Notes On Video

Working With Canon Log | Andy Shipsides | AbelCine Recently I have been getting a number of questions about Log mode in the Canon C300, which is great because that means that many of us are using this mode. However, there are some really important things to know before jumping in. Canon has recently published a white paper on Canon Log that is full of great info. It’s not exactly light reading, however, so I’ll try to outline some of the important information about Canon’s Log curve in this blog. Nikon Says BBC Approves D4 & D800 DSLR Cameras, But Is That Right | Cinescopophilia Maybe the Nikon DSLR's aren't BBC approved: Nikon have boldly announced that their flagship DSLR cameras the D4 and D800 have been tested by Alan Roberts the former BBC tech big wig and they have been deemed broadcast approved, but are they? While Alan Roberts did appear to rate the Nikon D4 saying “The results were encouraging” and “Exposure range is, potentially, as high as 13 stops.” Al...

NEX-EA50 Review. Great Value For The Money | Alister Chapman | XDCAM User A generally favorable review of the new Sony NEX-EA50 , and some comments about the new zoom lens that it comes with: The pre-production unit I played with had a tendency to shift the image left and right as you alternated between zooming in and zooming out and if you used manual focus there would be some small shifts in the focus through the zoom range. I’ve had quite a few discussions with Sony about this lens and I think you do need to be realistic. This lens has been built to meet the demand from end users for a cheap servo zoom for large sensor cameras.  Advanced Green Screen | Matt Schwarz | Vimeo Video School Last time we took a look at the fundamentals of using a green screen. Now we've taken those skills to the next level and used them in an all new Vimeo original, where Casey Donahue gets thrown off our building without actually putting him in harm's way. Our all around favorite editor...

CANON 1DC REVIEW: OUR FIRSTHAND EXPERIENCE | Patrick | Stillmotion Shooting with a prototype of the 4K Canon DSLR: While we didn’t do scientific tests with the camera it feels like what the 1DC offers is definitely a step up from the DSLRs that we came from (the MK3) in terms of latitude and dynamic range. Again, we didn’t do scientific tests with it, but in using it for several shoots, we feel it performs noticeably better than the 5D3 and 1DX.  The LCD on this thing feels very much in line with that of the 1DX. BlackMagic Cinema Camera Image stabilization test | michael beck | Vimeo I just got the 1.1 beta firmware for my BMCC and I thought I would shoot a quick test. This is shot at 300mm with IS off, the on. The audio is in camera and you can hear the IS motor running :) not surprising, don't be alarmed!This was my 70-300mm f/4.5-5 lens @300mm Hand held. Sony NEX-VG30 Test Shots | NTcreativestudio | Vimeo This Video was shot using Sony latest NEX-VG30 with ...

New series of free Adobe TV training videos: Discovering Adobe Story | Ellen Wixted | Adobe Using script templates for different types of scripts —Adobe Story can create film scripts, TV scripts, A/V and multicolumn scripts and more, all with industry-standard formatting. The basics of working with projects —With Adobe Story you can create projects that group related scripts and supporting documents. For example, you might be working on a multi-episode mini-series that in addition to a number of scripts also includes character bios, research documents and more. Is Final Cut Pro X Becoming a True Player | Ron Dawson | Dare Dreamer One of the reasons I personally have been hesitant about making a switch to FCPX was because I wanted to be able to hire editors who used the same program I do. Certainly all the pros I may want to hire won’t use FCPX. But ironically, the editors I have on my extended team all use FCPX. At first I chalked it up to the fact that they’re just young. (We...

Gear Comparo: GoPro Hero2 vs Sony Action Cam - Video Recording Modes | Kevin Huggins | Vimeo The Sony Action Cam definitely seems bluer which looks better in the sky, but not so good in other situations: 3. I have had my GoPro Hero2 for about a year and I've used it about a half dozen times. I was attracted to it for its 120fps, but at SD resolution it isn't great. I was hoping for much better things with the Sony Action Cam especially since it has 120fps at 720p HD. The 120fps looks better in the Action Cam than the Hero2, but that's to be expected since it does have better resolution at that frame rate. However, from the comparisons of the other video settings, I am not too sure the Action Cam is any better than the Hero 2. 7 Reasons Why Black Magic Rules – and DSLR is Done | Facundo Campos | Raindance Canada 2) Dynamic Range is in the Details: 13 Stop Dynamic Range [...] Black Magic has such wide dynamic range that it can see the details in the shadows and th...

Review: GoPro HD HERO2 | Steve Douglas | LAFCPUG Positive review of the new GoPro Hero 2 : This new camera version is no slight improvement. It is a major upgrade in all ways and areas highlighted by its new, faster and larger sensor and its wonderful new menu which makes utilizing the GoPro HERO2 an extremely useful filming tool. As I alluded to earlier, the GoPro HERO2 beats all competitors in this niche of camcorder/cameras hands down. No Concessions: Digital Disaster at the New York Film Festival | Bob Cashill | PopDose Digital projection problems at the  New York Film Festival: It had been a trying day: apparently a DCP of a Mexican film shown in the afternoon, Here and There, was plagued by intermittent subtitles that were here and there for half an hour until the problem was fixed. That was nothing compared to this utter fiasco, however. Has a festival presentation ever been cancelled due to a mechanical glitch? Not in the film cans days that I can recall. ...

The prices for two recently announced cameras seem to have been ironed out, as the Canon C100 and Sony NEX-VG900 now have prices at B & H. Meanwhile, the 5D Mark II has an increased rebate. When it was announced, the price of the C100 was listed at "around $8,000" though there was talk of it being closer to $6,000. I have to admit I was doubtful, but lo and behold the Canon C100 is currently priced by B&H at $6,499.00 . That's still a lot of money, considering it doesn't do higher than 30p, is 8bit and HD and records in AVCHD. It competes with the NEX-FS700 , which gives much higher frame rates and will have 4K support in a couple of months. And costs $7,999. Which is best? Ehhhh..... Meanwhile, the Sony NEX-VG900 , the full-frame E-mount offering is now priced at B & H at $3,298.00 . I still don't know what to make of that camera. Maybe the reviewers will love it, but personally it doesn't appeal to me. It seems a bit expensive for...

FILM TAX INCENTIVES | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Magazine A recent panel on State Tax Incentives sponsored by the Massachusetts Production Coalition was centered on tax credits for Massachusetts and Rhode Island, but much of the advice is applicable to other state programs. It’s important to note that while many states offer some form of tax incentive for filmmakers, there are several important differences between the various programs: whether it’s a rebate or a credit, transferable, has a cap [the state has a total limit per years for all credits], the minimum production budget requirements, and several other details. Packing | Benjamin Eckstein | Blog Benjamin thinks he has the packing of his gear all sorted out, so he wrote a blog about it: A backpack is important to have.  When walking at length (like through an airport) it is great to have your most valuable items well supported on your back.  Make sure to get a backpack that can fit in most overhead compartments...

Something I didn’t mention in my report on Tuesday’s BOSCPUG meeting is that Rob Bessette of Finish Boston also demoed Blackmagic’s Resolve 9 . Resolve is a sophisticated color grading application, and this new release features a significant UI improvement. The previous version had the distinct impression of being designed for Linux, but this release actually is starting to look like a regular Mac/Windows app. On the downside, you still need to know how to do color correction, but the program seems simpler now; and don’t forget there’s a free version you can download and use. Wednesday night was SMPTE New England ’s meeting at Rule Boston, and Juan Martinez , Senior Product Manager, Broadcast & Professional Solutions of Sony was there to talk about 4K. They’d brought a Sony F65 and a 4K projector along, though the demo fairies struck and they had a lot of problems getting the 4K version of the Taylor Swift movie shot on the F65 to play, and had to use a 2K version inst...

Canon C100 at IBC2012 | Hireacamera | Vimeo Den Lennie chats with C300  owner and filmmaker Nino Leitner about the C100 : I'm positively surprised that the build quality seems to be exactly the same, I mean they have the magnesium parts and, you know, it's really the same material...I think there are a few things that are a little difficult, for example you don't have 50p or 60p so there's no way of shooting slow motion. SHOOTING DIARY: SEAN MEEHAN ON SHOOTING IN SMALL SPACES | Michael Murie | Filmmaker Meehan : I would say the biggest challenge was just trying to come up with creative shots. The option was to shoot out of the cell where some light was coming in from the window that gave us this blue background. Otherwise, the walls were pretty white and they were drab, but not necessarily in the best way. I found that it didn’t look interesting drab; it just looked like I was shooting her up against a wall. Redrock ultraCage expansions | Vincent Laforet ...

Marco Solorio of One River Media spoke at last night's Boston Creative Pro User Group about the Blackmagic Design  Cinema Camera . Also present were a couple of reps from Blackmagic. I'm not going to go into great length about what he said, partly because it's late, and partly because it's all there in the two videos he has already posted online: Comparing the Cinema Camera & 5D Mk III Texting is Gefährlich – A Cinema Camera Short, Part 1 (and Part 2 ) The first compares the Canon 5D Mark III and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera at some length, while the second is a "short" that was shot using the BDCC. Marco has written a couple of extensive blog posts that covers the production of this short, and most of what he talked about at the meeting is covered there. The Bad News The bad news from the meeting is that production of the BDCC has been seriously constrained by a parts supplier. It appears that they aren't shipping any cameras at the...

Ever go for months with nothing to do on the weekend, and then get invited to three parties on the same day? That's what this week is shaping up to be. If you're in Boston this Wednesday, September 26, 2012, you can pick from several interesting events. I'd already posted about : Learning Lab at Rule Boston Camera: The Impact of Cinema Cameras on a TV News Shooter at 10am University of Massachusetts Boston Film Series showing of CRAZY HORSE at 7pm . Now there's two more events worth checking out: SMPTE New England :  4K Digital Cinematography—The Real WorldWith Juan Martinez , Sony Electronics at 6:30pm at Rule Boston Camera Juan Martinez, Sony Senior Product Manager for Acquisition, will discuss 4K digital cinematography and how it relates to the real world. Mr. Martinez will talk about the imaging technology related to 4K, especially as it relates to the Sony equipment that he is responsible for, such as the NEX-FS700 camcorder. Boston University Center...

Recently I was chatting with a music guy that had been working on the soundtrack for a movie project. He'd been passed the project in a rather disorganized state. It had been cut in Final Cut Pro 7 , but it wasn't clear that the editor had cut many large projects in Final Cut before, and there were some problems with the project that was causing him serious grief. When he got the project it required a lot of re-rendering just to get it to play. It turned out that the media had been imported in multiple formats rather than transcoding to ProRes. Some of the audio was in MP3 format. These are all things Final Cut Pro 7 doesn't like. He'd also tried converting it from 29.97 to 24, but had given that up when he'd discovered that all the audio got moved around after changing the frame rate. In short, he'd spent a lot of time wrangling the data in Final Cut , and I don't think he was impressed. As I talked him through it - and it turned out he'd alread...

Ridley Scott Talks RED EPIC and Explains How We Can Save the Theatrical Experience | Joe Marine | No Film School Just recently we had one of the more respected cinematographers working today, Roger Deakins, talking about his experience using the Arri Alexa. Now, Ridley Scott gives us a little bit about his experience working with the RED EPIC in 3D and also explains how we can get people back into movie theaters Adobe Audition: Audio Repair | Larry Jordan | Blog How to remove power-line hum and (some) audio glitches in Adobe Audition : Audition felt that Photoshop should not be the only software with a Spot Healing Brush, so it added one, too. I’m not going to say this brush does miracles, but, boy, its really close. This repair tool works best when you need to remove a range of frequencies, such as a beeping cell phone, without removing dialog at other frequencies. Logic Pro for Film & TV Mixing | Ben Allan | The Film Bakery A step-by-step guide to working in au...

Comparing the Cinema Camera & 5D Mk III | OneRiver Media | Vimeo This video compares the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera and the Canon 5D Mark III in several tests. This includes dynamic range, sharpness, pushing levels, banding, artifacts, rolling shutter, chromakeying, wide/telephoto lengths, DOF (depth of field), low light, macro blocking, contrast, and more. Test footage from the pre-release Panasonic GH3 at Photokina | Andrew Reid | ESOHD But I will say that the GH3 has an extraordinary codec, is a step forwards from the GH2 in every way. The only concern I have is for the stability of very fine textures – the GH2 remains unique for being so clean in the way it scales the full sensor from 18MP to 1080p in video mode. What is the tonic? I feel it is needed again here. New lenses Ahoy! - Matt Allard looks at the latest offerings | Matt Allard | DSLR News Shooter Matt looks at several lenses, including the Samyang/Rokinon Cine lenses: The 24mm and the 35mm o...

Interview with Yoshiyuki Inoue, Senior Engineering Planner for the Panasonic GH3 | Andrew Reid | EOSHD Interesting interview about the Panasonic GH3 , though there's a lot he can't say (like who makes the sensor!) EOSHD : Are you aware of the hack for the GH2, the hack project? Inoue : Ah yes! EOSHD : How much of an influence was it for higher bitrates in the GH3? Inoue : The reason we didn’t build on the high bitrate movie mode (officially), were internal Panasonic regulations for heat dispersion. Otherwise we could have had problems, we could not guarantee it. Exclusive – Canon confirm 1D C 4K DSLR is identical hardware to a 1D X | Andrew Reid | EOSHD Interestingly depressing news if this is true; they charge twice the price for slightly different firmware? Then again, look at the price of Canon's video cameras... Canon wanted to make a distinction in price because they believe (rightly) that Hollywood and many many pro filmmakers would be more than willing to ...

Vimeo: Tip Jar and Pay-to-view! | Vincent Laforet | Blog Vimeo has added a way to tip film makers... First is Vimeo’s Tip Jar which enables us to crowdsource funds to support future work. I’m a big fan of this! Viewers will be invited to give tips before, during or after watching a video. And Vimeo will give 85% of that money straight to the creator – which is more than reasonable. And you can start doing this TODAY if you’re a Vimeo Plus or Vimeo Pro member by simply activating the feature. Introducing Vimeo Tip Jar and more Creator Services from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo . Panasonic GH3 hands-on report | Andrew Reid | EOSHD There’s very minor moire and aliasing present in this early hardware. Whilst the GH2 rendered sloping horizontals and fine patterns extremely cleanly with no shimmering, the GH3 I used had a touch of aliasing and in some cases even a bit of moire on a stripy shirt viewed from a distance. VERY minor, but like the OM-D E-M5 it was there, at this early st...

Sony Europe and US held two webchats last week on the new PMW cameras; the PMW-100 , PMW-160 and PMW-200 . As I did for the NEX-EA50 chat from last week, I have edited the chat to put the answers next to the questions and cleaned up some of the text.  Note that the PMW-150 is a European camcorder, in the USA this is the PMW-160 camcorder. Q: What is the main differences between the PMW-100 and the PMW-150? Do you have the exact size in mm of the sensor for both? Dave Stannard:  The initial difference is that the PMW-150 is a 3 chip 1/3" camcorder, however the PMW-150 also has a 20x wide angle zoom lens. The PMW-100 is a single chip 1/3" camcorder and has 1 lens ring with assignable control. Kanta:  PMW-100 is a single chip camcorder and PMW-150 has three chips. Both are using 1/3 inch. Sebastian: One main difference is that the PMW-100 is using a single 1/2.9" CMOS sensor and the PMW-150 is a 3 CMOS 1/3" camcorder. Then you have a 10x Zoom lens with on...