Quick Links

Foreign Incentives Help Crush Once-Booming F/X Biz in U.S. | Variety
While the city’s vfx business may not be entirely lifeless, it’s certainly bleeding out. It was severely wounded by several factors: failure to organize when it could; globalization; low labor costs abroad; and most of all, foreign subsidies. Chances are it will survive only as a much-weakened remnant.


Video: An Inside Look at Storyboarding with the Coen Brothers' Storyboard Artist | No Film School
It’s my job to get what’s inside a director’s head on the paper. It’s not my job to create the shot. It’s my job to interpret their language into a visual language. It’s very important that I get as close to the image that’s in their brain on the paper, so that everybody when they walk on the set is making the same movie — they’re not all imagining what’s going on.


The Costs of Working with 2K and 4K Uncompressed Footage | wolf crow
As you can see, the costs of storing uncompressed footage goes out of hand quite quickly – and this is for just one copy of the footage! If you take backups into consideration, and multiple files moving between visual effects companies you can clearly see how a 4K movie can go into the millions just in storage costs.


Camera Comparison: Arri Alexa - Red Mx - Canon 7D - Sony F65 - Sony FS700 - Canon C300 | Cinema5d
Ever wondered how the Canon 7D REALLY looks like next to an Arri Alexa or Sony F65? This video brings you the answer.
We took these shots from our extensive Beauty Filter Test which we will publish tomorrow and placed them side by side so you can get a feeling for how the cameras compare in the studio setup we had. Note that this is not a thorough camera review, but just an opportunity to watch the same high detail, high dynamic range scene on these 6 cameras with the same high quality PL lens and the same lighting, graded professionally to match.



Sony News


Viewfinder connector protector and microphone mount for PMW-F5 and PMW-F55 | XDCAM User
An accessory for the Sony PMW-F5/F55 created suing a 3D printer:
The bracket was made using a 3D printer and I shall be producing a slightly more refined version for sale in the next week. The production versions will be 3D printed in black ABS plastic and then chemically toughened. The ABS is very strong anyway and one of the great things about 3D printed parts is that they can be made hollow, so they are extremely light.The target price is $45.


4,000 Reasons Why I Like The FS700 | Erik Bragg | Sony Pro
I used a SmallHD AC7-SDI monitor to make sure I wasn’t blowing it in 4K. With a giant, detailed image, it’s obvious if your focus is off. Focus features and false color buttons keep it clean, simple, and fast. Although sometimes I wondered if the false color feature was working because it was so hard to find anything around me that the latitude of my new pet beast couldn’t handle.


NEW Firmware update v1.22 for F5 and F55 | Sony
We are releasing an important update for the F5, and F55 cameras. v1.22 addresses an issue found in the HDCAM SR File recording codec during play back.


Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera News


Is the Blackmagic Pocket Camera Up to the Task? | In the Field with Redrock Micro
Initially, I thought it would make a good B-cam to my 2.5K EF, but I didn't anticipate how often I would find myself taking it out with me just to 'capture footage' of what we may be doing. Being so portable, it really lends itself to that and really doesn't draw attention to itself. Or, you can choose to rig it up for a more 'production' type environment with all the bells and whistles if that's what you're doing.


Theoretical Light Sensitivity of the Pocket Cinema Camera | ruben kremer
If we consider each individual pixel on the sensor as a sensor of its own - the camera with the largest sensors is actually the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera. It's pixels are 1,4% bigger than those of the Canon 5D Mark II and 52% bigger than the pixels on the 550D/T2i. So theoretically, solely based on the numbers - the BMPCC should theoretically have a better light sensitivity than practically all DSLR's on the market today.


FilmConvert Grading Test - Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera | Ruben Kremer | vimeo
The last grading test I'll be doing (publicly) with John Brawley's Pocket Cinema Camera footage. This time around a grade which was meant to be a quick grade but took several hours to put together. It's done using FilmConvert with basic settings and using the 'Blackmagic Cinema Camera Film' profile. Nothing was done to the original footage before applying the FilmConvert filter in Premiere Pro CC.


a pocket home video | Philip Bloom | vimeo
i really wanted to try out my vintage Angenieux 17.5-70mm zoom as well as an OIS lens on the camera. The 14-140mm kit lens. Plus I had dug out my old wooden "rifle butt" shoulder support from my 8mm bolex. This way I could get more stable shots and lose that fine vibration that mars the camera without a rig or IS.



Well worth watching

Editing for Rhythm and Pacing lecture from Kurt Lancaster on Vimeo.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Sony GV-D200 review

Image
Sony GV-D200 I've been using a Sony GV-D200 deck to transfer old Video8 and Hi8 tapes. Some of these tapes are over twenty years old, and no longer having a Hi8 camcorder that worked I was concerned that if I didn't do something about transferring them to a more modern format soon, I might never be able to. While Sony no longer make camcorders that use these tapes - that I know of - Sony does still sell the GV-D200 deck (or Video Walkman, as it's sometimes labelled.) They also offer the GV-D800, which is almost identical but adds a small LCD screen for about $120 more. I didn't think I'd need a screen since I was using this to capture to the computer, but you will need an external monitor when you first set it up. Physically, the device is small. At 5 7/8" wide, 5 3/8" deep and 2" high, it's the smallest video deck I've encountered. I used to have a Video8 deck that I thought was small; and it was twice as deep and twice as high. The t
Read more

Response: Which iPhone to Get?

Image
In response to my iPhone musings, I got the following reader email which actually sums up a lot of my second and third thoughts too: You might have a point about the fancier camera, but otherwise I would buy the smaller model. Its screen is about the same size as that of my Nexus 4, and I don't feel at all like it limits me with a too-small screen. But I do sometimes stretch to get my thumb the reach to the other corner of the screen. It is plenty big for a phone. A phone is a pocket thing. (Well, in my case it lives an ancient REI soft sunglasses case that I have on my belt.) Ubiquitous, handy, convenient, almost always with me. Small is crucial for all of that. Certainly a large screen is cool, but you need a place to put it: don't break a fundamental feature of a pocket phone by getting too big. That is what your small tablet is for. I have my phone with me almost always. I have my Nexus 7 tablet with me nearly as much. The bigger screen is great, yet it fits in some
Read more

Should you buy the Sony NEX-FS100 Kit Lens?

Image
The Sony NEX-FS100 is available in two configurations: B & H : NEX-FS100U Camcorder only $4,999 B & H : NEX-FS100U (with 18-200mm lens) $5,599 But what does that extra $600 get you? It get's you this: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Zoom Lens for NEX Camera This lens is also available separately for $799.99, so at $200 off you'd think everyone would be jumping on it. But not so fast... In his article about switching from the Canon 5D Mark II to the Sony NEX-FS100 , Paul Antico  at Need Creative says of the kit lens: 7) Its 18-200 F3.6-6.3 kit lens absolutely sucks and should be avoided (thankfully, you can order it without one) [ 1 ] But is it that bad? At B & H 's site, 43 reviews give it an average of 4.6 out of 5 stars. That's not a bad rating, though many of these people are using it for stills, and the most common complaint noted is how large and heavy it is. Of course this feeling of size would be exacerbated when you put it on a tiny camera
Read more