The News

Defy Gimbal: THROTTLE PAN/TILT CONTROL NOW AVAILABLE!
Brushless gimbals are all the rage, and the Defy G2 seems to be a promising mid-priced gimbal for small cameras (like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.) They have posted some demo videos, including this one on using the (optional) pan/tilt control:

We wanted to make it even easier for the “single operators” who need full control of their rigs which is why we are introducing the Throttle pan/tilt controller. The Throttle controller gives users extremely smooth pan and tilt with a bit of feathering to allow for buttery smooth operation and footage. Better yet, it’s a simple direct USB connection for the G2 as well as the G5. The Throttle controller is available for purchase now

Flying Defy G2 Gimbal Stabilizer w/ BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera | Pro Cinema Tools
One user reports on mixed results with the Defy G2 and the BPCC:

I’ve heard that these brushless gimbals are a lot simpler to learn than traditional stabilizers like the Merlin or Glidecam but that is absolutely not true in the case of the Defy G2. Yes, balancing is simpler and doesn’t take more than a few minutes but I found getting a nice stable image to be just as hard if not harder than the Merlin or Glidecam.

New York City | Breaking in the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera | H. Paul Moon | Vimeo
Continuning the BPCC theme, H. Paul Moon posted this video shot with the camera, along with some impressions:

The BMPC concept has a long way to go; it doesn't live up to its promises in terms of dealing with highlights (those dreaded white orbs), its batteries last a New York minute, and its interface is wonky, but I'm excited by the latitude that it buys me for image corrections in post, given its portable form factor which really suits my working style.

BLACKMAGIC DESIGN MOVES TO ADDRESS POCKET CINEMA CAMERA ‘WHITE ORB’ IMAGE ISSUES | News Shooter

Blackmagic Design have moved further to reassure users that are unhappy with the image issues. They have posted images on their forum demonstrating that the appearance of these ‘orbs’ can be reduced or eliminated by a re-calibration of the camera. According to Lam “not every camera requires this but we’re setting this as the new baseline callibration. We are also implementing this new calibration in cameras that ship going on forwards but this change has already been effected since the start of the week.”

The D16 at Night | Digital Bolex
Meanwhile, Digital Bolex has posted a video shot with their test camera. (Not sure I like the colors!)

This footage was all shot at 400 ISO on a 25mm vintage lens and transcoded in ClipHouse by Joe. The D16 isn’t intended to be a low light camera, but this footage gives you a sense of how far you can reach into shadows and what you can pull out.

How To Build A Rain Bar | Ryan Walters | Zacuto

With the high amount of rainy days we have in the Northwest, you would think that creating rain would never be an issue. Unfortunately, when it comes to production, we can’t take the risk of counting on it to rain. Our opening shot called for the camera to look through a window as it rained and thundered outside. So we had to make it rain on command. Fortunately, for about $25 in parts, and 1–2 hours of your time, you can make a 4’ rain bar. Here is the parts list, and the assembly instructions to build it yourself.

Color Grading The Kings of Summer | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine

The Kings of Summer was graded by Narbeh Tatoussian, senior DI colorist at Blacklist Digital. Tatoussian has worked in the industry for over 16 years. He started in the shipping vault, then moved up through post-production and the QC department before becoming a tape room supervisor, assistant colorist and finally a colorist. During that time he says that’s he’s worked with “every single format” and “every single platform of color correction there is.”

ROBBING OUR SUBJECTS OR HELPING OUR AUDIENCE? JONAH KESSEL ON VOICE-OVERS | Jonah Kessel | News Shooter

My fear of the wide spread use of voice-overs in main stream media is that we are training our audiences to not have to think while simultaneously robbing our subjects of their emotions and identity found within their actual voices. The very people we want to give a voice to are stripped of their ability to give emotion as they share their stories. Instead, an interpretation of that emotion is given by a likely middle-class American or European.

A TV News Reporter's Guide to Creating Interesting Videos Quickly | ReelSEO

Tip #2: When conducting interviews try to elicit emotion & opinion Good stories always need emotion. So, look to your interviews to give your story the emotion it needs to be memorable. I always interview my client and my client's customer. I look to the customer to show their excitement and happiness about the product or service, and I want my business owner's soundbites to reveal passion, concern, and integrity.

$200 Price Drop through Sep 30: DJI Phantom Quadcopter with GoPro Mount
| B & H PhotoVideo
There's a significant price drop on the Phantom Quadcopter available through the end of the month:

The DJI Phantom Quadcopter with GoPro Mount is a remote controlled, four-propeller quadcopter with a removable GoPro camera mount for capturing POV footage of flight. The compact and lightweight Phantom is ready-to-fly right out of the box and it includes the remote control unit and receiver, which gives the device a transmission range of up to 984.25' (300m). The Phantom also features an intelligent Naza-M + GPS multi-rotor autopilot system, which supports two flight modes and a failsafe function that will automatically trigger the device to land safely when control is lost.