Notes On Video

[10:33PM] - from the SuperMeet website : STAY TUNED FOR TICKET ANNOUNCEMENT: We will announce shortly our last round of tickets - Temporarily Sold Out Vincent Laforet lists his appearances and a few "interesting" product announcements, including the new Canon PL zoom lenses. NAB – Lectures and live appearances on Teradek TV The arrival of these Canon PL lenses has prompted concern that Canon's next DSLR will use a PL mount: DSLR 4 Real : Total Specualtion - Canons New Lenses Personally Canon going PL seems unlikely; they may just be making a lens to sell for other cameras, or they may have a video camera coming that uses a PL mount (they do have a video division.) It's doubtful they'll abandon the EF mount for DSLRS. At least not for the majority of users Boston DP Tom Guilmette will be at NAB working the Vinten booth April 11 to April 13th and the Zacuto/Kessler Booth the morning of April 14th. He'll be posting updates at @tomguilmette Ba...

Sidney Lumet directed over 50 films, including one of my all-time favorites, Twelve Angry Men (starring Henry Fonda) Scott Myers has collected together some links to articles and video clips:  R.I.P.: Sydney Lumet (1924-2011) Amazon :  (1957) Twelve Angry Men | (1974) Murder on the Orient Express | (1975) Dog Day Afternoon | (1976) Network | (1982) The Verdict  

3D News CamcorderInfo does in-depth review of JVC GS-TD1 Camcorderinfo got their hands on the 3D pro-sumer camera from JVC, the GS-TD1 , and while it does a better job than the Panasonic HDC-SDT750 they already reviewed, they note a lot of problems including: a slow menu system, confusing playback interface and a headache inducing "glasses-free" 3D LCD. And they had problems with the footage and shooting good 3D: The 3D footage captured with the camcorder, while better than what we saw from the HDC-SDT750, still had problems with trailing and interference, and it was nearly unwatchable if you moved the camcorder around too fast during recording. Shooting the perfect 3D video clip requires precise camcorder movements, intricate staging, and proper lighting. If you have the money and want to play with the latest 3D gadget, it might be the one to get, but you're paying for it. Camcorderinfo : GS-TD1 Sony Handycam HDR-TD10 First Look DigitalCamera Review posts a f...

There's really no news, but Apple taking over the upcoming SuperMeet to announce the next release of Final Cut Pro is such a big news event that I have to write something...I feel like one of those 24 hours news cable announcers repeating variations of the same thing over and over again... Ask the AV Guy Chris Eschweiler claims to be the AV guy for the SuperMeet [ you're right, this is definitely getting very cable newsish -Ed ] and though nobody met his asking price of a small tropical island (with submarine) to reveal what he knows about the SuperMeet, he did tweet: Exporting logos for #SuperMeet. And there are just as many logos as there were a week ago. Huh. Funny, that. #dontbelieveeverythingyouread @chrisesch "Don't believe everything you read"...... hmmm... Meanwhile, Philip Hodgetts , who knows a person or two involved with the SuperMeet, and maybe even some people at Apple, tweeted: I can't reveal my source but Supermeet is definitely FC...

Red Giant Software has pre-announced their NAB announcements: Colorista Free . Colorista II is a great color grading plug-in that works with Adobe After Effects , Premiere Pro and Apple's Final Cut Pro . Think of it as a step up from the Final Cut three-way color corrector, without the confusion of Apple Color . Colorista Free is a sub-set of the Colorista II plug-in, available for free! No word on availability or what feature set is implemented. LUT Buddy is a free tool for sharing Look Up Tables. [ UPDATE Both are now available for download here: Two New FREE Tools for Color Grading & Color Decisions ] Magic Bullet Grinder 1.5 : a free update to this Mac tool for converting DSLR footage. Three new options for time-code, and two new main codec formats ProRes HQ & LT have been added and support for conforming from 30p to 25p (it already supports 30p to 24p) Also, Guru Preset Packs , and for the iPhone , Magic Bullet Movie Looks and Noir Photo . Red Gian...

Final Cut Pro: There's news about Final Cut other than the goings-on at the SuperMeet . Canon to update the EOS Movie Plug-in . Canonrumors.com reports that Canon has announced vers 1.2, an update to the importer plug-in that will make importing faster and easier. It will be available April 25th. Canonrumors: Canon Updates E1 Plugin for FCP DE:Noise 2.1.3 : An update to this filter which fixes a problem with crashes in Motion: RE:VisionEffects : Downloads: DE:Noise Deleting Render Files : A quick tip video from Larry Jordan answers the question "Should you delete all render files and how do you do it?" YouTube : Final Cut Tutorial: Deleting Render Files.mp4 - Larry Jordan micro tutorial Cameras In the field - A cautionary tale . In this blog post Robin Schmidt talks about his experiences using the Sony PMW-F3 and the AJA Key Pro Mini on a recent 48 hour film challenge. Rather than a review of either, this story is more a cautionary tale about using equ...

[ Update 4/13: To see what was revealed, check out SuperMeet reports : Final Cut Pro 10 - Sneak Peak Wrap Up ] The presentation with #FCP at the #Supermeet ends one of two ways. Big Win or Epic Fail. Nothing in between." - @walterbiscardi Walter Biscardi - who's definitely on the "not applauding" side of the fence when it comes to Apple's apparent heavy-handed takeover of the SuperMeet - has written his FCP X manifesto: In the parlance of Las Vegas, Apple has gone “All In” for this one event. There is no Apple booth on the show floor. There is no Sunday Apple Marketing event. There is no ANYTHING from Apple other than a complete takeover of one of the largest paid gatherings of video editors at NAB. In other words, just one shot in front of an audience of the very people who will make or break the product and presentation . He then goes on to list seven things he thinks this release has to have. Now he does say "forget the interface," at the beginn...

Video review of the Sony PMW-F3 Philip Johnston of HD Warrior reviews the Sony PMW-F3 : He likes it! He really likes the low-light capabilities of the camera, and he mostly likes it's layout and operation (much better than the NEX-FS100 , anyway!) About the biggest dings against it; the lack of a tape hook for measuring focus distances, and the fact that the Sony lenses won't fit other cameras. He also demonstrates how to remove and attach lenses. HDWarrior :  Video Review of the Sony PMW-F3 Sony PMW-F3 Kit Lens Quality While we're talking about the Sony lenses that are included with the Sony PMW-F3 Kit, Matthew Duclos at the Circle of Confusion took apart one of those lenses, and he wasn't impressed, finding lots of plastic and poor build quality: While I was taking the lens apart I came across so many things that rubbed me the wrong way like the plastic all over the place, the screws didn’t line up with their holes and were stripped before I even touche...

Ever wonder how the companies come up with their camera designs? We did too, but after seeing some of the behind-the-scenes process for the Sony NEX-FS100 , now we think we understand it:

Canon will later this summer release a firmware update for the XF305 and XF300 Professional Camcorders that includes the ability to configure two units for 3D HD video capture. It will include Canon’s 3D Assist Function that allows two units to be easily set up for 3D HD video, as well as an updated Scan Reverse function, Double Slot Recording for instantaneous backup, and the option to disable Relay Recording. Canon will be demonstrating this functionality at NAB. 3D Shooting Capability The new firmware includes the ability to perform OIS Lens Shift to aid in optically aligning two XF305 or XF300 camcorders and a Focal Length Guide to display the zoom position of each camera in relation to each other and help calibrate zoom settings. This adjustment can be done through the menu system while the camcorders are mounted to a rig or tripod. Once aligned, the amount of the angle-of-view change is displayed after zoom adjustment, preventing camera misalignment and simplifying adjustme...

a friend has seen new FCP says its 64 bit and awesome and he is a long time Avid user. said Avid will need to play catch up - @ronsussman From the March 2011 Editors' Lounge : In this panel discussion Mark Raudonis says he was at the pre-reveal of Final Cut , and that Apple has good lawyers, but: Here's what I can say. I was there. It was awesome. -Mark Raudonis He then goes on to say that he can't give details, he can only speak in metaphors, and then suggests that Apple is looking into the future, rather than extending what we have... There's also some speculation from other panel members, including this: "We've heard that there's no tape I/O" fcp.co : Pre-NAB buzz on the future of FCP from the guys who broke the SuperMeet rumour Breaking - Charlie Sheen to give Apple Keynote at Supermeet. Hopes to make up for Detroit. #winning - @comebackshane Final Cut Pro vs. Avid Aaron Weiler does an amusing little spoof of the Avid vs. Fina...

[UPDATE 6:06 PM Now the page says: Temporarily Sold Out! WAITLIST IN EFFECT . We are currently working to accommodate more seats. But there's nothing about how to get on the waitlist (that will probably appear shortly...? This is exciting stuff, no? [ Not if you don't use Final Cut Pro , No. - Ed ] [9:00PM] Now the waitlist text is gone....   -END] [UPDATE 6:00 PM Site now just says: Temporarily Sold Out! We are currently working to accommodate more seats. Unclear if any tickets were made available this afternoon. If they were, they went fast! -END] [ UPDATE: 2:00 PM @AJAVideo tweeted earlier: @NABShow 4/11] #AJAVideo is the exclusive sponsor for #NAB11 #FCPUG #SuperMeet live video stream Which is kind of odd if the live stream - as others have reported - will not be happening. Scott Simmons at Studio Daily rips into Apple for kicking everyone else off the program: If Apple is confident in the awesome, jaw-dropping, stunning product it has produced t...

DP/Editor, photojournalist and multimedia specialist Rick Macomber shot the following promo video for Joanne Chang 's book Flour: Spectacular Recipes from Boston's Flour Bakery + Cafe . He talked about shooting the piece at last week's BOSFCPUG & Boston DSLR Meetup . THIS IS FLOUR BAKERY from Rick Macomber on Vimeo . I shot the video for her publisher, and this was really guerrilla shooting. Hand held for the most part, low budget, done in about three hours, and they wanted it turned around very quickly to get up on their web site. These days she delegates much of the baking to her staff because she is running three bakeries, in addition to the funky indie diner with her husband, Christopher Myers: Myers + Chang in the South End. It’s the perfect example of someone who is very successful, and is caught up in the business now. When she said to me, “How are you going to film me, and do a Day in the Life? I sit in my little office much of the day now.” I said...

Technicolor & Canon Combine on Color Canon & Technicolor have announced Technicolor   CineStyle , which provides cinematographers with a look that allows for the greatest image latitude.  The new CineStyle will be unveiled at the NAB show: Technicolor : Technicolor & Canon USA Form Strategic Alliance... It appears that this will be a picture style in the camera much like the existing picture styles. According to Planet5D , Canon USA doesn't now if this will be available for existing cameras. Planet5D :  UPDATED! TECHNICOLOR & Canon USA... Prime lens vs. Zoom B & H posts two pictures taken with a prime and a zoom lens, and asks you to pick which is which: B&HInsights :  Prime vs Zoom, Can You Tell the Difference? James Cameron wants Higher Frame Rates Perhaps lead by his interest in 3D, James Cameron is pushing for higher frame rates. But there is a lot of debate about whether higher frame rates are "good" or "bad." Part of th...

[UPDATE 2:  Larry Jordan - who back in February was the first to report seeing a demo of the new version of Final Cut [ NotesOnVideo : Final Cut Pro Update - confirmation ] - has posted his thoughts on the news from the SuperMeet . He's actually puzzled why - assuming the rumors are true - Apple would do this. He argues that they are pissing off other vendors [ well, Avid yes, Canon is probably fine about it, who knows about the others -Ed ], placed the SuperMeet people in a difficult position with having to make these changes, and why does Apple even need to be at a trade show? All good points. I must admit, even though I'd heard a suggestion that Apple was going to make an appearance at the SuperMeet last week, I'm still a little surprised - almost shocked - that they are. I've been telling people for the last couple of months not to expect a new version of Final Cut at NAB, because Apple doesn't do trade shows anymore; they aren't on the list of exhibit...

So long "Lights Out" Matt Seitz at Salon takes a look at the just canceled FX drama " Light's Out " and tries to figure out why it didn't really work: A film director once told me that he knew a screenplay needed rewrites when somebody asked him what it was about, and his description began with the phrase, "It's about this guy..." Scripts that are About This Guy can make unusual, sometimes engrossing stand-alone art house movies. But they don't make great TV shows. It's a good piece not because he's trying to tear the show apart, but because he actually tries to diagnose the problems. Salon : So long, "Lights Out" -- you coulda been a contender The greatest tracking shots I've always loved long tracking shots, even though in using them there is a danger that the viewer gets distracted from the story by the "art" of them. For a while I intended to start a list of great tracking shots, but never got a...

Yesterday Planet5D held a live webchat with Steve Weiss , Director and Product Designer at Zacuto . The replay of the chat should be up on Planet5D shortly, but here's a recap for those that didn't make it. Steve Weiss On price Mitch from Planet5D opened up the chat by asking Steve about the price of Zacuto gear, noting that some consider it expensive. " If you look at our kits. We have kits that range from $500 to many thousands of dollars. We wanted to make our kits incredibly complete. Some of the other competitors, you have to buy another part, and another part. We make them 35 miles from our office. If we have an idea [we can] have it done in 5 or six weeks. We build our stuff to an indestructible military grade [and have a] life-time warranty. " He also sighted their tech support as another benefit they provide. Scorpion Rig Scorpion rig Steve showed a new Scorpion rig, which is aimed primarily at DSLR shooters, and has an unusual curve plate t...

Last weeks combined BOSFCPUG & Boston DSLR meetup at E. P Levine ’s in Waltham started with free pizza [courtesy AJA]. Levine's is a great meeting location - they have a nice big studio for us to meet in - though I really think we need a diagram to explain where you can park. Dan Berube. Holding in his hands, he claimed, the Canon 5D Mark III Dan Berube  opened the meeting by demoing what he claimed was the Canon 5D Mark III * and also introducing our hosts for the event from E.P. Levine . [ UPDATE : For the asterisk impaired, Dan want's it to be clear that it wasn't the 5D Mark III -Ed ] Main Presentation - Yan Shvalb: Time Remapping in FCP and Motion and Timelapse Workflow (plus more!) This talk may have been billed as a discussion of time-lapse workflow, but was really an introduction to compositing using different applications.  Yan Shvalb of DigitalFilmCreators.com began his talk by showing a sample reel and then explained how he did several of the effect...