I've recently changed my preset from Panalook2 to one called EOSPhoto which is available in the presets area of DVInfo's XHA1 section. It has nice contrast and is pretty flat from a color standpoint.

I usually like to work on the blacks in post and I also boost the color in post. I use Premiere Pro 3.0 for PC for everything. I use the levels control, the saturation control from the Fast Color Correction plugin and I also use the Three Way Color Corrector to get the exact grade I want.

One thing of interest is that the Nikon lenses create a warmth to the picture which I quite like. For nature shots such as in this film, I don't white balance, I just use the 56k preset. The lenses I use add a golden feel to the picture which, in some of the shots in this film, is pure magic. Why mess with something good? :)

For non-nature shots, I always color balance.

Thanks for the info Steven. And I agree. Shooting 5600K outdoors is a must. :)

Thanks Corey, I'll have to check out your stuff.

It is 2.35:1. I use Sorenson Squeeze to create the crop. Basically I define a size of 12870 x 540 and lop off the top and bottom letterbox I have created to have a final cinemascope ratio. You cannot do this in your NLE, no matter which one you are using.

I do my (1280x536) crop in Sony Vegas 8. Works fine for me...

You can even move the crop area up and down, so that you don't necessarily crop from the middle every time.

You learn something new every day :)

another question about exporting, if you don't mind :)

i use premiere cs3 as well, and when I export as quicktime (H.264, 5-7 mbps, high level etc.) i can't seem to get the right crunch in the black areas, it's way too grayish... any advices? I would appreciate it alot! Thx.

that has been a problem with h.264 ever since it came out

try sorenson squeeze 5 that's what steven uses

Thanks Emrys. See above.

You are my favorite monsters. We will shoot together again.

I tried to shoot a falling leaf in that area for about half an hour and each time I set the camera rolling, no leaves could be seen falling. Mother Nature was mocking me, it seems :)

:-)

I doubt it...it's from a library online and the singer is not identified.

I think its called the Santa maria. I'm not sure, but I do recall hearing it from my sister.
I would find out, but as of right *now* I'm at school. Google is blocking a lot of the searches....
:(

If you are referring to the name of the piece, it's "Ave Maria"

It was handheld :)

It's part of Adobe Premiere...it's not an extra plugin.

I don't but you can log onto kesslercrane.com and see some videos of the setup. I'm going to be doing a short promo as part of a new product DVD they are putting out in the next month or so.

It takes about 5-10 minutes to set the entire thing up alone.

It varies depending the shot but it is rarely wide open because that's about at the lens' softest point.

It's a balancing act between the camera's aperture and the attached Nikon lens depending how much depth of field you want.