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RED ONE MX: film look during daylight?

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omar robles

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So were want to shoot a project for an artist. The video is to be shot all exterior days. However the artist commented that the footage produced by the Red One during the day looks too HD. I have been atempting to color grade it with magic bullet to give it a more convincing film look. However i have not been sucsessfull in my attempts to give it an organic filmic look. At least one that would satisfy the artist. Can any of you recommend any techniques i can employ to achieve a realistic film look. I have the social network blu ray and they shot tests outside during the day that look film like, and their raw and unprocessed.

I apologize in advance if i posted this thread in the wrong section.
 
Shutter speed was 1/48th?

Also, was it lit properly or are you just going under the assumption that the Social Network tests were wild as well? That's probably the single biggest thing in achieving a "film look". Conversely, if the exterior tests weren't shot at magic hour, it'd look less filmic... bright sunlight or overcast generally doesn't look nearly as pleasing, which is why most naturally light exteriors are shot during that time.

Do you have a framegrab or .r3d you can post?
 
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Try some diffusion on the lens?

Look at getting some reflectors for a bit of fill/bounce...

Maybe shoot with antique lenses - Lomo primes or a Cooke zoom - that'll give a filmic feel without diffusion.

Importantly, get the artist to pick 1 or 2 absolute frames of reference for 'film look' & then you'll be able to see what aesthetic he's after.
 
I don't know. It sort of has that vintage Instamatic print look to me.

Stephen
 
omar robles said:
I have the social network blu ray and they shot tests outside during the day that look film like, and their raw and unprocessed.
Click to expand...
Social Network had the benefit of great lighting and great color correction after the fact. (A realistic budget also helped.)

I think some intense color correction, power windows, and selective defocus might take the edge off things. But you need an experienced colorist with lots of tools to get this done.
 
Lighting & light control , such as negative fill & huge nets.
Films has always looked very good in direct sunlight, I still sometimes use film & leave the Epic at home.
 
It looks pretty filmic to me omar. By filmic i dont just understand extreme dof. your highlights and shadows are ok. You show good dynamic range - add some grain perhaps. But I think your quite in the right track. sometimes a lot of resolution makes the image looks too video. Does your client really knows what he wants. Tell him to guide you to something he likes perhpaps.
 
Bérenger Brillante said:
Your client must speak about depth of field. You probably close your iris a bit too much.

Try magic bullet tilt and shift blur , but remember it is 8 bits.
Click to expand...

I agree, filmic to a client doesn't mean the same thing as filmic to a DOP. It all boils down to that "blurry kind of background effect", sadly.
 
Well he was told that pirates of the carribean was shot with the red. And obviously to a non tech he thought that you get that look right out of the camera just by shooting with the same camera. So anything that doesnt have that precise look is dissapointing to him. He mentioned the pirates movie (without the 3d obviously) Most of that film was shot during day light.
 
That has to be a difficult client to deal with unless he can provide enough budget to afford the condition of the Pirates' team. I sometimes have clients with poorly shot footage that want the looks of big budget movies or commercials shot in totally different conditions, too. I want to tell them they suck, but I sure don't and just try to show them other convincing looks that is more doable with their footage.

I have this quote printed in the back of my grading room: "One person's crazyness is another person's reality" - Tim Burton
 
Yeah, it basically boils down to your client's specifics. Maybe he's just looking for a shallow DOF. Like mentioned above, best to ask him what he means by 'filmic.'
 
Yeah, you may as well do the Stu-Maschuwitz blue-orange push, add an aggressive s-curve, and add film grain... throw on an 2.35:1 or 2.4:1 crop factor and chances are this client will love it. (Pirates was anamorphic, right?) Seems kind of desaturated too.

Also, is the sky and top of the car actually blown out, or is that due to curve applied? It might be worthwhile to post a .r3d (still or 2sec clip) and see what the RED community can do (and then potentially acquire the RMD from the look you like best.)
 
Will do Mike. You guys on those forum are the best.
 
A lighting suggestion... Gold side shinyboards to key and backlight your talent... soft pebbled ones if you can get them..
Cheap to rent, and a good trick for a daylight look.... may need flags to cut the beam...
cheaper than an HMI.... and easier to use on a no budget...
I am talking about the 4 by 4 foot ones on a combo stand with 70 lbs or so of sandbags to safety them...
You could also use silver ones, and shine them thru a very light diffusion so as not to make your talent squint... but I like the effect of the gold...
Also think that if he's low budget, then hiring a couple experienced grips with cargo van size grip package may help you look even better....
 
http://www.theasc.com/ac_magazine/June2011/PiratesoftheCaribbean:OnStrangerTides/page1.php

This might help, the American Cinematographer article on PotC4. It might help.

Yeah, i agree with Nook, it is rough to have clients who don't understand that they can't have a $100mil look on $10grand.
Good luck, don't get agravated and do your best man. I am sure you can figure out a way to make him a satisfied client.

My two cents is pick a key shot and color it a variety of different ways, and let him pick his favorite. I have always found that a good way to get the leash back on a pesky client is overwelm them with choices... They have a tendancy to realize you are the professional anf they are merely a tourist to filmmaking.
 
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