Sean J Vincent Blog

'The Addicted' Production Diary Episode 2.

2012-02-13T17:52:00.000Z

In this episode i talk about starting the post production process...file management and also where the idea came from for the film in the first place. There's also some examples of colour grading and a look at some of the posters designed for the 'Empire' Forum competition to come up with our official poster.

More next week...

Japan... shooting with my old 550D.

2012-02-08T16:34:00.000Z

I've been lucky enough to be working on some gigs in Japan for the last few days and i'm here until the end of the week. I couldn't bring the Sony FS100, but i did bring my Canon 550D, a tiny tripod and my intervelometer for some timelapses. I know timelapses have been done to death, but it's only for my own amusement and i like them. I've also been out on the street getting some handheld shots. I wandered around downtown Tokyo the other night shooting as many 'BladeRunner-esque' type shots as i could. Tokyo is so crazy to look at it.. it's a film-maker's dream. Lots of light, lots of people and more interesting streets and buildings that you'd find in a week of searching in most cities.

I'm working on the edit for a little short just showing what i've seen since i've been here. It was going to be all based around Tokyo, but today we went to Kyoto and saw some ancient temples which were pretty stunning, so i had to shoot them too. I'll probably have to wait until i get home before i get a chance to finish it, but i'll upload it here soon.

For now, check out some pics i took:

New Atomos Ninja Firmware update.

2012-02-02T11:26:00.002Z

There's a new Firmware update for the Atomos Ninja online today..

Version 2.03...

Get it here: http://www.atomos.com/ninja/firmware/

This update adds:

Record indicators added to the monitor page - 'Rec' icon plus horizontal red lines at the top and bottom of the monitor indicate that the unit is recording.
New file picker - the scene/shot/take picker has been replaced by a file browser. The unit will stay in playback mode even when a HDD/SSD is removed.

Issues Fixed:

Fixed incorrect drop frame timecode indication during playback for 1080p movies.
Fixed incorrect 60fps drop frame timecode indication.

I just installed my update and it works as described. The red lines at the top and bottom save you from having to flip the screen overlay on and off to check if you are in record... a really useful feature.

Personal wishlist for future updates?

Crop mark overlay for 2.35:1 shooting
Maybe a grid (rule of 3rds) and a centre crosshair overlay?

Another idea i think would be useful is an additional foam insert for the hardcase to allow you to just store lots of disks for the Ninja as i keep my Ninja on my rig, which has it's own case... and my dock lives in my DiT case... so the nice hard case doesn't get used. But... it would be perfect to keep the disks in if there were more dedicated inserts for them.

Apple fix FCPX... and PressPausePlay

2012-01-31T20:16:00.000Z

Apple today released the 10.0.3 update of Final Cut Pro X... and a world of film makers breathed a sigh of relief. Pretty much everything that has plagued the re-booted Video Editing Package since it's re-launch has been addressed.

I really liked FCPX when it first came out... i used it on a few projects, but when i started editing my latest feature on it, i ran into some serious problems. I couldn't use my favourite plug-ins, namely Magic Bullet Looks and Neat Noise Reduction. I couldn't monitor externally on a proper calibrated set-up...and i couldn't do multi-cam editing. The issue that tipped me over the edge and back to FCP7 was that i could't manually save my work or back it up successfully...and it crashed and lost everything... not good.

But, Apple heard the outcry from users across the globe and today they released an update that deals with nearly all the problems.

Key things to note about the update:

Fantastic MultiCam support. Up to 64 camera angles. Access and sync via timecode, keywords, in/out points or audio.
Any codec, any frame rate, any raster within multicam.
Support for layered PSD files.
Hardware & external monitor support via PCI-E and Thunderbolt devices.
A $10 conversion app from Intelligent Assistance that gives you FCP7 to FCPX called 7toX.
Media ReLink. Phew... now we can re-link media again. It means we can make back-ups!
Advanced Chroma-Keying features.
Keyframes behave as we're used to in 7... auto-adding of keyframes when you change parameters.

It's everything we asked for... I'm going to have to give it another go and see if it's what i'll be using on my next project.

Oh, one more thing... Red Giant have got Magic Bullet Looks working in FCPX! Not only that, but it's a free update to registered users...and at the moment it's 50% off if you want to buy it. Just use this code at checkout: LOOKSFCPX50

PressPausePlay

This doc has been doing the rounds online and it's probably one of the best made films on the subject of music, film and art in the 21st Century. It's scary and inspiring at the same time. Have a look if you make a living from the arts or intend to...

'The Addicted' Production Diary Episode 1

2012-01-29T23:23:00.003Z

As promised, here is the first instalment of our production diary videos. I'm going to try and upload a new one every week right up until the film is finished.

This one is an introduction to the project and doesn't have a specific theme... but some of the others will do.. like FX work, camera choices, lens choices, post production workflows etc.

'The Addicted' artwork....from Empire Poster Comp

2012-01-28T12:59:00.000Z

The poster competition on Empire's website is still running for a while yet... and i had to post some more of the designs. I'm sure you'll agree there's some stunning design talent out there. Every couple of days i see a new one that i like best... it's going to be really tricky to choose only one.

HyperDeck Shuttle 2...and news update.

2012-01-27T00:41:00.000Z

BlackMagic Design have announced version 2 of their popular HyperDeck Shuttle SSD recorder. It's pretty much the same as version 1, but it adds the option to record not only to uncompressed files, but also to Avid's DNxHD compressed codec. Much like Pro Res, DNxHD boasts much smaller files sizes than uncompressed, but with almost no noticeable difference to the eye.... and considering the cost of SSD drives, that makes the HyperDeck Shuttle a much more attractive proposition. The Shuttle is still a bargain at just $345.

BlackMagic Design have also addressed the problem of mounting the Shuttle on your camera rig. No more will you have to gaffer or cable tie it to your rails... the mounting plate makes life far easier. For $99, it's probably worth it just to know your Shuttle (and more importantly, your footage) is safely mounted.

GoPro have just announced the new Wi-Fi Backpack & Wi-Fi Remote Combo Kit for their GoPro Hero2 mini camera. It basically gives the Hero2 Wi-Fi which means it can then be remotely controlled via various smart devices such is iPhones or iPads. Also, it allows you to stream video over Wi-Fi so that you can capture both on the SD card in the camera and on your laptop/smart device or the web at the same time all by using a free GoPro App. For aerial based work, this could be invaluable... it also gives the Hero2 a serious advantage in the 'crash cam' stakes. If the footage is not in the device... you don't have to worry about damage. (apart from the hit on your bank balance) It's waterproof too.

I should point out that the original GoPro Hero HD does not support streaming over Wi-Fi... only the remote control options will work... for the full streaming experience you will need the Hero2. The remote can control up to 50 GoPro cameras at the same time.

The Combo kit is due out in March.

'The Addicted' News
Today was another full day of editing. It was also another day spent wrangling with FX. There was a scene where an 'entity' has to appear... be menacing for a bit..then disappear. (not too tricky) Then there was a scene where someone has to be completely enveloped in light...almost like an explosion, but more paranormal. We shot the scene using some very bright lighting effects on set...which gave me a very good start, but i needed more. It fell to some slight 'mis-use' of some Magic Bullet looks tools to get the effect i wanted. All i need to add now is the final element which i've been working on in After Effects this evening. Hopefully all the elements will fit together tomorrow and i can move on to the next scene.

When i'm just cutting regular scenes...people talking/walking/moving about etc... i can get lots done in a pretty short space of time. Even with multiple camera angles, i should be able to get 5 minutes of screen time cut in a day. It may not sound like much, but it's quite quick. But, as soon as there's FX shots...things slow down. It took all day today to do a scene which was no more than 10 seconds long.

Here's a sneak peak at some screen grabs taken from the teaser trailer we've just finished... hopefully we'll release it soon...

Right... it's late and i need to watch some mindless TV for a while to unwind.

More soon.

Testing iPad Blogger App "Blogsy"...& The Addicted update.

2012-01-24T01:33:00.001Z

I've had this ipad2 for months now and I'm still finding what it's good for....sometimes I use it a lot, but sometimes I forget I've got it and it sits in my rucksack for a week.

Keeping this blog up to date is tricky sometimes....finding a spare half an hour here or there to get a new post up can be hard. I've tried using my phone, and it's possible but not ideal, it's just too small.

The iPad seems perfect and it's a lot less intrusive to use an iPad in Starbucks/Costa/The pub (delete as appropriate) than the MacBook Pro which usually annoys people and with its upright screen....can be a bit public.

Anyway.... So far, this post has been pretty easy to put together using Blogsy. There's some good formatting tools, access to my Picasa albums, my YouTube account, and full use of all the iPad's tools like the photo album and camera.

In other news... I'm now 1 hour into The Addicted edit. Today I was working on 2 of the scenes set 25 years ago. They both came together pretty quickly apart from an FX shot that I had to do in Photoshop...that took an hour for a shot that lasts just under a second. Tomorrow I'm working on another scene with a big FX shot in it...although I'm tempted to keep it simple. Less is often more when you're trying to create tension.

Hopefully, assuming I catch up on the mountain of paperwork I've got on this week (as well as the edit) I'll be posting the first of a series of regular video blogs on the post production of The Addicted. The first one will bring everyone up to date on where we are and then there will be regular updates leading right up to the end of the post process.

Right...time to post this and see if it works.

Empire Mag running poster comp

2012-01-23T17:50:00.002Z

Just wanted to let you all know that those nice people over at Empire magazine are running a competition through their online forums for someone to design the official poster for 'The Addicted'.

http://www.empireonline.com/forum/tm.asp?m=3312279&mpage=1&key=

We saw some of their previous poster competition entries and were blown away by the quality of the work submitted.

All the details are explained over on the Empire site, but basically, we're looking for an image to use for the poster, the DVD cover and all the promo material. We're making this whole thing on a very small budget, so help like this is vital..and hopefully we'll help a top designer expand their portfolio into a new area.

There's so many great designs on there already and we've not even begun to think about any decisions... but here's a taster of just 3 i saw on there today..

Fantastic work... can't wait to see more.

The winner will be announced on the Empire Forum... and then maybe here after that... but not for a while yet... so get designing.

Making the Video Part 2... The edit

2012-01-12T20:24:00.001Z

Last time i talked about the shoot of a music promo i was working on... this time it's the edit.

Once i got the two SATA drives from the Atomos Ninja backed-up on to another FireWire800 drive, i could begin trawling through all the footage. I like to watch everything i shot and then label and move the shots i want into another folder, ready to import into Final Cut Pro. I label them so that i know what is what when i am assembling the edit. It's no good calling them take 1, take 2 etc... i need to know what it is, so i call them things like 'Vocal Mime to Cam 1' or 'Audience Reactions 3' etc. It keeps things simple.

Once i've chosen all the footage, i then import the audio file of the song into Final Cut Pro. In this case, it needed some mastering work first. There was very little 'bottom end' or bass, and it also need converting into an AIFF file to make FCP run quicker. I made the adjustments in PEAK and then exported it.

Once that was done, i dropped it onto the timeline and started dragging in the clips. I knew already what the plan was, so i started at the beginning, looking for the opening shots and then the speed dating clips. As usual there was far too much footage, so it was a case what not to use... a nice position to be in. When you shot a promo in one day with no crew only a tripod and a shoulder rig, there's no slick dolly moves or long tracking shots, so you shoot accordingly and that means keep the edit snappy too. Linger on any one shot too long and people will lose interest. A huge mistake you see in lots of amateur band videos is a wide shot of the band performing that just lingers on screen too long. If the camera's not moving, the edit has to.

The shot of the singer looking right down the lens seemed the best way to start and as there's no lip syncing during the speed dating section, it seemed preferable to using some of the gig section too near the beginning.

Then it was a case of trying to tell the story without hammering it home. The audience aren't stupid and nothing is worse than trying too hard to make a point... people can and will watch it more than once, so give them some credit and let them work it out a bit.

Luckily, i'd shot all the gig sections right the way through, so i could line up the beeps at the beginning of the takes and they would all sync up with no drifting issues. Then all i had to do was switch between takes while dropping in some of the story based takes at regular intervals to keep the flow.

I was really happy with the stuff we shot at the table of the singer singing to Matilda (or Nat as she's really known...) The lighting looks great and it joins to the two main sections of the video together perfectly.

Once i'd got all the clips in the right places and i'd watched it through a few times i began on the colour work. This involved using Magic Bullet Looks to grade it. I shot it all quite bright so i needed to make it darker and more moody. I used a preset i'd created for 'The Addicted' which only needed tweaking on the exposure to get each clip to match. On a few shots i added some anamorphic lens flares just to give it a bit of punch and then i added a widescreen matte which i eventually cropped off altogether at 2.35:1 for that cinematic look.

Un-graded footage shot with Frank Glencairns G-Log profile

The graded footage using one of my presets from Magic Bullet Looks

Al i had to do then was add the titles. Dan had already sent me the OffBeat Music animation and i already had the Recoil Films one, so i just needed to create the credits. I did this in FCPX as there's some nice looking presets which are really easy to tweak. Then i exported them and imported them into FCP7. A quick render (the quad-core i7 iMac really renders fast) and then export. Lastly, i dropped it into Compressor 4 to generate the 1080p web version which i uploaded to Vimeo.

Dan (the 1st AD), shot this little making-of video on the day of the shoot... it shows the fun (and the mayhem) involved in the shooting process. Notice how much everyone is enjoying themselves while i'm permanently staring down the viewfinder... such is life when you've got just one day to shoot. Mustn't complain though, we did fit in time for a pint and a McDonalds. ;-)

Here's the finished promo...

What would i have done differently given more time or money?
Well, a dolly and track would have been great, and a circle of track around the table scene would really push it onto another level, but there's always a wish list and you've got to work with what you've got. I'm really happy with it. I don't think you'd make much difference without spending 10 times what it cost and even then would any punters actually notice? Probably not...

I'm looking forward to working with the band again when they're in the top 10. ;-)

TVLogic Announce EVF coming soon...

2012-01-10T01:34:00.000Z

Just a quick post about a new EVF coming from TVLogic. TVLogic make some really good quality HD Broadcast monitors so i would expect this to be right up there with the Zacuto EVF, if not better.

It's got some great specs such as HD-SDI Loop-Thru, which will please a lot of people and also HDMI in and out... not to mention a resolution of 960x640, amazing for a 3.5" display.....all very professional.

The flip up loupe looks good too.

Feb 2nd is when they are going to tell us more apparently...

Making A Music Promo for 'Dance A La Plage'

2012-01-07T21:45:00.000Z

On 4th Jan i was hired to direct a music promo for 'Dance A La Plage', a band from Banbury. Unlike a lot of music videos, i hadn't heard the track beforehand and all i had was some YouTube links sent to be by the band to give me an idea of what they wanted.

They had come up with the treatment/concept themselves... all i had to do was simplify it, shoot it and edit it. This blog is going to be in two halves... this first one about the shoot and the second about the edit.

The band wanted the video to be in two halves... a story section which features the band speed dating and a performance section where the band play at a club in front of an excited crowd.

They had already found a location which could be used for both sections.. it's a bar which holds gigs anyway, but also has a really cool vibe and some great quirky furniture, ideal for the speed dating bar.

I arrived with my standard kit for this kind of shoot as well as my new DiT station. My current kit includes the Sony FS100 on a rail system with Follow-Focus, MatteBox and the Atomos Ninja Pro Res Recorder. I've also added some custom bits like a speaker system to check takes back with on-set audio and an arm to hold the Ninja in place and allow it to move and rotate... it's basically half a magic arm mounted on rail mount.

My FS100 Rig with Atomos Ninja

The DiT Station is a flightcase that holds my MacBook Pro, the Ninja's Dock, a 500GB Firewire 800 drive for backing up to and all the chargers for the many Sony batteries. It just means i can open it up, plug it in and i'm ready to check footage, back up and do quick test edits without looking for somewhere to set up and scratching around for cables on set.

The DiT Station, my lens bag and some mini par lights.

The first set up of the day was the speed dating scene. We tried a couple of different table arrangements before we settled for the one that looked best on camera. It's always good to remember that this isn't reality... it doesn't matter how odd it looks in real life, it looks good on camera, you never have to let the viewer see how odd it really is... so try moving people closer together than is natural...change the angles of chairs and don't worry too much about how it feels.. just make it look good on camera.

I had to keep the lighting simple, and thanks to the great Super35 sensor and my F1.8 Zeiss 50mm prime lens, that wasn't a problem. I used a par-can shining through a big diffuser for a front light and 2 mini-pars with diffusers for the faces of the two stars of the scene. There were some big windows just out of shot, so i had some daylight too as well as the lights in the venue itself... so white balancing was quite tricky. I used Frank Glencairn's G-Log A picture profile on the FS100 as i love the scope this gives me for the grade in post... the only issue with it is that it's sometimes tricky to see what you're shooting.. you need to really check that you're not clipping the highs.

The first set-up for the speed dating scene. Dan wrestles with the diffuser on the Par-Can.

We ended up moving the tables into two rows which looked much better and we then began shooting. First of all it was all speed dating stuff... no music. The blokes all changed seats for each different take and we made sure everyone had a drink... the story was that a particular girl is who the singer is after, but she likes another bloke who is there... It ends badly, but there's some humour in there too.

After the speed dating scene, we shot the bit where people come in and sign in... we also got some posters printed advertising both the speed dating night and the gig... might be useful in the edit.

We also decided to shoot a scene where the singer sings the whole song across the table to 'Matilda' the girl in question... This we did to camera as well as in profile. Just as we were wrapping up this scene we came up with the idea to pan across the table from the singer to the girl and back again, but to swap the singer for the bloke the girl preferred in between pans and then to end up with the singer looking down the table towards the camera. It was a real off-the-cuff idea, but i think it's going to be a very important part of the video.

The first speed dating set up...

The 2nd and final speed dating set up...

Checking the shot on the Ninja. I started with a static shot and then went handheld.

Lastly, we shot the performance aspect. This involved setting up the band on the stage in the venue which i decided to make time-lapse of....(you never know... it might come in handy)... we then waited for 'rent-a-crowd' to turn up. (the band put a shout-out on facebook)

A 28mm prime with a Vivanco Wide Angler adapter on the end... i used this for the time-lapse.

Great lighting and furniture in 'Also Known As' in Banbury... our location

Eventually, the crowd turned up and i had to shoot the performance. As we didn't have enough people to really fill the venue, me and Dan (the 1st AD) re-arranged the crowd to take up only the parts of the venue the camera could see at any one time. This meant lots of takes... one take of each of the band in close up, several takes over the heads of the crowd towards the band...several takes of the crowd from the drummer's position on the stage...several takes on the stage with the band (and it was a tiny stage...so that wasn't easy).

I ended the day's shooting with a shot of the couple walking out of the venue hand in hand... 4 quick takes until i got the one i wanted.

The band setting up on the tiny stage. The small size helped with the intimate and crowded feel for the gig section

Next time i'll talk about the edit...(once i've done it) and also i'll post the finished video itself.

Huge thanks to Mark at 'Also Known As', to Nat for being a great 'Matilda' and to Dan for shouting at the extras and sorting me out with cups of coffee and bacon sarnies... not to mention a very long drive home.

Merry Xmas Everyone...

2011-12-24T20:05:00.001Z

Thanks to everyone who has read my blog this year. It's gone from a very small following to quite a big one and i appreciate the support.

2011 was a very busy year for me with a full length feature shoot, 3 short shoots, several trips to the USA including a 3 week tour with Howard Jones, a European tour and a full UK tour.

In 2011, Recoil Films underwent a huge change with many new people getting involved and it's set to keep changing for the better in 2012.

Our current feature project, the horror film called 'The Addicted' is in post production right now and we'll soon be releasing the teaser trailer online. In May we're off to Cannes with the finished movie.

We're hoping to shoot our next feature in the Autumn of 2012. More news on this soon.

January is going to involve me sitting in the edit suite day in, day out.. and hopefully i'll get the bulk of the edit done before i head off to Japan in February for some gigs with Howard.

In the coming weeks, i hope to do a thorough review of the Sony FS100 and the rig i've been using. After the last few months of using it in a movie situation i think i've probably got some good insight into the camera.

I've also got a music promo shoot and edit coming up in the first week of Jan too... so i'm looking forward to using the FS100 on that.

Anyway.... have a great Christmas and New Year people. I think we all deserve it.

NLE choices... or not.

2011-12-12T17:53:00.001Z

Years ago. i cut my first music promo clip on a Speed Razor system. (anyone remember them?) Almost immediately, i moved on to Adobe Premiere on the PC. I then moved over to Mac, but stuck with Premiere. Then, about 6 years ago i made the move to Final Cut Pro. I've never had any problems with FCP and i've really enjoyed working with it.

You may have read in my posts from earlier in the year, i was very open to the changes that came with FCPX. I started working with it as soon as it came out... i really liked a lot of it. I was prepared to perservere and learn to love it.

But... then i ran into some serious problems with FCPX. It crashed and lost a lot of work... gone without trace. That's just un-workable and that was the main reason i moved back to FCP7. The lack of professional monitoring was also an issue.. as was the lack of support from some of my favourite plug-ins.

However, all these issues are being rectified...and hopefully, sometime next year, FCPX will be up to the task.

I've been trying out the other popular NLEs again today. It's hard work. Premiere 5.5 looks and works in a similar way to FCP7. But i find a lot of the workflow clunky and slow. Ok, it does some things much better than FCP. The way you can import so many codecs and just work is good...as is the ability to just drag a clip's length on the timeline and the speed changes to fit...i like that. But, it's just not quick enough in any other respect for me. I know that if i stuck with it, i'd probably get quick... but i don't have that kind of time.

Avid's Media Composer 6 baffles me. It's very sleek and simple to look at... and from my experience, a bit too simple in operation. I couldn't get things to flow very quickly on MC6 at all. Importing a selection of clips and then arranging them on the timeline with some multiple layers and then doing some colour correction seemed very very slow. I'll admit that simple cutting is easy enough... but anything slightly more complicated seems to really stress out my brand new iMac.. so MC6 is not for me either at the moment.

It looks like it's back to FCP7 until FCPX comes of age....and Apple... if you're out there.. these things need looking at to make FCPX usable:

A manual SAVE option. I need to know my work is saved!!!
Media management that i can work with. I don't want all my projects showing up all the time...
Re-Connect Media!! That's a must. (Is there a way to do this already? I can't find it)

4K vs 1080p.... or just a good film.

2011-11-30T20:39:00.001Z

I love trailing around the various film making forums online. There's some great tips on film making... some great links to really useful websites and lots of interesting people all contributing to the global film making community. But, there's a hell of a lot of arguing about camera resolution. Ever since RED upped the game with the RED One, people have been talking about 4K acquisition. The new Scarlett is refreshing the argument all over again. There's a whole bunch of cameras that can shoot in 4K now and there's a growing number of online film makers who will tell you that resolution is king.

I've just shot a full feature in HD for the first time... 1080p HD looks amazing when projected onto a huge cinema screen. Just ask any number of Arri Alexa users...it may capture upto 3.5K, but most users are shooting at 1080p.... even Roger Deakins is shooting the new James Bond film on one in 1080p. If it's good enough for him... and you can't argue that James Bond isn't meant for a cinema release!

I enjoyed the technical side of preparing for my last shoot. Shooting a feature is grueling. You need to pick the right equipment for the job. I knew we were shooting in low light most of the time, so i picked the Sony NEX-FS100 and Atomos Ninja combo.... they did a great job, thanks to our Camera Op, Amy Wilson and some vintage lenses.

But... are the lovely images making my edit flow better? Is the shallow depth of field making the dialogue work? And, conversely, is the 1080p as opposed to 4K making the story weaker? No, of course not. I've got all kinds of problems in the edit, which is completely usual... it's par for the course. But, not one of them has anything to do with resolution.

1080p HD looks stunning...especially if it's shot right, and so does 4K, but neither is going to affect how good your film is. If film makers spent as much time on script development and rehearsals as they did on camera equipment, maybe the films we get to see would be better than they currently are?

Magic Bullet Looks for FCPX

2011-11-13T16:56:00.001Z

I love Magic Bullet Looks. It's an incredibly creative piece of software that i can't imagine not using on my projects... so not having it for FCPX is a real issue for me. Aside from the bugs that FCPX has, not having access to some of my favourite plug-ins is a real dealbreaker for me. Well, Red Giant are on the case, as you can see in this little video:

Preview of Magic Bullet Looks in FCPX from Red Giant on Vimeo.

So it's another bug within FCPX itself which is slowing the release up. It just makes me more sure that i need to stick with FCP7 for now. However, i'm convinced that in a couple of update's time, FCPX will be ready for some serious use.

If i had to pick one feature to add to it... it would be the ability to save a version of the 'Event' manually anywhere i want at any time...and with all the footage and files it needs to re-open the project. It can't be that hard...and i'd lose less sleep.

S

Canon C300 vs RED Scarlett.. and FCPX goes in the recycle bin.

2011-11-12T15:54:00.001Z

It's been very tempting to blog on the recent releases from Canon and RED...but everyone's at it and i'm sure i don't need to be clouding the landscape with my views. I've sat back, read a lot, listened to other film makers and slowly come up with some clarity...i think.

From where i'm standing, the C300 is a bit of a disappointment. It's features are close to what we all wanted from a 'Pro' Video DSLR...but not quite there. The form factor is ok... things like that don't matter too much these days as most drama film makers need to mount it on a rail system anyway...so small is good. But, the price....Jesus!! If Canon had made it compete with the FS100 and AF100, they would have cleaned up... a whole new generation of film makers would have flocked to it. But at around £10k without a lens... ouch. That's put it firmly in the Pro market....and probably the bottom end of the Pro market... which is never a good place to be in my opinion. And anyway... how does it cost that much? I don't see where all that extra over the price of a 5D Mk2 is going... £5k i could have understood...but £10k? No thanks.

The Canon C300.

The new RED Scarlett specs are kind of what we were all expecting. They've dumped the 2/3 sensor in favour of a 35mm one and they've gone with an interchangeable lens system in either Canon or PL flavours. Lots of bloggers are kicking up saying that the Scarlett isn't usable without spending an extra £5k on storage and batteries etc...and with a new RRP of $9750...which will probably still be around the same in £s once it's shipped here...its looking like an expensive option. Other issues include RED's slightly unstable operating system which has caused people like Phil Bloom issues with his RED Epic and also the sheer size of the data the RED generates. You'll need a DiT and shit-load of HD space to work with it.

RED's latest incarnation of the Scarlett. Will it finally see the light of day without any more spec changes???

At this stage, my money's on Canon to win this little game... the Scarlett has been coming in one form or another for about 3 years.... i'm bored of waiting. It really needs to be stunning to make the wait worth while.... and i think it's going to a pain in the arse to all but the most professional users who are prepared for it's quirks and lengthy workflow. The C300 on the other hand, although far from perfect is ready to shoot out of the box and will be far easier to deal with in post. Early reports suggest that the pictures this thing generates are amazing and contradict what the hardware and codec might imply would be possible...it's apparently a very cinematic image. Canon know their sensors...so i'm hopeful these rumours are true.

I'm sticking with my Sony FS100.... it's turned out to be the best choice for my kind of budget and after having started on the edit of my latest feature i shot on it...i can confirm it is truly a stunning image.

One more thing...

A few months ago i was singing FCPX's praises. I must confess that i have gone back to using FCP7 this week. FCPX crashed on me after a 5 hour editing session and lost all my work...gone...without trace. I was really not happy with that. I was also really missing some of my plug-ins that are FCP7 only still... so for now, i'm using the old trusty 7 to edit my film. Apple need to sort FCPX out... losing work in a professional situation is not an option. Rant over...

Until next time...

Steve Jobs... RIP

2011-10-06T17:07:00.000+01:00

Woke up to hear the news that Steve Jobs has died. He's been ill with Cancer for some time, so i guess there's some relief for his family that he's finally done with the suffering and pain that Cancer brings.

Steve was a true visionary. He didn't give people solutions for their problems... he gave them solutions for the problems they'd have in the future. He always looked ahead. His way of thinking infuriated some people...(mainly the PC mob), but for many of us, he was showing us how cool the future could be if we let technology shoulder some of the burden of everyday life. The iPod, iPad, iMac and the iPhone changed everything. Even if you never owned a single one of them...their influence touched everything that came after. Remember the first iMacs? They were white and blue...or white and orange or red or green. In those days all computers were beige...nasty nicotine coloured things with no design at all. Then suddenly the iMac arrived and everyone realised that computers could look stylish at the same time as functioning well.

That changed the world. PCs started arriving on the market in more outlandish colours. Steve moved on... The G5 tower arrived. Sleek, aluminium...very functional and very stylish... but different from the colourful iMacs. Let's not forget OSX. A truly revolutionary operating system that Windows has been trying to catch up with ever since. OSX is still going strong... easy to use, easy on the eye...no annoying bullshit in the way of you getting things done.

What about the Macbook? A really small and cheap laptop that can out-perform a lot of desktop PCs.... it's £700!!! That's madness... And if small is your thing, there's the MacBook AIR... a stunning piece of design that fits some people's idea of the perfect travel laptop.

I could go on.... Apple TV, iPod Nano...(how small???!!!) ...and the iPad!! The iPad is still finding it's feet in the world...and yet there are more iPads in the world than there were PCs 10 years ago.. Think about that. That's a lot of iPads.

How did i get into Apple? I was forced... back in 2003, i was a PC user. I was using a package called Logic Audio on the PC for all my music production work. I loved this software...i still do. Then, Apple bought it. They discontinued PC support straight away and i was left with a choice... learn a new piece of software, or buy a Mac. This meant a huge upheaval. Replacing all my software and ditching the PC forever... I rarely had issues with my PC. I had learnt to build my own and i knew how to optimise them for use in the studio. It rarely crashed and i wasn't keen on spending £2k on a G5... but that's what i did. It took about a week before i realised i was never going back to PCs.

Soon after that i got my first iBook. A little 11inch laptop that changed the way i worked. I could work from anywhere and never have to wait for it to boot up....i just left it in sleep mode all the time.. impossible in those days on a PC.

Then i upgraded to a newer Macbook.... the 13 inch model. I loved that laptop. It's still going strong now. Then i upgraded to the 15 inch MacBook Pro...the unibody one. That's what i'm using right now. It does all my editing, my composing, my internet, my calender...everything. I picked up a second hand G5 iMac for the kids to use at home...and they also have my old G5... it's still going.

Last summer i bought an iPad 2.... and in about a month i'm going to buy a new iMac for editing on.

So, as you can tell... i'm a huge Apple convert. Their products work perfectly... the OS never crashes.... they are fast... they are beautiful and the back up from Apple is second to none. I once took my secondhand macbook in to an Apple store because the case had a crack in it. No receipt. No paperwork...nothing. They took it back and replaced the casing for free. No questions asked. That's service. A friend of mine had a logic board go on their MacBook Pro recently. They replaced the whole thing for free. It's that kind of support that makes buying Apple a no-brainer for me.

I hope they keep pushing boundaries and keep giving us cool products to work with.

Steve Jobs will be missed.

Sony NEX-FS100... after shooting a feature on it...

2011-10-04T00:59:00.001+01:00

I thought long and hard about what camera to use for shooting my latest feature 'The Addicted'. It had to be one of the new breed of large sensor cameras. I love my DSLRs, but i wasn't keen on the H.264 compression and the less than ideal workflows associated with it. The Panasonic AF100 was top of the list for a while, but it's low light performance let it down. The Sony F3 was always out of the price bracket...so when the FS100 came along... it was a pretty easy choice. As i've mentioned in previous posts...i used the Atomos Ninja to bypass the AVCHD onboard codec of the FS100.... huge bit rates are what i need for the grade not to fall apart.

Amy Wilson - Our fantastic Camera Op with the FS100

The FS100 with LED light and actor John Cusworth in the shot

Me and Amy lining up a shot. Ninja and LED light attached

So, what do think of the FS100 now i've been using it for nearly a month solid?

Here's some good and points...

GOOD

I love the form factor - it's very configurable and works for my way of shooting.
The screen is fantastic...very accurate and full of excellent information... such as:
Peaking... nice.
Zebras... much missed on DSLRs.
Histogram... very useful.
The viewfinder is very good. Shame it can't point down, but really very good.
The kits lens rocks! Ok, it's not fixed aperture and it only goes down to 3.5, but it's got a great IS system and as a run and gun lens, it's hard to beat.
Proper audio!! I only use it for a guide track... but it's very good. 2x XLRs with phantom... :-)
Slo-Mo... it's full 1080p and at 50fps with a shutter speed of 100 it's very smooth.
The picture profiles are very cool. I use 2 custom set-ups...one for indoors, one for outdoors.
The battery life is great.
It's light...but pretty strong. Not a single issue with build quality.

BAD

HD-SDI would be nice...
The cable on the handgrip is too short... if it was long it could control the Ninja when connected to the other side of the camera.
The 1/4 20 screw points on the top of the camera all obscure the screen folding back properly when you use them....annoying.
Fitting the battery is a bit of a faff...could be easier.
No 1920/1080 25p over HDMI.... (may be a HDMI standard thing...)
Slightly noisy mic and pre-amps.... it's perfectly usable though.
Noisy at +18db...which is fair enough... it's not perfect, but it's usable at +18db.

The only issue we had was that the battery charger died after only a couple of days... i'm still waiting to hear back from CVP about that. It would be nice if they replaced it quickly though.

The super 35mm sensor is crazy. It really looks amazing. There's no way anyone can compare DSLR footage to what the FS100 can capture onto something like the Ninja.

Wish list?

I'd love a case big enough for me to be able to slip the camera on it's rig, with the rails, mattebox, follow focus and Ninja attached straight into it. Breaking down the rig each time is very boring.

If anyone is looking for a large sensor camera to shoot an indie feature on...this is the one. I used all my old lenses on it using a bunch of adapters... and the footage is stunning. It really does need a mattebox to add ND filters and stop flares...(unless you want them... most people do these days...)

It'll be interesting to see if Canon can compete with the FS100 with whatever they have up their sleeve for this market sector.

Atomos Ninja... after 2 weeks on set.

2011-09-26T16:15:00.001+01:00

A few weeks ago, i bought the Sony FS100 and an Atomos Ninja Pro Res recorder. I decided on the Ninja after months of reading up, testing and research.

One of the first things i did was update the software to Version 2...this gives you full quality playback which is vital in the field.

I meant to buy a pair of spinning drives and an SSD for all the action shots we would be shooting. As it turned out, we never got an SSD...so the whole shoot was done on regular spinning drives...and only 5400rpm ones too. There was lots of running around with the FS100 and Ninja on a shoulder rig... and only twice in 2 weeks did the drive not cope. Both times the rig was being really shaken about. All the other times it performed perfectly. I think this proves that Atomos are right... for 99% of the applications, the regular spinning drives cope well enough.

It was so nice to be able to whack the drives into the docking station and check the rushes back on my MacBook Pro. We could see instantly what was working and what wasn't. Things like strobing... which often didn't show up too clearly on the monitor were all too evident once the footage was viewed full size on the Mac. This kind of flexibility is what makes the Ninja system so perfect for feature shooting.

The dual battery system meant we never lost power...and they lasted for ages!

Problems? Well...not really. The only slight issue i have with it, is that you can't erase a take you know isn't needed... you can only format the whole drive. (on the unit itself) And... sometimes the take numbering goes a little astray... but if you're good at keeping logs, you won't get lost.

The more full the drives get, the slower they access the files for playback... this can slow you up a bit when you're checking back takes on the Ninja itself. But it takes no time at all to whip out the drive and replace it with a fresh one... so it's no biggy.

There's been a lot of talk on Vimeo and other sites that the Pro Res files on the Ninja don't look any better than the FS100's native AVCHD files... and to some extent, that is true.... right up until you try to grade or colour correct in anyway. The Pro Res files let you really go to town... you can pull and twist the colours and it really takes a lot before the footage breaks up. The original AVCHD files do not behave this way at all. You can whack a Magic Bullet preset on them, sure... but you try and do anything more adventurous and you'll come unstuck. We're shooting everything really bright and well lit and then darkening the whole thing down in post.... this only works without adding noise and banding using a high bandwidth codec like Pro Res. AVCHD is fine for weddings or event video stuff...but for indie features? It's not good enough.

If you're looking to shoot something great with one of the new large sensor cameras, you'd be mad not to try and capture as much information as possible before you start messing with it in post.

Other stuff? Well, it comes in a seriously good quality case...with 2 batteries, a dual charger, a really nice docking station with 2 x FW800 and USB2... and all the cables you need. I used 2 x 160GB HDs in it... i know there are bigger... but 160GB was perfect for one days's shooting and it meant i didn't have hours and hours of footage living precariously on the Ninja drives before the nightly back ups were made.

So... there it is. The Ninja rocks. Oh and one more thing. I really needed a short HDMI cable... and the only one i could find cost £5 in Tesco. I could have spent 10 times that... but the cheap one worked perfectly. It does my head in that Hi Fi nerds say you need expensive cables... as long as you're not constantly plugging and unplugging... cables are cables as far as digital data is concerned. They work, or they don't... and my £5 cable worked fine...and it's still going.

I'm looking forward to shooting on the Ninja again this week and on future productions. It will be interesting to see what other functionality Atomos add to it next.

S

The Addicted. End of main location shoot.

2011-09-23T19:55:00.000+01:00

Wow... it's been 14 days of solid, hard work in our primary location...which was a large, damp and creepy ex-factory. The cast and crew really pulled together to get the required shots done in a very small amount of time and i'm really pleased with the footage.

Amy, our Camera Op. got some great footage and combined with Ian Holmes' excellent lighting...we've got a fantastic look which will grade perfectly. I must mention that the Pro Res 422 footage from the Ninja is infinitely more pliable in post than the AVCHD captured on the FS100 itself. We only used the camera's own codec for the slo-mo shots which were captured at 50fps in full HD....awesome. Anyone not sure if the Atomos Ninja is worth getting...trust me, it is. Easy capture...easy to import into your NLE and very very solid build quality. Also, anyone who was unsure if Pro Tools works on location? It does... ok, maybe not ideal if you're moving locations all the time...but we were in one building for 2 weeks and it worked fine. Jon very quickly got the lav mic placement sorted and we got some great audio.

Ian contemplates the load-out.

One wing of the location...it was huge...

Those nasty toilets.... they were fine for a couple of days...but then...not.

So what issues did we come up against on this budget shoot? Well, although we had enough cash to rent toilets, catering (albeit basic) and a simple green room set-up... it was still a bit grim to be stuck in there for 2 weeks. It's a big ask to get cast and crew to use portaloos and eat ready meals.... although we did have some rather good cups of tea and coffee....and lots of energy drinks and custard creams to keep our energy up in the middle of the night.

We managed to keep to schedule right up until the second week when a failed camera battery charger meant we didn't have any spare batteries...and that cost us half a day's shooting. But... thanks to a slightly less hectic 2nd week and a very dedicated crew...we caught up. But... like with many low budget shoots...we didn't have loads of time to get the required shots. We had to work fast...all the time. It was a case of making decisions quickly and sticking with them. We simply did not have the time for multiple takes and dozens of angles... i had to decide what i wanted and run with it. We usually shot 2 or 3 takes which is plenty if your acting talent is on the case.

Biggest cock up? A really important prop... a syringe with a retractable needle rolled off the gurney we were shooting on...and smashed on the floor. Disaster! But... we managed to fit the needle part onto another syringe which worked ok...but we did have to shoot it slightly differently.

Biggest surprise? How professional everyone was. From the make up girls to the cast...every single person on the set pulled their weight and worked together. Film making is very much a team game...and this team really worked. I will definitely work with all of them again... (if they'll forgive the dodgy toilets..)

We also can't forget our Exec Producer, Lawrie, without whom, none of this would have been possible.

A couple of days off now...then down to London for the last week of the shoot.

The Addicted...shooting now.

2011-09-16T20:37:00.001+01:00

It's been a little while since my last post... i've been tied up shooting my second feature, 'The Addicted'. We're about halfway through the shoot now and we've taken a day off so that me and Jon can fly to Berlin to do a show with Kim Wilde. I'm sitting in my hotel room right now. I haven't slept since wednesday night and i'm feeling the strain... but, the shoot is going really well and popping over here to do a gig is kind of a nice break, in a working kind of way. I could actually do with a week of nothing but sleeping and eating nice food...but it ain't gonna happen. Tomorrow we fly back to London and then straight to the set to carry on filming. Hardcore...

So how's it been second time around? Well, it's been very different. I've been actually directing this time, as opposed to reigning in chaos. We found a fantastic new DoP called Amy Wilson and we've struck up a great working relationship. She's really quick to learn and has a natural ability with the camera. Ian Holmes, our gaffer/special FX guy/rigger/props locator and general all round life safer has been working hard to make the location look amazing all the props work as planned. We've been blowing things up, dragging people around on the floor and filming them being tortured in the most nasty way... it's really quite scary just watching the rushes.

I've got to mention the make-up team of Natalie Burchell-Cherrett and Ange Watson. They've had a tough time of it getting the ghost to look like a ghost and making the 'addicted' look suitably nasty. They've also been adding all the various scrapes, bruises and bloody wounds that the cast pick up. That's all on top of doing the general make-up routine of hair styling and skin de-shining. We'd be stuffed without them.

The camera package of the Sony FS100 and the Atomos Ninja has been fantastic. Running it in 422 mode has given us some truly jaw-dropping footage. The only issue i've had is the strobing effect of some of the fluorescent lights in shot. But... clever Ian has sync'ed the generator to the shutter speed to get rid of it... result. The daily routine of backing up the footage using the Ninja dock and a 2TB external drive has meant it's a perfect time to show the crew what we shot each day. So far, we're all really happy.

What's been tricky? Well, the long hours working through the night is very tough...but you sort of get used to it. Living on ready meals isn't great... much respect to the whole cast and crew for putting up with the food. It's not cheap or easy to feed that many people on set for this long... oh, and the battery charger that came with the FS100 stopped working...less than a week old. It cost us a few hours in lost shooting. Luckily i had spare Sony chargers...shame we didn't notice is wasn't charging though.

Jon's been finding the sound recording a little bit of challenge with regards to mic placement, but the lavs have been working great and he's got some really high quality dialogue recorded without a single cable being in view. The Pro Tools rig has been solid as a rock. As ever.

Huge thanks as ever to all the people involved... you're all vital and i wouldn't be able to do this without you. So... Jon, Jenny, Amy, Thea, Dan, Ian, Nat, Ang, Coops all the others who i'm too tired to recall... thank you.

Another special mention to the great Tim Parker who is playing a great part in the film...he's also been on-set taking stills for us... some of them are here:

Me trying to use the force...Amy wondering what i'm on about.

Me looking to see what Amy has got in the shot.

Jos getting ready to die.

Brooke dies impaled on some conduit...

Ian scares the crap out of the kids...then we kill them.

13 Days to go...

2011-08-25T19:51:00.000+01:00

I've got a headache...again. It's the constant running around like a blue-arsed fly. These last few days before 'The Addicted' begins shooting are the most hectic ever... I've got other work to fit in and i've still got to fly to Gothenberg and then Las Vegas next week before we begin the rigging on the 6th in time for the first day's shooting on the 7th.

Things we've yet to sort out:

Accommodation for 7 people for 2 weeks...
Some key props are still evading us... (ambulance stretcher/trolley/gurney anyone?...circa 1987)
Some costumes...
Portable toilet block for the main location...

It'll all get done, one way or another.

The technical side of things is all in hand..we've ordered the new Sony FS100, Atomos Ninja, Lenses, adapters, lots of hard drives including SSD drives for shaky shooting scenarios.

Ian, our lighting and special FX guy has been testing exploding lightbulbs... hopefully he'll still be in one piece by the time we begin shooting. He's also sorting all the breakaway glass panels etc.

On Monday we've got our script readthru and final production meeting. It's a chance for all the cast and crew to meet and to find out what's going to happen once we get on-set.

Then, i've got 2 days to sort everything out before i disappear to Sweden and then the USA for a few days and then fly back on the same day we start to rig the set. It's going to be a very tough couple of weeks.

20 days to go...

2011-08-17T17:31:00.003+01:00

Right now, I’m sat in the sun in Majorca. It’s 32 degrees and I’m contemplating another dip in the pool. I’m on holiday with the family. It’s beautiful…perfect weather, beautiful villa in the mountains and lots of amazing food. It's great to spend some time with the family and try to relax for once. (i'm not good at that) However…while enduring this paradise, I’m also trying to plan a feature film shoot that kicks off on the 7^th September…and between now and the shoot I’ve also got a trip to Sweden and Las Vegas for a couple of gigs with Howard Jones.

The feature we’re shooting is now fully funded and we’ve also got all the cast and crew booked. It’s going to be a full-on shoot…we’ve got over 70 scenes to shoot in just over 2 weeks worth of on-set time. That’s a lot. What makes it more grueling is that we’re shooting nights… we need darkness for the whole shoot, so we’re starting once it gets dark and working through the night. It’s a big ask of the both cast and crew.

I’m really lucky to have a great bunch of people working on this with me who are making sure it runs as smoothly as possible. The Recoil Films team are working over-time to get this production ready to shoot and some very good friends are going above and beyond to help also. My good friend and fellow tour-mate Ian Holmes who takes care of lights and video projections with Kim Wilde is running the lighting side of things as well as looking after the generator and general power issues. He’s got a great deal of experience with film lighting and special FX (of the in-camera variety), so he’s going to be vital in getting the look of ‘The Addicted’ spot on. He’s also managed to find a lot of the props we need.

We’re really chuffed to have found Natalie Cherrett from the Davina Make-Up Academy to deal with our make-up for the shoot. She comes highly recommended and we’re looking forward to working with her.

Jonathan Atkinson is our Production Sound Mixer and Composer and Jenny Gayner is Co-Producing along with myself.

I’ll do a blog on the cast nearer the time… but I will say we’ve been incredibly lucky to get such a talented bunch of people for this feature. Thea Knight who was involved in the ‘proof of concept’ trailer for ‘Their Law’ and Dan Peters from ‘Shoot The DJ’ are both in big roles…as is Paul Cooper, Jenny Gayner and myself. We’ve also managed to get Simon Naylor, Tim Parker, John Cusworth, Brooke Burfitt, Samantha Spurgin, Charlie Cameron, Jos Slovick and Paul Giles.

In an arse-about-face way…we’ve finally got the shooting script ready. This project came about so fast, that we actually had the location before we had the script. It’s not the usual way of working… but I had a rough story outline in my head…but I couldn’t write it properly until I had the exact layout of the building. So…we got the location secured first… then we found most of the cast… then I could write the script. It sounds completely backwards… but it’s the only way we could make it work. It was also nice to know who was playing who before I finished the writing stage as I could write to their strengths. It’s been a tricky script in many was as there’s so much action in this film… there is plenty of dialogue, but sometimes there’s very little for a few pages.

All that’s left to do now is buy the equipment we need….rent the other bits, and get stuck into the final stages of pre-production. We’ve got a full cast read-through and a meet’n’greet for everyone to meet each other… then it’s mostly technical stuff like testing the props… modifying my dolly to work on the location we’re in and testing the camera rig.

If there’s any film students or interested people in the Hertfordshire area who would like to be involved… get in touch. There’s always room for an extra pair of hands.

info@recoil-films.com

Crunch time...

2011-08-02T18:44:00.000+01:00

It's early evening and i'm stuck on a train from London back to Hertfordshire... it's busy and apparently there's a freight train ahead of us that is going very slow. We keep stopping for 5 minutes at a time...always in the middle of nowhere. Everyone is hot, bothered and extremely irritated by the 18 year old girl in the seat in front of mine. She's spent most of the journey on the phone... very loudly. Firstly to ask someone if she was on the right train for Cambridge..(she is). She asked the person on the other end of the phone 'Where's New Barret??....we're in a place called New Barret... i've never heard of it...i think i'm on the wrong train!!'. We were in New Barnet. Another passenger pointed this out. She said she'd never heard of New Barnet either. Then she phoned her Dad and told him to pick her up in half an hour... the train is never going to be anywhere near Cambridge in half an hour. After that, she called a friend and bitched about her being boring. 'Why don't you ever come out? You're soooo boring...you're getting old... What are you? 20? You'll be going grey next you old git.' At this point, the mostly grey haired carriage (myself included) sighed... I'm praying that the train speeds up and gets me home... or de-rails and smudges her annoying head into the track below.

Anywaaaaay. It's one month before we start shooting 'The Addicted'. This project has come together very quickly... mostly thanks to the extra people all doing their best to make it happen. I've never been great at delegation... too much of a control-freak...but i'm all for it these days.

There's so much to do. And that doesn't include tying up all the financial loose ends. We're mostly funded now... but there's still more funding to find..and quickly. I'm sure it'll all come together...after all, this is a great project and we're sure we'll find distribution.

The final choices on the gear front are all made now. We're investing in the Sony NEX-FS100 and a Atomos Ninja for the main camera, with the 550D on B-Camera duties. We've ordered a selection of adapters to make my collection of lenses work with the FS100.... i'm so glad i never invested in Canon glass now... those EOS adapters are expensive!!

We're hiring in the best audio equipment available... tiny DPA lav mics all running on UHF, a pair of AKG C568 shot guns for the booms and all being recorded to a mobile Pro-Tools rig with some lovely Mic pre-amps that will blow away anything you'd find on a digital recorder. Minimal ADR is the plan...

The only bummer with it all really is the lack of decent sync. The Ninja can't sync to Pro-Tools...so there's going to be some very fastidious on-set logging and file naming to make post less tedious.

(Annoying girl has put her iPod on now... loud and shit... but much more preferable to her talking)

I was talking to someone today about producing indie films, and it occurred to me that the most important thing you need to be an indie film producer is the ability to hustle. You need to be able to talk people into helping you...doing you a better deal... bending the rules...whatever it takes to get your film made. Obviously, some writing and directing talent is vital...but without the hustle, it's useless. However, if you want to survive and make a long term career, you can't lie or imply you're going to do this, that or the other for people if you can't or have no intention of doing so. Be optimistic, by all means.. but tell the truth.

3 more days of hustling until a well earned holiday in the sun... then it all kicks off for another 4 months of mayhem.... bring it on.

Recoil Films Ltd.... the next step.

2011-07-27T12:46:00.000+01:00

This week, we have re-launched Recoil-Films as a Ltd Company and have added two more talented people to our ranks.

Jonathan Atkinson, the BAFTA and IFTA shortlisted composer who works with me when i'm touring for both Kim Wilde and Howard Jones, has joined the company to take charge of all the recording, music and everything audio related. Anyone that knows me, will know that i'd only trust someone with impeccable skills as i'm a sound engineer and composer myself... but i know Jon has got the experience and the talent to tackle this side of our productions. It's great to know Jon will be running all the sound recording on-set and dealing with it all in post... as it's just too much for one person to do and Jon's ear for composition, especially with orchestral type arrangements means we'll have stunning music in our films. Jon's already coming up with new methods of logging and sync'ing so that we don't have the usual nightmares in post production.

Jenny Gayner, the acclaimed west end actress has joined us to take charge of casting and to help with producing the films. She's worked with a great many directors on a large array of both stage and TV productions, not to mention indie films and studio films. She's well connected, very efficient and makes the job of putting together a production run much more smoothly. She's also a very talented actress who has worked with Sean on several previous projects and will continue to feature in future Recoil Films projects.

Have a look at the re-booted Recoil Films website: www.recoil-films.com

So, along with myself, we're now 3-strong and busy working on the pre-production of 'The Addicted' which is only a few weeks away from principal photography. We've secured the main location...which is fantastic. I can't say where it is, but i can show you some pictures...

The location has just the right balance of being creepy as hell and safe as houses for filming. It's tricky to find somewhere completely knackered that isn't also unsafe. So, all that remains is to source a few more locations, get the cast and crew accommodation sorted and we're almost there...

Soon, we'll have to go gear shopping... will blog on that nearer the time. But we've decided on the camera and recorder package.

Right, back to pre-production haggling...

S

Magic Lantern...and Apple ask for help.

2011-07-18T12:05:00.001+01:00

Morning..
Last week i mentioned on Twitter that i'd installed Magic Lantern on my Canon 550D. Well, it managed to survive a couple of days before i got rid of it again.

There's some nice features and it works pretty well, but to be honest it just got on my nerves while i was shooting and i didn't really use it...so it got the chop. I liked the audio meters... but i don't record audio on the camera... so no need for them for me. I liked the 2.35:1 crop marks... but the graphics come and go as they please and this put me off...i'd rather frame for 16x9 anyway, that way i can animate the 2.35:1 crop later and use the bit of the frame i like best. I couldn't get on with the zebras for under and over exposure. They just seemed to be lagging behind quite a lot which i found very off-putting. But, the biggest issue for me was using ML with an external monitor. I use a monitor most of the time, but Magic Lantern has some real issues with this and just played up all the time. I also missed the ease of switching ISO settings... using the ML menu to get to those sought after 'native' ISOs is fine, but it takes too long for my liking. On the upside, the installation of Magic Lantern was fairly straight forward and i'd recommend having a look if those features are something you're looking for. It just wasn't for me.

Apple are asking for your comments on FCPX. Feel like giving them some pointers on what it needs to get back in your good books? Comment here: http://www.apple.com/feedback/finalcutpro.html

Been up to my ears the last week in camera research for 'The Addicted' shoot. We need something that's going to excel in low light...and be able to give us both the shallow depth of field we want as well as dealing with some 'run and gun' type shooting. Tricky. The front runner at the moment appears to be the Sony FS100.... with an Atomos Ninja or Sound Devices PIX 220 to capture the Pro Res footage in as high a bit rate as possible.

I think the AF101 is out of the running... it's low light performance doesn't seem up to the job and i've not found any evidence that using an external recorder makes much difference... it appears to be an issue with the micro 4/3 sensor. Obviously the 5D Mk2 could work in some situations, but it's not going to work for the run and gun type stuff and the H.264 footage won't take much grading before it falls apart. I'll still use my 550D for some of the shots... it's small size will mean it'll earn it's place on the set, but not for the main shoot.

The Addicted - New Feature Project

2011-07-15T20:01:00.000+01:00

As you may or may not know, i've been looking for investors for my feature project called 'Their Law'. We shot a trailer and a short, went to Cannes, visited production companies, spoke to investors and generally spent the last few months pushing our project, trying to get it off the ground. In the last few weeks we've had some success with several offers of funding and investment, but it's taking longer than we anticipated and we can't hold the shooting dates any longer. So, we're putting it back until 2012. We're still talking to the interested investors and we're still working on finding the perfect locations, so work hasn't stopped, it's just given us more time to get it right.

But... what to do in 2011? I don't like the idea of not having a new film to work on... i write prolifically and i'm keen to get a new film out to the festivals next year. So... i've got another script which we're going to shoot in September. Yes, that's only 2 months away... but it's an easier production which we're going to shoot in chronological order, mostly in one location with a small cast. We've got the funding lined up (almost) and we've even got most of the cast. There's more auditions next week in London for the remaining parts.

Another crime thriller maybe? A caper/comedy like 'Shoot The DJ'? Nope... it's a horror.

Quick artwork mock-up....

As a rule, i've never wanted to make a horror film. I like watching them sometimes, but it's not a genre i've really wanted to work in. A lot of indie film directors start out with horrors and i rarely rate them. However, i think if it's done right, a good horror can be great. For me, Alien (1979) is the best horror film of all time. Yes, it's Sci-Fi, but it's also the best horror. There's so much suspense...you rarely see the Alien and you know it's all going to end badly for most of the cast...but you never see it coming.

I've come up with a story which is both unique and terrifying. There's always an 'evil' force at work in horror films...usually a ghost/poltergeist/monster or a psychotic man/woman. This story brings a unique twist to the evil side of things...

We've found a fantastic location...an incredibly creepy building where most of it will be shot and we've managed to blag the services of a very talented lighting and special FX man who is going to make it look amazing....not to mention a very experienced composer to give us a full orchestral score.

So, 'The Addicted' will be shooting in September with post production beginning immediately afterwards and 'Their Law' will be shot later in 2012.

We never pushed the Indiegogo campaign for 'Their Law' and we really appreciate the donations we've had... we'll keep it going until the end of the slated date and then keep it all safe until production starts next year. We are definitely not going to be forgetting about 'Their Law'.... but right now, 'The Addicted' is the focus.

S

FCPX - A week later...

2011-07-14T11:41:00.000+01:00

Well, it's been an interesting week... a trip to the USA with Howard Jones for a couple of gigs in Salt Lake City and California... and more playing with Apple's FCPX.

So.... what's the deal with the new FCP? Well, i still like it...a lot. BUT... there are some serious niggles. The lack of external monitoring is just crazy and needs to be fixed...quick. The lack of export options is just plain annoying. Using Compressor is all very well, but it's an extra step i don't need. The background rendering is cool...i really like it, but sometimes, if you go a bit mad with effects, it can really slow up your machine while you're working. It can't be helped, i know.... just don't get mislead into believing there's no rendering going on...because there is.

I miss the old motion controls... the new ones are supposed to be easier, but i still find it tricky to do what used to seem really easy... re-sizing clips...changing the aspect ratio to whatever i want and animating frames seems harder. Maybe it's just getting used to the new way of working... but i really miss the old way.

My biggest issue is the size of the GUI details. The text in the footage list is huge... it doesn't need to be that big... I can't find a way to shrink it. I'd like to maximize my preview window to suit 2.35:1, but when i do, it puts a red rectangle on it to show that i'm chopping off part of the 16x9 letter boxing... that's just annoying. Oh, and they need to put 'Re-Connect Media' back in there... it's vital. You can fire up a project on a different machine, but it's harder than it needs to be. Also, it appears that you're editing the actual footage destructively... so if you try to edit the same footage in another package, FCP won't recognise the clip afterwards...which caused all kinds of issues... especially with no 're-connect media'.

Things to like: Lots of it... it's fast...really fast! The effects are fantastic. Slow-motion is soooo cool now... there's a twixtor type algorithm going on.. you can go really slow and it looks so much smoother. Putting together an edit is far quicker than it used to be.... ideas get to the 'let's watch it back' stage far quicker.

So... i'm still liking it, but i really do need to see an update soon that fixes some of the bigger issues. I'm starting a new feature in 8 weeks time and i need external monitoring and some way of getting the cut to a colourist... so unless that's fixed by then...i will have to think hard about what to do.

I really do think it's all fixable without too much work on Apple's part. I don't see the need to chuck my toys out the pram yet... but i'm reserving the right to do it later if it doesn't get fixed.

Hopefully, FCPX will get the updates we need and i'll have a head start in using it. I really don't want to have to re-learn Premiere. Interestingly, i started on Premiere (unless you count a few weeks with Speed-Razor on the PC years ago)... and i really hated the transition to FCP...i found it quite tricky at first.

On a complete tangent... i stayed in Cupertino in California this week and saw Apple's HQ.... it's really nothing to write home about. It's huge...4 blocks of the city is just Apple... but it's not a futuristic under-sea place like the Simpsons would have you believe. Bit gutted really.. ;-)

FCPX - First Impressions...

2011-07-07T11:18:00.000+01:00

I've been playing with my new copy of FCPX, and i've got to say, i'm pretty impressed. There are definitely some issues when coming from FCP7, but it's a really intuitive product and it doesn't take long to find your way around it.

I love the new timeline. I turn off the magnetic bit... it's handy for throwing together a quick assembly, but once you get down to some serious work, i prefer to work without it. I keep the windows simple, i turn off all the thumbnails... but, they are handy sometimes when you are looking for a specific part in a clip.

I really like the new way effects are previewed and then edited. It's much faster to find what you want, make the necessary changes and copy the effect to other clips. So much faster than before. The new colour correction tools may be a complete departure from what we're used to...but they are so much easier and quick to get the result you want. Goodbye colour wheels... i've no idea why we had you in the first place.

Some downsides... i wish i could shrink everything on the screen...it's all a bit big. Maybe there is a way i haven't found yet. I also wish i could use all my old plug-ins...but hey, that's progress. On the upside, there are so many very very usable and high quality effects here, that i don't have to re-buy half of the plug-ins i was using before.

I've been working with H.264 footage from my Canon 550D.... no more Magic Bullet Grinder required... i just drop the footage into FCPX and it transcodes it to Pro Res 422 in the background while i am working!! Hello??!!! That's awesome. Rolling shutter issues? FCPX fixes a lot of them... the new stabilization tools are amazing too...very impressed.

The big question... I'm starting a new feature film project in September... will i be editing on FCPX or FCP7? It's got to be FCPX. It's fast.... it's easy and as long as i don't run into any issues between now and then, i can't see any reasons why not. Ok, now i know some of you will be wondering about the lack of XML, EDL etc.. well, i'm prepared to gamble on them being added pretty soon.

No doubt, this is a new environment for FCP editors to get used to... it all feels a bit odd at first. But... you will see your edit speed increasing and you will wonder why you ever put up with the clunky and dated way of doing things in FCP7. There's no going back.

FCPX - Final Cut...The Re-Boot

2011-06-23T00:27:00.000+01:00

Wow...there's some proper whining going on in cyberspace today. Every film maker under the sun is bitching about the new FCP rebuild...FCPX.

For the record, i haven't got it yet... i'm going to get it next week though. Here's my problem with the whingers; Why? Why are you whinging about a product that you didn't own 2 days ago? A product that didn't exist... a product that does things in a new way that allows you to work faster..? You're all expecting Apple to release a fully matured product that does everything FCP7 did and more. The thing is, Final Cut has been slowly improved and added to over the years to make it the product that it was... it didn't happen overnight.

When Apple released Logic 8 a few years ago, it was the first big re-build in years... people moaned...people wanted all the old features back...and, eventually, not too long later...they got them...and much, much more. I have faith that Apple know we need OMF, XML and EDL support...as well as external monitor capability... and we will get them soon. People moan that Apple never let us know what direction they are taking software in.... well this is how they show you. You can jump in early and learn as it matures. And if you don't fancy that... just wait. Your old FCP still works fine.

A lot of people have got quite angry over some very little things too...and often without reason.

Don't like the magnetic timeline? You can turn it off.

Don't like the thumbnail look to the tracks? You can turn it off.

Prefer a list for your imported footage instead of thumbs? You can do that too...

You like to program your keyboard shortcuts? You can do that...

You see? It's not that bad... and there's no rendering...there's live previews of FX...there's colour matching, there's audio syncing, there's some great anti-shake and rolling shutter tools. Basically, it's pretty amazing... just give them a little while to get some updates out and it'll be awesome.

Rant over.

Network Failure - Second Entry into VMShorts

2011-06-16T18:21:00.001+01:00

This is my second entry into the Virgin Media Shorts competition. I'm really proud of this. I wrote and directed it and Jenny Gayner co-produced it with me.

It's not easy writing something with a beginning, middle and end that only lasts 2m20secs including credits... but i think i've got a nice little story that hits a nerve.

Huge thanks to The Stone House in Hertford for letting us shoot there this week and massive thanks to Jen for doing a great job in helping to get this project together in such a short space of time.

Please go and leave a comment on the VMShorts website about this film... we really need your support.

Thanks. x

Virgin Media Shorts Competition... Entry #1

2011-06-07T10:31:00.001+01:00

This is my first entry into the Virgin Media Shorts competition. It's based on characters from 'Their Law'. There's a possibility that it might not quite fit the rules as you're not supposed to show too much violence... but we'll have to wait and see.

I've decided to make another short specifically for the competition and i'm scounting locations this week for a shoot next week. Hopefully i can deliver something that will be more in keeping with the guidelines. Anyway, enjoy this slice of weirdness and i'll upload the other one as soon as it's done.

S

Some pics from 2011 so far...

2011-06-06T23:59:00.000+01:00

A few more photos i've taken. These are just shot on my phone...the HTC Desire using the Vignette app. It's pretty good as long as there's plenty of light.

I always seem to get the seat next to the props on these planes... scary.

My Scarly at the fair.

I love the colours in this one.

More fairground stuff... a bit of Lightroom editing.

Again, really vibrant...

Taken near Antibes... looks like it's lit from underneath...it's just the sun.

Front of the bus in Antibes

Cannes Harbour taken from the Radisson.

Halle, near Leipzig.

Some of my photos from 2010.

2011-06-02T13:50:00.000+01:00

Ashtray in Valencia

Danube Festival in Vienna 2010

Clock Tower in Stevenage 2010

Guinness in Dublin 2010

Scarlett on 70's style roundabout 2010

Tilt-Shift in Valencia airport

Really cool looking skylights

Can't remember which airport this is...

Cool architecture in Valencia

Hotel Pool in Valencia

Dunno why i keep taking photos like this...

Art Deco diving board in Valencia

Original 1930's building behind the beach in Valencia

Sky reflections..

One of my favourite pics... it's the top of a generator

Cigars

Winter Sun in Hitchin

Hotel on Daytona Beach

Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida

Toronto Airport

Spiral staircase in Hamburg Bunker

The Empire State Building...NYC 2010

Technicolor Canon Profile... & 'The Eye'...have you got it?

2011-05-11T19:37:00.000+01:00

Like every other Canon DSLR user, i downloaded the new Technicolor shooting profile last week. I've been playing around with it and it's pretty cool. It gives the camera a bit more latitude and really helps 'see' into the shadows and darker areas. It's very flat...and very un-contrasty... which makes focusing tricky and lighting harder, but with a few clever work-arounds, it can really make your footage look much better.

What you need to do to get the best out of it, is to frame your shot and light your scene, check exposure etc while set to a standard profile...and then switch to the Technicolor profile before hitting record. It's a bit of a faff...and not necessary for every shot, but it makes getting the best out of it easier.

I don't like using the LUT that comes with it... in my tests it just makes the footage look exactly like it was shot on the standard profile again. I used Magic Bullet Mojo in my tests and it really made the footage look great.... not a massive amount grading is possible, but definitely more than shooting with the 'flat' profile i was using before.

I've been too busy this week to upload any examples, but there's plenty on Vimeo if you do a search.

I was reading another blog recently which was talking about having 'the eye' for being a film-maker. This is a term that is chucked about in film-making circles...and it basically means you know what looks good on camera...you know what works and you know there's a difference between the look of TV drama and cinema. I'm still amazed by the number of short films i see that don't look right. These are mostly done by 'would be' feature directors to show off their skills, but all too often they look all wrong. I don't mean technically, i mean artistically. Where the camera is placed...how the shot is framed and most often, how the scene is lit.

3 point lighting is all very well for interviews and docs, but in cinematic pieces, it can look wrong. I know DSLRs need a lot of light, but placing your pools of light is what it is all about. You need contrast... dark areas in the frame to make the lighter areas stand out.

Another area that makes productions look very un-cinematic is production design. It's one of the most expensive areas of film-making, but it makes the difference between the look of a student film and a proper feature. Most of us have big swathes of un-interesting wall space in our own homes...magnolia or beige usually. It looks crap on camera... you only ever see it in soaps. Features will make sure all walls are interesting colours and/or textures. It's hard to do on a budget, but making an effort in this area will make your film look much better. Even using coloured light to throw some green or blue on a boring wall will make a difference. Other parts of production design that will help are things like interesting props. Cars should be rare or unique in some way, mobile phones should be different enough to what's available now to not 'date' the film too quick..(unless you need to stamp it's place in time). Household objects like kettles or coffee mugs should be different in some way...not what you can pick up in any branch of Wilkinson.... if the audience sees things they recognise, it might contradict the story. It's no good trying to show the protagonist in your film as a well off single man if he has flowery mugs available from Argos in his Kitchen. It might seem trivial... but it never goes without some serious thought on a proper feature production.

Deep reds, white and busy walls...great looking on camera.

Magnolia walls, beige carpet, sparse walls...looks pants on camera.

So what else is happening? Well, the investment brochures for 'Their Law', the movie i am pitching in Cannes finally arrived...and they look great. I'm pretty much ready now... i just need to fit in a quick trip to Turkey for gig with Kim in before i head to Cannes.

I should also point out, i watched 2 shorts on Vimeo this week that really blew me away... proper film-making in a cinematic style. Much respect... here's the 2 films i like:

Their Law... time to go live!

2011-05-06T15:34:00.000+01:00

This time last year, i took a synopsis of a film i had an idea for called 'Their Law' to Cannes. I had 1/3 of the script written, but it was still very much just an idea. After getting a really good reaction to it in Cannes, i got on with it as soon as we got back.

By September last year, i had a finished script... during October i re-drafted it a few times, chopping away at it until it was ready. In November last year we auditioned actors to perform a 'proof of concept' trailer so that we could show our plan to potential investors and take it to Cannes this year. We finished work on the trailer back in January and we've been sitting on it ever since.. apart from showing a few select people we want to work with.

Since January we've been producing an investment brochure, refining the budget, researching locations and generally ramping up to Cannes which starts next week.

One of the bigger jobs was creating a pitch film...a short film featuring the cast and production team telling potential investors what we're about and why they should get involved. Thanks to a very supportive cast, we got it shot in a week and then edited in a day. I wrote some music and finished it all off yesterday.

Mixing the audio for the pitch film. Roy Boyd on screen.

Then, i had to do the dreaded crowdfunding campaign. I've supported a lot of crowdfunded films and i like the idea of it... but it's hard work. You really need to hammer twitter and facebook and i don't like to hassle people... but i guess i'll have to get over it.

Yesterday i built the website.. and i even got it to work on all the required formats...Mac, PC, iPad, iPhone, Android phones...everything.. check it out:

iPad, Android phone and Mac all playing nice with the website.

So... all we need to do now is launch the project... light the fuse...and hope that people get behind us and help make it happen.

So what can you, my blog followers do to help? Spread the word!! Re-post this blog... tell your friends and generally help us push this project to every possible potential investor. Every £ or $ counts... and if you can't afford it, a re-post could be just as valuable!

http://www.theirlaw.com

Cannes preparation...

2011-04-28T16:54:00.000+01:00

It's been a while since my last post... i've been enjoying the amazing weather over the Easter break and also working hard on the preparation for our Cannes trip.

As i covered last year, Cannes is a fantastic festival and there's a lot to be gained by going, but you can't just roll up and expect to get the most out of it.

We've been filming a 'pitch' film featuring the cast of 'Their Law' to launch on the website the day that Cannes opens, as well as preparing a full colour investment brochure and some postcards to hand out. These kind of things make it easier to capitalise on Cannes.

We've gone for an A5 sized brochure as we noticed last year that a lot of the A4 sized paperwork that people brought to meetings just got left on tables later in the evening. A5 will fit in a jacket pocket or bag...and that means it's got a better chance of making it home. There's a lot of drinking and partying..and that means people get a little careless and even though they might fully intend to call you next week...they can't if they've lost your details. So... it's a multi-sized approach. Brochures...then postcards (full of information and some nice artwork...great for leaving on tables etc) and then the ubiquitous business card. Always carry business cards... it's a must.

The view from The Grand in Cannes. Where we'll be most of the time...

So what else? Well, when i meet people in situations like Cannes.. i like to do a little checking up to make sure they are who they say... i Google them. So make sure your website is up to date. Google yourself and see what comes up... then make sure it's not going to make you look like a dick. If you're pitching a film..make sure it's got a current website and that you are on there somewhere. If you've got the time and funds to put a little taster video on the website...even better.

We're hoping to make contact with other film makers in a similar position to us while we're there, so we'll be frequenting the British and American Pavilions during the day, as well as the usual trawling of the Palais. It's definitely a game of 2 halves in Cannes. Daytimes for seeing the stands and sensible meetings that you've pre-arranged and then nights for socialising/networking/partying. It's the late night networking that seems to work best for making new contacts. Early evening is when everyone is either at screenings or having dinner, so it's not really worth hitting the Croisette before 10pm... but then you need to stay until the very early hours to get the most out of it.

If anyone wants to meet up with us over there, we'll be there from the 16th to the 21st...so drop us an email. It's good to chat to other film makers over a beer.

Here's a sneak preview of the poster and brochure cover for 'Their Law', which we are pitching in Cannes this year.

See you there...

Final Cut Pro X... coming in June...and it's only $299!!

2011-04-13T13:00:00.001+01:00

Wow... i gotta admit, although i did think it might be an app store download, i didn't think they'd drop the price so much. Ok, i know there's not the whole 'Studio' bundle in there... but, it does now incorporate 'Colour' and 'Soundtrack' into the main application. I never liked all those separate apps anyway...way too much moving around.

So what's new? Well, here's a few of the features:

64 bit (at last)
Unlimited memory...no longer stuck at 4GB
Resolution up to 4K
No more transcoding - can use multiple codecs on the timeline natively
Renders on the fly in the background
Non-destructive color balance on import
Stabilisation on import
Audio clean-up on import
Single keystroke nesting
Clip sync via audio. Similar to Plural Eyes.
Pitch corrected audio scrubbing
Single click to match color between clips
Advanced color correction

The biggest news has to be the price... $299 and as a download from the App Store? Fantastic.

Now, a lot of people are already moaning about it. "It looks like iMovie"... or "it's been dumbed down"..... or even "It's dreadful...look at it!".

Stop for a moment. Anyone here ever use Logic before version 8? Logic is the former Emagic pro audio app that the music industry relies on. Apple bought it and things changed....for the better.

First, they bundled all the separate apps into one. Then they dropped the price...to £300 from £700. Then, in version 8, they did what Apple have just done to FCP... they re-coded it and changed the GUI.

Users were up in arms. They said it looked like Garageband... they said it dumbed down a great app. They were wrong. Logic is now easier and quicker to use than it ever was before. The GUI helps this process. It's better, faster and far more professional than the old dog of app we had before.

Just think of all the idiosyncratic ways we have to use FCP now... ridiculous left-over code from version 1.0. It's well over-due an update and i think this will be a great new start for people with open minds everywhere. Old skool grumpy editors can move over to Premiere... good luck with that.

S

Hardcore Indie... a great project

2011-04-08T16:26:00.000+01:00

As lots of indie film makers find out, getting a project off the ground can be a nightmare. From finding like-minded individuals to help you to finding the funding for the production...there are obstacles every step of the way. It's very easy to talk a good game.... there's plenty of people on the net who are happy to tell you about their next project and how it's all going to work, but very few of them see it through and lot of them never even get started.

David Baker is someone i have been chatting to on and off for a while now on Twitter. He's an indie film maker from Scotland. He's made one film from within the industry with full funding etc and another he made himself with a tiny budget. He's seen both sides of the fence and he's ready to make another movie. David has hooked up with American film maker Oklahoma Ward and actress Nicole Alonso and they have some big plans. They want to make 2 features, side by side.... David's 'Screen' and Oklahoma's 'Crawl'....both horror in genre and both great concepts. Their plan is to set-up a new indie film studio and make it a long term project. So, to get things moving they are planning a documentary covering the making of these two films and all the behind the scenes trails and tribulations that will occur. The doc is called 'Hardcore Indie'. If you're interested in film making, supporting their project could bring many benefits, not the least of which is benefiting from their experience and the regular video diaries and updates on the project they are planning.

Please go and check out their KickStarter page... there's only 6 days left for you to get involved. I'm sure they'd appreciate any kind of donation at all.... and you'll get plenty in return.

Click here> http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/hardcoreindie/hardcore-indie-documentary

Shut up moaning!!!

2011-04-08T12:43:00.002+01:00

It's been an interesting few weeks with the leaks of what's coming at NAB over in the US this week. There's also been lots of talk about the new Sony FS100 and how it compares to the Panasonic AF101. But...the thing that's winding me right up is the amount of moaning about the features these cams have...or don't in some cases. Everyone's got their pants in a twist about the lack of ND filters and an HD-SDi output. Why? There are solid reasons for omitting these features. Firstly, price point... you want the camera cheap as possible right? It's designed for indie film makers...so go and buy a MatteBox then all the filters you buy from now on (ND filters included) will fit any camera you have in the future... much nicer than using some half-arsed ND filter built into the camera. As for the SDi output... you've got a clean HDMI output instead... that's fine! If you really want SDi, go and buy a more expensive camera...

A lot of people on the forums are saying: Why can't Sony just give us everything we want? Twin SD slots, ND filters, SDi, 50MB... You already know why.. because if they build the perfect camera, they won't sell any others in their range...and you won't upgrade for years. They are running a BUSINESS...they need to sell cameras regularly. It's the same with Panny and Canon... Of course Canon could bring out an industry winning DSLR-meets-Video Camera winner with 5Dmk2 image quality but with RAW support, no nasty H.264 and a clean HDMI output...they could even make it shoot great stills too.... but why would they? They'd be killing too many of the other markets they sell in.

Look on the bright side... we've got so much choice now. You want shallow DoF shots? You are no longer limited to a DSLR or a F35 or RED camera. You now have these new large sensor video cameras for affordable money... ok, not DSLR affordable, but not far off. Why is that bad? Why are people so angry with the manufacturers? Embrace what you've got... worry less about the technology and more about what you are shooting.

iPad2, DSLR wars and 'Making films, not messing with cameras...'

2011-03-27T21:58:00.001+01:00

So, after not buying into the iPad1, i went and did the proper nerd thing and queued up for an iPad2. I've never felt more of a geek in my life...i won't be doing it again. But, all that being said, in the last 24 hours i have come to love the iPad. It's already replaced my trusty MacBook Pro for Facebook, Twitter and email duties... on top of that, i'm also using it for my calendar/diary, for notes, for news and pretty much everything else apart from actual work like Final Cut, Photoshop, Logic or MS Office. Not bad for a little tablet thing that most people use to play Angry Birds on. (I must admit i've had a go on Angry Birds...strangely addictive)

This weekend has seen some interesting debate online about the usefulness of the new breed of large sensor video cameras like the AF101 and new Sony FS100. The argument goes, 'Why should we pay £4000 more a camera that doesn't give a better end result than a £1000 DSLR?'. Fair point. I get that and it's a tricky one to argue against. I guess my point of view is this: I love my Canon 550D, but i will definitely upgrade to one of these other cams when i come to shoot my next big movie. Why? Because i want rid of moire, i want rid of the H.264 hassles and i want better connectivity for monitors and for external recording devices. I'm not bothered about audio connectivity... i will only ever shoot with separate audio.. on camera audio is nearly always crap and completely useless for drama. But... and it's a big but...

I would be just as happy with a DSLR that solved these issues. I would choose a Canon 5D Mk3 if it solved the issues. I don't care if it's a stills camera.

The DSLR backlash...and film maker or camera man?
Some old skool camera people still look down their noses at us DSLR types... and these people are now shooting with the AF101 or F3... they love the shallow DoF style but they feel that a real camera should have XLR audio inputs, ND filters and solid, chunky buttons on it. Now that's fine, they are entitled to their opinion. But, suddenly some of them are back on the war path slating DSLRs again. Seriously boys, this isn't the playground... all that matters is the end result... and even then, most punters don't give a shit what you shot your latest movie on...as long as it's good. Some of the blogs i read are presuming we all work on corporate videos or tv spots. We don't. I don't come from an ENG background...never touched a betacam... or a 35mm film cam for that matter. Does that make me an outcast? I made my first pop promo on DV and i've only worked with digital since...usually the low end of the market. DSLR gave me the chance to up my game without getting too financially fubar.

The thing is, i don't spend all week wrangling with my rig and shooting stuff for the sake of it...although, i think shooting a lot is good practice. I'm a film maker, not a camera man. I'm also a writer and a producer. I spend my time evenly distributed between script writing/editing...location scouting...finance sourcing....promoting what i do and meeting people who can help. Making films is all about getting people fired up to believe in your idea...and luckily for me, i've got a big mouth and i know how to use it. I really enjoy the banter on twitter and the blogs, but at the end of the day, most of it just a distraction and very little of it actually helps me advance my career. That only happens when i get off my arse and talk to people in the flesh...meetings/networking...whatever you want to call it.. it works. I've met 3 people from the film industry in the last 12 months that have seriously helped push my career forward and none of them came from twitter, facebook or the blog. That's not to say i'll never make a connection that will help in some way, i just haven't so far.

Anyway, i'd better go... i've got 25 un-read tweets to work through...

The Sony FS100 is here...

2011-03-24T10:09:00.001Z

Sony's FS100, the cut down F3...or if you like, the large sensor EX3..is finally revealed. I'm not going to go into detail, every video blog on the planet is writing about it. For a detailed look, head over to www.hdwarrior.co.uk

There's some strong opinions on Philip's site about the FS100... mainly about the lack of ND filters and HD SDi output. I don't see the issue personally. I use a mattebox for my ND filters and so will any serious film maker. ND wheels are more of a ENG thing as far as i can see....not a deal breaker for indie film makers. The HD SDi is a little more annoying, but with a clean HDMI output and so many new options for capturing that way, i'm not overly bothered about it. This thing outputs 4:2:2 via the HDMI and with a super35 sensor, that's gonna be more than enough for most people at this end of the market.

I also don't get the criticisms about the form-factor. I like the small brick style body... it lets me build the the camera rig i want...and the multitude of mounting holes is great.. well done Sony.

Ok, so the £5k price tag puts it slightly behind the AF101...but i have a feeling the sensor will more than make up for the slight price difference.

It's certainly made my shortlist for the camera i should be looking at for my next feature.

Who's in and who's not?

2011-03-17T18:40:00.000Z

I got another email today asking for advice about getting into the 'industry'. I get quite a few of these...as well as requests for work experience and offers of free help at my studio. That's all great... i'm more than happy to help people out and try and point young people in the right direction when it comes to finding work in music or film related projects. But there's a huge mis-conception that has been flying around for years and it's time it was outed.

'The Industry'. In the case of today's email, it was referring to film....but it could just as easily apply to the music business. Okay...listen up. There is no such thing. I'll say it again if you like...there's no such thing as the 'industry'. There's not a closed shop group of people who run either of these mythical 'industries'.... it's just lots of individuals and companies all trying to make a living. There's not an inside and an outside...there's just an imaginary wall which is only visible if you feel that you're not a part of it.

Up until 2007, i was a sound engineer, record producer and label owner...i worked in the music business. I find all my own work...i don't send out CVs and i don't hang out with lots of other engineers... i just do my own thing. No one said i could be a part of it...i just was. When i started making 'Shoot The DJ', my first film in 2007, i became part of the film industry. Again, i didn't ask anyone...no one 'let me in', i just got on with it.

It's the same for kids leaving Uni or school. If you want to be a film maker, make a film. Don't wait for someone to give you the backing and the crew...find it yourself. Then, you'll be what you wanted to be. It's the same with music. Gone are the days when a fat bloke with a cigar signed you to a million pound record deal and you were on TV the following week...it never really worked quite like that, and it certainly doesn't now.

So, my advice for anyone wanting to get into either music of film is stop asking and start doing. I didn't think i'd be in Cannes meeting with producers and financiers who would take me seriously, but that's what's occurring. If i'd waited until someone had picked up my script and deemed to let me be a part of 'the industry', i'd be waiting a very long time.

S

Keep on Moving... in some wicked trainers.

2011-03-15T01:47:00.000Z

Might be over-doing it on the trainer department at the moment... After buying myself a new pair of super-converse a few weeks ago... i saw these Nikes last week and had to have them. DJ AM Dunks.
Having size 12 feet means finding trainers is really tricky...they always look great on the shelf in size 8, but when they bring out the 12s, they look like boats. The basketball boots just work better in my size...which is great, cos i much prefer them.

The Cons are holding up well considering i wore them day-in and day-out on the tour, but it's the Nike's that are going to get a hammering now. The Cons are relegated to back-up. (along with the Duffs, the other Nikes and the Reeboks....errr and the other Converse)

I'm spending this week mixing the Dortmund show we recorded on the tour so that it can be broadcast on German radio soon... it sounds great. On Thursday night we head off to Paris on the tour bus for the last leg of the tour...Paris, Dusseldorf and then Tivoli in Utrect. It's gonna be good to see everyone again and blast the set a few more times.

It's time to start working on the investment proposal for 'Their Law'. We're going to launch the official website just before Cannes and that means finally showing everyone the trailer. I've got a great vibe about this project... fingers crossed it all comes together.

This'll make you laugh... i played keyboards for this TV performance in Germany that was shown 2 nights ago... shame the audio is so out of sync.. very funny though. Nice to get out from behind the mixing desk for once...

Nearly there...

2011-03-03T12:05:00.000Z

The Kim Wilde German tour is almost over...2 more shows, Dortmund tonight and then Hamburg tomorrow. It's been a blast... the shows have been awesome and the fun has been, well, fun.

The German crew have been great. Hannes, my systems tech has got the PA right every single night and not once have i had any issues at all with it. We've had some tricky venues too... Last night in Dresden we had only one available hanging point which was 4m behind the front of the stage, but it still sounded great and i had no problems with lack of headroom on the vocal.

Steve on monitors has done a blinding job with everyone just being able to get on with performing without any problems...he's a real scientist engineer. (who happens to look a bit like Abe Lincoln)

Daz and Cornish on the backline have been flawless as usual... even when Rick's amp blew in the middle of the show in Oberhausen...they changed it for the spare in minutes.

Mark Video's lights have been stunning too. It's really made it a great show to watch with loads of LED lights, some really cool moving lights and lots of great back-lighting.

The best gigs so far have been Munich and Stuttgart. Mainly because of the types of venue...standing and also with great acoustics and a stunning performances by the band. I had an odd one at Munich cos i felt very dizzy during the gig and had to visit the hospital the next day to get myself checked out... no idea what it was, but i'm absolutely fine now. Very strange.

Looking forward to the last 2 shows and really hoping to end on a high in Hamburg in front of lots of friends and the usual great Hamburg crowd.

5 days off when we get back...and then Athens!

Tour... more Art On Ice pics...

2011-02-21T12:03:00.001Z

During 'You Cam' at the aftershow party... lots of drunk skaters and guests.

Scarlett Wilde

This bloke was a genius skater...

More incredible skating..


The band arriving in a smoke filled van..


Bass man Nick Beggs arriving in a fridge...

So we're now down from the alps and in sunny Cologne for the first of the full production shows. We did a warm up gig in Zurich on saturday which went really well. The new tunes sounded great. The PA wasn't all that great and the room had dreadful acoustics, but i'm sure the punters never noticed...they went mad after each song and pushed the dB level upto 105dB at front of house. (when the legal limit is 100dB in Swtizerland)

Right now, we're setting up the PA system in Cologne and i'm not far off starting the system tests... hopefully i'll get some pics tonight and i can post some more tomorrow.

By the way... i got short films in to Cannes...i got the email confirming it last night. Very happy.

S

St Moritz Art On Ice gig...

2011-02-18T16:21:00.000Z

Tonight we're doing the ice show gig... we rehearsed it today and i got some pics while mixing...

Spinning round bloke...

I hope she showered first...

Cool...

Ta da!

Nick Beggs is in the fridge...seriously.

Steve Power on the journey through the alps.

An eventful couple of days...

2011-02-17T22:31:00.000Z

For the past couple of months i've felt a bit odd... gut ache and generally not feeling right. So i went to the docs... they sent me for some blood tests. I found out yesterday that i've got a slightly elevated Liver enzyme count in my blood. There's loads of things that this could be caused by...like too much alcohol, too much fat in my diet, plus a bunch of nasty stuff i won't go into. The last couple of months have been stressy for me... i probably took on a bit much..the trailer, the big DVD edit job, prepping for the tour.. it all got a bit much. I haven't been eating properly and i haven't been sleeping properly. Anyway, the upshot is... my diet has been dreadful for about 30 years. I don't eat fruit or veg... hard to believe i know, but there it is. I've just never liked them and it's never done me any harm not eating them. Until now. Combined with the stress i think it's caused all this... So i'm on a health kick...but this time it's permanent. I'm going to eat veg and fruit and i'm going to get fit again. Easy to say...tricky to do.

This would all be a bit easier if today wasn't the first day of a 3 week tour with Kim Wilde and her band. We arrived in Zurich this morning and then drove 3 hours into the Alps to St. Moritz. It's beautiful, but sooo bloody cold. I've been good though. I ate carrots and kale with my lunch, an apple this afternoon and only carrots and broccoli for dinner. (Mainly because when i opted for the '6 meats' dish, they brought me Cow's head, sheep's tongue and other nasty surprises.) ...and after the hyena and elephant thing i saw on TV last night...i couldn't eat any of it.

The gig we've been rehearsing for all afternoon is called 'Art On Ice' and it's a pre-tour gig where the band play on a frozen lake while Olympic skaters dance to the music... very cool... but really just mentally cold. Tomorrow we're rehearsing in the day and then doing the gig for real in the evening before playing another gig for the aftershow party.

On Saturday, we drive back to Zurich for a club gig...which will be indoors and warm. Result. After that, it's onto the tour bus to start all the German tour dates... i can't wait.

I'm getting an early night tonight cos Neil (the guitarist) is making me go to the hotel gym with him tomorrow morning to start on the fitness regime. Kinda looking forward to it...but also not.

Anyway, that's the first day... i'll update next time i can get online.

S

BVE at Earl's Court...?

2011-02-15T10:33:00.000Z

Today sees the start of the Broadcast Video Exhibition at Earl's Court in London. I went last year with André and it was quite useful to see some new stuff like the all the LED lighting we ended up using a lot and the new DSLR rigs etc. But, this year, i'm giving it a miss. There's a couple of reasons.. firstly, we've shot the trailer for 'Their Law' an we bought all the equipment we needed last year... so we're not in the market for anything new at the moment.. And secondly, because i'm way too busy getting prepped for the tour which i start at 4am on thursday.

We're planning to shoot the full version of 'Their Law' later this year, and we'll definitely be looking to buy into a new system for that... but to be honest, i need to concentrate on the re-writes, the financing and the location scouting for the next few months... the gear lust can begin at the end of the summer.

So, have fun down there everyone... it would have been nice to catch up and have a few beers, but i'll have to give it a miss. :-(

Back to the day job... Sound Engineer on Tour.

2011-02-12T13:20:00.001Z

This week i'm off... to Europe for a month of gigs with Kim Wilde and her band. I've been working for Kim for about 10 years and i love it. Everyone in the band and crew is brilliant at what they do and we all get on great. I'm often told off for having too much fun when i'm working... and it's easy to see why. We just move from city to city.. doing amazing shows and drinking quite a lot.

There's a lot that goes into a tour like this, but my 'end' of it all is fairly simple thanks to the PA company we're using who are supplying all my equipment. For the technically minded among you, i'm using a L'Acoustic dv-DOSC Line Array with a Yamaha PM5D-RH at front of house. I'm also using an Avalon VT-737 mic amp and my Macbook Pro running Mainstage for all my effects via a new Motu Ultralite Mk3. There...that wasn't too bad huh?


Quite a bad photo of the PM5D channel panel

So what does my job entail when it comes down to it? Well, in a tour situation, i usually get up around 11am and stagger off the tour bus looking for coffee. Once i've woken up, i then head into the venue to make use of the showers and get myself ready for the day. My first job is to check how the PA crew are getting on with rigging the system. They'll be pretty self-sufficient and won't really need me to get involved very often, although i will have to make the odd judgement call over where to hang the PA or where i want my desk putting. Around 1pm, the PA should be almost ready for me to start testing it. I'll usually play a bunch of tunes that i know really well from my iTunes just to see how the PA sounds in that particular venue. I haven't compiled a new test playlist yet, but last years consisted of:

The Prodigy - Omen
Leftfield - Dusted
Dr Dre' Ft Tupac - California Love
AIR - All I Need
SpearHead/Michael Franti - Oh My God
Massive Attack - Tear Drop

Once i've heard snippets from all those tunes over the PA, i know what if anything needs tweaking to get it sounding right.

Once this is done, i'll set up my effects on my Mac and help with the mic'ing up of the band stuff...or just go for another coffee.

At some point, usually around 3pm, Daz and Basti, the 2 backline guys (Daz is also the stage manager) will help me check through the mix by playing the various instruments. Assuming the mix recalled ok from the previous night, it should only need tweaking.

At about 4pm, the band will be up on stage, ready to start playing through the tracks for a proper soundcheck. This is when i'll do most of my tweaking and wandering around the venue making sure we don't have any dead spots. Once the soundcheck is all done, i hit save (again) and leave the desk until the show. At this point we usually have some food and a couple of drinks to loosen the mood a bit, ready for the show.

The show is the best bit... i don't get nervous at all... but i do get a big adrenaline rush everytime. I'm different to most engineers in that i get right into it... i'm usually jumping up and down or rocking my head away over the desk.. i love it.. and it helps me keep time for tapping in my beat-matched delays. I concentrate a lot when i'm working and rarely talk to anyone apart from Kim's manager Nick who often pops over to FOH for a look from my point of view and a chat. It's not that i'm not chatty, but i listen to all the words...all the time.. it's how i know where i am in the song and where my next FX cue is coming up. Some of these songs i have been mixing for 10 years, so it' easy to relax a bit more, but i still don't like to take my eyes off the stage.

The tour bus we had last time... it was big.

So, once the gig is done i pack my Mac up which usually takes about 5 mins and then i head backstage to see Kim and the band. I always make a point of having a chat with Kim to make sure she was happy with everything.. there's an on-going joke where she always asks 'How did it sound tonight?' and i always reply 'Fantastic!' or 'The best yet!'.... obviously, after all this time, she is suspicious that if it's so good every night, did it used to be shit when i started? Or do i really keep getting better? Or am i just protecting my job? I know the answer...

Then it's just a case of supervising the loading of the truck..(a bit) and drinking as much free beer as possible before getting on the bus to head to the next city... the bus doesn't curtail the partying though...in fact it's a real party-bus... we're often to be found doing the conga around the bus at 5am.... it must be said, it's not a bad job.

I'll try to post some pics and update on my progress as we travel about...

S x

Camera decisions for the next feature...

2011-02-07T23:08:00.000Z

It's been a busy few weeks. On top of editing the trailer for 'Their Law', i've also been editing the Howard Jones DVD/Blu-Ray. The 'Their Law' footage we shot with our Canon 550D's and the Howard concert was shot with a wide array of cameras.... one of which was the Canon XF305.

While editing the Canon 550D footage i've been both impressed and slightly depressed. Sometimes, when the lighting is right, the footage looks stunning. But, when things are a bit darker and the lighting isn't so perfect... noise creeps into the footage. Now, i'm not dissing the whole DSLR thing... i've shot some great stuff on my 550D... but, they are not the holy grail... there are issues.

When i was editing the Howard Jones concert, i was stunned when i saw the XF305 footage. Compared to all the the other footage it was so much more faithful to what i remember seeing at the venue... the colours were amazing, but most of all, skin tones and hair details was so far removed from what i am used to seeing from video that it's caused me to rethink my camera decisions for the film. Colour grading the XF footage is great. You can pull it all over the place and it holds up. Compared to the EX3 footage from the same shoot, it's night and day.

I knew already that DSLR wasn't the route to go for the main 'A' camera. I don't want to worry about moire, rolling shutter and awkward workarounds. I love the DSLRs, but i'm happier using them for 'B' camera duties. I was giving serious thought to the Panasonic AF101... it's the obvious choice really, but the whole XF305 thing has thrown a spanner in the works.

It's down to 2 issues from what i can tell. 1) The data rate. The XF305 is 50Mbps. 2) The colour space... the XF305 is 4:2:2.

The 550D shoots at 44Mbps with a 4:2:0 colour space.

So now i'm thinking that 4:2:2 is making the difference here. Obviously, the Canon line-skipping on the DSLRs isn't helping here... but the XF305 was up against Sony EX3's, Sony XDCamHD cameras and Canon DSLRs in the Howard Jones edit... and it was easy to spot the XF305 footage on the timeline. It was the only camera with a 4:2:2 colour space.

Right...so that means i've got to choose between using an AF101 with a NanoFlash OR i go for the Sony F3 with a NanoFlash. From what i've heard from people who have done comparisons between these 2 cameras, there's a big difference in the look. Then there's the price. To get an F3 with 3 primes and an adapter to use my existing 35mm lenses is going to cost around £20,000. To get a similar set up with the AF101 is only about half that... in fact, if i forget the cinema primes and go for DSLR lenses, it would be even cheaper. But... there's talk of a Sony F1...(NXcam35)..maybe that will be the perfect camera for the job?


The Panasonic AF101

The NanoFlash.

The Sony PMW-F3

As bloody usual, it's a waiting game. We've just got to wait and see what the best camera is the month before the shoot and go with that... it's almost pointless making decisions now. Such is life now that the market is moving so fast. I think what i've learnt though, is that without seeing the footage from these cameras, it's all a guessing game. Maybe the F3 doesn't need 4:2:2 to impress? I really need to see some raw footage and have a play with it. I'm almost scared of going to the BVE again next week... i might get to try the Arri Alexa...and then i'll really be in trouble.

Editing a concert DVD / Blu Ray

2011-01-31T13:45:00.000Z

Being the front of house mix engineer for a variety of great performers is a real privilege but sometimes it also leads to other work. Howard Jones asked me to edit the footage from his gig at the IndigO2 back in November. It was a 9 camera shoot and a right mixed bag of cameras and codecs... XDCAM HD, XDCAM EX, AVCHD, Go Pro HD, Canon H.264... it took over a week just to convert all the footage to a common codec for editing... I've gone into this in a previous post.

Now i'm halfway through the edit, i've got into a rhythm and it's coming together quicker. I considered using the multi-angle clip route, but have instead just plonked all the footage in a big stack in FCP and am ploughing through it that way. It took a good couple of days to get everything sync'ed properly, but it wasn't too hard.

The difficulty with editing a concert DVD like this is finding the style. I get very bored watching edits where it's just cutting from one angle to the next...interspersed with long dissolves and the occasional wideshot.. it's tired and dull. I've decided to assign certain visual characteristics to certain cameras. The Go Pro cameras which are very uniquely positioned right up close to the performers are always either black and white and grainey or very bleached out colour.... i'm not using any 'normal' colouring on their shots. Any shot which has a big zoom in it...like suddenly closing in on Howard... that's black and white too. The graphics from the screen at the back of the stage are only overlayed onto the footage if there's a good reason for it... not the whole way through. There's one section where the whole song is in black and white apart from the motion graphics which are overlayed in deep, rich colours to frame the shot and give the monochrome look more definition.

My way of working is simple, but a little long winded. I watch every single line from the song from each angle and pick the best one... sometimes i change angle every 4 bars, sometimes every 8 bars and sometimes i ignore the music and go right across the beat... if it works. Once i'm a 1/4 of the way into a song, it's usually developed a style of it's own which i then stick with for the rest of the song.

Obviously, this is a live gig with a big audience, so i cut away to the audience sometimes, but not too much...i want this to be an experience to watch in it's own right, not just something to remember the gig by if you were there.

Here's how mad the timeline is looking... and this doesn't even show all the layers!

Only another 2 weeks of editing to go...

S

Random, I know...but funny.

2011-01-31T13:27:00.001Z

Got this pic this morning...cat eyeing up some possible lunch.

S

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

HairCut One Hundred at IndigO2

2011-01-30T18:30:00.000Z

On friday last week i did the live mix for HairCut 100 at the O2. I love the IndigO2... it's such a great venue with some of the best in-house crew and best PA system in London. I've done quite a few gigs there and it always goes really well.

This gig was no exception. The band were tight, and a lot funkier than i remember and everyone had a great time... me included. I managed to grab a few photos and tiny bit of one handed filming while i was mixing. It's really shaky... but i was looking at the mixing desk at the time...sorry!

For anyone interested in the technical side of things... i used the in-house Soundcraft Vi6 digital mixing console and nothing but internal effects and dynamics. The PA system is a Vertec Line-Array with 9 boxes a side and 12 subs...they all use dBx speaker management. I used my usual mic set up of beta52 on the kick, beta57 top and bottom of the snare...414s on overheads... errr...what else... UHF SM58 on vocals (never Beta58s...i hate them) 409s or 509s on guitar cabs, SM57s on perc and MD421s on brass.

The whole gig was recorded live straight off my desk and burnt live to CDr and then sold as people left the venue...all sorted by Abbey Road mobile recording....amazing.

View of the O2 from my hotel.

The end of the show...

Nick and the band.


My Soundcraft Vi6 with the set-list sitting on it during soundcheck.

Blog posting HTC app test...

2011-01-30T11:27:00.002Z

This post won't be here long... it's just to test a new app on my phone. It would be quite handy to post on the move sometimes.

Well, it appears to work pretty well... i might leave this here anyway. For those on HTC phones, Blogger-droid seems to be a pretty good solution for blogging on the move.

Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.6

Post Production with 550D(T2i) Footage...observations.

2011-01-22T15:39:00.000Z

Over the last couple of weeks i have been doing post production work with Canon 550D footage using Final Cut Pro. It's not the first time i have done this, but it's the first time i have tried to work purely in a Pro Res environment at 1080p. Previously i have only worked at 720p for web delivery with 550D footage. I have made some interesting observations that should help me (and you) shoot better footage with post-production in mind.

Firstly, you must shoot flat... i use the Stu Maschwitz settings to make sure i get the most detail in my original footage. Also, custom white balance whenever you can, especially in low light shots.


Stu Maschwtiz's much respected 'flat' settings.

Another thing to bear in mind at all times is that using the light meter on the camera isn't going to be telling you the whole truth. I've had shots where it's said for sure that it was 2 stops over and yet it clearly wasn't. You need to use a proper light meter and more importantly, trust your eyes. Use an external monitor or even a loupe or EVF, but make sure there is plenty of light. It's best to be a stop over with the 550D... you can always darken it in post. Grading is much easier and you will have more room for adjustment if you have a brightly light shot to start with, with no noise or too many black areas. Use a graduated ND filter if you need to shoot in bright sunlight to keep skies looking nice without getting a white-out.

I have learnt the hard way that if your shot is even slightly under exposed, you will struggle to do much to fix it in post. If you start adding gamma or over-doing the colour correction, you will get that nasty pixelation or banding...and that looks terrible.

My workflow for the Canon footage is this:

Copy H.264 files from SDHC card and back-up to 2 different drives.

Preview the footage and rename only the shots i want to use. (Generally only 2 different takes of each shot)

Use Magic Bullet Grinder to convert to Pro Res and save the files on the drive i wish to edit from.

Import the Pro Res files into FCP and edit.

Colour correct with FCP's own colour corrections tools.

Grade each scene (once is has been nested) with either Magic Bullet Mojo or Looks.

Export master file using 'Export Quicktime'. (Pro Res)

Export Web version using 'Quicktime Conversion'. (H.264, cropped 2.35:1, 5000mbps, AAC Audio)

I rarely use 'Compressor' as i find it struggles to make a better looking file than 'Quicktime Conversion' in FCP. Also, i find 'Compressor' makes the video files darker for some reason... i always have to lighten them using the tools within 'Compressor' and i'd rather not have to.

For those that are wondering, i always use separate system audio and i do all my audio within Logic Studio. I usually do a rough edit which i then drop into Logic to allow me to sync my music and foley, before doing a mix which i then drop back in FCP for the final export. FCP audio is nowhere near good enough for proper sound mixing, so i don't even bother trying.. sound is too important.

Of course, there's some post tools that can help salvage dodgy footage... De-Noisers are handy and i use one sometimes, but i don't like the way they make the footage soft if you push them. Another trick i sometimes employ is to blur dark areas if they are starting to look noisey, but you have to be careful as they can often look bad again once you compress for delivery.

As usual, it all comes down to light... fast lenses and good lighting will always make for a better looking image. And remember, if you're planning on darkening a scene in post using a heavy grade, then remember to light accordingly in the first place. Faces will have to be significantly better lit than backgrounds in order to still stand out once darkened. Forgetting this has led to some frustrating post sessions trying to rescue footage... don't make the same mistake! If there's one lesson i've learnt, it's take your time on lighting a scene...never rush it, and don't push the ISO setting above 800.

S

Hit the ground running...

2011-01-19T23:50:00.000Z

January is usually a slow start... frustrating slow in my view. But, not this year. After getting New Year out of the way, i've not stopped. We had to crack right on with the shoot for the 'Their Law' trailer and also shooting the footage for my short for Cannes at the same time. Both are looking fantastic, even if i do say so myself and i'm really pleased with how it's all going.

Check Out the production blog here.

As if all the shooting wasn't enough, i'm also editing a concert DVD for Howard Jones. Yes, Howard Jones the multi-talented artist best known for his 80s hits like 'Like to Get To Know You Well', 'What Is Love?' and 'New Song'. I'm Howard's live sound engineer, so he knows i'm into my filming and editing on the side, so he asked me to edit the DVD of his IndigO2 show which was shot on the 6th November last year. It's a huge job... 9 cameras and a right mixed bag of formats including... XDCam, XDCamEX, AVCHD, Go Pro HD MP4, Canon H2.64 and more... It took a solid week of transcoding it all into a format i could edit with. Usually i work with Apple's Pro Res, but seeing as so much of it was XDCam already, i went with that. The biggest pain was the Go Pro footage. It took 16 hours of StreamClip batch-converting to get it all into XDCam format....very very boring.

Anyway, the edit is coming together nicely now and i'm really pleased with how it looks. The EX3 footage looks a little more red than the XF305 and XDCam footage, but it's working well with a little colour correction. Another couple of weeks work i reckon to get it all how i want it.

Over the next couple of weeks (in-between the Howard Jones edit sessions) i will be starting to put the 'Their Law' trailer together. We've got pretty much all of the footage now, although i think i might take a trip into London with my Camera to get some B-Roll stuff to give it more of a London flavour. That's a big bonus with DSLR shooting...i can get on a train, wander around central London and get some great footage, and most people just think i'm taking stills.... so i get left alone. It should be quite a nice day, shoot some footage, have a pint, shoot some more footage, have another pint....train home. Easy.

In other news... Haircut 100 have asked me to do the FOH mix for them at their IndigO2 gig on the 28th Jan. I used to love Haircut 100 when i was at junior school...i think 'Love Plus One' was one of the first singles i bought. I'm looking forward to it. It also gives me a chance to grab a bit of footage of the outside of the O2 for my Howard Jones Edit...

So, that's January shaping up.... Next month it all kicks off with the Kim Wilde European Tour, the edit, mix and finishing up of the 'Their Law' trailer and getting my Cannes films sent in.

After last year's diabolical start, 2011 is a refreshing change of pace.

S

Bye bye 2010... Hello 2011.

2010-12-30T19:19:00.001Z

Okay, so i'm a day early with my 'Happy New Year'. But, i'm going to be in no fit state tomorrow night to be blogging.

2010 has been odd. We've had some really harsh stuff going down at the same time as having a really good year for my career. I originally hoped to get 'Their Law' off the ground in 2010...and we did start shooting the trailer in December, but it's pretty much all been put back to 2011. Things just got so busy and i got majorly side-tracked by all kinds of projects and personal stuff.

2011 is going to be different. A plan is already forming. By the end of Feb, we'll release the proof of concept trailer for 'Their Law' and we can begin pitching. May brings Cannes madness around again...and this time we'll be ready.

I realised this week that i haven't written a song in 3 years... well, unless you include the music i write for TV ads etc. I used to live and breathe music... and i still love it...it's my day job... but i've come to regard the music industry as a dying turkey that i need to avoid unless it's paying a day rate. I'm sure i'll come back to it... but right now, film is where i'm heading.

2010 was the year of DSLRs for me. I got my first Canon 550D and i've used it a lot. I've come to appreciate it's amazing capabilities and i really don't feel the need to rush out and get a AF101 just yet. I'm sure i'll get an AF101 or something similar at some point in the next year, but i've not had any issues with the DSLR route. The 12 minute recording limit hasn't once caused me any problems on set...i just don't ever shoot for that long with drama. And, i always record sound separately anyway, so the lack of XLR inputs etc isn't a problem for me.

Things i'd like to get done in 2011...

I want to get 'Their Law' fully funded and book the shoot. I know i've got a killer script and an excellent cast... and the trailer is going to prove it.

I want to re-evaluate how i divide my time between my engineering and my film projects. I love my sound engineering, but i've got to evolve.. i've changed and so have my aspirations.

It would be great to get the AirCam Project i've got going with Neil Jones developed to the point where it's bringing in regular work and allow us to upgrade the amount of camera ships we can operate.

I guess i've got to test the waters with 'Crowd Funding'. I'm really not into the whole idea... but i know it's an integral part of funding a film these days... but we're going to try a different take on it.

I won't bore you with all the usual blah blah blah for New Year... go to the gym, stop smoking cigars, stop enjoying myself so much...hahaha...no chance.

Have a great New Year... see you in 2011.

S xx

Great short about guerrilla film-making

2010-12-23T11:32:00.000Z

I got sent the link to this by Chris at Living Spirit. It's for a Pepsi competition on film-making... but it really embodies the vibe of making a film when you've got a tiny budget and you're relying on your friends and lots of favours. Been there, done that...loved it. Great film...make sure you watch it in 720p HD.

Their Law

2010-12-13T00:44:00.002Z

For those of you that don't know, i have just begun work on shooting a concept trailer for my next feature film called 'Their Law'.

You can find out all about the production by following our production blog.

http://www.theirlaw.com

I'm making this trailer with the help of a rather awesome team who i couldn't work without. These are:

André Renner - Director Of Photography and Co-Producer

Ian Deerlove - Production Co-Ordinator

Rick Wilde - Assistant Producer / Casting

Derek Beevor - Executive Producer

We've got a great cast including Jenny Gayner, Thea Knight, Brian Croucher, Roy Boyd, Paul Cooper and James Devereaux to name a few. Keep an eye on the Production Blog and i'll keep it updated with all the latest from the set.

Recoil-AirCam Showreel

2010-12-12T18:49:00.002Z

Over the last few months, myself and Neil Jones have been working on an aerial filming project to get a reliable and stable filming option for getting some awesome HD images from places you wouldn't normally be able to film from...and, we're ready to roll it out.

The AirCam can be set-up and in the air within minutes of arriving on location. We then fly until we've got the footage you need. Once we've got the footage, we can then edit it for you or supply the raw footage for you to with as you please.

Check out the showreel.

Recoil-AirCam ShowReel from Sean J Vincent on Vimeo.
Our new venture featuring the awesome piloting abilities of Neil Jones and his collection of Custom RC Camera Ships. By mounting an HD camera on the helicopter we can obtain some stunning aerial video as well as still photos.

It's quick to prepare and we deliver a package including footage from the air, from the ground and a selection of stills. Ideal for getting some beautiful shots for your website of your hotel, golf course, company headquarters, home...anything you can think of. Also ideal for drama, documentary, news gathering... you name it, we can do it.

Anyone interested in booking the use of our new service, email us at
info@recoil-films.com

Stabilizers... i finally got one.

2010-11-16T00:13:00.000Z

SteadyCams, steadicams or glidecams...whatever you want to call them, the camera stabilizer is one of those tools we're all going to want to try at some point. A good director i know, told me years ago that i should never buy one. He said if you want decent steady camera footage, hire a SteadyCam with an operator...because in the long run it'll be cheaper. He probably had a point, and for features with a budget, i'd agree. But when you can pick up a decent stabilizer to mount a DSLR on for a few hundred quid... it's a bit too tempting to ignore.

First of all, let me explain what i was after... I wanted a stabilizing rig that i could mount a Canon 550D on. I wanted it to be able to take a mattebox if necessary too... so nothing too small. I want to be able to get some decent smooth shoots of people walking and talking for my next feature project.

I was lucky enough to be able to try a couple of different stabilizers before i made my choice. I'd narrowed it down thanks to advice from Elskid (http://www.elskid.com/blog/) and another friend of mine who'd recently bought a Flycam. So these were the contenders:

The GlideCam - A solidly built unit, but heavy on the wrist.

The Merlin - Easier on the wrist but very expensive.

FlyCam - An Indian GlideCam 'copy'. Still heavy on the wrist.

I tried a FlyCam first. I'd been warned off of these because of the build quality. They appear to be a bit hit or miss. Some people have a complete nightmare with them...while others find them fine. The one i tried was terrible. I spent 2 hours with it and couldn't get it anywhere near balanced. The screws tapped directly into the aluminum tubing and i could tell it wouldn't last.

The Merlin got ruled out purely on price. I've heard very good things about it, but i'm not looking to spend that kind of money.

The Glidecam i tried was the 2000. It was a major improvement over the FlyCam and i manged to get it balanced in about an hour. It was obviously the right model for me...so off i went to find the best deal.

At this point i hit a bit of a wall. The GlideCam range is only available from CreativeVideo in the UK....nothing wrong with that, but it doesn't leave much room for finding a good deal. Out of curiosity, i looked on the B&H website based in New York... luckily, i noticed a Second-Hand GlideCam 1000HD... it was going really cheap and this was for the HD version. I had quick read of the specs (this was a smaller model than the 2000) and it looked like it could just about take the weight...so i didn't hesitate.

It arrived today...just 4 days later. I assembled it in about 10 minutes and then set about balancing it. The first thing i did was mount a quick release plate on it. I don't want to be faffing around with screwdrivers everytime i want to swap my camera from the tripod or my handheld rig to the GlideCam. So...i mounted the camera and started balancing it. It's worth knowing that the HD version has little micro-adjustment thumb-screw. These are a godsend. It took about an hour...maybe a tad more to get it to the point where i could get it to stay absolutely vertical. I then did the usual running around the house that i'm sure all new SteadyCam owners do...

And...

Well, it's not gonna make the cut yet... but it's got some potential. I can get 7 or 8 seconds of walking without it going off balance. It's all down to practice... so practice i will. After another hour, i was getting a lot better. It's alot to do with the technique of your other hand to guide it.

So, conclusions? The GlideCam 1000HD is good...really good, but it takes time. Don't go ordering one today if you've got a shoot at the end of the week.... cos you won't be good enough yet. The GlideCam isn't the answer to all your smooth shot woes... you will still need a dolly sometimes and i'll still be using my GlideTrack a lot. It's just another option...another tool.

You might be wondering why i didn't try any of the Hague stabilizers... I was tempted. But, at the end of the day, i didn't trust the ball and socket type gimbal. I just couldn't see how they could properly isolate the camera from the movement of walking or running. It also didn't help that 'Man @ C&A' was posing with it on the website...(well spotted Elskid) Sorry...but that's how it is.

When i get some good footage, i'll post it.

The Sony PMW-F3K

2010-11-11T00:11:00.000Z

£12.5k Body Only £17.8k with 3 Prime Lenses (35, 50, 85mm)

I don't really see the point in blogging on all the same stuff as the many other film-making blogs, but i will mention the Sony F3K as i think it's a big moment for indie film making. With prices starting at around £12k (body only), it's not as accessible as the Panasonic AF101 or the multitude of DSLRs out there at the moment.... but, it's perfect for those looking to step up to the next level. It's probably going to be picked up as a B or C camera for F35 shoots and it's knocking right on the door of RED. At this point, RED users will be sharpening their tongues...but why? Have a look over at REDUSER.net... blimey, they are putting this camera down already! Some even say that the F3K is DOA...(dead on arrival).. Really? Why can't it just be another tool for film-makers? Cos that's exactly what it is.

All the arrival of the F3K says to me, is that in conjunction with Panny's AF101, RED left it too late for Scarlet. Never mind...let's move on.

Early 2011... it'll be here. I guess we just have to wait for Phil Bloom to get hold of one and show us all how good it is now?? Would i want one? Sure... if you're giving them away. But, to be honest, at this kind of price point it's not the kind of camera you buy unless you own a rental house. It does raise one question though... Are Canon going to release something along these lines? After all...they started it.

Here's the specs for the F3K.

Exmor™ Super35 CMOS image sensor

The PMW-F3K is equipped with a Super 35mm sensor which is the same size as Super 35mm film and has been specifically developed for digital cinematography. Its positioning within the chassis is exactly the same as it would be within a 35mm film camera – ensuring exactly the same optical performance with the unrivalled range of 35mm Cine lenses.

In addition, Sony's advanced accumulated sensor technologies provide an excellent sensitivity of F11 (ISO 800)* and a remarkable signal-to-noise ratio of just 63 dB*. Unique Exmor™ sensor offers exceptional noise reduction and greatly reduces power consumption.

*All measured at 1080/59.94i and typical value.

Three High Quality 35mm Lenses supplied as standard

To make your entry into the world of 35mm as easy and economical as possible, the PMW-F3K comes supplied with three high quality Sony lenses (35mm, 50mm and 85mm, T2.0).

PL Mount Adapter for compatibility with 35mm Cine Lenses

The PMW-F3K is supplied with a PL Mount Adapter to provide immediate compatibility with the huge range of filmic 35mm lenses, including prime, digital cinematography and even still lenses. There are also hot shoe electric interfaces for Cooke/i and ARRI LDS.

Sony F3 Original Mount for Zoom Lens

Sony plan to introduce a range of zoom lenses directly compatible with the F3 mount. More details will be revealed shortly. Zoom lens compatibility expands the operational flexibility of the F3 so it can be used for almost any application.

23.98P Native Recording

The PMW-F3K camcorder is the first compact camcorder to be a member of the legendary Sony CineAlta™ family. It offers native 23.98P* recording which, in combination with advanced creative features such as selectable gamma curves, makes this camcorder ideal for cinema production.

*In 1440 x 1080/23.98P (SP) mode, images are handled as 23.98P and recorded as 59.94i signals through means of 2-3 pull-down.

Slow & Quick Motion function

The PMW-F3K offers a powerful 'Slow & Quick Motion' function - commonly known as over-cranking and under-cranking in film shooting - enables users to create unique 'looks' or special effects with slow -and fast- motion images. This can be selected on the control dial on the side of the camcorder.

The PMW-F3K can capture images at frame rates selectable from 1 fps (frame per second) to 60 fps in 720P mode and from 1 fps to 30 fps in 1080P mode, in increments of 1 fps, onto a single card. For example, when viewed at 23.98P, images captured at 60 fps will appear 2.5 times slower than normal. Conversely, images captured at 4 fps will appear 6 times faster than normal.

With the 'Slow & Quick Motion' function of this camcorder, images are recorded natively without interpolating the frames. This means the quality of the slow -and fast- motion images is extremely high and incomparable to those created in the editing process. In addition, these slow -and fast- motion images can be played back immediately after shooting, without using any converters or processing on nonlinear editing systems.

1920 x 1080 HD recording using the 'MPEG-2 Long GOP' codec

The PMW-F3K camcorder records 1920 x 1080 HD images using the 'MPEG-2 Long GOP' codec, which conforms to the MPEG-2 MP@HL compression standard. 'MPEG-2 Long GOP' is a mature codec - also adopted by the XDCAM HD and HDV 1080i series of products - which enables users to record stunning-quality HD footage with highly efficient, reliable data compression.

Selectable Bit Rates

The PMW-F3K camcorder offers a choice of bit rates - either 35 Mb/s (HQ mode) or 25 Mb/s (SP mode) - depending on the desired picture quality and recording time. The HQ mode supports both 1920 x 1080 and 1280 x 720 resolutions. The SP mode supports 1440 x 1080 resolution at 25 Mb/s, which provides compatibility with HDV 1080i products.

Multiple-format recording - 1080/720 and Interlace/Progressive switchable operation

The PMW-F3K camcorder offers a wide array of recording formats for multiple content creation applications. Scanning mode is switchable between 1920 x 1080, 1280 x 720, and 1440 x 1080 resolutions. Frame rate is also selectable from interlace and progressive - 59.94i, 50i, 29.97P, 25P, and native 23.98P*.

In addition, 59.94P and 50P progressive recording is available in 1280 x 720 mode. The SxS memory card can simultaneously hold multiple files of any of these recording formats, allowing for flexible use of the memory card.

*In 1440 x 1080/23.98P (SP) mode, images are handled as 23.98P and recorded as 59.94i signals through means of 2-3 pull-down.

Slow Shutter Function

The PMW-F3K camcorder offers a 'Slow Shutter function' for capturing clear images in low-light environments. This allows the shutter speed to be extended to a maximum of 8 frames. The 'Slow Shutter function' not only increases camera sensitivity but also produces a special blurring effect when shooting a moving object, for enhanced shooting creativity. The shutter speed is selectable from 2-, 3-, 4-, 5-, 6-, 7- and 8-frame periods.

High-quality uncompressed audio recording

In addition to HD recording, high-quality audio is an equally significant feature in the XDCAM EX system. The PMW-F3K camcorder records and plays back high-quality, two-channel 16-bit, 48-kHz linear PCM uncompressed audio.

Exceptional workflow flexibility

The PMW-F3K uses XDCAM EX’s proven high-speed, intuitive workflow offering seamless integration with leading nonlinear editing software. In addition, 10bit 4:2:2 HD-SDI output opens up hybrid recording possibilities with content simultaneously recorded on internal memory and, in uncompressed form, on a variety of external recording devices.

From April 2011, a Dual Link HD-SDI option will enable 10bit RGB 23.98/25/29.97PsF or 10 bit 4:2:2 108050P/59.94P uncompressed external recording – ideal for integration with highest quality production workflows such as HDCAM SR. The PMW-F3K also supports selectable Gamma, four levels of HyperGamma and S-Log for a wide range of shooting conditions from standard to wide latitude. The PMW-F3K can simultaneously record LUT (Look Up Table) information onto the internal media for additional workflow flexibility.

3G-SDI is available for 10bit RGB 1080 23.98/25/29.97PsF or 10bit 4:2:2 1080 50/59.94P output.

SxS Memory Cards combine high transfer speeds and high reliability

Both SxS PRO™ and SxS-1A™* memory cards use the PCI Express interface to achieve an extremely high data-transfer speed of 800 Mbps - 1.2Gbps, and can resist considerable shock (1500 G) and vibration (15 G). Also, a unique 'Salvage function' serves to restore content damaged by power loss or memory disconnection during recording**.

In addition, with an optional MEAD-MS01 or MEAD-SD01 Media Adaptor***, a high-speed Memory Stick™ or SD memory card**** can be used as emergency or alternative recording media.

* SxS-1A memory cards support fewer re-writes than SxS PRO™ memory cards. Notification is given when an SxS-1 memory card approaches its end of life.

** In some cases, images recorded just before an accident may not be restored (several seconds). No warranty is given on always achieving content restoration.

*** Slow Motion and the Salvage function are not supported.

**** For information about memory devices, please contact your nearest Sony Specialist Dealer.

Long recording time

Utilising a mature and highly efficient compression format together with high performance SxS memory cards, the PMW-F3K can record superb quality HD images for an exceptional 140 minutes* on a single 32Gb update SxS card. As the PMW-F3K features two memory card slots, this recording time is easily doubled to 280 minutes (with two 32Gb cards) and when recording across two cards, the transition is seamless without any frame loss.

*When recording in HQ (35 Mb/s) mode, recording time may be more than the above specified figure depending on the actual bit rate that is adopted during VBR encoding.

IT Friendly

The PMW-F3K is part of Sony’s highly successful XDCAM EX product family which supports a high speed nonlinear workflow. With XDCAM EX, recordings are made as data files in the "MP4" format, which is widely used in a number of recent electronic portable devices and has been standardised by ISO.

File-based recording allows material to be handled with great flexibility in an IT-based environment - easily available for copying, transferring, sharing, and archiving. All these operations are accomplished without any 'digitising' process required.

File-based data copying allows for degradation-free dubbing of footage, which can be performed easily on a PC. The file-based recording system also allows for material to be viewed directly on a PC - simply by inserting the SxS memory card into the ExpressCard slot on a PC or Mac, or by linking a PC/Mac to the XDCAM EX unit via a USB2 connection. This works in just the same way as a PC reading files on an external drive. The file-based operation can dramatically improve the efficiency and quality of your workflow.

Immediate recording start and no overwriting footage

By virtue of recording on flash memory card, the PMW-F3K can start recording virtually the instant the camcorder is turned on. Moreover, the PMW-F3K automatically records on an empty area of the card - there's no danger of overwriting existing content.

This is extremely convenient, as camera operators do not have to worry about accidentally recording over good takes, and they don't have to search through footage for the correct position to start the next recording. In short, it means the camera is always ready for the next shot!

Instant-access thumbnail search with 'Expand' function

Each time a recording is started and stopped on the PMW-F3K camcorder, the content is recorded as a single clip. During playback, users can cue-up to the next or previous clip simply by pressing the 'Next' or 'Previous' button, as you would do on a CD or DVD player.

Furthermore, thumbnails are automatically generated for each clip as a visual reference, allowing operators to cue-up to a desired scene simply by guiding the cursor to a thumbnail and pressing the 'Play' button.

The 'Expand' function allows one selected clip in the thumbnail display to be divided into 12 even-time intervals, each with their own thumbnail identifier. This is useful if you want to quickly search for a particular scene within a lengthy clip.

3.5-inch* Hybrid Colour LCD Screen / Viewfinder as per EX1R

The PMW-F3K is equipped with a newly developed, easy-to-view, colour LCD screen with a high resolution of 1920 x 480 pixels. The LCD screen is located in an easy viewing position on the side of the camera.

The LCD Screen can also be used to instantly review recorded footage, as well as access the camera's set-up menus and view thumbnail display status indications such as audio meters, depth-of-field indicators, and the remaining memory and battery time. What's more, the Hybrid LCD screen - which comprises transmissive and reflective panels - offers clear viewing even in bright sunlight.

*Viewable area measured diagonally.

Genlock and Timecode Interfaces

The PMW-F3K includes genlock and timecode interfaces, making it ideal for multi-camera operation and entry level HD studio use.

3D System Link option*

Using this option you can easily synchronise timecode, genlock and control functionality with a single cable, locking together left and right cameras to simplify 3D acquisition. *Available from April 2011.

Remote control capability

The PMW-F3K offers professional remote control of various camera features via standard Sony 8-pin control interface. This allows use of Sony optional RM-B150 and RM-B750 remote control units offering increased flexibility for studio/location use.

Compact design

The PMW-F3K has a chassis built around its Super 35mm CMOS sensor. Its lightweight, compact design provides exceptional flexibility when shooting, particularly as a B-camera. It also offers a 'best of both worlds' combination of compatibility with 35mm lenses via a PL Mount adaptor, plus support for a huge range of other Sony and third-party digital cinematography accessories.

Low power consumption

Sony’s chip design expertise means the PMW-F3K operates with exceptional efficiency with an average power consumption of 24W. This makes the camera more reliable, extends its battery operating time and is also environmentally conscious. With the optional BP-U60 battery attached, the PMW-F3K can record continuously for just under three hours (with dual-link option off).

Wide array of interfaces

The PMW-F3K camcorder comes equipped with a wide range of interfaces optimised for a variety of operational needs. These include dual HD-SDI output, down-converted SD-SDI output, i.LINK (HDV) input/output, USB2 and analogue composite output.

In Car and On Car Filming...

2010-11-02T20:31:00.003Z

Last night, André and myself did some camera testing of the in-car shots for our next feature. I thought i would share what i've picked up about the subject along the way...

At some point during making most films, you need to shoot an in-car scene. In 'Shoot The DJ', there was loads of in-car scenes...because it was a road-movie. I learnt pretty quickly what kind of shots work and which ones don't.

Shooting handheld in a car is possible, but it's not ideal. You get some very shaky footage and it doesn't look very professional. The only time shooting handheld in a car seems to work is when the camera man is in the back seat filming over the shoulders of the people in the two front seats. You still get shaky shots, but for some reason it looks acceptable.

There's a few car shots which really add production value to your film.. the first is the camera on the bonnet facing the windscreen. You need a polarizer on the lens to see through the windscreen without all the reflections, but the shot looks great. Second is the profile shot of the driver or the passenger. This often involves getting both the driver and the passenger in the same shot. In times gone by with big film cameras, you used to use a 'tray' type mount which hung on the door. These days you can mount a DSLR on the window without encumbering the car in anyway...which means you can still drive it.

To, me driving the car for real really makes a big difference to the feel of the shot. Sticking the car on a trailer ruins it for me. The driver never looks convincing when it's on a trailer.

Shot last night using a 550D with a Pentacon 50mm prime at F1.8 on a window clamp mount.

So, the best mounts for the job when mounting a DSLR to your car? Well, it's getting easier all the time thanks to the inventiveness of the various grip manufacturers, but these are my personal favourites:

The window clamp. This is a basic tripod head mounted on a clamp that just grabs onto a half-open window. The shots from these clamps are great...and if you mount it right, you won't need IS to get a steady shot.

The bonnet mount. The ones you buy are usually based around a suction cup with a mounting point on top. Sometimes they have multiple suction cups for a more rigid fix. In my experience, these tend to wobble about a bit and give a slightly shaky shot...and i'm never confident enough in the safety aspect of sticking my DSLR to a car with a sucker! So...i always use a ratchet strap and loads of bungy straps to hold everything in place securely. And this leads me to the following question... why bother with the suction mount? In the next few weeks i'm going to make a mount which is basically a small frame with rubber feet the sits on the bonnet of the car and then attaches using the ratchet straps and bungy straps. It will be rigid and best of all....safe.

The beanbag mount. Beanbags are great for mounting cameras in odd places. The beanbag car mount can be used anywhere... on the bonnet, on someone's lap or even on the roof. You use straps to secure the camera, but the beanbag ensures the camera is safely held and easily positioned. The only issue with these is that it's sometimes tricky to get the height required to see into the car properly when shooting from the bonnet.

Another angle you should look at is the Go Pro cameras. For under £300 you can buy one of these amazing little HD cameras and mount it anywhere. The footage they give is pretty good and can easily be cut with most DSLR footage if you're clever in the edit.

For our next feature we're trying to cut down on shooting time so we're aiming to rig the cars so that they can shoot several shots all at once. We'll mount one DSLR on the bonnet looking through the windscreen, one on the passenger window shooting the driver's face in profile and and Go Pro on the front of the car low down shooting the road. They can all be adjusted so as not to get each other in shot and we'll get 3 shots in the space of time usually allowed for one.

Tips for successful in-car / on-car shooting:

1. Batteries... bring plenty and have a charger handy.

2. Plasitc bags and padding material..and PVC tape. You need to rain-proof and keep the crap on the road off your camera.

3. Don't go too mad with your shallow depth of field. The driver will rarely keep his/her head still enough for a very finely focused shot if you're not pulling focus on the fly...which most of the time, you won't be.

4. Invest in a long HDMI cable and a portable HD monitor... then you can check your shot as you drive. (hide in the back seat if you're not in the shot)

5. Allow much more time than you think... it takes ages to rig a good car shot and then you have to review the shots regularly.

6. Car shots at night? Don't over-light the inside of the car! It looks crap if there appears to be a 100watt lightbulb on the driver's lap! Use LEDs or fluro tubes...or both. Remember to keep to dis-used roads or back-roads if you're shooting at night with cameras mounted on the car AND lights on inside the car... it will just attract the attention of plod...and you don't want that.

7. Safety first. Don't be stupid...don't do anything that will impair the driver or could harm anyone on the roadside.

8. Data management. Get the footage from the camera onto your hard drives quickly.....don't leave a day's worth of good shots on a data card which is balancing on the bonnet of a moving car.... it's just not clever. Back-up...back-up....back-up...and back-up again.

EDIT: I forgot to mention a really important point - You don't want to add any kind of 'shock absorbing' to the camera. I know it would seem to be a good idea, but you only need the slightest bit of padding to stop the camera or the car getting scratched. It doesn't matter how bumpy the road is, if the camera is fixed absolutely rigidly to it...the shot will appear not to wobble. In the tests we performed yesterday, the non-IS lenses performed as well, if not better than the one with IS. (IS = image stabilzation) It's worth looking out for car shots on Hollywood movies of the 80s...most of them are terrible!

What phone have you got?

2010-10-28T01:24:00.000+01:00

Today, i got into a bout of 'What Phone Have You Got'. You know the drill... a friend asks what mobile phone you use, and then proceeds to tell you that you should have got what he got. It's quite often an iPhone user... but not always. I personally use an HTC Desire. It does everything i want and i'm really happy with it. I love my MacBook Pro, iMac and PowerMac...but for me, the iPhone wasn't what i needed. Anyway, none of that matters... the only reason people get into this debate is they want re-assurance that the 2 year contract they just bought into was the right choice....even if it wasn't.

This reminded me of the same arguments i see time and time again on the forums about DSLRs vs RED or 7D vs 5Dmk2 or 550D vs GH1... it's all about the same thing. "I just bought into this system and i'm going to brag about it's merits until you agree it's the best choice". I was reading recently about a revered DoP who just bought a Sony F35 rather than a RED. He was getting all kinds of crazy comments saying how he was stupid not buying into RED...especially as RED was so much cheaper. Now i've read up on all of this many times over. I know the F35 is capable of much more than the RED is... it's got more latitude and an easier post process... not to mention the RED's apparent softness in comparison. But that's not the point. The point is, people who didn't know what he was planning to shoot or why were criticizing his choice of camera system. I'm sure lots of you have noticed how 'scary' some of the RED users can get about their beloved system... it was pretty full on.

Now, i'm about to start work on a big project and i'm planning on using a few different cameras, but the one that's getting me the most hassle is my 550D. Yes, i know it's a crop sensor. Yes, i know it uses H.264 as an acquisition codec...and that's not ideal...and yes, i know it's not a RED. But... i don't care. It does what i want it to do. I've tested it in all the various settings I need it to work in and i think it blows the crap out of anything else i've tested. It's brought to mind something that happened to me over the last few weeks in the USA.

For those that don't know, i make my 'bread and butter' living from being a touring sound engineer. I've just come back from a tour of the States where i ran into some really old skool sound engineers in some of the venues. When i rock up with my MacBook Pro and soundcard instead of a big rack of processing gear, i get all kinds of smart remarks and sideways looks. That all stops as soon as they hear my mixes. I know there's a whole world of esoteric audio gear that is 'what everyone uses'. I used to use it. But i've moved on... i use the best tool for the job: - My MacBook Pro. It never gets lost in the baggage system (cos it's alway in my backpack). It never gives me backache when i carry it. It sounds as good, if not better than my old rack and it gives me tools that aren't available any other way.

In other words... it's like the DSLR of the professional audio world. I knew there was a reason i liked DSLRs. They're small, light and to the people that matter (the audience) they are as good as anything else.

I must add, i've spent all day today re-writing parts of the script to 'Their Law'. It's all essential stuff pointed out by a producer friend who had spotted some issues that needed looking at. And that's the rub... equipment should be merely a tool to get the story to the screen. The story is THE most important part of any film... and a good story is worth spending as much time as possible on. Cameras and workflows come and go...but the story will be talked about for years if you get it right.

Film Maker? Join The Queue...

2010-10-05T16:45:00.000+01:00

I'm off on a long haul flight tonight, so i've been packing and ripping some DVDs into my Mac ready to watch on the plane. While all this DVD ingestion has been going on, i've been browsing my Twitter feed and catching up on all the other Film/Video related blogs out there.

There's a hell of a lot of back-patting from one indie film maker to another on Twitter at the moment. I guess that's what's known as a community... but it's a little worrying too. In the last year or two, lots of film makers (myself included) have begun networking with other film makers. Often, the common ground is either what they shoot on (DSLR more often than not) or how they go about raising finance (indiegogo, Kickstarter et al) or how they publicise their films. (Twitter, Facebook etc) There's nothing wrong with this... it really has generated an interesting film making community. But i can't help thinking we've just homogenized into one big blur of desperate and less diverse film makers.

There's always exceptions. I've become 'twitter' buddies with some of them... people who have vision and see it though... for them i have nothing but respect. But... some film makers out there are not making films. They are talking about it... raising their profile...raising money...but not actually making films.

I hear very little talk about plots...about casting... about the craft of putting together a production. Very little of it has anything to do with what you shoot on or how many facebook friends you have. As i found out very early on in my first feature... if you've got a script and a camera.. you are nowhere near ready to shoot a film. The sheer size of the logistical nightmare that is awaiting the indie film maker is staggering. I'm not going to go on about it... those who have done it know what i mean, and those who haven't will find out.

Now, there's definitely some hypocritical spewing from me today... i love to talk DSLRs and i love to big up indie directors on twitter sometimes... but i really hope we can all keep the big picture in full view. We're in this to make films... not talk about it.

And that brings me neatly to my next subject.. my next feature 'Their Law'. We've booked the auditions for the first round of talent...and we've sourced the locations. It's a case now of getting the permits...securing the talent and then and only then...having a serious think about shooting format.

Happy film making.

Their Law. Our next feature.

2010-09-17T10:36:00.000+01:00

Ever since we started on 'Shoot The DJ', i've had another film in mind that i would like to make... and a few weeks ago i finally finished the script for it.
Titled 'Their Law' (after the Prodigy song) it is a thriller set in London in the present day. It's the story of a man thrown into confusion when his entire world is turned upside down. His girlfriend is murdered, he thinks his best friend and boss was involved so he begins a rampage of revenge...but it's cut short by the interference of an unlikely offer from the the last place he expected it.. the law. Not knowing who to trust and dealing with the fall out of a reputation that is hard to escape, he slowly begins to realise all is not as it seems.

We've spent the last few weeks looking for investors and talking to potential cast and we've decided the best way to get the project moving is to make a 'proof of concept' trailer. A 5 minute blast of the film... We're aiming to shoot it this November and then use this to attract the investment we need to put the full film into production next year. The budget for the trailer is almost as much as we spent on the whole of 'Shoot The DJ'...so we're expecting it to look great and really get the flavour of the movie across.

At this stage we're looking for practical help with making the trailer. We need things like locations, some cars, a truck and some crew.

The crew we really need to find are:

Production Assistant - Specifically looking after the camera media. Logging and backing up on-set. Some helping out with the camera set-ups. A good knowledge of Macs is vital. Ideally someone who is very organised.

Production Sound Mixer & Boom operator - We'd like to find a 2-man soundcrew with their own equipment capable of providing up to 4 clip-on radio mic systems and a boom man. We need someone who can totally take care of all the on-set audio and deliver the files in an organised way on hard drives to the production assistant for backing up/transfer.

Script Supervisor/Continuity - Needs to be someone meticulous to stop continuity errors and make sure we cover everything in the script in each location. No experience necessary, but a real eye for detail. Would need to photograph each costume, location and camera set-up for reference purposes. Will also be required to help out with other on set jobs like making sure the sets are correctly dressed and possibly helping with the lighting set-ups.

Location Manager/Security - Someone who can take care of the practicalities of shooting on location. Liaising with property owners, businesses etc. Making sure we don't get in anyone's way and nobody gets in our way. Will involve speaking to Police, councils and other location related people. Security of crew while on set... keeping public interference to a minimum while causing as little disruption to people as possible.

We've had lots of applications already...many from some very qualified and experienced people, but don't be afraid to apply if you're just starting out.

We'll be booking auditions soon...the applications are coming in thick and fast from the casting advertisements we put up this week.

If you want to get involved in any way...please get in touch. info@recoil-films.com

More news to follow.

http://www.recoil-films.com/theirlaw1.html

S

DSLRs and The BBC...or not...or whatever!!

2010-09-03T20:19:00.000+01:00

So, there's been a couple of stories this week about 2 BBC dramas being shot on the Canon 5D Mk2. Shock horror. The BBC approved their use!! People have been spitting the dummy over the dreadful standards the BBC must be slipping to. Then the BBC changed their minds and asked the website that published the story to retract it. They now say that they view each project on an individual basis and the 5D Mk2 still isn't officially approved....but the 2 dramas are being broadcast... so...err.. well. It's simple isn't it? If it's good..it's good!

This is what i posted on the HDWarrior site in response to the slightly negative view of DSLRs... i thought you might be interested in my take on it all:

I don’t think anyone would argue that these are not interesting times! I don’t know when a debate has got people so agitated! People are definitely taking sides at the moment… for and against DSLRs.
This isn’t the first time something like this has split an industry.. but the TV/Film/Video industry would do well to remember what happened to the audio market a few years ago.. I’ll explain.
Just as the internet was taking hold in the late 90s, some bright spark invented the first mp3 compression codec and realised that you could squash a 40MB audio file into a 4mb audio file with very little in the way of audible artifacts. About the same time…Sony,EMI and the other major record labels had decided that it was about time to sell their back catalogues again, so they pounced on the “amazing” quality that DVD Audio could provide… basically 96kHz at 24bit. This, they said would in combination with a surround sound system, give listeners the ultimate home audio experience. They started paying engineers and producers lots of money to remix all the classics into this new format. They thought the uptake of home DVD players would ease the way for the audio side of things…
But, as in ALL of these cases…the public decided. They decided that portability and ease of “swapping” was far more important than “quality”. Most average consumers couldn’t hear the difference between a full bandwidth CD recording and a compressed mp3. My industry wept.. Sound engineers like myself couldn’t believe punters were prepared to listen to such crappy audio…but they were…and they still do. Kids now listen to most of their music on ipods or even mobile phone speakers. No amount of moaning about the dumbing down of our trade will stop them.

Because the music industry was so slow to realise what was going on…it got totally screwed by piracy. No one was prepared to supply the demand for mp3s until it was too late and we’d all got all our music for free. It affected the production of music too…studios were no longer needed to produce master quality recordings..especially if they end up as mp3s anyway. Studios closed in their hundreds. There are less than 10% of the studios going now that there were in the UK in 1995. Harsh news for sound engineers.

Now, look at the DSLR debate. It’s the old school pros who are up in arms. Proper camera men and women who have strived for quality for years. Then some newbies with cheap DSLRs turn up and steal their thunder with their lesser specs and reliance on a shallow DoF. I get it…it’s probably driving you all nuts. BUT…dig your heels in and you’ll miss the point. The floor just got opened up to thousands of film-makers… you will need to use your experience to prove your worth with better shots, better edits and better material…don’t rely on “better gear on paper”… or you’ll end up on the scrap heap. Harsh…but true.

Can we all get back to shooting some great films now?

Celestial Coast.... new movie on Vimeo

2010-08-28T00:27:00.000+01:00

Another of my little films shot with my Canon 550D.

Celestial Coast from Sean J Vincent on Vimeo.

Combination of time-lapses and other footage shot on the beautiful Hunstanton coast while on holiday there this year. All shot on the Canon 550D. Lenses used: stock 18-55mm, 50mm Pentacon Prime, 28mm Prime and a WA adapter.

While I was sleeping...

2010-08-10T10:38:00.001+01:00

This is a collection of time-lapses shot out of various hotel room windows and balconies. Most of them were shot with the stock 18-55mm lens on the 550D, but the night shot of the passing cars was shot with my 50mm f1.8 Pentax prime. It was all stuck together in iMovie. (i rarely use Final Cut for any of these little vimeo movies.. ) Hope you like it.
While i was sleeping... from Sean J Vincent on Vimeo.
A collection of time-lapses shot from various hotels. Shot in Germany, Sweden and Finland. (Finland is the shot with the river..it barely got dark..most of the night was broad daylight)

It's been a while...

2010-07-30T21:55:00.002+01:00

So, what's been happening? Well, we're still promoting 'Shoot The DJ'... there's been some really interesting developments. We're currently showing it for free on YouTube...(not for long, just a few weeks) and we're also arranging a Hamburg screening. On the 23rd September we'll be showing the film at the Sicht Bar in Hamburg's St Pauli district. There's still more festivals, expos and screenings... so it's still got life in it yet.
But... we're also in the early stages of the next film.. With a working title of 'Their Law', we're currently talking to investors and looking for cast and crew, not to mention locations and all the other millions of things that need organising.

Anyone wanting to get involved in the next film, let me know. We're still looking for crew and general help.. so get in touch. We're aiming for a November/December 2010 shoot.

While i'm here, i'd better mention the whole UK Film Council thing...cos everyone else has said their piece!

Okay, i had a very negative view of the Film Council. I never got any love from them...i asked for help from them and they did give me some advice, but they didn't want to give me any financial help. Like a lot of people have already said, they seem to back the same directors and the same kind of movies time after time. They also seemed to favour teams who could tick as many 'politically correct' boxes as possible. I don't really understand their ethos. Surely a government quango set up to help encourage new film talent should do just that...not judge which writers, directors and producers are worthy of their help...but support anyone who has got the get up and go to put together a production. I'd rather they backed a thousand micro budget films with a few grand than the way they have been doing it... but that's just me.

Personally, i think it does a new film-maker a world of good to find their own finance..take total control and run a film like a business.

Back soon..x

Panasonic AG-AF100... more details..better pic.

2010-06-22T19:18:00.000+01:00

The AG-AF100 is a professional AVCCAM Series HD camera recorder equipped with the Micro Four Thirds optical system commonly used in digital single lens still cameras. It directly accommodates Micro Four Thirds digital single lens still camera lenses, and an adaptor can be used to mount 35 mm film camera lenses and prime lenses. This lets you capture a wealth of film-like images with distinctive lens characteristics, like a shallow depth of field and an attractive soft focus. Designed for stable camera work, the AG-AF100 is packed with functions and specifications that combine comfortable operation with superb images and extended recording times. It features HD-SDI output and mic input, remote control terminals, and versatile system interfaces that you normally find only on professional camera recorders.
The AG-AF100 also offers PH mode recording to deliver optimal AVCHD image quality in multiple HD video formats — including 24p and 30p. The variable frame rate enables slow/quick motion recording. Use the AG-AF100 to produce videos with stunning image quality, such as music, promotional, TV commercial and other short productions.

A 4/3-inch Image Sensor with Digital Still Camera Technology
The same digital single lens still camera technology that’s gathering widespread attention for its innovative motion image techniques, has been applied to this camera recorder.
The 4/3-inch MOS image sensor, with an imaging area similar to that of 35 mm movies, lets you easily shoot film-like movies with the shallow depth of field and soft focus of a film camera lens.

Micro Four Thirds Lens Mount
A wide variety of lenses for Micro Four Thirds standard digital SLR cameras can be used for shooting movies. With the mount adaptor, it is also possible to mount 35mm film camera lenses and prime lenses to render images that maximize lens characteristics.

Extended Recording in AVCHD High-Quality PH Mode
The AVCHD recording format used by the AG-AF100 includes a professional PH mode with maximum AVCHD bit rate for stunning image quality. Two SD card slots allow continuous recording for up to 12 hours* in PH mode and up to 48 hours* in HE mode with two SD (SD/SDHC/SDXC) cards on board.

*Using two 64-GB SDXC Memory Cards.
Multi HD Format and Multi Frame Rate
SDXC Memory Card (64GB)
Comparison of image sensors Left: 4/3-inch, Right: 2/3-inch
35mm film camera lenses and prime lenses, to render images that maximize lens characteristics.

Multi HD Format and Multi Frame Rate
SDXC Memory Card (64GB)
Comparison of image sensors Left: 4/3-inch, Right: 2/3-inch
35mm film camera lenses and prime lenses, to render images that maximize lens characteristics.

The AG-AF100 records in 1080:59.94i/50i/29.97p/25p/23.98p or 720:29.94p/50p/29.97p/25p/23.98p with its multi HD format. When recording in 720p mode, you can render movie-like images with effects like slow and quick motion. The Dynamic Range Stretcher, Gamma Select and other image features have also been inherited from previous Panasonic professional camera recorders.

A Professional Design with HD-SDI, XLR and Other Interfaces
The AG-AF100 features HD-SDI output, XLR audio 2 channel input, and other interfaces that are typically found on professional camera recorders. Time code recording also supports precise video production. In addition to its compact, lightweight body, the AG-AF100′s professional camera recorder design with grip, handle and large viewfinder firmly support reliable camera work.

This looks just like the camera a lot of us have been waiting for. I'm not going to get rid of my DSLR, but this will definitely be a camera that can take over a lot of duties that the Canon is being used for. For my feature drama work, this camera could become the 'A' camera i've been looking for.

RED Hold-up....again.

2010-06-15T18:44:00.000+01:00

http://www.electronista.com/articles/10/06/14/red.cameras.set.back.twice/

RED have announced another delay in the delivery of both the new EPIC and SCARLET cameras. Apparently, a US based parts supplier has been giving them issues and they have a software 'bug' that is proving tricky to fix.

So, all you RED fans sitting on the fence better take another look at the DSLRs...or wait for the upcoming large sensor cams from Panasonic or Sony.

Flippin' Great Little Camera...the Flip UltraHD

2010-05-25T00:01:00.001+01:00

Just before the Cannes Film Festival kicked off, i got an email from Celluloid Dreams / The Auteurs (now called Mubi) about a competition they were opening up to all the film-makers with shorts in the 'Short Film Corner' part of the festival. It was called 'Cannes å la Flip'. They wanted us to send in a 300 word pitch for a 3 min film to be shot on a Flip UltraHD while in Cannes.

Anyway, a 300 word pitch later and i get an email asking me to pick up my Flip camera from their stand in the Palais. What they didn't say though, was that i get to keep it. Result!

The Flip UltraHD is chunky.. it's a bit like a mobile phone from a few years ago. But...considering it shoots 720p HD and has an 8GB memory...and a built-in flip-out USB plug...and a mini HDMI port...it's small really. It fits in your pocket...but maybe not in tight jeans. Btw - 8GB gives you 2 hours of 720p recording.

Using it is as easy as it gets. Turn it on, press the red button and you're shooting. It boots up in 2 seconds, so it's great to grab it when things happen that you suddenly want to film. You can playback, erase and even use the digital zoom (but i try to avoid it)...it's so easy to use.

The picture quality is quite amazing. It's very detailed and holds up even in quite dimly lit situations.
My only gripe really is the lack of anti-shake. To get the best from it you really have to hold it against something like a wall or a table to keep it steady.

I'm totally Mac, so i can't tell you about the free PC software that comes on the internal memory. It just shows up as an external drive on my mac and i drag and drop the clips just like any others i use.

For me there's some big reasons all directors should get a Flip UltraHD.

1) It shoots very usable 720p HD video but it fits in your pocket.

2) You can velcro / gaffa it to anything for incredible shots... car shots, helicopter shots...you name it.

3) It's easy to charge on the go and even lets you replace the rechargeable battery with 2 regular AAs if you need to.

4) It's so cheap for what it is... you could buy a few to use as crash cams.

You might have guessed...i highly recommend the Flip UltraHD.

Festival De Cannes 2010....the full story.

2010-05-24T22:37:00.001+01:00

I went down to Cannes with the 'Shoot The DJ' team. We were very lucky to have our Exec Producer Derek along as he drove us all there in a 37ft American Winnebago. This thing was huge.. we traveled in comfort from just north of London all the way to Cannes. We did two overnight stops along the way, the first just a few hours from Calais and the second in Avignon. We arrived in Cannes on the 15th and drove right along the Croisette looking for the accreditation office. We dived in and quickly grabbed our passes before driving a few more miles to a beautiful campsite just outside Antibes..about 10 miles from Cannes. We got very lucky with where we parked up the bus. (we started referring to it as the bus almost as soon as we got on it....due to our regular trips on tour buses...it was pretty similar) We were about 20 paces from the little bar which was also a pizzeria that did amazing pizzas as well as steak, kebabs...everything. Perfect.

The first night, we got dressed up (a bit) and headed into Cannes at around 10pm. Luckily, we were only about 1/4 mile from a bus stop where you can get bus right into the middle of Cannes for 1 Euro!
We headed for the Nordisk Film Party. A friend of ours had got us on the guest list and told us who to speak to when we got there. We got there a bit early and there weren't many other people there at first... but it soon filled up. We struggled a little bit to find an opening gambit to get the conversation going with other guests. We enjoyed the free champagne and the free JD, but after an hour of enjoying the drink and the great view from the hotel balcony, we decided it was time to move on. We went straight for the Carlton Hotel. Rick and myself have been to the Midem Music festival in Cannes many times in the past and The Carlton was one of the three hotels where you had to go to meet the right people. This time...it was almost empty. We didn't bother staying for a drink. Next, we headed up to The Majestic. This was a bit busier, but not much. We got a drink and sat outside. A word of warning here: Drinks in Cannes are expensive. The hotels and clubs on the Croisette will charge up to 10 Euros a pint and sometimes 28 Euros for s short with a mixer. Yes...i know, it's mental...but that's what it costs over there. Start saving now for next year cos you can spend a lot in just a few days.

After the Majestic we decided to find out about train times. We knew the buses would not be running late at night, but we had been told we could get a train from Cannes to our campsite at about 1am. We were also told that if we missed this train, the next one was at about 5am! Sooo... we went to see the Concierge at the Carlton... he told us that the last train had left already..(it was 12:15) and the next one wasn't until 4:40am. It was sunday...we forgot. Pants. We considered our options.

1) Taxi. 200 Euros!!! (no kidding...and only one cab company in Cannes..so no options)

2) Walk. It's 10 miles. No chance. We'd get lost.

3) Stay out until the next train at 4:40am. Seems the best plan to me...

So we tried The Grand. The Grand hotel in Cannes is set back a little bit from the road and there's a huge lawn which they had covered with huge inflatable white sofas and an outside bar with some really funky lighting.

Well, this place was a revelation. This is where it is at in Cannes during the film festival. If English is your main language...The Grand is the place for you. The place is rammed with British, American and Australian film people...from producers, financiers, and directors to actors, actresses and crew... this place had them all. The bar wasn't as expensive as some and the drinks were really good. The sofas on the lawn were great and we ended up there every night.

The second night we got invited to a yacht party in the harbour. This is the way to do Cannes...free drinks, free food...amazing industry people everywhere... it was great. We met some very influential people and pitched our next project to lots of people. By the second night we had learnt what not to do...and with a little help from our business guru Derek, we got our patter just right.

Some things you need to know about Cannes before you come:

1) During the day, the Palais is the place to be. Visit the stands, see the Pavilions behind the Palais and generally soak up the atmosphere. There's lots to see and many people to pitch to...(if you dare) and there's even some really good courses/workshops. But deals are rarely done and new business relationships are rarely formed unless you've set up meetings in advance.

2) Early evening is dead...unless you want to go and see a premiere or you have a dinner appointment, give the Croisette a miss before 10pm...even 10 is a bit early. We found getting to the hotels about 11 or 12 was perfect. People are back from their expensive dinners and out of the screenings by then.

3) Don't overdo the pitch. We saw so many people giving it the 'hard sell'...some even tried it on us... they didn't even bother to find out that we weren't looking for other projects to work on. Be friendly, get a round in, remember where you are.... if you're pitching to someone in a bar after midnight...maybe you should just keep it light...swap cards and try to 'get on' so that you can follow it up with an email... then you can decide who is worth spending time on. It also gives you a chance to Google them... there are lots of players out in Cannes....which is point 4..

4) There are lots of 'players' in Cannes. Rich kids who get a bunch of business card printed up before heading to Cannes in their Lambos and Bentleys to see what they can find. Usually they're on the pull...but sometimes they're looking for suckers to drag into their made-up little world. Keep sharp and stay away from dickheads. Conversely, we met a few young producers who were legit...and they were often totally paralytic and full of ego...but their CVs checked out. Tricky... just use your instinct.

All in all, our Cannes experience was very positive. We spent 5 days there and we got something positive out of every day. The Short Film Corner was really cool...lovely, helpful people and a really good way to get into the Cannes Festival. We met a few people from Twitter-land over there...including Chris from LivingSpirit (who did the guerilla film makers books). He pointed us in the direction of a distributor who then gave us some invaluable advice and that alone made that particular day worthwhile. Luckily for us, almost every day was like that...an encounter with one person would always lead on to another with someone else who would turn out to be just who we needed.

So...now we've got lots and lots of business cards and lots of people to follow up with. We're going to meet some people we met over there, over here and hopefully our trip to Cannes in 2010 has been the boost our next project needed and the 'finale' of 'Shoot The DJ'.

Myself and Rick flew from Nice to Germany for a gig before flying home, but André and Derek drove all the way back in the bus. We're already planning how to get the most from next year's Cannes Festival.

USA...rent 'Shoot The DJ' for just $1.99...

2010-05-11T01:15:00.000+01:00

Seeing as we're not offering an NTSC DVD for use in the USA yet, we've set up a rental agreement with YouTube so fans in the US can watch the film right now. You get 72 hours from the time that you pay to watch the film. Cool huh?

Just click the link below:

http://www.youtube.com/user/sonicrock

4 blokes, a winnebego and a camera...we're off to Cannes!

2010-05-08T09:58:00.000+01:00

On wednesday 13th May...myself, André, Rick and Derek are off to the Cannes Film Festival. Both myself and André have films in the festival and we're also there to promote 'Shoot The DJ' to foreign distributors and to raise investment for our next feature, 'Their Law'.

We're driving to Cannes in a 37ft American winnebego...this thing is huge. It's like a tour bus that got cross-bred with a caravan. We're leaving on the 13th and driving down to Cannes to arrive sometime on the 15th. Aside from another little project we're filming whist there, we're also going to be shooting a video diary. The idea is that we're going to document our whole trip from the morning we leave home until we arrive back again sometime on the 21st.

Right now we're prepping, packing and getting measured up for tuxedos. (Yes, you really do have to wear them at the evening premieres).

Anyone who fancies meeting up while we're over there, drop me a mail.. would be great to meet some other film-makers from Twitter-land while we're there.

I'll be blogging every few days too... so pop back now and again to see what goes on.

Looking for crew members for November/December 2010. 4 to 5 weeks.

2010-05-02T13:56:00.005+01:00

Recoil-Films (http://www.recoil-films.com) is putting a new feature into production this year and we are planning a 4 to 5 week shoot during November/December. We're looking for some crew to make this possible.

The positions we need to fill are:

Production Assistant - Specifically looking after the camera media. Logging and backing up on-set. Some helping out with the camera set-ups. A good knowledge of Macs is vital. Ideally someone who is very organised.

Production Sound Mixer & Boom operator - We'd like to find a 2-man soundcrew with their own equipment capable of providing up to 4 clip-on radio mic systems and a boom man. We need someone who can totally take care of all the on-set audio and deliver the files in an organised way on hard drives to the production assistant for backing up/transfer.

Script Supervisor/Continuity - Needs to be someone meticulous to stop continuity errors and make sure we cover everything in the script in each location. No experience necessary, but a real eye for detail. Would need to photograph each costume, location and camera set-up for reference purposes. Will also be required to help out with other on set jobs like making sure the sets are correctly dressed and possibly helping with the lighting set-ups.

Location Manager/Security - Someone who can take care of the practicalities of shooting on location. Liaising with property owners, businesses etc. Making sure we don't get in anyone's way and nobody gets in our way. Will involve speaking to Police, councils and other location related people. Security of crew while on set... keeping public interference to a minimum while causing as little disruption to people as possible.

We're about to start planning, financing and casting and depending on finance going to plan, all these roles will be paid. Being a low budget production the weekly rates for these positions varies between £250 and £400 per week.

Anyone interested in getting involved should email with their relevant experience, CV or whatever you think we need to know in order to consider you.

Email us at: info@recoil-films.com

DVD Studio Pro nightmares...and mpeg2 woes..

2010-04-24T01:00:00.002+01:00

I've spent the last few weeks working on the DVD for our 'Shoot The DJ' movie. I spent days making the background images in photoshop, hours crafting the menu system so that it flows and looks great...and literally weeks trying different compressor settings for compressing the 20GB film file down to a 4.8GB mpeg2 to fit on the dual layer DVD. (along with various other bits like out-takes and trailers)

I have run into several issues. Firstly, compressing to mpeg2 is depressing. It takes a nice looking master and makes it look pants. I've tried CBR, VBR, Apple Compressor, FFmpeg and even paid for a Sonic SD-2000 professional encode.. but, it always looks like we shot the film on mobile phone by the time it's finished.

What i have learned is this: If any of your source footage is not up to scratch, it will totally suck by the time mpeg2 has got hold of it. So, if you've got a dodgy bit of footage in your film...maybe a little too dark and starting to show the signs of noise in the blacks...even just a little bit...compressing to mpeg2 will destroy it. We had a scene which was under-exposed when it was shot. The original footage looked a bit dodgy, but we decided it was probably ok. We were wrong.

All the daylight or nicely lit shots look ok. Not amazing..but certainly ok and most people won't see any issue at all with them, but the noise in the picture on the dark scenes is definitely distracting to the viewer.

Anyway, once i'd accepted that picture quality was just something we had to learn by and move on, i came up against another major issue... DVD Studio Pro 4. I had completed my DVD building and was in the process of setting the 'break point' for the dual layer. I placed the marker at an appropriate place in the film, ticked 'break point' and un-ticked 'chapter' and then in the main DVD menu section, i selected the right break point from the drop down list. I then burned a test DVD. The test didn't work too well. The encode looked rough and the break point wasn't as good as it could be. The menus also were a bit erratic.

So... i changed the mpeg2 movie file for a new version and then re-set all the chapter markers and set my break point marker. But...this time, i couldn't change it in the drop down menu. It would only let me select the previous marker or 'automatic'. All the other markers were in the drop down menu, but none of them would stay selected. So..i tried to delete the track which the marker was set within.... it wouldn't delete. I tried deleting it from the graphical view, from the connections tab...nowhere would let me delete it. Then i tried removing all the connections to it..from all the menus and the other files in the DVD. Still, it would not let me delete it.

It turns out, that the mpeg2 file that i had the break point set within had some kind of corruption in the file. I had to re-encode the file and start again. Now, with all the work on the DVD menu and other assests, i didn't want to start from scratch...but if i tried to re-use the same file, it wouldn't let me delete the old file...so i found a way out.

I highlighted each section in the graphical view and then exported it using file/export/item description.

Then, i started a new project and imported the item descriptions for all the various bits and hey presto...i was back on track...and all the connections were still working. But... the nasty offending file was long gone. All i had to do now was create my DDP files and burn them to DVDRs. Easy...

From now on i'm looking at new delivery methods...from well shot HD...never skanky SD again....it's too much stress!

Sneaky pics of Panasonic AG-AF100

2010-04-13T10:39:00.000+01:00

Thanks to HotRod Cameras for these pics from NAB. Apparently there's a PL mount adapter just out of shot too...

If Sony and Canon have these kinda cams on the way too, it's going to be an exciting time for film-makers.

Sony Show a Glimpse of a Large Sensor Cam for 2011

2010-04-12T23:41:00.002+01:00

Sony - New Small Prototype Digital Cinema Camera - NAB 2010 - Playback from camera department on Vimeo.
Sony unveiled a new prototype for a small digital cinema camera at their NAB 2010 press conference. The camera is scheduled to be released at next year's NAB.

Sony's Twitter feed leaked this pic out earlier from NAB in Vegas. It's their take on the large sensor 'shallow depth of field' type camera to rival the DSLRs. There's not much detail or specs, so it's mostly speculation, but that's a 65mm prime on the front and it looks like a flip-out LCD screen and all the trimmings you'd expect from a video camera as opposed to a DSLR. It will use SXS cards and has a full 35mm sensor...great news. Slated for a 2011 release, this sector of the market is really hotting up. I'm sure the RED Scarlett is going to be great, but the age it's taken to get to market is going to really hurt their sales if Sony and Panasonic have similar rigs coming up... and that's without Canon showing their hand yet.

However you look at it, it's great news for film-makers. Let's just hope we can use a wide range of lenses on these new cams and that they keep the prices sensible.

Park Life - New 550D (T2i) Test Shoot

2010-04-12T01:20:00.000+01:00

Park Life from Sean J Vincent on Vimeo.

Sunday afternoon at the park with the kids. Canon 550D (T2i), the 18-55mm stock lens and my 50mm Zeiss Pentacon Prime.

All handheld.. and a little over-exposed in places.. Not bad for a little test shoot with no tripod or ND filters though...

Panasonic AG-AF100 4/3" HD Camcorder

2010-04-12T00:28:00.000+01:00

PANASONIC INTRODUCES AG-AF100,

4/3” PROFESSIONAL HIGH-DEFINITION CAMCORDER

* Premier AVCCAM Video Camera Combines 4/3” Sensor with Superior Video Quality, Professional Audio Inputs, Variable Frame Rates, SDXC Card Technology *

LAS VEGAS, NV (April 11, 2010) – Panasonic Solutions Company today announced a game-changing AVCCAM HD camcorder, the AG-AF100, the first professional micro 4/3-inch video camcorder optimized for high-definition video recording. Scheduled to ship by the end of 2010, the AG-AF100 will set a new benchmark for digital cinematography.

Targeted at the video and film production communities, the AF100 delivers the shallow depth of field and wider field of view of a large imager, with the flexibility and cost advantages of use with a growing line of professional quality, industry standard micro 4/3-inch lenses, filters, and adapters. The full 1080 and 720 production camera offers superior video handling, native 1080/24p recording, variable frame rates, professional audio capabilities, and compatibility with SDHC and SDXC media.

The design of the AF100’s micro 4/3-inch sensor affords depth of field and field of view similar to that of 35mm movie cameras in a less expensive camera body. Equipped with an interchangeable lens mount, the AF100 can utilize an array of low-cost, widely-available still camera lenses as well as film-style lenses with fixed focal lengths and primes.

“Designed in consultation with the filmmaking community, the AF100 eclipses the video performance of other cameras in this price range,” said Joe Facchini, Vice President of Sales & Product Management, Media & Production Services, Panasonic Solutions Company. “Ideal for film schools and independent filmmakers, this affordable, digital cinematography camera employs an advanced professional AVC/ H.264 Hi Profile AVCHD codec compatible with a wide range of editing tools and affordable players.”

The AF100 incorporates a 4/3-inch, 16:9 MOS imager. The camcorder records 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) and 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) in AVCHD’s highest-quality PH mode (maximum 24Mbps). Ready for global production standards, the camcorder is 60Hz and 50Hz switchable.

The AF100 maximizes the potential of its high-resolution imager with built-in ND filtering and dramatically reduced video aliasing. Standard professional interfaces include HD-SDI out, HDMI, time code recording, built-in stereo microphone and USB 2.0. The AF100 features two XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power capability, 48-kHz/16-bit two-channel digital audio recording and supports LPCM/Dolby-AC3.

This newest Panasonic AVCCAM camcorder is the first to enjoy the benefits of advanced SDXC media card compatibility in addition to existing SDHC card support. (SDXC is the newest SD memory card specification that supports memory capacities above 32GB up to 2TB). With two SD slots, the AF100 can record up to 12 hours on two 64GB SDXC cards in PH mode

The AG-AF100 will be available by the end of 2010. Panasonic will support the AF100 with a three-year limited warranty (one year plus two extra years upon registration).

This is fantastic... it's what DSLR users have been hoping for... but, the bit rate isn't as high as we'd like and it's 4/3, not APS-C or Full frame. But, if Panasonic can do it....so can Canon. Looks like the tail end of 2010 could see some interesting developments.

New AVID DSLR news..and more.

2010-04-11T20:57:00.000+01:00

Just heard that MC5 from AVID now supports H.264 .MOV files right on the timeline. Full edit capabilities without transcoding or wrapping. Very nice. Good news.

While i'm here, i just spent the day shooting some footage with my 550D and have noticed an interesting issue. I used the screen on the back of the camera to check exposure and focus before shooting and each time i was happy with the shot before i hit the 'record' button. But... a lot of the shots are over-exposed. Now i have heard that the camera has a tendency to over-expose, but i'd not had it happen before. The only thing i can think of is that it was sunny today and i was shooting outside. Maybe the screen wasn't telling me the truth..maybe the sun glare was affecting it more than i thought. Either way, it's not a huge issue... i'll try some outside shots in the sun again soon with the external monitor and a shade and see how i get on.

I'm just cutting together the footage now, so i'll post it soon.

Phil Bloom's 'Pacific'

2010-04-10T12:31:00.000+01:00

Philip's become known as real DSLR evangelist lately, and with all his work with Zacuto and stunning films shot on the Canon DSLRs, it's easy to see why. But, he's not anti ENG style cameras.. as this new film shows. Shot with the new Panasonic HPX371 which is the replacement for the HPX301, this film shows that Phil doesn't need his vast array of DSLR lenses to make a stunning film. Enjoy..

"Pacific": Panasonic HPX 370/371 from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Canon XF305 & XF300

2010-04-09T01:56:00.000+01:00

After much speculation and some sneak previews of the mock-up, we finally get to see the new XF range of cams from Canon. Maybe not quite what some people were hoping for.. but, some seriously good features. The L-Series lens looks like it might be very impressive and the tech spec is very nice... 4:2:2, 50Mbps, Variable frame rates....and CF card storage. The XF300 is a slightly slimmed down version of the XF305...it loses the SDI output, the timecode and the Genlock... no biggy for lots of you just shooting with the one camera.

Canon have obviously been listening to us, because not only do we get a decent data rate and 4:2:2, but the focus ring and zoom ring both have end stops... a good move.

The options for recording modes are:

1920x1080/50i, 1920x1080/25p, 1280x720/50p, or 1280x720/25p

The retail price of the XF305 is going to be $7999.... so the XF300 will be a bit less and we'll probably get stitched up in the UK and have to pay way over the £6k mark.. but you never know.

Here's the official blurb on the XF305:

The XF305, one of Canon’s first file-based professional camcorders, combines an MPEG-2, 50Mbps, 4:2:2 codec with a Canon L-series lens, 3 Full HD CMOS sensors and studio connectivity for superb HD video stored on CF card.

Features

* MPEG-2 MXF recording to CF cards at up to 50Mbps (4:2:2)
* Comprehensive NLE support
* 18x wide angle Canon L-series lens
* 3 x 1/3 type Full HD Canon CMOS sensors
* HD-SDI, Timecode, Genlock
* 10.1 cm LCD (1.23M dots); 1.3 cm (1.55M dots) EVF
* Variable frame rates

Set your own standard: professional, file-based Full HD

Capture high quality HD to CF cards
The XF305 records MPEG-2 MXF (Media eXchange Format) files – up to 1920 x 1080 Full HD at 50Mbps (4:2:2) – to CompactFlash (CF) memory cards. CF media is inexpensive and widely available: dual card slots allow filming to continue without interruption.

Flexible editing
Integrating seamlessly with existing workflows, movies shot on the XF305 are captured as industry-standard MXF files compatible with all major editing packages.

18x wide-angle lens
Drawing on Canon’s broadcast lens expertise – and informed by the feedback of professionals – the lightweight 18x L-series HD Video Lens delivers superb optical quality. Unique Ultra-Low Dispersion (Hi-UD) elements are used to prevent chromatic aberration. Separate rings offer independent control of Focus, Zoom and Iris (F1.6) – with full manual control available, end stops are provided for the focus and zoom rings.

3x Full HD CMOS
Full HD at 1920 x 1080 resolution is captured via three 1/3 type 2.07 Megapixel Full HD CMOS sensors – designed and manufactured by Canon in-house. High speed scanning minimises the effects of a rolling shutter.

10.1 cm LCD and 1.3 cm EVF
The 10.1 cm (4”) LCD screen can be positioned either side of the camera. Offering superior resolution (1.2M dots), the Focus Assist tool helps achieve sharp images. A built-in Waveform Monitor (WFM) helps verify exposure and other shooting parameters. Alternatively, a 1.3 cm (0.52”) Electronic Viewfinder (EVF) is available.

Variable frame rate
A wide range of frame rates is available, from 12 to 50 fps. This gives cameramen the freedom to alter the capture rate for additional creative flexibility.

Professional jackpack and independent audio
HD-SDI output is the industry standard, outputting uncompressed Full HD with embedded audio and Timecode. Genlock In and Timecode In/Out allow the XF305 to be used in a multi-camera shoot. Audio can be captured via twin XLR inputs and also with the front-mounted stereo microphone.

Custom pictures
Twenty-six Custom Picture options can be adjusted to achieve the perfect look. These can be stored in-camera – via SD card - and settings can even be transferred between camcorders.

CPS support *
Canon’s exclusive CPS Video Support offers a priority repair service, guaranteeing quick turnaround.

Standard Def ShowReel 1

2010-04-02T14:12:00.002+01:00

Recoil Films ShowReel 1 SD from Sean J Vincent on Vimeo.

Standard Def ShowReel for Recoil Films.