• Subscription Options:

    Subscribe via LinkedInSubscribe via FlickrSubscribe via YouTubeSubscribe via Pinterest

Author Archives: halfmac

Rumor: Final Cut Pro X on sale, third-party Thunderbolt products unveiled next week

By | |
3 Comments

Supermeet-2

This is a new rumor from AppleInsider.

Apple may appeal to its high-end video production customers next week with the release of Final Cut Pro X on the Mac App Store, as well as the announcement of new third-party products that will take advantage of the high-speed Thunderbolt port found on new Macs, according to a new rumor.

The details came on Tuesday from Macotakara, which was told by sources that Apple will begin to sell Final Cut Pro X on the Mac App Store next week. That would come as no surprise, as Apple said earlier this year that the $299, 64-bit software will arrive in June.

What would be new, though, are products that take advantage of the high-speed Thunderbolt port. Sources also reportedly said that new Thunderbolt products from third-party partners will be announced when Final Cut Pro X goes on sale.

The Death of the HDSLR has been Exaggerated

By | | , ,
Comments Off on The Death of the HDSLR has been Exaggerated

Recent articles on the Death of the HDSLR seem to missing the point. By the way, the HDSLR revolution started 3 years ago with the Nikon D90 and Canon 5D Mark II.

Michael Murie wrote The death of DSLRs over at his Notes On Video blog. He writes about 3 video groups. “The DSLR community seems to be splintering intro three groups: those who are moving on, those who see it as continuing to be a viable – though limited – tool, and those that are mounting the ramparts in its defense.”

The first group did not want HDSLRS to begin with. They have the resources to afford what ever they want. They wanted large sensor video cameras.

The second group is always looking for a way of doing things better but not necessarily with cost in mind. This was the group that put up with expensive lens adapters on small sensor video cameras.

The assumption is that now that we have video cameras (the Sony PMW-F3, the Sony NEX-FS100, and the Panasonic AG-AF100) that shoot large sensor video, why use HDSLRs. Also, new external recorders record in higher bitrate formats than H264. Yes, these new cameras shoot great large sensor video with the convenience of a video camera, but HDSLR cameras have their advantages as well. (Some of us never did like the design and ergonomics of the video camera, especially inexpensive ones.) So I guess this article is in the third group, the defenders. Well, we are FrugalFilmmakers.

Some of the main reasons why we like HDSLRS is: small size, Price, great lenses that don't cost am arm and a leg, beautiful video, adaptability, image stabilization and of course they are a great still camera as well. They are also the cause of the greatest democratization of filmmaking ever created. Anybody with a good story can now tell that story without a lot of money. All of the video cameras are over 6000 dollars buy the time you buy what's needed to shoot with just the camera.

You don't need to buy into the argument that HDSLRs need all this extra gear to make them good filmmaking cameras. They do have their limitations, but then most cameras do. Either you live with them or buy something else. Not all cameras are for all shooters. I remember years ago looking through the viewfinder of my Nikon F3 film still camera, thinking it would be great to have the image in motion recorded with the camera. Well, now I have it. Will I still use video cameras, sure. My JVC HM-100 sits on the shelf most of the time now because it like the image I get off of my Canon 60D and my clients want the better image.

It comes down to what is best for you and what your clients are willing to pay for. Also it is learning how to use you gear to it's best advantage. Do I wish they would improve the HDSLR, Yes. Come on manufactures bring it on.

Another article Is The DSLR Dead? by Scott Macaulay from the Filmmaker Magazine writes “I ordered the much sought-after Panasonic GH2 camera in February, and I just got it last week. And now, only a few days later, the DSLR is declared dead!” He concludes, “…then go make a movie… on whatever camera you have.”

I want to mention one other reason: HDSLRS ARE FUN.

Postscript:
Talking to a friend of mine. He did a shoot and had audio problems. Another lost footage because of a bad SD card. Well, you have to treat HDSLRs with more effort than video cameras. They many look easier, but they are not. HDSLRs are not for the light hearted. They Do Not Behave Like A Regular Video Camera. Don't treat them as such. You must know your camera well and the other components well before going on a paid shoot. They do create wonderful images for a lot less, but Know Their Limitations. If you have not used one for audio, use double system until you are confident in recording with in camera audio. Check your media before going on a shoot. We have seen wonderful videos shot with HDSLRs by experienced shooters. The best thing you can do is Practice With Your Gear and then more practice. Become experienced.

“Super 8” Films A Masterpiece

By | |
1 Comment

Super 8 is the best film I have seen in years. It is exactly what a great movie should be. It does not get better than this. I started smiling in the very beginning of the film and did so through the entire film. Only a few films I have seen has done this to me. Spielberg's own “Close Encounters” and “The Right Stuff” come to mind.

I have been interested in this film since the teaser. I am so glad they did not give away the plot in the trailer like they do on so many films these days. I was hoping it would be good because there are not a lot of original scripts being shot for summer movies by the big Hollywood Studios. Most of those films come from the Independent Studios. It is nice to see a mass market film be so good. At 50 million dollars it is one of the more frugal budgeted blockbusters and does not look it.

Are there unanswered questions about the plot, yes, but it did not take away from the wonder of this film. It succeeded on many levels. The kids were very well directed. They weren't sassy, in your face, smarmy or ironic. They were very believable. They had real problems and found solutions. In the hand on a less competent director, this film would have gone where it did need to go. The film was very well edited in that there were no wasted scenes and the pacing was great. The special effects complemented the story and were not in the way.

Some critics were calling it a horror or monster movie but I beg to differ. It was suspenseful at times, but it was about friendship, working together, helping others, coming of age and a childlike wonder. We need more of these pictures.

I give it 5 Smiles!

Camera Lens Cap Holder

By | | ,
1 Comment

If you own a SLR or DSLR camera this is something you have wanted. How may lens caps have you lost? The patent pending lens cap holder allows you to securely attach a camera's lens cap to your neck strap or camera bag.

The holder is a simple part that has a circular recess which allows a lens cap to be attached with a friction fit, in the same fashion as attaching the cap to the lens. Just press the release mechanism already in your lens cap and engage or disengage with the lens cap holder. The holder includes a buckle for attachment to the camera's neck strap. The design does not require any modification to the camera or lens cap.

I just donated to this project. You should too. It is a cleaver idea. Please go to their website.
Camera Lens Cap Holder

3-D Starts to Fizzle, and Hollywood Frets

By | |
1 Comment

This is an article by The New York Times.

“Ripples of fear spread across Hollywood last week after “Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides,” which cost Walt Disney Studios an estimated $400 million to make and market, did poor 3-D business in North America. While event movies have typically done 60 percent of their business in 3-D, “Stranger Tides” sold just 47 percent in 3-D. “The American consumer is rejecting 3-D,” Richard Greenfield, an analyst at the financial services company BTIG, wrote of the “Stranger Tides” results.”

The gimmick is showing it true face. This is good for story tellers, maybe they can work on coming up with better stories and less on budgets and gimmicks. But then Hollywood has always been gimmicks.

The dying of the light

By | |
Comments Off on The dying of the light

This is an excellent article by Rodger Ebert

The dying of the light

“There may have been a reason consumers shied away from 3D. An expertly written article by Ty Burr in the Boston Globe reports that some 3D projectors, particularly those made by Sony, produce “gloomy, underlit” images of 2D films. His article must have hit a nerve; and I've seen it posted and referred to all over the web. The newspaper found dark images on eight of the 19 screens at the high-end AMC Loews Boston Common on Tremont Street.

Burr wrote: “This particular night ‘Limitless,' ‘Win Win,' and ‘Source Code' all seemed strikingly dim and drained of colors. ‘Jane Eyre,' a film shot using candles and other available light, appeared to be playing in a crypt. A visit to the Regal Fenway two weeks later turned up similar issues: ‘Water for Elephants' and ‘Madea's Big Happy Family' were playing in brightly lit 35mm prints and, across the hall, in drastically darker digital versions.” His observations indicated the problems centered on Sony projectors: “Digital projection can look excellent when presented correctly. Go into Theater 14 at the Common, newly outfitted with a Christie 4K projector, and you'll see a picture that is bright and crisp, if somewhat colder than celluloid.”

He says there is a reason for this: “Many theater managers have made a practice of leaving the 3D lenses on the projectors when playing a 2D film.” The result is explained by an anonymous projectionist: “For 3D showings a special lens is installed in front of a Sony digital projector that rapidly alternates the two polarized images needed for the 3D effect to work. When you're running a 2D film, that polarization device has to be taken out of the image path. If they're not doing that, it's crazy, because you've got a big polarizer that absorbs 50 percent of the light.”

Thank You Rodger. Another reason why 3D is ruining movie watching. This 3D craze has made me not want to go to the theatre anymore. This is coming from someone who has worked in the business and has seen a lot of movies in the theatre. I will check the next time I see a digital film in glorious 2D. Most of the time movies look better on my Data Projector at home. I repeat, I am a person who used to see a lot of movies in the theatre even though I have over 1000 movies at home on all formats from Laserdisc to Blu-Ray. Not now.