Cinematography
Filmmaking - Cinematography
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10 Things I Learned at Masters in Motion
On December 2nd, 2012, filmmakers from as far away as Canada, Croatia, Tanzania, Switzerland, and Brazil converged in downtown Austin, Texas for Masters in Motion, a three-day immersive filmmaking workshop, held annually at the world-famous Alamo Drafthouse on 6th Street. Despite having a Canon C500, C300, C100 and an array of DSLRs from Lens Pro To Go on hand, in addition to the Phantom Flex and TS3 Cine provided by Rule Boston Camera, the vibe of the event was summarized perfectly in this tweet: “@niceladypro Refreshing going to a 3 day filmmaking workshop where people don’t talk about the camera […]
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POV @ 25: Pamela Yates & Bernardo Ruiz on Being in the Line of Fire and Collaborations
In celebration of the 25th season of PBS’ groundbreaking documentary series POV, Filmmaker is running a four-part conversation series between two non-fiction directors with close ties to the show. A few weeks ago, award-winning director of When the Mountains Tremble, Pamela Yates — whose memoir of Guatemala’s struggles, Granito: How to Nail a Dictator, revisits the footage and topics of her debut — and Bernardo Ruiz, whose film Reportero airs on POV on January 7 at 10:00PM, sat down to talk about a variety of issues that arise from their work. Through the course of the discussion, Yates and Ruiz share where they’ve been, […]
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Shooting Angels with the Panasonic GH3 in Mexico
When the Panasonic GH3 was listed on B&H I did something I had never done before. I pre-ordered a camera, sight unseen. And after returning from a shoot from Juarez, Mexico with it, I don’t regret it one bit. A little more than a year ago I bought the GH2. For the longest time I refused to get on the DSLR bandwagon. I was quite satisfied with my Sony EX1 and its XLR inputs and ability to shoot hours on end. However, even a minimal kit was bulky. I wanted something small if I had to travel light or needed […]
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Panasonic Gooses the AG-AF100 to 10 Bits
The Panasonic AG-AF100A, the incremental update to the AG-AF100, is now shipping. Most notably the new model is now capable of 10 bit 4:2:2 output when recording to external recorders. Internal recording is still AVCHD 4:2:0, but according to Panasonic the AG-AF100A complies with the AVCHD ver. 2.0 (AVCHD Progressive) standard and adds a new PS recording mode (average approx. 25Mbps, maximum 28Mbps). Uncompressed 16 bit LPCM 2-channel audio recording is supported. Other new features include: a sync signal through HD-SDI for the Rec Start/Stop with the AF100A trigger; an expanded focus assist function; and a 2.39:1 (cinema scope size) […]
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RED’s Dragon Sensor, Now with More Dynamic Range
RED has been making a lot of claims about their new super-sensor Dragon, that is currently in development. An upgrade to their EPIC cameras, Dragon was initially expected by the end of 2012, but that date has now been pushed back. Jim Jannard of RED first said that the sensor had more resolution than 65mm film scanned at 4K. He went so far as to say, “Dragon should never be compared to 35mm film. It should only be spoken in reference to 65mm film from here on out.” Now Jarred Land has released a sample image (above) on the RED […]
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An Afternoon Music Video Shoot with the Canon C300
It’s a late fall Sunday afternoon and Rick Macomber is setting up his Canon C300 on a bridge near Harvard Square to shoot some inserts for a music video. The video is for the band Air Traffic Controller, and the plan today is to shoot two sequences of a couple that illustrate “happier times” in their relationship. Rick will first be shooting them crossing the bridge, and then they’ll move to Harvard Square to shoot some additional scenes. With his production company Macomber Productions Rick has been shooting music, promotional and wedding videos since 1995 and has been using DSLRs […]
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Cameras: 2012 Year In Review
It’s the end of the year and everyone’s doing year-end lists, so why not me? Here’s my top ten camera news and developments in 2012: 1. The end of film Film’s been having a tough time of it, but did anyone in 2011 think that 2012 would be the year that film would roll over and die? This was the year that Kodak went bankrupt, Fuji announced they would cease production of motion picture film, and the major film companies announced the timetable for moving toward 100% digital distribution. It was also the year that a James Bond movie was […]
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The Hobbit Arrives with a High Frame Rate, and New Sony Camera Prices
The Hobbit is now in wide release in the US, and everyone agrees: it was shot in 48p (frames per second). Beyond that, things get a little murky. As the first movie in wide release to be shot and shown in 48p, the acceptance – or success – of the movie is being closely tied to the future adoption of 48p. This is, of course, ridiculous. The success or failure of a single film is unlikely to define the future of a format. But we’re still left with the question: Is 48p (or High Frame Rates) a good thing, a […]
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Coffee and Celluloid Looks at the Panasonic GH3
At his excellent filmmaking blog Coffee and Celluloid, Joey Daoud posted this short video review of the just-released Panasonic GH3. From the sounds of it, this seems like a great next version of the camera, with better controls, sturdier construction, Quicktime recording instead of just AVCHD, and a better bit rate. You can read Daoud’s quick thoughts on the camera here and watch the video above.
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Game Changers Part 4: Planning and Shooting
In this fourth episode of a series on the making of the low-budget independent film, Game Changers, director Rob Imbs and cinematographer Benjamin Eckstien discuss audio recording, communication between director and cinematographer, and how to plan out shooting a multi-day, multi-location project. Earlier parts consisted of an overview and then discussed fundraising, casting, camera and lighting gear. Filmmaker: What is the size of your crew? Eckstein: We typically have two people in our sound department every day, though there were some scenes or times of day where we had one person. We typically had an AC and another PA. On […]
