Over at The C47, Jem Schofield has put together a great video tutorial on how to setup and light a green screen for chromakeying. It’s (thus far) a four-part series, but I personally found Part 3 to be particularly helpful in terms of lighting and exposure tips. I’ve embedded Parts 3 & 4 below, you can watch Part 1 and Part 2 at Jem’s blog.

Jem’s has just posted his test of Canon 5D and 7D greenscreen footage, view here.

Kendal Miller has put together an awesome video over at PVC that step-by-step breaks down the evolution of a complex dolly shot during a film shoot he DP’d. The film was shot on Red and directed by Tim Zwica. In this case-study, Kendal uses overhead diagrams, pre-production materials, behind the scenes footage, stills, and also the actual footage from the Red to show how the crew overcame the challenges of location and the requirements for the scene. Definitely check this one out!

On a related side note, I’ve previously written about some of my experiences from this shoot (I was 1AC) and the challenges we ran into with the Red One camera. Read my Weary AC/On Set With Red rant here.

Ah yes, the lowly video capture capabilities of the iPhone 3GS. Nasty compression, horrid rolling shutter skew, and a form factor that defies smooth camera movement. How would you possibly combat these issues and produce a high-end commercial? The brilliant people at The Mill did one such spot recently, and instead of fighting these challenges, they embraced them. Watch and learn.

Art Adams and Adam Wilt teamed up recently to get the skinny on sync rates and flicker issues when shooting with HMI lighting fixtures. They very thoroughly explain the issues at hand, and offer best practice guidelines for shooting. They also make a good case for dispensing with that old-fashioned shutter degrees nonsense when shooting digital, in favor of fractions of a second. Here’s a snippet:

“An absolute shutter speed states exactly what the exposure time is: 1/48th, 1/60th, etc. A relative shutter speed is usually denoted in degrees, because that’s how film cameras work: at 24fps, a 180-degree shutter results in a 1/48th of a second exposure; but at 23.98p, a 180-degree shutter results in a 1/47.96 exposure, which is NOT an HMI safe speed.”

It’s a fantastic article, check it out.

DI/Post Producer Leandro Marini has kicked off a multi-part series of blog posts on considerations for Red DP’s and users. The first post deals with why you should consider lighting Red camera projects with daylight balanced light sources, vs tungsten. Leandro provides a few graded and raw example images that illustrate the issue, and why 5000K sources work best. Check it out.

 Lentequip Production Power Solutions [7:16m]: Download

Lentequip was exhibiting at Cine Gear 2009, and I was very excited to see their power and battery solutions for the Red camera. I’ve complained previously about the frustration of changing batteries on Red shoots, every battery rotation requires a time-wasting reboot, and inevitably needs to happen when everyone else is ready for the camera dept. Lentequip’s unique battery switching solution allows you to attach and switch to fresh batteries on the fly, with no reboot required. It’s a must have product for Red rental packages, in my opinion.

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 Cmotion Lens and Camera Controls [12:53m]: Download

At Cine Gear 2009, Cmotion gave us a very detailed demonstration of their full-featured camera and lens control systems. Far more than just a remote wireless focus solution, they offer a host of high-end options in a really well-integrated system. There’s even an autofocus solution for manual PL lenses.

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 Zacuto DSLR and Libertypak Power [6:15m]: Download

Zacuto was showing new DSLR rig “Gorilla” configurations at Cine Gear 2009 and Jens took a moment to show us one of these new models in use with a Canon 5D MK2. We also got a look at the Libertypak on-location battery power solutions for production in the field.

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 Redrock DSLR, LEDZ Lighting, MK-V Stabilizers [6:53m]: Download

At Cine Gear 2009, Redrock’s Brian Valente showed off one of their new DSLR rig updates for cameras like the Canon 5D MK2, a slightly more affordable option called the Eye Spy rig. We also dropped by the LEDZ booth to check out their new Brute 30 LED lighting fixture, a dimmable 400-watt HMI equivalent unit that draws a fraction of the power. MK-V was also at Cine Gear, and we got a demo of their stabilizers, including the unique Revolution unit, whose absolute coolness cannot be explained in words. Just watch.

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 ScriptE Systems Software for Script Supervisors [4:52m]: Download

ScriptE Systems had a cool product demo’ing at Cine Gear 2009, it’s a screenplay and production integration software package. ScriptE simplifies the process of pre-production by integrating with Final Draft, and eases the Script Supervisor’s job during shooting. It’s a unique software package, and we shot a demo of it on video. Check it out below.

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 Garrett Brown on Steadicam, Transvideo 3D Monitors, and UniqOptics [7:42m]: Download

At the Steadicam booth at Cine Gear 2009, filmmaking legend Garrett Brown gave us a candid walkthrough of their stabilizer line, from the Clipper to the lightweight Pilot (flying none other than a 5D MKii DSLR). We also dropped by the Transvideo booth to get a demonstration of their unique LCD monitoring solution for 3D filmmaking. And finally, Kenji at UniqOptics gave us an update on their PL lens line.

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 Griplock Systems Fasteners and 8Ball Camera Slider [3:54m]: Download

Griplock Systems was exhibiting at Cine Gear 2009, we got a look at their unique quick-fasteners for aircraft cable. I can think of all sorts of unique filmmaking and rigging applications these sweet fasteners would be useful for. We also stopped by and took a look at the 8Ball Slider, a heavy-duty camera slider system for large rigs.

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 Cinemek Hitchcock iPhone Storyboarding App [4:37m]: Download

At Cine Gear 2009, Cinemek was showing off a beta of their new storyboarding software for the iPhone. We got an exclusive video demo of this exciting new app in action, check it out! And keep an eye out for the official release of Hitchcock in the iTunes App Store.

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 Kessler Crane gear [6:53m]: Download

At Kessler Crane’s booth at Cine Gear 2009, we got a peek at the new Pocket Jib and Pocket Dolly system, an integrated, lightweight package for HD camera systems in the sub-30lb range. Eric Kessler also showed us their coil-able rubber flextrack for their gear as well as for third-party dolly systems. Very cool stuff, allows you to lay down up to a seamless 50′ track relatively painlessly.

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 Griptech Gear Support Systems [8:35m]: Download

Sydney-based Griptech was exhibiting at Cine Gear 2009, and we dropped by the booth to check out their heavy-duty Griptech Slider, unique Bazooka Base, and adjustable Hi Hat. I was truly impressed by the fit, finish and overall quality of this beautifully engineered line of gear.

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