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Does someone know how to achieve this look?
  • starstuffstarstuff
    I'm talking about the skin texture and softness whilst remaining depth and sharpness:

    Two examples:




    Does someone recognize this "effect"? I see this on a lot of professional interviews but can't seem to get close.
    Besides the lighting setup, maybe some special filters were used? Or is it all post-production? And if so, how is this achieved?
  • 18 Replies sorted by
  • davhardavhar
    Hey starstuff

    Sorry about my snarky response. I could blame it on the vodka or gin or…but I'll stick with a generically crappy unemployed attitude and leave it at that. As they say above it's just soft studio lighting in front of a cyc. The talent has pancake/foundation make up. No effects required in post
  • soundgh2soundgh2
    @davhar

    I sit here every day mixing "stuff" shot by PA's watched by several million viewers - some good some really really really bad - can be disheartening trying to make it un-rejectable , yet a few show some great talent - all got to start somewhere :)
  • starstuffstarstuff
    @Davhar

    I'm doing this as a hobby and am still familiarizing myself with the terms -despite English not even being my first language- in an autodidactic approach as I go along as this works for me pretty well. But thanks for your suggestion.
  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn
    @startstuff

    A "cyc" is a cyclorama -- a room or set with gently curving corners (from floor to wall and from wall to wall) that can be lit to provide the look of a seamless background. It is fairly common, but may be called something different in different areas.

    For diffusion, you can get great results just bouncing light off a piece of foam-core or two, or shooting it through a large silk.

    Tiffen Glimmer Glass filters come in screw-on sizes at various strengths. I have a set and typically use different strengths for different shot sizes.

    Soft source over the camera means that a soft lighting source (bounced, shot through diffusion, etc) looked like itwas placed directly above the camera, rather than being clearly on the key or fill side of the face. This leads to a very soft, even, low contrast fill.
  • davhardavhar
    If you don't know what a cyc is you've never been inside even the most basic studio. Perhaps you should consider volunteering as a PA before you try to DP
  • starstuffstarstuff
    @DouglasHorn

    Thanks a ton for this insight!

    Can you explain a bit what that "white cyc/set" means? I have some large heavy frost diffusion panels for key and fill, would that suffice as a substitute to their setup?

    Also, are there any good black diffusion filters that go directly on the lens that you know of?
    I don't have a matte box for 4x4 glass yet...

    And last but not least, what do mean by the soft source is directly over the camera? As just in height, say over the eyes?
  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn
    The two video examples look like they were shot against a white cyc/set with large soft source key and fill at a low contrast ratio with no backlight (their dark suits separate them from the background enough). On the top example, it looks like a black diffusion was used, but I'd guess more like the Schneider black diffusion or Tiffen glimmer glass or similar as there is no halation of the highlights. The second example doesn't seem to have this and looks a little more 'video-y'. I love the look of black diffusion and use it all the time as it tends to give you all the advantages of diffusion without the giveaway parts that feel like you're watching Cybil Sheppard.

    If you look at the reflections in their eyes and glasses, you can see the light plot for the video--top one is keyed from camera left with a very large soft source directly over the camera. The other is keyed from the right with fill light about 30 degrees left, leaving that darker stripe down the left/middle of the subject's face.
  • RRRRRRRR
    @starstuff: you need soft light to make an even, low contrast image. (softbox f.i.) re: makeup it's about making the skin matte enough. I'm sure a make-up artist is well invested money, and then you take the opportunity to learn tricks for yourself. I can't say anything specific because I'm certainly no make-up artist. :) I always get help in this department!
  • starstuffstarstuff
    Studying the videos a bit more I think it's the way the shadows are lit, somehow they have great detail, give the image a lot of depth but at the same remain very soft without being washed out, hmm. Can't be just the position of the light sources, can it? *scratches head*

    @RRRR
    Other than foundation makeup, do you see any other makeup enhancements? Maybe something to give the shadows a bit more character?

    @pingpongcomputer
    I found the Pro Mist (Tiffen) to be VERY subtle, almost no difference but I guess every bit helps :-)

    @stonebat
    that's a great tip Re: custom colour settings, thanks!

    @AdR
    tried Cosmo some other day but wasn't really impressed with the results, the Black Diffusion and Telecine filter settings in Magic Bullet's Looks on the other hand though look quite promising. Though $399 for a plugin is quite steep.

  • AdRAdR
    I don't think it's just lighting and makeup. If you give both clips a good look, there's some chroma convolution going on.

    Probably using a "digital makeup" post process like Cosmo from Red Giant Software. Try it; I think they have a free demo you can download.
  • PixCanFlyPixCanFly
    @stonebat
    switching to custom in mycolor mode won't solve the gamma shift problem during recording. Setting in mycolor mode has no effect on creative mode. There are still no solution in the thread you linked to. Infact the guy who thought he discovered the solution to the gamma shift by tweaking the mycolor setting later realized that the gamma problem still exist.
  • Vitaliy_KiselevVitaliy_Kiselev
    @Ptchaw

    Just set 24L to very low bitrate (in 3.63 limits are very low).
    And use recording in this mode to set all your stuff.
  • PtchawPtchaw
    @stonebat I tried it, but still get a noticable gamma shift when I hit record :(
  • stoneystoney
    You guys gotta try this.

    Try to reset all settings on the menu. Goto SETUP / RESET / YES.
    Switch to MY COLOR mode and pick CUSTOM color.
    Power on and off.
    Apply your usual settings. e.g. from 24L to 24H.

    It fixed my color shifting issue on LCD/EVF. It displayed beautiful skin color tone!!!! Also it fixed some weird error I was having with a remote shutter trigger. I would have never figured it out by myself. Gotta love communities.

    I really hope the upcoming new firmware has a fix for this bug.
  • AlexAlex
    +1 lighting. Canon DSLRs might show aliasing in hair details. GH2 might have problems with skin tones. Always shoot a clean plate of your background if you plan to do special post work ...
  • stoneystoney
    +1. Good lighting is important. The white background diffuses the light which creates softer lighting. Plus backlight, hairlight, etc. Definitely deeper DOF. Prolly Nokton 25mm 0.95.

    Original clips out of camera should look great. I don't wanna do heavy post-processing on interview clips.
  • pingpongcomputerpingpongcomputer
    I used a 1/4 black pro mist on my last shoot and it helped soften up the excessive digital sharpness. That was on the red one, I haven't tried it with the gh2
  • RRRRRRRR
    Lighting and makeup. Then you can perhaps help out with some filters (skin-tone filter f.i.), but the first two should suffice if you can make the effort. Backdrop also matters, of course - but the main issues are lighting and makeup. Oh, and keep in mind that you shouldn't have to do anything in post. There are plenty of videos on controlling these particular settings with filters.
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