Film & Video has an excellent behind the scenes look at Superman Returns usuage of Panavision Genisis in production and its positives and negatives in post. The most interesting quote to me was this: "Normally when we composite we blur the CG and add film grain so it sits in the plates nicely. With this camera we can't blur anything because the plates are so sharp, and we can't add grain because there's no noise in the camera. We had to make our stuff look sharper, but it wasn't a problem." The video aesthetic? But there was almost at times too much sharpness. Good read.
The Industrial Design Excellence Awards (IDEA)are dedicated to fostering business and public understanding of the importance of industrial design excellence to the quality of life and the economy. The Sony HDR-HC1 was awarded a silver in the consumer products category and the Panasonic AG-HVX200 took home bronze in the business and industry section. A well-designed camcorder can make a big difference in how you shoot and it is nice to see these two excellent cameras being recognized.
Being on vacation, the biggest obstacle I had from having a perfect shooting set-up was the constant need to recharge the battery. I had enough media, I had enough options in capturing something but by the end of the day I faced the blinking out-of-battery signal. Aaarg!!! So it is nice to see Tekkon's myPower ALL address some of these issues. It is a portable battery device that can charge portable devices including cameras and laptops (16V/4A or less). Many camcorders are included but I didn't see any prosumer cameras. Anyways check out the list and see if the devices you use are on the list. The units go for $120 (14v) and $160 (19v), with most adapters going for $3 to $5.
Back from a long vacation. Good to see Brian and Russell running the show. The links have piled, will try to catch up within the next couple of days.
Sony is offering a deal where you trade in your DV camera (any company, any format) for money towards a new Sony camera. I checked to see how much my good ol' VX1000 was worth, the result was disappointing, as it totaled up to no more than $500. This for a camera that has more features than most DV cameras less than a $1000. But it is not a bad deal. Anyways, for some of you trying to dump your old cameras, this could be a great deal.
Hall Media Productions produced and posted a series of vignettes for drug maker Cephalon to promote a medication that helps people struggling with sleepiness.
"Our approach for 'Alertness Matters' was to literally put our audience in the place of sleepy patients."
To do this, Hall Media strapped a stereoscopic camera on the heads of their actors as they woozily played their scenes. Stereoscopic cinematography uses two cameras to capture a slightly different image creating a sense of depth. It is the basis for how our vision works. The 3-page PDF explains how they pulled off the effect in post as well as some of the problems they ran in to. For example, the calibration of the cameras along the z-axis to create the 3D effect was a delicate process. If they were slightly off they would get a headache-inducing double vision losing the 3D effect. You can see the final product on Hall Media's website under Production->Spotlight (I hate how you can't directly link in Flash sites) though the 3D is lost in the web version.
This fine tutorial explains how to create your own shoe adaptor for Sony's low-end HD camcorder, the HDR-HC1. By default, you can only attach a limited number of accessories to the camera due to the proprietary interface shoe connection (boo). But not anymore! Be a rebel and give it a go.
Sheer brilliance or silly gimmick? The Catchu is a UK-developed "camcorder frisbee" currently in the prototype phase. A small flash camcorder is mounted on the frisbee's underside, and a miniature tail keeps the camera body stable as the disc rotates after it is thrown. The camera is detachable and can store up to 20 minute of video. Hilarious, but smart!
It's vacation season. With vacation season comes vacation videos. No one wants to watch a shaky, boring, constant zooming in and out home video. To rectify this, Sony put together an easy to understand guide to help those new to making home videos. The content is probably stuff you have all heard before if you are a regular DV Guru reader, but this handy 4-page PDF is perfect for a friend or family member that is about to head off on vacation, video camera in hand. Topics include angles, composition, camera movement, zooming and panning, posture when filming, techniques to add depth, and tips and tricks. The only downside is it is littered with Sony branding and products but you can easily block that stuff out and focus on the good stuff. To download the PDF guide directly click here and pass it along to a friend in need of a few pointers.
The RED One website has been recently updated with new camera prototype renders. These are not meant to represent the absolute final-final design, but things seem to be shaping up quite nicely. Quite a bit of new detail in there. Grab a peak and start drooling, fanboy.
Annouced last week, Sony's free transfer software for use with Mac OS X v.10.4 that provides interoperability between their XDCAM HD system and Final Cut Studio, is now available for download on their website. The XDCAM system is a high end optical disc-based video production system, mostly put to use by broadcasting and production companies. If you've tried out the software, let us know about your results.
Jim Jannard has made some new announcements regarding the continuing development of the RED camera. In a recent DVXuser forum post, Jannard says: "We stated before that we had images from a 'test slice' that proved the design of our sensor. Now we have images from a full size sensor. We still have a long way to go, but there is considerable celebration in our camp. We expect that we are currently on schedule for showing 4k images in the fall (knock on wood)." The plan is that the camera will be given out to professionals to shoot test footage, which will later be implemented into a demo screening at IBC later in the fall. Not only that, but apparently the camera has undergone a major design change. Progress! Sounds like RED is chugging along.
Adobe has released an update for Premiere Pro 2.0, allowing users to aquire Canon's 24F HDV format. 24F is a funky Canon HD XL1-specific format that acts as an alternative to 24p. And if you're interested in reading up on 24F, check out this bit on DV Info Net.
DV.com has an excellent article on Marc Singer's new documentary project, a profile of the Marine Corps Force Reconnaissance Platoon during their missions in Iraq. Singer explains his reasoning for choosing the HVX200, Panasonic's low-cost HD-capable digital camcorder. He describes the sheer ruggedness of the camera in its ability to withstand some of the most extreme conditions in filming the Marines during their dangerous and rough-and-tumle missions: testing explosives, jumping out of planes, and rappelling down buildings. Seems like the HVX200 is not only a beast in terms of video performance, but physical capability as well. Very informative read. Check out Singer's personal site for more information on his project and additional HVX200 musings.
Digital Content producer has a very informative article about using the Panasonic HVX200 for DVD projects. The HVX200 has true 24p which is native for a DVD player. "This means that optimal SD DVD workflow from image acquisition to encoding to DVD-compliant MPEG-2 should ideally be performed at 24p." This is largely due to film's 24 frames per second. Anyways, a lot of excellent info. Some that I have not read anywhere else.
Sony will introduce free transfer software for use with Mac OS X v.10.4 that provides native interoperability between their XDCAM HD system and Final Cut Studio. The software will be made available online at no cost (site seems to be down as I write this), and both Sony and Apple will be demonstrating the software during a 12 city seminar tour, which started yesterday (June 27). Check out Apple's official page to see where you can catch a demo.
Film & Video has an excellent behind the scenes look at Superman Returns usuage of Panavision Genisis in production and its positives and negatives in post. The most interesting quote to me was this: "Normally when we composite we blur the CG and add film grain so it sits in the plates nicely. With this camera we can't blur anything because the plates are so sharp, and we can't add grain because there's no noise in the camera. We had to make our stuff look sharper, but it wasn't a problem." The video aesthetic? But there was almost at times too much sharpness. Good read.
Being on vacation, the biggest obstacle I had from having a perfect shooting set-up was the constant need to recharge the battery. I had enough media, I had enough options in capturing something but by the end of the day I faced the blinking out-of-battery signal. Aaarg!!! So it is nice to see Tekkon's myPower ALL address some of these issues. It is a portable battery device that can charge portable devices including cameras and laptops (16V/4A or less). Many camcorders are included but I didn't see any prosumer cameras. Anyways check out the list and see if the devices you use are on the list. The units go for $120 (14v) and $160 (19v), with most adapters going for $3 to $5.
Back from a long vacation. Good to see Brian and Russell running the show. The links have piled, will try to catch up within the next couple of days.
Hall Media Productions produced and posted a series of vignettes for drug maker Cephalon to promote a medication that helps people struggling with sleepiness.
This fine 
Sheer brilliance or silly gimmick? The 
The RED One website has been recently updated with 
Jim Jannard has made some new announcements regarding the continuing development of the 
Adobe has released an update for Premiere Pro 2.0, allowing users to aquire Canon's 24F HDV format. 24F is a funky Canon HD XL1-specific format that acts as an alternative to 24p. And if you're interested in reading up on 24F, check out 
DV.com has 
Digital Content producer has a very informative article about using the Panasonic HVX200 for DVD projects. The HVX200 has true 24p which is native for a DVD player. "This means that optimal SD DVD workflow from image acquisition to encoding to DVD-compliant MPEG-2 should ideally be performed at 24p." This is largely due to film's 24 frames per second. Anyways, a lot of excellent info. Some that I have not read anywhere else.
Sony will introduce free transfer software for use with Mac OS X v.10.4 that provides native interoperability between their 
