Our Films / Our Scripts

[exte]

Anyone work 24p with 35mm adapters?

[Marcel Gioberti]

Anyone work 24p with 35mm adapters?

Hello exte. I have been working extensively with a Canon XHA1 and the Letus Extreme 35mm adapter. I use Nikkor primes and I've been very happy with the results.

[Oedipax]

Anyone work 24p with 35mm adapters?

I've been using one since this past August with my DVX100A and in the last week, my new HV20. I went with the SGpro. I'm extremely pleased with the quality of the adapter and the overall quality of the images when used with either the DVX or HV20. I use Nikon lenses.

[Marcel Gioberti]

I've seen incredible images from the SGPro.

[exte]

Yeah, it only dawned on me now to search for 35mm and 24p in video searches. It doesn't matter what the camera is, it's just miles ahead of everything out there. It seems it's the lens that's the key. And if you can record that 24p, great. And with the HV20, you get a jumbo resolution to work with, which is insane, though I'm afraid for the camera body, being that it looks so flimsy. Still, I think the constraints of making this stuff work is huge. Focus puller, steady cam or lock down, etc. It's a whole crew, really...

Anyone want to share clips?

[Tol_Venden]

I'd like to see some, too.

[Marcel Gioberti]

Here are some ungraded stills from a production I just finished in November:

[Magic Hate Ball]

What're you shooting with?

Also, HV20, hurrah.

[Marcel Gioberti]

What're you shooting with?

Also, HV20, hurrah.

Is that question for me? I listed my gear up top.

Canon XHA1 / Letus Extreme 35mm adapter / Nikkor lenses

[Magic Hate Ball]

What're you shooting with?

Also, HV20, hurrah.

Is that question for me? I listed my gear up top.

Canon XHA1 / Letus Extreme 35mm adapter / Nikkor lenses

Oh, ok. I wasn't sure if that's what those were shot with. Can't be too sure. Look terrific, in any case. Wow, high-end stuff.

I really want to see some HV20 captures, if anybody has any. It's nice to watch Youtube home videos of people "trying out our new HV20 guys", but I'd love to see some high-quality pictures.

[Oedipax]

Nice looking shots, Marcel!

Here's some grabs from the HV20/SGpro combo. I've just been shooting the usual around the house stuff this past week, but I'm working on a new short film with some friends of mine in the coming weeks, so that'll generate some more compelling subject matter.





And a couple without the SGpro (and why):



This is basically a deeper focus shot, and also one being done at night, so you need all the light you can get (and the adapter loses at least a stop or so). What I like about this shot is the amount of detail you can still see in the shadows - you might have to fiddle with your brightness or look at it against a dark background, but there's information there. And it's not noisy at all - on my DVX100A, this shot would be super noisy.



Very much a shallow focus shot, but one where I wanted to sit the camera down in the grass, which would be tough with the 35mm adapter. The HV20 is so tiny, it can go places your typical prosumer camera can't. You'll notice the bokeh from the car's headlights isn't as nice as on the Nikon lenses, but it's still a nifty shot.

[Magic Hate Ball]

Phwoaaaaar, I gotta get me one of those. I wonder how well that would work as a lift up and rack focus to the driving car.

[Oedipax]

Phwoaaaaar, I gotta get me one of those. I wonder how well that would work as a lift up and rack focus to the driving car.

It could be done, but the focus ring on the HV20 isn't for the faint of heart. It's more like a focus dial, not very precise and tough to get a really smooth rack focus out of. One of the perks of sticking a nice manual focus lens on the front of it

[Magic Hate Ball]

Phwoaaaaar, I gotta get me one of those. I wonder how well that would work as a lift up and rack focus to the driving car.

It could be done, but the focus ring on the HV20 isn't for the faint of heart. It's more like a focus dial, not very precise and tough to get a really smooth rack focus out of. One of the perks of sticking a nice manual focus lens on the front of it

Ah, yeah. I played with it in the store, it's the only major downfall. A good reason to pick up a lense, though (christ, they're expensive).

[colinr0380]

Oedipax, your dog is as cute as davidhare's! (Very much enjoying the conversation and films in this thread, even if I have nothing to contribute!)

[Magic Hate Ball]

Oedipax, don't be worried to post more screencaps of the HV20, even just working without any lenses whatsoever (seeing as that's what I'll be working with [nothing]).

And since I know you're all dying to see them, here are screencaps from my earlier short, An Early Autumn Romance, so you can see the terror of standard defenition (Canon zr830). Also, it works as aggresive therapy towards my actors.



Note her face. Note similarity to skull.



I SPY CUPCAKES



One neat feature of the zr830 is the 30x focal zoom.



DURRR



Due to the wide-angle close-up nature of this shot, when viewed on a large screen her face physically protrudes from the film.



I <3 zoom lense



Caught in the act.



and then she turns green and



wins an oscar for her heartrending performance as a lover cast aside



CHAIRGE



hurk



"Miss Gowrightry!"

[exte]

Finally seeing Iraq in Fragments (long, long Netflix que), and from just skipping around, I can definitely say that 480p is dead. I can't imagine ever going back. DVX is dead. No? HV20 seems to be the way to go if you're looking at the most economical full-hd picture... add to that the (headache) 35mm adapter, and you got some quality shit. No? Anyone?

[Oedipax]

Finally seeing Iraq in Fragments (long, long Netflix que), and from just skipping around, I can definitely say that 480p is dead. I can't imagine ever going back. DVX is dead. No? HV20 seems to be the way to go if you're looking at the most economical full-hd picture... add to that the (headache) 35mm adapter, and you got some quality shit. No? Anyone?

Probably true, going forward into 2008. But there were still a remarkable number of DVX-shot features that got the royal treatment: blow-up to 35mm, theatrical release, lots of attention... Doubtlessly, a lot of this was due to the filmmakers involved (Wim Wenders, Steve Buscemi, Michael Winterbottom, etc.) but it's also a tribute to the DVX's amazing breakthroughs in economic terms; strangely, the same thing doesn't seem to have happened with the follow-up HVX200. There really was nothing even close to the DVX before Panasonic put it out there - the closest thing was the Varicam for $45,000+.

But yeah, it doesn't make sense to shoot your film in SD anymore when you can get an HV20 for about $700, not to mention all the other prosumer-level HDV offerings. And then there's also the Red and SI-2K (drool).

[exte]

The red camera will change EVERYTHING. Are they shipping that already? I can't wait for the slew of pics from that camera, man!

[Oedipax]

The red camera will change EVERYTHING. Are they shipping that already? I can't wait for the slew of pics from that camera, man!

There's 300 or so of them "in the wild" at the moment, with more shipping every month. You can stay up on all the latest at the REDuser forum, where there's a dedicated section for footage and pics. There is certainly a lot of buzz about the camera, with seemingly everyone feeling the need to 'deal' with the Red in one way or another. Soderbergh is already planning his third feature in a row with it! There have definitely been some setbacks and delays, but the company is incredibly open about this, and their dedication to satisfying customers and correcting any mistakes seems second to none.

If you're on a recent Apple computer (has to be Intel, etc.) you can download for free the two programs used to work with Red footage (Red Cine and Red Alert). Some people have been kind enough to post .r3d files which is the native, untouched file straight off the camera. Then you can look at it in full resolution and make whatever tweaks to it that you want. It's a lot of fun and really shows how much flexibility the images from that camera have (it's similar to processing a RAW file off a DSLR).

[exte]

You have to have a mac to view .r3d files? Sorry for lacking this knowledge, but is that a fact? I must be the only nimrod without one... ](*,)

[Oedipax]

You have to have a mac to view .r3d files? Sorry for lacking this knowledge, but is that a fact? I must be the only nimrod without one... ](*,)

Actually, I was only half-right: Red Alert is Mac only, but there is a PC version of RedCine. You can get it here.

[Magic Hate Ball]

Tiffany, 6:00. Made last springfor my film class's comedy project. What's interesting about this one is the actors all like each other quite a bit, and so you don't get the weird tension like in the films I've made this year.

The Northgate High Conspiracy, 9:45. Made last fall for my film class's suspense project, and it's actually a remake of the same film from the same project from the same class two falls ago. It was interesting to make this one. The two actors hate each other with some passion, so getting them to really work together involved a lot of shooting. When one made the slightest mistake the other would fly off the handle and I'd have to rein them both in so we could do the shot over again.

In any case, I'd love critique on either one. Don't tell me to get better actors, by the way. I have no control over who I work with.

[exte]

Those working with the HV20 - what do you use to edit with on the PC? Any additional plug-ins? I just saw this video and I'm very inspired to go forth with this for several reasons: video is cheaper than film (buying, developing and transferring, and later printing), and b&w is easier to light than color (I hear the HV20 isn't so great with colors, and from the videos I've seen I kind of agree...)... Plus, there's interchangeable lenses with the brevis adapter, so I'm pretty psyched... Pentax, Canon, Nikon... basically, holy shit. We are FAR from 1998 and the limited choices from that era. And my pc is basically ready for anything I can throw at it - so why wait any longer? It's a great time to be making movies, people!

[Oedipax]

Those working with the HV20 - what do you use to edit with on the PC? Any additional plug-ins?

I'm on a Mac, personally, and I can do everything with Final Cut Pro 6 (capture, pulldown removal for 24p, editing/post, output). I do use some additional plug-ins, like Colorista, which you can also get for the PC. PC editor-wise there are several good options. In general I think Vegas and Premiere CS3 are both quite popular. And there are some third-party tools for capturing and removing pulldown, some free, some commercial. If you check out the HV20.com forum there's a lot of information.

(For those unfamiliar with it, pulldown removal is a step that removes duplicate/interlace frames from the 29.97fps signal written to tape in order to recover the original 24 progressive frames. This allows you to edit on a 24fps timeline and create progressive scan-compatible DVDs as well as online files).

I hear the HV20 isn't so great with colors, and from the videos I've seen I kind of agree...

Yeah, the HV20's color is decent, but it doesn't have that certain quality my DVX has - a lot of it you can create in post, but in general things just feel a little flatter to me on the HV20. When I get some time I'd like to shoot some tests with both cameras and see how closely I can match the look with color correction.

Plus, there's interchangeable lenses with the brevis adapter, so I'm pretty psyched... Pentax, Canon, Nikon... basically, holy shit.

If you're going to buy one of the many 35mm adapters, do make sure to look around at all the options - the Brevis35, Redrock M2, Letus Extreme and Letus Mini, the just-resurrected Guerilla35, and (my personal favorite), the SGpro. All have their ups and downs - it's a tradeoff in the areas of light sensitivity, edge to edge sharpness, ease of setup, weight/size, quality of bokeh, presence or lack of a built-in flip, and flexibility (in terms of what lens mounts are supported, etc). Lots of stuff to consider.