Panasonic AG-DVX200 Tech Brief - Volume 6 - V-LOG L Based Production - Page 3

work overall, it just delays when that work needs to be done, and shi s the burden from the camera operator (or Digital Imaging Technician) over to the editor or colorist. As such, VLOG-L is probably most suitable for shooting cinema, drama, music videos, and other types of footage where extensive post-processing, color correction, and "stylized" video are the expected nal result. However, I would suggest that VLOG-L would not be a wise choice for any scenario where heavy and extensive post-production is not expected or is not the norm. For example, I would say that VLOG-L would probably be the wrong choice when shooting sports, live events, concerts, conventions, news, any live broadcast, or any scenario where you are expected to turn over the unedited master footage to the client. Furthermore, when a job requires a rapid turnaround from shooting to delivery, VLOG-L may not be the right choice in that scenario; post-processing takes time. If someone was lming a wedding and expected to deliver a same-day edit, shooting in VLOG-L may be problematic in that the post-processing rendering process might slow down your ability to deliver nished footage. Post-Production Processing ere are several crucial aspects of image processing that are necessary to turn raw (or VLOG-L Mode) footage into pleasing, monitor-ready nal images. You do need to color-correct, and to gamma-correct (usually by applying an S-curve to make the images really "pop" on the monitor), but post-processing is not strictly about color and contrast! Sensor images have always needed noise reduction applied, and the DVX200 is no exception. e DVX200 does noise reduction internally when it is normally processing footage, and includes several menu options for controlling sharpening and noise, but those processes are bypassed when recording VLOG-L. If you are bypassing the internal processing by using VLOG-L mode, you should expect to do noise reduction on the recorded VLOG-L footage or the footage may look noisy, especially in the darker shadows and lower midtones. Likewise, video footage generally bene ts enormously from some manner of sharpening. e DVX200 provides options for sharpening the footage, including the Detail and Coring controls. If you bypass that processing by using VLOG-L, then you're going to need to apply some sharpening in your post-production phase or, the footage may look "so ." e DVX200 resolves extremely high detail, but video needs some degree of edge enhancement (sharpening) to really make that resolved detail apparent to the viewer. Exposing For VLOG-L Exposing for VLOG-L is somewhat di erent than exposing using normal video gamma curves. Most video camera gamma curves are designed to replicate what-you-see-is-what-you-get when the footage is displayed on a video monitor. at's convenient, but there are sacri ces made in the amount of dynamic range that can be preserved when using a conventional video gamma. Furthermore, video gammas are more linear in design, and that means that more "bits" are allocated to storing the brightest stops, than are allocated to store the darkest stops. is can result in mushy shadows, and noise and banding in the shadows if you try to brighten them in post. With VLOG-L, the bits are allocated more evenly, with approximately the same number of shades of gray allocated to each of the midtone and highlight stops; and while the darkest stops do have fewer shades of gray than the midtones might, they generally have signi cantly more than in a conventional video gamma. 3