I just returned from a wonderful 2 week production in Italy. The trip confirmed that I still want to retire in Tuscany and that I am still madly in love with the Mediterranean. Seriously - this is the place for me.
We shared some unbelievable food, wine, and sites in the Chianti region of Tuscany. The second half of our trip was spent in Naples. Napoli is an amazing city on so many levels and a place that I will definitely return to - I can’t wait to go diving along the Amalfi Coast as well.
We took a boat ride along the coast and it brought back so many wonderful childhood memories of mine. I spent many summers along the mediterranean with my father, ranging from Perpignan in the south of France all the way down to Corsica.
I have a LOT to share with you on this blog regarding the gear we used on this 2 week production (for a TV pilot.) That will keep me busy for sure in the upcoming weeks on this blog as we brought quite a few prototype pieces with us - definitely stay tuned.
For now, here is a quick time lapse video of a beautiful scene from Napoli. I love time lapses as much as anyone out there - but I think that they take on an entirely new dimension once you are able to actually move the camera itself.
One of the biggest challenges for on set production with HDDSLR’s (or really any camera for that matter) is recording sound. Unfortunately, no camera has an onboard microphone capable of recording sound that’s up to professional standards - to achieve such results you have to use an external audio device (I use a Sound Devices 744t) with a boom mic, lavalier mic, or both.
This of course means that once you get into the editing bay you have to sync all of your dailies to your recorded audio. Because HDDSLR’s do not record time code this can be tricky. I usually use my digital slate (by DENECKE) to apply a synced time code to the audio recorder. The digital slate displays a running time code that the camera can see. When I get to the editing bay, I pick a frame from the beginning of a clip where the slate is showing. Using the time code that is displayed on the slate, I assign the clip a matching time code at that frame. I can then merge this clip to the corresponding audio clip based on the time code and theoretically my audio will be synced. Sound tedious?IT IS.
However there is an elegant solution for this by Singular Software called PluralEyes. The program allows you to drop everything (video and audio) into one timeline and then simply command PluralEyes to sync everything in that timeline. The program analyzes the waveform of the audio attached to your video, as well as that of the audio you recorded separately, and syncs them together on your timeline. This is incredibly convenient, a huge time saver, and very cool.
PluralEyes is especially helpful when shooting multi-camera events (such as a concert or interview) because it lines everything up so that all you have to do in the edit is cut between your different camera setups. No more syncing your video files, or even having to set up a multi track video project, because PluralEyes does it all for you - just by pressing a button. It’s also helpful when you’re shooting in a guerilla or documentary style and there’s no time to jam time code - much less slate a shot. And of course its useful to anyone shooting on an HDDSLR given the absence of timecode…
I know that many of you who read this blog regularly are interested in learning opportunities and workshops, so I thought I would pass this along…
My friend and fellow Explorer of Light, Shane Hurlbut, ASC, is putting on an HDDSLR Bootcamp on August 28th and 29th in Los Angeles. The two day course is pricey at $3250.00 - but you’ll get what you pay for.Shane has spent the last year and a half running around with these cameras and perfecting his technique and workflow. During that time he even shot a feature film - “Act of Valor” - entirely on HDDSLRs.
The bootcamp is designed as a crash course in all things that Shane and his team have learned over the past year and a half of HDDSLR production. It aims to educate others how to turn these prosumer cameras into something capable of shooting motion pictures. Shane is a true believer in this technology (what he has coined as “digital film”), and its a rare opportunity to be able to learn from someone of his experience.
**UPDATE - Shane is graciously offering a discount of 40% on the bootcamp to all of my readers - bringing the price down to $1950.00! If you are interested - email Lydia@hurlbutvisuals.com with the subject: BOOTCAMP - LAFORET DISCOUNT**
Check out more details on the bootcamp by CLICKING HERE.
Jared Abrams from Cinema5D stopped by the studio on Tuesday to sit down and chat. He caught me at an interesting time, as my crew and I were in the midst of packing for our trip to Italy (leaving today!). We still had time for a good talk though, and he even got me to expound on my love/hate relationship with gear - notice all the gear strewn about in the video - we packed 22 bags for the trip! The interview is embedded above, and you can read more at Cinema5D.com. (Sorry for the poor audio quality - apparently they had an issue w/ audio on their end.)
Well… the only thing better than posting this promo would be for me to actually have it in my hands for the job I’m currently prepping for… I’m leaving for a 2-week job in Italy on Thursday!
If you think no one else out there is more excited about this than you are - you’re wrong… I am!
Details on availability: still slated for summer of 2010 - basic wireless remote for iPhone in the $1,500 range and it goes up or down (wired is cheaper) from there, depending on the configuration.
The winning image was a clear favorite - and one of mine as well. The second place image was definitely in my top 5 as well as the image of Times Square - and many picked that one as their first choice.
I personally found this to be a very interesting experiment - it’s not something I’ve ever done before - other than with other editors - usually 1-2 photo editors at most. The largest group of people I’ve ever had to do an edit with me was at National Geographic. There were a little over a dozen editors in the projection room - all weighing in on what would make it into the magazine… Presenting one’s photographs to a room of such heavyweights is an experience I won’t soon forget…
Although I haven’t had that much time to truly analyze the results - it did re-affirm a few things for me that I’ll expound on after the slideshow below…
The beauty of photography and with art in general - is that everyone experiences it in their own unique way.
When I was in my teens - I never used to understand big-name artists who refused to define their art work - or refused to have others do so for them. They liked to have other people interpret their work individually. Over the years my opinion has evolved. As I got the chance to work for large papers and magazines - I got the chance to have my images be seen by a wide variety of people, and I learned that people found beauty or interest in images for so many different reasons (beyond what the photographer originally intended.) (more…)
ALRIGHT FOLKS, THE TALLIES ARE IN. PLEASE FEEL FREE TO KEEP LEAVING COMMENTS, BUT I’VE STARTED COUNTING THE VOTES AS OF 5PM PST.
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Last week I flew for an entire day over my favorite skyline in the world: New York City. I shot 5,952 frames from sunrise to sunset on assignment for a client. You can read a very nice piece about it written by Matt Buchanan on Gizmodo.
BUT - here’s where this gets a little different - I’d like to give you a chance to help me edit the best images down from my top 55 - down to the top 3…
I’ve been editing images (and working with editors) for more than 20 years.
What always amazes me is how my preference for images changes with time - and that an edit that I do a few years from now will very likely be completely different than the one I do today. That’s why I never delete a SINGLE image that I shoot.
Therefore, I’m curious to see what other people think - in this case what YOU THINK (and see.)
Editing 5,900+ images down to the top 1% is relatively easy - editing the top 55 down to the top 3 is extremely difficult.
I find is that the final editing process can be EXTREMELY subjective. One’s top 3 will change from hour to hour - one day to the next - all depending on your mood.
So here’s where you come in… go to thru the gallery below and leave comments on your favorite three images in the comments section of this blog (use the filename as reference.)
Monday July 05th 2010, 3:18 pm
Filed under: Articles
I went back to New York City last week to do an aerial photo shoot for a private client. Here’s a little clip from that flight of us flying over the city.
On a related note, I had a great lunch with my friend Scott Bourne a few weeks ago - and he mentioned something to me that at the time surprised me quite a bit. He told me that most of the people out there didn’t know that my background was in photography - according to him, most know me for my film/video work with HDDSLRS - Reverie, Nocturne, First Look and others …
I found that quite interesting given that I have 20 years of experience in the world of photography. To be honest, when he mentioned this to me it totally threw me for a loop - but it also made a bit of sense given what’s happened in the past two years with this blog and the photo/video world in general. It led to a very interesting conversation on how one’s perceptions of who one is - can sometimes be quite different than how people perceive you from the outside world…
I’ve caught people saying that I’m no longer a still photographer now - and that I have “moved on” into the world of filmmaking. While I have definitely spent a greater percentage of my time in the motion world over the past 2 years - I definitely haven’t “left” photography. In fact these past two years have made me miss shooting stills in a way that I haven’t felt in a long time - and I have some big still projects coming up that I’m extremely excited about. If I had to break it down - I’d simply say that the world of print is going through a very tough time right now - and the editorial (magazine/newspaper) budgets through an even tougher time… as they improve and hopefully come back to being close to what they once were - I can see myself doing a LOT more still photography. In fact I’m not waiting! I’m already in the process of working on 3 different short and long-term still projects.
Last week, Illya Friedman, President of Hot Rod Cameras stopped by the studio to chat about the Canon HDDSLR’s that his company is modifying to fit PL mount lenses. We discussed about the HDDSLR movement, the benefits of standard cinema lenses, and how modifying these cameras to fit those lenses creates more of an industry standard workflow.
As a still photographer who has made the transition into the world of motion, it was interesting to talk with Illya - as he pinpointed so many of the small differences between still photography and cinematography that account for large issues on set - many of which I have discovered myself over the past two years. Luckily for the end user, Illya and others have recognized these discrepancies and are providing a solution. Check out the video above to learn more about how Illya is engineering these cameras to work with professional cinema lenses.
And of course you can always check out Illya’s site directly by visiting www.HOTRODCAMERAS.com.
PS- The lens featured at the end of the interview is the new 14-24mm T2.8 Ruby Zoom by FOCUS OPTICS. Check it out by CLICKING HERE.
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