and I have to say, though Cafe Regular is a TINY SPACE, you wouldn't know it with how small a footprint the EPIC left.

Very cool.

Looking forward to seeing the episode!

 

[Brandon Ripley]

I just finished watching the 2nd season and all I can say is "wow". I was hooked after the first season but the 2nd season blows the 1st out of the water. So happy to hear season 3 is underway, I wish you guys the best of luck on this season. I had a friend day play on one of the episodes as a steadicam op/ac (think it was the episode where Louie sees the bum get hit by a car). He had nothing but good things to say about the crew and cast.

I heard somewhere that Louie even operates from time to time, that true? Would love to hear how involved he is with Paul and how you guys go about getting the "look" for Louie.