Notes On Video

Help documents for Creative Suite CS5, CS5.1, CS5.5, and CS6 applications (PDF and HTML) |Todd Kopriva | Adobe The documentation for Creative Suite 6 apps (and CS5) is available online in PDF and HTML format: This page includes links to the Help documents (user guides, manuals) for CS5, CS5.1, CS5.5, and CS6 applications. These are just the English-language documents. I gave links to some documents in other languages here. GPU acceleration in After Effects CS6: Which Mac does it better? | rob-ART morgan | Bare Feats Several Macs are compared, results depend on the brand of GPU you have: Every Mac with an NVIDIA GPU blew away the Macs with AMD GPUs. That's because the Ray-Traced 3D Render option requires CUDA support. Of our test units, the 6-core Mac Pro with Quadro 4000 was fastest at 41 minutes. The fastest laptop was the 2012 MacBook Pro "Retina" at 58 minutes. In both cases, the CPU was loafing along while the NVIDIA CUDA "aware" GPU was doing all...

Rule Boston Camera has announced their Learning Labs and Pub Night for July: Learning Labs: WED July 11: Intro To The Sony NEX-FS700 with Sony's Tom Cubby 10:00am-12noon WED: July 18: LED Lights: Ready For Prime Time with Lighting Designer John Gates 10:00am-12noon WED: July 25: Capturing High-Quality Digital Stills & Multi0Media Content With photographer Steve Dunwell 10:00am-12noon Pub Night: THU: July 26: The Long & WInding Road: Thriving in Today's Film, Video & Digital Cinema World With Cinematographer and Director Austin de Besche 6:00-8:00pm

New F3 Firmware Adds S-Log to Every Camera | Andy Shipsides | AbelCine New firmware for the Sony PMW-F3 : Version 1.40, which can be download here, adds S-Log into the Picture Profile menu of the camera. This allows anyone to turn on S-Log without the RGB key, although you still need the key for 4:4:4 output. Having S-Log in the profiles menu allows adjustment to the other camera settings such as black level, color, and white balance. Canon EOS 7D Firmware 2.0.0 coming August 7, 2012 | HDCam Team The new firmware for the 7D isn't due until August it seems... Unfortunately the announced improvements don’t include much for video mode, besides what is really welcome but supposed to be already in the EOS 7D since very long ago: Manual Audio Gain. At least all EOS 7D users will be able to manually set the audio gain before start recording video. This was a worldwide requested feature that Canon finally decided to include! Sony's Action Cam prototype is incredibly small, w...

Replace the Camera Lens on Your GoPro with a Third Party Lens | FilmakerIQ Third parties offer options for replacing the GoPro lens: I recently scratched up the lens on my GoPro to the point where I was getting some serious lens artifacts when the camera was pointed at any source of light. Contacted GoPro themselves and the best they could do was offer me a discount on a new one. Then I discovered that there are third-party parts manufacturers that are selling lenses for the GoPro. 5 killer Canon Lens for video | stillmotion | iso1200 Nice video that looks at five Canon lenses, and explains why they like them:  Canon 24-105mm f4L IS [$1,149], 14mm f2.8L rectilinear [$2,199.00 through Jun30], 135mm f2.0L [$1,014.00 through Jun30], Extender 1.4x II [ vIII $464.00 through Jun30], 100-400mm f4.5-5.6L IS [$1,589.00 through Jun30]. Let's take a look at 5 lenses we love from Canon, all of which all been instrumental in our biggest productions over the years. while you've...

Desert shooting with the Sony NEX-FS100 | David Lawless, EMCTV | Google+ I’m really impressed with how the camera performed in high-contrast conditions. Whilst not having built in NDs is a bit of a drawback for run-and-gun style shooting, we made do with a mattebox and filter set and some variable NDs. Where this camera really shines though is in low light. I am constantly surprised at how clean the footage is at 0db gain and even when pushed up to 18db the picture shows very little noise compared to other cameras. Apple publish a white paper on RED Workflows with Final Cut Pro X | fcp.co A white paper from Apple prompts the suggestion that Apple won't be updating FCPX to handle RED files anytime soon: This white paper called RED Workflows with Final Cut Pro X details the methods of working with the files right now. As you would expect it relies heavily on converting them to ProRes first. RED Gives up on Apple, Teams up with Adobe, NVIDIA and HP | Theo Valich | bsn ...

Seems that everyone is doing compact action cameras, and now Sony has announced their own; though they haven't announced a price yet: SONY DEVELOPS AN ULTRA COMPACT HD VIDEO CAMERA SOLUTION FOR POINT-OF-VIEW SHOOTING AND ACTION SPORTS NEW YORK (CEA LINE SHOW BOOTH #71), June 26, 2012 – Sony today announced that it is developing a new type of high definition wearable video camera which answers the demand for premium point-of-view and action sports filming devices. The new video camera will feature Sony’s hallmark SteadyShot® image stabilization technology, found in its portfolio of digital imaging products, to reduce blur and deliver stunningly smooth footage. The video camera’s small, lightweight body will also house an Exmor® R CMOS image sensor for excellent low light shooting and an ultra-wide angle Carl Zeiss® Tessar® lens. Additionally, Sony will offer a suite of mounting attachments, including waterproof and ruggedized housings. By combining this technology with m...

Last week I sat in on an introduction to Adobe Story webinar given by Maxim Jago . For those unfamiliar with it, Story is a script writing application. The interesting thing about it is that it’s actually an AIR application, and it either runs on the net or locally. One advantage of this is that sharing files via the internet is very simple. Story was previously available as a free beta version, but they have now transitioned to a “freemium” model. Since Story is a service, it’s not a part of the Master collection, but it is a part of the Creative Cloud subscription. A free version is still available; Story Free requires that you remain online all the time while Story Plu s allows you to work online or offline. Sharing is also limited for the Free version, but as long as one person has the full version of Story , other people with free versions can access and edit things, while the full version “Runs the Show.” Story , of course, supports the standard movie script format (as...

The Sony NSZ-GP9 and remote SONY’S NEXT GENERATION SET-TOP BOX WITH GOOGLE TV™ ARRIVES JULY 22 SAN DIEGO, June 25, 2012 – Sony Electronics Inc. today announced the availability and pricing of the NSZ-GS7 Internet Player with Google TV™, originally introduced in January at CES . Powered by Google TV, the Internet Player will be available at retailers nationwide on July 22, priced at $199. Pre-orders begin on June 25, 2012 at www.sony.com/sonygoogletv . [...] In addition to the NSZ-GS7 Internet Player, Sony’s newest Internet Blu-ray Disc™ player with Google TV, the NSZ-GP9, will be available at retailers in time for the holiday season, priced at $299. The NSZ-GP9 player features Sony’s proven Blu-ray Disc technology coupled with the robust Google TV platform. Complete Text:

NeedCreative Podcast Ep. 1 - Check 1, 2 | AnticipateMedia | Podcast Boston based filmmaker  Paul Antico and musician  Jason Sidelinger have started a new weekly podcast about filmmaking, audio, and the creative process. Their first effort is online now and includes a  discussion about audio and microphones. Well worth checking out: The NeedCreative Podcast is a weekly podcast catering to the independent digitally-powered Creative, with a focus on photography, filmmaking, music creation, and sound engineering among other audio and visual arts. Your hosts come from a varied background in Media production, and will expore all manner of topics each week from gear to story to the inspiration and passion. My Love Affair With The Sony F3 | Adam Shanker | Crews Control Adam writes a love letter to his Sony PMW-F3 : The F3 encourages creativity. I can set the camera to shoot in slow motion or in quick motion. The push/dial on the side of the camera easily gets into thi...

Does the Sony NEX-FS700 image improve when using an external recorder? | Matt Allard | DSLR News Shooter A quick test reveals little difference using an external recorder: Well in short the answer at the moment seems to be no. Sony have said the camera will be capable of outputting a 4K 12bit RAW image at some point in the future but sadly it only outputs 8 bit 4:2:2 over the HD SDI output at the moment. My interest here is solely in actual image quality so I’m not going to go into all the technical reasons for this – if you are interested in finding out more there is plenty of in depth technical information around the web. How to Wrap Cables and Avoid a Tangled Mess | Evan Luzi | The Black and Blue Perhaps the most important tip of the day; how to deal with cables! That solution is known as “the over/under method” and is one of the first things you should know how to do when getting into any type of film or video production. It is one of the best skills you can learn on a set...

Colorist Rob Bessette of Finish Post presents an overview on the art of color correction with a step-by-step look at the finer points of Black Magic Design's DaVinci Resolve : WED: June 27th, 10:00am - 12noon RSVP: events@rule.com

Canon 1D X Has Sharper Video Image Than The 5D MKIII – Comparison Video | Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter Note that this is the $6,799 1D X he's talking about, not the upcoming 4K 1D C ; does anyone else get the naming of these cameras confused? : Quite what Canon engineers have done here is unclear to me but I suspect that the fact that the 1D X uses a 18 megapixel sensor versus the 5D mkIII’s 22.3 MP one makes a difference. They may simply have come up with a better video processing algorithm or perhaps there is just a different default level of sharpening (as zero on the camera’s menu is a purely arbitrary calibration anyway). I think that there is more to it than sharpening though as there are no signs of halos or other negative effects. Canon EOS C300/C300 PL Cinema EOS Camera Firmware Version 1.0.6.1.00 | The Digital-Picture Canon rolls out a minor firmware update for the C300 : Genlock synchronization can now be used to synchronize the camera’s 24.00P, 24.00PsF, 23.9...

Blackmagic Cinema Camera: Can It Run with the Big Boys | Marco Solorio | Creative COW A look at the upcoming Blackmagic camera, focusing on green screen work: I seriously cannot wait to start shooting serious chromakey footage with this camera. For this application, DSLR cameras aren't even in the city of the ballpark this game is playing in. I dare think a Sony F3 or Canon C300 is even in the parking lot. For chromakey production, can this little $3000 camera play at a level with the likes of ARRI Alexa, RED Epic, and the Sony F65? From what it reads on paper, it sure does seem like it and seems like fair game. Time will tell once serious chromakey productions are lined up. Drobo 5D Introduction | Drobo | YouTube Drobo announced a couple of new drives today, the 5D for desktop use, and the Mini for mobile use. Both add support for Thunderbolt.  The 5D has two Thunderbolt ports and one USB 3.0 port, will cost under $850 and the release date will be announced in July: L...

A Guide to Permits for Filming in Difficult Locations | Marcee Miller | Artbeats Blog Advice for shooting in public - and non-pubic - spaces. 1-A. Start early. Some park permits can take six weeks! 1. Research – what is worth shooting in the city/location of choice? 2. More research – where are the subjects located? Are they private or public? Are they going to be part of a street scene or panorama, or will they be the subject of the shot? Sony NEX-FS700 is shipping? B & H still says that the NEX-FS700 is expected to ship in July , but Peter Crithary of Sony tweeted that some are already shipping: NEX-FS700 cameras begin shipping....now! 10+ steps to becoming mega successful in video production and probably winning many awards whilst becoming super rich!! | Philip Bloom | Blog Philip explains how to be a success: 2: The work will not come to you. Sitting around waiting for that big break if about as likely as winning the lottery. No matter how well received your s...

Canon EOS 5D Mark III Firmware 1.1.3 | CanonRumors The firmware update adds some fixes for several lenses, as well as: Fixes a phenomenon in which an image may become underexposed when using the Auto Lighting Optimizer for continuous Auto Exposure Bracketing (AEB) shooting. Fixes a phenomenon in which the backlight of the LCD monitor may not turn off depending on the camera settings and timing. Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera’s power may not turn on when a super-telephoto lens*1) is mounted to the camera with an extender*2). DSLR Case Study: Lie With Me | HD Magazine Director Jamison Brandi explains how he went about shooting his feature with the Canon 7D : “We were not going to spend thousands of dollars a day on all the Prime lenses so we came up with a plan to cover our shooting range. We decided to use the Canon zoom lenses, the 24-70mm and the 70-200m. We didn’t want them as zoom lenses but were going to set them at certain focal lengths and use them as Primes l...

This weeks Rule Boston Camera looks to be an interesting one with hand-on with the TS3Cine High-Speed camera: SUPER SLO-MO FIELD TRIP WITH THE TS3CINE HIGH-SPEED CAMERA See the portable and affordable TS3Cine high-speed, high-resolution camera in action along the Charles River. Meet at Rule for a quick intro and head across the street for a live shoot (weather permitting--otherwise, indoors). Time : 10am to 12noon with Breakfast RSVP : events@rule.com Showroom Demo at 12noon :Sound Devices PIX 240 Video Recorder with Haley Parizo.

Reader Ross Hunter dropped me a note last week about a problem he had encountered after updating Final Cut Pro X with a project crashing. He outlines the issue below, along with the solution he found [Note:  this is an amalgam of a couple of emails ] Final Cut Pro X has been crashing for me when trying to open one particular project since the update. At first I was unable to open one of my projects. FCPX would crash every time. Other projects opened normally. Finally after digging through the crash log, I saw it was having trouble with a Motion project. I removed the Motion project and FCP would then open normally. But it later crashed during rendering. I had earlier deleted all render files thinking they might be the culprit. The backup file behaved the same way as the current project file. The suspect Motion project also crashes motion. I've done the standard trashing of preferences, then render files, but the crashing persists. There are other similar repor...

CANON U.S.A. LAUNCHES NEW PROGRAM  TO BENEFIT FILM INDEPENDENT FILMMAKERS  AT THE 2012 LOS ANGELES FILM FESTIVAL LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA, June 18, 2012 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, today launched the new Canon Filmmaker Award Program in partnership with Film Independent, the non-profit arts organization that produces the Spirit Awards and the Los Angeles Film Festival. Open to eligible Film Independent Fellows, Los Angeles Film Festival alumni, and Spirit Awards Nominees and Winners, the program is designed to help emerging filmmakers ‘leave no story untold.’ Winners of the Canon Filmmaker Award Program will be lent a Canon Cinema EOS C300 camera package to create their next feature length narrative or documentary film, or in special cases, short films. Announced quarterly over the next year, the application process for the Fall Period opens today and will accept submissions until August 1, 2012. All applications are to be submitted via th...

LAFF 2012: Cinedigm's Chris McGurk Predicts a Digital-Driven Indie Film Renaissance | Gregg Kilday | Hollywood Reporter Thoughts on the positives of digital distribution: McGurk, whose Cinedigm offers alternative programming to theater owners, argued that “narrowcasting” is part of the solution. And instead of holding out for a 500-theater wide release, he suggested, filmmakers should follow the example of a film like Margin Call, which combined a VOD release with a more limited theatrical roll-out. Into the fire with FCP X | Oliver Peters | digitalfilms Oliver documents his experience using Final Cut Pro X on a real-world project: If you work with a lot of different FCP X jobs, you quickly learn that there is no internal way to manage different clients’ work. You either have to move these files manually from the Final Cut Events and Final Cut Projects folders to an “inactive” folder(s) – or you have to use a utility like Event Manager X. Gareth Evans – Fighting Spirit ...