Notes On Video

I'm at the MIT Hacker Arts event, and there's been several presenters who have used the term self-curation for letting users choose (and be presented with) only the stuff they are interested in. But that's not curation, that's filtering. To me, Curation suggests going out and finding things that are linked together and presented to present a theme or message. It doesn't mean just picking things you like. Using curation to mean seeing only the things you like is a cheapening of the word.

Julian Smirke , First Assistant Editor on Star Trek Into Darkness was the guest at last night’s Boston Creative Pro User Group . He talked about being a first assistant editor, the process of editing a movie, and how scenes are developed. He also showed example clips from the movie. The following are my notes from the meeting: Julian opens with “I'm a first assistant editor, most of you are probably wondering what that means.” As an assistant editor, his task was primarily to assist one of the two film editors, Maryann Brandon. “It's a constant learning experience learning how to shape a performance, shape a story.” He shows a picture of his workspace at Bad Robot; he likes to work standing up at an elevated desk, though he also has a high chair to sit on for breaks. They worked on Avid Media Composer - he said most large Hollywood movies edit on Avid. “There was a period of time five or six years ago when there was a push to Final Cut, and they both have pluses a...

Taking The Movies Out of The Movies | proLost I wasn't a fan of The Hobbit, but I thought that was because I felt like I'd already seen the movie. Evidently, other's didn't like it because of the high frame-rates? So apparently, what we’d be “fools if we didn’t learn from The Hobbit” is that we can charge more money for stuff people don’t actually like. 10 Tips for Building Your Video Production or Editing Business on Twitter | PremiumBeat Having a clear plan.  Build a crowd of followers who might like a product when it’s launched.  Build a network of other professionals in your city.  Have an online presence with the goal of ‘industry recognition’ and ‘brand awareness’.  All of these are valid reasons to use Twitter.  Without a targeted goal you are aimless. Canon EOS C300 Digital Cinema Camera Provides Artistic Liberty for Shooting Commercials | Broadcast Engineering “The latitude test was shot on a backlit-latitude chart. I had 13 shots of det...

"More and more, I want to do less and less with the camera. Sometimes, well, we do too much." - Roger Deakins, ASC, BSC (American Cinematographer Oct. '13) Why We're Shutting Off Our Comments | Popular Science It would appear that comments are making us dumber - of course, anyone who's used YouTube could tell you that: In the civil group, those who initially did or did not support the technology — whom we identified with preliminary survey questions — continued to feel the same way after reading the comments. Those exposed to rude comments, however, ended up with a much more polarized understanding of the risks connected with the technology. Simply including an ad hominem attack in a reader comment was enough to make study participants think the downside of the reported technology was greater than they'd previously thought. The Illusion of Choice | MovieScope Why more isn't necessarily better: This all sounds like great news for the consumer...

Feedback using the BMPCC on a professional shoot | Olly P | EOSHD Forum Detailed user post on the new Pocket camera expresses some reservations for Pro work: For professional use, the fact you cant see how much recording time you have left or even format a card is a completely ludicrous omission and causes issues. Issues that take more time, more work, more stress, more stuff you shouldn't have to deal with in a camera. Blackmagic need to sort this out, it cant be difficult.  Blackmagic Cinema Camera Post Work-Flow | Brian Hallett | ProVideoCoalition Sub-titled: "How to process 2.5K when you have a crap computer" My computer is a 2011 MacBook Pro.  It was the first to have Thunderbolt.  4 GB of ram.  2.0 quad core.  It easily runs Avid Media composer, Motion, and just enough GPU to run Resolve.  When I say “just enough” the software plays the 2.5K at the blazing speed of 1 fps.  Not exactly the editing powerhouse, but it gets the job done......

I have to admit, I've wanted to get a quadcopter and fly a video camera for the last couple of years, but the cost - and the thought that I'd probably make a mess of it and just waste the money - caused me to hold back. A couple of weeks ago they went and dropped the price of the DJI Phantom by $200 , and when a friend said they were going to get one, well, I had to jump on it. Adding the prop-guard (an optional accessory) First things first, the box says "ready to fly" and yes, you don't have to do a lot of construction, but we did find that there was no manual in the box, and there's some confusing bits and pieces you have to do before starting. Even attaching the battery to the charger was a little more complicated than expected; partly because there's two attachment cables, and one of the connections was very tight! When you go to the website there's a bunch of manuals and instruction videos, and it's a bit overwhelming. Where are you ...

Dueling Reviews I was intrigued when the news of Sony's sensor/lens add-on for your smart phone, the DSC-QX10/B Smartphone Attachable 4.45-44.5mm Lens-Style Camera  ($248), first appeared. But, after thinking about it for a bit, I decided it would be something I'd carry around for a while, and then just leave at home. Then I got interested again; maybe it would be useful if it wasn't that expensive, and the pictures were better than I get with my iPhone camera. But now the reviews are coming in, and I'm not too sure what to think, as you can see from these two reviews that seem to come to different conclusions. Note that this is the review of the lower-end model. There is the DSC-QX100 Lens-style Camera  as well, but at $499, I'm not sure I'd be tempted to get that. I think I'll just continue to drag along the Sony NEX-5RK  when I need - much - better pictures. Sony Cyber-shot QX10 review: a WiFi 'lens camera' that mounts directly on your sm...

I was visiting friends, and I had the Sony ActionCam, the HDR-AS15  with me (currently $178 but now replaced by the HDR-AS30V , which is $298), and it was suggested that we try and fly it. The only problem was that the kite we had available was a dual line parafoil stunt kite, which is a fun kite to fly, but not really the kind of thing you want to fly for cinematic shots - it does best moving back and forth in the sky, especially when there's not a whole lot of wind. And secondly, we didn't have any sort of rig to attach the camera to the kite's rig. So we duct tapped it to the surface of the kite! I made a simple cardboard "stand" to help keep it vertical, and I also put some bubble wrap over the top of it to provide some added protection. And tapped it all down. And then we went and flew it. On the first attempt there wasn't enough wind and the kite spent most of the time hitting the ground. Also, we had the camera pointing forward; which mean...

Oh, this explains the Merlin 2 price drop ... I was wondering the other day why Steadicam had dropped the price on the Merlin 2 to $399, and here's a video from News Shooter.com at IBC on the answer: the Steadicam Solo which was previewed at NAB, and should be shipping in November for.....$499. Watch this interview Dan Chung of News Shooter has with  Robin Thwaites of Tiffen/Steadicam. This is interesting because: 1) You can see Dan is itching to ask some questions like " why is this is a lot cheaper than your usual gear? " and " are you worried about brushless gimbals? " (both questions he actually gets to.) 2) Some discussion of brushless gimbals vs Steadicam. Ignoring price (I don't think any brushless gimbal system other than home-built ones are close to $499) the issues that are highlighted are: Problems with up and down motion while walking (a problem that can also apply to Steadicam's if you don't have the vest and arm) Pr...

Black Betty  Wednesday 9/18 Learning Lab @ Rule Boston Camera Don't miss this Wed's 9/18 Learning Lab from 10am to 11am with Adam Van Voorhis and Mike Szegedi on the story behind Black Betty and how they built this DIY custom camera housing that combines a Silicon Imaging SI-2K Mini Camera Head and an Apple Mac Mini resulting in a cohesive, portable camera system! See more details on our website and RSVP to events@rule.com. This event is free. Documenting the Life of George Plimpton: Interview with Luke Poling and Tom Bean Part I | Michael Murie |  Filmmaker Magazine George Plimpton led an eclectic life as a journalist, writer, editor, sportsman and actor, though he was perhaps most widely known for his exploits as a participatory journalist. When filmmakers Luke Poling and Tom Bean set out to make their first documentary, Plimpton! Starring George Plimpton as Himself, they were faced with enough material to make several documentaries.  ONE MICROPHONE EVER...

News From IBC Taredek and News Shooter.com has been producing a live broadcast and reports from the show floor. You can catch up with most things through the Live Feed through September 18, and also at News Shooter . Here's some high-lights: SONY TALK 4K AND THE NEW FDR-AX1 AND PXW-Z100 – THE ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES | NewsShooter Interesting discussion about the new 4k cameras and where they fit into the mix. Also, talk of the new NEX-FS700 models, and a suggestion that they will be slightly cheaper than the current model. Two of the more interesting new cameras at IBC this year are the Sony FDR-AX1 and PXW-Z100, which both shoot 4K. On this episode of the Teradek/Newshooter.com live show Sony’s Bill Drummond tells us about the camera’s advantages, and also its limitations when compared to the company’s other handheld cameras like the PMW-200. ARRI’S STEPHAN SCHENK AND RODNEY CHARTERS TALK IN DETAIL ABOUT THE ARRI AMIRA | NewsShooter I know this camera is go...

Definition Magazine (Download PDF) Special IBC Edition Arri AMIRA (AMIRA) 200fps Documentary Style Pick up and Shoot Professional Grade Video Camera | CreativeVideo UK ARRI AMIRA unveiled | ARRI Cheaper ARRI...but I can't find a price anywhere... ARRI proudly presents AMIRA, a versatile documentary-style camera that combines exceptionalimage quality and affordable CFast 2.0 workflows with an ergonomic design optimized for singleoperatoruse and extended shoulder-mounted operation. Ready to pick up and shoot straight out ofthe camera bag, AMIRA is hardy enough to take anywhere and features in-camera grading withpre-loaded 3D LUTs, as well as 200 fps slow motion. ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic Lens Series Shipping Dates | Cinescopophila ARRI have published shipping dates for all seven of their focal lengths in the ARRI/ZEISS Master Anamorphic lens series. The MA35, 50 and 75 were released in August this year and have started shipping, with the MA100 to follow in Oct...

For years I've bought Duracell batteries because I thought they tended to be more durable; they seemed less likely to leak. But some recent experiences are making me rethink that. The first case happened with a battery in a guitar that leaked. Now the battery was not at the "Use By" date they stamp on them - which tend to be years out - but it had been sitting in the guitar for a year or two. I wrote that off as an unhappy accident (and removed all the batteries from all the guitars!) But today I went to use my wireless mic, and it didn't turn on (which was a bit odd as I'd tested it only a few days before and it had worked.) Then I noticed that the unit had been left on (which I thought was the reason the unit wasn't working.) I opened it up to replace the batteries and there was liquid all over the cradle that holds the batteries. - YUCK! Now I know that the batteries had been in there for less than two months (and that's being conservative, I...

The Massachusetts Production Coalition's seminar on filmmaking scheduled for this Saturday has been postponed: I'm sorry to report that this weekend's seminar for "The Independent Filmmaker" will be postponed. A new date will be announced soon. My sincerest apologies for any inconvenience this may have caused in your promotional efforts as we do appreciate your support of these events so much. Our Fall MPC Meeting on Tuesday night will proceed as planned.

LETUS35 LAUNCH HIGH QUALITY ANAMORPHIC LENS ADAPTER | News Shooter Enter Letus35 who have announced a brand new adapter that may just revive all that Anamorphic magic again – this time without breaking the bank balance. This series of adapters will start at around $1700 US and promise to be high quality and yet reasonably simple to use. Lens compatibility is much greater than vintage options with a universal adapter for zoom lenses and later on different versions for different focal length primes. EDITSHARE SERVES UP LIGHTWORKS ON WINDOWS, MAC AND LINUX AT IBC2013 | EditShare The Mac version of this editor is supposed to come out first quarter of next year, which will be only two years later than when they first starting talking about releasing a Mac version (but I'd be excited if they actually pulled it off!): The tri-platform editor has reached a groundbreaking 600,000+ registered users and is the tool of choice for editors working on a wide range of critically acclai...

My 5 favorite things from the upcoming Adobe Premiere Pro release | Scott Simmons | Pro Video Coalition SpeedGrade Direct Link This is probably the signature feature of this update and that above quote from Adobe's overview video is probably the understatement of the year. Notice that the heading says Direct Link and not Dynamic Link. This is important to note and was even corrected by Adobe’s PPro product manager on Twitter: After Effects CC: Mask Tracker | Adobe.TV Adobe is offering info on the new features too: Quickly create a mask and apply an effect such as color correction that travels frame by frame throughout your composite. Mask Tracker eliminates the need to adjust the mask and effect throughout time and avoids repetitive rotoscoping tasks. IPHONE 5C? YAWN. IPHONE 5S WITH 120FPS? AWESOME! | Hand Held Hollywood The iPhone 5S looks like an interesting step forward. My iPhone 4 is looking old.. this innovation comes with a dangerous side-effect. In about 2 m...

Defy Gimbal:  THROTTLE PAN/TILT CONTROL NOW AVAILABLE! Brushless gimbals are all the rage, and the Defy G2 seems to be a promising mid-priced gimbal for small cameras (like the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera.) They have posted some demo videos, including this one on using the (optional) pan/tilt control: We wanted to make it even easier for the “single operators” who need full control of their rigs which is why we are introducing the Throttle pan/tilt controller. The Throttle controller gives users extremely smooth pan and tilt with a bit of feathering to allow for buttery smooth operation and footage. Better yet, it’s a simple direct USB connection for the G2 as well as the G5. The Throttle controller is available for purchase now Flying Defy G2 Gimbal Stabilizer w/ BlackMagic Pocket Cinema Camera | Pro Cinema Tools One user reports on mixed results with the Defy G2 and the BPCC: I’ve heard that these brushless gimbals are a lot simpler to learn than traditional stabili...