1. Too Much High Tech? - I’ve had some pretty interesting discussions over the past few weeks with a variety of people following my post on a recent HDDLSR shoot. My good friend Joe McNally called me flat out “crazy” when he saw the gear we had at the Gulf Photo Expo this past week - which is a pretty fantastic compliment coming from him - given that he too has gone to the top of the Empire State Building (Joe and I are BOTH crazy for the record)  - and has shot images hanging from a helicopter as well.  My type of guy really - someone I’ve looked up to since I was in my teens…   So when he calls you “crazy” - you know you’ve hit the jackpot.   And to be honest:  it is crazy.

Some of you may have seen Robert Rodriguez out with his Franken-Rig out there this past week - needless to say we’re all gravitating towards these cameras because they do something absolutely exceptional.  Nobody would do this otherwise.  I’ve never lost sight of the fact that one of the main strengths of this camera is that it’s light and small.  I love going out with a bare body and shooting video as much as the next person.  BUT - once you start to move towards producing “professional” looking video with these cameras - you’ll find you need good camera support to stabilize this camera that given the size of its sensor and lack of image stabilization - EMPHASIZES every single movement (intended or not.)   So while I too have doubts some time as to whether or not I’ve gone off the deep end… when I see the final results the introspection ends.

That being said - I & this blog have been perhaps a bit too focused on technology to date.  Expect that to change… I’ll keep the gear heads happy - but focus more on other things to - time permitting!

For now please look at a quick video I put together with 13 fantastic students at GPP last week - most of the students were still photographers who had never shot video before - and while I gave them as much guidance as I could in terms of gear and movement - each of these shots had a student operating the camera in a 3-Day shooting workshop (followed by 2 days of editing/grading.)

GPP 2010 Student Workshop Video from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Nine more thoughts / gear tips / pleas below… i.e. click on “more”

2. Chapter THREE submissions for the “Beyond the Still Video Contest” are due in 9 days!   If you haven’t had a chance to do so - please check out the link above.   We’ve seen some fantastic entries and I can’t wait to see what happens in Chapter 3.   This contest is really getting a lot of attention from pretty interesting people in the industry - it’s definitely worth the time and effort to enter, a lot of influential people are seeing the work.

3. HDMI - Dear Canon: for the LOVE OF GOD please drop this as the standard output port on all future cameras!!!!   In the past two weeks (one week-long workshop and another week-long shoot) we’ve gone through EIGHT dead mini-HDMI to HDMI adapters adapters that rip out of the camera (included in the link above are great cheap adapters…)   The placement of the HDMI port (on the left side of cameras) and the fact that cables come loose from their own weight makes this a terrible way to output video… I’m praying that future cameras will include HD SDI outputs so that the majority of video accessories will work with these cameras.

4. Zeiss Compact Primes - I’ve had a chance to work with these - and yes:  these are absolutely the lenses that any serious HDDSLR user will have to have.   Why?  Three reasons:

a. The 300 degree rotation on the lens barrel makes these lenses worth every single penny.   Not only can a focus puller (or you if you’re alone of course) hit marks dead on - but you can hit 2, 3 or 5 separate marks in a row without a problem - repeatedly.   It’s also significantly easier for a handheld operator to shoot wide open on these primes and nail focus solo -  I can speak to that.   It’s truly night and day.

b. All of these lenses so far are the SAME PHYSICAL SIZE.  So if you want to go from say a 28mm to an 85mm - it takes less than 10 seconds to make the swap.   Not need to change the position (lateral of vertical) of the follow focus wheel… or camera position… or matte box distance.   This makes shooting with these lenses a breeze.

c. The quality of these optics is stunning.    The ability to change aperture / iris while shooting is also a huge plus - not to mention that you can do it with either a motor or by hand in make extremely small corrections (less than 1/3 stops because it’s a fully mechanical rotating ring on the rear of the lens.)   The fact that the lenses have built-in gears for follow focus/FIZ units is yet another plus… I think that’s 5 reasons so let’s move on…

5. I wonder what the consensus is out there about the quality of the 720p 60fps footage from the Canon 1D MKIV is…  I love to shoot at 60 fps for dramatic effect - but I’ve seen a lot of “binning” or jagged edges on my footage  - has anyone out there found a way to take care of this in post?   Do others see this as an issue for them?   Obviously shooting at very shallow depth of field and keeping the camera in constant motion is the answer… but at times it’s unavoidable.  Look carefully at the video linked at the top of the post from the GPP - you’ll see some pretty nasty binning on the power lines and on certain hard lines of the Lamborghini…  to me: binning is the only last remaining “issue” with the Canon HDDSLRs.    Binning - or the way these cameras are interpolating the large image coming off their amazing sensors and downsizing them on the fly to fit an HD frame - is the last remaining issue that I have been unable to fully resolve.  Binning is the Achilles heel of these cameras in my opinion.  Once Canon figures that out… watch out - you’ll be seeing a lot more of Canon HDDSLR footage on the silver screen.

6. Oh - back to the “Beyond The Still” contest: To all of those who are not US Residents - hey: I understand your frustration - I too pleaded to have the “Beyond The Still” contest open to everyone across the world.  But that was not possible for a variety of very valid legal reasons - and that time has passed.  We’re working on an international contest …  so let’s let that issue drop.

Apparently some people are so upset that they can’t enter - that they’ve been creating angry user groups and sending angry e-mails to people.     It’s an interesting way to see what I thought was a genuine attempt to share this excitement with this new breed of HDDSLRs turn in a strange direction.    One person is apparently so irate - he’s been posting very odd remarks on this blog and others… and claiming to be me.   I do have to admit that he trashed a Philip Bloom video and signed my name to it - this is something that I think even Philip would find pretty funny… seriously though:  for Pete’s sake use that energy and go out and shoot something!!!!

7. iPad - I’ve ordered quite a few of them today.   I plan on converting my entire portfolio to the digital format with these - both still & motion.   As many of you know - most art buyers these days pretty much demand that commercial photographers send their portfolios out in a printed book format.    So while I can’t ditch that approach just yet - nothing is stopping me from including an iPad in that book as well to share not only stills, but also the video / multimedia work that I’ve done in the past 2-3 years.   I’ve been waiting to do this for years - waiting for the perfect device - and I think that this will work perfectly - and allow me to send customized portfolios to clients as well for specific jobs.   This is a lot more eco friendly (not to mention easier and cheaper to ship!) current, and dynamic way to show one’s work…  I will of course offer to send “just” the iPad if art buyers are into it - but I doubt that the printed portfolio is done just yet…

8. Litepanels - if you haven’t checked them out - do.   I won’t leave home without them.   These are the best lights that I’ve found to travel with - they are light, durable, emit no heat, have incredibly consistent light output (both the bi-color and bi-focus models come in handy for a variety of reasons) and are both AC and battery operated.  Basically they’re a dream to work with and I have yet to go on a shoot without at least 2 packed for any job.   I tend to use 1 bi-focus, 1 bi-color and 1 brick.   The only thing missing:  they work beautifully indoors and are the perfect compliment to the night-shooting abilities of the HDDSLR breed - a match made in heaven really - but they are not powerful enough to fight the sun.   So I use these indoors all of the time, at night, and even on overcast days.   When the sun comes out - you unfortunately need more power (or you can stack a lot of these together of course…)  With the way LED technology is growing - I hope to see this change soon…

9. IDX Camwave - another thing I swear by.   Basically as you may have noticed on my recent HDDSLR shoots - these things are now permanently married to my HDDSLRs in one way or another.

One of the main production hurdles with the Canon HDDSLRs is that only one person can see the image at once - i.e. only the operator using the LCD - or another person watching a monitor that is plugged into the HDDSLR’s HDMI port (because the rear LCD shuts off if anything is plugged into the HDMI port…)   Therefore it’s impossible to have an operator, focus puller, and say a DP or Director watching the camera’s take all at once.  For some things - that’s OK.  But for any real gig where you have actors etc and you need to pay attention to details and performances - it’s impossible to work with these cameras … so my solution:

I use the Black Magic HDMI-SDI converter (powered off an IDX battery plate) to convert the HDMI signal coming out of the camera - and to output it to the IDX Camwave Transmitter. On the other end - I have 2-3 IDX Camwave receivers - some that have a Marshall Electronics 7″ or 6.5″ (bright) SDI monitor attached to it a/ IDX batter (for a completely portable solution) others that are hard wired into 22″ monitors…  this way I can have an operator, 1st AC/Focus Puller, Director, DP all seeing the image live.    For medium to large productions - it’s the only way to go.  Having more than 1-2 people trying to see the rear LCD at once …well it doesn’t work very well… this is also the perfect solution for mounting cameras on cars / jibs/sliders… you name it.

10. I’ve mentioned this before - but it’s on my mind as I’ve been doing tutorials on the 50+ hours of flights that I’ve been on in the past 2 weeks - if you need to learn Apple FCP Suite’s Final Cut Pro software of Color software - check out Ripple Training… this is the best way for me to keep sharpening my editing / grading skills by far - I download the tutorial videos on iTunes and the supporting materials - and the flight just flies by (well… kind of…)

******

There’s plenty more - but it’s 4 a.m. and I have to catch my flight (if I’m lucky enough to get off of the standby list)  - thanks for helping me fight jet lag and helping me get back on schedule.

Job Security from Runner Runner on Vimeo.

Josh Thacker (Director/Creative) and Brian Slater (Editor/Creative) were named the first winners for their short movie “Job Security” above.     I very much look forward to working with them at the end of the contest - their entry - and frankly all of the finalists entries were outstanding.

If you’re interested in participating in the contest or submittind for Chapter 3 of “The Story Beyond the Still Video” contest, those entires are now being accepted through March 22, 2010. For rules and submission instructions, click here.

Here’s what I told the Vimeo community about this first series of entries:

“I wanted to thank everyone for participating in this experiment. I find it difficult to express how much I appreciate the level of time/talent and effort that you have put into this project - and the quality of the entries overall - not to mention how they so far exceeded my expectations - without sounding too effusive or like I’m trying too hard… take me at my word when I say: thank you and congratulations.

Congratulations to Josh Thacker and Brian Slater - I look forward to working with the two of you and the other finalists in a few months - and your entry was definitely one of my favorites. The choice in actors, lighting and twist were absolutely excellent! When I can get to a phone - I’d love to call you directly to say congrats.

Without taking anything away from Josh and Brian - congrats to the 5 finalists - and to pretty much everyone who entered for TAKING THE PLUNGE.

We’re working on loosening the myriad of rules we have to live by with this nationwide contest - and I speak for all of the judges when I say we’ve been frustrated about not being able to say more and more often - as you may know we were not allowed to say anything during this first round - as lawyers felt we might sway the voting. I hope that will change soon.

As far as my perspective as a judge - there were a good top 15-20 entries - it was far from an easy choice to pick the top 5. I’ve judged 20-30 contests by now over the past decade - and I can tell you this was an unusually strong field. When I get to Dubai I hope to find time to share more about the process.

Congratulations to every single one of you - I can’t wait to see what you enter next and where we take this story. We’re also on wworking on some news ideas that will have more than the finalists invited to the final shoot..oops…not supposed to say that..the lawyers will soon be after me Point is: we’re discussing this contest internally almost every other day - and incredibly excited about it - so stay tuned!”

VSA HDDSLR Still & Video Shoot - HOVER OVER IMAGES FOR CAPTION/GEAR INFO - Images by Vincent Laforet

Given the level of interest in this new technology - I though that readers might appreciate a slide show of images that show what such a production might entail in terms of gear.   Please note that over the next few weeks I will be going over the gear that I used in this production on this blog in detail - so please hold all of your gear questions for now.

I can image some of the reactions to seeing (or trying to find) a Canon HDDSLR buried under all of this gear.  ”Why in the world would one go through this?” - someone might ask.   Why not get “x” camera.  Well the long and short of it:  the LOOK of these cameras is incredibly unique - the video coming out of these camera looks incredibly close to 35mm motion picture film (see image 13 in the slideshow for a good example of what separates this breed of cameras from the others.)   Pulling off a similar production with a 35mm film of system would be significantly more time consuming and expensive - there is absolutely zero doubt about it.   And don’t forget: the way these cameras perform in low light - also separates them from the competition.  So there absolutely is reason behind all of this madness. I had to mention this because I sometimes catch myself asking the very same question…  and then I see the results on screen and all doubt is removed.

I should also note a few things - I have gotten special permission from both the agency and the client to post these images - but I cannot show any images that identify the client - I can simply say that the client is a large insurance company.   Therefore you will see some shots of the crew as opposed to the final images / video we shot of the actual subjects - and I’ve blurred the subject to protect the client’s privacy.

The shoot involved two parts: one was to produce 7 short 2-5 minute video pieces that included “B-Roll” and interviews for the client’s website as well as a similar amount of still shots for their annual report.   The crew was comprised of  7 crew members with the following roles - note that many of them were working in both still photography and video roles:

Myself - as photographer/Director  (co-directing w/ Greg Sylvester)

Charles Papert - DP / Camera / Steadicam Operator

Jason Wawro - 1st AC / Focus Puller

Mike Isler - 1st Assistant / Technical Coordinator

Taylor Jones - DIT/ Digital Tech (Video + Video)

Marcus Del Negro - Audio

Andew Loehman - Grip / Assistant

The majority of the the footage was shot with the Canon 1D MKIV for both still and video.   This allowed us to travel “light” and as you’ll see - that means between 12-18 cases of equipment totally close to 700 lbs.   Given that so much of this gear is relatively new and/or custom made - we were unable to rent a lot of it locally and therefore had to ship/check most of it - which is definitely a bit exceptional - normally we always rent as much as we can locally.

The client also wanted us to have as small of a footprint as reasonably possible - while keeping the production value high.   Therefore the HDDSLR was truly an ideal solution for this job - as were such tools at the Lite Panels LED lights that are relatively compact, lightweight and can be easily operated with either AC or battery power.

This was a pretty fantastic assignment that really allowed us to demonstrate what a hybrid shoot like this can bring to the table for the client - they saved considerable time by being able to produce both shoots simultaneously.   And the best comment that I heard so far: the clients loved both the still photographs as well as the resulting videos - and that’s great to hear as one of the number one fears when doing a hybrid shoot is to have to compromise on quality of one - or worse: both of the two similar, yet ultimately different crafts involved.  You’ll of course notice one very important missing element:  photos of me shooting stills…I’ll let you figure out why I don’t have any of those pictures to share (hint: I was busy shooting the assignment…)

At some point next month I should be able to direct you to the client’s site and show you the end results.

You’ll find pictures of a wide variety of gear from:  Canon, Apple, Black Magic, Bogen, Denecke, Formatt, Gitzo, Glidetrack, IDX, LitePanels, Manfrotto, Marhsall Electronics, MicroDolly, Preston, O’Connor, RedByte, RedRock Micro, Sound Devices, Think Tank, Tiffen, Zacuto, Zeiss.  This is all gear that we now use on a regular basis on most productions - the only notable difference you might notice is that we weren’t able to implement the normal RedRock Micro kit around the cameras because this was my first shoot with production 1D MKIV cameras (we received our 1D MKIV on the second day of the shoot) - and they are of course a bit taller then the 5D MKII and would not fit in my kit built around the 5D MKII.  RedRock has since come out with new accessories to fit this new series of cameras and their taller size. Therefore we did not use the standard kit nor matte boxes on this shoot and instead opted to what amounts to a hodgepodge  custom built system that quickly allowed us to transfer from tripod/slider use onto a Steadicam with very little lost time.  More details to come on all of this gear in the upcoming weeks.  So go ahead and geek out.

Interview on A Photo Editor

Rob Haggart recently interviewed my on his site A PhotoEditor. Together we discuss the new breed of HDDSLR Cameras and how the industry is reacting to it.

It was great to be interviewed  by Rob for his site - I check Rob’s blog daily and it was one of the main 2-3 sites that convinced me to start blogging myself a little over a year ago.   When Rob initially started his blog - he remained anonymous and posted some incredibly insightful and frank details about the print industry from a true insider.  Eventually Rob left his position as Director of Photographer at Men’s Journal - and he has continued to post very insightful posts ever since.  I highly recommend you follow his blog.

At the end of 2009,  I predicted two things:

First that Apple was going to release an iPad/iSlate.

My second prediction is that 2010 would be the year of the HDDSLRs - one in which finding their full potential with the help of other partners would lead to incredible developments.

2010 will indeed be seen as the coming of age of HDDSLRs.

Today Zeiss showed the very first “Compact Prime 2″ Cine Lenses that will mount on HDDSLRs.   In fact these are quite versatile in that they come ready to accept both and EL (Canon mount) and PL (Cinema standard) that can be switched on the field w a Tor-X screwdrivers. (Although Zeiss recommends you have them do this.)

I’ve had  chance to get my hands on this series and I immediately fell for them  -  I have also been promised a chance to test them out soon -I’ll be sure to share the test with you on this blog within the next few weeks.

The optical quality is excellent.   More empirical test coming on that soon.   But the main reason pros and advanced filmmakers will flock to this series relate to the ergonomics and practicaliy of using this lens on a just about any production.   You will find that the optics have been re organized in this lens - but that  it will perform very similarly to your ZE set. The main difference is that only the very best optics are chosen for this series vs the ZE lenses.    The second key point is that the aperture blades comprise of 14 blades vs the ZE series with 9 - therefore you can expect a much more beautiful focus falloff..

At this point they are releasing a set of 8 Compact Primes at NAB 2010 and making them available for sale in May.  A set of 6 will retail for less than $20,000.   You can of course buy lenses independently at a higher price.  Zeiss will be making the announcement as to which specific series of lenses they are releasing.

So what’s the big deal?  Well for once this is the first series of PL lenses that Zeiss has produced in history that covers the full 24mX36mm sensor - EVER…

All others covered he Super35mm format…   This is therefore a good long term investment it seems.   This should also put an immediate halt to people removing their mirrors and drilling into their mirror boxes to use these lenses.

Lastly - this is the first lens that I’ve received - that I CANNOT WAIT TO USE!

Why?  My 1st AC/Focus Pullers will love me.   When the lens it says it’s focused a .38 meters - guess what - it is!

Set your marks - and if you and your actor hit their makes - you’re tack sharp.

This cannot unfortunately be said about any Canon EF lenses much to my chagrin.   You should know that those lenses are not mechanically connected to the focusing ring - there is a ultrasonic motor between the focusing ring and the lens groups - ergo lenses are moved around by magnetic forces -not simply by good old friction or gears…  therefore if you take the time to focus on a spot on a EF lens (to mark a spot) - it will not be able to hit that spot consistently over a few tries no matter how careful you are - and that can be exasperating when shooting a narrative with actors of course - not being able to trust your marks.

Over the past 6 months I have ben shooting film/videos with the Zeiss ZEseries for that very reason.   Being able to pull focus with a camera that is in motion is absolutely critical.   And therefore on the Zeiss ZE lenses solve the dilemma.     In fact most of the 1st AC who are pulling projects with me - grumble about the challenges the Canon lenses give them… with the ZE Zeiss - they’re extremely happy.   The irony here of course is that the much more high tech Canon lenses with the world’s best AF, stabilizations and zooms - are being beaten by a 20 year old model of lens… few electronics…no autofocus…no fancy nadda.   I should say that I travel with both sets on jobs that require me to shoot stills - maybe it’s me, maybe it’s my eyes - but I need AF that the Canon EF lenses provide me.   Without the AF my performance is simply too poor.

Therefore - this  new series of “Compact Prime 2″ cine lense series is the real thing for people using to use the Canon HDDSLR systems on more serious video/film productions.    Not only is it built for the cinema wolrld - it also does two thing no one else does or offers to the HDDSLRs - The  ”Angle Focus of Rotation” is huge.  What this means is that there is a greater than 300º rotation on the focusing barrel fom macro to infinity… this allows you for much smoother and ACCURATE focusing pull!  The entire area is also carefully marked with detailed distance measurements on the focus ring.  This is something you can’t do on a canon lens where the motion from right to left for going from infinity to macro - is at times 1/2 an inch or less on some lenses…   now you can TRULY follow focus and/or focus like the pros do out there!

Lastly -one nice finishing touch - the focusing rings come complete with mounted focus rings that allow you quickly an easily attache remote focus motors, zoom motors  and even yes… a motor to the APERTURE ring!!!

This will be the firs time you can control the aperture smoothly and remotely via wireless and that is HUGE !

Lastly - Zeiss will be releasing  a lens support that will mount on rods that will better supports the lens - - especially if it has 3 Preston motors working on it wirelessly!

So here is a CLEAR sign to me that the HDDSLR market is coming of age  - and that interest in it is far from waning.   One important note:  These lenses are not initially being released to work on any other HDDSLR system… which is a bit of statement to Canon’s clear lead in this arena…

Stu knows filmmaking.   Stu knows directing (he collaborated with me on Nocturne and graded the short as well.)   Stu knows special FX.  Stu rules - and he’s a wiz not only at producing films- but also on the post process.  Stu was the senior visual effects supervisor on The Spirit and others for example… and I check his Prolost blog daily.

Stu has also worked on Red Giant’s software’s Magic Bullet Colorista (which is a pretty rockin’ grading suite - especially if you don’t already own Final Cut Studios’ grading software Color)  amongst other things as well and I think his latest blog post is not to be missed by anyone who is interested in grading.  (For still photographers - “grading” is the word video/film folks use to refer to what we call “color correction” or “toning.”

Enjoy the read.   And check out Stu’s book as well.

And since I’m plugging Stu to death - I might as well mention that he’s also one of the judges on the Canon & Vimeo film contest “Beyond The Still.” We’re looking to announce the top 5 finalists within the next 48 hours for the first chapter of the competition… stay tuned for more on that here soon.

Lastly - if you’re looking into getting into grading your video - I’ll point you to one of the best resources to learning Apple FCP’s Color software - here at Ripple Training.  Best $100 you’ll spend in terms of making your video look exponentially better in my opinion…

Also - Bron has a blog that I just became aware of that is worth checking out - I’m a huge fan of their Para Soft lights.

Finally a very interesting post on Stockland Martel’s Blog on an ASMP survey that finds that by 2012 “90% of Internet Content will be motion video.” hmmm… Not sure it’s going to be that high… BUT - it’s definitely going that way for sure.

The plugin is designed to import video from the following Canon’s DSLRs: The EOS-7D, the 5D MK II, and the 1D MK IV.

The  plug-in will support FCP’s Log and Transfer dialogue, which lets people select and mark in and out points on their video before copying it off-camera.   At the same time, people can add custom metadata such as Roll, Scene, Take information during the ingest process, and begin editing work before all clips have been transferred. The plug-in will be a free download for owners of Final Cut Pro 6 or later.  Users may note that this plugin has many of the same features that I mentioned earlier here in a previous post.

I have not been able to confirm as to whether or not this plugin will be supporting timecode - timecode based on the camera’s internal clock that is to say - not “real” timecode of course.   You should note that you can sync multiple cameras to a computer via USB…

Seeing these first videos coming in is a real pleasure - they are fantastically done!

I know quite a few of you are still busy at work on your entries.

For those of you that haven’t taken the plunge yet:

YOU HAVE FIVE DAYS LEFT TO ENTER

Relatively speaking - that’s an ETERNITY - so if you’re debating whether or not you should enter - go for it!

Relative to what?

Well I found out that the Canon 5D MKII existed on a Friday afternoon a little over a year ago…

By 4 p.m. I was walking out of the Canon HQ with a prototype that I had begged, borrowed and practically stolen from them.

The very next day - at almost precisely 4 p.m. - I called “Action” on the first shot of “Reverie.”

That’s 24 hours notice.

We shot the short over two nights and delivered it the next day fully edited.

72 hours start to finish…

With “Nocturne” - I had 72 hours notice from the time I received the camera - and the time I landed back in Los Angeles from Atlanta - and called “Action” with my two other co-directors Stu Maschwitz and David Nelson.

So as far as I’m concerned :  you guys have a LOT of time to still get into this.

Please go here to find out more.

If for some reason you can’t make it… you have 6 more chapters (and chances) to enter over the next 6 months.

But I don’t know about you - but sitting on my behind has never really ever gotten me anywhere…

Speaking of getting going - here is a quick video clip from this past week - using an awesome toy from the guys at Filmotechnic USA here in California. Shot with the Canon 1D MKIV - this is but one of a few dozen (hundreds!) of shots that day with the crane all over downtown Los Angeles -  more details to come on this shoot in the upcoming weeks!

Filmotechnic Collaboration from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

And a few more pix of the setup:

And a quick little phone video:  img_0715

I will be working with a group of students in and around Dubai to produce a series of short films/spec ads with the latest HDDSLR Cameras and accesories from March 1-6.  I’ll be bringing my entire bag of tricks (as much as I can get on a plane without getting killed with excess baggage charges!) in terms of gear - from RedRock Micro, Marshall Electronics, Viewfactor, Bogen, IDX, Microdolly, PortaJib, Zeiss and on and on…

I will be joining 11 international world class photographers who will be teaching photography and video workshops and delivering seminars during the 6 day event. Joe McNally,  David Hobby (The Strobist), Joey L, Melissa Rodwell, Zack Arias, Bobbi Lane and more more will be sharing their expertise in what promises to be a pretty awesome week.

For more information, visit http://www.gulfphotoplus.com

You can also read David Hobby’s post about the workshops here and learn a bit more about the workshops and what you can expect to experience there.

From Canon USA & Vimeo:

“Canon USA and Vimeo are advocates and supporters of artists and artists’ rights. We would like to make it very clear that the creator of any submission in the Story Beyond The Still contest retains ownership of that submission – period. Canon USA does own the copyright in the final, combined video comprised of Vincent’s chapter and all winning chapters, however, each chapter itself is still owned by the user who submitted it (similar to a newspaper – the publisher owns a copyright in each full edition, but the specific articles could be owned by a number of different parties).

There has been some commentary on the contest forums and within message boards that claims that Canon USA and/or Vimeo are engaging in a “rights grab” of sorts with respect to contest submissions, and are taking ownership of users’ submissions. This is simply not true. It is no one’s intention to take ownership over any user’s submission.

Of course, in order to offer its services and operate the contest, both Vimeo and Canon USA need certain rights licensed to them - to accept, store and display video submissions, to use clips/stills to promote the contest, and to let other Vimeo users view and comment on the submissions - and efforts were taken to restrict the scope of the licenses as much as possible, keeping in mind the legal realities of conducting a contest like this one.

We want this to be a contest that celebrates creativity and collaborative film making. It is our goal that this is fun and engaging experience for all that participate.”

As you know - we win some (above) and we lose some (below) - that’s just the way life goes and I think Canon and Vimeo are doing a great thing with this contest  and it’s very important to remain focused on that fact.

I’m sorry that it can’t be as open as we’d all love it to be - but we should be happy to have a contest in place nonetheless and not lose sight of the bigger picture:  this is the first step in what I hope can turn into a multi-year process that will become more inclusive regardless of international borders:

A Message from Canon USA and Vimeo Regarding Residency and Age Eligibility (1/28/10)

“Everyone at Canon USA and Vimeo is excited and proud that there is such interest in “The Story Beyond the Still” video contest and we would like the contest to be open and enjoyed by the widest possible audience. This particular contest, however, is open only to legal US Residents who are 18 years or older. There are a variety of legal reasons why this is the case; varying laws internationally related to privacy rights, publicity rights, and contests in general, among them.

There has been some speculation on the contest forums and within message boards that even if you are not a legal US Resident, as long as you enter with a US address or phone number (possibly from a friend or relative living in the US) you would be eligible for the contest. There has also been speculation that if you are under the age of 18 and enter through an adult’s account that you would be eligible. Neither is accurate. When the winning entry is selected, the winner will need to complete an affidavit stating that they are a legal US resident, 18 years of age or older and the creator / owner of the entry. If the individual can not sign such a document, then the entry will be disqualified and another winner will be selected from the pool of eligible entries.

It is no one’s intention to exclude anyone from entering the contest, and based on the strong interest that we’ve seen we are discussing ways that potentially allow us to open this up to an international audience in the future. We hope everyone, regardless of where they live, enjoys watching the outstanding videos that we know will be created by the Vimeo community.”