If you don’t know how to use Cinema Tools to “conform” your 60p Canon T2i or 7D footage to your editing framerate (23.98 fps or 29.97 fps, generally), here’s a quick video tutorial from Shane Ross that shows you how. It’s quick & painless, and you should know how to do this.

At NAB 2010, one of the coolest new features in After Effects was the Rotobrush. We got a peek at Rotobrush in our video coverage of NAB. Now that Adobe CS5 is in wide use, you might want a tutorial on how to use this sweet new tool…so here you go, compliments of the always useful kenstone.net.

Shane Hurlbut has posted a good article on the many ways you can monitor with Canon DSLRs, and of course the challenges of trying to work with them professionally. Good stuff.

The built-in mic in Canon DSLRs is very susceptible to wind noise. If you want to maximize the usability of that audio (for scratch/synch or otherwise), here’s a DIY tutorial on how to make a “deadcat” wind muffler for the mic. In a nutshell, it simply requires modifying Rycote Overcovers and applying with some double-sided adhesive. Here’s a before and after video that illustrates the difference a good deadcat windscreen makes. Watch below.

5D Mark II Wind Muff from Zack McTee on Vimeo.

(Via DSLRVideoShooter)

We talk about geeky techie things all the time here at FreshDV, so here’s a refreshing departure: a simply brilliant blog post on STORY. It methodically breaks down the story structure of one of the most compelling films of the year, Toy Story 3. Not to be missed! Set aside some time and read this thoroughly one if you care about story.

(Via @paulzadie)

Here’s a tutorial with more than you ever wanted to know about Cinema Tools. Beyond it’s obvious pro applications, some indie DSLR filmmakers are also using Cinema Tools to conform 29.97 or 30p Canon footage to 24p (applying a slight slow motion effect in the process). This is also how you can conform Canon 7D footage from 60p to 30p or 24p, getting that smooth slow motion.

I’ve got an upcoming commercial shoot for a client that will air on our local NBC affiliate. The station is currently standard-definition only, so the deliverable will be a 4:3 formatted SD master. Letterboxing would be an easy way out, but is undesirable to the client. Normally I would shoot this type of project on a standard definition camcorder in 4:3 mode; but this commercial script calls for some of the lens tricks possible with a DSLR, so I chose to shoot it on the 5D Mark II (currently $2399 @ B&H).

Unfortunately, the 5D offers no video guide overlays. There are only two Grid overlay options, and they don’t correspond to anything in the video world. There is a standard definition video mode in the 5DM2 (and it really does look pretty good), but I wanted to shoot this project 16:9 HD (protecting for 4:3 with guides), to future-proof the spot and give the client more options. So I was forced to find a way to make 4:3 crop marks on the display (as I don’t have a monitor with 4:3 guides either).

Magic Lantern has common crop mark overlays built in, but they don’t currently support the latest 5DM2 firmware, so that wasn’t an option for me. So here’s what I did to make my own. I locked down the camera and shot a tape measure. Then I dropped that footage into a 4:3 SD timeline in FCP. This by default displays as letterboxed 16:9 within the square frame. On the clip Motion tab I zoomed it to 50% to fill the screen (cropping the sides of the frame). Now with a full 4:3 frame of video, it was just a matter of comparing the tape measurements in the footage on the timeline to the same footage displayed on the 5D’s LCD. I stuck some clear tape on the DSLR’s LCD, and used a thin marker to draw 4:3 frame guides on the tape. As a little bonus, I placed the inside edges of the vertical tape strips roughly where the Action Safe guides fell in FCP. So now I’ve got approximate guides for the 4:3 Action Safe area of my frame as well as perfect guide lines to protect for 4:3 in my 16:9 frame. This whole process was highly annoying to have to do (and another example of the typical hoop-jumping you tend to do when shooting DSLRs), so I made some measurements that should simplify the process for anyone that might need to do the same trick. For consistency’s sake, I made these measurements from the on-screen Grid 1 marks.

Here’s how to quickly mark 4:3 frame guides for your 5D Mark II:
If you go into the menu under the Live View/Movie settings, there’s an option for Grid 1. Enable this for the moment. Now when you toggle on Live View, this will put a large hash guide of four intersecting lines on screen. Start by aiming your lens at an evenly lit bright surface. On the surface of your LCD screen, simply measure 12.5mm towards the outside edges of the LCD from the vertical guides displayed on the screen. Right around 12.5mm from those lines is where your 4:3 frame ends. Mark this on the LCD however you wish. You can use scotch tape as I did to make non-permanent marks with a Sharpie. Or you might be able to use these measurements to create a printed clear static sticker (inkjet printable static sticker blanks should be available at a decent office supply store). If I shot more 4:3 content, I’d probably make a sticker that I could quickly stick on the screen. Thankfully most of my work is 16:9 these days so I’ll probably just make do with the tape trick for now. Finally, when you are done making your 4:3 frame marks, you might want to disable the Grid 1 option to de-clutter your display.

Anyway, this solution is rather DIY and a rough hack, but it took some time to put together so I figured I’d share it here in hopes it will save some other poor soul stuck in Four By Three Land. Clearly a more professional solution would be a monitor with proper 4:3 aspect guides, or a camera that was intended to be used for video. Or both. If you’ve got any other guide or overlay tips, please let us know in the comments below. Happy shooting!

DVEStore has posted a mic sound comparison for a bunch of shotgun, handheld and lav mics. It’s a useful comparison, but it’s also an informative lesson on what each type of microphone is capable of, and why you might use one type vs another. Watch below.

(Via Rob Galbraith)

UPDATE: Added B&H links to various microphones from this video, purchases there help support FreshDV at no additional cost to you:
* Sanken CS-3E Shotgun Mic
* RODE NTG-2 Shotgun Mic
* Audio-Technica AT875R Shotgun Mic
* Audio-Technica AT4053b Hypercardioid Mic
* Sanken COS-11D Lavalier Mic
* Da-Cappo DA12 Head/ear mounted Mic
* Rode Procaster Dynamic Mic
* Sennheiser E835 Dynamic Mic

The Filmmakers Intensive is an upcoming intensive two-week long program that looks to be an amazing training opportunity for filmmakers and anyone that wants to take their productions to the next level. Instructors include Jem Schofield, Larry Silverberg, Philip Bloom, Skipp Sudduth, Matt Porwoll, Orlando Luna, and Andy Beinen.

The concept is hands-on filmmaking, taught by working professionals. You’ll be working with real actors, writing and developing real scripts, and shooting both documentary and narrative films as part of the nine-hours of training each day. This is a small class-size training program, and the introductory $500 discount has recently been extended till Monday, so head on over to www.thefilmmakersintensive.com for registration details. A short summary of the training follows:

WEEK ONE: DOCUMENTARY-STYLE FILMMAKING

Exploding new video & filmmaking technologies are making it more possible than ever for filmmakers to mount projects, film them and get them online to an Internet audience, to mobile devices or onto DVDs for submission to film festivals. Led by Jem, you will begin to master the Video DSLR world of filmmaking in a series of hands-on master classes on shooting, lighting, recording audio, editing and more. You will be immediately immersed in preparing to shoot - AND SHOOTING! - your week one film project, a documentary feature film concept, will be shot & edited during the week and screened at our public screening.

Some of your classes and topics include…
» Video DSLR Master Class
» Cameras & Lenses
» Lighting & Audio
» Shooting Documentary-Style
» Conducting Interviews
» On-Set Workflow
» Intro to Post-Production & Editing in Final Cut Pro
» An Introduction to Color
» Acting 101
» Directing The Actor Master Class (transitional class for week two)

WEEK TWO: NARRATIVE FILMMAKING

In week two you will take your technical filmmaking skills even further as you produce and shoot a short narrative film. Now, you will be working with scripts and with actors, learning to direct them in ways which inject life into the writers dialogue and fulfill your personal, creative vision for the production. Towards the end of the week you will learn narrative editing skills and will prepare your film for our Grand Celebration Screening.

Some of your classes and topics include…
» Screenwriting Master Class
» The Creative Flow: Storyboards, Shot Lists…
» Shooting Techniques for Narrative Film
» Working On Set
» Blocking & Rehearsing
» Directing The Scene
» Processing Dailies
» Editing for Narrative

Over at Shockwave-Sound, Terry Wilson has penned a nice article with tips and tricks for faking the best foley and sound effects for your film and video productions. He’s got some great advice for how to creatively tackle your project. Here’s a snippet:

The two key priorities which you should remember to help you do this are:

* Create a world which has distractions removed as much as effects put in.
* Create a world which is believable as opposed to “real”.

A director of photography uses light, framing and depth of field to get the audience to focus on the most important part of the picture. The basic principle of mixing sound is the same: The focus should be clear, crisp and sharp while the background is more indistinct, helping to create the required sense of space and time.

Head on over there and check it out.

Over at the Abel Cine tech blog, Mitch Gross has posted a great video called A Lens is a Lens is a Lens where he, ahem, focuses on how sensor size and format affect the image you see through a lens. He also demonstrates why certain focal lengths seem to affect the size of the objects in the frame, but why you are wrong to think it’s the focal length at work (spoiler alert: it’s relative distance to subject). I can see that I’ve already overcomplicated things with this description, just go watch the video. It’s good.

If you aren’t following Shane Hurlbut’s blog, you should be. He’s been steadily releasing fantastic filmmaking tutorials and tips, and the latest Hurlblog post is no exception. In this one, Shane first breaks down the complex six-shot Terminator Salvation helicopter crash sequence that plays out as a single take. He reveals lighting, rigging and blocking setups, and even provides the finished movie clip as a MOV so you can follow along. Like I said, an education.

As if that wasn’t enough, the follow-up to this is a 9-minute narrated video breakdown of “The Last 3 Minutes” Vietnam sequence (shot on Canon 5D MarkII), where Shane talks through the technical and creative process that went into this segment of the short. An education. Go read and watch. Fantastic stuff.

On a similar note, FreshDV recently interviewed Shane and his collaborators at Bandito Brothers about the technical and creative challenges of their forthcoming “Act of Valor” Navy Seals feature film shot mainly on Canon DSLRs. You can watch that here.

The Canon 5D MKII is now $2399 with B&H instant savings discount. Purchases via that link help support FreshDV.

Here’s a great tutorial on encoding 1280×720 HD video for the iPad using Apple Compressor, it even has ready-made droplets for your downloading pleasure.

Kessler Crane has been generating some great buzz lately with their Oracle motion control system in tandem with the Revolution head, the Cineslider, and the Pocket Dolly.

At a Kessler-hosted filmmakers dinner at NAB, I had the opportunity to chat at length with Eric Kessler about this system, and I’m anxious to put one of their units through it’s paces. Stay tuned for that. In the meantime, here’s an extensive tutorial on how to use the Oracle controller. You’ll get a pretty good idea of what it’s capable of doing from this video. Watch below.

ORACLE Controller with Revolution Head, CineSlider, & Pocket Dolly from Kessler Crane on Vimeo.

Everything you need to know about making purty pitchers with the RED One camera. No words. Just watch.

Via @wingrove