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Panasonic GH1 - Film Mode Settings
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  • The so-called "film look" is not a function of the sensor or camera controls as Producer believes, but is instead a function of the post processing done. All digital cameras will shoot like digital cameras because they have electronic sensors and any individual style is the result of the ASICs doing in-camera processing. Similar processing can be done on your own computer. It's ridiculous IMHO to ask Vitaliy to "hack" for a film look when he should just learn how to post-process his own video. He might as well as for a hack to edit the video for him while he's at it.
  • Whatever they say, the magic called "filmlook" is what everyone wants to reach. The G/GF/GH settings don't allow adjusting to proper "flat image" while their parameters are not enough and widely flexible for that matter. I already opened an issue about that in the PTool 3.55d topic and I really think that one of the general targets of the next PTool versions MUST follow that point. The "Technicolor CineStyle" patch just made a revolution to what the professional expensive movie cameras do. (
    ).
    So, if such a development is not one of the prime targets in the near future, all we will have G/GF/GH shooting maybe at 1000Mbps, but always looking like any soup serial from Latin America...
    Right?
  • This guy does a lot of vids on the GH1 & GH2. Eye Patch Productions

    Panasonic GH1 - (hacked tutorial) Color Profiles for Creative Movie Mode - GH13 HDSLR Tutorials
  • @stefanos great tips. thanks.
  • @stefanos thank you for your response, best advice I've seen yet.
  • Not sure to what extent things are applicable from the GH2 to GH1(i've never used GH1 but i think they are) but from GH2 experience, if you want a "flat image" you generally want -2 contrast, - sharpness, -2 NR 0 saturation. Generally, stay away from -2 saturation cause you'll always end up boosting it in post. I think the only 2 settings I would never change from -2 are NR and sharpness. Contrast you have to make conscious decision depending on subject, mood, lighting, lens etc. For instance it's probably good idea to leave -2 with the 20mm 1.7. with an old FD lens, you might want to leave it at 0. If you know you're going to end up boosting the contrast a lot like 90% of people do, don't start at -2 because if the image was too flat, you will add noise as you boost the contrast curve. Apart from all this, if you're really interested in obtaining very flat images, it should mean you're interested in actually working in post(MB looks presets/mojo etc doesn't count) so unless someone knowledgeable is grading for you, I think it might be a good idea to read a book on Color correction so you get better understanding on how certain things work. Also, just my advice, if you are serious about emulating certain desirable qualities of film, never google/youtube/vimeo search for "film look" and avoid camera tests etc(trust me I went through that stage some years ago). It is the worst thing you can do to yourself and most commonly, it is so far away from being filmic it's funny. Videos of crushed blacks/almost monochrome black/green look, overly saturated colors, slider moves for every shots, bleach bypasses, MB looks and mojo and from other spectrum extremely flat picture that looks almost completely grey, and with huge flares all over the place< all these are usually very far from being filmic so be ware. It's more constructive to look at trailers.
  • > I think that he want to know your exact settings to obtain so highly desirable "as flat as possible" :-)

    ok :)

    All settings in film mode (nature or nostalgic) at -2 (except maybe NR, because i have a GH1 :) Then shooting underexposed, monitoring the histogram, and converting the AVCHD files with 5D2RGB.
  • >I shoot as flat as possible (to maximize DR),

    I think that he want to know your exact settings to obtain so highly desirable "as flat as possible" :-)
  • >I am awaiting the day most people owning the HDSLRs start shooting something worth looking at.

    :P

    >Does anyone have any suggestions on best Film Mode settings?

    I shoot as flat as possible (to maximize DR), and i convert with 5D2RGB, which is painfully slow, but retains more detail in dark areas than using the AVCHD straight in After Effects.
  • I get what you are saying Vitaliy, it's the content of the film, not necessarily how the film looks. I couldn't agree more with you, but if the content is already available, why not shoot it as beautifully as possible? Push the tools at your disposal to their limits? Some of the most beautiful art I've seen was created with some of the most basic of tools. However, it was the way in which they were used that aided in the creation of a particular piece. The tools were reinvented simply by the way in which they were used. I mean that's why you are hacking cameras right? You want to push them to their limits, make them do things they were not originally intended to do. This is what adds to the overall production value. With that, I thank you very much for your work on GH13 and the potential GH17 :-)

    Does anyone have any suggestions on best Film Mode settings?
  • >I await the day DSLRs will have the DR of the RED Epic or the Alexa.

    I am awaiting the day most people owning the HDSLRs start shooting something worth looking at.
    Films with thing that is called content, that nring you some new information.
    DR is not the limiting factor here :-)
  • Film look is only possible when given enough dynamic range. Most DSLRs have a poor DR, so we try to emulate the film look by shooting wide open, shooting anamorphic, etc..
    I await the day DSLRs will have the DR of the RED Epic or the Alexa.
  • I can tell you one thing.
    Obsession with filmic look become something like mental illness :-)
    As a resulf, we have bunch of short extremely strange, pointless, small DOF, so called "artictic" clips on Youtube and Vimeo.
    It is not necessary to repeat approach used by pros by shooting flattest possible setting always.
    You must understand if you actually need this, if your footage really require postprocessing (and how much it'll cost), etc.
    Film mode is really special setting(most probably table or few of tables) in the RAW to actual image conversion process. You can try them all and see that is most suitable for you.