A Perfect Circle Music Video

[Jonathon Laing]

Hey guys, this video was made right after I learn't about Depth of field and Color Correction. So I went home and gave it a shot. This isnt shot on Red, its shot on a prosumer sony cam so I was kinda limited with what I could do. This is my first time ever using DOP and CC so it's gona look rusty but hey tell me what you think. :D

Make sure you watch it in HD :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9B40J29iS8



Cheers

[bernd katzmarczyk]

honestly? you wanna have a feedback? no kidding?
well.....
that´s no CC! even not if your clip is supposed to be a music video. skin tones are more than ugly. dof? your clip could be shot with a handy cam or any 1/4" chip cam. doesn´t look like a red one image.
you better start reading some books about photography and learn something about dof and a lot more. there are many good books about how to create good images. don´t use video-film books!

[Jonathon Laing]

Hey,

Thanks for the honesty, lol. Anyways I know what you mean its not a Red One image, its far from it. Like I said it was shot on a prosumer Sony cam which probly only had a 1/4" CMOS chips in it. As for the CC, I literally came home from film school (after learning basic CC) and went out and shot this video, and did the CC. I didn't worry about skin tones and all the advanced stuff because I had no idea how to. My intentions were to make the image look more fantasy-like. I think I did pretty good for a first shot.

Original

http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/8951/picture2x.jpg (http://imageshack.us)
http://img88.imageshack.us/img88/picture2x.jpg/1/w1022.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img88/picture2x.jpg/1/)

Color Corrected

http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/8148/picture3j.jpg (http://img5.imageshack.us/my.php?image=picture3j.jpg)
http://img5.imageshack.us/img5/picture3j.jpg/1/w1024.png (http://g.imageshack.us/img5/picture3j.jpg/1/)

Well DOF, lets just say the camera I used wasn't what you'd use if you wanted to take advantage of DOP. How ever I did my best with what I had, and again it was my first time ever trying that too.

I wasn't really after feedback on purely my Color Correction, I just mentioned that in this video, it was my first time trying it. At the same time I'm not saying don't give me feedback on the color correction, just don't focus purely on the CC but the whole piece.


Cheers and thanks again :D

[Zakaree Sandberg]

uhhggg, can a mod move this.
this section is clearly titled "shot on red"

[Jonathon Laing]

uhhggg, can a mod move this.
this section is clearly titled "shot on red"

My bad , lol I didnt know where else to post it.

[Jeff Kilgroe]

Off topic section is where it this thread will go.

Honestly, the still above that is uncorrected looks better than the "CC" version. The grey/green flesh tones just don't work. I know you say you didn't worry about that, just trying to make it look more fantasy like, but skin tones are one of the most important (if not THE MOST IMPORTANT) thing to pay attention to.

Anyway, best advice I can give is to just keep working to figure this stuff out. Color grading is an acquired skill and takes some practice. Some of the best colorists out there have worked hard to become so and it takes them years.

[Priyesh P.]

Hey guys, this video was made right after I learn't about Depth of field and Color Correction. So I went home and gave it a shot. This isnt shot on Red, its shot on a prosumer sony cam so I was kinda limited with what I could do. This is my first time ever using DOP and CC so it's gona look rusty but hey tell me what you think. :D

Make sure you watch it in HD :D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m9B40J29iS8Cheers

Hi NiTx,
sorry to say that, but I have to second Jeff, the uncorrected image looks better. BTW...the correct akronym is DOF, not DOP...

[Matthew Greene]

Just some quick comments. Always remember that most of what anyone says is just an opinion and you always have the right to disagree based on a creative choice you made given that you understand the reason you made that choice.

If I say the original looks better than the CC'd version that's just an opinion, you could argue the CC'd version is better because you're trying to achieve a more desolate, emotionally absent feeling from the surroundings. In that case you're right and you achieved that.

For a dream like image in post try duplicating the clip, stacked over the original, adding a considerable amount of blur to it and fading it over the original clip. You could also try vignetting it (a soft darkening or blur of the edges of the image).

If you were to reshoot, i'd say try some pantyhose stretched over the lens for diffusion (each type and color has a different effect). You probably want to stick with really thin pantyhose since you're shooting with a small sensor so the fibers don't show up due to the shallow DOF. Vaseline on the edges of the lens have a different effect too (best to do it on a clear filter than on the actual lens front element).

If you want shallower DOF (more areas out of focus) an ND filter would be called for. Maybe try sunglass lens over the lens. That might help but you're not going to get a really shallow DOF with a 1/4" sensor.

As far as color correction, start by just adding orange or blue to the image, don't know what software you're using but if you can, just do it to the midtones at first, it will give you a sense of what cool and warm tones do to the image. (Don't worry about affecting the blacks and whites till you're used to playing with the midtones).

Try increasing the levels (blowing out the whites), Try making the shadows darker (crushing the blacks), play around. Then play with the gamma level, which makes the midtones brighter or darker.

As far as shooting... Use a tripod and keep the image still unless you have a good creative reason to move the camera. When you pan (or tilt), have a start and end point in mind and have a reason for the pan (revealing something perhaps).

Try framing shots based on the interesting areas (either story wise or just visually) and planned movement through the frame.

Look at composition and tonalities of good photography and movies.

I know what you were trying to do with the tree and the girl walking into the frame at the 2:10 mark but either have a more interesting looking foreground object or do a quicker move that highlights the 3 dimensionality such as pushing in, past the tree with the camera. (the unsteadiness of the move kind of ruins the idea though). This is where steadier work (or a dolly, even a wheelchair) would be called for.

When working outdoors try large pieces of white foamcore to bounce and reflect light(makes a soft bounce) and/or foamcore with crumpled and/or flat aluminium foil over it (makes a harder bounced light source). This allows you to have some light control while shooting outdoors. It really does make a diference. For example, you could have used a reflector to give some definition to the foreground tree mentioned above by side lighting it a bit. It could also allow you to close the iris a bit more in the shots where there is both direct sunlight and shadows by bouncing light to fill in the girl when she's walking through the shadowed areas.

Editing wise... Nice transition with the body wiping the frame. But honestly, it's overall kind of slow paced and uninteresting. Take it as a constructive comment.

Best of luck

[Jonathon Laing]

Just some quick comments. Always remember that most of what anyone says is just an opinion and you always have the right to disagree based on a creative choice you made given that you understand the reason you made that choice.

If I say the original looks better than the CC'd version that's just an opinion, you could argue the CC'd version is better because you're trying to achieve a more desolate, emotionally absent feeling from the surroundings. In that case you're right and you achieved that.

For a dream like image in post try duplicating the clip, stacked over the original, adding a considerable amount of blur to it and fading it over the original clip. You could also try vignetting it (a soft darkening or blur of the edges of the image)

Thanks so much for your advice and reviewing! Its great that your honest and I think its whats great about this forum. People are honest, and it makes you learn. I wasnt really suprized to see people giving bad comments. I was only about a week into my film course when I shot this short. I just got so excited when I learnt how professionals make a film look so much more beautful using CC that I just wanted to get out and shoot in a cool location and make it look like somthing thats out of this world. This is why all I focused on was making the trees and lake or what ever look a different kind of green.

But I have to say even though I didn't plan this shoot, the shots, or anything, I really like the advice that you have given me. I'm 100% sure I'd do a 400% better job now that I've finished my course.

I do have one question. Lets say I wanted to CC the actors skin tones, but I really liked the color of the CC so far. How would I change the actors skin tones without effecting the CC I have made to the background (trees, lake)? I'm guessing masking the actor. If its hard, or long to explain if you know aa good link to that subject jsut post that :)

I havn't learnt advanced color correction yet, but when I do it will be with FCP's color.


Cheers again man :D

[Priyesh P.]

I do have one question. Lets say I wanted to CC the actors skin tones, but I really liked the color of the CC so far. How would I change the actors skin tones without effecting the CC I have made to the background (trees, lake)? I'm guessing masking the actor. If its hard, or long to explain if you know aa good link to that subject jsut post that :)

I havn't learnt advanced color correction yet, but when I do it will be with FCP's color.


Cheers again man :D

In situations where nothing else can be done, it`s just like you said - you have to rotoscope the subject you want to correct. But in higher end colourgrading packages you can isolate certain colours and make a so called "secondary colour correction".

[Matthew Greene]

You're welcome.

Like Priyesh P. said, the easiest way to color correct the skintones independently is by using some method of selective color correction like secondary color correction if your software supports it.

Basically you start by selecting only the range of colors you want to affect which can be acomplished by a variety of methods. Examples can include rotoscoping just the skin, doing some kind of key like a chroma key (layered over the original) and reversing the matte, a combination of both (selective color key combined by a loose masking around the face of someone when there are other faces or skintones in the frame that you don't want affected).

Keep on shooting,

P.S.: Oh, and if you're going to Rotoscope for color correction keep in mind that often you can get away with simple polygons like rectangles or circles/ovals if you give them really soft edges (feather them).