A bit of news

‘12 Years a Slave,’ ‘Mother of George,’ and the aesthetic politics of filming black skin | The Washington Post
Increased sensitivity of digital cameras makes it easier to record darker skin tones:

For the first hundred years of cinema, when images were captured on celluloid and processed photochemically, disregard for black skin and its subtle shadings was inscribed in the technology itself, from how film-stock emulsions and light meters were calibrated, to the models used as standards for adjusting color and tone.

#166. Are the new Zeiss / Sony lenses for the A7 camera too expensive? | Dear Susan
Sony announced some new E-Mount lenses that are a bit more expensive than their previous models, and some people are complaining. This article explains why they are worth the money, though I like the first sentence best:

Short answer: NO. They’re a bargain. The end.

And then the article goes into a lot of depth about MTF curves. You were warned:

In brief : Zeiss have really done their homework with these lenses and produced some of the sharpest / most contrasty ever produced for the 24×46 format, then thrown in very decent build and autofocus for a tiny fraction of the price of lenses of competing technical excellence from other stables.

Sony: Sonnar T* FE 35mm F2.8 ZA (it's $798 at B & H)
Sony: Sonnar T* FE 55mm F1.8 ZA (it's $998 at B & H)



After Effects CC (12.0.1) update fixes crash on Mac OS X v10.9 (Mavericks) | Adobe
Just in time for tomorrow's announcement from Apple, a fix for After Effects for the new version of Apple's OS:

IMPORTANT: The After Effects CC (12.0.1) update fixes a crash on Mac OS X (v10.9). There is no need to install this update on any other operating system. After Effects CC (12.1) is coming soon for all operating systems and includes this same fix plus many more features and bug fixes. This update is only available as a manual download to prevent users on versions of Mac OS X other than v10.9 (Mavericks) from installing it unnecessarily.

In depth test – 5D Mark III and 7D raw video vs Blackmagic Pocket vs GH3 | EOSHD
Interesting comparison of three cameras. Notice that all but the Blackmagic Pocket are running hacked software to improve the output quality:

Magic Lantern Raw video gives the 5D Mark III the image quality its full frame sensor deserves. Huge files but worth the effort. Expensive, but not relative to the professional cinema cameras it lives with and in some cases even exceeds. Silky smooth image, very little grain and very good in low light. Full frame aesthetic and rendering of lenses. Magic Lantern continues to improve in terms of usability and features. For now, top dog.

Interesting recommendation of an anti-aliasing filter for the Canon 7D:
VAF-7D Optical Anti-Aliasing Filter | Mosaic Engineering

Lens Tests | claudiomiranda
Claudio Miranda, the cinematographer on The Life of Pi has posted some examples of lens tests he's conducted.



Introducing the NEX-FS700R series camcorders | Sony
Sony has an update to the NEX-FS700 coming. I'm under the impression that this is primarily a software upgrade, though this flyer from Sony suggests it also has a new sensor. No idea when it will actually be in stock anywhere:

The NEX-FS700R?RH takes creativity to the next level with a new Super 35mm CMOS 4K sensor, 4K/2K RAW recording option, Sony E-mount interchangeable lens system and SLOG2 gamma mode.

Things you have to know: A7r has offest microlens design (the A7 has not). A7 has electronic front curtain shutter (A7r has not) | SonyAlphaRumors
This has an interesting list of differences between the Sony A7 and the A7r. There's a hint that the A7 may be better fro video. According to one article I saw, pre-orders for the A7r are higher than for the A7:

2) A7 has AA filter which avoids major moiree issues and is also great to have if you shoot videos (it’s harder to get rid of moire on videos).

Here's a sample video from the A7:



FCPX & Logic Pro X Integration | Tutorial | Dan Allen | YouTube
A tutorial for moving between Final Cut Pro X and Logic Pro X:

this HD Voice tutorial for Apple Final Cut Pro X 10 we learn how to integrate and send projects between Final Cut Pro and the brand new Logic Pro X by Apple ( roundtrip roundtripping ). We cover the XML export from Final Cut, importing that into Logic, how to import a video mov film file into your logic project to enable you to start mixing or scoring right away.

Interactive Cutaway F1 Car Infographic - Sauber F1 Team | YouTube
As someone that's created a lot of interactive projects over the years, I was interested to see this "interactive" video on YouTube. Not exactly seamless, but interesting to see something coming back that was being done 15 years ago...

Featured car parts: pitot tube, lap trigger / FIA transponders, drivers' seat, airhorn / airbox / air inlet, team radio, GPS receiver, telemetry data transmitter, pedals (accelerator and brake), security data recorder, Correvit optical sensor, SECU (Standard Electronics Control Unit), damping system, knee padding / leg protection, antennas, steering wheel.

Netflix's 3Q earnings quadruple, stock soars | Yahoo News
A year ago I would of suggested that Netflix was going to go out of business....good thing I don't play in the Stock Market:

Netflix's earnings quadrupled as the Internet video subscription service's line-up of original programming helped attract 1.3 million more U.S. subscribers during its latest quarter.

Smoove Rock Digimove DIY Runner: They Are All Brushless Gimbal Camera Rigs | cinescopophilia
Everyone is making brushless gimbals; here's five more.



George Lucas 'Constantly Talking' to J.J. Abrams About Star Wars | Mashable
I'm still a big fan of the first two Star Wars movies. The last three, not so much. So I'm not too sure if I want George to be involved in the next one, or don't really care...

Asked if Lucas was keeping a watchful eye over what happens next with Star Wars, he replied: "yeah, as any parent watching their kid going to college would. He's constantly talking to J.J. [Abrams, director of Episode VII].