News From Here & There

Review of the Zacuto EVF Pro
Philip Johnston at HD Warrior reviews the Zacuto EVF Pro and raves about it. He previously owned the Cineroid EVF, and liked that, but this one is clearly in a league of it's own, with it's build quality, full-size HDMI plugs and easy to switch batteries (and it uses the Canon LP-E6 batteries too.)

The bottom line is the picture quality of the LCD and I have to take my hat off the Steve and the boys they have sourced a cracking LCD panel it’s the best, cleanest picture I have seen in a long time, it is so smooth you cannot even see the pixels.
His only complaint is that the bag they provide isn't big enough to hold the EV with Z-Finder attached.

HDWarrior: Zacuto EVF Pro “Worth the wait…a blue moon product”
B & H: Z-Finder EVF Pro (3.2") $950
B & H: Z-EVF-1S EVF Snap (for those that have a Z-Finder) $641.25



Google TV could still be a hit
Google TV is considered a flop because consumers don't care, TV networks don't like it, and TV manufacturers don't like it because it has high hardware demands. Dan Frommer at CNN Business Insider still thinks it can be a success if Google does what it did with the Android; spray it everywhere. Of course, he acknowledges one other problem:

Consumers have certainly never bought these gadgets so far, when they were called WebTV, or any other Internet-on-your-TV system. The vast majority of video content is consumed over set-top boxes leased from cable and satellite companies, who have a tight grip on the market.

CNN.com: Why Google TV isn't dead yet



Projection Frame Rates
Back in the days of film, everything was projected at 24fps, but now with digital projectors there's probably not a whole lot of reason why content couldn't be shown at other rates.

Kommer Kleijn at The Belgian Society of Cinematographers, explains the history and also why the Digital Cinema Initiative originally only specified 24 and 48 fps. He also explains how things have evolved:

After 3 years of work in the SMPTE Additional Frame Rate (AFR) group, the standard for additional frame rates was published by SMPTE fall 2009. This document adds the speeds of 25, 30, 50 and 60 fps to the existing 24 and 48 as legal frame rates for digital cinema distribution and projection, making for a total of six speeds. It has thus now become possible to create 2K 2D DCPs at any of these 6 frame rates. The higher temporal resolution speeds of 48, 50 and 60 fps however, have been standardized in 2K resolution and for 2D only. 

There's a focus on 25p in the article (a particular favorite amongst our European friends.) He notes an important caveat:

...it is recommended at this time to enquire with the theatres in question if they are equipped to play a 25 fps DCP. If the theatre owner does not know the answer, you can suggest he checks with his equipment supplier to see if his server and projector are already compatible with 25 fps DCPs or if they can be upgraded easily.

SBCINE: 25 FPS (AND OTHER NEW FRAME RATES) IN DIGITAL CINEMAS



Documentary: Field of Gold
Wide Open Camera interviews Mike Sullivan a.k.a. Sully about the documentary Field of Gold, and how it was produced on a low budget:

The majority of our expenses were equipment and travel cost. We knewthat the project was going to take well over year to film, and with very fewscheduled shoot dates. So during pre-production we knew we wanted toinvest in as much of our own equipment as possible. We ended up going with the 7D and 60D. This set up allowed us to beextremely mobile and maintain a low profile when we were shooting in theCaribbean, especially Cuba.

WideOpenCamera: Field of Gold: Grow as you Go



Stop That 1!
Writers/Producers Doug Burch and Sam Ingraffia offer 10 "To Don't's" for filmmakers:

1. Don't let your eyes be bigger than your stomach
2. A friend in need is a friend indeed
3. Money is the root of all success
4. I have no idea what you're talking about
5. Money Honey
6. Don't try to make Citizen Kane
7. Don't shoot yourself in the foot with scheduling
8. Don't think you're finished after it's shot
9. Don't be scared of new technology
10. Don't lose your sense of humor

And much more.
Filmcourage: The To Dont List



Stop That 2!
The New York Stock Exchange goes after the website Talking Points Memo for using a photo of the exchange without permission, and SPIN magazine goes after the owner of the @spin account on Twitter.
YahooNews: Media industry awash in cease-and-desist letters