News from Here & There

YouTube to let partners charge rentals for videos
YouTube engineers are working on a self-service method that will give moviemakers the ability to upload and provide their streaming content for rent. The service will be available only to YouTube Partners.
OnlineMediaDaily: YouTube Developing Self-Serve Rental Model
Cnet: YouTube will let some users charge for rentals
Mashable.com: YouTube to Let Partners Charge Rental Fees for Video



That whole H.264 licensing thing
Nilay Patel at Engadget takes a look at the whole H.264 licensing thing, and answers some of the myths and rumors; will it cost you money? is it okay to use your video camera?
The answers are pretty much the same as the summary here.
Engadget: Know Your Rights: H.264, patent licensing, and you



Microfilmmaker.com
I only just came across this website, though it seems it's been going for a while. Interesting articles in their latest issue include:
  • Film Promotion 2.0: Getting Your Film Out Into The World
  • Good Performances Don't Require Money: Getting Good Actors on a Micro-Budget
  • The Lone Gun Manifesto: Cinema Unplugged
  • NAB 2010: A Look at the New Micro-Budget Toys
  • The Quinkin Shoot: Shooting a Film with Twin REDOnes for $4K
  • Video Training: Prepping Your Airsoft Guns For Action Films



Create a car video review, win $10,000
Kelley Blue Book has announced a new video car review contest offering a grand prize of $10,000 and the opportunity to play Kelley Blue Book Editor for a day. Go to Kelley Blue Book's YouTube channel, watch the contest video and reply with their two-minute video to enter. Entrants are also required to visit and register kbb.com.

The contest is now open and submissions will be accepted until 4:59:59 PM PDT on June 15, 2010. Entries will be judged on creativity, the ability to capture the essence of the vehicle being reviewed, cool and unusual visuals, overall presentation, professionalism, and 'general awesomeness.'


How hard could it be? - [wait! isn't that a copyrighted Top Gear phrase?]



Sony iSweep
So it's not really video related, but Sony has this new "iSweep" technology; pan the still camera across a scene and the camera takes a succession of images and stitches them together automatically. If the ad is to be believed, anyone can do it! [I suspect it's not that easy; you'll have to keep the camera level and issues of focusing and shutter speed/blur in low light, but still, it "looks" cool!]

Note that Philip Johnston recently did a short video review of the Sony HX5V, which also has iSweep, and was surprised by the quality of the video it produced. It and the TX7 were introduced in January. [I can't determine if these were the first (only) cameras to offer this option.]
The HX5U is $349 @ Amazon


Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera
Read more