You are here: Home / Archives for Video

Book Review: Wedding Videography Start to Finish

April 20, 2011 By

Since I have not posted a book review recently and spring is coming, I thought it would be a good idea to talk about one that covers a very specialized topic: Wedding Videography.

Content

The book covers the domain wide and large. Starting from answering the simple question ‘What does a wedding videographer do?‘ to giving advices on video editing and color grading.

As you can guess, it covers pretty much everything one needs to know to start shooting professionally. This is a very ambitious project and I think it is done reasonably well here in the sense that it gives a good overlook of what to expect, how to plan for it and what to do on D day. It is not a replacement for experience and I will call anyone who starts looking for contracts right after reading the book and idiot. Please assist a pro for at least one season!

This book is a starting point, know that you will need to deepen your knowledge in many areas. The hardest part when learning a new field (at least for me) is to structure your thoughts and know what you need to learn. Once you are aware of this list, the rest is much easier and I think this book serves this purpose well.

Moving from Stills to Motion

When I talked about this book to my friend (a wedding photographer), he wanted to know if the book would teach him how to add a video side to his business. While he is not the target audience for the book and some good chunk of it are valid for both stills and video, I think it can be of some help, especially when it highlights clients expectations regarding the end result.

Things I like

  • The book includes a shot list that is a great starting point to build on.
  • All the advices come from hard learn experiences.
  • The book tone makes it easy/fast to read.

Things I really did not like

  • As a lot of book on the topic of video, this one falls into the trap of describing how to use editing software.
  • Some example are a bit cheesy and out of style.
  • Some of the content is too beginner-ish.

Special complain

As weird as it may look, the book does not talk about HDSLR. Not even a a short mention! This puzzles me considering that wedding videography must be the most popular professional use of HDSLR. Yet, it was published in 2010!

Conclusion

If you are planning to shoot a wedding this summer, getting this book is a worthy investment. But lets face it: no book can prepare you for the craziness of a wedding day. Except maybe a 6-pack of RedBull.

You can get the book here from Amazon

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: Review, Video Tagged With: , ,

When the minimalistic approach yields big results

March 16, 2011 By

We talk a lot about gear on this blog: tripods, rigs, lens, follow focus, etc… We take for granted that you need all of these to create anything that looks remotely professional. After all, if you dont have a super stable and sharp image, your end product can’t be good.

Well, Greg Watermann proves us wrong. Look at his coverage of the band Scars on Broadway.

Q: How many cameras do you think he used?

A: A single one and only two lenses: a Zeiss 1.4 prime and a venerable 24-105L4IS. Even better: he captured everything in a single night!

Last time Greg talked to me, the clip was in the YouTube top 50 music video, quite an achievement! His minimalistic approach gave great results and I am sure he will get more gigs in the future.

So what makes the clip so good?

First we have to give credits to the editor, Guzmanian, who did a great job keeping the intensity high during the whole clip. But he could only do this because Greg got such a broad variety of shots to pick from. And that is what I want to talk about…

What can you learn from this?

As I said in my last user submitted clip review, I only post clips shot by others when I think there is something to learn from it. In this case, Greg showed us how important it is to get A LOT of coverage (dont forget, he was the only shooter!). The more you have, the happier you will be when sitting in front of FCP.

The List

What ever you are shooting, would it be a concert, a conference or a wedding, capture as much as you can of everything! And dont stick with macro or close up shots. Use your wide angle to give a sense of space and dont be afraid to pan the camera too. This is something I personally have to work on, my clips tend to be too static (I blame my photography background for this)

Here is my quick mental list of must have shots, what ever the gig I am shooting:

  • People at the venue (dancing, drinking, talking to the camera,..)
  • Outside the venue (people in lineups, venue signs, shots of people inside from the window)
  • Props (glasses, microphone, console, napkins, anything that can be linked to the event)
  • Food (plates but also in the kitchen, plates getting prepared,etc)
  • Close up of actions (paying for tickets, drinks, people drinking, etc)
  • People putting their coats on/off
  • People moving in / out of the venue

All of these short clips can be used to put a sense of time/chronology to your film or can be used as transitions when you dont have anything else.

I never took the time to formalize, maybe I should. Do you guys use such a list?

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: On the web, Video Tagged With: , , ,

RigWheels – the missing part for your DIY Slider project

March 14, 2011 By

I just received this video from Lance, one of our reader.

Aren’t these cools? And you want to know the best part? They are actually quite affordable! At 115$ for a set for 4 wheels, they are within the budget of pretty much all videographers.

Here is a sample footage clip.

Slider based on wheels are better than those on rails for various reasons and I can’t wait to get my set to give these a proper review! You can order yours on the official website.

Edit: link to mode RW info about pricing

Edit: added the sample footage clip.

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: News, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

Critique of a user submitted clip

March 7, 2011 By

A few times a week, I receive request from videographers to write an article about their most recent work. Most of the time, I point them toward resources like Planet5D Cinema which are designed for these kinds of things.

It is not because I don’t like these clips; it is just that I try to keep the site content as closely focused as possible around the HDSLR related technicalities and not the end result.

So, when I read Ken Karpel email this morning I was about to reply back my standard ‘go to Planet5D Cinema’ answer when I realize that 1) I liked the clip and 2) I could use it to give a few pointers to other shooters.

So, before going any further, let’s watch to clip.

Yes, it’s 7:33 minutes. Asking someone who is not your mother to watch your 7 + minutes movie and expecting them to watch it until the end is a challenge. Yet, I am sure most people did. Why? Ken did a lot of good things, lets take a look.

The good

  • Right at the start, we see two cops and a suggested dead guy. What happened? Mystery is the best way to keep your audience eyes glued to the screen, that and strip tease. But mixing them together is not a guaranteed success.
  • He divides the film into small stories and presents each main character at the start. By doing so, he sets our expectations.
  • He uses references from other classics (how many can you identify?). Once viewers see these, they want to stay to see more of them.
  • The rhythm is very dynamic and so are the edits.
  • Nice music, fits the clip very well.
  • Lots of fluid camera movement (pans and tracking) and pull-in/out.
  • Good looking girls. If they are good for million dollar movies, they are good for budget clips too!

The bad things things that could have been better:

  • The vignette for the intro looked cheap. Then again, I hate vignettes. I am not a big blaxploitation fan so maybe it was the standard way to start a film back in the days…
  • While the sound during the film is ok-ish, at the ending we barely hear what the hero is saying which make the whole thing end on the wrong note IMHO.
  • The clip was shot with a 5DMrkII and a 7D but, unless someone told me, I would not have guessed it. I would have liked to see much less depth of field in some scenes. Since most of the sequences where shot outside, I guess they did not have access to ND filters (hint hint, look  at our sponsor to the right) and had to push the aperture up to keep the shutter under control.
  • Muzzle fire: I know the clip is not taking itself too seriously but the firefight could have been made more realistic with the use of some glow effects and shorter flashes.
  • Light management of indoor sequence could have been better. The bright scenes are too bright and the dark scenes to dark. Solution? Reflectors! You don’t even need fancy ones to get good results; just a big white board can do the trick. Once the subject is correctly lit, you can adjust the ambient exposure.

While the film has some technical issues, its style, dynamic edits and overall feeling makes it a winner. What do you think?

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: On the web, Video

Something I shot: Bridal Boudoir Affair 2010

February 24, 2011 By

Here is a video I shot during the Bridal Boudoir Affair 2010 event with my friend Robert and his crew.

I only did the shooting, Robert did the amazing editing job, as usual. I took care of all the closeups and macro shots, mostly with the 100L2.8IS Macro and I am very happy Robert managed to put so many of these in the final edit. I think I could have shot the whole show with it!

It was the first time I did a gig without bringing my Pelican 1510 Case and I will never do it again. The whole day, I was worried about leaving my gear unattended. If I had had my case, I could just have locked and secure it and would have been worried free…

In the end, the only thing I lost was a memory card and it was because of my own stupidity. Still, it was an awesome day and I have a feeling you will see more boudoir stuff from us soon!

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: On the web, Video Tagged With: ,

1000fps using only Final Cut Studio

January 5, 2011 By

Patrick from CrumplePop (btw go check their products) just sent me info about his workflow to achieve ridiculous slow motion effect without using Twixtor. The process is quite simple: shooting at 60fps and retiming in Motion using optical flow then play back the clip at 24fps.

and the result:

I have to admit the results are pretty good. I tested OF a while a go (at a much more reasonable fps) and did not like the results. Probably I was using sub optimal footage.

Has Patrick said in his blog post, using a tripod and a simple (and static) background is key here.

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: On the web, Video Tagged With: , ,

Deal alert: Red Giant Software 40% off today only!

December 14, 2010 By

Today only, Red Giant Software is giving a 40% coupon on all their plugins/apps. If you ever wondered about getting Magic Bullet Looks or Mojo, here is the time!  The coupon code is BIGSALE2010.

Unfortunately, we cant combine this coupon with others. I already tried…

Now if they could only reduce the price of ToonIt! I would get it as a toy app.

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: On the web, Video Tagged With: , ,

OSCT bracket [EXCLUSIVE] Pre-order now and save!

December 2, 2010 By

I am very happy to announce that I am ready to take pre-orders for the OSCT!

What is it? It is a L shapped bracket that you insert between the camera and the camera plate. You can then attach a cable trigger to the camera to press the SET button to start/stop video recording. This is mostly useful when working with shoulder rigs. Here is a video to explain the whole thing.

Why do you need this?

If you dont own a shoulder rig you dont really need this. On the other hand, if you do own a rig, this is the most useful piece of gear ever! As I say in the video above, it:

  • Saves time when editing/reviewing clips since the first frame of the video is perfectly framed
  • Allow you to start/stop video much faster. Resulting in shorter clips => increase CF card capacity
  • Allow you to react faster when something is happening and needs to be shot. No fumbling with the camera, just press the trigger and voila!

Seriously, this is the kind of thing you dont know you were missing until you see it! And I am not saying this because I am trying to sell them, it is true!

How much?

35$+shipping

This is the first batch of the product. As such, I am selling it a a minimum price. In exchange, I am not painting/coating the bracket. Next version will probably sell for around 50-60$ but will be black and better looking. Well, if I manage to sell the initial batch first!

35$ for a piece of metal? Are you crazy?

Nope! I talked about the cost of creating new pieces of gear in a previous post. This thing is way more complicated to build than what you think. My initial prototypes used thin folded metal plate and lets just say that it was not a success. While the OSCT is not indestructible, it is solid. Very solid.

Also, 35$ if pretty cheap when you take into account the amount of time it takes to build these little thing. I know because I did 7 versions before my final prototype!

When?

As soon as I get enough pre-orders, I will start production and should get the products within a week.

How?

If you are interested, please contact me at: boss @ canon5dtips .com and I will give you instructions. I will have to work this way until I have an order form up.

Edit: there was a bug that screwed up the display of the video. Now it is fixed. Thanks Michel for the notice!

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: News, Video Tagged With: , , , ,

Shoulder rig kit for about 200$

November 24, 2010 By

I receive a lot of email from people asking me which shoulder rig they should buy. My usual answers swing between the Shape WLB Sumo or a small Zacuto rigs, depending of the expected usage.

The problem with these suggestions is they, while valid, are out of the budget for a lot of shooters (starving students, I am looking at you). This is why I decided to look around and see it if was possible to design a complete rig kit for about 200$ that would be decent enough to be used on small paying gigs.

The parts

A basic kit requires at least a shoulder rig (duh!), a viewfinder and a light. Some people could argue that you dont really need these two accessories but past experiences has shown to me that  you do. You could even add a mic into the kit if you need audio for your line of work.

The rig

I had to look long and hard to find something decent and cheap. In the end, to stay within budget, I had to compromise on build quality. Priced under 22$, the CowboyStudio Shoulder Support Pad is a steal. It is not as stable as bigger rigs and does not allow you to plug any other accessories but it gets the job done at a ridiculously low price. I tested it for about 30 minutes and, while it is far from perfect, it is a big improvement over shooting hand held.

The light

Lights can be expensive, especially when you want LED. And trust me, you want LED! Other lights are too heavy or dont last long enough. While LED may not be the strongest lights, their flexibility and small size mean you can use them pretty much everywhere.

LED lights have come a long way in the last two years. LitePanels used to be the only decent option in this market segment but, since then, things have changed. While the LightPanels Micro Pro hybrid is an incredible product, it is totally out of our budget. This is why I suggest the CowboyStudio Led VL-126. It is ridiculously cheap (under 60$) while providing a decent amount of light. For the price of a single LightPanel Micro Pro, you would build a 1′x1′ light out of these!

Note: I have yet to confirm, but this light looks strangely like the Opteka VL-126 Ultra, which is a bit more expensive.

Viewfinder

Here comes the most expensive part of our kit. Yet, at 99$ the LCDVF is an excellent investment and very easy to resell once you get an electronic viewfinder or external monitor. I have been a big fan of the Z-Finder but since I tried my friend LCDVF, I think I prefer the LCDVF. The magnification ratio is better fir the current HDSLR LCD screen pixel density.

Note: BH sells the LCDVF at 169$ while CowboyStudio sells it at 99$ on Amazon. You may want to read this article before placing your order.


Conclusion

There you have it, total price is under 200$, including shipping! And, once you have more money, it is quite easy to upgrade the rig to something more stable while keeping the viewfinder and light.

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: Budget Gear, Video Tagged With: , ,

Review: DSLRBot (camera to iOS trigger interface)

November 9, 2010 By

Disclaimer: Alberto contacted me two weeks ago to place some ads on the site. According to my advertisement policy, before accepting to put the ads on the site, I have to test the product so he sent me the IR cable for free (but I had to buy the app on the iTunes Store).

Anyone who ever tried to do remote recording with a 5DMrkii will tell you: it is complicated. The RC-1 and RC-5 remotes only work if your are in front of the camera (facing the IR sensor)  and since they are using IR, anything standing between you and your camera will block the signal. There are other ways, but nothing simple and cheap.

Say welcome to DSLRBot !

DSLRBot is an iOS application which sends a IR signal via a cable plugged into the headphone jack to the 5DMrkii. The setup time is minimal and only requires you to carry a small cable in your bag. Yes, it is that simple!

Tests

I have played with the application in various conditions (inside, outside, cloudy day & sunny day) and I only had issue once in very sunny situation where the light would hit the camera IR sensor. This is a common issue with IR technology and the solution was to place the IR LED closer to the sensor and voila!

Is it reliable? Except in the situation described above, I never had an issue to start/stop a clip.

Something I have not tested yet: how long can you extend the cable and still get a signal? 6 feet is not enough for some of my special needs.

Other features

While I was mostly interesting in the remote capabilities for video recording, the DSLRBot can do more:

  • HDR bracketing (soon)
  • time lapse (very flexible)
  • very long exposure (as in over 30 seconds)
  • take still images (of course…)

All GUI pages are well done and easy to use. I really like the shot list feature in the movie mode: after you press the stop button, an entry is created in the shot list. You can check/uncheck the shot with a simple tap if you think it is going to be a good take. Once you are done shooting, you can email the list and use it to filter the garbage clips without having to look at them. Just make sure your camera and iPhone are in sync to prevent catastrophic errors.

Another nice feature of the app is how it records GPS location when you take stills. Simple and effective.

Here is a demo of how the HDR menu will work. This is not the kind of shoot I do these days but I may want to revisit my HDR skills to test this once it is released.

Value

This is not the kind of application you use everyday (unless you do specialized shooting), yet if you happen to need one of its features, you will be happy to have this little trick up your sleeve. The investment is minimal in both cost and gear space (who doesnt already have an iPhone?) so you can pack the cable in your bag every time you go out. If you think this is something you could use, get it now so you wont regret it when the need rises.

DeliciousStumbleUponDiggTwitterFacebookEmail
Filed Under: Review, Video Tagged With: , , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »