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Remember the Digital Bolex? Despite the fact that most of the camera buzz has been around Blackmagic and Canon (with the RAW video hack of the 5D) for the past month or so, Joe and Elle have just kept on with bringing their vision for the Digital Bolex D16 to fruition. While the final design of the camera is not yet being manufactured, many of the pieces needed to make the camera function out of the box (like a custom-built PL mount and the Kish lenses for the turret) are now nearing completion in time for the release of the camera. Hit the jump to see what the fine folks at Digital Bolex have been up to for the past two months. More »
We’ve been talking quite a bit about Adobe over the past few months, as they’ve announced new versions of all their major desktop applications and ended the Creative Suite as we know it. Even though some folks are none too thrilled with Adobe right now due to the complete switch to the Creative Cloud, they still make what many consider to be the rising star of NLEs with Premiere Pro, and it’s more packed than ever with features to make filmmaker’s lives easier. Today we’re going to explore two of the lesser known color effects that come with Premiere Pro, the Leave Color and Change to Color effects. While these might not be something you will use day-to-day, they’re an excellent option when you need to create some highly stylized shots at a moment’s notice. So without any further ado, here are the tutorials, straight from Creative COW: More »
We talked a little bit about Lightworks and their plans for the future during NAB a few weeks ago. The team over at EditShare haven’t missed a beat since then, and now they’ve released the public beta of the Linux version of Lightworks. Although most of us aren’t currently using Ubuntu, my guess is that’s due to the fact that, until now, there haven’t been any truly professional or industry-recognized NLEs on that platform. Now, however, with an NLE that is truly powerful and operating system agnostic, editors will have the choice to work with the OS that suits their needs, not the OS that fits their software solution. Hit the jump for details on the release. More »
As most post-production folks know, Avid Media Composer is not the most intuitive piece of software. Even the simplest of tasks can take far too much time if you’re unfamiliar with the Avid interface and workflow. However, once you’ve grown accustomed to the program, it becomes one of quickest and most powerful editorial tools at your disposal. Because Avid is such a prominent tool within the industry, yet one that is shied away from by many younger filmmakers, I will be starting the “Avid Tutorial” series (and a Premiere version as well). Each post will be an aggregation of the best topical video tutorials from around the web in order help people become better oriented with the key concepts and functions within the software. So without any further ado, let’s take a peak at some of the basic color correction functionality built into Avid Media Composer, and see how you can take your shots from bland to vibrant in a few easy steps. More »
Filmmakers love fast lenses. It’s a scientific fact. However, we’ve always had to turn to a sizable kit of primes when we wanted any versatility in our selection of focal lengths due to the fact that zoom lenses are traditionally somewhat sluggish in terms of aperture. Not to mention that some of the faster zoom lenses out there are also variable aperture, which makes them virtually unusable for filmmaking purposes when they’re wide open. But don’t fret, filmmaking comrades, Sigma’s got our back. They recently announced a new addition to their “Art” lineup of lenses, the super speedy 18-35 f/1.8 wide angle zoom. More »
If you’ve been shooting video with DSLRs for the past couple of years, chances are you also own, or have at least used the Zoom H4N. It’s one of those devices that has seemingly become ubiquitous on low-budget shoots due to the fact that it’s incredibly easy to use and (relatively) affordable compared to other audio capture equipment. However, the H4N has always been a one-trick pony in that you are limited to either the XY mic atop the device, the two inputs on the bottom, or some combination thereof. For many sound recordists and location mixers, this combination of inputs simply wasn’t enough. Luckily for them, Zoom recently announced the big brother (and significant upgrade) from the H4N, the extremely modular and versatile H6. Check below for the details. More »
Avid has been the leader in high-end film and television post-production for the past 20 years. Despite this fact, Avid’s primary competitors (Adobe and Apple) have been stealing customers left and right for the past few years with new innovations in their NLE offerings. However, Avid has slowly and steadily been bringing Media Composer up to modern standards with 64bit processing, support for modern GPU’s, AMA linking etc, but up until yesterday, the Media Composer platform was still limited to a 1920 x 1080 pipeline. Avid’s Media Composer 7 looks to change all of this and bring the platform into the 21st century, where 4k looks to be the new standard. Check out the product video below: More »
RED is on a roll. With a stream of new products just announced, it seemed that they had done their damage for the day. However, now we’ve also got confirmation that not only is the Dragon finally ready, but that the Scarlet will be able to be outfitted with the new sensor. This is huge news for both EPIC and SCARLET owners alike. Read below for the scoop on the new update program. More »
Last night, while we were all dreaming of Blackmagic’s magical new cameras, Jarred Land from RED was busy posting new upgrades and products to the reduser forum. Some of these new products are quite significant, so without any further ado, read on to find out what Jarred had say. More »
Blackmagic Goes 4K with S35 Global Shutter Sensor for $4K, and a Pocket Cinema Camera for $1K!
We’ve all been speculating that this year’s NAB show would be a major one in terms of new cinema-style cameras at incredibly low price points. After Blackmagic Design shook up the cinema camera world last year, the market seemed destined for another company to swoop in an steal the BMCC‘s thunder. However, a photo of two brand-spankin’ new Blackmagic Cinema Cameras has been leaked, and it’s definitely real. It appears that Blackmagic has done it again, and their thunder is locked down in a vault that would leave even Danny Ocean and his team of 13 stumped. Check out the photo below for the limited details that we have at this point. More »
Last month, I talked a little bit about what I was hoping for from Adobe (and Avid) at NAB 2013. Yesterday evening, Adobe provided a sneak peek of some of the major and minor enhancements that they’ve made to their suite of video production tools, and needless to say, some of them are tremendously exciting. So without any further ado, here’s a quick peek at what Adobe has in store for next week’s convention. More »
We’ve talked about travel sliders here at nofilmschool a couple of times before. However, even the smallest of sliders can be a hassle to get into your backpack, and most of them aren’t particularly useful if you want to slide any more than two or three feet (which, let’s face it, we all do). Enter Nice Industries, creator of the wildly popular Aviator Travel Jib, with a brand new product, the Red Rocket Travel Slider. This is no ordinary slider, however, as the components to get it all set up can be fit in a case the size of a shoe box. But that’s not all, with a track length of anywhere up to ten feet (yeah, you heard that correctly), the Red Rocket might just be one of the most versatile travel sliders ever. Check out the Kickstarter launch video below: More »
Last month cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC, took home the Academy’s top prize for cinematography for his work on Ang Lee’s Life of Pi. His forthcoming feature, Oblivion, will be the first major motion picture shot with the Sony F65, and he recently talked with Jon Fauer of Film and Digital Times Magazine about his experiences with the camera, as well as some of the interesting techniques that the production used in place of shooting with a blue screen. Check out the trailer and a special behind-the-scenes video for Oblivion below: More »
Shane Hurlbut should be no stranger to nofilmschool readers. He’s one of a few cinematographers working at the highest level of the industry who consistently takes the time to share his experiences and his cinematography expertise on his awesome blog. Whether he’s talking about how to create a soft and beautiful book light, or the fundamentals of telling a story through composition, Shane is always filling the interwebs with his vast cinematography knowledge. Recently, he sat down with Paul Antico of Anticipate Media for their weekly podcast. Needless to say, Shane and Paul’s conversation is absolutely fantastic, and the pair touch on many of the key topics relevant to cinematography in the modern age. More »
LED lighting has come a long way in the past 10 years. While many professionals stayed away from LEDs when they were an emergent technology (despite the fact that LEDs offered some very distinct advantages over traditional lighting technologies), you would be hard-pressed to find a current set without at least a few battery-powered units being used as accent lights. However, LEDs still aren’t ubiquitous, and in most cases they haven’t supplanted more traditional sources such as tungsten fresnels and PARs due to the fact that they have relatively low output and are comparatively harsh in the quality of their light. The Lumapad, an open source LED Kickstarter project from inventor Richard Haberkern, looks to change all of that. Check out his Kickstarter video for the Lumapad below: More »
John Hawkes is one of those actors who slides under most people’s radar, even though he somehow manages to be in just about everything. I first became aware of his acting prowess with his eerie portrayal of a cult leader in Sean Durkin’s haunting character study, Martha Marcy May Marlene. Since then, I’ve noticed him in about a gazillion different films (that’s the actual number), and I’ve come to greatly appreciate him as one of a few fantastic character actors working today. He’s even been nominated for an Academy Award for his role as the meth-addled antagonist in the indie hit, Winter’s Bone. Hawkes recently wrote a short piece for MovieMaker Magazine about his seven tips for surviving in the film industry, and needless to say, the seasoned veteran has some fantastic advice for up and coming filmmakers. More »
The Digital Bolex D16 has been one of the most anticipated products in recent memory for the indie film community. Since it was first announced via Kickstarter over a year ago, and since it blew past its funding goal, Joe, Elle, and the team at Ienso Electronics have been incredibly busy taking customer feedback and zeroing-in on additional features for the camera. While it has taken quite a bit longer than those involved with the product design had anticipated, the finalized version of the D16 appears to be right around the corner. Joe and Elle were at South by Southwest last week showing the final design of the camera and fielding questions. Below is a quick video of Mike from the Digital Bolex team with the final version of the D16. More »
It’s official. As of May 1st, Adobe will no longer sell boxed versions of its Creative Suite of applications through their website or through any of their various resellers. Of course, this isn’t the first time that we’ve seen a move of this sort from a major software company. Apple made the switch to an entirely digital fulfillment method for its software (and third party software) with the App Store well over a year ago, and tons of smaller companies have solely relied on digital delivery for ages. More »
NAB is an exciting time of year for us filmmaking folk. While there are certainly some exciting things on the horizon in terms of cameras, rigs, lenses, lights, and what have you, I’m making an educated guess that this will be another significant year for NLE development, especially from post-production giants Avid and Adobe. Avid is likely to make the jump to version 7 of its flagship Media Composer, and if they follow their previously mentioned product cycle plan, Adobe will release version 6.5 of their popular Creative Suite. With much of the editing market still undecided between the three major players in post-production, these new updates could be a crucial stepping stone into the future for these companies. More »
On-board monitors might not be among the sexiest pieces of gear on set, but they are definitely among the most useful. Whether they’re used as a reference for a camera assistant or a dolly grip, the camera operator isn’t able to use the eyepiece, or you’ve got a director who likes to hover behind the camera, on-board monitors have become essential to the filmmaking process in the digital age. But with so many different monitoring technologies, and with just as many options for these monitors in the marketplace, deciding which on-board monitor is right for your next production can be a downright daunting task. Luckily for us, AbelCine has our back. More »
Hummer: https://vimeo.com/groups/183851 Luke Neumann on Canon 5D Mark III RAW Video and a Comparison with the RED …
Brooks: For sure, which is why I made the clarification about image resizing being… Luke Neumann on Canon 5D Mark III RAW Video and a Comparison with the RED …
Brooks: Ah that makes sense. Luke Neumann on Canon 5D Mark III RAW Video and a Comparison with the RED …
Jared: BRUNO ... I was in 9th or 10th grade I think. Sasha's dong was stretched o… Tribeca Asks Filmmakers: 'What Was the Most Awkward Movie You Watched with…
steven: yes i agree,,they have been working with limited budget,,they started with… Plethora of Updates on the Digital Bolex Reminds Us That Good Things Come …