cinematography Last minute DSLR shot needed, some advice sought, D'OH!

[msp1518]

Crazy story, but the camera expert who was going to help me tomorrow just left a voicemail. Death in the family. He's gotta fly to France. Sorry.

Ouch. That sucks for him.

And for me, well, I have never shot a DSLR in lower light like this by myself. I absolutely MUST get the shot tomorrow morning. It has to be tomorrow. Period.

Sunrise is at 5:30 and we want that magical look. Weather looks perfect.

It is one single ten second shot. Focus is not a problem for me and neither is framing.

What is an issue are settings to avoid noise. I'm just not proficient enough yet. Please, lay it on me, advice, anything. Settings I should go for, avoid or whatever. Tall order, yes, but hey, sh*t happens, right?

Canon 60D with a Canon Wide Angle EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Autofocus Lens. Shooting 1080p 24fps.

Thanks to all...

Read more: http://www.cinematography.com/index.php?showtopic=52531#ixzz1S2S7kVgf

 

[JakeSully]

Keep the shutter speed at 1/50, and, if it's a landscape, i'd keep a relatively big f number. Try to keep the ISO as low as possible, and that's pretty much it.
Also, try to install the Technicolor Cinestyle color profile. It will give you a nice flat image to adjust in post.

 

[wheatgrinder]

Don't wait for the light. shoot before, during and after the light is perfect. If you get 20 takes, chances are ONE will be good.

Expose to the sky, use bounce card to increase the light on the subject


Start:
Breath
Check that your on Movie mode
Check that your in the profile you want
Check your framing
Check your exposure
Check your focus
Press record
Stop recording
Go to Start

 

[CamVader]

Autofocus caught my attention. It has problems in low light and I have no idea what exactly you are trying to capture. Half shutter to check your exposure before every take. Is there anything in the foreground?

What the hell are you shooting?

 

[brianluce]

I don't know that cam, but if noise avoidance is the main issue, I'd go with the lowest possible ISO. Are you shooting cityscape or a person? I'd open the aperture and dial back the ISO. If it's a static city shot, Not much moving, can't see why you couldn't cheat on the shutter speed. Go 1/40th maybe.

 

[msp1518]

CamVader, I would never use autofocus. It's as reliable as TSA.

Turns our Jersey screwed me anyway. The trains were late. Very late. And we waited nearly an hour for one, ultimately missing the sunrise. We shot anyway, as the street lights were still on, but the effect of the scene won't be the same.

No idea if anything can be done in post to give it a more morning-like look.

I use CS5.

 

[David.rhsc]

CamVader, I would never use autofocus. It's as reliable as TSA.

Turns our Jersey screwed me anyway. The trains were late. Very late. And we waited nearly an hour for one, ultimately missing the sunrise. We shot anyway, as the street lights were still on, but the effect of the scene won't be the same.

No idea if anything can be done in post to give it a more morning-like look.

I use CS5.

Is there a digital equivalent of a sunset grad? I know it's too late, and that you likely didn't have one available, but it might have given you more of the look you were seeking.

I'm sure some AE/Color guru could concoct something similar.

 

[PaulGriffith]

Indeed, AFX can help you get the sunset/sunrise look. There's lot's of color tools available, if you just want it all to be orange try Photo Filter, if you want the look of a gradient filter, make the sunrise colored solid, mask off the bottom half and feather the mask wire a bit, probably between 250 and 500. Then play with the transfer mode.

A more complex way would involve keyframing masks and several different color effects on different layers.

There's no one right way to do it, but I bet googling "sunset look after effects" will turn some results.