As filmmakers, it’s in our best interest to stop online piracy. Our livelihood depends on it. So you would think the Stop Online Piracy Act would be in our best interest. But there’s a reason so many sites are using today as a “SOPA Strike” — it’s all in the execution. And the execution of SOPA and associated bills like the Protect IP Act, or PIPA, have internet experts worried about the future of the internet as an open platform. Here’s Kirby Ferguson with an overview video of what’s at stake: More »
Video takes up a lot of hard drive space. HD video more so than SD, 4K more than HD… and since the flooding in Thailand, hard drive prices have spiked precipitously. So there’s always room in an editor’s toolkit for an app to analyze drive space and zero in on the largest directories to delete or move. Similar to my approach to tracking time, freeing up space is all about focusing on what’s important: in this case, the largest files. DaisyDisk is a paid Mac app that I find myself using frequently; here’s a review from NextUpMac (and a free alternative). More »
It’s film awards season (here’s an ongoing scorecard), which also makes it a good time to reflect on your personal favorites from the past year. I wish Netflix would let me sort the films I’ve rated by the date I rated them, which would allow me to provide an easy answer to “seen anything good lately?” Even this very handy script does not allow that. But I have some issues with Netflix, and this post is not about them but about Quentin Tarantino, who recently shared his own personal top 10 movies from 2011: More »
UPDATE: B&H has posted official U.S. pricing for the C300, and it is $16k (ships “after January 30″). Thanks to everyone who commented on my post about the Sony F3 versus the Canon C300, I have a clearer sense of the C300‘s strengths (that post was largely about its weaknesses). As I said in a comment, for a documentary camera (especially of the cinéma vérité variety) the C300 may be the best option out there. Several years ago, for example, I shot a short doc in the Ecuadorian Amazon jungle, and in that setting the recording time — both in terms of storage space and battery power — was a chief concern, as was low light ability (there was no electricity for 200 miles and night scenes were candlelit with no other option). The C300 would be the absolute best camera in the world for this. In the below series of videos, Rodney Charters, Lan Bui and Drew Gardner weigh in on the C300. But first, since we’re talking about documentary use, here’s Dan Chung’s picturesque short C300 doc: More »
This is a guest post by DP and filmmaker Randolph Sellars.
In my last article, I discussed the reasons for directors to take an acting class. In this article, I’ll share practical directing tips and give you my second piece of directing advice. It sounds a bit like Buddhist Philosophy: You can become a much better director if you learn how to let go of your “illusion of control.” This is easier said than done. “Letting go” requires a conscious shift in perspective and lots of practice. It’s human nature (and especially a director’s nature) to want to be “in control.” It’s common for directors to desire and seek total control over their artistic vision. But having “control” is a myth. More »
I mentioned previously that I’d shot a micro-short to test out the RED SCARLET, and here it is. To put the camera through its paces, we wanted to use it in a real-world setting instead of shooting charts in a studio — but we also didn’t have the time or budget to put together a “real” short. What we set out to make (and what we ended up with) is something more than a series of test shots, and something less than a proper short. This was a no-budget, quick production on which everyone donated their time. Let me know what you think! More »
This is a guest post by director/DP Alex Mallis.
Coming from a primarily documentary background, my style and approach are often dictated by what’s happening in front of me. I like to work handheld and shoot on the fly -– following the action as it happens (or doesn’t). I’ve long assumed this antithetical to the more controlled approach of narrative filmmaking. You tell the actors where to go; they go there. You call action and the action starts. You repeat scenes dozens of times until you get that one golden take. And yet, I felt right at home working as a cinematographer on WELCOME TO PINE HILL. More »
As I predicted, RED killed their “3K for $3K” fixed-lens SCARLET camera. If that small-chip, big-resolution camera was something you were interested in, JVC has stepped in with the GY-HMQ10 (rolls right off the tongue!), a 4K (3840×2160, or “Quad HD” in RED parlance) compact camera with a fixed 10x zoom lens, which will land in March for under $5k. Recording to a VBR h.264 codec at up to 144Mpbs, the camera also does 1080p at up to 60 frames per second (something that many cameras at double or triple the price can’t do). Does the new JVC hit a sweet spot or does it put the “K” in “OK” (or something)? Press release and larger picture (it looks like what you’d expect) below. More »
Since the official announcement, more details of the Nikon D4‘s video features have emerged. Given Nikon is deeming it a “multimedia DSLR,” how will its features compare to its chief competitor, the Canon 1DX (both camera are high-end DSLRs, priced at $6-7k)? First up is a video by DSLR News Shooter’s Dan Chung, who got a hands-on look from Nikon’s James Banfied: More »
I’m not here to start a camera flame war between the Canon C300, Sony F3, and RED SCARLET. The fact is, with any of these new large-sensor camcorders, you can tell your story effectively, and that’s what’s important. However… these cameras are an investment. And a much more serious investment than a DSLR at that — $15k does not come easily, and that’ll just get you started with each. So I thought I’d share a thought I had the other day when watching Philip Bloom’s latest camera shootout. Bloom didn’t include the RED and I’ll have plenty of thoughts to share on RED going forward (to the chagrin of some of you!), but if I hadn’t gone the RED route I would go with an F3 over the C300. Why? More »
This is the sixth in a series of guest posts by filmmaker Raafi Rivero.
In past articles in this series, I’ve focused on techniques for directing with the assumption that you’d be working with full crew and support. But in the day of the DSLR sometimes even the word “crew” is a euphemism. You’re going out there like a samurai. These are some tips to make sure you come back with what you need. This will be more technical and less aesthetic than some of my other pieces here. More »
Picture profiles have taken HDSLRs to another level in terms of getting a gradeable image out of our favorite low-cost hybrid cameras. As far as Canon DSLRs are concerned, Technicolor CineStyle is the official “flat” setting and a top user-created choice is Marvels Cine, out of which I’ve had problems getting useable skin tones (but I have not tried the latest version, designed to fix this). Joining the fray is new entrant Similaar Flaat, by NoFilmSchool frequenter Samuel Hurtado, which is designed to offer a similarly flat setting with improved skin tones. There are a number of profiles, so grab them yourself and see if it’s worthy of the extra “a”… More »
Philip Bloom's Camera Shootout Features the Latest Large Sensor DSLRs and Camcorders
I was waiting for part two to post this, so now that it’s live, here is Philip Bloom’s latest camera shootout pitting the Canon C300, Sony NEX5N, Panasonic AF100, Panasonic GH2, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, Sony FS100, Sony F3, and Nikon D7000 against each other in a variety of real-world situations: More »
So the just-announced Nikon D4 features an uncompressed HDMI output. This means you can take a wonderfully capable still camera, hook it up to an external recorder, and now you have an uncrippled video camera with a full-frame sensor. Pretty damn appealing! I found this 7-minute video on YouTube and haven’t seen any other information about it, so I’m not sure if external recorders were used, but go ahead and click “1080p” and enjoy the first Nikon D4 video: More »
The new full-frame Nikon D4, as rumored, brings with it a bevy of new video features. It will do 1080p at 30/25/24 frames-per-second, and up to 60 FPS at 720p. It will ship with a microphone input and dedicated headphone jack (both with adjustable levels), and supports the new XQD memory card format. And while the h.264 codec is only 24Mbps, to complain about the bitrate would be to ignore the biggest new feature: a clean, uncompressed HDMI output. Nikon has finally gotten serious about video. More »
Supposedly we’re in for an official unveiling in the next couple of days, but that didn’t stop one site from posting the official Nikon D4 spec sheet. The camera will be a competitor to the Canon 1DX, coming in at a similar $6,000 price point, and and it looks like the D4 will actually beat the 1DX to market by a month. The specs, which back up the earlier rumors: More »
This is a guest post by DP and filmmaker Randolph Sellars.
I’ll be talking about working with experienced actors and feeling a little uncomfortable or inadequate as a director. The lack of confidence when directing actors is an embarrassing secret many directors share that’s not often discussed. More »
Sebastian at Cinema5D has released a short film shot on his Canon-mount SCARLET, and some very nice video overviews to go with it. Since you can’t get your hands on a RED camera at a normal camera shop — they only sell direct — these video overviews are very helpful. Here’s the short, which was shot in 3 hours on the Canon 24-70mm f2.8L lens (more details on the shoot here) and graded in DaVinci Resolve: More »
I saw some nifty rigs from edelkrone at last year’s NAB, and while I haven’t done any real-world shooting with their products, their latest rig caught my eye: the aptly-named Pocket Rig claims to be the “World’s Most Compact and Light DSLR Rig.” Here’s the release video: More »
Rodney Charters needs no introduction (he’s best known as the DP of 24), and along with Drew Gardner and Lan Bui he recently got his hands on the Canon C300. The camera is absolutely the post-DSLR camera of the moment in the sense that it uses the DSLR form factor in a way that the Sony F3 does not, and also in the sense that it is convenient like a DSLR in a way that the RED SCARLET is not. But “camera of the decade?” Sure, if the decade was 2000-2010. 2010-2020… I’m not so sure. Here are their very informal behind-the-scenes videos: More »
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