The Great Camera Shootout 2011 Part 2

Here's the second part of Zacuto's Great Camera Shootout 2011 entitled "Sensors & Sensitivity".

Fair warning, it's techie but if you just want to see image comparisons here's the tests you want to see.  Go to:  6:45, 9:00 and 21:50.  Very interesting for anyone who uses cameras.

http://www.zacuto.com/the-great-camera-shootout-2011/episode-two

Color Grading in FCPX

16 free Color Grading Tutorials and how to do it in FCPX.

Even if you don't use FCPX some of the tutorials are good for explaining what is color grading and the correct order of steps.  

I was taught to always "Push and Pull".  When you push something in one direction you got to pull something else in another.  Push the blues, pull the skin tones.  Push the brightness, pull the contrast. 

http://vimeo.com/user6379404/videos

iPhone SLR Mount

At first I thought this was outlandish but an iphone SLR Mount may just be the future.  Who says the next DSLR's won't be as thin as a credit card?

Now, if they can do something about the inverted image...

http://photojojo.com/store/awesomeness/iphone-slr-mount/

Cameraman Boot Camp

Isn't this the way you learned to be a camera op?

FCPX Review From POP

Here's a Review of FCPX without the emotion.  Author Oliver Peters shows what's new, what's different and what's lost with the new FCP.

  I think my favorite line is the last, "FCP X is ready for prime time now, although Prime Time might not be ready for it!"


Thanks to Matthew Kendall for sending this.
http://www.2-pop.com/article/108832

Follow Focus Made of Legos

Want a follow focus but too expensive?  Got some of your kid's legos laying around?  Then, you can make yourself a Lego Follow Focus.

Check out the video at: http://www.petapixel.com/2011/02/12/follow-focus-made-entirely-with-lego/

Sony F35 Now 12-bit

Sony is offering a free 12-big upgrade for the F35.  It can record 12 bit to both the SRW-5800/2 deck and the SRMASTER field recorder which records 12-bit signals to solid state memory cards.

12 bit is over 68 million colors as opposed to over 1 million for 10 bit.  

http://pro.sony.com/bbsc/ssr/show-highend/resource.solutions.bbsccms-assets-show-highend-hdcamsr.shtml

ProMAX "FCP7 to AVID" Webinar

ProMAX is offering a "Switching from FCP to AVID" Webinar tomorrow, Thursday July 21 at 10-11a PST.

ProMAX is the place I bought by first FCP system (FCP1.4 on a Power Mac 4 tower) and now even they want you to switch.  What is the world coming to?

You have questions?  They have answers... maybe.  Log in at:

https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/195681994

"Plot Device" Red Giant Software Demo Reel

Red Giant software came up with a clever way to demo the various looks available using their software.

When the $10,000 video hit the web at the end of June, it started making the rounds at film studios and agencies, and calls started coming in.   27 year old director Seth Worly, who produces videos for a Christian Ministry, is planning an August trip to Los Angeles and has lined up meetings with CAA, UTA, WME, some management firms and producers.  Now, that's clever...


http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/heat-vision/hollywoods-hottest-short-film-plot-212275?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+thr%2Ffilm+%28The+Hollywood+Reporter+-+Movies%29

New NLE For DSLR's

Not happy with FCPX?  Want a new open source collaborative NLE that's designed for DSLR's and doubles as a distribution platform?

Maybe you want Novacut.  The trick is you have to Kickstart it...

http://www.definitionmagazine.com/journal/2011/7/4/hate-fcp-x-try-novacut-but-youll-need-to-kick-start-it.html

Crabby Cam

Caption A:  I've been working with this new operator but he's a little crabby.
or
Caption B:  These days, anyone with a camera thinks they are a DP... and will work for crap!

Please post your own caption and we'll see who's the funniest!

Patrick Fitch sent me this shot.

Rube Goldberg Photography

Very cool...

But these guys have way too much time on their hands...

Film And Tapeless Shooting Ratios

I'll cut to the chase.  We shoot more now and we don't cut between takes.  Better for the performance.  Makes me glad to be a cameraman and not an editor.

Or is that the other way around?  Now, we shoot more and an editor has more choices although he's got to search through more stuff...

http://www.studiodaily.com/blog/?p=6001

SketchUp Pro 8

As if Google doesn't make enough money, they offer SketchUp Pro 8.  It's a pre-viz tool that's pretty cool... except it costs $500 bucks!

Google offers a trial download.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8bJ3s_cUV3s

Stolen Duclos Lenses

Duclos Lenses was recently broken into and 30 nearly finished 11-16mm conversion lenses were ripped off.  I've included a Lens List pdf so if you come across an Duclos lenses please check the serial numbers.

Having had a camera stolen from me once this kind of stuff really pisses me off.

http://matthewduclos.wordpress.com/2011/07/07/setback/
http://www.hotrodcameras.com/2009/11/hot-rod-cameras-new-duclos-tokina-11-16-received-on-11-16/
http://matthewduclos.files.wordpress.com/2011/07/stolen-dl-list.pdf

Teleprompter iPad App

Here's a couple more iPad Apps in including a screenwriting app and another slate.  But the one that caught my eye is the Teleprompter app.

Note the iPad actually being used as the monitor.  The software allows you to use the iPad with or without the mirror, just using the ipad above or below the lens or as a stand alone.

http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/9BlgWT/www.coolhunting.com/tech/apps-on-set.php

http://www.bodelin.com/proprompter/

New RED Epic Price: $58,000

The Epic's price tag was supposed to be $40,000 but some how the cost of a RED Epic Package crept up to $58,000.  That's 3.5 times the price of a Red One.  I think if I was spending that kind of money I'd get an Alexa.

On the other hand, it's American made...

http://www.red.com/store/epic/product/epic-m

http://www.filmmaking.net/blog/show_article.asp?id=150

Avid "Crossgrade" Extended

Avid has announced it will extend it's $995 promotional price of Media Composer 5.5 through September to FCP users.  Avid also says since the FCPX rollout, sales of Media Composer has doubled.

This is probably due to Apple taking FCP7 off it's website.  You can't buy it anymore.  Period.  It's now FCPX or nothing.

If you're a small user, well, maybe you'll learn to like X.  But the big boys will switch.  For example, Dinsey owns 2700 licenses for FCP.  FCPX works though an itunes account which means Disney would have to have 2700 individual itune accounts that can't talk to each other.  They ain't going to do that.

If the big boys switch, then so will all the after market people.  So, we will end up switching.

I personally don't like Avid, they caused me problems (read, cost me money on a job) way back when I owned a post business.  I guess I'll keep using my FCP as long as possible.  And then, maybe I'll look at Adobe...

http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/headlines/13276.html

Master Chef Fake Crowd Scene

Looks like someone at Master Chef has been reading my blog about how to add people to a shot.  I'm just damn proud.

They wanted to show that thousands of people were clamoring to be on the show just like American Idol.  Well, not so much, so they added in more crowd.  Now, if they could just digitally add ratings and viewers...

http://insidetv.ew.com/2011/06/22/masterchef-fake-crowd-shot-photo/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+entertainmentweekly%2Fausiellofiles+%28Entertainment+Weekly%2FEW.com%27s%3A+The+Ausiello+Files%29