The mayor of New York City has proposed several new rules for filmmakers that many will see as preposterous and unreasonable. The ACLU has already noted that the rules are extremely vague and “designed to be selectively enforced.” Cory Doctorow has the details; “The rules would require many “filmmakers” (including kids videoing each other in line for a movie or anyone else using a camera for more than five minutes within a 100-foot square of city property) to get $1,000,000 in liability insurance and a city permit.”

Those with an opinion on the subject should probably take a little time to share your thoughts with The Mayor’s Office of Film, Theatre & Broadcasting through this handy online form. There is also other contact info on that page.

(Thanks for the tip, Ajit!)

Have we learned nothing from Betamax? Apparently that is the case. Aptly-named New Medium Enterprises has introduced a 3rd high-definition disc format. I assume this is to further confuse consumers who have yet to choose a clear winner in the ongoing Blu-ray vs. HD-DVD saga. The new HD VMD discs are supposed to be cheaper to manufacture than existing formats, and New Medium claims that players will debut under $200. Expect it all in September of this year.

(Thanks Ajit)

Yesterday Apple posted v.1.01 Pro App updates for Color, Motion 3 and FCP 6, all available here.

Ticklebooth is one of my favorite sites as of late, they do a great job of cutting through the veritable deluge of web video and delivering only the cream of the crop. And this fan-created in-depth analysis of The Shining is no exception.

UPDATE:
Direct Link to Part 1
Direct Link to Part 2

A post by David Mullen over at RedUser.net caught my eye. He’s talking about various organization and directing methods used by some of the directors Mullen has DP’d for.

Redrock unveiled their new Micro Shoulder Mount at the Cine Gear Expo last weekend. While the FreshDV crew wasn’t on hand directly to document the event we asked Brian Valente of Redrock Micro about the new system and what we could anticipate. While there is no official word on pricing or availability we anticipate it being in keeping with Redrock’s business and pricing model, affordable.
Here is what Brian had to say about the new system:

The rig was shown as a concept rig to demonstrate three things:

1. that a small, compact handheld system is not only possible with a 35mm adapter, it’s completely capable.

2. The future direction of redrock gear, giving a sense of style. Of course for hard core cinemaphiles, black will always be available :)

3. To get feedback on the rig, which has been a resounding “when can we have it”!

It is not specific to the HV20 - any camera can be used in this configuration

Although it’s a concept rig, we anticipate shipping some of all of the rig in the Fall timeframe. You’ll notice on the pic many of the components are already available as Redrock gear, so it goes along with our modular approach to adding to your Redrock gear

 Mustang GT Concept [1:40m]: Download

It’s official! FreshDV filmmakers Matt Jeppsen and Kendal Miller are honored to receive not one but two Telly Awards for 2007. We took a Bronze in two different categories for our Mustang GT proof of concept video, which was created as part of the VFGadgets Pro Gripper Quad review. Checkout frame grabs and watch the clip in flash format below, or via the above QT link.
Continue reading ‘FreshDV Takes Multiple 2007 Telly Awards’

 Scott Kirsner on Alternative Distribution [48:31m]: Download

Variety columnist and brains behind Cinematech, writer Scott Kirsner spent some time with the FreshDV team recently and dished on alternative distribution options for indie films and where the market is heading. We discuss the challenges of self-distribution, the state of the mainstream film industry, and Hollywood’s perceived reluctance to embrace new digital business models. It was a very informative and helpful conversation, and one that independent filmmakers should not miss.

A few links that we mentioned in the podcast:
The Future of Web Video (book or PDF)
Illegal Bittorrent Usage Survey
Getting Paid: Sites that Pay for Video
Customflix
Amazon Unbox

Click the Download link above or listen via our FreshDV iTunes Podcast Feed.

Century Stand or C-stands are a must have on a set of any size they are invaluable as a way to hang lights, hold flags, bounce cards, emergency mic stand and much, much more. For the independent filmmaker on a cheap or low budget the fact that a good C-stand can cost upward of $175 each can be a bit of a downer. Well for those do-it-yourself filmmakers here is a great little solution for around $30 + a little elbow grease and some time you can build your own C-stands. Listed below is a brief overview of the pros and cons of this solution, read through it and if your up for a little fun check out the full set of instructions here. Continue reading ‘DIY C-Stand Tutorial’

Codex Digital has announced a new portable field recorder at Cine Gear Expo 2007. This portable device builds on the success of the Codex Digital media recorder/server. We are told the device is weather-resistant and designed for rough-and-tumble field use. Under 10lbs and constructed with delicious carbon-fiber (that’s “fibre” for all you UK readers), the Codex Portable can be powered by “standard camera batteries” and features instant playback on the touchscreen LCD or via wireless (can also be controlled remotely with PC or PDA). It can handle most of the major digital cinema cameras in video-mode, and data-mode input from the ARRI D-20, DALSA Origin, and RED ONE. Will do up to 4K on hot-swap RAID “diskpacks” that can hold up to 3 hours of best-quality JPEG2000. There is a matching Codex Transfer Station that can backup or dump the recorders and metadata. The Transfer Station would also be used for transcoding into other formats (a wide variety of standard formats are supported).

Other features of note culled from press release: Two dual-link HD 4:4:4 inputs, Infiniband and Ethernet data-connections, 10Gbps optical I/O, timecode and control ports, eight channels of audio, HD and SD monitoring of all formats up to 4K, and MP4 wireless video output. “Mutter Track� microphone input, which allows the user to add comments during a take for shot-logging and notes. Can handle two camera 4:4:4 streams simultaneously, independent or locked (i.e. 3D stereoscopic shoots). Can also handle four 4:2:2 cameras, and multiple recorders can be synched (allowing 6 recorders to record 24 video tracks, in sync).

Pricing info is not available at this time, but I was told it would easily beat the cost of a HDCam SR deck. Production Codex Portable systems are expected to ship late in 2007.

JVC has updated their line of ProHD camcorders with a new image gain feature called LoLux. JVC says that this new “hypergain” option uses partial electronic gain and partial light accumulation through the shutter to acquire relatively clean images in extremely low-light situations. LoLux is an enhancement available as a firmware update, and it will simply offer shooters the additional choice of 30, 36 and 42 db of gain. There are of course no comparison images available at this time, nor can I get word on which specific camcorder models the new firmware is available for. Though I would assume that this applies to the GY-HD100U, HD200U, and HD250U.

Via Digital Camcorder News)

 16x9 Inc Mattebox Carry Bag [1:10m]: Download
 16x9 Inc Mattebox Carry Bag [1:10m]: Download

When 16×9 Inc sent us a Chrosziel Follow Focus and Mattebox system for review, they also provided a handy little soft bag and carry case for the units. The bag was so cool that we had to do a short video segment on it. Here’s a peek. Note that this is not 16×9’s “Shooters Bag”, which by the way is an equally useful carry case.

Click the Download links above or watch via our FreshDV iTunes Podcast Feed.

Okay guys for everyone interested in recieving full e-mail feed updates, you may now subscribe. If you e-mail subscribed via feedburner earlier you may have only been recieving notification of new podcasts and not all the articles on the site. Matt has updated and corrected the problem but it will require that you re-subscribe to ensure that it works correctly. You may use the normal RSS site feed link on the top left or subscribe to e-mail updates here. If you have been recieving full feeds with no issues we subscribe heavily to the old adage, “If ain’t broke don’t fix it.” In other words leave it alone :)

Alright, so the title is a bit glib I know. Couldn’t help myself though. Two big High Definition Disc news items this week:
#1. Blockbuster announced that they have chosen Blu-ray over HD-DVD as the format they will be using to rent high-def discs. Yay! This after a 250-store test.
#2. Various reports around the web are surfacing that suggest Blu-ray discs are beginning to rot. Boo!

It’s not clear if the two announcements are related (can you say “Perfect HD-DVD Group FUD Campaign”?), or if the discs are limited to a single run or factory. Accidents happen, after all. But it’s news worth knowing anyway.

(Via Camcorderinfo and HD4NDS)

 Mike Curtis on Independent Distribution [1:09:26m]: Download

Recently we had a chance to pick the brain of Mike Curtis (of HD For Indies) on the topics of Independent film production and self distribution. We discuss his take on alternative distribution options, what it takes to reach wide theatrical release, the importance of brand identity, when to aim at the direct to DVD option, DRM and rights management solutions, etc. Mike has some very strong opinions on the subject, and we found the conversation enlightening.

Click the Download link above or listen via our FreshDV iTunes Podcast Feed.