Berkeley Kite Festival 2009

[Echo]

[ame="http://www.vimeo.com/8448153"]Berkeley Kite Festival 09 HV30 Film Test on Vimeo[/ame]

This is one of the first tests with my new Canon HV30 Camera. During the test I used my Twoneil 35mm adapter with Nikon 50mm f1.8D lens. I also used a Raynox HD-6600 Wide Angle lens on some of the footage at the end. All of the footage was recorded using Cinemode HDV24 with pulldown removed. The footage you see is raw with no color correction or any other alterations.

I was just having fun with the camera and experimenting with DOF using my girlfriend and the big Octopi kites. I also filmed everything handheld with the camera upside down, which explains why the footage is really shaky. So I understand that the footage may not look very "professional".

I do have some questions. I have Final Cut Studio 3 and was wondering:

- Is there a way to stablize the footage so it's not as shaky? I tried messing around in both Final Cut and Motion, but the end results were completely odd and puzzling so I don't think I did it right. Or maybe the footage is just too shaky to correct?

- I would like to color correct the footage as it seems a little washed out. Is it better to use Final Cut or Color? I have no experience with Color yet, but was wondering what makes it so much better than adjusting color right in Final Cut itself.

In any case, I hope you enjoy the footage! I've had my camera for almost 8 months now, and it's finally the first time I posted footage on the board.

[bean]

use FCP or Color?...hmmm.... well, do you know how to properly color correct in FCP? if so, do that. If you don't really know how to use either for CC, then use Color. There's no point in learning a new program if you can get by in another. But asking what makes color so much better at CC than FCP is like asking why is an F1 car better for a race than a minivan. Color was designed for color correction and stuff like that. While FCP can do it and does a fairly decent job at it, Color does it better. It gives you more control over what you're correcting.

But yeah, your video would benefit a lot with some CC...it does look washed out and it's a shame that all those vibrant colors aren't popping as much as they could.

As for the shakiness, that's something you gotta worry about while shooting. Using software can only do so much. If you have after effects, this might help out:
http://www.videocopilot.net/tutorial...shaky_footage/

[MLBuckProductions]

One thing that I forgot as I shot my first footage with a twoneil adapter was that I needed to turn OFF image stabilizer on the camera. If you don't turn it off, the footage will be a lot shakier.

[Echo]

That's interesting! Why does turning off image stabilization help?

And thanks for the advice bean, I might color correct the footage and then upload it again so you can see a comparison.

[MLBuckProductions]

I don't know the science behind it, but with the image stabilizer OFF when using the adapter, you'll get much more stable footage.

[zomfg]

The shot with the girl standing there and the octopi in the sky is epic... although it would be more epic if it were steady on a tripod or something :P

[HueyNRolf]

and the octopi

You do realize that's an incorrect English plural?
One of my little party tricks... it's octopuses

[jet]

cini mode always has more washed out colours but this does not look washed out to me, all you hear is colour correct even if it does not need doing.
For me all that is needed is a tripod or good brace,

[Echo]

You do realize that's an incorrect English plural?
One of my little party tricks... it's octopuses

But Octopi is more fun to say! Actually, I wasn't honestly not aware... shh don't tell my college degree.

I wish I brought a tripod with me, but I had so much stuff to carry that day that I decided to just leave it at home. This weekend I'll see if I can make the colors more vibrant in the footage and if I have time (and if weather permits), I might go out and get some new test footage with a tripod.

Hopefully I'll get filming with this camera down well enough that I can start making actual shorts!

Thanks again everyone for all your input.

[zomfg]

Eat this, sucka! Both plural forms are correct (sorry for getting off topic though...)
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From Dictionary.com:

oc⋅to⋅pus
–noun, plural -pus⋅es, -pi  /-ˌpaɪ/ Show Spelled Pronunciation [-pahy] Show IPA .
1. any octopod of the genus Octopus, having a soft, oval body and eight sucker-bearing arms, living mostly at the bottom of the sea.
2. something likened to an octopus, as an organization with many forms of far-reaching influence or control.
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[HueyNRolf]

So much for online dictionaries.

According to the New Oxford American Dictionary

USAGE The standard English plural of octopus is octopuses. However, the word octopus comes from Greek, and the Greek plural form is octopodes ( |äkˈtäpəˌdēz|). Modern usage of octopodes is so infrequent that many people mistakenly create the erroneous plural form octopi, formed according to rules for Latin plurals. See also usage at ‘-i’