Colors/filters

Ducky.

Ducky.

Active member
Hey NS

So I was watching my edit the other day. I film with a Sony HDR-HC7. I know this is nothing compared to what eheath films with, but when comparing my edit

To one of eheath's edits

Glide! from Evan Heath on Vimeo.

You can obviously tell that the colors in mine just look gray and boring. Is it just my camera, or are there filters I can use to add more color. Thanks!
 
a polarized filter can be used when filming on snow in bright conditions. it can help bring out details and colors and reduce glare. also play around wiht your settings a bit
 
Well lighting plays into it. A lot of the days that you filmed it seemed overcast and dreary and in eheaths edit it is sunny.

Also I would imagine that eheath put a lot of time and effort in colour correcting to make what he wants stand out and to make the snow not as bright.
 
well, adding a polarizing filter would get colors to pop more, but I'm not sure if eheath used one in that edit.

I'm guessing what you are noticing between the two is a combination of color correction and sharpness. Eheath's edit has a lot more clarity to it and the picture is much sharper, and his edit was filmed all on a sunny day (yours had a mix of both sunny and cloudy). That helps a lot when it comes to having colors stand out brighter. And hvx also gives you a lot more in-camera options (gamma adjustments, better white balance, etc). I'm not too familiar with your camera, but it might play a part in several aspects to getting a sharp color popping edit. Import, editing, and export functions also play a big role in keeping quality throughout the post process period. I'm sure eheath has got his settings on lock and has the same routine for optimizing his camera to get the best out of it, you may still be fooling around with it. And of course, good color correction can play a huge role in making an edit stand out.
 
Thanks guys, this has been a great help.

Also, n00bish question, but is a filter and actual lens, or do you do it in a program?

Sorry, I'm quite new to this whole filming/editing stuff, and trying to figure it out.
 
Well there are filters you physically place in front of your lens. That's what one would traditionally think of when they hear the word filter.
Filters are also done in post. Final Cut for example allows you to add filters, such as 3 way color corrector, brightness and contrast, curves, ect.
Honestly shoot for a CLEAN image. Get a proper white balance, and more importantly, a proper exposure. Once you have a clean image you can take her into post and do the dirty work ;).
Lighting is also key. In filmmaking, you're basically painting a picture with light. Pay attention to how different lighting effects your image. I'm not just talking about sunny vs. overcast either. Time of day, position of sun, position of lights (say you're filming at a handrail with a genny), and many other factors effect your image.
That was all just a bunch of rambling but maybe I helped a little.
 
Here's another thing,
Don't compare you image to an HVX. The HVX is a phenominal camera as far as colors go. 1/3" 3ccd chips, 4:2:2 color sampling, and great in camera adjustments.
 
Most of the colors in that edit were done in my camera. I did some minor color correction to most of the shots to make sure they looked good, by minor i mean like 3-way color correcter in FCP. Recently, ive been playing around with magic bullet looks and with a properly exposed shot you can do alot. im not sure if the fx7 has much in camera stuff but there is a world of post that could make your video look better.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top