Liteworks is offering a Beta version for nada. What's the catch? There isn't any!
Well, there is one, it's only for PC at this time. They'll have a Mac version in 2011. But you still can't beat the price!
http://www.lightworksbeta.com/
Tuesday, November 30, 2010
Free NLE
How would you like a Non Linear Editing program for free?
Liteworks is offering a Beta version for nada. What's the catch? There isn't any!
Well, there is one, it's only for PC at this time. They'll have a Mac version in 2011. But you still can't beat the price!
http://www.lightworksbeta.com/
Liteworks is offering a Beta version for nada. What's the catch? There isn't any!
Well, there is one, it's only for PC at this time. They'll have a Mac version in 2011. But you still can't beat the price!
http://www.lightworksbeta.com/
Monday, November 29, 2010
AirPaint Wireless Paint Control System
Keith Stephenson over at Raleigh wanted me to mention the AirPaint Wireless Paint Control in my blog.
Another step in my never having to over&under another cable.
http://www.skydreams.tv/SkyDreams.TV/AirPaint.html
Another step in my never having to over&under another cable.
http://www.skydreams.tv/SkyDreams.TV/AirPaint.html
Friday, November 26, 2010
Easy As Shooting Fish In A Barrel
For all my brother and sister camera ops who have maybe, just maybe, fallen in the water...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVwZ7Ymh3mo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVwZ7Ymh3mo
Wednesday, November 24, 2010
Litepanel Micropros
Even with HDR there are certain things you can only do in post.
As you might know, I spent 110 days on the road this year, shooting in 15 countries and I wanted to share this shot of a bar in Bangkok. What's so unusual about this shot? I basically lit it with one AA battery powered Litepanel Mircopro. And no stands.
Each lit area is a separate still. I sat the Lightpanel in the chair to light the girl in the f.g. Because the Litepanels don't create heat you can do that without damaging furniture. The talent with his back to us held the Litepanel to light the talent in the b.g. My producer walked around down lighting all the points of interest in the shot. Finally, I took one shot in the dark for the exterior city scape.
The ten shots were combined in post.
I literally went around the world four times this year and here's what I carried. Note the two Litepanel Micropros at the bottom center of the picture.
Sometimes we would use "house" lights or grip truck and crew but most of the time the two Lightpanels were my entire lighting kit.
FYI, we tried both re-chargeable and lithium batteries and I'm here to tell you use the lithium AA's. It's amazing how long they last.
If I had just one c-stand to hold the light steady we could have done the bar shot in video, too, with a lot of layers and wipes in post. Still haven't figured out how to get a c-stand in my luggage.
http://www.litepanels.com/lp/products/micropro.html
As you might know, I spent 110 days on the road this year, shooting in 15 countries and I wanted to share this shot of a bar in Bangkok. What's so unusual about this shot? I basically lit it with one AA battery powered Litepanel Mircopro. And no stands.
Each lit area is a separate still. I sat the Lightpanel in the chair to light the girl in the f.g. Because the Litepanels don't create heat you can do that without damaging furniture. The talent with his back to us held the Litepanel to light the talent in the b.g. My producer walked around down lighting all the points of interest in the shot. Finally, I took one shot in the dark for the exterior city scape.
The ten shots were combined in post.
I literally went around the world four times this year and here's what I carried. Note the two Litepanel Micropros at the bottom center of the picture.
Sometimes we would use "house" lights or grip truck and crew but most of the time the two Lightpanels were my entire lighting kit.
FYI, we tried both re-chargeable and lithium batteries and I'm here to tell you use the lithium AA's. It's amazing how long they last.
If I had just one c-stand to hold the light steady we could have done the bar shot in video, too, with a lot of layers and wipes in post. Still haven't figured out how to get a c-stand in my luggage.
http://www.litepanels.com/lp/products/micropro.html
Tuesday, November 23, 2010
Band Pro's One World
In case you've never been, Band Pro's One World is their open house. Band Pro is a high end sales house and they usually have a mini expo with a select few sales reps there to answer questions.
More important, there's free food and drinks! If you're in the area the afternoon of December 16th it's worth stopping by.
http://www.bandpro.com/events/68-band-pro-one-world-on-hd.html
More important, there's free food and drinks! If you're in the area the afternoon of December 16th it's worth stopping by.
http://www.bandpro.com/events/68-band-pro-one-world-on-hd.html
Monday, November 22, 2010
The Most Popular Camera For Network Series Production
So, what's the most popular electronic camera for television production? You may be surprised.
You may be thinking the RED or the Alexa but after you think about it for a second, it will come to you.
The answer is Sony. The F-35 is the most used and, if you add in the F-23 and F-900, Sony is the hands down leader.
Now that I think about it, all the video shows are probably all shot with Sony cameras, too.
Arri does come in second but more shows are shot with the D-21 than the Alexa, although that should change this year.
The Panavision Genesis, the precursor to the F-35, comes in third.
And the RED? That's considered more of a "second" camera.
Of course, the favorite medium of most network television shows is still film but that changing, too.
Read all about it at:
http://createasphere.com/En/insider-view/2221-most-popular-cameras-this-tv-season.html
You may be thinking the RED or the Alexa but after you think about it for a second, it will come to you.
Now that I think about it, all the video shows are probably all shot with Sony cameras, too.
Arri does come in second but more shows are shot with the D-21 than the Alexa, although that should change this year.
The Panavision Genesis, the precursor to the F-35, comes in third.
And the RED? That's considered more of a "second" camera.
Of course, the favorite medium of most network television shows is still film but that changing, too.
Read all about it at:
http://createasphere.com/En/insider-view/2221-most-popular-cameras-this-tv-season.html
Friday, November 19, 2010
Secretary, Graphic Artist and a Cat
I think we've all been there... on one side or the other.
http://jezebel.com/5582562/clueless-secretary-makes-for-hilarious-office-email-thread
Thursday, November 18, 2010
RED's HDRx
I'm not a real fan of the RED for a bunch of reasons (which may be a blog one day) but RED may be the first to deliver a game changer: HDR (Hight Dynamic Range).
I think the easiest way to explain it is how we shoot stills. Let say I have to shoot a hotel room with a window in the frame. (I do a lot of shooting for Hilton).
I took one shot exposed for the room where the window was completely blown out and just looked white. I took another shot exposed for the window as you see it in the picture. The room was dark. In post I can combine the images so everything looks exposed correctly (I shot the room was in Cairo, hence the pyramid on the TV that was also added later).
There's 3 ways of making the exposure change between the room and the window: f-stop, shutter and ASA. You can't use f-stop because the depth of field changes which gives away the trick. Changing ASA would change the amount of noise in the picture. When shooting stills it's best to use shutter to adjust the exposure.
This is not new technology, my iphone can do this... with stills.
But I've always wondered when someone would figure out how to do this with a motion camera. The camera would have to take two "pictures" at the same time at different exposures and then combine the images either in the camera or in post.
When is now. When the images are combine in the camera RED calls doing it EasyHDR and when you do in post RED calls it HDRx.
RED has been working on this for awhile and shelved it. When the Alexa hit the market with 14 stops of latitude, RED dusted off it's HDR technology. The tricky part is using shutter. Shooting moving images any image smear shot at two shutter rates don't match. RED has figured out a way to combine the different shutter rates.
I personally wonder why they don't use ASA. It would seem to me it would be easier to add noise reduction software rather than trying to combine motion smear. But maybe that's why I don't design cameras.
RED is now claiming that with the HDR RED cameras would have 18 stops of latitude. This is a software thing so it would be available in the Epic and the Scarlet for a $1000 premium. Or at least that's the word on the street. That the cost of six rolls of gel and I'd never have to ND another window. Wouldn't hurt my feelings.
Here's a couple of links to check out:
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50483
http://www.theblackandblue.com/2010/09/25/first-hdrx-footage-from-red-epic-digital-cinema-camera/
http://www.definitionmagazine.com/journal/2010/10/21/red-turns-up-the-heat-with-hdrx-and-magic-motion.html
My F900 has something like this, the DCC circuit. All Sony cameras have it but it really works on the F900 but I never use it. While it does bring up detail in overexposed areas, the entire image looses contrast and looks milky. I hate it. I see a little of this happening in the overexposed areas of the "Barn Picture" but it holds pretty well in the dark.
Don't think RED is the only one working on HDR. Cannon recently filed this patent:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/canon-patent-application-takes-in-camera-hdr-to-the-pixel-level/
Like I said, HDRx could be a game changer. And every camera in the world will have it 10 year from now. Maybe five. What am I saying, it will be in my iphone 6 in less than 3 years.
I think the easiest way to explain it is how we shoot stills. Let say I have to shoot a hotel room with a window in the frame. (I do a lot of shooting for Hilton).
I took one shot exposed for the room where the window was completely blown out and just looked white. I took another shot exposed for the window as you see it in the picture. The room was dark. In post I can combine the images so everything looks exposed correctly (I shot the room was in Cairo, hence the pyramid on the TV that was also added later).
There's 3 ways of making the exposure change between the room and the window: f-stop, shutter and ASA. You can't use f-stop because the depth of field changes which gives away the trick. Changing ASA would change the amount of noise in the picture. When shooting stills it's best to use shutter to adjust the exposure.
This is not new technology, my iphone can do this... with stills.
But I've always wondered when someone would figure out how to do this with a motion camera. The camera would have to take two "pictures" at the same time at different exposures and then combine the images either in the camera or in post.
When is now. When the images are combine in the camera RED calls doing it EasyHDR and when you do in post RED calls it HDRx.
RED has been working on this for awhile and shelved it. When the Alexa hit the market with 14 stops of latitude, RED dusted off it's HDR technology. The tricky part is using shutter. Shooting moving images any image smear shot at two shutter rates don't match. RED has figured out a way to combine the different shutter rates.
I personally wonder why they don't use ASA. It would seem to me it would be easier to add noise reduction software rather than trying to combine motion smear. But maybe that's why I don't design cameras.
Here's a couple of links to check out:
http://reduser.net/forum/showthread.php?t=50483
http://www.theblackandblue.com/2010/09/25/first-hdrx-footage-from-red-epic-digital-cinema-camera/
http://www.definitionmagazine.com/journal/2010/10/21/red-turns-up-the-heat-with-hdrx-and-magic-motion.html
My F900 has something like this, the DCC circuit. All Sony cameras have it but it really works on the F900 but I never use it. While it does bring up detail in overexposed areas, the entire image looses contrast and looks milky. I hate it. I see a little of this happening in the overexposed areas of the "Barn Picture" but it holds pretty well in the dark.
Don't think RED is the only one working on HDR. Cannon recently filed this patent:
http://www.engadget.com/2010/06/23/canon-patent-application-takes-in-camera-hdr-to-the-pixel-level/
Like I said, HDRx could be a game changer. And every camera in the world will have it 10 year from now. Maybe five. What am I saying, it will be in my iphone 6 in less than 3 years.
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
NXCAM
Here's the "other" 35mm sized sensor camera from Sony, being developed at an entirely different factory.
I guess the NXCAM is the direct competitor for the Pansonic AG-100 and will record a Sony version of AVCHD.
http://www.xdcam-user.com/?page_id=5
As a side note, the blog state the Sony F3's native ASA is 800 in normal gamma and hypergamma and 1600 ASA in S-Log. The S-Log not only compresses the highlights and brings up the low lights (hence the S gamma curve) giving more dynamic range but it's also like shooting with the -6 gain switch on.
I guess the NXCAM is the direct competitor for the Pansonic AG-100 and will record a Sony version of AVCHD.
http://www.xdcam-user.com/?page_id=5
As a side note, the blog state the Sony F3's native ASA is 800 in normal gamma and hypergamma and 1600 ASA in S-Log. The S-Log not only compresses the highlights and brings up the low lights (hence the S gamma curve) giving more dynamic range but it's also like shooting with the -6 gain switch on.
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Zacuto Viewfinder and other stuff
A buddy who's a still photographer bought a 7D to shoot both stills and video after hearing about all my shooting with the 5D. He tried shooting just using the optical VF and the live View LCD as he would with his Nikon and, predictably, he was unhappy with the results.
A viewfinder is a must for these cameras. I like the Zacuto the best. It's got a great field of view and, more important, you can have your eye pressed to the VF all day.
But this begs a bigger question: You buy a 7D for $1600, get a VF for $350 or an EVF for $775, or spend another $330 for a audio box , get a AJA HDMI to HDSDI box for $500, and then some kind of $800 bracket to hold all this stuff.
Now, you have this Rube Goldberg device with all this crap hanging off of it and for less than $1000 bucks more you can get a Panasonic AF-100.
All those pieces are linked back to B&H and here's the link to the Zacuto EVF if you haven't seen it: http://www.zacuto.com/zfinderevf
It solves the problem of the non-tilting VF.
A viewfinder is a must for these cameras. I like the Zacuto the best. It's got a great field of view and, more important, you can have your eye pressed to the VF all day.
But this begs a bigger question: You buy a 7D for $1600, get a VF for $350 or an EVF for $775, or spend another $330 for a audio box , get a AJA HDMI to HDSDI box for $500, and then some kind of $800 bracket to hold all this stuff.
Now, you have this Rube Goldberg device with all this crap hanging off of it and for less than $1000 bucks more you can get a Panasonic AF-100.
It solves the problem of the non-tilting VF.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Canon 60D
Been thinking about getting a DSLR? All the talk has been about the 5D, 7D and for the serious amateur the T2i. But there may be a new contender, the Canon 60D.
The 60D has the smaller 16MP sensor like the 7D and T2i but has two things the other 3 cameras lack:
1. Manual audio controls
2. A fold out LCD that can be twisted like a viewfinder.
Plus, it's less than $900 bucks.
Check out a review, especially the link the shows the fold out viewfinder with a Zacuto VF.
http://prolost.com/60D
The 60D has the smaller 16MP sensor like the 7D and T2i but has two things the other 3 cameras lack:
1. Manual audio controls
2. A fold out LCD that can be twisted like a viewfinder.
Plus, it's less than $900 bucks.
Check out a review, especially the link the shows the fold out viewfinder with a Zacuto VF.
http://prolost.com/60D
Friday, November 12, 2010
ipads, camera, action!
Fun Friday and here's a good one for you:
http://macenstein.com/default/2010/11/ipads-camera-action/
I thought it was funny until I realized I paid $1700 bucks a piece for my 1x1 Litepanels. That's the cost of 3 basic ipads with enough money left over for a mounting system and Starbucks.
Of course, if I put my Litepanels a foot away from talent I wouldn't be shooting at 800ASA, I'd be frying them. But it does give the Roscoe Litepads a run for their money...
http://macenstein.com/default/2010/11/ipads-camera-action/
I thought it was funny until I realized I paid $1700 bucks a piece for my 1x1 Litepanels. That's the cost of 3 basic ipads with enough money left over for a mounting system and Starbucks.
Of course, if I put my Litepanels a foot away from talent I wouldn't be shooting at 800ASA, I'd be frying them. But it does give the Roscoe Litepads a run for their money...
Thursday, November 11, 2010
Arri Alexa
While we're on the topic of cameras this week we should ponder the Alexa.
In case you've been under a rock, the Alexa is Arri's replacement for the D-20 and D-21. The Alexa has a "standard" 800 ASA, 14 stops of latitude (with the new 2.0 software) and comes in 3 flavors, starting at $65,000 bucks.
One of these models still has the ridiculous optical viewfinder like the D-20 and D-21 so it feels more like a film camera. While most models are being delivered with an EFV (electronic view finder) the Alexa was built with crews transitioning or double shooting from film in mind.
Some TV and feature crews are carrying both film and electronic cameras, picking the best tool for the job. They use electronic cameras at night for picking detail out of the shadows and using film cameras during the day to handle overexposed portions of the frame. For example, I worked on a pilot for 20th Century Fox that used both the Genesis and a Panaflex Millennium.
The Alexa is for crews familiar with the Arriflex line and the Arri film camera and Alexa can share the same matt boxes, plates, follow focus, monitors, etc.
This camera competes with both higher priced cameras, like the F-23 and F-35 and with the RED.
Even though it much more expensive than the Epic I think the studios don't care about saving $50,000 grand on a camera body in the scope of a $2,000,000 million per episode show. Nor do they care about shooting 5K when they have a 2K post flow.
They want a camera that is fast to work with and can spit out product. Think of it as the difference between working with a 7D and an AF-100.
All the cameras link to their individual product pages, just click on the name. Here's the link of the day:
http://www.theblackandblue.com/2010/09/03/on-set-shooting-with-the-arri-alexa-with-video/#more-1022
In case you've been under a rock, the Alexa is Arri's replacement for the D-20 and D-21. The Alexa has a "standard" 800 ASA, 14 stops of latitude (with the new 2.0 software) and comes in 3 flavors, starting at $65,000 bucks.
One of these models still has the ridiculous optical viewfinder like the D-20 and D-21 so it feels more like a film camera. While most models are being delivered with an EFV (electronic view finder) the Alexa was built with crews transitioning or double shooting from film in mind.
Some TV and feature crews are carrying both film and electronic cameras, picking the best tool for the job. They use electronic cameras at night for picking detail out of the shadows and using film cameras during the day to handle overexposed portions of the frame. For example, I worked on a pilot for 20th Century Fox that used both the Genesis and a Panaflex Millennium.
The Alexa is for crews familiar with the Arriflex line and the Arri film camera and Alexa can share the same matt boxes, plates, follow focus, monitors, etc.
This camera competes with both higher priced cameras, like the F-23 and F-35 and with the RED.
Even though it much more expensive than the Epic I think the studios don't care about saving $50,000 grand on a camera body in the scope of a $2,000,000 million per episode show. Nor do they care about shooting 5K when they have a 2K post flow.
They want a camera that is fast to work with and can spit out product. Think of it as the difference between working with a 7D and an AF-100.
All the cameras link to their individual product pages, just click on the name. Here's the link of the day:
http://www.theblackandblue.com/2010/09/03/on-set-shooting-with-the-arri-alexa-with-video/#more-1022
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Sony PMW-F3 Event at USC
Come see Sony's newest handheld Super 35mm camera, the PMW-F3, that combines technology and creativity into a new tool for filmmakers.
The PMW-F3 further enhances Sony's large sensor Super 35mm camera line with state-of-the-art engineering, compact size, spectacular performance - all at an attractive "indie" price.
This exclusive event will include a premiere screening of the first footage acquired with the camera, and a panel discussion with the production teams involved. You'll also have a chance to demo the camera as well as Sony's complete line of 35mm digital motion picture cameras.
Date: Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 | Two Screenings: 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
The PMW-F3 further enhances Sony's large sensor Super 35mm camera line with state-of-the-art engineering, compact size, spectacular performance - all at an attractive "indie" price.
This exclusive event will include a premiere screening of the first footage acquired with the camera, and a panel discussion with the production teams involved. You'll also have a chance to demo the camera as well as Sony's complete line of 35mm digital motion picture cameras.
Date: Wednesday, November 17th, 2010 | Two Screenings: 5:30 PM and 7:30 PM
Location: | |
Ray Stark Family Theatre | |
SCA108 | |
Parking: | Enter at USC Entrance Gate #4 or #5, located at the intersection of W. Jefferson Blvd. & McClintock Avenue. Proceed as directed to parking structure D, at the far end of |
Seats are limited.
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Panasonic AG-100
I had a chance to handle the Panasonic AG-100 at both HD Expo and a Birns & Sawyer seminar (thanks for the free food!). If you've used any Panasonic camera you won't have any trouble transitioning to this one.
One interesting difference is when you switch the camera from "Video Camera" to "Film Camera" the gain switch changes into an ASA switch which really reminds you about the relationship between speed and noise.
The AF-100 isn't the fastest camera and the Panasonic people say it's "normal" ASA is in the 300 range. I played with the gain/ASA and couldn't see an appreciable jump in noise up to 800 ASA but I couldn't compare two images side by side, either.
What did change the look of the image was the glass used. I saw the AF-100 shooting side by side with Olympus still camera glass and Zeiss compact primes. What a difference! I actually thought the Olympus glass was sharper but the Zeiss was more pleasing.
Is the AF-100 the DSLR killer? In a word, no. It's more the DOF adapter killer.
DSLR's are cheap, they take stills, are great for stolen shots and did I mention are cheap? Plus, the 5D is still the only camera with a full size sensor, bigger than a RED's.
The AF-100 isn't the fastest camera and the Panasonic people say it's "normal" ASA is in the 300 range. I played with the gain/ASA and couldn't see an appreciable jump in noise up to 800 ASA but I couldn't compare two images side by side, either.
What did change the look of the image was the glass used. I saw the AF-100 shooting side by side with Olympus still camera glass and Zeiss compact primes. What a difference! I actually thought the Olympus glass was sharper but the Zeiss was more pleasing.
DSLR's are cheap, they take stills, are great for stolen shots and did I mention are cheap? Plus, the 5D is still the only camera with a full size sensor, bigger than a RED's.
But the AF-100's lack of moire and aliasing, less rolling shutter skew, built-in ND filters, XLR's in, headphone out and Zebras make it a proper camera. Zebras and built in ND filters, I'm so excited!
This camera is for people who shoot moving images and don't have the time to fool with work-arounds. You shoot, edit and deliver.
My big complaint is the AVCHD codec but clients aren't complaining about the 5D's codec, so what do I know? And the Panasonic people say the 24MBPS AVCHD is better than the 5D's mpg4 because it compares frames both forward and backward.
And if you want uncompressed 4:2:2 you can always record what's coming out the HDSDI. Get a KiPro for $3000 grand and you're good to go.
One thing Panasonic doesn't announce too loudly is you only get standard frame rates out the HDSDI. As soon as you undercrank or overcrank nothing comes out that connection.
Here's a good link:
Go to the Day Three portion of the review. That's when it starts to get good.
A funny note: A rental guy at HD Expo was extolling the virtues of using the AF-100 with a KiPro and bragged that you would get quality almost equal to a F900 for about $8000 dollars. I'm glad to know the camera I bought 10 years ago is still the benchmark. And still better!
A funny note: A rental guy at HD Expo was extolling the virtues of using the AF-100 with a KiPro and bragged that you would get quality almost equal to a F900 for about $8000 dollars. I'm glad to know the camera I bought 10 years ago is still the benchmark. And still better!
Monday, November 8, 2010
Sony PMW-F3
Sony finally announced some of the details of it's new Super 35mm/7D sized sensor camera the Sony PMW-F3. The big surprise for me is the price, $15,000 bucks! Obviously, they think their competition is the RED and not the 5D. Or they're just trying to position the F3 between the EX-1/EX-3 and their XDCAMS.
I've handled the Panasonic AF-100 at both at ETE (HD Expo) and at a seminar at Birns & Sawyer. The biggest difference? The price The AF-100 lists at only $5000 but more about that camera tomorrow.
Read all about the Sony F3: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/12703.html
I've handled the Panasonic AF-100 at both at ETE (HD Expo) and at a seminar at Birns & Sawyer. The biggest difference? The price The AF-100 lists at only $5000 but more about that camera tomorrow.
Read all about the Sony F3: http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/12703.html
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