Notes On Video

Video Review Sean Seah at Firewerks Films in Singapore got his hands on an  NEX-FS100 and put together a short video review. He thinks it's a really nice camera and demo's how the microphone mount, LCD and VF tube work. He doesn't like the adjustment for the hand grip, and says that hand holding it is "a bit weird," either with or without the VF tube. "And yeah, one glaring omission; where's the ND filter?" The last half of the video (starting at 6:20) has video taken with the camera, including some low-light stuff. Sony NEX FS-100 Review from Firewerkz Films on Vimeo . Den Lennie video now posted at 1080p F-Stop Academy has posted a 1080P version of the music video they shot with the FS100 . F-StopAcademy : **UPDATE*** Full 1080P version of FS100 Footage now Available An hour with the NEX-FS100U John Burkhart at Mynan Media - also in Singapore - also got to spend an hour with the NEX-FS100U , and has posted his impressions o

I went down to the Mall, and the Sony Store was gone, ah oh, way to go... Sony Store, Burlington Mall, Massachusetts Don't know what I'm going to do at the mall any more after going to the Apple Store...

If it's not one Sony video camera causing controversy, it's another. Now it's the Sony PMW-F3's turn to be the subject of disagreement. Alan Roberts has issued a technical report on the picture quality of the PMW-F3 , and wrote this about noise levels: Since the slope of the gamma curve is unity when the signal level is about 50%, it is also clear that the noise level is only about -48.5dB rather than the claimed -63dB in the specification. - ADDENDUM 68 : Assessment and settings for Sony PMW-F3 This prompted a response from Alister Chapman at XDCAM-USER : Now I don’t have the ability to measure noise as Alan does and I normally respect his results, but this noise figure does not make sense, nor does his comment that the camera has similar sensitivity to most 3 chip cameras. To my eyes, the F3 is more sensitive than any 3 chip camera I’ve used and it’s a lot less noisy. The implication of the test is that the F3 is noisier than the PMW-350. Well that’s not what m

by Jared Flesher With all these small video cameras, having a good way to stabilize them is obviously very important. But many of the rigs you can buy are ridiculously expensive. I’ve taken a Spiderbrace ($70 at Spiderbrace.com ) and fused it with a Bogen monopod and quick release monopod head ($60). My “Spiderpod” has turned out to be a light-weight, portable solution that’s great for run-and-gun documentary filmmaking. It gives you four points of stabilization: your two-hands, your shoulder, and the ground. Or you can shorten the monopod up and walk around with it, with the fourth point of stabilization resting against your stomach. Either way, you don’t ever get tired of holding it -- you can keep it steady for hours. The monopod handle also screws off easily, so you can use the Spiderbrace as a ground tripod. The quick-release monopod head let’s you get the camera on and off very quickly if you need to switch to a standard tripod. Jared Flesher is using this stabiliz

AV3 Software has dropped the price of GET , the phonetic search plug-in for Final Cut Pro to $249. GET [ they don't capitalize it, but it's confusing if you don't-Ed ] will quickly index the audio tracks of footage, and then you can search for words phonetically. For documentary workers, I think this tool would be indispensable. You can download a trial version from their website: www.getphonetic.com . NotesOnVideo : 'get' for Final Cut

NAB Stuff NAB Canon & Sony predictions. I probably shouldn't list this today - given it's April Fool's Day - but this article on EOSHD was actually published yesterday, and contains speculation about Canon releasing a large sensor video camera ( Personally, while it would seem logical that they would, but Canon always seems to be a good step behind everyone else on the video front; they like to see how things are shaking out, and then release a fully featured - and expensive - camera. ) On the Sony front, he hopes for more manual controls on the replacement for the NEX-3 that is expected; though it seems doubtful Sony would announce a new NEX-3 at NAB. EOSHD : Canon at NAB 2011 / Sony's lucky number Tips for Job hunters. The NABShow Blog has posted an article full of tips for internship and job hunters at the show. Suggestions include: Focus Your Itinerary; Learn to Break the Ice; Get a Relationship, Not Just a Business Card. NABShowBlog : Tips for Interns

Be careful out there folks, it's April Fools Day . It's that day of the year to be careful about what you read on the internets [ isn't that every day?!-Ed ] So be careful! Spoiler alert. Collected below are the April Fools Gag's I've encountered so far. Obviously, this list ruins the joke for you, so don't read any further if you enjoy being surprised! HD Warrior : Canon 35mm NAB 2011 Show-stopper I think a lot of people actually expect Canon to announce something like this....someday . EOSHD : James Cameron to shoot low budget personal project with 5D Mark II What? Not in 3D? Philip Bloom : Very clever ipad app to control and monitor your Canon DSLR wirelessly amazingly smooth video... CreativeVideo.uk : CineDesign iShoot35 35mm DoF adaptor interface Some people go to a lot of trouble on these gags... The Steadiglove : [ADDED] Reel-Vision.tv brings us this video showing this new camera stabilization tool. Vimeo: The Steadiglove T

Over at the Mastering Film web site, Elliot Grove has written a short piece on Social Media, and how it is dismantling the traditions of the movie industry. He's definitely right that changes are going down, though I'd dispute his conclusions about why it's happening, and what the results will be. It's not Social Media that's changing the video, film, and many other creative industries. Computers and the Internet are doing that. Social Media is a tool that people are using to try and reinvent creative mediums: people no longer buying music [leads to] labels no longer promoting and grooming new acts [leads to] acts having to do it themselves. Social Media - like the Internet that came before it [ you're being ironical, aren't you?-Ed ]- provides new ways for individuals to market to people. How successful any individual effort will be really depends upon how good they are at marketing - and also, to a great extent - how lucky they are. Having the right

Michigan Film Tax Incentives : Since 2008 Michigan has had one of the most lucrative tax credits (42%) in the nation, but after governor Rick Snyder proposed reducing the credit, production started to pull out of the state: IndieWIRE : Michigan’s Film Incentives Are Leaving. So Are Its Filmmakers. Movie attendance down 20% compared to last year. Is it because of bad movies, or very bad movies, or because people just aren't going to the theater? " ...changes in consumer behavior combined with the continued tough economic times, higher gasoline and movie ticket prices (driven in part by more premium-priced 3-D movies) could be drawing people away from theaters... " LATimes : Movie industry hits ticket sales decline on the nose: It's put out some stinkers Higher Frame Rates will improve the 3D experience , and James Cameron is all for that: "It improves (3D)," Landau [Cameron's producing partner] said. "An artifact in 3D (creates) strobing

All your base are belong to us Just a couple of months ago, when  Google dropped H.264 support from Chrome in favor of WebM , John Gruber at Daring Fireball pointed out that one advantage H.264 still had was hardware video encoding available for mobile devices. Now Technology Review reports that the other shoe has dropped. Google has advised that: New software has been released that can build [WebM] into dedicated chips for cell phones and other gadgets, perhaps the most crucial step before it can displace the proprietary video format that currently dominates. TechnologyReview : Can Google Reinvent Web Video? NotesOnVideo : Google to drop H.264 support from Chrome Zeiss Compact Prime CP.2 lenses coming for E-Mount It had already been widely reported that Zeiss would release Micro Four Thirds mount versions of their CP.2 lenses , now comes word that they will release E-mount versions (this is not really a surprise either, as Sony announced Zeiss would be supporting the E

I've been playing with the Steadicam Smoothee for iPhone 4 lately, and the other week I decided to take it to the monthly meeting of Boston Media Makers and try and put together a short video record of the event. This was really the first time I'd shoot anything more than a few clips with either the iPhone 4 or the Steadicam Smoothee . The results are mixed. Firstly, the Smoothee definitely improves the smoothness of the video. It's a lot more stable than if I hand hold the iPhone 4 . On the other hand, the iPhone 4 on it's own is terrible; most modern video cameras with some sort of optical video stabilization will do a much better job than the iPhone 4 . Is optical image stabilization on a consumer video camera as good as the iPhone 4 with the Steadicam ? I think it depends on what you are doing. If you're walking, the Steadicam is better - though not always perfect - but if you're stationary and just aiming the camera at different things, it's a

Operating Your Camera : In this article, Art Adams provides some wonderful tips and advice for any camera operator; even if you aren't regularly working with crews, and don't have a geared tripod head , keep reading, there's lots of useful advice. ProVideoCoalition : Random Tips from a Professional Camera Operator Sony PMW-F3 in low-light : Euan Preston has posted a short video shot in city environments at night using the PMW-F3 (and graded in black & white) Vimeo : Sony PMW-F3 in Low Light Another Sony PMW-F3 sample video, taken in Brisbane shot with Sony Primes at 720p 25p overcranked to 50 fps at 35Mb/ Vimeo : The Sunshine Coast - Sony PMW F3 Camera Test Marshall Electronics V-LCD50-HDMI Portable Field Monitor Review . Videomaker likes the false colors filter and peaking, and really only criticizes one missing feature: " Since this product is targeted specifically to the DSLR user, HDMI is the only input option with this monitor and we think tha

Vimeo has posted an iPhone app that is free, and includes basic editing functions. It's 20.1MB so you have to download through Wi-Fi or your computer (at least is you are using AT&T) Vimeo : It’s finally here: the OFFICIAL Vimeo iPhone app! Canon 60D firmware update : Firmware v1.0.9 fixes bugs relating to Live View shooting in specific conditions. The latest version also changes name of the Art Filter feature in the Japanese market to Creative Filters keeping it consistent across all regions. CanonUSA: EOS 60D Drivers & Software

(have to keep my hand in.) Philip Jonhston at HD Warrior got to interview Sony UK Product manager Bill Drummond about the camera. Philip makes it clear that he would have preferred Sony produce something like the HXR-NX5u (or a PMW-F1.5 as he describes it) rather than something that's shaped like a DSLR, and through on a PL-mount. Interestingly, Bill describes the NEX-FS100 as an outgrowth of the NEX-VG10 , defends the E-mount - you can get an A-mount adapter - and says HDMI is becoming "more professional every day." He also says that the NEX-FS100 has manual gain from 0dB-30dB in steps of 3dBs. We’re on a journey and we’ve been speaking to film makers for many many years in terms of what their requirements are and we take feedback from a wide range of different sources and I take your comment about the F1.5. If there is enough demand in the market we will make many different types of product for many different types of customers. HDWarrior : SONY and the FS1

Will 2011 be the year of 3D? Daniel Green at Little White Lies surveys the current state and future of 3D, noting some failures in one market: Despite its well-intentioned efforts, Sky’s 3D opera experiment ultimately failed in recreating the experience of a live performance. [...] Once again, the inability of 3D (and film as a whole) to mimic the live operatic experience was all too obvious. LittleWhiteLies : 3D Evolution – From Cash Cow To High Brow And Yet... The Film Blog at The Guardian notes that directors continue to embrace 3D, including Werner Herzog, Martin Scorsese, Steven Soderbergh and Francis Ford Coppola; Even Francis Ford Coppola, who once called 3D viewing "tiresome", despite repeatedly dabbling in the format, has reportedly included stereoscopic sequences in his forthcoming gothic chiller Twixt Now and Sunrise. TheGuardian : 3D technology has even sceptical directors embracing another dimension No, it's failing Mike Jones thinks 3D is -

Feed & Water Your Editors A short piece at ProVideoCoalition looks at the Johnny Cash “ Hurt ” music video directed by Mark Romanek , and how it changed between shooting and completion. The article goes on to suggest that the editor Robert Duffy was partly responsible for that: A good editor can elevate your vision far beyond what the initial concept was, and this case is a very good example of that. This reminded me of an interview with Romanek on NPR a few months back, where they also talk about the video, how it came about, and how it was shot (the relevant section starts at 17:00.) He also recounts that there was some concern amongst the family about the final video: I didn’t talk to him after that. I know that Rick spoke to him and his family. They were very, very moved by the video, and they were very shocked by it’s candor, and there was some discussion about whether it was a good thing or a bad thing, and I was told that it was John who said, ‘no, it’s really good, let

by Jared Flesher Notes on Video readers might be interested in my experiences shooting with a Panasonic GH2 . I’ve been using it for about a month now shooting the trailer for my new documentary Sourlands, with the GH2 and the stock 14-42mm lens. I know there’s already been a lot written about the camera, but here are my two cents based on the experience so far. [Jared's previous documentary, the Farmer and the Horse , was shot on a Canon Vixia HD camcorder. -Ed ] For a $1,000 camera, I couldn’t be happier. The image quality of the Panasonic GH2 is superb. I spent a lot of time when I first got the Panasonic GH2 tinkering with the different scene settings – Cinema, Smooth and Nostalgic, trying to figure out which one looks the best and most film-like. I’ve come to settle on Cinema mode, usually with the exposure stepped up one click. A knock against Cinema mode has been that it tends to underexpose scenes. But Nostalgic ended up being too yellow for me (you can see some

Canon XA10 video review I'm intrigued by the Canon XA10 , and it's cheaper - and a bit stripped down - twin, the HF G10 . The Camera Store has posted a video review of the XA10 that was made on an ice climbing trip; shooting snow and ice is a challenging environment for any camera. Obviously the parts of the video with Chris talking are shot with another camera - he's holding the camera in his hands! - (a Canon 5D mark II with a Canon 17-40 F4L and Zeiss 50mm F1.4 ) Unfortunately, for the example video sequences they have also intercut video from a second camera with the XA10 footage (either the 5D or the Sony CX700 ) and it doesn't always match. Frame from the video; snow can be hard to shoot The snow shots often seem over exposed, which also made it hard for me to judge the camera. But then again, when shooting snow; do you expose for skin, or do you expose so you can see detail in the snow? [ No! You buy a RED Epic and shoot in HDRx mode! -Ed ] I think

NotesOnVideo - home of the most obsessive coverage of the NEX-FS100 on the net! Andy Shipsides at AbelCineTech has a good walkthrough video of the NEX-FS100 . Absolutely worth watching because it highlights things not specifically mentioned elsewhere: Where the manual iris, focus controls and expanded focus buttons are located HDMI out is "very unique" (I think he means new) 1.4 spec, which supports 1080 60p output Location of S & Q mode button (variable frame-rate mode) HDMI stream has "hidden" time code so that external recorders can extract that. I hadn't noticed that the two XLR inputs are on two different sides of the camera! He said the touch screen on the LCD is "pretty responsive" No microphone in the body, but does ship with the external microphone. The side handle has a cable that plugs into the LANC control to connect the start-stop control on that handle to the body (which does add an extra cable floating about the body) An