DSLR vs. Camcorders: What’s The Real Difference?

     The video production world is an interesting maze of equipment vs. skill vs. creativity vs. monetary means, and it's really easy to get lost in a world of frame sizes, codecs, lenses, frame rates etc. Even harder to navigate: a topic that has two very stubborn sides to it, both with very valid arguments and both unwilling to budge on what is better and why. In this blog, I am going to attempt to keep things as neutral as possible and just stick to the facts, but I will make it known early on that I prefer DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex). I own a 5D Mark iii, but also love shooting on camcorders. So here are the most starkly contrasting points between the two mediums; I leave it to you to make up your own mind.

1. Recording Style

     In the beginning, DSLR cameras were created for photo-journalists to be able to take high quality pictures in non-optimal conditions while on scene. This idea translated into capturing high-def video in the same situations. Camcorders were always made for fiction cinema creations. They were designed to be put on a tripod or glidecam, and used to tell an intricate and beautiful story. For this reason, videographers and DP's (Director of Photography) prefer the look and feel of a camcorder because that's what we've been shooting on for the last century. People look at my 5D Mark III on set and wonder if I forgot to take my meds because that's a photo camera (at least in appearance).

"Hey guys, I'm here to shoot your movie... one frame at a time"

     DSLRs were never meant for fiction storytelling, as anyone against them will tell you, and that they're not up to standard for capturing the medium. The reason you're seeing them used more is because of how inexpensive DSLRs can be. Here at EFillF, we shoot on both types of cameras depending on the scope and budget of the project. So, for the type of camera chosen, their are two components to look at. What you can afford and what it is you are shooting.

2. Audio Capturing

     It is a well known fact the DSLRs fail completely when it comes to capturing any sort of usable audio. Each camera comes with some form of built-in microphone but it's sub-standard at best; and then is run through a massive compression that comes out as unusable audio. Camcorders likewise come with microphones but those are meant to capture single voice audio in front of the camera and it isn't run through a huge compression. Though, HVX owners will tell you that the audio is also unusable. The end point is that with both systems, you should hire a Field Audio Recordist who solely captures audio to a separate capture device.

3. Storage Capacity

     The good news is that every type of camera is moving toward high speed SD cards in their cameras; i.e., Blackmagic, GoPro, All DSLR. But the high-end cinema cameras HVX (p2 cards), RED and Arri need attached SSD's (Solid State Drives) in order to capture their high quality. (Yes, I know the Arri Alexa has an in-camera capture system too, which is awesome and should be praised). Those things add some real high dollars to your camera costs, which are worth it if you have the capital, because the picture is unbeatable. But in comparison to SD cards, which are super cheap and plentiful, those are outrageous additions to your budget.

Call me the Dragon.... Because I'll burn all your money away.

 

4. Lenses and DOF (Depth of Field)

    The really good news between emerging Camcorders and what DSLRs always had concerns interchangeable lenses. The ability to adapt your recording device to any sort of picture look that is required will always need a change of lens, and the first version of digital camcorders didn't include that ability. It was up to the user to manually set the settings so the camera gave the look you wanted, rather than the lens. Now, that's no longer an issue; all high-end digital cameras have interchangeable lenses, especially now that Panavision is releasing their first line of digital only lenses (see last week’s blog: "Newest Camera Tech: November Addition"). Depth of Field is an entirely different story. The second reason video makers gravitate toward DSLRs (the ones with full frame sensors) is that the DOF field can be likened to a 35mm film camera in how narrow you can make it. This has been beyond the ability of most camcorders until now, but once again with the new lenses coming out that will most likely change for all camcorders too.

     So what do you do? Save all your money for the expensive equipment that everyone agrees is better and should be the only standard for fiction video making? Or, go for the cheap DSLR set up that affords you more opportunities to put that money toward production quality and acting? My advice is neither. I wrote a blog a while back entitled "5 Best Investments When Starting a Career in Video" and I still stick with the points I laid out in that blog. Cameras can be rented and the fact that digital technology keeps doubling every 13 - 18 months, even if you buy the most expensive newest and biggest thing on the market it'll be out dated by the next year. As for which type of camera you should use, try them both, see what you're comfortable with and which ones gives you the best production value. We at EFillF are unbiased as to which camera is being used, as long as it is the best camera for the job at hand.

Written By: Jeremy Hatfield

Associate Producer/Blogger

Edited By: Laura Ettinger

Public Relations

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net

Newest Camera Tech: November Edition

Video producers in this day and age know that it’s very important to be up-to-date on the newest technology; not necessarily in order for them to upgrade and change, but to know where the future of the industry is heading. While there are those who still love shooting 35mm film, they still need to know what the digital industry is up to, even if just to compete. So, here’s a list of the new things happening in the field of digital video hardware and software:

1. Panavision announces Primo V lenses.

     This is a very big deal, because Panavision has been one of the last bastions of celluloid film-making in a post digital world. Their various sets of both spherical and anamorphic lenses have been used on many of the greatest films of all time, and the Primo line of lenses has even won an Academy Award for technical excellence. Now Panavision is making their first series of glass designed exclusively for high-resolution digital cinema. Here’s an excerpt from Panavision’s press release:

“The Primo V lenses are designed to bring the look and feel of Panavision Primos to digital cinematography, using the lens elements from existing Primo lenses, long an industry standard for top cinematographers. Primo V lenses take advantage of specific design adaptations to work in harmony with digital cameras, maximizing image quality while delivering Primo quality and character.” ^[1]

The Primo V lenses are compatible with any digital camera equipped with PL or Panavision 35 mount systems. No street date is set yet.

2. Blackmagic adds CinemaDNG RAW recording.

The new Blackmagic Camera 1.5 software update adds CinemaDNG RAW file recording so customers can now capture super wide dynamic range in a single file. Wide dynamic range RAW image recording allows users to attain the brightest highlights and the darkest shadows simultaneously, capturing more of the scene than is possible with a regular video camera. High quality lossless CinemaDNG files are fully compatible with DaVinci Resolve 10 for seamless color grading and editing workflows. Lossless CinemaDNG RAW files are an open standard; however, not all video applications can open them, although those that can are increasing all the time. CinemaDNG is an Adobe brainchild and has seen the best results with their products.

"Adding CinemaDNG RAW recording to the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera is incredible," said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. "It's amazing that we are now able to record the highest quality RAW images on such small SD cards! We think customers are really going to enjoy the extended creative flexibility that color grading wide dynamic range RAW files will bring to their productions!"^[2]

Even though this version of CinemaDNG is compressed, the compression is very minimal, and will affect picture quality because the format is lossless, meaning the compression doesn’t affect the picture quality. The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera can be found in any high-end camera retailer and goes for less than $1,000. If you already own the camera, then go to the Blackmagic support page and download the newest firmware update.

3. J.J. Abrams decides to shoot “Star Wars VII” on 35mm film.

     This is an important fact only because George Lucas spearheaded the digital camera movement, along with James Cameron, and designed one of the first digital cinema cameras to shoot “Star Wars Episode II: Attack of the Clones”. This not only created quite a stir among classic filmmakers, but also looked really, really bad at the time. He shot it using the HDW-F900, developed by Sony and Panavision, a digital camera using an HD digital 24-frame system. He continued to use digital cameras for Episode III as well. So what does it mean that J.J. Abrams is shooting on 35mm film this time? Firstly, you can get used to a lot more of the lens flares for which he is so famous. Secondly, that means the 3D will be a post-conversion, which is what happened with “Star Trek: Into Darkness”. The film was visually appealing but the 3D certainly fell short.

The good news is “Star Wars” fans are going to get the picture quality and film emulsion they loved about the original trilogy, meaning IV, V, and VI. It really speaks to Abrams’ roots as a “Star Wars” fan as a child; he’s trying to recapture the feeling of the old movies, which is admirable. Maybe his next step should be to use all models for his SFX rather than digital, but that might be reaching a bit far…

Written By: Jeremy Hatfield

Associate Producer/Blogger

Edited By: Laura Ettinger

Public Relations

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net

---

^[1]  http://www.panavision.com/content/panavision-unveils-new-primo-v-lenses-optimized-digital-cameras

^[2] http://www.blackmagicdesign.com/press/pressdetails?releaseID=48061

Color in Digital Video, How Things Have Changed.

There has been a major change in the digital video workflow; Adobe has created a direct link from Premier to their new color grading program, SpeedGrade. This has created new techniques and enabled faster workflows; now, you don’t have to export and render every time you want to start color grading your video work. This has inspired me to look back and examine how color grading used to be done and how these new changes in the color workflow, and especially new cinema looks, are changing every day in this digital age.

What is interesting about the new digital workflow is that people are shooting their footage according to logarithmic curves, or to put that simply, we’re shooting the image as flat as possible in order to do the best color work in post. It can be debated whether it’s the best way to shoot for color, but that isn’t the focus of this blog. The point is that most of our “high-definition” cameras natively shoot according to logarithmic curves, so that choice is being made for us. The new black magic pocket camera, for example, shoots its raw footage in an almost black and white looking picture so that it can later be color graded with DaVinci. This style of shooting is causing issues though, mostly with DP’s whose job it is to make the set and lights give the look that is called for. Is this the best way to shoot now, though?

This new style goes completely against 100 years of celluloid shooting where the only color work you could do in post is to add red, green or blue to the entire frame of film. I find that I like having the choice to either properly light and color a set or to make a plan to shoot flat and color later. Though if 4K and higher cameras keep being made the way they are, and RAW footage keeps acting the way it does, that choice is being made for us. So, regardless, video producers have to start thinking about algorithmic workflows. I found a great video on Vimeo that covers most of the basics for those who want to know more about digital color grading. http://vimeo.com/73746421

The downside to this new age of coloring is that programs like SpeedGrade are making it almost too easy to shoot a flat picture, apply a Lumetri look and call that good filmmaking. I myself get caught in this trap of what appears to be an easy way to professionally color film, but there’s no soul behind the color scheme now. Don’t be surprised to find that more and more independent films start looking the same because of the lazy way that coloring can be done. I’m sure that lots of DP’s will agree with me that future generations must not get used to lazily coloring their films, but that they use color to advance and enhance the story they are trying to tell.

Our fearless leader at EFillF, Eyal Filkovsky, is quickly becoming a noted colorist and color grader in the local Colorado community. Having just finished work on the short film, “Black Friday”, he got a firsthand look at the new color workflow and has a natural talent for bringing the best picture he can. He provided several insights into this blog and is available for all your coloring needs! Check out the coloring reel below.

Written By: Jeremy Hatfield

Associate Producer/Blogger

Edited By: Laura Ettinger

Public Relations

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net

HD Vs. 4K, 8K - What's really going on?

Ever since RED cameras hit the market and digital video started to take over film, there has been a lot of hype over whether to upgrade to this exciting new technology or if us smaller filmmakers have to make the switch to stay current. EFillF prides itself on being on the cutting edge of new technology, (see Adobe Cloud Blog), and we have seriously looked into 4K cameras. But is this new “depth” of color all it's hyped up to be? Here are three reasons why upgrading to 4 or 8K may not be the magical video genie we've been waiting for all these years.

1. Most people jumping on the 4K wagon don't know what they're doing.

I've run into more people than I should who have gone out and bought a GoPro or even a RED camera and then turned around and complained that they couldn't edit it properly or that the picture wasn't what they were expecting. DO YOUR RESEARCH! You can't keep that same computer that you were using to edit DSLR or even high def camcorders and expect that the 4K is going to act the same. IT’S NOT!

The amount of information in a picture when you double the pixels doesn't double the RAM power needed; it's an exponential value, so you need at least four times the computing power and that's just to get the picture to play properly. For true RED RAW editing you're going to need 32gigs of RAM; that's just a fact. Also, RAW footage is shot for post-production. The picture you get from the camera looks almost black and white, or extremely desaturated, and needs to be put through a professional editing program such as DaVinci or SpeedGrade. There has been a lot of hype around the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema, but once people looked at the RAW footage it shot they were surprised at the lack of color and depth. The information is there, but it needs some help in post.

2. There is no delivery system, except for Web

I'm going to preface this section by saying this is strictly a temporary stop. Once we get to the next disc or delivery system above Blu-Ray that can hold 4K information, this isn't going to be an issue. As of right now, though, there is no cheap way to get your 4K video to your client. You could keep giving them your 250 gig flash cards, but you're going to see a serious dent in your budget if every change made to a video had to be delivered that way. Right now it's the model to deliver completed works by DVD or Blu-Ray, because the producers can afford to give up those discs to the clients.

If there's one thing that's true about the video industry is that it's hard to change the current business model. People in this industry like they way things are done and are very slow to adopt new, possibly faulty, technology. If you are delivering by Web, then there's no problem when it comes to cost, but the sheer size of the files means you're going to spend more time uploading than working on projects in order to make deadlines.

3. We have no way to watch it!

Since you're going to be reading this on your computer, you can easily see the pixels that your laptop or desktop screen have. Go ahead and check, I'll bet you it's 1080p. That means the full size of your screen is 1920x1080 or about 2K. Now go check your television in your living room. If you're lucky enough to have one, and yes it's a privilege, not a right, then it will also be 1080p at best; 720p is what most people have and that's even less. What happens if you watch a larger pixel frame on a smaller screen?

It's in the beginning of every movie ever: “This movie has been formatted to fit your screen.” Formatting means compressing, and compressing means that you're not getting 4K. So unless you're one of the lucky, and rich, people who can afford a 4K TV or computer monitor, then you're watching in 2K or less. So make sure when you're editing 4K footage that it's scaled down so you can see the true look or you're just editing it in 2K and lying to yourself.

All of this nay saying aside, the question still stands: is 4K and higher the future of making movies? The answer is a definitive yes. In the near future it will be commonplace to shoot, edit and watch in 4K and even in the further future to get to 8K, but for the moment our cameras are outracing our delivery system and watchable media. Just have patience and focus on what has always and will always be much more important than what we shoot on, and that's the content that we are shooting.

Written By: Jeremy Hatfield

Associate Producer/Blogger

Edited By: Laura Ettinger

Public Relations

EFillF Productions, LLC

www.efillfproductions.net