Notes On Video

Talamas Broadcast is offering three free workshops on the ARRI Alexa Friday March 11th and Saturday March 12th. Presented by Michael Bravin , the workshops are identical, though the Friday 6pm event will include an ARRI Alexa Open House - an informal gathering with food and drinks where people can network and ask additional questions. Talamas :  Arri Alexa Workshop

Roger Deakins Forum Cinematographer Roger Deakins hosts a discussion forum on his website, and even pops up frequently to reply to questions and comment. Roger has made several comment's over the past year about the end of film and moving to digital, and he's answered several questions about this. I did test the image from the Alexa right through to a release print. That's not something I always do but with a new camera and the digital format I wanted to be sure of the final image the audience would see if it were a film print.The main difference between film and digital is the sharpness of the image. The crisper digital image does tend to see more blemishes than a film image but that is purely to do with the way the camera resolves fine details. RogerDeakinsOnline : Forum More Sony PMW-F3 Tests Timur Civan has posted a second test with the PMW-F3 (he previously looked at low-light performance) and has posted a resolution test: This camera is sharp.  It resolves ...

Product Reviews Sorenson Squeeze 7 Joe Herman reviews the latest release of this compression tool and recommends it for those who do a lot of compression work. NYCProdcutionNews : Sorenson Squeeze 7 Zacuto Z-Finder : Erik Hecht consider's this viewfinder a DSLR user essential: ChaseJarvisBlog : Erik’s HDSLR Video Essentials: the Zacuto Z-Finder Focus 35 Skater Dolly : Ron Risman reviews this inexpensive skater dolly from Focus 35, which looks suspiciously like the skateboard dolly design that several people have produced (I even managed to construct one myself!) Cameratown : Focus35 Rotation 360 Skater Dolly Review NotesOnVideo : DIY Slider Dolly And if you're really adventurous, Greg Royar shows how he created an automated slider based on an Igus slider in this video: Vimeo : DIY Automated Timelapse/Slider Making Movies Evan at The Black and Blue blog says it's okay to get excited about technology, but it's people who make movies , and ultimate...

PrimateLabs did some benchmarks on the new MacBook Pros and found the performance "amazing." The fastest is 80% faster than the previous fastest machine. In fact: ...if you look at our Mac Benchmark charts, you'll see that the fastest MacBook Pro is faster than a lot of Mac Pros (including the current generation of Mac Pros). The new MacBook Pros truly are portable workstations. Primatelabs : MacBook Pro Benchmarks (Early 2011)

How Much Would You Pay For The Panasonic AG-AF100? Cinematographer David Wexler got to use the Panasonic AG-AF100 for a recent one day shoot, and was impressed: Overall, I was very pleased with the cameras performance. All the on board tools I expected in a video camera were there. The large sensor made a big difference in isolating focus to, “tell a better story”. The micro 4/3rds format on the AG-AF100 seems to be the most readily adaptable on the planet so it is easy to [use] a variety of lenses without modifying the existing mount and voiding any warranties. Interestingly, he relates that he asked a Panasonic rep why the camera used SD cards rather than P2 cards, and the rep implied that it would have doubled the price of the camera. Zacuto :  How Much Would You Pay For It? Using The Panasonic AG-AF100 EOSHD spent the day playing with, and comparing the Panasonic AG-AF100 and GH2 . There's some interesting observations comparing the - admittedly - very different c...

Birger Engineering is working on a mount adapter that will provide auto and manual iris control and auto-focus of Canon EF mount lenses on the Panasonic AG-AF100 . They'll be demoing it at the Rule Camera LearningLab on Wednesday, Mar 2 , 10am-12noon. RSVP to events@rule.com Rule Boston Camera : Events Birger Engineering

Finding A Job In The Film Industry Michael Rabiger provides 11 tips for getting a job: Your reel. With your resumé enclose a professionally laid out DVD.  Some people put a different DVD together depending on the type of job or company they are approaching. masteringfilm : Eleven Tips for Finding a Job in the Film Industry Sony discontinues NEX-3 There's reports that the NEX-3 has been discontinued. The NEX-3 is the little brother to the NEX5 , both still cameras that share the E-mount of the NEX-VG10 video camera. Both the NEX-3 & 5 also support video, though the NEX-3 only does 720p. Sony Alpha Rumors says not to worry; the NEX-3 is being replaced with the NEX-C3 . Engadget :  Sony NEX-3 discontinued, probably has NEX-5 to blame SonyAlphaRumors : (SR5) NEX-3 officially discontinued in Japan! Shooting in Low Light Richard Harrington 's latest video tutorial covers shooting in low-light: Lighting should be your first step, but capturing gorgeous...

There was no big party, but Apple announced new MacBook Pros this morning. Notably, the 15 and 17-inch models feature quad-core Intel Core i7 processors. They've also announced Thunderbolt ; which was previously referred to as Light Peak , but it appears everyone is using the Thunderbolt name now, Intel has their own page up about it. All interesting stuff, though I'm not in a market for a new MacBook Pro at the moment. I'm assuming they'll bring this stuff to the iMac next; which would turn the iMac into a powerful editing system too. Ahh, so many ways to spend money! Apple : MacBook Pros Intel : Thunderbolt And a Happy Birthday to Mr. Jobs.

Philip Bloom , with support from Rode Microphones and KesslerCrane is running another "competition" - I'm not even sure that's the right word - but donate to the New Zealand Earthquake Relief Appeal, then send the receipt to Philip and you'll be in for a chance to win one of the prizes. They did a similar appeal for the Queensland Flood Appeal and raised over $25,000! PhilipBloom : Donate to the New Zealand earthquake appeal and be in with a chance of winning a Kessler Crane Philip Bloom Pocket Dolly or 1 of 10 Rode Video Mic Pros! [ Update : great, I didn't include the link ]

I mentioned last week that at the  BOSFCPUG Mixer ,   Stuart Cummings of Watermark Productions  had said that he'd heard reports of problems from some people who were trying to use the Panasonic GH2 with the Ki Pro Min i, but since he'd only just got the unit himself, he hadn't yet been able to try it. Well Stuart dropped me a note to let me know that he did try the GH2 with the Ki Pro Mini , and it doesn't seem to work. But the Panasonic AG-AF100 works just fine. NotesOnVideo : AJA Ki Pro Mini @ BOSFCPUG + BOSDSLR Mixer Watermark Productions

Larry Jordan has confirmed that he went to Cupertino last week and got a look at the upcoming version of Final Cut Pro . He says that he can't say much else about it, though he did tweet that it was "jaw-dropping"! LarryJordan : I’ve Seen The New Version of Final Cut Pro…

New Version Of Final Cut Coming? Alexia Tsotsis at TechCrunch reports that Apple has been showing an upcoming release of Final Cut Pro to editors to get their opinions. He also says that it's “dramatic and ambitious” and may be released in the spring. TechCrunch :  New Final Cut Pro Is Real, And It’s Spectacular (And It’s Expected Spring 2011) Comparison of Sony Bloggie Touch and Flip UltraHD SonyRumors publishes a comparison of the new Sony Bloggie Touch [$154.95] with the Flip UltraHD Video [$179] Speaking of technical specs, the Bloggie Touch outshines the Flip UltraHD in every scenario. Offering great zoom, resolution, Face Detection, Image Stabilization, Macro Auto Focus, Self Time and still camera to name a few. On top of that, Sony placed a Exmor™ CMOS Sensor under the hood, insuring crisp video both during daylight and nighttime. Remember that this is Sony Rumors website, but it includes some sample videos. SonyRumors :  Sony Bloggie Touch Review...

Panasonic 3D Lens & Camcorder I actually got to see the Panasonic 3D conversion lens (VW-CLT1) at a Best Buy store on the weekend. Unfortunately, the camcorder wasn't working - the battery was flat - but I could actually handle it. It was smaller than I had imagined, so on the front of a small camcorder, it wasn't that unwieldy. It was very plasticy, but that's not exactly surprising. You can buy the lens with a camcorder right now, but the lens doesn't appear to be available separately yet. B & H: Panasonic VW-CLT1 3D CONVERSION LENS [$349.99] available for pre-order B & H: Panasonic HDC-SDT750K [ $974.97] available now Panasonic thinks 3D TV's have reached critical mass TechRadar spoke to Panasonic's CTO Eisuke Tsuyuzaki about 3D television. He's optimistic: "Within North America, the industry shipped some 2 million Full HD 3D enabled televisions after just nine months on the market," he said."This is a sign...

It was rumored a month or so ago, and now they've gone and made it official. Amazon is offering free streaming for (many) movies and TV shows to their Amazon Prime members (Amazon Prime costs $79 a year, and provides free two-day shipping on all orders.) I have Amazon Prime, so I can watch now on my computer, but it appears that I don't have anything (at the moment) that will let me stream to my TV. I may have to buy something like the Roku XD Streaming Player 1080p Amazon : Main Page [ UPDATE : Engadget says the quality of the video is okay, but not great. UPDATE 2 : Just watched a bit of Silverado . Impressed that it started so quickly - I figured they'd be deluged right now - and quality is just okay; Standard Def, not HD UPDATE 3 10PM : Looks like you do get HD versions. Waiting a minute or two at full screen, the resolution improves on my computer (hard to tell whether 720p or what it is, but it's pretty good, and a friend with a Roku says he's ge...

Sony PMW-F3 Preliminary Tests Timur Civan reports on ISO tests with the new Sony PMW-F3  conducted to look for the noise floor and clipping points of the camera. in conclusion, some more obvious than others. consider your absolute work horse iso's 280, 400, 800. the higher iso's is tolerable according to each person that uses it, but honestly in the biggest of emergencies it's not a disaster if you have to use them. but if you are shooting a feature film, you should be able to light at a 280, and 400 most of to all of the time, and 800 when it's a rushed night/day. and have little to no issues in post. TimuCivan :  Sony F3 - Preliminary Tests YouTube to Award $10,000 Grants to Nonprofits YouTube is running a competition for Nonprofit organization videos: Beginning today, video submissions will be accepted until March 2, 2011 when a panel of expert judges will select four finalists in each category, which include Best Small Organization Video, Best Medium...

I've had the Steadicam Smoothee for iPhone 4 for a few days now, but the weather being what it is, I've really only had one chance to spend any extended time shooting with it. Last Friday I shot some behind-the-scenes video at a taping of the Melrose Massachusetts Television (MMTV) program " After Hours with T.C. Restani ." Apart from the usual iPhone video complaints - poor sound, difficulty in poor lighting - the Smoothee itself seemed to perform pretty well. Operator error may still be at work here - this was the first extended time I spent using it - so I may still get better. As with a "regular" Steadicam, for best results you want to plan out your moves; if the talent suddenly changes direction, it can cause you serious framing problems! I also wish there was better exposure control (actually any exposure control) on the iPhone ! But perhaps most of all, I'm thinking that some kind of lens shade - maybe just a piece of black paper taped on...

One of the interesting items on display at last weeks BOSFCPUG + BOSDSLR Mixer was the Sohotank , a drive storage enclosure available in two, four and eight slot configurations. An 8-bay unit was brought along by local reseller, Stuart Cummings of Watermark Productions . The four and eight-bay Sohotank units are available in models that support eSATA or mini-SAS. In addition to the Sohotank models, there are also Sohoraid models. The 4-bay Sohotank ST5610 and the Sohoraid SR4 seem very similar; I'm not sure of the exact differences! I'd not heard of these before, and they seem to be difficult to find online; it's not even obvious if you can order them on the manufacturer's website! At around $600 for the eight-bay unit (I can find no pricing for the four bay Sohotank!) these might be an alternative to the Drobo unit. Raidon : Sohotank (manufacturer; link to 4 enclosure unit) Other World Computing : Sohotank (online sales, 8-bay Sohotank unit. Sohorai...

A Big Year For Cameras Matthew Allard , Aljazeera Senior Field Cameraman, Kuala Lumpur writes that "2011 promises to be the most exciting yet for professional shooters," and looks at what has come, and what might be just around the corner. The article opens with a little hint of conspiracy theory: The other problem I suspect has been the case for a long time is that Japanese companies seem to have informal agreements with each other. No one likes to shame another company by bringing out something that is so much better than any one else’s product. And yet in talking about whether Canon will release something that competes with the Panasonic AG-AF100 , he lists four very different reasons why they might not, and doesn't include the conspiracy theory: They may be very happy with selling DSLR’s and don’t want to take away potential sales in that area. It’s not cost effective for them to build a Hybrid DSLR/Video camera at this point in time. They are waiting to se...

FilmmakingWebinars is offering a free webinar April 5 @ 10:00AM PST on mixing Final Cut Pro projects using Soundtrack Pro . You can also purchase an HD version of the webinar and bonus material for $25 In this webinar, Final Cut Pro guru Larry Jordan walks you through the process of improving the quality of your audio mixes in your video project. You'll learn specific workflows and techniques using Soundtrack Pro from the Final Cut Pro editor's perspective. FilmmakingWebinars :  Mixing Your Final Cut Pro Projects Inside Soundtrack Pro

B & H now lists the new Glidetrack Hybrid models, though delivery is 2-4 weeks: B & H : Glidetrack Hybrid - 20" (0.5m) [$473.95] B & H : Glidetrack Hybrid - 40" (1m) [$536.95] B & H : Glidetrack Hybrid - 59" (1.5m) [$599.95]

Danny Cohen on The King's Speech StudioDaily has an interview with Danny Cohen , cinematographer for The King's Speech . The montage scene where Colin Firth is going through his vocal exercises, for example. We shot almost all of that handheld, save for one dolly shot, in 20 minutes at the end of the day. We had a time constraint (we were losing the afternoon light) so we had to figure out the quickest way to shoot it. We decided it was best to put the camera on the shoulder and shoot it really simply. The process of filmmaking invites so many ideas and strong points of view, but the reality on set is most decisions are made by necessity. StudioDaily : Cinematographer Danny Cohen on The King's Speech How to be a better Focus Puller The Black and Blue blog provides three tips for improving your focus pulling skills: The easiest way to become a better focus puller is to become exceptionally accurate at guessing distances. You should strive to become a human measu...