Cinematographers 3D Mastering at Sony Pictures

On the set Bruce Dobrin and Rich checking out the 3ALITY rig with 2 Sony 1500R's

Mike deGruy and myself were fortunate enough to be invited by Sony Pictures to a Masters class in 3D film making taught by Buzz Hayes and Bruce Dobrin. It was quite the experience and after 2 full days we walked away with the ability to add another dimension to our productions. Convergence, divergence, interaxial, orthostereo, stereography and more 3D terminology became a part of our film vocabulary and understanding. I'll be headed back to SPE to delve into the 3D realm again and can hardly wait!

Premieres galore for On the Wave - HIFI projects this Month!

Well June is going to be a busy month of watching PREMIERES for all of use here at HQ. BERNIE will be kicking off the Los Angeles Film Festival JUNE 16th ! Both Jack Black & Shirley Maclaine will be there and of course Michael and I will be there too!



Also on June 15th "The Great Camera Shootout" will premiere as well.

Zacuto’s & Kessler's Emmy award winning series, The Great Camera Shootout 2010, is back with a brand new breed of cameras, a fresh set of challenges and plenty of new episodes. The Great Camera Shootout 2011 is a documentary about the Single Chip Camera Evaluation (SCCE) which is a large scale technical camera comparison administered by Robert Primes, ASC.  The documentary was designed to educate and broaden the understanding of the elements that create image quality. 

Eric Kessler recruited Harry to Direct and DP the 2nd unit shots all on Kessler gear, Cranes, Sliders and more for this award winning series. Mike Braniger was Gaffer and Stephen Posner was my AC! See it here THE GREAT CAMERA SHOOTOUT II.

Also coming up in late July the long awaited Premiere of Karl Ford's "BURIAL." We'll have some footage up soon of this action packed drama!

The Director is now on the 6th rev of this film noire project and I can tell you it looks FANTASTIC. It was an interesting project to have 2 DP's but Orlando and I were in complete harmony and it paid off visually. We used all CANON DSLRs for the entire shoot ! Pushing the technology to it's limits with the help of Canon and Zeiss and Kessler! I had fun Directing 2nd unit as well and NOOT did all of her own stunts!!
 

Harry & Michael head to New Mexico for "As Cool As I Am."

Well we're off and running again to work on a Wind Dancer feature film "As Cool As I am" starring Claire Danes and James Marsden. This time we're packing the new Panasonic AF100's with CANON lenses. More from New Mexico next week.

Excerpt from the WRAP !

James Marsden and Claire Danes will star in "As Cool as I Am," an independent film that will shoot in New Mexico this month, TheWrap has confirmed.
Writer-director Max Mayer, who directed Danes's husband, Hugh Dancy, in "Adam," is directing the movie, which is based on Pete Fromm's coming-of-age novel.
"As Cool as I Am" is the story of Lucy Diamond, the teen daughter of self-centered parents who married when they were teens. Marsden and Danes play the parents. The role of Lucy has not yet been cast.
Anthony Mastromauro, of Identity Films and Judd Payne and Matt Williams, of Wind Dancer Productions, are producing. Virginia Korus Spragg wrote the script.
Marsden and Danes are repped by WME.

Burial nearing completion in Post. Behind the Scenes look!

Here's some shots from BTS!  I had a great time sharing the role of DP with Orlando and doing a couple of scenes as 2nd unit Director with Nicole.  It may have been low budget but it was 1st rate and more fun! You could literally envision great results as they were being shot! That's better than most features I've worked on!  Hey Noot TAKE 11 !! Actually that was a rare occasion! The fewest takes as a whole I've ever seen on any movie! Here's a magazine article that just came out on Noot & Burial from FOAM Magazine...click here!




Well Karl Ford has been working day and night to finish up Post on "Burial" starring Noot Seear. Hmmm
I'm setting up the Kessler CineSlider here with some OTW mods added to it! "You mean I have to climb up the ladder with the slider too!"  "Where's my AC!?$#%$@!"






Working with a second  DP is unusual and could have been a challenge but Orlando was incredible and we got into a rhythym that really moved the setups and shooting along quite well.Orlando with Steadicam, Karl, Stephen and Harry on the set ready to go on an ice cold rainy day.





Director Karl Ford pointing to the car, oh yeah it's time to head up to Buellton after a full days shoot to start the late night "watch the sun rise shoot." Well we better hit "In & OUT" on the way up, hey isn't that Airica and Allison & Nicole in line, great minds think alike. Well that was one incredibly long cold night, freezing! Hey that looks like dawn, right I think we actually got home at 6AM!

Harry vs. M16

John don't point that M16 at me...now's the time I'd rather be using my Zacuto EVF ( ok a shameless plug but I really had the thought cross my mind!) rather than perfectly lined up looking straight down the barrel of that M16 at a bullet with my DSLRs name on it!!

John pointing right at me!

To say I wasn't a bit hesitant about shooting that shooter about to take a shot, er uh make that automatic gunfire at about 15 rounds in the blink of an eye, well what do you think...hmmm BURIAL catchy name...

Click on any Picture to enlarge

FINALLY A CLEAR EXPLANATION OF WHAT WENT WRONG ON THE DEEPWATER HORIZON

Please checkout this link to Democracy Now and listen to a crystal clear explanation of what caused the failure at the Macondo Well, Deepwater Horizon oil rig. Click HERE

Deepwater Rising Producer Mike deGruy on CNN.com

The first airing of material from our 2 months of shooting the Deepwater Horizon spill in the Gulf can now be seen on CNN's website . Our Producer Mike deGruy was Piers guest.
Click on the video below to watch!

SONY F3 vs PANASONIC AF100-Indie Filmmakers challenged by "DSLR KILLER" Market

Excerpt from "Independent"magazine, keeping the AIVF alive.

I'm primarily an independent filmmaker who uses whatever tools can do the job both effectively and economically to keep up with the industries attitude of do it quick and do it for less, a spiraling virus that seems to be the norm these days. With the advent of the HDSLR over 2 years ago we have been able to produce high quality films for a ridiculously lower cost than conventional film, make a profit once again and GREENER to boot! What an incredible revolution but oh yeah there's that rolling shutter thingy, and those other artifacts like rolling shutter, moire, aliasing and oh yeah the main one's by CANON TURN OFF AFTER 12 MINUTES ! What the !!%^&#$@#!...

So this year  we get the new "HDSLR KILLERs" or "HDSLR Compliments"which are primarily 35mm video cameras !! Panacea, hmmm, no, I don't quite think so. Let me now explain the new complexity of problems associated with yet another new entry of new technology into the domain or should I say limbo zone for the aspiring INDIE to FEATURE film technologist, producer , DP etc... By the way this article will not discuss sensor size, codec choice, compression , quality of the image, etc... It simply addresses the VOID created by this next gen of 35mm based video cameras.

It seems that these "DSLR KILLERs" get released without the most BASIC feature of all DSLRs the ability to be compatible with your investment in GLASS, that's right your incredible collection of either Canon and Nikon lenses!  It's a disease spreading like wildfire as the LARGEST camera manufacturers scramble to get products to market that claim to fix all the issues with DSLRs. Is this really both an effective and budget minded technology to put the plethora of DSLRs spilling into the marketplace back into stills only! Given Round 1 & now Round 2 of the offerings I would have to say NO. Not yet...

OK big corps if you want to call yourself DSLR Slayers, Killers etc. then YOU sure as heck better  support Canon and Nikon glass, right? Can these indie filmmakers afford PL lenses? Zeiss lenses? Lets be fair here Panasonic and Sony. Oh but wait a minute whats that booth way in the back tucked away at NAB...your product does what for the AF100, for the F3 ??

3rd Party "Fix it all" Conundrum
Leave it to the ingenuity of the "little guy" to see from the smallest feature gaps to the most needed in a product! Unlike a deer in the headlights of technology, innovation is still alive and well in America too! There are many great 3rd party manufacturers out there & they are the true backbone of the industry but are they now responsible for filling the gap in BASIC FUNCTIONALITY? Are the giants of the industry now relying upon 3rd party product for bare essential primary compatibility and functionality for their products? Did they really release DSLR Killers without ZOOM Lenses?? Without the ability to use the most prevalent glass out there in the DSLR world?
Apparently so on all counts...

Lets look at 2 of these CRITICAL CRUCIAL 3rd Party Products

The "BIRGER ULTIMATUM" No it's not a new Matt Damon film!
EF LENSES for the Panasonic AF100
700.00 solution, somewhat palatable


Panasonic AF100 potential customers are lining up at Birger Engineering's door waiting for the "Holy Grail," an adapter that allows CANON EF lenses that do not require one to set aperture first on a DSLR body & then removing said lens & mounting on the AF100. It's ELECTRONIC SMART & reportedly emulates the binary lingo properly to control the EF lens! It even has REMOTE CONTROL for IRIS & FOCUS! Is it shipping? Sadly no, it's on announced delay #2
Oh and one other thing why do I still see MOIRE, that annoying vibrating artifact same as DSLRs coming out of this camera!?

The "Specialty Optics solution"" from ABELCINE
CANON & NIKON Lenses on the Sony F3

5800.00 OUCH! um DOUBLE maybe even triple OUCH

So ABELCINE was showing off the Specialty Optics HDx35 adapter which lets you use your EF lenses and hey it's only 5800.00!! It also knocks down 2 1/2 f-stops...I think someone just let the air out of my tires on that one, 5800.00 price point? Did I tell you guys about the land I have for sale in Florida...

OK what about that rocker on the body, for ZOOM? Sadly not yet functional, the Sony PMW-F3 has NO power Zoom lenses that are compatible with it, just PRIMES or again PL lenses. However it does have a Rocker for future power Zooms. Hey it also has an option for dual HD/SDI RAW 4:4:4 output, watch out ALEXA! The Sony is priced considerably higher so you are committing to the next bigger tier of the camera world. It makes sense for those with BIG bank accounts to actually down size but it's a mega leap from the DSLR world to step into those F3 shoes.

SUM IT UP ALREADY
Correct me if I'm wrong here. These cameras, well it's like buying a car that only goes 25mph but the next revision will get you going faster, maybe. Uh yeah maybe faster so you can actually use the freeway! And oh yeah if you get the parts from that other company in Alabama...

Just a bit frustrating, a video/DSLR featured camera with only primes, no direct support for Canon or Nikon lenses who are the primary DSLR market share mfrs. If your claim is to compete with DSLR's then quite frankly I have to give you guys a "D" for not supporting the marketplace you are claiming to overthrow and for confusing the market place with cameras that have to rely on 3rd party product for PRIMARY FUNCTIONALITY.

But if you have to have one now I would settle for the AF100 because for the cost it's far less to shell out than the F3. Workarounds are numerous, Still has a little Rolling Shutter. Still has Moire/aliasing but numerous plug-ins and post can fix those maladies. Lots of adapters RAINBOWBRIDGE, NOVAFLEX to go from EF to MFT; 4/3, under 60.00, Can focus to infinity but IRIS is another story as we talked about, set on DSLR then transfer to AF100.

This is the route I will have to go to now, it's affordable and I need a fix for the 12 minute reset record syndrome.

My wish list ...

How about a version of the Sony F3 with an EF/PL interchangeable mount, fully functional with all features of the EF lens minus the Aperture click and instead a smooth transition true CINE LENS quality and a Long and Wide Zoom!  Or the Panasonic AF100 same features as above plus an APS-C or SUPER 35 sensor. Oh yeah and how about a price tag of 5995.00 MSRP for either one! Yeah yeah, I know I'm dreamin' here...

Your comments are welcome as I know there will be many! SONY and PANASONIC Camps fire away!

All geared up and feeling Techie...
Harry R.

Off to Vegas for the NAB Show

Harry & Phillip Bloom

Harry & Eric Kessler of Kessler Crane

Harry with Zacuto's Steve Weiss & Jens B. 

Well my AC/Grip Stephen Posner and I did a 1 day blitz at NAB to hang with our compadres and take in some new technology. Once again DSLR's were in the spotlight and the new cams from Sony looked quite impressive, especially the F3 and the up and coming NX line. The aftermarket products really are bringing these new cameras to light enabling EF lenses and zooms to be utilized on these new Super 35mm sensor based video cameras. Some innovative vendors to watch out for BIRGER EF lense adapters and Remote FI utilizing internal motors in the lenses! & Convergent Technologies with their 4:4:4 storage/Monitor!

Busy week JAMES FRANCO, Children's Miracle Network & Karl Ford's Action film "Burial!"

Well what a whirlwind 10 days of shooting. Michael was busy putting together a crew and shooting a commentary with Danny McBride,(Co-writer as well as actor) David Gordon Green, (director) Academy Award winning actor James Franco, and Justin Theroux their new film "Your Highness."

The day before was spent doing a number of spots for Children's Miracle Network Hospitals, for CBS, Cottage Hospital, and CMNH for their telethons with actor John Schneider!

Harry was working as DP & second unit director for Karl Ford, former Producer from Ivan Reitman's Montecito Pictures, on his own feature film project "Burial" starring Noot Seear, beautiful fashion SUPER model and recently seen in TWILIGHT "New Moon" along with Adrian Quinones star of CSI and many other TV shows.

AFTA-David Crosby and Venice and more on our 9 Camera shoot

Well last week we grabbed all of our gear and headed down to Santa Monica and with the help of Dave Jenkins and some generosity tossed in by NEWTEK and their fantastic TRICASTER we captured some real magic. In this Multi-camera shoot we shot America, Richard Page (Mr. Mister) Venice and David Crosby in a stellar performance at Barnum Hall in Santa Monica. Students were up on stage providing the Orchestra section and the choir and a magnificent performance.

Using Newteks Tricaster 850 alongside of our Panasonic camera arsenal gave us a a superior High Def line edited performance! Dave Jenkins was or TD with Matt Levitz assisting with Queues. Sure we'll have to do a little mopping up in Post but no where near what we have had to do in the past.

Special thanks to Doug Armstrong of Touring Video for the mondo lens & viewing monitors and SAMY's Camera as always helping out with camera media every year!

Gear for this shoot: 
2-Panasonic HPX 170's
1-Panasonic HPX 3700
1-Panasonc HPX 300
1-Panasonic AG-AF100
1-Olympus G2 DSLR
2-CANON 5D Mark II's
1-KESSLER CineSliders
1-CANON 33x 11 Mondo Power! Thanks again Doug!

VIDEO FOOTAGE COMING !!

More on this later...gotta run to the next shoot!