![\"\"](\"http:\/\/staging.philipbloom.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2008\/08\/r0010482.jpg\" "\\"r0010482\\"")
I received a revised protoype Letus Ultimate from Hien last week with a few minor external changes, some text and painted black. It looks better obviously but I understand it will look very different when the final production model is released hopefully around the end of next month,<\/p>\n
It stills has the same huge improvements over the Extreme, spinning glass, ability to stop all the way down and use fast shutter and the great back focus adjustment.<\/p>\n
I tried it out doing some filming for a Boris Johnson documentary in London and at Southend in Essex on a bright sunny day, one of the only ones we will have this year in England! After all my recent globetrotting you don\u2019t get much more English than Southend-on-sea! I have to admit I wasn\u2019t on the best of form when I was out filming that day but I think I got some good stuff out of it…<\/p>\n
One thing I tried and failed was to figure out a crude way to do a timelapse dolly. I tried rope, cable, wrapping it, walking slowly tugging it but nothing was smooth enough so I need to invest in slow geared system I think.<\/p>\n
Craig Spenceley, the director of the Trench, happened to be in Southend whilst I was there so he helped out. Thanks Craig.<\/p>\n
The short was filmed in 1080p and for the overcrank in 720p 60fps. The mega slow motion shot was completely done in post using the twixtor plug in from a normal speed shot. Grading was done as usual with Magic Bullet Looks and edited in FCP 6.03. The timelapse was done using the Mizar mount again shot at 1 frame every two seconds, shot at slow shutter 16. The image was cropped to 2:35 to 1 in the edit. Music is by Charles Trenet.<\/p>\n
Lenses were the usual culprits with the addition of a new Sigma 135-400mm f4.5-5.6 zoom lens. You can see it in a picture below, it\u2019s the long one! it really needs extra stabilisation but worked very well and was perfect for this shoot as well as causing no issues for the Ultimate like it would do for the Extreme.<\/p>\n
My original idea for the short changed on the day, mainly to do with what I captured. There was some ugliness there, a fight broke out near where I was but I avoided that as I wanted to try and capture the true feeling of a Sunday on a British seaside resort. One which despite superficial changes has changed little since I was a kid.<\/p>\n