Pulse Width Modulation is NOT Your Friend

Here’s the deal: there’s this thing called “pulse width modulation,” and under certain conditions it doesn’t play well with rolling shutter cameras. Most of the time it’s no problem, but we don’t get phone calls from post when there’s no problem. Here’s how to avoid that phone call.

LIGHTING STRATEGIES: Placing a Hard Key Light

The most important thing you will ever learn about lighting is this: LIGHTING IS NOT A FORMULA. Learning about lighting, though, is a process of becoming aware, and in this first of many articles I’m going I’m going to try to increase your awareness of one specific thing per article. The more awareness you have the more easily you’ll be able to adapt your lighting to your circumstances because you’ll see, with your own eyes, what you need to do to make an image that satisfies your inner artist.

I think the best place to start is with classical key light placement. This knowledge is not something you will use verbatim as this is not a style that is in vogue at the moment. The underlying principles, however, should be of daily benefit.

Want To Fly In First Class On Your Next Gig?  Here’s How!

I just got back from a whirlwind cross-country trip for a freelance gig I’m working on.  Between me, my field producer and my audio operator, we managed to boil down our equipment complement to six checked bags and three carry-ons. Now prices vary on different airlines, but the way it worked for me was this:

We flew USAirways from Cleveland to Phoenix, changing planes in Charlotte.  When I got online to check us in the night before, I was resigned to paying $60 in checked bag fees for each of us ($25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, all meticulously packed and weighed to be less than 50 pounds.)  However, in the middle of the check-in procedure, a pop-up box asked me if I would like to upgrade my entire party to first class - for $50 each.  On USAirways, this upgrade includes TWO FREE CHECKED BAGS.  (Bonus:  They can then weigh up to 70 pounds.)  In the time it took me to click the “yes” box, I had saved $30 overall and managed to get prime seating for the crew, and moved to the head of the boarding queue to guarantee overhead-compartment space for the two cameras and backpack-full-of-computers-and-iPad we were carrying onboard.  I call that a bargain at twice the price!

Coming home at the end of the shoot from Tucson to Madison, I played the same game on United.  Since both of those flights were on regional jets, first class was not offered, but once again the cost of checking two bags and first-call boarding was less than the cost of checking the bags alone.  While it is easy to imagine scenarios where this technique may not work (e.g., first class is booked full) it is a trick that I will be trying every time I need to check bags from this day forward.

Got any travel tricks of your own you’d like to share?  Let’s hear them!

REVIEW:  Fast Forward Video Sidekick HD Recorder/Monitor

PREFACE:  The ProRes Dilemma

Let’s start this review off by dispelling a long-held rumor.  I’m a PC guy, just always have been, and after reviewing just about every PC NLE at least once, I have settled on Adobe Premiere Pro (and the CS 5.5 suite) as my editor of choice.  Not too long ago, I had a freelance client that absolutely insisted on Apple ProRes files for the output of a project.  Unfortunately, Apple does not allow PCs to write ProRes files, and at the time PC’s couldn’t read them either.

Fast-forward a few months:  Imagine my dismay as I walked the aisles of NAB 2011, looking at all kinds of new recording devices from Aja, Atomos, Sound Devices and others that promised long recording times and transfer speeds – yet the catch was:  Only records in Apple ProRes.

So when I was offered the opportunity to review the Fast Forward Video Sidekick HD combination video recorder and camera-top monitor, I was distressed to think that I could shoot the footage, but couldn’t edit it.  So I put the question to my colleagues on the Vidpro listserv – can PC Premiere Pro play back ProRes?  My pal (and fellow Wisconsinite) Steve Oakley FTP’ed me a few Apple clips that seemed to work, so I went ahead and received the Sidekick HD.  And I can now say with 100% certainty – Adobe Premiere Pro 5.5 can play back Apple ProRes files, even happily combining them on the same timeline with just about any other type of clip you want to add – .AVI, .M2T, Photoshop files, Canon 50Mb, Sony 35Mb, After Effects comps, you name it.  (The theory is that the ProRes playback capability came along with one of the many Quicktime updates Apple shoots out.  Hey, who knew?)

LSS Notes: Sony F3/FS100 preso at MTE; “C300 = Awesome”

[Update 9 Dec: ASG Large Raster Workflow seminar Tuesday in San Francisco.]

1) Media Solutions and Sony present Sony PMW-F3/NEX-FS100u Demo and Workflow Solutions this Monday, 12 December, at Meets The Eye Studios, San Carlos CA (Northern California, between San Francisco and San Jose).

Is TV Broken?

I don’t generally re-post links to articles, but this one from CNN’s Business Insider Matt Rosoff caught my eye.  Give it a read, but the thumbnail is this:

What is so flawed about the television watching experience that Steve Jobs devoted his final months of life to changing it?  It’s a good, quick read.  What do you think?  Is TV broken?

Choosing the Right Green Screen Materials

Okay, you’ve seen the green screen “Kits” that come with some cheap lights, stands and a green screen cloth backdrop… or someone tells you to just go down to Home Depot and get a couple gallons of their “greenest” paint - a couple hundred bucks and you’re good to go, right? WRONG! A setup like that will be of little use if you’re seriously trying to get a decent matte. Without the right green screen materials, even the best lighting and camera won’t help you.

The entire green screen process is a careful balance of color & light - a very narrow spectrum of colored light that reflects back through the lens and is easily matted (or “keyed”) out with sophisticated software.

SRMemory.  The maximum medium.

One trillion bytes in your shirt pocket. 

How many hours are you willing to spend backing up your assets after a long day’s shoot?  What kind of data protection do you need for an indie project, a TV episode or a $100 million feature?  What data rates do you need to record uncompressed 1080p high definition?  Or 16-bit linear RAW at 4K and beyond?  These questions aren’t simply rhetorical.  They’re the issues Sony grappled with in developing the next generation of high-end recording media: the SRMemory card.  About the size of a smart phone, the new media card neatly accommodates today’s recording needs—and anticipates tomorrow’s.

Page 3 of 57 pages  <  1 2 3 4 5 >  Last »