nofilmschool » monitor

Knowing Your Scopes: When to Trust Your Eye and the Most Useful Scopes of All

Dave Kendricken — Sat, 11 May 2013 22:48:40 +0000

Depending on the acquisition system, waveform monitors and vectorscopes can guide quality control of your imagery from shooting all the way down the pipeline to grading, mastering, and compression for delivery. Scopes can seem a little intimidating and esoteric to the new user, but getting the basics down can really help in owning your image. Recently, Alexis Van Hurkman over at ProVideo Coalition has answered some key questions about scopes: find out which ones he considers the most indispensable below, plus when it may be a good idea to trust your own pair of eyes in making adjustments — even when your scopes are reading ‘A-Okay.’ (more…)

DIY FYI: You Don't Need a 4K Monitor to Monitor in 4K (But It's Not Perfect and Uses Linux)

Dave Kendricken — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 23:30:27 +0000

We’ve had a few posts revolving around open source 3D modeling & animation suite Blender recently, including some info on using it to model color space in three dimensions. Now, as a bit of a ‘BTW, FYI’ to a more recent post concerning the free release of all 4k F65 footage acquired for Blender’s CGI/live-action Tears of Steel, we have some info that may actually help you visualize that or any other 4k footage in full-res — without an actual 4k monitor. It isn’t perfect — it’s a bit rough and ready, and may require Linux, but we thought our readers should know that it’s possible, especially since very few of us have access to 4k viewing, be it through projection or UHD TV sets. Read on for some details on how the Project Mango team devised its ‘DIY 4k’ monitoring solution. (more…)

AbleCine EXPO: Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About On-Board Monitors

Robert Hardy — Sun, 10 Mar 2013 01:21:01 +0000

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…)

Your iPhone is a Light Meter, Waveform Monitor, and False-Color Display with $5 Cine Meter App

Dave Kendricken — Thu, 24 Jan 2013 00:38:19 +0000

Talk about your digital leatherman: The number of ridiculously handy — and practical, and portable, all in one — apps for filmmaking on mobile devices is probably one of the greatest tech-vantages we’ve got going for us these days second to low-cost high-res acquisition. Uses range from lighting plot diagramming and shooting scheduling all the way to Canon DSLR control via Android and RED control via iOS — there’s an app for all that, and more. Now, thanks to Adam Wilt of Pro Video Coalition (and a lot of other great stuff), your iPhone is now more of an asset on set than ever before — and that’s because his new $5 app Cine Meter turns your iOS device into a light meter, waveform monitor and false-color display. (more…)

Apple Quality but Not the Premium? $400 Gets You the Same 27-Inch Panel Used in Their Displays

Joe Marine — Tue, 15 Jan 2013 04:04:08 +0000

There is a good chance the computer or mobile device screen you’re looking at right now was not actually manufactured by the same company who made the device. This is normally the way Apple and most other computer companies make their products, buying screens from third parties rather than making their own. While Apple normally has first dibs on most of these screens, at a certain point they are also sold to anyone and everyone, and that’s exactly where you, the consumer, can benefit from lower prices while still getting high quality. Click through to find out how you can get a monitor with the same exact LG panel that Apple uses in their 27″ displays for only $390. (more…)

Shoot a Film on Your iPhone, Control Canon DSLRs with an Android Tablet Monitor Rig

Dave Kendricken — Wed, 05 Dec 2012 16:28:19 +0000

There’s no doubt that modern mobile technology has the capacity to streamline or benefit many aspects of filmmaking. Whether it’s the micro-video art emerging in social media, script supervision capabilities, lighting-fast previsualization softwares, or the surprisingly high-resolution video some phones and tablets can shoot (given what they are), there’s something to be said for their place in the industry. For goodness sake, modern smartphones are better at giving directions than my GPS navigator and shoot higher quality video than my first camcorder. With all that said, though, how far can things like the Apple iPhone or an Android tablet be taken down-and-dirty in the trenches of shooting? (more…)

SmallHD Unveils Sleek New AC7 OLED Monitors at Ground-Breakingly Low Price Point

Dave Kendricken — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 22:42:04 +0000

The differences between competing pieces of technology often become very, well, technical in explanation — but most of the time, we don’t get to use the term ‘organic’ as a qualifier. This happens to be true in the case of SmallHD’s new OLED HDMI and SDI monitors — and Organic Light Emitting Diodes are actually news to me in general. What’s even more exciting is that SmallHD is looking to provide very high-quality monitoring solutions for prices previously unheard-of. Read on for a more comprehensive specs readout and a bit on what makes OLEDs different from traditional LCD systems. (more…)

ikan's D5 5.6 Inch Monitor Goes Head to Head with SmallHD and TVLogic

Joe Marine — Sun, 02 Sep 2012 02:19:25 +0000

The external monitor market has exploded in the last few years, and companies like SmallHD and TVLogic have a ton of new competition. As filmmakers we now have plenty of exciting options like ikan’s 5.6″ D5 monitor, which features HD-SDI and HDMI pass-through and a 1280 x 800 IPS panel. Rick Macomber of DSLR News Shooter takes a look at ikan’s new monitor in the video review below. (more…)

The 12-Inch 720p External Monitor for DSLRs That Costs Under $100

Joe Marine — Wed, 30 May 2012 21:53:17 +0000

Re-purposing something is always fun, especially when it can be used to help out filmmakers. This is one of the more interesting DIY monitors I’ve seen, and it’s got one of the largest screens I’ve ever seen for a device like this. Basically, the Motorola ATRIX 4G Laptop Dock for the ATRIX 4G phone can be used as an external monitor. The Micro HDMI port on the device senses any incoming HDMI signal and then outputs it on the screen. Check out the video below of the device in action with a Canon 60D: (more…)

ikan Shows off Their New 7" IPS Monitor and Introduces a 2-In-1 Travel Bag

Joe Marine — Mon, 07 May 2012 21:22:57 +0000

If you want a monitor that you can actually afford, look no further than some of the products from ikan. They’ve got some of the cheapest monitors in existence, and they are also unveiling a new flagship IPS display that will be competitive with similar IPS displays from SmallHD. Today we’ve got a video with Ryan Aivalis, who is a jack-of-all-trades at ikan, from drafting to blog writing. Ryan participated in the Blogger’s Breakfast discussion at NAB (which also featured yours truly), and in the video embedded below he introduces some of the exciting things that ikan is working on. (more…)

SmallHD Introduces the OLED DP7 Monitor, Also Selling a Mini-HDMI Port Protector for $40

Joe Marine — Tue, 17 Apr 2012 22:08:13 +0000

SmallHD is one of the younger display companies at NAB, but that doesn’t mean their products are low-quality. They are introducing a beautiful 1280 x 800 7″ screen that takes advantage of OLED technology to produce the richest colors you’ve ever seen on a monitor. They’ve got two versions that cost exactly the same, $2,700, but the other monitor uses a super-bright LCD to make viewing in daytime much simpler. I had a talk with Dale Backus from SmallHD, and he introduced both monitors and the Port Protector in the video below. (more…)

How to Use Your Laptop as a Free External Monitor for a Canon DSLR

Ryan Koo — Wed, 07 Sep 2011 20:25:31 +0000

I’ve been doing a number of interviews and filming self-shot videos as part of my attempt to make my first feature film. I’ve used a number of external monitors with my 5D Mark II in the past but I don’t actually own one myself, so I haven’t been able to see the rear LCD while I’m standing in front of the camera. But as I was shooting an interview with NextWaveDV’s Tony Reale today, he mentioned that I could use the free bundled EOS Utility software to monitor the camera’s output over USB with my laptop. As the author of The DSLR Cinematography Guide, it seems stupid that I didn’t know this, but I’d either forgotten (very possible, as my brain is quite frazzled these days running the campaign) or I’d never tried it in the first place. It’s the cheapest way to get an external monitor (since it costs nothing): (more…)

NAB Video: SmallHD Premieres 4.3" DP4 Monitor with Viewfinder Attachment

Ryan Koo — Tue, 12 Apr 2011 21:36:33 +0000

SmallHD has announced a new 4.3″ DP4 monitor for $549 (or $749 with their new viewfinder attachment). SmallHD doesn’t have a booth at NAB proper, instead throwing a party nearby; here’s FreshDV with their great annual NAB coverage of the monitor’s launch: (more…)

Air SyncHD is a Wireless Hi-Def Video Village for $200

Ryan Koo — Tue, 16 Nov 2010 15:55:52 +0000

The brite-View Air Sync HD is a $200 transmitter/receiver designed to feed an HDTV wirelessly from any HDMI source. However, with a resolution of 1080p, a range of up to 100 feet, and claimed zero latency, enterprising filmmakers have discovered that it can be used DIY-style to create a budget video village. Here’s a look at the device in action with a RED camera: (more…)