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Sony FS100 Review | Jeremy | Tweak Digital
A positive review of the NEX-FS100, with a pros and cons list.
Sure, I have some strong opin­ions about this cam­era (and the dSLRs), but only because they are actu­ally so good (and could be even better). The Sony FS100 is, all-in-all, a huge win­ner that I can highly rec­om­mend. It isn’t a DSLR killer because of the cost fac­tor (pro stills shoot­ers will already have invest­ments in the bod­ies and lenses). It isn’t a mini-Alexa or mini-RED because it lacks ProRES and only goes to 60p. But, If you are tired of dual-system cap­ture or qual­ity issues with DSLR cam­eras, you’ll love the Sony FS100.


FS-100 PistolGrip Handle | Caleb Crosby | Vimeo
A video showing a custom top handle developed for the Sony NEX-FS100.



Zacuto EVF & SmallHD DP4-EVF Comparison: PART 1 | Nice Lady Productions | Vimeo
A video comparison of two EVF's, one from Zacuto, the other from SmallHD.



Strongman: Shot on RED EPIC at 120 and 300 FPS | Philip Bloom | Blog
Philip recently bought his own EPIC, and writes about using it on his first shoot:
The EPIC sensor is bigger than the RED ONE MX sensor, smaller than the 5DmkII of course but a nice size. The camera is a massive step up from the RED ONE, even the MX. Both in operation and size as well as the actual image. I never took to the RED One but one shoot with the Epic and I was sold.
The camera performed well - until it froze up due to a firmware bug, and he had to finish shooting with the Canon 5D Mark II!



The Dynamics of Dynamic Range: Understanding Your Camera's Color Reproduction Process | Bill Klages | DV.com
A technical look at how to expose the scene correctly:
The reality is that the brightness range of many subjects is greater than the camera or display system can actually accommodate. In fact, a major part of our job as lighting craftsmen seems to be a constant battle to fit a wide range of brightness into a camera's limited range. In many cases, the camera will exaggerate these differences in an unbecoming manner, and elements of our picture that we would prefer to play a more subordinate role become dominant. Our nation's flag, so prominent during this political season, is the perfect symbol of this dilemma.


Is Amazon's New KINDLE FIRE good for filmmakers? | Taz Goldstein | Hand Held Hollywood
Taz looks at the Fire, and whether it works as well for filmmakers as the iPad does:
Let me be clear, these apps are NOT as good as the ones iPad owners currently enjoy. So, for now, I'd say the Kindle Fire is of limited use for filmmakers... but let's keep an eye on it. You never know what developments (and new Android apps) are just around the corner.


How I Raised $125,000 on Kickstarter | Koo | No Film School
Others have written about the success of Koo's Kickstarter campaign, and now he's put together his own article. This one is interesting because it includes more of the "behind-the-scenes" stuff that others could only guess at.
...over the last six weeks I spent 345 hours running this campaign (five weeks of which was spent on the active campaign, plus a week of prep work). This averages out to 8 hours a day, which does not include time spent running this website, which I tracked separately (and is not included in the graph below). Suffice it to say, I had absolutely no life throughout the Man-child fundraiser. This was all I did. Here’s the complete chart of my hours every day for the Man-child campaign:


Hands-on with the Apple Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 Upgrade | Jan Ozer | OnlineVideo
A rather jaundiced view of the recent Final Cut Pro X update, that ends with a discussion of what to do if you are a Final Cut Pro 7 user, trying to decide what to do next:
For me, all the glorious new features seem like solutions to problems that I don’t have, added complexity with no payoff. With Final Cut Pro 7 or Premiere Pro, there are projects, clips, and a timeline. You import your clips, organize them into folders, and drag them down into the timeline. Then you trim a bit, add some effects, maybe a transition or two, export, and you’re done.


Choosing your next NLE | Luis Sierra | Chesapeake Solutions
A short rumination on the same issue; 'which NLE?' that concludes:
If you simply need to shoot a relatively short disposable video, to put something together in the simplest way with simple transitions and audio clean up, and you are primarily mobile, then Final Cut Pro X is your answer. Hands down, FCP X meets all basic needs. Most of the people that fall into this description are "preditors" (producer/editor in case you didn’t know).
...and concludes you need to look at Avid or Adobe otherwise.



How to Use Placeholder Footage in Final Cut Pro X | Ashley Kennedy
| Premiumbeat.com
How to use Final Cut Pro X’s customizable Placeholder effect to save a spot for future footage.



Could Documentaries Form the Core of the Cross-Platform Story Revolution?
| Documentary Tech
Let's ignore that it's an article at a site with 'Documentary' in the title, this piece makes an argument that the documentary has a strong future in modern media compared to fiction because it will prompt responses from viewers, and it's all about the hits:
An audiovisual work that evolves as its topic evolves could be the future of the form. Part of the drive to work across platforms, into a digital environment, relates to something as simple as return visits to a site, which one might translate to mean “increased engagement” in a social issue, or “increased revenue.” The dirty secret of online journalism is that those comment sections below stories, those cesspools of discourse, create return visits and, by virtue of that, ad impressions. Gawker has built its empire not on the content but on the comments, an example of morphing media that extends a story’s life by days. A documentary that can be the foundation of an ongoing discussion gives it a life beyond a single view.


New, unofficial NYC Lightworks Users Meetup: 1st Thursday of every month, starting next week! | EditShare | Posterous
if you're interested in the Lightworks Open Source NLE, and in New York:
Thursday, October 6, 2011, 5:30 PM
OnlyOneTV Studios
290 Fifth Ave, 5th Floor, New York, NY (map)



Sony to stop paying for movie theater 3D glasses, theater owners fire back | Richard Lawler | Engadget
I didn't even know the studio's were paying for the glasses!



Shoot 'Em Up Bundle | FCPEffects
The Shoot 'Em Up Bundle of effects for Final Cut Pro X includes the Muzzle Flash Plugin & Gun Sound Effects Pack. You save 15% when you buy them in the bundle. $49





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