Well it has been one of those days. A total mix of good and bad. I met Jonny to discuss the Attica Rage documentary and the next steps while having a good ogle at Rufus T's red headed bar maid. Objectification of the opposite sex, ah, the benefits of being single.....uh sorry, got side tracked. Okay back to the meeting. The loose plan at the moment is for the film to be in a viewing worthy state by the end of next month depending on my motivation or lack there of. We want it out before Christmas so the Attica fans can stuff their stockings full of some Rage. Hopefully I can live up to this promise.
Unfortunately before the meeting I received some bad news via email. I had applied to do a Broadcast Journalism post grad course in order to strengthen my camera presence and interviewing skills because I have a huge man crush on Louis Theroux and would have his babies if it was physically possible. Oops, off on a tangent again... Bringing it back! Anyway, I got told I didn't get in the course. No interview, no nothing. Cheers (he said sarcastically). Apparently someone who has actually attempted to go out and do a bit of film journalism is not good enough to get on a post grad course. So if anyone knows of any post grad broadcast or investigative journalism courses at one of the Glasgow uni's can they please give me a bell. Probably too late now, hopefully I can get lucky in clearing. Anyway this bummed me out and as a result I couldn't concentrate on the rest of the night.
This was a real shame as I couldn't fully enjoy LA Guns, who were fucking awesome. Had it been any other night I would have had a great time. The highlight of the night was my mum stalking the singer for an autograph, after the gig. It was like a rat up a drain pipe. In another life she would have made a fantastic bounty hunter. Dog's got nothing Dot. Shit! Off on a tangent for a third time. What else about the gig? Oh yeah, I ran in to Neil and Sheila who were up to their usual stuff. I nearly got clotheslined by Sheila pushing her way in to the barrier thinking she owns the place with her photo pass. Grrrrr! Just kidding...mostly.
I was riding a bit higher after the gig but unfortunately there was another blow waiting for me when I logged in to Facebook. Isolysis are no more. For those of you who don't know of them, they were an unsigned band from Derby that had a tonne of potential. Bane's voice is reminiscent of Creed's Scott Stapp, maybe even better since you can actually make out all of the lyrics. Sorry Creed fans but Stapp is a bit unintelligible at times. Creed were my access band back in the day so its okay for me to say it. The rest of the band were solid too, especially Dan (in quite a literal sense). Man his guns make mine look like pea shooters, bastard. Sorry, sorry, a little bit of small man syndrome kicking in. In terms of my personal experience of with the guys, well I discovered them about a year ago in Ibiza (of all places) while I was shooting part of the Attica Rage documentary. I can't really recall having much in the way of interaction with the guys. What can I say, I'm a misanthrope (and I'm not kidding). I did enjoy watching them perform and was definitely a fan from that point on. My favourite memory of Ibiza was watching the bromance between Bane and Big C develop culminating in them imitating the Bushwhackers. I've got the footage, shame it was too dark to see anything and looks a bit shitty (damn Panasonic cameras and their low light performance). About a month later I had the opportunity to see them once again at my pal, Emy's, 21st birthday bash which was another great night. Making the effort to attend the gig speaks volumes and shows the type of genuine, down to earth, guys that they are. They travelled a couple of hundred miles to play for free for a friend/fan of the band. Do you think Lady Gaga would do that? Nah! Me neither. For me that night sticks in my mind due to me discovering a new friend, which is a big deal for me since I hate everything. Misanthrope, remember. Unfortunately we've kinda parted ways for now for various stupid reasons. These things happen, and again misanthrope. That's the last tangent I'm going on, I promise. In closing, I'd like to wish the guys luck in the future and let them know I will be cranking out "Condemned" tomorrow while I'm hitting the weights. In my world that's the finest tribute you can get. Also, I'll embed their music video at the end of this blog so everyone can check out what they missed out on. Until next time, cheers.
Tuesday, 21 June 2011
Friday, 10 June 2011
Update
I'm just back from a day out in Glasgow meeting with the awesome Michael Sherrington, and having dinner with Simon Brown the not so awesome Calum MacPhail. I really should be editing but I'm too tired so I'll rant instead. Okay, first an update on the Attica Rage documentary. Right now I've still got some sit down interviews and some introductory reshoots to do but I've got enough there that I am progressing through editing at a decent pace. This is thanks to having a system that can deal with a project file which contains more that 150 hours worth of footage consisting of over 5000 clips. If anyone tells you that film making is easy then they are an idiot simple as. What I've got so far I'm kind of happy with, or as happy as I can be with it. As anyone who knows me will agree, I don't do happy. I'm hoping to get a rough cut done for the end of July. No promises though.
Still on the subject of Attica Rage. Anyone who reads Metal Hammer will know that the opening track, "36 Insane", from their new album, "Road Dog" is featured on this months cover disc. As a complete surprise to me, Jonny asked me to prepare a video to mark this event only 4 days before the issue release. Thanks for the notice Jonny, ko. Any way I chucked together a video in about a day that I think looks pretty good for what was a days work. I managed to give Magic Bullet Mojo a test on it and I have to admit it's a great wee plug in. It's especially effective of regaining detail in some over exposed footage. Very impressive tool but I expect nothing less from Magic Bullet. The video is below.
In other news I'm posting my honours year documentary, "Combat", exclusively on my website (www.colinwoodmedia.com) right now for everyone to watch and laugh at. If you want to see me completely humbled you should give it a watch. This film is a very significant step for me as I am extremely camera shy and am confronting this fear in this video. I plan on doing more of this style film in order to develop as a personality and also confront subjects that I care a lot about. Again, anyone who knows me and has had heard me rant can probably guess some of these. What can I say the world pisses me off. I blame all those pesky people.
Still on the subject of being pissed off, I'd like to take a minute to offer my condolences to my former colleagues at Haldanes in Larkhall. I hope you all find employment soon and become better off as a result of the company going in to administration. I've heard a lot of rumours going around about the management "shafting" the work force and taking their money and running. I'm sure this is just bitter ranting from individuals feeling cheated by the situation. I've been doing my reading on the whole situation and I highly doubt this is the case. There is not a business man on this earth who would set up a company with a substantial amount of his own money, in order to intentionally let it fail. That just seems plain dumb to me. Here is my take on the story. Basically Haldanes sued the Co-op based on them producing inaccurate data on the performance of certain stores when Haldanes purchased them and Co-op counter sued them for unpaid rent. Whether this is true or not we don't know but I would tend to believe it because I can see what the Co-op would have to gain as a result. By offering up fraudulent data on selected stores performance they would essentially be cutting Haldanes legs out from under them, setting them on a road to ruin before they even got going. With the failure of these stores the Co-op would potentially enjoy greater profits as they become the only game in town, creating a monopoly for a brief period until another company moves in. Unfortunately the victims are the poor Haldanes employees. But this is always the case in business. Faceless corporations have never and will never care about their employees because at the end of the day its all about turning a profit. Speaking as a former employee of the company I have to say that this is not really a surprising turn of events but it is a real shame and my heart goes out to you all.
I also heard through the grape vine that members of the public are coming in and giving abuse to the staff of Haldanes saying things like, "It's about time" and "I didn't think it would last this long". I am seriously enraged by this lack of empathy. How would these people like to lose their job... or their welfare. Seriously what kind of human being takes pleasure in someone losing their job. Quite frankly these people are a waste of fucking skin and I am ashamed to share a town with them.
There is a much broader subject at hand here which must be tackled and that is the power that companies like ASDA, Tescos and the Co-op wield. I put all this together during a discussion with a friend and mentor today. These corporations are destroying small businesses on our high streets. We can bitch and moan about the death of the high street all we want but the fact is this not their fault. It is OURS. These stores hook us in with their BOGOF deals and their convenience and we buy their goods like good little consumers. The price we pay is the death of the local butchers and local fruit and veg store. Unfortunately we live in a society of convenience. We want everything as cheaply and conveniently as possible because we are lazy and to an extend brain washed by these supermarket giants. I for one choose to shop at a butchers and from now on I will endeavour to shop at a fruit and veg shop whenever possible because at the end of the day as consumers it is OUR shopping habits that lead to these unethical companies destroying our high streets and employment opportunities. I urge everyone who reads this to do the same, even although you've probably branded me a nut by now. I don't want to see a country dominated by ASDA and Tesco's. It's like only having the choice of Coca Cola or Pepsi. One's slightly sweeter than the other but at the end of the day they are both still the same. When there is no high street left and all you have is ASDA and Tesco what is to stop them hiking prices and hurting your wallet? The answer, absolutely nothing. Where else are you going to shop? And we have no right to complain because at the end of the day we CHOOSE to shop with them and give them even more power. Call me a self righteous dick for getting up on my soapbox and saying this but it doesn't make me any less right.
That's enough ranting for one blog. Hopefully It'll be a little more light. hearted next time. Cheers.
Still on the subject of Attica Rage. Anyone who reads Metal Hammer will know that the opening track, "36 Insane", from their new album, "Road Dog" is featured on this months cover disc. As a complete surprise to me, Jonny asked me to prepare a video to mark this event only 4 days before the issue release. Thanks for the notice Jonny, ko. Any way I chucked together a video in about a day that I think looks pretty good for what was a days work. I managed to give Magic Bullet Mojo a test on it and I have to admit it's a great wee plug in. It's especially effective of regaining detail in some over exposed footage. Very impressive tool but I expect nothing less from Magic Bullet. The video is below.
In other news I'm posting my honours year documentary, "Combat", exclusively on my website (www.colinwoodmedia.com) right now for everyone to watch and laugh at. If you want to see me completely humbled you should give it a watch. This film is a very significant step for me as I am extremely camera shy and am confronting this fear in this video. I plan on doing more of this style film in order to develop as a personality and also confront subjects that I care a lot about. Again, anyone who knows me and has had heard me rant can probably guess some of these. What can I say the world pisses me off. I blame all those pesky people.
Still on the subject of being pissed off, I'd like to take a minute to offer my condolences to my former colleagues at Haldanes in Larkhall. I hope you all find employment soon and become better off as a result of the company going in to administration. I've heard a lot of rumours going around about the management "shafting" the work force and taking their money and running. I'm sure this is just bitter ranting from individuals feeling cheated by the situation. I've been doing my reading on the whole situation and I highly doubt this is the case. There is not a business man on this earth who would set up a company with a substantial amount of his own money, in order to intentionally let it fail. That just seems plain dumb to me. Here is my take on the story. Basically Haldanes sued the Co-op based on them producing inaccurate data on the performance of certain stores when Haldanes purchased them and Co-op counter sued them for unpaid rent. Whether this is true or not we don't know but I would tend to believe it because I can see what the Co-op would have to gain as a result. By offering up fraudulent data on selected stores performance they would essentially be cutting Haldanes legs out from under them, setting them on a road to ruin before they even got going. With the failure of these stores the Co-op would potentially enjoy greater profits as they become the only game in town, creating a monopoly for a brief period until another company moves in. Unfortunately the victims are the poor Haldanes employees. But this is always the case in business. Faceless corporations have never and will never care about their employees because at the end of the day its all about turning a profit. Speaking as a former employee of the company I have to say that this is not really a surprising turn of events but it is a real shame and my heart goes out to you all.
I also heard through the grape vine that members of the public are coming in and giving abuse to the staff of Haldanes saying things like, "It's about time" and "I didn't think it would last this long". I am seriously enraged by this lack of empathy. How would these people like to lose their job... or their welfare. Seriously what kind of human being takes pleasure in someone losing their job. Quite frankly these people are a waste of fucking skin and I am ashamed to share a town with them.
There is a much broader subject at hand here which must be tackled and that is the power that companies like ASDA, Tescos and the Co-op wield. I put all this together during a discussion with a friend and mentor today. These corporations are destroying small businesses on our high streets. We can bitch and moan about the death of the high street all we want but the fact is this not their fault. It is OURS. These stores hook us in with their BOGOF deals and their convenience and we buy their goods like good little consumers. The price we pay is the death of the local butchers and local fruit and veg store. Unfortunately we live in a society of convenience. We want everything as cheaply and conveniently as possible because we are lazy and to an extend brain washed by these supermarket giants. I for one choose to shop at a butchers and from now on I will endeavour to shop at a fruit and veg shop whenever possible because at the end of the day as consumers it is OUR shopping habits that lead to these unethical companies destroying our high streets and employment opportunities. I urge everyone who reads this to do the same, even although you've probably branded me a nut by now. I don't want to see a country dominated by ASDA and Tesco's. It's like only having the choice of Coca Cola or Pepsi. One's slightly sweeter than the other but at the end of the day they are both still the same. When there is no high street left and all you have is ASDA and Tesco what is to stop them hiking prices and hurting your wallet? The answer, absolutely nothing. Where else are you going to shop? And we have no right to complain because at the end of the day we CHOOSE to shop with them and give them even more power. Call me a self righteous dick for getting up on my soapbox and saying this but it doesn't make me any less right.
That's enough ranting for one blog. Hopefully It'll be a little more light. hearted next time. Cheers.
Tuesday, 17 May 2011
Wedding Video & Attica Rising & Nae mare Uni
As of writing this I am awaiting my results for degree number two. That's right, I am officially twice as unemployable as everyone else. Just aswell I have some commissions coming in to keep me going. To sum up my time studying film at university I'd have to say that it was a little disappointing. I find that I've done more for myself off of my own back than the university has for me. In fact the only lecture who gave me a bit of experience in the industry, as well as a corporate video job, has never officially taught me. I found a lot of the theory classes useful in broadening my knowledge of cinema but on the whole the practical classes were a disappointment. It's even more gutting to discover that next year's students will be getting all new gear to play with in addition to a new campus. Bloody typical. Anyway the university showcase is next week and I've been nominated for the second year in a row in the documentary category. So we'll see how that turns out.
A couple of months ago I shot my first wedding video along with my bro and Calum MacPhail. I have to say that it went quite well. The bride turned up, the wedding took place and everything got filmed. It was done in HD using DSLR's so the footage looks nice. It sounded good too. For a first wedding I have to say it is pretty damn good. If you don't believe me, I've stuck together a wee compilation video of the day for all to see. Here take a look:
What else have I been up to? Well, I'm now starting to concentrate on editing the Attica Rage documentary. I had Jonny and Big C come out to mine last week to film a round of sitdown interviews. I've started logging them and placing them in the edit. I'm hoping to get Richie and Bell done next week before the band go out to Ibiza for some pure mad clubbing. I went last year and I still have nightmares about it. Anyway, I'm aiming to have a decent edit done by early July with a near complete edit by August. I predict a stressful time ahead and if I'm being a dick you'll probably not notice since I am pretty much all the time anyway. Where the film goes from there I don't know. Hopefully a DVD release or something but I want it done before I even think of that far ahead.
So until my next update that's me done.
A couple of months ago I shot my first wedding video along with my bro and Calum MacPhail. I have to say that it went quite well. The bride turned up, the wedding took place and everything got filmed. It was done in HD using DSLR's so the footage looks nice. It sounded good too. For a first wedding I have to say it is pretty damn good. If you don't believe me, I've stuck together a wee compilation video of the day for all to see. Here take a look:
What else have I been up to? Well, I'm now starting to concentrate on editing the Attica Rage documentary. I had Jonny and Big C come out to mine last week to film a round of sitdown interviews. I've started logging them and placing them in the edit. I'm hoping to get Richie and Bell done next week before the band go out to Ibiza for some pure mad clubbing. I went last year and I still have nightmares about it. Anyway, I'm aiming to have a decent edit done by early July with a near complete edit by August. I predict a stressful time ahead and if I'm being a dick you'll probably not notice since I am pretty much all the time anyway. Where the film goes from there I don't know. Hopefully a DVD release or something but I want it done before I even think of that far ahead.
So until my next update that's me done.
Thursday, 24 March 2011
Hammerfest 3 and Attica Rage documentary
Hammerfest came and went last weekend, and was a blinding success for the band. Attica had a pretty impressive set with dancers and fireworks. This resulted in me gettin burned by sparks and getting doused in kerosene, leaving me kinda stinky for the rest of the night. At this point in time I haven't had a look at the footage due to being busy with University work but I think the footage will turn out well enough to finish the film in style. So with the festival filming and all that out of the way that is my filming commitments complete with the band. So without getting too sentimental (because lets face it - I don't do that) I'd like to take the time to thank everyone who's been involved in my life, filming and beyond, over the past 18 months.
First off I would like to thank the band, Jonny, Richie, Stevie and Big C for agreeing to take part in the project and have a camera shuvved in their faces over the past 18 months. Rather you guys than me. Hopefully it will all be worthwhile in the end.
Next up is the Attica family. Alan, Gem (for keeping Big C in check), Suz (for the jokes), Linda (for mothering me), Emy, Christie, Lisa (for the wrestling banter), Simon, Petrina, Linzi, Donnie, Nick (for not killing me in Ibiza), Neil and Sheila. I'd like to thank you all for welcoming me in to the family and putting up with me. I look forward to seeing you all at future Attica and other gigs in the future. I'm sure I've missed out plenty of you but I could be here all day.
I'd also like to thank a few miscellaneous characters including university colleagues who have helped with filming Calum, Michael and Joe. I'd like to thank Roddy for helping me out on a few sound issues and giving valuable advice (I'll be calling on your services again during editing by the way). I'd like to thank Simon and Mick for helping out with the Hammerfest filming. Sorry about getting you covered in kerosene Simon. I'd also like to thank John Davis for all the access he has allowed me at his festivals and events and also giving me other opportunities along the way.
Last but not least I'd like to thank family and friends. First of all there is my mum and my little bro Keith. Without them pressuring me to listen to Ruin Nation the whole project would not have came about. I'd also like to thank Keith for doing camera work also. Now on to friends. I'd like to thank Michael, Greg, Calum, Alyson, David and Steph for putting up with me talking about this project for the past two years. I don't know how you did it. The same goes for my former work buddies, Johnny, Angela, Teri (my fake little sis), Danielle, Chris, Nats, Conzo and Golder. I'd also like to thank Jen (sorry we never really hit it off) and Gail (for being the best person I know and being a good enough friend to kick me up the arse when I need it). Again there are probably plenty of others I missed out but I could be here all night.
The past 18 months of my life have been a blast. Sure there have been a few ups and downs but on balance it has been a great experience that I wouldn't trade for anything. I can't wait till I finally put the film together for all of you to see. I hope it will meet everyones expectations. Until next time, Cheers.
Friday, 11 March 2011
Rebel Rebel web video & Attica Rage news
I've been quite busy since my last update. Before I begin I'd like to take this opportunity to congratulate Attica Rage on getting signed to Rocksector Records. It was an honour to be at Rock Radio on Tom Russell's show as they put pen to paper. Below is a video of their work.
I will be going to Hammerfest with them this coming week to document the album launch party and their mainstage opening slot. It will mark my final official outing with the band for the film which has been a long time coming. The next step is putting it all together and making it resemble a film. That's my summer planned already. Just as well I'm a social leper.
My latest small project took place the day before, "capitalism exploiting your love for another person day" AKA Valentines Day. The project invloved me filming a promotional day at Rebel Rebel barbers in Glasgow. Urban artist Conzo was there putting a design on the windows of the place. There were DJ's and Xbox Kinect which in my opinion looks terrible. Real gamers use joypads none of this Wii-mote rubbish. Straying off topic a bit, sorry. The whole deal for the weekend was basically free haircuts all day. The place was packed from opening and from what I gather it was a big success. It gave me an opportunity to get some more DSLR practice in and overall I'm quite happy with the end result. The close ups especially look great. Thanks goes out to Rebel Rebel and destrukt for getting me the gig. Here is the video.
Nothing much else worth mentioning. I'm busy being a shut in while I try and progress through my university dissertation and cage fighting documentary. Not long until I'm done with it all.
I will be going to Hammerfest with them this coming week to document the album launch party and their mainstage opening slot. It will mark my final official outing with the band for the film which has been a long time coming. The next step is putting it all together and making it resemble a film. That's my summer planned already. Just as well I'm a social leper.
My latest small project took place the day before, "capitalism exploiting your love for another person day" AKA Valentines Day. The project invloved me filming a promotional day at Rebel Rebel barbers in Glasgow. Urban artist Conzo was there putting a design on the windows of the place. There were DJ's and Xbox Kinect which in my opinion looks terrible. Real gamers use joypads none of this Wii-mote rubbish. Straying off topic a bit, sorry. The whole deal for the weekend was basically free haircuts all day. The place was packed from opening and from what I gather it was a big success. It gave me an opportunity to get some more DSLR practice in and overall I'm quite happy with the end result. The close ups especially look great. Thanks goes out to Rebel Rebel and destrukt for getting me the gig. Here is the video.
Nothing much else worth mentioning. I'm busy being a shut in while I try and progress through my university dissertation and cage fighting documentary. Not long until I'm done with it all.
Thursday, 3 February 2011
Hard Rock Hell V promo video complete
I thought it is about time to do a little post since I've recently finished work on the Hard Rock Hell 5 promo video. The theme for this years festival is going to be the Village of The Damned. This includes zombies, angels, demons and other assorted spooky shit. The video is viewable on the Hard Rock Hell website www.hardrockhell.com and through my youtube channel. I'll also embed it here at the end of this entry.
I'd liek to talk about the edit for a bit as it was quite challenging. It required a range of editing skills including animation, using filters and replacing sound in the footage I ripped right out of George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead (1968). Speaking of which the reason I was able to get away with doing this was because the film is in the public domain. For those who don't know the whole reason behind this is because of an oversight when the distributor changed the name from its original title Night of The Flesh Eaters. The original title had the copyright notice underneath which was not replaced when they renamed it. US law required a proper notice of copyright for a copyright to exist. So if you've bought this movie on DVD you've been had. You could have downloaded it and it wouldn't have cost you a penny.
Back on track now. Visually speaking it is one of the more effects heavy things I've edited. I had to create fog and rain particle effects and also animate an explosion for the end. I also chucked a bad video filter over everything to try and mess everything up a bit and make the most of the inconsistent footage quality. One thing I've learned through experience is that if you have a bit of crap quality footage footage try and make it look like you want it to look like crap.
The sound was a simple case of running around with my Zoom audio recorder and making a random assortment of noises. The most embarassing highlight had to have been making zombie groaning noises and growls. Just as well no one was around to see or hear me do it. I also had help in the auditory department. Gemma Parr was kind enough to record some screams and zombie moans of her own. Thank god she did because I didn't fancy screaming like a woman. The music was provided by Attica Rage (surprise, surprise) and thanks goes out to Attica's Jonny Parr for helping with the interviews way back at Hard Rock Hell 4.
Speaking of Attica Rage, I'm hoping to have a teaser trailer ready shortly for the film (hopefully by the end of February). I'm hoping to have the film complete by May but I'm not setting that in stone since something always comes up to get in the way. So I think that's it for now. Until next time, later.
I'd liek to talk about the edit for a bit as it was quite challenging. It required a range of editing skills including animation, using filters and replacing sound in the footage I ripped right out of George A. Romero's Night of The Living Dead (1968). Speaking of which the reason I was able to get away with doing this was because the film is in the public domain. For those who don't know the whole reason behind this is because of an oversight when the distributor changed the name from its original title Night of The Flesh Eaters. The original title had the copyright notice underneath which was not replaced when they renamed it. US law required a proper notice of copyright for a copyright to exist. So if you've bought this movie on DVD you've been had. You could have downloaded it and it wouldn't have cost you a penny.
Back on track now. Visually speaking it is one of the more effects heavy things I've edited. I had to create fog and rain particle effects and also animate an explosion for the end. I also chucked a bad video filter over everything to try and mess everything up a bit and make the most of the inconsistent footage quality. One thing I've learned through experience is that if you have a bit of crap quality footage footage try and make it look like you want it to look like crap.
The sound was a simple case of running around with my Zoom audio recorder and making a random assortment of noises. The most embarassing highlight had to have been making zombie groaning noises and growls. Just as well no one was around to see or hear me do it. I also had help in the auditory department. Gemma Parr was kind enough to record some screams and zombie moans of her own. Thank god she did because I didn't fancy screaming like a woman. The music was provided by Attica Rage (surprise, surprise) and thanks goes out to Attica's Jonny Parr for helping with the interviews way back at Hard Rock Hell 4.
Speaking of Attica Rage, I'm hoping to have a teaser trailer ready shortly for the film (hopefully by the end of February). I'm hoping to have the film complete by May but I'm not setting that in stone since something always comes up to get in the way. So I think that's it for now. Until next time, later.
Friday, 14 January 2011
New Corporate Video & DSLR's
A bit of a late New Years update here. My latest video is now on line, A corporate how to video for Ian Kenny Framing Ltd. It is by no means the most exciting video ever made but it served as a good opportunity to work using a DSLR and assess its strengths and weaknesses. So here's my take.
First of all the pros. It is small and light and because it is a stills camera it doesn't freak people as much as a prosumer cam corder. You have the ability to change lenses which is huge if you are a no budget filmmaker. You have full 1080p at 25fps and 720p at 50fps. You also have a small file size due to it using the H.264 compression standard, so you roughly get 47mins on a 16GB HCSD card or compact flash.
Now the Cons. Useability is the main problem. Your hand has to be really steady when attempting handheld. I tend to strap a monopod to it for a bit of a counter weight. Most serious DSLR users buy a rig to combat this issue but this eliminates the compactness of the camera. Also the controls are hard to work with at times. Since you are working with white balance presets it is common to not have your balance correct. This happened a couple of times in this video and it is easily rectified in editing so its no biggy as long as the balance isn't way off. The biggest and most limiting con for me is you can't control the sound levels. So if you want seriously good sound you need to invest in a digital recorder like the Zoom H4n or if you are loaded a 4-channel Marantz. This again is a problem because you'll have to make sure to mark your shots every time (which you should do anyway) and realistically you'll need a second member of crew to act as a sound operator. It could be possible to do all of this yourself but it would slow you down and I guarantee that you'll fuck something up at least once. The final issue is that you are limited to a 12 minute clip length. This is only an issue in some instances when working on a documentary but when filming live it can cause a lot of fucking about trying to get the synch correct in editing.For a live performance I would not even thing about using a bunch of DSLR's to film the entire thing.
My overall impression is that DSLR's are another piece of the puzzle for a professional looking video/short/documentary. They are not the answer and anyone who says otherwise is just a fanboy of the tech. If you view yourself as a professional you have to look at equipment with an objective eye. I think the closest we have to the total solution is Panasonics new prosumer model but at £4,000 is it really that much better than a £700 to £1,300 DSLR I am unsure. Rant over now back to the video.
As you can see the video quality is immense. What you see is more or less unaltered from what was actually shot. As for the actual content of the video it does the job. It shows what it needs to and fits the brief. I think I actually liked the making of it more than the end result. It was pretty laid back and meeting the guys Andrew and Craig was fun. The only other thing I'd like to add is that you can tell by the Rangers shirts being mounted that it was filmed in Larkhall. I was tempted to colour replace the shirts with green in editing. I'm sure that would have went down well with the locals. Till next time, cheers.
First of all the pros. It is small and light and because it is a stills camera it doesn't freak people as much as a prosumer cam corder. You have the ability to change lenses which is huge if you are a no budget filmmaker. You have full 1080p at 25fps and 720p at 50fps. You also have a small file size due to it using the H.264 compression standard, so you roughly get 47mins on a 16GB HCSD card or compact flash.
Now the Cons. Useability is the main problem. Your hand has to be really steady when attempting handheld. I tend to strap a monopod to it for a bit of a counter weight. Most serious DSLR users buy a rig to combat this issue but this eliminates the compactness of the camera. Also the controls are hard to work with at times. Since you are working with white balance presets it is common to not have your balance correct. This happened a couple of times in this video and it is easily rectified in editing so its no biggy as long as the balance isn't way off. The biggest and most limiting con for me is you can't control the sound levels. So if you want seriously good sound you need to invest in a digital recorder like the Zoom H4n or if you are loaded a 4-channel Marantz. This again is a problem because you'll have to make sure to mark your shots every time (which you should do anyway) and realistically you'll need a second member of crew to act as a sound operator. It could be possible to do all of this yourself but it would slow you down and I guarantee that you'll fuck something up at least once. The final issue is that you are limited to a 12 minute clip length. This is only an issue in some instances when working on a documentary but when filming live it can cause a lot of fucking about trying to get the synch correct in editing.For a live performance I would not even thing about using a bunch of DSLR's to film the entire thing.
My overall impression is that DSLR's are another piece of the puzzle for a professional looking video/short/documentary. They are not the answer and anyone who says otherwise is just a fanboy of the tech. If you view yourself as a professional you have to look at equipment with an objective eye. I think the closest we have to the total solution is Panasonics new prosumer model but at £4,000 is it really that much better than a £700 to £1,300 DSLR I am unsure. Rant over now back to the video.
As you can see the video quality is immense. What you see is more or less unaltered from what was actually shot. As for the actual content of the video it does the job. It shows what it needs to and fits the brief. I think I actually liked the making of it more than the end result. It was pretty laid back and meeting the guys Andrew and Craig was fun. The only other thing I'd like to add is that you can tell by the Rangers shirts being mounted that it was filmed in Larkhall. I was tempted to colour replace the shirts with green in editing. I'm sure that would have went down well with the locals. Till next time, cheers.
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