News From Here & There

iMovie for iPad Review
The first reviews for iMovie for the iPad are appearing, and Jason Snell at MacWorld has posted his take on the application. It's pretty much as expected; an easy to use tool that is good for putting together quick edits, but it's limited by the source formats it supports:
My Canon T2i shoots H.264 videos, but at the wrong resolutions. My Canon HD camcorder shoots in a crazy compression format that an iMac struggles to transcode, so I’m not surprised that iMovie on the iPad refuses to acknowledge its existence. Still, if you’re planning on using an iPad to edit your vacation movies, plan on shooting those movies on an iOS device or search out a camera that shoots iPad-compatible video files.
MacWorld: Hands on with iMovie for iPad



Music vs. Silence
Composer Milosz Jeziorski explains five ways music - and silence - work together within films:
3. The Rule of Montages
This technique is simple, and is also deeply ingrained in pop culture : “Where there is a montage there must be music”. The reason it works so well is a matter of convenience and musical influence. A montage allows the story to progress an indefinite amount of time within a minute’s span, but this is believable because the music gives you the impression that everything you’re seeing is connected.
NoFilmSchool: Music vs. Silence: 5 Simple Rules for a Better Film



Art Direction
From his book Voice and Vision: A Creative Approach to Narrative Film and DV ProductionMick Hurbis-Cherrier explains how many low-budget and student filmmakers overlook simple things.
I am constantly amazed at students who take great pains choosing just the right film stock, filters, and lighting scheme to achieve a specific “look” but end up shooting in utterly bland locations, with no thought to the color of the walls, the arrangement of objects in the space, or the background beyond the performers
MasteringFilm: The Art of Pillow Placement



Moving between Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere Pro
Joost van der Hoeven explains how to move a project from Final Cut Pro to Adobe Premiere Pro and back again.
AdobeTV: Using Final Cut Pro With Adobe Premiere Pro



Comparing footage from Sony PMW-F3, Panasonic AG-AF100 and Canon 5D Mark II
Dennis Ersöz has posted a short video showing a gain test and a shake test (to show rolling shutter) for these three cameras.
Vimeo: Untitled



More Sony PMW-F3 footage
This commercial for the iPhone app iRABBIT was shot with the Sony PMW-F3 and the Zeiss CP2 25mm.
Vimeo: iRabbit

Visual Impact has posted a test video they shot with the PMW-F3 at 1080/50i, standard setup, available lighting and no filtration. Quite a variety of material in this video.
YouTube: Sony PMW - F3 Test shoot by Visual Impact HD


A two minute online video is the equivalent of Lawrence of Arabia for gen Y.
-Mick Jones







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