It's New Year's Day

It's the New Year, and I should do a year in review piece, but I already did that for Filmmaker. And I just want to point out that I did 2014K a day before RedShark News published their piece on why this will the year of 4K.

Not yet convinced that this will be the year of 4K? Canon just dropped the price of the C500 down to $20K. For the next three days you can buy it for $16,999 at B & H thanks to $3,000 in instant savings.

If that's still too rich for you, the C100 is now $4,999....makes you wonder what will be coming at NAB...


Meanwhile, Kai at DigitalRev takes a look at the retro Nikon Df DSLR, and doesn't like it at all (and it doesn't even do video!)


Here's an example of color grading, using SLog2 4K footage from the Sony F55. And here's a really interesting video showing the effect of moving the positions of your lights.

Amazing video of a brushless gimbal (the MoVI?) doing it's thing.


The Playlist has a list of the 15 best documentaries of the year, but didn't include The Crash Reel.

Meanwhile, looking for something to read? The Village Voice asks 'Who is Kickstarter for, anyway?" and wonders whether celebs should be using crowdfunding to make their films. I think we already had that discussion earlier in the year, but it's probably worth revisiting.

And if you're looking to change careers, maybe the exciting world of Location Scouting is worth looking at?


Earlier in the year someone joked to me that a cheap way to rent a camera is to hire someone with no experience who has gear and is willing to work for practically nothing. You get the camera at a discount price and it comes with someone to schlep it around! Just don't let them actually operate the camera.
So I found this tweet from Matt Jeppsen kind of amusing, quoting from some job posting he come across: “Looking for DP for a couple low budget commercial shoots. Rate $300-450/day. MUST come with Epic or Scarlet & lens package.” That's actually cheaper than you'd pay to rent a RED Epic on it's own (never mind lenses.)


The New Year is a time for reflection, so read this piece from Jonah Kessel at News Shooter, who is trying to stop working so much and get his life in balance.


Finally, in 2011 Neil Gaiman made a simple wish for everyone; "I hope that in this year to come, you make mistakes. Because if you are making mistakes, then you are making new things..."

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t...
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some...
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera ...
Read more