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Camera Shipping Update: 1/14 | Blackmagic Design
Blackmagic posts an update on the state of their camera:

Wanted to send out a quick update on camera shipments. The production lines have been up and running with sensors coming in. We have been sending out regular shipments of EF model cameras each week to all of our offices around the world, and each week we are getting cameras out at a faster rate. We are still not at full volume shipping though, because sensors are not quite getting to us at a pace that I could say was full volume. But each day I am seeing the volume get better from the sensor company. I am happy with the quality of the sensors.
For the MFT model, we want to get through some more of the EF orders before I give a date on when we will start getting the MFT orders out. They are ready to go, but we need to get through most of the early EF pre-orders first.

Dear GoPro Community | GoPro
GoPro responds to complaints from their user community:

All of us at GoPro apologize that many of you have been frustrated by software bugs in early production HERO3 cameras. This is not OK and we feel very badly about it. We believe all known bugs have been fixed with a software update that was published on December 15th at https://gopro.zendesk.com/home. Most GoPros currently on sale in stores have the most up to date software.
Some of you are experiencing problems updating your cameras but are having a very difficult time getting a hold of us via customer support. There’s no excuse for this. We simply were not prepared for the demand for the HERO3 camera nor the resulting customer service requests associated with the software bugs found in early production units. We are as frustrated as you are. This should be a time of celebration and stoke over how awesome the HERO3 camera is… not a frustrating experience that bums people out.

Shooting the Short BART: an Interview with the Director and DP | Michael Murie
| Filmmaker Magazine

When L.A.-based director Rich Landes was offered the chance to shoot a short narrative piece for Canon he jumped at the chance. Landes has extensive experience as a commercial director, but this was a chance to direct a narrative based on his own idea, and with few restrictions from the “client.” But first he had to come up with an idea and treatment in two days. 

Video and stills on the same assignment? Shooting more and being quicker with less | Jonah Kessel | DSLR News Shooter

This exercise also helped remind me what our basic tools are actually for. In the video, my shutter speed never changes from 60 (NYT standard video is 30fps), but I didn’t use any NDs and therefore didn’t waste time changing them. While I love my cine primes, a Canon zoom works really well for docs on deadlines and I never had to change a lens. While I love the stability of having three legs, a monopod can really be nice if you are multitasking and need to move quickly and perform multiple tasks.

Jon Maxwell on the Cooke Look | Jon Fauer | Film and Digital Times

Jonathan Maxwell, lens designer, recently published an article in the SPIE (Society of Photographic Instrumentation Engineers) journal, in which he says,”The design procedures and adjustment techniques developed by the company have led to an enviable cinematographic reputation for what has become known as the Cooke Look. This revered ‘look’ is a sympathetic color depth in the images, combined with an adjusted coincidence between the sharpest image and the optimum chromatic focus.”

THE CINEMATOGRAPHY OF ‘BREAKING BAD’ – PART 1 – LIGHTING
| Banjamin Kantor | Cinevenger

It seems that the core difference between feature film photography and television cinematography is that an episode of television is influenced by the photography of the episodes that have come before it.  A single episode is just a small link in a vast photographic chain that could stretch out over the course of countless seasons. By contrast, in a feature film, the visual choices can progress wildly over the course of the film, as there is no prior episode that informs the photography, and no responsibility to return the following week with another installment. 

Exposing ARGO | ARRI News
Very interesting discussion about using different film stocks to achieve different looks in the film:

Finally, the filmmakers employed a fourth style for a few scenes set in Istanbul, where Mendez goes in search of documents necessary for him to gain access to Iran and execute his plan. For this, he shot using the same anamorphic lenses but mounted to ARRI ALEXA digital cameras. "It could be easy for audiences to think they're in Tehran for these scenes," he says, "so I used the ALEXA and gave it a different look from all the other locations in the movie."

Letus Direct | Facebook

We had a fire at the LetusDirect.com office early this morning. No one was hurt so we are very thankful for that. Our phone system has consequently been down. We are back up and running in a make-shift new office space across the parking lot. All online orders and shipping will resume as normal as products are warehoused and shipped from the Portland office.

Ep. 30 - Constant Reinvention, Part 2 (with Sid Levin) | Need Creative Podcast

In this 30th episode of the NeedCreative Podcast (Part 2 of 2), your co-hosts Paul Antico and Jason Sidelinger continue the discussion with special guest Sid Levin, of First Frame, Inc. near Boston, MA. Sid has been creating video for over 30 years, from Evening Magazine with WBZ-TV in Boston, leading all the way up to filming "Restaurant Impossible" currently for the Food Network. Sid has worked with well known companies such as PBS, A&E, History Channel, Fidelity and Raytheon, and always tries to keep his creative edge by constantly reinventing himself. Part 1, episode 29, also came out this week.

"Ask A Video Pro" Webinar Series | Adobe

Ask A Video Pro: The History of After Effects
Thursday, January 31, 201310:00 AM - 11:00 AM US/Pacific
Ask A Video Pro Two Decades of After Effects: Chris & Trish Meyer share their story
Thursday, February 21, 201310:00 AM - 11:00 AM US/Pacific

After Effects celebrates its 20th year! | Adobe

It’s been twenty years since After Effects was created by a small start-up company in Providence, Rhode Island. Some of those brilliant minds who brought After Effects into this world are still here at Adobe and some have moved onto other ventures. But one thing that remains true–from the first day the Company of Science and Art (CoSA) showed a promising animated graphics in 1993 to today, After Effects has impacted the lives of so many. And it is those people we find insanely great.