Thanks to the Sponsors

February 8, 2011 — 4 Comments

Thank You

It is not always posible to be successful and not have someone to thank. This is especially true in blogging, given that success is derived largely from a community. So a big shout out to the community of readers and participants here at SynapticLight.

I do not have Sponsors, persay, but I have people who have helped me out, these are the people/organizations I want to give props to in this post. These two contributors have influenced SynapticLight in a significant way enabling me to take it to greater height than would have been possible alone. This purpose of this article is to show appreciation to them and, hopefully, to reciprocate the assistance but bringing in some referrals to them.

There is some time yet to transpire before I can secure Advertisers and fully fledged sponsors. If you as an individual or company want to advertise, sponsor or contribute then email me through the contact form and we can trash out the details.

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Canon has released the 600D/T3i. Apart from the addition of the articulating LCD, I do not know what the update is all about. Maybe canon should rather have lowered the price of the 60D and more people would have gone that route. On the other hand Canon could be trying to leverage the growing HDSLR interest and have just offered the most popular HDSLR with a nice little kicker.
Personally, unless the price is not much higher, I would skip to the 60D.
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When it comes to monitoring there are a heck load of options; anything from a 2x magnification eye piece with or without diopter to an electronic view finder to a separate LCD screen with unbelievable options. I went to the lower end of the scale – a view finder without a diopter. Personally I like the stability the direct view finder to camera LCD gives, but in terms of features it does not come close to Zacuto’s Z-Finder EVF or this new Marshall 7″ V-LCD70XP-HDMIPT.
There are of course cheaper options like the Lilliput, but like the old cliche goes; you get what you pay for – not that Lilliput is bad, it just does not have all the stuff you may want.
Here is a Field monitor that has a lot of features.
Something for the wish list.
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The Z-Finder EVF

February 5, 2011 — Leave a comment

The Zacuto Z-Finder EVF, gotta be the rolls royce of View Finders for HDSLRs. I bet that there are not many Filmmakers with HDSLRs that are not wondering if they should get one. There are obvious benefits in using a view finder rather than the built in LCD, however the Z-Finder EVF takes a step further by breaking down the constraint of having the View Finder attached to that LCD.
Recently I got myself a view finder, the LCDVF 3/2 for my Canon 550D; it’s the most basic type you can get and fairly cheap – I am already blown way by it’s benefits, how much more will the Z-Finder EVF blow me away. Wow. I’ll have to plan long term for this, not just for the price but also because of the fact that the biggest benefit is only realized when used in conjunction with a decent rig/support.
z-finder evf
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Here is a great timelapse. It is not the conventional type, it is HDR.
That is High Dynamic Range. Basically HDR is just a higher dynamic range than what we are used to in images or sequences of images. Digital Video is not able to attain as much range as Film and Film does not have the same range as the human eye.
You could say that this range is how much detail can be obtained between the shadows and highlights; the higher the range the less detail you loose in the shadows and highlights. Usually you have to expose in a way that finds a balance; using lights to make it easier.
In my opinion, looking at an HDR image is more 3D than so-called 3D, it just pops in a way that is more realistic.
There are probably many techniques; mostly by means of filming a stop or 2 lower and a stop or 2 higher than you usually expose for, then to apply a technique combine those images.
The technique used in this very awesome video is here. Check the video out …
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Presented in luvly shades of gray and red the information of some of the most successful Horror films are displayed. You can see how well the Blair Witch Project did and how much Dracula grossed.
I did not know that “The Mummy” and “The Mummy Returns” were horror movies.

hmmm.

Click on the picture to see it in all it’s glory.

[Source: submitinfographics]

There is such good work out there, all across the board and all across the world. Personally I find that the VFX work the coolest – the demo reels really make it stand out. Short films and the longer forms are best when you are so caught up in that story and great VFX that you forget about the VFX – which is awesome, but then the filmmaker gets all the credit (assuming that the director,editor and vfx artist/compositer are different people).

I’ve added a few VFX reel shout outs here before, but I think that I should make it a regular feature and give props to the artists involved.
Let me know if you want me to share a demo reel.

Here is a one from Guadalupe Ruiz Sanabria, just a 45 second clip showing a few scenes and their breakdowns.
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DIY HDSLR Shoulder Rig

February 2, 2011 — 2 Comments

If you own an HDSLR camera chances are that you have considered the purchase of some sort of stabilizer system. Even thought you may save a lot of money going the HDSLR route, it does not mean that you can afford a good rig – I know, most of those rigs are more than the cost of the camera.
Here is a solution that seems to be way more cheaper than the typical setup – given that it is made of wood. And very well made – great workmanship.
I have to say that I really cannot afford these rig and I have entertained the idea of making my own. Actually more than entertained – a proposal has been made and drawings are in progress. Who knows maybe I can help out the local DSLR filmmakers.
These kinds of devices are not easily obtainable in my country and when they are that are quite expensive because of exchange rates, shipping, Customs and mark up.
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Computing in the cloud opens tremendous potential for collaboration and project sharing. Imagine that potential and power applied to Video Editing – across borders and across the planet. It is an amazing prospect.
To be honest, I have my doubts about to practicality of collaborating on a project that has a few hours of HD footage – purely based on the limits I experience with internet connectivity in my country. Open up the pipes and the cloud will steam on though :)
PixelFlow is providing a solution that makes use of cloud computing, their solution comes with a 30 day free trial

What I really like abut PixelFlow is that it is aimed at Video Editing and at reasonable affordable rates.
I must say that my first thought was; is there a Cloud based collaborative service for Final Cut Server.
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If you have an HDSLR, chances are that you know about PluralEyes and either have it or have to deal with syncing sound files manually. Or maybe you are happy with the audio from the cameras – probably not.
I, myself have a Canon 550D and a Zoom H4n. The other day I was trying to match peaks manually and was fairly successful – PluralEyes is just so much better – it more effective and it speeds up the workflow.
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