A couple more notches in the DSLR belt

The list is growing and the growth will continue as more networks are jumping on the DSLR bandwagon. Add shows to the list like

Fox's "House " Season Finale:

or

The intro to Jay Leno on NBC :



and you have the big boys incorporating the latest in technology. George Lucas is also testing the camera for parts of the "Tuskegee Airmen " he is executive producing, schedule for a late 2010 release.

Heres a video shot with DSLR cameras screened at the exclusive theatre with Lucas, Tarantino & some other big shots!


Can't wait to hear the continuing news at the NAB conference regarding DSLR's and the latest and greatest gadgets to support them!

creativeLIVE - A Live Worldwide Creative Classroom

Free Education! It doesn't get much better then that. Watching the classes is free, DL's are where they make their money - sounds fair.

I recognize some of the names, not all of them. I'll be tuning in as our field is rapidly changing, good to know what some of the top minds are thinking and how they use the software.

creativeLIVE - A Live Worldwide Creative Classroom

Blogging my short Film experience

I'm starting production on my next short film project and without knowing where to begin, I'll begin by blogging the complete experience. Names may be changed to protect the innocent but all stories, laughs and tears will be included --- no holds bar!!! (ok, maybe not that extreme).

The link for the blog will be here:

http://www.dvxuser.com/V6/showthread.php?t=206232

but i'll have exclusive photos right here on the blog!

The slow matriculation of older projects

While my short film is uploading on Vimeo, it has got me thinking. One of the catch 22 of my business is that having been doing what i've been doing (T.V., Sports TV., Movies, etc...) for over the past 10 yrs is the fact how much time can pass without having anywork to show. Getting copies is truly hard if copies are even made. Or how do you show your skills if your one camera out of 13 !

Finally i'm starting to get the momentum here and gather older projects and post them on yours truly Vimeo account.

I'm almost dreading the day I find my old work on VHS I did WAY BACK in the day for my college classes. All I remember is one of them I made a Dr. Kevorkian parody commercial.Other then gig badges, a fair amount of gig photos have been saved so here are some of them.

This is half of my collage I made during my Intern year with Giants back in the wind tunnel days of Candlestick park. I do not miss the days of swapping out old panels on Jumbotron. We were convinced it was a known shrine where rats would die in honor. And it wouldn't be a small strech to say thats when the rodent world outnumbered paying fans.


This is me on camera during the 2002 World Series Game. Going from Candlestick to then Pac Bell is like you getting your first car, which you're happy has 4 wheels and runs to a BMW. What it's like to have working power windows, AC., a stereo thats not a boom box in the passenger seat. I think you get the feeling. It was that good.

In the middle of a week

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!

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).

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 :)