News from Here & There

James Caan to host webcam chat about how to get into "the biz"
Actor and Chairman of Openfilm, James Caan (Las Vegas, The Godfather, El Dorado) will be hosting a live online webcam chat to answer questions sent in from fans and filmmakers about everything from how to get into "the biz" to expert-level advice, and reflections and anecdotes about his career.
Thursday May 20, Noon - 1 pm PT. Register to watch here.

According to their About Us page, Openfilm is an independent film community company dedicated to developing, marketing and distributing great works.






What the hey?! - Canon pimps HDV video
Even though they've announced some cool solid-state professional camcorders, Canon obviously sees a continuing future for their HDV cameras. They just sent out a press-release about producer Randall Dark and his use of the Canon HDV camera, the XL H1S. Actually, it's an interesting little piece about using the camera, worth a read, though the last section: "The Advantage of Tape" is notable:
"We are in a transitional period with regard to recording media," Dark said. "I've spent 23 years shooting high definition and recording it to tape, and I can honestly say I have never had a problem with losing content on tape. I have, on occasion, risked my life to get images, and I'm not afraid to do that. What I am afraid of is losing content due to media failure.[emphasis added] I love the fact that the Canon XL H1S enables me to record to tape, which I can then transfer to my preferred brand of hard drives. I'm confident in those hard drives, and I also like having tape as a back-up. It's prudent to always protect your assets. There's a great opportunity today to do things cost-effectively by using both tape and hard drives if you understand how to use them efficiently together. I shoot with my XL H1S, transfer that tape footage to hard drives, and it makes my workflow unbelievably easy."
Anyone reading that might think Canon was warning them away from solid-state cameras. Heavens! This is what I would expect from a company that didn't have a solid-state camera coming out in less than a month, not from Canon who does.

It's a little puzzling; are they intentionally trying to confuse their customers? Was this written before they came out with the XF305, or is this the HDV division fighting with the solid-state division? Conspiracy theorists; have at it!

I'm not saying that HDV is a bad thing, or what they are saying is wrong, or even that they should be driving their customers away from HDV. I just find it interesting how difficult and confusing these transitions can be both for customers and for manufacturers, and this article, given it doesn't even mention their new cameras, I find especially puzzling.

Shootonline: Canon U.S.A. XL H1S High Definition Camcorder Chosen For Multiple Video Projects by Veteran Producer Randall Dark

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