September 2012 - Videomaker.com

Transcription

SCRIPT WRITING 101 page 46
DSLRs
buyer’s guide
®
YOUR GUIDE TO CREATING AND PUBLISHING GREAT VIDEO SEPTEMBER 2012
Powerful • Versatile HP Z1 • Nikon D4
FUN!
reviewed
inside
Under the Hood of the HP Z1
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Latest
Developments
in Copyright Law
Go From Dreamer to Director
Learn the directing skills required for great feature films!
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Videomaker
Contents
SEPTEMBER 2012
www.videomaker.com
Features
18 DSLR and Mirrorless Digital Cameras 36 Documentarians Rock Through Crowdsourcing
Buyer’s Guide
and Alternative Financing
A digital single lens reflex camera used to reside in the
realm of the still photographer. But the landscape changed
in 2008 once the ability to shoot high-quality video evolved.
by Tony Gomez
27 Camera Supports Buyer’s Guide
GET THE WORLD’S
BEST VIDEO TRAINING
INFORMATION WITH
VIDEOMAKER. It’s all here.
Volume 27 • Number 03
No matter what kind of camera you’re using: a studio camera, a handheld, a DSLR or a pocket video camera, they all
need a solid, steady mount to make your video pleasing to
watch and look more professional.
by Jim Martin
Documentaries all need one thing to assure they get produced: money.
A few directors of rock documentaries offer us some insight into fulfilling
their dream using alternative financing and non-traditional means.
by Peter Gerstenzang and Jennifer O’Rourke
40 Latest Developments in Copyright Law
The complexity of copyright law has grown such that it can bewilder,
even incriminate, honest and hardworking artists who are unfamiliar
with its provisions.
by Mark Levy and Roman Zelichenko
64 Movie Mistakes
Continuity errors happen in movies all the time, from props migrating
around the scene in different shots to clothing appearing and disappearing
on an actor. What are your favorite movie mistakes?
by Jennifer O’Rourke
All the basics. Lighting. Editing.
Directing. All the advanced stuff,
too. Storyboarding a Script.
Starting a videography business.
Shooting Video Outside in the
Dark from a Moving Car. You’ll
find it all here. Get the training.
Learn the secrets. Become a
pro. See the Difference. You
never thought your videos
could look so professional, but
now you can take pride in your
18
52
On the Cover
HP Z1
Nikon D4
accomplishments. Hold your head
49
Columns
2 Viewfinder
Video’s Greatest Value
by Matthew York
46 Basic Training
up. Carry your camera with pride.
Script Writing 101
by Kyle Cassidy
You can do it. Videomaker.
49 Profit Making
Remember that name. The
Profiting Through Online Video
by Teresa Echazabal
premiere magazine for all things
video for over 25 years.
52 Directing
What I Got From Film School
by Peter Shaner
Subscribe today
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56 Editing
Make It Look Suite with Effects
by Tyris M. Audronis
60 Audio
Next Month
Shadows and Lighting Effects for Horror Movies
Halloween Spooky Effects
Producing Family History Videos for Profit
Preparing for the Wedding Season
Editing Software Buyer’s Guide
Motion Graphics and Animation Software Buyer’s Guide
On Sale September 25, 2012
print
Visit videomaker.com/VideoPro
Building an Audio Recording Room
by Chuck Peters
60
Departments
4
51 Ad Index
Reviews
4 Nikon D4
DSLR
by Dan Bruns
8 ikan IB1000
Studio LED Light
by Mark Holder
10 Azden FMX-DSLR
Audio Mixer
by Luke Scherba
12 Serif MoviePlus X6
Introductory Editing Software
by Andrew Scheblein
14 G-Technology G-RAID with
Thunderbolt
Hard Drive
by Adam Vesely
16 HP Z1
contents
Workstation and ZR2740w Monitor
by Jackson Wong
full screen
New ce 5 Tools You Can Build to Help You Make
r
Resou More Professional Video!
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See page 26 for details
VI D EO MA K ER >>> SEP T EMBER 20 12
1
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Video’s Greatest Value
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Where can video provide the greatest
value? Since the inception of moving
images, many people have derived
meaningful benefits from watching
videos and movies. For the first 100
years, moving images appeared as
motion pictures projected on the big
screen in theaters where large groups
of people would gather.
The small screen of the television
changed how people viewed moving
image presentations. The screen was
smaller, so the groups of people gathered to watch TV was much smaller,
typically a family. The TV screen was
available inside people’s houses so
they didn’t need to travel to a theater,
making it much easier to watch moving image presentations in a home.
There were no tickets to purchase –
the investment was lowered - so now
the audience was not quite as captive.
Viewers could come and go as they
pleased, simply by turning off the TV.
The attention span of a person in
a theater might be two hours, but at
home, it became more like half an
hour. Long form motion pictures and
films gave way to short form programs
and TV shows. Midway through the
first century of moving image presentations, smaller groups of people were
now watching shorter presentations;
but that is not all that changed.
Compared to motion picture film,
the video that appears on television
screens is far less costly to deliver.
The cost to produce and deliver each
minute of video is tiny compared to a
motion picture film. The most expensive motion picture can cost almost
$3 million per minute, while the most
expensive TV show averages to about
$50,000. The average TV show costs
less than $20,000 per minute.
Now we have three factors that
impacted the value of a moving image
presentation. TV screens were smaller
so they were conveniently located
inside a home with smaller audiences
and the cost to produce one minute
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of video was very low. As odd as it
may sound, these factors dramatically
increased the value of a moving image
presentation.
Smaller audiences and lower costs
changed the TV production strategy. Rather than produce big budget blockbusters like the 1997 film
Titanic, television producers created
low budget programs like a children’s
TV show. While it is hard for an audience to place a value on their viewing experience, most would agree
that tens of millions of people were
entertained while watching Titanic.
However the tens of thousands of kids
who watched Sesame Street got a far
greater value by learning to read.
The process of increasing the value
of producing video is continuing today.
Very small audiences can now learn
important lessons like occupational
training for farm workers. Even smaller
groups in lesser-developed countries
can now watch short videos about
cholera prevention. You are a part of
this revolution! Get out there and make
some video that has incredible value by
serving a very narrow audience!
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REVIEWS
REVIEWS
Nikon D4
Nikon D4
DSLR
Nikon’s Flagship Hit
b y D a n Bruns
P
rofessional is a wily word to
define. In some cases, you might
be hard pressed to tell the difference
between the capabilities of a prosumer and professional camera on
the market today. However, it’s hard
to miss the difference in a DSLR. With
it’s flagship camera, the D4, Nikon is
hoping to show both the photo and
video world what “professional” really
means.
The Stills
Let’s be honest. Though we all love the
incredible film-like quality of DSLR
Nikon Inc.
www.nikonusa.com
STRENGTHS
• Full frame sensor
• 10 fps RAW shooting
• Manual audio controls
• Web based camera control
• Dual card slots
• Uncompressed video via HDMI port
WEAKNESSES
• Expensive
• No SD card slot
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$6,000 (body only)
$1,890 (Nikon 24-70mm lens)
print
4
video, it was originally designed to do
one thing first: take pictures. That’s
why Nikon included a 16 megapixel
(MP) sensor that’s able to capture
photos at 4,928 pixels wide by 3,280
pixels tall. Though the MP count is
not as high as Nikon’s more affordable
D800 (which can shoot at a whopping
36MP), it does give each pixel more
room on the sensor which results
in cleaner, less noisy pictures in low
light. This is what made the D4’s
predecessor, the D3 such an overnight
sensation. It could capture usable
photos and video at such high ISO
levels that the camera was practically
able to see in the dark – a fact proven
by Vincent Munier’s Summer Variations video (vimeo.com/10352097).
A lower megapixel count isn’t the
only reason why the D4’s sensor does
so well in low light. At 36x23.9mm,
the D4’s sensor gives each pixel plenty
of light data to choose from without
the typical pixel light leaks common
to smaller sensors. In addition, the
large sensor size also results in a shallower focus area giving us the ability
to keep the attention on our subject
while keeping the background safely
out of focus. This is one of the biggest
features that originally made DSLR
videography so attractive to professional cinematographers. By allowing
V IDEOMAKER >>> S EPTMEBER 2012
selective focus, cinematographers
could effectively direct viewers’ eyes
to the important parts of the frame,
making their story easier to tell. With
benefits like these, it’s easy to see why
both videographers and photographers both pay a premium price for
cameras like this and pay with a smile
on their face.
As usual, Nikon has also included
the ability to shoot in multiple formats
with the D4. For shooters worried
about saving space, Nikon has a JPEG
option. For shooters looking for quality the NEF (RAW) option is the best
bet. To be sure, the NEF option will
end up hogging quite a bit of card
XQD and CF card slots
space but it comes with the extremely
useful benefit of being able to retouch
almost everything about the image in
post. As a result, it’s going to be worth
the extra cost of buying a high capacity memory card in order to allow
for more recording time and picture
quality. After all, no one regrets having
more options to work with in postproduction. In recognition of this, we
tested the SanDisk 128GB CF with the
D4. The card allowed us to not only
capture several 20-minute full quality
HD videos with its read/write speeds
of 100 megabytes per second, it also
allowed us to capture more than 3,000
full-quality NEF photos of a solar
eclipse without a glitch – something
that would have taken several cards
and constant monitoring to do with a
lesser capacity.
Speaking of cards, Nikon’s taken
a page from the success of both its
D800 and D3S by including dual card
slots on the D4. This not only allows
you to write backup images to one
card while shooting with the other,
but it also allows you to use the size of
both cards in tandem. In an unexpected effort to predict future recording mediums, Nikon chose to make
one of the card slots in the new XQD
format. This choice seems a bit odd as
CF cards are nearly as fast as XQD and
are often more reliable and affordable
as of this writing. Even so, as more
XQD cards make it to the market, it
seems inevitable that both the price
of the cards as well as the speed will
become very attractive.
The Design
One thing that really separates the D4
from Nikon’s less expensive models is
its design. The camera not only looks
great but also feels great even when
shooting for hours on end. Admittedly, the camera did start to feel a
little heavy when using larger lenses,
but its well-designed hand grips offset
most of the discomfort of the weight.
We also enjoyed the bevy of external
buttons the D4 has. In fact, the buttons
were so handy that we almost never
found ourselves using the menu. Plus,
by having every major function (and
even minor ones) so close and convenient, we found that we were able
to keep prep time for each shot to an
absolute minimum.
The D4 also has a dedicated video
record button that should be convenient for videographers, an auto
exposure and auto focus lock button, and several responsive joysticks
for thumbing through pictures and
focus areas on the D4’s crisp 3.2-inch
screen. Any camera worthy to be
called professional also has a dial for
WE WERE SURPRISED AT
HOW USEFUL THE BACKLIT
BUTTONS WERE, ESPECIALLY
WHEN SHOOTING AT NIGHT.
changing both the aperture and shutter speed and the D4 is no exception.
It has a front dial that controls aperture and a back dial that allows you
to change the shutter speed in easy to
access locations.
Of all of these features though, we
were surprised at how useful the backlit buttons were on the D4 especially
when shooting at night. Unlike most
DSLRs, almost all of the buttons light
up allowing you to see where each
button on the back of the camera lies.
Though we mentioned how undervalued the built-in timelapse feature
was in our Nikon D800 review, we feel
it’s worth mentioning again for the D4.
Most cameras require external shutter
controls in order to set up timelapses
which not only requires more gear
but more money. So it’s a welcome
reprieve to be able to take as many as
999 photos during a period of days,
hours, or seconds merely through the
D4’s menu system.
The Video
When DSLR manufacturers first announced that they would be including
video in their cameras, many cinematographers breathed in a huge sigh
Rear 3.2-inch LCD and buttons
of relief. Finally, it was possible to get
the kind of shallow depth of field and
image clarity that photographers had
been benefiting from for years. Fast
forward to today and DSLRs have arguably shifted the paradigm of what can
be affordably achieved in videography.
However, for as much as DSLRs have
done to further the possibilities of the
average videographer, there are still
a few drawbacks. Sound has always
been less than ideal and hard to control, heavy video compression has led
to moiré and rolling shutter, and even
the shape of the camera has made it
difficult to shoot in a traditional video
camera style.
These are issues Nikon seemed
well aware of when designing the D4.
Though it keeps the standard lossy
H.264/MPEG-4 codec, it goes a step
further than most cameras by allowing an uncompressed video feed via
HDMI. Doing so gives serious videographers the chance to record a much
higher quality image to match their
editing format with an external recording device. We decided to test this feature by recording video via HDMI to an
Atomos Ninja. We found the resulting
video to be more flexible when applying color correction though it was admittedly hard to see the difference in
the quality of the video. Nonetheless,
this is an incredible feature for green
screen productions as the color space
coming out of HDMI is much higher
which should result in cleaner keys.
Uncompressed recording is a great
5
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REVIEWS
Nikon D4
TECH SPECS
Sensor: CMOS
Sensor Size: 36x23.9mm
Effective Pixels: 16.2 million
Maximum Still Image Area:
4928x3280
Still Image File Format: JPEG, NEF
(RAW), TIFF
Maximum Still Frames Per
Second: 10
Movie Frame Size and Frame Rate:
1920x1080 (30/24 fps), 1280x720
(60/30/24 fps)
Movie File Format: MOV (H.264/
MPEG-4), Linear PCM audio
Maximum Movie Record Time: 20
minutes (highest quality)
Supported Storage Media:
CompactFlash, XQD
feature but Nikon decided to go even
further. Once again, they’ve proven
their excellence in audio recording
by including manual audio controls
and more importantly, a graphical
representation of volume levels on the
LCD screen. They even went as far as
to include a button that allows you to
change the volume of your input and
another button that can change the
volume of the headphones all while
recording video. After putting up with
Release mode dial, metering, flash and bracketing
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6
Maximum Shutter Speed: 1/8000th of
a second
Minimum Shutter Speed: 30 seconds
or bulb
ISO: 50 – 204,800
White Balance: Auto, Choose Color
Temperature, Preset
LCD Monitor: 3.2" (921,000 dots)
Interfaces: HDMI (Type-C), Headphone,
NTSC, Microphone, USB 2.0
Microphone: Yes
Manual Audio Level Controls: Yes
Battery Type: EN-EL 18 Lithium-Ion
Accessory Shoe: Yes
Built-In Flash: No
Lens Mount: Nikon F mount, AF-S or AF
Weight: 41.6oz.
limited audio controls with other DSLR
cameras for years, this is a real feature
to celebrate. For some shooters, this
feature may even make the camera
worth the steep $6,000 price tag. It
also finally makes recording audio on a
DSLR a real option to consider.
In addition, the D4 includes a
feature that allows you to use different parts of the sensor when recording video. This means that you can
effectively turn an 85mm lens into
a 100mm lens without having to
purchase another expensive piece of
glass. All this can be done as a result
of the crop factor that is created when
only using a small part of the sensor.
Even better yet is the fact that you
don’t lose any resolution when shooting in cropped mode.
On the other hand, the D4 doesn’t
hold too many surprises on the resolution front. Just like the D800, the
D4 records video in a full 1920x1080
pixels in 30, 25, or 24 frames per second (fps). For those who need higher
frame rates for slow motion scenes, it
can also record at 1280x720 pixels at
60, 50, 30, and 25fps.
V IDEOMAKER >>> S EPTMEBER 2012
What does come as a surprise is its
ability to transfer files via FTP using
an Ethernet jack on the side of the
camera. The Ethernet jack also makes
it possible to type in an assigned IP
address so that you can control the D4
WHAT DOES COME AS A
SURPRISE IS ITS ABILITY TO
TRANSFER FILES VIA THE
ETHERNET JACK.
via a Web interface. We found the Web
software to be easy to use and full of
potential. For instance, it’s possible to
take photos using the program, pop
the camera into Live View, and change
aperture and shutter speed with the
click of your mouse. In addition, by
connecting several D4s to a router and
a computer, you can also take photos
with all of the cameras simultaneously,
making for some interesting creative
possibilities.
The Bottom Line
They say lightning doesn’t strike the
same place twice. Well, Nikon has defied the laws of nature by doing just
that with the D4. Though they had an
already near-perfect camera in the
D800, Nikon conjured up an even more
solidly built, longer-lasting, and responsive camera that will give sports and
wedding videographers an easy way to
capture their next masterpiece.
SUMMARY
With Web based control, uncompressed video output through HDMI,
and full frame sensor, the D4 has
every feature that serious-minded
sports and wedding photographers
and videographers need.
Dan Bruns is an award-winning videographer and editor.
The World’s first Thunderbolt™ based capture and
playback for SD/HD-SDI, HDMI and analog video!
Built on revolutionary Thunderbolt™ technology, UltraStudio 3D has a
blazingly fast 10 Gb/s connection that’s up to 20 times faster than USB 2.0!
Machined from a solid piece of aluminum, UltraStudio 3D is an attractive,
rugged device that’s packed with features previously only available with
a workstation. It’s perfect for those on the go as an extremely portable
companion to your camera, notebook and favorite editing software.
Connect to any Deck, Camera or Monitor
UltraStudio 3D features a huge range of video
and audio connections. Dual Link 3 Gb/s SDI,
HDMI, component analog, NTSC, PAL and
s-video for capture and playback in SD, HD or 2K.
Also included is 2 ch XLR AES/EBU audio and 2 ch balanced XLR analog
audio. Connect to HDCAM SR, HDCAM, Digital Betacam, Betacam SP,
HDV cameras, big-screen TVs and more. UltraStudio 3D even supports
two streams of full resolution video up to 1080p HD for new stereoscopic
3D workflows!
Advanced 3 Gb/s SDI Technology
With exciting new 3 Gb/s SDI connections, UltraStudio
3D allows twice the SDI data rate of normal HD-SDI,
while also connecting to all your HD-SDI and SD-SDI
equipment. Use 3 Gb/s SDI for 2K and edit your latest
feature film using real time 2048 x 1556 2K resolution capture and playback!
More Third Party Software Compatibility
UltraStudio 3D works with the software you love
to use! Use QuickTime™ software, or the world’s
most popular editing software such as Final Cut
Pro™ and Premiere Pro™! You also get Photoshop™
plug-ins to grab and output frames, plus real time
preview in After Effects™ and Nuke™. No other editing solution supports
more software on Mac OS X, so now you have the freedom to build your
studio your own way!
Hardware Down Conversion
If you’ve ever wanted to monitor in both HD and
SD while you work, then you’ll love the built in
high quality down converter. Use the Dual Link
SDI outputs as a simultaneous HD and SD output,
or you can switch back to Dual Link 4:4:4 when working in the highest quality
RGB workflows. Select between letterbox, anamorphic 16:9 and even center
cut 4:3 down conversion styles!
UltraStudio 3D
995
$
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REVIEWS
REVIEWS
ikan IB1000
ikan IB1000
Studio LED
Light
IB1000 Performance
@3200K
4'L
2'L
0
2'L
4'R
@5600K
4'L
2'L
0
2'L
4'R
Versatility
b y Ma rk H ol der
A
highly versatile tool for users of
all levels, the IB1000 Dual-Color
LED light from ikan brings style to the
studio, finesse to the field and a great
deal of value to the user.
Outta The Box
Accompanying the IB1000 is a nice,
long, power cord and AC adapter, light
stand adapter, wireless remote control
and quick start guide. The light stand
ikan Corporation
www.ikancorp.com
STRENGTHS
• Variable color temperature
• Variable light intensity
• 4-leaf barn doors with reflective
surfaces
• Wireless remote control included
• Low power requirements
• Cool to the touch; easy to be handheld
• Optional battery power for portablility
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WEAKNESSES
• Touch panel can't rotate for side
mounting
$1,100
8
adapter is detachable and allows
you to mount the light either horizontally or vertically to any standard
light stand. A release/locking lever on
the side gives you multiple options
for changing the lighting angle. The
wireless remote control allows you to
increase or decrease brightness levels
or color temperature from a distance.
Not included, but available separately,
are a couple of mounting options for
using professional battery setups such
as those from Anton Bauer or Sony
with the IB1000. There is no option,
however, for using DV batteries with
this device.
Advantages Abound
single circuit results in blown fuses
or tripped circuit breakers. Because
LED lights use a fraction of the power
required by traditional lights, this
is less of a consideration. Finally,
traditional lights get extremely hot
and must be handled very carefully
using gloves. Care must be exercised
when attaching gels, C-47s, flags or
other light modifiers to them as they
present a potential fire hazard. In this
case, much of this equipment won't
be necessary, essentially reducing the
amount of equipment. Portable light
kits usually must be allowed plenty
of time to cool before placing them in
their cases. The IB1000, on the other
hand, is barely warm to the touch,
even after hours of operation and
may be packed away for transportation almost immediately after switching it off. It’s safer for your talent
too, and won’t require “perspiration
adjustments” in between takes.
In use, the advantages of LED lighting over traditional studio lights
become evident very quickly. While
traditional lights can be large, heavy
and require cumbersome stands
with sandbagging for stability, the
IB1000 weighs only 8.4lbs.
and is light enough to be Touch screen and power interface
handheld for short
periods of time. With
traditional lighting, the
availability of power
and circuit capacity are
big concerns, as placing
too many lights on a
3ft lx
66
711
3962
721
57
3ft lx
80
829
3103
732
58
3ft K
2850
2850
2970
3000
2940
3ft K
5400
5270
5580
5400
5590
6ft lx
211
596
947
571
197
6ft lx
239
549
732
536
215
6ft K
2880
2920
2990
2970
2990
6ft K
5360
5480
5610
5520
5400
9ft lx
208
396
480
371
236
9ft lx
190
300
386
339
237
9ft K
2900
2930
2980
2980
2960
9ft K
5390
5500
5570
5540
5480
The IB1000 employs both 3200K
and 5600K LEDs in a solid metal housing. This is ideal for shooting under
changing lighting conditions, as color
temperature control is near instant –
and without the use of gels! With the
touch screen, rear panel, and digital
readout, you can dial in your desired
color temperature in increments of
100K. The display is easy to use, with
touch sensitive up and down arrows
for making adjustments. Numbers on
the display are large and easy to read
at a distance. Light intensity is also
adjusted using the digital readout.
Dimming is possible from 100 percent
down to 10 percent in increments
of one percent at a time. The IB1000
comes with a remote control unit
TECH SPECS
Bulb Type: Fixed LED
Watts Equivalent: 500w (5600K);
600w (3200K)
Brightness: 3103 lux @ 3ft. (5600K);
3962 lux @ 3ft. (3200K)
Color Temperature: 3200K – 5600K
Dimming: Yes
DMX: No
Wireless Remote Control: Yes
Pro Battery Power: Yes (Optional)
DV Battery Power: No
Power: 12v – 14.4v
Dimensions: 13.8" x 13.8" x 2.8"
Weight: 8.4lbs.
12ft lx
199
266
294
241
159
12ft lx
168
218
232
217
149
12ft K
2930
2950
2990
2980
2970
12ft K
5480
5560
5600
5560
5500
(battery included) for
making adjustments
to both color temperature and intensity at a
distance. We tested it
at about 30 feet and it
worked just fine. Fourleaf barn doors lined
with highly reflective
material keep the light
directed right where
you want it and out of
the areas you don’t.
THE AZDEN
105 DSLR SERIES
COMPACT,
AFFORDABLE
PERFORMER
Peak Performer
In use, the IB1000 is a strong performer, versatile and easy to use. On
a quick shoot, this light can be a great
time saver. The usual drill involves
unpacking the lights, setting up stands
and sandbagging them, checking
power availability, attaching gels to
match the color temperature (don’t
forget the gloves), and cooling off the
talent. Then the lights have to cool for
a considerable amount of time before
packing them up and heading out.
On a recent shoot, we brought out
the IB1000, powered it up, dialed in
the color temperature to match the
existing practicals, and adjusted the
intensity. One of our crew simply held
the light, eliminating the need for
stands, and was able to get in close to
the talent and into some rather tight
spots with little difficulty. Our setups
were quick, the shoot went smoothly
and the talent was very happy with
our choice of lighting.
SUMMARY
Video producers at every level seeking a lighting solution that combines
versatility, convenience and ease
of use should definitely have a very
close look at the ikan IB1000.
All you want in a high performance
wireless microphone, the Azden 105
Series includes:
• 92 User selectable UHF frequencies
(566.25-589.75MHz)
• Compact receiver with shoe-mount
• Pivoting high gain antenna
• 3.5mm DSLR microphone cable
• Headphone output with volume control
Available system combinations include:
105LT, 105LH, 105LX, 105HT, 105XT
Visit the Azden website for
system details.
Contributing editor Mark Holder is a video producer and
trainer.
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www.azdencorp.com
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REVIEWS
REVIEWS
Azden FMX-DSLR
Azden
FMX-DSLR
Audio Mixer
TECH SPECS
In the Field
Audio is Half the Picture
b y L u k e Sc herba
N
ever underestimate the value
of audio. Often times the audio
is overlooked on a video shoot, yet
depending on your project the audio
may convey half of the content
or more. The new wave of DSLR
cameras has revolutionized shooting
video in a lot of ways. Indie filmmakers and amateurs alike are now
able to achieve a cinematic look
on a relatively affordable budget.
These cameras however, lack highend audio to match. The cameras
themselves do not come equipped
with adequate microphones, and the
Azden Corporation
www.azdencorp.com
STRENGTHS
• XLR inputs
• Easy to use volume control knobs
• Long battery life
WEAKNESSES
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• Slightly larger than a DSLR camera base
• Limited by camera’s audio quality
and AGC
$400
10
cameras are limited in their audio
inputs. This leaves you with a couple
options; a mic designed for a DSLR,
a separate audio recording device, or
use a small mixer.
Mic, Mixer, or Recorder
there are few mounting options, at
least the form of your camera is still
capable of being operated handheld.
There is a nice professional build to
the device and it seems solid, however
the specific design of the FMX-DSLR
is slightly quirky since it is slightly
longer on the front side, causing it to
protrude out from beneath the lens of
most cameras.
Having a mic specifically designed for
a DSLR can be the most affordable;
nevertheless it is the most limiting and
not always the best quality. Though a
separate audio recorder might achieve The Mixer
better audio, it would also require
The mixer itself has two XLR inputs,
double the button pushing during
with volume control for each. XLR
recording and extra work syncing dur- inputs are a big plus and leave your
ing editing.
options open for lapel mics or conOften times, carrying a mixer
denser mics of your choice. Ultimatearound with you on a video shoot is
ly, the most professional mics will
not practical or affordable. Azden’s
make use of the XLR inputs, and you
FMX-DSLR mini mixer solves that isare resisting the addition of adaptsue. This handy little
Rear and left array of jacks and controls
mixer mounts
directly to the bottom of the camera
and to the tripod
head at the same
time, acting as an
in-between device
to your cameratripod setup.
This is a natural
location for the
mixer. While
FREQUENCY RESPONSE
Main and Unbalanced Output:
20-20,000Hz (+0/-1dB)
Monitor Output: 50-20,000Hz (-1dB)
NOISE LEVEL
Left & Right Channel: -110dB
T.H.D.: less than 0.01% @ 1 KHk
INPUTS
Line/Aux Low setting: Max Input
Level +22dBu Max Gain -22dB
Line/Aux Hi setting: Max Input Level
+6dBu Max Gain -6dB
MIC1/MIC2 Low setting: Max Input
Level 0dBu Max Gain 0dB
MIC1/MIC2 Hi setting: Max Input
Level -16dBu Max Gain +16dB
ers to your video setup. The mixer
has an 1/8-inch headphone jack and
audio monitoring is easy enough on
the FMX-DSLR. One drawback to be
aware of is that most DSLR cameras
do not have an audio output for you
to hear what the camera is recording.
Playback of the video clip becomes
necessary to be sure the audio
recorded properly, which would
become a big issue during live events
such as weddings when you only get
one take.
When monitoring your audio, there
are no audio level meters on the FMXDSLR mixer. That is tough. Since you
can only hear what the mixer is hearing, not what the camera is recording
and without levels it becomes fairly
difficult to adjust the audio properly.
You'll be relying on your attention to
audio to get it just right, In addition,
Nikon and Canon cameras have an
AGC (Auto Gain Control) causing the
camera to automatically readjust your
incoming audio. By default, there is
no way to disable the AGC on most
OUTPUT
1/8" (3.5mm) Stereo: -3.5dBu (32
ohm load)
Maximum Output Level (unbalanced): (3.5mm) +0dBu (2K ohms)
Battery Type/Life: AA (4) Alkaline
15+ hours with phantom power off
Current Drain: 40mA nominal (Phantom Power Off)
80mA maximum (Phantom Power On)
Phantom Power Voltage: 48VDC (+/2VDC)
Size (HxWxD): (1.75" x 4.2" x 4.2")
(44x105x105mm)
Weight w/o Batteries: 16.6oz. (470
grams)
Canon or Nikon DSLR cameras; meaning unless you install a third party
firmware, you are limited to auto controls on all your audio despite the fact
that the mixer has volume controls.
AGC
Not only do most DSLRs default
to AGC, but the Azden FMX-DSLR
mixer also has an AGC switch. Azden
claims the AGC creates “noiseless
operation.” In our test, the AGC produced a loud high pitch noise during
recording, making the recorded
clips unusable. When the AGC was
switched off the mixer preformed
well and delivered good audio with
fairly little noise. Switching off the
AGC is a trick, though. The switch is
hidden on the bottom, opposite of
the volume dials. Unless you take the
mixer off the tripod and search the
mixer, the switch is easy to overlook.
While the recessed switch allows for
flush mounting, the AGC can only
be switched on or off with the camera detached.
In our field test, the Azden FMX-DSLR
mixer preformed rather well. The
battery life was substantial. Azden
claims a 15-hour run time on four
AA batteries. In our test the mixer
lasted more than 15 hours of interviews and four hours of live event
performances, a welcome surpassing
expectation. A nice touch is that the
AA batteries are very easy to switch
out; so often do we see small electronics tuck away the batteries seemingly forever - the FMX-DSLR slides
out a carriage for all four batteries
with open borders to easily handle
both sides of the battery. For a video
interview with a decent pro lapel
mic, we were able to get good clear
audio with little noise. We discovered
that in order to get a condenser mic
to work you must switch the appropriate channel (L or R) DC48V to “on”
and these two crucial switches are
found near the AGC switch.
All in all, the Azden FMX-DSLR
mixer performs well. The mixer is
small and compact and fits right
under the camera. The mixer comes
with a coiled 1/8-inch cable, and
there is no extra mounting gear needed to make this mixer work and you
can utilize it handheld or on a tripod.
The battery life surpassed the manufacturer’s claim. The overall audio
quality is good. It’s priced affordably
and looks professional.
SUMMARY
Unless you want to go the extra
step and record to an extra audio
recorder, this is a good buy to solve a
DSLR camera's audio issues.
Luke Scherba is a video producer and production studio
owner.
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REVIEWS
REVIEWS
Serif MoviePlus X6
Serif MoviePlus
X6 Introductory
Editing Software
Change Up!
b y A n d y Sc hebl ei n
T
his is a simple introductory editing
software straight from across the
pond - the United Kingdom. With simple yet effective menus and an easy
to understand timeline, this would be
a great tool for a beginner editor. Like
all intro software it doesn’t have all
the tools the big boys in Hollywood do
but you can make a slick video with
what's here. Included is DVD authoring which is a great add-on feature.
Not only can you edit your videos,
with the software, you can burn them
to DVD and share them with friends.
Options
When you first open Serif’s MoviePlus
X6 you notice a simple quality about
it. It opens a wizard that simply asks
Serif
www.serif.com
STRENGTHS
• Group video in timeline
• Fast learning curve
• Simple layout and menus
• Lots of fun features (animated
transitions, titles, and filters)
WEAKNESSES
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• Must import both video and audio to
the timeline
• A little clumsy when transitioning
between clips in the timeline
$80
12
“What do you want to do?” then gives
you three options, create, open or
learn. Choose to start a new project
under the create section and it dives
in. Here you will see a simple three
window setup. On the top are two
windows: the video preview window
with the media window next to it. Underneath both windows is the timeline
where all the editing takes place. The
simplicity of this program lies in the
media window because that is where
you get everything you need.
We found that importing video was
easy, but it did drop a few insignificant
frames. While adding pictures and
songs from our computer we found
that navigating in the media window
was straightforward and quick. We
navigated with the explorer tab, selected the files, and then right-clicked
and clicked on “add to project.”
Since there is no viewer window to
modify clips, it can be a bit cluttered.
We did find that if you double-click
a clip in the media window it opens
another window which allows you to
shorten the clip to the desired point,
but there was no way to import just
the video or just the audio. To solve
this, we used the unlinking button to separate the audio and video
then deleted the part we didn’t want.
Something that we enjoyed about the
simplicity of the timeline is that the
clips have handles to control fading
from both ends of the clip. It's also the
default transition when clips overlap.
Our title/rolling credits for the video
were effortless with the media window. First we clicked on galleries, below that there's a text button, a click
there and boom - all of the title effects
we wanted. There, we could change
the location, size, color and font style
to what is best for any project. To fade
in and out our volume we stayed in
the media window. First we selected
the audio track of the clip we wanted
to edit, then we clicked on the "show
key frames" button. This provided a
volume line with keyframes for easy
editing.
one-second crossfade between each
clip and your movie is done.
Serif includes a few more cool
features to spark your creativity. New
in MoviePlus X6 is the ability to flip,
reverse or spin a clip along any axis.
You can get deeper into editing your
individual video clips or stills by making adjustments to your lighting, color
and exposure. Stills are an easy add
with a button for the Ken Burns effect.
You can also record a voice over
onto the narration track because it is a
separate track on the timeline. You can
group video and audio tracks on the
timeline.
Storyboard or Timeline Editing
The installation was easy and requires
1.75GB of space which isn’t a lot considering everything this program can
do. There is a DVD authoring feature
for further consideration. We found
MoviePlus X6 to be fast at rendering
- it took 22 seconds for a 10-second
There is another way to edit with
this program - storyboard. This is the
simplest form of editing. All you do
is drag the desired clips to the storyboard box and the feature takes care
of the rest. It automatically adds a
Easy Setup
clip with three filters on it plus credits.
When we exported the same 10-second H.264 clip at 1080p, it took 46
seconds.
The learning curve on this product
is fast. After you know where things
are, get over the European spelling
of words, and figure out the quirks,
you are on your way. This is a great,
simple editing software for all of you
who want to add that Hollywood feel
to your piece without paying that Hollywood price.
SUMMARY
This is an easy to use editing software with lots of fun features that can
make your videos look as entertaining
as the content.
Andy Scheblein is a freelance graphic designer,
videographer, and animator.
TECH SPECS
Includes: MoviePlus X6 Director’s Guide
Operating System: Windows 7/Vista/XP
Minimum CPU: Intel Pentium 4 HyperThreaded processor or AMD Athlon XP
processor
Minimum RAM: 1GB
Minimum Hard Drive Space: 0.96GB
Batch Capture: Yes
Automatic Scene Detection: Yes
User Interface: Customizable with
floating panes
Number of Video Tracks: Unlimited
Number of Audio Tracks: Unlimited
Nesting Tracks: Yes
Audio/Video Level Envelopes: Yes
Audio Scrub: Yes
Keyframe Animation: No
Number of Video Transitions: 80+
Number of Video Filters: 100+
Background Rendering: Yes
Third-party Plug-in Support: No
Encoding Formats : MPEG, MP4, WMV,
MOV, H.264, AVI
Batch Render: Yes
DVD Authoring Software Included: Yes
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REVIEWS
REVIEWS
G-Technology G-RAID
G-Technology G-RAID
with Thunderbolt
Hard Drive
Fast and Flashy
b y A d a m V es el y
W
hen Intel’s Thunderbolt technology first started shipping on
Apple’s flagship desktops and notebooks, video professionals were anxious to use the lightning-fast connection, which at 10 gigabits per second,
is twice as fast as USB 3.0. Now that
Thunderbolt products are spreading
into the market, one of the highlights
is the G-RAID with Thunderbolt storage device by G-Technology. This storage system gives video professionals
an affordable, yet very capable RAID
storage system that is fast and simple
to use right out of the box.
Speaking of the box, inside you will
find the G-RAID enclosure, a power
adapter, and a brief Quick Start Install
Guide. No software is included as all
the necessary drivers are included
with Mac OS X.
When looking at the G-RAID enclo-
G-Technology
www.g-technology.com
STRENGTHS
• Fast transfer speed
• Simple to set up
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WEAKNESSES
• No Thunderbolt cable included
• Not compatible with non-Apple products
$1,000
14
sure, it becomes very apparent that
the design was heavily influenced by
Apple’s own design practices. The
G-RAID device itself is beautifully
assembled out of solid aluminum,
weighs about five pounds, and is
about double the size of a standard
3.5-inch external hard drive enclosure. The G-Technology logo in
front glows brightly while the drive
is powered. The back of the G-RAID
provides a power switch, a port for
the external power supply, and two
Thunderbolt ports for connecting to
your computer and daisy chaining
additional Thunderbolt devices, like
more hard drives or an extra monitor. The G-RAID with Thunderbolt is
available in three storage sizes: 4TB
and 8TB (our review model), and both
models use the same enclosure. It is
made with a RAID 0 configuration of
TECH SPECS
RPM: 7200
Cache: 64MB
Dimensions: 9.25" x 5.13" x 3.37"
Weight: 5lbs.
Mac System Requirements: Mac OS X
10.6 or higher, Thunderbolt port
Package Contains: G-RAID Dual-Drive
Storage System, Universal AC Power
Supply, Quick Start Install Guide
the two drives inside the enclosure.
While the RAID 0 configuration allows
for faster read/write speeds, it also
creates a data security risk in that if
one of the two hard drives fail, you
will lose all the data that was stored
across both drives. For this reason, we
would go for a second unit for backup
purposes, or use other hard drives to
back up important data.
One thing that is very surprising is
that a Thunderbolt cable was not included in box. This is something that
might be a disappointment for buyers
who don’t read the fine print and neglect to order a cable separately from
Apple, which at $49 per cable isn’t
exactly a bargain. The drive features
few total ports and gets versatility out
of it with the Thunderbolt cable.
Upon connecting the Thunderbolt
cable to an Apple 17-inch MacBook
Pro (early 2011 model) running Mac
OS X Lion and flipping the power
switch, the 8TB drive immediately
mounted on the desktop with zero
setup or configuration required. The
G-RAID comes pre-configured as a
large RAID 0 partition so you can
start working with it immediately. For
our first speed test, we took a single
1GB H.264 video file and held our
breath as we started it copying to the
G-RAID storage system.… The file
was copied in a mere eight seconds,
or approximately 125MB/s! We then
attempted to stream the file off the
drive directly, which worked perfectly
with no hiccups or dropped frames.
We then transferred a 2GB ProRes
422 HQ file through the Thunderbolt
to the G-RAID and attempted to open
and stream it straight from the drive.
Again, the drive performed flawlessly,
causing no visible stutters or pauses.
Now, 125MB/s is nothing to sneeze
at, but if this sounds like the Thunderbolt interface doesn’t live up to the
advertised speeds - it is important to
remember that the files were being
copied from an internal 5400 RPM
notebook drive which is slower than
most desktop system hard drives. To
rule out the notebook hard drive as
the bottleneck, we tested the G-RAID
storage system using Blackmagic’s
Disk Speed Test application. The
results were shocking, to say the least.
The tests showed write speeds topping
out at an astonishing 309.7MB/s and
read speeds up to 316.3MB/s, a huge
leap ahead of the 125MB/s we saw using the real-world copy and streaming
tests. The Blackmagic test shows the
true potential for the G-RAID storage
system and just how fast Thunderbolt
can be when connected to a system
with internal hard drives that can
keep up with it.
After using the G-RAID with Thunderbolt storage system, we can safely
say that it is tops for an external drive,
even with the speed bottlenecks you
may run into if you use a slower,
notebook hard drive. The G-RAID is
a breeze to set up and put away, although it can get a bit heavy if you are
thinking about carrying it around with
you. Also, while the RAID 0 configuration of the two hard drives inside
provides the best speeds, it also could
be disastrous if one of the two drives
should fail. Opting to configure the
G-RAID to RAID 1 will mirror the two
drives for data protection, but the performance may not be as exceptional.
Even so, the G-RAID with Thunderbolt
is still a well-designed, well-performing storage system and we would love
it if our computer had Thunderbolt
capabilities. G-Technology understands the demands of video's massive
amounts of necessary storage.
SUMMARY
The G-RAID is a solid hard drive that
can speed up your workflow and
keep it simple at the same time.
Adam Vesely is a Videographer/Director of Photography
and Photographer.
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REVIEWS
REVIEWS
HP Z1
HP Z1
Workstation and
ZR2740w Monitor
TECH SPECS
Operating System: Genuine Windows 7
Professional 64-Bit
RAM: 16GB
Processor: Intel Xeon processor
E3-1280, 3.50 GHz
Number of Physical Processors: 4
cores
Base Hard Drive Capacity: 500GB
Hard Drive Interface: SATA 7200 3.5"
drives: 250GB, 500GB, 1TB, 2TB, SATA
10K 2.5"
System Drive: 300GB SSD
Data Drive: 300GB SSD
Video: NVIDIA Quadro 4000M
Optical Drive: Blu-ray, DVD+/-RW
Configurable with RAID: 0, 1
Take a Look Under the Hood
b y J a ck s on W ong
T
he Z1 is Hewlett-Packard’s focal
point of a line of computers that
can provide videographers an all-in-one
machine for post-production. Playing
media is a focus of the Z1, so it quickly
shows promise of becoming a central
station for work and recreation.
The Form
Out of the box, the Z1 is hefty, solid,
and big. Glancing at numbers does not
force it into your brain that 27 inches is
modest for a TV, but this is a workstation we’re dealing with. Of course, we
quickly made room on the desk, but felt
like we should be pulling up a couch
instead and working from six feet away.
Rather, we dove into tests by linking it
Hewlett-Packard
www.hp.com
STRENGTHS
• Easy to change components
• Fast and simple to troubleshoot
• Compact with many conveniences
• Large display
WEAKNESSES
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• Limited inputs and outputs
• Screen glare
• Disc drive is too tight
$1,900 - $2,600 List Price
$5,673 - Price as Configured
16
with a second 27-inch monitor, an HP
ZR2740w.
Setup is a lot nicer than having to fit
a tower on or beneath the desk. The Z1
weighs in at about 47lbs. The base will
often try to lift its heels if you move the
monitor. The display inputs are located
directly behind the HP logo on the
front. These ports have been collected
into a fairly small space and end up
near the joint of the stand and can be a
squeeze when plugging in AC, Ethernet, USB and the ZR2740w’s DisplayPort. As for grabbing media from your
camera, find the right side of the Z1
which houses an SD-sized slot above
a 6-pin FireWire jack. Below these are
two SuperSpeed USB 3.0 jacks and two
1/8-inch jacks for microphone and
headphones.
The Z1 monitor tilts back to become
completely horizontal, now with the
bottom facing you, release the display
just like you would a laptop battery
using two latches that must be slid
outwards before lifting the screen like
a car hood. The best part is, beneath
this computer’s hood is a neatly laidout array of fans, circuitry, plastic and
metal. If you can find the dipstick on a
car, you’ll have little trouble finding the
green tabs that indicate a release for
a given component. As with many elecV IDEOMAKER >>> S EPTEMBER 2012
tronics - don’t force it. With this simple
concept we were able to change out
an SSD and safely handle many major
components. Part swapping is truly fun
and easy with the Z1 - it shows that the
design caters to upgradability.
The tightly constructed Z1 squeezes
discs that enter the right-side slot,
so much so that it is difficult to eject
them. This appears as a very serious
problem at first since a disc will attempt to exit the machine, only to be
recaptured by the mechanism then any
automatic function will take place. We
got our DVDs out by gently prying the
opening apart – just enough for the
drive to eject the disc (oh, the sacrifices
made for space). While all these parts
are working, the Z1 maintains its cool
by expelling most of its generated heat
through vents at the top of the rear.
Features and Capability
Editing is smooth and fast. In fact, it
never felt like we had to wait with our
review unit, though editing performance will vary on which video card
you’ve chosen to aid the CPU. With
a test clip imported, the Z1 rendered
transitions quickly and made them
easy to view. Video playback of local
files and streaming video was very
clean with no jumps. Actually, the only
bottle neck for which we had to wait,
was while transferring files from a
networked storage drive.
Audio from the Z1 is crisp, full and
easy to manipulate. HP provides a
set of silver-colored buttons on the
keyboard and that’s as convenient as
it gets. The rest of the machine wears
black in matte for the keys and bulk
surfaces and glossy for the mouse and
borders of the equipment.
It’s worth mentioning that there is
little fuss between the Z1 and added
devices, whether it be a monitor,
smartphone, or USB. We would have
Z1 with screen lifted
Video Editing Software Included: No
ANALOG VIDEO CAPTURE CARD
Included: No
Disc Authoring Software Included:
Intervideo, Roxio
Display: 27" 2560x1440 pixel, LED
Multiple Monitor Connections: Yes
Rear I/O: USB 2.0 (4), RJ-45 Gb-LAN,
Line-In, Line-Out, Display Port In/Out,
SPDIF, Subwoofer
Side I/O: USB 3.0 (2), IEEE 1394a, Mic,
Headphone, 4-in-1 Media Card Reader
Power Supply: 400W
Warranty: 3 Years, Parts/Labor/Onsite
Service
liked to test some of our beefy storage
devices with it, but no Thunderbolt
or eSATA ports were to be found. We
understand the compromise for space,
but these technologies are essential for
some video producers and perhaps one
aspect in which HP was unable to cater
to videographers.
Generally, video editing bays are
dark rooms, and you’ll want to make
the environment for the Z1 that way
since the reflective glass adds some
strain to the editing process. Of course,
a second monitor is always welcome, so we really felt that getting a
ZR2740w was a blessing.
Displays
The size of the Z1’s
display really hits home
since the more workspace you have, the easier it is to stay organized.
Being organized is one
of the things that keeps
us efficient and helps us
stay sane.
The HP ZR2740w
is definitely a bonus,
there’s no glare on the
screen, it has automatic
sensing of new inputs
and offers the physicalVI D EO MA K ER >>> SEP T EMBER 20 12
ity of a tablet – as in, it rotates. The
applications of a portait-oriented
monitor may not pertain to video
much, but photo editing and working with graphic heavy projects for
magazines or newspapers might be a
lot more fun. As a monitor, it simply
must display information, and aside
from power, the three buttons are
dedicated to cycling sources, adjusting
brightness up and adjusting brightness down. There is no menu but also
no graphic, so it is impossible to make
adjustments that aren’t subjective.
Perks
Our Z1 came with CyberLink YouCam,
an HD webcam! The ability to take a
video of your computer is really handy.
The webcam itself is nicely tucked
away above the screen, with a tiny light
to indicate function and recording.
Troubleshooting is clear. After one
instance of swapping parts within
the Z1, the video card wasn’t seated
correctly. So, the computer did not
turn on again, but the power button
blinked red six times. We then found
the maintenance and service guide
after a quick search of “Power LED”
got directly to the problem. Combine
this information with open eyes and
observation of the machine and any
hang up should be easily identified.
The Z1 is a solid workstation that
can get the job done. You get to
pretend that you’re Tony Stark when
switching hardware, and feel like a
kid with a full entertainment system
when carrying the 27-inch screen
from place to place. Your workflow
can definitely benefit from HP’s Z1,
and for a first in a new line of workstations, it’ll take a lot to top the
number one.
SUMMARY
The Z1 is a solid workstation that is
a joy to use, and a few features away
from being ideal.
contents
Jackson Wong is an associate editor for Videomaker.
17
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2012 Buyer’s Guide
A digital single lens
reflex camera used to
reside in the realm of
the still photographer.
But the landscape
changed in 2008 once
the ability to shoot
high-quality video
evolved.
BY TONY GOMEZ
D
SLRs have experienced remarkable improvements in capture
quality, with sensor resolution now
up to 36 megapixels (MP) in some of
the latest flagship models. The DSLR
models listed here can shoot video in
HD - either 720 or 1080, and some in
the highest 1080/60p mode.
The hallmark of DSLRs has been
the availability of a wide variety of
interchangeable lenses. We also have
another category of smaller digital
cameras with smaller interchangeable
lenses - but lacking the mirror systems which made their predecessor
DSLRs larger and heavier.
In this buyer’s guide we break down
the DSLR camera category by type of
shooter - beginner, intermediate, and
advanced user, and give you some tips
on what to look for in each user category. For the smaller, interchangeable
lens cameras we’ll highlight models
and features from the leading camera
companies.
Beginner Range DSLRs ($500 to
$1,000)
Important performance features to
look for are: sensor size, resolution
(MP), image stabilization (IS), sensitivity (ISO), HD video capability,
included kit lens, viewfinder/LCD, size
and weight. Sensor size is measured
in millimeters, resolution typically
ranges from 10-18MP, representing
millions of pixels. The higher the MP
number, the greater the amount of
pixels defining each image.
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19
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Shutter Range
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
Live MOS
Live MOS
Live MOS
Live MOS
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1280x720, 640x480
Sensor Type
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x424
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x424
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x424
1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
$900
$600
$500
$500
RAW, JPEG, MOV
RAW, JPEG, MOV
RAW, JPEG, MOV
Motion JPEG, RAW, JPEG
RAW, JPEG, RAW+JPEG, MOV, Motion
JPEG, MPO (3D still)
RAW, JPEG, AVCHD, Motion JPEG,
RAW, JPEG, MPO, AVCHD, Motion JPEG
RAW, JPEG, Motion JPEG
Price (Body only, if
applicable)
23.6x15.6mm
23.2x15.4mm
23.1x15.4mm
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
Sensor Type: what type of image sensor can be found within the
camera
Sensor Size: the height and width of the sensor in milimeters
Data Formats: the type of data recorded by the camera
Video Sizes: the video resolution the camera is capable of recording
Frame Rates: the speed at which video is recorded, frames per
second
Image Sizes: the maximum still image picture resolution
Lens Mount Types: the fit or physical lens connection which the
camera will accept
Recording Media: the media onto which the camera records
ISO Range: the camera's range of ISO settings for exposure control
Shutter Range: the minimum and maximum amount of time the
shutter may open for a frame
Mirror: whether the camera possesses a moving mirror-system
Manual Audio Gain: able to adjust audio to a desired amount
Image stabilization is a critical “must have”
feature for stills or video. When hand-holding
the camera, IS minimizes camera shake. ISO is a
range of how well the camera can shoot in low
light. The high ISOs, greater than 1000, allow
more detail to be captured without additional
light. Unfortunately higher ISOs also introduce
degrading image noise.
Nikon has four models: D3100 ($650), D3200
($700), D5100 ($750), and the D90 ($900). With
the exception of the 18-55mm lens with the
D3100, each may be found for its body only
price. The D90 has 12MP and add two MP respectively when you look to the D3100 then D5100.
HD video recording at 24fps is available on each
model. Since these cameras use Nikon DX sensors, the effective focal length is a 1.5x multiplication factor. Body weight is very light,16-22oz,
depending on model.
Canon has four DSLR models: EOS 60D
($1,000), EOS T3i ($750), EOS T2i ($600), EOS
T3 (with lens, $550). The included 18-55mm
IS zoom kit lens is very practical. Each model
can record HD video at 1080p at 30/25/24fps
with the exception of the T3 which is capable
of 30 and 25fps. All four have a focal length
magnification factor of 1.6x, and while the
60D, T3i and T2i have 18MP, the T3 has 12MP.
All models (save for the T3) have optical viewfinders, while the LCD is 3-inches except for
the T3 at 2.7-inches. With body-only weights
between 15 and 24oz. these are very easy to
hand-hold.
Sony offers its Translucent Mirror Technology in a couple different models, notably, the
SLT-A65VK (with lens, $1,000) and the SLT-A57K
($700). A good 24MP resolution is present in
the A65, but shifts down to 16MP for the A57.
HD video can be captured at 1080, with frame
rates at 60p or 24p. The A65 also has a high
resolution OLED viewfinder (2.3 million dots),
which is unique among DSLRs. Both Sony SLTs
Mirror
Manual Audio Gain
ISO Range
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
DX-Format CMOS
DX-Format CMOS
DX-Format CMOS
Live MOS
Live MOS
A/V Out
Flash
Microphone Input
LCD Coverage
4032x3042
4032x3024
4032x3024
4032x3042
$750
$700
$550
$1,700
$1,000
HDMI
USB for Transfer
LCD Monitor Size (in.)
60p, 60i, 30p
60i, 60p, 30p
60i, 60p, 30p
30p
30p, 24p
24p
Approx. Weight (lb.)
Recording Media
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
CF, SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
Maximum Image Size
Nikon F
Nikon F
Nikon F
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Frame Rates
4928x3264
6016x4000
4608x3072
4032x3042
4608x3456
Video Sizes
30p, 24p
60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p
30p, 24p
30p
60i, 30p
Data Formats
3.0"
3.0"
Sensor Size
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x424
1280x720, 640x424, 320x216
Model
Manufacturer
4928x3264 Nikon F
4288x2848 Nikon F
RAW, JPEG, MOV
RAW, JPEG, AVI
FEATURE HEADINGS
20
30' -1/8000
30' -1/8000
30' -1/8000
30' -1/8000
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
30'-1/8000
30' -1/8000
30' -1/8000
DX-Format CMOS 23.6x15.6mm
DX-Format CMOS 23.6x15.8mm
D5100
D3200
D3100
Olympus
E-5
www.olympusamerica.com E-M5
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100-25600
100-6400
100-6400
100-6400
100-6400
100-6400
100-6400
ISO 100-12,800
ISO 100 - 6400
200-3200
5760x3840
5616x3744
5184x3456
5184x3456
5184x3456
5184x3456
4472x2848
4928x3280
7360x4912
4288x2848
$1,200
$850
full screen
100%
98%
100%
96%
95%
95%
95%
100%
100%
100%
60p, 50p, 30p, 25p, 24p
30p, 24p
60p, 50p 30p, 25p, 24p
60p, 50p 30p, 25p, 24p
60p, 50p 30p, 25p, 24p
60p, 50p 30p, 25p, 24p
30p, 25p
60p, 30p, 24p
60p, 30p, 24p
24p
D7000
D90
contents
3.2"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
2.7"
3.2"
3.2"
3.0"
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 720x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080 1920x1080 1280x720 1280x720
1920x1080, 1280x720
1280x720, 640x424, 320x216
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
FX-Format CMOS
FX-Format CMOS
DX-Format CMOS
E-P3
E-PL3
E-PM1
E-PL2
CF, SD, SDHC, SDXC
CF
CF
SD
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
CF, XQD
CF, SD, SDHC
CF, SD, SDHC
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, JPEG, H.264
RAW, TIFF, JPEG, MOV
RAW, TIFF, JPEG, MOV
RAW, JPEG, AVI
$3,500
$2,200
$1,700
$1,000
$800
$700
$550
$6,000
$3,000
$1,700
Nikon
www.nikonusa.com
Canon EF
Canon EF
Canon EF, EF-S
Canon EF, EF-S
Canon EF, EF-S
Canon EF, EF-S
Canon EF, EF-S
Nikon F
Nikon F
Nikon F
36x24mm
36x24mm
22.3x14.9mm
22.3x14.9mm
22.3x14.9mm
22.3x14.9mm
22x14.7mm
36x23.9mm
35.9x24mm
23.6x15.8mm
EOS 5D Mark III
EOS 5D Mark II
EOS 7D
EOS 60D
EOS Rebel T3i
EOS Rebel T2i
EOS Rebel T3
D4
D800
D300S
Canon
www.usa.canon.com
Lens Mount Types
2.1
1.8
1.8
1.6
1.1
1.1
1
2.6
2
1.8
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y Y
Y
100% 100-6400 (25,600)
96% 200-3200
30' -1/8000 1.5 Y
30' -1/4000 1.3 Y
Y
Y
Y Y Y
Y Y
Y
Y
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
95%
95%
95%
100%
100%
100-6400 (25,600)
100-6400
100-3200
200-6400
200-25600
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
60' -1/8000
60' -1/4000
1.2
1
1
1.9
0.9
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
100%
100%
100%
100%
200-12800
200-12800
200-12800
200-6400
60' -1/4000
60'-1/4000
60'-1/4000
60' -1/4000
0.7
0.6
0.5
0.7
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
have IS built into their camera bodies, so there’s
no need to buy more expensive IS lenses. The
A57 also has an external microphone jack for
recording quality audio.
Intermediate Range DSLRs ($1,001 to
$2,000)
It’s all about more performance in the intermediate class - and that comes by way
of improved image sensors, and
faster still image capture. We're
looking at these as body-only
models, but a wide variety of
affordable interchangeable
lenses are available.
Nikon has two models the D7000 ($1,200), and the
D300S ($1,700), with resolutions of 16MP and 12MP reCanon
spectively. The D7000 captures
www.usa.canon.com
stills at 6fps while the slightly
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Recording Media
Media
Recording
LCD Monitor
Monitor Size
Size (in.)
(in.)
LCD
LCD Coverage
Coverage
LCD
ISO Range
Range
ISO
Shutter Range
Range
Shutter
Approx. Weight
Weight (lb.)
(lb.)
Approx.
HDMI
HDMI
USB for
for Transfer
Transfer
USB
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
SD, SDHC
SD, SDHC, SDXC (guarantee up to 128GB)
SD, SDHC, SDXC (guarentee up to 128GB)
SD, SDHC, SDXC (guarentee up to 128GB)
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD,SDHC,SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC,
Memory Stick Pro
3.0"
3.0"
96% 200-12800, expandable to 100-25600 30' –1/6000 1.2
100% 100-12800 (selectable up to ISO3200) 30' –1/8000 0.8 Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y Y
3.0"
100% 100-12800 (selectable up to ISO3200) 30' -1/4000 0.5 Y
Y
Y Y
3.0"
100% 100-12800 (selectable up to ISO3200) 30' -1/4000 0.5 Y
Y
Y Y
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
2.7"
3.0"
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1920x810, 1280x720, 640x480, 320x240
25p
4288x2848 Pentax K
30fps, 24fps (1920x810 Only) 5472x3648 Samsung NX
CMOS
23.5x15.7mm
JPEG, RAW (SRW), MP4
1920x1080, 1920x810, 1280x720, 640x480, 320x240
$700
CMOS
23.5x15.7mm
RAW, JPEG, MP4, DCF, DPOF
1920x1080, 1920x810, 1280x720, 640x480, 320x240
$1,400
$900
$700
$600
$600
HD CMOS
HD CMOS
HD CMOS
HD CMOS
HD CMOS
23.5x15.6mm
23.5x15.6mm
23.5x15.6mm
23.4x15.6mm
23.5x15.6mm
RAW, RAW-JPEG, JPEG
RAW, RAW-JPEG, JPEG
RAW, RAW-JPEG, JPEG
RAW, RAW-JPEG, JPEG
RAW, JPEG, MP4
1920x1080,1440x1080
1920x1080,1440x1080
1920x1080, 1440x1080,640x480
1920x1080, 1440x1080,640x480
1280x720, 640x480
60p,30p, 24p
60p,30p, 24p
60p, 30p, 24p
60p, 30p, 24p
30p
Live MOS
Live MOS
Live MOS
Live MOS
Live MOS
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
CMOS
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
17.3x13.0mm
17.3 x 13.0mm
23.7x15.7mm
23.7x15.7mm
25.4x58.4mm
23.7x15.7mm
K-r
NX20
$700
$1,100
CMOS
CMOS
NX210
$900
NX1000
Alpha A77
Alpha A65
Alpha A57
Alpha A37
Alpha NEX-C3
Data Formats
Formats
Data
23.6x15.8mm
23.5x15.7mm
$1,000
$600
$700
$600
$500
$1,100
$850
$750
$700
frame rate. The selectable 16000 ISO represents
exceptional range. The A77’s OLED viewfinder
can display five important controls, and shows
images in vivid color with real-time adjustments.
Sony A-mount lens are compatible.
Olympus’ flagship E-5 ($1,700) gets 12MP and
has a 3-inch swivel LCD. The E-5 may use a full
library of Zuiko Digital lenses, and is a rugged
DSLR. Video recording is at 720p resolution. The
recording format is AVI Motion JPEG with a maximum HD recording time of seven minutes.
Advanced DSLRs ($2,001 to $6,000)
In this category, it’s all about image quality
and audio capability. Image quality is largely
determined by sensor size, and here you’ll find
larger sensors from the APS variety up to largest “full frame” type – 35mm with resolutions
reaching 36MP. Full frame sensors are the
“holy grail” of advanced and pro users because
6000x3376
6000x3376
4912x3264
4912x2760
4912x3264
Sony A-mount
Sony A-mount
Sony A-mount
Sony A-mount
Sony E
with them, one can use the entire focal length
of a lens, not some magnified factor equivalent. Most DSLRs carry some type of mic, but
having an external mic jack is a differentiating
factor. Physicality is again an issue since all
the high-end models are on the heavy side at
about two pounds; you won’t be hand-holding
them for long!
Nikon has the D4 ($6,000) and D800
($3,000). First, the D800 uses the new “king
of the hill” 36MP full-frame FX CMOS sensor.
Other pro features include: magnesium alloy
frame for durability with dirt and moistureproof construction. It has high and expandable ISO with low noise, an external mic jack,
and uncompressed HDMI video output for
broadcast quality external HD video capture.
On the negative side, its body alone is hefty at
32oz. Nikon’s D4 has made big splashes so far
with its 16MP and FX CMOS sensor. It features
100-12800
100-1600
100-3200
100-3200
200-12800
30' -1/8000
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
30' -1/4000
1.7
1.3
1.1
1.1
0.5
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
A/V Out
Out
A/V
Flash
Flash
Microphone Input
Input
Microphone
Mirror
Mirror
Manual Audio
Audio Gain
Gain
Manual
Lens Mount
Mount Types
Types
Lens
0.9
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.5
1.6
1.4
0.4
1.2
Maximum Image
Image Size
Size
Maximum
60' -1/4000
60' -1/4000
60' -1/4000
60' -1/4000
60' -1/4000
30" -1/8000
30" -1/6000
30" -1/8000
30' -1/4000
Frame Rates
Rates
Frame
160-12800
160-12800
160-12800
160-6400
160-6400
100-12800, expandable to 80-51200
100-12800, expandable to 100-25600
125-6400
100-12800, expandable to 100-25600
4752x3168
4000x3000
4592x3448
4592x3448
4000x2248
4928x3264
4928x3264
4000x3000
4928x3264
Lumix DMC-GH2K
Lumix DMC-GF5
Lumix DMC-GX1
Lumix DMC-G3K
Lumix DMC-GF3
K-5
K-30
Q
K-01
speedier D300S shoots up to 7fps. Be aware that
the D300S shoots video in AVI at 1280x720 and
24p, but the D7000 can capture 1920x1080 and
24p.
Canon’s EOS 7D ($1,700) has an excellent
18MP CMOS sensor, and can also shoot HD
video at 1080, 24p/25p or 720, 50p/60p. The
EOS 60Da fits our intermediate category but is
tailored for the astrophotographer and in terms
of video capability is the same as the 60D, so
don't get mixed up. Canon offers a wide variety
of EF prime and zoom lenses in many popular
focal lengths and each is compatible with the
7D and 60D.
Sony’s flagship 24MP SLT-A77V ($1,400), is a
speed demon when it comes to stills at 12fps.
Thanks to their unique Translucent Mirror Technology, the A77 is a videographer’s dream camera - offering full time continuous auto focus,
and capturing HD video at 1080 with 60p, or 24p
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100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
100%
Video Sizes
Sizes
Video
Sony
www.store.sony.com
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
3.0"
60i, 60p, 30p, 24p
30p, 25p
60p, 60i, 30
60i, 60p, 50p, 50p
60i, 60p
30p, 25p
60, 50, 30, 25, 24
30
60, 50, 30, 25, 24
Sensor Size
Size
Sensor
Samsung
www.samsung.com
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
SD, SDHC, SDXC
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480, 848x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480, 848x480, 320x240
1920x1080, 1280x720
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720, 640x480
1920x1080, 1280x720p, 640x480
Sensor Type
Type
Sensor
PENTAX
www.pentaximaging.com
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Micro Four Thirds
Pentax K
Pentax K
Pentax Q
Pentax K
JPEG, RAW, MPO, AVCHD
RAW, JPEG, MPO, AVCHD
RAW, JPEG, AVCHD M-JPEG
RAW, JPEG, MOV MPEG-4 AVC (h.264)
RAW, JPEG, MOV MPEG-4 AVC (h.264)
RAW, JPEG, MOV MPEG-4 AVC (h.264),
AVI/MJPG for Interval Movie
JPEG, RAW, MP4
Price (Body
(Body only,
only, ifif
Price
applicable)
applicable)
Panasonic
www.panasonic.com
Model
Model
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Y Y
Y Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
Y
a 2.7x crop mode that allows full resolution
at the 2.7 magnification and can take
2MP stills while shooting 1080p
video. Control a stereo mic with
on-screen audio levels and
20-step adjustments. Mass
may be an issue here since
the D4 weighs in at 42oz.
Canon offers two models - the EOS 5D Mark
III ($3,500) and the EOS
5D Mark II ($2,200). The
lesser-costing, 5D Mark II
has video captured at 1080
PENTAX
resolution. Both models have
www.pentaximaging.com
full frame CMOS sensors, and
their video frame rates include 30p,
25p and 24p. The 5D Mark III features a
61-point auto focus system to help ensure effective use of its 22MP resolution. Couple either of
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23
Workshops
Get Real Experience
Behind the Camera
when you Attend a Videomaker Workshop
these camera bodies with a EF prime lens f/1.8
or less and it’s possible to achieve true cinemalike shallow depth of field. Many low budget
features have been shot with the 5D Mark II
for this very reason. The 5D Mark II weighs in
20oz. and the 5D Mark III is 30oz., making the
magnesium alloy construction well worth the
weight.
Mirrorless Cameras
These cameras are characterized by smaller and
lighter bodies, without mirrors but with EVFs,
and smaller interchangeable lenses. Sony, Panasonic, and Olympus are leaders in this newest
category so we’ll focus on their models. We’ll
also highlight the Canon EOS M.
The Sony NEX-5N (with lens, $700) has
16MP resolution, while the NEX-7 (with lens,
$1,350) has 24MP. The NEX-7 has the same
OLED viewfinder as the A77 that displays
clearly in varied shooting conditions. Both
NEX-5N and NEX-7 models can shoot stills at
a speedy 10fps. E-mount lenses are available
for both models. Video is captured in 1080 at
60p or 24p, and can be output via HDMI Mini.
Make the most of manual focus with a peaking
function that highlights the edges of what’s in
focus. Both models are very lightweight, about
10oz. (body only).
Panasonic offers five cameras in the Lumix G
series, the DMC-G3 ($600), DMC-GF5 (with lens,
$600), DMC-G5 (with lens, $800), DMC-GX1
($700) and the DMC-GH2 (with lens, $1,000).
Each one except the GF5 has 16MP resolution, a 3-inch touch LCD, and an EVF. These
can record to the limit of the SD
memory card or as many as
30 minutes.
Olympus offers six
models, for example,
the E-P3 ($900) and
E-PM1 ($500). These
models have 12MP
and use the Micro
Four Thirds Lens
system. They shoot
1080 at 60i. A negative for this series
is no external microSony
phone ports.
www.store.sony.com
Olympus’ newest OM-D
E-M5 ($1,000), is a retro
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24
digital version
of the classic
OM series
SLRs. The
16MP OMD
E-M5 is
built-into a
lightweight
Nikon
15oz. alumiwww.nikonusa.com
num, magnesium-alloy frame
that is dustproof
and splashproof. Five
axis IS helps eliminate five
different forms of unwanted camera movement.
The 3D AF tracking feature is also perfect for
video capture with rapidly moving subjects. The
built-in 1.4 million dot high resolution EVF has
unique real-time features such as monitoring
exposure adjustments. HD video is either 1080i
or 720p. Rare among all cameras is the 3-inch
tilting/touch OLED display screen. The level of
control over exposure and focus give this camera plenty of uses.
Nikon has a couple competing models: the 1
J1 and 1 V1. The 1 J1 is available in four different lens kits starting at $650. The more expensive 1 V1 is available for $900 for the single
zoom lens or $1,150 for either the wide angle
or telephoto zoom kit. The Nikon 1 V1 and 1 J1
CMOS sensors are a fraction of the size of the
APS standard, but deliver good image quality
with 10MP resolution. Video can be recorded at
720, 60p and 1080, 60i/30p. Unique features of
these cameras are the slow-motion modes - 400
and 1,200 fps. The viewing screen is a fixed
3-inch diagonal LCD. Small size and weight
are paramount in the Nikon 1, with the bodies
weighing in at 8.3oz. and 10.4oz for the 1 J1 and
1 V1 respectively.
Finally Canon recently developed the EOS M
(with lens, $800) which comes with a solid 18MP
CMOS sensor and can use Canon's EF lenses.
Other Considerations
There are other things to consider before popping for one of these cameras: What is the maximum HD recording time? How convenient is it to
make audio recording adjustments? Do you want
to create cinematic video with full depth of field
control? Could you manipulate the focus or other
features while shooting handheld?
Many cameras here can record a
maximum of 29 minutes per shot. If
you need longer recording time, such
as for events, you might be better
served with a traditional camcorder
without the recording time limits.
Next, how easy is it to make changes in audio recording level? Only a few
MANY CAMERAS HERE
CAN RECORD A MAXIMUM
OF 29 MINUTES PER SHOT.
camera models in this overview offer
an external microphone input with
full manual control, the Canon 5D
Mark II being a popular choice. If you
want full depth of field control, then a
DSLR with a “fast” prime lens is your
only answer. Only through the use of
such a lens with a wide f-stop can you
achieve the narrow depth of field that
is the cinematic standard today.
All the best DSLRs and mirrorless
interchangeable lens cameras have
manual features. You’re going to have
to practice your manual focus before
you achieve that smooth rack focus something you would expect from a
traditional camcorder.
Final Words
Any of these DSLR or mirrorless cameras can capture outstanding still images. But depending on your needs,
or existing compliment of lenses you
might also find them essential for
shooting video as well. The era of
the all-in-one camera/HD camcorder
seems to be finally at hand. Happy
shopping!
Tony Gomez is a veteran producer, editor, videographer,
digital photographer, and reviewer of consumer and
professional digital imaging and video products, with
over 30 years experience.
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date, a 50% refund applies. No cancellations, refunds or substitution dates will be given after 7 calendar days prior to the workshop start
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No matter what kind of camera you use: a studio camera, camcorder,
DSLR, pocket video camera or smartphone, they all need a solid, steady
mount to make pleasing video that looks as professional as possible.
BY JIM MARTIN
W
ild, reality style shooting may be popular
but you should use it carefully, for effect.
Most shots should be steady and level, even if
the camera moves. Whether it is static or moving
there are many ways to support the camera.
Tripods
The basic camera support every videographer
should have, tripods are composed of two distinct and usually separate parts that combine for
support: the tripod head and the legs.
When shopping for tripods keep in mind how
you will use them. Will you set up in one place
or move around? Are you shooting over crowds
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27
Camera Supports
contents
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8 Ball Camera Support
www.8ballcamerasupport.com
ABC Products
www.abc-products.de
Anton/Bauer, Inc.
www.antonbauer.com
Atlas Camera Support
www.atlascamerasupport.com
B. Hague & Co. Ltd.
www.b-hague.co.uk
Barber Tech Video Products
www.barbertvp.com
•
•
BARSKA
www.barska.com
•
•
Basson Steady System
Www.bassonsteady.com.ar
Baughan Productions, Inc.
www.levelcam.com
Bencher, Inc.
www.bencher.com
•
Benro
www.benrousa.com
•
Berkey System
www.berkeysystem.com
Berlebach Stativtechnik
www.berlebach.de
•
Bescor Video Accessories
www.bescor.com
•
Black Bear Studio Systems
www.blackbearstudiosystems.com
Brunton Outdoor Group
www.brunton.com
BushHawk Products
www.bushhawk.com
Calumet Photographics
www.calumetphoto.com
Cam Caddie
www.camcaddie.com
Cambo
www.cambo.com
Camera Motion Research LLC
www.camotionllc.com
Camera Support Industries
www.cineped.com
Camera Turret Company
www.cameraturret.com
Cammate Systems
www.cammate.com
Camtrol
www.camtrol.com
CARBON XL LLC
www.carbon-xl.com
•
Cartoni
www.cartoni.com
•
Cavision Enterprises Ltd
www.cavision.com
Celestron, LLC.
www.celestron.com
CINEIK
www.cineik.com
Cinekinetic
www.cinekinetic.com
Cinetech
www.cinetechonline.com
•
Cinevate Inc.
www.cinevate.com
•
Classic Video Products
www.shotrod.com
CobraCrane USA/SteadyTrackers
www.cobracraneusa.com
Comely Productions
www.camcrane.com
Contour Inc.
www.contour.com
CPM Camera Gear
28
www.cpmcamerarigs.com
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or do you need a sturdy mount for
long distance shots? Are you shooting
film style, or documentary? Each type
and style has different needs requiring different tools.
Say you’re an event videographer
and you need to shoot over crowds at
a wedding or music performance. If
you don’t need to change locations, a
tall tripod, jib or crane would be fine.
However, if you are using a small DV
camcorder and moving often, you
might look for a smaller tripod such
as Libec’s RT30B ($270).
Shooting sports, however, often
requires long distance shots and
rapid movements. Here you’ll need
a shorter and sturdier system that
might take a little more time to set
up. If you’re shooting film style,
you’ll need a versatile tripod with
three-section legs and a removable
spreader, the device that both holds
the legs together and keeps them
apart. This allows tripod use in many
different locations and heights. A ball
head enables you to level the camera
even with the tripod at an odd angle.
A good choice could be the Libec
RS-350, $1,540 with a ground level
spreader, 75mm ball head and sliding
mounting plate.
Tripod legs are made of a few
different materials. Wood and aluminum are a bit heavier and less
expensive. Advanced materials such
as magnesium and carbon fiber
are very light and strong but more
expensive. Check how many sections
the legs have and how long they are.
These are factors in how high the
tripod legs will extend and how compact the legs will pack up. Some legs
have two collapsible sections and
others have three. Some are styled
like telescopes (single shaft) and
others are like crutches (dual shaft).
The dual shaft tripod is sturdier and
steadier but heavier. The locks that
support the legs when extended
should be easy to operate and robust
in strength.
The Heads and Tails of It
In two-part systems, you attach either
a ball shaped or a flat-plated (often still
able to be leveled) head to legs. The
advantage of the ball head is that leveling the camera is much quicker.
Sometimes, however, the flat plate
tripod has an advantage. It usually has
a vertical shaft running through the
center of the tripod so you can pedestal the camera up or down. The Manfrotto 755XB, aluminum tripod, $334,
is a good example of this type. Tripods
that pedestal up and down have an advantage when shooting events where
you need to raise or lower the camera
without repositioning the tripod, but
can wobble if raised too high or have
too heavy of a load.
When discussing the head we must
mention one of the most important
features, the pan and tilt drag. An
adjustable drag helps dampen any
sudden or jerky movements from your
hand and gives you some resistance
to push against when panning. A fluid
head is the preferred type for shooting
video but there are also friction types,
which are less expensive and easier
to maintain. Shop carefully. There are
true fluid heads and semi-fluid heads.
True fluid heads use a cartridge with
a special fluid inside for resistance
while semi-fluid heads use springs
and friction plates with a heavy fluid
adding smoothness to the resistance.
The Manfrotto 502HD Pro Fluid Head,
available with both a ball and flat plate
mount, at $260 and $230 respectively,
is an example of a semi-fluid type.
The drag control adjusts the resistance you feel as you pan or tilt. There
are also controls for pan and tilt lock,
to stop the head from moving. Look
for large controls that are easy to find
with your hand while looking through
the viewfinder. It’s good if the drag
and lock controls are different so you
won’t confuse them in the dark. Forcing the head to move against the lock
will damage the system.
It’s always best to try out a tripod
Standard Tripods
Tabletop Tripods
Shoulder Mounts
Body-Worn supports
Hand-held supports
Mountable supports
Dollies
Jibs/Cranes
Monopods
Pedestals
Heads
Sliders
www.elementtechnica.com
Website
Website
3ality Technica
Manufacturer
Manufacturer
Standard Tripods
Tabletop Tripods
Shoulder Mounts
Body-Worn supports
Hand-held supports
Mountable supports
Dollies
Jibs/Cranes
Monopods
Pedestals
Heads
Sliders
Buyer’s Guide
Dana Dolly
www.danadolly.com
Delkin Devices
www.delkin.com
Dolica
www.dolica.com
DVTEC
www.dvtec.tv
Eagle Beaming International Co., Ltd www.acebil.com
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Easyrig
www.easyrig.com
Edelkrone
www.edelkrone.com
Endzone Video Systems
www.endzonevideo.com
•
EZFX, Inc.
www.ezfx.com
•
FloatCam
www.floatcam.eu
GearNex
www.cinetoys.com
Genus
www.genus-tech.us
Giottos Industrial Inc.
www.giottos.com
•
Gitzo
www.gitzo.us
•
Glidecam Industries Inc.
www.glidecam.com
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Glidetrack
www.glidetrack.com
Gyromounts.com
www.gyromounts.com
Habbycam
www.habbycam.com
Hakuba USA, Inc.,
www.hakubausa.com
Hatcams LLC
www.hatcams.com
HI-POD INC
www.hi-pod.com
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Hollywood General Machining, Inc.
www.porta-jib.com
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Hoodman Corporation
www.hoodmanusa.com
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iDC Photo Video
www.idcphotovideo.com
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ikan Corporation
www.ikancorp.com
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indiSYSTEM
www.indisystem.com
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Glidecam Industries Inc.
www.glidecam.com
Zacuto
www.zacuto.com
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Tiffen www.tiffen.com
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Camera Supports
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www.industrialrev.com
Intel-A-Jib
www.intel-a-jib.com
Iomounts
www.iomounts.com
JL Fisher Inc.
www.jlfisher.com
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JOBY, Inc.
www.joby.com
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JonyJib
www.jonyjib.com
juicedLink
www.juicedlink.com
K-Tek
www.ktekbooms.com
KB Systems
www.kbsystem.com
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Kessler Crane
www.kesslercrane.com
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Kingdom, Inc.
www.kingdom.com
Kirk Enterprises, Inc.
www.kirkphoto.com
Libec Sales of America, Inc.
www.libecsales.com
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Manfrotto
www.manfrotto.us
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Matthews Studio Equipment Inc.
www.msegrip.com
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Merlin Video Dolly
www.merlindolly.com
MICRODOLLY, INC
www.microdolly.com
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Miller Camera Support LLC
www.millertripods.com
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MK-V
www.mk-v.com
Monostat of Switzerland
www.monostat.com
Movecam Inc.
www.movcam.com
NcSTAR
www.ncstar.com
NOVOFLEX
www.novoflex.com
Oconnor
http://www.ocon.com/
Omni-Tracker
www.omni-tracker.com
Omnipod
www.omni-pod.com
Panther Dollies & Cranes LLC
www.panther.us
Paterson Photographic Ltd.
www.patersonphotographic.com
Plume Ltd.
www.plumeltd.com
Premier Studio Equipment Inc.
www.premierstudioequipment.
com
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Promaster
www.promaster.com
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Prompter People, Inc.
www.prompterpeople.com
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Rabbit Audio Video Inc.
www.rabbitav.com
Really Right Stuff
www.reallyrightstuff.com
Redrock Microsystems, LLC
www.redrockmicro.com
RigWheels
www.rigwheels.com
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Ronford-Baker Engineering Company www.ronfordbaker.co.uk
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Dollies
Dollies provide rolling movement for
cameras and can range in size from
Standard Tripods
Tabletop Tripods
Shoulder Mounts
Body-Worn supports
Hand-held supports
Mountable supports
Dollies
Jibs/Cranes
Monopods
Pedestals
Heads
Sliders
Industrial Revolution
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a set of wheels for your tripod to a
rolling, four-wheeled platform for the
camera and operator. Some tripod
and platform dollies also have tracks
for slightly uneven ground. A tripod
dolly, or set of wheels that the tripod
mounts on, is very handy for studio
situations in which there is a clear,
smooth floor. Concerts or stage events
with seated audiences are a good fit
for a tripod dolly. Some tripod dolly
systems also run on portable tracks
and are usually less expensive than
platform track dollies.
Platform dollies, with or without
tracks, are best used for film style
shooting. When using a platform
dolly without tracks look for big,
pneumatic tires. They provide more
cushioning over rough ground. Track
dollies, of course, have wheels designed for a specific track. Matthews
Studio Equipment has a few platform
dolly systems, the basic Doorway
Dolly, ($2,600) the Round-d-Round
Doorway Dolly, ($3,400) and the
Western Dolly, ($3,250) a larger and
heavier duty platform dolly. Matthews
also has a track system that works
with any dolly 34-inches wide or less
- the Centipede ($2,920).
Other variations of the dolly are
sliders and camera trolleys. The slider
system is a small set of rails that a
small camera platform, or slider,
moves on when pushed by hand.
The trolley system, like the slider, is a
small, platform that rides on rails and
supports the camera head, however,
this platform is a little larger, is motorized and controlled remotely. An example is the ProTracker Trolley from
the Camera Turret Company, $600 for
the trolley and $99 for each three-foot
section of track.
CPM Camera Rigs has a CPM Carbon Slyder - Stage 2, $399, which is
a good example of a slider. You place
the rail system on the ground for low
shots, on a tabletop for higher shots
or mounted between two tripods.
The Libec TR-320 track system,
$2,380, includes track and a Libec
tripod dolly for use with any Libec
tripod or just a Libec head, for low
angle shots.
Website
www.indurogear.com
before buying. One factor that you
must test is backlash, when the camera shifts backwards a slight amount
at the end of a pan or tilt as you release the handle; not ideal. Other tripod features to look for are a bubble
level; make sure it’s there and easy
to see, and a sliding camera mounting plate, which helps to center the
camera over the head’s pivot point.
Also notice what type of control arm
is used, and if it can be moved and
adjusted easily.
There is a wide range of prices and
features available. Libec’s TH-650DV,
$195, is an entry-level system with
advanced features. Sachtler’s Ace M
GS system, $615, with a fluid head
and glass fiber composite legs, is a
good choice for compact camcorders
and DSLR cameras.
The Libec RS-350 system, $1,540,
supports as much as 20 pounds, has a
ball head and dual shaft legs. Manfrotto’s 509HD Pro Video Head 100 with
545B legs, $1,650, is a fine example of
a true cartridge-type fluid head.
Sachtler has the FSB 8 tripod
system, $2,550, which combines the
FSB 8 fluid head with the DA 75 L
legs. The head features a large sliding
leveling plate and a leveling bubble
that illuminates when touched. The
Libec LS-70, $2,490, is a high-end,
heavy-duty system with a 100mm ball
head and can handle camcorders that
weigh as much as 33 pounds.
A cousin to the tripod - the
monopod - uses only one leg, much
like a cane for cameras. The camera
mounts on the head plate, like a tripod, and then you rest the monopod
on the ground. Some monopods,
such as Manfrotto’s 560B-1, $178,
and 561BHDV-1, $345, even include
fluid tilt heads. Other companies,
such as Vanguard, include ball heads
which are preferred by many professional shooters for their accurate
rotation and better stability. Vanguard’s Tracker AP-364 ($100) can
use a ball head.
Manufacturer
Website
Standard Tripods
Tabletop Tripods
Shoulder Mounts
Body-Worn supports
Hand-held supports
Mountable supports
Dollies
Jibs/Cranes
Monopods
Pedestals
Heads
Sliders
Manufacturer
Induro
www.sachtler.com
Buyer’s Guide
SAKAR INC.
www.vivitar.com
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Sakar, Inc.
www.sakar.com
Satarii, Inc.
www.satarii.com
Scorpion Support
www.scorpionsupport.com
SHAPE wlb Inc.
www.shapewlb.com
Shootools
www.shootools.com
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SIMA Products Corporation
www.simacorp.com
SkyEye Corporation
www.skyeye.com
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Smith-Victor Corporation
www.smithvictor.com
Solid Glide Inc.
www.solidglide.com
Sony Electronics, Inc.
www.sony.com
Sonya and Daniel Entertainment
www.iseeallmobile.com
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Spider Support Systems
www.spidersupport.com
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Stanton Video Services, Inc.
www.jimmyjib.com
Sticky Pod
www.stickypod.com
Studio 1 Productions, Inc
www.studio1productions.com
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Sun-State Productions/Ultra Camera www.ultracameramounts.com
Mounts
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Sunpak Division/ToCAD Amer.
www.tocad.com
Switronix
www.switronix.com
Tamrac
www.tamrac.com
Telemetrics Inc.
www.telemetricsinc.com
Telescopic LLC
www.technojibrentals.com
That Cat Camera Support, LLC
www.cameraslider.com
THK Photo Products
www.thkphoto.com
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Tiffen
www.tiffen.com
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Trek Technologies LLC
www.trek-tech.com
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UltraLight Control Systems
www.ulcs.com
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VANGUARD
www.vanguardusa.com
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VARAVON
www.varavon.com
VariZoom
www.varizoom.com
Video Innovators
www.videoinnovators.com
Vinten
www.vinten.com
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Vortex Optics
www.vortexoptics.com
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Wood’s Powr-Grip Co., Inc.
www.powrgrip.com
Woodman Labs, Inc.
www.goprocamera.com
WOXOM
www.woxom.net
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Xshot
www.xshotpix.com
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Zacuto
www.zacuto.com
Zhumell
www.zhumell.com
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Camera Supports
NEW TOYS
With so many different cameras and camcorders on the market it’s rough trying to find a camera
support that is versatile enough for all of the cameras or camcorders you might have in your arsenal.
Filmtoys is a new system, made in Nashville, that is comprised of a collection of blocks, plates,
handles and connectors which allow you to assemble the camera support that you need whenever
and wherever you need it. Machined out of black aluminum and anodized, the blocks and plates are
much like a child’s construction set - you can assemble the parts as needed, and even add accessories during a shoot. Find them at www.filmtoys.com.
VIXIA HF M52
ContourROAM
HD Flash Memory Camcorder
• Solid State HD Sports Camcorder
• Waterproof to 3’ & impact-resistant
• Wide-angle (170°) fixed-focus lens
• Rotating Lens with laser-aided leveling
• Record 1080p to 720P HD video
resolutions @30/25fps
• One switch turn-on & record
• One-click video uploading
• Record onto microSD media (up to 32GB)
• Canon 1/3” HD 2.37Mp CMOS pro image sensor
• 1920 x 1080 recording on to SD/SDHC/SDXC media
• Internal 32GB flash memory
• HD 10x optical zoom lens
• 3.0” widescreen LCD
• Optical image stabilization
• Cinematic Features
• 24p cinema & 30p progressive modes
• Microphone & headphone inputs
• Built-In WiFi
#COROAM
ContourROAM Camcorder Watersports Kit #CORWS
The camera jib consists of a long, boom arm
usually mounted on a tripod with a fulcrum
point near the base and counterweights on the
short end. With the camera mounted on the
long side, you may move the jib to raise the
camera freely and smoothly from ground level
to several feet over the operator’s head.
Less expensive jibs may only include a tilt
function for the camera. While others include
remotely controlled pan and tilt heads and a
remote monitor. Some more expensive jibs
include full remote camera controls. Jibs require
a counterweight, and indiSYSTEM got creative
with their AIRjib, $229, by designing around
plastic beverage bottles.
CobraCraneUSA’s FotoCrane UltraLite jib
($235) is a small, inexpensive tripod-mounted
jib. This jib will elevate a camera to a height of
eight feet when mounted on a five-foot tripod.
The CobraCrane II ($345), can support cameras as heavy as 20 pounds and has a reach of
12 feet while the VariZoom QuickJib ($1,200)
will lift a 50-pound camera from ground level
to over 10 feet.
Cranes
The big brother to the jib, the crane allows
camera movements from ground level to high
over your subject and tend to be longer and
carry more features. Cranes are great for flying
cameras over the audience at a concert. Prices
range from a few hundred for smaller systems to
several thousand for the larger systems.
The Glidecam Camcrane 200, at $600, is an
affordable crane with a long reach. With the adjustable boom set to 8-foot, its maximum length,
it can lift a 25-pound camera from ground level
to a 10-foot elevation. The boom mounts on a
medium or heavy-duty tripod with the standard
mounting bolt.
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Camera Turret Company has the ProTracker
Crane ($1,000) which is capable of raising 38
pounds to 11 feet above the tripod’s height.
Handheld and Body Mounted
If you like the freedom and movement of a jib
arm but don’t want to be held stationary by a
tripod, then consider handheld or body mounted
camera supports.
Steadicam, the originator of the body mounted
camera stabilizers, makes a large assortment of
both handheld and body mounted stabilization
system. Designed by Garrett Brown, the new
Merlin 2, $850, aims to give the video enthusiast
the same smooth motion of Steadicam’s $60,000
professional film rigs.
Another popular handheld rig is Zacuto’s
shoulder mounted Indie Kit V2, $2,390. This very
adjustable rig will support a large number of popular cameras with a matte box and follow focus.
Zacuto makes a large variety of handheld and
shoulder mounted camera supports for video and
DSLR cameras. The Bolt Action, $1,610, is one of
Zacuto’s simplest in-line, shoulder mounted dualhandgrip system for DSLRs.
Let’s Go Shopping
Camera supports, in all of the various sizes and
types, are your most important tools, second
only to the camera. Take your time shopping, it is
entirely likely that your support will outlast your
camera. Explore your needs and wants, look at
your budget carefully, then dive into that wide
marketplace, and have fun.
Jim Martin is a producer, editor and journalist with more than 30 years
experience in broadcasting.
For comments, email: [email protected], use article
#15343 in the subject line. You can comment and rate this
article by going online: www.videomaker.com/article/15343
Mega
Pixels
#CAHFM52
HDR-PJ760V
®
HD HERO2 / 3D Kit
• Records 1080p, 960p, 720p HD Video
• SD/SDHC up to 32GB
• 1/2.3", 11Mp CMOS sensor
• 2X sharper pro glass lens
• f/2.8 Fixed Focus
• 170º wide, 127º medium FOV
(including 1080p)
• 90º narrow FOV • Microphone input
GoPro 3D kit - 3D waterproof housing
for (2) 1080p HD HERO cameras, with 3D editing software
Jibs
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#GOHOH2 / GO3DH
MHS-TS55/S
• 1920 x 1080 60p HD recording
• 1/2.88” back-illuminated Exmor R CMOS sensor
• Built-in projector (Up to a 100” Diag.)
• Internal 96GB flash memory
• SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot • 3.0” LCD
• 10x optical & 17x extended zoom
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens
• Geotagging though GPS & NAVTEQ maps
• Records 1080p HD video • Live WiFi streaming
• Wirelessly upload videos to internet
• Internal 8GB flash memory (shoot Up to 3 Hrs)
• Captures 12.8 Mp still images
• 1/2.5” Exmor CMOS sensor
• 3.0” touch screen LCD screen
• SteadyShot image stabilization
• 4x digital zoom
• LED light for low-light filming
• Flip-out USB arm • Mac & PC compatible
• Internal 32GB flash memory • SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot
• 3x 1/4.1”, 3.05Mp sensors
• 3D recording with optional VW-CLT2 3D lens
• 1080/60p recording at a 28-Mbps bit rate
• Leica Dicomar 12x optical,
23x inteligent zoom lens
• 3.5” wide angle 3D LCD screen
• Pre-record function
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HX-WA2
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800-947-9925
212-444-5025
HDR-TD20V
3D HD Handycam Camcorder
• Capture 1920 x 1080 HD video
• Record onto SD/SDHC/SDXC media cards
• Waterproof up to 9.8 feet (3 meters)
• 5x optical, 12x wide-range,
and 15x intelligent zoom
• 1/2.33” MOS Sensor • Electric image stabilization
• 285-degree rotating 2.6” wide LCD screen
• Panorama shooting mode • Face detection mode
• High-speed consecutive shooting mode
• Includes software for easy web uploading
• Shoot f D 3D in 1920 x 1080 60p/24p
• Dual 1/4.0” back-illuminated Exmor
CMOS sensors
• Dedicated 2D/3D switch
• 3.5” LCD (3D viewing without
3D glasses)
• Optical 10x & 17x extended zoom
• 5.1 ch surround mic
14
HDR-GW77V
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Waterproof HD Dual Camcorder
• Solid State HD Waterproof Camcorder
• 16GB internal flash memory
• Waterproof down to 16.4’ (5 m)
• Waterproof, shockproof, dustproof
• Shoot HD 1920 x 1080/60p Video
• 1/3.9”, 5.4Mp Back-illuminated
“Exmor R” CMOS sensor
• 10x optical Sony G series lens
• 3” LCD screen • Geotagging with built-in GPS
24
HC-X900M
3 MOS HD Flash Memory Camcorder
Blue #PAHXWA2BL / Orange #PAHXWA2O
www.BandH.com
#SOHDRPJ760VB
Bloggie Live HD Camcorder
#SOMHSTS55S
Over 300,000 products,
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HXR-NX3D1
Professional 3D Compact HD Camcorder
• Dual 1/4" Exmor R CMOS sensors
• Two Sony G lenses (10x optical in 3D)
• 96 GB internal memory
• One SD or Memory Stick card slot
• 3.5" LCD (view 3D glasses-free)
• Full 1920 x 1080 in 3D and 2D
• 3D modes: 60i, 50i, 24p (28 Mb/s)
• 2D modes: 60p, 50p, 60i, 50i, 24p, 25p
• Active SteadyShot in 3D
• Dual XLR inputs (line / Mic / Mic+48V selectable)
#SOHXRNX3D1U
HDC-Z10000
Digital Recording Binoculars
Twin-Lens 2D/3D Camcorder
• Dual 1/4" 4.2MP "Exmor R" CMOS sensors
• Memory Stick PRO Duo/SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot
• HD 1920 x 1080/60p HD 3D
video recording
• Dual G-Lenses (f/1.8 - 3.4),
up to 10x optical zoom
• 1080p HD recording, 60 and 24 fps
• Optical SteadyShot stabilization with Active Mode
• Stills 7.1MP in 4:3, and 5.3MP in 16:9
• Microphone input • Retagging with GPS
• Two independent 3MOS sensors
• HD Stereoscopic 3D recording
• Dual Integrated 10x Lenses
(12x in 2D) • Triple manual rings:
focus, zoom and iris
• Multi View Coding (MVC)
Recording in 3D 1080p60
• 3.5" 3D compatible LCD
• Dual XLR Inputs
• 2D/3D Still Image Recording
#CAHFM52
#PAHDCZ10000
NYC DCA Electronics Store Lic. #0906712; NYC DCA Electronics & Home Appliance Service Dealer Lic. #0907905; NYC DCA Secondhand Dealer – General Lic. #0907906
We Buy, Sell and Trade
Used Equipment
Store & Mail Order Hours:
Sunday 10-6 • Mon.-Thurs. 9-7
Friday 9-1 EST / 9-2 DST
Saturday Closed
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VIXIA HV40
4K Flash Memory HD Camcorder
Interchangeable Lens HD Camcorder
• 1/ 2.7”, 2.96MP HD CMOS sensor
with RGB primary color filter
• Frame rates: 60i, native 24p (records
at 24p), 24p cinema, and 30p (at 60i)
• DIGIC DV II image processor
• Canon HD 10x optical video lens
• Instant Aufo Focus w/ext. sensor
• SuperRange optical stabilization
• 2.7” widescreen LCD screen • External mic input
• Smooth variable zoom with 3 fixed zoom speeds
• Supports 1920/1440 x 1080, 1280 x 720
HD formats in 35, 25, and 19Mb/ps
with variable frame rates
• Dual SDHC card slots
(loop, pre-record)
• Captures native QuickTime files
• Fujinon 10x HD lens
• Dual XLR audio, with phantom
• Color viewfinder and large LCD monitor
• Record real time 4K imagery (3,840 x 2,160) at
24p, 50p and 60p • 1/2.3” back-illuminated
CMOS sensor with 8.3 million active
pixels (3840 x 2160) • SDHC/SDXC media card slot
• Ultra high resolution F2.8 10X Zoom Lens
(F2.8 to 4,5 — f=6.7-67 mm)
(35 mm conversion: 42.5 to 425 mm)
• 3.5” high resolution touch panel LCD screen
• 0.24” Lcos 260,000 pixel viewfinder • Optical image stabilization
• Interval (time lapse) recording in both 4K and HD modes
• Exmor APS-size HD CMOS 16.1 Mp sensor
• Records 1920 x 1080 @ 24p, 60i, 60p
• Memory Stick PRO Duo/SD/SDHC/
SDXC card slot
• Sony NEX E series lens mount
(A series option)
• 24 Mb/s AVCHD MPEG-4 AAC-LC
• 3.0" LCD and CVF
• Quad-capsule microphone & 5.1 Sound
• Cinematone Gamma / Color • Manual audio control
#JVGYHM150
#JVGYHMQ10
#SONEXVG20 (Body Only)
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HDR-CX760V
420 Ninth Ave.
Corner of 34th Street
New York, N.Y. 10001
HDR-AX2000
AG-HMC40
AG-AF100
3-CMOS Pro HD Solid State Camcorder
3-CMOS AVCHD Flash Camcorder
Professional Memory Card Camcorder
• 1920 x 1080 60p HD recording • 1/2.88” back-illuminated Exmor R
CMOS sensor • Internal 96GB flash memory
• SD/SDHC/SDXC card slot
• 3.0” LCD screen & color viewfinder
• 10x optical & 17x extended zoom
• Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T lens
• Geotagging though GPS & NAVTEQ maps
• CinemaTone presets & 24p recording
24 Mega
Pixels
• 1080 and 720 HD resolution
recording on SDHC cards
• 3 1/4” 3-MP CMOS
HD image sensors
• AVCHD MPEG-4
AVC/H.264 encoding
• 10.6-megapixel still capability
• 12x optical zoom
• 2.7-inch LCD monitor
• XLR audio input, HDMI output, USB 2.0
• Three 1/3” CMOS Exmor sensors
• Records to Memory Stick PRO Duo,
SD/SDHC Cards (Dual media slots)
• 1080/60i, and 24p/30p AVCHD recording
• 20x zoom G-Lens (29.5mm wide)
• Zoom, focus, and iris rings
• Dual XLR inputs • 3.2” Xtra Fine LCD
• Low-light (1.5 LUX) capabilities
• CinemaTone Gamma and CinemaTone
Color control
• Large 4/3-type MOS sensor
• Micro four thirds lens mount
• Uses still & cinema lenses
• Two SDHC/SDXC memory card slots
(Relay Recording)
• AVCCAM Recording 1080i/p,
720p variable frame rates
• Optical low-pass filter
• HD-SDI, HDMI output, Dual XLR
#PAAGHMC40
#SOHDRAX2000H
#PAAGAF100
HXR-NX30
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Lens Optional
HXR-NX5U
HXR-MC2000U
NEX-VG20H
#SONEXVG20H with lens
#SOHDRCX760VB
NEX-FS100UK
Shoulder Mount AVCHD Pro Camcorder
3-CMOS NXCAM Flash Memory Camcorder
Super 35mm Sensor HD Camcorder with Lens
• Shoots AVCHD Up to 1080/60p
at 24Mbps
• Built-In 96GB Flash Memory Capacity
• Pro Audio Control & Level Adjustment
• Equipped with Dual XLR Inputs
• Built-In Projector & 3.5" LCD Monitor
• Built-In Stereo Shotgun Microphone
• Super-Wide Carl Zeiss 10x Optical Lens
• Balanced Optical SteadyShot
• Features SD or Memory Stick Card Slot
• 1/4" 4.2Mp, ClearVid Exmor R CMOS sensor
• Built-in 64GB hard drive
• SD/SDHC/SDXC & Memory Stick slot
• 1920 x 1080i AVCHD (24Mbps)
• MPEG-2 SD Mode (9Mbps)
• 12x wide angle Sony G lens
• Optical SteadyShot stabilizer
• 2.7" ClearPhoto LCD
• Manual lens ring with assignable
parameters
• Three 1/3” Exmor CMOS sensors, with a ClearVid array
• Capture uses Memory Stick PRO
Duo / SDHC Cards, with relay
record capability (optional HXRFMU128 flash memory unit)
• 20x wide G series lens
• HD-SDI & HDMI output, SMPTE
Time Code in/out, Dual XLR inputs
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Documentarians Rock
Through Crowdsourcing
and
Alternative
Financing
Photos provided by Peter Gerstenzang
BY PETER GERSTENZANG WITH JENNIFER O’ROURKE
Video setup: check. Audio covered: check. Crew assembled: check.
Finances arranged: Ah… Documentaries, from political exposé to animals in the wild - all need
one thing to assure they get produced: money. A few directors of rock documentaries – an emerging genre
that covers the music world – offer us some insight into how they were able to get their dream off the
ground and into production using alternative financing and non-traditional means.
A
quick click around your cable stations is
enough to tell you that the rock documentary is as alive and well as it ever was. Films about
rockers as popular as Tom Petty or as cultish
as the Minutemen are quick finds. So, you say
you want to make a rock doc, too? But you
have more story ideas and shooting ideas than
money Or experience? It’s common… and rock
docs are often casual, so this is a good genre to
get your documaking feet wet.
A number of filmmakers who made their
documentary dreams come true had the same
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36
Documentarians Rock Through
Crowdsourcing and Alternative Financing
uneven ratio of burning passion-to-expertise at
one time. They, too, were once just fans. With
a camera and a dream, they managed to fulfill
that dream. Videomaker spoke to four directors
about some tips in their bags of budgeting tricks
that help keep the production running and the
finances manageable.
Crowdsourcing
If you want to learn about making a documentary on the cheap, you want to listen to Gorman
Bechard. As he finishes editing his doc about
alternative heroes, Archers of Loaf,
and continues to reap acclaim for,
Color Me Obsessed: A Film About The
Replacements, this director is happy
to share with tyro documentarians
everything he’s learned on the set and
about crowdsourcing – finding funds
through fan-based sites like Kickstarter (www.kickstarter.com).
“Did I do a Kickstarter campaign? I did
nine of them. People sent me money
for the movie and created buzz before
and after The Replacements film was
done. Just average people. But like my
film crew, they did a great job.
Do you know what I love most
about doing a Kickstarter campaign? It
eliminates the concept of the producer. Kickstarter means you get, like,
30, 40, 50 ‘producers.’ And not one of
them tells you what you should do. It’s
just a beautiful thing.”
Bechard told us about how he
raised the money for his two recent
rockumentaries. This form of crowdsourcing, of raising money through
the Internet from the fans, has spread
like wildfire. From rock musicians
who find fans to fund their albums
to filmmakers as ‘big’ as Hal Hartley the word is out, people will buy-in to
ideas they like. Berchard loves this fan/
crowd-based concept.
Kickstarter and Indiegogo.com are
the two most well-known sites for
crowdsourcing funds for producers.
Since 2006, when crowdsourcing
started to become popular, many
video producers have had great success using this type of alternative
assistance, from financial backing
to finding talent and crew. The idea
is to get the community involved by
outsourcing tasks or gathering funds
when traditional methods won’t
work. When the stodgy bankers turn
up their noses at the notion, and
Hollywood movers-and-shakers slam
the door in your face, community
members with like-minded interests
might be willing to step up for a
producer’s credit or a percentage of
the profits.
“One of the beautiful side effects
of Kickstarter is finding ‘angels,’” says
Bechard, “people who want to go
above and beyond what you’re asking
for. People who believe in either you,
your project, or both. With Color Me
Obsessed there were definitely a number of truly devoted Replacements fans
who stepped up because they really
wanted to see this film get made. One,
in fact, Diane Welsh, became the main
executive producer. This film would
have been much different, especially
the attention we’ve received, if not for
her. Her generosity really helped in getting us out to film festivals, and setting
up screenings, which, as anyone who’s
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37
Maverick:
Gorman Bechard
Adrian Correia and Gorman Bechard
played the indie game knows, doesn’t
come cheap.”
Plus, Bechard feels this form of
crowdsourcing allows him to be the
maverick he’s always felt himself to be.
“The true joy of Kickstarter for me is
about the freedom it gives you. With
Kickstarter there are no notes, there is
no payback. And as long as you know
how to work within the confines of
a microbudget, then you get to make
the film you want to make...without
interference. There’s nothing better
than that.”
Maverick: Gorman Bechard
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Bechard has another essential idea
he likes to pass along: even in the
seemingly improvised world of rock
docs, structure is essential. Without
it, he says, you’re lost before your trip
begins.
“Even a rock documentary must
have three acts,” says Bechard. “What
seems to throw off a lot of movies
is bad structure. If you don’t know
your three acts in advance, the thing
is going to fall apart. Before you start,
spend time sketching out your narrative. You may find in editing your
film, that footage you’ve shot gives
you some new ideas and changes the
story. That’s okay, if you had three
solid acts from the start. Then, you
can improvise, if you want to.”
And he learned the hard way about
working with newbies, wannabes or
inexperienced crew.
“The first thing I tell anyone who’s
38
making a documentary? Whatever
the size of your crew? Cut it in half!”
says Bechard. “All you need are four
people who know what they’re doing.
Also? Don’t use film students. You
want people who know about lighting,
sound, have good instincts, and have
worked on other films. Whenever I’ve
employed a dilettantish student, I’ve
regretted it.”
Bechard, who’s self-taught, says he
learned things the fun, old-fashioned
way: through hands-on training.
“From lighting to sound, you
should know everything technical,
too,” he says, adding that by knowing every step in the process, he’s
been able to take over a crew position or many positions when the
need was there.
Minimalist: Joseph Quever
Although his documentary about
singer-songwriter, Jesse Malin, is in the
can, Joseph Quever, took a different
approach to his subject than Bechard.
He found his story, by letting the
narrative tell him where it was going;
instead of the other way around.
“I’ve been a rock photographer for
years,” says Quever, “but when I met
Jesse, I thought there might be a story
only a documentary could tell. I didn’t
know much about filmmaking, or its
obstacles. I dealt with story changes,
lost footage and filmed gigs on both
coasts, to get where I am now. I’m glad
I did.”
Originally, Quever planned to do a
shot about Malin’s new band. Good
thing Quever kept talking to his subject, because a more profound story
emerged as a result.
“I made two videos and some side
stuff with Jesse. Then he told me he
was planning on performing a 10th
anniversary show for his record, The
Fine Art of Self-Destruction. The more
Jesse told me about the struggles of
going solo, how hard it was to make
that album, I thought, ‘We have
another more interesting story here,
than just stuff about Jesse’s band.
I’d already shot a lot of footage. But
the more Jesse told me about the
background of the record, how Joey
Ramone lent him money to keep him
going, how he became friends with
Ryan Adams (who produced Fine Art),
I got fired up. Months into the project,
I found I had a brand new project.”
This decision involved several, extra
cross-country trips. Negotiating with
clubs like Manhattan’s City Winery
about where he could shoot (and
what the house HD camera shot that
Quever had to negotiate for).
“As I thought I was nearing completion of my story about Jesse and he
told me about making Fine Art, I joked
with him that this would make a great
film. And it did. That’s my tip to filmmakers. Follow your instincts about
what the story really needs to be about.
There’ll be more work. But you’ll know
you got the most important stuff.”
Minimalist: Planner: Ondi Timoner
Joseph Quever
Time is relative. Joe Quever taking
a year-plus to shoot his Jesse Malin
movie, has nothing on Ondi Timoner.
Her Sundance-decorated doc, Dig! was
seven years from inception to completion. Not only did she learn a lot about
her subject, but also about cameras,
funding and distributing. And this veteran documentarian is happy to share
the knowledge she gleaned during her
own tribulations.
“One of the ways I financed the
movie,” says Timoner, “was by doing
about 10,000 music videos for anyone
Planner:
Ondi Timoner
Anton Newcombe and Ondi Timoner
who wanted one. It really served a
great purpose. Since I hadn’t had
much formal training, I learned to
shoot and edit, as a necessity. I even
did one of the first EPKs (electronic
press kits) for the band, Fastball. It all
helped pay for Dig!”
Still, there was one thing that Timoner couldn’t prepare for: the way the
intended story of her documentary
morphed into the dramatic story that
got her documentary so much attention.
“Most people don’t know that the
original story was going to be about
the friendship between [rockers]
Courtney Taylor and Anton Newcombe. What was amazing, was, as we
shot and shot, the friendship turned
into a bitter rivalry that made the
story much more compelling. That’s
an important thing I learned about
making a documentary. You’ve got to
give yourself over completely to your
subject. If it starts to take a different
turn than the one you’d planned - go
with it!”
Timoner also has some very important advice for filmmakers who
have finished their movies, then can’t
believe their good luck, when buyers come along. Be careful, she says.
Don’t let flattery blind you from common sense.
“If there’s interest in your movie, be
cautious about who you’re selling it
to. Lots of companies want the rights
for a long time. Go for a nice, short
licensing period. It’s something young
filmmakers neglect, because they’re
so flattered that a distributor even
wants it. I learned the hard way.”
Heartbreak: Sam Jones
“It’s true about keeping your crew
small,” says Sam Jones. “Some of the
best stuff I got for my movie was just
me, the cinematographer and the
sound guy.”
Jones is talking about I Am Trying To
Break Your Heart, his now-legendary
documentary about rock legend, Wilco. Like Timoner, Jones was blindsided
by some dramatic events when he decided to do a simple story about how a
band records a title song. It ultimately
proved to make his movie more gripping than intended. But, only because
the director stayed flexible in the wake
of real rock drama.
“After making the deal with Jeff
[Tweedy, Wilco’s leader] to document
the song, I A m Trying To Break You
Heart, upsetting stuff started to happen.
The day I first showed up, Jeff told me
that [guitarist] Ken Coomer was fired.
Then during the recording of the album
Yankee Hotel Foxtrot, guitarist Jay Bennett also got sacked. Then the guys
finished the record and handed it in.
And got dropped from their label. Consternation reigned, to say the least.”
Although it makes for great drama
now, Jones says these changes were
“upsetting and unwanted. They really
made me re-think how I was going to
tell the story.”
Heartbreak:
Sam Jones
Still, said Jones, these changes are
what he feels make his movie magical. And what, in the age of information, he worries, are the very things
missing from rock documentaries
these days.
“First, you have to pick a band you
love. And you need to transmit that
love to the audience. Don’t worry
about wrapping things up too much,
or giving the band’s history. You
should be looking for the mystery,
the poetry, the vibe of the group. The
documentary that made me want to
make music docs was 32 Short Films
About Glenn Gould. You’d have one
section that’d tell a story about Gould.
Another that would contradict it. By
the movie’s end, you got more of a
feel for Gould then a thousand biographies could tell you.”
Jones claims that with the information explosion, too many facts are
known about bands these days.
“If my film is any example, there’s
always stuff that happens in a rock
documentary that’s totally unexpected. Leave space for stuff you
stumble over. And make sure it gets
into the movie. If it moves you and it’s
something you didn’t know going in?
Chances are, it’ll have the same effect
on your audience.”
Crowdsourcing is hot for producers
right now. Watch for more stories in
Videomaker on this subject and how
to make it work for you. Learn about
financing, funding, planning and making your own documentary, in this
three-part How to Make a Documentary series: Planning Your Documentary,
www.videomaker.com/article/12546;
Finding Your Story, www.videomaker.
com/article/12547; and Sharing Your
Dream, www.videomaker.com/article/12719.
Peter Gerstenzang is a screenwriter, humorist
and director. Jennifer O’Rourke is Videomaker’s
managing editor.
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39
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L
uckily, working through this onslaught of legalese is not impossible, and in the end, you will be armed
with the knowledge and power to
protect your work and your wallet.
Copyright Basics
BY MARK LEVY AND ROMAN ZELICHENKO
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN
Today’s Internet age has fundamentally changed the world of
photography and videography, making it both more simple and complex
at the same time. On the one hand, websites such as YouTube and
Facebook can host your material, making it easy to upload photos and
videos and share them instantly with millions of people. This simplicity,
however, comes at a cost.
As defined by Black’s Law Dictionary,
a “copyright,” strictly speaking, is “the
right to copy a work, specifically, a
property right in an original work of
authorship (including a literary, musical, dramatic, or other work) fixed in
any tangible medium of expression,
giving the holder the exclusive right to
reproduce, adapt, distribute, perform,
and display the work.” Copyright protection, however, does not cover your
ideas, concepts, procedures, processes
or discoveries. Nor does it extend
protection to names, titles, short
phrases, slogans or symbols, among
other things. Some of these forms of
expression, however, may be protectable under either patent or trademark
law, which you may apply for along
with copyright protection in order to
protect certain works in their entirety.
An example of this could be a commercial you created and filmed for a
local store. You can copyright the lyrics and score of the background jingle,
while the store’s name and logo may
be protected under trademark law.
The Copyright Act of 1976, the
most recent legislative overhaul in
the field, states that in order for
a work to be “fixed in a tangible
medium of expression,” it must, according to Nolo’s Law Dictionary, be
“recorded in some physical medium,
whether on paper, canvas, disk, or
computer hard drive.” By the same
token, any work that is spontaneous
and unrecorded, such as an improvised jazz solo performed at a club or
a best man’s extemporaneous speech,
is not eligible for copyright protection.
Usually, the owner of a copyright is
the “author,” or creator of the original
work. Some exceptions to this exist,
however, when a written agreement
directs the author to assign the copyright to another person (e.g. a publisher) or where a work is “made for hire,”
discussed below.
Finally, according to §101 of the
Copyright Act, a “derivative” work is
defined as “a work based upon one
or more preexisting works.” In other
words, a derivative work is its own,
independent creative work that was
derived from and includes major
copyrighted elements of some other,
previously created work.
Work Made For Hire
The Copyright Act states that a work
“made for hire” is (1) prepared by
an employee within the scope of his
or her employment; or (2) specially
commissioned to be used in one of
nine specified categories, accompanied by a written and signed agreement between the parties expressing
that the work shall be considered
“made for hire.” On its own, this language is vague, but the United States
Supreme Court case, Community for
Creative Non-Violence v. Reid (1989),
clarified the concept.
In CCNV v. Reid, a sculptor was
hired and paid by a non-profit organization to create a depiction of
homelessness in a modern nativity
scene over a subway grate. The hiring
organization made the base of the
sculpture, suggested people to use
as models, and assisted throughout
the process by suggesting changes to
the piece. The parties did not discuss
the issue of copyright ownership and
in the end the hiring organization
claimed to own the piece. The sculptor disagreed and filed an action for
a determination of ownership. The
court, in discussing the employeremployee relationship in this context,
analyzed the hiring party’s influence
on the project. To determine whether
the copyright to the sculpture was
owned by the sculptor, the case enumerated several factors that courts
ought to consider: the amount of skill
required for the job, the source of
the tools and instrumentalities, the
duration of the relationship, the presence of employee benefits, the hiring
party’s tax treatment of the artist, the
right of the artist to employ his own
helpers, the right to assign additional
projects and the location of the work.
The sculptor won the case because
the court determined he was not an
employee for purposes of the Copyright Act.
In a more recent decision by the
Third Circuit, Marco v. Accent Publishing. Co., Ed Marco, a freelance
photographer, shot photographs of
jewelry for Accent Magazine. Accent supplied the jewelry and props,
sketched the shots, retained the right
to have Marco re-shoot unsatisfactory photographs, and occasionally
sent its art director to pick and pose
live models and suggest “more light.”
However, Marco shot most of the
pictures in his own studio on his
own time and without anyone present (other than the occasional live
models). These photos appeared in
every monthly issue except one for
the duration of his business relationship with Accent. Moreover, Marco
was paid $150 per photograph, an
additional $450 per month for all
photographs used in connection with
the monthly issue, did not receive
employee benefits, and did not have
taxes withheld on his behalf. Marco
claimed that he owned the copyrights
to the photographs and that Accent
required a license in order to republish them, while Accent claimed that
the images were made for hire, so
Accent had no need for a license.
The court considered the factors
enumerated in CCNV v. Reid in analyzing this case and found that Mar-
The
The complexity
complexity of
of copyright
copyright law
law has
has grown
grown such
such that
that it
it can
can bewilder,
bewilder, even
even incriminate,
incriminate, honest
honest and
and hardworking
hardworking artists
artists who
who are
are unfamiliar
unfamiliar with
with its
its provisions.
provisions.
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40
COPYRIGHT LAW
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41
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN COPYRIGHT LAW
co’s relationship was that of an independent contractor given his sporadic
assignments and non-full-time status.
Further, the control Accent exercised
was merely over the subject matter,
whereas Marco controlled most other
aspects of the work (choice of light
source, filters, lenses, camera, film,
perspective, aperture setting, shutter
speed, and processing techniques). It
is important to note that Marco and
Accent did not discuss copyrights and
licensing in their preliminary talks,
and could have avoided this lengthy
and expensive suit had they done so
from the start. Thus, a major takeaway from cases like CCNV v. Reid
and Marco v. Accent Publishing.
Co. is that to avoid costly litigation,
it is important to clearly discuss and
define each party’s rights – in writing
– prior to commencing work.
Transfer of Copyright Ownership
and Inadvertent Licensing
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When copyright ownership is determined at the outset (e.g., in a
written contract) and you, the artist,
are certain you are the author of the
work, you have the right to transfer
this ownership right or grant licenses
to third parties. Though this might
seem straightforward, issues nevertheless can arise when no written
declarations are made.
In the Ninth Circuit case of Effects
Associates, Inc. v. Cohen involving
a low-budget movie producer, Larry
Cohen, and a special effects company, Effects, Cohen asked Effects
to create special effects footage for
a horror movie he wrote, directed,
and produced. Effects, in a short
letter, offered to prepare seven such
scenes,including dramatic explosions and alien life forms, for a
stated amount of money. Cohen
agreed, but later was unhappy with
some of the footage and paid only
half the promised amount for those
scenes, refusing to pay the rest. Nevertheless, Cohen incorporated the
footage into his movie. Effects sued
Cohen and Cohen answered with
two arguments: transfer of copyright
ownership and grant of nonexclusive license.
42
The court rejected Cohen’s first argument, relying on §204 of the Copyright Act, which requires a transfer of
copyright ownership to be in writing.
Cohen suggested that this section
should not apply to him, as a moviemaker, since “moviemakers are too
absorbed in developing joint creative
endeavors to focus upon the legal
niceties of copyright licenses.” The
court disagreed, stating that the writing requirement is intended to force
parties to memorialize agreed-upon
terms, in black and white, thereby
protecting authors of creative works
from misunderstandings that could
result in potential loss. The court also
considered the made-for-hire doctrine, further supporting its rejection
of transfer of copyright ownership. Effects was not Cohen’s “employee,” and
thus retained copyright ownership of
its work.
The court, however, agreed with
Cohen that by creating footage for his
movie, Effects “impliedly granted a
limited non-exclusive license” to use
and distribute the work. The court
reasoned that to hold that Effects did
not grant such a license would mean
that its contribution to the film would
be of “minimal value,” a conclusion
that would not square with the fact
that Cohen paid nearly $56,000 for
all the footage for the purpose of
including it in his film. Although the
judgment was in favor of Cohen, the
court noted that, since Cohen did
not pay the agreed-upon price for
the footage, Effects could sue Cohen
in state court for breach of contract.
Moreover, since Effects retained
copyright ownership, it also retained
the right to license its special effects
footage to others. Though Cohen and
Effects had some written agreement
in the beginning, both parties would
have fared even better by discussing their rights fully, including their
rights against each other in case of a
breach of contract. Thus, again, it is
important to make sure you discuss
your rights as fully as possible with
prospective hiring parties - even the
consequences of a breach of contract, in order to avoid lengthy and
costly litigation.
Sampling
The practice of “sampling” involves
the incorporation of a short segment of a previous recording into a
new recording. Although this practice started in the realm of music
recordings, it has made its way into
the world of video recordings. The
seminal music-related case is Newton v. Diamond, a Ninth Circuit case
in which the Beastie Boys, in their
song Pass the Mic, sampled three
consecutive notes of jazz flutist James
Newton’s Choir. Newton sued the
Beastie Boys, arguing that although
the Beastie Boys obtained a license to
Newton’s recording of the song, they
did not do the same for the underlying
composition.
The court, in its analysis, made
several interesting points. First, it
noted that, for an unauthorized use of
a copyrighted work to be actionable,
the use must be significant enough
to constitute infringement. In other
words, the mere act of copying a
copyrighted work is not enough for
the copyright owner to sue – the
copying must be of sufficient magnitude (a subjective standard) for suit
to be filed. In this case, even though
the Beastie Boys copied Newton’s
Choir exactly as it was recorded, the
court concluded that the use of only
three notes of Choir was de minimis,
or so minimal that it was insufficient
to sustain a legal judgment. The court
considered not only the length of the
segment, which was extremely short,
but its contribution to the overall composition of Choir, which was insignificant since it did not “represent” the
song as a repetitive chorus or distinguishing opening riff might.
Similar types of sampling have
been prevalent in videography,
though there have been no cases attempting to protect such video rights.
This may be because individuals who
mix different video clips together
to create new, derivative, works are
under the radar, often being small,
independent videographers, reducing the chances of expensive law
suits filed against them by production companies. As an independent
videographer, you should neverthe-
less keep in mind the legalities of
sampling when you create videos for
distribution. What one person might
think is a minimal use of a previously recorded video, the author of
the original might think is substantial
enough to file suit. If a large production company wants to make an
example of unlawful activity, you can
be exposed to such a legal action.
Fair Use
According to §107 of the Copyright
Act, “Fair Use” of copyrighted material is not an infringement, even
when the copyright holder does not
grant a license to use the material.
The would-be infringer, though, can
copy the material only for the purposes of criticism, comment, news
reporting, teaching, scholarship,
or research. In order to determine
whether the use of copyrighted material is a fair use, the court considers four factors: (1) the purpose and
character of the use, (2) the nature of
the copyrighted work, (3) the amount
used in relation to the copyrighted
work as a whole and (4) the effect of
the use upon the value of the copyrighted work.
In the 1994 Supreme Court case
of Campbell v. Acuff-Rose Music,
in which the rap group, 2 Live Crew,
made a parody of Ray Orbison’s song,
Oh, Pretty Woman, the court determined that the rap group’s use of the
first line of lyrics and “characteristic
opening bass riff” was “comment”
under the Copyright Act and therefore
fair use. The group thus did not have
to obtain permission to copy parts of
the original song. The court further
held that the application of the four
fair use factors ought to be made on
a case-by-case basis, making it easier
for artists to attempt to use portions of
otherwise copyrighted work, without
obtaining a license, and to argue that
such use is fair. A fair use defense may
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43
LATEST DEVELOPMENTS IN COPYRIGHT LAW
similarly be used in the context of videos, from two angles. You may want
to ensure that nobody uses your work
without permission, though keeping
in mind a possible fair use defense;
similarly, if you want to use snippets of other people’s videos without
obtaining a license, do it in a way that
invokes fair use.
Social Media
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It is not often that independent videographers have access to high quality
means of production and distribution
for their videos. Luckily, however, it
is now easier than ever to share your
work with the rest of the world by
uploading it on Internet-based social
media like YouTube or Facebook. Such
websites allow you to create individualized profiles and upload videos at
no cost. Depending on the privacy
settings you choose, when you using
the services of, YouTube, Facebook
and other social media websites,
you have the option of sharing these
videos with all Internet users. On
the one hand, this is a phenomenal
breakthrough as it allows instant and
worldwide dispersion of your work
at virtually no cost. On the other
hand, however, this service has some
adverse legal implications.
For example, YouTube, which is
owned by Google, clearly states in its
Terms of Service that, although, when
uploading user content, you retain
ownership of any intellectual property
rights in the content, you nevertheless grant Google “a worldwide license
to use, host, store, reproduce, modify,
create derivative works [from]…, communicate, publish, publicly perform,
publicly display and distribute such
content.” This license continues even
if you stop using YouTube’s services,
though removal of the content may be
possible. Facebook, which has similar
terms, clearly adds that when any intellectual property, which includes photos
and videos, is posted on its website, the
user posting this content grants Facebook “a non-exclusive, transferable,
sub-licensable, royalty-free, worldwide
license to use any IP content.” Facebook, however, states that this license
ends when the content is deleted or
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your user account is closed, with the
caveat that if the content is shared with
other users and they have not deleted
the content, Facebook retains the
rights mentioned above.
It is thus important to keep in
mind that when sharing videos or
photographs on content-hosting
websites, that content is subject to
being used by the sites. If Facebook
decides to sell copies of a video you
post and subsequently makes millions of dollars, you will have no right
to any of that money despite being
the author of the work – Facebook’s
terms clearly grant royalty-free licensing rights. By the same token, since
you retain ownership of the uploaded
content, any liability created by it falls
back on you.
Defense and Remedies
The most important fact to be aware
of when seeking to defend your
copyright through legal action is the
statute of limitations to filing a claim
of copyright infringement. In other
words, once the infringement is discovered, you have only a limited period of time to register your copyright
in the U.S. Copyright Office and to
file suit against the infringer. Criminal
proceedings may be filed five years
after discovery of the infringement,
and civil actions may be filed within
three years of discovery.
If you, the owner of a copyright,
are successful in filing a timely action
against an infringer, the next issue is
the possibility of damages. §504 of
the Copyright Act states that the basic
statutory level of damages is “not less
than $750, or more than $30,000
as the court considers just.” The
Act goes on to state that where the
infringer did so “willfully,” the court
may increase damages to $150,000.
However, §504 also allows “actual
damages and profits,” which are calculated on a case-by-case basis. As
the copyright owner, you are entitled
to choose recovery of actual damages
suffered as a result of the infringement, and any profits of the infringer
that are attributable to the unlawful
use and are not taken into account in
computing the actual damages. If you
own highly valued copyrights, this is a
breath of fresh air, as a statutory limit
of $150,000 may be insufficient. Thus,
depending on the value of your copyright, it may be prudent to calculate
the actual damages and profits that
may have been derived from its use by
the infringing party. This calculation
may help decide whether to pursue
statutory damages or actual damages
and profits.
In On Davis v. The Gap, Inc., a 2001
Second Circuit case, Gap, Inc., a major
international retailer of clothing and
accessories used a photograph of an
individual wearing Davis’s sunglasses
(retail price at around $65 – $100)
without first obtaining a license from
Davis. The photo was published in
major fashion and entertainment
magazines, in-store advertisements,
and on buses and bus shelters. Davis
brought this action seeking, among
other things, $2.5 million in unpaid
licensing fees, a percentage of Gap’s
profits, and attorneys’ fees. The Gap
argued that Davis’s claim was barred
because the use was de minimis
(discussed above) and that he was
thus not entitled to damages. The
court held that the Gap’s use of Davis’s
sunglasses was significant, not de
minimis, since the glasses were a focal
point on a widely dispersed advertisement. The court also held that Davis
presented sufficient evidence of the
Gap’s infringing use to recover actual
damages, based on the “market value”
of the use. The court did not, however, determine the market value and
remanded to the lower court on the
issue. This case is a nice illustration of
an author of a protected work opting
for “actual damages and profits” on
the premise that the infringer profited
greatly from the use, despite the low
value of the product itself.
On other hand, consider Engel v.
Wild Oats, Inc., in which the daughter
of Ruth Engel, who was the owner
of a copyright of a famous still-life
of central park, sued defendant,
Wild Oats, a T-shirt manufacturer, for
printing 2,500 T-shirts on which the
photograph was printed. Though the
net profits and sales from these shirts
(or the “actual damages and profits”)
came to about $1,900, the plaintiff
requested the statutory maximum of
$50,000 for willful infringement or,
alternatively, $10,000 for unwillful
infringement. Although the defendants
contended that the actual damages
amount was controlling, the court
stated that the plaintiff fairly elected
statutory damages, which was well
within her rights, and that now it was
only a matter of determining the fair
amount of damages. Ultimately, the
court held that since Wild Oats willfully infringed, that is, it knowingly
took the photograph from a book and
produced 2,500 shirts on which the
photograph was printed, and since
2,500 was a sizeable distribution of the
infringed copyright, Engel was permitted to recover $20,000 in damages on
top of $3,000 for attorneys’ fees and
an injunction against future use of the
photograph by the Wild Oats.
This case is an example of a copyright owner’s right to choose what
form of relief will yield the highest
damages. Thus, in the event that
you find yourself defending your
copyright and seeking damages for
infringement, be mindful that statutory damages can result in an award
valued much greater than the actual
amount made by the infringing
party. If you feel uncomfortable about
this sort of result, remember the good
will and status associated with your
copyright. Is it something that ought
to be associated with a T-shirt print or
other lowbrow media, or should its
use be restricted to more high-quality
presentations such as books or galleries? No dollar amount can seemingly
be placed on this value determination,
but courts make it a point to compensate violated copyright owners fairly.
Conclusion
At the end of the day, when you are
about to begin a new project, the legal implications of your actions may
not be the first thing on your mind. It
is important, however, to understand
and be sure of your rights, especially
since you may not have a lawyer
reminding you to execute a detailed
contract, use prior works fairly, or
be wary of what you post on the
Internet. Armed with greater knowledge of copyright law, you can now
approach new projects with greater
confidence, thereby protecting your
work and your wallet. In the end, of
course, if unsure of what to do, it
is always best to seek professional
legal advice.
Contributing editor Attorney Mark Levy specializes in
intellectual property law. He has won many amateur
moviemaking awards. Roman Zelichenko holds a B.S. in
Financial Economics and a B.A. in Philosophy, Politics
and Law from Binghamton University, and is currently a
second year law student at Brooklyn Law School.
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BASIC TRAINING
BASIC TRAINING
SEPTEMBER 2012
b y Ky l e Ca ssi d y
Script Writing 101
Why is script writing important?
Using even one other person can
waste time on reshoots from poor
planning. Even if working alone, you
can still save time with a good plan.
“Pay attention!” Bob demanded, waving a donut at us, next Betsy comes in
and shows everyone the microwave
and Randy’s going to say ‘It looks really reliable!’ and we’ll get a shot from
above with the marching band – you
know – marching around and playing
something, and Betsy, or maybe Gina,
yeah, Gina. – Gina throws ﬁve heads
of broccoli into the microwave and
says ‘and roomy!’ and that’s when the
juggler with the unicycle comes in.”
“Juggler?!” cried out Misty, “you
never said anything about a juggler!”
“We don’t have a juggler?”
“We don’t have a juggler!” Misty was
nearly in tears, as she was in charge of
props and extras. Bob looked puzzled.
“I thought I mentioned the juggler.
Maybe I didn’t. Ok, so Betsy’ll just say
something about how energy efficient
it is and we’ll call it a day.”
“How energy efficient is it?” asked
Betsy. Bob’s look went from puzzled to
worried.
It was at that point that Mark and
Larry, the guys from the microwave
company, fired us all and went to
Bigsby’s Video on the other side of
town to do their commercial.
“It’s because we didn’t have the
juggler,” Bob said later that night after
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his sixth Shirley Temple while we all
commiserated in the cheapest bar we
could find.
“No it’s not,” I said, “we got fired
because we didn’t have a script.”
“A script?!” Bob set down his glass
and motioned to the waitress for
another – he was hitting the grenadine pretty hard – “audio ... video ...
script … format …” he muttered in a
seeming daze – then snapping out of
it continued, “why would we need a
script for a 30-second TV spot! Don’t
you think I can keep a 30-second spot
straight in my head?”
Everyone who has been doing
video for any length of time knows
that writing is important, though they
might not have a formal idea of how
to write a video script. We’re going to
look at making scripts for video productions, from small 30-second spots,
to epic dramas; there’s something for
everyone.
Courier New
Univers Light Condensed
Above are examples of common script fonts, "Courier New" because
of its uniform spacing and "Univers Light Condensed" for not only its
bold lines and readability, but lack of serifs (stroke embellishments).
46
Whichever format works for you,
theatrical play, A/V, or a simple outline, scripts have a number of benefits
to your production. There are books
Other Types of Scripts
and websites galore, which will deal
Typically scripts use a screenplay forwith the minutia of formatting just a
mat which looks like a play – characfew clicks away. Let’s look at some of
ter names, their dialogue, and directhe reasons you’d want to use a script
tions about what’s happening. There’s
and what it’ll do for your production.
another common script format called
• Scripts Help Formulate Ideas:
a “two column” or “A/V” script, which
The writing process helps to get your
has – two columns, one with narrathoughts down and organize them,
tion and the second column with a
description of what’s happening in the looking at the relationship between
shots and ideas can often help you
video. This might be:
see the bigger
Audio:
Video:
The mighty moose wanders
• Start with wide shot of scene. picture and create
a better arc to your
the mountain-top, looking for
• Cut to various shots of
story.
food. It remains one of the
most memorable sights a lucky moose wandering the terrain.
• Scripts Help
tourist will see as the sun sets • Closeup of moose's head as
Prevent Accidents:
in the background.
he lifts it to look around.
Scripts make sure
ing a capital “M” takes up as much
space as a lowercase “i”).
Scripts - How
Formal?
While there are
very particular formatting demands
made for certain
types of scripts,
they don’t neces-
sarily have to be in a particular format
with a certain font, indentation or line
spacing if you’re working by yourself
or a small group of friends. As long
as you’re clear, a script might be as
simple as a shot list with notes:
• Betsy comes in and shows everyone
the microwave.
• Bob says “It looks reliable.”
• Gina microwaves broccoli in it.
• Get coverage from multiple angles
and closeups.
This might be all you need if you’re
shooting things on a small scale and
don’t need approval from anyone
before you start. However, the more
complex your shoot, the more important a script becomes and the more
reasonable it is to format your script
the way other writers do.
One reason for very exacting specifications of some scripts are because
they’re used to gauge the length of
a movie where each page of a script
averages out to one minute of screen
time. This allows producers and directors to gauge the length of a production simply by looking at the size of
the script on their desk. Twelve point
Courier News is typically the standard
font because of its ubiquity, clarity,
and the fact that it’s a monospaced
rather than proportional font (mean-
that there are no unexpected props or
camera angles. If Bob had written a
script that included the words “Juggler
/ unicycle” the production team would
have known beforehand that they
needed to have one. Likewise if the
script calls for a crane shot, or a cake
or lines spoken in French, your team
will know that they need props or a
translator; moreover there’s a chance
to nix it if someone realizes it’s unnecessary or too expensive.
• Scripts Show That You’re Serious:
The video industry is very competitive
and you’re often dealing with people
who have very limited time to make
decisions and have many production companies to choose from. Your
packaging, website, and script are all
things that can show how serious a
player you are at a glance. Turning in
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47
BASIC TRAINING
PROFIT MAKING
SEPTEMBER 2012
by T eres a E c haz abal
Programs like Movie Magic are word processors
that are designed for script writing. Highlighting
shot location and formatting dialogue are some
of the possible features.
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a polished and properly formatted
script when the other guy shows up
with some Post-it notes stuck on his
sleeve will show the client who’s willing to spend the time and attention to
their production needs.
• Scripts Help Communication and
Streamline Revision: After your client
gets your script, it’s easy for them to
comment on specifics and to shape
your production long before you get
to the set, they can get a concrete
handle on your ideas and the way you
want to present them. On professional
productions with lots of script changes,
new pages will be printed in different
colors; for instance the first revision
might have white pages with changes
on them, then are replaced by pink
pages, the next round of changes may
come on blue pages, etc. So everyone
will know that their script is or isn’t
current based on the color pages they
have. For this reason it’s a good idea to
put your script in a three-ring binder
rather than stapling it.
• Scripts Help Multiple People
Work on a Project: Often, videos are
made by people who don’t live near
one another, or who are working on
other projects before the shoot – having a script that can be sent to everyone will let you hear from your lead
actress that she’s afraid of heights and
will need a stunt double for the water
tower scene; from your property
master that the bonfire you have in
scene six will need a permit from the
fire marshal; and will let other people
comment on pace, dialog or other
things that are important to them.
48
• I Don’t Need a Script, I’m Just
Shooting My Kid’s Birthday Party!
Even the seemingly most disorganized
of shoots can benefit from a script.
When shooting something like a
birthday party, having a script beforehand that spells out not what people
will say, but things you want to get
and what order you want to get them
in – this can be extremely helpful. A
script for a birthday party might look
something like this:
• Exterior setup shots of house.
• Titles: Junior’s Tenth Birthday, January
11, 2012
• Video montage of photos of all of
Junior’s previous birthdays.
• Mom in front of the house, she says
“Welcome to Junior’s birthday party!
We’re at the Baxter household and we
have a swell day planned!”
• Baking the Cake: have grandma tell
the story of her cake recipe, closeups of
cake being made and going in oven.
• Wrapping Presents: have mom tell the
story of how much Junior wanted a bow
and arrow while she wraps it, have her
speculate on what Junior will say when
he opens it.
• Interview with Junior: ask him what he
wants, have him talk about each of the
friends he’s invited.
• Interviews with Friends: ask name, age,
how they met Junior and what they like
best about him.
• Games: get medium and wide shots,
get shots out the window of the third
floor showing the whole croquet setup
and hedge maze.
• The Cake – bringing the cake out, follow grandma from kitchen.
• Pan the table before the candles are
blown out, get medium shots of faces shot from across the table as Junior
blows out candles, shoot second camera
on wide shot of room.
• Two cameras during unwrapping, wide
shot of room and closeup of Junior’s
face.
• Recap – after guests have left, ask
Junior how his day was, have him tell a
story about grandma, ask which presents
he likes the best, ask what kind of party
he’d like the next year.
That’s a pretty elaborate video for
a kid’s birthday party, but this kind of
road map helps plan your shots, sets
the story that you’re going to tell, and
makes sure you’ll have all the coverage you’ll need to edit a great video
together. Having a plan like this gives
you the ability to make your video as
elaborate or simple as you wish.
Screenwriting Software
The Internet is littered with screenwriting software and they’ve been
around for a while. In 1983, the Write
Brothers, Stephen and Christopher,
released the first script writing software, Scriptor which has been sold
several times over the years. Their
current software, Movie Magic, shares
the stage with other applications
like Final Draft and ScreenForge as
well as a number of free and not-free
templates for Microsoft Word and
OpenOffice. A few minutes on Google
can help you find the right one, or
you can make your own by setting
up paragraph styles in your favorite
word processor.
Conclusion
Having a script helps you not only get
your ideas down clearly, but helps get
input from other people before everyone is on the set and things start to
get too expensive. It’s a very important
tool for general preparedness, even
when your plan is as simple as “show
up and see what happens.”
Your homework assignment is to
look at some scripts online or from
the library – take a look at formatting
and organization, see how the dialog,
description and camera positions
have been described, use what you’ve
learned in your next production, and
let us know how it goes in the Videomaker forums!
Profiting Through Online Video
It seems everyone is trying to earn
income from the Web. There are several ways to leverage the Internet to
find clients, make a name for yourself and sell your wares.
Developing a marketing strategy is
crucial to the success of your online
video business. Figure out how you
will put your videos out there so that
people will be able to see them. Once
you find a way to do this, you’ve accomplished one of the most important
aspects in making a profit through
online video.
Get Found!
People look online for everything. If
they searched for your video production business, would they find you
there? If not, make sure that they do.
Learn to create your own website or
blog, and do a bit of search engine
optimization (SEO) so you’ll be found
through Bing, Google, Yahoo or other
searches. Include text and keyword
descriptions, such as “online video”
and “video production,” so search engines can find your site. Link to other
websites. Start a YouTube or Vimeo
channel. The more you link to other
sites the more you’re going to see
your position rise. Put your business
demo reel there and then place a link
to it on your site or blog.
Another good place to list your
video services is on craigslist. It’s free,
and it’s one of the first places people
check out for all sorts of services
from plumbers to hair stylists. If you
are a service providing videographer
or a video production company, you
should be on craigslist, too.
The Yellow Pages aren’t just a telephone directory anymore. Sign your
Contributing editor Kyle Cassidy is a visual artist who
writes extensively about technology.
Getting found by customers used to involve a heavy book and telephone, but yellowpages.com and
yelp.com both attach reviews and images to the searches of your name or company. Use these not
only for additional credible links, but because people will expect you to.
production company up with www.
yellowpages.com and similar online
directories like www.servicemagic.com
and www.yelp.com and other companies that service just your local area.
Look at what other companies are
listed locally, along with production
companies, and if you shoot weddings
or events, make sure you get listed on
their sites, too. Do some online video
marketing strategy research to find
out what works in your market.
Share Your Work
Let’s face it. Your video production
business is your livelihood - your
pride and joy. As the owner, you
want to tell the world all about your
business and generate clients. There
is no better way to do that than with
an online video presentation about
your business which, at the same
time, can show prospective clients
the quality of your work. When you
share videos online, include scenes
that will showcase the services that
you provide, such as wedding productions, corporate videos or product
demonstrations. Show video testimonials from real clients, and, if you add
a “share” feature next to your video,
people who like what they see, will be
49
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PROFIT MAKING
PROFIT MAKING
SEPTEMBER 2012
SEPTEMBER 2012
ADVERTISING INDEX
Adorama ________________________ 59
Adorama ________________________ C3
Andersson Technologies LLC_______ 43
reels and other online videos your
company has produced. Ask people
to comment and share their thoughts
and ideas. Create a community that
will give you feedback about your
business and your online videos.
Become friends with your followers.
Invite them to post their own videos
on your blog. This is a good way to
not only gain followers, but to also
make friends with them.
Azden Corp. _____________________ 09
B&H Photo/Video & Pro Audio ___ 33-35
Blackmagic Design _______________ 07
Camtrol _________________________ 37
Online Distribution
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able to quickly share your video on
social media sites like Digg, Facebook,
StumbleUpon, Twitter and others. Remember, you don’t have to post entire
videos, just a sampling of your work,
even a watermarked video or one with
a lower resolution can pique their
interest. If they like it, they should
find an easy way to follow up with
you - make sure your name and email
are loud and clear.
But why wait for others to share
your video on Facebook? Take matters
into your own hands and create your
very own Facebook business page.
There, you can not only post your
business demo reel, but also post
clips with samples of videos you have
produced for clients and products.
YouTube is full of online video
presentations from video producers
and production companies trying to
develop an online video marketing
strategy that will get people to notice
them and their work. Many video
producers and production companies
have their own YouTube channels
where a person can go to check out
their online videos and what their
business is all about. If you post a
demo reel, prospective clients can get
a glimpse of the quality of your work.
50
Set up your website or blog so that users of Vimeo and YouTube can share
your videos with their Facebook and
Twitter friends.
If a picture paints a thousand
words, video paints a thousand words
and then some. There is no better
marketing strategy that will show the
world what your business and your
products are all about than moving
pictures and sound in the form of
online videos.
Grow a Following
When you create your very own YouTube channel, you can grow a following of peers or viewers who like your
videos. The same goes for Facebook.
Gather as many Facebook friends as
you can. Add them to your marketing
strategy. Let them spread the word
about your video business through
connections within social media sites.
Are your customers happy? They’ll
likely do some work for you by creating a buzz about your video services,
much like you'll read emails from
close friends and family before you
read email from a company you've
never worked with.
Another way to grow a following
is to start your own blog. Post demo
The Web is also a superb option for
distributing your work. With a little
bit of technical knowledge, you can
deliver your produced online videos
directly from a download. Because
this can be accomplished instantly,
potential clients can see samples of
your online videos right away without
having to wait for the postal service to
deliver them on DVD.
YouTube is one of many sites that
pays you if you get lots of clicks. Let’s
say a company wants to advertise their
services on your YouTube channel,
website or blog. Whenever visitors to
YOUTUBE IS ONE OF MANY
SITES THAT PAYS YOU IF
YOU GET LOTS OF CLICKS.
your channel or site click on their ad,
you get paid by YouTube simply for
bringing lots of viewers to the host site.
Post online videos that generate a large
enough audience and soon you’ll be
contacted by large corporations about
running their ads next to your videos
and you’ll find you’re earning rather
than paying to be online! Some people
are making big money using this as a
marketing strategy.
Chris Pirillo, who has the Lockergnome channel on YouTube, has been
using this marketing strategy for years
to profit from his online videos. On
his YouTube channel, he posts videos
about technology. His following is so
large that he now has ads on his on-
There are many great personalities making big names for themselves through YouTube. How
they do it can vary, but linking to other sites and sharing are key. Notice how the sites have a
consistent style and how the people making them appear to enjoy themselves.
line videos from top companies who
will pay him top dollar every time
someone clicks on their ads.
Another example of how online
video can be a verifiable marketing
strategy is Rhett & Link. Rhett and Link
are a couple of childhood buddies who
started a business producing online
videos for clients and then posting
them. They have created online videos
for top corporations, including McDonald’s, Coca-Cola and Taco Bell. They
have been so successful at it that they
have now branched into filmmaking,
as well as creating an original video
series for NBC Universal and TV Guide.
Video Resumes and Actor Reels
The competition is fierce in today’s
job market. That’s why it’s good to
stand out above the rest. With an
online video résumé your client will
be able to find you before your competition. If you decide to get into the
market of making video résumés for
clients, post a video résumé showing clips of several résumés on your
website or Facebook page, with your
subject’s permission of course. This
will help spark more requests for this
type of service from potential clients.
Similarly, actor reels, are another
marketing strategy which will give an
actor an edge over all other contenders. Actors and on-camera talent need
a way to showcase their specialties. If
you provide this service, post an actor’s video reel on your site or channel
to show other on-camera talent that
you provide this service. You can even
add a heading to the video of how
many job offers the actor has received
since you produced his or her online
actor reel. Or, even better, a real testimonial from the actor, telling of how
he/she could not have landed that
special role without the help of your
online video reel.
Show Me the Money!
The Web is full of ways to make
a profit online. If you are a video
producer you already have the skills
and know-how to create a top quality
video. All that's left to do is to put it
out there in the form of an online
video. Aim for Pay-Per-Click ads to
generate even more cash from top
corporations.
People tend to remember what
they see better and longer than what
they read or hear. This is why online
video is such a powerful marketing
strategy and one you should use if
you are running an video production
company. With online video as a marketing strategy, you can show people
your work and make money at the
same time. How cool is that!
Teresa Echazabal is a freelance video editor, writer, and
producer.
Edelkrone ________________________C4
Glidecam Industries Inc. ___________ 13
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KinoFlo _________________________ 47
Lowepro _________________________ 53
Small HD ________________________ 15
Verbatim ________________________ 62
VideoGuys ______________________ 03
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Videomaker Instructional DVD ______ 26
Videomaker Subscribe ______________ C2
Videomaker Subscription Alert _____ 62
Videomaker Workshop ____________ 25
the
Utilize the social tools
that are given to you
and share your work,
the easier it is for your
viewers to talk about
you, the better.
marketplace
MacroSystem US _________________ 55
Matthews Studio Equipment, Inc. __ 57
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51
DIRECTING
DIRECTING
SEPTEMBER 2012
bbyy P e t e Sh a n e r
What I Got from Film School
Does film school offer added value?
The truth is - film school still provides resources and experiences
you can’t get anywhere else.
Figure 1
Back light
Subject
Key light
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Fill light
Three-Point Lighting: A classic lighting technique in which three lights illuminate a subject.
The placement of the lights creates flattering,
three-dimensional shadows and cleanly separates the subject from the background.
52
4
St age
to sound. It gets you thinking about
telling stories with pictures in a different way and provides access to
people and experiences you can’t get
anywhere else.
Classic Hollywood Techniques
Have you ever wondered why watching even 10 minutes of someone’s
home video feels longer than watching a two-hour Hollywood feature?
The answer lies in the techniques
professionals use when crafting a
visual story. Almost everyone knows
about three-point lighting, but that’s
only the start.
At film school you learn the elements of a well-crafted image, from
framing to color to composition. You
learn how to capture the attention
of viewers and guide their eyes from
shot to shot. Beyond the moving image, you learn what makes a good
visual story and how to write the best
possible script. In short, you learn cinematic techniques honed from more
than 100 years of filmmaking that are
just as valid in the digital age as they
were in the silent era.
Film Crew Savvy
What does a grip really do? Or a gafV IDEOMAKER >>> S EPTEMBER 2012
fer? Or a best boy? (See sidebar, Film
Terms You May Not Know) At film
school you’ll experience and practice
many different film crew roles. You
may operate a boom or pull focus.
You’ll discover the many uses of an
apple box and a C-stand (and how critically important gaffer’s tape is to any
B
3
A
2
Stageline: An imaginary
line which connects two
characters facing each
other. By keeping the
camera on a specific
side of the stageline, all
the various shots taken
for a specific scene will
be viable for continuity
and seamlessness.
1
Feedback
Visual stories are unlike any other art form. To
succeed, a video must engage an audience and
hold its attention. But it’s easy for a director (or
editor, or writer) to get so close to their material
that they lose perspective on if the story works.
That’s when getting feedback from other filmmakers is crucial.
Line
OK
And listening to feedback is an acquired
skill, because you’re rarely going to agree with
people who say your project isn’t working
(even when you know the story has problems).
Learning to accept feedback and give critical
Mobility redefined
AT FILM SCHOOL YOU LEARN
THE ELEMENTS OF A WELLCRAFTED IMAGE.
production).
You’ll learn the language of cutters
and cukes, cookies and dead cats and
film set customs like the martini shot
and running a technical rehearsal.
Knowing how a film set runs is vital
if you want to work on a Hollywood
crew, but that knowledge is equally
important if you’re wrestling with the
inexperienced crew of an indie film
shoot.
Other People’s Mistakes
A key part of learning to direct (and
edit and write) is making mistakes.
When you do something wrong (and
© 2012 DayMen Canada Acquisition ULC
I went to film school in the Stone Age
(before digital video) when film was
physical and editors used razor blades
and sticky tape. Back then if you
wanted affordable access to film cameras, lights and editing equipment,
your only option was film school. But
now professional grade cameras and
software are readily available. And you
can watch free film school tutorials
about cool directing tips and techniques.
So why bother with film school?
Why not take that tuition money and
produce indie films instead? Because
film school teaches you more than
cameras and software. It teaches
you the professional approach for
everything from lighting to editing
Figure 2
Go
Don’t
H e re
try to fix it in post-production), you learn the
importance of a cardinal rule like never crossing the stageline. In film school, not only can
you make mistakes in a supportive, low threat
environment, but you can also learn from other
people’s mistakes.
Watching another crew member suffer with
bad production sound is far less painful than
making that mistake yourself. And the more you
watch other people make mistakes, the more
likely you are to catch your own goofs before
they happen.
contents
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DIRECTING
DIRECTING
SEPTEMBER 2012
MARKET PLACE
SEPTEMBER 2012
Mini Shotgun PRO
feedback to others is one of the most
important skills film school teaches,
and it’s vital to the success of any
visual project.
Networking
Nobody makes a movie alone. Even
a no-budget production needs actors
and a minimal number of crewmembers. While friends and family
can fill these roles, production is
much easier if your crew has studied
moviemaking and is comfortable
with their jobs. Film school is the
ideal place to meet and network with
people who are passionate about
making movies. A core group of film
school friends often work on several
projects together.
And some graduates from every
class end up working in the movie
industry as everything from directors
to writers to cinematographers to editors. These are good people to know.
I’ve had the help of people I met at
film school on each of the features
I’ve directed.
Equipment
You probably have access to a video
camera and some basic editing software, but odds are you don’t have
a five-ton truck of lighting gear or
a soundstage at your disposal. Film
schools give you access to professional tools most people can’t afford, such
as sound equipment or a multi-track
mixing studio.
And film school gives you another
important benefit as well: student
status. Most equipment rental houses
have special student rates and waive
MOST EQUIPMENT RENTAL
HOUSES HAVE SPECIAL
STUDENT RATES AND WAIVE
EXPENSIVE INSURANCE.
expensive insurance requirements.
Some cities even waive the need for a
shooting permit if you’re working on
a student project. Permissible stock
media is much easier to find for a
school project than for commercial
purposes. Being a film student has
some very real advantages.
Screenings
Movies need an audience. While
posting a video online and racking up
a huge number of hits is satisfying,
nothing beats watching your work on
the big screen in a darkened theater.
Most film schools have a screening
program at the end of each semester
in which they showcase student work.
Some of the bigger film schools even
invite agents and industry professionals to these screenings.
And while studios probably won’t
offer you a three-picture deal based
on a film school screening, it’s still an
excellent opportunity to show off your
talent. And listening to a live audience
react to your movie is one of the best
experiences you’ll ever have.
Practice
There’s an old joke about a tourist
in New York who stops a musician
on the street and asks, “Pardon me,
how do I get to Carnegie Hall?” The
musician replies, “Practice, practice,
practice.” Making movies is a lot like
playing a musical instrument. The
more you practice, the better you
get. One of the best things about film
school is the structure it provides for
practicing.
In the rush of everyday life, most
people can’t set aside time to work
on a video project just for the purpose of trying out new production
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54
Cuke or Cookie: (short for cucoloris)
A special type of cutter with random
shapes cut through it in order to cast
interesting shadows on the background.
Cutter: An opaque shape (usually a
rectangle of thick black fabric on a wire
frame) that directs (or blocks) light.
Sometimes called a flag.
Dead Cat: A fur sock that covers the
housing of a microphone, generally used
outdoors (the housing is called a blimp
or zeppelin). The dead cat helps eliminate wind noise.
Gaffer: The key crewmember in charge
of placing lights and running electrical
cables to power those lights.
A successful video project is more than
cool camera moves and a pop culture
sensibility. The essence of moviemaking is
storytelling, so take some classes in creative writing and screenplays. And since
actors bring your story to life, take an
acting class to learn how actors breathe
life into their characters.
That’s just the beginning. Classes in
videography (or photography) and editing are obvious choices, but you should
also take classes in graphic design, which is
a study of how the visual elements of an image (such as line,
shape, and color) interact. Music theory is also a smart choice because music
has such an enormous influence on any completed project.
And one subject every director should study is leadership. Technical skill with
a camera or script is worthless unless you inspire the cast and crew that work
with you. The better your leadership skills, the better your directing will be.
techniques. In a film class, you’re
given specific projects with specific
deadlines. You also get instruction,
access to equipment, help from
crewmembers, and feedback. It’s a
great environment to acquire and
practice the highly specialized skills
of moviemaking.
But Who Has Time For Film
School?
Film Terms You May Not Know
Apple Box: A wooden rectangular
box measuring 8x12x20-inches with
an infinite number of uses (which
includes makeshift chairs, impromptu
ladders, and equipment platforms).
Also available in half apple, quarter
apple and pancake sizes.
Best Boy: The second in command
of the grips or gaffers. Also referred
to as the best boy grip.
C-Stand: (short for Century Stand)
A three legged stand with an adjustable arm which holds lights, flags,
cutters, or just about any piece of
movie making equipment. A very useful piece of gear.
What Classes Should I Take?
Grip: A crewmember who lifts, moves,
and places equipment on the set. Grips
represent the muscles that make things
happen.
Martini Shot: The last shot of any
given shooting day. It’s called the martini
because the next shot will be served in
a glass.
Technical Rehearsal: The final on-set
rehearsal before shooting a first take.
It’s a last chance to check camera
moves, focus changes, and microphone
placement.
Three-Point Lighting: (See figure 1).
Stageline: (See figure 2).
By now you have a good idea of the
advantages film school offers, but
can’t afford the time and money needed for two to four years of film school,
that doesn’t mean you can’t have the
film school experience.
Most cities have continuing
education programs and community colleges that offer classes on
everything from screenwriting to
video production. They teach many
of these classes in the evenings or
on weekends and they’re generally
affordable. Best of all, by enrolling
in even a single class you’ll experience most of the benefits described
in this article, from networking
to equipment access and student
status.
What classes might you consider?
What class to take overall? The sidebar
What Classes Should I Take? gives a
brief description of subjects every
indie director needs to know.
Video production is often a singular business or hobby. Taking classes
helps you network with like-minded
people, and step into their shoes.
Maybe you don’t want to be the lighting guy, but that guy in the seat across
from you does and he needs a director.
Connection made.
So what are you waiting for? Find
a school, pick a couple of classes and
start shooting! It’s one of the easiest
ways to start telling your own visual
stories.
This is it...
more info:
QueAudio.com
7/23/2012 11:16:37 AM
Pete Shaner has MFA in film production from USC and is
a Film/Video instructor at the UCLA Extension. A motionpicture writer-director, Shaner’s credits include several
independent features, award-winning short subjects,
and narrative films. He has written for the TV series JAG
and worked as the on-set technical advisor for A Few
Good Men.
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55
EDITING
EDITING
MARKET PLACE
SEPTEMBER 2012
Technology That Complements Your Imagination.
b y Ty A u d r o n i s
Make It Look Suite with Effects
Video is just video, but filters make
it your own! If you want to personalize a style and create your own
specialized look, filters can give
E
You do get to control
some parameters of
each filter, and that’s
good since there’s likely
to be one filter that
gives you a good base
from which to develop
your style.
your video a creative pizazz.
Ever want to give your video a signature stylized look? Just like Jerry
Bruckheimer (the name behind the
CSI shows), Michael Mann (Heat), and
Michael Bay (Transformers, Armageddon) you too can come up with your
own signature style to leave an indelible mark on your video market. But
how is it done?
The Prime Example
Let’s take CSI: Crime Scene Investigation. The editors use high contrast and
tint to make you feel a bit more like
you’re in the environment. Using color
theory in its most literal form, you too
could mimic the CSI look. It’s actually
pretty simple. If we’re in the desert, we
tint warm and dry (yellowish-orange).
In a lab? Slightly blue for medical,
and a bit more aqua for technology
- sounds simple, and it can be if you
follow just a few simple principles to
create your own look.
Cheating? Yeah Right…
I’m sure you’ve heard it before from
the purists out there. Those packaged
plug-ins, provided by Tiffen, Boris FX,
Digieffects, etc., but you can create
all those effects yourself without the
packages. And some people may even
scoff at the thought of using them.
Let’s use a quote from a friend of
mine, Fon Davis (model making and
A
Original
Image
C
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The four separate tasks here aren’t terribly complex, and
the understanding and appreciation they provide can be
good. Remember, you may need to apply these changes to
10 clips - consider why the developers at effects software
companies thought to include each filter.
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56
visual effects guru, The Matrix Reloaded
to the Brisk Iced Tea advertisements.)
“It’s not a matter of how much attention to detail you have and painfully executed patiently over a year of
building something. That’s amateur. A
professional thinks about what he can
do to get it done in two weeks. There is
no such thing as cheating.” And to that,
I whole-heartedly agree.
So, wherever and whenever you
can make the computer do something
for you… it’s not cheating. It frees
you up to make it look even cooler.
B
D
That’s how the look of visual enteryou could use the Boris FX’s BCC Cartainment evolves. For example, you
toon Look filter and be done with it.
could mimic the look of film stock by
Needless to say… your “cheating” just
piling up effects like these: add a tint
saved you immense amounts of time.
effect to change your mid-tones to a bit
blue, your lows to a slight purple, and
Suite Style!
your highlights a touch of green as in
Great, so you get stuff done faster.
Picture A. Then, add a color pass with
Other than stacking all those effects
which you crush your blacks, and tint
mentioned above, what happens if
the green channel a bit more green
you stack suite effects in the same
and less magenta. (Picture B) Add a
way? That’s really where you can
little bit of a horizontal blur (Picture C),
define your own style.
and then a black layer with a feathered
This example is pretty extreme,
and highly blurred elliptical mask cut
but you’ll get the point. Say that
FullPageAD_NEWTemplate.indd
48 only 25 percent
out of the center with
you have a client who wants a crazy
opacity (Picture D) That will give you a
film stock look with just a bit of
look similar to Ektachrome film. Confilm damage, and the client wants it
fusing? That’s a lot of effects and a lot
to look like there’s petroleum jelly
of fiddling around. Or, you could just
on the lens (an old effect from the
use the Tiffen DFX film stocks plug-in
with the setting for EktaF
chrome as shown in Picture
E, and you’re set. That’s a
major time saver.
That was a simple example. The steps can get much
more complex. For example,
if you want to do the Charles
Schwab cartoon look, your
best option to do it manually
is export an image sequence,
G
use an action in Adobe
Photoshop, (Picture F) to run
through every frame using
the automate feature (the
action takes no less than 25
steps), and import the image
sequence back to your editIn Picture G we see the beginning image on the left and
ing software, Picture G. The
effect of the Cartoon Look on the right, taking time to
round trip can take hours
apply the necessary actions individually in Picture F is
just to see it in motion. Or,
effective, but inefficient.
© Copyright 2012. Matthews Studio Equipment, Inc. FloatCam DC-Slider &
Motion Control are Patent Pending USA, EU & International. All rights reserved.
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57
EDITING
1970s and ‘80s that would smooth
out wrinkles on people’s faces. It
was often used to make subjects
look more attractive or to add a bit
of glamour to a shot.)
First things first, let’s add some
grit. Using the Tiffen Dfx software, we
add a ton of grain (Picture H). Next,
let’s figure out a film stock. So, again
to Tiffen, we use the film stock effect
from earlier, but this time we’ll use
Agfa CT Precisa 100 from the long film
stock list (Picture I). Scooting on to
H
I
J
K
L
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If you refer to original image, you’ll see the
“before” with the results here. It is best
to remember, the purpose, too many or too
much of an effect can remind viewers that
you used a visual effect.
58
SEPTEMBER 2012
PURIST STYLE VS.
SUITE STYLE
On the left, we see the
steps necessary to create a cartoon look frame
by frame using an automation tool from Adobe
Photoshop. On the right,
a simple preset using the
BCC Cartoon Look. The
time savings? Thirty-five
minutes to create the action and process the footage through Photoshop, and
another three minutes to import it back to Avid Media Composer. With BCC
Cartoon Look, we spent 15 seconds to find the effect in our bin, another five
seconds to select our preset, and three minutes to render the effect for real-time
playback. All of this for 11.5 seconds of video. How much is your time worth?
our first layer of film damage. Let’s use
Boris this time. Using BCC Film Damage, you can add everything from a
little bit of dust up through shake, dirt,
scratches, and hair. Since we’re into
saving more time, let’s apply the preset
of SevereScratchesShakeDesaturate
(Picture J).
Already things are looking… interesting, but we’re not done yet. Moving
on to GenArts, we use Sapphire Technicolor, (Picture K) and it tweaks it just
a hair to tone it down before our final
touch (the petroleum jelly).
By going back to Tiffen Dfx and using its Glow Darks filter, (Picture L) on
its most extreme preset, we tweak our
colors to crush the blacks, and blur
everything dark just a hair. And we’ve
done everything our client requested
in just a sliver of time. This… is the
evolution of visual style.
The Principles to Follow
Purpose - everything you do needs
to have purpose. Never make a story
around your effect, add your effect
around your story. In our example,
we have an ethereal techno-goddess
meets Lady Gaga. So, gritty, artsy, and
out there are completely called for.
We wouldn’t use this set of effects on
Gone with the Wind.
Color: Nothing can make you feel
like you’re in the story more than
color. But use it with care. It simply
wouldn’t do to tint a desert blue
(unless you’re on a different planet
maybe), nor to tint the arctic orange.
Even changing your saturation levels
one way or the other can give you
interesting results.
Media Damage: video, film and
even digital compression can all
show damage. Using vignetting, grain,
scratches, interlacing, or even digital
artifacting can really add to the feel of
your clips. Of course, going overboard
can make your clients wince too.
The Evolution of Visual Style: it’s
all about the possibilities. As these
techniques become easier to do,
people think of more and more unique
ways of combining the possibilities to
create new ones. That’s what it’s really
all about. Not purism vs. cheating.
Embrace simpler ways of doing things,
and combine them with the free time
it affords you. That’s the core of how
you’ll come up with new and interesting looks to define your style.
The bottom line? An investment in
an effects suite is essential when honing your own style, or giving a client
that “Jerry Bruckheimer” effect. It’s an
investment that will save you countless hours!
Ty Audronis is a “Digital Alchemist” with nearly two
decades of professional animation experience. He also
teaches computer animation, motion graphics, editing,
videography, and Web development.
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AUDIO
AUDIO
SEPTEMBER 2012
b y Ch u ck P e t e r s
Building an Audio Recording Room
will tend to be pretty audio-friendly,
but a tiled bathroom with lots of flat,
solid surfaces will generally not be a
good choice. The clothing in a walkin closet acts as an excellent sound
dampener, so additional wall padding
may not be necessary. If you need to
deaden a lively room you will need to
build some sound dampening panels.
I recommend a minimum of two or
three standalone panels that you can
place in a "V" or a triangle around
the microphone. In a pinch, heavy
duty moving blankets strung between
C-stands or suspended between step
ladders are better than nothing. Make
sure they are hung high enough to create the best possible barrier. No matter
how you slice it, the blanket method is
not ideal. While blankets do reduce reflections, they are too thin to effectively
block most outside sounds. The better
Clean, clear audio is an essential
aspect of any professional production, but many (if not most)
videographers underestimate its
importance.
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hummy, or echo-y audio plagued by
reflections and reverberations that
drown out the speaker’s voice and distract the viewer. It’s this self-acquired
audio that we will focus on here.
When it comes to recording audio.
a lot of producers prefer to work in
professional recording studios, but
you don’t have to rent a space or
break the bank to record sound that
sounds superb. With a small amount
of effort and a little creativity you can
create an area of your own for recording audio for video. The best way to
do this is to pre-proof a place in your
own space and record as much audio
as possible within the confines of your
audio-optimized area. It’s important to
note that not all spaces are equally effective for recording awesome audio.
There are a few things you need to
keep in mind as you seek to set up a
sweet audio suite.
close. It won't hurt to have a window
in the door since either you or your
crew will at some point need to communicate through the door, but you
don't want a recording broken into
from someone peaking in because
they're curious. The sound quality of
the room also makes a difference. A
“dead” room is better than a “lively”
one. A decent litmus test is to clap
your hands loudly once or twice in
the room and listen for echoes and
audio reflections. The sooner you hear
silence, the better.
If you are in a home, you have a few
options. A living room with thick carpet, cushy couches and dense drapes
Pick a Space
The space you choose to use as your
audio production studio doesn’t have
to be large or fancy. The primary goal
is to isolate your microphones from
any and all unwanted sound, so the
room should have a door you can
Foam is a great insulator and doubles as
a sound blocker. The soft texture of fabric
inhibits sound reflections. A more solid, more
costly option is rigid fiberglass.
If you decide to build your own baffles
you can get great results with materials that you can buy at just about any
hardware store. It’s okay to be creative
with the materials you use, and you
can construct your panels in whatever
dimensions serve you best to suit your
particular needs. But once you know
what you need to accomplish, it’s
amazing how many solutions you can
find by walking the aisles of a home
improvement hardware store. I recently
built several baffles for my produc-
The baffles have fabric covering virtually all
of the exposed wood. The thickness alone
should help indicate how much sound will be
deadened here.
tion studio at work, where we have a
dedicated space (a smallish 15x16-foot
room in a home) that I have converted to a small green screen insert
set. Because we record there often,
we needed some permanent sound
dampening, as well as supplemental
portable baffles that we could set up
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60
Build Some Baffles
SUBSCRIBER
Photos by Paul Morris
contents
While it doesn’t seem logical that the
ears of your audience would overrule
the eyes, it’s one of the many mysteries of video production. You can have
creative camera work, excellent edits,
great graphics and fantastic effects,
but if your audio is awful, your viewers will overlook all of your visual victories and remember only your sour
soundtrack. In fact, I have found that
if you have stellar sound, viewers may
well walk away remembering a video
as being “good” even if the graphics,
lighting and overall visual quality are
nothing more than mediocre. While I
don’t know that there is a satisfactory
scientific explanation for the phenomenon, in my experience this principle
holds absolutely true. And as a result,
we have to change what we do. If you
want to exponentially improve the
perceived quality of your videos, one
of the simplest things you can do is to
invest extra effort into improving your
audio.
A good soundtrack is made up
of a variety of sources. These often
include, but aren’t limited to: music,
sound effects, natural ambient sound
recorded in a environment, voiceover narration (VO), and “sync” sound
(audio recording of talent that’s seen
on screen). Music and sound effects
typically come from high quality
recordings created by professional
content providers. It’s the audio that
we record ourselves that tends to mess
up the mix with problems ranging
from background bleed due to lawn
mowers, sirens and periodically passing express trains, to thin, tinny, hissy,
bet is to buy or build baffles to block
and deaden sound waves. You can buy
professionally built panels from audio
specialty shops, or you can build your
own with materials that are readily
available at your favorite neighborhood
home improvement hardware store.
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61
AUDIO
Suspended 2' x 8' panels - yet another
great aspect of lofts. These panels will
break up sound waves that would bounce
off the ceiling.
for recording sessions and then take
down to store out of the way of daily
traffic. I built my baffles in three sizes
(4x8-foot, 2x8-foot, and 2x4-foot).
Look for a 1/2-inch x 2-inch x 4-foot
acoustic insulation board (stone wool
insulation batts) that looks and feels
like plywood, but has special sound
deadening properties. Using this as a
base, use spray glue to adhere 2x4-foot
sound insulation panels to the board.
Next, I used cheap 1x2-inch boards
and some drywall screws to build a
simple frame around my panels for
added rigidity. Finally, I wrapped my
panels with a thick, textured fabric and
used a staple gun to secure the skin.
The basic notion here is to create a
thick, multi-layered panel that catches
and kills rogue sound waves.
In my space, I hung several of the
2x4-foot panels in a pattern on the wall
behind the camera, suspended some
of my 2x8-foot panels from the ceiling beams using eye hooks and some
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Most theater walls will have panels similar
to these to deter sound from both entering
and exiting a room. The biggest thing to avoid
having on the wall is hard flat surfaces.
62
CLASSIFIED NETWORK
SEPTEMBER 2012
chain, and positioned my large 4x8-foot
panels on the sides of the set just out of
the frame. My large panels are connected with door hinges so they can be
angled to stand without additional support. When it’s time to move them or
stow them away, you can just pop the
pins, or you can just leave them up and
use them as glorified, sound absorbing
cubicle walls. Your choice.
The panels you build don’t need
to look exactly like mine. There are
plenty of other panel plans available
online, or you can go freestyle and
invent your own design. You're not
going for looks, so don't worry about
equipMent & accessoRies
Ensuring that sound from outside your set
does not find its way to a mic is key. Panels
hung high on walls can stop some of the noise
from upstairs.
it appearing odd. The most important
thing isn’t how they look, it’s how well
they function. As long as your baffles
effectively muffle echoes and fend off
unwanted outside noise, they’re good.
at 90-degrees to avoid interference.
For the sake of your talent, it’s a
good idea to loop a long headphone
feed out of the recorder so they can
hear themselves and listen to playback. For the purpose of direction, its
also useful to have a talkback system.
This may be looped into their headphones, or to a small speaker in the
VO booth. In a pinch you can even use
an open cell phone connection for
monitoring and talkback. Here again,
whatever works, works!
Step Away from the Mic
Isolate, Eliminate, Separate
WHILE BLANKETS REDUCE
REFLECTIONS, THEY ARE TOO
THIN TO EFFECTIVELY BLOCK
OUTSIDE SOUNDS.
Another important consideration is
to put as much distance as possible
between your recording gear and your
microphone. Whether you will record
to a camera or a computer, the recorder needs to be in a separate control
room that is isolated from the talent
and the mic. Getting your microphone close to the talent helps to take
advantage of its off-camera characteristic. You may have not noticed the
hum of your camera or computer, but
the microphone will. Any operating
noises from your production crew or
equipment can be well insolated with
separation. This means you’ll need to
run some cables, long ones, from your
mic to your recording gear. Whenever
you are running cables, opt to run the
shortest length of cable necessary. So
if you are only 25 feet away, don’t use
a 100-foot cable. Remember to never
run audio cables parallel with power
cables. If you must cross them, do so
The secret to recording clean, clear
audio is to take as much control as
possible over the sound quality of
the environment in which you record. Remember to isolate, eliminate
and separate.
1. Isolate your mic so it hears only the
voice of your talent, 2. Eliminate outside noises and echoes and 3. Separate
your recording gear from your vocal
booth. Whether you use your coat
closet or build a permanent sound
design studio for voice recording, you
will find that you’ll get far greater
results when you isolate, eliminate
and separate.
Chuck Peters is a 3-time Emmy award-winning writer
and producer. He is currently VP of Production at
KIDMO/Rivet Productions.
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63
MOVIE MISTAKES Stuff Happens
b y J e nn i f e r O’ R o u r k e
Continuity errors happen in movies all the time; from props migrating
around the scene in different shots to clothing appearing and disappearing on an actor. What are your favorite movie mistakes?
R
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ead through the end credits of any
blockbuster movie and you’ll see
hundreds… sometimes even thousands of names roll by. Everyone from
the top tier directors, producers and
actors to the truck drivers and craft services get their name on the big screen.
Somewhere within that massive list
are crew members responsible for the
continuity of a movie. In the days of
early movie magic, you might have
seen a crew position called “Continuity.” This person’s job was to guarantee that everything in a scene was in
the exact location and laid out in the
same manner take after take, even if
the shooting schedule covered days or
weeks at a time.
Keeping continuity straight can be
difficult. Consider that the crew might
shoot an outdoor winter scene for a
Christmas movie in the spring, then
they discover that they need to go back
for some pickup shots in the fall, long
after the movie has wrapped. Not only
does the fake snow need to look real, it
needs to fall with the same consistency
as the fake snow in the scenes shot
months earlier, and all the props around
the scene need to lie in the same way.
It’s nearly impossible and directors and
editors will use cutaway tricks to mask
the break in continuity. Continuity staff
takes hundreds of photographs of a
scene and thousands of notes on detail,
light placement, actor marks, etc., but,
still, accidents happen and there are
websites devoted to finding mistakes.
At the least, a continuity error will
pass by completely unnoticed, and
the worst, it can take a viewer out of
the movie for a split second, ruining
his or her movie-going experience.
I learned about movie mistakes as
a child while watching the annual
showing of The Wizard of Oz – a BIG
event back in the 1960s. I’ve never
read about this movie mistake, so
64
every time I see it, I wonder if I’m just
imagining it. This is in the scene where
Dorothy and company are in the dark
scary woods and the creepy flying blue
monkeys attack. The scene starts with
a wide shot, establishing that these
monkeys could fly, then it changes
to a medium shot of mayhem as the
monkeys terrorize our heroes. Two
monkeys grab Dorothy and take off,
and the next shot is an extremely long
shot of a group monkeys in the air, and
you see Dorothy’s feet dangling as she
screams in terror. Right behind her is
another monkey carrying Toto, yet the
very next shot shows a medium shot
of a monkey on the ground grabbing
Toto from the forest and taking off. An
obvious error in continuity – at least
that’s the way it looks to me – but I’ve
never seen that account written up, so
I always wonder – am I imagining it?
As a child, I knew that was a mix up,
and my appreciation – and critique –
of movies was born.
I love buying a DVD with behind the
scenes clips or director’s commentaries. And I enjoy discovering movie
mistakes - it’s like being privy to some
secret Hollywood society. If you’re a
fan of finding movie mistakes, check
out Moviemistakes.com
It has a good comprehensive list of
mistakes from the well spotted shots
of mic booms dipping into a scene
and camera ops’ reflections in chrome
and glass, to continuity errors like the
subject wearing sunglasses in one clip
of a scene but not in the next.
One of Moviemistakes.com examples from Pirates of the Caribbean:
The Curse of the Black Pearl shows up
in the widescreen version towards
the end of the movie: “Just as Jack
[Johnny Depp] says, ‘On deck, you
scabrous dogs,” on the left edge of the
screen over Jack’s shoulder is a grip
crew member with a tan cowboy hat,
white short sleeve tee shirt and sunglasses, just standing there looking out
to sea.’” The site categorizes mistakes
into eight different types:
Continuity – a mistake that continues between two or more shots,
such as objects moving about without
being touched or characters’ postures
changing too drastically in a too short
period of time.
Factual – a mistake that clashes
with the real world by being historically, geographically, or physically
incorrect, including false statements
by supposed experts or spelling/grammatical errors. Related to Plot Holes.
Revealing – a mistake exposing the
film-making process, such as poor
visual effects or an obvious stunt
performer. Related to Visible Crew/
Equipment.
Visible Crew/Equipment – camera
crew, equipment, and objects used for
filming becoming visible on-screen.
Related to Revealing.
Plot – a conflict in the internal logic
of a film, such as a character doing
something illogical and out of character simply to move the plot along.
Related to Factual Error.
Audio – a mistake related to the
film’s audio component, speech,
sound effects and so forth.
Deliberate “Mistakes” – a mistake
that is done on purpose by the film’s
creators for any one of a number of
possible reasons.
Character – a significant error in
dialogue or written words.
The site also points out Easter
Eggs… fodder for another time!
Many of our movie enthusiastic
readers are probably like us who can’t
watch a movie with a friend without
commenting like, “nice crane shot,” or
“slow dolly technique, very smooth.”
Drives my friends nuts! How about
you? What’s your favorite movie
mistakes! Check our Facebook page or
email us at [email protected]
Jennifer O’Rourke is Videomaker’s managing editor.
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September 2012 - Videomaker.com

Transcription

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