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.

Ripple Training’s Steve Martin has written an AWESOME tutorial that thoroughly delves into Final Cut Pro’s new slow motion and speed ramping toolset. With FCP7 there are a number of changes to the interface, as well as new features, and Steve lays everything out in detail. It’s a great way to get caught up on this new toolset that can save you editing time and deliver better results. This one is definitely worthy of bookmarking and revisiting as you learn how to use these improved features.

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.

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.

Take a look at the two framegrabs embedded below. One was shot with the Canon 7D’s Standard Picture Style. The other was shot with a modified picture style intended to increase dynamic range and give you more options in post-production.

As you can clearly see, the difference is rather striking. Watch this video tutorial and find out how to do the same for your Canon 7D or 5D MKII DSLR.

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.

Leandro Marini of Local Hero Post has blogged the third part in their series on maximizing the image from the Red One. Part Three, Go RAW.

Midtown Video’s Jesse Miller is hosting another live webinar this evening, 10/22, at 6:30pm EST. You can join in at www.jtown.tv. Tonight’s topic is “How to broadcast video to the internet.” While you are at the site, check out clips from the last broadcast, “Tips and tricks on the EX3.” So head on over there this evening (or this afternoon for you West Coast folks) and check it out.

PVC has been doing monthly e-mail newsletters, and we’ve contributed to a few of them in the past. Normally the newsletters are made available first to email subscribers, then made available online in the following weeks. It seems that this months issue was leaked publicly early. Head on over and check it out, there’s a continuation of Alex Lindsay’s excellent Greenscreen Primer series, a no-nonsense approach to shuttling footage back and forth between After Effects and Final Cut Pro by Richard Harrington, an automagic Adobe SpeechSearch + Avid ScriptSync sandwich by Steve Hullfish, and an introduction to online post-management app ShotRunner by Mark Christiansen. Great content by talented professionals. Check it out, and link your friends.

Digital Video Expo 2009 will be held on September 22-24, 2009 in Pasadena, CA. One of the expert training options being offered are continuing education courses on Final Cut Pro 7 by Weynand Training International. Instructors include Diana Weynand, Michael Wohl, Jeff Sobel, and Mark Spencer.

“I can’t wait to teach my new Final Cut Pro 7 certified course with all the Digital Video Expo class participants,” said Diana Weynand. “As my FCP 7 book is hot off the press and being released this month, Digital Video Expo is the perfect opportunity for attendees to participate in this exciting, Apple certified training. Loaded with lots of new tips and tricks, the course utilizes four great sets of footage, including TNT’s ‘Leverage,’ ‘Playing For Change,’ ‘An Accidental Quest for Enlightenment,’ and ‘SeaWorld,’ and teaches the new FCP 7 features. We start the course with basic editing, and move through a comprehensive use of Final Cut Pro 7.”

The Digital Video Expo Apple Certification Training program for Final Cut Studio includes the following courses:
Final Cut Pro 7: Level 101
Final Cut Pro 7: Level 300
Fixing and Mixing Your Sound with Apple’s Soundtrack Pro
Designing and Animating Motion Graphics in Final Cut Studio
Apple’s Color 1.5

For complete event and registration information, please visit www.dvexpo.com.

Midtown Video’s Jesse Miller will be hosting a live webcast on the EX1 and EX3 next Thursday, 9/17 at 6:30 pm Eastern time. The topic of discussion is “Tips & Tricks on the EX3.” Check out their teaser spot for the webinar below.

I’d venture that a good percentage of starving film students with an internet connection are probably aware of Johnny Chung Lee and his $14 “steadycam” design. Nowadays Johnny is working for Microsoft’s Project Natal team, putting his 133t Wii remote hacking skills to good use. But I digress. In the spirit of Johnny’s stabilizer design, I stumbled across another DIY handheld stabilizer tutorial, this one actually includes a 3-axis gimbal design and appears to work surprisingly well. Check it out at this link, or view the example footage below if you aren’t yet convinced.

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.

Over at ProVideoCoalition, Editor Scott Simmons has written a KILLER article on the The Basics of Avid Media Composer for a Final Cut Pro Editor. Not to be missed. Here’s an excerpt that explains the article focus.

What follows in this article is not a debate of Avid vs. Final Cut Pro or a conversion document that says you should move from Final Cut Pro to Avid Media Composer, but rather a step-by-step guide for anyone new to Avid (or curious about the software in general) to launch the software and perform a few basic functions. It will be geared more toward the FCP editor, but a lot of the basic functionality is the same in many non-linear editors. I won’t compare and contrast various Avid and FCP features as that’s not the focus of the article though I will point out the Avid equivalent of a number of FCP tools. And if you’ve never edited with a NLE application before then consider this primer a way to get your feet wet in Avid Media Composer 3.5.

Highly recommended. Check this one out!

Filmmaker and instructor Jerome Courshon wrote in to let us know about an upcoming seminar on the topic of distribution. We’ve spoken at length with Jerome in the past, he has contributed both an excellent “Distribution 101″ video to the FreshDV tutorial vault, and he also was a valuable and informative voice in our most recent distribution podcast discussion. So I’m delighted to help highlight his latest distribution seminar, which will be held in LA this August. I’m including all the details below, check it out.

THE SECRETS TO DISTRIBUTION: Get Your Movie Distributed Now!
So you’ve made your movie. Congratulations! Or you’re going to make your movie. Excellent! What do you do to ensure the final step of your filmmaking journey, getting distribution? How do you play “the game”? Is there even a game??

The answer is YES. There is a game. A strategy. Whether you’re about to start shooting, have finished your final cut, are on the film festival circuit — or even if you’ve been turned down by distributors already — you CAN get distribution. It is not impossible, but there is a strategy that MOST producers & directors do not know or understand.

Where can you learn this? At producer Jerome Courshon’s groundbreaking 2-Day seminar,
“THE SECRETS TO DISTRIBUTION: Get Your Movie Distributed Now!”
http://www.Distribution.LA

WHO SHOULD ATTEND THIS SEMINAR:
- Those with a completed movie
- Those in production or post-production
- Those who intend to make a movie — Get a head start on what you need to know
- Learn what they do NOT teach you in film school

Bottom line? This seminar is about getting results and getting the deal, with key resources provided. This is about securing a viable distributor, whether you have a low budget movie OR a movie with names. If you are serious about getting your movie into the marketplace, then you should NOT miss this day.

We will also cover the newer distribution avenues, from digital downloading to marketing your movie online. Whichever route would be best for you, don’t spend years spinning your wheels, only to end with your movie collecting dust on your living room shelf.

“Without Jerome’s information and help, I’d never have gotten a studio distribution deal for my no ‘name’ feature. Not in a million years.”
– Vince Rocca, Producer, “Kisses & Caroms” (Released by Warner Bros.)

“When I went to Jerome’s seminar, I had been on the festival circuit for 6 months and thought I’d done everything possible to sell my film. I was wrong. This seminar was such a great breath of fresh air — and showed me how much I didn’t know about the distribution game! Informative and well worth every penny, I got a distribution deal 2 months later with a cash advance.”
– Lanre Olabisi, Producer/Director, “August the First”

“I’ve been a working actor for over 25 years and have relationships with many mainstream Distributors. When it was time to distribute my first feature film, I thought I knew it all. Jerome not only opened my eyes but opened doors, with my movie getting picked up for a nationwide release on DVD. Is Jerome’s seminar worth it? You can’t even put a price tag on the knowledge and connections that you’ll get from his seminar.”
– Jeff Rector, Writer/Director/Producer, “Revamped”

AT THE SEMINAR YOU WILL LEARN:
- The Theatrical Distribution game: What to do and what not to do with theatrical distributors
(Most filmmakers fail here, even when they have a killer movie)
- The 8 Basic Movie Distribution Models and how to navigate them
- Who all the Home Video Distributors are
(Do you know there are over 100 of them? Contact list provided at seminar)
- Press Kits, PR & Marketing
- Is your artwork & press kit REALLY up to snuff, or are you sending out inferior materials with your movie causing distributors to say ‘No’ before even watching it? (Happens all the time)
- Are Film Festivals worth your time & energy?
(Depends upon your movie)
- How to effectively use Film Festivals and Key Strategies to generate Buzz, Press & Awards
(It’s not just showing up like a rock star and watching your movie)
- Is the VSDA — now known as the EMA — important to attend?
(Do you know what the EMA is? Your success may depend on this)
- E & O Insurance: How to get it for thousands of dollars LESS than the going rate (You will need it for U.S. distributors)
- Digital Distribution
- Internet Distribution
- DIY Distribution (”DIY” means “Do It Yourself”)
- DIY Theatrical Distribution
- Plus Q & A

NEXT SEMINAR: LOS ANGELES
DATE: August 22 - 23, 2009 (Saturday - Sunday)
TIME: 10am - 6pm
LOCATION: Beverly Garland Hotel, 4222 Vineland Ave., North Hollywood, CA 91602
COST: $299.00
TO REGISTER, GO TO: http://www.Distribution.LA

ABOUT THE INSTRUCTOR
Jerome Courshon is an award-winning Producer/Writer, whose first movie was ultimately released by Warner Bros. His challenging journey to achieve meaningful distribution gave birth to the creation of this powerful seminar in 2006. Since then, Jerome has assisted hundreds of filmmakers with securing real distribution through his seminars and speaking engagements, and has written for “MovieMaker Magazine,” “Indie Slate Magazine” and “Film Festival Today Magazine.” (Read/View some of his articles or podcasts, freely available at his website.)