5D MKll Goes to EGYPT & LEBANON

This past August a few friends and I set off to Cairo, Egypt and Beirut, Lebanon for 6 weeks to shoot a documentary. This is a montage of some of the footage we shot. Check it out


http://vimeo.com/7058755


If you have any questions/comments feel free to post them.

Very beautiful, emotive images. Please share your lens choices, post production workflow, and any photos of your production.

Thanks for sharing!

Regards,

Joe Womble

Thanks for the comments Joe.

This was a very small production. It was myself and one other person shooting in every country. The Canon Lenses we used were the 16-35 f2.8, 24-70 f2.8, and the 70-200 f2.8. Nikon primes were 50mm f1.4, 85 f1.8.

I edited and color corrected all the footage in Final Cut Pro with the help of Magic Bullet Looks. I exported two versions, one Apple Pro Rez for broadcast quality and the other H.264 for web.

I've attached some behind the scenes stills.

That was probably the most incredible footage I've ever seen from a 5D Mark II. If you could share any of your secrets it would be much appreciated. What kind of stuff did you do in Magic Bullet Looks? Is it necessary to have a follow-focus mechanism in order to get these kinds of shots? Are you a professional, or just someone who really, really knows what he's doing? From the look of that I'd assume you do this for a living. Great job, that was really beautiful footage. More proof that 24p does not determine something looking film-like.

Absolutely gorgeous footage. Thanks for sharing it. What's the subject of the documentary? Or is it a travel doc?

Also curious as to whether you experienced any of the overheating issues Danfung Dennis reported in desert shooting in Afghanistan? (http://www.dslrnewsshooter.com/2009/10/ ... he-5dmkii/)

Scott

Glad you guys liked it. We worked really hard to get these shots and shot in some very dangerous and treacherous locations. This was one of my first experiences shooting as a Journalist and learned a ton. I now know how difficult it is to capture a moment when time is not on your side and have gained so much respect for photo/ video journalists such as Danfung for going out there and doing what they do. The heat was a huge issue in Egypt but not in Lebanon. In most of the locations we couldn't shoot for more than 20 minutes before having to wrap the setup and go in our drivers air conditioned car. water is a must. Almost the entire documentary was shot during the month of ramadan which was our biggest issue. The locals were all fasting and we didn't want to be rude and eat or drink in front of them. Shooting during sunrises golden hour became nearly impossible because we couldn't find a driver that would get up that early and have to go on the rest of the day fasting in the heat. Even when we did shoot that early we'd have to wrap before noon because the drivers and tour guides could barely stand from not drinking.

Todd, I rarely ever use Magic Bullet looks presets, they are overused and I'd rather set up my own. The three main tools I use in MB are the vignettes, spot exposure, and variable saturation which really helps with the latitude and in brining the unwanted brights down . I then used Final Cut Pros three way color corrector to push the shadows to a warmer color tone. check out some of the before and after stills I posted.

It is not necessary to use a follow focus although it certainly helps. It is nearly impossible to shoot in Egypt without a permit (which we didnt have) and the locals were very unfriendly to us so we puled most of the accessories off to blend us in better. Luckily enough the Mark2 is a photo camera so I guess some of the locals thought we were shoooting stills. When shooting with the 70-200 it became an issue to dolly and keep the subject in focus at a 2.8 so we stopped down to a 5.6 on most of the shots.

This is beautiful footage. I really appreciate the explanations, behind-the-scenes shots, and before-and-after grading comparisons.

I've been hesitant to lay out cash for Magic Bullet Looks, after paying so much for Final Cut Pro, but it is used in such high quality examples that I am inclined. Thanks for sharing the specifics of your use of MB Looks.

Did you do conversion / grading while on the road, along with testing and tweaking capture settings, or did you do that after you returned from the trip? I am curious about the workflow while traveling -- I suppose that with enough experience you can tell you are getting what you want as you go, and you just archive footage as you go. I would guess that you did quick tests along the way, and discussed results / tweaked techniques as you went?

amazing! im really impressed. Can i ask what kind of tracking did you use? I loved the subtle use of motion! also the lens you were using in your behind the scenes were they video lenses?

Awesome. Lights are so beautiful in this country.
The grading's work is really beautiful too.
Bravo

Thanx for the behind !!!

Amazing footage!
Which slider is it the one you're using?