http://areweshootingyet.net/

How to organize your video editing workflow with Richard...

Sat, 05 May 2012 14:30:00 -0400

How to organize your video editing workflow with Richard Harrington. This is a very useful video tutorial of using bins and comments in your Non-linear editing software. Making your editing session a very organized and hassle free.

Enjoy!

Caption Contest!! We all have seen this image of Dan Chung from...

Sat, 28 Apr 2012 09:24:35 -0400

Caption Contest!!

We all have seen this image of Dan Chung from DSLR News Shooter. This is a priceless screen capture with the new Canon EOS-1D C. Give us something funny about Dan’s reaction towards the price-tag of this new camera.

10% off for Any Item in Our Store

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:48:44 -0400

10% off for Any Item in Our Store:

Get our buttons, and pre-order our shirts and stickers with a 10% off!

Pre-order your Very Own BMD Cinema Camera

Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:33:00 -0400

Pre-order your Very Own BMD Cinema Camera:

You can pre-order the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera through Hotrod Cameras.

***EXCLUSIVE PRE-ORDER OFFER from Hot Rod Cameras pre-order you camera by May 5, 2012 and we’ll email you a coupon code good for a 25% discount off of our new lightweight interchangeable battery solution for the Blackmagic Cinema Camera- a value of $150! We will be posting full details of the battery system in the coming weeks, you will not be disappointed.

This is a worry free deposit. You can reserve your camera now for only $1 plus the actual cost of shipping! You may also cancel your deposit before paying the balance of your order (or the camera arrives at our warehouse) and receive a 100% refund. We will also honor any price decrease by Blackmagic between the time of your pre-release deposit and the ship date!

We expect to be one of the first dealers with cameras in stock. Official ship date from the factory is “late July”, 2012.

Rocking like Daniel Peters! The Vimeo Interview.

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 12:14:00 -0400

Daniel Peters, is a fellow freelance filmmaker based in the U.K. He might look like a rockstar, and in part you’d be right. Daniel creates music videos like a rock legend and has over 20 music videos under his belt. Also, he has shot and edited documentaries and wedding videos. We are going to explore his methods of pre-production, production, his influences, and his inspirations as a filmmaker.
How did Daniel catch our eyes at AWSY? He shot directed and edited an experimental video called Bertie & Princess. The video beautifully showcases the work of a stable and the majestic nature of horse riding. He caught our eyes again with his latest work with the band Hello Lazarus- X marks. There’s no way to describe this music video. Therefore, we are posting it here! We hope that you’ll enjoy it as we did.

Mr. Peters, has accepted to be interviewed by the AWSY team on Vimeo. #AREWESHOOTINGYET Vimeo INTERVIEW:

We interviewed Daniel Peters through Vimeo.

Hello, Daniel!

Thanks for giving me the opportunity to talk to you and accepting the interview.

Q: How did you find your next project? A: I’ve got to the point where clients contact me regarding music videos/weddings etc.
Anything different that I want to endeavor in, I contact companies discussing ideas, projects.

Q: Tell us how is your average day of pre-production? A: My usual Pre-production depends on the project. First thing is usually typical-location hunting, but for many bands this is tricky as most bands can’t afford location fees which makes my job a lot harder…as i think location is key when it comes to any project. Then if anything in the treatment requires any effects, I usually test that out first with stand ins, etc., to make sure it works smoothly…so that way i don’t shoot myself in the foot on delivery time.

Q: How do you meet such talented bands and what is your work ethic with them or any other client? A: Sometimes through my brothers recording studio (Anemic Studios) or from bands spreading the word on my work. My work ethic is usually the same with everyone…until I hear the song, i can vision the location, story, feel etc. Then I discuss my vision and the band usually likes it, few changes might happen here and there, due to time, location, actors or just simple story changes. But if i don’t feel for the song, I won’t do the project. It will just hurt me more than if I shot it for the money…if my heart isn’t in it I won’t do it. Been there and done that and…well it simply didn’t come out good.

Q: How do you fight with writer’s block? Because my writer’s block is kicking my ass for months now. A: Writer’s block is a bitch. I’m a big tv/drama fan so most of my inspiration comes from that and great photography…rather than other music video pieces.

Q: How do you manage to make your digital footage look and feel organic? Especially with your latest work with Hello Lazarus. A: I’m glad you said that. There are so many people shooting now that everything looks the same so, I always try my best to make my work … well look like my work. To be honest, anyone can shoot music videos, but I want to have a certain style with mine. For the Hello Lazarus one, they actually didn’t like the idea at first, so I had to do a lot of convincing which makes that project even more satisfying for how it came out. Im a big fan of film, the look of shows like, true blood, american horror story… so I try my best to copy that look with whatever I’m shooting on, which is usually cheap digital cameras haha. Funny enough, nearly that whole video was shot with a cheap Sony Nex5n.

Q: As a musician yourself do you feel like you have an advantage in the editing room?A: Def not….but my way of editing i do just as they way i shoot. If I’m not feeling the song, I won’t edit it…so I usually edit the video straight away as I am completely in that vibe/zone of that style. I hope a lot of my edits look different too and editing is def another form of art. A great cinematographer can shoot something amazing and beautiful but an editor…can fuck that up in seconds, Ha!

Q: Which is your favorite gear so far? A: Def the Red Scarlet but i wouldn’t be able to appreciate it if I didn’t start off shooting the way I did. I started with a Panasonic HVX 200 with a shoot35 adapter, then moved over to the Canon 5DMKII and here I am now with the scarlet…

Q: Tell us about your production workflow?A: My production workflow with bands tend to be a little similar I usually start off shooting the wides, as this warms up the band and they tend to not feel too awkward as I’m not right in their face yet with the camera.

Q: What would be your dream-gear? A: I think my only dream gear would be the phantom camera… other than that, i’d much rather have great actors and access to amazing locations.

Q: Do you have a new project in mind or in pre-production do you want to share with us? A: I’ve been writing and trying to start shooting my web series that would air an 1hr episode every 2 weeks, but getting the budget for actors/locations has been really tricky. Thats all I can share on that, Ha!

Q: Was there ever a project that turned into a nightmare? What did you do to keep from happening again?
Ha definitely… a band changed their mind on the location and said were nearly here now and we’ll just shoot it at your studio. I said no, they showed up anyways…discussed a few things, pretty had to set up and shoot a music video in 2-3 hours… no names mentioned, sorry, Ha!

Want to learn more about Daniel then visit danielpeters.org for more music videos and follow him on Twitter @danielpetersdop.

2012 NAB convention gave us new gears and the new Canon EOS-1D C...

Fri, 20 Apr 2012 10:18:00 -0400

2012 NAB convention gave us new gears and the new Canon EOS-1D C the HDSLR that shoots 4k. The bad news is we do not have that kind of budget to make a reasonable purchase for the C-series. However, there’s a new camera in town that cost less than the canon 5D markiii. Blackmagic-Design, the creators of Davinci Resolve gave us a great surprise! A new independent filmmaker budget friendly digital cinema camera.

What is so special about this camera? Let me give you a small rundown of it’s specs:

Micro 4/3 sensor
RAW 2.5k
Internal slate
CinemaDNG and Pro-Res format.

Here is a video with the full demonstration of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera.

Want to learn more about this camera? Follow this link with the Q&A with Director of Sales Simon Westland.

This is the Blackmagic Cinema Camera’s graded screen grab....

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 18:23:24 -0400

This is the Blackmagic Cinema Camera’s graded screen grab. Pretty interesting grading and option that you can obtain with this new heartthrob device.

We do want to see actual footage of this new camera.

YouTube Now Lets Video Creators Solicit Pledges For Kickstarter Projects

Thu, 19 Apr 2012 11:46:00 -0400

YouTube Now Lets Video Creators Solicit Pledges For Kickstarter Projects:

kickstarter:

Pretty cool things happening over here, guys!

Techcrunch:

Google is announcing this morning that YouTube creators can now link their videos to projects onKickstarter and Indiegogo. The company says that these crowd-sourced fundraising platforms were already being used by many YouTube creators, so it wanted to make it easier for those folks to connect their YouTube viewers to their project’s page.

Wow! This could actually really help filmmakers and web series creators to finance their endeavor on YouTube. Interested? Click on the title for more information.

2012 Vimeo Festival+Awards Votes are Now Open

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 09:54:00 -0400

2012 Vimeo Festival+Awards Votes are Now Open:

It’s that time of the year! Where the best online videos compete for your vote! Help the Vimeo staff and this year judges by signing in and watch each categories and then vote.

The Vimeo Festival will take place on June 7-9 in New York City. Judges have selected finalists for 13 video categories—the public is now invited to vote for their favorites, through April 30. Winners will be announced at the award show at the NYU Skirball Center on June 7. The Vimeo Festival will follow, at various venues in New York City, June 8-9.

There’s only one vote for each categories. Just sit back and enjoy the best videos on the internet.

Have you ever wonder on how to make a genuine and effective...

Tue, 17 Apr 2012 09:39:21 -0400

Have you ever wonder on how to make a genuine and effective pitch for film or television? Well look no further we got the perfect example from Jim Henson’s epic pitch for his Muppet Show.

Re-writes made by Fans (The Future of Storytelling has Arrived)

Fri, 06 Apr 2012 19:32:09 -0400

From games to feature films are going through major re-writes. Fans around the globe are demanding a new ending to this year “Blockbuster” game Mass Effect 3. Also, they are stunned by Michael Bay’s presentation about his next cinematic endeavor Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (PST… there are not mutants anymore… they are aliens). Is this a new wave that can affect filmmaking, gaming, comics, and other popular media?

This is a very insightful article about how much fans can and cannot affect your piece, in both good and bad ways. Should you listen to your audience (if you have a popular property in your hands)

– I actually contend that commercial storytelling across all media should increasingly incorporate community feedback as an essential element in a project’s success. Fan influence might alter a project by 5% or 60%. It’s all in the balance of how fan feedback is utilized in the process.

Read more about it at deviantart. Join this discussion with other artists and read quotes from popular writers in the industry of comics, film, and video games.

Check out this great DIY video mini camera jib crane that can...

Sun, 01 Apr 2012 08:45:02 -0400

Check out this great DIY video mini camera jib crane that can cost you around $25! Here is a small quote from oliviatech.com:

With basic angle aluminum and square tubing, we created this simple DIY Mini Camera Jib / Crane. It’s for great for taking out small cameras, and since the Jib itself is very light, small tripods can be used for support. We used a GH2 camera, but it can also be used with small Sony NEX5n or NEX-7 cameras.

Read more about it @ http://oliviatech.com/how-to-make-a-diy-camera-jib .

Screenwriting Tip #932

Wed, 14 Mar 2012 08:20:42 -0400

celtx:

I needed this reminder today.

screenwritingtips:

Subtext is good, but allow your script a few moments of raw emotion. Characters under extreme pressure will eventually crack and let slip what they’re really feeling.

Imagine a digital camera that can record 2k with a 16mm sensor....

Tue, 13 Mar 2012 11:54:00 -0400

Imagine a digital camera that can record 2k with a 16mm sensor. Also, it can shoot it’s video with no pesky artifacts and no annoying compressions that most of our DSLRs do give. We are talking about the new D16 Bolex.

Here is a quote from Digital Bolex’s goal:

Once upon a time, motion picture cameras that created high-quality images were affordable for all filmmakers on any budget. Consumer 8mm and 16mm cameras like the original Bolex shot footage that could be projected on any movie theater screen.

In today’s digital market, ‘affordable’ and ‘consumer’ have become synonymous with ‘low-quality’ — but it doesn’t have to be that way. Introducing the Digital Bolex D16, the first digital cinema camera to shoot RAW at a price anyone can afford.

How affordable would this camera be? $3330 (2500 if you pre-order it through their kickstarter campaign) we can watch One Small Step trailer which movie was shot entirely with the D16 camera.

Want to read the camera’s spec then download it here.

Dreamy… now we are going to be backing this project. We want to see more from their developer team and their camera.

CELTX Seeds is Back!

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 19:31:26 -0500

Is time to write your new script and get backed up by the people from Celtx. The Celtx Seeds program is back again!!

These are the rules for the Seeds program from their website:

We want to see your single best storytelling video of 15 minutes or less.

If you’re an individual or a team, share it with seeds@celtx.comthrough your Celtx account. If you’re entering on behalf of a school share it with schoolseeds@celtx.com.

That’s all you need do. There’s no entry fee and it’s open to all Celtx account holders.

The deadline for sharing is midnight, 15 April 2012. Selected creators/videos will be announced on or before 30 April 2012.

This is how they’ll be giving away their grant:

10 x $2,000 grants for individuals or teams

5 x $1,000 grants for schools (grade school to high school)

All selected storytellers and projects receive promotion through Celtx networks on YouTube, Facebook, Vimeo & Google+.

Check them out here!

photojojo: What is ISO exactly? And where does camera noise...

Sat, 03 Mar 2012 09:02:56 -0500

photojojo:

What *is* ISO exactly? And where does camera noise come from, anyway?

Dylan Bennett (a real smart guy) explains it all in this video about digital sensors and how light works.

What *is* ISO, Really?

This is the first look on Novacut’s real time non-linear...

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:00:17 -0500

This is the first look on Novacut’s real time non-linear editing collaboration feature. It looks promising. Let’s see what the future will hold for Novacut.

The idea is that when you first create a slice, it doesn’t have to go anywhere yet, it can just hang out in the doodle area. Or if you want to remove a slice from the sequence, just drag it back into the doodle area… that way you can remove a slice from the sequence without loosing that slice. I really wished we could have gotten this all finished for the release because I’m so excited for people to try it. Next month!

This can bring us closer to the final product! Let’s download Novacut and help it’s developers to give as many feedback as an editor. Your opinion will shape up this non-linear software. Join their group at Vimeo Novacut Artist Diaries and be part of the development of this software.

Fountain.io an Universal Screenwriting Tool/Markup

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 08:13:00 -0500

Fountain is brought us by these great minds and developers like; John August, NimaYousefi and Stu Maschwitz. What is fountain? Fountain is a syntax that can be written on any computer Linux, PC, and MAC. Also, this syntax will allow you to write your screenplay anywhere on any web based apps that can edit text files!

With fountain you can write and collaborate in real time with your writing team through Google Docs and export it as a text file and import it to Final Draft, Screenwriter, Celtx, and Scrivener.

This is great news for those screenwriter out there trying to find ways to write a screenplay in a non-final draft or celtx computer or tablet. Watch this video example for the Google Docs workflow of fountain. There’s no downloading or coding required!

Learn more about Fountain.

Three more days left to submit! Submissions close February 20,...

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 06:53:14 -0500

Three more days left to submit!

Submissions close February 20, which means you have just ~~one week left~~ (actually three more days) to share your best work in one or more of 13 categories. There are categories for everyone, and you don’t have to be a professional filmmaker to show us your stuff.

New Judges on board that includes; James Franco, Aziz Ansari, Lucy Walker, Travis Rice, and Colin Greenwood.

Don’t forget! As a Vimeo Plus account holder you get a great discount for submission!

The Canon 4k Patent

Sat, 04 Feb 2012 16:48:22 -0500

The Canon 4k Patent:

Cannon has recently filed a new patent titled “Recording successive frames of raw sensor data depicting a moving scene”. The process will allow faster recording of 4K high-resolution frames at about the speed of 2K resolution. Essentially, the method captures a high-resolution frame followed by a low resolution frame. Because successive frames are very similar the lower resolution frame can be restored later to full resolution. During the video recording there is less raw data for the camera to process and store. Thus the higher resolution videos take less space and time to store in the camera. When transferred to a computer the frames are algorithmically rendered at the higher resolution.

Read more of their patent by clicking at the title!