I'm taking advantage of this quiet time to gather more footage for our New York City HD collection rapidly growing and soon to be revealed by Getty Images. This has been quite a learning process for us. Getty's standards are higher than other stock agencies and necessarily so.
The EX XDCAM cameras that I use are terrific for most applications, but I've learned that it is very important to pay close attention to the internal profile settings of the camera as well as the exposure. Images that look fine on a computer screen or even a 50" LCD may not look as good when they are blown up for use on large projection screens.
Proper exposure in a video camera is critical. When the camera's sensor is not getting sufficient light, that area of the picture won't just be dark, it might get very noisy. Noise in a video signal looks a bit like the kind of grain you might have gotten from high speed films like Kodak's Tri-X.
You do remember film, right?
If the camera's gamma setting is set to low or the detail is set to high, you might be plagued with subtle, digital noise in those dark areas of the image. And if the exposure is too hot you run the risk of losing detail, as well.
Ordinarily, these issues may not affect your video at all, but if your images are to be used in a broadcast commercial, a television program or on 20-40 foot projection screens, that digital noise might stand out against the pristine images created with more expensive cameras.
Other factors may come into play, as well. Sarah and I found issues with the way our Avid editing systems were processing the XDCAM files. We found that in some instances, Avid's color corrector was adding a small amount of banding and other digital noise into our pictures. Banding occurs when the blending between shades or colors appears more like bands of color rather than smooth, subtle transitions. The digital noise appeared like excessive grain. The same as if you had the gain on your camera cranked to a high setting like 9 or 12db. (Gain gives your image an electronic exposure increase)
When Sarah tested the same images using Final Cut Pro and Adobe's Premier editing programs, this particular problem did not occur. So, for us it was a matter of finding which program worked best for the individual images.
Again, this matters a lot less if the final destination for your images is Vimeo or YouTube.
I tend to push the Sony EX3 far beyond its normal operating limits, often working under the extreme lighting conditions of a sunrise, sunset or moonrise while using auxiliary Nikon and Canon lenses, as well as neutral density and graduated filters. In most cases the camera has worked just fine, but I've learned that I can achieve even greater results with a bit of research and experimentation.
One of the great things about the internet is that you can benefit from others experimentation as well, just don't take anyone's suggestions as law. Sample the information out there and discover what works best for you and the way you like to film. Perhaps digital noise is what makes your work come alive.
Of course, testing and experimentation takes on a big roll in any creative endeavor and although it can be quite frustrating at first, the results are that much more rewarding when you've taken a less traveled path.
With that in mind, I'm looking forward to several days of filming (and experimentation) in Manhattan this week. With my jet-lag placing me about six hours behind the rest of the east coast, I figure it will be a perfect time to work on my night shots.
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