John Adams HBO

[CarBennly]

Anyone catch John Adams last night? I thought it was fantastic on a ton of levels. That said. Was anyone else distracted with how it was shot? It looked rotated about 15 degees and not always just to fill the screen.....

[Land Rover]

I don't have any of the movie channels but I would like to see it.

[2000lux]

What's with all the Dutch angles?! I find that really distracting.

At first I thought it moved pretty slow, yet I still got engrossed in it.

[Baltimore Shooter]

Yeah, there were dutch angles when there was no need for it. Also, there were a couple of shots during the 2nd vote at the Continental Congress where they decided to declare independence where the camera must have been 6-12 inches from John Adams. That just didn't seem right.

Something interesting while I was watch the 'making of', was that they used green screen elements outside. How can they use green screen outdoors? Doesn't that have to be lit the same way we light green screens for interviews and weather (even lighting, not light or shadow from the subject hitting the green, etc.)?

Warren

[TexasDave]

aaargghh - my DVR didn't record it! Not a fan of time warner cable. At least I can watch it on demand (just not HD)

[Wideangle]

It looked like they REALLY tarred and feathered that dude. Never really considered that they would strip you naked before doing that. Could have done without the dutch angles as well. Served no purpose.

[AlexLucas]

How can they use green screen outdoors? Doesn't that have to be lit the same way we light green screens for interviews and weather (even lighting, not light or shadow from the subject hitting the green, etc.)?

Warren


Actually, with real light, in abundance outdoors, green screening is rather simple, and quite realistic looking.

One of the huuuge issues with chroma key disappears in daylight, where the light from the keying material won't spill back over on the subject. This is not an issue in direct daylight, as realistically, only shiny objects, not matte soft material, are things that kick colors back in full daylight, and even then they don't do it strongly. (For instance, a gold reflector adds a warmth, but not a 'super gold' color to a subject, and that's because the sun is the powerhouse here, not the reflector).

Remember, the other trick to chroma key is even light on the key screen, and then making sure that the lighting on the subject is realistic looking. The subject will look realistic with real daylight. Problem solved. A green screen will be well lit with even temperature and work well in the daytime, if there is no shadow on it, so that is actually easier than you think. Even a small shadow can easily be fixed with a junke matte in post. Basically, chroma key runs into problems with an uneven, non-backlit, or poorly underlit lit subject or background. Most of those lighting issues dissappear if your shooting in a diffuse, well lit day.

If you buy a chroma key green reflector, you can literally go nuts and add all sorts of things into a foreground of a daylight shot, and you'd have a great time with it, because it's easier than you think.

Studio? That's an art form. Although that chromatte stuff is awesome.

[cameragod]

One of the best locations I’ve ever used a greenscreen in was a glasshouse. Constant even light and no bounce from the screen.

[focusthis]

Could it be my TV, or was there a slight green tint to the low light scenes? Yeah, the CU of Adams was out of style with the rest of the production. Reminded me of old B&W TV dramas. "Outer Limits" kind of tension shot. HD has ruined TV for me. I can see the plywood painted as a brick wall.

But I was engrossed! Interesting how they passed over more visual opportunities in the story line to explore Adams; his family life, and motivations. Almost the opposite of all the other period pieces I've seen. Who else wouldn't show the "tea party" raid? Or the street level images of the bombardment?? We don't see Ticonderoga, just the cannon stuck in the mud....

I've season passed the series regardless. I did catch myself thinking that many years ago, I would have had a sub in U.S. History make us watch this.

...and the fake snow sucked...

[pre-set]

Angles were weird..... Distractinlgy so. D.P. shoulda been smacked around for that.

[Tippster]

Could it be my TV, or was there a slight green tint to the low light scenes? ...
Same thing happened in "Collateral" - just about all the night scenes are slightly greenish. A buddy of mine was the 1st AC on that movie, they used a ViperCam and F900s. He said it has something to do with the black balance at higher dB levels... They leave the green channel higher because it gives you more texture without seeming brighter.

[Canonman]

HD has ruined TV for me. I can see the plywood painted as a brick wall.

A classic example of how you can't get away with certain shortcuts in the props department with HD like you can with SD.

Has anyone seen the Star Trek original series remastered in HD? Talk about make-up sticking out like a sore thumb. In the HD realm of today, you gotta go with airbrush make-up.

cm

[Run&Gun]

Set my Tivo and watched a little bit the other night. I'm sure they are TRYING to do it for a reason, to draw your attention or set it appart, mood wise, from the rest to convey a different feeling or mood(confusion, tension, turmoil, whatever), but it is VERY distracting and looks like a mistake.