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An Affordable Remote Controlled Time-lapse Camera | Richard Harrington
| 3 Exposure
Using the ContourGPS camera for timelapses? That's not something I would have thought of doing!
  • The unit is very small (95x58x34mm) and can easily be attached to a variety of mounting points. It’s also super light, weighing just over five ounces.
  • It has good battery life at 2.5 hours, plus you can swap batteries in it for a longer day.
  • For its size, it offers a capable 5 Megapixel Sensor.


Book Review: Rotoscoping: Techniques and Tools for the Aspiring Artist
| Nick C Sorbin | Renderosity
I always been intrigued by rotoscoping; and Rotoscoping: Techniques and Tools for the Aspiring Artist looks interesting:
Modern rotoscoping, which is still the same basic concept, is used to create mattes, by which parts of a live action scene can be isolated in order to insert effects, color correct, hide rigs or wires, etc. As rotoscoping is a crucial part of any video production today, so is the importance of the job of a roto artist, both in skill and efficiency. There are a number of outstanding tools available today to handle roto work, but the roto artist still needs to refine his or her own skills to use these to the fullest. This is where a book like the wonderful Rotoscoping: Techniques and Tools for the Aspiring Artist, by Benjamin Bratt, comes in very handy.


Shootout in the snow – Sony A65 vs Panasonic GH2 vs Canon 600D | Andrew Reid
| EOSHD
Comparison of three different cameras:
Sony’s new sensor in the NEX 7, A77 and A65 is considered down Tokyo way as their best yet until the new full frame ones come along in 2012. I loved the ‘middle range’ one in the NEX 5N because it hadn’t taken an overdose at the Hacienda of megapixels. But I certainly feel colour and gradation are more life-like and smoother on the A65 compared to the NEX 5N and Canon 600D. In some areas the A65 outperforms the hacked GH2, mainly in the shadows and highlights.


Quick FS100 Picture Profile Test | Paul Antico | Vimeo
Paul posts a short test with the NEX-FS100 equivalent of S-Log (sort-of):
Using Frank Glencairn's profiles. G-Log A (graded) is quite nice though I haven't tried it outside much yet. I swear it bought more range though I could just be losing my mind. It certainly brought more latitude in grading. For example, I was able to raise the shadows and still have detail in the mids in highs. The more standard profiles don't allow for as much change; they start to fall apart earlier. The highlight on my head doesn't blow up as badly on G-LOG as with the other profiles either.


GH2 vs EX3 stills... | bwhitz | Personal View Talks
Low light comparison stills taken with the GH2 and the much more expensive, but older and small-sensor based Sony EX3:
In my personal interpretation, I say the GH2 resolves a bit more detail. But they are very close. Both are true 1080p cams. Whoever was saying the GH2 could only resolve 600 lines was out of his mind. 600 lines is even below a 7D.


Epic X un-boxing and 300fps test | MarkyMark662 | YouTube
An amusing "unboxing" video:
Finally 300 frames works on my Epic! We documented the un-boxing and first booting the camera.


Saul Bass's storyboards for the Psycho shower scene | CUA
A series of storyboards by Saul Bass. There's also a new book on Bass' title desings Saul Bass: A Life in Film
Saul Bass prepared storyboards for the shower scene, and was on the set during at least part of the filming. After Hitchcock's death, Bass asserted that he had directed the scene at Hitchcock's invitation--a claim definitively contradicted by both Janet Leigh and Assistant Director Hilton Green. Bass's partisans have subsequently held that Hitchcock merely mechanically filmed shots already laid out by Bass.


What The Business Of Video Will Look Like In 2012 | Steven Rosenbaum
| Fast Company
What's in store for the video business next year?
My prediction is that YouTube won't go out of the UGC business; in fact, it will be the exact opposite. I think you'll see more creative ways to monetize YouTube, including new partnerships with portal players, third-party ad units, and the emergence of important sponsorship and co-branded pages. It's unclear if YouTube will build these offerings, buy them, or partner with others to provide them.


The perfect SCARLET-X rig - buyers guide | Sebastian | Cinema5D
A selection of gear for kitting out a Scarlet-X:
I've decided to go public with this, after all inside the community we can achieve much more than alone. We're getting a Scarlet-X and someone said we'll be one of the first. I'm looking for the perfect configuration to present on the website. Perfect in terms of usability, compability for filmmakers coming from DSLR, versatility, lightweight and "affordable" (all this stuff is so f....ing expensive, DSLR is so much cheaper).
Second priority is suitability for rental targeted at low budget productions.




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