Win a Kessler Crane Stealth Pocket Dolly here and help a great charity!

Back in the summer of 2010 I shot a documentary in Lewiston, Idaho for directors Vernon Lott & Jennifer Anderson. Influenced by the style I shot “A day at the races,” in they hired me to DP their movie.

From the blurb

“The Lewiston / Clarkston valley has a rich history. It is here, at the confluence of the Clearwater and Snake Rivers, where Lewis and Clark camped on their westward journey over two hundred years ago. Residents boast that the valley is the gateway to Hells Canyon, that Lewiston was Idaho’s first capital. However, the valley also has a much darker past, one that many know about, but few publicly acknowledge. From 1979 to 1982, five people disappeared. Only three of the bodies have ever been found. All share one suspect.”

Don't mount your pocket dolly to your head like I did!!

It’s an intense and very moving documentary. My sometime assistant Preston Kanak was my assistant for this (the first time we met) and also did some pick ups for it after I left. Further pick ups were done by Mark McKnight. Sound was beautifully recorded by Steven Bechtold and the masterful editing was done by Christian Kinnaird.

Having Christian at the location made things so much easier for us. We would shoot an interview and he would ingest the footage and make a shot list of things we needed to shoot based upon what was said by the interviewee. A really efficient way to shoot a documentary under a tight time constraint.

The music by Peter Broderick, available too on iTunes, is haunting. Check out the video below the trailer for more of it.

This was the first feature documentary I had shot fully on the Canons, it came just after the Red Tails shoot at the absolute height of DSLR mania.

Were they the right cameras for the job? Absolutely. There was nothing else on the market that came close in our budget. A hugely cinematic look with a small footprint, something that also required very subtle lighting which is key when shooting docs. Would I shoot with them for a similar project today? Probably not. With a C300, F3 and FS100 in my arsenal, it would make more sense to use one of them. The 12 minute recording issue was a major pain, as was the dual system recording. It just would be easier without them, and my current cameras all have better image handling than DSLRs, so it would make sense to use them today. But if that is all you had? Absolutely. As you can see from the trailer and the film, the image is gorgeous. If shot well and coloured well, DSLR footage bats way over its average.

I had a very simple system for getting past the 12 minute issue. As the director’s questions were not needed for use in the film, at the 6 minute mark I waited for the interviewee to finish their current answer. That gave me 6 minutes for them to finish before it cut out. For 99% of the time, these was enough time for that to happen so I could simply press STOP START on the camera and start another clip. The sound was not stopped but kept recording the whole way. Nice and neat. Pluraleyes then came in and auto synced the whole lot!

You can buy or rent the movie from iTunes, hopefully in your region. Please try and watch in HD. It makes a difference. It’s available in the following regions currently: Ireland, UK, Australia, New Zealand, USA and Canada.. More to follow I hope!

CONFLUENCE Official Trailer from Morris Hill Pictures on Vimeo.

Peter Broderick – Old Time (Official Music Video) from Erased Tapes on Vimeo.

Helicopter 5DmkII FCP smoothcam test from Philip Bloom extras on Vimeo.

Shot with a Canon 5DmkII and a 24-105mm IS resting on a pillow!

Smoothcam test done with it.

Available now on iTunes

DVDs for sale at confluencethemovie.com

Credits

Directed by
Jennifer Anderson
Vernon Lott

Cinematography by
Philip Bloom

Produced by
Diana Anderson …. executive producer
Jennifer Anderson …. producer
Gina Lott …. executive producer
Vernon Lott …. producer
Kenneth Merrill Sr. …. executive producer

Original Music by
Peter Broderick

Film Editing by
Christian Kinnard

Sound Recordist
Steven Bechtold

Additional Photography
Preston Kanak
Mark McKnight

Audio Post-Production by
Jason Devore

Trailer Edited by
Alan Canant

So here I am sitting in yet another hotel room, this time in Porto Portugal. Thankfully the internet is not as pants as most hotel internet is (at the moment but that could change!). Why is this good? Well Karen Abad and Cristina Valdivieso have dirt on me and have blackmailed me into doing their podcast on Sunday night! Damn Las Vegas…NAB 2012 warning…always remember there are cameras EVERYWHERE!

All joking aside I can’t wait to do the podcast. Both Karen and Cristina are AWESOME (I understand Americans say that a lot? Personally I would go with smashing!) and it should be an insightful and interesting conversion…So at 5pm USA Eastern, that’s 10pm Portugal/ London time I will be exposing myself to them live on air, metaphorically speaking I must add (much to everyone’s relief!) to answer all their probing questions and hopefully yours!

So click on the image below and I hope to see you all there!

EDIT: Fantastic news. The finished movie won Best Documentary and Mass impact award at the Boston Film Festival. A massive boost for the film. I couldn’t be happier. Well done Ruaridh Arrow the Director!

EDIT: It’s also just won Best Documentary at Raindance!!

2 years ago in Boston I shot the bulk of a documentary on Nobel Peace Prize nominee Gene Sharp. This film is now finished and premiering at the 27th Boston Film Festival on the 18th of September then will be part of the Raindance Festival in London on the 2nd and 3rd of October.

Blog from May 29th 2009. This was shot in my first month of owning a Canon 5DmkII, so I wasn’t using it for the bulk of the filming. I was still using my EX3 and Letus Ultimate.

From wikipedia:

Gene Sharp (born 21 January 1928) is known for his extensive writings on nonviolent struggle: he has been called both the “Machiavelli of nonviolence” and the “Clausewitz of nonviolent warfare.”^[1]

Sharp is a political scientist, professor emeritus, and founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization which studies and promotes the use of nonviolent action in conflicts around the world.

Working with producer/ director Ruaridh Arrow, I am making a documentary on current Nobel Peace Prize Nominee Gene Sharp.

I have to plead ignorance and didn’t know of his work until I was approached for this gig, and he is an amazing man to be around, very kind, zen like and incredibly intelligent. A fascinating man whose life should have been documented well before now.

I wanted to share with you some black and white screen grabs from the Canon 5dmk2. Most of it is being shot on the EX1 and Letus, especially all the talking heads. But the more stylized shots and the other B-roll is being done on the 5dmk2 which is very new to me. It gives me the freedom to take down my lights, use available light and work REALLY fast, knocking of shots really quickly. It’s a great combo, I just wouldn’t do the whole thing on the 5dmk2 mainly due to the sound and recording length limitations. Oh and the 30p….which of course means I need to convert all my lovely footage to 25p, most likely in compressor.

Anyway, below here are some frame grabs from the footage in black and white from the 5dmk2. Love that image!

I have one and a half days of filming before I go home…it’s been great. It’s also been wonderful meeting so many people I just know over the internet at my first ever “Meet up”

DECEMBER 2011: It’s two years ago that I was in Skywalker Ranch. This was the single most exciting thing to happen in my career, I am an utter geek and this story still makes me smile! What a great time! I went back 4 times after this and of course then shot 2nd unit RED TAILS for them on the cameras. I do  have an open invite to go back whenever I want. I must take them up on it. An amazing place and amazing people!

The problem with email, especially getting several hundred a day, is you miss some. Some more important than others. One email I completely missed was from Rick McCallum. Producer of the Star Wars prequels and many other films and TV shows at Lucasfilm. He said he loved my work and wanted to talk to me about working together on a movie they were making. I missed this email. Not good.

Fortunately they didn’t give up on me. Head of post production Mike Blanchard phoned me up 3 weeks later to see if I could come over and consult about the potential of using video DSLRs for their productions. He called whilst I was shooting so it went to voicemail. I picked it up the next day and thought holy shit! They must have thought I was playing hardball by not replying to Rick. I wasn’t. I am just a bit useless with all the emails!

“Star Wars” has been a part of my life for over 30 years. I saw it as a child when I was 7 and the second film, “The Empire Strikes Back” affected me enormously. I was in tears when I came out of the cinema. My hero…Han Solo, frozen in carbonite taken by Boba Fett! Anyway, I digress…

NOOOOOOOO.....

Of course I phoned Mike back said yes please! 5 days staying at Skywalker Ranch as their guest and showing them how to get the best out of the Canon 5DmkII and the Canon 7D. They also wanted to be shown how to use the EX3, Letus Ultimate and Nanoflash.

So I flew to San Francisco on Saturday last week and drove to the ranch (via Best Buy of course!). What a stunning place. In the middle of nowhere with enormous beautiful natural grounds and complimentary buildings. I was put in the Federico Fellini apartment. Each apartment is named after a famous person. From architects to actors, composers, writers, photographers, filmmakers. The one I was in is the one where Clint Eastwood always stays. Yes, I slept in Clint’s bed!

The first night, knowing the weather was not supposed to be great over the next few days I did some night timelapses using my 7D and 5DmkII. I left them running until 3am when they froze over!

All photos are taken with the Panasonic GF1 with the 20mm F1.7 Pancake lens.

The next day I spent the afternoon filming around the ranch, the morning was a washout but it was dry enough to start. Using my 5DmkII, Miller DS20 Solo tripod, 16-35mm F2.8, 24mm f1.4, 35 f1.4, 50mm f1.2, Shift Tilt f3.5 24mm and my 70-200mm IS f2.8. I also brought with me the new Glidetrack Shooter. Rick asked me to bring it and Alastair from Glidetrack kindly shipped one over to me straight away to take with me. The shooter gives you the ability to do really lovely simple dolly shots without the drag of a full dolly and track set up. I also used both the Fader ND 72mm variable ND filter and 77mm thin Singh-Ray vari-nd on every shot to keep my shutter to double the shooting frame rate for optimum film motion. That means when shooting on the 5d I was at 1/60th and on the 7d I was at 1/50th.

But still the weather was crappy. Very grey overcast day. Everything looked very flat and lifeless which makes it that much harder to make things look beautiful.

The ranch is beautiful and reminds me a little of Scotland mixed with Italy. Rolling hills, horses, cows, a stunning lake and beautiful buildings. It was even cold, very much like Scotland. I left the rushes converting to Pro Res overnight and at 7 in the morning i put together a rough edit to show Rick and Mike at 9am.

I had, at this point, never seen my work projected on a really good projector before so this was going to be a real test of the cameras. Rick and Mike wanted to see how well the footage held up on the big screen. They had shot some stuff and weren’t happy with what they were getting. So they converted my edit into an MXF to play through Avid and I sat down to watch the edit. I was nervous. Never having seen my work on a big screen as good as this, but also George Lucas came in to watch and also the legendary sound designer Ben Burtt. My heart was racing. I watched as the edit played and they loved it. My favourite moment was when the star timelapse came on and Ben Burtt said “Hey, now, hang on!!” This was a very quick ungraded draft edit knocked together from a crappy grey day as a test, not supposed to be shown as an example of my work! Then Quentin Tarantino came in as he was due to talk at a screening of “Inglorious Basterds” and George said to Quentin, come see this. Quentin waxed lyrical, calling it Epic and William Wylersesque and was shocked it was shot on a DSLR. He had no idea you could shoot HD video on them or they were so good. I love George Lucas and Quentin Tarantino, so to have my work screened to them was pretty special to me. Rick, Mike and I also watched some of my other work on the big screen. “Venice’s People”, “San Francisco’s People”, “Cherry Blossom Girl” and “Sofia’s People”. They all looked incredibly good on the big screen. Better than I could ever have imagined. We watched everything in the Stag theatre at the ranch too. Probably one of the best screens in the world. 40 foot screen and it looked incredible.

Ben Burtt with his Zacuto iphone grip junior

Mike and Rick were over the moon. They didn’t know how well these cameras would hold up on the big screen and it passed with flying colours. Lots of swear words of incredulity were used!

80% of the footage was shot on the 5DmkII at 30p, then conformed to 23.98p in Cinema tools, effectively causing a slight slowdown but as no sync was used this was fine. All the timelapses were done on the 7D apart from the first star one. Some shots of the mist on the lake were done on the 7D too in 23.98p mode. I found them indistinguishable in the edit. Picture profile was Neutral, sharpness all the way down, contrast all the way down and saturation down one notch on both cameras.

Original poster art in the main house

During the day I also went through the cameras with Mike and Rick on how to get the best out of them. Rick has my 7D training dvd so already knew a lot. I went through all the Zacuto gear with him. He particularly was impressed with the Tactical Shooter with Z-Finder. We also used the Marshall monitor and Miller DS20 Solo (and of course the Glidetrack)

Rick McCallum

Rick shooting with the Zacuto Tactical and Z-Finder

Rick McCallum with the Zacuto sniper kit

Mike Blanchard

The next day we shot with the Sony EX3, Letus Ultimate, relay and Nanoflash recording at 280mbs. Testing out this combination for the big screen too and it also looked pretty good! Although we did a lot less filming with this combo as it was the DSLRs that we really wanted to see how well they stood up.

Ex3 with Nanoflash

Letus Ultimate with Relay

So why were we shooting with these cameras and why is Lucasfilm’s producer Rick McCallum interested in them?

First off Lucasfilm has been at the forefront of digital technology. They were instrumental in getting a 24p Sony HD camera to use for some shots in Episode 1 of Star Wars and shot episode 2 & 3 entirely digitally. So being ahead of the pack has always been something they do. Pushing the reluctant industry forward kicking and screaming!

George Lucas with the Sony F900 on Episode 2

Rick and Mike had seen what these cameras were capable of and wanted to really know just how much you could push them. They had seen mine and others work online but really wanted to see how well they performed projected. The joy of these guys is they have a great attitude. If it looks great on the big screen then that is the most important thing. Not codecs, limitations, bit rates etc…all those are very important but the most important thing by far for them is how it actually looks and it passed with flying colours. That is what they really care about.

On the day I left, Wednesday, I got up at the crack of dawn as I knew it would be really frosty. It paid off. I got some lovely shots of the frost and the mist which meant I could finish the edit properly as I had more footage to complete it. Which I did on the plane home using my 13″ MBP and then graded it using Magic Bullet Looks as well as tidying up the earlier edit and creating the new timelapse from stills.

Below is my polished edit of my film of Skywalker Ranch that I did on the plane home, not the rough cut that was shown. It’s a very gentle piece that captures the feel of the grounds. Mostly shot on the 5DmkII, conformed to 24p as it was non sync and the timelapse was all done with stills. I have to say as fan, a geek and a filmmaker. Being at the Skywalker ranch and being made so welcome by all these incredibly talented people has been a highlight of my career. Next week I get to meet up with Rick again in Prague, along with Albert Hughes (of the Hughes Brothers) who has just finished his latest film “Book of Eli” with Denzel Washington to do some test shooting with the new 1DmkIV. I will post footage and my review of that camera as soon as I can.

HUGE thanks to Lucasfilm for giving me permission to post this short!

Am hoping to get a red lightsabre in the post for Christmas! EDIT: I did, Lucasfilm sent me some goodies, check out this silly video of me unwrapping them here

All large photos are ©2009 www.philipbloom.co.uk

**Note: I am not an expert — these are just my opinions on collaboration. I will also be focusing on how it relates to film making and will provide some real world examples. Comments are encouraged **

Collaboration is the Key to Success

By Preston Kanak

Collaboration is the key to success in virtually every situation. It not only allows you to focus on a specific element of the creative process, but it also brings a fresh set of eyes to a project. In virtually all collaborative projects, new ideas and perspectives lead to something unique. Collaboration also allows you to draw upon a knowledge base that would otherwise be inaccessible by taking advantage of tools and skill sets unique to each individual. Most importantly however, collaboration helps form new relationships, establish new audiences, and in most cases, substantially improve the final product.

Taking Extreme Measures

One of the best examples of how collaboration was the impetus for success in film making was with the film El Mariachi by Robert Rodriguez. In 1992, this film was produced for $7,000 and was targeted towards the home video audience. However, Columbia Pictures ended up buying the American distribution rights, making it Rodriguez’s break-out hit.

This film would not have been made if it wasn’t for the collaboration of many individuals involved in the project (although almost half the financing came from Rodriguez’s participating in experimental clinical drug testing). For example, actors were forced to also act as crew members and real-life people were used as characters in the film. This example is obviously an extreme form of collaboration but if it wasn’t for collaboration, this film would not have been made.

Collaboration Comes in Many Forms (Here are 3)

Collaboration can be broken down into many areas. For this article, I am going to focus on three different forms of collaboration. It can exist in either roles, relationships, or skill sets. For collaboration to exist in roles, it is key that the people you are working with specialize in a specific area of production — different than what you specialize in. For example, if you specialize in cinematography, it makes sense to find someone who specializes in editing or vise versa. This form of collaboration is present in virtually all productions.

The second and most common form of collaboration are relationships, both working and personal. When starting out, I found it very helpful to collaborate with an adviser/mentor figure. The transfer of knowledge that happens in these relationships are invaluable. Now, I turn to my colleagues for advise/recommendations/constructive criticism. It is absolutely key to have people you can turn to. One thing to keep in mind however, is that you should not forgo your own opinions about your work. Be open-minded and willing to take constructive criticism but also stick to your guns in some situations. A lot of the time it boils down to taste. For example, Eric Kessler likes Dub Step. Philip Bloom doesn’t . Most of these decisions are based on your client or target audience.

The last form of collaboration that I am going to touch on is collaboration by skill set. Similar to roles, this one focuses on your strengths. When working in a team environment, such as on an indie film set, everyone has a dedicated responsibility on set. However, if someone needs help, you help them. Everyone is working towards a common goal and it is this approach that I prefer in most situations.

Collaboration is Common

Collaboration is extremely common in virtually every industry. Many workplaces function with multiple departments that work in unison towards a common goal. It is extremely rare to find a single individual in charge of everything (although somewhat commonplace for independent freelancers). It is far more likely and practical for people to build upon their strengths and focus on developing your skill set.

Collaboration is extremely important for start up businesses (freelancers). This can come in many forms. In many situations, I find that I play many roles in a production and am able to comfortably produce, shoot, edit, and write but I also know that a project is MUCH stronger when I bring on a team to help. In situations when I am doing it all myself, I make sure to ask colleagues their opinions before sending to a client. That extra set of eyes is key. Another way in which you can collaborate is by sharing resources (equipment). One of the biggest obstacles for film makers starting out is the ability to afford new gear. When I started out, and even now, I borrow equipment as much as possible as it keeps the overhead costs low.

A Focused Approach

Building upon the role approach, by working with a team you are able to focus on a specific aspect of the production. Instead of having to worry about every element of production, when you collaborate, you are able to rely on others to perform tasks that you otherwise would have had to take care of. This allows you to focus on what you are good at.

There is always a new way to approach a situation and it is really hard to become a master in a specific field, especially when technology is involved. However, when you are able to focus your energy in one area, you have a much better chance of pushing your creative boundaries. In my short time with film making, I have found that I was only able to push my abilities so far without the help of others. The second I started to incorporate the advice and skill set of others, my quality of work improved drastically.

A New Vision

No matter the scale of production, I always try something new — be it a new editing or story-telling technique. It is critical that when you are producing a film that you try and push boundaries and try things in new ways. By bringing on other people to collaborate, you are also introducing unique perspectives and this is key. You are able to draw upon pieces of each others vision to create a cohesive idea — introducing a new idea and a new way of looking at something. This happens many times on larger scale productions.

Collaboration also forces you to accept other people’s viewpoints and perspectives. I come from an indie background and have a specific way/style in which I like to do things. When you collaborate, you are taken out of your comfort zone and encouraged to see things in a new way — which is super important because the people you are collaborating with are as much your audience as is everyone else! However, you MUST be open to their ideas and be willing to move outside your comfort zones — and also forced to grow thick skin.

When working with others, you are exposed to things you may never see or hear and the more you collaborate, the more diverse your work will become. One such example is music selection. Recently, I produced a video with music I felt fit the mood of the piece perfectly. However, a friend of mine recommended a completely different piece of music that ended up evoking a completely different emotion that actually fit the piece much better then what I had picked. The piece would not of been as good as it was if I wasn’t willing to try new things.

Forming New Relationships

Relationship building on both a personal and professional level are very important aspects of film making — if not more important than the actual film making itself. It is important to view relationship building as an investment. Positive experiences will more than likely lead to more work and this is the ultimate goal.

Forming new relationships opens up opportunities you otherwise would not have had access to. Everyone has a set of contacts and a pool of talent they draw upon. If you are able to gain access to this list by simply providing something in return, you are only increasing your chances of success. It’s about give and take — just like in any relationship.

Establishing New Audiences

For me, one of the biggest driving forces for collaboration has been the way in which new audiences are established. Normally when I produce a film, I only have access to the people who are following my work. However, when you collaborate with others, you have now gained access to the collaborators audience as well via social media and other avenues. If this doesn’t drive someone to collaborate then I don’t know what will .

The Final Product

Although just a brief look at why collaboration is key, it is easy to see it’s importance. By collaborating with others, you are able to draw upon a wealth of knowledge from people with completely different life experiences. It opens up opportunities you otherwise would not have had. Most importantly however, it helps generate a new vision, new audiences, and new relationships.

Below are two different pieces I recently produced in two very different collaborative projects.

Karrnnel – Coast/Rain – ‘A Clear Vision’

About the Film

For this film, I collaborated with four other artists/musicians (Karrnnel, Louis-Charles Vigneau, Daniel Koulack, & Amy Matysio). We wanted to capture a live jam session. In relation to our collaborative model, we took the skill set approach — focusing on everyone’s strengths but also helping each other in areas that weren’t covered. We only had an hour and a half to set everything up and film the project so we were all forced to pitch in and help. When it came to editing, I edited it all together, relying on the artists to make note of sections that had instruments out of sync as the final recording was not the same as what they were playing live. Amy, who acted as the creative director and co-producer/co-director, set the tone/grading for the piece.

Composer: Karrnnel

Fiddle: Karrnnel
Guitar: Louis-Charles Vigneau
Double Bass: Daniel Koulack

Produced by Amy Matysio, Preston Kanak & Karrnnel

Filmed & Edited by Preston Kanak

Triple Americano – ‘A Fresh Set of Eyes’

About the Film

This project was filmed over a week and a half and I wanted to encompass as many filmmakers in it as time would allow. It was filmed in Regina, Saskatchewan & Ausin, Texas. In regards to the approach, I based it off of all the above forms of collaboration (roles, relationships & skill set). Everyone involved helped at various stages of the video. First, they helped shoot it (roles) — focusing on their skills as a shooter, and then they gave feedback on the film once it was edited (building on both the relationship and skill set approach).

List of Filmmakers

Dustin & Zach Wilson
Riley Moynes
Jeremy Drummond
Michael Pavlovsky
Andrew Taran
Braden Jobson
Daniel Lowe
Eric Kessler
Joel Graves

Ethics Statement: Red Giant Software are an affiliate of PhilipBloom.net, but like all my affiliates their products are top notch. There are not many affiliates on PB.net for that reason. I only partner with companies who make the best stuff!

I just watched this really clever, funny and fantastically made short film by Seth Worley and Aharon Rabinowitz. All effects done within the new Magic Bullet Suite 11 which I have not got yet. There is loads of new software including a new version of Magic Bullet Looks! It also includes Magic bullet Cosmo which is like digital make up!

Click on any of the images to go the RedGiant site to order it.

With regards to film, it’s very well written and brilliantly executed. Each genre it homages is shot in that style, not just a filter applied. Beautifully shot and well acted with it’s tongue very firmly in it’s cheek! Please please please make sure you watch past the end credits!!

Director: Seth Worley

Executive Producer: Aharon Rabinowitz

“Plot Device,” a nine minute short film directed by Seth Worley, and executive produced by Red Giant’s own Aharon Rabinowitz. Aharon and Seth co-wrote the film, working together in close collaboration throughout the project. Plot Device was created to demonstrate first hand the high caliber work that can be created when using Magic Bullet Suite 11, even on a limited budget.

Check out the very interesting BTS HERE.

Last week I did a live presentation at the Royal Society of Medicine for MacVideo.TV entitled “The right camera for the right job…”

It’s a big question…What camera should I buy? Well it depends on what your budget is, what you are shooting and of course many more things…I try to answer as many of these questions as possible in the presentation as well as show some footage from the F3, AF100, Canons, Epic and Sony NEX5N.

Click the image below to watch part 1. Click the second image to watch part 2!

It doesn’t matter what you are doing. Whether it is ordinary or extraordinary, document it. This year aims to be bigger than last year which in itself was huge!

The amazing thing is it highlights and opens our eyes to so much around the world that. Last year there were videos from every single country totalling around 3,000 hours of footage.

Check out the trailer for last year’s film below and some other examples!

Click on the image below to find out how you can participate!

One Day on Earth – Participate Today! from One Day On Earth on Vimeo.

News from Canon, Red and Avid

By Preston Kanak

Canon Announcement

Engadget did a great job covering the announcement today so I have added the breakdown below.

Timeline

6:12PM “Since Canon’s founding in 1937, we have pursued constant innovation in optical technology.”

6:13PM “Now he’s talking up the 5D Mark II, and how they asked users of the camera to help them develop the new camera.”

6:13PM “And here is is, the Canon EOS c300!”

6:15PM Canon will also be rolling out quite a few new lenses with the new camera.

6:16PM He emphasizing how they want to be accepted into the filmmaking community, and the company is dedicated to working with the community to provide them better tools.

6:17PM Canon is also opening a Technology and Support Center to that end.

6:24PM Vincent Laforet, Polly Morgan, Richard Crudo and more are talking about the great signal to noise ratio, ability to shoot in natural light.

6:25PM “Literally, you can just take this camera and go make a movie.”

6:24PM “There’s no compression issues… what you see is exactly what was shot.”

6:35PM Daylight scenes are still looking good, but the noise persists in the low light shots.

6:51PM The pastoral scene look particularly good, vibrant colors and a clear picture. The C300 really does shine in daylight shots.

7:38PM The C300 can handle both EF and PL mount lenses, has a Super 35mm CMOS sensor, and delivers 4K resolution with the new EF lenses.

7:40PM The EF glass comes in four top-end zoom flavors, two 14.5-60mm lenses and two 30-300.

7:41PM There’s three EF prime lenses as well, 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm models. They also work well with EOS still image cameras as well.

7:43PM The cinema series lenses join Canon’s already massive collection of glass, now the “world’s largest selection” of over 70 lenses.

8:06PM Now we’re talking about the sensor inside the C300. It’s a full 4k sensor, with 1920 x 1080 pixels for the red and blue colors, and 1920 x 2160 pixels for green.

8:11PM List price is $20,000 and we’ll see these hit stores by the end of January 2012. Yes, 2012. As in this coming January. Worldwide.

Canon Announcement Breakdown

So what does all this mean?  I have done a breakdown of the specs below.  I will update the information so check back frequently .

Canon C300 Specs

Today Canon announced the new EOS C300 C Super 35 Video Camera. The cameras will be available in two versions.

C300 / C300 PL:

- Single 8.3 megapixel 2160×3840 Super-35 CMOS sensor (4K resolution) with Digic DV III processor
- Canon XF codec (50Mbps 4:2:2 1080p30 MPEG2 MXF) records to two Compact Flash card slots
- Canon Log gamma, SDI, compact body, Custom Presets and menus similar to Canon XF series
- Exposure and focus control are completely manual — there is no AE or AF on either camera
- Sold as a system, incl. LCD monitor / XLR audio unit, side grip, top handle, batt. & charger
- Availability: Jan. 2012; Price: appx. $20,000 USD (for C300)

Canon Lenses

- Canon Zoom Lens CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L S (wide zoom, EF version)
- Canon Zoom Lens CN-E14.5-60mm T2.6 L SP (wide zoom, PL version)
- Canon Zoom Lens CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L S (telephoto zoom, EF version)
- Canon Zoom Lens CN-E30-300mm T2.95-3.7 L SP (telephoto zoom, PL version)

And three yet-to-be-released primes, all resolve to 4K but all are EF-mount only:

- Canon Prime Lens CTZ-029 (24mm)
- Canon Prime Lens CTZ-030 (50mm)
- Canon Prime Lens CTZ-031 (85mm)

RED Announcement

Scarlet Specs

The SCARLET X will do 5K resolution at 12 FPS, 4K at 1-25FPS, 2K at 60FPS, 1K at 120FPS, and also does Quad HD (which is popular for downsampling to 1080P since it’s precisely double the resolution in both dimensions). It uses REDCODE RAW at 50MB/sec (which is 440 megabits/sec), comes with a side SSD slot, Canon lens mount, and will ship December 1st.

Pricing will be $9,750 for the Canon mount version and $11,250 w/ a PL mount lens (and the mounts are interchangeable). There is also an additional cost for the titanium mounts.

AVID Announcement

Avid Announcement Breakdown

New Media Composer, Symphony and Newscutter

Today Avid announced Media Composer version 6, Symphony version 6 and NewsCutter version 10 . All will be offered in native 64 bit!

Avid Media Composer 6.0 has been rebuilt from the core on an entirely new open, 64-bit architecture. Avid is also introducing a sleek, new User Interface that is designed to speed up workflows while preserving the same functionality. This means it will still look familiar to Avid professionals and you will not be forced to re-learn a new application — unlike what Apple did with FCPx.

Key features in this update include an expansion of Avid’s AMA, which now supports native AVCHD, native RED Epic, ProRes encode and decode, and a new DNxHD 4:4:4 codec. Support for Avid’s Artist Color hardware interface has been beefed up, and Pro Tools roundtripping is now complete — you can make changes to your mix in Media Composer and see them show up in Pro Tools 10. Media Composer 6 will be $2499, Nitris DX will be $5499, and Symphony 6 — available for the first time as a standalone software product, rather than a turnkey system — will be $5999. Upgrades from Media Composer 5.5 to 6.0 are $299, while Symphony upgrades ring in at $599. All of the new products will be available worldwide on November 15.

Well that’s as much as info as I have. I am not under an NDA with Canon or have inside info. This appeared on Engagdet not long ago…

Basically, there are two products it could be (unless it’s a new printer): a Canon 5dmkIII or more likely given the location for this launch (Hollywood), the much rumoured EF and PL camcorder with a Super 35mm sensor…that may or may not be of a 4K resolution. That is what my money is on, and talking of money I would expect it to come way under the RED Epic’s pricing…that is if it’s 4K…but 4K is the buzzword these days. We have the 5K epic, but we also have the new Sony F65 and the little JVC 4k coming out next year…It could be more an F3 style camera though with 1080p and a decent codec like the XF…but something makes me feel like it will be more than that…

My site is generally not one for rumours, but this is a concrete announcement of “something”…intriguing. But…

My biggest worry is actually this is not a product announcement at all, not even a whizz bang printer, as Andrew Gupta points out in the comments below this could be tied into Ron Howard’s “Project Imagin8ion”. An interesting project fuelled by user generated photos to create short films. With a tag line next to Ron Howard of “Where will he take the story”. It’s those words….”The story”

In which case great for Ron Howard, not so great for of all us salivating at what is clearly (from the comments below and on all the many blogs out there) something Canon need to get to market very soon!! So maybe we should lower our expectations…for now. I know it’s hard to as we all want a new Canon 5D and many of us want the EF camcorder. It isn’t helped by Canon being so vague about it all. It this really is nothing to do with cameras then Canon should squash these rumours by making it clear this is Ron Howard’s project and if it is not then say so. That way we can go back to rubbing our thighs in excitement. Be good to know either way, at least that is not giving away what it actually is!

http://canon.thismoment.com/