ATOMOS Samurai Blade

So, the afternoon that the Samurai Blade was first in stock at B&H, I ordered it.  I had been waiting a while for it to be available and was happy it was finally on it's way.

At CineGear I was able to check out quite a few recorders including the Atomos Samurai Blade and the Convergent Design Odyssey 7.  Both are excellent recorders.  Both have terrific feature sets.  Both are priced at $1295 USD. 
I went with the Blade.

• It's 5.5" screen makes it a nice tiny recorder to hang on any rig.

• It has a non proprietary storage media solution. (the Odyssey uses Convergent Design's own SSDs to ensure compatibility with the recorder)

• With the Blade, you can use SSDs or spinning 2.5" hard drives right from your local computer store (as long as they meet the specs required by Atomos)  The fact that you can use spinning drives is one of the main reasons I went with the blade.  I can use a 500 gig laptop drive for tripod shoots and it will only cost me $60 or so and yields almost 5 hours of ProRes HQ.  For "run and gun" I'll probably want to use SSDs because of the risk of shock to the drives.

• I can run all day on a couple Sony NP-F970 batteries.

• The Blade works well with both my EX3's SDI out and my 5D3's HDMI out.  For the HDMI from the Canon 5D3 I use the Atomos H2S converter.  It converts HDMI to HD-SDI and does 3:2 pulldown removal in real time.

• The focus assist features work like my Zacuto EVF and SmallHD AC7 monitor.  I can see the focal plan coming my way as I roll through focus.

• The waveform feature is very handy and pretty much a necessity these days on DSLR shoots.

One of the other things I've been waiting for in a recorder is the ability to delay the audio coming into the recorder to compensate for the 5 frame LAG the Canon 5D3 has on it's clean HDMI output.  When feeding the recorder audio directly you'll end up with your picture behind your audio 5 frames.  Those clips will then need to be slipped back into sync on the timeline during editing.  However, (this was great) I wrote Atomos about the LAG and asked if there was anything in the works at Atomos to help.  The next day (at 3:02 am) Tech support sent me an e-mail saying they had released a new firmware update that morning and added an audio delay function and way better audio meters.  I was stoked as those were really the last 2 minor things that disappointed me about the Blade.

The Convergent Design Odyssey 7 and 7Q look like excellent recorders as well.  At the time I needed my recorder the Odyssey units weren't shipping and did not yet offer ProRes.  They are projected to ship a little later this year.  The 7Q will be able to do up to 4K resolutions  and also record in camera raw formats.

All in all I think the Atomos Samurai Blade is a great choice for a flexible external field recorder and one that I will be able to use for some time to come.  As we all move ever closer to the 4K world new technology is going to keep sneaking up on us.  But for now HD recorders are a great way to go.

Until next time - Good shooting

TDTrey.com 

Adobe CS6 Production Suite and The Animated Fairytale

Well, we just finished recording the narration for our new animated short - working title: "The Birthday Princess".  It's a cute story about a princess and her mother, the queen.  The princess learns many life lessons during one wonderful afternoon.

We recorded at Stewart Sound in Santa Ana, California using ProTools as our DAW.  All the files are in straight AIFF.  Dave Myslek, "Wookie", our engineer was awesome!!!  From there we will move almost completely into the Adobe Production Premium CS6 suite. We are editing the dialog in Adobe Audition for the rough cut.  We'll also use Audition for the final sound design and mix out at the end of the project.  In the middle we will use a combination of Premiere Pro 6 and After Effects to bring the animation to life.

Once the dialog is roughed in we will be giving it to our animators.  We'll continue the sound design during the animation process and give them the final audio locked dialog + M&E tracks in the home stretch for fine tuning.  We'll then use Premiere to do the final video edit and layback of the mix.  Output will be done with Adobe Media Encoder.

We are using Smart Sound to create the music. Their product, Sonic Fire, is a fantastic tool to create an "almost" original score.  If you haven't checked this software out yet, I highly recommend it.  You can create very original sounding pieces of music from their library and tailor the cues to meet and match your project.  Add hits, mood changes and even variations in side of one long piece of music.  We pulled our temp tracks while we were editing the narration selects - Very Cool.

This is one of the new projects we are starting for 2013 at Polydactyl Pictures.  We hope to have good luck with it at the festivals.  It will also allow us to build "the machine" a little more before jumping into some of the larger projects we have on the horizon.

I realized this piece sounds a lot like a sales pitch for many of the software companies - but I really just want to show a step by step of the process.  I want indie filmmakers have yet another road map to follow showing different kinds of projects and their workflows.  Indies (including ourselves) need to have resources at our fingertips to help keep us creative and forward thinking =)

Stay tuned.  I'll be posting our progress on "The Birthday Princess" as we go.  When we find out something cool (or problematic) I'll give you an update and suggestions.

Until next time, good shooting, editing, animating, mixing....

TDTrey.com

Rokinon Cine Lenses-Second Look

Still loving the Rokinon Cine lenses.  I have three now: the 24mm, 35mm for a few months and the 85mm just came in last week.  All the lenses are at a T1.5 max exposure. 

The 85mm is a little smaller than the 24 and the 35.  It still has both an iris gear and a focus gear.  Very handy for jib work.  Since this one just came in, I haven't had a chance to test it in the field yet - but plan to in January.

The build quality is just as amazing.  The markings are nice and bold (although still only on the driver's side).  The gears seem to work nicely with my FF.  And... the 85mm has a deep filter thread.  I ordered from B&H so I also ordered a Tiffen UV filter to go with.  The pair shipped as one and I knew that I would have the lens protected as soon as it arrived.

I'm hoping the rumors about a 50mm Cine lens are true.  I would like to round out my basic prime set now and then start adding T&S lenses and other more specialized glass later in 2013.

I'll keep you posted as I put this one through it's paces on the F3 and the 5D2...

Until next time, good shooting.

TDTrey.com

My F3 Christmas Wish List

OK.  So we didn't all blow up today - YAY!!!  Now it's time to start thinking about questions for the big man in red ( and I don't mean Jim Jannard =)

Here's my wish list for my Sony F3 from Sony in 2013:

• Could we get an upgrade for 4:2:2 internal recording with 50 m/bits throughput?
• Is there enough processing power to give us RAW out of the F3?
• If the sensor is 4K can it be De-Bayer'd down to 2K to an external recorder?
• Can we us the new faster SxS cards with an upgrade to the firmware?
• If not free, could this be done for a purchased upgrade under $2000?

So,  obviously what I'm aiming for here is a 2K RAW F3 upgrade for under $2000 to extend the life of our cameras as we start to save up for the F5 and F55.  I think we'll need another year or two for 4K to be requested by clients and this gives us a path to stick with and the ability to use our current configurations a little longer.

Seems like there is 'a storm a brewin' for the 4K market but we won't know anything until it passes.  If these cameras can be upgraded for a few bucks now and stay relevant until the new crop (no pun intended ) of sensors is released - could be a good thing.

Just thinking out loud... Santa Sony are you listening???

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to everyone.  I look forward to hearing from you in 2013 =)

Until next time, good shooting.

TDTrey.com

Rokinon Cine Lenses-First Look

Just got the sneak release of the Rokinon 35mm T1.5 Cine lens from B & H -- Wow.  Very impressed with it out of the box.

 

I'm going to be using it on my F3 so the build quality needs to be OK and lets face it... It has to look a little impressive besides being sharp.  I did a lot of research on the Bower, Samyang, Rokinon brands (they are all the same manufacturer) and thanks to information found on KenRockwell.com site and a few other sites these lenses seem really sharp in comparison to their Nikkor counterparts.  I thought I would give them a try and report back.  They aren't supposed to be out until September but a few got released early and I was able to get one.  I'm waiting for the 24mm, 50mm and 85mm.

Build quality is very nice at first blush.  Not all plasticy.  The witness marks are on the left side only.  Barrel rotation is about 180 degrees and smooth.  Aperture rotation is smooth as well.  Image looks nice and sharp on the first tests.  Bokeh is creamy.  It is a full frame or FX lens so compared to my 5D2 where it's a 35mm it's more like a 50mm field of view on the F3.

All in all a nice lens so far.  More to follow...

Until next time, good shooting.

TDTrey.com

Which Camera?? Decided... Sony F3

Well after a little over a year of searching and waiting and wanting I made a what I think is a fine decision for my next camera.  For those of you who have been following my "which camera" posts you've scene me ponder everything from the Scarletus... I mean, Scarlet.  And the 5Dmk3, Nikon D800, FS100, FS700 and more.  But after working with the Sony F3 for others I decided to get one of my own.  Great Camera!!!

I went to CineGear this year to look at everything that was coming out and projected to be out soon.  Lots of cool stuff - (technical term).  Spent quite a while at the Canon booth and the Sony Booth.  Big competition there.  With all the research about new cameras and features I was feeling very lost and then about 2 weeks ago sat down and took a hard look at what I do and how this new crop of cameras could affect that - here's what I found:

Most used this year: 5Dmk2

Most flexible: Sony EX3

Best combo of the two: Sony F3

I'm not being asked to go 4K just yet. If need be I can rent an EPIC from VR and go crazy with resolution.  Super Slowmo is great but likely to get overused in my circles and burn out quickly and again -- EPIC if needed.  Super Shallow DoF nice but not the end all be all.  The F3 seems to fit the bill right down the middle.

The best part I like is I'm already an EX3 owner so all my achechepies plug right in. I'm planning to do the S-Log upgrade soon so I'll keep you posted on the progress.  Also I'm getting a set of the Rokinon T1.5 cine lenses as the come out.  See my review of the 35mm T1.5.  I'll be getting the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm and 85mm.  I can rent a Zeiss ZF.2 kit when needed but I wanted to start with the Rokinons to give them a try.  I got the Tokina 11-16 in Nikon F -- no cine mod yet; a Nikkor 28-70 ƒ2.8 and a Nikkor 80-200 ƒ2.8.  It will be a balanced kit when I"m done.

Well dinner is ready.  More to come...

Until next time, good shooting

TDTrey.com

DaVinci Resolve 9 Flippin' Fastastic

Black Magic Design released the Beta version of their new DaVinci Resolve 9 Lite week before last.  You can download it for the Mac here.  

It's a great new look and feel to this wonderful application. I love the new layout.  Still has all the tools you need -- they are just in a better placement now.  And, you don't have to be as much of a rock scientist to figure out how to "make it go"  =)

I decided to jump in with both feet.  My friends are on the home stretch of their first feature and asked if I would be willing to have a go at the grading.  I said...Suuuure, why not.  It's a fun vampire flick with all sorts of twists and turns.  It was shot on the Panasonic HVX 200.  INT's, EXT's and mixed lighting - a real good test.  Check it out here.

 

The new layout only took a little while to get familiar with and helped to really speed things up.  Things I liked best right out of the gate:

• Improved Layout
• Better Scene Detection feature
• Smarter HSL keying
• Easier access to Primaries and Wheels
• Smart gallery access
• Fantastic Motion Tracking!!!!!!
• Super easy to use and link
• Delivery TAB for outputting
• Premiere Pro 6 support

This is all from me using the Beta 3 version for only about a week.  As I dig into the app I'll update this post.  Feel free to add comments to help all the readers =)

I got this project as a full length ProRes movie and used the scene detection feature to split it up and conform it.  Took just a little tweaking and it worked great.  A lot of the content is set in a dark or flat location so I had to pickup a few of the cuts as they were hard to discern for the detection threshold I had set - No biggy.

The vignette and power window features are very nice.  Made it easy to correct windows, clothing, walls... everything!!!

The delivery TAB is now super easy to use.  You can make your own custom  output settings and then save them for future use or just take advantage of one of the many presets.  A new feature I like is the fact that you can set multiple outputs and then place them in the render que and walk away.  Each output can have it's own settings and destination.

Well, that's it for now.  I'll add more as I go.  Just wanted to give props to BMD for delivering such a great update to an already awesome tool.

Until next time, good... grading

TDTrey.com