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“GAME CHANGERS” PART 1: GETTING STARTED | Michael Murie
| Filmmaker Magazine
Filmmakers Rob Imbs (director) and Benjamin Eckstein (cinematographer) are currently shooting a low-budget independent feature film, Game Changers, a drama/comedy about two video-gamers who are approaching their late twenties. With an initial target budget of $30,000, Game Changers might be better described as a shoestring budget feature, given that they began shooting with only half that amount raised.


Thread: Attitude adjustment... | Jim Jannard | RedUser
Red announces new prices:
Now… here is the new pricing: 
5K EPIC-X Brain- $19,000
5K EPIC-X Monochrome Brain- $20,000
5K EPIC-M Brain- $24,000
5K/4K Scarlet Brain- $7,9504.
5K RED ONE M-X Battle Tested- $4000 (includes CF or SSD recording module).
The RED ONE is End of Life. Battle tested is all that will be available from here on out.


RED Cuts EPIC Price in Half: EPIC-X Now $19,000, SCARLET Under $8K, RED ONE Goes 4.5K for $4K | Joe Marine | NoFilmSchool
This is good for consumers, it means you can enter into the RED system for a lot less money than previously thought, and it also means the new Dragon equipped EPICs should compete price-wise with the new cameras from Sony (without most of the compressed modes of course). This also means we should see some reductions in used camera price.


The Sony NEX-VG900 Full-Frame Camcorder | Michael Christensen
| B & H Photo Video
The NEX-FS100U has a Super 35mm Sensor. It measures: 23.6 x 13.3mm.
The NEX-VG900’s 35mm full-frame sensor measures: 35.8 x 23.9mm.
Even a professional cinematographer would be hard pressed to describe—in no uncertain terms—the relative aesthetic merits of the two formats. Nevertheless, there is a certain breed of cinematographer that will slip into a glassy-eyed reverie as they contemplate the mysterious beauty of the “full-frame look.” In practical terms, there are a few objective benefits.


How to Light for Specific Camera Blocking: Master to Close-Up | Shane Hurlbut
| Hurlblog
I believe we all have gotten a little overindulgent in the use of soft light because we think, “I want it to feel natural”; “I want it to feel like ambient light, not lit”; “I want to go with available light.” I have heard many of these descriptions. It is your job as a cinematographer to translate that into a lighting language that will deliver exactly what the director wants. His or her description doesn’t always mean soft light. What about the illusion of soft light, while you are using a harder source?


Tuesday Tip: Last Minute DIY Sound Booth | Olivia | OliviaTech
Immediately after my coverage of PhotoPlus Expo 2012, I was going on vacation and needed to send a few voice over recordings back to the studio. When recording in a small untreated room you would normally have problems with an echo or reverb. Our solution was to build a frame of insulation around the microphone to prevent my voice from traveling around the room.


Sony F65 Camera Used in the Production of Anti-Bullying Film 'Sticks and Stones'
| Creative Planet
“Sticks & Stones” also provided the perfect outlet for veteran DP and DIT Steve Romano. Starting out in film, Romano never felt digital gave the proper skin tone with minimal noise. But as the world turned toward the ease and cost effectiveness of digital, he embraced the technology and is now shooting with the Sony F65. After shooting “Sticks & Stones” with the Sony camera, he feels the F65 achieves that proper balance.


FireWire's demise: Here's how to cope | Mel Beckman | Infoworld
The seemingly obvious solution to a FireWire ouster is the one Apple released this fall: its $29 Thunderbolt to FireWire Adapter. This one-way adapter (you can't use it to convert a Mac FireWire interface to Thunderbolt) supports a FireWire 800 attachment; you can then use a FireWire 800-to-FireWire 400 conversion cable to attach FireWire 400 devices.


New Adobe tech to help video editors | John Nack | Adobe
It’s far from the flashiest task, but placing cuts & transitions in interview footage can be crucial to telling a story. Adobe’s Wil Li plus UC Berkeley-based collaborators Maneesh Agrawala and Floraine Berthouzoz have unveiled “a one-click method for seamlessly removing ’ums’ and repeated words, as well as inserting natural-looking pauses to emphasize semantic content.”

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