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Home » Week in Review: HP’s Double Dare, $700 Camera Wins Big, and More

Week in Review: HP’s Double Dare, $700 Camera Wins Big, and More

$700 Camera Comes Out Looking Good,

But Does It Matter?

As the proud owner of a Panasonic GH2, I can certify that I agree with the results of Zacuto’s Revenge of the Great Camera Shootout, Episode 2 (access the video here).

To the amusement of many on the web, Francis Ford Coppola chose the look of the GH2 (GH2 body: $749 at B&H) over the other nine new and established cameras in Zacuto’s comparison. Turns out many of those attending the screenings thought the same, even though they could choose among scenes captured with a Sony F65, Red Epic, Canon C300 or an Arri Alexa. A Canon 7D came in far down the list. An iPhone 4s was even tossed into the mix, although its comparative limits had it immediately stick out.

Yes, such controlled in-studio tests do offer up widely diverse results even if the tasks seem similar. The eye of the DP behind the camera made the greatest difference, of course. Each made choices that coaxed better or worse results from the camera in front of them. Philip Bloom, for example, pointed out that the GH2, which doesn’t output in RAW, “was relit to account for the lack of really flat profile so you could capture the highlights and shadows.”

Meanwhile, screening in 1080p or 2K didn’t yield much of a difference among the video on the screen. However, I would imagine that putting this same video on a 4K projector and a large screen would greatly change the winners’ lineup.

Such comparisons also don’t delve into just how easy it is–or not–to work with each camera in the field. At the end of a long day of shooting, camera systems fitted with industry-standard rigs remain favorites with crews and DPs alike.

Still, that a micro four-thirds camera could even compete and mix its footage with such established names shows once again that talent and good ideas win the day. Good tools help, but not as much as some of us might hope. Andrew Reid’s take on the whole affair makes a good read.

 

Doing the Double Loop Dare with Premiere Pro and HP’s Z820 RED Edition

Last week I spoke to Lance Holte of the Bandito Brothers, an LA-based production company. I had called him to learn more about a fun and interesting project that they created for Mattel’s Team Hot Wheels using three early production units of the HP Z820 RED Edition workstations, Red EPIC cameras and Adobe Premiere.

The challenge: At the 2012 X Games in Los Angeles on June 30, a world record was set by two drivers for a gravity-defying race through a 60-foot-tall double vertical loop, a life-sized version of a Hot Wheels track set.

With not a moment to spare, Jeff Tober and the Bandito Brothers had to shoot the event, edit the footage and post the result in under three hours on the HotWheels website (www.hotwheels.com) and on YouTube. Other key Bandito Brothers personnel included Lance Holte, Mike “Mouse” McCoy and Jacob Rosenberg.

To film the hair-raising stunt, they used eight RED EPIC cameras set up at different locations around the track. Other cameras included the Canon 7D and 5D; GoPro Hero 2 cameras were mounted on the racecars.

The footage was shot at different resolutions and frame rates including 4K, 2K, 1080p, 720p, 300 fps, 240 fps, 120 fps and 60 fps. Transferred came via the REDMAG readers to an internal, three SSD RAID on the main Z820 RED Edition workstation. Editor Jeff Tober then dropped all the footage onto the Adobe Premiere Pro timeline. Without any transcoding, Tober was able to take full advantage of the Z820’s muscle (helped along by two RED Rocket cards) to edit in real time regardless of resolution or format. Watch the video of the Double Loop Dare at the Hot Wheels website.

 

Cool and useful new 3D plugin from Andrew Kramer

Andrew Kramer’s Video Copilot site is a real resource. The blog has long provided useful tutorials, tips and techniques for special effects, and for After Effects users in particular. Kramer also produces useful plugins and other products such as Action Essentials (pre-keyed HD elements to use in your own productions), 3D Lens Flares, cinematic production music and more.

A few days ago I came upon an interesting new plugin on the site. Designed for After Effects, Element 3D allows you to import 3D objects–complete with textures–into After Effects. Once it’s inside, you can move the After Effects camera around, change the lighting, and use the plugin’s sophisticated particle system to clone the object and animate the clones in different ways.

What’s really amazing is how fast it renders via its custom-built OpenGL renderer. Element 3D also handles depth of field, motion blur, and fog. Want to replicate your clones in different shapes and even use another 3D shape’s vertices as emitters? Done. You’re also given a lot of control over just how to animate all the particles.
Element 3D also enables you to import a complex model and then separate it into its component parts. (You can import OBJ and native Cinema 4D files.) The plugin also contains a separate custom user interface. With it you can group together different parts of your model, apply textures, set up environment maps and more. You can also use it to mix multi-passes such as diffuse, specular, reflection passes and bump.

Element 3D also includes a library of interesting textures such as rusty metal, ice, chrome, and glass that you can apply to the models. To top it all off, Video Copilot also provides model packs with collections of quality models that you can use in your own productions.

Pretty neat. Check out this page for more information on Element 3D.

Motion Artist: simple to use digital comic creation software

Smith Micro, publishers of software such as Poser and Anime Studio Pro, has released a free public beta version of its latest software, MotionArtist. With the app, you can easily create digital comics and interactive graphic novels using images you already have. The app helps re-format and recreate them to create motion. Web developers and photographers will also find the software useful.

If you’re creating animated movies or complex character animation you might want to take a look at Smith Micro’s Anime Studio Pro. While Motion Artist isn’t a full animation system, it does allow you to add animation to your stories to bring your pages to life, create interesting transitions between panels and animate artwork and even do cool effects within each panel. I liked the layered 3D effect that adds depth to comics. The HTML 5 export is a useful, up-to-date feature too.

You can use Motion Artist to convert traditional comics to digital ones, and even add motion to them.

Why not download the beta version and try it out for yourself? Let us know if you come up with some cool stuff. We’d like to see it, and might even feature your work on the site.

Community & Partner Links

How Sony’s New Virtual Sound Technology Can Change How We Hear Films

Kami Asgar and Jessica Parks are post-production heavyweights who work with major studios, namely Sony. As a sound designer (Asgar) and as a post executive (Parks), their collective resume touches on everything from Apocalypto to Grandma’s Boy to Venom.

Parks has recently shifted her focus from supervisor to hands-on sound design, and we talk about how it’s never too late to pivot on your career path and find the thing you love doing wherever you are in life.

Click on this link to read the rest of the article on No Film School’s site.

NJ – Governor Murphy signs $14B Incentive Program Bill – the NJ Economic Recovery Act of 2020

 Film tax credits — amending existing programs to include provisions for so-called New Jersey film partners and New Jersey film-lease partners and allowing an additional $200 million of tax credits annually over 13 years.

Click this link if you want to read the full article on the Lexology site. http://bit.ly/35NtDx6

Film Commish announces date for production restart

In her December 18, 2020 news update, MOME Commissioner Anne del Castillo announced that the Film Office is now accepting permit applications for production activity that begins on July 27th.

She also announced awards now (Awkwafina) and more. To read all of the Film Commish’s bloggy sort of news column, click here.

Stimulus Offers $15 Billion in Relief for Struggling Arts Venues

The coronavirus relief package that Congressional leaders agreed to this week includes grant money that many small proprietors described as a last hope for survival.

For the music venue owners, theater producers and cultural institutions that have suffered through the pandemic with no business, the coronavirus relief package that Congress passed on Monday night offers the prospect of aid at last.

To read the full article on The New York Times’ site, click here.

If you want to start production, here’s the latest news from the Mayor’s Office

Phase 4 production guidance is available on the Film Permit website. All production activity, whether it requires a Film Permit or not, must comply with New York Forward Industry Guidance.

For more information see, please refer to the State Department of Health’s Interim Guidance for Media Production During the COVID-19 Public Health Emergency. Please review the guidelines and FAQ before submitting permit applications. The Film Office is operating remotely, so please allow additional time for Film Permit processing.

The above paragraphs contain links to the various FAQ – just mouse over the relevant words.

Nikon to Stop Making Cameras in Japan

Nikon has fallen on hard times as of late as its camera sales have cratered, and now there’s a new indicator of how dire its financial situation is: the company is reportedly pulling the plug on making cameras in Japan after over 70 years of doing so.

To read the full article on Petapixel’s site, click here.

NVIDIA Uses AI to Slash Bandwidth on Video Calls

NVIDIA Research has invented a way to use AI to dramatically reduce video call bandwidth while simultaneously improving quality

What the researchers have achieved has remarkable results: by replacing the traditional h.264 video codec with a neural network, they have managed to reduce the required bandwidth for a video call by an order of magnitude. In one example, the required data rate fell from 97.28 KB/frame to a measly 0.1165 KB/frame – a reduction to 0.1% of required bandwidth.

To read the rest of this article on Petapixel, click this link.

 

 

 

Union Health Plan Dodges Film Workers’ Suit Over Virus Relief

Law360 (October 9, 2020, 5:22 PM EDT) — The Motion Picture Industry Health Plan’s board can’t be sued under ERISA for allegedly flouting its duties when it relaxed plan rules in response to COVID-19, a California federal judge has ruled, nixing a proposed class action filed by two cinematographers who still couldn’t qualify for benefits.

In an order entered Thursday, U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner granted the board of directors’ motion to dismiss Greg Endries and Dee Nichols’ Employee Retirement Income Security Act suit accusing board members of breaching their duty to treat all plan participants fairly.

Endries and Nichols, members of Local 600 of the International Cinematographers Guild, said in July that the board left them and others “out in the cold” in its attempts to address the problems COVID-19 caused for plan participants.

But Judge Klausner agreed with the board’s contention that the case, which alleged a fiduciary breach, should be tossed because plan administrators don’t act as fiduciaries when they amend health care plans.

Read the full article on the Law360 site by clicking here.

Russo Brothers Received Close to $50 Million From Saudi Bank

Anthony Russo and Joseph Russo photographed at the PMC Studio in Los Angeles for the Variety Playback Podcast.

The Russo brothers, directors of the all-time top grossing film “Avengers: Endgame,” quietly secured a roughly $50 million cash infusion for their production company AGBO from Saudi Arabia earlier this year, multiple sources tell Variety.

In a deal brokered and closed at the beginning of the pandemic, the Russos received the investment from an undisclosed Saudi bank in exchange for a minority stake in the brothers’ Los Angeles-based shop.

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