Not sure if this is the right room to ask this question.... If not, I apologize I'll delete.

So I mostly attend to film commercials, music videos and short films.

When it comes to color correction I thought you film with what ever camera you own then later in post edit you color correct. But doing research I'm told by few cinematographers you suppose to film "FLAT" then later post edit and color correct.

Instead of filming not flat and color correct as is whatever you capture.

Sorry basically whats the correct way to film flat vs not flat? Then color correcting...

What do you suggest? Or how do you film your projects?

The idea to film flat is to get more dynamic range in color correction (more information in blacks and whites). So the colorist has more "space" to work with if you decide to go to a new direction after filming.

Da_Arsun707 wrote: .... I'm told by few cinematographers you suppose to film "FLAT" then later post edit and color correct....

as a general advice same nonsense as "24fps creates film-look" ... :sick:

If you own a beast of a cam with 14 f-stops dynamic range, AND a 10, 12bit color resolution. AND you record in a codec like 4444, then is the idea to squeeze the important midtones into the middle of the curve, to get a finer color-resolution in post....

If you record in 8bit/4:2:0 it's nonsense to restrict the color-resolution artificially in a flat curve = after 'stretching' in post, you'll soon notice banding, compression artefacts in the shadows etc etc.

Use the capabilities of your camera a 100%, use the manyfold control features of the cam, live histogram for example, while recording.

What's not recorded can not be made visible in post......

I agree with Karsten's post concerning utilizing the full potential of your camera with a small caveat. The project should dictate the mode in which you're shooting.

On my camera, I can shoot "custom" (fully adjustable color/luma settings in camera), Slog2 or 3 (flat setting to be CC'd later but containing the full 14 stops latitude), or RAW (flat setting containing all of the possible image info to be pulled out & adjusted in post). When I'm doing a run-and-gun shoot for a client and the post turnaround is quick then I'll use custom. I opt for the Slog option when I want additional picture information but the file sizes still need to be manageable. I only use RAW when the project has to be the best possible image quality and file sizes don't really matter (spots, movies, etc). Use the best camera setting you can... based on the project's specs.

Also (& this deserves a different thread), 24fps is vital for a "film look".

---> Jarrod

JarrodMFay wrote: …Also (& this deserves a different thread), 24fps is vital for a "film look".
...

no wayyyy! :lol:

next time in bright sunlight, record f.11, 1/2000th, 24p, some handheld 'vacu-pans' and tell me then, the framerate is vital for a 'movie' look.
And, btw at the cinema, projectors utilze what frequency? yep, 48Hz, in larger ones even 72Hz .... (each frame doubled/tripled on projection to reduce flicker) .....


sorry Mods for gettin' off-topic - ooops, I AM a Mod ... :silly:

Sure, fast pans look stepped in 24fps. I would counter that example with try watching any of the latest Hobbit movies in a theater projected at 48fps (uggh). I think high frame rate recording/playback looks great for sports/news and decidedly un-filmic for anything else. It could just be from my film-shooting background. Again it's just my (off topic) opinion but there it is...

---> Jarrod