Newbie XL1 Camera/lens questions

[oeming]

Wow, this board looks like just what I need.

I have an XL1, I shot a short two years ago and it sucked for all sorts of reasons, least of which is how it looked.

I plan on shooting a short this summer, but I cant find or afford to hire a real DOP. I'm taking all the mistakes I learned from my first film to improve this one.

One thing Im doing is seperating certain scenes via color- reds, blues, greens and amber.

I could light each scene by flooding them with colored lights, but some are outdoors so I cant do that.

My question is- are there color filters to do this- where do I buy them, because Ive looked and cannot find any

Or is this something I can have done in post, during the editing proscess?

Lastly, is there a site I can find a DOP in my area that may be able to work with me?

Thanks much, I look forward to spending time on the board.
M!

 

[Digigenic]

There are a number of filters available for your XL1; you might also want to consider trick white balancing. For the filters, you should check out TIFFEN filters or CENTURY OPTICS for various filters and accessories
http://www.tiffen.com/filters.htm
http://www.centuryoptics.com/index.htm
You'll find some real high quality filters available through them.
For trick white balancing, you can simply experiment with manual white balancing of different colored pieces of paper, or you can spend money on different colored pieces of paper called WARMCARDS http://www.warmcards.com/

As for filtering the image in post, it's easily done, but keep in mind; it does have a synthetic feel. I don't know what NLE you're using, but I can say that with Final Cut Pro, it's pretty easy to do, and there's plenty of room for image adjustability, but it tends to look overprocessed. Instead, I've found that tweaking the levels, the color balance, and the saturation achieves good filtration, but that's just me. So, filtering in post is always an option, and to be honest, it's probably the most preferred option considering you may change your mind later on with what colors you want to use.

Lastly, here's a couple of links to help you find some people for your production.
http://www.productionhub.com/
http://www.mandy.com/index.cfm

Hope that helps.

 

[oeming]

Thanks!

Thanks!

Hey man, thanks so much, very very helpful!
M!