Filed under: stuff by other people, _check it out! | Tags: canon 5D, canon 7D, philip bloom
As far as DSLR photography goes, I’ve always been a huge supporter of Nikon. From the way the glass feels in my hands, to their mega- range of lens that are still in commission, Nikons keep me trigger happy,
but BOY! Canons have it made with their new onslaught of digital video features. Whether it’s the latest SNL intro sequence or a shoestring indie feature with a vision, the Canon 5D’s and 7D’s are popping up everywhere. The reason is simple: shoot amazing looking video that is comparable to film, at a fraction of the price. Slap some scenes together with Final Cut, add a catchy song and BAM, visual candy. Of course, it really isn’t that easy, but these new DSLRs will be revolutionizing television and film production.
The producers of the Star Wars prequels invited Philip Bloom to provide a demonstration and consultation on the Canons. Check out what he was able to achieve with a $3500 DSLR camera and a $350 camera glider (first of its kind). I never thought I would use Skywalker and sexy in the same sentence.
The plan is to save money and produce a short in the next two years. Right now I’m looking at short films for inspiration and research. I came across this one a couple of weeks ago and thought that you guys might enjoy it. Sure is better than a regular old motivational tape right?
I recently joined the efforts to realize a documentary about a Burmese Harvard basketball star. I see plenty of raw moments while giong through the footage. I can’t wait for this documentary to come out! For now, check out the trailer:
WOW! it’s been too long! I have plenty of things to share with you in the next couple of days/weeks.. Stay tuned. Meanwhile, if you are like me and have trouble understanding the technical jargon that comes with your creativity, the folks over at creatasphere produced a short yet informative video on data rate and how it affects the quality of your picture.
They are hosting an HD Expo in New York this September. Registration is actually FREE if you do it early. This includes all panels, exhibit hall and Intensive Workshops (topics range from working with color to P2 media). They are also holding expos in LA and Chicago. I would definitely check it out. Hurry up or else shove out $125 at the door!
Filed under: design, Stuff I've done, videos, _check it out! | Tags: 48 hour film project
Quick note to self: don’t EVER do the 48 Hour Film Project and move into new home on the same weekend. My eyes, brain, muscles and overall morale have been completely drained over the course of a single weekend. Nonetheless, it was again, a very fun experience and I’m glad we made the 7pm deadline! More to come on the actual submission later. I came on board as the assistant editor. In addition to helping the editor out, I had the last minute opportunity to whip out a cast credit sequence. Time was of the essence, but I’m pretty happy on how it came out.
Filed under: _check it out!
My friend C-Paz from The Status Quo Blog sent me this video. If you’re in the “biz”, this will definitely reach out to you. It wouldn’t be so FUNNY, if it weren’t so TRUE.
Filed under: _check it out! | Tags: 48 hour film project, bushwick, bushwick open studios, look at this fucking hipster
So this weekend, I will be moving into new hoods… and participating in the 48 Hour Film Project. The next two days will be mayhem, but should be a rewarding experience. I’m really excited about moving into Bushwick. A lot of independent musicians and artists have moved out of Williamsburg due to hikes in rent and hipsterfication. There are a lot of things going on in this creative space. Case in point: Bushwick Open Studios is running from June 5th – June 7th. It is an annually self-organized arts festival. Many artists open their homes to the public as galleries and exhibits. This year will be my very first time attending and I am giddy with excitement. Reviews and photos to follow.
For more information about Bushwick Open Studios, check this link out.
Filed under: _check it out!, _Tutorial Links | Tags: HD, HDX900, HPX500, HVX200, low end, panasonic, PMWEX3, prosumer, sony
Trying to figure out which HD camera is best for your workflow and budget? Maybe this will help:
SONY PMW EX3
Format hoots HD, 720p, 1080i or 1080p, has 2 SxS card slots
Recording method records to SxS card
Workflow SxS cards require XD Cam transfer– but SxS cards fit directly into laptops with ExpressCard slots for immediate editing on Final Cut Pro.
Daily Rental Estimate $350 to $475 with HD monitor+ $70 per 16gb SxS card
PANASONIC HVX 200
Format shoots in SD or HD, 720p or 1080i, has 2 P2 card slots
Recording Method records to P2 card for HD or mini DV for SD.
Workflow P2 cards need P2 card adapter to go into laptop or hard drive.
Operator should organize media for AVID and transfer P2 card media to a PC formatted hard drive upon wrap or deliver P2 cards to Post and they’ll do transfer. Easy workflow with Mac’s and FCP.
Daily Rental Estimate $325 to $500 with HD monitor
+ $75 per 16gb P2 card **This is the camera model that many owner/operators have and they may rent their package for less than $325.**
PANASONIC HPX 500
Format shoots SD or HD, 720p and 1080i with wide lens option, has 4 p2 card slots.
Recording Method shoots to P2 or to DVCPro.
Workflow P2 cards need P2 card adapter to go into laptop or hard drive.
Operator should organize media for AVID and transfer P2 card media to a PC formatted hard drive upon wrap or deliver P2 cards to Post and they’ll do transfer. Easy workflow with Mac’s and FCP.
Daily Rental Estimate $650 to $750 with HD monitor + $75 per 16gb P2 card
PANASONIC HDX 900
Format shoots HD, 720p or 1080i with wide lens option, does not have p2 card option.
Recording method records to tape only — DVCPro.
Workflow regular HD tape workflow.
Daily Rental Estimate $800 to $900 with HD monitor + cost of tapestock @ $24 per 46 minutes
Filed under: stuff by other people, _check it out! | Tags: current TV, robot nation, robots, science nonfiction
Does reading Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep scare the bejesus out of you? Do you own collector’s sets of movies like The Matrix and Blade Runner because you are obsessed with both the beauty of machines AND their potential to destroy human consciousness? CurrentTV produced an amazing short documentary ,marking the beginning of the end. They do a case study on Japan’s depressing population drop. They expect to lose two thirds of their human population by 2050. Human population may be a redundancy to you, but with their plans to integrate robots into daily routines, you might want to start differentiating the two.
Filed under: _check it out! | Tags: adobe flash, internet television, universal codec
Adobe has long been criticized for poorly integrating their flash application across the web. The highly popular platform has great potential to become the universal standard for viewing videos beyond the internet, but their concerns with releasing technical jumbo mumbo and proprietary licensing have lead to recent setbacks. Adobe’s direct competitor, Microsoft Silverlight, has won some monumental battles, grabbing the internet broadcast of Netflix movies, the NCAA tournament and the 2008 Olympics.
However, Adobe has been in the news as of late with all sorts of updates that may lead one to think, “Are they finally taking over the world?”. From picking up the bandwidth friendly h264 codec in Flash Player 9 to their public announcement to finally bring flash to Apple’s Iphone in early 2009, Adobe has slowly been removing restrictions off the platform for total platform domination.
Adobe System’s chief executive, Shantanu Narayen recently gave Hollywood quite a shake at NAB this year by announcing that they will be extending Flash onto television sets by the end of this year. Video content based sites such as Hulu and Youtube, already embrace flash as their preferred codec. It only makes sense for Adobe to develop Flash for wherever entertainment will ultimately go towards.
Check out New York Time’s article on this big announcement
Narayen on Bloomberg in regards to Flash on the Iphone earlier this year:
