Here’s a short from Paul Schneider that I found inspiring. Watch below…

Jesse Rosten got his hands on a Photron BC2 high-speed camera for a recent shoot, and he’s got another great blog post up with thoughts on the project as well as a fantastic behind the scenes video (embedded below). Here’s an excerpt from Jesse’s post, click through for the full article.

“Everyone looks cool in slow motion. Even your grandma would look like a badass if you filmed her in slow motion walking away from an exploding retirement home. There’s just something intrinsically dramatic about slow mo. I had a conversation with Greg, one of the grips on the shoot, about this topic. Greg’s theory is that when people watch something in slow motion, it engages the part of the brain that processes important, life-or-death information. You know when something dramatic or traumatic happens people say, “I felt like it was happening in slow motion”? Same thing. I have no scientific evidence for this theory, but it seems like a good hunch. At any rate, I was looking to use high speed to elevate the drama of these scenes and create a surreal perspective of the “jackpot” moment.”

I recently had to integrate slides from several presentations into a corporate event video edit. The presentations were sent to me in Powerpoint .pptx and Keynote .key formats. Neither of which I was able to open…my version of Powerpoint could only handle .ppt files, and I don’t own Apple Keynote. It turns out that Google Docs has the capability of converting .ppt presentation files, but not .pptx. Finally, I didn’t want to bother the client with trying to get different formats, as they came from several different sources and there was no telling what I’d end up with. So there I was, stuck in the seventh-circle of format hell. Sound familiar?

I sent the .pptx files to a friend of mine who has access to the right software, and he converted them for me (there is a batch “save slides as jpg” feature in Powerpoint). However, the jpeg images came out low-res and overly-compressed. Could have been a settings thing, not sure on that. So while I was trying to find a solution for the poor quality Powerpoint batch exports, I ran across an online file conversion tool called Zamzar. They claimed that they can convert .pptx and .ppt files to PNG and .key files to PPT (which could then be processed to PNG). This seemed far too good to be true for a free online service, but I was running out of options so I gave it a shot. What could it hurt, right?

Well I’ll be damned if it didn’t work. And beautifully.

Within about 45 minutes, Zamzar converted my three pptx presentations and emailed me ZIP’s containing high-quality 2479×3508 (300dpi) PNG files. The Keynote file was converted to .PPT, which I then processed to PNGs. I could have then batched these PNGs through Photoshop to generate JPGs, but as FCP handles PNG just fine, I just cut the presentation together without converting to JPG. One of the presentations was even 25MB in size, and Zamzar uploaded and converted it just fine. Wow.

Anyway, I just had to share about this tool. I was blown away at how quick and simple Zamzar’s free service was. Maybe it will prove useful to you as well. Check them out.

Matthew Allard has posted a Sony PMW-F3 comparison video that shows the differences between the camera’s native XDCAM EX 35MB/s codec, and a high-quality ProRes 422 220MB/s capture via Cinedeck. There are differences, and they aren’t that difficult to spot in the video at 200-400% magnification as Matthew shows. However, the comparison is a great demonstration of the robustness and efficiency of the XDCAM EX codec, as it holds up rather well to the ProRes capture. Watch below.

The PMW-F3 is currently available from B&H at $13,300 for the body, or $18,950 for the F3 body and a three-lens PL kit, 35mm, 50mm, and 85mm. Purchases via that B&H link help support FreshDV at no cost to you.

Mike got his grubby paws on an Epic-M recently, and he pulls no punches with his classic stream-of-consciousness thoughts in this blog post.

In the wake of this new Technicolor image profile for Canon DSLRs, some are now confused about what a LUT is (or isn’t). Jay Friesen would like to explain LUT 101.

At NAB, ARRI announced the Alexa M, which is basically an Alexa camera sawn in half for 3D work and any projects where space at the sensor end of things is a concern. They also announced they will be partnering with James Cameron to deliver the first models for 3D feature film work. Watch below.

Those creative guys over at Inspiration Studios released another great episode of Sensible Digital Cinema just prior to NAB Show. Unfortunately, it was lost in the shuffle of the show and we missed it, so here you go; Sensible Digital Cinema: The Cooke 5/i Primes. Watch below…

(note that there is some potentially NSFW content in this video)

If you missed the last hilarious episode on the ARRI Alexa, you can watch it here.

Den Lennie and Alister Chapman have posted a comparison test they did of the PMW-F3 and it’s cheaper sibling the FS100.

“There were no big surprises. The FS100 is remarkably close to the F3. You would have no problems cutting between the two of them in a project.”

They go on to talk specifically about compression differences, compared to each other and also the native codec vs tethered Nanoflash recorder, as well as size and handling considerations. It’s a good basic comparison between the two cameras, and you can also watch their video below.

Got the following note from our friend Bruce Allen, just prior to NAB. I’ve been so busy with post-NAB projects that this is the first chance I’ve had to post it. Here are Bruce’s notes on his experience so far shooting with HDRx material with the Red Epic camera.

My friend Sam Druckerman got his Epic-M. It’s a joy to use: stunningly compact, lightweight yet rock-solid. Slow-mo 5K is insane. HDRx is fun and useful. The SSDs kick ass. It’s great for handheld and super-intuitive to toggle different settings, frame rates, HDRx etc – even in a light aircraft :) We found that out when super-talented Director/DP Matt Uhry gallantly took us up in a plane for a camera test.

Here’s some HDRx stuff shot out of the window with a Duclos 11-16. For fun, I processed the two streams separately and combined them in After Effects. Several layers, curves, transfer modes and rendering later, this was the result:

http://www.boacinema.com/projects/2011/red_epic/HDR_FLYING_ba_v1.mov

Then – last night Jim sent me a secret internal RED program which included awesome HDR blending options built in.
These will be in RedCineX very soon, he says. Here’s a screenshot (reposted with RED’s permission, click the image above for full-size), with my After Effects render for comparison.

Compared to my After Effects comp – RED’s stuff looks better, renders faster – and can be applied in just a few clicks! Also, it’s free. So… RED wins on all sides of the Quality, Speed and Cost triangle. Plus Ease of Use :) Forget confining HDR for tweaking something in the finish… it means we can easily have HDR dailies if we wish. Only caveat is that most times Epic’s latitude is sufficient for what you’re shooting, without HDRx. Though it’s still useful to have in case just in case – and for VFX purposes eg tracking.

Epic really is turning out to be a killer tool. The more I work with it, the less I want to work with any other camera. BTW, anyone on FreshDV have questions about Epic? I will try to answer in the comments?

Thanks for the note, Bruce! If anyone has any questions about Epic or HDRx, ask below and I’ll make sure that Bruce sees them.

At NAB, ARRI had a very interesting camera under a glass case…an Alexa that had been in a fire, but was still booting. Looks like a prop from a post-apocalyptic film. A shame the camera was damaged, but kinda cool just the same. Full gallery of pics here.

As a side note, I got to handle an Alexa a few times at the show, and it feels absolutely great on your shoulder. Really looking forward to the chance to work with the Alexa on a project.

Seems like everyone is doing video coverage from NAB these days…hmm, wonder who started that trend five years ago. :-) Not to be left out, G-Tech put out some high quality content from the 2011 show, including a video segment on Thunderbolt I/O tech which I’ve embedded below. Enjoy!