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Saturday, January 19, 2013

The Films of Stanley Kubrick | Boston Museum of Fine Arts


The Boston Museum of Fine Arts is hosting a Stanley Kubrick Film Series.
Join us for a complete, chronological survey of one of the greatest directors in film history. All films screen on 35mm, except where noted.
In This Series:
Fear and Desire : February 1, 2013
Killer's Kiss : February 2, 2013
Fear and Desire | February 2, 2013
The Killing | February 2, 2013
Fear and Desire | February 3, 2013
Killer's Kiss | February 3, 2013
The Killing | February 3, 2013
Fear and Desire | February 6, 2013
Fear and Desire | February 7, 2013
Paths of Glory | February 7, 2013
Spartacus | February 8, 2013
Paths of Glory | February 9, 2013
Lolita | February 9, 2013
Lolita | February 10, 2013
Spartacus | February 10, 2013
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | February 14, 2013
2001: A Space Odyssey | February 15, 2013
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | February 16, 2013
A Clockwork Orange | February 16, 2013
A Clockwork Orange | February 17, 2013
2001: A Space Odyssey | February 17, 2013
Barry Lyndon | February 21, 2013
The Shining | February 22, 2013
The Shining | February 23, 2013
Full Metal Jacket | February 23, 2013
Eyes Wide Shut | February 24, 2013
Barry Lyndon | February 24, 2013

Friday, January 18, 2013

Quick Links


Air Traffic Controller 'Ready or Not' Official Music Video | Rick Macomber | Vimeo
I already wrote about observing the filming of some of the scenes for this video for Filmmaker : An Afternoon Music Video Shoot with the Canon C300. Now Rick has posted the completed music video for the band Air Traffic Controller's latest song: 'Ready Or Not.'
This video was shot on the Canon C300 over the course of several weeks, in multiple locations, and is a great example of short filmmaking.
Once you've seen the video, Sean Meehan has done a very nice Behind-The-Scenes video too:
Ready or Not - Behind the Scenes | Sean Meehan | Vimeo



Video Tutorial: Multiple Range Selections in FCPX | Danny Greer | Premiumbeat.com
Richard Taylor, creator of the great Final Cut Pro X resource site FCPX.tv, has created this short video tutorial to demonstrate how to create ‘persistent range selections in FCPX’, including a hiccup with the feature that you need to be aware of.


20 Things That Helped Me Finish the MANCHILD Screenplay | Ryan Koo
| No Film School
4. Consistent music playlists
One of the biggest challenges with screenwriting is you really have to live in the world of your screenplay, and very often that world is not the same as your writing environment. So when putting together a project I’m always thinking about music appropriate for the film, either for a soundtrack or music that the characters would listen to themselves.


'Iron Man' Editor Develops a '21st Century Moviola' For the iPad | Carolyn Giardina | Hollywood Reporter
Looks kinda cool, though not sure I want to spend that much to edit on the iPad when I already have two other video editors on the iPad and don't use them!
Lebental’s development is called TouchEdit, a frame-based editing app for the iPad with a “retro aesthetic," which is a simple, professional tool that could also be used by video enthusiasts. He plans to cut Favreau’s next movie with it. And he is aiming to make it available in the foreseeable future on the App Store for an introductory price of $50.


The Spectacular Now | Director James Ponsoldt | Filmmaker Magazine
...if you’re lucky, you will get to make wonderful things with some of the most creative people you could ever hope to meet, and you’ll get to travel and create temporary homes and communities. But…you will also miss people. And you will be exhausted at the end of the day and not want to talk about work on the phone.


Interview with Cinematographer Christopher Doyle | Tim Grierson and Mike Goodridge | Mastering Film
Why would you spend six months—or four years in the case of 2046—with someone you didn’t share a vision and commitment with? You see so many people who think they can further their so-called careers by working with assholes, and many western filmmakers are assholes. You have to cut them loose. No, it has to be a friendship to start with.


"Asking someone to read your script" | Bitter Script Reader | YouTube
A puppet gives advice to screenwriters - seriously:
Every writer needs feedback - but a lot of those writers could use lessons in how to politely ask someone to read there script. The Bitter Script Reader offers some dos and don'ts for imposing on people to look over your work.


Getty & Google Struck a Deal, People are Not Happy | ABRAM GOGLANIAN | The Phoblographer
Google licenses some images, which causes confusion, though I'm still not sure why; unless they didn't license the pictures...
On the blog post by Google there was no mention made as to where the majority of the images came from, who they belonged to or how they were licensed. They basically just stated that if you have a Google Drive account, you have access to these images and are free to use them in your documents however you choose. If you read through the comments on that post you will notice that there are progressively more and more upset responses from the readers as they began to understand more of the situation. 


Watch: Tommy Lee Jones Is General Douglas MacArthur In First Trailer For WWII Drama 'Emperor' | KEVIN JAGERNAUTH | IndieWire
Tommy Lee Jones as MacArthur? I don't care if they don't like it, I'm there!
We caught the film at the very, very tail end of TIFF where it played in a tiny room to the few journalists left in town. Not surprisingly, besides Jones' performance, "The Emperor" is simply not very good. We wrote in our review that the film "delivers a perfectly serviceable wartime movie, with its intentions in the right place. 




Sigma 19mm f/2.8 EX DN Lens and 30mm f/2.8 EX DN Lens Kit for Sony Alpha E Mount | B & H Photovideo
B & H is offering a two-for-one special on two budget Sigma lenses that are available for the Sony E-mount and the Micro 4/3 mount. $199 for both of them.
They seem to get okay reviews from users. No optical image stabilization, only a 7-blade diaphragm, but what do you expect for the money? No word on how long this offer will last.
Here's the link for the 4/3 mount : Sigma 19mm f/2.8 EX DN Lens and 30mm f/2.8 EX DN Lens Kit for Panasonic/Olympus MFT Mount



Thursday, January 17, 2013

Quick Links

Review: The Marshall V-LCD56MD5.6 Inch Monitor is Perfect For HDSLR
| Clint Milby | Pro Video Coalition
How else would you describe a device that allows you to change how it functions by simply swapping out various modules to suit whatever your needs may be?  Specifically there are two modules on the back of the unit that can be mixed and matched.  First, the battery plate can be swapped out, easily allowing you to choose between ten different types of DV battery plates. 


Hands-On Review: Sony NEX-VG900 Full-Frame Camcorder | Mia McCormick | B & H
Mia McCormick demonstrates many of the camera’s features and discusses a few lens options that should help users take advantage of the large sensor. For the most part, this is a glowing review peppered with a few criticisms that might limit the VG900’s appeal to professional videographers, but you’ll also learn some tips and tricks for overcoming these limitations. Film-like video with shallow depth of field is where the VG900 really excels, and this video provides some beautiful samples.


Blackmagic Cinema Camera - Hair and Skintone Test | Adam Roberts | Vimeo
We wanted to test the new Blackmagic Cinema Camera to see how it performed with skintones and hair. We used the Sony NEX-FS100 and Canon 5D MK2 as known refrences for comparison.
Both the Sony NEX-FS100 and the Canon 5DMK2 footage was transcoded to ProRes HQ with 5DtoRGB. I then colour corrected the footage in Final Cut Pro X.


Canon 1DC 4k | Test Clip at 3200 ISO | Zeiss ZF F/1.4 at F/2 | James Miller
| Vimeo
Philip Bloom shot and sent out a few seconds footage from the Canon 1DC 4k. Shot at 3200 ISO using the Zeiss ZF F/1.4 at F/2.Native file exported as frames and graded in Adobe Camera Raw. Image sequence compiled in Adobe Premiere CS6. Footage shown at 50%, 70%, 100%, 150%, 200% of native 4k clip. Native single frame shot at the end.


Carbon Fiber Portable 4ft. Mini Crane / Jib | CheesyCam
The benefit to this crane is it’s extended counterweight section that allows you to use ‘less weights’ than other cranes that have a short rear arm requiring a 3:1 counterweight setup. I’m able to fly my Canon 5D Mark III with just a single 5lb + 2.5lb counterweight. The other cranes i’ve used required up to 20-25lbs of counterweight.


How To Mark An Actor For Camera. Wide Open Camera Quick Take Video
| Jared Abrams | You Tube
The most common mark is a T shape in between the actor's feet. We show a few more variations and explain the possible use for each one. We recommend using 1/4" paper tape with tabs for easy removal. This is primarily for interior use. Exterior marks can be done with chalk or sticks, golf tees, anything that will work etc.


My FCPX Workflow | Ron Dawson | Dare Dreamer
No matter what NLE you use, you should have a set workflow, ideally one that you have documented so that whenever you bring on new or contracted editors, they can work within your guidelines. These include naming conventions, transcode procedures, etc. It’s especially important to have a set workflow system if you’re completely tapeless.


Archive in today’s digital age | Philip Johnston | HD Warrior
With each new technology, we seem to be going to media with shorter and shorter storage lives. From the age of film and vinyl records which had a very long life; to tape with still a fair life; to DVD/CD/BluRay with about 17 years; to hard disks with about 4 years.I certainly remember when I learnt about the likely lifespans of hard drives, and then was a bit shocked to learn that they can have a much shorter life when they aren’t used regularly. Had been archiving everything to hard drives and placing them in storage at that stage.



Local TV Photojournalist Jeff Frings on shooting DSLR documentary ’300 MILES OF GRAVEL’ | Jeff Frings | DSLR News Shooter
This was my first time shooting anything like this with a DSLR and it was a pretty easy transition from the Sony EX-3 I use in my day to day shooting. My primary camera was a Canon t2i with a Nikon 50mm f1.4, Nikon 80-200mm f2.8, a Nikon 300mm f2.8 with a 1.4x converter, and occasionally the stock kit 18-55mm canon lens. I also used a GoPro and a Canon SX200 point and shoot.


Kathryn Bigelow addresses 'Zero Dark Thirty' torture criticism | Kathryn Bigelow
| LA Times
This is an important principle to stand up for, and it bears repeating. For confusing depiction with endorsement is the first step toward chilling any American artist's ability and right to shine a light on dark deeds, especially when those deeds are cloaked in layers of secrecy and government obfuscation.

Wednesday, January 16, 2013

Quick Links

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.

Tuesday, January 15, 2013

Quick Links

Behind The Scenes on BART: a Narrative Short Shot with the Canon C100
| Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine
Canon has released a Behind The Scenes for a new short that was shot with the Canon C100:
Canon subsequently contacted us about a second short, BART, which was also shot on the C100. While Pulse is a documentary piece, BART is a four-minute short that is entirely an exercise in narrative story telling. Canon was specifically looking for a film that had little language and had a lot of visuals to it.


4K comes to CES and Canon announces new Cine Primes | Michael Murie
| Filmmaker Magazine
A look at some new tech at this years show:
Just a couple of years ago 3D was the rage, with manufacturers showing off their 3D displays and headsets. By all reports, 3D wasn’t so hot this year. Instead, we saw the first salvos in the 4K battle to convince consumers to part with their money for another high-end display. But when it comes to televisions, 2013 may be seen as the bridge to 4K, rather than the year of 4K.


Editing with the New iMacs | Larry Jordan | Blog
This thing is fast! It loads fast. It runs smoothly. It renders quickly. Export is faster than real-time.The screen is clear and easy to read – even considering the small point sizes of much of the text. And it has speed to burn.


Could Final Cut Pro X Be the NLE of the Future? | Ron Dawson | Dare Dreamer
One of the main reasons I held out for so long was also to see if FCPX would stick. Would Apple stay committed to this program? Or were they abandoning the pro market altogether? There are three things that give me confidence Apple is in this for the long haul and still committed to the pro.


Metabones Speed Booster adapter gives lenses an extra F/stop and nearly full frame focal lengths on APS-C sensors | Mat Gallagher | DSLR News Shooter
A standard 50mm lens via a regular adapter gives an equivalent focal length of approximately 75mm (full-frame equivalent) on an APS-C sensor body or 100mm (full-frame equivalent) on a MicroFourThirds body; using the Speed Booster adapter, Metabones claim, the lens gives a 53.25mm full-frame focal length equivalent on the same APS-C sensor, or 71mm on MicroFourThirds. Simply put – you should get a very similar look and magnification out of your full frame lenses used on a Micro 4/3 or NEX camera as you would with the same lenses on a full-frame camera.
There's more tests at EOSHD to: Prototype Metabones Speed Booster equipped NEX 7 *VS* full frame 5D Mark III – 1st comparison shots



The Digital Bolex Software + Workflow | Digital Bolex
I had Skype meetings with several companies, but none of them seemed in sync with what I was trying to do. Then Lars Borg from Adobe suggested I contact Pomfort. From our first conversation I knew this was the company I wanted to work with. Our long term goals were closely aligned and the guys were very excited about the project.


Creating Bokeh: A Lighting Tutorial | The Slanted Lens
In this lesson we will take a look at different lenses and aperture settings to see how they create this cinematic look called Bokeh. Different lenses create different patterns. We will look at using a long lens at 200 mm and how that compares to a 50 mm lens. Before we head out on location to Times Square let’s take a look at how to create Bokeh. Keep those cameras rolling and keep on clickn’.


Monday, January 14, 2013

Quick Links

NEW Production shot on the F5 "The Contract" | Robb Kositchek & Rodney Allen Hooks | Sony Community
We seriously pushed this camera to it’s limits and took advantage of it’s compactness. This is important to me that we be able to create wonderfully lit scenarios without being overwhelmed with hardware and technology.  Freedom to create and be flexible is a hallmark of the Sony F5 Camera family.


Documentary Filmmaking with the Canon C300 | Bobby Marko | Blog
Here is a wrap up video to show how I used the Canon C300 on my latest documentary feature film ‘Becoming Fools’ with director Scott Moore and the Athentikos team.
[...] This video gives some details on what we used to shoot the film, how I used the C300 during the production and some example footage from the camera. The footage from the C300 has not been fully colored but for this video I did do some simple 1st passes to even out levels and to mainly give Adobe Speedgrade a try as I am testing options for coloring the actual film.


The Chinese Kineraw Mini S35 Camera - A new rival to Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera | Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter
How is this done? this camera does away with the KineRAW S35‘s built in CineForm encoder – the new model only records Cinema DNG internally. It is fanless and has no built in LCD, meaning an externalHDMI monitor or EVF is essential for operating the camera. For these reasons it also has much lower power consumption than the original S35 camera. There will also be an accessory handgrip for a battery.


The adaptor that claims to make your lens, faster, wider and better!!
| James Miller | Philip Bloom
In essence, it’s an optical adapter that attaches to the E mount of a Sony NEX camera (Super 35 sensor) and then to a full frame SLR lens. The Metabones ‘Speed Booster’ is a 0.71 x focal reducer, that will effecively turn your full frame 50mm f/1.8 lens into a 35mm f/1.2 lens. Note, in doing so (as a guide) will increase the aperture of that lens by one stop. Your Sony NEX Super 35 E-Mount will effectively have near full frame coverage. It also serves ‘double-duty’ as a lens mount adapter, from Canon EF lens (but not EF-S) to Sony NEX, with auto-aperture, image stabilisation.


How to put together the ultimate lighting kit that's small enough for world travel | Shmuel Hoffman | Blog
Now a few months into various productions, I finally found my light kit. It fulfills my two main requirements:
1. They are all LED’s.
2. They are so compact, cool, and light that I can travel with them around the world without adding much weight and size to my normal production luggage.
The whole 3-point light kit fits into a little suitcase and weights less then 4 LB, or 2 Kg. How much power do these lights output? According to Litepanels they output around 1000W.  Not only that, I use them battery-powered on location.


A simple DSLR lighting solution that just works (Neewer LED panel test)
| Clinton Stark | StarkInSider
There’s many panels available today, with prices all over the map. I was just dabbling for starters so I ordered this Neewer LED Panel for around $38. At that price I didn’t expect much performance. Why not give it a shot, what was there to lose? At the worst I could learn from my experience and make a better informed decision in the near future.
Was I surprised or what.


Why I think Canon have forgotten the indie filmmaker | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
4K isn’t the main thing at stake here. I’d be happy finally getting GOOD 4:2:2 1080p on a full frame DSLR with no moire or softness. They still haven’t given us even a decent 1080p image. None of the 8bit outputs of the DSLRs hold a candle to what the Blackmagic Cinema Camera looks like in ProRes let alone raw, for $3000.


Film Convert – adding grain and a true film feel to your HD video | Den Lennie
| F-Stop Academy
The film simulation, however, is where this tool stands out. Unlike other film emulators, FilmConvert takes pains to measure not only the film stock itself but also the full sensor and exposure response of the camera systems as well. With native support for the RED cinema camera, the Canon 5D, and the Panasonic GH2, and with more cameras on the way, this method of simulation provides significantly better accuracy. 


Assembling a Green Screen Video That Looks Great | Richard Harrington | Adorama
In earlier episodes Rich gave you some important tips on lighting, shooting, and processing backgrounds for your green screen project.  Now we put it all together.
The key to a great green screen is a combination of how you shoot and how you post process your material.  In this episode, prepared exclusively for AdramaTV, join Rich Harrington as he shows you how all these pieces come together when keying in editing software, such as Final Cut Pro X.


Put Sound and DSLR Video Together Easily in Adobe Premier Pro
| Richard Harrington | Adorama
Rich shares the post-production process for the final edit in Adobe Premiere Pro. Watch as he takes you through the steps to use Premiere's built-in method of syncing sound. Then, follow along as he explains a way to use popular programs, such as Plural Eyes, for those high volume projects.


Audio Visualization in Adobe After Effects: Introduction | Evan Abrams | YouTube
This short provides navigation to two tutorials; one on creating an Audio Waveform in Adobe After Effects, and the other on creating an Audio Spectrum.