Canon HDSLR Picture Profile

The Why
The Canon HDSLR's picture styles are key to shooting "flat." When shooting flat, one is able to g et the greatest Dynamic Range, which is essentially the amount of "information" the camera records when filming (basically shadows and highlights are less likely to clip). A high Dynamic Range is a feature sought after by most cinematographers and is one of the major selling points promoted on more expensive cameras (such as the RED). Shooting flat does require color grading in post however - otherwise your videos will look kinda gray and the colors won't pop.

thumb|right|420px|Applies to all Canon HDSLRs Here's a great video on the subject (although the narrator could easily star in a horror movie). Note how even in the thumbnail for the video, we see definition in the clouds on the flatter picture style, Picture Style 1 on the left, than we do in Picture Style 2 on the right, which just shows the clouds as pure white.

The How
A very popular picture style, promoted by DP Philip Bloom, which can be entered into one of the three User Defined Profiles is the following:

Picture Style: Neutral, Sharpness: 0, Contrast: -4, Saturation: -2, Color Tone: 0

However, using the Picture Style Editor, a Canon Utility Program, more control over picture profiles is available. The team over at Marvels FilmProduction have created their own unique picture profile which they believe receives superior results to the common picture style just discussed. To download their picture style, visit Cine Profile 3x for Canon 5D and for instructions on how to install that picture profile into your camera, visit Installing Canon Picture Profiles for Dummies (the video above also has instructions, as does the one below). But a helpful hint: make sure your camera is set to Manual on the dial on top of the camera when attempting to put in the new setting when in the EOS Utility. Also if you ever accidentally mess with the Marvels settings, the settings are:

Picture Style: Marvels Adva, Sharpness: 0, Contrast: -3, Saturation: -2, Color Tone: 0thumb|left|400px