"The Last 3 Minutes" is a short film, written and directed by Po Chan, lensed by "Terminator Salvation" cinematographer, Shane Hurlbut. The short was shot using a Canon 5D mk2. What sets this short "film" apart from others I've seen, i.e., where a 5Dmk2 was used to acquire the images, is the new 24p firmware upgrade to the camera: It delivers a very cool filmic quality to the imagery.
What also sets this short film apart is, well, is that, IMO, its better than many others I've viewed.
So far, I've resisted the urge to purchase a 5Dmk2. Mostly because I'm more than satisfied with my 5D. Plus, I own a Sony Z1U HD videocam and I'm also very happy with it. (Even though it's not 24p capable.)
Now that the 5Dmk2 is 24p capable, I might rethink my thinking on this. At the moment, I don't have a spare few thousand bucks to plunk down on one. I could, I suppose, sell my Z1U to offset the purchase of a 5Dmk2. Used Z1Us sell on eBay for over $2K. In fact, they sell for almost the price of a new 5Dmk2. But I use my Z1U as a source deck for my Final Cut Pro editing system. That would mean I'd also have to replace it with something to use for that process. My backup dSlR is a Canon 20D. Unfortunately, 20Ds don't have much resale value in the used camera market; maybe about $400.
Decision, decisions...
You can check out "The Last 3 Minutes" HERE. If you're interested in learning still more, you might want to visit Shane Hurlbut's blog.
The gratuitous pretty girl at the top is Andrea. Snapped it a few years ago in my (former) studio.
8 comments:
Most of that was shot at 30p and re-timed to 24p in Twixtor. Shane is amazing as always, but is well known for preferring 30p on the 5DmII...
@James,
Pull-downs to 24p have been around for a quite a long time. Much easier to do these days. Also, certain production techniques, when a pull-down to 24p is planned, create an even cooler film-look. BTW, the season finale episode of "House" was shot entirely with a 5Dmk2.
The Last 3 Minutes was pretty good, I need to re-watch it without interruptions though.
That being said, if the 5DmkII's a bit out of reach price-wise, the 7D has basically the same guts, albeit on an APS-C sensor. But it'll still shoot 1080p at 24, 25, or 30fps, with the same crazy ISO settings, and probably a much better autofocus for about two-thirds the cost of a Mark II.
That being said, there is that heating issue with the 7D, but I haven't heard of that too much enough for it to worry me. As much as I'd love a 5DmkII, a 7D is much closer to my budget for "Shit to replace shit I already have and don't really need to replace it yet I want to anyways" list of purchases. :D
I was surprised to find out from one of the local pro shops that they were sell more Canon 5D MarkII to independent film makers locally than to photographers.
I have only seen one bad review of the Canon 5D Mark II and that is by another pretty girl shooter, Ron Harris.
http://ronharris.com/photo_lessons.html
He doesn't like the sharpness and color reproduction when compared to his older 5D.
Hey this is the kind of investment that turns out to be good: keeping up with the competition in order to offer better image quality (video), I don´t really think that for base ISO photos it would be making a huge difference with your 5D classic, however in video is a huge leap in image quality from other formats available.
But it kinda makes you wonder how many people without any idea about filming will be calling themselves "directors" too... :/ hmmm you can expect "casting couch" horror stories really soon...
My best wishes!
Eduar
The other thing to look at is what you have to add on, stediacam, follow focus, etc, to make your canon more like a video cam.
Check out cinema5d.com, lots of good info there.
Jonphoto@hotmail.com
"But I use my Z1U as a source deck for my Final Cut Pro editing system."
Of course if you were shooting with the 5D you would not need the camera as a source deck anymore as you would be recording to the Cf cards.
Unless you edit videos shot by other folks....
@Greg McKay,
Good point. But yeah, I do edit for others sometimes. Most definitely need a tape deck or cam to digitize from.
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