Tyler Ginter

Had an amazing shoot today in Nashville filming one of the...

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 00:00:00 -0500

Had an amazing shoot today in Nashville filming one of the world’s biggest country musicians for Pennzoil. We brought on our talented and genius friends from Snaproll Media to fly their custom remote control helicopter with the Red Epic. Incredible crew including Joey L, Jonathan Bregel, Khalid Mohtaseb, Joe Sciacca, and Jeff Levine.

Lighting the inside of the Tiffany & Company NYC main store...

Sun, 29 Jan 2012 19:42:41 -0500

Lighting the inside of the Tiffany & Company NYC main store from the outside ledge on the 7th floor. Joe Sciacca, Brad Burke, Dan Selby, Khalid Mohtaseb, Tyler Ginter and Bruce Ashley.

"When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt."

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 01:55:24 -0500

“When your work speaks for itself, don’t interrupt.”

- Henry J. Kaiser

Incredible day filming Kyle Maynard w/ Khalid...

Mon, 19 Dec 2011 18:46:00 -0500

Incredible day filming Kyle Maynard w/ Khalid Mohtaseb, Jonathan Bregel, Tyler Ginter,Dan Selby, Dan Arruda, Dan Adams, Joe Sciacca and Joey Leonardo for ESPN Films. Kyle is preparing to climb Mount Kilimanjaro. He is an inspirational and amazing man! Find out more about Mission Kilimanjaro!

Motion Control Timelapse with The Mill

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

I wrapped an incredible project working with The Mill, Citibank and American Airlines a few months ago. Rama Allen directed the project and he has always been a true inspiration and is an incredible director. We filmed in some amazing locations to include New York City, Paris, and Barcelona using the Kessler Crane Shuttle Pod Motion Control System. The final display spans 40 High Definition screens in JFK Airport.

"And We’re Lit"

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 00:00:00 -0500

“And We’re Lit”

- Khalid Mohtaseb

Nothing better than telling a great story while working with an...

Sun, 06 Nov 2011 14:37:34 -0500

Nothing better than telling a great story while working with an incredible team @joeyldotcom @KhalidMohtaseb & @JonathanBregel using Red Epic and @KesslerCrane ShuttlePod

"Always & never are two words you always have to remember never to say"

Sat, 22 Oct 2011 14:57:00 -0400

“Always & never are two words you always have to remember never to say”

- Wendell Johnson

Masters in Motion

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 23:24:00 -0400

Honored to be a part of Masters in Motion from November 14-16 in Austin, Texas with my best friends Jonathan Bregel and Khalid Mohtaseb.

I am convinced that the secret to great filmmaking is to surround yourself with GREAT people every single day! I’m excited to share with and learn from some of the most creative and passionate filmmakers in the industry to include Vincent Laforet, Philip Bloom, Tom Guilmette and the entire lineup of talented instructors this year.

I’m also really looking forward to hanging out with all the awesome sponsors to include Eric Kessler from Kessler Crane, Mike Sutton from Rule Boston Camera, and the Zacuto team.

Let me know if you plan on coming. I can’t wait to nerd out and learn with everyone!

What an incredible man! You must watch and listen to this. The...

Sun, 16 Oct 2011 19:07:00 -0400

What an incredible man! You must watch and listen to this. The entire score is Apple sounds :)

That’s a wrap! Insane time filming in Poland with the A...

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 00:00:00 -0400

That’s a wrap! Insane time filming in Poland with the A TEAM! Tyler Ginter, Khalid Mohtaseb Jon Bregel Piotr Laberchek and Joe Sciacca

Filming Time Lapse for “The Art of Flight”

Thu, 19 May 2011 00:00:00 -0400

I was recently given the opportunity to film Motion Control Time Lapse for 12 days in Aspen, Colorado for the incredible upcoming snowboard film “The Art of Flight.” Director/Cinematographer Curt Morgan has been working on this film for over two years now. He is really pushing the bar to the next level and I can’t wait to see the final film which premieres on September 7th in New York City at the Beacon Theatre. Click here to order your tickets online!

I want to give a very special thanks to Eric Kessler from Kessler Crane for engineering the ShuttlePod Motion Control System. I used 20 feet of track for the night Astro shot seen in the trailer. It took over 6 hours to complete the move through the halfpipe. You can learn about my Astro Timelapse workflow here.

Thanks again to Curt, Chad, Greg, Bungie and the rest of the Brain Farm crew, the entire staff at Aspen Snowmass, and all the insanely talented athletes to include Travis Rice and Scottie Lago. I also got to meet the very talented and brilliant RC Helicopter dudes from SnapRoll Media who fly their Red Epic around the sky. SnapRoll Media and my awesome friends at Next Level Pictures have been collaborating on a few projects so stay tuned for more on that!

I had a ton of fun with everyone and made some great memories (especially with Greg and Bungie trying to get hundreds of pounds of gear up the mountain in fresh powder on that damn snowmobile…. Greg, you are the MAN!!!)

There is a reason why this film is going to look like something you’ve never seen before and that’s because all the athletes and the entire crew kills it every day filming incredible footage in some of the most remote locations around the world. They also have a team that works hard, works together and are passionate about great filmmaking. Brain Farm Digital Cinema will go to great lengths to get the shot and tell a great story!

BrainFarm recently conducted an interview with me on their blog. Please read about it here: Motion Timelapse - The Art of Flight

Taylor Swift "Sparks Fly"

Fri, 01 Apr 2011 00:00:00 -0400

Jon Bregel and I collaborated with director Christian Lamb over a two month period to produce and film Taylor Swift’s new music video for Sparks Fly. We used the Sony F3, Phantom Flex, Red Epic, RC Helicopter and Motion Control Timelapse to pull off the shots seen in the video. Special thanks to SnapRoll Media who brought their incredible RC Helicopter out to the tour. We earned a ton of respect for Taylor and her entire crew who work countless hours each and every day to support thousands of fans in sold out arenas and stadiums around the world. If you ever have the opportunity to travel on tour I highly recommend it! Music video by Taylor Swift performing Sparks Fly. © 2011 Big Machine Records, LLC.

The Power of Collaborative Filmmaking

Sat, 19 Feb 2011 00:00:00 -0500

Things have been incredibly busy on the set of “Snow Guardians” over the past two weeks. The entire crew has been hard at work developing the story by gathering close to 16 hours of rescue ski patroller, avalanche scientist, and search and rescue interviews at Bridger Bowl and Yellowstone Club ski resorts.

Moreover, the entire crew, to include CamBlock experts Aaron Caughran and Jason Hess, filmed breathtaking sunrise, sunset and astro motion control timelapses, GoPro fresh powder ski chase camera footage and hours of breathtaking vistas shot on Canon HDSLRs with Kessler Cinesliders in the beautiful Montana Rocky Mountains. Everyone on the crew has pulled together to make the most of each day and contribute their time and energy to tell an incredible story.

“Snow Guardians” is a powerful and visual story focused on avalanche awareness and snow sport safety which highlights brave rescue ski patrollers who put their lives on the line each and every day to keep the mountain safe for millions of people around the world. An avalanche can bury you alive in less than 10 seconds and leave you unconscious due to lack of oxygen. They are an extremely powerful force of nature. If you enjoy adventurous mountain sports but aren’t educated on avalanches and don’t take them seriously then you are putting your life in great danger. Avalanche scientists, search and rescue experts, and rescue ski patrollers will educate you on how to plan for the worst and how to save your life if you are caught in an avalanche. Moreover, these experts will demonstrate what steps are taken behind the scenes to keep you and your family safe.

I want to stress the importance of storytelling in this blog post. Telling a story that hasn’t been told before is always a challenge but it’s so important that everyone on the crew is on the same page before filming begins. During the very first crew meeting everyone agreed that we needed to focus on telling a unique and powerful story that has never been told before and use all the incredible gear to enhance the story instead of using the gear just because we had access to it. Now, every producer, director, DP and crew will say it’s all about the story, it’s all about the story, it’s all about the story. However, very quickly big budget productions can take a wrong turn and focus on money/budget, overused gimmicky techniques or force the crew into meeting unrealistic deadlines and settling with less than perfect locations/shots that aren’t up to par with the Director and/or DPs vision for the film. In all these situations you sacrifice the story for something else that is less important. Patience and perfection is key! This is how the Collaborative Film crew is able to shine! The schedule has been flexible and creative freedom is given to every single member of the team. The entire crew brings their creativity, expertise and talent to the table and openly shares their tricks for everyone to learn. In addition, any crew member can play the role of any position at any time. One day you might be helping produce and coordinating logistics/scheduling and the next day you could be directing or DPing a sequence, shooting timelapse, editing footage, photographing behind the scenes, recording audio, interviewing a patroller, and the list goes on and on.

This unique way filmmaking can be very challenging at times since the crew has to wear so many hats. With great communication and a passion to make the story unique, everyone on the crew has risen to this challenge and made the most out of every single day. This goes against a typical structured set and can ONLY work if you have the right type of people who will pull together to make the film great. The best motivation for empowering every last person of a team can be found by studying how Pixar operates. Ed Catmull describes great people being much more important than great ideas in his powerful and inspirational “Keep Your Crises Small” speech that he presented to the Stanford Business School. The Collaborative Film crew agrees 100 percent with Ed Catmull. It’s all about the people you surround yourself with and we have been so lucky to have an incredible crew with so many different talents and so much passion. It’s important to note that every single crew member has volunteered their time and talent to be a part of this project. None of the crew is getting paid a day rate and they all paid their way out to Montana to be part of this film. This demonstrates the passion in each and every crew member who volunteered their time to be here. Each of our crew members in one way or another is personally connected to this story and connected through the power of social media to be a part of something bigger than themselves. Some crew members have always loved ski/snowboard films, some grew up and lived their childhood skiing in the Montana mountains, and one crew member was actually involved in an avalanche. This type of filmmaking is so different than traditional filmmaking which can be detrimental to creativity when all you worry about is time and money. There is something much more powerful than time and money when you take creative and passionate human beings and put them together in one location and let them run free with their ideas. This is the true power behind Collaborative Filmmaking!

So with all this freedom how does the crew stay on track? Each night there is a production meeting and the crew goes over the footage, interviews, and what each crew member did to contribute to the film. The crew also gives one another feedback on what went right and what went horribly wrong. We learn from each others mistakes, listen to one another and make adjustments so the next day goes smoother. We also discuss in detail what we plan to do the next day and go over what teams will cover what shots in order to stick to the production schedule. We keep the meetings short and empower everyone that is involved. We challenge one another to step up our game and push the bar to the next level. Most importantly we have fun and crack jokes with one another often through hashtags on Twitter. This concept of collaboration and creative freedom is incredibly powerful. I will walk you through a real world example of why this type of filmmaking is so different.

This week we had an incredible opportunity to film at the Yellowstone Club. We want to thank everyone at the Yellowstone Club for being so cooperative and helpful with anything we needed. Their entire staff and all their ski patrollers were extremely professional and went out of their way to help coordinate and schedule any shot or interview we needed. So, back to the benefits of a Collaborative Film. On Wednesday we scheduled to shoot the open to the film. The original plan that we had talked about for several weeks was to film a wake up scene. As we got closer and closer to the actual day of filming several crew member including Brad Burke,Chris Dowsett and Jim Geduldick voiced their concerns about doing yet another wake up scene just like every other ski/snowboard film… Regardless, we were on a time crunch and we had already coordinated with a rescue ski patroller who was volunteering 8 hours on his day off to film the wake up scene in his house. We had it all planned out and ready to go but we were missing one important thing, a recon of his house. When Tyler Ginter, Jon Bregel, Khalid Mohtaseb, Brad Burke and James Douglas Shields showed up at the rescue ski patroller’s house the night before the shoot, the house didn’t fit the look of the rest of the film and DPs Jon and Khalid did not want to force this location and were quickly losing motivation.

Now under normal conditions any other producer would have said to make it happen and stick to the plan. However, everyone talked to the director and producer, Carson Ganer, and we all agreed that the opening needed a fresh new look and the wake up scene needed ditched. At this point it was almost 11pm on Tuesday night and we were running out of time to film the opening scene at the Yellowstone Club. We all knew we needed to make the most out of Wednesday but we didn’t know how. So, we all got together and did a brain dump of ideas to figure out how to make the story fit together. Once again, major focus on storytelling! That night everyone agreed that we could at least film a ski patrol reenactment as they rescue a victim with a broken leg. Khalid would use his experience as DP on the ABC Pilot “Final Witness” to tell the story and get the shots. Everyone went to bed feeling better that we wouldn’t have to film the wake up scene but we were all still unsure of how the next day would unfold. Tyler woke up at around 5:30 AM the next morning with an idea. He wanted to open the film with a reenactment like the crew decided on the night before. But instead of a broken leg, he thought it would fit the story better if the crew filmed an avalanche rescue with an actually survivor who was buried 1 meter deep in an avalanche several years prior. He took thorough notes, created a shot list, put together a schedule for the day and woke up James at 6:45 AM to go to the 7:30 AM ski patrol meeting to brief the plan and coordinate the scene for later that day. The ski patrollers helped Tyler and James find the perfect location to film and provided all the resources they needed. Tyler then coordianted with the survivor who luckily agreed last minute to be completely buried (again) in a reenactment scene. In less than 3 hours of planning and coordination and 4 hours of intense filming, the Collaborative Film crew completed a powerful opening to the film. This would have been almost impossible to pull off in such a short amount of time with a conventional/structured film crew.

So to sum things up, we may have a ton of great gear out here (we have an in-depth gear overview post coming in a few days covering the gear we have been using on the Collaborative Film set) but gear can only get you so far. It’s so important to focus on the story and have a strong crew to make that story come to life. Speaking of the story, we had the rare opportunity of sitting down with legendary filmmaker Warren Miller a few days ago at his home in Yellowstone Club. We told Warren about our film and he gave us some advice. He told Brad, Khalid, James and myself to keep it simple and to tell a story. He said that there are far too many ski/snowboard films these days that have no plot. We took that to heart and Warren seemed to think we were on the right track! It was such an honor to meet Warren, he is such a great guy.

We have a lot left to film so this week is going to be another busy week. We are already booked solid through the end of the month to film interviews with avalanche science experts, rescue ski patrol dog handlers, and search and rescue helicopter pilots. The second group of filmmakers will be out this week to include Pulitzer Prize winner and Hollywood filmmaker Vincent Laforet, high mountain cameraman, Colin Witherill, who was an intern for Warren Miller and who is making a second trip back after he did an incredible job after only a few days on set before he had to go back to work on another job, Devon Boulton-Mills, friend of Chris, is a freelance adventure photographer who will be driving down from Canada this week, and several other expert filmmakers who are on their way. Keep in mind if you’re a filmmaker, editor, VFX guru, motion graphic artist, etc. and you’re passionate about filmmaking and interested in helping out please Contact Us. It’s going to be another amazing week!

Please keep checking for updates on the Collaborative Film website and follow @F9photo and the entire crew on Twitter for the latest updates on the film. Thanks so much to our incredible crew, all our amazing sponsors, and anyone out there who is reading this blog and supporting the project. Special thanks to Chris for all the behind the scenes photos.

Filming Astro Time Lapse with Tom Lowe

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 00:00:00 -0400

I was fortunate enough to spend a week traveling across Utah and Arizona with Tom Lowe and Dustin Kukuk last month. While I was there, we successfully filmed two shots that made it into Tom’s insane new trailer “Rapture” (shown above). ”Rapture” includes never before seen production footage that he filmed over the summer for his debut film “Timescapes.” I am honored to be a very small part of this revolutionary project!

Quick note, if you don’t follow Dustin Kukuk on Twitter then you are missing out. He may only be 21 years old, but he is a hard working, passionate, and experienced filmmaker that is making a huge name for himself!

I learned so much about time lapse in the short amount of time I spent with Tom and Dustin. Yes, I knew the basics of time lapse after reading tons of posts on Tom’s forum at timescapes.org and from doing my own research, training, and tests at Yellowstone for my FXPHD DOP211 Course and from the time lapse below that I filmed in Shenandoah, Va. However, the real world experience and hands on training that Tom was willing to share with me was invaluable.

Over the past year I have been working on a time lapse checklist and I want to share it with you. There are so many steps to properly setup a time lapse that I had to start writing them all down so I wouldn’t forget anything myself. This list changes almost every time I do another timelapse. There is no perfect formula to get incredible shots like Tom’s other than practice, practice, and more practice. So please don’t expect this checklist or any of my advise to turn you into a pro. Use the tips that are helpful and disregard those that aren’t!

To keep this checklist up to date at all times, I use Google Tasks. I then sync the cloud data to my iPhone and iPad using GeeTasks. This combination is unstoppable because GeeTasks has an offline editing mode. Therefore if I’m out in a remote location and need to make a change to my checklist, create a note to myself, or add a piece of gear I want to do more research on later, I can easily type it in on the go. The next time I have internet connection, GeeTasks will automatically sync that data back up to the cloud so I can access it anywhere at anytime. I won’t get into a long discussion about using Google Mail, Google Calendar, Google Reader, Google Docs, Google Voice, etc. but please keep in mind these are productivity tools that will make your life a million times easier.

One last thing before we get to the checklist… you will need to buy an intervalometer! Now you could go all out and buy the Canon Timer Remote Controller TC-80N3 for $144.95 or you could save yourself some serious cash and order this $20 version on Amazon. I ordered 3 of the these cheaper versions and they are an exact replica of the Canon model and work perfectly. It might take up to 3 weeks to receive the LinkDelight version but it’s well worth the wait in my opinion. Other than Interval Mode and Long Exposure Mode, everything else can be zeroed out.

Please download the Canon intervalometer user manual to learn more about the other modes/features.

With that said, back to the list… Please keep in mind that these are rough notes and most are just random thoughts I type in as I learn something new so please don’t expect complete sentences. Therefore, if anything doesn’t make sense feel free to ask!

Set lens to manual focus
Put lens hood on to prevent lens flares
Disable IS on lens if using a tripod
Set camera to manual mode for intervals of 2 seconds or less. Bulb if greater than 2 seconds. Rule is to do around 30 seconds in long mode at 2 seconds in interval mode for astro (long mode is for long exposure)
Use Manual Mode at all times other than when in Bulb mode. If you have to use AV or TV modes, make sure you are set to evaluative metering – Preferably use AV mode as TV causes more flicker
Focus Lens using + button on Primary Subject (use a flashlight to shine on subject to lock in focus at night)
Study the moon paths and moon phases for best light from the best direction for astro
White Balance Set to Manual and don’t Change Throughout the Timelapse!!! (Auto White Balance makes it impossible to color correct unless you are filming in rapidly changing lighting conditions)
Set to RAW!!! – Unless you are doing a quick and dirty timelapse and then you can shoot SRAW or JPEG
Auto reset file number so when you format your card it resets the count to 1 (helps in post)
Set F-Stop to around F3.2 or F4 to avoid flicker and for a sharper image. Set to wide open or 2.8 for astro or for a DOF effect.
ISO not to exceed 3200 on a 5DMKII
Set desired shutter speed for the effect you want (motion blur or not) Keep in mind the shutter speed has to be faster than the interval unless in bulb mode which will dictate how long the shutter is open
Set camera to Live View to determine your framing, exposure and focus using the zoom button – Set to exposure simulation (not movie mode) so you can adjust the shutter slower than 1/24th
Keep camera in Live View the whole timelapse so the mirror will stay locked up. Drains more battery but less headache than using mirror lockup which requires you to calculate the intervals differently since the first interval rotation will lock the mirror up and the second interval rotation will take the picture calculating the intervals. Important for the mirror to be locked up to avoid it from causing blur in a long exposure
Zero out the intervalometer in all modes and then set the interval mode to desired time. (bulb is 2 seconds interval / 30 seconds in long mode for Astro shots) otherwise just set the interval only if using Manual mode
Start a test Record for about 5-10 shots and review it using the wheel on the back to get a quick preview of the shots in succession
Double check framing, focus and or exposure one last time if needed
Format CF Card to get rid of all the test shots
Make sure batteries are still fully charged
Start recording the final time lapse
Come back in 8-12 hours (if doing an astro shot) and pray that you nailed the shot!

I say the very last line of my timelapse checklist in all seriousness because there are SO many things that could go wrong while executing a time lapse. Your batteries could die, the CF card could crash or fill up, wind could knock over your rig, a bug could fly onto your lens, your intervalometer battery could die, and this list goes on and on. Worst of all, if something does happen to go wrong, you just wasted an entire day setting up and recording a single astro shot that can no longer be used… Also, please keep in mind that my checklist only covers static timelaspe shots unlike Tom Lowe who is pushing the bar with 3-axis motion control shots!!! Now if there weren’t enough factors that could already fail on a static shot, just imagine trying to pull off a 3-axis (dolly, pan, and tilt) motion control move.

With that said, Tom is using some extremely reliable and state of the art gear from Kessler Crane and CamBlock. This equipment and the feedback Tom is providing is pushing the boundaries of time lapse to a whole new level. For example, Eric Kessler is working with Tom Lowe to develop a state-of-the-art motion control 8-foot Kessler Crane with Shuttle Pod motor attachment. I helped set this beast up with Dustin and Tom at “Holy Land.” Here is a behind the scenes time lapse shot I recorded of the crane raising over a 10 hour period.

In addition, I also recorded a behind the scenes timelapse of a motorized Kessler CineSlider at “Natural Bridge.”

Click here to download the original image on Flickr

If you’d like to learn more on the process of setting up motion control timelapse rigs then I highly recommend you check out my friend Tom Guilmette’s awesome tutorial below. This is actually how I first learned how to setup the Kessler Cineslider motion control rig myself. Also, make sure you head over to Tom’s Blog to read more about his incredibly detailed tutorial. Thanks for putting this together for everyone Tom Guilmette!

Also, check out Philip Bloom’s awesome tutorial demonstrating the post production workflow for turning your JPEG sequence into time lapse video. This tutorial was featured on Gizmodo and all you need to get started is Quicktime Player on the Mac. However, if you want to process RAW files you will need either Adobe Lightroom or Adobe After Effects to do advanced color correction on your sequence. Thanks Philip!

So how on earth does Tom Lowe achieve such incredible results time and time again? Well, like I said above, practice makes perfect! However, here are my top five reasons why Tom is so successful at what he does:

Passion – Tom Lowe loves his job. Plain and simple! Not only does he love the art of time lapse and filmmaking, but he also loves sharing his knowledge and teaching others. Some treat their craft as a magic trick that no one else can learn. Tom openly shares every trick in the book!
Perfection – There are plenty of long days and nights spent on a time lapse shot that may never see the light of day. Why? Because if the shot isn’t absolutely perfect, Tom won’t allow it into his film. Tom has been sleeping outside almost every night on a cot in the freezing cold for the past 9 months gathering footage. Only a select few of these shots will make the final cut. He doesn’t get attached to his work because he knows the benefit of saving the very best for his audience.
Professionalism – Tom is a great guy and he takes his work seriously. He is often quoted as the modern master of time lapse. Tom is a true professional not only when it comes to his hard work ethic but also when it comes to the way he mentors and treats others.
Pride – You may not know this, but Tom used to be an enlisted U.S. Army Scout. As a result he served his country in the military and knows a thing or two about discipline, hard work, and taking pride in everything he does.
Patience – Last but definitely not least, this is what sets Tom apart in the film industry. In my opinion, this is the biggest lesson Tom has taught me. Patience is the key to success. Tom could have easily released a sub-standard film by now and it probably would have been pretty damn successful. However, due toEVERY trait I mentioned above, Tom has remained patient which is going to pay off huge in the long run. When Tom’s film is finally released to the public it will be a revolutionary work of art!

Tom is not my only role model who preaches patience. Stu Maschwitz also mentioned the importance of patience during a recent Redcentre podcast. You really have to listen to this short segment from redcentre! Stu’s dialoge with Mike is so important and I know it’s something Tom believes in 100 percent.

Thanks to Jason Wingrove and Mike Seymour for this short audio clip from Red Centre Episode #066:

Click Here to Play Redcentre #066 Excerpt on an iOS Device

I highly recommend you listen to the rest of Red Centre Episode #066! Actually I HIGHLY recommend that you subscribe to this podcast and listen to all of them. Nobody covers the film industry better than Jason and Mike. Other than This Week in Photography, Redcentre is the only other podcast I listen to religiously!

You should also head over to the blog of my good friend Carson from F9photo to read more about his EPICtime spent with Tom, “An EPIC time with Tom Lowe from Timescapes.“

If you’re into time lapse I highly recommend you check out the following filmmakers:
John Stanford – Producer/Composer of “Timescapes”
Jay Burlage (MiLapse)
Dynamic Perception
C. A. Church
Chris Beller
Nilo Recalde
Chris M
Murray Fredericks
Sam O’Hare
599 Productions
Mike Flores
Keith Loutit
Brad Kremer
Tom Guilmette
Vincent Laforet
Godfrey Reggio

Thanks again Tom and Dustin for allowing me to come hang out with you guys! I had an incredible time. You both motivate and inspire me!

Why We Fight

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0500

“Why We Fight” contains never before Released footage of the Afghanistan Special Forces, Strike Force Lion, who describe their own personal reasons why they continue to fight the war against terrorist threats within their country.

All footage was filmed entirely on the Canon 5DMKII by Spc. Matthew Freire during his 9 month combat tour under some of the most dangerous locations and roughest conditions in Afghanistan while supporting the elite United States Special Forces.

Strike Force Lion is a hand selected elite group of Afghan Fighters trained by the United States Special Forces with the purpose of eliminating terrorist threats in the Khowst Province of Afghanistan.

These are strong, brave, and fierce fighters that do everything they can for peace!

Filmed by:
Spc. Matthew Freire

Edited and Color Corrected by:
Spc. Matthew Freire
1st Lt. Tyler Ginter

Tools:
Canon 5DMKII
Canon 24-105mm F4
Canon 50mm F1.4
Final Cut Pro
After Effects
Magic Bullet Looks
Magic Bullet Mojo

All footage has been cleared for Public Release.

55th Combat Camera
“Eyes of the Army – Combat Focused”

180 Degree Shutter – Learn It, Live It, Love It

Sun, 03 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0500

I’ve received a lot of emails after posting my “How to Setup Your 7D”video tutorial asking what the 180 degree shutter rule is and why it’s so important. To be completely honest, before these Video DSLRs came around I didn’t really understand the principles of the 180 degree shutter rule myself. Video cameras I’ve used in the past always defaulted to a 180 degree shutter automatically so unless I went into the settings to change my shutter speed or frame rate, I was always good to go! However, this all changes withVideo DSLRs hitting the market because they have no preset shutter speeds to rely on and most of the manufacturers of these DSLRs don’t find this rule important enough to make it a primary feature. Therefore, I figured this would be a great opportunity to consolidate a few articles and resources on the web to answer this question once and for all.

I want to thank Jason Wingrove and Stu Maschwitz for breaking down the 180 degree shutter rule for me. Stu wrote an excellent blog about this topic last year when Reverie first came out describing why it is so critical to shoot at a 180 degree shutter!

During RedCentre Episode 25, Jason had a great discussion with Mike Seymour on shutters and keeping the film look. Check it out, it’s a great resource that dives further into the explanation I am about to give you.

I’m also seizing this opportunity to discuss the 360 degree shutter issue, as it’s one that needs airing out. Sure, it may be a creative choice for a filmmaker to use a greater-than-180-degree shutter, but when my mom sees the trailer for Collateral and asks me why it looks like video, we’re talking about a choice that sets back the progress of digital cinema. If you want your 24p HD to look like film, the film we know and love, stick to a 1/48 second shutter speed or faster. -Stu Maschwitz

With all that said, lets dive into why the 180 degree shutter rule is so important. With the rise of digital cinema it is critical to maintain the “film look” that we all love so much. We do this with shallow depth of field and low light from large sensors, interchangeable sharp/fast glass, Matte-Boxes, Follow Focus, Stedicam Rigs, Dollies and Jibs, 24P, color correction, vignettes/film grain, and the list goes on and on… However, one thing that is often overlooked and under appreciated is the 180 degree shutter speed rule.

To maintain the “film look,” first we need to examine how a film camera actually works. Take a few minutes to study the animation at the left. As you can see, a physical shutter on a film camera is basically half a circle. The opening defines the shutter angle. Just like ISO/ASA wasn’t a luxury to instantly adjust on the fly back in the day like it is today, neither was your shutter speed on film cameras. In order to change the shutter speed you had to physically remove the disc and replace it with another disc that had a different sized hole cut out. Likewise, to change the ASA on a film camera you would have to physically remove the film stock and swap it out with another roll. Aren’t we spoiled today?!?

Anyways, let’s quickly review… The physical shutter in a film camera has the shape of a half circle (as you can see in the animation). This is defined as a 180 degree shutter angle, makes perfect sense since a complete circle would be 360 degrees… In order for the film to feed through the gate while properly exposing each frame of film, the disc will have to rotate one complete revolution for every frame. Therefore if you are shooting 1fps, the frame would be exposed to the open part of the disc (allowing light to hit that specific frame of film) for only half of its complete revolution or in other words 1/2 shutter speed.During the other half of the disc revolution (while the closed half of the disc is blocking that frame of film) the next frame of film is being fed into the gate ready for its opportunity to be exposed. So, since we now understand that when shooting at 1fps, the shutter speed would be 1/2, then you basically just carry that math on! 24fps = 1/48, 25fps = 1/50, 30fps = 1/60, 60fps = 1/120, 120fps = 1/240 and so on…

Now very quickly you can see why the 180 degree rule can get dangerous pretty quick once you start filming with higher frame rates. When the 2/3″ Red Scarlet comes out with 120fps (150fps burst) then you will be cutting a HUGE amount of light shooting at shutter speeds up to 1/300th. The same goes for cameras like thePhantom that shoots well over 1000fps. In order to get the proper shutter speed you need to be shooting at least 1/2000 and pouring the light on the subject in order to maintain proper exposure during those extremely high shutter speeds.

So how exactly does the shutter speed affect your image? Well if you come from a photography background you don’t really need to read this explanation. However this is the true magic on the convergence of photo and video today! The same terminology and fundamentals are more important than ever in relation to aperture, ISO, and shutter speed. Therefore, what happens when you take a photo at a slow shutter speed – 1 second exposure? You get a lot of motion blur. What happens when you take a photo at a fast shutter speed – 1/8000 shutter speed? You stop motion.

Well the difference is when you’re dealing with digital cinema, filming at a greater than 180 degree shutter (which you should NEVER EVER do), allows each frame to contain too much motion blur which results in a “smeary” look… Besides, this is a look that would be mechanically impossible to achieve using a film camera since you need that extra time for the physical shutter to block each frame so the next frame can slide into place… Therefore, a greater than 180 degree rule looks unnatural so PLEASE don’t do it! I know, sometimes breaking this rule is so very tempting when it’s dark out, you have your aperture wide open, and are pushing your ISO to the max… You think to yourself, “I can open up my shutter speed a little more.” Just because the camera lets you do something doesn’t mean you should because before you know it, you’ll be shooting 24fps at 1/24th shutter… Don’t give into the temptation, stay strong because you’ll kick yourself in post when reviewing your footage wondering why your digital cinema looks like nasty smeary video. Yes, all rules are meant to be broken but this is one rule that if you don’t know exactly what you’re doing, you can really ruin your work.

So when is it alright to break the 180 degree rule? Well, if you are going after a certain effect like they used in“Saving Private Ryan” to get a staccato feeling then breaking the rule is acceptable. On the cameras they used for this film, they adjusted the standard half open/half closed disc with a disc that had a 90 degree opening for the majority of the film except for the high action combat scenes which were shot at a 45 degree shutter angle (to be more accurate, the shutters in these film cameras are electronically adjusted but the same fundamentals apply). Remember, those are LESS THAN 180 degree shutter angles so it’s alright. A 90 degree shutter angle would equate 1fps to 1/4 shutter speed or at 24fps they were technically shooting at a 1/96 shutter speed. That means they had to use a lot more light in their scenes to make this effect work…

What is an easy way to figure out how to convert from shutter speed to shutter angle and back again? Here is a very handy guide written up by Stuart English. My good friend Matt Jeppsen posted an excellent article titled “Shutter Speed vs. Shutter Angle” about this same topic which you can read about in more detail.

Now if you are using a Canon Video DSLR, then you will have to make a few minor modifications when choosing your shutter speed for your desired frame rate. If you are shooting at 24fps, the closest shutter speed you can select is 1/50th and if you are shooting at 60fps, the closest shutter speed you can select is 1/125th. This minor adjustment won’t affect your footage but it’s the principle that counts so Canon if you’re listening, please fix this in the future… Thanks!

Yeah I know, this is a very long blog about a very simple topic however if you are anything like me, you don’t just want to be told to do something without understanding why you should do it. This 180 degree shutter rule is something I never learned in college and there are tons of cinematographers out there who either don’t know about this rule or don’t obey it. Moreover, there are a lot of photographers starting to shoot video with these new Video DSLRs that need to start out on the right foot and use good habit and proper fundamentals!

UPDATE: Alain Pilon filmed this awesome visual example of 7 common shutter speeds captured at equivalent exposures and merged together in one clip. You can very easily see and understand the effect shutter speed has on water. The camera used was a 5DMKII which shoots at 30fps. Just look at how “smeary” the water looks at 1/30th (360 degree shutter) on the left hand side. Right next to it at 1/60th or 180 degree shutter the water is flowing naturally and it is pleasing to our eyes. For creative effects on the far right you can see that shutter speed begins to stop the motion of the water which gives a really cool look under certain conditions. Make sure you head over to Vimeo so you can watch it in HD. Thanks Alain for this great example!

Night Combat Equipment Airborne Jump

Sun, 22 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

I was lucky enough to get my hands on a 1DMKIV from Canon. It arrived just in time for our Night Combat Equipment Airborne Jump! However, I was already scheduled to jump on this mission so I had to train up a few of my high speed Soldiers on how to operate the camera.

Sounds easy enough since they are already trained on the 5DMKII… However, Canon does not play nice with muscle memory and so the live view mode and start/stop record buttons are in completely different places yet again. The 7D took me awhile to get used to as well so now my fingers want to go to three different places on three different cameras to get it right. Not a big deal though, after several minutes of figuring out where all the new buttons are, Spc. Christopher Rosario was set.

We turned the 1DMKIV to manual mode at 1080P 24fps, set the shutter to 1/50th, opened up the aperture to 2.8 on the 16-35mm lens, and then tested out several ISOs to see how far we could push it. Meanwhile I was getting rigged up in my chute while Spc. Rosario was running around gathering shots. We figured we’d play it safe this time around and not push the ISO higher than 3200, especially with our 16-35mm topping off at 2.8. We were tempted to put the 50 1.2 on to get better low light but with the 1.3 crop, the 50 turns into a 65mm and was not wide enough for what we needed. Looking back we probably could have pushed it all the way up to 6400 with minimal noise.

After we got rigged up and Spc. Rosario gathered all his footage inside this awesome warehouse (backlit by a really cool sunset) we headed out into the night. Now the 1DMKIV is an amazing camera but it still can’t adjust in these conditions to see better than your eyes unless you want your footage to look like pure noise.

So instead of risking it on the fly we had Pfc. Phoebe Malkowicz with our new GEM-II Night Vision adapters made by Integrity Data Inc. This is a very expensive piece of equipment but did an outstanding job under the pitch black conditions inside the plane. She rigged up the 50mm 1.4 on the lens and was shooting in pitch black on the FF35mm sensor at only ISO 800 with a 1/60th shutter and aperture wide open at 1.4.

We shot 23.976 on the 1DMKIV and 30 on the 5DMKII (can’t wait until the 5DMKII gets this rumored firmware upgrade to 24P!!!) In cinema tools you can batch conform 30 to 23.976. It will slow down your footage slightly and render your audio unusable but it worked out pretty well for this project.

All in all, I am extremely impressed with the 1DMKIV. I haven’t even touched on how powerful of a photo camera it is. However, the 5DMKII is still a powerhouse and will get even better with a frame rate firmware update. Then you have the 7D which is another amazing option for a very affordable camera that has a lot of great features. Is the 1DMKIV body worth it’s $5,000 price tag? I’ve said this from the very beginning but it all depends on your workflow and what tools you need for your job. For Combat Camera we are still extremely happy with the 5DMKII and will continue to invest in them. The 1DMKIV has some amazing features that appeal to us but the size, weight, and price for the features of the 5DMKII is still an incredible deal and fits perfectly into our workflow and mission.

Filmed By:

Spc. Christopher Rosario
1DMKIV
16-35mm f2.8 lens
23.976fps
1/50th shutter
ISO ≤ 3200

Pfc. Phoebe Malkowicz
5DMKII
50mm f1.4 lens attached to GEM-II Night Vision
30fps conformed (slowed down) in cinema tools to 23.976
1/60th shutter
ISO ≤ 800

Edited By:
1st Lt. Tyler Ginter

55th Combat Camera
United States Army

How to Setup Your 7D

Sun, 15 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0500

This tutorial is broken up into the following six sections:

00:00 - Introduction
00:33 - Setup Custom Photo Preset
06:50 - Setup Custom 1080P 24FPS Preset
10:03 - Setup Custom 720P 60FPS Preset
12:00 - Edit, Fast Forward, and Rewind
13:28 - Conclusion

I’ve been receiving a lot of questions lately on how to setup the Canon 7D so I put together a quick tutorial on how to create custom photo and video presets.

A lot of thanks goes to Stu Maschwitz for the tips on how to flatten your picture profile in the camera. You can read about his settings in more detail here: Flatten Your 5D.

In addition to the custom picture settings, I cover a few hidden tips on how to setup your multi-controller direct button to quickly achieve auto focus, how to reverse the direction of your shutter and aperture dials, and how to fast forward and rewind video footage in the 7D.

Moreover, I cover the basic fundamental camera settings in the 7D along with the proper way to setup your shutter speed in video mode to obey the 180 degree rule. I hope these tips help out your workflow!

Sensor Size Cheat Sheets

Mon, 25 May 2009 00:00:00 -0400

I want to start out by thanking everyone in the community for providing these awesome educational sensor size references. Director Jason Wingrove sent this collection along to me and I feel it must be shared with everyone in one centralized location.

Now, that being said, please give 100 percent credit to the following people including Stu Maschwitz, Philip Bloom, and Panavision. Please let me know if I left anyone out who put time and effort into the following diagrams:

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL PROLOST BLOG POST
CLICK HERE FOR UPDATE TO ORIGINAL PROLOST BLOG POST

CLICK HERE FOR ORIGINAL PROLOST BLOG POST

I am a visual learner so these diagrams really help me understand the importance of sensor size and its direct impact on depth of field and low light performance. It’s also important to note that there is a significant difference between FF35mm Motion versus FF35mm Still. These are all things that will help you make better choices when renting or buying cameras in the future.