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Friday, January 04, 2013

Quick Links

Episode 50: Sony NEX-VG900 Camera Review | Caleb Pike | DSLR Video Shooter
A look at the full-frame sensor NEX-VG900 consumer video camera:
The Sony NEX-VG900 gets a 4/5 in my book. I loved working with a full frame video camera. And having APS-C as an option that can be turned on is brilliant. Check out my review for more details and demo footage.


C300 Fringe Test | Randy Noland | Vimeo
There's been a bit of back and forth on whether this software update fixes color-frining on the Canon C300. Some Canon techs have even denied that it does...
This video is a quick C300 Fringe Test after Canon Factory Service installed firmware ver 1.0.7.1.00. Sorry for handheld but I had 10 minutes to shoot. I tried to mimic pushing to extreme over exposure.I think the fringing issues have been resolved.


New footage from the M4/3 Blackmagic Cinema Camera shows promise as shipping on the EOS version of the camera resumes | Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter
Good news that the EOS Blackmagic Cinema Camera is shipping again:
To me, the M4/3 version of the camera makes far more sense than the EF mounted one – mainly because you can use excellent fixed focal length lenses like Voigtlander’s 17.5mm and 25mm f0.95 to get shallow depth of field. Adapters to Nikon, Canon FD, Sony Alpha, Leica M and of course PL mount will open up the available range of lenses tremendously, but sadly because of the lack of an electronic M4/3 mount some other popular M4/3 lenses won’t be very usable.


Canon’s Controversial 24-70mm f/4 Lens Now Available | FStoppers
Well, the 24-70mm f/4 L [$1,499] does have IS, while the pricier 24-70mm f/2.8 [$2,199] does not. But then there's also the 24-105mm f/4 [$1,091] which has IS too. Decisions, decisions!:
Whether you were excited for this lens or not, the Canon 24-70mm f/4 IS L lens from Canon is available now. I was rather baffled when I heard the news of its release last November, and I’m still scratching my head at this one. It just seemed like a money grab to me. Nevertheless, if you want it, you can pick it up starting today.


Reviewing the JVC GY-HM650 | Philip Johnston | HD Warrior
Not really a review....more a few things he likes about the camera
One of the main differences between the 650 and the 600 is the ability to send a WiFi signal out of the 650 onto an iPad, it’s not real time but for surveillance or wildlife this may just sway you towards the 650.You really have to view the pictures on a 40″ screen to appreciate just how good this JVC camcorder is, I will be editing the C100 Review this weekend and you will be able to see for yourself in 720p HD the pictures from the JVC GY-HM650 camcorder.


The Making of My First Music Video | RON DAWSON | Dare Dreamer
I can now officially be considered a real, live, honest to goodness, DSLR filmmaker. I have made an official music video! Equipped with its fair share of super shallow depth of field shots and hazy imagery! Yeah! I feel so official.


Meet the Hollywood eccentric who invented high frame rate film 30 years before 'The Hobbit' | Russell Brandom | The Verge
Douglas Trumbull:
Trumbull's history with HFR starts in 1978, when he co-founded a lab called Future General Corporation as an offshoot of Paramount Studios. Part of its business was special effects, taking on projects like the first Star Trek feature, but the other half was straight R&D, developing an early interactive game and the first mini-theaters built on hydraulic lifts for "flight simulator" rides. 


Scientific and Technical Oscars announced | Jeff Heusser | fx guide
Dr. Philip McLauchlan, Allan Jaenicke, John–Paul Smith and Ross Shainfor the creation of the Mocha planar tracking and rotoscoping software at Imagineer Systems Ltd.Mocha provides robust planar–tracking even when there are no clearly defined points in the image. Its effectiveness, ease of use, and ability to exchange rotoscoping data with other image processing tools have resulted in widespread adoption of the software in the visual effects industry.


20 Questions to Ask Yourself While Mixing | Bruce Bartlett | Audio Undone
This is primarily about mixing music, but no reason why it shouldn't apply to video:
4. Is there enough stereo spread? If you pan vocals and most instruments to the middle, you have essentially a mono recording! Try panning two similar guitar parts hard left and right, or pan guitars left and keys right. If too many parts are panned to center, that center area can sound congested. Spread things out a little.

Thursday, January 03, 2013

Quick Links

END OF THE WORLD SHOOTOUT - PART 1 | Shian Storm | Vimeo
Not the most polished, professional test ever, but we had 1/1000th the budget of Zacuto, and very little time. We do our best to stress the BMCC, 5DMKIII, GH3, and Hacked GH2 in a High Dynamic Range shootout. We went to some lengths to mess with the framing so as not to have the sensor crop give away which cam is which; primarily so that you'll focus more on which one(s) you like instead of trying to identify each cam. These comparisons have been graded down to the lowest common denominator to be as "equal" as possible. But in Part 2 we'll show you the raw footage.
END OF THE WORLD SHOOTOUT - PART 2
END OF THE WORLD SHOOTOUT - PART 3



The Year in Tech: Reflections & Predictions | Daniel Hayek | Vimeo
Comments from: Jared Abrams, Philip Bloom, Vincent LaForet, Joe Marine, Patrick Moreau, Jonathan Yi offer their thoughts on the year:
Joe Marine: Blackmagic Cinema Camera (while it's still not technically shipping in volume), was the first camera to really bring high quality codecs and high dynamic range to the masses for dirt-cheap. DSLRs are great, and I think they will continue to have their place, but as people become more sophisticated shooters or learn how to grade more proficiently, they start seeing the limitations of the codecs


Canon EOS 6D Review: Beautiful Full-Frame Stills, Crummy Full-Frame Video | Michael Hession | Gizmodo
The thing that the 5D3 does so well—that no other DSLR has accomplished—is reducing moire patterns (rainbow-like bands along detailed surfaces). But the 6D fails where the 5D3 prevailed. Moire is rampant. This single failure ruins the 6D as a viable alternative to the 5D3 for professional video.


Technicolor CineStyle Color Assist colour grading (review) | ERIK VLIETINCK | IT Enquirer
CineStyle Color Assist can be used on its own and from the above you could deduct the colour grading is non-destructible. If you remove the XML files from the folder where they are saved by default, the colour grading is gone too and you end up with your original footage.


CineSpider Car Mount Review | Mike Gentilini, Jr. | Vidmuze
Now, let’s go over the price. For the complete kit which includes the mount, all of the arms, four suction cups and four dolly wheels, the price is $420.00. Considering the quality of the parts as well as the versatility of the overall rig, I believe it’s a fair price. Remember quality is just as important as price.


How To Create A Lighting Diagram | Ryan Waters | Blog
Preproduction is king in the projects that I work on. As demonstrated by the 48hr Film Fest I competed in, the better prepared you are going into a project, the better the end result and the easier it will be to deal with any challenges on set when they arise. (And believe me, they will happen). One of the crucial parts of preproduction for the projects that I am involved with is the creation of the lighting diagram, and I'm going to share with you what my process looks like...


Frozen Camera: What a DSLR Looks Like When Shooting in a -25°C Environment | Michael Zhang | Peta Pixel
Back on 12/12/12, Alessandro participated in the One Day on Earth project, which aims to document life around the globe on a single day. He chose to create a time-lapse video of the night sky during two nights on the Swiss mountains Piz Corvatsch and Piz Nair. The temperature during those nights? -25°C and -15°C, respectively (-13°F and 5°F).


Panasonic Introduces AG-AF100A Micro Four-Thirds Camcorder | DV Info
Foremost, the newly-revised AF100A features 10 bit (enhanced 8 bit) 4:2:2 quality output for better gradation of tonal areas when recording onto external devices, such as a P2 HD recorder. The HD-SDI signal also carries a sync signal for the Rec Start/Stop with the AF100A trigger. Additionally, the AF100A is equipped with the popular expanded focus assist function, which enlarges the center of the displayed image for greater ease in focusing; and a 2.39:1 (cinema scope size) safety zone marker.


Where is Panasonic? | Matthew Jeppsen | Fresh DV
Today I posted the news on the incremental AF100A camera update, and it got me thinking about Panasonic as a company in the midrange film & video production market. I’ve been watching the demise of Panasonic’s hold in this market for the past few years. It’s not a pretty sight, particularly when you consider that they started at the top.


Film and TV Tax Incentives Renewed in Fiscal Cliff Deal, Section 181 Extended Through 2013 | Joe Marine | No Film School
If you’re involved in the film or TV industry in any way, there’s a good chance you or someone you know has benefitted from Section 181 of the U.S. IRS Tax Code since it was established in 2004. Basically, it gives any investor the ability to deduct 100% of the money they invest in that same year for production costs up to $15 million dollars — and possibly as much as $20 million dollars.


Anatomy of a Scene: ‘Django Unchained’ | MEKADO MURPHY | NY TImes
The scene finds Django (Jamie Foxx) and his partner, Dr. King Schultz (Christoph Waltz), on a mission to rescue Broomhilda from a plantation. In the video above, Mr. Tarantino narrates a closer look at the scene, discussing his choice of Ennio Morricone music, the delicate lighting and the subtle ways the actors play the moment.


Contender – Sound Mixer Simon Hayes, Les Misérables | Mary Ann Skweres and Bob Bayless | Below The Line
Instead of the usual prerecorded orchestrations that the actors would follow, the music was played by a live pianist, who knew the score intimately, located in a sound proof room on set, watching the performance on a monitor. The pianist had explicit instructions to follow the actor. This allowed the acting to take precedence. The actor – listening to the music through hidden earplugs – could speed up or slow down any passage, or even pause to emphasize a moment (just like a fermata).


TOM HOOPER ON HOW HE MADE HIS DREAM OF LES MISÉRABLES COME TO LIFE
| DAVID D. BURSTEIN | Co.Create
Hooper notes that when a director adapts a popular book for the screen, fans may nitpick, but at least they’ve never seen the story unfold visually before. “There are so many people out there who hold this musical so close to their heart. I wanted this to honor the fans and I wanted it to contain all the things that caused those people to be fans in the first place,” says Hooper. “Part of what that meant was that there were nonnegotiable uncuttable scenes, which had to represented in a powerful way.”


RED’s Dragon Sensor, Now with More Dynamic Range | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine
Now Jarred Land has released a sample image (above) on the RED User forum from a test camera that shows the sensor reproducing between 18 and 20 stops of dynamic range. Jim Jannard said that they see 18+ stops, and that the sensor would have about four stops more dynamic range than Red’s current Mysterium-X sensor with less than half the noise.

Wednesday, January 02, 2013

Quick Links

An Afternoon Music Video Shoot with the Canon C300 | Michael Murie
| Filmmaker Magazine
For most of the shoot, Rick’s switching between a Tokina 11-16mm and a Tamron 70-200mm. He likes to use the 11-16 on the Glidecam for the wider field of view. “You know, with the C300 you have to shut it off when you change lenses,” he points out as he switches the lenses.


“A year with the Canon C300″ | Philip Jonhston | HD Warrior
Dislikes…
1. Don’t like the LCD attached to the XLRs, makes sound recording very cumbersome.
2. Would prefer a dedicated switch on the side of the camera for ISO like the C100.
3. The CF flap doors can be fiddly to open.
4. The LCD can get stuck if you tighten the knob too much.


Top Tech – Canon CN-E & Zeiss Compact Primes
| Australian Cinematographers Society | Vimeo
Tom Gleeson, Member of the ACS Technical Committee, and Mike Seymour, co-founder of fxguide, look at the Canon CN-E range and new Zeiss Compact Primes. They note that the Canon line lacks a 35mm "I can't believe they won't make a 35mm focal length in the range, but there is no official announcement of that, and for the moment that's a major issue," though Tom loved the Canon 24mm.



Canon DSLR Body Rumors for 2013 | CanonRumors
New cameras coming? But of course...but are these them?!
EOS 7D Mark II – New Sensor, 10fps, ISO 25600
EOS 70D – Same Sensor as 7D Mark II, 3″ flip screen, ISO 25600


7 Elements of Photography We Can Learn From The Hobbit | David Wahlman
| Digital Photography School
6. Mind the Sky
If shooting outdoors, instead of allowing the sky to be a blown-out nuisance, view it as a resource, and use it to your advantage. Now, this may not always be possible due to equipment, desired effect, or setting. But there are ways that you can properly capture the clouds or the blue of the sky.


VIDEO REVIEW: GENUS SUPERIOR FOLLOW FOCUS SYSTEM WITH ADVANCED MOUNTING SYSTEM | Matt Allard | DSLR News Shooter
The Genus superior follow focus system with advanced mounting system (G-SFOCMKII) is designed for DSLR or professional video cameras. It mounts to standard 15mm rods systems and allows you to easily change lenses as the gear and focus knob are mounted on a sliding bracket.


How Do You Pronounce “Bokeh”? | Michael Zhang | Peta Pixel
The term comes from the Japanese word “boke” (暈け/ボケ), which translates to “blur”, “haze”, or “fuzziness”. It made its way into English-speaking world back in 1997 after Photo Techniques editor Mike Johnston (who now writes at The Online Photographer) included three articles on the topic for the March/April 1997 issue of the magazine.


Shrinking Our Toolbox | Paul Del Vecchio | PaulDV
When we set out to make a film, what is the end goal? For me, it is to help the audience escape for the small amount of time they are watching my film. I use many tools in order to do this. You see, the audience must suspend their disbelief for the time they are watching a film. We’ve all heard that before:


More New Year’s Resolutions for Filmmakers | Scott Macaulay
| Filmmaker Magazine
Stop making feature films. Why are you trying to make a feature film? If it’s for any other reason than that’s how your brain processes stories, that it’s the form that thrills and moves you, or because it’s the form most suited to your subject matter, stop. If you’re doing it because you think it’s the dominant story medium of our time, or because you believe it’s the way to a mass audience or because you think you’ll get rich, you need a healthy dose of artistic and personal self-examination. 


The Work/ Life balance….can you achieve success AND have a life? | Philip Bloom
| Blog
I used to have a life. I gave it up 6 and a half years ago. What happened 6 and a half years ago? I went freelance. Do I regret this? Not at all. I am way more content in my work, but it has come at a price. Is this price worth it though, to no longer have a balance in your life? That is what I want to discuss here. This is a quite different personal blog, quite emotional and very honest.

Monday, December 31, 2012

Quick Links

IKAN D7W IPS PANEL MONITOR REVIEW | Rick Macomber | Vimeo
Rick takes an indepth look at the $1,169 ikan D7w:
The new ikan D7w IPS panel field monitor is here. First revealed at NAB 2012, this monitor comes with all the bells and whistles you would want packed into a nice 7 inch 1280 x 800 HD screen. It has waveform, vector scope, RGB parade, 4 panel view and priority view. Add to that peaking, pixel to pixel, false color, clip guides and DSLR scaling all with a viewing angle of 178 degrees. There's 3G SDI and HDMI loop thru, a headphone jack and a mini USB port for firmware updates. I tested a BP-950G battery which lasted about 3 1/2 hours.


Our Top 12 Posts of 2012 (or, the Tyranny of the Listicle) | Filmmaker Magazine
I only got to number 9 in the top 12...though I also came in at 10 and 12. Have to do better next year...
9. Canon 5D Mark III: Does More, Costs More. New on the site this year is Michael Murie’s column, “The Week in Cameras.” The Alexa aside, this post demonstrates our independent community’s continued interest in the DSLR form factor. Murie assessed what was upgraded in this camera and what wasn’t a few days after its announcement.


Manfrotto Fluid Head Comparison | Dave Dugdale | Learning DSLR Video
Since the Francier with it’s built-in drag works well with long lenses zoomed in but is pretty heavy and can’t do a whip pan to save it’s life, I went with the Manfrotto 701HDV Pro Fluid head Mini because of two reasons; the 701 is very light which works great with my new light weight Induro tripod for traveling, and the second reason is it works fine for wide angle shots that require fast movement.


edelkrone SliderPLUS+ demo | YouTube
A neat trick makes this slider much smaller than the length you can move the camera:
Since the release of SliderPLUS+ there has been a wide interest and many filmmakers were very enthusiastic to see the worlds first slider that can move twice its length. Up till now we only had the chance to show the virtual images of the SliderPLUS+ but now we are happy to share you the first demo video showing a real SliderPLUS+ fully working in action.


10 Dirty Secrets Of Independent Film | Elliot Grove | Raindance
2. It’s who you know, not what you know.A good political mind is a far better asset to a budding filmmaker than anything else. Get really good at building relationships with the people that will matter to your career; distributors, sales agents and journalist. While you are at it, find out who the hot new PR’s are, and budget their fees into your monthly budget.


The price of the Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC tilt-shift lens revealed in Russia | Photo Rumors
I've always wanted to get a real tilt-shift lens, but could never justify the cost. Maybe this Samyang will do the trick:
Samyang Russia published the price of the 24mm 1:3.5 ED AS UMC tilt-shift lens on their website: 34,090 rubles (around $1,100). For reference: the PC-E Nikkor 24mm f/3.5D ED costs $1,999, the Canon TS-E 24mm f/3.5L II sells for $1,949. The Samyang T-S 24mm f/3.5 lens is expected to be released in March, 2013.


Choosing Neutral Density Filters with Infrared Protection: Necessary or Overboard | Dave Kendricken | No FIlm School
I don't like ND filters at the best of times, now I have to worry about IR?!:
Whether or not you need IR filtration may be as much about your own preference and tastes as it is about your budget and gear — some cameras will hold up better to post correction of IR pollution than others, so you’ll have to use your own judgment depending on what you’re using.


After Effects 3D Integration VFX Tutorial Part 1The Theory of 3D Integration VFX | Tobias | Surfaced Studio
3D integration is a technique used for combining real live footage with virtual elements that were created, animated and rendered inside a 3D program.Most modern television shows and films contain some sort of 3D integration effects, but depending on how well they are done, you may not even notice 3D integration is a complicated process, but can be used to create anything you can possibly imagine: from super slow motion 3D bullets to alien planets or strange creatures tearing down entire cities! If you can imagine it you can – theoretically – create the effect


Canon Sells More DSLRs Than Anyone Else in 2012 | CanonRumors
It looks like Canon had a good year:
An interesting note about Canon, if you remove the lowend of the DSLR market (Rebels, D3xxx/D5xxx), Canon’s marketshare increases. I imagine the 5D Mark III plays a big part in that, as well as the EOS-1D X.


Perspective: Objects in Pictures Are Not Always As They Seem | Michael Zhang
| PetaPixel
I new that the chair was fake from the beginning, but was fooled by a couple of other things:
The video above is only 44 seconds long, but we’ll bet it’ll take up at least a minute and a half of your time — you’ll just have to watch it twice. It was created by British psychological professor Richard Wiseman, and demonstrates the power of perspective. It’s titled, “Assumptions.”

Sunday, December 30, 2012

Upcoming Events - Rule Boston Camera

WEDNESDAY JAN 16
LearningLab: 10am–12n Bagels + Coffee

Digital Asset Management Solutions

Learn how to manage, access and protect all of your digital assets with an overview of the CatDV 10 media asset management system along with shared storage options from SNS and archive appliances from Cache-A presented by JB&A’s Jeremy Strootman.

WEDNESDAY JAN 23
Pubnight: 6–8pm Pizza + Beer

Sony F5 And F55 Overview

Join Sony’s Senior Product Manager, Juan Martinez for an in-depth look at the new F5 and F55 large sensor cameras with 4K Super35mm CMOS sensors delivering images with higher contrast, rich color reproduction and greater clarity for every production application.

RSVP to events@rule.com as space is limited.