The Canon 5D MKII 24p update was just announced, and people are flipping out. Now, many people have been using the 5D for video at 30fps (and conforming it to 29.97), and others have been using Twixtor (check the comments) and other tools to conform it to 24p. It’s an incredibly powerful tool at either framerate, but this post is about why you might choose the latter.

Stu Maschwitz did an interview with MacVideo recently, and in Part 2 he spends a solid 10min expounding on why he believes 24p is the optimum framerate for filmmaking. It’s an insightful commentary on the topic, and as always Stu’s points are well-considered and convincing. I highly recommend you check this interview series out.

Finally, just wanted to say that I’m glad to see the 24p update for the MKII, but myself and others I know will continue to use the camera at 29.97 for certain projects, for compatibility’s sake with other footage sources and corporate delivery requirements. It’s going to be awesome having options though.

FYI, the 5D Mark II camera body is now priced at $2499 and ships with a roomy Lowepro Nova 170 AW Shoulder Bag and (2) SanDisk 8GB Extreme CompactFlash Memory Cards. The Sandisk cards rock, and that bag is capable of holding up to 3 lenses and the body. That’s a really solid deal, and B&H purchases via that link help support FreshDV.

We mentioned this excellent article on Canon 5D Post-Production when it was first published, and then Oliver had to pull it for a few weeks. Well it’s back online now, and I encourage you to check it out!

Canon has announced a new MPEG-2 4:2:2 codec with a 50 Mbps datarate and standard MXF support. It will be used for their forthcoming line of 1920×1080 tapeless HD camcorders. In conjunction with this announcement, Canon will be showing a new tapeless HD camcorder at the 9th Annual SF SuperMeet.

Dear Canon, please put this codec on my DSLR, kthxbai.

I’ve been holding off on Blu-ray for a while, basically waiting for the market to sort itself out and wondering if I should just get an internet-enabled box like a Roku or the Boxee front-end to something like an AppleTV instead.

Well, wait no more; Sony has announced a new line of Blu-ray players, including the BDP-S770 which supports 3D, has built-in WiFi, streams from Netflix, Amazon, Pandora, NPR, etc, and even includes an iPhone/iPod Touch app for a remote (yes it also has a standard remote). No word on pricing yet, but I want one. Badly.

Digital Heaven’s VideoSpace widget is honestly one of the only reasons I use my OS X Dashboard. It’s a very useful little tool that calculates the space required to store footage from basically any codec. And it’s been updated to support the latest Prores codecs introduced by Final Cut Pro 7. Get your free copy here, or use it online at www.videospaceonline.com

The latest Cineform Prospect and Neo series beta software releases include a new metadata capability, allowing users to render/display passive metadata embedded in the source video. This allows users to turn that info on or off at will. One common use might be to non-destructively add timecode or other “burn-in” info for editing and post, then remove that info for finishing. Here’s a quote from the blog post on this feature:

“As metadata is so often lost and misplaced, you are lucky if you left with just the timecode in many workflows, so we long ago moved metadata from side-car files or within the file wrapper (AVI/MOV/MXF) and placed it within the compressed sample itself. This enables the decoder to read its own metadata (not possible with 99% of video types), all that was missing was the font engine to render the results in the display. The decoder now has that font engine. Offline workflows typical have a range of burn-ins top of the video image, returning to burnin free media for online/finishing. The CineForm burnins are non-destructive allowing the operator to enable to display the overlays, choose which elements to display, switch from offline to online with a single click. Any tools that use the CineForm decoder will gain this feature.”

Over at PVC, Allan Tépper has a preview review of a forthcoming camera system from Sony with the designation NXCAM. With solid state recording to Sony Memory Stick and “a new NXCAM flash memory unit”, the NXCAM adds pro-level features to a tapeless AVCHD recording system in a package reminiscent of the tape+solid-state hybrid Sony HVR-Z5U (when equipped with HVR-MRC1 CF recorder unit).

This is certainly an interesting development, is this Sony’s low-to-medium production level HDV replacement codec? It sure seems like it, as the Z5U was a replacement for the venerable Z1U, and this model shares the imager and lens from the Z5. My initial reaction is that I wish they would use an existing flash memory option instead of inventing new ones and pushing users to Memory Stick. Yay! More formats!

Here’s a quick video that shows what the Red Rocket card can do for a post facility. Watch below.

Red Rocket from Ted Schilowitz on Vimeo.

Via @silveradosys

Via Scott Kirsner, here’s a handy webpage that compares all 15 video sharing websites, from Youtube and Vimeo to less obvious ones like vzaar. Looks like a fantastic reference, check it out here.

Videoguys has been posting some great original tutorials that delve into acquisition and post workflows. One such article is their Guide to Understanding HD Formats. It’s a really nice overview of all the mainstream HD acquisition and editing formats… DV, HDV, DVCPRO, AVC-Intra, XDCAM, AVCHD, DNxHD, ProRes, Cineform, it’s pretty much all here.

They offer an overview of each format, show a breakdown of the resolutions and bitrates supported, which NLE’s support what, and even approximate the cost per hour for media. So if you aren’t familar with some of the arcane format terms bandied about by editors and shooters, here’s a your chance to quickly brush up on that knowledge.

IMAX is a film format and projection standard originally created by the IMAX Corporation in Canada. It utilizes a massive 65mm or 70mm film negative and 70mm film print to capture and project significantly higher resolution images than traditional 35mm film systems. It’s there in the name…IMAX stands for Image MAXimum. Standard IMAX screens are 72′ wide and 53′ high, and there are well over 300 theaters worldwide that are so-equipped. This unique aspect ratio has the tendency to change the way a film is composed and shot…tight closeups and macro shots are generally avoided when shooting in the format, as they can be visually overwhelming on the big screen. Instead, the high resolution and projected size enables high-detail wide shots. It truly is a unique experience. Well, it was…until recently.

The IMAX Corporation has always shown an interest in branching out and trying new ideas. Over the years they’ve retrofitted the standard to accommodate domed screens with OmniMAX, IMAX 3D, and at one point even created the so-called IMAX HD 48fps variant that never caught on commercially due to cost. The latest expansion of the IMAX brand is called IMAX Digital. IMAX Digital is a projection standard that encompasses 3D content in DCI or IMAX digital format, all on a 28′ x 58′ screen size that fits into the standard theater multiplex. The cost advantages are obvious…theaters don’t have to retrofit or build taller buildings to accommodate the normal IMAX 53′ screen height, and the digital format dispenses with the expensive reels upon reels of film print. The system uses two 2K Christie projectors in tandem, projecting over each other to produce an image that reportedly offers slightly better than 2K resolution.

However, and this is important…IMAX Digital is not the IMAX experience that has been sold to consumers for years. First, it’s a significantly smaller screen size and much lower resolution. Films made for IMAX digital are not necessarily shot for IMAX. The aspect ratio is 1:1.9, as opposed to IMAX’s typical 1:1.44 projected aspect. Boing Boing has a post about the topic here, specifically about Star Trek’s IMAX Digital release. Roger Ebert also blogged about IMAX Digital recently. The issue that most seem to have with IMAX Digital is that it is being sold as straight-up IMAX. There is no marketing distinction to consumers that IMAX Digital is any different from the original monstrous-screen IMAX version. This is troubling, as the only real technical item shared by the two is the IMAX 6-channel digital sound requirement. Beyond that, IMAX Digital simply offers about 20% larger screen size for the same format film you’d see in a regular theater, and generally at a $5 price increase. Caveat Emptor.

Oliver Peters has written a nicely detailed primer on Red Digital Cinema post-production, from the standpoint of a commercial spot. It’s a good introduction to a non-native Red workflow using FCP (however, most of the steps would be identical for an Avid/DNxHD workflow). Oliver leads the reader through using Red Alert to prep and pre-grade the footage, rendering out ProRes 422 HQ media, to editing, color grading, and output. If you’ve never worked with Red footage, this is a fantastic overview of the process that will get you started.

(Via HDFilmTools)

We recently mentioned the new HPX300, an interesting offering from Panasonic that offers a host of useful features and tools in a shoulder-mount camcorder configuration. Zacuto has created a good introductory video on the topic, embedded below. It looks like this camera is now in stock at B&H, with a price point of $8495 USD. Not bad for a camera that offers AVC-Intra, interchangeable lenses, a host of formats and framerates, and 720p/60 overcranking. It’s a unique offering that should spark a lot of interest with those that like the shoulder-mount configuration. In addition to the Zacuto video below, there are also two introduction/walkthrough videos on the HPX300 over at AbelCine’s site.

Introducing the Panasonic HPX300 from Steve Weiss, Zacuto USA on Vimeo.

Wired has a blog post up with some quotes from Alex Proyas, director of the new film Knowing, which was shot on the Red One. Alex isn’t bashful with his praise for the digital cinema camera. Here’s an excerpt:

“The results we’ve achieved are extraordinary especially when the film is projected digitally. It’s completely grainless and there’s almost a three-dimensional quality where you feel as if you can reach into the screen because there’s an incredible depth to it. I’m a total convert.”

We’ve been tracking Ikonoskop’s progress since they announced a “digital 16mm” camera last fall, first with my treatise on why I believe there is a place for Ikonoskop in a Red world, followed by an extensive audio podcast interview with Ikonoskop’s Daniel Jonsäter.

After the initial A-cam dII announcement the requisite reservations and deposits were taken, and all seemed to be on a fast track to an early 2009 ship date. Which is why I was a bit surprised to see them blog recently about the first completed A-cam dII prototype. According to the last schedule update I had heard, they targeting finished product ship dates by this timeframe. At any rate, I wish them luck and am glad to at least see forward progress on the new digital cinema camera. The slipped ship dates are just another reminder that Building Good Hardware is Harder than it looks.