News From Here & There

Copyright Explained
FilmmakerIQ, with the help of Wikipedia and Nina Paley’s “Mimi and Eunice”, has put together a guide to 10 common copyright terms, including: Fair Use, Right to Quote, Public Domain, Sweat of the brow, and Threshold of originality:
The threshold of originality is a concept in copyright law that is used to assess whether or not a particular work can be copyrighted. It is used to distinguish works that are sufficiently original to warrant copyright protection from those that are not.
FilmmakerIQ: 10 Copyright Terms Explained: Limitations and Exceptions



Is Evernote for you?
Ron Dawson looks at the cloud-based document storage system Evernote and offers suggestions on how filmmakers may use the service for research, call logs with clients, checklists, photos for inspiration, insipring quotes, blog ideas and film and story ideas:
Whenever I have an idea for a film, or an idea to implement in a film project I’m already working on, I create a note and put it in the appropriate Notebook (Notebooks are the places where you store Evernote notes).
Bladerunner: Seven Ways Creative Professionals Can Use Evernote



Digital Video Expo East - June 22
Digital Video Expo East will be held on June 22 at the Millennium Broadway Hotel in Midtown Manhattan. It's a FREE, full-day event featuring technology exhibits from the industry’s leading suppliers, keynote speakers, educational sessions and networking events.

Digital Video Expo East will occur concurrently with the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers’ 2nd Annual International Conference on Stereoscopic 3D for Media and Entertainment.

Note that the West Coast Digital Video Expo will take place September 20-22 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
dvexpo.com/east



Dealing with Exposition
At Tales from the Cutting Room Floor, Guy Ducker offers tips for dealing with all those annoying facts the audience needs to learn to understand what's going on in the movie:
The problem is [...] that many genres – murder mysteries, court room dramas, conspiracy thrillers, historical epics – require the audience to know a lot of information so that they can keep up with the story. How do you give the audiences those facts without coming over all Tolkien?
Dramatise it. If you can work out a way of making the necessary information apparent through the drama, that’s always better than having a character tell us the facts.
CuttingRoomTales: Snubbing Sir Basil



Sony SR-R1 Recorder
Though the SR-R1 Portable Recorder is still not shipping, Sony has posted a picture of one connected to the PMW-F3. The SR-R1 allows RGB 4:4:4, 1080/60p recording and a dual-stream recording capability which is useful for 3D stereoscopic image capturing.
Sony: SR-R1 SRMASTER Portable Recorder

Sony PMW-F3 with SRR1 recorder
source: yrog



Quick Links
  • What's a Shot Log? Julie Babcock at Videomaker gives a short explanation: Video Editing: Using Shot Logs
  • Sensor Sizes: With the help of a simple graphic, Jon Faur at Film and Digital Times explains the difference between Full Frame vs APS-C and H
  • How do you use a Circular Polarizer? Dave Dugdale provides a video tutorial of a polarizer on a Canon T2i/550D with sample video. (Don't confuse a polarizer with a Neutral Density filter, they work differently!) YouTube: Canon T2i/550D Tutorial - How Useful is a Circular Polarizer for DSLR Video
  • Looking to break into the business in LA or New York? Eve Light Honthaner offers some tips: First, how many people do you know there?  Make contact with each of them, and invite them to lunch or out for coffee.  I also joined a bike team, which has nothing to do with the business, but it got me out, and I met some terrific people.  It’s all about creating a community for yourself. MasteringFilm: Practical advice for those moving to LA or NYC
  • Sony NEX-FS100 Gain test. Alex Wu has posted a gain test using 0, 3, 6, 9, 12, 15, 18, 21, 24, 27, 30 dB, though leaving the iris and shutter on auto, so over-all exposure stays about the same. [Honestly, I'm not too sure how useful a test this is...] Vimeo: NEX-FS100 Gain test




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