Ian Pfaff Demo Reel

Well, there is creative marketing and then there is CREATIVE marketing. In this case, we have FCP editor, prop builder, director (and other things) Ian Pfaff, who has put together one of the more original demo reels I have ever seen, showcasing what I assume to be most of his creative talents, though he may well have more...

Chances are, if you throw a rock in LA, you are going to hit somebody's demo reel with it, so take a page from Ian Pfaff's book and do something creative with yours!

Ian Pfaff's Demo Reel from Ian Pfaff on Vimeo.

Canon HF100: A Good Camera for Web Content

One HD camera that is currently being produced by Canon (makers of the HV20, HV30 and XH-A1 among other models) is the HF100, an affordable and compact piece of equipment that has been rendering some pretty impressive results in terms of simple web content.

One example of the camera being put to use for these purposes is the work of personal trainer and fitness expert Brianna Graves, who runs the WitnessForFitness website. In the below clip, you can see the HF100 recording some of her instructions on static stretching.



As you can tell, the camera is rendering some pretty good detail, is handling sky and subject contrast quite well, and is just an all-around decent piece of equipment for recording and uploading to YouTube or the video hosting site of your choice.

As an additional example, here is a clip from the same site that focuses on some leg strengthening exercises. Over the course of these two videos, you get to see the camera operating and dealing with skies of various brightness. Given the relatively limited manual controls available for cameras in this price range, on the whole it does a pretty decent job of maintaining detail without silhouetting the subject or blowing out the sky.



Anyway, it's another option for you to consider if you are shopping in the sub-$1,000 range or looking for a "B" or "C" camera for your film projects.

As an "A" camera, I can imagine that with a very talented eye and some attentive color correction, you might be able to achieve something comparable to Ayz Waraich's "White Red Panic" but don't underestimate the amount of preparation and post-production that Ayz endured in order to get those results with a camera of that price range (the Canon HV20).

Sony EX1: Ultimate Boston

The following clip is a nice compilation of footage put together by Tom Guilmette that gives us a nice sampling of two pieces of equipment of interest.

In addition to the Sony PMW-EX1 camera, Tom has added the Letus Ultimate depth of field adapter, a model up from the popular Letus Extreme.

In the following clip, in addition to a pretty good remix of The Killers, we get to see these two pieces of equipment working in conjunction (though the Letus Extreme was used for a few of the shots) and some experimentation with overcrank and undercrank.

Ultimate Boston - Letus Ultimate 35mm Film from Tom Guilmette on Vimeo.

Colin Timberlake: The Wall of Underappreciated Actors

Well, here is a link for those of you who focus more on the acting side than the technological side of filmmaking. Over at Colin Timberlake, they have established the...

WALL OF UNDERAPPRECIATED ACTORS

It is a collection of some of the most underrated and under-recognized performers of the last few decades. For one, it may inspire you to watch some good films and TV shows to get ideas for what you would like out of your own supporting players. For another, those on the wall that are still with us are underappreciated, so they may well be within your price range for your indie films!

Slumdog Millionaire: The Rolling Shutter Frames

Given the great deal of interest that has been expressed not only in the landmark film Slumdog Millionaire and its groundbreaking and technologically innovative director Danny Boyle, but also in the film's use of the Silicon Imaging SI-2K camera for some of the key shots in the film...

...it will probably come as no surprise that there has also been expressed some interest and questions about the rolling shutter employed by the camera and its ramifications for the film itself.

With those questions in mind, I will say the following: there are some rolling shutter artifacts that do appear in Slumdog Millionaire, and while I myself am one of those who tends to avoid the use of a rolling shutter in potentially troublesome situations, I am also one whose eye has been trained to a ridiculous degree to spot these sorts of things.

So while I will state that the rolling shutter does reveal itself in a couple of instances, I will also state the following even more loudly: The film won the Oscar for Best Freaking Picture. The point is, that those on the technical side may obsess on the minutia of a given shot or film sequence, while even the voters for the Academy will be forgiving if a sequence or film works emotionally. This does not mean that you should abandon sound filmmaking principles - it only means that a couple of rolling shutter artifacts in a feature-length film are not going to be what the audience goes home talking about if you have done your job as a filmmaker.

With that said, here are a couple of frame grabs from about one hour and forty minutes into the film, as our protagonist is in a car, trying to make his way through a throng of camera-wielding fans.



As you will know if you have read any of my musings on the rolling shutter, camera flashes present a specific problem for this method of image capture. As you can see, only a portion of the sensor was active for the miniscule moment in time when the flash was active. By the time the rest of the sensor had taken in the image, the flash was gone. Likewise, we have a partial exposure in the frame below.



So I guess it all boils down to this. Even the pros -- even the Best Picture Winner pros can get some partial exposure artifacts in their work. But before you freak out, ask yourself... Did you notice when you watched the movie? I highly doubt it. So while I don't want to talk you out of being a perfectionist in your filmmaking, do also realize that some things are more worthy of your finicky obsessions than others. I, for one, am glad that Danny Boyle didn't cut these shots from the film.

Canon XHA1: The TAKE CANCER OUT Interviews

For another example of what is being done out there with the Canon XHA1, we have the following interview of mixed martial arts star Kultar Gill, put together by the people at TAKE CANCER OUT. The footage was captured with the A1 and is part of their continuing campaign to combat cancer.


TAKE CANCER OUT - Kultar Gill - Part 1 from A Dawg on Vimeo.


TAKE CANCER OUT - Kultar Gill - Part 2 from A Dawg on Vimeo.


TAKE CANCER OUT - Kultar Gill - Part 3 from A Dawg on Vimeo.

JVC Everio HD: Footage with DIY DOF Adapter

The following is just a short clip of the JVC Everio (GZ-HD7 model) being used in conjunction with a homemade depth of field adapter. As you can see, there is a shallower depth of field than would typically be expected from three 1/5" chips.

The footage is a pretty rudimentary test, and as you can see, while somewhat filmlike, the footage does also have a bit of a 1970s porn or home-movie feel to it as well. This would actually make this combination of tools quite useful if you are going for either of these looks (your reasons are your own!) with an example being an insert for a film like 8 MM or the opening credits of The Wonder Years.

But for higher-end requirements or the bulk of a narrative piece, this may or may not be to your liking.