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LockCircle Making of video

August 3, 2011 By

Do you know what the LockCircle is? It is a metal body cap for your camera EF mount which replaces the cheap plastic one provided by Canon. Useless accessory? Maybe, maybe not but one thing for sure: it is expensive at about 100$.

As some of you know, I have trie in the past to have some specific HDSLR parts manufactured so I was very curious when I received an email from LockCircle about their machining process. Take a look, it is pretty cool and it gives a good idea why these cant be sold for 10$ as some people requested. Are they a bit over engineered? Probably. But I am pretty sure there wont be any knock off of these made in China!

 

LockCircle – The Making of – Canon 5d – Canon 7d from LockCircle on Vimeo.

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Filed Under: On the web Tagged With: , ,

First wedding of the season

June 17, 2011 By

Last weekend, I shot my first wedding of the season with my friend Robert Cato (see below). This gig had me play with a few new pieces of gear, like using a monopod instead of a shoulder rig (more on this in the next post) but what I wanted to talk about is the newest genius idea Robert had: hiring an assistant for the day!

Yes, adding a +1 to the crew cost some money but I think it pays for itself pretty quickly.

How? Time saved: having someone else worrying about moving the gear around and keeping it safe while shooting outside is a great time saver. The guy is the last to leave the set so he is in charge of managing all the gear and making sure you are not leaving something behind which is one of my constant worries. He manages batteries, CF cards and lens changes. Forgot a lens in the hotel room? No problem, send the assistant! Want a drink during the cocktail? Send the assistant! (this last part was my idea)

Of course these are all things you could do by yourself but having an extra pair of hands and eyes to take care of everything that is not directly related to shooting makes the whole experience even better.

I am now wondering how I will ever be able to shoot without an assistant!

Here is the clip, edited the next day by Robert, the guy is a real trooper. What I was doing while he was editing? Sleeping!

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Filed Under: 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.

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

Jag35 EFF vs Okii USB Follow Focus controller

January 31, 2011 By

Since the announcement/release of the USB Follow Focus, a few people asked me my opinion on how it would compare to the Jag35 Electronic Follow Focus.

Unfortunately, I have not played with the USD FF yet so all my comments are based on what I saw in the published material and their website.

The Okii USB controller

Usability

Easy to use and setup (once you learn how to use it). No need to setup the camera on rails and put gears on the lenses. This is a big plus!

Flexibility

The controller does not just control the focus, it can be used to control many other camera settings without having to touch the camera which is a must when doing remote shooting. This is so useful!

Range

Since this is an USB product, range is limited to a few feet. It is unclear if it would work with USB extenders/chained hubs.

Focus control

While marks on a focus disk are good, having the controller store the exact position of the various focus point is even better.

What about the Jag35 EFF then?

Range

It can send its signal over a much longer range than what is possible with an USB cable.

Flexibility

The Jag35 EFF can change the zoom range of the lens, not only the focus. This is not something I see myself doing often, unless the camera is set in a remote location and I have two motors: one of the zoom wheel and another for the focus. Still, it is possible.

Rack Focus speed control

The Jag35 EFF gives you total control over the speed at which the focus should change. This is a blessing and a curse since it means someone has to be in charge for rotating the focus wheel at a constant speed.

Conclusion

To me, it is clear the USB FF Controller has the upper hand. The only people who should go with the Jag35 EFF are those who need range, zoom control or don’t like having a controller telling them at which speed the focus should move.

If anyone is interested, I would gladly trade my Jag35 EFF for one of these!

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Gorgeous Iceland movie: Winter in Hell

January 30, 2011 By

I went to Iceland last year (you can read about it here) and while I was there during the eruption of Eyjafjallajokull, my view was far from interesting.

Fortunately for us, some others were luckier and captured some amazing footage. Here is Enrique story.

Winter 2010, the stunning landscape of Iceland succumb to the arctic cold. Beaches and lakes get frozen, but something unexpected is going to happen. The earth shakes, warms up, and suddenly a big crack open up at the top of the glacier Eyjafjallajokull. Lava, smoke, ash and fire comes up from the depth of the earth, melting everything in its way.

And the movie. It is long (8 mins) but worth it (1/8 of the viewers liked it!):

This is an awesome movie to showcase a grand event. It shows both the wow factor of the volcano and the beauty of Iceland.

Every time I feel like going back to my Iceland clips to complete the edit, there is always someone coming up with something so much better that I feel ashamed to post mine…

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Very cool stop motion of a 5DMrkII Rig

January 29, 2011 By

Lance just sent me this video.

That is one nice rig and the video clearly shows all of its components. Lance managed to do something I have not done yet: have a rig made out of parts from various manufacturer that does not look like a Christmas tree! Good job.

The only thing missing would be a cool soundtrack.

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Book review: DSLR Cinema

December 13, 2010 By

I have been reading the DSLR Cinema book for about a week now and I think it is now time to write something about it.

The short version

For those who do not want to read the whole review: this is the best book/training material about HDSLR video I have seen so far. Get it!

The long version

What I like

The first part of the book is all about how to set the camera/lights to ‘get good clips’. It is quite technical and built on the knowledge published over the years on various HDSLR popular sites/forums/shooters. To my knowledge, it is the only book to cover the, so important, how to expose your image so thoughtfully. Actually, I have been in the process of writing a small eBook on the subject for quite a while now and looking at the book content, there is not much else to say!

While the first part dealt with camera setup, the second part shows how various elements can be used to create the film look and uses case studies to illustrate them. This was my favorite part of the book because it is not too often that get have access to this kind of information from other shooters.

The third part is about gear. Good for people who are green to the field but near useless to everyone else who knows about the various parts/rigs available.

Dont dont skip over the numerous appendix, lots of technicalities about HDSLR there. Actually, I think it would have been better to skip over the gear listing of part three and replace it with an expanded version of the appendix.

What I did not like

First of, the biggest flaw of this book, as it was with the book From Still to Motion, is the lack of reference to this site! How could they?

Also, the title should have been HDSLR Cinema and not DSLR Cinema… You can’t shoot a movie with a DSLR!

Seriously, this book has very few flaws. The one thing I did not like was the tutorials on some applications like the H.264 import plugins, how to use PluralEye, Magic Bullet Looks, etc… To me, this type of content should be either be left in the hands of the software developer or distributed electronically. Reading software how-to does not work for me.

Of course, as mentioned before, the whole part 3 of the book could have been removed.

Who is this book for

This book if for people who want to shoot movies with their HDSLR. As the title implies: DSLR Cinema: crafting the film look with video, all the book content is around cinema/film look. People thinking about getting the book to improve their wedding video skill are only going to enjoy part of the book content.

Conclusion

As I said at the beginning, this is a great book. It summarize of all the information available on the net about HDSLR on top of which Kurt has added interesting case studies and behind the scene tips from other shooters.  Buy it on Amazon!

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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.

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

New category: Budget gear

November 23, 2010 By

Let’s admit it, gearing up for video work cost a lot. Most rigs are overpriced and built quality is not always linked to the price tag. While pro shooters can justify at 1500$+ investment in a shoulder rig and fancy lenses, for most HDSLR shooters, resources are limited.

This is why I am starting a new post category: Budget Gear. The goal is simple: get the best bang for your buck! The gear we are going to review isn’t production grade but should be good enough to get you going. After all, if we keep waiting for better gear to shoot something, nothing would ever be done.

Stay tuned, the first article goes out tomorrow.

OOT note: the blog is currently being hit pretty badly with comment SPAM. I try to review the quarantined comments everyday but it is possible that I discard genuine ones by accident. Sorry for the inconvenient. Blame it on all the people who want to sell online diplomas!

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Killing your baby

September 26, 2010 By

No, I am not planning to kill my cute baby girl Victoria, I am quoting Stu in his book “The DV Rebel Guide” (if I remember correctly, lost the bock when I moved). What he means is that once you give away your footage for someone else to edit, they are going to do everything but what you originally had in mind with it.

A few months ago, I shot a video clip for one of my friend, which I talked about here. Due to some divergence of art vision,  my friend and I decided it would be better if he found someone else to finish the edit so I gave the guy all  my clips. No hard feelings, I was stuck in a dead end and the wife delivered the baby girl the same week so there was no way I would find enough time to fix the clip.

When I gave the original files to my friend, I knew I was killing my baby: that the end result would not look and feel like what I had in mind. It was a strange feeling.

Fast forward a few weeks and now my friend released the official version of the clip on YouTube. Wish I was at the party but then again, baby girl screwed up my schedule. Here is an advice: dont commit to anything once you have a baby, you are not the master of your schedule anymore.

I find it interesting to see how the clips differ. While the official version is cut in a much better way, mine follows a logical process and put more emphasis on the look and feel.

It is to be expected, I have a photography background while the other guy is an editor. By the way, which one do you  prefer?

It was the first time I edited something then had someone else use the same clips to do another version and I find it very interesting because:

  • you see what you could have done
  • it is a great way to assess yourself
  • you can compare vision

I highly suggest to everyone to try it sometime. Be warned, it is very humbling!

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Filed Under: Video Tagged With: , ,
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