Notes On Video

This is the gadget from NAB I want... I've been trying to get a camera up in the air - whether with a kite or a jib or what-have-you - for a long time, with not much success. So this under $1,000 quad copter that takes a GoPro Hero, the  DJI Phantom Quadcopter , really appealed to me when I first saw it (just a week or two ago.) And now at NAB they are showing a little gimbal for the thing which will also cost under $1,000. NewShooter has the demo:  NAB2013: DJI INNOVATIONS PHANTOM AERIAL COPTER WITH NEW GIMBAL UNIT Oh! I want one! Massachusetts Production Coalition Seminar Series | Screenwriting Tomorrow, Saturday, the MassProdCoalition seminar series of 2013 gets underway: Join us for a great collection of Seminars this year with topics developed from feedback in our first series. Each seminar will be an opportunity to learn from a panel of accomplished professionals in a relaxed and intimate environment. The seminars include time for audience Q...

Stunt Driving with the Biscuit Rig, Jr: Interview with Engineer and Driver Robert Nagle | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine  I had a really interesting chat with Robert Nagle about stunt driving and this special trailer rig they have built: Robert Nagle studied mechanical engineering and racecar design before becoming a professional race driver. But when he found out that some of the other drivers were working in the film industry, it piqued his interest. Said Nagle, “What I found was that it fulfilled a creative side of me that I didn’t really realize was there.” NAB 2013 - Tokina New Cinema Lenses | FreshDV | Vimeo First Samyang, and now Tokina is getting in on the Cine lens business by repackaging the Tokina 11-16mm f2.8 lens with de-clicked aperture, T ratings, new mechanicals and in Canon and Nikon mounts. The optics are unchanged but it's an all-manual lens (not auto-focus etc.) The price is "under $2,000." Shipping around August. They are also showing a ...

NAB News Sites It's the middle of NAB week, and if you're looking for NAB news, make sure to check out News Shooter (aka DSLR News Shooter.) They've been doing a good job of posting interesting pieces like this: NAB 2013: REDROCKMICRO SHOW ONE-MAN BAND AUTOMATED SLIDER, GOPRO CAGE AND BLACKMAGIC CAGE and also  NAB2013: RED PROVIDES DRAGON MAKE-OVER AND NEW GLOBAL SHUTTER MOUNT . Wide Open Camera has also been covering the event;  Area 48 Phosphorus LED Soft Light. Wide Open Camera NAB 2013  &  Small HD High Bright Monitor. Wide Open Camera NAB 2013 . Definition Magazine has some special free online issues for NAB covering the Blackmagic cameras, ARRI and Zeiss announcements... Freytag Film has also posted several pieces on NAB products. Other NAB News Media Composer 7: Avid Brings Their Flagship NLE into the High Resolution Future and Lowers Price | Robert Hardy | No Film School Lastly, Avid has dropped the price of Media Composer to $10...

Perhaps the biggest surprise of NAB this year is Blackmagic's announcement of a 4K version of their Cinema Camera. Using the same housing as the original, and only $1,000 more, this camera features a couple of notable improvements over the original (beside the 4K capability.) The sensor is now a Super35 sized sensor, and the camera has a global shutter, which should reduce image artifact issues that appear with fast motion and flashing lights. Blackmagic also announced a smaller Pocket Camera that will sell for $1,000, which will have an amazing 13 stops of dynamic range, but I'm not sure I'd rush out and buy that one. Both cameras will reportedly ship in July. You can pre-order the  Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Production Camera 4K  [$3,995] and the  Blackmagic Design Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera [$995] from B & H now. The pocket rocket…Blackmagic downsizes the BMCC and does a 4K upsize of the orginal ! | John Brawley What BMD have done with this ca...

Sony News at NAB 2013 | sonyelectronics | YouTube Sony didn't really announce that much it seems - other than the pricing for the 4K 65" and 55" monitors: A quick round-up of the newest products and technologies that Sony announced at NAB 2013. For more real time updates from the show, follow #SonyNAB Sony announces compact 4K digital cinema camera. | Jason Wingrove | Propic Sony may be showing a prototype of a compact 4K camera, but I don't think they announced it/ The new Sony PMW-400 | HD Warrior Sony’s new PMW-400 shoulder-mount camcorder is the latest addition to its widely used XDCAM HD422 line-up. Ideal for live production or ENG, the new camcorder uses a 2/3-inch Exmor™ Full HD 3CMOS sensor to capture beautiful images with high sensitivity1 and low noise. Sony Sues RED for Patent Infringement by RED ONE, EPIC and Scarlet Camera | ERIC REAGAN | Photography Bay On the eve of NAB 2013, Sony released a statement that it has filed sui...

12 Things to Think About Before Committing to the Blackmagic Cinema Camera for Your Film | Micah Van Hove | No Film School I’ve shot with 4 different Blackmagic cameras so far, and each LCD screen seems to have its different quirks, dead pixels being the constant, so potentially expect to see some. However, the real problem with the BMC screen is that it’s completely unusable in daylight or in any situation where light is hitting the screen, and the included sun shade is not a solution by any means. BLACK MAGIC CINEMA CAMERA USERS GUIDE | The Delivery Men Filming with this camera is pretty simple, make sure highlights are below 100%, focus and press record. That was refreshing. Although the footage doesn’t look very good while you are filming, once you get it on the computer it’s beautiful. The color reproduction, dynamic range and motion rendition are awesome.  Freelance Taxes #3: 50 Deductions You’ll Want to Take to Save Money | Evan Luzi | The Black And Blue 5. Ca...

How the Hackintosh Suddenly Caught FireAnarchy amid the abdication of Mac Pro | Mark Christiansen | Pro Video Coalition This is the story of one man’s experience assembling and running a Hackintosh. For anyone unaware of this illicit, but not yet forbidden alternative to the Mac Pro and altnerative systems from Apple, it is a custom-built computer - one which would straightforwardly run Windows or Linux - with an installation of a slightly modified (hacked) Mac OS that will boot on non-Apple hardware, in clear violation of the terms of the Mac OS. Sony F5 & F55 Scene Files from AbelCine | Andy Shipsides | AbelCine The Sony F5 & F55 cameras are shipping in quantity now, and we’ve gotten a lot of requests for some custom scene files. I’ve put together five files in our usual flavors. They are designed both to change the cameras’ look and make matching the two cameras easier. The cameras handle colors very differently due to their different Color Filter Arrays (to learn m...

Testing Rode’s new Reporter Microphone | Daniel Freytag | Blog Thanks to the combination of a redesigned head and a low positioned membrane the sound is very resistant to wind. Rode itself says in a video that 'you can be in a hurricane and still don't get any wind noise'. I didn't have a hurricane at hand that but you get the idea how resistant it is. Review of the Blackmagic Micro Four Thirds Cinema Camera | Philip Bloom | Blog So…I recommend the MFT over the EF BUT is this a blanket recommendation? No. Everyone’s needs and circumstances are different. When I say I recommend it, I mean it is my choice of the two…if you own no MFT glass at all and lots of Canon glass it’s hard to justify going that route. EOS-1D C Firmware After NAB | CanonRumors I received a screenshot of the firmware being tested a few days and just got around to it today. The screenshot shows all the various frame rates available to you for the EOS-1D C. The biggest addition is the ab...

When I was young - before the internet - you could go through April Fools Day without encountering one joke, trick or jape. Now it seems you're deluged with things...it's just not the same (and by the way, yesterday's piece on the Sony Action Cam was not a joke...maybe I shouldn't have posted it that day.) Lesson: tech companies should not roll out new products on April 1st. Hopefully the following are mostly true, though I'm not 100% certain. NAB 2013 Schedule and “something very special” coming to this blog Part II | Vincent Laforet | Blog Vincent posted this on Sunday, so I think I'm safe. He claims he's been working with a "game changer": I feel the same way about the device that I shot with a few weeks ago – and haven’t felt that way about ANYTHING I’ve seen or shot with since the Canon 5D MKII (The RED Epic is close – the only reason it didn’t make the list was due to the fact that it’s simply not affordable to the amateur market.)...

I just bought the Sony HDR-AS15  [$269] Action Camera. I nearly bought the GoPro HERO3 : Black Edition  [$399], but ultimately decided on the Sony for a couple of reasons. Here’s why: Firstly, I couldn’t get my hands on both units, so I had to make the decision based on reading reviews and watching example videos on YouTube, and then taking a guess about which one was the better one to get (for me.) Secondly, I have spent a little time with the GoPro Hero 3 , primarily helping a friend trying to update the firmware and turn on the Wi-Fi mode. We did take it out and use it to shoot some video during that process, but I didn’t get to review that video afterwards. What’s to like about the GoPro Hero 3? Believe me, it wasn’t an easy decision to not buy the new GoPro Hero 3 . It’s really defined the action camera scene, and the new release has improved low-light performance, and has increased resolution; offering 2.5K , and even 4K (both with the $399 Black model). It’s p...

Last year's seminar series was very good. Each one consisted of a panel of filmmakers or subject matter experts talking about their experiences: Event Info & Registration:  Working Methods Seminars We are delighted to announce the dates for a new Working Methods Seminar Series.  Join us for a great collection of Seminars for 2013 with topics developed from  feedback in our first series. Each seminar will be an opportunity to learn from a panel of accomplished professionals in a relaxed and intimate environment. The seminars include time for audience Q&A and networking.    SCREENWRITING: Saturday, April 13th  High Output Studios   Coffee & Bagels 9:30 AM / Seminars 10:00 - 12:00 Noon 2013 Seminar Schedule April 13  *  Screenwriting  May 18  *  Legal Seminar  June 15  *  Branded Entertainment September 7  *  The Independent Filmmaker  October 5...

Apple aims to win over video editors | Chris O'Brien | Los Angeles Times That campaign, timed to coincide with the National Assn. of Broadcasters convention that starts April 6 in Las Vegas, will feature users like Julian Liurette, who followed the firestorm from his video editing desk in Toronto at the Globe and Mail newspaper. What's new in Final Cut Pro X [X 10.0.8]   | Apple Sony XAVC Shoot with Sony’s latest professional digital video cameras — the F5 and F55 — then import XAVC files directly into Final Cut Pro X and start editing immediately. With support for resolutions up to 4K, you can work natively or convert to Apple ProRes in the background for even better performance. ProRes Log C Multichannel Audio Editing Unified Import Streamlined Share Dual Viewers XAVC APPLE FCPX plugin [ Edited ] | Sony Here is the XAVC plugin for Apple Final Cut Pro X that enables native XAVC editing Note This plug-in requires: Final Cut Pro X 10.0.8 or higher for XAVC fo...

Color Grading A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Part 2: Chris Martin on the Art of the Post-Grade | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine In this second part on the color grading of the movie A Glimpse Inside the Mind of Charles Swan III, Chris Martin of SPY describes his work to complete the final grade, the workflow, and the color look of the picture. Buying stock footage with the Pond5 plugin for Premiere Pro CS6 | Scott Simmons | Pro Video Coalition I used it several times when working on some stock footage based edits but hadn't had the opportunity to actually carry out the whole purchase and conform process from within PPro until a recent project. Keeping in mind this product is still in beta, here's a few cautions and gotchas that I ran across while working. The History (and Future) of Rotoscoping in After Effects | Adobe After Effects has evolved throughout the past 20 years to make rotoscoping a less eye-bleeding task. Check out how After Effec...

Cinematographer Tobias Linden explains the advantages of a RED EPIC | Freytag Film No other camera manufacturer has ever polarized the filmmaking community like RED does. Since its launch, the company has led the way in terms of 4K+ acquisition, while at the same time ignoring standard business practices (e.g. upgrade paths; actual delivery dates). Today, a RED EPIC can be found on sets of big Hollywood feature productions, television, advertising and even low-budget independent films. But why is the EPIC so widely spread? RED Solves EPIC and SCARLET Fan Noise Issues, Also Introducing New Fans at NAB | Joe Marine | No Film School Jarred Land recently posted that the RED engineers have developed a new smart algorithm for controlling fan speed (and therefore fan noise): The new algorithm constantly monitors temperature and fan speed and starts quieter than the existing quiet setting for the first few minutes and then slowly steps up fan speed up as temperature increases the lon...

Sidewalk Traffic: Interview with D.P. Dave Kruta | Michael Murie  | Filmmaker Magazine The most challenging thing was having to shoot that many pages with a minimal crew. There were a few nine-page days which were out of control. Many days I had only one G&E person. Many people on board were doing their first feature so there was definitely a learning curve, but I think we were successful. #SXSW2013 | Elle Schneider | Digital Bolex SXSW was the first time we’ve been able to accurately show people the weight, size, and ergonomics of the camera, and people really responded to it, taking tons of photos and videos. Hundreds of people stopped by the booth to chat with us and check out what we were doing, including backers and many who had stopped by last year to discover the project in its infancy. Digital goes back to the 70′s – 1st impressions of Dog Schnit Optiks Flare Factory 58 lens and sample photos | Andrew Reid | EOSHD On my test shoot (stills only – I have y...

Tackling Concerns of Independent Workers | Steven Greehouse | New York Times The Freelancers Union, which is based in Brooklyn, doesn’t bargain with employers, but it does address what is by far these workers’ No. 1 concern, by providing them with affordable health insurance. Its health insurance company covers 23,000 workers in New York State and has $105 million in annual revenue. Adobe Encouraging Flights to US For Cheaper Prices |  ZACH SUTTON | F|Stoppers Adobe pushes Australian's into the Cloud. Will everyone else be next?: While this price is comparable to the US price of the product, the box prices for their products are as much as $1000 more in Australia than in the US, for essentially the same products. “If Australian customers don’t see the value of Adobe’s software, they can buy another company’s software” Robson said. “Alternatively, they can take a trip overseas or import the American version.” Self Distributing Your Film – Lessons from a Real W...