Settings For PD 150

Shooting w/ the PD 150 in a few days and was hoping to hear about any tweaks and settings for a quality look. This will be for a broadcast magazine show in a dark nightclub.

Thanks,

Rob Lindsay
Rob Lindsay Productions
www.roblindsayphotography.com

>Shooting w/ the PD 150 in a few days and was hoping to hear about any >tweaks and settings for a quality look. This will be for a broadcast >magazine show in a dark nightclub.

You can play with warm/cool and soft/sharp looks by adjusting the PD150's Custom Preset settings (it's the button on the handle, near the viewfinder base).

Beyond that, just the usual tricks for DV: try to shoot close to wide-open iris (use the built-in ND if needed) to minimize DOF, and try not to use video gain (but if you really need to, don't go beyond +6db).

Maybe you can sell the producer on some stylised images: lower the shutter speed to 10fps or slower to get some smearing. This looks great for some applications (and as you're shooting in a nightclub I think this technique might be appropriate for your piece. Dancing and so on.)

Paolo Dy
DP
Philippines

>Shooting w/ the PD 150 in a few days and was hoping to hear >about >any tweaks and settings for a quality look. This will be for a broadcast >magazine show in a dark nightclub.

You're kind of limited as to what you can do with the PD150s' menu and by the CCDs Sony uses in the camera (not the best CCDs Sony has ever put out).

It's been a while since I used the PD150 (most projects shooting on miniDV anymore use the DVX100 or sometimes the XL-1S), but here's what I would do :

- turn down chroma slightly
- turn down sharpness about halfway
- set the black level to 0 IRE
- set the zebras to 70 IRE and set the exposure on faces
so that you're getting at least some zebras on them
- add a 1/8 ProMist to create halation around highlights

Setting the exposure is going to be tricky - most Clubs have some sort of strobes or bright moving lights which will quickly blow out the image, but the rest of the time the image can be pretty dark.

If there are any light sources visible in the Club, try to get them in frame to serve as a reference against the dark image. People on cell phone are also a good choice to shoot - the LCD screen on the phone will light up their faces.

And YYMV (your mileage will vary).

Good luck!

Jessica Gallant
Los Angeles based Director of Photography
West Coast Systems Administrator, Cinematography Mailing List
https://cinematography.net/

Rob Lindsay inquires :

>Shooting w/ the PD 150 in a few days and was hoping to hear about any >tweaks and settings for a quality look. This will be for a broadcast >magazine show in a dark nightclub.

I think your position is clear when you say youâ€™ll be shooting â€œin a dark nightclubâ€.

This is the one instance where I feel the PD150 outshines the DVX100 or 100a in that it has a pretty decent 18db and nice dialable shutter increments.

I agree with one of the posters who says the 10 frame smeary look adds a nice touch to the dance sequences but having worked for many magazine shows, Iâ€™m sure dancing is a small part of the overall piece.

I found most producers like the look you get shooting with the shutter at 30. While itâ€™s not too smeary, itâ€™s has enough smear to look arty but not distracting and it lets you get a bit more light. I would set the gain to auto and just let it happen. The added grain can add to the overall feel of the piece.

I have found that in similar situations a little battery light is helpful. You can get a little self contained video light at most camera stores. Generally they take a camera type battery and if you put a piece of cosmetic gel or a combo of say 1/2 CTO and 1/2 Roscoe 216 or some other light diffusion, you get a very nice fill light thatâ€™s not too obtrusive and blends nicely with the ambient lighting.

Other than that, the little PD150 should do you proud.

Allen S. Facemire
DP/Director
SaltRun Productions,inc.
Atlanta

Is the a web site where you can download the manual for this camera?

Marty Mullin
DP
Los Angeles

>Is the a web site where you can download the manual for this camera?

http://www.sony.ca/dvcam/manuals.htm

Cheers

Martin Heffels
Filmmaker/dp/editor/filmschool techie
Sydney, Australia

Rob Lindsay writes:

>Shooting w/ the PD 150 in a few days and was hoping to hear about any >tweaks and settings for a quality look.

If you're planning to record any audio on the PD-150 (other than a scratch/guide track), make sure the MIC NR menu option is switched OFF. This "feature," when switched on, causes an elusive buzz in the audio, which rises and falls with the volume envelope of the recorded sound.

Dan Drasin
Producer/DP
Marin County, CA