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All of the lights directed at the “stage” at Exit are covered with red filters. This poses an interesting challenge for photographs. I used a flash with a colored filter for these shots and played with a modified white balance to match the filter. The result was a bit less red in all the shots, but a lot more yellow and orange. Not surprising, just interesting.

One benefit to having all of the red filters is that the photos convert quite nicely to black and white, especially where skin tones are concerned. I’ll be playing with that concept in the coming week.

Click the image above to view the entire set from this show.

Thank You, Ma’am

Had a fantastic session with Wham Bam Pam this evening. We were both swimming in the hot & humid summer air, but it was worth it. I have Maria May I lined up for tomorrow evening and more in the works.

Here’s a quickie edit from today:

Wham Bam Pam

O’Hare Airport

What Burlesque Means to MsPixy

Some people, like superheros, have dual identities. Such is the case for MsPixy. Her burlesque identity must remain separate from her “day job” identity. Therefore, she appears as a talking silhouette in her video.

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MsPixy’s Dining Room

“How do you feel about standing on your dining room table?”

That was my question for MsPixy after studying her costuming/dining room. Here is a fun outtake from our portrait session last week.

Adobe Premiere Pro vs. Canon 5D Mark II

As I continue my work on All That Glitters, I continue my research and learning of capturing and editing video.

This is a summary of the workflow that I’ve determined might just work for me when editing HD movies in Adobe Premiere Pro that were captured by the Canon 5D Mark II. I still have a lot to learn, but in the meantime I feel like my research and testing has resulted in some reliable conclusions.

Disclaimer: I am new to video editing and make no claims of being an expert on the topic. Like I said, I’m learning, and I learn by doing and making mistakes in the process. Comments and feedback are welcomed.

The Canon 5D Mark II camera can capture HD video (1920×1080) in Quicktime MOV format at 30 frames per second. From what I understand, the codec is H.264 (MPEG-4) video at a higher-than-usual bitrate with PCM sound. I’ve also learned that this is the HDV 1080p30 format as opposed to the HDV 1080i30 format (or the other 8 billion available formats – it’s all so very convoluted).

I say a higher-than-usual bitrate because this is where my first problem came up. When I load a movie clip into Premiere and add it to the timeline, I’m not able to play the footage back in the output preview. It’s choppy, really choppy, and after a couple of seconds it stops. This is apparently due to the high bitrate and even the fast computers can’t process all of that data fast enough for smooth playback.

While researching this issue I learned about off-line editing, a process in which you have both high-resolution and low-resolution footage to work with. You use the low-resolution footage during editing so that the editing system can play the footage back without any problem, and then you bring the high resolution footage back in when it’s time to render the final output.

I must admit I have yet to learn how to do this the “right way” in Premiere, but for the moment I’ve found a method that seems to be working just fine. I start off the project by importing the high-resolution clips, then (outside of Premiere) I move those clips into a sub-folder and move the low-resolution clips back into the working directory. As long as the filenames are the same, Premiere doesn’t really seem to care. I was experimenting for a bit with using MP4 files for the proxy files (the low-resolution, temporary files), but it gets a bit tedious having to tell Premiere where each file is when rotating the low & high clips. For now I’m generating low-resolution MOV files.

It was during this researching that I started seeing another common thread, something about “crushed blacks.” Ignorance is bliss, and not knowing what they were talking about, I figured it didn’t have anything to do with me since I hadn’t noticed any other issues. At least, that was the case until I rendered a sample clip from a test project and noticed the colors didn’t match the original footage.

In short, the way the Canon 5D Mark II handles color isn’t the way that most editing systems and video codecs handle color, so if you run the movie files through these codecs, you lose detail on the high and low end of the color spectrum. The blacks and dark greys all go black, and the bright whites get dulled down. It just looked bad.

Back to the research table (aka. Google). I found a solution, but of course, that solution costs money. We can’t just spend a lot of money on a new tool and not have to spend more money on tools to support that tool, right? Enter Cineform NeoScene, a video codec that will translate the Canon 5D’s files into a file that Adobe Premiere Pro will properly interpret, with all colors accounted for, so that the colors in the final output will match the colors of the original footage. (Note: One must assume in this scenario that no color correction, white balance, or other color-changing filters have been applied during editing. In this case, it should be obvious that the colors of the final output will not match the original footage.)

Two issues, and what appear to be two solutions:

1. Can’t play back footage during editing – Create proxy files (low-resolution temporary files) so that the computer can keep up with the footage
   
2. Colors in output don’t match original footage – Decode original files with Cineform NeoScene.

After all that, this is my process:

• Capture footage on Canon 5D Mark II
  
• Copy files from compactflash card to computer
  
• Open files in Quicktime (the NeoScene application is currently only available for Windows, but the codec also works on Mac through Quicktime)
  
• Export the files from Quicktime using the NeoScene codec
  
  • Note: The converted files are HUGE. I don’t comprehend why this is the case, but it’s significant). Because of this I’ll initially just create the proxy files, and possibly a mid-size file (1280×720) for standard-definition and web output. I will save the HD conversion and output for when editing is complete and I’m ready to create HD media.
  
  
• Create a new Adobe Premiere Project
  
• Import the proxy files into the new project
  
• Perform editing tasks
  
• Replace the proxy files with high-resolution files
  
• Export the project to the desired format

From what I’ve read, Apple’s Final Cut Pro can handle the Canon 5D Mark II’s movie files without any decoding while providing good playback during editing and without crushing the blacks. Of course, I’ve already made a financial investment into the Adobe software package, so I’m doing the best I can with what I have.

I’ve posted this for my own reference as well as in the hopes that it helps someone else who picks up the Canon 5D Mark II with plans to edit the footage in Adobe Premiere Pro.

Comments? Corrections? Questions? Let’s hear it.

Update – July 7, 2009: Cineform NeoScene Follow-up

Pile of Stuff

Here’s a snapshot of the pile of gear as I was packing up for yesterday’s shoot with MsPixy. My goal is to keep everything as compact and light as possible so that I can travel with ease. I’m still not as compact as I want to be, but I’ll get there.

The shoot went very well and was a continued learning experience for me. After all that work researching microphones I forgot to turn one of them on. Fortunately, it was just the reference mic so the main mic was on the whole time and captured the entire interview. I was able to line everything up in post-production just fine.

Packing Up

I’m packing up gear for the second All That Glitters shoot. The first shoot was last week with the fabulous Natasha Minsk. Today it’s MsPixy from The Belmont Burlesque Revue.

Scheduling will ramp up this week. I’m happy that there are already a handful of performers in the queue. The past week has been spent testing, researching and learning how to use the tools I’ll need to complete this project. I’m sure there will be plenty of that to come, but at least now I can focus a bit more on the shoots.

Microphone Research, Testing & Conclusions

Introduction

The All That Glitters project has a video component in addition to the still photos that I’m capturing for each burlesque performer. The camera I’m using, the Canon 5D Mark II, records high-definition digital video, which is fantastic. However, the audio capabilities of the 5D are greatly lacking. The camera features a built-in microphone that picks up handling noise and any movement of the camera’s internal mechanisms. I needed to find a better method for recording audio along with the video. Fortunately, the 5D has a microphone input.

I spent a few days researching and reading reviews for a variety of microphones. These are my notes and conclusions based on this research.

As I mentioned, the 5D has a microphone input, albeit through a 1/8″ connection. This narrowed my microphone options for capturing audio with the camera to those with 1/8″ connections. I could use an XLR-to-1/8″ adapter, but I was curious to see what my options were with this limit in place.

Long ago I made an assumption that the best audio for video was recorded with a shotgun microphone. But I learned early on in my research that shotgun microphones were best used outdoors, not indoors where I anticipate most of the interviews for this project will occur. The common theme for microphones for indoor video & audio recording was hypercardioid.

On the other hand, I wanted to try to find an all-purpose microphone that I could use with my camera beyond just this project. So, I took the limitations of indoor shotgun recording into account while still including shotgun microphones in my research.

Recording Devices

Before beginning the microphone research I took into consideration the options I have for recording audio. These include:

• MacBook Pro (1/8″ input)
  
• Canon 5D Mark II (1/8″ input)
  
• Sony MiniDisc (1/8″ input)
  
• Tascam DA-P1 DAT Recorder (XLR input)
  

My requirements for a recording device are:

1. Ease of portability
   
2. Ease of use (as few clicks or steps as possible to begin recording)
   
3. High quality, low noise, digital recording
   
4. Manual control of audio input levels
   

I briefly considered the MacBook Pro, but eliminated it early as it fails #2. Sure, Macs are easy to use, but the amount of time and steps required to get set up, boot and configure the software exceeds my comfort levels when I have someone sitting in front of me waiting to be interviewed. I need to be able to hit record and go.

I was also immediately suspicious about whether or not the 5D would be a viable recording option, even with a good microphone. I already own a Sony ECM-MS907 so I plugged that into the 5D for a quick test.

Initial testing revealed that there is no manual control over the input levels into the camera. Input levels are regulated by the camera and it sounds like there is a compressor of some sort in place that controls the audio input. As a result, the noise floor (hiss) in the audio recording is greatly amplified when there is silence between speaking. I want to be in control of my audio input levels. But since I hadn’t tested the 5D with a good microphone I needed to follow through to make a sound conclusion (no pun intended).

The MiniDisc is definitely portable, easy to use, records digitally (but lacks digital output) and will give me all of the recording control I need.

The DAT recorder is also portable, easy to use, and provides top-quality audio recording through XLR inputs. Additionally, it has digital output for ease of transfer to audio editing software.

I devised the hypothesis that, with a decent microphone, the 5D would become mid-quality level audio recording device providing for reference and backup audio and that I would likely need to rely on a second microphone into the DAT recorder for my top quality audio. I would simply mix the two in post-production.

Armed with the information about what I could record to, I launched into microphone research.

Microphone Research

Since I am already a fan and user of Rode microphones, I took a look at their latest offerings and discovered the Rode VideoMic, specifically built for camcorders. I also learned about the Rode NT3 microphone, a hypercardioid condenser microphone with a lot of mentions and supporters in on-line forums.

NPR’s This American Life (TAL) is a significant inspiration to me, and given the quality of their recordings, I figured they’d have some suggestions of microphones to consider. They use the Audio-Technica 835B, which isn’t as widely available as some newer models. They also direct users to Transom.org’s Tools page, which has some helpful information. Of special note is their articled titled What Microphone Do I Get?

Based on the information from TAL about Audio Technica microphones, combined with some articles and forums I read, I added the Audio Technica AT897 to the list.

YouTube was a helpful resource for finding reviews and tests demonstrating the sound quality of each of the mics.

The most valuable reference while making my final decision was based on the video samples provided by dvestore.com. They provide samples of the AT897 as well as the Rode NT3 and VideoMic.

After much deliberation I settled on an order for the Rode NT3 and VideoMic. The VideoMic would provide audio input to the 5D, and the NT3 would connect to the DAT recorder.

Microphone Testing

My first test of the microphones and their respective results were as follows:

1. Sony ECM-MS907 connected to Sony MiniDisc – Decent quality, but not at the level I wanted. Lots of room noise, not surprising considering this isn’t a very directional mic.
   
2. Rode VideoMic connected to Canon 5D Mark II – Pretty good, much better than the Sony, but as I mentioned above, the 5D messes up the consistency in sound with the built in compression. Functional, but not ideal.
   
3. Rode NT3 connected to Tascam DAT recorder – Outstanding. I immediately liked the results of this mic.
   

I was disappointed with the limitation of the 5D audio recording capabilities, but still wanted to give the VideoMic a fair trial, so I switched the Sony mic with the VideoMic on the MiniDisc.

1. Rode VideoMic connected to Sony MiniDisc – Solid quality, and definitely better than the Sony. There was a bit of room noise, but it was tolerable and potentially controllable with some post-production.
   
2. Sony ECM-MS907 connected to Canon 5D Mark II – Same result as when I first tested the Sony to the 5D…not as bad as the internal mic, but still pretty bad.
   

I won’t be loading any samples of the audio or video I recorded, not only because there is a plethora of reference material already available on-line, but mainly because I was in my PJs when I recorded it.

Conclusions

Ideally, the audio and video would be recorded by the same device. However, the current limitations of the audio recording on the Canon 5D Mark II, combined with my budget constraints that prevent me from acquiring a dedicated device, require some creative alternatives.

Thus, I have launched the project by recording video using the 5D, audio into the 5D using the Rode VideoMic, and audio into the DAT recording using the Rode NT3. My initial attempts to combine the audio and video in post have proven successful. I am very pleased with the Rode NT3, and I expect that the Rode VideoMic will provide for reliable general-purpose audio recording on the 5D.

An Open Letter

Dear Canon,

Please modify your firmware to include the functionality for users to disable audio compression and manually control the audio input volumes when recording video on the Canon 5D Mark II. Sure, the manual control over the video settings is fantastic, but now let’s get the audio functionality caught up.

Love,

bcj.

Swoosh

Alisha