The footage appearing in the viewer to the left was recorded through a log. “But why?” you may ask, “does the image have to look flat in the first place?”
So, depending on whether you’re shooting with a Canon C300, a Red Scarlett, Sony F7 or Arri Alexa, the manufacturers of each camera have developed logs that are specific to each camera, especially those that are built to shoot professional video for television and film. This was the only way to ensure the widest dynamic range possible once the project was fully edited and completed.
Fifty percent of the visual would be achieved in camera whereas the other 50% would have to be achieved in post.
They just didn’t realize at the time that the BMC camera was, in reality, a post production cam. And that’s because it would automatically feed the image through its own personal profile or “log.” The result was very similar to what one would achieve while shooting with a neutral profile on any number of DSLRs. It didn’t look rich with color or detail. The only problem is, you will not be able to see the resulting image in-camera until the proper color correction is applied – the very process required to bring out that dynamic range.įor those less informed professionals who acquired the first iterations of the Black Magic Cinema camera, they were confounded by how an odd visual would appear on the built-in monitor. It has been both an old photographer’s and videographer’s trick to shoot that way for that reason. You see, by achieving that low contrast image, you now have the opportunity to bring out more dynamic range hidden within that image. This enables the photographer (or videographer) to enhance the image in post. Scrolling through the menu of a Canon 5D, for example, you might encounter various profiles allowing you to shoot in monochrome, a cinema-like style (has more contrast and is more color saturated), a profile that highlights certain details when taking a landscape shot and, finally, something mysteriously titled “neutral.” When shooting under this particular profile, the resulting image looks flat, low on contrast and somewhat washed out. Think of it as a profile like the kind made available through an HDSLR. However, therein lies a lot of “depends” in terms of whether you use a log or LUT or in how one might relate to the other or not at all.įirst, let’s explain what a “Log” is. And then tell me your head will not reel. 709 format into the pot and explain what that represents. You don’t believe me? Let me throw the Rec. While there is some truth in that generalization, there is a lot more to it (obviously) as it does not tell the whole story. For example, you’re into gear porn and salivate over the latest Atomos converter/monitor and how it contains not one, but two recording logs (such as the Canon C-Log or Sony S-Log), and you think “Great! I want THAT! But what does that mean?” To add further confusion, someone might over simplify what the technology does by responding with “a log is a means to record your footage in a specific way, so that you can apply the corresponding LUT (Look Up Table) in post production.” The fact is, if you are not already working in log the Stu settings may be enough, but if you work professionally with log cameras and output viewing luts, this profile is a life saver.If you’re an avid reader of the Adorama Learning Center or any website or trade that lauds the latest high-end video camera, you’ve probably come across the term “log” a lot. There is a bigger discussion about the effect of motion picture printing as to why it is this way that Josh eluded to. That is how film scans are done and that is why modern production cameras shoot log. I know it seems like we are getting ripped off by not maximizing the 8 bits but if you fill the gap with info then there is nowhere to go in color. This allows you to bring the detail in the highlights and shadows back before it reaches the lut. when using a lut, the effect of having the contrast come back to the picture happens downstream of colour or at the output. Any log camera will show a big gap in the bottom end of the waveform. Mike, Joshie says, the cinestyle profile was made to help color match the cutting of DSLR footage with existing log cameras like the Alexa.