Unless you’ve been under a rock for the past few weeks, you are probably aware of the following two news items. So this update is for those rock-dwellers. Apologies to everyone else, carry on with your tweeting and such.

First, Canon announced a BETA availability date for their EOS Log & Transfer plugin for Final Cut Pro. Well, not a specific date, but sometime in March. This software product will be made freely available for DSLR video users and enables simple and straightforward acquisition of footage from CF cards via Log and Transfer, just like you would with P2, XDCAM, Red, etc. It’s a fantastic standardized workflow for FCP users, and kudos to Canon for making this available free of charge. If you were thinking that this software is eerily close in featureset to the Glue Tools product we demo’d at Cine Gear, well you’d be correct. That’s because it is. Missed that Glue Tools demo? No worries, I’ve embedded the video at the bottom of this post.

The second bit of news came in the past week, first in the form of that Canon 5D MKII firmware rumor we posted, followed by official news from Canon that the new MKII 2.0.3 firmware would be available worldwide March 17, 2010. New features confirmed in this firmware update include:

* 1080p 24, 25 and 29.97fps recording options. (24p is actually 23.976fps, and 25fps requires the camera first be set to PAL mode).
* 640×480 30 (29.97) and 25fps (25fps requires camera first be set to PAL mode).
* Video histogram display (Canon notes on this only show brightness histogram, but an earlier rumor presentation slide indicated RGB hist as well).
* Manual audio level control (with meters!).
* Audio sample rate changed from 44.1KHz to 48KHz.
* Aperture (Av) and Shutter Priority (Tv) in Video Mode.

This is an incredibly useful update for filmmakers, fixes several workarounds we’ve had to deal with, and GIVES US PROPER EXPOSURE TOOLS! The video histogram should prove to be incredibly useful. There are some limitations of course. For instance, the histogram cannot be viewed while recording, only before hitting record. If you’d like to see the framerate menu and audio meters in action, take a look at this behind-the-scenes Canon promo video And you can see these menus and other details in Canon’s posted notes on this firmware update.

Here is the Glue Tools Log & Transfer plugin demo from Cine Gear 2009:

Oliver Peters has written an incredibly detailed tutorial on how to accomplish post-production when tasked with editing and grading Canon 5D MKII footage. It’s an extensive article that demystifies some of the post questions, and I highly recommend taking the time to read it through. Fantastic work as always, Oliver.

Spring, sprang, sprung. Flat, flatter, flattest.

Out of the box, HDSLRs like the Canon 5D MKII and Canon 7D engage a crunched, contrasty image style. This looks nice right out of the camera, but it’s a color-grading nightmare for those who like to push their image around. This issue has been addressed before with Luka’s entertaining video tutorial, and Stu’s “Flatten Your 5D” and “Color Correcting Canon 7D Footage” posts. And on various user forums, users have posted their unique recipes for a custom image preset. A popular choice is the SuperFlat style, available in this zip’d package. Not to leave out the Nikon D90, there are forum threads on optimizing it’s image as well, and even an attempt to port Stu’s settings directly to the D90.

Over at Eugenia’s Rants and Thoughts, she’s posted an article she’s calling Flatting the flat look. In it she offers her own hand-rolled custom image preset for Canon DSLRs, an even flatter, zero-contrast variation on the SuperFlat style that she suggests offers maximum range when color grading footage. It’s worth noting at this point that there are some circles that debate over whether this increase in image information adversely affects the performance of the codec…in a highly compressed-format like what the Canon DSLRs record in, throwing more information at the codec may not always be a good thing.

Anyway, do like you should always do in debates like this…download a copy, and you be the judge. And if it works well for you, leave a thank you comment for Stu or Eugenia. But don’t go overboard….that would be flattery.

Over at PVC’s TechnoTur channel, Allan links to an interesting new bit of software from Syndicate. Syndicate 7D Tool uses the HDMI video output of the Canon 7D to reconstruct 4:4:4 chroma in your video captures (vs 4:2:0 chroma info that gets captured to your CF card).

Currently you’ll need a Windows machine to run the conversion software, after first capturing via FCP using a Matrox MXO2 Mini. Oh, and big, fast drives…while you can capture with FCP in ProRes 422 HQ or something similar, the conversion software (which runs on Windows) outputs uncompressed. Oh, and don’t forget that you now also need a cross-OS hard drive file format solution; Mac can’t write to NTFS without $pecial tools, Windows can’t read HFS formatted drives, and Fat32, while cross-platform, tops out at 4GB filesizes.

In addition to the above-noted requirements, there are some other limitations, namely:

“Due to the nature of the 7D HDMI output the actual usable resulting frame will be uncompressed 1620×910, but will be the same crop as the 1080p compressed material on the camera’s memory card. In the top right corner there will also be a red dot that has to be removed in post by grabbing those pixels from the corresponding file on the camera’s memory card. We’re working on automating this process in future versions.”

Syndicate 7D Tool is currently €199 and they offer a demo version for lookie-loos. Check it out.

Got word today of FCP Versioner, a “backup and versioning utility for Final Cut Pro” that not only backs up and organizes your project files based on criteria you define, it also keeps changelogs of what has been modified between versions. Looks like a killer app for those of us with more project files than we know what to do with. Hopefully it will be as intelligent and useful in practice as it sounds. Details and a 15-day free trial here.

Between now and December 31st, 2009, Imagineer Systems is offering discounts on all nodelocked software. Special pricing is as follows:

* monet placement station: $699
* mokey removal station: $699
* mocha (full version) tracking station: $349
* motor roto station: $349
* mocha for After Effects: $110
* mocha for After Effects v2 upgrade: $80
* mocha shape for After Effects: $55
* mocha for Final Cut: $110
* mocha shape for Final Cut: $55

This is a really nice sale on some fantastic software! You can purchase your discounted copies online 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.

Over at ProVideo Coalition I’ve posted a quick tutorial for Macbook Pro users on how to enable the faster of your two internal graphics cards (if so equipped). If you weren’t aware that your model includes two cards, you’ll be happy to hear about the potential performance gains. Check it out here.

Jem Schofield over at The C47 has posted a cool little impromtu handheld video stabilization test. He used Redrock Micro’s theEvent DSLR handheld rig to shoot some walking footage, and then compares FCP’s Smoothcam filter with the new Lock & Load stabilization filter from Coremelt. Watch the video below to see the results.

Everyone’s favorite After Effects resource Video Copilot has announced a new FREE plugin for AE users called Sure Target 2. It will be released for After Effects 7, CS3, and CS4.

Announced features include; Auto-Camera Rigging, Auto-Populate, Ease Target Modes, Auto-Focus, Inertia Inheritance, Camera Roll, Dolly Control, Create a Baked Camera, Condition Protection, and Refresh Expressions. Check the blog post on this for full feature descriptions and details.

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.”

Hand Held Hollywood caught up with Cinemek’s Jonathan Houser at DV Expo, and he had some interesting updates on what’s coming in future versions of Hitchcock. Jonathan also spoke to some of the interesting ways new customers are using the iPhone app. Check out the video embedded below.

DV EXPO ‘09 - Interview with Jonathan Houser, Creator of Hitchcock from Hand Held Hollywood on Vimeo.

I’ve posted over at PVC a short video on a software research project involving Adobe. This application essentially automatically turns shaky handheld footage into smooth, steadicam-like motion. This isn’t your grandpappy’s Smoothcam, it’s a whole new way to approach the technical issues, and the end result is mind-bogglingly good. Check it out, and if you have an Adobe contact, you know what to do.

So it’s no secret that we like the Canon 5D MK2 around here. This little $2700 full-frame sensor equipped camera offers a stunning featureset and jawdropping image quality for shooters in all genres of production. On June 2, Canon released a firmware update that enabled full manual controls of video functions. Awesome. We think that’s very cool.

But wait, there’s more! As of a couple of days ago, we’ve got an unofficial firmware build (well, really it’s a ROM inject hack for the time being…but we’ll call it firmware) that also enables onscreen audio meters, 16:9, 2.35:1 and 4:3 crop marks, zebras, and live headphone monitoring (via the A/V port). The firmware also disables the annoyingly hissy auto-gain control of the 5D, provides a manual gain control, and finally provides a framework to write new extensions to the code. An impressive achievement! Watch the video below for all the juicy details, as well as a quick comparison of the difference disabled AGC can offer to your audio capture.

You can get an unfinished copy of this unofficial firmware here. Read the detailed FAQ at Cinema5D also. It appears the developer has taken careful steps to avoid bricking camera bodies, as the software is only loaded into memory upon booting. From the FAQ:

“…a file named ‘magiclantern.fir’ is copied to the CF card and “Update firmware” is selected from the menu. The running firmware shuts down, loads the file into RAM and starts it running.”

“Nothing is written into the ROMs. When the camera reboots, the RAM image is flushed and the bootloader FROMUTIL at 0xFFFF0000 starts the pristine copy in ROM at 0xff810000. After any reboot (or even powersave), you must select the “Update firmware” menu item. Eventually we want to be able to boot directly from the AUTOBOOT.BIN file on the CF card.”

Even with these steps to avoid breaking things permanently, it’s probably worth mentioning that you should only load that firmware if:
A. You can afford to replace the camera, should this break it (this firmware surely violates mfr warranty).
B. You don’t test it on paying shoots with Real Clients (I’ve heard scattered “Err70″ reports).
3. Should this firmware eventually be 100% stable, kick ass, and you decide to replace a studio full of cameras with 5D MK2’s, that you buy them all via FreshDV’s B&H affiliate link (patience, they’ll be back in stock soon enough). And lots of lenses. L glass, preferably…

Until that day, the developer is looking for assistance from any programmers “skilled in ARM assembly, embedded systems, GUI programming and don’t mind risking your expensive camera…” as well as Paypal and equipment donations, specifically “steadicams, rails systems and lenses.” So if you are wetting your pants from this announcement, I’d suggest waiting for a stable release and feeding that dude some cash via Paypal in the meantime. I did, even though I have no intention of loading this on my 5Deuce just yet. Because, as the developer says, “If it breaks your camera, you get to keep both pieces.” However, if you are so inclined to try the firmware out, good luck, and report back your findings for the rest of us poor lemmings. We’re dying to hear how it runs.

(via BoingBoing)

 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.

Watch the attached video below and subscribe to our podcast feed. You can also conveniently watch our Cine Gear video coverage all in one playlist here.