equipment – Page 3 – Journeys of a Hybrid

March 5, 2010March 30, 2010

Putting Together a DSLR Video Kit – And Why

I was in Chicago a couple of weeks ago and stopped by Zacuto. Zacuto is a business that has made outfitting DSLR cameras for video a specialty. They have cleverly engineered an assortment of their 3rd party add-ons that take these cameras to a higher level. They have also provided solutions to overcome some of these cameras shortcomings. Depending on the genre you are working in, documentary work, corporate, indie films or photojournalism will ultimately determine which way you’ll need to “trick” these cameras out.

I was looking for products that were designed to help with camera stability, focus aids and audio when using the Canon 5D or 7D which I will soon be purchasing. My motivation for buying these cameras wasn’t because I was moving to video for the first time, because I’ve been shooting video for 11 years and already have a high-end HD camera – the Sony EX-1. The main reason that I will be buying these hybrid cameras is that I am undertaking a global project where I will be shooting both still images and video where I will literally be traveling around the world for a three month period and I can only bring what I can carry on my back. So taking two camera systems was out of the question.

I tested quite a few items at Zacuto but finally settled on the following solutions. For my audio needs I will use my existing Sennheiser shot gun mic and lav/transmitter/receiver kit. But I decided to capture my audio independently using the Samson H4 Zoom digital audio recorder and will sync it later in post. I also opted for the EZ-Finder that is an eyepiece that snaps on over the monitor. This not only makes it easier to focus in the sunlight, but provides a point of stabilization as well. Speaking of stabilization, I have also opted for the DSLR Sharp Shooter rig that comes with a shoulder mount, Zgrip Z-mount and mini baseplate with quick release adaptor. I supplemented that rig with a FLEX-DSLR remote trigger and a 3.4 lb. counterbalance weight.

I’m glad that I personally visited Zacuto and tried out the rig – fitted to me. It felt right and fit with the way I am accustomed to shooting. A hybrid solution that bridges the still photo and video worlds. I’ll need a lighter weight tripod and am hoping to keep my Manfrotto fluid head. I’ll need to purchase a backup MacBook Pro and portable hard drives because my workflow will be tapeless and therefore redundant.

That’s going to be a lot of gear on my back. Guess I’ll be packing light when it comes to my personal needs.

January 11, 2010January 11, 2010

Talking Techy – New Video Gadgets

As far back as I can remember, ever since being the only woman in my graduating class at Brooks Institute, I’ve been in a male dominated business. Along with that comes a lot of tech talk and I’d like to think that I can hold my own “talking techy”.

Lots of new gadgets and tools have been announced in the last couple of weeks. The much-anticipated Scarlet camera has been formally announced for spring – early summer 2010. Check out the 3K Scarlet prototype along with some other new gadgets from the RED folks, and you too will be amazed. And the proposed price – less than $3000 for a 3K video camera that shoots RAW.

Another interesting camera to debut is the Panasonic full HD 3D camcorder camera. Pretty cool, but I wondered how one will look at their 3D footage? Panasonic thought of that as well, and introduced 5 new 3D HD TV sets.

Check out MacVideo’s blog on CES 2010 predictions for digital cameras – smaller, video, interchangeable lenses and wifi enabled are all new features to watch for this year.

And Skype enabled HD televisions are coming so Skype users will now be able to make HD video (phone) calls as long as they have an HD web cam and plenty of bandwidth.

I played around with the popular hybrid cameras, the Canon 7D and Canon 5DMarkII over the holidays. I absolutely love the visuals that these cameras create but they felt clumsy to me, being the street shooter that I am, because I couldn’t look through the viewfinder to focus while shooting. I had to use the LCD monitor on the back of the camera to focus, which was tough outdoors and it also made the camera hard to stabilize because it wasn’t braced up against my eye. I do realize that there are 3rd party viewfinders available that attach to the back of the camera which help with focusing in bright sunlight but also helps with camera stabilization.

Lastly, I wanted to check out a company I heard about called Animoto.com. They provide a subscription based service where one can upload still images, video clips and text and a video is automatically created from your assets (or theirs) in a matter of minutes. They also have an interesting selection of licensed music to choose from, which you can use in your videos. I literally spent less than an hour of my time to register, upload my video clips, choose a piece of music and create a short 30-second video.

2010 has just begun and I’m already overwhelmed by all the new toys and gadgets.

December 10, 2009December 14, 2009

Video News

I came across some interesting things this week, so I am passing them along.

One was the much anticipated announcement of the debut of the Scarlet – a new camera from the same company that makes The Red. There have been a lot of rumors about this camera over the past year and it will be rolled out in 2010. Check out Philip Bloom’s blog about it. And here’s another post on FreshDV with information about the Scarlet.

If you’re a Sony EX-1 shooter, here’s an interesting tip along with a how-to-video on using the Zacuto Z-finder with that camera. This viewfinder was made for the Canon 5d, but Martijn Schroevers found a clever way to attach it to the LCD of the Sony EX-1.

Next up is yet another new video camera format from Sony – NXCAM. The NXCAM can record 1920 x 1080 images at 24Mbps (50i or 25p), as well as supporting 720/50p and Standard Definition recording.
Very interesting but I wish these camera manufacturers would standardize formats and codecs.

I also came across a very interesting company called Wistia. They allow you to share and host your videos but in addition they offer heatmap tracking which gives you a visual spectrum of how your visitors watch your videos and what attracts them or confuses them.

And to give you an idea of how much web video viewing has exploded, here’s an online channel Expotv where consumers send in video product reviews. No fancy production values but an interesting concept of sharing information that has really caught on.

With all those news items I figured it was about time I changed my header – gone is that template blue – replaced by something more relevant to the blogger.

October 2, 2009December 14, 2009

Convergence – Defining Yourself By Your Vision – Not Your Tool

It’s 4AM as I write this entry. I can’t sleep. That often happens when my mind is in overdrive as it has been all week – over stimulated by the process of editing video. I’ve also spent a lot of time this past week speaking with quite a few photographers who are working in both the still photography and video mediums. Some shooters I spoke with got into video because the entry level became cheaper when hybrid cameras that shoot both stills and video came on the market. Other people I talked to weren’t “camera operators” at all – they were DP’s or Directors of Photography on high-end commercial broadcast productions.

One question I asked these shooters was “What do you call yourself these days?” Personally I’m struggling with that question myself. Am I a photographer?, a videographer? (I hate that term), a DP?, a media producer? Who am I ? What do I call myself? I have yet to answer that question for myself, but the answers that I got from everyone I spoke with, ran the gamut, encompassing all the titles above. As I replayed these conversations in my head, I realized that for me the problem was I was trying to define myself by my tool. And that just doesn’t work.

The problem is if we define ours by our tools – then we are diminishing the value of our creativity or our vision boy_viewer in the process. We aren’t placing the value on what is unique in all of us – our vision. At the same time we’re placing too much value on the tool – in this case the camera. As technology accelerates the production of more sophisticated cameras that are cheaper and easier to use – and we’ve placed our value on being the technician – we’re in big trouble. Because ultimately anyone with a vision who has the “ability” to realize that vision, can put together a crew of technicians to facilitate their vision or idea – and do it cheaper these days because of technology. And there’s nothing wrong with that.

Professional photographers get defensive when a potential client places no value on what is unique about them (their vision) and approaches them with the attitude that if you won’t work for the prices they dictate – they will just find another photographer. But what they are really saying is that they feel that they can “just” find another camera operator. The problem is that these photographers haven’t presented their vision and because of that they are perceived as being interchangeable. That’s not a good place to be and never will be. And for that reason when a professional still photographer comes to me and says that they are interested in getting into video and asks the question “What video camera should I buy?” I gently tell them – well sometimes not so gently tell them – it’s not about the camera.

How does one define what they are? Great question that has a lot of answers, as it should. Technology is amazing – but it’s the human part of the process that excites me because we’re all so different in how we see.

September 24, 2009December 14, 2009

Video Production in the Deep Freeze

I just spent the last week in New Hampshire working on an “industrial” video for a new business venture that will be licensing an amazing new “ice” technology. It was perhaps the most challenging job that I’ve had in many years – especially from a technical level. One day we worked from 8AM – midnight in a “cold room” at the US Army Cold Regions Research and Engineering Laboratory (CRREL) shooting “ice” experiments. We were dealing with extremes on all levels. The Russian scientists – brilliant electrical engineers – were pushing their own boundaries as they ran tests with ice on power lines and automobiles and as much as I was witnessing this work in sub zero temperatures – it was amazing to watch them work. If I hadn’t been so busy with my own technical challenges – I would have loved to just observe them and try to get into their head. scientists2 You could almost see their brains working – just by watching their faces. Then to see the triumph in their eyes when their experiments worked – what a thrill. I now need to go to Russia.

My partner Tom had done a great job with pre-production, making sure we would be fully prepared to work and have our equipment work in these extreme cold temperatures. We put the cameras into “polar mittens” mittens to keep them warm and swapped out the warm packs as we shot late into the night. We had to erect large “green screens” so that in post I can insert winter scenes. Problem was our green screens were large pieces of fabric and the chill blowers were blowing them all over the place. We tried to anchor them but in the end we had to turn the blowers off during the shoot. Thank goodness we didn’t need usable audio. We used hot lights and a lot of them. Used every extension cord we had and every outlet in the room – 10,000 watts. Ironic huh – hot lights in a “cold room”. Because of that we had to leave the lights on the entire time because we knew that when we turned them off – we’d get condensation on the bulbs. When we finally did break the set down at midnight – we turned the lights off, let them cool a bit and put garbage bags over them so that as they warmed we wouldn’t get moisture on them. Didn’t really work too well though. set We did the same thing with the cameras and that worked great. Because we had the lights on all day and were using long extension cords – one cord got over heated and actually melted and fused to itself. The Russian electrical engineer noticed it – Thank God – or we would have burned down the building.

We shot an interview with another brilliant Russian scientist who was passionate about ice and also shot b-roll of all kinds of things, the campus (we were at Dartmouth), labs, refrigerators, icemakers and the computers in the cad labs. All in all things went quite well considering the adverse conditions we were working in and pushing our equipment and ourselves to the limit. One HUGE bummer was that the assistant that Tom had hired – who came recommended from another photographer – quit after the first day. We got through the shoot though – but had to muster up everything we had within us. The client wrote today to say he was extremely pleased with the roughs he had seen and impressed with our fortitude on the shoot given the situation.

Now on to phase two – to record the narrative, research a ton of stock footage and photos, pick the music, work with the motion graphics team and put it all together. As much as the postproduction inevitably involves a lot of work and long hours – I love this part. This is where the story comes together and is really crafted. And that’s always the best part for me.

April 30, 2009December 14, 2009

It’s The Idea

I’m often asked by people “What kind of video camera should I buy?”. I must confess that question drives me crazy. It’s kind of like someone asking me what kind of car they should buy. But at least with cars – the end result is pretty much the same – you need something to get you from here to there.

I think in this time of fast moving technology with even 10 year olds uploading videos to You Tube that they’ve created that we’ve all started to believe that if we just buy a camera – we too can be videographers. It’s “just” that easy.

But what we seem to be forgetting is – what are we trying to visually communicate? That message or idea is EVERYTHING. I think we’ve all seen enough big budget films that are flops because they’ve lacked a story.

I’ve always been a means to an end type person. I first think about what I’m interested in and what I want to communicate and share with others. Then I concentrate on what “tools” will get me there.

No matter how technologically advanced we are – we all need to remember – why did we shoot this video to begin with? What is it we are trying to say? Seems sublimely simple? It is – but without something to say – you may end up with a lot of “packaging and fizz” if you’re lucky or worse yet a really poorly executed video that no one cares to watch.

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