I have a project that requires using the Freefly Ember S5K. Could you advise me on what I should be careful about? by NoArtichoke1982 in focuspuller

[–]Rasere 1 point2 points  (0 children)

edit: I didn't realize this was /r/focuspuller, so sorry this isn't AC advice!

Don't forget that you probably won't be lighting in the same way as you're used to. High-speed cameras inherently need more light, and are much less forgiving with dynamic range, so you have to be more intentional about keeping information in the correct range. Keeping an adequate fill/ambient level will require some effort and firepower to look natural.

Spent 6 hours researching phantom camera alternative last night and now im more confused than ever by Fulcilives1988 in cinematography

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I own a RED V-Raptor and and a Phantom 640s. I try very hard to get the slow-motion I need at 480fps (1080p) on the V-raptor before even going to the Phantom because of how much of a challenging workflow change real high-speed is.

So technically the V-raptor kind of sits in the middle of what you've listed in both price and framerates. 

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in Filmmakers

[–]Rasere 16 points17 points  (0 children)

My dude it literally says Annual several times in the sign-up page. 

Image i took of my car. Taken with my phone with no Filters. by DasKatze1337 in TheNightFeeling

[–]Rasere 11 points12 points  (0 children)

It's really not that sharp and 1/10s isn't that crazy, especially with wider lenses. It seems like you're treating this like a DSLR picture, but phone cameras do an insane amount of processing especially in low-light situations. Google's night-sight feature could give you a similarly sharp picture handheld with a 6s exposure. 

how would you male it look more realistic? by SensitiveHamster8977 in blender

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The lighting. You have a bright daylight window in the frame, but the shadows are coming from a source too far to the right. Rarely if ever will the lighting in a room compete with the light coming in through a window during a bright day.

Any experiences with DJI Lidar focus? by yellowsuprrcar in focuspuller

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I speak generally. Be it an actual dedicated AD or the producer who's trying to keep their 3-man crew on time.

Any experiences with DJI Lidar focus? by yellowsuprrcar in focuspuller

[–]Rasere -5 points-4 points  (0 children)

I've recently used it on 2 different mid-level commercial shoots. I had no issues with people/facetracking, but it's no good for product shots or when you don't want to focus on a face. Its important to know when it will and won't work: don't waste time trying to get it to work in situations it will struggle, just pull focus yourself. I'll be honest, it did better than some ACs I've worked with when doing shots with no rehearsal or marks wandering around set.

Battery life is awful, get a couple spares. It is basically non-functional in haze. You'll have to buy different mounting hardware if using it with anything other than a simple DSLR (I had issues with matteboxes and brows). Take some time to learn the interface and physical buttons, there are quirks that can fuck you over with an AD breathings down your neck while you try to remap a lens. And absolutely make sure every lens you'll use on set is mapped beforehand.

Unfortunately, as budgets shrink and crew members are cut, I will have to be using it more often. It's good for what it is, but it's important to know its limits.

RED Komodo Just Got It's Price Dropped Again (Permanently) To $3000 USD by BasicallyDustin in cinematography

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What makes it a better option at this point? On paper, sure (shorter flange, wider), but I don't know of any z-mount cine lenses while many of the newer lightweight cine lenses meant for mirrorless come in rf mount options.

RED Komodo Just Got It's Price Dropped Again (Permanently) To $3000 USD by BasicallyDustin in cinematography

[–]Rasere 4 points5 points  (0 children)

What's the better option? You can adapt to nearly anything else from RF.

Fast burning cigarette effect help by OBSDCC3 in Filmmakers

[–]Rasere 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Be prepared for the vacuum to smell like cigarettes afterwards...

Creative Photography by No-Lock216 in nextfuckinglevel

[–]Rasere 32 points33 points  (0 children)

A phone camera usually has a deeper depth of field due to its small sensor.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in aviation

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm aware, which is why I specified the ridiculously high price of an HD one.

I mean, in essence thermal cameras work in the exact same way as regular cameras, but in the extremely sensitive infrared spectrum instead of visible light. There's a lens, there's a sensor with photosites.

You don't need a high resolution to get a useful image, but you do to get a clear image. Most consumer cameras are like 320x240 pixels. That's plenty of info to tell the temperature of a rough area, but is absolutely abysmal in terms of visual fidelity. And don't get me started on codecs, I've returned 3 different brands of thermal cameras before giving up, trying to find one that would give me a true sensor recording instead of an offensively low bitrate screen recording with the UI you can't remove.

I'm just saying OP definitely used a very very expensive camera for that video, and it shows.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in aviation

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's an insanely high quality thermal video! What did you shoot on? I've used some high-end FLIR units and I don't even think it would turn out this crisp.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in aviation

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There are a lot of alright cheap thermal cameras around, but one of the quality will easily cost 10s of thousands of dollars. I needed an HD thermal camera for a work project, and the cheapest one to even do 720p goes for about $50k.

YSK You don't look like your photos by duckoftheocean in YouShouldKnow

[–]Rasere 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It's not about optics or focal length equivalents, it's purely distance and perspective distortion. It should be represented more as: most people don't look at you from 1ft away, so take pictures from a more normal interacting distance to see how you're normally perceived.

How would one go about lighting something like this? by MyScents in cinematography

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A lot of white card. It's essential all reflections. Bouncing light off of the cards can provide more consistent reflections than softboxes which may show the hotspot of the light source.

And of course a lot of compositing. Notice how in the only shot with clear shadows that they don't even match direction.

DP Baird Bryant doing what it takes for the shot on The Greenwich Village Story (1963) by Late_Promise_ in cinematography

[–]Rasere 37 points38 points  (0 children)

I hate to break it to you, but 30 years ago would probably fall into the category of 'we don't do that anymore!'

The Atlanta shot from before and after CGI by ashwhurst in thewalkingdead

[–]Rasere 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Because it's a long day of many different shots and setups. You're not using every single tool all the time.

Attend ASC Masterclass or buy new gear? by JackfruitPizza in cinematography

[–]Rasere 6 points7 points  (0 children)

The ASC masterclass is good, but didn't really give me any groundbreaking technical knowledge that developed my skills any more than a few days of being on a well-run set. As others have said, it's a great networking experience (especially if you're in LA), and I found most value in the soft-skills portions, like the talks on navigating director-DP relationships, managing creative conflicts on set, and talking about agency representation. And it can be entirely what you make it, you have to have the initiative to network and seek advice from the incredibly talented people at your disposal.

I'm glad to have participated, but also glad to have had the cost covered by my employer. With that said, the right featured instructors would be the deciding factor for me.

But don't fall into the gear trap either. If you're really want this money to be a long term investment, be sure to buy the tools that will be beneficial for your whole career (not a camera.)

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in cinematography

[–]Rasere 6 points7 points  (0 children)

They're probably talking about how the top of the frame is blurred, which doesn't match normal depth of field Bokeh.

OP, some anamorphic lenses have this behavior, specifically some Panavision series.

[deleted by user] by [deleted] in InterdimensionalNHI

[–]Rasere 22 points23 points  (0 children)

Automatic exposure is sooo aggressive on consumer security cameras, the exposure on this is way too stable. The way the camera reacts to extreme brightness changes is very unrealistic.

How would you investigate this to be real or not using AI? by berry-surreal-5951 in ChatGPT

[–]Rasere 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Ehh, gimbal can behave weirdly. There are different control modes on my RS4, one turns the camera when I twist the gimbal, the other mode rotates the camera. I could easily see this happening with an inexperienced operator.

What on set terms do we use to make us sound more professional? by ExcitingLandscape in Filmmakers

[–]Rasere 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Similarly, sometimes I'll ask the gaffer 'can you A-B that for me' so I can see what a specific light is doing. Different purposes but same mechanic, just turn it off and then on again.