Notes On Video

Blackmagic Cinema Camera Shipping Update: 11/7 | Grant Petty | Blackmagic Forum Blackmagic continues to update on the progress of the camera, and the problems they have had with the sensors. Evidently the sensor manufacturer switched from one company to another for the bonding of glass to the sensor between the initial test run and the production run. Odd. Our current understanding is that the company that has been bonding on the glass is crap and they have been contaminating the glass when bonding it. Because the sensor suppliers test process was also bad, it meant that no one really knew what was going on and it's been weeks and weeks of confusion. Shooting with the TS3Cine | Justin Hamilton | Vincent Laforet In the end, we came away with some good shots, mostly thanks to the skill of the skater we were working with.  The lesson learned for us was that camera motion is just as important in hi-speed as it is at normal frame rates.  A static camera is a boring camera...

Upcoming Events in Boston This Friday, 9th November is the  BOSCPUG SuperMeetUp .   Then on Tuesday 13th is another event:  BOSCPUG   Visual Storytellers Meet  Featuring JOE FINDER (PARANOIA) & WYNDHAM LEWIS (NURSE JACKIE) Rule Boston Cameras Events: Wed Nov 14: 10am-12noon Maximizing Mass Tax Credits For Your Production : Boston-based Entertainment Attorney, Emily McNamara, answers all your questions about the Massachusetts Film Tax Credits and how your production can take advantage of these valuable incentives. Wed Nov 28: 10am-12noon Canon Full Cinema EOS Line-Up And 4K Workflow : Canon's Technical Speicalist, Ken Rowe, introduces the latest in the Cinema EOS family — the new C100 and C500 cameras and EF Cinema prime lenses — providing a brief overview of their features and a review of the C500's 4K workflow. Thu: Nov 15: 6-8pm Recipe for Success: Jan maliszewski on Directing Cook’s Country : Emmy-nominated director...

Are the F5 and F55 going to be game-changers? | Alister Chapman | XDCAM-User The very thought of 16 bit raw with 14 stops of dynamic range is making me drool, these cameras will seriously encroach on F65 territory and give the Arri Alexa a very hard time indeed, heck even the F5 will give the Alexa a very hard time. A clear sign of just how significant these cameras are is the way Red have slashed the prices of their Epic and Scarlet cameras. Canon C500 is Shipping, but Canon's RAW Implementation is Unlike Any You've Seen Before | Joe Marine | No Film School Basically, instead of sending out an Alpha along with the RAW, it’s sending the other green channel. Since Canon is not starting out with a 16-bit image pipeline like RED and Sony (Canon is only doing 10-bit at best), they are trying to save as much detail as possible by locking in certain attributes. These engineering hacks have worked in the past for Canon, who always seems to pull out better image quality than t...

CHECKING OUT SONY’S NEW NEX-EA50H AT ABEL CINE TECH: ERGONOMICS AND LOW COST TOO | David Leitner | Filmmaker Magazine It proved a joy to operate, too. A rocker switch built into the EA50H’s handgrip drives the 18-200mm at three fixed zoom speeds: slow, slower, and snail’s pace. Perfect for subtle pushes during interviews. A selector switch for the three speeds resides conveniently on the side of the lens. No menu diving required. (Uniquely, there’s also a low-profile, spring-loaded slider switch on the barrel of the lens to operate the zoom on e-Mount cameras lacking handgrips with rocker switches.) Panasonic GH3 real-world test (pre-production firmware) | Andrew Reid | EOSHD Now for better news – the GH3 maintains the insane resolution of the GH2 in video mode. This aspect of the image in 1080p is well up there with the best 1080p cinema cameras costing many times more. It resolves more than the Sony FS100 and has a better internal codec especially in 1080/60p (with nearly do...

Red, Sony and Canon 4K | Michael Sutton | WideOpenCamera Mike Sutton takes a look at the 4K options: The next thing Red needs to do is to have 4K video outputs on the camera.  You cannot tout resolution yet be highly compressed without any other codec options.  I don’t see how these go hand in hand.  If image quality via resolution is everything, then surely resolution aficionados would want the ability to tap off an uncompressed RAW feed.  I have a feeling that RED will put out another camera much sooner that people expected. 8-Bit is Still 8-Bit, Why DSLRs Are No Match for the 12-Bit Blackmagic Cinema Camera | Joe Marine | No Film School People have done as much as possible to argue against the test that was performed with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera by Marco Solorio and OneRiver Media. That test compared the 5D Mark III and the BMCC, and even though the superior resolution and dynamic range of one of those cameras should have been obvious, many still pr...

“GAME CHANGERS” PART 1: GETTING STARTED | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine Filmmakers Rob Imbs (director) and Benjamin Eckstein (cinematographer) are currently shooting a low-budget independent feature film, Game Changers, a drama/comedy about two video-gamers who are approaching their late twenties. With an initial target budget of $30,000, Game Changers might be better described as a shoestring budget feature, given that they began shooting with only half that amount raised. Thread: Attitude adjustment... | Jim Jannard | RedUser Red announces new prices: Now… here is the new pricing:  5K EPIC-X Brain- $19,000 5K EPIC-X Monochrome Brain- $20,000 5K EPIC-M Brain- $24,000 5K/4K Scarlet Brain- $7,9504. 5K RED ONE M-X Battle Tested- $4000 (includes CF or SSD recording module). The RED ONE is End of Life. Battle tested is all that will be available from here on out. RED Cuts EPIC Price in Half: EPIC-X Now $19,000, SCARLET Under $8K, RED ONE Goes 4.5K for $4K | J...

SONY ANNOUNCES F5, F55 AND OTHER TOYS | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine As interesting as the new technology – and promised 14 stops of dynamic range – is, these two cameras also show that Sony has been listening to, and are making a serious effort to woo customers. While the image quality of the PMW-F3 was widely lauded, it wasn’t a shoulderable camera – without a third party rig – and while the LCD Panel was good quality, it wasn’t in the right position when you had the camera on your shoulder. Sony has reworked the design, added a shoulder rig option, and will offer three EVF options; an improved LCD EVF, an OLED EVF and a 7″ LCD. Introducing the PMW-F55 | Sony Europe Richard Lewis, Cinematography Product Specialist, provides a detailed, hands-on tour of the new CineAlta 4K cameras. All the key features, including the flexible modular structure, multiple recording formats, menu controls and important accessories are shown. The 18 minute video also demonstrates recording...

Sony F5 and F55 (From the horses mouth – not speculation…) | Den Lennie | F-Stop Academy The truth is we have never had it so good as film makers.  There are a truly incredible range of tools now from all the major manufacturers.  We win on all fronts.  I don;t see the F55 as a camera I’d ever own but rent for sure.  The F5 may be one to invest in but until we know pricing who knows.Lets not forget that just because these new camera exists does not make the F3 with SLog and less of a beast and the FS700 and FS100 are still incredibly powerful visual tools.  It always comes down to what you do with them… SONY LAUNCH THE F5 AND F55 4K CAMERAS: MATT ALLARD GIVES HIS VIEW | Matt Allard | DSLR News Shooter Firstly, I’ll give you my personal opinion of these models based on the specifications: on paper these certainly look very attractive indeed, with Sony really listening to the end user and offering cinematographers two very good cameras.  From workfl...

Breaking news: All you need to know about Sony's new "F" cameras | Ned Soltz | RedSharkNews Officially, no price, though Philip Bloom says $18K for the F5 and $50K for the F55 : The PMW-F5 is based around the same 4K 11.6 megapixel sensor as the FS-700. The F5 records internally MPEG-2 50Mbps 4:2:2, SR 220Mbps 4:2:2 (future free firmware upgrade records to SR 440 Mbps 4:2:2 or RGB 4:4:4) or XAVC 4:2:2 HD or 2K at frame rates up to 120 fps). With the newly introduced R5 4K recorder, the SDI output from camera will record 2K or 4K 16-bit linear raw to Sony’s new recording media AXSM. The PMW-F55 shares the same color filter array as the top of the line PMW-F65 as well as incorporating a similar global electronic shutter to eliminate the rolling shutter issues found in CMOS sensors. It adds to the F5 up to 180 fps in XAVC 4:2:2 HD and internal XAVC 4:2:2 2K up to 240fps as well as 4K with frame rates up to 120 fps. The F55 supports both QFHD for no-cropping to 4K ...

CAMERAS: Thoughts on the Canon C300’s Color Science | Art Adams | ProVideoCoalition In the end I used Cinema2 gamma, because it did the nicest job of holding highlight detail in the clouds while adding a pleasing contrast to the rest of the image, and the EOS Standard color matrix with matrix gain set to -30, which gave me accurate but understated color that looked like what I saw by eye. I white balanced the camera in sunlight and came up at 6100K, which looked great.  At last! Lightworks for Linux will be available starting on October 30th | Editshare The version that we will be releasing in October will be very similar, and also similar to the current Windows version that many people are already using.What version of Linux is required to run the Lightworks alpha?Initially it will be Ubuntu 12.04 only, with an aim of supporting other versions at a later date.  Dual Viewers in 10.0.6 | Final Cut Pro X Tutorial | Dan Allen | YouTube In this HD Voice tutorial fo...

Everything changes... IMPORTANT post | Jannard | RedUser Red to drop the price of the EPIC on November 1st: So. We could easily pretend and invent a new model to justify a lower price with higher performance. You are too smart for that. So are we. Instead... we will just lower the price of EPIC.EPIC continues to be modular. Dragon will be an upgrade. Meizler is a module. All is good in the world if you accept the fact that everything gets better, cheaper, faster and for less money over time.If you bought an EPIC in the past 30 days... we will offer a credit towards accessories. That amount will be posted along with the new EPIC pricing. Nov. 1st is when it happens. The Business of Screenwriting: The Power of “No” | Scott Myers | Go Into The Story Sure, you would have been out the money, but you would have earned some creative karma. And if you have the good enough sense to reject a project that is clearly not one you have any business writing, something good will come your w...

Interview with Canon’s Mike Burnhill on the Canon 1D C 4K DSLR | Andrew Reid | EOSHD Mike Burnhill: While the EOS-1D C is based on the core specifications of the EOS-1D X, it has been further optimised to provide even higher quality video performance that’s suitable for cinematic production. While both cameras feature the same sensor and processor, several of the circuit boards are different due to the high data rates and internal heat generated by up to 4K shooting. Capturing the Essence of the Edit | Ron Dawson | Dare Dreamer One of the most effective ways you can shorten an edit is to get rid of all the ums, pauses, and tangential thoughts an interviewee gives. Usually the more nervous a person is, the more of these they will have. So it behooves you to make them as comfortable and at ease as possible during the interview itself. Shoot Like a Pro Series - Interview Basics | Sony Professional | YouTube Basic interview lighting in a video tutorial: In this episode...

The venerable Canon 5D Mark II is currently selling for $1,699 . The $400 rebates end Oct 27th, though Canon’s rebates have already been extended multiple times and I can’t help think that they’ll probably continue until the camera is discontinued. The 5D Mark III has also dropped to $3,199 . $1,699 for a full-frame sensor DSLR which still does a pretty good job of capturing HD video is a very attractive price. The 5D Mark II has fallen in price almost $1,000 from when it first appeared. $1,699 is what I paid for the Canon 7D . I’ve wanted a full-frame sensor DSLR for a long time – I like to use wide-angle lenses! – so I’m very tempted to buy one. The only problem is that, for video, today I'd rather save my money for the Canon C100 or the Sony NEX-FS700 . Way Back Machine This September 17, 2008 post is the first I wrote on the 5D Mark II :  This SLR does bigger movies . Turns out I had no idea what this camera was going to be: If I hadn't just bought the Panason...

Canon 5D Mark III update to unlock high-end HDMI video | Stephen Shankland | C|net Canon promises an update to the 5D Mark III firmware in April of next year: When shooting video, HDMI Output makes possible the recording of high-definition uncompressed video data (YCbCr 4:2:2, 8 bit) from the EOS 5D Mark III to an external recorder via the camera's HDMI terminal. This, in turn, facilitates the editing of video data with minimal image degradation for greater on-site workflow efficiency during motion picture and video productions.  Canon 5D Mark III Getting Uncompressed HDMI in Official Firmware Update | Joe Marine | No Film School So why is Canon announcing this now, when we can’t get it until next year? There are a couple possibilities, but a good theory might be that they are trying to take away a little of the thunder from whatever Sony is announcing at the end of this month. It’s likely going to be a new camera with 4K capabilities that will slot above the F3, ...

A Complete Guide to Turning Your Garage into a Video Studio for Under $500 | Ryan E. Walters | No Film School I’ll be the first to admit nothing replaces a professionally built sound stage or studio. I’ve had the opportunity to shoot on a wide variety of stages and I appreciate what they bring to a production. However, I have also needed a space where I could shoot some of my stock footage, as well as record my training videos. And I need that space to be affordable and accessible to me at any time. So I converted my garage into a mini “studio.” To learn how I got this done for under $500, continue reading  THE WEEK IN CAMERAS: INTERESTING TIMES AHEAD | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine The new toys that will be available shortly: When the Sony NEX-FS700 was announced, 4K support was promised sometime in the future. The camera is now shipping, but it still hasn’t been explained exactly when 4K support will be available, and what it will cost, or what hardware will ...

Handheld with a BMCC – Behind the scenes with Puberty Blues | John Brawley | Blog This is a good example of what to expect when shooting handheld with a BMCC. The camera had no rig at all and I was just handholding a straight body. I spent a single day shooting this and a day editing it together. I’ve seen a few discussions about not being able to shoot handheld with the BMCC.  After Effects: Offsetting Position Keyframes | Zola | MotionWorks In this Prosential tip, guest host James Zwadlo (@zola85) demonstrates different techniques for repositioning a keyframed motion path in After Effects How to Build Your Own Hackintosh Mac Pro | Danny Greer | Premiumbeat Apple is expected to announce an iPad Mini this week, but probably not a Mac Pro update. If not, you can always build your own Hackintosh following these articles from earlier in the year: Lifehacker has addressed this need with a post outlining the tech equipment you need to build your own Hackintosh Mac Pr...

Conforming and Finishing A Film in After Effects | SpliceNPost | YouTube Behind the scenes look at how the short film "Reasons" was conformed and totally finished in after effects. The whole idea for the film was to build a workflow which was built around conforming my final cut and finishing it in after effects without the use of a smoke, avid ds or assimilate scratch which I use mostly for finishing. The hardest part of it all, you might think, is conforming your edits in AE, but it tends out that it's more easier than you think.  CANON CINEMA EOS: THE C500; C300; C100 | Movie Machine An overview of the three Canon cinema cameras. EOS C500 2 versions are available: one to work with EOS lenses and the other designed for PL mount lenses. This cameras outputs 4K over 3G SDI and delivers the best possible imaging performance required by filmmakers. Aimed at top level production for cinema and broadcast. The Canon EOS-1D C is Different Than the EOS-1D X on the ...