Sunday, April 14, 2013

MoVI Alternative...

The MoVI is grabbing all the NAB headlines... but there are alternatives. Yes, some of them are not 100% as 'developed' as the MoVI.... but they're not $15,000 either.

Thursday, April 11, 2013

Atomos Samurai Blade - NAB

















Hopefully i'll do a full review on this soon, but for now, check out this video from NAB on the new Atomos Samurai Blade. As you might know, i'm a big fan of the Atomos system and i use a Ninja2 myself... but the screen on the Blade has me drooling. It will save having to have a separate monitor for critical focus. I must admit that although there are awesome shooting assist modes on the Ninja2, i do sometimes wish the screen was a little sharper for focussing. I was toying with getting a separate monitor, but i think the Blade is the answer.


Monday, April 8, 2013

New From NAB in Vegas


NAB always brings a whole plethora of new toys for the filming industry. This year is no different...and as usual the term 'Game Changer' is being thrown around with wild abandon.

Let's just agree on something... if it's a camera with great specs and a crazy low price... it's not a game changer... it's just progress. If it's something that literally changes the way we work...then maybe... but since DSLR, i don't recall anything make that much of a splash...

But... now, we have MoVI. Vincent LaForet has been talking about this for the last couple of days on his blog.  Freefly Systems based in Seattle have come up with a revolutionary new stablization solution for cameras up to 10lbs... with both a bigger and smaller model to come in the near future. By using some silent servos and some very clever software, the MoVI can give you incredibly smooth footage without the need for post production tricks to iron out the bumps and shakes. It works handheld, but could benefit from a vest/harness system just like a Steadicam. Here's a little film that shows what it does...





How much is this touted 'Game Changer'? It's got to be cheap...  after all, that's what made the 5Dmk2 such a big hit...the entry point to cinematic shooting dropped a lot.  Well, i'm afraid not. The MoVI is $15,000. Ouch. Now, if you believe everything you hear about it, you won't need a tripod, a glidetrack, a dolly or a crane ever again.... most of those shots you can get with this. So in that sense, it's cheap. But... it's not going to cause the same stir as DSLR shooting did. On another note... some people have noticed that this is basically the same kind of gimbal stablized shooting platform that people have been mounting on Quad and OctaCopters lately... us included. Vincent LaForet assures us that we are paying for 10 years worth of R&D and it's the software that is the clever bit. Well, if it really is completely silent and very easy to use, i'm sure it'll do well.  Watch this space for people making similar products by the dozen soon.... i fear the $15k price tag will mean a copycat product may steal the market.

BlackMagicDesign Cinema Camera goes 4k...



The news from BMD is two new cameras... yep - a 4k capable BMCC with a global shutter and compressed DNG files...as well as Pro Res and this time a proper Super 35mm sensor! This should fly off shelves (once it gets on the shelves... people are still waiting for the first camera to arrive).  But... in true BMD spirit...the price is mentally low - just $3995 for a 4k camera with a global shutter. Will it actually record 4k onboard? Don't know yet....

BMD also give us a Super 16mm sized mini-cinema camera. This could be perfect for under-the-radar shooting or just for keeping handy.  $995 for film making in your pocket...  


EditShare Shows Lightworks for Mac at NAB
Lightworks has become the first NLE to be available not only on OSX and Windows, but also Linux. The Mac version has been long awaited, but it's almost here...it's being demoed at NAB as we speak....well, a pre-Alpha version is. Expect quite a lengthy Alpha/Beta phase...



Lightworks has been used on hits such as Mission Impossible, Pulp Fiction and many more...  some editors swear by it. It comes in 'free' and 'pro' versions and is visually quite different to the other NLEs out there. It can use Adobe plug-in architecture, so you're not completely cut off from the rest of the editing community if you decide to use this more open source editor.

I'm sure there's plenty more to come out of NAB....  expect another post soon.

On another subject... sort of...  has anyone noticed how many 'film makers' these days don't make their living from making films. Famous names like Phil Bloom... Phil's a thoroughly nice chap and an excellent film maker, but he spends most of his time running workshops... Then there's Andrew Reid who runs EOSHD... he's on twitter a lot, but he seems to spend most of his time testing cameras... i've only seen one narrative piece of work out of him - nothing wrong with any of this by the way, it's just that a lot of people take what these people say as gospel, and in truth, they aren't actually working in the same way as a career film maker is. Just something to bear in mind.  I don't claim to know everything by any stretch of  the imagination, and nor do these guys... but it's always interesting to see this kind of behaviour. Does it mean that film making itself is far harder to make a living out of than teaching/testing? Maybe....