Filmmaking | SynapticLight

Archive - Filmmaking RSS Feed

HDR with HDSLR

September 11, 2010 in Filmmaking with 0 Comments

Here is a video that just blows you away. It has certainly done the rounds – pretty my gone viral in the HDSLR filmmakers community.
Leveraging the awesome image quality from the Canon 5D MarkII and of course the glass used.
These guys from sovietmontage.com used a Beam Splitter to prevent any need to translate and scale the footage from the one camera, I still wonder if there was a bit of contrast sacrificed – but it did not look like it. With one camera camera slightly overexposed and the other slightly underexposed, the dynamic range was increased by 4 stops.
The resulting imagery pops fantastically – also my 3D like, although I have to say that the shots with a person looked a bit “Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow”.
One of my thoughts: can you use this when shooting 3D? Use 4 cameras? or just 2 with this process? hmmm
Continue Reading…

5 Weekly Filmmaking Links

September 10, 2010 in Filmmaking with 0 Comments

Sprockets
This week is doing to be completely HDSLR. With so many discussions going on about this and my plans to move into it, I think that it is something worthwhile devoting a lot of attention to. There is, of course, other news, what with IBC and panasonic’s XF105 (nicccc) etc, but HDLSR is the word of the week:

Pixels vs. Pixels : There is definitely a misconception between pixels on an image sensor and the digital pixels we attribute to resolution. This article explains the difference and the links to some great videos really flesh out all the intricacies.
A simple but very direct way of showing the difference between full frame and crop sensor : An interesting test between the 5D MarkII and 7D. Certainly a factor when considering a DSLR purchase.
Canon EOS 5D Mark IIs used to produce the first HDR video : A viral video of an HDR shot created by using two Canon 5D MarkIIs.
HDSLR Guide : A very cool guide from B&H Photo and Video for both the Newbie and the Consummate Professional.
HDSLR Filmmaking on Vimeo: A group dedicated to producing and showcasing films shot on HDSLR Cameras.

Short Film: Lunch Time

September 9, 2010 in Filmmaking with 0 Comments

A short film of the Waterford house canal walk in Cape Town – Century City. It is a walk I either talk a walk along during lunch on warm days, or where I find a spot to read my book. It is amazing that there is so much beauty around us – even on a mundane work day, I thought I might just capture some of it and put it to some nice music.

Scenes Around Work from Phillip Gibb on Vimeo.

HDSLR + Twixtor = Awesome

September 8, 2010 in Filmmaking with 2 Comments

If you have not heard of Twixtor, check them out – they look very cool.
We all would like to have the ability to shoot 120 frames per second, 600 or even 1000 that is available on a Phontom. However Budgets restrict our dreams and aspirations. Don’t they?
Maybe not.
Continue Reading…

HDSLR Guide

September 7, 2010 in Filmmaking with 0 Comments

B&H have a well put together and informative guide on pretty much everything you need to know when considering HDSLRs.
It may seem simple enough – buy a body and a good enough lens and you are set. Maybe this could work but it will not be very easy – however there are many more considerations. For example; the camera may be great for stills when it comes to handling but, ergonomically, it is a bit cumbersome to video a moving subject. Or what about Audio – the current crop of cameras are not great audio acquirers. B&H going into detail on many of the considerations, information and accessories relevant to HDSLRs.

They cover things like:

Depth of Field
The moire Effect
Rolling Shutter
Lenses
Rigs
Matte boxes
Follow focus units
Monitors
HDSLR audio equipment

Music Videos shot with the Canon 550D/T2i

September 6, 2010 in Filmmaking with 0 Comments

With my very serious intentions to sell my video camera and switch to HDSLR, I have been investigating a number of options. On top of that a few of us are planning a music video. Well planning is already done – more like deep in pre-production. As much as I would love a Canon 5D MarkII, I can only afford a Canon 550D – besides the investment will be in the Lenses and the body can always be replaced.
So here are some Music Videos that I found on Vimeo where a Canon 550D was used. What I was looking for was what lenses were used, what overall look was obtained and what editing and effects were executed. Later I’ll post some more videos found on YouTube. Then, of course, I’ll share our experiences in creating the music video.
Continue Reading…

Production and Workflow : Standing Firm

September 3, 2010 in Filmmaking with 2 Comments

Standing Firm is a Christian Film produced by Praise Pictures and Directed by Kyle Prohaska.

What I like about this Film is that it is a high quality product made independently on a low budget. Of course there were many willing volunteers. Also the film was captured with a single sub $4000 camera. I am looking forward to a Christian Film put together with a Canon 5D MarkII. Here is some more trivia.

After the Story/Plot there is a brief outline of the Production and Post Production equipment and Software used. The actual Trailer is available at the end of the post. Please feel free to add your thoughts.

Continue Reading…

Canon 4K

September 2, 2010 in Filmmaking with 2 Comments

Just days ago Canon displayed a Concept 4K camera. There will be many changes when it is released – I wonder when but it is very interesting that Canon is entering this High Definition Market. Canon is probably leveraging the increased interest in HD-SLR Cameras (Video capable DSLRs). Currently their is nothing between the current crop of HD-SLRs and a fully fledged 4K camera – well, not until RED Scarlet comes to market.
However, there are questions:

What price will this come in at? $5000? or more?
What codec will be used?
What bit rate?
What sacrifices are being made to get a 4K sequence of images from a 2/3″ sensor.

Regardless of that, it is exciting. RED Scarlet will probably come out before the Canon 4K, but that may be doubtful because RED’s focus is on the EPIC first.
All I can say is: Bring it on.

More information (and photos of the camera): Canon 4k concept camera and first images from Canon Expo in NY

[Photo(modified) of a Canon Camera by jessi.bryan]

Final Cut Pro and HDSLR Canon EOS Plugin Workflow

August 30, 2010 in Filmmaking with 0 Comments

A two part tutorial detailing how you can use the Canon plug together with Final Cut Pro’s log and transfer to inject the content off the SD card in a similar way to a tape based work flow. The two videos are related to the Canon 7D, but it is applicable to any of Canon HDSLRs.
This is quite important to me because I currently make use of a tape based workflow with Final Cut Pro and want to make the shift to DSLRs – in particular: either the Canon 550D or the 60D.
Continue Reading…

New Mexico International Film Festival

August 28, 2010 in Filmmaking with 4 Comments

Here is an interesting Film Festival. Instead of just offering a once off prize, the New Mexico International Film Festival will be giving Filmmakers who have been officially selected some awesome prizes. Well, more like Compensation, Opportunity and Rights. Once selected, filmmakers will be compensated:

FILMMAKER COMPENSATION, RULES & REGULATIONS
COMPENSATION PACKAGES:
Official Selections of the New Mexico International Film Festival are compensated for exhibition.
Short Films (Documentary & Narrative) shall receive:
1.) $200.00 towards travel expenses.
2.) (1) hotel room for the length of the festival.
3.) (9) pre-paid meals at a participating restaurant.
4.) 10% of box office gross if paired with a feature film.
5.) 50% (divided by the number of accepted films & attending filmmakers) if programmed in a shorts block.
6.) 100% of all direct merchandise sales.
7.) Reimbursement of submission fees.
8.) Review of film from either festival director or associate director to be used for future publicity.

Page 9 of 42« First...«7 8910 11 »20 30 40...Last »

They cover things like:

Amazon