Canon HV20 Sigur Ros (Njósnavélin/Untitled 4/The Nothing Song)

[GreenElixir]

Amazing footage, I especially like the Cat, the background through the chess pieces and the hallway at the end.

[MindlessEnterprise]

You did a good job!

[kmattson118]

@MindlessEnterprise thanks!

[Untouchable909090]

oh ok thats nice

[Untouchable909090]

This is a nice video, what program did you use to edit the video

[kmattson118]

@Untouchable909090 thanks! i used final cut express

[42LightYears]

that was lovely... Sigur Ros ftw! i may consider buying this camera for myself, if i save up all my life lol.. $700? Blimey. What's that in £? Still alot.. aaaa but great video :)

[kmattson118]

@42LightYears hmm i'm not too sure on the conversion there, but they are defintely cheaper than when i bought mine a few years ago. just take a look on amazon or something. there's some great deals out there, i definitely recommend this camcorder!

[42LightYears]

@kmattson118 Thanks, what programme is imperative to have? Sony Vegas?

[kmattson118]

@42LightYears hmm, if you have a mac get final cut (pro or express). if not, go for sony vegas

[88skates88]

FINALLY a damn video that actually shows the potential of the hv20

[btm6903]

Amazing. Well Done!!

[ilikethispen23]

this is amazing! how much did you pay for this camera and where did you buy it from? also is the battery life really short?

[kmattson118]

@ilikethispen23 i got mine when it was like $700something from amazon i believe. had it for almost two years and it's still working fine.

battery life depends, usually i get at least an hour+ using the lcd and adjusting options... it's a good idea to buy a second battery though

[whippetina]

Amazing vídeo! I would like to congratulate you most sincerely!

[WarHeadMatt]

i really like this

[jollylhama]

Amazing work :) This video gives me chills, especially the way the music syncs with the little voice in the back ground and the doll! Can you tell me, do you manually pan the camera, or do you use a digital pan in your video editor? It's so smooth! The same question applies to the zoom. Is it manually zooming out, or is that digital as well?

[kmattson118]

thank you!!

all of the movements in this video were manually done. in some of my other videos, i use digital pan and zoom during editing.

[ColdstreamNetworks]

Amazing!!

[beschorner86]

great film wow!!! go on filming^^

[Yatahate]

wow THIS was amazing! keep on filming, u are pretty talented!

[breathinglesson]

this one is incredible. and the Sigur Ros touch, simply perfect.

[kmattson118]

thanks! yeah, sigur ros fits perfectly for these kind of movies.

[Recres]

I have the same camera, but do you film this in HDV mode or DV mode? I always film in DV mode because exporting in HDV mode doesn't work... :s

[kmattson118]

i always use hdv mode. sometimes you have to change your capture setting to 1080i to get hd footage to work correctly.

[Recres]

Do you use Shade, Daylight, Fluorescent H or just Auto? I like to use Shade bacause it's so warm when you watch it...

[kmattson118]

yeah, i usually change it on what time of day/ the conditions (raining, sunny..).

[Recres]

And to change shutter, how u do this?

Sry for al those questions but I'm explore my camera :)

[kmattson118]

no problem, glad to help. select shutter priority mode. when you out of the menu, simply click up or down on the joystick, and you'll see the number on the top left change.

[Recres]

Thanks mate! But I got a problem; when I select the Menu, Camera Setup, select it and then I see A SL.SHUTTER but it's in grise so I can't select it...

[kmattson118]

press the menu button and click over until it says "shutter-prio. ae"

[Recres]

I think I found it but not shure. It's in the left corner, 1.8/2.0/2.4/2.8 ect..

[kmattson118]

that would be "aperture-prio. ae", it's one more to the left in the menu.

[Recres]

jap, thx :)

[Gwinz]

this might sound incredibly stupid, but I have had a HV20 for a while now and I have no idea how to change the shutter speed. I want to get that cinematic look so i put it on cinemode but it looks kind of the same. How do i get that look you have going here. Thanks a whole bunch!!

[kmattson118]

i believe some of this footage was shot with cinemode. might have been aperture priority though

but to change the shutter speed just click the func. button and click over to "shutter-prio. ae", highlight that and hit func. again.

then before locking exposure or anything, click up or down (depending on how fast or slow you want it) which you will see the shutter speed on the top left changing. click in to lock and your set.

also, color correction really helps with making it look more cinematic.

[Gwinz]

thanks I finally got it. Hey those shots with the chess pieces how did you manage to get that look? Is that cinemode? Also did you add some effects in editing? Thanks again.

[kmattson118]

zoom in a bit and got really close to the pieces, then adjusted the focus. i believe that shot was cinemode.

and the only effects i added were color effects. i adjusted the red levels to give it that green/yellow tint, and i lowered the mids and blacks to darken the picture a bit.

[Kaliincarnate]

And do you use a light meter when shooting?

[kmattson118]

nope

[Kaliincarnate]

Your work is amazing. Did you use a softening filter on the winter scenes? Also, do you use any lighting effects in after affects at all?

[kmattson118]

thank you! this whole video was shot with the stock hv20, no lens filters were used. in final cut express i mainly adjusted the mids and blacks and played around with the "levels" to get that greenish hue in some of the shots.

[Kaliincarnate]

Thanks for the response. I also checked out your blog. Keep up the great work!

[barbangerz]

Great! I've got the HV20 too, love it! But what kind of program do you use to edit?

[kmattson118]

i use final cut express 3.5

for the mac

[Remceu]

You just blew me away. Great.

[fatawesome]

these shots are unreal.  very impressive.

[pistolpeta]

ohhnice, im having a hard time telling the difference between shutter speed, and frame rate, cause i like to experiment with ultra slow motion vids and , i always thought frame rate was the main problem.

[kmattson118]

yeah ok. high frame rate captures more frames per second, so unltra slow motion footage seen on the discovery channel is shot with a high frame rate. those camera cost a bunch though.

high shutter speed simply decreases the motion blur on the frames being captures, so things look more sharp when they move, the frame rate remains the same.

[pistolpeta]

hey man, nice job, test or not youve got an inspiring vid there... what frame rate are you recording at, that you can see the individual raindrops that has to be pretty high.

[kmattson118]

thank you. i was recording with the standard 30 fps, but with those shots i shot it with a 1/2000 shutter speed.

[raaaaaarr]

The cat, the tree ornament, the chess game, the doll, ALL OF IT. You called this "test footage" but the clips are pracitcally a masterpiece. I'm getting the hv20 probably, mainly because of these clips. Thanks for posting it

[kmattson118]

well thank you very much,

and you'll be making a good purchase.

[marc24a24]

Man this is just not fair, I just bought a HV20 and I can only upload to my pc in standard Dv, this sucks..do you or any one else have any tips. And now I know why macs are better, vista :(

[kmattson118]

what editing program do you use?

[marc24a24]

I might be jumping the gun, I have windows vista and because I've had problems with it in the past I figure it was screwing me because my Sony Vegas program wouldn't recgonize my HV20 as an HD Cam but it would recgonize it as Dv.. I would realy aprietiate any tips..plus I'm a newbie

[kmattson118]

hmmm, i'm not entirely familiar with Vegas, but somewhere there should be capture settings which you should be able to select if you want to capture standard DV or HD footage.

in final cut express, i set mine to

"HDV 1080i60"

[ProperInjusticeFilms]

I am about to purchase my Hv20 really soon. And my buddies always ask me, "dude you have a HV10 and you just got it, why buy another?"

And I come back to your video and show em it.

[kmattson118]

haha thanks, that's a good reason

[romicom]

very beautiful. Actually one of the best videos i have seen with the lovely HV20 (i own one). As we say in french `l`habit ne fait pas le moine`, ppl must learn to shoot and edit and not just think the camera will do it for them. your technique is amazing, how did you synchronise so well the music and the video? i relly have problems with my editing with megas studio platinum.

[kmattson118]

thanks you.

usually i really listen to the song(s) i want to sync footage to before i capture my footage. just to get an audio interpretation of the mood i need to achieve when filming.

the picture of the HV20 is one thing, but you need audio to help it along.

[MITMproductions]

when u make your other short films etc, do u just choose the music after u shot the thing? also do u draw up storybords or anything? and with ya hv20 camera, whats the highest frame rate can it do?

[kmattson118]

usually yes. sometimes i'll choose music while i'm writing just to influence me, and those songs usually won't make it into the final movie.

i don't make storyboards, mainly because we never really have a set location, so things could change.

the highest frame rate it 30 fps. but, if you looking to capture quick moving things, like rain, you can switch the shutter speed to something faster like 1/1000 or 1/2000. that way it won't blur like a shutter speed of 1/60 would.

[Maz1989]

where abouts was this? nice location :)

[kmattson118]

thanks. all shot in Connecticut.

[kmattson118]

oh, but the pictures featured in the video were shot in New Hampshire.

[chinelo1]

what was the setting on the camera to get that film look. i have the hv 20 also and im trying to get that film look

[kmattson118]

most of this footage was shot in "Cinemode".

the shots with the snow falling were shot with "Shutter Priority" with 1/2000 setting.

i also darkened the mids and blacks, while adjusting the reds with "Levels" in post.

also, try to get as much depth of field as possible to achieve the film look, whether it is zooming in on the subject and or getting fairly close.

[chinelo1]

THANK YOU VERY MUCH IM LEARNING SO MUCH SO WHEN PEOPLE TALK ABOUT THAT FILM LOOK OR THAT (depth of field ) THAT WHAT THEY'RE REFERRING TO. BECAUSE I CAN CONFESS WHEN I GO OUT SHOOTING OUT IN ABOUT. WHEN IM UP AND CLOSE THE FOOTAGE LOOKS LIKE FILM BUT WHEN I ZOOM IN FROM A VERY FAR LOCATION IT DONT LOOK THE SAME AND THIS IS PARTLY THE REASON WHY, THANK YOU

[Andyax]

Very good! =)

[xchrisskatex]

song and artist

[kmattson118]

the song is by sigur ros,

the song is titled "Njósnavélin" or "Untitled 4", same song just different title depending on where you buy it.

[xchrisskatex]

thanks

[AnnexF]

This is absolutely beautiful. I am looking to buy a camera like this for a while now. I've been using a Sony Hc96 mini dv but produced a pretty good quality videos but I need something that I can shoot at night with without it being so grainy and loss of details. Check out my videos and tell me what you think.

[Abduction08]

Its this music under creative commons or royalty free?? dont worry, im not a police officer :) i just want to know if i would be able to use it in a production.

[kmattson118]

hmm, i'm not too sure actually

[Jaconfilm]

The best of Hv20

[8bitpuntoes]

Beautiful! I love my hv20...

[zaran3]

beautiful!

Sigur Ros was a perfect choice

[sonicfire1980]

fantastic!!

[seelivetiger]

now i am even more motivated to purchase the HV30 since i am looking for my first camcorder.

[kmattson118]

all of these shots were with the stock HV20 lens, no 35 mm adapter or anything..just zoom and focus basically.

[mattthefatcat]

hi, are you using a 35mm adapter for this footage, what lenses are you using, amazing work!

[TisimeFilms]

Any color correction?

[kmattson118]

Darkened the Blacks and Mids, and slightly adjusted the Red Levels to give it that greenish/yellow hue.

[TisimeFilms]

thanks

[locoplaya316]

this iz fuken BEAUTIFUL

[kmattson118]

The 320x240 preserved the aspect ratio I had set in my edit, and it gave the final video result a "true" 16:9.

I usually just use Final Cut Express. Sometimes it's After Effects then FCE if I use a lot of effects.

[kmattson118]

*Sorry, I meant 320x180 in my last post*

[DramaKidStudioz]

What are the compression settings your using in post production, well i know the HD has 75% to do with the amazing picture but footage can always go wrong in the compression process.

[kmattson118]

For settings, I used:

H.264

ACC Audio 48.000 kHz

320 x 180 (preserves the aspect ratio)

8000 kbits/sec

I try to keep the kbits/sec as close as I can to 8000, which will help the quality. But this number will have to be lower if you have a long video because the file size will jump up.

[DramaKidStudioz]

okay, how come you didn't go for the 320x240 ratio..i also you ACC audio. What is your post production, FCS, Magic Bullet, Vegas Platinum Movie Studioz

[darenfilms]

Yeah, I agree - this is very beautiful. I've been eyeing this camera for a while now. As soon as I can afford it I'm gonna get the hv30.

60i? I could have sworn it was 24p... I use Final Cut Studio 2, I'd like to know how you got that Tony Scott kind of golden-green tone...

[kmattson118]

I'd love to use 24p, but my version of FCE doesn't support that frame rate.

And that Tony Scott look is fairly easy, it's mostly done using Levels. I adjust the "Reds", and it brings out the greens and takes away some red, so you get that nice greenish hue.

Since you have FCS2 you probably have more manual controls to adjust, but all it is is Levels and some darkening Blacks and Mids.

[darenfilms]

Cool - much appreciated! I'll give that a shot.

Have you ever checked out Nattress filters? He's got one that converts 60i to 24p. It's not quite like the real thing, but it's darn close. Until I get the hv30, I'll keep using the filter, it makes that much of a difference.

[SWEETvideos77]

nice cam!!! all ur footage???

[kmattson118]

yeah

[kmattson118]

I used Final Cut Express.

You may not get the same look(colors), but if you shot good footage, then it will look good no matter what software you use.

[vimkojdaimduab]

I am in love with your demo here. What kind of software you edit with? Q: If I used edit softwarethat cost $30.00 the quality still looks as good as your or different?

Q: Different edit software can improve the quality video?

[KenCheStudios]

the tree with the snow falling on it scene was beautiful!

[moviescoregod]

Of all the HV20 videos I have seen on youtube this is by FAR the best....I just got mine today, i migh steal some of your ideas :)

[Aaronpowellfilms]

Hey man, seeing that you have an HD camera and all I REALLY recommend you checking this video out

Search:

HowTo: Upload Lossless Quality HDV Videos to YouTube LONGver

It's pretty damn fantastic.

[kmattson118]

Nice, I'll check it out.

[jackiechanrpm]

A-fucking-mazing.

Did you edit your video at all in Final Cut? Is this mostly raw footage? In either case, it looks amazing. I've been editing videos (in a very dilettante fashion) for a while now, and I really am wanting this camera. :)

[kmattson118]

Yes, it was all edited in Final Cut Express.

And it is basically all raw footage with a few color tweaks here and there.

[Maz1989]

not even a uv filter?

[kmattson118]

nope. all stock.

[bigair421]

ok so i just got the same camera

i just also made a video but when i see your video the hd quality looks nothing like mine

look at mine on my channel to help me out.

thanks

[kmattson118]

Okay, I looked at it.

What settings did you export as?

[bigair421]

as a medium file on i movie

[kmattson118]

Ok, well if you set it as a Quicktime, then choose options, for YouTube settings for this video I did:

H.264 Codec

AAC Audio

320 x 180 (preserves the aspect ratio)

Everything else was kept default.

[bigair421]

ok well was your film shot in 24 p or the standard 29.3 frames a second. also did you edit the video on imovie or another editing program

[kmattson118]

I shot in 60i Cinemode.

And I edit with Final Cut Express.

[bigair421]

you can shoot in 60i cinemode on the Canon hv20?

[kmattson118]

I'm pretty sure I shot with 60i. I know you can shoot in 24p Cinemode too.

[brock2621]

ahhh.... Vanilla Sky. Makes me wanna cry. haha Looks great man. You edit in FCP, AVID, or Premiere? I like the color work? What were your settings? I just finished a film and surprisingly we edit very similarly. I look forward to your new films? Any new ones in the works?

[kmattson118]

I edit with FCE.

Usually I play around with the "Levels" to give it that green/blue tone, also I darken the footage quite a bit too.

I checked out your video you sent me, really good job.

And yeah, we're just about finished shooting a movie now.

[lazerbase]

Absolutely beautiful footage, I have started playing with this camera and can get nowhere near what you have done. Just out of interest, how did you get such DOF? Are you just zoomed in max and move the camera as you need to?

Also, beautiful Sigur Ros track to use, compliments it perfectly. :)

[kmattson118]

Thanks!

And for most of the shots I did zoom in and adjusted focus, but some shots(like the chess pieces/playing cards) I just placed the camera really close and adjusted the focus.

[chchaisson]

Brilliant.

[technoticmedia]

Looks great man! I picked up one of these a few months ago... GREAT camera for the money

[ADFPATTON]

thats real sick, how much was that thing cuase that might be my next big purchase, global conflict will look great on that

[kmattson118]

I'm not exactly sure how much mine was, Christmas present, but you can get them for I think about $650 now.

[SDMagicMan]

wonderful job. I have yet to get as good shots as you've gotten. Just wow.

[RenderingGlintFilms]

Whoa man! Amazing. I've seen a lot of great results with this camera. Want to get one myself but the price is pretty high...

[arthur1u2]

Relaxing...

[FelikstheDane]

Wow.

[hrehorowjosef]

how;s the audio functions on it..

[kmattson118]

There fairly standard for a camera like this. It has an audio-input, which is good for boom mics and a headphone input so you can listen to the audio that the camera is picking up. There is camera noise though, but it's like that with every camera with a built-in mic.

Also, you can manually adjust how much sound the camera picks up, as well as a "hot-shoe", which you can attach an on-board mic, or another boom mic.

[hrehorowjosef]

cool! thanks for the response i coulda read a review but you have it and use it thanks!

[hemeinc]

hey man

great images dude. i mean fucken great

what or how much colour changing and lighting effects have you used.

or is this camera just that good?

sick as

[kmattson118]

Thanks.

For color grading, I put a fair amount on, I just darkened some shots, added a slight green to them and that's it.

As for lighting, I just used the lighting that was available in the rooms/outside. I bet if I got a couple of other lights, the shots could look even better.

[hemeinc]

thanks man

u always got the good replies.

and also how is ur quality on you tube upload sooo good? its so sharp when i watch it.

p.s. camera frame rate is awesome to pick up the snow falling like that

[kmattson118]

Just to let you know, I exported it as:

H.264 Codec

ACC Audio

320 x 180

And the final file size was only 4.6 MB. I would have done 320 x 240, like YouTube suggests, but the 180 preserves the aspect ratio of the footage. I thought shrinking it down to dimensions that small would make it look bad, but it didn't.

[kmattson118]

Oh, and the shutter speed was set at 1/2000, which captures almost every frame with little motion blur. Setting it at normal 1/60, the snow flakes are somewhat hard to see when compared to 1/2000.

[FunnelofFun]

Looks great. Really nice colour too.

[billgrip]

Plus I look forward to stuff you'll do with it.

[billgrip]

I think this is the same camera my parents got for Christmas! I'm stoked to start using it.

[kmattson118]

You'll be amazed with the camera when you use it.

[DMSfilms]

you have such a creative eye, man. i can tell your hollywood bound. see you there, bro.

[Deathlock2]

That was some really good shots you had in this. The camera is really good, you can tell from the quality of this video from our other ones, it looks great on Vimeo.

[Achilles89]

it's too bad that youtube sucks...probably looks even better on a HDTV :)

[ddwkproductions]

The Dude edits it on a program called Final Cut Pro but it's only availible for MAC :)

[jimjamjames82]

what did you edit your footage on???

[kmattson118]

Final Cut Express 3.5 HD.

[Hudabon]

The picture quality is great, especially liked the shot through the second camera. Looks alot more professional picture than the old one.

[Squeakyz]

post the link to Vimeo when it gets up

[Squeakyz]

Question to you: Did you happen to use telemacro(not sure if canon even specifies it like that) to create that shallow DOF(depth of field--blurring)? Or was it regular zooming into things.

[kmattson118]

It was all shot with the stock lens, no add-ons or anything. Some of the shots didn't have to be zoomed in the get the DOF, I just moved the camcorder really close.

[WeLoveMovies]

yup, camera works... when can I barrow it?

[Squeakyz]

Yup, very beautiful indeed.

[Squeakyz]

Pros:Top line consumer camcorder voted Camcorder of the Year by camcorderinfo (dot) com Excellent low light capabilities b/c size of the CCD Very much like my own lol Cons:Long rendering

[kmattson118]

Yeah, the rendering times are slower than SD footage, but I learned that to get faster rendering times, change the audio output to 16bit instead of 12bit...

[wow4now]

oh man, I've been wanting an HV20 for a while now. this video made me want one even more...awesome job.

[kmattson118]

Thanks..Definitely the right choice for a camcorder.

[chiconet]

Man that is beautiful, good takes, good use of the sound to drive them.. 5*

[XHProductions]

man dude that is amazing quailty for Youtube how much did that camera cost?

[kmattson118]

I'm not exactly sure how much mine was, but prices online go for as low as $650, give or take.

[morphix007]

argh i was hoping it would be the action movie!

[kmattson118]

Well don't worry, Too Professional will debut soon enough.

[Aaronpowellfilms]

Wow, that makes me really want an HD camera so bad right now.

Plus, I absolutely LOVED that song ever since Vanilla Sky.

Keep up the amazing work! 5 Stars!

[kmattson118]

Yeah, Vanilla Sky had some great music.

[theraccoonkid218]

nice shot composition man

i need to look into getting an HD camera myself

[wratheleader]

yo dude, that the hd with the tape or the harddrive?

[Squeakyz]

MiniDV, or he could have used MiniDV HD

[kmattson118]

Yeah, just MiniDV tapes...hdd camcorders are kind of a problem when you start to run out of space, then you have to overwrite footage.

[jweinrub]

That is truly amazing! Take a bow. I can't wait to see what you can do with that camera!  Keep up the good work!

[maggieman]

NICE! those are some beautiful locations