In a move that says a lot about the unrelenting pressure to move to 4K, ARRI has announced that they will release a 4K UHD upgrade for the AMIRA by the end of the year. This upgrade will provide in-camera recording of 3840 x 2160 UHD video at up to 60 fps to CFast cards in ProRes, as well as live uncompressed UHD output through 6G-SDI. For the past year, ARRI has been discouraging the move to 4K, stressing that image quality is more important than the total resolution of the image, and with this announcement they continue this message: […]
by Michael Murie on Aug 27, 2014Tenba showed off the Shootout 14L Action Pack – a bag specifically built to carry all your GoPros and rigs to remote locations. It’s a small backpack that opens up to a series of small cases to organize all your gear (a bunch of labels are included so you can organize it however you like). The bag is built to hold 4 GoPro bodies with accessories, but you can obviously configure it with more or less. In the open flap are some removable sleeves for batteries and media cards. The outside has some more pouches, one big enough to hold […]
by Joey Daoud on Apr 11, 2014I stumbled on an interesting GoPro mount in one of the far corners of the NAB showroom floor yesterday. Though it shares a striking resemblance to a weather vane, VectorMount is a mount for vehicles that adds movement to action shots. The camera is free to rotate with an aerodynamic tail extending from the back, straightening out the camera as the vehicle moves. What you get are some nice pans and movement from an un-operated camera mounted on a vehicle that’s a little more exciting than just a wide static shot. A weight on the tail rod let’s you adjust how […]
by Joey Daoud on Apr 9, 2014While today is the official day the exhibition halls open their doors at NAB, last night some companies got to release a sneak peek of some do their new products. Definitely the most exciting in the production field is Ronin, a new handheld gimbal stabilizing system that’s a direct competitor to the MoVI. Like MoVI’s manufacturer, Freefly Systems, Ronin comes from a company with a background in making aerial drones with gyrostabilizers, DJI. They’re probably best known for the Phantom, the GoPro aerial drone that’s made high altitude shots available to just about anyone. While Ronin and MoVI look pretty […]
by Joey Daoud on Apr 7, 2014Since Leviathan, I’ve been more curious than ever about the functionality of GoPros. Often categorized as toys and far more prevalent on ski slopes than sets, it took Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Verena Paravel strapping the pocket-sized gizmo to the underside of a fishing vessel to illustrate its cinematic advantages. A little while back, Letus announced the release of a 1.33X Anamorphic Adapter for the camera, to be known as the AnamorphX-GP. Scheduled for shipment on January 31st, the first wave of test footage has arrived from Jared Abrams at Wide Open Camera. Though the characteristic fish eye traces remain intact, the wide aspect […]
by Sarah Salovaara on Jan 13, 2014It is perhaps indicative of how low-key this year was that when I first scribbled out a list of things that were “big” in 2013 I discovered that half of them were on last year’s list! In many respects 2013 proved to be a year of tentative advances and waiting, rather than one of incredible new tools to play with. Which is not to say that some interesting products weren’t announced and delivered. Sony shipped the F5 & F55, as well as the 4K upgrade for the NEX-FS700, and at the other end of the spectrum Blackmagic shipped its $1,000 […]
by Michael Murie on Dec 31, 2013(Distributed by Cinema Guild, Leviathan opens at the IFC Center in New York City on Friday, March 1, 2013. Visit the film’s official website to learn more.) A staggering thrill-ride of an experience, built on moments of astonishing cinematic immediacy, Leviathan marks a major leap forward in nonfiction filmmaking. It’s certainly not a film all viewers will respond to, but as someone who makes documentaries, I see Leviathan as the future. The progeny of direct cinema, experimental film and ethnography, Leviathan uses new cameras and an inventive technique to create something bracingly distinctive. Directed by Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel, Leviathan […]
by Robert Greene on Feb 28, 2013