Notes On Video

BlackMagic Design Cinema Camera Black Magic Cinema Camera (BMCC) Beautiful & Befuddling | Vinvent Laforet | Blog Vincent writes at length about the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera , praising the image; " I think that this camera produces one of the most beautiful images in the cinema/video market ," but his biggest concern is the image sensor size, and the fact that it has an EF mount, making it difficult to find good, wide lenses to use with the camera: The single most “befuddling” decision with this camera is the choice of such a small sensor size.   My guess is that it was one based on economics and how a larger sensor would not only be more expensive to produce, but also the fact that having to process RAW images from a larger sensor at 30fps would also lead to much more expensive internal hardware within the camera.   Andrew Reid | Twitter Awesome news from @brawlster the Blackmagic Cinema Camera is now shipping. Reckon I will get mine on the 7th-10th all...

I'm dropping my daughter off at College today. Why am I paying for someone else to take a bunch of classes I'd like to take? Twice I've watched webinars on Adobe Speedgrade, and I still don't have a clue how to do the basics in the program. That either says something about webinars, or about Speedgrade. Or maybe my attention span. The more intrigued I become by the Canon C100, the more I wonder; didn't you say you couldn't afford the Sony NEX-FS700? It's two days after appealing the take down notice I got from YouTube, and I haven't heard a peep from them, not even acknowledging the appeal, or explaining what the next step in the process is. When I went to College it just seemed like another thing I was expected to do, and I didn't really care about any of it. Now it seems like an exciting, interesting place. Of course, now I'd take completely different classes...why did I ever think I should do a Bachelor of Engineering? Something abou...

Lasst week I interviewed Tim Mangini for Filmmaker Magazine . Tim is the Director of Broadcast for WGBH's Frontline, and he is an incredible source of information. I came away with so much that, even with heavy editing, we ended up posting it in two parts, with a side bar that explains Frontline's typical production schedule: FRONTLINE’S PRODUCTION SCHEDULE | Filmmaker Magazine Episodes of Frontline have an average eight-to-twelve month gestation period from the time they are awarded to the time they go to air. “We might have some programs that go two or five years, and we have some programs that are done in a matter of weeks, but the average is eight to 12 months” explains Tim Mangini, Frontline’s Director of Broadcast. DOCUMENTARY PRODUCTION AT FRONTLINE: INTERVIEW WITH TIM MANGINI, PART 1 | Filmmaker Magazine Filmmaker : So you don’t recommend cameras? Mangini : Along the way we’ve certainly learned a lot about different types of cameras, and what they do and what th...

Canon has gone and announced the baby brother to the C300 , the C100 : The Canon EOS C100 EF Cinema Camcorder (Body Only) inherits the design concept of the EOS C300, which put DSLR quality video in a groundbreaking form factor with the key features of a more traditional video camera. The C100 has been optimized for run-and-gun and one-man-band style shooting, a specialty of event videographers, documentarians and independent filmmakers. This camera is about 15% smaller than the C300, and yet its 1080p image will hold-up nicely beside that of the more expensive camera. The C100 even has a few features not found in the C300, like One Shot AF, Push Auto Iris, a built-in microphone and non-compression HDMI out with superimposed timecode and 2:3 pull down marker. With built-in ND and half the price of the C300 (estimated $8,000) it will make an interesting competitor to the Sony NEX-FS700 . I think this will be very popular; there are a lot of people that really wanted a C300 but had a...

YouTube thinks I've posted music illegally, which is ironic because I have; just not the video that they think. But a bit of history first. A few years back I shot some video at a James Blunt concert. I posted it, and it got a few hits (nothing spectacular) and his label immediately protested it and had it taken down. Back then YouTube just sent you a notice it had been removed and told you not to do it again. Actually, it was good that they did, because the video was appalling bad - think cell phone at a concert quality -  and it's removal saves me the embarrassment of having to admit I actually attended a James Blunt concert. (In my defense, it was a free concert with a bunch of acts, and I didn't go to see him - honest.) But I digress. The video that they are all upset about this time has some music taken from the Apple Final Cut Pro 7 sound library. Now it's my understanding that this music comes with permission to use it, providing you weren't repacka...

Canon EF Mounts For All | Matthew Duclos | Circle of Confusion Matthew looks at the Canon EF mount, and it's use by more camera manufacturers, including RED and Blackmagic Design: A fine tool for still photography, the Canon EF mount is a bastard child to it’s cinematic parents. The resolution of the focus control is determined by the lens motors and other components that have nothing to do with the camera. The aperture can only be adjusted in 1/4 stop increments and cannot be pulled smooth for transition shots. Nothing devastating, but certainly isn’t helping the fight for the Canon EF mount to be the go-to motion picture lens mount. BIRTV 2012: GL OPTICS ZEISS ZE CINEMA LENS CONVERSIONS FOR EOS MOUNT | Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter A Chinese firm that converts Zeiss still photo lenses into cine style lenses for a reasonable fee, but you have to send them to China for the conversion: Chinese firm GL Optics is going one further and adding a proper mechanical aperture to...

First Hands on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera – Test Diary | Frank Glencairn | Blog Frank is doing a daily blog of his experiences with the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera . First the unboxing, and now a low-light test: DAY 2 – Breaking out the big gunsAs you might know, I have a nice set of vintage (late 1960s) Zeiss primes.I think they complement the BMCC very well, if you are out for a organic look. Here is a quick and dirty lowlight test between two thunderstorms.800 ISO on a Tokina 12-24 f4 at 12mm (hence the muddy edges). 5D Mark III or Blackmagic Cinema Camera? | Andrew Reid | EOSHD Andrew Reid explains why the BDCC is a better choice than the Canon 5D ; though I think it's still a little too soon to make a real pick: Canon had a good run with the 5D Mark III but now what they need is a C100 for around $4000. Though I have never felt at a disadvantage with the 1.86x crop sensor on a GH2 over the FS100′s 1.5x, I am sure a Super 35mm C100 will look better to many...

Why is the Blackmagic Cinema Camera Such a Big Deal? | Joe Marine | No Film School If you’re shooting in RAW mode, you have even more freedom. The big reason this camera is so special at this price point is because it lets you focus on storytelling. You’re not compensating for the camera, you’re actually using the camera to push you to tell the story in a more creative way. Lan Bui ‏@lanbui | Twitter New @zacuto product coming soon... a proper iPhone case and system. Hey, stop photo bombing @philipbloom http://instagr.am/p/OxbC35MDLM/ Final Cut Pro X Tutorial Pt. 30 - Sound Effects Library | Dan Allen | YouTube In this HD Voice tutorial for Apple Final Cut Pro 10 we learn about the Final Cut Pro Sound Effects Library which is available under the meny 'Final Cut Pro' - 'Download Additional Content' - We can then access it via the audio library, by either searching or using the sub-folders, then simply dragging and dropping into the timeline / storyline ADDITIO...