News From Here & There

Report from the Single Chip Camera Evaluation
Snehal Patel attended a screening of the Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) - a series of tests comparing different digital cameras - and has written up a fairly extensive set of notes of his impressions of the cameras. His impressions seem to be similar to other reports I've read, with the Sony PMW-F3 performing particularly well - for the price - though the Arri Alexa is probably the overall winner, and the Canon DSLR's didn't do that badly, even if they weren't quite as good as the better cameras.
Sony PMW-F3 - SURPRISE!  This is the one camera that continually made me sit up and take notice.  It's incrediblly affordable for the kind of ability it has.  I've seen earlier footage from the F3 which I thought was very "video-like" (it's a term I like to use which means that the image reminds me of NTSC-style interlaced video even when the camera is set to shoot like film in 24p, etc.)  But when I saw the SCCE, it got me hooked!
One other interesting fact; Gale Tattersall, DP of House, was also at the event, and said that the next season of House will be shot using the Alexa.

Zacuto is shooting some of these events and is assembling a web documentary about the project that will be available later this year.
FearlessProductions: Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) screening, Hollywood DI
NotesOnVideo: Results from the Single Chip Camera Evaluation



Crowd Funding
Brandon Walter Irvine has put together a fairly in-depth article about crowd funding, and the two most popular crowd funding sites: Kickstarter and IndieGoGo. The article compares the differences between the two sites, as well as offering tips on how to run a crowd funding campaign.
As for the presentation of the campaign page, it's conventional wisdom that the video posted on your campaign page is very important. “Every project should have a video,” said Kickstarter’s co-founder, Yancey Strickler in a phone interview, adding that 80 percent of projects have one. Broderick added that many campaigns have been successful because the video has personalized the campaign by including the filmmaker.
TheIndependent: Crowd Funding 101: How to Maximize Your Online Campaign

If you're thinking of crowd funding, Vimeo offers their own tips page:
Another important thing to remember is to keep your users updated. Using Kickstarter’s built in blog/update feature, remember to regularly update the project page to let people know your progress. Most users promote their project by showing concept art updates, updating contributors on their free gift statuses, or keeping users involved with behind the scenes footage
Vimeo: Funding your project on Kickstarter



Final Draft iPad App on Hold
Hand Held Hollywood reports that the Final Draft iPad app has been put on hold. Some Final Draft users were eagerly looking forward to this app, but it appears that the developer has either run in to technical difficulties, or re-thought the development process.

The companies official announcement said in part:
In order to integrate with future Final Draft products, we’ve redefined the development roadmap of our Final Draft Mobile app. As a result, the app will be released at a later date 
HandHeldHollywood: Final Draft For IPad Has Been Delayed Until "A Later Date"



Review of Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium
Oliver Peters reviews the latest update of CS5.5 in a fairly extensive article for dv.com:
If you’re new to Premiere Pro, this is the version to try. Interchange is good with Final Cut Pro, you can work with Media Composer or FCP7 keyboard layouts and it includes Ultra – one of the best green/bluescreen keyers in any NLE. I found all of the applications to be very stable, even though I’m running beta versions of the software. Once again, Adobe has ratcheted development up a notch and it shows.



DaVinci Resolve Demo Video
Interested in DaVinci Resolve? Blackmagic have posted a video demo showing you how the program works. It's more demo than tutorial, but provides a good tour of features and how things are done, including using the motion tracker.
YouTube: DaVinci Resolve Demo



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