Shooting on an old and cheap SD camera to make feel like 8mm or 16mm

[Ed_David]

 

I bought an old Panasonic SDX900, it's the dvx100's big brother.  I thought maybe SD had something interesting about it - lacking resolution and dynamic range.

I tested it quickly against my Sony F65 going to 8mm or 16mm, and it seems to have its own weird unique feel that's kind of interesting.

Anyway let me know what you think - post workflow I can post as well how I kind of "destroyed" the image too.

[Liam]

Had just noticed you post this on vimeo. I like it. Think the grain filter needs to be more agressive though seems to kinda sit weird at some parts

[Ed_David]

11 minutes ago, Liam said:

Had just noticed you post this on vimeo. I like it. Think the grain filter needs to be more agressive though seems to kinda sit weird at some parts

Agreed - I haven't found a good grain filter thingy to throw on it - I need to look more.

Do you guys have a favorite?

[kidzrevil]

did you upscale this footage ? This looks so cool ! Reminds me of all the pics of NY in the 80's

[PannySVHS]

Hallo Ed,

your video is shot very nice, with a beautiful mood and with a "filmic" look.

The word filmic is getting kinda odd to use though, like lacking expressions to describe something not looking tv-videoish:)

One question: your DVX100 footage, which you posted a few months or so ago, looked rather like 720p.

For your video above, I would imagine that beautiful 3CCD 480p would have more resolution like your DVX video.

cheers

 

[Nikkor]

Nice video, buy why don't you get the real thing (a 16mm camera) and do a piece on that. I mean, you are in NY, you're at the source.

This is 16mm and looks really nice:

 

[BrooklynDan]

Looks pretty good. If you're gonna go for a vintage 8mm or 16mm-style look, I would reckon that an older CCD camera like a DVX100 or an XL2 would be a better place to start than trying to turn shiny full-frame DSLR footage into Kodachrome. These cameras always had really crisp motion cadence (which is why in film school, I always picked a Canon XL2 over newer HD cameras with CMOS sensors), and the smaller sensors do a better job at replicating the deeper depth-of-field of 8mm and 16mm cameras.

If you really want to get old-school, dig up a 35mm depth-of-field adapter like a Letus or a Red Rock M2 and throw it on. Grain for dayyyzz....

[iamoui]

 

[Davey]

Love it.

[JazzBox]

As I told you on Vimeo I love it! Great organic "mood"!

[Liam]

On 6/23/2016 at 10:05 PM, Ed_David said:

Agreed - I haven't found a good grain filter thingy to throw on it - I need to look more.

Do you guys have a favorite?

I liked your grain from your nx1 short. Was that gorilla grain? I figure that would have some good ones. Only grain I've used is vision color's free one. I like it for my stuff, but not very grungy. Maybe adding some softness after the grain would help it blend better.

Anything you like about the camera other than for this style? I used to be pretty into the idea of someday getting like an f900r.. I figure that price jump might be for a reason though

[Ehetyz]

I've done something similar.

 

Had an old Sony Handycam Hi8 camera from my childhood lying around at the back of my shelf, and one day decided to see if it still works. Much to my surprise, it did, and even the batteries were functional. Those things were built like tanks, I abused the hell out of it in my teen years shooting backyard movies, and over a decade later it works like a charm.

So I fitted it with a cheap 35mm adapter, ran a few tests and then went out to shoot a small art short. Since the 35mm filter was mirrorless, I was practically shooting blind - the loop displayed a mirrored, upside down image, which really messes with your brain when you're trying to operate.

Nevertheless, I'm happy with what we got. We dubbed it our punk movie, because it has that look of cheap, grainy 16mm film from old underground stuff.

 

[Liam]

http://nofilmschool.com/2016/06/sd-standard-definition-cameras-super-8-film-look

Weird coincidence I stumbled on this apparently immediately after it was posted haha. Congrats, Ed

[Ed_David]

1 hour ago, Ehetyz said:

I've done something similar.

 

Had an old Sony Handycam Hi8 camera from my childhood lying around at the back of my shelf, and one day decided to see if it still works. Much to my surprise, it did, and even the batteries were functional. Those things were built like tanks, I abused the hell out of it in my teen years shooting backyard movies, and over a decade later it works like a charm.

So I fitted it with a cheap 35mm adapter, ran a few tests and then went out to shoot a small art short. Since the 35mm filter was mirrorless, I was practically shooting blind - the loop displayed a mirrored, upside down image, which really messes with your brain when you're trying to operate.

Nevertheless, I'm happy with what we got. We dubbed it our punk movie, because it has that look of cheap, grainy 16mm film from old underground stuff.

 

MAN THAT LOOKS AWESOME - is there a way to get rid of the tape issues - maybe if you record the signal out if it has a video out?

 

also seeing the JVC HD100 has a really nice look - does anyone want to test this out?

1 hour ago, Ehetyz said:

 

 

4 hours ago, iamoui said:

 

 

man that is super useful!

8 hours ago, PannySVHS said:

Hallo Ed,

your video is shot very nice, with a beautiful mood and with a "filmic" look.

The word filmic is getting kinda odd to use though, like lacking expressions to describe something not looking tv-videoish:)

One question: your DVX100 footage, which you posted a few months or so ago, looked rather like 720p.

For your video above, I would imagine that beautiful 3CCD 480p would have more resolution like your DVX video.

cheers

 

I took the detail out of it on the latest test.

[Ehetyz]

40 minutes ago, Ed_David said:

 

MAN THAT LOOKS AWESOME - is there a way to get rid of the tape issues - maybe if you record the signal out if it has a video out?

 

Thanks! I'm sure one could easily get a cleaner image out of it by using a better capture deck (I had it set up directly from camera to a capture card via composite cable) and simply by using some fresher cassettes. The one I used was as old as the camera itself - from 1999! Probably taped over 100+ times too.

[Matt Kieley]

I'm always trying to get the Super 8 look, and this thread motivated me to try again. This is my bmpcc treated to look like Super 8. I want to post footage, but for some reason, a lot of my gorilla grain files cause red flash frames when composited over the footage. Fine grain works, but anything heavier has this problem. I'm pretty satisfied with this look. It's the closest I've gotten I think.

[kidzrevil]

Filmconvert has the best looking grain imo. It looks more realistic than gorilla grain etc but lack the hair,dirt & flicker effects from the gorilla grain pack.

[Ed_David]

17 hours ago, Matt Kieley said:

I'm always trying to get the Super 8 look, and this thread motivated me to try again. This is my bmpcc treated to look like Super 8. I want to post footage, but for some reason, a lot of my gorilla grain files cause red flash frames when composited over the footage. Fine grain works, but anything heavier has this problem. I'm pretty satisfied with this look. It's the closest I've gotten I think.

damn that looks good.

the bmpcc - I wish I didn't sell it - some really nice looks you can get from that little tiny guy

[mercer]

Since we're discussing Super 8, a good friend of mine and great director shot a super 8 film about 20 years ago while we were still a bunch of kids. The trailer went through the film to, analog video, to sitting on a shelf for 15 years to digital pipeline and ended up with a very cool, gritty, grungy look. 

 

[mercer]

Here's a 4:3 version that one of the producers/editors through on his YouTube page. It has a little more of that traditional Kodachrome 40 look to it.