For the past several months, we have been using this HDSLR rig for run n' gun documentary work. It's a rather simple shoulder-mounted double-system setup, using the Panasonic GH1 for 24p 1920x1080 for video mounted on a slightly modified Cavision RS1580S-SPE Shoulder Pad with Rod System. We're using a Sennheiser ME66/K6 mic going to a Zoom H4N audio recorder for sound, and generally roll sound continuously to sync in post. At some point, we'll probably switch to the Juicelinked DT454 for audio straight to the camera for audio, but it can be nice to have all that audio. The lens pictured here is a 55mm f1.2 Canon FD lens we purchased from KEH, a great supplier of new and used cameras and lenses based here in Atlanta.

This shift to DSLR cinema is really quite exciting. Once you've overcome all the limitations of shooting video with a still camera (like rolling shutter artifacts and the lack of image stabilization), it's possible to produce images that rival much more expensive cinema cameras. These lower production costs make it possible for our clients to utilize digital cinema in ways that have never been possible. Stay tuned for more on that.

Tags: Panasonic GH1, DSLR Video

Check out this video by Keith Loutit. Keith uses a tilt/shift lens to make landscapes look like tiny models. Tilt/shift lenses are able to tilt and/or shift the plane upon which the lens projects, creating the same kind of depth of field effect a macro lens would have close up on small objects. A monster truck rally is really the perfect material for this kind of shooting.

Tags: Tilt Shift|Keith Loutit

Internet users view 16.8 billion videos online during the month of April (recently reported by ClickZ). That's a 16% increase over March and a 32% increase over the 12.7 billion who viewed video online in November 2008. Most were Youtube videos with durations around 3.5 minutes. Some attribute this to the slow economy generating more free time for users to kill watching videos (interesting to think that a slow economy could be generating things). I attribute the rise to a shift in the general viewing habits of internet users, technology improvements in content delivery, and the general improvement in the quality of online video content.

With this kind of exponential increase, it's a matter of time before online video is the standard for communicating ideas online. While obviating the necessity to utilize the medium, these numbers also represent the importance of quality, compelling, user-friendly content that stands out from the crowd.

Some other interesting facts from the report, which originated from a comScore study.
• 78.6 percent of the total U.S. Internet audience viewed online video.
• The average online video viewer watched 385 minutes of video, or 6.4 hours.
• 107.1 million viewers watched 6.8 billion videos on YouTube.com (that averages out to 63.5 videos per viewer).
• 49 million viewers watched 387 million videos on MySpace.com (7.9 videos per viewer).
• Hulu accounted for only 2.4 percent of videos viewed, but made up 4.2 percent of all minutes spent watching online video.
• The duration of the average online video was 3.5 minutes.

Tags: Online Video, Clickz

Technology grows exponentially, and that certainly holds true for camera technology. But every decade or so, a new product hits the video industry that completely revolutionizes things overnight. In 2002, that product was Panasonic’s DVX100 camcorder. This was a special camera because it would shoot progressive video at 24 frames per second, the same rate 35mm film is projected at in the theater.

The DVX100 brought the film “look” to the masses. It opened up the industry, enabling anyone with vision and determination to make a motion picture that could finally look more like a movie than a home video. But the DVX100 still had a small sensor and still relied on tape-based media to record highly compressed, low resolution (especially considering the oncoming standardization of High Definition Video) footage. Small sensor size and high compression ratios introduce all sorts of creative limitations. It’s difficult to achieve shallow depth of field, for example, when your lens is resolving to a small sensor.

Things changed drastically again about a three years ago when a guy by the name of JIm Jannard announced he was going to develop a game-changing camera that records raw, uncompressed footage to the medium of one’s choosing. These kinds of announcements had happened before to no avail, but this scenario was different. Jannard was a millionaire who owned the Oakley sunglasses company and also happened to be a huge still and cinema camera aficionado.

To the astonishment of many and the delight of most, Jannard concept became a reality one year later with the Red One, a “digital cinema camera” that records uncompressed images at variable frame rates at the whopping horizontal resolution of 4000 pixels (thats more than twice the resolution of high definition video). At a price point of $17k, this camera certainly revolutionized the industry and is quickly becoming a standard for image acquisition with low budget and Hollywood films alike.

Which brings us to the present. Things took off for Red, and Jannard decided to sell Oakley to focus on the production of a new line of cameras starting with “Scarlet,” a camera which - should it make it through production - will flip the video and cinema camera industry on its head. Why? Because the entry-level Scarlet system will retail for less than $4k.

What does this mean for PROPERMEDIUM and the rest of the video production industry? It means images will originate in their most pure form possible. It means offering clients imagery that, before Scarlet, would have required an unrealistic budget. We’re looking forward to the release of this camera.

Tags: Scarlet, Red Digital Cinema