Notes On Video

IBC: 4K and better pixels | Benjamin B | American Society of Cinematographers The catch phrase of the IBC conferences was that the manufacturers should not simply offer more pixels, but “better pixels”. This is an acknowledgement that resolution is just one of the elements that contribute to image quality. The key elements for 4K cameras, workflows and television distribution that came up were: Shoot Like An Editor: 7 Tips That Will Make You A More Valuable Shooter | DSLR Video Shooter 3. Overlap your shots If you are filming something with a lot of action and several takes and angles, make sure you get the full action recorded from every angle. This will make edited and cutting much easier and give you the largest set of options in post. ARRI AMIRA: THE NEW DOCUMENTARY-STYLE CAMERA | Movie Machine Interview with Arri product manager Marcus Duerr about the Amira Exclusive: SLR Magic ANAMORPHOT 1,33X 50 pricing announced | EOSHD SLR Magic are now running a volun...

I continue to be amazed, and charmed by the Phantom Quadcopter . I still can’t get over how easy it is to fly, and I say that despite having already had one close encounter of the tree variety(!) It’s amazingly easy to control. Even with only 20 minutes of flight time under my belt, I can get it to go where I want it too…mostly, and as long as I allow myself some space to make up for those times I go left instead of right, I’m pretty confident about flying it. That’s the good news. The bad news; you can get a fair amount of jello in your video due to vibration from the aircraft transferring to the camera. I’m flying a Sony HDR-AS15 , but people flying the GoPro have reported the same results. So how do you remove it; or negate it? There seems to be two major solutions offered by the gurus of the web, though I’ve recently come across a third possible “jello-fixer,” so I’ll cover that last. Anti-vibration mount There’s at least two carbon fiber mounts being sold for reducing...

Directing Movies: Few Know More Than the Cinematographer | Variety “It’s kind of shocking that you don’t see more (d.p.’s make the transition) because a lot of times these guys are the most experienced on the set,” says Phil d’Amecourt, the William Morris Endeavor agent who reps Pfister as a director. DIY Monday:The Screenwriter’s Toolkit | MovieMaker This week’s DIY Monday is Basil Shadid’s The Screenwriter’s Toolkit -  18 exercises to combat writer’s block, two-dimensional characters, inert scenes, and everything else plaguing your script –  taken from MovieMaker‘s 2014 Complete Guide to Making Movies, on stands now. Does Technology Make Us Better Filmmakers? | Brian Troy | Zacuto Film or no film, I’m no Orson Welles and I’m obviously not James Cameron. Am I against technology?  No.  Do I want a Zacuto EVF and a 7” field monitor that has 1200 x 800 resolution with false color, peaking and a button that can call my car around?  You better believe...

Some Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera  news....(including the fact that, according to B & H: it usually ships in 2-4 months - say what??!!!!) Black Magic Pocket Camera Review Compared To DSLR and Red Epic | Learning DSLR The issue that bothers me the most might be surprising, it is not the battery life, it is the lack of white balance control, this is because I am not a colorist and I want to get it right in camera. You can not make real time white balance changes you have to enter the menu and then come back, I want to see the difference in color temp when I change it so I can dial it in. BLACKMAGIC POCKET CINEMA CAMERA: FIRST IMPRESSIONS | Videomaker We finally got our hands on the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera and took it for a spin. Check out the pros and cons of this little camera that wants to play with the big boys. This at least is available now ... DV Expo 2013: Redrock Micro LiveLens MFT for the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera | HDSLR Shooter ...

“Making a Film is Like Climbing a Mountain”: Director Nick Ryan on the Staggering Logistics of Making K2 Documentary The Summit | Filmmaker Magazine We all draw. Then some of us get to the age of seven or eight and we kind of think it’s childish. You don’t want to draw anymore and you move on to something else. So everyone has these raw abilities that many grow out of. Filmmaking, if you look at it out of context, is kind of ridiculous, but to be able to actually make something, which hopefully has a meaning and a message, I think that’s wonderful. It’s a privilege. FCP X: Soften Skin Texture Quickly | Larry Jordan However, for those situations where you either don’t yet own Beauty Box, or the deadline requires something that will render REALLY fast, here’s a technique you can use to soften skin tones and add a bit of a glow to a romantic closeup. Sony and Canon Glass on NEX at the Cincinnati Reds | Swainhart For this little demo we are comparing the Sony E-Mount 18-200m...

The following press release was sent out by Blackmagic. I've seen some footage and write-ups about Rush and it sounds like it could be a pretty good movie... Blackmagic Design today announced that Company 3 in London has used DaVinci Resolve for color grading Ron Howard’s F1 racing biographical action film “Rush.” “Rush” portrays the exhilarating true story of two of the greatest rivals the sport has ever witnessed, drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda. Set against the sexy and glamorous golden age of F1 racing, "Rush" follows the two drivers as they push themselves to the breaking point of physical and psychological endurance, where there is no shortcut to victory and no margin for error. After a catastrophic crash during the 1976 German GP at the Nürburgring, which could have killed Lauda, he returns to face rival Hunt in their pursuit of the World Championship. Anthony Dod Mantle was the film’s cinematographer, and he presented Company 3’s senior colorist Adam ...

Perfect lenses are coming soon - but would we want them? | RedShark News And now, we are starting to see things that really did look like magic a few years ago, and one of them is the subject of this article: digitally correcting lens aberrations so that you end up with a better image that you could expect through optics alone. A day in the life of a 3D artist | CreativeBlog Actually no, the life of a freelancer is fraught with the dangers of missed deadlines, angry clients, an ever increasing workload and non payments. So why do it? Why not remove the stress from your working life and go corporate. The Camera's Cusp: Alfonso Cuarón Takes Filmmaking to a New Extreme With Gravity | Vulture “We are not editing our life. It’s only when we remember our life that we edit it. Alfonso is interested in this point of view where the audience’s point of view integrates with the characters’ point of view in a way that there are no interpretations. It’s more pure.” KEEP YOUR E...

MXL FR-500WK Wireless Mic for Videographers I wasn't even aware that MXL, who makes a variety of inexpensive mics, had a wireless mic system available specifically designed for videographers. But here's the MXL FR-500WK and at $399.95 , it's $99 cheaper than Sony UWP-V1, which is $499 . I haven't used the MXL, but I love the Sony UWP-V1; I've had it for a few years, an it just keeps working with little problems (except when the battery leaked a couple of weeks ago!) Would I buy the MXL instead of the Sony? I might, though having one unit I'd probably buy the same again just because I'm familiar with it. I did notice that the FR-500WK receiver has a built-in speaker...I personally don't think monitoring at the receiver is a good idea - better to monitor what the camera is actually recording - but that might be useful for DSLR users who can't monitor from their camera and are trying to diagnose issues during setup. You can read a short review...

GoPro has announced new models of their Hero line that are smaller and offer improved image quality, though rumors of 4K at 30fps proved incorrect; the new Black model goes to 15fps (up from 12fps on the current Black model.) Most people will probably want to shoot in the Black's 2,7K mode. GoPro also announced new accessories including a new LCD Touch BacPac, new Battery BacPac, and a variety of new mounts. Availability is quoted as "limited" at the moment. Features: HERO3+ is 20% smaller than the HERO3 and it features a lighter housing that's waterproof to 131' SuperView video mode allows you to capture an immersive wide angle perspective Auto Low Light mode intelligently adjusts frame rate for improved low light performance The HERO3+ features 33% improved image sharpness and reduced distortion The HERO3+ features faster built-in Wi-Fi for enhanced connectivity to the included Wi-Fi Remote and downloadable GoPro App The HERO3+ provides 25%...

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera Review – Part 1 – Worth the hype? | EOSHD So the big companies will need to catch up with the Pocket Rocket or lose us. Even Panasonic who are not so shy of implementing useful features for filmmakers on the GH2, GH3, need to up their game when it comes to image quality because the Pocket Cinema Camera with ProRes (let alone raw video) is simply far superior to 8bit compressed footage from a stills sensor that has to throw a lot away in the downscaling process. Back focus, focus, and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera with EF mount | MKE Productions When Blackmagic designed the BMCC, they designed it to match with Canon’s cinema lenses.  These lenses are pricey, and made to much more exact measurements than Canon’s photo lenses, even their L series.  Most of the high-end lenses with EF mounts have very precise focus marks on the barrel.  They stop at exactly infinity.  Then, they released it to the public, and realized that certain ...

I attended part of the Hacking Arts conference at MIT over the weekend. It was an interesting series of presentations, a lot of them focusing on creating - and taking advantage of - social media audiences. There was also an interesting panel on film distribution via the internet. More on that later. Digital Bolex was also there. The following is a short presentation that Elle Schneider , Creative Director at Digital Bolex gave. An interview I did with her should be posted to Filmmaker Magazine later today.

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...