Well I guess this is my first OFFICIAL aerial video that I have made aside from clips here and there that I have thrown into all kinds of projects that I have done. It is a tad bit sloppy but I will say its a good start. Many more to come



Feel free to comment. Let me know what you think. Give me feedback. Whatever.

Thanks!

Seriously, it looked almost too perfect to the point where I was wondering if it was actually just some fancy CGI -- how did you get the colors so vivid?

gil Posted at 2015-5-15 04:28
Seriously, it looked almost too perfect to the point where I was wondering if it was actually just s ...

Yeah it almost looks like a model!

I just added some contrast in post production. I may have shot with the vivid filter on in the Pilot app but I am pretty sure it was just on normal.

Some very nice footage!  But a few technical issues.

Shoot LOG.  You can always add contrast in post.

Exposures vary wildly from shot to shot.  Use manual exposure control.

Fulgerite Posted at 2015-5-15 04:57
Some very nice footage!  But a few technical issues.

Shoot LOG.  You can always add contrast in pos ...

I did add contrast in post. The exposure is fine. Everything was done on purpose they aren't technical issues.

Great vid -- extremely crisp, and excellent backdrop.  Quick question -- did you manually fly the rotation around the church steeple at 2m30s in the video - looks perfect, and I'm wondering if there is a trick to doing a turn around a POI that looks so good.  Thanks!

looks amazing, good job.
I got the advanced version and i'm still trying to find the "best" video settings.

Nice for the most part, the POI shots are great.  Just curious, I did a roof inspection for a local LDS and had to turn over the SD card at the end, they were very particular about this so I'm just wondering if you received permission from them first to do these shots.

Very nice!   Maybe cut back on repetition in the edit and cut around the couple of bumps when you see the trajectory change, breaks the magic.   

I think it would make a superb 90 second video.

If you aren't shooting in LOG then I highly recommend it.    You'll be able to control the shadows and highlights of every area of the image separately in each shot.

But great job, really enjoyed it!

I've made some tutorials on settings and post producing clips here if you want to have a look.

http://forum.dji.com/thread-9738-1-1.html

Great footage.
I'm not a photographer, but it it seemed likes there was too much contrast, Dark and making feel more like computer generated imaging. Seems less than natural as it would look if one was there in person.
Just mine observation. Still think it's a great vid.

Very nice video

Very very cool, gurnpj.

What a beautiful place.

I have a few comments since you asked.

I personally think it is a bit on the saturated side. I think the Vivid filter is a bit heavy handed, but thats a style-question.

1. What I do is I shoot in "LOG"-mode (logaritmic) - which produces a dull and milky unsaturated and low-contrast video. Thats bad you think?   Yes, it might be a bit of a disappointment at first, but this is in fact how professionals shoot and then they add the contrast and saturation afterwards in post-production (in your editor or color grading application). The advantage to this is, that the Phantom records the maximum amount of detail in both the highlights and the shadows. It saves the maximum amount of detail - and we then have more room to play in the editor afterwards to get the look we want; we might want to bring back some light on the ground/shadows (that might otherwise be "crushed" ie, all black so no detail at all) or bring out some details in the sky.

2. Did you slow down some of the footage in your editor? When flying close to the ground, over the sign, it felt a bit choppy. Depending on your editor (I use Final Cut Pro X on the Mac) you can sometimes slow down footage and get a good result when using "Optical Flow" which calculates the images in between and tries to make motion smooth when video has been slowed down.

3. The "choppyness" in fast motion can also come from filming with a high shutter-speed (the P3 sets this automatically depending on how much light there is - you can set it manually in manual, but it might be too bright for it to work like we want. (By the way, make sure you have "zebra-stribes" on in the Pilot app so you can see and avoid too large overexposed areas). This is where an ND-filter (Neutral Density (a grey))-filter can help.

The rule of thumb is to do video at a shutter-speed 2x the speed of the framerate. So if you are filming 4K at 30 Frames Per Second, it would be about optimal to do it at a shutterspeed of 60. The lower shutter speed gives us some more natural looking smooth video because it adds a natural motion blur. In bright sunny days the shutterspeed with be 1000+ without an ND-filter - and the resulting video will be more like 30 crisp images after eachother every second. When there is motion in the image that can then become somewhat "choppy"

4. You clearly have a natural sense of using smooth motion, small control inputs, is the way forward to making nice looking aerial video. It could have added some dynamics if you had used the gimbal (up and down) a bit more when flying past the church etc. What I think looks nice when using the gimbal to tilt the camera up and down, is to do it slowly and to ease in and out. To be able to do this you need to tweak the Gimbal Speed in the Pilot App. I have it at 50-60. And thats a bit high on its own! But I have ALSO change the gimbal speed EXPO so it is less sensitive (don't recall the exact setting) meaning if I push the Gimbal-dial a little bit it will only move a tiny tiny amount. The more I push the Gimbal-dial, it moves exponentially faster. That makes it relatively easy to make these smooth ease-in and ease-out movements of the gimbal.

I could probably go on but hopefully some of my experiences will be of use to you. I look forward to seeing more of your work!

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jimhare Posted at 2015-5-16 16:11
Very nice!   Maybe cut back on repetition in the edit and cut around the couple of bumps when you se ...

Thanks I'll check it out for sure!

mekorff@gmail.c Posted at 2015-5-16 07:04
Great vid -- extremely crisp, and excellent backdrop.  Quick question -- did you manually fly the ro ...

Yeah it was completely manual. Just be very delicate with your movement on the joystick. Once that you get that perfect motion that you can see just keep controls still. Not really any trick to it, just practice.

FantomDK Posted at 2015-5-17 15:12
Very very cool, gurnpj.

What a beautiful place.

Great advice! I am really wanting to play with LOG and then use speed grade to add the color I want. Haven't played with it yet though just cause I like to "rock what ya got" per say. What I mean is just do the best with what skills I do have. Expanding and getting more rounded and skilled is definitely necessary in film though. Any detailed advice on LOG? I want to play with it for sure! Is there any good tutorials out there for best way to play with the colors in post?

gurnpj@gmail.co Posted at 2015-5-18 02:03
Great advice! I am really wanting to play with LOG and then use speed grade to add the color I wan ...

What application do you use to edit?

I use Final Cut Pro X and you can do the colorgrading right in there if needed, adding contrast etc. to the LOG-footage.

To further expand the LOG I'm experimenting with Custom Style; 0 sharpness, -3 contrast (max/lowest) and sometimes also -3 saturation, even though I currently do 0 (sharpness) -3 (contrast) 0 (saturation). If there is anything to gain from this, I don't know for sure, but removing contrast should give more freedom in editing.

The user JimHare has made some nice tutorials for the Inspire 1. He has both the Inspire and the Phantom 3. Since the camera is virtually the same and the Pilot app is the same, most can be used on the P3 as well. You can see one of his videos here
EDIT: LOL I notice Jim already posted in the thread. But oh well, he deserves the recognition

If Jim is reading, I'd like to hear his opinion and if he has done tests on lowering the contrast and saturation (together with LOG).


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gurnpj@gmail.co Posted at 2015-5-16 04:09
I did add contrast in post. The exposure is fine. Everything was done on purpose they aren't techn ...

Nice first attempt!

To each his own - but here's my take if you want constructive criticism.  Many of the shots exposures are blown out as mentioned in previous comments. Be it the camera or post work, it is pushed a little too far. You've lost what is referred to as the "dynamic range" of the shots. (Many of the blacks and whites (shadow and highlights) in this piece are "crushed".) Believe me I understand taking "creative license" and pushing things over the top but there are fundamental rules that still apply. Even for this. So take it with a grain of salt... but less is always more.

That said, you nailed the music. Often this is an afterthought. What you Hear is just as important as what you See in a video to produce and intriguing visual experience.

Nice job and thanks for posting.

FantomDK Posted at 2015-5-18 02:22
What application do you use to edit?

I use Final Cut Pro X and you can do the colorgrading right i ...

    LOL!

I keep my SATURATION and CONTRAST at -2 while shooting.     I used to keep SHARPNESS at -1 but have reverted to 0.   I might revisit that aspect at some point.

Always shoot in LOG and bring your image to life in post.

If you want total control then use DaVinci or SpeedGrade.   Yes, you can get close to the same color  and LUT controls in FCPx but for fine control you can't go past power windows to home in on very specific details.

I also like power windows because on some shots you may end up with some compression artifacts in a section of the image and it's great to isolate the area and apply some blur or de-emphasize it.
Here's a link to the full tutorial page:

http://forum.dji.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=9738

FantomDK Posted at 2015-5-18 02:22
What application do you use to edit?

I use Final Cut Pro X and you can do the colorgrading right i ...

I edit in Adobe Premiere CC. I just downloaded DiVinci Resolve and going to play with it for color grading LOG. From what I can tell it really simplifies the process. By creating "nodes" or layers you can refine it like you would an image in Photoshop and then by applying "Luts" which it seems are presets you can download and then doing some tweaking you can really get a good look. I'll get something up as soon as I have something to show.

I really appreciate all the feedback I am getting. I think one major thing that could have made this better would be to change frame rate to 30fps to make it a bit smoother. The exposure and contrast was on purpose to create a "heavenly" and "out of this world" type feel to the video. That said I can see what everyone is talking about, losing the dynamic range and the highlights and shadows being too extreme. This was actually a snippet that I added to a wedding video I did at this location so maybe in that context it would be viewed differently. As a standalone video I completely agree with what has been said. I am trying to improve and recognize that "Aerial Video Highlights" are in their own realm of video and there are DOs and DON'Ts. Thanks again for the feedback. Hopefully my future films will improve from all your criticism. I hope this isn't coming off the wrong way. Really am trying to be teachable about this. Thanks.

jimhare Posted at 2015-5-18 05:25
LOL!

I keep my SATURATION and CONTRAST at -2 while shooting.     I used to keep SHAR ...

No doubt that e.g. Davinci Resolve (or Speedgrade) gives you even more complete color control, I'm just not proficient in it. Perhaps I should look into it further, but so far I am happy with the color control I get in Final Cut Pro X. I also have the LUT Utility (Plug-in) so I can import LUTs into FCPX. However, I don't have any LUTs for the P3 (or Inspire that ought to work wel too - yet).

I can understand why you experimented and sometimes use -1 sharpness. However, I feel it is a slightly too big a step from 0 sharpness.


Is there a particular reason why you do -2 contrast and -2 saturation and not "-3, -3" (the maximum/lowest)?


It is great we have the ability to shoot in LOG.

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mekorff@gmail.c Posted at 2015-5-16 07:04
Great vid -- extremely crisp, and excellent backdrop.  Quick question -- did you manually fly the ro ...

Same question too!!!

Great video!!

FantomDK Posted at 2015-5-18 14:35
No doubt that e.g. Davinci Resolve (or Speedgrade) gives you even more complete color control, I'm ...

The Neumann films Inspire LUTS (equally good for the P3) are quite effective.  

I don't want it to pull all of the saturation and contrast from the image so I like -2.    I just don't want it anywhere near the edge in either direction.   I usually finish off the LOG image in the first node in DaVinci.   Very easy to lose a bit of extra contrast/saturation there before applying a LUT.

What program and computer did you use to edit post.

clkilljoy1@nets Posted at 2015-5-20 00:52
What program and computer did you use to edit post.

I use a MacBook Pro and Adobe Premiere CC 2014