event DV September 2007 "the EXPOSURE ballet" - by

[HankCastello]

Let me start off by saying that I have the highest regard for Jan Ozer and, having read his previous articles about how he handles sound for stage productions, etc., I have little doubt that he does fantastic work for his clients...

HOWEVER...

I am concerned that those with far less experience than Jan, may read his article where he says, "..my take on gain is that if I want to brighten my image, I'll do it in post, not with the camera.", and decide to do the same.

Perhaps Jan has better software for brightening video and color correcting than I do (I use PP 2.0) or perhaps he's mastered this part of his software to a level far greater than I.  Either way, it is unlikely that those who are new to video will get the best results by foregoing their camera's gain control and attempting to do it in post.

I think I've explored every image control function in Premiere Pro and a handful of other editing packages.  At no time have I found a solution in post that does a better job than using the camera's gain control - even when going to the max 18db!

Before deciding to never use your camera's gain button, try this experiment - in a controlled setting, reduce the light to where you need 9db of gain at full aperature.  Shoot a model (skin tones) with and without the gain.  Repeat at 18db.

Capture the footage (yeah, I know it isn't "footage", but whatever..) then try to use your editing functions to make the dark clips (without gain) look as good as those shot with gain.

If your experience is like mine, colors begin to go haywire in a hurry.  Grain is the least of the problems.

If you can truly get a better picture in post - or even as good an image as with the camera's gain - then we'd love to hear about how you did it.  If you haven't yet registered for these forums, please be sure and include your website url so we can identify you apart from the dozens of spammers (selling pills, stocks, etc.) who try to register each day.  If you don't yet have a website, be sure and send me an email (or use our contact page) when you register.

[Forever Endeavor]

I totally agree! I could also see how beginners could take his advice to mean they shouldn't worry much about the picture at all (like the iris, shutter speeds, white balance etc) because they could just "fix it in post". Not only will this result in inferior picture quality but you will end up spending more time on it in the long run!

[On a Roll]

I agree, for a new user, that could be dangerous advice. Plus, without knowing what sort of camera he has, it can be hard to tell how much distortion his gain control creates. However, I think it would be wise to avoid maxing out your gain if you can avoid it. I would rather pump the gain up about halfway, and finish it off in post if it came down to that. From the software that I've used though, (PP2 and Vegas 6) neither one can make as drastic a difference, in my opinion, as going from no gain to gain on the camera itself.

Of course, in an ideal world, everyone would have big ol' 1" CCD's that could capture crisp images in a nearly pitch black room. But then, what would be the fun in that? :lol:

[kwshaw1]

For once I'll have to agree with you on this! Camera manufacturers presumably take pains to design their gear to do the best job possible under a wide range of conditions, so ignoring the capabilities of your camera wouldn't be my advice. With the Sony FX1 I'll let the gain go all the way to 18db in dim light: I've tried limiting gain to lower values and that didn't help in any way - it just made the editing harder.

[Forever Endeavor]

Wait...wait just a minute...Kevin, I thought you weren't allowed to agree with Hank! Forum rules!  :lol:   j/k

[kwshaw1]

Wait...wait just a minute...Kevin, I thought you weren't allowed to agree with Hank! Forum rules!  :lol:   j/k

Ha, good one!  :-)

Seriously, I realize I've taken exception to a lot of things Hank says, but then much of what he says is to take exception to something else. Dang, maybe he and I are more alike than different...