Shutter Speed vs FPS

Here’s a short video tutorial on the topic of Shutter Speed, which is at times confused with Frames Per Second. The tutorial is from a DSLR shooting series by the University of Waterloo, and it’s a good primer on the topic. You can watch it below.

Which ProRes quality level is Good Enough when editing DSLR footage?

So I wanted to share some personal findings after working heavily with DSLRs for about a year and a half now. I’ve been converting most of my DSLR footage to ProRes LT for post-production, and have found it to be a good size-to-quality happy medium. In most cases, my projects will end up on DVD, web, or some kind of Standard Definition delivery, so LT allows me to strike a quality compromise that tends to be invisible after output. Even for HD applications, I think you’d be hard-pressed to find visible quality issues when editing with ProRes LT, assuming that you aren’t pushing the image too much in color-correction and grading. And let’s be honest, you probably shouldn’t be heavily grading DSLR footage anyway…for as much as I love DSLRs, the footage doesn’t like to be pushed hard. Read on…

Analyzing what you see in a film frame

This new study by David Bordwell provides fascinating data on where viewers look when watching a film. Researchers used infrared pupil tracking to correlate attention to what was happening in the film, and their findings will surely be of interest to DoPs, Directors, and Editors alike…

Courage Under Lighting

Recently I had the opportunity to direct a music video for a local Chicago band called Flatfoot 56. On this particular project, the narrative would be completely shot on a sound stage and the performance piece of the band would be shot at one other location. Lighting the performance location wound up taking roughly eight hours to rig, utilizing around 22 heads and drawing about 23,000 watts. So where did we end up and how did we get there? Come and take a ride along with us; our first stop is in Gary Indiana. Read on…

Constructing a helmet cam

Stillmotion has a blog post up with info on how they pulled together a makeshift DSLR helmet camera for POV shots. They built it around a standard skateboard helmet and a Canon T2i, with the addition of one of those el-cheapo wireless video monitors (I snagged one a while back, and it works great for the money). Head on over to their blog for more info and pictures.

10 Screenwriting Tips from Joss Whedon

Yeah, that title got your attention didn’t it! Over at Scriptwriting in the UK there’s a nice post with ten detailed tips on screenwriting, by none other than geek-filmmaker darling Joss Whedon. And a damn fine collection of tips indeed. My personal favorite is #5…quoted below:

Extra Extra, Free Light Leak Clips!

Jesse Rosten is a studmuffin filmmaker, and he’s giving away some light leaks that he created. These are excellent transitional elements, similar to the clips you’ll find in Artbeats Film Clutter collections. You can also make your own light leaks by removing the lens from your camera and playing light across the sensor with a flashlight.

But if you are lazy like most of us editors, snag these pre-made clips while you can. And if you aren’t sure how you’d use them, watch the “Growing is Forever” video embedded below for a taste of Jesse’s light leak goodness.

Panasonic AF100 Sensor Size Comparison

One of the common questions that I’ve personally gotten in the past few weeks is in regards to the AF100’s sensor size. There seems to be a common belief that this camera’s 4/3s sensor is objectionably small in size. I personally think that this size issue has been overstated, that the 4/3s size is actually rather large…and that the real issue is one of expectations and perception. Read on, I’ll explain…

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