The News

NEW SONY A7 AND A7R CAMERAS ARE FIRST TO ALLOW FOCUS MAGNIFICATION DURING VIDEO RECORDING | News Shooter
More on the positives of Sony's new cameras, though we're still waiting to see how the actual video looks:

It has always been small details such as these that have put professional filmmakers off using DSLR-style cameras. However, the video features in the A7/A7R pair (Zebra, clean HDMI, audio and focus control), and the new RX10 (3-stop ND, Zebra, clean HDMI, audio control) suddenly make them very appealing prospects. Lets hope the video quality is better than Sony’s current NEX cameras.

The Realities of Video on Demand | Moviecope

A film that’s in post now, for example, a filmmaker should be thinking ‘From around January or February 2014, I want to be on exclusively the transactional sites when I’ll do marketing push one.’ And they need to make sure that their pricing is consistent; it just sends confusing signals to the market if it’s £2.99 on one site for a 48 hour rental and £3.99 on another site. They should then define a second window, which would be opening it up to subscription and advertising supported sites.

Better Manage Your Media: Work and Workflow with Red Giant Software BulletProof | Creative Planet

I found the most compelling part of the software in the refine tab. You can add and edit detailed metadata for each clip, from EXIF settings to markers to client notes. You can auto-balance the image, do a one-light correction with Magic Bullet Colorista (in my mind, about the best color plug-in out there), adjust curves and add a lookup table. All metadata and color settings are non-destructive.

Cinematography for Directors: Focal Length (Part 1) | Colton Davie

One of the most foundational aspects of cinematography is the lens. The lens is the eye through which everything that appears in front of the camera, the acting, the set design, the lighting, is seen. As such, it is probably the aspect of cinematography about which the director should be most knowledgeable, particularly in regards to focal length. The choice of focal length for a shot is almost always a joint decision between the director and cinematographer, if not dictated by the director.

iOS 7 at the One-Month Mark: 18 Picks and Pans | Filmmaker Magazine

What I now realize is that all those people who wrote that the animations are too slow are those developers who had been using the OS for weeks. Now that I’ve been using the OS for weeks, I think the motions are… too slow. Sometimes you want to just open the phone and get to work, and that little lag begins to feel gratuitous after too many fly-ins.

Equalizing Audio | Woody Woodhall | ProVideoCoalition

Although a powerful tool, caution must be used in the application of EQ.  Digital Audio is no different than any thing else in life - you may be able to change it but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily for the better.  EQ can be an amazing tool, in the right hands, in the right room on the right material.  It can be used to help clarify dialog tracks, remove murky or boomy frequencies and help the overall sound quality of a mix.

BBC SHOOTER CHRISTIAN PARKINSON: MOVING FROM CAMERAMAN TO VIDEO JOURNALIST | News Shooter

I’ve been a shooter/editor for the BBC for eleven years, four of them with the Africa Bureau. Recently I began an attachment (temporary posting) as a video journalist working for BBC World News. Suddenly I’m having to find and plan my own stories. I shoot them, cut them and sometimes even have to write a script and show my face. It’s demanding and stressful but always incredibly rewarding.

Sequencing Shots to Tell a Video Story | Photofocus

Visual interest. Most viewers have come to expect faster editing paces. Don’t believe me? Watch a film by Hitchcock, Spielberg, and Kathryn Bigelow.  Remember though, one wide shot just won’t work for most viewers.

FS700: The 4K Story from My Perspective | DVInfo

In 4K you really need to make sure something is in sharp focus at all times or the image will look soft overall. Focus splits under such circumstances make me very nervous. If the most important thing is in focus then it’s no big deal to try to hold other things in focus as well, but at least you’re safe if your focus split fails. It’s best to pick a single point of focus and make sure it is sharp.

Welcome! "What I Did Last Summer"... and let's Start with Adobe Premiere CC | Anticipate Media
Paul Antico, formerly of the NeedCreative podcast is back and blogging again. In his first post he explains what he's been up to and looks forward to the next Premiere Pro update:

I'm convinced that the changes relate to the new Mac Pro and OS X Mavericks, because they realize on changes in the new operating system to enhance the Adobe software. This includes GPU rendering from the Adobe Media Encoder, which will include multiple GPU usage for encoding and rendering, the ability to use integrated HD Graphics from Intel where drivers did not exist for that before to accelerate your edits, and so on.

Samsung Note 3 4k vs Blackmagic Cinema Camera 2.5k RAW resolution chart comparison | YouTube
Interesting comparison of the Samsung Note 3 at 4K and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera at 2.5K RAW (that's not the 4K Blackmagic camera). I was actually surprised that the Note 3 is so noticeably better.




GoPro: Fire Breathing With A 24 GoPro Array | YouTube
Interesting Matrix-like effect, though I think they should of had the fire move more in the sequence.