Simulating celluloid-style clipping with Red (or any digital cinema) cameras

[Layi B]

Hello all. I was wondering what the best practices were for getting digital to behave like film when it comes to highlight rolloff and elegant clipping.

My best guess would be to not clip in camera, but instead shoot with a stop or two under clipping the highlights, and perhaps use a (well rounded before ramped) curve at the top end when grading.

Any thoughts with regard to this?

The below picture was shot on film. I'd like to be able to reproduce the aesthetic digitally. Notice the shadow gradient on the face. The clipped highlights on the legos on the right. The dynamic range in general (how much estimated dynamic range would you say this picture has captured?)

Can this shot be done on Red?



Thanks much

 

[paulherrin]

http://prolost.com/blog/2008/3/2/exposing-to-the-left-vs-exposing-to-the-right.html

shooting digitally is an art and a science... very context dependent, but i tend to try to avoid clipping highlights whenever possible. there are exceptions (and that's why there's an hdr-x mode). otherwise, it's all based on how you light and color.

 

[Layi B]

Yeah the exposure part during filming is pretty straightforward. I guess a simpler version of the question is how do you bloom highlights in post after digital acquisition?

 

[Joseph Coleman]

I tend to use LUT's. They are usually built to compress highlights. apply a Lut inside of resolve and then gain up and watch the parade. You'll see your highlight compress without actually clipping. I've noticed Red's ISO adjustment do pretty much the same thing. And yes I do my best not to clip in camera on digital sensors...I never like the results.

 

[Layi B]

This sounds interesting. Screengrabs?

Thanks

 

[Joseph Coleman]

In this shot thanks to the huge dynamic range of MX sensor the outside was not over exposed at all. You could see the street with cars driving and what not. I used an Arri Log C to Rec709 Lut and just gained up until the windows were over exposed and then leveled out my mids and shadows.

 

[Layi B]

Interesting. I'll have to look into LUTs.

Thanks

 

[Vadim Bobkovsky]

Slight blooming highlights using luma key and filters maybe... This is serious VFX work, lol. Or maybe you could do it using optical filters with only highlights blooming?

 

[Mike P.]

Hey Joe, what lenses did you use on that shot? Was it with your Scarlet?

As for the topic: For the look in the example I'd focus on contrast and then level it out with with lift/gain adjustments (for the broad brush strokes, then resolve or other cc software to make it sing). So, for example, max the contrast, then lower gain to recover the highs (which will invariably be blown). Also a slight glow/bloom on the highlights works wonders.