Update: Graeme says the chart isn’t completely accurate (see comments).

Creative Cow has an in-depth Reference Chart that lays out the specifications and technical details of current codecs and formats. It’s available as a PDF (direct link). Looks like a very handy reference.

(Via DVGuru)

Because of the way Adobe After Effects handles rendering, high resolution sources and exports can sometimes throw the dreaded “could not create image buffer” error. General Specialist has a few tips that can help you avoid that error.

(Via Create Digital Motion)

Millimeter says that Clint Eastwood seriously considered shooting his latest two films using HD Digital Cinema cameras, and decided that film still held the advantage. In pre-production for “Flags of our Fathers” and the upcoming “Letters from Iwo Jima”, Eastwood and DP Tom Stern tested high-definition cameras vs film. In the end, they chose to stay with 35mm film for these two projects, but remained positive about the state of digital filmmaking.

“I looked at all the [available] digital cameras, and tested them against film to see if the digitalage was here completely,� Eastwood recently told Millimeter. “I know, some day, that will be it. But for this project, I felt HD did not hold up quite enough compared to film for the way I wanted it to look. It obviously had some advantages, but I just felt I couldn’t control atmospheres as well—I couldn’t get quite as deep into the blacks as I wanted. So I decided to shoot film. It was almost like they needed to go another millimeter before HD gets to where I want it to be.

Additionally, they chose to go with Digital Intermediates by Technicolor, a first for Eastwood. And there was some use of HDV camcorders for various insert and POV style shots. The crew sealed several Sony HVR-Z1U HDV camcorders inside machine-gun ammo cases, set them to record at 25fps, and had them carried by extras during certain battle scenes.

“I just told them to carry the boxes, and not to pay any attention to them. If an explosion went off, they could drop them. I even had them make them waterproof, so they could just drop them in the water. But I didn’t tell the extras why we wanted them to carry the boxes. I didn’t want them to start thinking about it, because that would ruin what we were trying to capture. We eventually filmed out those shots, and they came out real nice.�

The production team tested the gamut of SD/HD/HDV cameras available, and decided on the Z1U for availability and recording time contraints reasons. They decided to live with HDV’s compression artifacts because SD cameras didn’t offer enough resolution and high-end cameras were too big for the application.

“We are interested in [Panasonic’s] HVX-200 with the P2 cards and the FireStore [recording] system, but it wasn’t available when we were shooting Flags,� she says. “We could get those cameras by the time we got into Letters, but even with 8-gig P2 cards, the run time was not sufficient for the way Clint was shooting this stuff, and the FireStore was not yet available. So we stayed with the Sony cameras for both movies. HDV is obviously not comparable to 35mm film and anamorphic lenses, but with the process we used, followed by the digital intermediate, the footage mixed great with the rest of the movie.�

It will be interesting to see what tools Eastwood chooses to create his next film with.

Steve Mullen takes a close look at the new Sony HVR-V1 CMOS camcorder, concluding that it offers significant improvements in latitude and highlight handling over the current crop of small-imager cameras. That is very good to hear.

We mentioned the Iconix HD-RH1 some time ago, and I just read at Digital Content Producer that Iconix is now shipping the system.

“The Iconix HD-RH1 POV camera system, which includes a very robust separate camera head and processing controller unit, is the smallest high-performance HD camera in the industry.”

“The camera head assembly features a 1/3in. progressive 16:9 image sensor, backed by a 1/3in. three-CCD prism system for optics, using 14-bit quantization at the A/D conversion and processing steps. Standard C-mount lenses are used with the head, which can be tripod-mounted or used with mobile stabilization units previously reserved for still cameras.”

You can find out more about the RH1 at www.iconixvideo.com

UPDATE: Mike Curtis was kind enough to share a few still images he took of the Iconix remote head. The pictures really serve to illustrate just how insanely space-efficient the cameras are. Click thumbnails for much larger versions.

Mike Hodgkinson shot and directed the music video for “Oceans”, by artist Rob Dickinson, using a Nokia N93 camera phone. I have to say that the results are impressive. Very creative use of the small form-factor of the camera, including some underwater footage taken from a makeshift submersible rig. In one shot, they suspended the cellphone camera from a tethered bundle of helium balloons and used if for an overhead shot. As Ali G would say, “Respect.” You can view the music video at Youtube, as well as a making-of clip.

This isn’t the first music video to be shot entirely with a camera phone. I recall that The Presidents of the United States of America did it with “Some Postman” back in 2005, using several Sony Ericsson video phones. They also have a behind the scenes doc on the production process. And a good story on the PUSA video can be found here.

All this once again serves to illustrate that interesting and quality content is largely not about what equipment you have available to you, but how you choose to use those tools.

CinemaTech has the news of startup site adTV, which will basically be a YouTube-like site for television commercials. It launches after the Super Bowl. Advertisers will be the community that contributes content, with users able to rate favorite clips. Sounds like a great concept…and perfect timing.

Outside Hollywood shares a fantastic flowchart that outlines a solid “in a perfect world” post-production workflow process. Very detailed and informative. They also link to a PDF showing the post workflow of Superman Returns.

Isaac also shares a similar flowchart outlining the Production Scheduling process. This is really informative stuff, folks. Well worth the read.

(Via HD4NDS)

The title says it all, if you want to see what the raw .m2t HDV footage from a new Sony FX7 looks like, here’s your chance.

Red Digital Cinema has added two 4K test images to the Red One Still Gallery. Previously they have only showed off 1K resolution images, the latest two are 4096×2304. The first image is a closeup of a woman drinking from a retro milk bottle, and was shot with the RED 300mm f2.8 lens.

“24fps at 1/48 sec. 4.9k 12 bit, down-converted to 4k, down-converted to 8 bit jpeg. No noise reduction, No sharpening.”

The second image is a wider shot of the two women, and a Cooke 65mm lens was used. Very pretty images.

“4.9K REDCODE RAW 12 bit, downrezzed to 4k and converted to 8 bit jpeg. , 24fps at 1/48th sec. Original REDCODE RAW frame is 2.5MB”

In related news, Cinematographer David Stump has been color chart and greenscreen testing the Red One camera. Mike Curtis has been following the story, and you can see David’s on-going investigations into the camera here and here. Lots of test charts and REAL info for those that know how to analyze it.

And finally, HD For Indies also has some snippets of info on how fast REDCINE will run, what CPU requirements, etc. All from none other than all-things-video-genius Graeme Nattress.

FresHDV will soon be posting a detailed product review of a certain camera mounting system. Can you guess who makes it? Here’s a sneak peek:
Stay tuned.

UPDATE: Review posted here.

JVC has released the new HD200U camcorder, featuring 1/3″chips, 720p/60/24 capabilities, interchangeable HD lenses, and the ability to use 16mm film lenses with the HZ-CA13U mount adapter. The new camcorder is $8,995 with a 16x Fujinon lens, $7,995 for the body alone, and the 16mm adapter will set you back a cool $4,395. More specs and details at the official product page.

Avid and MovieMaker Magazine are sponsoring a 30-second video contest, in which two skilled (lucky?) winners receive all-expense paid trips to Sundance. You may have heard of Sundance before, it’s that quaint little film festival held in Park City, Utah. One of the two lucky winners will also have their thirty second spot aired on Park City TV, during the festival.

All contestants who submit an entry will also receive a free six-month subscription to MovieMaker Magazine. Also, there is a online “People’s Choice” voting tie-in, with free software for the top 50 entries, and I think at this point you’d better go read up on the official rules and submission guidelines.

The always informed (and equally informative) Scott Kirsner has released an 90-page eBook entitled “The Future of Web Video“.

Kirsner’s treatise on the constantly changing face of digital content is extensive and highly relevant. An excellent read.

Millimeter has a very interesting feature story on Martin Scorsese and the production of his latest film, “The Departed”. Beyond the creative decisions, the article delves into the use of HD digital dailies (scanned, color-timed, and screened at 1080p 4:4:4) and the multi-faceted Digital Intermediate process (2K).

At one point Apple’s iChat software was used to remotely shoot and approve a unplanned insert shot (apparently shot with the HVX200):

…the set for the sequence had been struck, and Scorsese and Schoonmaker (the film editor) needed a particular “metaphorical pieceâ€? designed by Scorsese to fit with a particular musical bridge. They asked Legato to replicate the set and shoot the bit in Los Angeles. He responded not only by doing so, but by inviting them to remotely watch him film the sequence by transmitting a DV signal to a computer in New York using Apple iChat technology, then uploading the shots to an FTP site for Scorsese and Schoonmaker to instantly test with their cut and give input just minutes later.

“That was the first time I did that. It gave us quite a lot of freedom,� Scorsese adds. “It was like watching through a video tap from 3,000 miles away. It took just 15 to 20 minutes for them to upload what they shot in HD, and then we were able to approve it and move on to the next thing.�

A fantastic article, both technically and creatively speaking.