Notes On Video

Review of Sony FS700 part1 live! | Philip Bloom | Blog Philip posts the first part of his video review of the Sony NEX-FS700 : The review is broken up into two parts. This one focuses on initial impressions and the super slow motion function. Part two is coming shortly in the next couple of days and focuses on the pros and cons of the camera. It's advantages and limitations, an examination of the image and it's low light performance.. Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 | Antony Bolante | MacWorld Another review of Premiere Pro CS6 : With the introduction of Prelude and SpeedGrade—not to mention the advent of the Creative Cloud—it’s tempting to define Premiere Pro CS6 in terms of a larger video workflow. [...] CS6 extends the performance gains of CS5 to a wider range of users, particularly mobile editors with the proper laptop configuration. But what makes CS6 a worthy upgrade is its focus on enhancing its raison d’être: more fluent video editing. After Effects CS6 (11.0.1) updat...

Yesterday I sat in on a Webinar on SpeedGrade given by Product Manager Patrick Palmer . For those that haven’t heard, SpeedGrade is the color correction tool that Adobe acquired recently and have added to their Creative Suite CS6 . Interface If you’ve seen other Color Grading tools like DaVinci Resolve or Apple’s Color , then SpeedGrade will seem somewhat similar with it’s primary and secondary layers, color scopes and three-way color corrector. It’s also different in that it doesn’t have some of the unusual interface elements; like the nodes for organizing effects in  Resolve . Does this mean it’s easier to be a color grader in SpeedGrade than in the other tools? While it may be a little less intimidating to use, particularly as it’s interface more closely resembles Premiere than say Color resembled Final Cut Pro, it’s still an extra, complicated step that’s more art than science. Like other CS6 tools, you have a project panel on the left, timeline at the bottom...

Canon EOS-1D X Has Begun Shipping to a Select Few [CR2] | CanonRumors The Canon 4K DSLR may be shipping to some lucky people: I’ve received good info that production samples of the Canon EOS-1D X have begun shipping to preselected lucky photographers. I’m told it’s for Euro 2012 and Olympic photographers, so they can get familiar with the camera. FULL review of Sony FS700 this week! In meantime here are some shots I did in SUPER SLOW MOTION  | Philip Bloom | Blog Philip is working on a review, and has posted some footage: The FS700 is not a replacement for the excellent-image-producing but a wee bit plasticky and frustrating FS100. It’s a model up. Is it worth the upgrade? Have they improved on some of the more annoying aspects of the camera? Will I buy one?! All these questions will be answered by Friday, so stay tuned! Sony FS700 Forman Birger Mount & 240fps Slow Motion Prototype Tests | Mark Forman | Vimeo More slow-mo video shot with the NEX-FS700 . Review: Ad...

Adobe Premiere Pro basics Tutorials | CreativeCOW Just starting out with Adobe Premiere CS6 ? CreativeCOW has an impressive collection of tutorials: Premiere Pro Basics (CS6 & above): 23 Dynamic Trimming In this tutorial, Andrew Devis looks at a couple of options that can help you to see your edits dynamically as you edit them. Andrew shows how to use and edit the 'Play Around' function as well as using the 'Loop' function so that the play-head will play a specified amount of time before and after it was placed allowing you to place it over (and edit) transitions on the fly. ADOBE Premiere Pro CS6 “Not impressed so far” | Philip Johnston | HD Warrior Meanwhile, Philip has encountered some issues with upgrading to CS 6, including tech support problems; " Why do Adobe employ these people who clearly do not know what they are doing, " and hardware compatibility issues: The Quadro FX4800 for Mac was available May 2009 and there is no mention of this ...

Yesterday's  review of the Manfrotto Video Monopod  prompted some interesting comments from readers: Billy May wrote: "I have 2 Manfrotto 561BHDV1's and use them pretty much everyday... TIP: WD-40 cures the stutter in the ball socket instantly." Paul Antico of Anticipate Media wrote: "it's the one piece of kit I use the most, support wise." Paul went on to add that to minimize the judder he: "loosened screws at the base. Minimized it. Could have removed it completely but wanted a bit of stiffness." John Marc Green  writes: "I shot an entire short film with one of these and a 5D Mark III. it is best used as a replacement for a shoulder rig, not a tripod alternative. It's much better than hand held shooting when you want a "living camera" look but need stable support such as when shooting video with a DSLR and prime lenses. There's a reason Still Motion uses them for shooting weddings. They're great for docume...

As good as in-camera stabilization and FX stabilization software might be, getting a good, steady shot can still be difficult, especially if you’re holding the camera for long periods of time. That’s why tripods are still vital pieces of equipment. But a good tripod can be large, heavy, awkward, and require large amounts of space to setup. That’s why I’ve been intrigued by the idea of shooting with a monopod. I recently spent some time with the Manfrotto Video monopod, and while I don’t think it’s perfect for all occasions, I can see it as a useful tool for certain situations. At almost six and a half feet when fully extended, it's a seriously tall device! Design The Manfrotto 561BHDV1 monopod features a very thick and sturdy support arm made up of four extensions. These are released using clip-releases that are easy to release and set; a necessary feature for those working quickly or in tight spaces. Most impressively, it extends to 6 feet and 5 inches tall; taller than any...

Last week’s free Adobe webinar of Adobe Prelude featured Wes Plate , Product Manager for Meta Data workflows. Wes started by explaining the history of Prelude’s development. Prelude evolved from a pilot project for BBC and CNN who shoot lots and lots of video and needed a file based interface geared towards journalists, camera people, producers and assistants, for logging footage before going into post-production. Such a tool would feature creation of searchable temporal metadata in a friendly interface geared towards non-editors. The resulting tool, Prelude ingests file-based materials (i.e. it will copy and convert them to another format) and it can be extended by partners to support different media management systems. It does not work with tape. Availability Prelude is included in Production Premium, Master Collection, and the Creative Cloud. While it’s not really sold separately, it is available through their volume-licensing program, and the licensing minimum is just one l...

At the Summer Box Office, a Battle Between Two Ways of Filming | Jason Apuzzo & Govindini Murty | The Atlantic Another article about digital vs film and the documentary Side By Side : A sophisticated and even-handed take on what remains a controversial subject in movie circles, Side By Side looks at how digital technology has emerged over the past decade to challenge photochemical filmmaking. With almost 70 interviews featuring such directors as Martin Scorsese, George Lucas, and James Cameron—along with an impressive array of leading cinematographers, editors, producers, and technical innovators—it seems destined to be the authoritative documentary on this subject for years to come. And if you're curious, Side by Side was shot digitally. Speedgrade CS6 - First look | Nikolai Waldman | Colorgrader A look at SpeedGrade ; the conclusion seems to be that this is a 1.0 release and you might want to skip it: The biggest minus is that I can't get realtime playback and I r...

Adobe SpeedGrade Tutorial | Vincent Laforet | Blog A quick tutorial on working in SpeedGrade , the new color grading tool in Adobe Creative Suite: While we only used a few layers in the above example, you are not limited to any number of primary or secondary layers within the application. We also only worked with a single clip in the above tutorial, but for when you are grading entire sequences, there is the ability to have two playheads so you can preview your grade consistency between clips. Reviewing the Sony FS700 and workflow | Ted Setla | Setla Films A video review of the Sony NEX-FS700 : 1. ND Filters : not just 2, but 3 different ND filters borrowed from the F65 ND filter technology 2. Arri adaptor : This addition allows for other 3rd party equipment we already use in the field 3. Focus Assist : E-Mount lenses has a Facial Focus Assist, A-Mount lenses have what is called a Phase Focus Assist which greatly increase the ability to keep it in auto focus with these...

The first good quality USB microphone I ever owned (by good quality I mean a condenser mic with a large diaphragm, or a mic that cost more than $40!) wasn’t a very happy experience. The microphone didn’t work without drivers installed, and even then it often had conflicts with one thing or another. After struggling with it for a month or two I found it was easier to go back to the XLR mic and a USB audio interface. Then I bought an Audio-Technica AT2020 USB microphone, and that was a great improvement. No more problems with drivers and interfaces, and the audio quality was close enough to what I had been getting with the XLR mic that the ease of use - and lack of extra parts - made it my go-to mic. But here comes Apogee with the “ MiC ,” and not only is it a high-quality USB condenser microphone that works with your Mac , it also works with your iPad and iPhone too. Infact, one of the key selling points is that it works with the iPad , and it comes with both a regular USB and a...

CAMERAS: Food Fights with the FS700 | Art Adams | ProVideoCoalition Art and Adam Wilt got to borrow a Sony NEX-FS700 and shot some high-speed fruit: I should mention that I set the camera’s shutter at a hard 1/1000th of a second. I don’t like to use degrees to set a digital camera’s shutter because degrees are relative: the exposure changes depending on the frame rate, whereas I’d like to choose a shutter speed and know exactly what the camera is doing at any given time. Unusual Camera moves with the ALEXA M | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine Seeing a behind-the-scenes shoot with the Alexa M offers some ideas for different ways to place your camera: Don’t have the budget for the Alexa M? Well you can still use that DSLR in the same way that they used the Alexa M, and this video has some really interesting ideas for getting a camera closer to the action. I was particularly intrigued by the methods used in the ice hockey sequence, the skateboarding, and the attachment of the ...

Audio Checklist for Video Editors | Danny Greer | Premiumbeat Tips for editing audio: KEEP YOUR AUDIO TRACKS ORGANIZED Assign different audio tracks in your project to different audio types. For instance, keep all dialogue on tracks 1-4, all music on tracks 5-8 and all sound effects on tracks 9-10. Think to yourself, “if another editor had to sit down at this project would they be able to quickly identify each audio clip?” Colorgrading Round-Up | Dennis Kutchera | Creative COW A look at color grading software at NAB So let me get this out of the way -- if money were no object, I would go for the FilmLight's Baselight with the amazing Blackboard 2 control surface. Every key is a miniature LED video screen and the whole thing is made of wood. The grading tools are fast and powerful at your fingertips. The Blackboard 2 even has a pen tablet built into it. Episode #93 | Digital Filmmakers Podcast An interview with Scott Simmons on Multicam Editing In Final Cut Pro X: Scot...

Testing the FS700: Low Light Performance, Dynamic Range, and Slow-Motion | AbelCine Andy Shipsides at AbelCine checks out the Sony NEX-FS700 and finds that the dynamic range is about the same as the NEX-FS100 (11.5 stops), though the addition of Cine gamma modes gives "a nice smooth roll-off in highlights:" Q: How accurate are the ND filters? A: From my testing, the ND filters were very accurate and did not introduce color shift (properly neutral). I tested this with a waveform monitor to confirm the stop change was accurate. Full Frame Shootout: Review of Nikon D800, D4 and Canon 5DmkIII | Philip Bloom | Blog Philip Bloom posts a shoot-out of three full-frame cameras: The full-frame look, for me, is a wonderful unique aesthetic. I already own three superb super 35mm video camera which all do a better job at shooting video than the three DSLRs in this test – I have the Sony FS100, F3 and Canon C300 (The Canon C300 was used to film this video) but their aesthetic i...

Last week Adobe rolled out their Adobe Creative Suite 6 update, and on Friday they started up their Creative Cloud . The "Cloud" is a subscription model for the Creative Suite . For $49.95 a month ($29.95 introductory for the first year for existing CS users) you get access to all of the Creative Suite software. For users, software subscriptions offer the following advantages: You're paying a monthly charge rather than the full up-front price (upgrading from CS5.5 is $379.) Adobe says they'll be making available interim releases throughout the year. You also automatically get access to both Mac & Windows versions, as well as foreign language versions of the software. Easier installation and transfer from machine to machine. 20GB instead of 2Gb of storage on the Cloud. Some additional features and software not available through the regular software purchase. For Adobe it promises a number of advantages too: A regular income stream A mechanism for relea...