The day that rocked Filmmaking !!

I have a motto in film making and it parallels Apple's Steve Job's philosophical viewpoint for new products, KEEP IT SIMPLE,  KEEP IT FUN. After decades of working intimately with Apple I guess it rubbed off and after yesterdays announcements its fantastic to see where cameras and technology are heading...




Yesterday for me was history making & on the heels of Createasphere a great show all in our realm should know about, significant announcements were made by Canon, Red & Sony the day before. With all the hoopla of a Hollywood blockbuster premier, including Martin Scorcese, these announcements were blogged onto the internet from Paramount, Burbank and Hollywood in star studded fashion.

It's really fantastic how camera manufacturing GIANTs are really listening to all levels of film makers. SONY with it's new F65 and the F3's new hi tech wide and telephoto zoom (11-16mm & 18-252mm WOW!!) has really hit it right this time around for Indie and Feature market sectors.

Newly announced Canon C300 camera comes in at around $20K, RED's new Scarlet comparably configured at $14K and the Sony F3 also at around $14K. So who the clear winner will be in my mind is going to be who produces the best image, best workflow ie Codec and workable form factor for these new genre of run 'n gun cams.

Having worked with so many cameras including the F3 I look forward to test shoots with the 2 new kids on the block. My gut feeling is that the F3 will yield the most bang for the buck especially if SONY drops the S-Log fee which basically unlocks the 4:4:4 capability already built-in to the camera. It would be a smart move on Sony's part as the F3 will now be competing with 4K and 5K imaging capability from Scarlet and Canon's C300. While S-Log 4:4:4 may not be RAW it is incredible to work with in the color grading process and the image result is superb.

SONY F3 Telephoto & Wide Zooms !Why so Slow Sony?
Specs of Sony SCL-Z18x140 18-252 mm Zoom:

• FZ mount (F3 proprietary mount) – 35mm format
• 18 – 252 mm (14:10 zoom
• T3.9 (wide end) – T6.8 (tight end) Too slow me thinks for $10K+
• 7 bladed iris
• filter diameter 82mm (forgot to check if it’s threaded)
• weight: 2.25 kg
• dims: 151.5 (w) x 173.5 (d) x 125.6 (h) at wide end
• 216.1 (d) at tight end — inner barrel extended
• Auto flange depth back adjustment

The front section telescopes out as you zoom to telephoto. Focus, iris and zoom gears are standard motion picture pitch, and will accommodate standard gears and accessories.  The front focus ring slides forward for Autofocus/Manual Focus and back for Full Manual Focus–just like on Sony’s EX1 1/2″ camcorder. Best part is the zoom is activated by the rocker control in the camera-right handgrip. For manual zooms or an external zoom unit, a switch below the handgrip disconnects the electric drive. Thank you Sony for keeping camera operator tools intact in the new smaller form cam.

Also coming in January 2012 will be the Wide Zoom PL Mount Cine Lens from Sony with a focal length of 11-16mm and T3.0.

CANON C300

Waiting for more data will update ASAP. You can watch a film shot by my favorite associate Vincent Laforet here: MOBIUS
Some shots from Engadget...

RED's SCARLET-X

 

It's capable of 5k stills and 4K video at 25fps. Scaling down the resolution to 3K enables 48fps, 2K gets you 60fps, and at 1K it can handle 120fps, nice slow mo! Data rate is 50mb per second using RED's proprietary "Redcode RAW" format to an SSD via the included slot.

The 6 million dollar question...uh, how long till we actually see these shipping! Reliability similar to EPIC then you really need to buy 2 of these! So that's what I'm saving my nickels to do, but most likely it will be 2 EPIC-M's or X...hmmm that's only gonna cost me around $100K...nickles, more nickels please... back to renting for now!





I'll get back to reviewing each of these new products in more detail after the dust settles soon! Right now it's off to the next film project...using 2 F3's and an EPIC!

Our recording facility "Seamusic Studio" has just been upgraded to SURROUND

Yep it's true and we're all very excited about it. We just finished installing the latest and greatest in the world of surround sound recording gear and our control room is now surrounded by 6 DynAudio speakers!

Good ole Mark Casselman audio engineer extraordinaire oversaw the installation. This was the finishing piece to our facility enabling us to handle virtually every aspect of film making. With ADR, VO, & now Surround Sound in our audio facility add that to a complete production and post production facility we are ready to produce virtually every aspect, every nuance, every thing it takes to bring Feature film and documentaries from Home screen to the big screen!

More to come...

News just in today:Rabin & Crew shoot in EMMY NOMINATED production!

Well great news again for our participation in Zacuto & Kesslers GREAT CAMERA SHOOTOUT which was nominated for this years EMMY AWARDS. Harry Rabin along with top notch crane crew Mike Braniger and Stephen Posner took part in Zacuto's 2nd installment of this industry technical documentary series.

We came in as our own production crew within the Shootout and were responsible for getting all the B Roll, moving shots, crane shots, dollie a la slider shots for the series.

Thank you Steve and Jens and Eric for bringing us into this well run production!  We are proud to be a part of this ground breaking project for the entertainment industry!

On the WAVE Productions new KESSLER GEAR!

That was quick, now we can take a break

Jonesy laying down on the job!

Meanwhile back at the warehouse Julie and Nicole are assembling the 20ft. Crane and 12 ft motorized shuttle dollie system from Kessler Crane. The motorized capability with computer control on both pieces of gear  provide versatility of use, in other words a multitude of different shot techniques like dynamic timelapse sequences as well as fast chase shots using lower ratio motors to capture quick action shots. The remote head which can be used on either including a cineslider actually has 4 motors 2 for each axis and are belt driven for precision, low noise and high load capacity.

Our mascot Jonesy looks on as these units get assembled and torn down in a matter of minutes!

Filmmakers say hello to Pro Video Rental

On the Wave Productions has launched ProVideoRental "PVR"
PVR provides all the latest as well as vintage gear for all your Video and Audio needs. From DSLR's to Panasonic 3700 to Sony CineAlta 35mm Cams, PL & EF L Glass,  support gear, Grip, Gaff, mixers, PA's Vintage Mics, PRE's and a ton more. We're confident we have what you need or can get it if we don't. And we go the extra mile!
Well how's that you ask?

Nicole

Well if you don't know how to use it we have crew ready to help out. We'll even provide training to your personnel on any of the gear to get your production up and running fast. Just ask our experienced filmmakers Nicole or Julie for assistance and they'll make it happen !

From Step vans to 40ft trucks we stand ready to assist you today!

OTW acquiring new gear from it's sponsors enabling Filmmakers

SONY F3 CineAlta Cam

Teradek sends Video to Monitors and iPad

Well I believe our film work speaks for itself this year! We've worked on Indies, Feature films, Documentaries and they all have that multi-million dollar look & Feel along with a high production value thanks to the innovation in cameras and support gear that has revolutionized our industry the last 2 years.

From automated dollies, portable cranes, sliders, 35mm rigs from run 'n gun to the big Stereo rigs from 3Ality we definitely had our most productive year ever. Just wanted to thank ZEISS, KESSLER, ANTON BAUER, ARRI, LITEPANELS, ZACUTO, Paramount Pictures, SONY Pictures, Mandalay and all our sponsors for putting their faith and believing in what we could produce with their gear! We've made $100,000.00 films look like 4-5 million dollar productions and 5-7 million dollar films look like epic blockbuster 50M films ! If you want expertise and the best in film for your budget minded productions you can trust the expertise at On the Wave Productions! We're not just your normal production crew, we are Directors, DP's and most important innovators ourselves and  experts at using the newest gear available.

Our relationships with our sponsors such as Zeiss, Canon, Sony, Kessler and many more speak loud and clear. This is why they put their trust in our abilities for feedback to improve the products that they bring to market.We pioneered HDSLR film making alongside incredible people in our industry such as Vincent Laforet, Phillip Bloom, Shane Hurlbut, Robert Primes, Nancy Schreiber, Steve and Jens from Zacuto, Eric Kessler and more. Now we're integrating even more with ARRI ALEXA's, SONY CineAlta Cameras and Panasonic AF100's so you get the best fit for your budget!

Spider Dollie with Remote Head

4:4:4 UNCOMPRESSED Recorder

So checkout some of the new gear on it's way to OTW and some that has already arrived!

SPIDER DOLLIE

SeaMusic Recording Studio Busy Busy...

The load-in with Claire,Conor and the Jones Dog workin it!

Well we've been keeping Producer/Engineer Steve Miles busy as can be. Steve's spent the last 3 months producing on a new CD for up and coming artist Conor Patrick. Cello, Slide Guitar, Pedal Steel, Hammond B3 with Leslies ! It's going to be one tasteful CD in the genre of Country-Folk Crossover, very cool tunes.

Travis Tighe

Also up is Travis Tighe and this kid can really sing and slams on guitar & Keyboard too! Heading to college next year he's creating a great demo and we'll post some video of Travis laying it down in the studio soon!

Joel Jamison

 Our veteran of music is none other than Joel Jamison multi talented Singer, Songwriter, Keyboard & Guitar player and and DRUMMER! Joel just finished his new CD here at the studio!