The cinematography of Drive

Ah, "Thanks!", Knightly!

After watching those two vids I now have a better idea about tinkering with the color channels and mixer in my NLE.

Still don't know if I can A) cut out the majority of the noise by mixing channes, and/or B) make my blacks BLACK!, but at least I have a better idea of how to use the tools I have available.

Gracias, guys!
Much appreciated.

rayw said:

Yeah, I need to get a variable ND filter (looking for a Hoya).
I know I need it in the bright daytime shots to slow down my shutter speed to 30 or 60.
Hadn't really considered using it in low light situations. Cool! I'll give it a whirl when I get it!

Click to expand...

Ah. Knowing what you are working with does help. I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction though - a "Variable ND Filter" and an "ND Graduated Filter" are two different things.



Variable ND allows you do dial in the level of stop you want to use.



The ND Grad allows you to selectively apply stop to the brighter part of the image, allowing you to open up for the darker portion. They really only work well in shots like the one you posted with a nice horizon line on which to hide the gradation.

There are also filters called Attenuators with a more subtle gradient, but I've never seen/used them.

I didn't meant to imply using ND in low light, but to use the grad to take down the brighter sky allowing you to open up for the foregrounds. So situations where there is a wide difference in exposure, with a line for hiding the gradient, and with little to no camera movement.

Since you are using a budget camera, this gives you an interesting opportunity to use budget filters and work on technique. Coincidentally I picked up something called the "Ambico Action Maker" while cruising one of our giant flea markets around here. They are dirt cheap on Ebay, and within the system there are tons of cheap plastic filters.

They go in a holder like this:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Ambico-Filter-System-Gel-Gelatin-Holder-7619-/110369249885

The holder I have ended up being 55mm ring size, but simple step down should get you to the filter thread for your camera (probably in the low 40mm range?)

The "Action Maker"

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMBICO-3-x-...6324176?pt=Camera_Filters&hash=item5896c08fd0

Some grads to play with skys:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/AMBICO-FILT...6943374?pt=Camera_Filters&hash=item3a7a1ed20e

Not something I would recommend were one concerned about image quality - but when that's not a concern I love me some lo-fi solutions too.

David.rhsc said:

... but you could probably find a decent ND grad filter on Amazon for ~$50 ish that was the right ring size for your lens. Would really help those horizon shots like that, give you more detail down there in the foreground.

Click to expand...

rayw said:

Yeah, I need to get a variable ND filter (looking for a Hoya).

Click to expand...

David.rhsc said:

I don't want to steer you in the wrong direction though - a "Variable ND Filter" and an "ND Graduated Filter" are two different things.

Click to expand...

I feel like suchaidiot.


"Good morning, Raaaaay.
Can I get you another cuff of coppee, Raaaaaay?"

rayw said:

I feel like suchaidiot.


"Good morning, Raaaaay.
Can I get you another cuff of coppee, Raaaaaay?"

Click to expand...

Oh, so like the time someone posted a "How do I do this camera move" video and I wrote a long ass description of the wrong shot in the video? FWIW: We're lucky I understood the question I was answering. Yes please, I will have that additional coffee thank you.

rayw said:

Yeah, I need to get a variable ND filter (looking for a Hoya).

Click to expand...

I just gone through this process RayW. After much high quality research (google n whatnot) I came to the conclusion that unless yer willing to shell out the big bucks a Variable ND filter isn't really viable. Plus if you want to swap your lens... you'll need ANOTHER ND filter unless all your lens are of the same size!!

Solution... And forgive the lack of technical names here!! I got one of them "holders" David listed and a range of filters that are essentially square bits of plastic/glass at various ND densities. They slot in the holder and the holder clips onto an adapter that screws onto my lens. All for about £50... all I need now is another adaptor for my smaller lens and they are like £5 a go... So that's £55 for a Variable ND filter kit that fits ALL mylenses.

Compared to £100+ for a ND Filter of a specific size that will just fit one lens!!

All I need now is to be able to swap the glass without getting my grubby finger prints all over it!!!

You can adapt a larger variable ND to any smaller lens with inexpensive step-down rings easily too. I've got one 82mm FaderND and a few rings that let me use it with all my lenses from 77mm to 49mm. The variable is still more expensive, but it's also a lot faster and more precise to use than swapping fixed NDs in, so it's a tradeoff I consider worth the slight extra expense. The holders are definitely nice for things like grads though, so I'd say it's worth having both in your toolkit if possible.

You can also invest in a matte box that you can use with filters, that way when you change a lens you don't have to attach/detach filters. You can get some pretty decent matte boxes from china on ebay for around $150-200, then just grab some 4x4 filters to go in them!