GH3 Settings and Practices?

[Akermay]

Hi

Seen as it it such a popular camera choice in the aerial space, I thought it would be good if people shared their personal practices and settings they use to achieve the best results.

One question I have personally, is that we are experiencing some flickering in our video, it appears to the exposure adjusting. So we have been experimenting with manual settings. Thoughts on manual vs auto modes?

Otherwise we have been using settings suggested by DJI currently, 200 shutter speed, MOV 1080; 50p; 50mbps, AFC mode. DJI also suggest using Shutter Priority for the AE mode, however as I mentioned, I've been experiencing a jumpy exposure in the some cases which can ruin a shot.

 

[kloner]

you will want to learn camera settings to sell footage. Nobody is going to buy auto setting footage. They also will not appreciate bad exposures, i'd recomend hiring a camera guy and suck all you can off him. in the industry we call them AC's or camera assistants

I'll give you a little secret to get you heading in the right direction..... try S priority, if your filming 30p, set the shutter to 60 and the rest auto, go see what it is suppose to look like. then figure out what the camera does to adjust for the sun/no sun.

 

[Akermay]

Thanks Kloner. I had no intention to merely ween all of your secrets off of you, hehe. I absolutely want to learn all of the tricks and methods to achieving good footage, mostly of which would come from practice which I am trying to get as much of as I can, all the time. But often, I and I am sure many others, find learning easier when discussing with other people.

But thanks for your input Kloner.

 

[SoCal Blur]

I think this is an excellent idea and perhaps is derserving of sub boards for various popular camera types. Also, as kloner recommended, hiring an expert and asking lots of question. By the way, in THE (movie) industry, they are also called DP (Director of Photograpy) and Cinematographer. The terms originally refered to filming but the movie industry is now heavy into digital "filming."

Director of Photography:
A cinematographer who is ultimately responsible for the process of recording a scene in the manner desired by the director. The Director of Photography has a number of possible duties: selection of film stock, cameras, and lenses; designing and selecting lighting, directing the gaffer's placement of lighting; shot composition (in consultation with the director); film developing and film printing.

Cinematographer:
A person with expertise in the art of capturing images either electronically or on film stock through the application of visual recording devices and the selection and arrangement of lighting. The chief cinematographer for a movie is called the director of photography.

 

[kloner]

play with the camera more than just flying it, start shooting stuff around the house, look at what you get, adjust, see what it does. This is alot like the rc side where time at the sticks is everything, same with the cam

I can't say i've ever seen a dp touch a camera, they more look at monitors and set shots up with the director, make cam change rec's. etc.... the ac's usually run the camera, run follow focus, like the nurse is to a doctor,,, tech i guess

 

[jes1111]

I agree with kloner - sounds like you need to start, literally, from the ground up

I'm a stills photographer, but the principles are identical. Carry the camera with you all day, every day. Get a light meter (doesn't have to be fancy). Set the camera to manual, take a reading with the meter, dial that in to the camera and see if you get the result you expected. Adjust from what the meter told you until you DO get what you wanted. "Rinse and repeat"... endlessly. It's better to think of this process as "learning about light" rather than as "seeking the right settings".

 

[kloner]

the best part and i did and guessing he did too, we learned on film and it was so expensive to learn. wasted developing costs, man, i got moving boxes full of crappy pictures,,,, but 20 years later, here we are in the digital age, the only excuse to not learn this stuff is being too lazy or not enough time in the day to pursue it. The processing is free, happens in seconds and you see your results. So much easier now, i can't even tell you. GH3 is an excellent body to learn on

in still if you want some assistance, try A priority then set the app at different levels or in video try using like i said above, S priority and look what messing with that does, you want that double your frame rate,, 24p = s50,,,, 60p = s120, etc. gives a natural look and adjusting that doesn't make the shoot go away, changes it's look and how the rest of the settings come into play to adjust to do that

light is everything, golden hour is the easiest to make stuff look good, any other time of day needs alot of reflectors to light peoples faces up, etc......

 

[SoCal Blur]

play with the camera more than just flying it, start shooting stuff around the house, look at what you get, adjust, see what it does. This is alot like the rc side where time at the sticks is everything, same with the cam

I can't say i've ever seen a dp touch a camera, they more look at monitors and set shots up with the director, make cam change rec's. etc.... the ac's usually run the camera, run follow focus, like the nurse is to a doctor,,, tech i guess

I have and also have performed the role myself. It really depends on the production budget. I guess the point is that a good DP should be able to perform all necessary functions to get the job done with regard to getting the shot.

 

[kloner]

gotcha, there usually more of a mangement role at our level....were on local 600 shoots, some scab stuff but higher end....

there is a ton of dp's that frequent this site, my guess is that out of all the cinema industry, they are the ones that tend to look this way at the multis and thinking about doing this part themselves.... budgets probably have them thinking that direction

 

[sk8brd]

i was helping a guy with settings on another post he told me dji recommends a 200th shutter?? seriously- that's there rec or were they talking about photo mode. saving private ryan anyone..lol

 

[kloner]

it can work, just doesn't cut in well and has no motion blur...... a hero is probably something like that.... it's how you get away with not needing nd's when you should be using nd's

 

[sk8brd]

yeah- just seemed a little random to throw out a 200th shutter recommendation vs something else. i guess they assumed everyone would be shooting in brighter conditions. i cheat my exposure all the time using shutter even opposite way. would rather have a slower shutter from 50th to 30th then up the iso's if possible if i run out of aperture. i would think a higher shutter would make jello worse. good to know it can still work that high. you seen saving private ryan scenes they went super fast on the shutter to help tell the story and it worked. i guess it's called the staccato look or something. a lot of skate filmmakers ignore the 180 degree rule and go with high shutter on purpose like if shooting at 30fps there usually at 125th minimum instead of 60th so the the motion is crispier. i guess it depends on what your after and limitations due to light. i will need to figure out a way to balance a filter if i go zen.----i get why they probably leaned towards the sunny 16 rule

 

[kloner]

i'm suprised the so many people accept the whole one lens no filter thing with that gimbal.... it's smooth, but man.... compromising against the grain. like selling your soul to the devil

 

[tombrown1]

Bitrate question:

Do you prefer 60p ipb 50 mbps or
60p All intra 72mbps or
24p all intra 72mbps or
24p ipb 50 mbps

Weve been shooting 24/72, but I'm not sure if that is best for aerials. Does 60 stabilize better in post?

 

[kloner]

i do 24p ipb 50 mbps

for quick and easy, s priority set to 50 and nd to the sweet spot on the lens...

 

[sk8brd]

yeah major bummer kloner compromise seems to be a common thing. that behavior won't cut it for picky dp's. i once had a director tell me to shoot a scene another day when only two day's were booked with talent. i was the only camera op it was a small production but had no filter forgot-at home. he wanted shallow dop- in middle of day...it was a lesson to me to be on point if hired and have ALL gear sorted before arrival. one of my first gigs- learned a few lessons for sure that day!! Tom-don't have a gh3 Kloner would know. as far as stabilizing i'm not sure if it would work better with higher frame rates or not..interesting question though. typically the higher the bit rate the better image but have no experience with gh3. usually frame rate is determined before the copter goes in the air. if your shooting slow mo then yeah 60fps if not don't know why you would want 60 instead of 24 or 30. i personally only use higher frame rates if i'm going to conform to 30 or 24fps later for slow mo. using higher frame rates makes things look more video like and less like film. really depends on what look your after.

 

[kloner]

alot of our clients like that 72 all intra crap, but i stick with the progressive look for myself, looks money in post...

heres a lens demo,,,, hahaha, forgot to fly it. guess what it is?

 

[sk8brd]

yummy on both parts!!. stretched disco- i can spot them legs and attanna placement a mile away using ezuhf? no offense if that's your girl btw. haha. wait a minute- all intra on the gh3 meant interlaced? yuckk!!! i never knew that i just figured it was just bit rate settings not that...newb with gh3 lingo.

 

[Droider]

alot of our clients like that 72 all intra crap, but i stick with the progressive look for myself, looks money in post...

heres a lens demo,,,, hahaha, forgot to fly it. guess what it is?

Only a GoPro could bow her legs like that! :tennis:

 

[stevemaller]

alot of our clients like that 72 all intra crap, but i stick with the progressive look for myself, looks money in post...

heres a lens demo,,,, hahaha, forgot to fly it. guess what it is?

Pretty footage. But I saw at least one focus hunt in there.
Apropos, GH3 in my experience is very easy to fly in manual focus. Just google “hyper focal” and you’ll be happy.
Plus, learn to love the ND filter. Gets you great shutter speeds even in bright daylight. I use two different ones (.9x or 3x) depending on the light. And never, never use anything automatic (even white balance). Any of the automatic modes can completely ruin a shot, IMHO.