News from Here & There

The Making of The Vietnam Sequence From “The Last 3 Minutes”
Shane Hurlbut has been posting some interesting pieces on his blog. The latest is a post about shooting a battle sequence and breaks it down shot-by-shot:
When you design shots that play all out as one shot everything has to work. The camera has to be in sync with the explosions, the performance has to work, the smoke level has to be just right, the focus must be sharp, and I could go on and on.
When McG and I designed the helicopter crash in the beginning of Terminator:Salvation it played as one shot but it was a series of hook-ups as we call them that seamlessly go together to give the viewer the appearance of one complete uninterrupted shot.
Hurblog: The Making of The Vietnam Sequence From “The Last 3 Minutes”



D3s video
Tom Bol provides a short write-up on how he shot a video using the Nikon D3s. He covers the gear he used, which included a tilt-shift lens, and a Red Rock rig.
Tom BolPhotography: D3s video



Philip Bloom moves...
Philip Bloom has been having hosting problems, so he's moved his site to a new provider, and a new URL! It's now: philipbloom.net



What are interns good for?
After the Indie filmmakers panel made a strong case for making your movie for as little as you can, with as much free help as you can, I was a bit taken back by this tweet [which just happened to come across the transom, it wasn't related to the comments made at the panel]:
Recruiting interns for free work is a bit exploitive isn't it? I mean how can you expect them to have FCP & Macbook Pro & work for free?
Actually, I agree: expecting an intern to show up with specific gear and work for free does seem a bit too much...



Making money on YouTube
An article on CNET looks at YouTube at five, and notes that it's starting to make money, and compete with "real" networks:
Take, for example, Shane Dawson, who commands more than 35 million monthly views across his latest YouTube videos. That exceeds the typical "American Idol" finale. Or YouTube user Phil DeFranco, whose channel on YouTube, as pointed out by a recent article in Fast Company, "has beaten 'Larry King Live' and 'The O'Reilly Factor' in daily audience." Views interest advertisers, and advertisers bring in money. As DeFranco points out in the same Fast Company article: "Some YouTubers in 2010 will make seven-figure incomes."
CNET: YouTube and the new creative class



Fstoppers Contest: Win a 7D or D300s For The Best BTS Video
It's official; behind the scenes and making-of videos are dead. Or dying. It must be if someone is having a competition to make one. Note that the rules for this competition require that:
1. The video must be created between now and August 1
2. The video must mention Fstoppers in it (verbally or in text form)
Fstoppers: Contest



Petrol Bags introduces the Black Deca line
I know nothing about these bags other than the press release, but the fact that they have internal lighting intrigued me:
An ingenious new internal LED lighting system illuminates the interior of the bag, making contents much easier to identify and organize. The lights are replaceable and easily installed or removed via a convenient internal zipper. Power is supplied by standard AA batteries (not included).
StudioDaily: Petrol Bags Introduces 10th Anniversary Line



Canon 5D - $100 off
Until 7/10. Buy it with an [expensive] Canon printer, and save even more...




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