It’s not uncommon to hear clients, directors, producers and others on set ask me, “Why does it look like that?” when referring to the camera monitor. Why does the footage look unsaturated, washed out, almost gray?
We like to take a cinematic approach to shooting all of our projects. As part of that, we utilize the technology that gives us the most dynamic range. Dynamic range is the holy grail for cinematographers. The more dynamic range you can get out of the camera the easier it is to properly expose for the darkest and lightest areas of the image. This now leads us into “Log.”
Modern cameras have the ability to shoot in log. We mostly shoot in Sony’s Slog2 and 3. This gives us maximum dynamic range and makes shooting in bright areas or dark areas a possibility without have to spend a lot of time with blocking windows that are too bright or shadows that may be too dark. Log was created in order to preserve the highlights in areas and increase dynamic range on the camera sensor. Log also takes us out of the normal Rec.709 color space and gives us more range to be adjusted in post later.
The other perk of shooting in log is that we get to choose later on how we would like to color the footage. Log lets us create a look for the video or match multiple cameras. While color correcting is a process, shooting with log saves time when you are able to acquire the footage with less effort with lighting or set up on set. This doesn’t mean you don’t have to light the scene, but it does allow for a lot more flexibility. Also shooting on log requires a certain amount of knowledge of camera operation because you don’t get to see a final product on set.
The future of camera technology and image is heading in the direction of giving cinematographers a clean slate that is highly adjustable in post production color grading. So, when you see that image in the monitor, just know that it looks like that because we are utilizing the best technology for the job and will be making choices with color and exposure later in post production.