As many of you may know,  NAB starts next Monday in Las Vegas. I will be attending the tradeshow to check out all of the latest and greatest in Digital Cinema technology, as well as giving some talks and lectures for Canon and the Vitec Group (a group that includes Anton Bauer, Schneider Optics, LitePanels, Manfrotto, and OConnor).  If you are going to be in Vegas for the show and want to come by one of the talks or booths – check out the schedule below:

Monday, April 11th — Canon Stage, 9:15am – 10:00am;   Vitec Stage, 12:00pm – 1:00pm & 3:30-4 p.m.

Tuesday, April 12th — Canon Stage, 11:15am – 12:00pm; Vitec Stage, 3:00pm – 3:30pm

Wednesday, April 13th — Canon Stage, 11:15am – 12:00pm

Those should be a lot of fun, and I hope to meet a few of you out there!

That being said, if you aren’t able to make it to NAB this year, I am doing something really exciting with Teradek (you may be familiar with their Cube wireless transmitter).  They will be broadcasting LIVE from the NAB showroom floor all day .  I will be joining them at from 5 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. PST  Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday  to field questions from the LIVE audience online – and I am also trying to get some special guests to join me – so tune in to check it out.  You can see Teradek’s full schedule of guests for their streaming broadcast HERE, and you can watch the live feed HERE.   To ask questions simply tweet them to @vincentlaforet

Lastly I wanted to make a quick announcement about a new LitePanels LED light that can project daylight balanced (5600K) light on to a subject from up to 20 or 25 feet.  That is some pretty powerful LED lighting with some serious range.  I love my LitePanels, but I’ve been limited to using them mostly indoors and at night – the models until now simply didn’t have the range that a PAR or 1K fresnel might have (though LitePanels has their own version of this in the works as well) – so this was an important product announcement and I wanted to share.

Last but definitely not least – some very interesting announcements from Canon today… They’re releasing two PL zoom lenses – and I’m told these are incredibly sharp and definitely 4K worthy… haven’t played with them yet – but Canon will be showing some examples of what was shot with these lenses at NAB.  This is incredibly exciting!    The fact that Canon is making high end PL Zoom lenses – this is the first bona fide sign that Canon is taking filmmaking very seriously…

On that note – I am really looking forward to NAB and seeing first hand what other new tools and products that will be revealed there.  See you in Vegas!

Last week, I was fortunate enough to receive a visit from my good friends over at Marshall Electronics.  They stopped by the studio to let me try out the brand new monitors they have been developing for greater ease of use with HDDSRL camera systems – The V-LCD56MD 5.6", V-LCD70MD 7", and V-LCD90MD 9" (pictured above). These monitors are going to be of great interest to HDDSLR users because of the combination of features they offer – some new and some we have seen on other Marshall products – but never before in one package.  Not to mention these are the world’s first camera-top monitors with modular inputs and outputs.

On the surface, I like the new rounded design – they feel solid in the hand and that should translate well to their reliability on set.  A variety of inputs and outputs that have been incorporated into the back of the monitor which make outputting an image from your camera to the monitor much more direct and also allows for you to pass the image through to additional external viewing devices without the use of a third party interface (such as the Blackmagic Convertor).  There are two HDMI inputs that include the passthrough feature so that you can feed your signal straight from the camera into the monitor and then back out to another monitor via an HDMI module.  This allows you to have an on camera monitor as well as an off camera monitor using the same signal and bypassing the use of the convertor.  These new monitors also have an MD slot that can be changed out for a variety of different inputs and outputs, such as SDI, HDMI, Fiber Optic, and others to be announced.  The monitors that I got the chance to check out came with an SDI input/output – which is great, as it allows you to out put the signal out to a traditional on set VTR, which also uses SDI.  Basically, these new monitors compensate for the limitations that come along with the non-standard HDMI output that HDDSLRs offer and moreover, with the incorporation of the MD slot, give you the ability to customize your outputs depending on your needs.

Marshall has also incorporated a 12v LEMO connector for power input, which makes these monitors much easier to use with a powered cage camera support system.  The LEMO also opens the door for easier integration with larger HD video cameras such as the RED and ALEXA and many support systems from Steadicams to Technocranes/Russian Arms etc.

The monitor sizes are also ideal.  While the 5.6" and 7" are fantastic for use as on onboard monitors for operator/focus assistant use, I am particuarly drawn to the 9" monitor, which is the perfect size for use as a director’s monitor off camera – especially handheld.  The incorporation of a wireless transmitter could make this monitor even more useful, as it would allow the director (or even DP) to walk around set with the monitor in hand and be able to see what the camera sees at all times.  As a director it is extremely convenient to not be tied to a chair in the video village and have the ability to move around your set  while still having your eye on exactly what the camera is seeing.  The color range on this monitor is also quite impressive.

In addition to these great new hardware features, the new monitors also have all of the great Marshall in-monitor features that I have grown accustom to on their older models, such as False Color (I have come to call this feature "Predator vision" though someone else may very well have coded that one) – which gives you a simple color-coded representation of your exposure levels –  and DSLR ratio adjustment – which fits the HDMI signal to fill the monitor screen.

All in all I am extremely excited to start incorporating these new monitors into my production kit and camera setups.  Marshall will be debuting these monitors at NAB.  So if you are able to be there, swing by their booth and check them out! For a detailed list of features and picture of the 5.6" and 7" – click MORE.

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Hi everyone – I just wanted to give you all a heads up about a few opportunities coming up that may be of interest to those of you who are HDDSLR filmmakers.

First of all, there is a great little HDDSLR workshop on Saturday that my friends over at FearlessProductions.tv are putting on.  Its called the Canon Boot Camp, and it is CRASH COURSE in filmmaking.  This Saturday’s session is considered a “Level 2” course, which includes a 5 hour shoot using all the cool toys that are used on professional HDDSLR productions.  What’s really cool about this course is that you will be learning advanced HDDSLR production techniques while shooting an actual film.  Jump over to their home page, where you can see the film that was shot in the last Level 2 Boot Camp, as well as additional information on Saturday’s workshop and their “Level 1” courses.

If you aren’t out shooting at the workshop on Saturday, you might want to head over to Planet5d at 10am for a LIVE conversation with Gale Tattersall – who is known for his work on countless Hollywood movies, and most recently as the DP of “House”.  Gale has been extremely important in bringing HDDSLR technology to Hollywood, shooting last year’s season finale of “House” on the 5D.  I had the chance to sit down with Gale for a LIVE interview a few weekends ago during my creativeLIVE workshop.  The conversation was extremely interesting and there was a lot of buzz – it’s just too bad it couldn’t have been longer!  Lucky for you, the conversation can continue over at Planet5D.

Lastly, if you are able and willing to make the trek out to Vegas from April 10th – 14th for NAB, I have a special offer for you.  Head over to http://nabshow.com/register and register with the code SM06.  This will give you FREE ACCESS to the exhibit floor, the Opening Keynote and State of the Industry Address, Info Sessions, Content Theater, Exhibits and PITS – a $150 value.  Pretty cool.  I’ll be speaking at the Canon booth  on:  4/11 Monday, 9:15-10:00am, 4/12 Tuesday, 11:15-12:00pm, 4/13 Wednesday, 11:15-12:00pm, as well as the Vitech booth (O’Connor, LitePanels, Anton Bauer, Manfrotto, Schneider etc)  on 4/11, 12:oop & 3:30 p.m., as well as 4/12 3:00 p.m. –  you can also catch me at the All In Film 2.0 Poker tournament 4/11 at 8 p.m. – the proceeds will benefit the Red Cross in Japan.

I’ll also be attending and teaching free seminars / on a panel at the Palm Springs Photo Festival next week – Tues, Weds and Friday.

I hope you take the opportunity to investigate the workshop and interview happening on Saturday – and I hope to see many of you in a few weeks at NAB!