I didn’t think I was going to subscribe to Adobe’s Creative Cloud but I just couldn’t resist.  Also, for what I pay for updates for the Master Collection, it does actually workout to be about the same and maybe a litter bit of savings.  So far, loving it.  I’m also a Lynda.com subscriber so basically I wish there were more hours in the day to learn how to do all the things the new software does.

Right now my focus has been on Photoshop and SpeedGrade.  Both are wicked.  I’m especially looking forward to learning more about SpeedGrade although I haven’t found too much on the web.  It’ll be my Apple Color substitute now that Apple has abandoned it.  I’m looking forward to tying Premiere and all its new features, especially the image stabilization that’s similar to the wonderful version in After Effects.  Also, loving the native support of for Alexa, Red and HDSLR.

So far it’s been great.  The entire suite of products just keeps getting better and if Adobe lives up to their promise of getting upgrades out faster, it’ll be wonderful to see what improvements come next and soon.  More later.

Woody Dolly Kit from Wooden Nickel:
Not new and several Key Grips have made their own but this is a kit, ready to go, instead of trying to figure out the necessary parts ala cart.  Great for getting shots in tight spaces – it can make a run from 4′ to 16′.  Word to the wise:  Don’t assume it will make dolly shot set-ups faster.  The work is the work.  Also, operating from it can be a bit dodgy.  No substitute for riding with the camera on a platform.  Last note, don’t forget to order the riser.  If you don’t, when you doll back you see the tracks.  That said, worked great for us and what we needed it for.

 Camera Body Mount:

If you’ve played the video, yeah, yeah someone had to test it.

This was wonderful.  To quote the director, this visual made the show appear “to be fighting above our weight class”.  The actor wore this rig for three takes and a bunch of time while organizing a large group of extras.  We mounted a Canon 5D to it with a 15-30mm Sigma Zoom (T3.5).  In total about 5 pounds (or  2.2 kg).  The webbing in the photo is a bit loose since I mounted it to myself but on the actor it was tight and hidden behind an overcoat.  I think now I’ve got a better webbing pattern to hide it even more.

Here’s where my inner Key Grip came out.  Essentially the rig is a cheese plate with baby and 3/8 pins attached (I replaced these with eye hooks used for car mount rigs).  Swivel-Links attach the steel rods to the cheese plate and a baby spud to 1/4-20 attaches the camera.  It’s fastened to the actor using 1″ tubular webbing.  Fast, safe and light.  The shot was wonderful and did add a huge amount of production value.

The show is in post production now.  I’ll likely be doing the final color grading with Magic Bullet within Final Cut Pro (hey, it’s for the web, nothing fancy) or… I may try my hand at using Adobe CS6 SpeedGrade.  I’ll know in a couple of weeks.  Till then…

We’ve stayed here almost since our first trip to NAB. Not much changes here but our breakfast cafe, sadly, is now a Denny’s – gentrification is spreading to Primm. We also have yet to ride the roller coaster.  Oh, someday…

As usual, I’m not highlighting the things that everyone has already talked at length about.  I think the photos I’ve posted are for things most online haven’t pointed out.↑ Profoto is know for making excellent strobe units for still photography but they’re now getting into motion image work.  While hard to see, the “beauty dish” is my favorite – it’s the one on the right with the delightful flare.  Wonderful unit for portraiture photography.

↑ CineMills been around for a long time and I’m sure I’ve used their products from time to time.  But I have to say they’ve mostly been under the radar for me.  I was re-introduced to them earlier this year during the MastersPOV conference where they were one of the sponsors.  Above are two new LED units.  The top one as you can see is in a china lamp holder but it comes with a “bird cage” diffusion and skirt.  The bottom one is a called a Razor.  I want them both.

↑ Friend and SteadiCam operator Grant Cullwell showing off a wicked ride at the Tiffen booth.  I SOOOO wanted to ride it!

↑ Zylight has a nearly production ready Fresnel LED light coming called the F8.  Here you’re seeing it with the bellow closed but when extended it changes the spread of the light (16°-70°).  I love the idea of this light for location work.

↑ For me, I think this one is the “best in show”.  It’s a company from Turkey called Edelkrone and they make camera support rigs for HDSLR and small form cameras.    They are the Transformers of camera rigs.  Writing about it doesn’t do it justice, you need to visit the site and see the videos they have of their products.  I’m totally buying one (or several) of their rigs.  I’m particularly fond of the Pocket Rig (bottom picture with the addition of handles).  Beautiful form and function.

↑ So the picture is a bit fuzzy but, hey, it’s my iPhone.  What you’re looking at is a cable support from SmallHD that clamps to the side of your camera (in this case a Canon 5D) and it hold the vile mini HDMI cable in place and protects if from getting knocked around.  Nice solution.  Personally, I’m partial to my LockPort5 since it’s so easy to find standard HDMI cables everywhere.  However, I still have a few mini HDMI cables that I’d like to see used again so I do like this solution.

What else did I like?

Well, Blackmagic Design’s new cinema camera is tantalizing.

Indisystems’s jib that uses two 2 litre bottles as counter weight has me echoing what Bill Bennett, ASC said on Twitter:

“What do you mean, you forgot the counterweights for the crane?” “Yes, but I also bought rum!”

I’m still a huge fan of the Hive lights that are using plasma as a light source.

As for grip, Kupo – part of the Mac Group (as is Profoto).  They’re just starting to make inroad in the US.  They make traditional grip equipment with a twist.  Like the C-stand arm with a milled hex stud on the end of the arm.  Good mix of still and motion grip equipment.  Very well made and thought out.

And finally the Codex digital magazine solutions are constantly getting better and more adaptable to a wider variety of productions.

A million thanks to my friend Aaron who made the trip with me yet again.  And to my friend and Gaffer from Canada, João, I hope you had a wonderful time and met some great Brazilians on your trip.  Till next time… ciao ciao.

Click here to see some of his work.

Also, got a chance to work with a friend from Chapman University.  Chris Levitus was the 2nd Unit’s director.  I haven’t DP’d for him since shooting one of his university projects on 16mm.  Wonderful time, great stuff and we made our day despite the additional shot and scene thrown on our plate.   Thanks everybody for your hard work on a burly overnight shoot.  

2012-03-18 @ 00:38 PDT:  I said it wouldn’t be the last of it.  I made landyard knots for my meter and pouch but this is my crowning achievement (until I do something else big).  I made Ranger beads.   I learned from the Paracordist.  He makes some AMAZING things I can only dream of having enough time in my day to do.  Still I found enough time to make this which took about two nights worth.  The best part is when your hands develop the route memory and then the work becomes easy.  Why did I make this?  Well, in part for fun and it looked like a challenge (and it was).  But also, you never know, I might need it during a recce… maybe… someday… possibly. Hmmm… now what should I make?

So what did I do to clean up this mess?  First thing that worked was a php script that cleans most of the infected files (script found here).  Thanks go to LaneHalloway.com for the link.  The script cleaned up every infected file save for one, the wp-config file.  For that I deleted a base64decode crap that was embedded in the comments section at the head of the file.  For what it’s worth, I used Dreamweaver to clean up the code and Transmit to upload the script but I could have easily used any text editor or FTP program.

So far so good.  I’m sure this won’t be the last time this happens.

UPDATE: What a fantastic weekend. Here’s a picture from the panel discussion.

Ed Gutentag (Local 600) moderated the weekend.  Wonderful discussions by everyone and some excellent practical demonstrations by Gabriel Beristain and Karl Lindenlaub.  I also very much enjoyed Allen Daviau talking about his work with Spielberg.  Allan has a special place in my heart.  During film school, I must have watched his episode of the Kodak’s Master Class Series on (eh gads) VHS  and shot in Australia.  His segment was about shooting for black and white and it put me way ahead of other classmates on how to understand, use and interpret what I saw with my eyes with what the film would see.

The weekend wasn’t with some downsides but they were few and far between.  In all, this was the first of what I hope will be many such programs that I’m sure will only get better.

2012-02-18 17:23 PST: 
I’ve been looking for a durable way of clipping my light meter and pouch to my belt but more importantly to my pants (or shorts) when I can’t or don’t want to wear a belt.  Going to the restroom is the obvious reason with the fear of juggling to make sure they don’t hit the ground much less fall into the toilet bowl (specifically when a porto-potty is involved!).  But more often my pouch or meter are hitting something while riding on the dolly through doorways or any tight spaces.

So yes, finally, I did a bunch of searching and here’s what I got.  It’s a belt clip and attachment from Blade-Tech.  They predominately manufacture equipment and accessories for the military and law enforcement.  As the photos shows, I ended up getting a belt clip and MOLLE Loks.  All put together, they’re wonderful!  As silly as this is going to sound, they beautifully made.  Very rugged, easy to attach and have a certain amount of “geeky cool” I have no problem showing off.  Looking forward to my next shoot.

2012-03-10 02:03 PST: The new “bat belt” is working.  Here’s a photo from a shoot this week.  I had my meter on my belt but later put it on my pants pocket.   Love being able to clip it just about anywhere.  I actually wore shorts today and I was able to clip my meter.  I know it’s silly but it’s liberating.  To quote from Forrest Gump, “that’s good! one less thing”.

2012-03-27 @ 22:17 PDT: Update yet again.  A slight modification to my light meter case.  The MOLLE Loks are longer than the belt loop on my meter, so to prevent it from moving about I added a few cable ties.  As silly as it sounds, I’ve been looking for cable ties that weren’t zip ties.  These ties run flat instead of looping perpendicularly.  The were a bit hard to find but I ended up getting them on eBay from JEGS Performance Products.  They made for performance cars so I certain they’ll be able to withstand the day-to-day tussle of life on set.  I cut the excess with a razor and then burned it with a lighter to smooth the cut.  Works great and doesn’t snag.  The arrow on the image shows where I added another cable tie to secure the clip to the belt look more closely and reduce bouncing and play.  Had a shoot this weekend and it worked out brilliantly.