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Author Archives: halfmac

LinkyFocus – a complete USB Follow focus (non NAB)

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LinkyFocus is a new USB follow focus under development. I did not see this at NAB. I did see a lot of motorized follow focuses. I always thought, why not use the focus motor in the lens? Looks promising.

From their site:
“The LinkyFocus uses the autofocus motor in Canon lenses to control focus, even while recording video. LinkyFocus is different: driven by an electronic position encoder, it allows to make fine adjustments of focus while rotating slowly the knob, or rotating faster automatically switch on the fly to the other two available speeds. This compact system works in any LiveView modes, which can be useful for film making. On the unit are available up to 10 push buttons to start/stop the recording and for other features. Can be used as remote control for a camera mounted on a crane or jib, can work with normal USB extension cables up to 25 meters in length.”

 

Home at Last

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@ Hoodman Booth 3

I am finally home after three exciting days of NAB. Over the next weeks I will share quite a few video interviews with some of the booths that I visited. Here I am at the Hoodman Booth. For those I met at the show, It was wonderful to meet you and I hope you enjoy the blog about our experiences.

I am holding the rig I used to interview people at their booths. (My rig consisted of a Cam Caddie Scorpion, a Hoodloupe 3.0 with a Hoodstrap and an Audio-technica ATR55 Telemike plugged directly in to my Canon 60D.)

Final Cut Pro X At the NAB FCPUG Supermeet Tonight (#NABhdslr)

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Supermeet-0

At the sold out Supermeet tonight, after a long wait in line outside black curtains in the Ballly Convention Center, we all sat down for an expected evening. A lot of the rumors around the net were true. Tonight Apple's Peter Steinauer announced Final Cut Pro X.

Supermeet-2

FCPX has been rebuilt from the ground up. It has an all new 64bit engine, hyper threading, rendering in the background, no transcoding and 4K support. It is a lot faster because of this. Also the timeline has been completely redesigned to make editing easier.

Supermeet-3

FCP's original creator Randy Ubillos was on hand to demonstrate to the audience in real-time the new Final Cut Pro experience without many hiccups of his beta version.

At long last there is no need to transcode footage. All footage, whether ProRes, DSLR H264 or AVCHD drops straight into the project and is available to edit immediately. Final Cut Pro X allows you to begin editing footage on the timeline before it has finished ingesting. This will be greatly appreciated by HDSLR users.

Supermeet-4

Media management has been much improved. The intelligent detection of footage allows automatic grouping of clips to form scenes together in the media manager for easier access to media in an ordered fashion, according to the project. This is really great – so much better than the basic project management in current NLEs with their crappy bins and tiny thumbnails. There is also a Filmstrip View of clips allowing you to identify and find shots quickly.

Timeline intelligence has been improved. A key area. Apple dubs this a Magnetic Timeline. For example audio clips move out of the way if extended into the edges of other clips. It's faster to use and harder to accidentally stuff up. There are no real video or audio tracks – it is more liquid now, with clip tracks appearing automatically as and when they are required. The Instant Color Matching is also a wonderful new feature. Color grading at the single click of a mouse on the timeline.

After having many flavors of FCP, there will only one. Final Cut Pro X will be available in June for $299 from the Apple App Store online. No mention of the other apps in the Final Cut Suite. Looks like Apple has unbundled the suite like they did with iLife and iWork.

We will have a video of the presentation soon. Stay Tuned.

Since I am headed on a Plane (to NAB)

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Enjoy this wonderful video shot on a HDSLR.

Uploaded by nbolt on Apr 1, 2011
I shot a photo roughly every two miles between take-off in San Francisco and landing in Paris CDG to make this airplane time lapse. More of these wacky time lapses at http://beepshow.com

Shot with a 5d2, a time-lapse controller, and a 16mm – 35mm, mixed with some iPhone shots. The music is a modified demo track “Gain” by DETUNE ltd. denkitribe http://soundcloud.com/denkitribe/gain on the Korg iMS20 iPad App. I'm pretty sure the track is copyrighted but it's My First Synthesizer score so I'm hoping denkitribe is cool with it. Edits and pans in After Effects CS5 and iMovie.

The photos during take-off and landing are all computer models and totally rendered because I would never use an electronic device during times when the FAA prohibits them. I did get lucky and have a whole row to myself to setup the tripod and gear.

Thanks to my neighbors for not minding an SLR click every 2 to 30 seconds for 11 hours, and thanks to the whole Air France flight crew for being insanely friendly and allowing me to shoot. Thanks to @ztaylor for showing me the Korg iMS20 iPad App. Thanks to @jayzombie and the #nerdbird on the way to SXSW this year for helping me come up with the idea. Thanks to @somnabulent for the idea of live scoring. Thanks to you for actually reading this far. You are a champion.

Common Twitter hashtag for HDSLR at NAB = #NABhdslr

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This was posted by Mitch over at Planet 5D

common twitter hashtag for HDSLR at NAB = #NABhdslr
Posted on 07. Apr, 2011 by planetMitch in Other

If you’re going to NAB and are posting about HDSLR, please use the #NABhdslr hashtag! We’ve contacted other bloggers and twitter friends and proposed using this tag for the benefit of everyone who is interested in HDSLR gear.
For those who can’t go to NAB, NAB is an insanely big show and if you only look for the ‘official’ #nabshow tag, you’ll also be flooded with broadcast stuff you may not be interested in! Having a specific HDSLR hashtag (#NABhdslr) should make it easy for readers to find NAB HDSLR posts.

RigWheels – Camera Wheels for Creativity

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This is pretty cool. Great for the DIY filmmaker. Cost effective too.

RigWheels – Camera Wheels for Creativity

“RigWheels are a simple and sleek and portable way to add motion to your images utilizing support equipment that you may already own. Because RigWheels can be used in so many different ways, they are the easiest and most portable way for you to add smooth camera movement to your arsenal of production tricks. RigWheels can mount directly to your camera rig and can easily be configured as a pipe-dolly, skate-dolly, slider, etc…

What make RigWheels unique are their 4 high quality bearing wheels per carriage. The bearings are strong and sturdy allowing them to carry a load of 50 lbs per carriage. 4 wheels per carriage give you a very smooth roll and because the carriage is already constructed all you have left to do is mount them with one bolt. It's the smallest, easiest and most versatile wheel available for a great price.

In this new era of HDSLR video production, size and portability are critical factors in deciding what equipment to use. RigWheels can easily live in your backpack giving you the option of smooth motion wherever you travel.
RigWheels along with a nearby piece of pipe, glass, plexiglas, laminate, track or other smooth surface can give you the same seamless smooth motion as other options that cost hundreds more.”

Go to the RigWheels website to find out more.

Apple to Introduce New Final Cut Pro on April 12th? We Will Be There

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ProVideoCoalition claims to have heard rumors that Apple is planning to use the Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet to announce the next version of Final Cut Pro.

Philip Bloom just confirmed with me that Canon has canceled his appearance at the Supermeet. Canon was told last night that Apple has demanded ALL “lecturn” or stage time exclusively. Some sponsors who were not using presenters may continue to sponsor the Vegas event, but none of them will be presenting on the stage.

The post goes on to talk about other sponsors including Avid that have had their sponsorship canceled for the event.

Apple has been known to be prepping a new version of Final Cut Pro and according to early reports the changes were described as “dramatic and ambitious”. While the SuperMeet seems a strange venue for Apple to announce a new product, Apple has been taking a somewhat unusual approach to promoting and previewing this product.

Earlier this year, Apple invited individuals including Final Cut Pro author Larry Jordon to a hands on. Jordan describes what he can of the preview meeting: “I've Seen The New Version of Final Cut Pro… and it's a jaw-dropper. Last week, Apple invited a few folks, including me, to a short meeting in Cupertino where they previewed the up-coming version of Final Cut Pro. While I am under NDA and can’t talk about what I saw, I CAN tell you the meeting happened and that it showcased the new Final Cut Pro. While the invited crowd was small, it was a Who's Who of leaders in the post-production community. I felt like I was standing on the red carpet at an awards show, watching all the stars walk past.”

The Hobbit Goes 48p. Does This Change Everything? I Hope Not.

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This is a response to an article at Studio Daily Blog.

For the last 30 years I have been interested in getting the “Film Look” with video. Ten years ago it was a revolution to have a video camera do 24p, the DVX-100. We have wanted 24p for a long time. Now you are about to throw it our the window. Do I want my media productions to look like soap operas? Yuck! When I saw “Avatar” on a 260 htz set it looked like a soap opera. The motion was wrong. I purposely use a data projector to watch movies at home so there will be no post processing.

There is a reason motion pictures have standardize on 24p, it looks right to the human eye. When I watch a film, I want to be lifted out to reality into a good story. I don’t want to see reality, I want to escape to the movies. I first saw Doug Trumbell’s Showscan at Showwest before it was released to the public. It was truly amazing. I then called it “Live Film”. It looked like real life. I thought the person on the screen was there. But it proved to not work well for long form dramatic films. It did work great for theme park rides where you want to simulate reality. Even IMAX uses 24p for it frame rate. There is something pleasing about watching a good film. Don’t through the baby with the bathwater.

Don’t get me started about the silliness of 3D and how it takes you out of the film experience.