Haven't had much of a chance this week to work on my own projects as i'm working a crazy long week for a TV show. Working with some of the top camera guys in the industry ( like trying to learn all the tips and tricks from the Steadicam OP who works on American Idol!).
Will be fun and i'll be posting some new updates shortly!
Friday, February 12, 2010
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
2 legged Tripod
Answering how I did the movement in my video "Water" (below this entry)
Whoever said that 3 legs are better then 2 clearly didn't realize the epic cinematic style and movement created by merely amputating and removing one of the legs. Using tripods regularly over the past 10yrs, not once did I realize that this type of movement is possible on a tripod, it can look really good too. I recently saw a guy doing this move and it blew me away; got me thinking of a new possibilities and moves. By dumb luck I found this cool place to practice it on.
Heres the BTS video:
http://www.vimeo.com/9152533
starting inside the statue. This move was also utilized with the sky tree branch to benches shot (legs at max height), shallow DoF tree shot, and a couple more.
I first tried this with my el cheapo tripod and the results were absolutely crap. Nothing was usable. Even with a good tripod this move is hard (especially in the rain with dirt that wants nothing more then to consume your tripod!). I probably tried about 10-15x til I got finally to the apex of the move (or my limit for patience); even then it gitters at the end because i'm moving a good couple feet with it!
But the results can be impressive; Hollywood style movement and quality with gear you already own, it's like finding a 20 bucks in your jeans! Why didn't someone share this with me 10yrs ago?!?
Also, did you catch it in the video? Inside the statue? The first part of the statue movement is a still. I felt the longer I could stay in there the greater the change would be. So I froze the image and did a zoom out in post, timed it with the live movement and it should feel like one consecutive shot (but you can tell when it shift from a still to live movement by the gain fluctuating).
Friday, January 22, 2010
New short film, "WATER" is online :)
Heres the link
http://www.vimeo.com/8916528
After a week of wind and rain, my next short film is online. Shot almost all in Golden Gate Park this one introduces the wide-angle lens to my camera.
Birds eating are all shot at 60 f/s and slowed down to 24 in Cinema tools. The first couple shots with the birds I just wasn't getting close enough and the payoff wasn't that good (example is near the end the four shot of the black birds on the wide). A great look for landscapes, but not for detail. I was going to switch back to my long lens then I thought what would happen if I took my camera off the tripod and put it on the ground (left the plate on) and brought the birds to me; pleasantly surprised with the results. With some bribes to entice the birds to eat in front of the lens the only problem was I didn't bring enough bread!
All movement is actually done on the tripod. It's this new trick I learned using two legs. I took a behind the scene video and I'll show you guys later how I did it. All with two lenses. At this stage I wouldn't want to bring out more because it would take me away from focusing on what is truly important, a good shot!
My next one will be back with people but lets not rush ourselves, enjoy this piece and hopefully I'll inspire you to take out your camera this weekend :)
http://www.vimeo.com/8916528
After a week of wind and rain, my next short film is online. Shot almost all in Golden Gate Park this one introduces the wide-angle lens to my camera.
Birds eating are all shot at 60 f/s and slowed down to 24 in Cinema tools. The first couple shots with the birds I just wasn't getting close enough and the payoff wasn't that good (example is near the end the four shot of the black birds on the wide). A great look for landscapes, but not for detail. I was going to switch back to my long lens then I thought what would happen if I took my camera off the tripod and put it on the ground (left the plate on) and brought the birds to me; pleasantly surprised with the results. With some bribes to entice the birds to eat in front of the lens the only problem was I didn't bring enough bread!
All movement is actually done on the tripod. It's this new trick I learned using two legs. I took a behind the scene video and I'll show you guys later how I did it. All with two lenses. At this stage I wouldn't want to bring out more because it would take me away from focusing on what is truly important, a good shot!
My next one will be back with people but lets not rush ourselves, enjoy this piece and hopefully I'll inspire you to take out your camera this weekend :)
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Three new steps before transfer
As much as I dislike pigeons and do believe they're rats with wings, I'm grateful for how camera friendly they are (IE - The Godfather Pigeons in my film "City Life"). They were great practice today with the Tokina 11mm and excited about the footage I got for my new short. On top of that I put that sucker really low and shot most of it in 60p. Below is a screen grab from FCP (no altering)
Problem is that I also shot a bunch of 24p. So when I batch render to 422 via MPEG STREAM, I'll mess up the transfers on half them. Today I'm starting to go through every clip on my CF card and do three things BEFORE transferring to my computer: Label, ID & Delete
The latter will save me HD space with junk thats out of foucs (yes, it happens to me too). Figured I deleted about 20% on this card. While watching and labeling I'll note if it's 60p & tag that on the end, if not just a clip description. Run MPEG with the right settings for each group and you're in business!
Not only that but once you get the files into FCP ( or any other NLE ) they're nicely organized and logged.
Problem is that I also shot a bunch of 24p. So when I batch render to 422 via MPEG STREAM, I'll mess up the transfers on half them. Today I'm starting to go through every clip on my CF card and do three things BEFORE transferring to my computer: Label, ID & Delete
The latter will save me HD space with junk thats out of foucs (yes, it happens to me too). Figured I deleted about 20% on this card. While watching and labeling I'll note if it's 60p & tag that on the end, if not just a clip description. Run MPEG with the right settings for each group and you're in business!
Not only that but once you get the files into FCP ( or any other NLE ) they're nicely organized and logged.
Exclusive trailer - "Voro"
If you gave this man a camera and told him to film a pile of dirt & throw a soundtrack behind it, academy & other award conciderations wouldn't be far behind! Illustrating my point is his new trailer he just release, shot the RED camera.
http://www.infinitemirror.com/trailer.html
Keep an eye on him as he's a rising star in Hollywood. I'll keep you guys posted when the film is released.
http://www.infinitemirror.com/trailer.html
Keep an eye on him as he's a rising star in Hollywood. I'll keep you guys posted when the film is released.
Monday, January 18, 2010
How to stop the Rain:
Be prepared! This week, weather forecasters have called for some of the biggest storms of the season. Some descriptions will have you believe the Almighty himself is poised above us with a giant bucket of water, ready at any moment let it out! Awesome, rain is fun. Rains cool. And makes great video.
If this camera can survive Antarctica,
http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/12/7d-antarctica/
it can survive some measly Bay Area rain. But I've discovered how to make it stop, prepare for it! Out of the two storms i've managed to bring out only the sunshine! Theres two more this week and i'm begging you person/enity in charge, make it rain as hard as you can. This camera can capture cool rain shots. So how well prepared am I? Like a true D.I.Y'er. What little drops it did do today my shower cap + rubberband DIY set up worked. Got beat up in the wind but no biggie. It will only last a day before being tossed. I did discover that for tomorrow I'll need to make one for each lens - on location changing the bags becomes a pain . But I find that this set-up works well for a quick solution to the elements. It also allows variable lens (like the kit one) to expand/retract freely.
If this camera can survive Antarctica,
http://www.canonrumors.com/2009/12/7d-antarctica/
it can survive some measly Bay Area rain. But I've discovered how to make it stop, prepare for it! Out of the two storms i've managed to bring out only the sunshine! Theres two more this week and i'm begging you person/enity in charge, make it rain as hard as you can. This camera can capture cool rain shots. So how well prepared am I? Like a true D.I.Y'er. What little drops it did do today my shower cap + rubberband DIY set up worked. Got beat up in the wind but no biggie. It will only last a day before being tossed. I did discover that for tomorrow I'll need to make one for each lens - on location changing the bags becomes a pain . But I find that this set-up works well for a quick solution to the elements. It also allows variable lens (like the kit one) to expand/retract freely.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
First film with Canon 7D !
All the research and near purchase of the Sony Ex1 and it has come to this. A camera which has reinvigorated my love of film making and photography (where it all started at Academy of the Arts way back in the last century!).
While this work doesn't represent the best, it does show my first swings at a finished project from A - Z and can't wait to see the progress through trial and error.
Enjoy :D
http://www.vimeo.com/8698346
While this work doesn't represent the best, it does show my first swings at a finished project from A - Z and can't wait to see the progress through trial and error.
Enjoy :D
http://www.vimeo.com/8698346
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