Flickr just announced 1 TB of storage for all users. Absolutely bonkers, I’m moving my photos back over there soon and keeping most of them private.

The average person never has to back-up their photo collection again, granted, I’d still keep a local copy, going online for your own photos is silly, but I trust Yahoo (Flickr’s owner) enough that they won’t lose it.

While that is crazy awesome, I am disappointed that they didn’t even make the slightest effort to improve their video hosting. Still 3 minute cap on 1080p video… unfortunate for them because I know I don’t hold a ton of loyalty to YouTube or Vimeo, both are great options but have shortcomings, if they merely matched Vimeo’s offerings and threw in a few more bells and whistles for pro users, I’d jump over for all future hosting.

Step it up Flickr, you just won the photo hosting race, now get the video market!

Either way, we all take tons of photos nowadays, now you have a digital archive you can log into anywhere.

Warp Stabilizer is one of the most invaluable features in Premiere, and now it’s got a big brother in After Effects CC, Warp Stabilizer VFX. It lets you control track points, preserve framing, and more. With dynamic link, this is still a super fast and easy to implement tool if you aren’t getting the results you like from the standard Warp Stabilizer filter in Premiere.

Check out Adobe’s own tutorial on how to stabilize one object in your frame.

Juan Melara gives a great tutorial on how to emulate that classic blockbuster blue-warm look. He starts of with some great example footage and comparison then dives in real quickly to show you the LUTs and tricks to fine tune this appearance. This is an easy way to up the production value of your film and isn’t incredibly complicated, just requires some patience, a good eye, and knowledge of Resolve, or your preferred color tool.

I love color and tutorials like this are invaluable and help you approach color with even better understanding. Check his post for even more in-depth information.

Here is Juan‘s pre-requisite knowledge for following this tutorial.

In this tutorial I assume you have some basic Resolve knowledge and you’re able to setup up projects, import footage, apply LUTs and create nodes. I also assume you have a basic grasp of colour correction and colour correction best practices. If you’re new to Resolve or colour correction/grading in general, I recommend you check out some of the resources at the bottom of this post.

He also supplied links to Resolve, his sample footage, and the LUTs he used so you can follow along.

1. Davinci Resolve. Download the free Lite version from Blackmagic Design.
2. The footage I use. All the files in their original R3D format can be downloaded from here. If your system isn’t up to the task of handling 5k footage, let me know and I’ll look at creating 1080p/720p versions…
3. The film print emulation LUTs. Download them here and read this post for instructions on how to install and use them. If you are grading your own footage not in log format, download the video2log Input LUT from here.

While I still don’t think the 5D raw hack is worth taking onto professional gigs, I don’t blame people for being tempted to try it out. Do so at your own risk of course, but here is a solid tutorial on how to actually use these files once you get them out of the camera.

And here are some links for all you need to hack the shit out of your 5D and get some rawz. Courtesy of Planet5D.

Download raw file, H.264 comparison shot, and the raw2dng.exe file here:

www.neumannfilms.net/

Tutorial on how to make SD/CF card bootable/install Magic Lantern:

www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMpJdM

Follow Magic Lantern on Facebook or Twitter for updates:

www.facebook.com/magiclantern

Check out our website or like and follow on Facebook and Twitter:

www.neumannfilms.net/

www.facebook.com/NeumannFilms

twitter.com/Neumannfilms

And also check out the raw test, “Smith Rock” by @Neumannfilms.

Click here to view the video on YouTube.

A pretty nifty looking little rig gives new life to your GoPro Hero2 or your nice new Hero3. With easy to use mounting and software to help you stitch it together, I’m pretty into this gimmicky awesome fun. I love a new creative use for the GoPro and I might have to grab a few more so I can try this out next time I’m shooting a concert, would be fun to find a way to have it bounce around the crowd giving a crazy perspective and being able to reframe and chose the ideal side of the shot with all that gooey resolution. I think it’s a bit pricy but if the software you get works well, then it might be worth it if you can find a good use.

Some details from OliviaTech:

Some bits on the video stitching software that 360 Heros uses:

• PTGui has a solution however entails you to be a file management manager but does supply great results and most 360 video today is using this method.
• Kolor also has another solution. Drag and drop in your 6 video files, choose your start and stop video sequence and walk away. The software then slices each video frame by frame and builds the MP4 file on the fly plus you can create separate JPG files to import and image sequences.
• Video-Stitch also has a GPU solution which is extremely fast and works in either batch or GUI interface mode. Here you set the stitch in PTGui then Video-Stitch converts the template and generates extremely fast interactive 360 video.

The 5DIII now has raw video, so what?

For me, it changes nothing. I have done the magic lantern thing with my T2i, it brought an impressive array of features to a budget camera. I don’t think it really made it a good enough tool to still bring onto sets though, in 2011 or now. It’s stable for a hack but it voids your warranty and didn’t raise the quality of the video enough to validate its inherent risk.

The cool thing is there are now several cameras under $10k that can shoot raw video, something unheard of just over a year ago. How times change. I still don’t use any of them and most my current projects are shot on RED (I’m not particularly a fan of their raw but it’s undeniable popular especially in music videos) or a non-raw camera. I must be trapped in 2012! No, I think the working industry isn’t trying to chase the latest craze and is focused on keeping the machine moving, nobody has time to learn a new camera when you already have a powerful well-equipped camera set to go. We get lost in the hype online when we play armchair camera designer.

As impressive as it is that we have raw video out of the 5D, I won’t be looking forward to getting footage from it. I’m sure it’ll look great but there is an inherent lack of professionalism when using hacked cameras (or on some sets, a DSLR is just not acceptable regardless). Sure, I’m with you in saying these cameras are being cut off at the knees by manufacturers protecting their high-end models, but you are paying for a support system, reliability, and a package that is recognized and respected in the industry. CF cards are being capped out with the data rate on raw and dropped frames or corruption is far more likely to happen as a result of offloading the buffer. Just unnecessary risks all around.

I am also just not a fan of raw. It’s incredibly powerful but entirely unnecessary when you do things right the first time. I’ve been vocal about my advocacy for 10-bit 4:2:2 codecs like ProRes and DNxHD on twitter for a while. They are strong enough compression to stand up under heavy manipulation and are lightweight so you don’t need to be running a dedicated editing workhorse or a ton of storage space. It’s getting more manageable as Moore’s Law carries us into more power and storage at an affordable price but I still view it as overkill in most environments even if it is manageable.

The fact that the most readily available options below $5000 are either raw or h264 variants is really frustrating for budget shooting. I hope for legitimate options between those extremes to be the next wave of advancements. That’s like picking between DVD and IMAX when all you need is a good home theatre and bluray.

While it’s exciting that we are finally getting the full power out of the 5D, I hope that it doesn’t set a precedence for hacking cameras and instead sets a precedence for manufacturers to deliver the better compression options in all cameras.

We all agree that lighting is everything in cinematography. And, naturally, that leads us to think that spending more cash is the only way to light well. Unfortunately, due to a host of factors fate usually conspires against a DP’s budget. But fear not! Even when you don’t have every element or modifier at your disposal, big budget looks can still be had. Controlling the light can be done with relatively very little if you know how to get the most out of your camera, your available resources, and your post workflow. The following article is a look at how you can take what’s available to you and make the most of it.

This past July I began working as director of photography for a good friend of mine’s production company, CineVeliz. Director Pablo Veliz is a veteran of the independent cinema scene having shot 6 feature films; each with international distribution. You can find out more about CineVeliz and Pablo’s films at the company Website. One of our first jobs working together was on a series of commercials for broadcast in the South Texas market for a law firm specializing in helping immigrants with their paper work. The turn around was to be quick, and all of our locations were exteriors.   The budget was low, so our lighting equipment was limited to a 6×6′ frame with a silk, repurposed shower curtains strung together to form a make shift highlight silk, flex-fill, and a 1K LED. A limited set up for any kind of shoot, let alone one where every shot was to take place under the hot south Texas sun. I opted to use AbelCine’s ABNorm picture profile on the FS100. I knew we would be facing a lot of high contrast situations and without knowing if there would be time for a proper grade, it seemed appropriate to shoot with a picture profile that gave us a broader range with out delivering flat footage to the client. ABNorm’s look right out of the camera is fantastic with great skin tones. It’s ideal for projects like this one where you don’t know who will be handling the post color.

The shoot consisted of two basic scenes: first was a small backyard high school graduation celebration, and the second was a subtle tracking shot featuring the client on the San Antonio River Walk. During our scout the day before, we chose a location within walking distance of the San Antonio Film Commission office which allowed us quick access to the necessary officials should any trouble arise. The scout also revealed that this particular location was relatively shaded through out the day and we would be able to roll for the better part of the morning without having to worry about the sun punching through. With this in mind, the cowboy framing allowed us to place the 1K LED closer to our talent coming from camera-left, which helped to create more of a wrap across his face as opposed to an even fill that was naturally occurring. We had a PA stand just behind him and to the right with some flex fill to give the talent an edge. Once we had gotten the coverage we needed for the 4 different spots we were shooting, we moved on to the location for the first-half of the spots. The backyard had absolutely zero tree coverage from the sun, so we were facing the daunting task of trying to keep the lighting consistent and attractive looking with only a 6×6′ frame. Luckily the patio had a wooden truss covering the majority of it. We draped shower curtains across the top of the covering to cut down and diffuse the direct sunlight. We then staged all of the action under it and used the 6×6′ frame with the standard silk as a bounce to key the action. We started with a wide shot then moved in for OTS coverage of the dialogue; repositioning the frame for the back light on each set up, and using the 1K LED as the key. I had to use 1/8th minus green to help improve the skin tones under the 1K LED as well as some spun diffusion to soften it up. A small wall of negative fill was put up to help create some contrast on the talent’s faces under the harsh sun. 
Despite the quick turn around, I was pleased to find out that I would be able to do a quick grade on the ABNorm footage. I knew that despite our efforts, some subtle relighting was going to be required to bring out the best from the ABNorm footage. I was given a ProRes422 master to grade with Colorista II via AECS5.5. 

Shot 1:

As you can see, with out a client monitor on set, we missed a huge lens flare which ruined a good chunk of the lower left hand corner of the frame. A secondaries mask was used to bring the contrast back into that area of the frame. Luckily this shot was on screen for a split second so not all was lost. I also increased the exposure on the family with another mask as well as improved the over all saturation and highlight retention. 
Shot 2: 

The second shot in the sequence had a bit of a yellow cast to it over all which was eliminated in the master controls. I then brought up the exposure on the actress’s face in order to bring it out against the background. 

Shot 3: 

There was yet another flare issue in this shot which was brought down with a mask in post. The general yellow cast was also removed and the contrast on the actor’s face was bumped up to help him stand out. 

Shot 4: 

For the final shots in the spot the master exposure was dropped while a secondary mask brought the talent back up. This helped separate him from the background and improve the limited lighting set up we used. Colorista II’s pop feature helped to bring out the face even further from the background. 

Overall, I was pleased with the look ABNorm gave straight out of camera. It tended to have a bit more yellow in the image than I would have liked and could use a bit more contrast, but in the end it took me less than 30 minutes to improve on what was already a great image. Had I shot with a flat profile I would have needed a bit more time to finesse the image. 

Hopefully this situation shows you how, despite having very little to control the light with, you can still succeed in delivering a product that will please your client. Just remember to focus on choosing the right locations, time of day for each scene, and know what you are capable of pulling off; also, keep an eye out for every day items you can repurpose to improve your lighting. With these techniques at your disposal, and a fair amount of determination, great images can be had, even on the smallest of budgets.

Thanks to Marshall Dungan for his writing insights.

Last September Cine Plus released the Cinema Picture Profile for Canon DSLRs for $19. You can read the WideOpenCamera write up on it here. At the time I was shooting corporate videos for a number of companies around the SF Bay area that had strict turn around deadlines. More often than not I found myself opting to roll with the Cinema profile to save time with the grade in post. It’s a fantastic look but I found that it often crushed the blacks when trying to protect the highlights. Fast forward a year later, and Giovanni Speranza from Cine Plus has released a new set of profiles to address this concern.

There are two profiles included in this package. Both are designed to extend the range of the image while maintaining a simple zero to minimal post color workflow. First off you have Lightform C which takes the teal/orange look from the Cinema profile while supposedly extending the head room. The other is Lightform N which has a much more neutral color profile to it with out the teal/orange look. The package is again available for $19 at the CinePlus Website. Giovanni proves to be an adept marketer with his slew of new example videos demonstrating the potential for these new profiles. It is claimed that the Lightform profile can out perform Cinestyle in terms of highlight roll off. Curious, I decided to pit the Lightform C profile against my own grade of the Cinestyle profile to test the range and see if it’s true.

The verdict? Before I get into it, keep in mind that Lightform C is meant to be used in situations where you have little or no time for post color, or you are handing the footage off to a client and have no control over it. I’ve seen a few shooters roll with flat picture profiles only to hand off their media and see a completed cut out in the public with no grade work done whatsoever. With this in mind, I left the Lightform C footage untouched, but graded the Cinestyle footage as I would normally. Now I wouldn’t say there’s any hidden detail being brought out in the highlights, however it does appear to have a smoother roll off. You can see this in the bright edge of the roof in the first comparison shot as well as around the sun in the second. Skin tones appear decent however I feel there’s a bit more green in the overall image than I’d like. I’d recommend dialing down the in camera sharpening as it can be a bit intense in certain situations. The cinestyle footage was shot with the sharpening turned off completely, and it’s especially apparent in the first shot. When you take into consideration the 5 or so minutes I took correcting the levels on the cinestyle footage for each shot when looking at the comparison, I’d say the new CinePlus profiles do an excellent job. They’re perfect for handing the footage off to the client and resting assured the color will be decent.

alexwalkerstudios.com
Follow me on Twitter: @awalker47

Works for all Canon DSLRs.

I’m using Symphony 6 here but the workflow is identical in Media Composer. We start with AMA native H.264 playback, then cut offline DNxHD36 files and relink to the originals, and then wrap up with encoding for the web using Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 and x264. The complete workflow through web delivery. Depending on your hardware capabilities you can choose to cut the h.264 files natively or transcode to an offline option to optimize performance. TRT10minutes.

Follow me on twitter for more: @awalker47

For those of you wondering what the difference is, Symphony is exactly the same as Media Composer save for some mastering options and a much more comprehensive color correction mode. Color grading is definitely much speedier in Symphony. For more info I suggest you watch this video from Dylan Reeve.

Works for all AVCHD media.

Make sure to download the AVCHD plugin from Avid’s website. It’s required for this workflow: http://www.avid.com/US/products/Avid-Media-Access/plug-ins

I’m using Symphony 6 here but the workflow is identical in Media Composer. We start with AMA native AVCHD playback, then cut offline DNxHD36 files and relink to the originals, and then wrap up with encoding for the web using Sorenson Squeeze 8.5 and x264. The complete workflow through web delivery. Depending on your hardware capabilities you can choose to cut the AVCHD files natively or transcode to an offline option to optimize performance. TRT10minutes.

Follow me on twitter for more: @awalker47

Footage from Leica lens/filtration tests I ran with Chris Marino.

For those of you wondering what the difference is, Symphony is exactly the same as Media Composer save for some mastering options and a much more comprehensive color correction mode. Color grading is definitely much speedier in Symphony. For more info I suggest you watch this video from Dylan Reeve.