Best camera settings for film look

[beachvision]

OK So i see a lot of videos on here that have the film look I'm going for , yet for all the setting changes I've made I can't duplicate it.

1080p at 30fps? or 1080i at 60fps? or Do i need to step it down to 720p at 60fps
sharp or standard?(soft looks horrible)

How much video processing do you do in post? and do you keep same settings?
Using FCPX

Thanks
Jeff

 

[panhygrous pantler]

Good luck.

You cannot capture at 1080p/60 (60fps). The Vision+ is capped at 1080p30 or 1080i60. 60 fields per second(1080i/60) is vastly different than 60 frames per second.

You'll need to so some research so that you understand the fundamentals - maybe then you'll be able to start to figure out that film look thing that you are striving for.

 

[DrJoe]

Short answer= more data, better image, so...

Shoot 1080p in extended view for the most data (tight view leaves data on the table, but I like it better personally.

Shoot 780p 60fpm for high speed shooting. The more you turn, the more you'll appreciate the smoother video that 780p with 60fps. provides. Also use this mode if you plan on using slow motion in your video editing.

And if you aren't viewing your video on anything bigger than a 30 inch monitor, you won't notice much difference between 780p and 1080p. YouTube and other video sharing sites compress your video and add noise/moire anyway.

 

[panhygrous pantler]

Short answer= more data, better image, so...

Yes.

Shoot 1080p in extended view for the most data (tight view leaves data on the table, but I like it better personally.

This is incorrect. Changing the FOV merely alters the area of the sensor that the data is captured from. Both FOVs will have the same amount of data (~12mbps). No data is being "left on the table."

YouTube and other video sharing sites compress your video and add noise/moire anyway.

Feeding more data and a better image to Youtube et al will result in better video with less compression artifacts

 

[Gizmo3000]

This is incorrect. Changing the FOV merely alters the area of the sensor that the data is captured from. Both FOVs will have the same amount of data (~12mbps). No data is being "left on the table."

I don't know anything about the Vision camera, but if it's similar to the GoPro, then yes,. it is "tossing away" data when shooting in the narrower mode, because it's only using the center area of the sensor.

a stil image from the widest mode will have the most data.

 

[MikesTooLz]

Here's an idea... you see a bunch of video's with the film look you like, why not ask that person what video settings they used?

 

[panhygrous pantler]

This is incorrect. Changing the FOV merely alters the area of the sensor that the data is captured from. Both FOVs will have the same amount of data (~12mbps). No data is being "left on the table."

I don't know anything about the Vision camera, but if it's similar to the GoPro, then yes,. it is "tossing away" data when shooting in the narrower mode, because it's only using the center area of the sensor.

a stil image from the widest mode will have the most data.

DrJoe specifically referred to data and 1080p captures. There is no more data being captured on the PV+ at the wide setting vs. the narrower FOV. It's all ~12mbps.

Re: gopro setting - study this:

http://abekislevitz.com/understanding-your-new-gopro/

 

[streetreporter]

There's a difference between data rate (12mbps) and the amount of data the sensor is capturing. The narrower FOVs are cropping the sensor to get that field of view, so yes you are leaving pixels 'off the table' until the processor conforms that to the chosen frame size and rate (example, 1080p30, 1080i60, or 720p60)

What the Hell do I know, I only have 38 Emmy awards....

For a film look, I suggest recording at 1080p30. In FCP X, create a 'compound clip' with the settings 1080 @ 24fps. Drop your footage into this 'timeline' and then open the color correction tool in Inspector. Under 'Exposure', drop the black levels by lowering the black 'ball' on the left until the gamma looks better and more filmic. Raise the white 'ball' in the same manner. You are now adding contrast, or a 'gamma curve', to your footage. You can also use the chroma and color tabs to adjust accordingly. One more hint -- play with the presets in the color correction tool to get some more film looks.

Under filters, you can add a vignette or other filmic looks (grain, etc) to your clips, and there are some nice downloads from plug-in providers. Download Noise Industries FX Factory to try some effects.

P.S. you don't have to export the footage to bring it into your main project. FCP X treats a compound clip as if its a raw footage clip no matter what you do to it. Just set ins and outs when viewing your compound clip from the event viewer and drop it down into your main timeline.