Notes On Video

Just for fun, I ran the blog through URLAI and got the following results: Text analysis notesonvideo.blogspot.com is probably written by a male somewhere between 36-50 years old. The writing style is academic and happy most of the time. Gender Ranking notesonvideo.blogspot.com is the 85th most manly blog of 3227 ranked. Mood Ranking notesonvideo.blogspot.com is the 271th most happy blog of 3227 ranked. I guess I'm surprised it rates so manly & happy!

We just purchased Adobe CS6 Production Premium through a reseller, and they sent us an Adobe Software License Certificate with the Serial Number for the package. We were told to download the software from Adobe’s site. I logged into Adobe’s website, and figured that the first thing I would do is add the software to the list of products we had registered. (I also thought that this section would provide a link for downloading the software.) I went to the “My Products & Services” page, clicked the button to add software, entered the serial number … and it told me it was an invalid serial number. After some time wondering about what to do next, and reading three FAQ documents that covered invalid serial numbers - they seemed to be linked in a never-ending circle - I connected to the Online Chat to ask them what to do. This turned out to be a confusing and somewhat frustrating adventure. The following is an edited transcript; I have inserted some commentary to let you know what ...

The last few weeks I've had the good fortune of trying out a couple of newer versions of things I already own; specifically the LansBaby Composer , and now the Glidecam HD-1000  [$389.00] I bought a Glidecam 1000 Pro over ten years ago, so it's interesting to see what's the same, and what's been improved when comparing it to one of their latest stabilizers. The old 1000 Pro is looking a little rough,  particularly with it's washers rather than nicely machined base and weights.  Note too: the sled on the 1000 is not the original! The gimbal, which is perhaps the most important moving part, appears to be little changed. Maybe it's different internally, but it's hard to tell; it seems to work the same way. What has changed is almost every other part of the device. The arm that attaches the handle to the gimbal is a solid machined piece, rather than a strip of bent metal. The foot and weights are also now nicely machined, not simply a bent metal plate and ...

8 Tips: Making Silent Films Today | Karlanna Lewis | Raindance This article suggests that making a silent movie is a great way to build skills: 4. Camera and Set Because visual elements are the core of silent movies, camera quality is crucial. Set also plays an important role in the story, so consider contrasting locations to follow the plotline and using existing locations since background noise does not matter. Canon announces EOS-1D X release date | Christopher MacManus | C|net The 4K DSLR is coming, though in limited quantities: Talking to Imaging Resource, a Canon U.S. representative said that "the EOS-1D X cameras will be arriving in mid-June to select dealers in small quantities and increase gradually over time. They will be here in time for the Olympics and will be available." Exclusive preview of Zacuto’s Revenge Of the Great Camera Shootout | Philip Bloom | Blog As luck would have it, they showed the film in Boston last night; unfortunately, I was unabl...

Download Autodesk Smoke 2013 Pre-Release Trial | AutoDesk The pre-release trial of Smoke 2013 is now available: Enjoy this free* Autodesk trial until September 15, 2012. ...we will send out updated versions of the trial, helpful tips and tricks, instructional how-to videos, and more via email. And if you want to learn how to use Smoke , check out these tutorials: Smoke Learning Channel | SmokeHowTos | YouTube If you are new to Autodesk Smoke 2013, follow the movies in this Getting Started playlist and learn the basics. Topics include project creation, media management, editing, timeline FX and Connect FX node-based compositing. We strongly advise you to view these movies in sequence, from first to last, before moving to more advanced topics in other playlists. Video Encoding Presets for Kindle Fire, Nook, iPad and Android Tablets | Danny Greer | PremiumBeat Presets for Adobe Media Encoder for the Apple iPad , Amazon Kindle Fire , Barnes and Noble Nook , and other tablets ...

Canon C300 Tips for DSLR Filmmakers | Ron Dawson | Dare Dreamer Ron offers some tips for using the C300 : The C300 comes with shutter speed defaulted to shutter angles. So instead of setting the speed manually to 1/48, you choose a shutter angle of 180, and it’ll make the correct shutter speed adjustment for you. But, if for whatever reason you want to achieve a different look and need to change the shutter speed, but you’re not familiar with dealing in “angles,” you can change the C300 setup to display shutter speed. Canon EOS-1D X Manual Posted | CanonRumors The manual for the upcoming Canon EOS-1D X is now available online Apple announced - as well as didn't announce - several updates today: Apple quietly discontinues the 17-inch MacBook Pro | Nathan Ingraham | The Verge ...the company quietly did away with one of the long-standing veterans of its notebook lineup: the 17-inch MacBook Pro is no longer available. You can still buy a refurbished model on Apple'...

Canon EOS Rebel T4i | TJ Donegan | Digital Camera Info The first review of the new Canon is already up: The major improvement to AF is seen in live view shooting and video recording. In either mode on most DSLRs, the normal method of phase detection autofocus is not available, forcing the camera to rely on contrast-detection AF. With the T4i’s new image sensor, the camera has a hybrid phase/contrast detection system available in the middle of the frame, combining with Canon’s new stepping motor lenses to provide smooth, silent autofocus tracking to the subject. It starts at the camera | Oliver Peters | digitalfilms Interesting thoughts about not relying on how well modern cameras handle bad lighting: All too often though, producers take the “fix it in post” mantra way too seriously. Since modern cameras offer excellent low light sensitivity, the basics of good lighting and proper art direction get short-changed. If the director, DP and lighting crew are allowed a bit of time to...

I'm going to come right out and say it: I wasn't that impressed by the movie Prometheus . The movie was nicely shot, the acting was good, effects mostly believable, and it moved along quickly, so you didn't have to dwell so much on the problems with the story. But seriously... It's hard to believe that anyone - including eccentric trillionaires - would finance an expedition staffed by such amateurs. For those who don't know, Prometheus is about a bunch of alleged scientists sent on a secret mission to investigate the possibility of aliens on another planet. Aliens who might have had contact with humans in the past. Unfortunately, I think some of these "scientists" might have lied about their backgrounds, or were judged experts only because they had appeared on CNN. In a nod to Alien , there's a brief hint that some of the crew are dissatisfied with the money they are receiving, but that doesn't become a major plot point. My major complai...

'Dark Knight Rises' Director Christopher Nolan Isn’t a Fan of Digital | Alex Ben Block | The Hollywood Reporter It's not news that Nolan doesn't like digital, but here's more quotes from him: Nolan said he thinks film is still best because it provides the filmmaker the most range, captures the most depth of image and works best as a tool to tell a story. Nolan said that moving to digital creates a risk of “devaluing what we do as filmmakers.” “The problem with the push to digital is its has been given a consumer aspect,” says Nolan,” who suggests it confuses the camera with an Ipad. “It’s not what is best for the film,” he insists. Celluloid no more: distribution of film to cease by 2013 in the US | Megan Geuss | Ars Technica It's also not news that celluloid distribution is going to end sooner rather than later: While economics may be spurring directors toward digital movies, theaters aren’t following quite so quickly on their heels. "51.5 perce...

Canon EOS 7D Firmware Version 2 Coming Soon | CanonRumors There's been rumors of a Canon 7D firmware update appearing over the last couple of weeks, and CanonRumors now has what appears to be complete - unofficial - details of the update, which includes lots of things for still photographers, and even something for video shooters: MANUAL ADJUSTMENT FOR AUDIO RECORDING LEVELS During EOS Movie shooting you will be able to manually adjust the audio recording levels to one of 64 levels, whilst the sound volume during playback can be set to one of 11 levels. During movie recording noise from the aperture is reduced and the camera also has an automatic wind cut filter. Jag35 Street Runner Review | Rick Macomber | Vimeo Rick has put together a nicely shot review of this camera rig: The Street Runner is a new affordable rig from the folks at Jag35. It's very similar to it's bigger brother, the Field Runner, which has two front grip handles, a top handle and a slightly di...

The next Pub Night at Rule Boston Camera is Tuesday June 12, 6:00pm to 8:00pm and will feature DP Zach Zamboni. RSVP: events@rule.com

Canon announced a new, lost-cost pancake lens along with the T4i . Specifications are listed below: This EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Lens [$199.99] from Canon is a welcome addition to Canon's line-up of EF lenses--a light, inconspicuous "normal" lens. At a featherweight 4.6 oz, this is the lightest lens (along with the 50mm f/1.8 II lens) in the EF family. It's less than one inch long, so it will never draw unwelcome attention to you when you're shooting in public. A bright f/2.8 maximum aperture allows you to shoot under pretty much any lighting conditions, and the sophisticated lens configuration, including one aspherical element, guarantees high image quality from the center to the edge of the frame. The optimized coatings used in constructing the lens greatly reduce ghosting and flare, and deliver superb color balance. STM functionality provides quiet, smooth and continuous autofocus during video operation. The circular aperture formed by 7 diaphragm blades...

Continuous AF during HD Video Recording For the first time in a Canon EOS DSLR, the EOS Rebel T4i includes Canon’s new Movie Servo AF for recording video. When used with Canon’s new EF and EF-S STM lenses, the camera can provide smooth and quiet continuous AF while recording video. This technological breakthrough enables the new EOS Rebel T4i to achieve AF while still retaining a DSLR camera’s signature background blur and image quality, producing stunning videos of parties, events, summer vacations or graduations. When shooting video with Canon’s STM lenses, AF also remains silent, helping ensure you only capture the sound of the scene being recorded. The EOS Rebel T4i features a built-in stereo microphone, a first for the Rebel line, that includes an attenuator function to reduce audio distortion in extra loud situations. Canon also announced two new STM lenses, the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM lens and EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. Estimated delivery is end of June. Pre-orde...

Don't Mean To Be Alarmist, But The TV Business May Be Starting To Collapse | Henry Blodget | Business Insider Interesting suggestion that television is in the same place as newspapers was a few years back...i.e. heading for doom ... We still consume some TV content, but we consume it when and where we want it, and we consume it deliberately: In other words, we don't settle down in front of the TV and watch "what's on." And, again with the exception of live sports, we've gotten so used to watching shows and series without ads that ads now seem extraordinarily intrusive and annoying. Our kids see TV ads so rarely that they're actually curious about and confused by them: "What is that? A commercial?" Anatomy of a video file | Bryan Hastings | Macworld A look at MPEG4 and AVCHD: AVCHD (pronounced by its initials) stands for Advanced Video Coding High Definition. It arrived on the scene in 2006, is more fully featured than MPEG-4 and is rapidl...

I like wide-angle lenses. Whether using video cameras or still cameras, inevitably I find that I need to get further back to get the image I want. And sometimes, you can't physically move back far enough. I think I also like the somewhat distorted point of view you get. I better admit up front that my favorite lens is Canon's 16-35mm L lens. It's a great lens - particularly if you have a crop sensor camera like the Canon 7D . Solid, smooth, and it produces a great image. I love this lens. But at $1,600 it is expensive. What about something a bit cheaper? Samyang has a reputation for making good quality, inexpensive lenses. But you might not have heard of them because they aren't sold under the Samyang name here in the United States. Instead, they are sold under a variety of names including Rokinon and Bower. I already have another lens from Samyang, the 35mm f/1.4 lens , which at $499 is a good deal itself. But I recently got to play with the Rokinon 14mm f/2....

I bought one of the original Lensbaby's - now called the " Muse " series [$149.95] - several years ago. I think that was before we were using DSLR's to shoot video and still thought of them as just "still cameras" And as a still effects lens, the Lensbaby can be a lot of fun; it provides a very ethereal, unworldly feel to an image. Lensbaby Muse The problem with the Muse model is that it uses a flexible tube that you push and pull against to create the effect. That's mostly okay for stills, where you can push it into place, hold it still for a second while you take a picture, and then let go....and try again if it didn't work out. But for video, that doesn't work quite so well. Actually, that flexible tube can be pretty stiff to hold in place even while taking stills. Lensbaby then followed the original series with the " Control Freak " series [$309.99], which use three metal rods to keep the lens in position. An improvement - I...

I just saw a review of the Sony MDR-V55/BR DJ style Headphones : Review: Sony MDR-V55 DJ Headphones | Cam Curran In terms of comfort, the MDR-V55s fare well enough, but in the end, any pair of on-ear headphones has the tendency to make you pretty hot after a few hours, not to mention some slight pain on the outer ear. They're highly adjustable however, and rugged in a way many DJ-style headphones can only aspire to; these are not a flimsy set of plain ol' plastic-and-foam cans. From the description, I'm not sure I'd like them. I've already had a bit of experience with Sony headphones over the last few years: The first high-quality headphones I ever bought were a pair of  Sony MDR-7506  [$99.99] that I bought in the late 1990's. They weren't cheap then, but they are still going strong (they have been repaired with Gorilla glue, and the outer cover of the headphone pads have peeled off.] I like the sound quality of the MDR-7506's , they are light, a...

CHART OF THE DAY: The Explosive Growth Of The iPad | Jay Yarow | Business Insider Pretty amazing chart showing the growth of the iPad vs the iPhone and iPod . Of course, when you think about it, it's probably unsurprising that the iPad sales are faster and higher than the iPhone ...the iPhone  establishing the business, but being a specialized and more expensive choice. Three choices | Oliver Peters | digitalfilm Olivier looks at Adobe, Avid and Final Cut Pro and offers his interpretation of which environment will appeal to which users: In closing, remember this is just a simple way to present the options. There’s nothing that says you can’t mix and match After Effects and/or Pro Tools with EDIUS, Media Composer, Vegas, Media 100 or any other variation. My world is headed primarily to an Apple/Adobe witches brew of applications. RAW 1080p is Coming with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, but Can You Afford the Hard Drives? | Joe Marine | No Film School The problem with...

Sony FS700 test footage. Minnehaha Falls, Minneapolis, MN | AlokaKasina | Vimeo More slow-motion footage from the Sony NEX-FS700 . Some of it is quite good, but after about a minute it feels like the novelty wears off. We're all going to be sick of slow-motion by the end of the year: Footage captured with a prototype Sony FS700. In-camera 240fps_1080p and 480fps_720p. Compressed to H.264, 720x1280, 23.976. How to Set Up the Canon 5D To Shoot Video | Michael Britt | Photo Cine News A setup video for the Mark II (not the III): I just put up a short video about how to set up the Canon 5D MKII for Video. I’ve put some of this information out before in our book and some other blog posts but this time I go step by step through the menus for capturing video. I do this in my Intro to DSLR Video seminar and decided to provide this video as a resource to my students, Samy’s Camera customers and PCN readers. If you have a Canon 5D Mark III, and want to shoot underwater, you can now ...