3 Years later… “Mobius” and the Canon C300 / C300PL
HDSLRs were born a little over 3 years ago – and my life and that of many others has forever been changed as a result.
What an incredible time it’s been for many of us! And that is about to change again today…
The number "3" seems to have an unusual relevance to this short film "Mobius":
I was asked 3 months ago to shoot a short film for Canon to highlight the new Canon C300 camera.
We wrapped our 3rd day of shooting on what turned out to be exactly the 3-year-anniversary of the release of "Reverie." (I received a tweet about it that night which was a cool surprise and made me pause for a few seconds on set – what a strange coincidence right?! )
Canon is making this "historic" announcement on November 3rd.
This is the 3rd prototype camera Canon has asked me to test (Reverie / Nocturne / Mobius)
We used 3 C300 bodies for the shoot. And this post is 4 posts shy of the 300th post on this blog.
And finally 3 is the natural successor to the Canon 5D MKII …
*UPDATE: Oddly enough (and before this post was published) I was seated at table #3 at the Canon dinner on the evening of the premiere (out of more than 40 tables…)
Without further ado – here is the short we produced with a wonderful cast and crew (more to come on them in the upcoming days) -
Mobius – 720p Version from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.
Note that this version is optimized for fast playback on the majority of systems – it does not show the optimum image quality in terms of resolution and compression. To get the highest quality image go to the 1080p link below.
Here is a LINK to the 1080p version of "Mobius" for those of you who’s system can handle it.
A downloadable version of the final film (5GB) will be made available shortly courtesy of Apple and iTunes.
Follow me on Twiiter @vincentlaforet for breaking updates on this and other events!
First a behind the scenes look:
A special thank you goes to the Vimeo team for shooting and editing this piece – not to mention joining us on set! Big thanks to Blake Whitman and Sam Morrill.
SPECS: For those of you who are dying for the specs here they are - with my commentary in italic:
Sensor: New Canon 8.29 Megapixel Super 35mm Cinema CMOS Sensor – 3840 x 2160 effective pixels
Native 1920×1080 capture with 3 separate 2.0 megapixel color channels – 2.0mp G, 2.0mp R, 2.0mp B) without the type of interpolation required by most cameras in this price range.
Ergo this is in effect a 4K sensor creating a 1080p image. This results in what I would say is easily one of the best digital cinema sensors on the market - at least that I have worked with (I have worked with all of the digital cinema cameras released within the past 2-3 years.*) The camera’s only competition right now are the Arri Alexa and Red Epic – although each of the 3 sensors and cameras have distinct advantages over one another - there is no perfect camera.
The Canon C300 produces an INCREDIBLY sharp image at 1080p on a 60 foot screen. There is ZERO aliasing or moire – goodbye forever!!!
It should be said: DSLRs are FAR FROM DEAD. Their price point, size, and accessibility to the "masses" will allow them to thrive for years to come in my opinion. The above mentioned cameras are in a different price league. I have not heard of an official price yet from Canon, but it is safe to say that the price will be north of the Canon 1Dx.
*(I haven’t tried the Sony F65 and I haven’t been able to test the new Phantom Flex – the Phantom Gold’s sensor is quite impressive.)
New DIGIC DV IIII Processor
This proccesor allows for unbelievable low light performance and color / image quality. If you love the Canon 5DMKII’s image quality – prepare to be blown away by this sensor. Both in terms of dynamic range and the richness of the image. The image quality coming from this camera is incredibly organic – alpha channels show a noise pattern incredibly reminiscent of film. In fact I had to walk up to the 22 foot screen at EFilm during the grading session on several occasion to examine what I swore looked like a Tri-X negative being projected onto the screen.
Low light performance:
High Sensitivity/Low Noise – Peak Dynamic Range of 800% or 12 stops (using Canon Log Cinema Mode at ISO 850 and higher.)
Signal Processing equivalent to a 3-chip RGBCamera system without the need for any debayering algorithms.
Although I have not had a chance to do en empirical test at this point with side by side results – it’s fair to say that this camera performs better than the Alexa and perhaps even the Sony F3 in low light. It’s hard to compare the F3 because the noise of that camera is different (I have done side by side tests - but the C300′s noise pattern at high ISOs is so organic that it looks like film and isn’t a distraction.) I would say that the C300 is 1&1/2 to 2 stops better than the Alexa in low light – which is incredible. That being said – the Alexa is top dog in terms of highlight retention – and likely has a 1-2 stop advantage in retaining highlights (Again, given that no empirical tests have been done yet – take this paragraph as a whole with a grain of salt. Alexa does claim a 14 stop range versus the C300′s 12. The Red Epic has been reported at around 13.5 stops.) The RED Epic is hard to judge against these as well given that the resolution of its sensor naturally makes noise more apparent (due to the higher resolution.) I have processed the 5K imagery with post noise reduction software and gotten impressive results. Comparing a 5K camera to a 1080p camera is not something I’m willing to do at this point – to me the two are like Apples and Oranges. Comparing the two would be the equivalent of comparing the same lens on a 1080p vs 5K sensor – the 5K sensor will show every optical flaw of that lens in crystal clear detail due to the incredible relative resolution.
Resolution and frame rates:
1~30 fps at 1080p
1~60 fps at 720p
The lack of additional faster frame rates at 1080p is one of the few disappointments of this camera – but expected given its expected price point. This is one of the areas where the Red Epic shines at up to 300fps at 2K, and up to 120fps at 5K. The Alexa also will also eventually go up to 120fps at 1080p.
ISO Range:
320-20,000
We shot the entire film at 850 ISO to get the maximum dynamic range. The image is incredibly clean. Once we pull up the shadows the blacks have a pleasing granular structure to them. More to come on that in the next few days. I did do some tests at 3200 ISO and 6400 ISO and was amazed by what I saw. One of the films Canon is showing today had a few scenes shot at 20,000 ISO – and the footage holds up on a 60 foot screen (with obvious grain/noise.)
Manual Gain: -6dB to 30dB
EF and PL versions
I wish that there were interchangeable lens mounts as with the RED Epic. Choosing between the two models is going to be incredibly difficult for all out there… in fact that is probably going to cause many to debate which camera to buy – for days…. if not weeks. I love my Canon EF lenses. But Canon’s new PL Lenses as well as the current lineup of available lenses will likely have me go to the PL version first.
Rotatable and removable handgrip.
Monitor Unit/Control Panel can be mounted on the camera’s accessory slot or in a variety of different ways.
4-inch 1.23 Megapixel LCD is rotatable and removable.
We found ourselves using Zacuto EVFs with the camera and the new Marshall monitors with built in waveform graphs with excellent success.
Body weight:
EF Version – 3.2 lbs
PL Version – 3.6 lbs
Don’t overlook this spec. This is HUGE – or in this case small and light. The size and weight of this camera is incredible. This will be a huge factor when choosing between this camera and the Epic and Alexa. This is a significant advantage that Canon has notably over the Alexa in my opinion. You can literally pick this camera up with your index finger… and ii is noticeably smaller than the Sony F3 for example (in length.) It is also noticeable lighter than the Epic. I should also mention that we shot with the C300 camera for 3 days in 95ºF + temperatures in the desert on RC Helicopters and Russian arms and we never had a single issue with the camera that I can recall. Impressive given that these were prototype cameras…
XLR Inputs and audio control
We used a dual system for audio (i.e. a separate audio deck to record audio) on this project – but all of the bells and whistles appear to be there.
Output:
HD/SD-SDI
HDMI
Timecode in/out
Genlock
Sync out (3D)
XLR (2 Channel)
3.5mm Mic Jack
Heaphone 3.5 stereo monitor
FINALLY!!!! Need I say more! Production-ready camera!
Media:
2 CF Card Slots
Relay record from one to another
Hot swap cards while shooting uninterrupted
Shooting simultaneously to both cards
HD/SD-SDI Output to external recoders
It’s wonderful to be able to record to CF Cards that you already have available. CF Cards are dependable and cheap. The dual record function is a superb function that gives you a tremendous amount of peace of mind.
Codec:
Canon XF Codec:
MPEG-2
4:2:2
50Mbs
MXF Wrapper
Love the codec. We shot 18 hours of footage and copied it all on a 500GB drive w/ audio and production stills. Image quality is superb and it grades wonderfully. For most- this will be more than enough. It blows the 5DMKII away. Completely. That being said the RED Epic’s and Alexa’s RAW support will allow the digital image to be pushed further especially when aggressive color correction/grading is desired. We edited out entire short in Premiere and After Effects without a single hiccup. I am told the codec is supported by Avid as well. At the time of production neither Final Cut 7 nor Final Cut X supported this format – though I’m sure that will change for Final Cut X at some point of course.
Power:
Long battery life -
Included BP-955 up to 205 min
Optional BP-075 up to 310 min
A waverform Monitor and Vectorscope for exposure analysis built in.
The battery is excellent – never a factor on our shoots.
Focus Assist:
Magnified Focus
Two Peaking modes to check and confirm critical focus
Wireless Remote (WFT-E6):
802.11 a/b/g/n/
Secure – user assignable IP address and password
Control over: Start/Stop, Shutter/ ISO/ WB etc.
Iris and focus control when using Canon EF Lenses
Metadata input remotely
Approx 150 ft range.
Operates using standard Web-browsers on WiFi-engable devices:
iPad/iPhone/iTouch
Computers / Android Tables
Sound incredibly neat – we didn’t have these to test during our shoot.
New Canon EF Cinema lenses:
24mm T/1.5L F
50mm T/1.3L F
85mm T/1.3L F
With more to come…
Lenses have 4K image quality
300º Degree focus thrown
Mechanical 11-blad iris
Consistent matched gearing
These support the full size image cifcle of the the EOS 5D MKII and EOS-1D X
These lenses have the potential to be very disruptive… but until I see one I’m just speculating… but based on the zoom lenses below… Canon has the potential to shake up the lens world if their prime lenses are as good as their Zooms…
EF Cinema Zoom lenses:
14.5~60mm T/2.6L SP
30~300mm T/2.95-3.7L SP
The support the 35mm image circle of the EOS C300
I love these lenses and would love one of each from a very rich Santa from Xmas. I may just have to buy the 30~300mm because it was outstanding and a lens one can travel the world with. The optical and mechanical performances were beyond excellent. It is smaller (by approx 6 pounds!) than the Angenieux 24~290mm T2.6 Optimo and much more compact – the Optimo is one of the godfathers in the zoom lens world…
So where does the camera stand in relation to the other cameras? What about RED’s Scarlet announcement today? That and much more in the upcoming days on this blog… STAY TUNED.
And here’s a little piece of nostalgia – Reverie from 3 years ago… :
Reverie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.
Director/DP – This was the first 1080p video widely released that was shot with the Canon 5D MKII. It was viewed more than 2 million times in the first week of its release.
[...] Engadget coverage of the announcement here. Vicent LaForet’s short made with the new camera (more info on the camera’s features here): [...]
[...] just announced their new C300 cinema camera today, and Vincent Laforet follows up with a movie shot on one. Vincent is no stranger to HDSLRs. His short film [...]
Great job Vincent. Thanks for sharing the big news and such a detailed insight of yet another great camera from Canon.
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[...] As with previous Canon products my good friend Vincent Laforet was one of the first to film with the C300 – his results are below with more details over on his blog. [...]
[...] out Vicent Laforet’s blog about it. Engadgets look at the clip. Share lead, news Communication [...]
BOOM! Another game changer…
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[...] out Vicent Laforet’s blog about it. Engadgets look at the [...]
You said it Vince – there’s never been a better time to be behind the lense.
Exciting times – thanks for the indepth technical analysis and much valued honest opinions.
MOB
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[...] 3 Years later… “Mobius” and the Canon C300 / C300PL « Vincent Laforet’s Blog. Share this:PrintMoreTwitterFacebookEmailLike this:LikeBe the first to like this post. [...]
Love it!
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It’s odd to say this but the improvement in your overall cinematography has improved amazingly since Reverie. I loved watching Mobius.
I just need to get a job where I convince them I need to use a c300.
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I have been a follower of your journey working with DSLR video since Reverie. Congratulations on making another ground breaking test feature with Mobius.
The only thing is that I feel that I am still all for Reverie and its moods and the style that represented as opposed to Mobius… this is just me and I am your everyday still photographer shooter with not much video experience. I particularly liked Reverie because it was all shot at night and hence the low light capabilities of the 5D MKII were showcased beautifully. Just wondering why Mobius was entirely shot in bright day light where the C300 boasts revolutionary low light capabilities.
I am also starting to realize that historically Canon 5D MKII exemplified that monumental juncture that made lifelong still photographers cross the bridge and taste a new breed of film making, where the EOS C300 is a completely different innovation, namely video from ground up with some of its DNA tracing back to its photographic heritage.
Thank you Mr. Laforet for another showstopper!
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Congrats Vincent! What a fantastic short and what a privilege to be one of the first lucky hands to make contact with this beast of a camera! Looking forward to many many more of your superb work.
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Wow I can’t believe no one has commented yet.
As usual, great work Vincent, huge inspiration. I have to say I really like where Canon is headed these days. Some times it seems like big corporations fail to have their ear to the ground, but Canon seems really on top of creating the products people actually want before they realize it.
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Great work Vincent. Was that some rolling shutter I saw during the car chase though?
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You SOB… you knew about this for a year lolol
congrats nonetheless
I’ve been trying to find out the price on the lens (EF), not sure if this info has been released as yet?
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I want to know what that new DSLR is thats seen here:
http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/03/canon-has-a-new-eos-movies-dslr-on-the-way-too/#disqus_thread
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Thanks for this highly detailed post Vincent. I really appreciate the technical information you give on the new product. Your film was pretty sick. I hope Canon pulls a fast one and drops a 5d mark 3 to bridge the gap for those who can’t necessarily hop on the 20K camera bandwagon just yet.
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[...] http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2011/11/03/mobius-and-the-c300-c300pl/#more-6434 [...]
[...] technical insights during a panel discussion, and he has also posted some thoughts on the camera at his blog. Other speakers at the event included Felix Alcala, Sam Nicholson, Masaya Maeda, Martin Scorsese, [...]
Good stuff. But only the thing is Price tag with features. i think Still RED having the target market. . .
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[...] More on Vincent Laforet’s blog. [...]
[...] to put a new camera early into Vince Laforet’s talented hands again, as tonight he’s showing off his new film “Mobius” filmed entirely with Canon’s new EOS C300 cinema camera. [...]
This is the 3rd prototype camera Canon has asked me to test (Reverie….
You bloody… You have always said that you have beg to get that five dee..
hahahahhaha….. no worries, just kidding
ps. Nice videos!
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[...] [...]
It seems all good. Well done Canon. My only concern is the price range as an “upgrade option” for the mass 5D mkii user market out there… It’s too much when you compare the “new” Scarlet…
RED’s specs, EF mount, 4K…. oh, and less than $10,000? RED is stealing the market Canon should have catered too…
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Great job… I’d love to see the rest of the movie! lol As soon as I saw your video, I just needed to blog about the C300.
Did you use the new Canon Log mode in the C300 and graded the movie in post?
I am a great fan of your work. Take care.– Atom
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Technically beautiful, but I’m not sold on the content.
You’re a former PJ so I know you don’t need the lecture about sensationalism – but why? Why did this topic need to be reduced to a Twilight Zone story?
I also disagree with the “what a cool ending” sentiment I’m seeing in Vimeo user responses – the whole “mobius” concept makes much of the viewing superfluous. After the initial shock of seeing what’s going on, the rest of the watching becomes something like torture.
Not terrible, but (I know I can’t say this without appearing sanctimonius, but it needs to be said) the victims of Mexican drug violence – both of the cartels and of the government – deserve better.
At the risk of a spoiler and the race angle: Of course most PJ victims of violence are of course Mexican, which is an awkward play as the lead is clearly not Mexican. If anything, the malfeasance of Estadounidenses in the drug war is more the reverse, on average, than that seen here – not to downplay the good deeds of many like the guy seen here. But it is further confusing to apply the old trope of “superstitious native guy turns out to be right” as it has no power to subvert the other trope, that the fearless, superstition-unabiding interloper is the only person trying to break the cycle – and of course the whole concept is based around the concept of fatalism. Call me romantic, or an idiot, or whatever, but I think that scenes this powerful are dangerous when used to push such a simple understanding of a very real battle at America’s southern doorstep.
This is essentially no different than Khalid Mohtaseb’s Haiti video (right down to the alteration of color when you exit the American Zone), and I don’t think that making a distinction upfront about it as ‘not the news’ absolves one of responsibility – this reflects an American view of Mexican drug violence, instead of improving it. To extend the mobius metaphor: The video is become an echo chamber, where the truth is lost and the preconception survives.
Maybe that’s the point. I never was a big fan of “everything must be spelled out” film (ala The Battleship Potemkin) but most people will not get that message (if it was intended). If anything, the simple takeaway is that isolationism is right, stay at home on your couch or else you will be shot for your troubles. You don’t have to be infused with a boundless optimism to know that might be a bit simpler, at the least, than reality.
Anyway, forgive me if I sound like a whiny academic know-nothing. I enjoyed the video, on the whole, but I don’t enjoy the ramifications of this being our popular culture.
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First off the video quality of the new cam is stunning! I am blown away! Now the film its self was INSANE! Absolute brilliance! I am so stoked to see you making great work! FULL LEGNTH FEATURE FILM NEXT!
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A wonderful coincidence, Hope you keep making them, as it’s truly great to see you explore this cutting edge technology
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Good morning Vincent, as always, great little movie.
But…I really do not like new Canon C300 image quality. It resembles the old HDV Canon flagships. Full of micro jello effects here and there and…Goodness…Look at 0.38-0:40…Super aliasing …Look at the car…Look at the car…They improved nothing. The 5D mark II has still a better esthetic. Hands down. Am I the only one noticing all this? Plus everything looks washed out and the white balance is … Well, once you showed us the results of Epic…Since the new scarlet has the same dynamic range on paper…Canon canon, if you had just released a 5D mark III…
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Impressive! But at 20.000,- it is a bit awkward to suggest this is the ‘natural successor to the 5D Mark II’ …
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[...] the article: 3 Years later… “Mobius” and the Canon C300 / C300PL Posted by admin at 12:30 am Tagged with: cards, digital, electronics, hardware, interview, [...]
Great post Vincent
cheers!!
But will this camera make you a better film maker or cinematographer?
I doubt so….it’s just another tool in the box mate.
I honestly think you could have pulled this short off on a 5DmkII Vincent….with all the grip gear and experience of the crew you had. Sure this camera beat the shit out of the 5DmkII on the technical specs (we all love the artifacts to disappear and better codec) but I think your experience is the superb tool in this short! I see you has grow as a film maker, cause you have practiced your skills, not the gear you use. So please tell all the reader off this blog to keep working with the gear they have, that is the only way to make them better and more skilled film makers.
But it’s a nice camera for sure, and I’m sure I’ll have a closer look at it, and a great short film that I’ll watch again.
If you have no story you have no film, whatever great camera you have in your bag do not matter. And this was a great story, good direction and well executed short. But as I see on the BTS, no low budget gig
Thanks a lot Vincent, keep up the great work. J
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This was cool. But I know that you professionals can make great movies with “any” camera. Would be cool to see a amateur use this camera
Anyways, this isn´t a camera for hobbyists and one man armies due to its price. But I guess its too much to ask for a videocamera with DSLR quality for us regular consumers
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Go to 08:45 of Möbius… Hey, what’s THAT behind the car?!?
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Thanks for the hands-on impressions, Vincent. Gonna circle around a bit and wait for the dust to settle before making any decisions on purchasing the camera. The primes are intriguing, especially how they’ll work with the MkII’s full frame sensor.
It would be interesting to see if Canon will maintain the 20K price point or align it closer to the F3.
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Awesome post and great work by everyone.
I know were here to talk about the camera but would love to know what mics/sound recorder you used?
Also, the plane shots…what light was that, 10k HMI? etc
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I like Mobius ! thanks for the behind the scene too.
C300 Fail :
I’m a canon user, I buy EF lenses for photography, I got a lot of “speciality” lenses Tilt-shift Macro etc. I was hoping a new system that, let me play with my “old” lenses on a “cinema” system where the PL mount is a standard.
a bit like the F3 where sony as a propriatary mount for their weird “to come” zoom and a native PL mount.
it would be a really good incitative for me to keep buying Canon product. Now if I sale my EF lenses… Not shure I will stay with Canon.
oh and iso 850 it’s not on my meter ;o(
except the mount the camera look very competitive for me and have a lot of better point in my opinion over the F3.
The ergonomic look fantastic.
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V. Great work as always brother. Its been pretty amazing to see your growth as a Director/Cinematographer over the past 3 years. I’m interested to see what happens in the next 3 years as the tools and your skills evolve.
I’m pretty jealous when it comes to the talent (both cast and crew) that you get to work with… Getting to use the latest and greatest seems like a nice bonus too, though I’m sure it has its headaches.
Seems like its been a pretty epic (ok, perhaps stellar would be a better word here, *grin*) week for you. Go take a nap, and enjoy a relaxing weekend.
Cheers
-Brett
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[...] here: If your system can handle it, here’s the 1080p version of Laforet’s MÖBIUS. Read on his blog about the film and his time with the Canon [...]
Would like to hear your take on the Scarlet X announcement of later the same day.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 4th, 2011 at 12:29 pm
Will do soon for sure!
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Enjoyed the film Vincent, but you really did make that Canon 400mm L lens looks like crap! The view thru the photographer’s lens was so blurrry. Hey I know clarity would have ruined the surprise, but you could have at least put a crap mirror lens on there or a Sigma…. LOL
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[...] importantly, check out our friend Vincent Laforet’s post on his newest video, Mobius, shot with the C300. There’s an awesome behind the scens video, both embedded here for your viewing [...]
Wow! That was all shot with the new Canon???? Me want!
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Congratulations!
Here are my thoughts on the EOS C300, Red Scarlet, etc.:
http://paul-d.tv/blog/2011/11/04/the-night-of-the-long-camera-announcements/
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Just enjoy the film people. This is a promo video for the launch of a new Canon camera, not a Zacuto shootout video.I think we should stop saying things like “this is a good film but you don’t need a this or that camera, you can just pulled it off with a 5Dmk2…” Well we all know that content is king, and you can basically should any film with any camera, including a handycam.
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Hi Vicent
Vicent you say “And finally 3 is the natural successor to the Canon 5D MKII …”
Have you sure ? I am waiting a time to canon 5 d iii .
Probabilly this year or next year because olimpic games and european football !
Sorry my english
Say something to me
Regards from portugal ( Europe )
Oliveira
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Great work vincent!!!!! Mobius rocks!!!!!! but 20,000 dollars. Is canon on crack. Canon needs to make a great camera for the masses . I might leave canon and get the sony fs100 by default . Canon forgot who created the buzz in the first place regular people with big dreams and the 5d helped make those dreams come true. Who cares about the so-called pros they can buy what ever they want. This is a new time when any one with a good idea can make some thing great. Canon’s focus should be with those people.
I Also think the Mobius still would have been great on a 5D even a t2i cause the story was Great!!!!!!!
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I think I’m going to watch Mobius again next week. I see I’m the only one who didn’t like its Image quality…If compared to Reverie and Nocturne. I do not know, but since Vincent showed us the first EPIC footage it’s as if the C300 footage were a joke. I do not mean to be bad, I seriously wanted to like the C300, but the dynamic range it has is very very poor. I mean, reverue blew an entire community away, Nocturne made me buy the 1D mark IV…Mobius makes me only consider that Vincent has become a director, because in terms of direction is flawless. But the camera, I really don’t like it. That being said, you all have a great week end! I’m going to relax for while. Greetings from Germany.
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[...] 3 Years later… “Mobius” and the Canon C300 / C300PL « Vincent Laforet’s Blog. Cancel reply [...]
[...] by Vincent Laforet, more Info here and here’s a [...]
[...] querem saber mais sobre o equipamento, e é bem legal ver a nova câmera em ação. [Mobius via Vincent Laforet] by gizmodo Share this:ShareTwitterFacebookLike this:LikeBe the first to like this [...]
Amazing. This is the kind of camera I might even take out a loan for. Vincent, what kind of mic did you use to capture dialog?
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Canon has overpriced this toy by double. Both by comparison to its competition and its functions.
It is more a hybrid of the 5DmkII and the XF300 than anything. Both of which cost significantly less.
Finally, can we be done with the bought and paid for sponsorship films Vincent? It’s time to make something that matters.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 6th, 2011 at 10:51 pm
I have to agree for the most part – but I don’t price the thing… unfortunately.
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[...] Mobius – 1080p HQ from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo. On his blog, Laforet writes, [...]
[...] his blog post that goes into details about just how great the Canon C300 could be. google_ad_client = "pub-2642645613598858"; google_ad_width = 468; google_ad_height = [...]
[...] of the most exciting things about the Canon C300 are the sharpness of the image, and also the "organic" or granular structure of the noise [...]
Vincent, can you clarify if the audio recording is of high quality. As you used external devices for MOBIUS, I’m concerned Canon’s C300 wasn’t quite on the mark.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 8:31 am
There was initially an issue with the movie we uploaded w/ audio – it’s been replaced. We recorded w/ a dual system w/ sound engineers.
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[...] into the fine details of the announcement, as these have been covered at length in various blogs:VincentLaforet.com (who had the chance to play with the magic number [...]
[...] VincentLaforet.com (who had the chance to play with the magic number 3) [...]
[...] VincentLaforet.com (who had a possibility to play with a sorcery series 3) [...]
Amazing Mr.Vincent
You seem to like the twisty ends…I like it too
Keep it up
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“People need to know.” Great line. Great blog post. Great visuals.
Thank you!
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Ya know… this may seem obvious to some of you professionals out there, but please enlighten me… what is the purpose of bringing 6 cameras? I do not remember seeing six angles of any particular scene… not to mention trying to obscure them from inter-visability would be a nightmare! I understand bringing a backup for redundancy, even 2-3 to catch different angles, but 6… ? Seems rather over indulgent.
…or maybe I’m way off.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 8:23 am
We only used 2 cameras at a time. We brought them simply because these were prototype cameras and we were afraid they would fail in the 100 plus degree weather – in the end we had no problems though.
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@Thomas Piper,
“I Also think the Mobius still would have been great on a 5D even a t2i cause the story was Great!!!!!!!”
Totally agree, it really was a pretty cool story.
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Mr Laforet you are a master at your craft.
Great story told with a flair of authority using VFX. Mobius is on top of the mountain. The Canon C300 is King of the desert.
Please where can I get the RC helicopter that you used in Mobius. I live in Los Angeles, CA. Any help in finding where I can buy that RC helicopter is very much appreciated.
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[...] Mobius, short film made on the 300C. [...]
Vincent….I have to say you outdid yourself with this film. Waaaaay better than reverie or Nocturne.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 9:56 am
Reverie: 12 hours of prep/development
Nocturne: 3 days
Mobius: 3 weeks on script dev/ 1 week to prep
It’s all about the story/script/pre-pro
Thanks!
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[...] films shot with the Canon C300 here. Connolly also gives a shout-out to Vincent Laforet's blog, which details his experiences with the camera.The Negative:Pretty much the price. Connolly was hoping for something in the $10K range, but the [...]
You guys should do a full-length film as in 2 hours max. This is the first time that I’ve viewed your work through Film Riot’s YouTube channel. Your team is amazing! I’m looking forward to reading tips from you as I am a Digital Media Arts Student.
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 17th, 2011 at 9:51 am
Thank you! That’s the goal … appreciate it!
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Vincent,
I enjoyed your Mobius. Quality wise (the video footage) and structure (similar level to an “A” movie) it surpassed the other C300 short movies. I thought your footage from the C300 looked very filmic.
Any comments on how the Canon C300 compares to the Red Epic (ease of use, quality, etc)?
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:59 pm
Thank you! Ease of use are about the same. Quality – two very different beasts. I think the C300 will hold up better in the elements given the weatherproofing etc. Quality was discussed in post just two after this one.
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[...] You can see all a films shot with a Canon C300 here. Connolly also gives a shout-out to Vincent Laforet’s blog, which sum his practice with a camera. [...]
[...] More recently, LaForet directed a short action film, Mobius, demonstrating the C300. And more behind the scenes notes on the production of this video are available at LaForet’s blog. [...]
yours was definitely my favorite of the 4 films showing at paramount, and most definitely the best looking… the other 3, for one thing, seemed too oversaturated, which might be an issue for this camera… TOO rich of color? that may be an unfair criticism as you can always reduce the chroma, but we’re sure to see lots of very colorful films coming from C300 users. was your film intentionally timed to be a bit low contrast in order to show off the immense dynamic range of the camera? i noticed that on the WWI Peter Jackson short for RED a few years back… would have looked better with the contrast boosted, but that wouldn’t have reflected well on the camera.
fyi, put together a spec comparison list of the Canon, the F3, and the Scarlet:
http://idisk.mac.com/ressler-Public/largeformathd10k.pdf
still can’t decide which to order…
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
November 22nd, 2011 at 9:57 pm
Lower contrast = more filmic. I don’t think pure blacks or white look natural on the silver screen.
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[...] months into my tour of duty wondering aloud how I'd every make it 3 years! That was in 1973. Yikes.Time is a funny thing. I can remember stuff I did 3 years ago as though it was just yesterday. When …work at my current job, a day I anticipate with much glee, it seems as though time is standing [...]
[...] Vincent LaForet’s short-film (and making-of), using that camera http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2011/11/03/mobius-and-the-c300-c300pl/ [...]
[...] the Canon C300 was announced back in early November, Vincent Laforet shot a short movie with it and uploaded the RAW video files to his website for people to download and play with. I just [...]
[...] a few links to some great info…(watch the films too!) I’ll start with the Canon bits: http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2011/11/03/mobius-and-the-c300-c300pl/ [...]
[...] Mobius, short film made on the 300C. [...]
Vincent,
great work! i really am enjoying mobius, just like i enjoyed reverie 3 years ago when i first saw it. They both have the same “awe” effects! Reverie : the first DSLR footage i saw. Mobius : the first very filmic Video footage i’ve seen so far. Thanx for being the prophet of DSLR cinema!
btw i have a question about ISO, you said “We shot the entire film at 850 ISO to get the maximum dynamic range” why can’t you change ISO depending on the scene? would that be a problem in post? is it because you’re trying to maintain the same look throughout the whole movie? what’s the connection towards maximum dynamic range?
Thanx
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
January 7th, 2012 at 6:05 am
Thank you!
We can change ISO of course – but were told the best results in terms of max dynamic range would be 850. For the Epic it’s 800 ASA for example – every camera has a sweet spot on the sensor for max dynamic range.
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[...] Mobius is a gripping short film by Vincent Laforet about “a photojournalist who stumbles upon a cartel execution and supernatural events in the the ‘Zone of Silence’ in Mexico”. Here’s a 1080p HQ version and behind-the-scenes footage. [...]
[...] Mobius is a gripping short film by Vincent Laforet about “a photojournalist who stumbles upon a cartel execution and supernatural events in the the ‘Zone of Silence’ in Mexico”. Here’s a 1080p HQ version and behind-the-scenes footage. [...]
[...] Vincent LaForet – Mobius [...]
[...] announced. Of course we also had Vincent Laforet, eternal peace and blessings be upon him, with a great new video to show off the C300 too. It was awesome. Vincent Laforet, peace be with Him, got his hair done by a professional hair [...]
Simply fantastic work, thanks for the details, and the “making of” video as well. I am a big fan of your work. Hope to see more from you soon! You’re a huge inspiration, and I am willing to bet that Mobius will be seen in many classrooms around the world!
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
February 9th, 2012 at 3:39 pm
Thank you!
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JUST SAW YOU IN VANCOUVER,
Thanks for coming, amazing to see this film on the big screen, and to hear you and Alex speak about your work, and this camera.
Some say you have a bit of an uphill battle to talk people into using it, as many are bitten by the perception of ‘needing’ a 4k, but I think the statement of “adding it to the toolbox” is valid and inarguable. Again, thx
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Vincent Laforet Reply:
February 15th, 2012 at 9:35 am
Thanks for coming David! Alex and I had a great time! Cheers – v
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that was actually pretty damn nice.. good job!
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