Videomaker has an article on “Natural Wipes”…that is, the use of natural scene elements by a shooter or editor to organically transition between shots and scenes.

…there are few tools more effective and powerful than a little thing called a “natural wipe.” Generally wipes are post-production effects, and most often signify a transition from one scene to the next, usually suggesting a change in time or location. However, we’re going to look at creating the wipes on location, using subjects or elements that move across the camera frame, commonly called “wipers.” The two natural wipe types that we’ll cover in this issue are:
* Wipes as Scene Transitions
* Wipes as Visual Effects

The article goes on to explain common wipe examples, and how a well-placed natural wipe can make simple special effects simpler and cheaper to achieve.

One example this article brings to my mind is the use of wipes as scene transitions in the popular show Desperate Housewives. Watch for it next time, they have used that transition technique consistently from the very beginning of the series.

(Via DVGuru)

The Draganflyer SAVS is a $2400 self-leveling RC helicopter outfitted with a camera that transmits back to the ground via a 2.4GHz wireless link. The system looks to be targeted at hobbyists and the commercial industries. You can view example videos at the product website.

Colorspace has updated their historically spartan website.

“…we’d like to invite all of you to come checkout our NAB booth in 2007… we have some pretty awesome product debuts planned, and we suspect many in the digital cinema community won’t want to miss them. We’ll be located in the South Upper hall, booth SU9926.”

Hmm, I wonder what they could possibly be showing off? There have been zero updates and news from the Colorspace crew, it has been very hush hush for quite some time now. Notice that they insinuate multiple product debuts, so it sounds like at least one of the camera + recorder systems will be ready to show off. Is it just me, or is this years NAB beginning to look rather attractive?

Accomplished shooter and editor Joel Peregrine has reworked his Event Videographer site aimed at helping educate and inform those in the wedding and event videography industry.

Those who know Joel should already be well aware that he is one of the finest professionals in the industry. Joel has a strong interest in helping educate others, and very ably transfers that information in his training materials. I had the opportunity to review his Wedding Videographers Resource Series some time ago, and found the DVD set to be very informative and useful. New shooters and seasoned professionals alike will appreciate what he’s got to offer.

I’ve been following a discussion at DVInfo about the new Canon HDV camcorders. DVI user Joe Simon has kindly shared some fantastic example footage, a downtown Austin clip shot at night.

“The Gain ranged from 0 to 12db depending on how lit it was. When I was using 6 or 12db I had NR1 at Low which did a great job of getting rid of the noise. My black setting was at middle and bpress, I find that the XHA1 black setting is best at bpress( gets rid of that milky look). I played a lot with the CP settings, and I changed almost everything in there for different shots. I didn’t do any CC this is straight out of the camera.”

He also has a few other clips available at his website, including a thorough low-light comparison between the AG-HVX200, PD-170, and the XHA1, as well as a daytime clip comparing the Canon and Panasonic (all camera settings nicely documented). This is some of the better new Canon HDV footage I’ve seen to date.

UPDATE: Added a few framegrabs from the low-light comparison.
*Sony PD170 (SD camcorder)
*Panasonic AG-HVX200
*Canon XHA1
The A1 seems to compare favorably to the proven low-light king PD170.

B&H has the Canon HX-A1 for only $3250 after rebate, you can also purchase the camcorder at Amazon for $3267 after rebate.
The Panasonic HVX-200 is $5195 at B&H. Purchases made via those links directly benefit this site.

Avid’s Senior Product Manager Patrick McLean and Chief Product Designer Michael Phillips will be hosting a “Succeeding with HD Productionâ€? Webcast on November 15 (that’s today, folks).

*Learn the various HD formats available to content creators today, and which factors to consider when choosing a format for your production;
*Hear how the editing process differs from SD to HD, and how Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress Pro help to simplify HD production;
*Hear from video and film professionals on how they have implemented HD into their productions;
*Learn how to use HD in film-based workflows;
*Learn about Avid DNxHD – what it is, the purpose it serves?; and
*Hear about various HD output options.

If you miss the webcast, there’s a pretty good chance it will be available in the archives.

Those using After Effects on the new Intel-based MacPro computers have been having very poor luck getting the software to run smoothly and efficiently. Fortunately, Graham Jones has the answer.

The Recipe for SUCCESS:
* Closed all other Rosetta apps and processes, lowered the memory settings WAY down (max memory to 30%, Max RAM Cache to 15%)
* and this thing renders like smoke! On the latest render, it rendered more than TWICE as fast as the G5 or Mac Pro in AE 6.5! After rendering the same file in AE 7 on the Dual G5, I found it to be still 40-50% faster.

40% faster is nothing to sneeze at. In related news, Apple is offering refurb Mac Pro Quads at an attractive discount price.

Mike Curtis has written a lengthy article comparing specs from the Red Digital Cinema and Silicon Imaging flagship camera systems.

In typical HD4NDS fashion he covers a ton of areas, which he has conveniently split up into Project Status, Form Factor, Resolution, Frame Rates, Sensor Size, Recording Modes, Audio Outputs, Lens options, Codecs, On Camera User Interface, Image Quality, Workflow in Field, Workflow in Post, Price, Financial Backing & Parterships, and a final summary. Whew. In each category he evaluates the features (as well as announced but not-yet-shown features) of both platforms and declares an overall winner. But it is plain to see by the end of the article that the only clear winner here is Indie filmmakers.

Each camera system has unique capabilities and features, each has numerous strengths, each does specific things Very Well. A quick example…the SI-2K features a remote tethered head that can be used in very tight locations, places you can’t normally locate a camera. The tethered DVR computer can then be located conveniently nearby. In contrast, the Red One team is concentrating on making the camera modular and self-contained, a rig that can be stripped down to around 15lbs and used like on a Steadicam, untethered of course. Is there a right or wrong answer there? Not for every situation. How do you compare those two? A classic case of apples vs oranges, again with Independent Filmmakers as the only clear winner.

Save your pennies, because you might just want to buy one of these cameras in 2007.

Mike Curtis recently noted that Red Digital Cinema would be screening 4K footage from the prototype Mysterium sensor at the Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles, CA on November 14th at 1:30pm.

“VIPs (which includes reservation holders) & Press only for this 4K event. The good news is that they’ve been shooting some more footage and HOPE (typical “no promises” Red approach) to incorporate that into the LA screening.”

Well guess what? There is now an screening open to the public. The unwashed masses now have a chance to ogle 4K footage. Same day and location, just an hour later. You can book your tickets now at the Red website.

Stock Footage site MotionZoneHD is featuring a “Move It” contest for November and December. The 1st Place winner receives a Kessler KC-8 Crane, 2nd Place gets Barry Green’s HVX-200 book, and 3rd place can cry into their MotionZoneHD.com T-shirt.

Here’s a quick synopsis of the rules:
*Submit up to 10 high definition clips for the contest.
*The theme is “Move It”…The camera must be moving.
*You may upload or mail your submissions in.
*Submissions must be labeled specifically for the contest.
*Only registered shooters can vote.
*The winners are announced at the end of December 2006.

There is a Kessler crane review over at DVXuser. For the record, the KC-8 jib that is being given away retails for nearly $500. And if you aren’t yet a MotionZoneHD shooter you can register for free.

Swedish design group front has developed a very unique motion capture application. They are using mo-cap to essentially “sketch” furniture designs in mid-air, designs which are then digitally processed and built using Rapid Prototyping. There is a video at YouTube that shows the process in action.

For the present, the designs created could only be marketed as art. The artists cannot see what they are drawing in mid-air, and the completed pieces reflect that inaccuracy and randomness. I could see vast improvements in this application by adding the ability to process the motion captures and display them in realtime to the artist, perhaps even via VR headgear. Then the concept might be of greater worth to other industries.

Here’s a link that nicely sums up what’s happening on the cutting edge of mobile lens tech. Software and liquid lenses are the next big thing, it seems. And how does “the first single-chip, dual-axis gyroscope for cameraphone image stabilization” strike you? Not impressed? Maybe you’d prefer “the world’s smallest linear motor, piezoelectric SQUIGGLE motor, which adds both autofocus and optical zoom to phone cameras and offers 10x better force and resolution than micro-motors twice its size.” It boggles the mind…

Lost in Light is a project that aims to preserve aging small format films that are in risk of being lost from the historical record.

“we will provide free Super 8 and 8mm to video transfers to anyone who asks, in exchange for posting their video to the Lost in Light site and on the Internet Archive with their choice of Creative Commons licenses. In addition, Lost in Light will include articles and features by members of the filmmaking and film preservation communities, video tutorials for making 8mm films, as well as creative work, all with the goal of preserving and championing this important film format.�

Update, Jen wrote in to clarify something about the project:
“…the owner/creator of the film retains all ownership and copyright of their film. We’re just giving them the option to choose which copyright they’d like to use, based on the variety of Creative Commons licenses. They may choose to reserve all rights, or they may choose to enter their film in the public domain, or anything in between.”
Thanks Jen!

(Via Self Reliant Filmmaking)

Sweet Land is a recent movie production that has the unique distinction of being “carbon-neutral“.

This means that all of the carbon dioxide emitted by the filmmaking process — lights, cameras, transportation — was totaled up and offset by comparable investments in renewable energy. Carbon dioxide is a potent greenhouse gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and contributes to climate change.

“For me, it’s less of a political statement about global warming, and more just, there’s got to be a nicer, cleaner way to do this,” said film director and writer Ali Selim in an interview before the movie’s Washington opening on Friday.

Adam Wilt has a very detailed article covering advanced settings and controls available on the Panasonic AG-HVX200 camcorder. He has thoroughly tested the camera’s gamma, knee and matrix settings and offers suggestions for getting the most from the rig.

Adam also mentions that had he done tests like this before the “Texas Shootout” the HVX-200 would have performed better in the sharpness and highlight handling tests.

“I ran through the camera’s eight different gamma curves, including News gamma (which is available only in 60p and 30i frame rates). I left detail at 0 and knee at auto, but also tried other knees in the HD Norm and High gamma settings. I tried all four color matrices in HD Norm, High, Cinelike D, and Cinelike V gammas. I ran through detail settings from -7 to +7 with HD Norm gamma, low knee, Normal matrix, and also ran 15 combinations of color level and color temperature settings. Sample frames from all these tests are posted at the end of the article.”

He came to some very interesting conclusions, like this little blurb on Highlight Handling in an overexposure test:

“As luck would have it, Cinelike D is the worst gamma curve for this case; the non-Cine gammas are all nicer, and Cinelike V is the best of the bunch, comparable to the JVC HD100’s excellent performance.”

There are a ton of test images included in the article, showing what each setting looks like. This article looks like a must-read for Panasonic P2 shooters.