Earlier in August we published our third PVC Pipeline | Distribution newsletter, which included a review of the Sony HXR-MC1 camera by Adam Wilt, an overview of the pros and cons of the RED One and Canon 5D mkII by Art Adams, Richard Harrington’s real-world experiences with HD field monitors, and a combo review of the Scope Box Software and Reflecmedia LED Green Screen System by Jeff Foster. Subscribers had exclusive access to these articles for the past few weeks. These articles are now available for all PVC visitors to view; a list of them is included below.
In early September we will publish our eighth electronic newsletter, which will be the third edition of our PVC Pipeline | Post publication. It will include articles on Avid to Premiere to Avid editing workflows by Steve Hullfish and Final Cut Pro to After Effects workflows by Richard Harrington, plus more. To receive exclusive access to these articles before everyone else, click here for your free subscription!
PVC Pipeline | Production #3:
Review: Sony HXR-MC1 1-CMOS AVCHD POV Camcorder
by Adam Wilt
Sony’s HXR-MC1 ($2800, street price) is a “POV” camcorder, an HD single-chip CMOS camera head with 10x zoom, separated from the “main body” with controls, LCD screen, and recording media, by a nine-foot umbilical cable. You can put the camera head in unusual or awkward places—on a helmet, strapped to the underside of a bike, on the deck of a skateboard, on the hood of a car—while being able to control it and view its images on its main body in a more convenient location. You can also mount the head on a boom pole (handy for reaching over the heads of crowds), a jib arm, or on a tripod in a sensitive location, while you monitor and operate it from a safe remove.
CameraMania!
by Art Adams
Banking, real estate and the stock market: all three are prone to “irrational exuberance.” As it turns out, the production community is not immune either, witnessed by the hordes rushing to buy (or wishing they already owned) a RED camera or a Canon 5D mkII. Mind you, both are excellent tools – but neither is a cure for everything.
The Rise of Field Monitors
by Richard Harrington
I’ve recently spent a lot of time evaluating our production processes looking for ways to improve efficiency. There were two motivating factors. First, we’ve pretty much abandoned Standard Definition production, relegating it only to live web events where we are streaming the content or where the client demands it. Second, I was working on a new book, Video Made on a Mac: Production and Postproduction Using Apple Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite with Robbie Carman. In it we try to evaluate ways to efficiently integrate Apple and Adobe software into best practices for production and post.
We discovered a lot along the way, in particular that “field” monitors have taken on a whole new life of usefulness. Here are a few of the things we discovered in the last few months of HD production.
ScopeBox Software with the Reflecmedia LED Green Screen System
by Jeff Foster
I’ve been testing the Reflecmedia LED LiteRing system for about a month now, and it wasn’t until I paired it with the ScopeBox software scope that I finally gained some real control in my shots! These products should be bundled in my opinion, because without a scope, it’s nearly impossible to tell on a preview monitor if you’ve got the correct gain or lighting from your LED LiteRing.
