Xube has been experimenting with new HD camera technology and one of our recent tests involved making a music video for a song by James McKean & The Blueberry Moon called “When All Else Fails”. We wanted to achieve a simple aesthetic through the use of one location and a (mainly) locked-off camera. We felt the camera – the Panasonic AG-AF101 – held up to the task admirably. We finished the film with a colour grade in post-production to give the film it’s blue look.

This project was also an opportunity to test the video quality of the most popular video sharing platforms. We used exactly the same video file (QuickTime H.264 1280×720) for each upload and you can see the results below:

Vimeo – http://www.vimeo.com/28820161 (also embedded above).

YouTube – http://youtu.be/iZCKkFRiG40 (James McKean’s page).

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=10150312488192380 (Xube’s Facebook page).

We believe the quality of the video holds up right across all three platforms. Video encoding and hosting has certainly moved on in the last 5 years! Hope you enjoy the song (and the film).

The song was taken from the album “Where The River Runs Both Ways” and was released via iTunes and other online stores on September 24th 2011.

This week’s VOTW (Video of the Week) is an advert for a great thing. Thanks to one of my favourite filmmaking sites for letting me know about the Vimeo iPhone App which was launched this week. We use Vimeo a lot at Xube. It is a site where filmmakers can share work and know that their films are going to be encoded to a high quality. I am sure you have come across it before. There are free accounts and pro accounts on offer and everyone gets to see your stuff in eye-splitting HD. So hats off to Vimeo for releasing their iPhone App this week. It’s free, you can see your films and edit new ones, share and upload. What is not to love! Go read more and download!

At Xube we have been dumbfounded to discover how many people in east London have, as yet, not bothered to visit the Olympic site. Shame on you all. How can you fail to be excited by this ‘once in a lifetime’ event? Anyway, for those from further afield, we thought it might be worth recording the early building stages of the ArcelorMittal Orbit Tower – not sure if that name is going to catch on – and as such have produced a little photomotion from Pudding Mill Lane DLR station to the site. Remember tickets are on sale next week. I’m going to suggest to Lord Coe that residents from within a 5 mile radius who have not visited the site should receive no tickets. Put that in your legacy strategy!

This week’s VOTW is probably the greatest opening film sequence I have ever seen. This sequence comes from Once upon a time in the West and although I’ve yet to see True Grit, it was the reviews of this film that made me re-visit this masterpiece of spaghetti westerns. At nearly quarter of an hour it is also an incredibly long-winded way of going through credits, but what wonderfully constructed credits they are. This is great visual storytelling which Richard and I have used with students many times. Beautiful shots, suspenseful use of sound and fascinating faces draw you into this exquisite piece of filmmaking. The pace is near hypnotic, and so, with all of the above in mind, I suggest a good drink to hand and the chance to escape for 15 minutes. It doesn’t get much better than this.

Stumbling across great films on the web is something that Xube gets a big kick from. When we stumbled on ‘Big Vinny’, Jeremy and I both thought this film was a visual treat and a carefully crafted character profile. The subject of the film is Rich Lieberman, a renowned Californian secondhand car dealer, who describes his love for his career and the difficulties it entalied. The rest is for you discover. The film is made by a partnership Drea Cooper and Zackary Canepari who call themsleves ‘California is a place’. They currently have 12 videos on Vimeo and the 4 that I’ve watched so far are all little gems. I hope you also enjoy them.

This week’s Video of the Week is a photomotion film with the E-Type Jaguar playing the lead role. This stunning car is 50 years old, and to celebrate its half century The Design Museum has used its tank on the South Bank to display this design classic. They also have a page on their website explaining the story of the car company which affords a few nuggets – who knew that Jaguar used to be called SS?

http://designmuseum.org/design/jaguar

We spent a couple of hours around the tank on Wednesday afternoon and hearing passers-by continually commenting on the car helped to confirm (as if confirmation was needed) the status of the E-Type as a design classic.

The music is John Barry’s 1961 hit, Starfire. You will have to decide which has stood the test of time in better shape, the music or the motor.

In the unlikely event that you have not had the chance to hear these three podcasts, Xube decided that one blog entry with all three sections could be the ultimate solution. Using the Soundcloud player adds a visual excitement to this aural pleasure – if we don’t say so ourselves.

Part 1

Part 2

Part 3

This may be the time to put away your intervalometers. Philip Bloom is well travelled to be sure and wherever he lays his hat a timelapse is sure to follow. This clip brings together his greatest examples of the genre and undoubtedly Saint-Saens would have been delighted to have been attached to this project. Watch, enjoy and start thinking more creatively about how to generate your air miles.

Room with a view: 1 year of timelapses from hotel windows from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Here at Xube HQ we have been discussing the changing nature  of production and the vastly improved access everyone has to high quality technology. Should companies be making films themselves rather than hiring production expertise? I think it is easy to imagine where we stand on this, but that does not mean that this question can, or should be, ignored. We expect to blog about this area in the near future, but in the meantime Video of the Week offers two related clips. At 19:00 today the film, Life in a Day, will be streamed on YouTube, and as this film grapples with the idea of traditional production approaches, it seemed entirely appropriate to include these clips. The first film is an advert for the project and in the second director, Kevin Macdonald, and editor, Joe Walker, discuss the process of dealing with thousands of hours of amateur footage. If you haven’t come across the concept behind Life in a Day, then why not check out these clips, and maybe the miserably cold weather will tempt you to stay in for the online premiere this evening. Life in a Day will also be at cinemas later this year. Finally, I must admit to a surge of optimism when I read Kevin Macdonald’s quote, “I actually feel quite reassured having seen this. There’s definitely a place for the professional.” I’ll drink to that whatever I get up to this evening. Have a great weekend.

Who can resist Part 3? Will we finally get the complete answer to this vital question? To find out, get listening.

Click here to play Part 3