Random Bits & Pieces

The importance of story

As I already mentioned, my daughter started college last week. The school organized a number of activities for parents, including a tour of three of the arts buildings. The film/video building particularly caught my attention. On the video side, they are using Final Cut Pro 7 and FCPX, but are thinking about going to Adobe Premiere CS6. It’s a liberal arts college, and their focus (in all the schools) is more on the theory and principles of how to do things, rather than getting hung up on the software and equipment. I think that’s a good thing.

One of the tour speakers mentioned that a few students had already shot projects with the RED camera, but that you could do almost as good with DSLRs. As he said, you can now create something that looks as good as a Hollywood movie, and that will get the viewers attention for the first five minutes, but what happens after the first five minutes? Then it’s all about the story.

I seem to hear that a lot from other people…


The Canon C100

I’m really intrigued by the Canon C100. When looking at the current large-sensor video cameras (not including DSLRs) under $10,000, there’s now four choices that I'm attracted to:

Sony NEX-EA50: I like the zoom lens, shoulder mount and "pro" features like XLR input. Price looks good, but no ND filters is disappointing and image quality probably not as good as the other four.

Sony NEX-FS100: No ND filter and placement of the LCD is a problem. Price is okay.

Sony NEX-FS700: ND and Super-slow motion are great. LCD placement a problem. Price is a serious stretch. Several people tell me the image isn't quite as good as the C300..

Canon C100: ND and built-in support for Canon EF lenses. Not sure about LCD placement. Will the image be close to the C300? No Slow-no. Price is a serious stretch.

When it comes down to it, I’d like to get either the NEX-FS700 or C100, and picking between them could be difficult. Will the image on the C100 be slightly better – more filmic – than the NEX-FS700? Super-slow motion is a big plus for the NEX-FS700, but I have a bunch of Canon EF lenses, which makes me lean towards the C100, even though you can get adapters for the NEX-FS700.

Of course, at the moment, I can't afford any of them...


University of Massachusetts Fall 2012 Film Series

Through November, the University of Massachusetts is hosting a series of documentary film screenings, with a Q&A with the filmmakers afterwards:
The series hosts filmmakers for Q&As moderated by curator and lecturer Chico Colvard. The Film Series also partners with UMass Boston faculty, film industry insiders, and local organizations to participate in post-screening panel discussions about the issues central to the featured films. Ultimately, the UMass Boston Film Series aims to create a synergy of place between UMass Boston and the moving image.
Crazy Horse (dir. Fred Wiseman)Wednesday Sep 26
Detropia (dirs. Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady)Thursday Oct 4
Girl Model (dirs. Ashley Sabin & David Redmon)Tuesday Oct 16
Poster Girl (dir. Sara Nesson & Robynn Murray)Thursday Nov 1
An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty (dir. Terence Nance)Thursday Nov 15 @
Code Of The West (dir. Rebecca Richman Cohen)Thursday Nov 29

University of Massachusetts Film Series

Comments

jojopig.com said…
unique. thanks for the information.
Sep 4, 2012, 9:07:00 AM
Carlos D said…
You've echoed my feelings exactly towards the pileup of post-DSLR options. If I think business, the C100's hopefully C300-like image stands out as being worth my investment.

That's not to say that the FS700s slow-mo isn't really, really appealing.

If the GH3 finally gets up 1080p60 in addition to sporting improved dynamic range (the ugliest part of the GH2) - pairing a C100 with a GH3 could be a great little kit. You'd gain stills and time lapse functionality over the FS700 too.

Thanks again for the great blog Mike
Sep 5, 2012, 1:38:00 AM
Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t...
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some...
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera ...
Read more