In this post I will like to change things a bit. Other than talking about general photography in the project, or how well it went, I will like to focus on Color Grading, the importance of shooting right and how we managed our workflow. As you know this days we are constantly shooting with cameras that don´t allow us to play much in post. ( HDSLR´s ) For me it was a good thing to shoot and professionally learn and grow with them. ¿Why? Because they taught me how to do things the right way ON shooting, not relying on post. So you have to put yourself together and get things right, there is no room for error.
As you know the importance of reaching as close as possible to the final aesthetics is crucial with this cameras, and as an emerging cinematographer that is the best thing that can happen to you, ( in my opinion) to push you further and deliver in camera the best possible result. This gives you the advantage to color grade and enhance aesthetics, not fixing problems.
This project was shot on my 1D mark IV, which by the way I sold yesterday, yes im buying a 5D mark III, but thats worth another post for explanation. The 1D mark IV is an excellent camera that responds great to low light situations, ( I love to work with low light, for me it just gives me more control with light). But its heavily compressed output video is something to be careful about.
Forma Pro Film Company in Latvia called and asked me to shoot a sample film for presenting producers and search for financial approval for a film. In this project I got hired as a Production Designer as well as a Cinematographer. Its kind of funny but this experience taught me to do better my job, as a Cinematographer its crucial to really open wider and work the production design in a project. Here in Europe is not common to have that specific figure on a project, so you just have to do it, you have to design everything that reflects light and comes into your lens and shoot it right. For you to get as close as possible of what you imagined in your head.
Below you can find some stills before and after color grading. We edited in FCPX which by the way i like a lot, ( It just works great and fast). And color graded on Da Vinci Resolve. One thing I like about this mixture is that you can work directly with the h264 codec of camera, without any compressions, so you edit on FCPX, send XML to Da Vinci Resolve. Do color grading, and then go back to FCPX for Subtitles or any aditional work without loosing a generation in every export.
Director Valery Savonof was very happy with results, I think the whole crew did an amazing job, and working with Forma Pro Films is always a pleasure, great work, fun and talented people.
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