Notes On Video

5 Things They Don’t Tell You About Being a First-Time Director | Vulture You're standing in the way of your own movie. Something I didn’t know going in is that first-time directors are considered by financiers to be "deadly attachments," meaning that even if financiers are interested in your script and your vision, you are still considered to be a strike against their desire to invest in the film.  SONY RX10: A VIDEO JOURNALISTS DELIGHT? | News Shooter Dan Chung likes the look of the Sony RX10's video capabilities too: ...the RX10 has a number of features not seen together before now in a small camera. It has a built-in 3 f-stop ND filter, clean HDMI feed for outputting to a monitor or external recorder (via micro-HDMI socket), zebras (settable from 70% to 100%) and peaking for focus and exposure assist, a mic input and optional XLR audio jackpack, a headphone jack and an OLED electronic viewfinder. Review of the iPhone 5S 120fps super slow motion | Phi...

Sony RX10 Review -- First Impressions | Imaging Resource I'll admit that I didn't really look that closely at the new Sony still camera announcements yesterday, but now reading more of the press these cameras look to have some interesting video functionality. Reading this write-up on the RX10 it appears that it reads out the whole chip and has improved video processing, and it has built-in neutral density filters (at least that's what the articles say.) Is this going to be a killer video camera in disguise? At over $1,200   with a fixed lens you might be better to save your money for a real video camera, but it's intriguing. Will have to wait for more reviews: It didn't completely eliminate moiré patterns, but they were greatly reduced relative to just about every other camera we've seen, and there were no false-color artifacts to be seen anywhere. Not only that, but the video itself was very clean and crisp-looking, so the reduction in false color and ...

Way too busy yesterday... Cinematographer Zach Zamboni on Creativity and Shooting with Just Two Primes My interview with Zach Zamboni, a cinematographer on Anthony Bourdain’s series Parts Unknown has been  published over at Filmmaker Magazine . Zach spoke at Rule Boston last month and it was a very interesting talk about creativity and filming (there's a link to a video of the talk there too.) Phantom Anti-Jello Device This arrived in the mail. I haven't been able to do anything other than take it out of the package. There's no instructions; but I think i can put it together! Cooke Lenses Went to an interesting presentation by  Les Zellan , chairman of Cooke Optics and Jon Fauer, ASC (Publisher and Editor of Film and Digital Times) at Talamas last night. Les gave a fascinating talk about how Cooke lenses are made, what the Cooke "look" is, and also some details on new technology they recently announced. I was fascinated by his descriptions of t...

Reader Paul Antico reports: It looks like we will get Mavericks on the 22nd. (The Apple event has yet to be announced by Apple, but it has been confirmed by the Wall Street Journal, the loop.com, And the usual reliable sources.) I think we will see MacPros available for preorder, with sale anywhere from the 22nd to November (more likely). I think we will definitely see the long overdue Retina Macbook Pros with Haswell. (Mavericks definitely increases battery life on the current model however). And of course the new iPads. All of that said, Adobe is on track for a big CC update today; as early as a week and a half ago in their forums they still maintain that is the date by telling people there are various bug fixes in it to be addressed "in our next release on Oct 15th". UPDATE 12:00pm: Adobe Customer Care has tweeted: Adobe Customer Care  ‏ @ AdobeCare 3h   astralape Hi,we originally intended to release CC updates today Oct 15th however we need more time for ad...

A price has been finalized for the Panasonic AG-AC8, a budget shoulder-mount camcorder. It looks like it will retail for $1,200 in the US . It replaces the AG-AC7 , and Panasonic's latest press release says it will ship in October. Make no mistake, it's a stripped down camera, but it does include dual recording slots with either simultaneous or relay recording. I have the much earlier AG-HMC70P. For some situations, it's great to have a shoulderable camera, and for the price, the AG-HMC70P was great. Especially because it had two XLR audio inputs (which I wish the AG-AC7/8 had.) The thing I'd complain about with the AG-HMC70P is that you really had very little image control; it is really a full auto camera. I haven't used the AG-AC7, so I don't know what these models are like. Other News The ultimate Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera lens – Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 with Speed Booster | EOSHD I would really love to see how this lens does against a $...

Gravity: vfx that’s anything but down to earth | Mike Seymour | FXGuide The Gravity team tested a number of systems (see below), with the final solution to have a small number of sets and then a LED ‘light box’ set used for the complex zero gravity work. Here, the actors, primarily Sandra Bullock and George Clooney, were filmed acting inside the box that had projected from it the correct environment the actor was meant to be in. Gravity director Alfonso Cuarón reveals studio pressure to change story | The Guardian But the director said: "With making a film it's like trying to create a tune in the shower while you have a hundred people singing around you. You have to focus yourself in on the tune that you're trying to create. Because you have hundreds of people singing different songs at the same time around you." Sony F5 / F55 Optical Low-Pass Filters | Adam Wilt | DVInfo What if you could swap out the camera’s OLPF as needed for different situations? W...

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...