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Approved Cameras

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Re: Approved Cameras

#151

Post by rbanffy »

dylan604 wrote: post #65
wyager wrote: post #49

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I bet the higher resolution makes it easier, with big*ss GPUs to clean up the raw footage. Even if you don't do any other post-processing, downscaled video looks better than video captured at sensor resolution. This is because you can implement a steeper low-pass filter (closer to ideal brick-wall filter) in software than you can in actual optics. Hardware lowpass filters tuned to block most stuff above nyquist wil…

It was always standard to acquire at higher resolution than being delivered. Hell, they shot 35mm film for SD for decades, 16mm for non-extravagent budgets. The first use of 4k wasn't for 4k delivery, but for single camera shoot of talking head reframing. Full frame for the wide, cropped in for the MED/CU shots. Larger image also allows for cleaner image stabilization. Allows for more detail on pulling keys in post,…

> Hell, they shot 35mm film for SD for decades, 16mm for non-extravagent budgets.

This probably was also to deal with period TV cameras. Video cameras of that time couldn’t deal with bright lights and had terrible dynamic range. CCDs improved this a lot. Direct to video productions looked cheap.

Re: Approved Cameras

#153

Post by [deleted] »

chirau wrote: post #29

I once thought about a high-end camera rental side business. Never really completed the research, but I am curious again... Do studios and creators own these cameras or they usually rent? Is there an aggregated marketplace where I could be able to put my camera for rent if I do eventually get one?

[deleted]

Re: Approved Cameras

#154

Post by malermeister »

vanilla_nut wrote: post #111
mdoms wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> The stuff with the red N on the poster -- some of it is REALLY good An overwhelming majority of it is total garbage. It's such a bad ratio that I treat the red N as a negative signal when I'm choosing something.

The McDonald's of TV show production. With very, very few exceptions (Midnight Mass, maybe?) I at least know what I'm getting into: designed-by-committee, very very "safe", out of place (most likely contracted) references to other Netflix shows to try to cross-pollinate viewers... not exactly a recipe for success. Similar to how Amazon Originals now seem synonymous with "we cut the writer's outline from 12 episodes t…

I thought Dark was excellent and not at all like you described.

Re: Approved Cameras

#155

Post by dylan604 »

devindotcom wrote: post #74
chirau wrote: post #29

I once thought about a high-end camera rental side business. Never really completed the research, but I am curious again... Do studios and creators own these cameras or they usually rent? Is there an aggregated marketplace where I could be able to put my camera for rent if I do eventually get one?

There's a lot of rental but the real scarcity is in certain lenses, which don't really become obsolete in the same way. Arri puts out a new Alexa and you can maybe get one if you have a hundred grand in your pocket, but there are some master primes or legacy sets that are simply not for sale.

The lenses Kubrick used for Barry Lyndon are prime examples. pun intended

Re: Approved Cameras

#156

Post by pbhjpbhj »

devindotcom wrote: post #74
chirau wrote: post #29

I once thought about a high-end camera rental side business. Never really completed the research, but I am curious again... Do studios and creators own these cameras or they usually rent? Is there an aggregated marketplace where I could be able to put my camera for rent if I do eventually get one?

There's a lot of rental but the real scarcity is in certain lenses, which don't really become obsolete in the same way. Arri puts out a new Alexa and you can maybe get one if you have a hundred grand in your pocket, but there are some master primes or legacy sets that are simply not for sale.

Surely legacy lenses can be reproduced (or modelled digitally!) so that it is impossible to tell the difference. For the component lenses don't you 'just' use the same refractive index and make it the same shape?

We can make microchips for a few quid but a metal tube with a few small lumps of shaped glass costs 10,000 times as much? Seems unlikely.

Is it a fashion thing, like unless it has the right logo on the lens body then the producers reject it?

Re: Approved Cameras

#157

Post by mongol »

jrockway wrote: post #137

> Limited use of non-approved cameras is allowable in certain circumstances (e.g. crash, POV, drone, underwater, Pan-Tilt-Zoom/Robocam etc). In all cases, such cameras must be explicitly approved by Netflix for a specific project. The implications here are amazing. Say someone wants to like film a mountain bike scene on a GoPro. Someone has to realize how this is going to work in advance. Then they have to tell someo…

Send this script to Netflix, they can make an Original Series out of it.

Re: Approved Cameras

#158

Post by alternatetwo »

mdoms wrote: post #84
bredren wrote: post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The streaming services are in strong competition for original content. Sometimes buying exclusive rights to completed work off the shelf. This content seems to get labeled as an "XYZ original," be it Apple, Netflix or something else. Do you differentiate between content greenlit and produced by the streaming services from those purchased? I'm curious because they are two different capabilities and it seems each servi…

Yes, there is a clear quality difference between the stuff they acquire/license (some of which is quite good) and the utter dreck they produce themselves.

There is also some original content which is quite good.

Re: Approved Cameras

#159

Post by JimTheMan »

livinginfear wrote: post #147

I'd like to see their guidelines for the social content of their productions. Every Netflix production I've seen seems to feature commonly themed social commentary, in some cases more subtle than others.

Why would you like to see it? (Assuming any such thing exists, which I can't imagine)

Re: Approved Cameras

#160

Post by turdnagel »

Tomdarkness wrote: post #112

The technical quality of Netflix originals is really high. One thing that annoys me though is for some reason despite having rigorous standards for the camera it seems a common trend through numerous Netflix Originals to use the Vantage Hawk V-Lite Vintage '74 line of anamorphic lenses. I guess it's a stylistic choice but it results is some (for me at least) annoying image distortion that can really distract from the…

It looks pretty cool during a rack focus, but I agree, it's definitely used to give a filmic look but gets tired quickly.
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