ISO Camera Tests

With digital video cameras, such as the Canon 7D or 550D, an ISO (which refers to film speed, even though digital cameras do not take film. Click here for an explanation of ISO) has to be selected before filming can occur. ISO speeds range from 100 to 3200 (and in some cases higher) and each have their own advantages and disadvantages. The reason for this test is due to the fact that within Finchers films, the shots are visually very dark, with little to in some cases hardly any light being used. Combining this test with the natural light test (as this is also something which is common within his films, by only using natural light and artificial light that is available in the scene to light shots) will allow me to develop an idea into how I should light my final assignment project. In this first ISO test that I conducted, I experimented with how the Canon 550D handles in extremely low light conditions, which in this case was simply the light from a lit match.

I wanted to see how much of the subjects face and surrounding area was visible depending on which ISO setting the camera was set to, so to keep the test fair, the factors that were kept the same were the f stop amount, the lighting conditions and also the lens used. I decided upon the Canon 50mm 1.8 lens as this was the lens that I originally used for my natural lighting test and was extremely impressed with its results.



There is a mistake in this video however, which I need to confirm before I go any further. The last two shots do not have the correct titles on them detailing what settings were used. I increased the ISO in a sequential scale, so following on from ISO 1600 was the ISO 3200 test, and not the 6400 test that is stated. The ISO 6400 test is the last shot seen in the video! This was a title error on my behalf.

The first shot features an ISO of 100. Even with the aperture set to 1.8, letting in the maximum amount of light to the lens the image was still very dark, with only the edges of the fingertips being lit.

The next ISO speed was set to 200, which isn't a dramatic increase from the first. Technically there should not be much of a difference between the two, which is definitely the case from the image shown below.

Next up was the jump from 200, to 400. This was the ISO speed that I chose to shoot my natural light test on, and with the aperture fully open to 1.8 I felt this was the perfect setting for those conditions. In the low lighting test however, the image was still quite dark, with only a fraction of the subjects face being lit compared to the previous ISO.

The ISO speed doubles again in the next shot, this time showing far more dramatic results. This time the subjects face was clearly more visible and better lit, whilst still retaining all information and not rendering any grain/noise to the image.

Again, the ISO doubles to a level of 1600. I was always told that shooting about 800 would render problems, usually in the form of noise, giving the shot a very grainy image. Even with such a dimly lit scene this seemed to be the case, as the background wall area to the left of the subject clearly has subtle noise issues (which can be clearly seen when the image is at full size).

The next ISO was 3200 (but please ignore the fact that the image is labelled as 6400). I had my doubts with shooting at 1600, and when I shot at 3200 it was clear to me that this ISO would most definitely not be used for my final piece. The noise and grain is now present across the whole of the image, and the highlighted areas such as the flame and the edges of the subjects fingertips are clearly blown out.

The final ISO was set to 6400 (again, it does say 3200 on the image but that title is incorrect). I wasn't going to shoot on such a high ISO as I already knew that the noise levels would be considerably high, but I did anyway in order to conduct a fair test. The grain in this shot is far more noticeable, with the highlights being blown out even more, as well as some of the midtones within the colour range being quite bright.

CONCLUSION

Taking each ISO setting into consideration, I personally think it best to shoot on an ISO of around 400 (possibly 200 in some cases). The reason being is because of the amount of light that the camera receives when the aperture is fully open. I have to think carefully about the amount of light that will be on location during shooting, and if I were to shoot on a high ISO ranging from 800 - 6400 the image would be far too bright and blown out. This is easy to understand as the lit match only emits a small amount of light, yet it is still seriously affecting the shot/visual quality on ISO levels such as 1600 to 6400.

By shooting at around 400 ISO I will be able to keep the scene dark on location, but still capture a high amount of light information onto the sensor, which can easily be pulled in post if I feel it is too bright in pre-production.

Digital Video vs Film

There's always been a big debate about whether which format is better; film or video? Both have advantages and disadvantages, ranging from visual quality, light sensitivity and other factors like how each format is used/operated. This debate has become quite heated in the past couple of years, with the introduction of new video cameras such as RED, and the increase in technical specifications within the latest HD DSLR cameras. With the development of these cameras, video quality is fastly overtaking film stock and film cameras, and is making filmmaking much easier and more accessible for many more people.

I've been lucky to be able to shoot on a number of formats, including the RED One video camera, Super8 film, Super16 film and most recently the Canon 550D. I love the nostalgia and 'vintage' style to the film stocks used, making it more of an artistic direction to shoot on that film rather than a technical decision. Since working on a shoot that used the RED One camera, I've fallen in love with it. It has the look of film, whilst being shot on video, which I personally feel that to be the better outcome in this digital day and age.

Video still isn't perfect however, with problems such as 'Rolling Shutter' and 'Anti-Aliasing' being a couple of the most common and heard of problems on digital cameras with a CMOS sensor. Since using the 550D I've frequently come across the rolling shutter, on simple things such as a shot of someone opening a door or cupboard at a fast pace, making a solid object seem somewhat like jelly. Below is a key example of this. Rolling shutter occurs because the way the camera's sensor intakes the image. It reads from left to right, top to bottom, which in this case distorts the helicopters propeller due to it moving at such a high speed that the sensor cannot intake the information fast enough. But, having said that, I now know what I can and cannot do with this camera, and work around this problem using various methods. There are fixes for this, such as in the latest copy of iMovie, but within the coming years I can see this problem being eradicated.

Rolling Shutter issue with video cameras (that have a CMOS sensor)

My main problems with shooting on film is price, workflow issues and complexity of loading film into cameras. Oh, and did I mention price? I don't see why someone would purchase or rent a film camera, purchase film stock that can only be exposed once (meaning everything has to be perfect on the day), not being able to see what is being recorded or played back once it has been recorded (this of course can be changed as you can easily connect a monitor to view what is being exposed) and also then having to wait for the reels and reels of film to be sent off to be correctly developed. I think the problem for this is laziness and simplicity. Within this digital day and age, everyone wants everything yesterday. With video, you can shoot something, play it back and if it's not to the standard you want it to be, record it again. With film you can't do this, as you have to ensure everything is perfect before the director shots "ACTION!". But I don't know if that is a good thing either, as with video you could then be more relaxed on shoot and not pay as much attention to detail, whereas you are on your toes when shooting on film, making sure EVERYTHING goes as planned and that all shots are correctly exposed, each actor knows exactly what they are to be doing and all crew members are clear on what needs to be done in order to get the take that is needed.

This debate will carry on I feel, for many many more years to come. Video will constantly be improved, yet film will no doubt still be the leader in the filmmaking world.

I came across a very impressive video documentary test presented by Zacuto, featuring some of the leaders in today's digital filmmaking community. They conduct various tests including low light tests, ISO tests and much more to find out which camera is the best and closest to what film is today. The testing is similar to the kind of thing I am conducting at the minute, testing which ISO is best suited for my camera, depending on how much grain is visible in shots etc, as well as which f stop is most suitable for letting in the correct level of light.

ZACUTO - 'THE GREAT CAMERA SHOOTOUT 2010'

It's definitely worth checking out, and although I will be definitely be shooting my final assignment piece on a DSLR, it's always interesting to check out how far video technology has developed in the past few years.

Colour Correction

After conducting the natural lighting test and experimenting with colour correction settings within Apple Color, I thought it would be suitable to investigate into the grading used within David Finchers films, so that they can be matched within my final piece. I came across a number of screen shots from both 'Se7en' and 'The Social Network' and will explain and analyse the colours and grading techniques used to achieve that specific visual style.

SE7EN


Screenshot from David Finchers 'Se7en'

From the above image, it's clear to see that David Finchers films are very dark and contrasted. This can easily be achieved in post as long as the original footage is correctly exposed and lit. The reason for this is is the images are too dark, and need to be pushed in Color (usually by adjusting the shadow, midtone and highlight levels), large amounts of grain will appear in the image. This is because we are trying to add data to the image that isn't there, causing digital data to be created, thus meaning grain is added. This could also be the case however during the shoot. If incorrect lighting is setup and the ISO of the camera is adjusted to allow more light, the image again will become very grainy. It would probably benefit if I created an ISO test with my camera also to see what level of grain is added at different ISO levels.

Looking closer at the image however, it's also very clear to see that the image is very green. What should be bright white lighting above the characters head is in fact a very pale green colour. This is also common for the majority of the highlight and shadow areas of the image, with each of them being either a light or dark green shade. The midtones however (such as on the far right wall column and the characters face) are quite orange and warm.


Screenshot from David Finchers 'Se7en'

From the above image, the lighting and colouring within the scene can easily be depicted. The background area of the image is completely black showing no detail whatsoever. Morgan Freeman's character has only a small area of his face visible, clearly showing that he is only lit from one angle. The colour grade has clearly more blue data in regards to the previous shot that is far more green and orange. This gives it a slightly colder feel which is amplified by the shot also being quite desaturated, reducing the amount of vivid colour within the shot. The desaturated colour is common throughout the film, and is also common in Finchers other work such as the 1999 film 'Fight Club' and his latest film The Social Network.

THE SOCIAL NETWORK

With this being Finchers latest film (with the cinematography conducted by Jeff Cronenweth), it's interesting to see that the same colour grade technique and visual style has been applied to this film. I suppose this makes Fincher an Auteur in terms of visual style and grading, as the colour scheme is a trait that is common throughout his work. In fact if a film was put in front of me that had the same colour grade, I'd immediately think of David Finchers work.


Screenshot from the 2010 film 'The Social Network'

The dark, contrasted colour scheme returns within this film, and is especially noticeable within the interior shots throughout. The shadow areas are completely black in some cases, which can be seen on the chair and coat of Jesse Eisenberg's character, as there are no clear distinguishable difference between the two, which again is common in the previous image from Se7en. The lighter areas of the shadow detail and low areas of the midtones detail are also very green, with the higher midtones and highlights being that familiar orange colour and warm tone. Although this colour scheme is predominately green and orange (mixing both cool and warm colour within the colour spectrum), it doesn't feel as if the colours are incorrect, as obviously they are colours which we do not see in the real world.


Screenshot from 'The Social Network'

Exterior shots retain much more colour information than the interior shots, with a slightly lower green tint to them. The water shows how desaturated the image actually is, with the colours being close to a grey/dark blue spectrum. It gives the impression that Fincher portrays outdoor scenes to be much colder than the interior scenes, possibly showing the fact that interior shots have some sort of warm 'homely ' feel to them. However this isn't always the case, as although the colour correction is constant across each shot, it does change slightly from time to time.


Screenshot from 'The Social Network'

In this shot, the colour information retained is far more vivd than the previous exterior shot shown, although the colours are still slightly desaturated. There is much more blue information in the sky areas, and the shadow details is still graded a very dark green colour. Contrast is still heavily noticeable within the scene as well, so all these factors must be considered when completing my final assignment piece.

It's clear to see that David Fincher's films have a common visually pleasing style, which is something that really needs to be focused on in my final assignment. Over the coming the days I will upload a grading test, that focuses more on the colour side and grading aspects of the film.

"Red Letters" by Salomon

I came across this video not so long ago, and loved it from the word go. I thought I'd share it here as the creator, 'Salomon' says he took inspiration for the film from Se7en (I'd hazard a guess at the opening titles from the film). Here's the video below, and I definitely recommend checking out his other work, which can be found at his Vimeo page HERE.

Red Letters by Salomon

I love the grungey and scratchy look to the whole film, and cycling through this guys work it's clear to see he's good at what he does!

Natural Light Test

Within the last week I started to conduct tests, to get a better idea of what needs to be done on the final shoot. For the first test, I experimented with only using natural light as my main light source as I will be shooting on the Canon 550D, one of the latest DSLRs that are capable of achieving visually stunning imagery without the need of production lighting. I accompanied my friend Dan, who was shooting cut aways for his final peice in a local Church, and recorded various shots by just taking advantage of the lighting that was available on location. Below is the edited footage in a short sequence.

NATURAL LIGHT TEST USING THE CANON 550D

I recently purchased a new lens, the Canon 50mm 1.8, and I personally think that this really allowed me to take the camera further than I would have been able to if I was using the standard 18-55mm kit lens. The main reason was the 50mm lens lets in much more light than the kit lens, enabling me to yield greater results when shooting in lower light locations. The video was shot using an ISO of 400 as stated in the film, with the majority of them using an f-stop of 1.8 (this may have slightly increased to around 2.2 in a couple of shots), before then being colour corrected in Apple Color to try and match the visual grading style of my chosen cinematographers/filmmakers (Fincher, Cronenweth and Khondji).

From the video, you can see that the camera does as it says, and handles brilliantly in natural lighting conditions. The exposure values are consistent across the majority of shots, yet some parts do bloom within the highlight section (this is most likely due to the colour grading used however). I was really pleased with the outcome of this shoot, as I can now understand what light may be needed within my own final piece.

Films such as Se7en or The Social Network are really contrasted and dark, with what seems to be little to no light in some cases. This could be achieved in my final piece by using natural light that is available within the location to light the scene, then use other lighting to focus on a specific part or section of that frame.

I will upload more test shoots, testing ISO and Aperture settings to find the most suitable setting for my film.

David Fincher, Jeff Cronenweth, Darius Khondji and Se7en

Firstly, apologies for the recent lack of content.

After successfully uploading my proposal and selecting the visual style that is echoed within David Finchers films, and especially the work of cinematographers Darius Khondji (Se7en, Panic Room) and Jeff Cronenweth (Fight Club, Se7en, The Social Network). I watched Se7en again last night, to depict and analyse the films visual structure, style and tone, as Se7en is the main film that I want to base my cinematography project on.

Since seeing Se7en a few years ago, I have instantly become a fan of David Finchers work, and especially the attention to detail that he applies to the visuals and cinematography aspects of his films (which most likely is a collaboration between himself and the particular cinematographer on set, due to the ongoing visual style that he adopts). The main areas I focused on whilst watching the film were lighting; how the light affects the mood of the scene, where lights are positioned and the type of light that is cast, camera; what shots are widely used and how they are used in conjunction to what is happening on screen, how depth of field and focus are communicating emotions and moods, and overall, how all of these things come together to create tension and suspense.

I noticed that throughout the film, a very soft diffused lighting technique was used, with it also being apparent that characters are lit from just one side. On the shadowed side of their face, it was also clear to see that some kind of reflector board or reflective material is used to keep the shadows soft as well, but also let in just a slight area of light onto their face. As for camera, shots adapt a very deep focus look, instead of the shallow depth of field 'pornography' that most HDSLR cameras adopt. This may be a testing factor of my piece as I intend on shooting on a HDSLR, so will have to undertake several test shoots in order to get this look correct.

As well as Se7en, David Fincher's latest film The Social Network, also includes many of the elements stated above. The film certainly has a very warm, orange tone to its grading, which I will also manipulate within my final project, by using colour grading software such as Apple's Color suite.

The Social Network

A couple of days ago I saw 'The Social Network'. I obviously knew the theme of the film as I'm glued to Facebook far too much anyway, but I hadn't heard much about how good the film was. I didn't know who directed it, and just about knew who was in it, so I saw it kind of on the off chance.

When I saw that David Fincher was the director I was blown away! He'd previously done some amazing work such 'Fight Club' (1999), 'Se7en' (1995) and Zodiac (2007). I personally thought the film was incredible. The script was really well written and the way the actors seamlessly rolled the dialogue off their tongues was fantastic. It was overall a very well created film.

The cinematography (which was achieved via Jeff Cronenweth, someone who works closely with Fincher, and is also responsible for the cinematography behind Se7en, Fight Club & One Hour Photo) was also fantastic, and probably one of the main reasons I also loved the film. It had that familiar crispness and not too overpowering look (colour wise) that is common in Fincher's work). One scene I can pick out from the top of my head is where there is a large boat race happening, and each shot has been edited with a depth of field blur to give the impression that the characters and surroundings are miniature. Somewhat similar to the video seen HERE.

The scene didn't enhance the story in anyway (it was a sort of arty side to the film), but it just shows how important visuals are to the viewer, as this is a scene that I don't think I will forget in a hurry.

To finish this post, here's the trailer for the film. I definitely recommend you see this film soon!