Notes On Video

The Cheap Sony 4K SonyAlphaRumors has a picture of an upcoming cheap  4K camera from Sony that may sell for less than $5,000. Cheap, of course, is relative. This isn't really news; the idea of a camera like this was previewed back at NAB, as Cinescopophilia points out . I'm quite sure that Sony will come out with a 4K camera that looks like this; the question was never 'if,' only 'when' and 'how much?' But before you get too excited, note that this camera is basically the same body as the  HXR-NX5U and  HVR-Z5U . These cameras have a FIXED lens, and 1/3" sensors. This is not the 4K replacement for the NEX-FS100. It could still be a nice camera for documentary work, though the image better be worth the extra $$ compared to the price of the HXR-NX5U. Other News When a Camera Manufacturer Hates Me… | ProVideoCoalition Art Adams responds to being called out by Jim Jannard in his final post to Reduser: I have a lot of respect for RED. T...

As I previously mentioned, I haven't really done any serious lens testing before, so I've been doing some research on the topic. So far I've found the following references/resources: Lens flares | Too Much Information All lenses were at their wides aperture and pointed to a 500W spot light that was about 4 meters away. I shot the tests on Sony NEX-FS700. The only colour correction I did on the footage is set the shadows and highlights to 0 and 100 IRE respectively. Controlled, comparative, repetitive & meaningful bokeh tests | pbase The distance for the main object was 0.5m for all 50mm lenses, and 1m for 105mm Sigma (with and without TC) and Sigma 50-500. White christmass bulbs were at 3m distance. Object shot (HO steam model loco) was chosen for huge contrast, tiny details and very shiny parts that provoke easily CA and blooming. That way one can nicely judge other lens qualities besides bokeh. What the Heck is Bokeh? | Rick Denney Test condition...

Foreign Incentives Help Crush Once-Booming F/X Biz in U.S. | Variety While the city’s vfx business may not be entirely lifeless, it’s certainly bleeding out. It was severely wounded by several factors: failure to organize when it could; globalization; low labor costs abroad; and most of all, foreign subsidies. Chances are it will survive only as a much-weakened remnant. Video: An Inside Look at Storyboarding with the Coen Brothers' Storyboard Artist | No Film School It’s my job to get what’s inside a director’s head on the paper. It’s not my job to create the shot. It’s my job to interpret their language into a visual language. It’s very important that I get as close to the image that’s in their brain on the paper, so that everybody when they walk on the set is making the same movie — they’re not all imagining what’s going on. The Costs of Working with 2K and 4K Uncompressed Footage | wolf crow As you can see, the costs of storing uncompressed footage goes out of han...

Upcoming Free webinar : Storytelling from Indie to 3D with Avid Filmmaker Morgan Spurlock Shares His Secrets Thursday, August 29, 201311 am PT / 2 pm ET Acclaimed filmmaker Morgan Spurlock and producer Jeremy Chilnick recently completed One Direction: This Is Us —a highly anticipated film that combines 3D concert footage with Morgan’s trademark documentary style. See how an Avid workflow helps Morgan and Jeremy collaborate Get a behind-the-scenes tour of their creative working environment Learn the storytelling secrets behind Morgan’s success Get your questions answered in a live Q&A with Morgan Be Natural: Interview with documentary filmmakers Pamela Green and Jarik van Sluijs | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine If somebody thinks that they know the story that they are going to tell at the beginning, they better think again, because once they look at the footage it becomes something completely different. CLEAN DJI PHANTOM QUADCOPTER WITH GIMBAL AND INTERNAL FPV TR...

As expected, Sony announced three new E-mount lenses (useful for the NEX-FS100, NEX-FS700, NEX-EA50 and NEX-VG30 video cameras.) The first lens isn't really a new lens. The  Sony E 50mm f/1.8 OSS Lens (Black) ($298) appears to be just the existing silver lens in a black covering; which will look a lot better on those black video cameras! The second lens (above) is the  Sony Vario-Tessar T* E 16-70mm f/4 ZA OSS Lens ($998) . It includes Optical SteadyShot image stabilization, and is probably a very nice lens, though it will probably appeal more to still photographers. The last lens is the  Sony E PZ 18-105mm f/4 G OSS Lens ($598) . This will probably be of most interest to those with E-mount video cameras because it includes Optical Image Stabilization, a constant f/4 maximum aperture, Internal zoom and focus design to maintain a constant lens length with a non-rotating front element, and powered zoom:  The internal zoom operation utilizes Handycam...

Camera Drone crashes into crowd – malfunction or pilot error? | planet5D Well, this is bothersome, as I'm thinking seriously about getting one of these things... In the video below, you see there appears to be a ‘contour‘ kind of camera (small cylindrical camera somewhat like the goPro) and suddenly, it alters angle and dives right into the crowd… the gentleman filming shouts that it hit some man in the face.planet5D has so much to offer Colour Grading with LUT’s in Premiere | James Miller | Philip Bloom Getting Started: It’s Important to load adjust layers in the right order. Sometimes if you’re using too many adjustments, you may cut some weird clipping issues. In this example case of Philip’s ‘Hiding Place’, I started by marking the cuts as I was not working with the native edit. Although I still do lots of grading to locked down edits that have been supplied as Prores masters. How to convert your dslr to a pinhole camera | Behind The Shutter I wonder how this wor...

Best DSLR Rig For Fast Pace Shooting And B-Roll | DSLR Video Shooter Shooting using a monopod, and he also points out this  Benro monopod that's $199 and very similar (like a copy of) the Manfrotto monopod (which is $239 through August 31 ) Keep it Simple My Friends – Don’t over complicate your setup. If you don’t use 4×4 filters don’t setup a matte box, if you don’t need a ton of power don’t mess around with battery grips etc. Your goal should be to keep removing gear until you can’t remove anymore. K.I.S.S. Shooting Video in the Wild: What You Should Know Before You Go | Rae-Anne LaPlante | Zacuto 2. Be one with your environment If you spend enough time shooting outdoors, you’ll notice how living things interact with each other in their natural environment. If you are videotaping wildlife, you’ll want to understand how your subject communicates with it’s’ environment and other species. Is it a prey or predator? Hands-On Review: the New Rokinon 16mm Wide-Angle...

Tonight :  August 22nd BOSCPUG: Zack Arnold (Burn Notice), Philip Hodgetts, Ben Consoli If you're in Boston, come to the BOSFCPUG meeting! Featuring a special conversation with ZACK ARNOLD, Editor (USA Network's BURN NOTICE) Zack will join us to discuss his "interesting" career path as well as his editorial work on this hit TV show. PLUS! Final Cut Pro X Workflows: Multi-Cam with Filmmaker BEN CONSOLI Lumberjack with PHILIP HODGETTS & GREGORY CLARKE Field of View 5D Mark II vs. GH3 vs. BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera | CheesyCam For anyone looking to adapt non-MFT Lenses (without a speed booster) to the BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera, here’s what it will look like through a full frame Canon 5D Mark II, Panasonic GH3, and BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera. NeedCreative Podcast |  Ep. 58 - Lighting Maroon 5 (With Matt Guminski and Philip Hodgetts) Episode 58 is all about lighting live concerts for Maroon 5, Neon Trees and More. Ben Consoli of BC Media ...

Today’s Video Cameras Can Do it All, But Do You Want Them To? | Redrockmicro Blog Subtitled "Why Optical Filters and Matte Boxes Still Matter in the Digital Age" this is a great look at filters and matter boxes and things from Tiffen's MPTV Filter Group Consultant Carey Duffy. Graduated and Attenuated ND Filters A variant of ND filters are graduated and attenuated filters, which cut down the amount of light in a specific area. This is typically used to cut down the bright sky so the exposure is more even between the action on the ground and the overhead light. Graduated ND goes from some ND to clear, whereas attenuated filters have a graduated ND across the entire filter, never going to clear. Raw video on the Canon 7D – Super 35mm raw for under $1000 | EOSHD Because the 7D has a parallel processing architecture, it is lagging behind a bit compared to the other cameras in terms of Magic Lantern development, but it has certainly caught up leaps and bounds in the...

My Final Post....  | Red Forum Jim Jannard says he will stop posting and be less of the face of RED because of the stupid people on the internet. I wish him well in his new mission of not dealing with stupid people. I assume he will no longer be using the internet: With the release of the Dragon sensor... I have finished my mission. I am done posting. I will no longer be the face of RED. Mercifully, Jarred will take my place and he is worthy times forever. Jarred is me... only 30 years younger. My final thoughts...I have done my best. I saw a fatal flaw in the camera industry. We did our best to address it. I will now sink into the background, I hope with my reputation intact. I will work on the future of digital cinema... behind the scenes. “Is that a Blackmagic in your pocket or are you…?” The evolving camera review!! | Philip Bloom Philip has started a blog about his experience with the new Blackmagic Cinema Pocket Camera . First he had some problems with SD car...

(ltor) Canon 16-35mm, Rokinon 35mm, Rokinon 16mm, Sigma 18-35mm I’ve never really done a lens test. When I’m buying lenses, it’s usually based on the focal length(s) I need, and on price. Usually it’s price that’s the biggest determining factor on which lens I buy. With that said, I’ve found myself with two lenses to review; the new  Rokinon 16mm f/2.0 ($479) and the Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 ($799) . I'm particularly interested in the latter as one of my favorite lenses is the Canon 16-35mm f/2.8 , which is twice the price. That f/1.8 is mighty appealing, though of course, at 16mm the Canon is slightly wider, and it is a fill frame lens. These lenses are for APS-C sized sensors and are not for full-frame cameras. They work fine with cameras like the Canon 7D or Sony NEX cameras, but won't work with the Canon 5D Mark III. Also, the Rokinon 16mm is the "still" lens version of the Rokinon; they only just announced a Cine version, which is currently being offered in...

Need Creative Podcast   Episode 57 is a celebration of the Music Video artform! Ben Consoli of BC Media Productions is joined by Stephen Gottlieb, founder of VideoStatic.com A website dedicated to music videos and their creative community. We talk about the current state of the music video industry, the upcoming MTV Video Music Awards and how you can become a better music video director or producer. Guest Post: Building a Story’s Foundation … One Board at a Time | Hollywonk Using the Amazon Studios Storyboard tool: Jeanne Veillette Bowerman is a screenwriter, columnist, and co-founder of #scriptchat, a weekly gathering of writers on Twitter. Amazon Studios asked her to try Amazon Storyteller, a tool that lets you turn your script into a storyboard (like hers). Here’s how it went: Story Structure: The Art of the Dilemma | Script Mag When I came to the recognition that having a strong dilemma is the key component of the setup in each story arc, my perspective opened up...

(SR5) New NEX-FS700R and NEX-FS700RH camcorders to be announced soon too | Sony Alpha Rumors Practically no details about a suspected enhancement/replacement for the Sony NEX-FS700 . Using Lens Files | Sony Community Doug Munro has posted a lengthy forum post about creating lens files for the Sony F55 : First we setup the Flares. Flare refers to how some of the light coming through the lens bounces around causing and overall increase in the brightness level this causes the blacks to get lifted from the zero point  and the flare adjustment brings the blacks back to zero. This is done by shooting a properly lit grey scale chart, you then using a WFM set the lens exposure an set the green flare adjustment so that the 2 black chips are at zero then overexpose the lens by one stop. Shooting Documentaries with Sony's NEX-FS700, PMW-F5, and PMW-F55 | Sony Professional USA PRO | Vimeo In this Cine Gear 2013 presentation, Cinematographer David Leitner discusses his experi...

Traveling with the Sony F55 | Sony A post by Gavin Rawlings about shooting with the Sony F55: I remember the first shot I filmed with the F55. It was at the top of the largest sand dune in the Simpson Desert; Big Red. The environment just leant itself to being filmed in 4K. I combined the 4K shooting with Canon’s 30-105 light weight zoom and the F55 produced some remarkable imagery Upcoming Adobe Webinars Create a distributed production pipeline with Creative Cloud Thursday, August 22, 201310:00 AM - 11:00 AM US/Pacific Controlling Time in Adobe Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC Thursday, August 29, 201310:00 AM - 11:00 AM US/Pacific TECH: Complete Guide to Aerial Photography & Video |  chase jarvis Helicopter safety. It is critical that you understand how to navigate your way safely in and around this machine. There are two hard and fast rules that all helicopter people live by when it comes to helicopters: 1) Never walk around the tail-end of the ...

TOM AKERMAN TALKS ABOUT THE BEACH CAPTAIN, SHOT USING MAGIC LANTERN RAW ON A 5D MKIII | NewsShooter Been curious about using Magic Lanten? This piece is great because it's a detailed interview with someone who has actually used it, and had some concerns about it too: When the team announced they had cracked silent imaging, and that RAW video was on the horizon for the 5D mkIII, I’ll admit, even with my prior use of the firmware, I didn’t exactly jump straight on board. My mkIII was my primary source of income, and for it to break or malfunction while using an alpha build, no matter how small the chance, was not an option I could afford to take. And if you've been tempted by Magic Lantern, their latest claim: 14 stops of dynamic range is - to me - more intriguing that shooting RAW. Magic Lantern cracks “dual ISO” on 5D2 and 6D for 14 stops of dynamic range | Planet 5D It seems that Sony does have a "lens camera"; basically a lens with a sensor inside it ...