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GH4 for theatrical feature films?
  • 37 Replies sorted by
  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn

    I made a web series (shot like an indie feature) that started on a 5D Mk II and finished on a GH2. Since there were a few early episodes that had pickup shots on the GH2, I can tell you that the GH2 blew the 5D out of the water--even though the 5D had Zeiss lenses and the GH2 just had Canon FD lenses. The 5D looked very soft and the colors odd and magenta by comparison. So as much as I admire Shane Hurlburt and enjoy his blog, I think he's too been drinking the Canon Kool-Aid too long to be objective. (I haven't shot with the GH4 yet, but it sounds like a big improvement over the GH2 in most areas, so...)

  • chauncychauncy

    I wouldn't trust anything Hurlburt says about equipment. I don't even particularly like what I've seen from the GH4, and I think his remarks are ignorant and completely unfair. He is sponsored by Canon, at least in large part. Doesn't seem to me he knows much about grading either. It's easy to impress people with tons of equipment and 12 assistants running around.

    But back to the question what would a gh4 film, well filmed and well graded look like on a big screen. Shian might have a direct answer.

  • mrbillmrbill

    The only camera bodies I've ever seen him blog about are canon ones - he keeps an open playing field for lenses. Draw your own conclusions

  • oniononion

    Shane Hurlbut wrote this

    "Tron, I love your passion for this camera you feel rocks your world but my old 5D MK II will still kick this camera’s ass. The 5D looked cinematic right out of the box, you had to do nothing, you did not need to shoot with boosters, you did not have to shoot in this Natural or that Cinema V you just turned it on and even in its worst possible picture style settings it would trounce the GH4, no sure what all the fuss is about but love the commentary."

    I can't take his opinion seriously here. Is he sponsored by Canon?

  • belfrymanbelfryman

    Wish I'd read that before I ordered one this week, confirmed my feelings exactly about the image I'd seen but got tempted by a good deal. A7S looks much more filmic.

  • jleojleo

    Shane Hurlbut, ASC GH4 Test:

    http://www.hurlbutvisuals.com/blog/2014/09/panasonic-lumix-dmc-gh4/

    see Voldemort's lair. He recommends Filmconvert with the Alexa Rec 709 profile for an ARRI film look for the GH4.

  • aldolegaaldolega

    Well if the debate is between buying a GH4 kit vs. renting an Alexa/Red/etc kit, wouldn't it just make sense to estimate your costs for each route and then go with whatever's cheaper?

  • DouglasHornDouglasHorn

    Thanks. All of that is well and good. My main question is about the quality and usability of the camera, though.

    Imagine the lowest budget where one could reasonably go after a limited theatrical release. Money is tight enough that money saved on camera systems would play a role. Can the GH4, well operated, deliver a good enough picture without a operability hit that keeps the cost savings from being worthwhile?

    Good enough, or not good enough, do you think? Assuming all other choices from script through music are well made and that the savings on camera offers a little extra quality in the process over an Alexa.

    Thanks!

  • belfrymanbelfryman

    @Mckinise That makes sense to me, content first, get that right and people don't have an issue what it was shot on - my wife didn't even see some of the bad focus in Boyhood which kept jarring me out of my disbelief, much as I loved it. Festen is my favourite film, looks like it was shot on PD150s but great content and work with the cameras they had. But let's hear it for the writer, good scripts are hard to find - I was a reader for a while and didn't read a single good script - and bad scripts make bad films, so I might spend a bit on making sure it was shit hot before we shot it.

  • MckiniseMckinise

    If I had 500,000 to 1,000,000 for the actual shooting of the film, above-the-line and below-the-line minus marketing, then it is quite possible I would bring in a slew of GH4's for a fast down and dirty multi-cam shoot.

    I would use a good portion of the money to acquire a couple names for two or three shooting days each. I would get as much coverage as I could from each actor in the time allowed. Most of the work would be with the minor actors in the film. Only one day would they work together, and it would only be a couple small, but pivotal scenes. Nothing time consuming with them, but large enough roles to market them as being in the movie without alienating their fans.

    I would light the crap out of the movie and cater to the strengths of the cameras. Each scene would be set up as close to final product as I could get.

    I would use money to hire GOOD below the line talent to maximize our efficiency. Stunt doubles for the stars, Experienced but cheap effect guys, Super strong audio, strong post production, etc.

    The movie will look and sound good. More than that it will be marketable worldwide. Stars = Money even in bad films.

    Stars + Good Visuals + Great Sound > Nobodies + Great Visuals + Great Sound

    There are exceptions, but this is usually a good strategy to make your money back. More than that, we would probably come in under budget, which always makes the money people happy.

  • mrbillmrbill

    +1 to Nobby Stylus. Red Epics are everywhere and cheap to rent. Alexa's are a step up image wise IMHO which accounts for their higher rental cost. Camera hire these days should represent a relatively small part of your budget

  • nobbystylusnobbystylus

    At that budget range I think you could hire a fairly high end cinema camera (epic, F55, Amira), not for the image quality difference particularly but for the solid workflow on set and the dynamic range. I love my GH4 but small cameras arent built for this type of production work. If, however your story was enhanced by use of a small discreet camera (street shooting, small crew guerilla style) then it's an amazing choice and I would certainly have it around as a b cam whatever.

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