Panasonic GH4 4K Production Diary - Day 2 - Test Footage

[solo]

Back when enthusiasts were using a Canon HV20 camcorder as the cutting edge and pros were using Sony EX3s with clunky DOF adapter, along came interchangeable lenses, large sensors and DSLR video in 2008/9. The moment I saw Philip Bloom’s first GH1 shoot in Haiwaii (Kauai Sunset) the creative possibilities of this new equipment was clear and the price made it possible for me to jump right in.

 

:)

[Tone13]

Well done Andrew,

 

Would love to see footage of the GH4 and SB Sigma 18-35 combo. Now that you know that you exposed too far to the right, with fixed exposure would be good.

[Escapist]

Best footage so far from the GH4, but that's to be expected with an almost $8000 lens...Looking forward to footage from the Sigma 18-35.  

 

I'm pretty sure this could be done with a $500 lens. Andrew did the magic here.

[DIrector Bob]

Bravo Andrew.  In two days you've created literally the most valuable posts in the world about the GH4!  Nothing thus far has compared to the level of real world information you've supplied.  Thank you.  I'm certainly looking forward to seeing footage with less expensive lenses.  Also, I'm sure the whole world wants to see some low light comparisons with the 5D markIII and Blackmagic.  Keep the great info coming!  I don't think it's hyperbole to say you are doing a service for our profession.

[jcs]

jcs, a few comments...

 

Windows 7 running on a Mac? Virtualised or bootcamp? If virtualised you will have lower performance. Also the MOV ProRes from Copy are much larger, higher bitrate files than the 4K MP4 (H.264) from my Vimeo account so you will be putting more demands on the drive read speed and the player.

 

Your grade is ok but could benefit from losing the yellow tint as the bonnet and cobbles no longer look brown.

 

Cheers

 

2010 Mac Pro- Bootcamp (I run OSX native on the MBP laptops, with VMWare Fusion for Win7 (utilities only, no major apps)).

Running Mercury SSDs on the MacPro- wasn't a disk issue. Turns out adding just two RGB Curves effects slowed it down. Switching to 1/2 res for playback got it back to real-time. Guess the Quadro 5000 is due for a refresh (likely with a hacked consumer card from here: http://www.ebay.com/sch/macvidcards/m.html e.g. 780, Titan). Would be good to know if upgrading the GPU will help or if this is a limitation of PPro CS6 or CC (tested in CC).

 

 

[Edit]: Resolve runs 15fps (resize set to Optimize for Playback, 13fps otherwise).

[jurgen]

I know it's not the typical purview of this site, but did either of you get a chance to crack off a few stills? If so, what did you think?

[Marko Laurits]

This review is very interesting! Thanks!

 

It would be also interesting to understand, have the colours changed since GH3.

[core_38]

Thanks Andrew for your review and samples!

I'm now seriously thinking of getting gh4.

I wanted to ask were the samples you provided shot with the flattest image sittings possible?

 

 

My take on grading:

[jonpais]

this grade looks lemon-licious! but the background looks posterized or solarized, whatever.

[MattH]

The porshe shot is the one shot i would absolutely choose to not need any further grading whatsoever.  It looks like a film shot.

In general i find I always hate pretty much everybody elses grades.  Theres always too much of something or other.   Even in major features. For a lot of the shots in this apart from the porshe shot i found the colours to be too gaudy.

 

I would actually love to see the footage completely ungraded from camera. 

[jonpais]

I can't agree with you, MattH. I've seen tremendous work done by people grading others' footage online and sometimes learned a lot. BTW, are the punctuation keys on your laptop busted?

[Andrew Reid]

Thanks Andrew for your review and samples!

I'm now seriously thinking of getting gh4.

I wanted to ask were the samples you provided shot with the flattest image sittings possible?

 

No, not the flattest possible. I left CineLikeD on default contrast settings (middle 0, not -5).

 

I generally prefer not to have too flat an image in an 8bit codec, because you have to push it further in post. That usually results in more banding and more break-up.

 

I have just downloaded some Alexa ProRes from Arri's FTP server. Anyone want a go at grading that against the GH4 ProRes?

 

First I recommend you downsample the GH4's ProRes LT from 4K to 2K and convert to 444.

 

These files LT files are here - https://www.copy.com/s/EoeMcoA2T9L4

 

Then download the 2K Arri ProRes and compare.

 

Unfortunately the Arri material is mega boring shot wise... just some old dude playing a xylophone!

 

But colourists might enjoy the experiment. The GH4's 4K H.264 makes for a very weighty 2K ProRes image for grading, me thinks.

 

Arri FTP details are here: http://www.arri.com/camera/digital_cameras/learn/alexa_sample_footage/

 

Server:        ftp-footage.arri.de
User:           ALEXA
Password:  samplefootage

[core_38]

The porshe shot is the one shot i would absolutely choose to not need any further grading whatsoever.  It looks like a film shot.

That was my first thought when I saw this porsche shot.

For many commercial projects, though there is a demand for bright image with vivid colors (not so extreme/rough like in my example, of cause).

@jonpais: just experimenting with this technique http://juanmelara.com.au/the-summer-blockbuster-colour-grading-tutorial/

[jonpais]

@core_38 Juan Melara is awesome, so wonderful of great colorists to be so generous sharing their techniques with us. Matthew Scott as well. And Frank Glencairn. Learned so much from them.

[johnnymossville]

Here's my take on the Andy shot.  Simple white balance correction and some minor adjustment of the master levels. 

 

[jonpais]

@johhnymossville Nice Job!

[johnnymossville]

I find the footage very nice to work with.  Just a light touch on it and I'm loving what I see.   Can't wait to get my new GH4!

[Andrew Reid]

Here's my take on the Andy shot.  Simple white balance correction and some minor adjustment of the master levels. 

 

 

Nice!

 

Colours look natural. Wow what a difference. New slogan for GH4 - "I can't believe it isn't raw!"

[johnnymossville]

Andrew,  sorry if this was asked already,  Is this all shot in Cine-D?     

 

I'm just so freakin excited about this cam.  yep.  FREAKIN excited!  haha

[jonpais]

This review is very interesting! Thanks!

 

It would be also interesting to understand, have the colours changed since GH3.

>At this video GH3 colours feel unnatural and Canon feels pleasant. Would it be possible to get Canon-like colour tones with GH4?

 

Thanks,

 

Marko