On my most recent project I ran into several issues with Magic Bullet Looks and FCPX. I had a talented friend of mine, Chris Neal, grade my footage using looks. What he came up with looked great. It wasn’t anything extreme, and made what I shot look even better. However, in playback within FCPX I ran into some really weird flickering green and magenta frames throughout. After trying a few tricks in the past that have corrected issues I’ve had with MBL I finally did a quick Google search and came across a work around on Red Gaint’s site.

According to Red Giant the issue is created on Apple’s end and they are working to correct it. The post suggests the best work around is to send your finished project to Compressor 4. When I tried exporting directly from FCPX the file showed all the flaws and issues, but for some reason when it’s sent to Compressor the video exports fine. I don’t know why this works, but it does.

So this leads me to a larger issue. I keep running into issues with FCPX. The lack of XML audio export is a big issue for me. And now the MBL issue is just one more thing to add to a growing list. So I’ve downloaded Adobe Premier and I’m going to give it a whirl. I should have done this months ago. I was trying to save money, but I just can’t deal with all the little issues I’m having with FCPX.

We Will Forget from Garret Harkawik on Vimeo.

This is an interesting story on Robert Fitzpatrick who predicted the end of the world to happen on May 21st, 2011. The thing I like most about this documentary short is the filmmaker, Garret Harkawik, told the story in a graceful manner. Fitzpatrick was obviously wrong, yet Harkawik actually creates compassion for the subject by using a subtle score and allowing Fitzpatrick to share his beliefs in his own words. There is no voiceover or interview with other people giving a second opinion.

In the end Fitzpatrick admits he was wrong to predict the rapture. This information is gleaned at the very end of the film in the closing text. Some may see this as treating relevant information as a footnote. I think Harkawik was a responsible documentarian and shared what was very humbling for Fitzpatrick to admit. Harkawik could have left this information out all together if he chose. It would have left the viewer with a completely different view of doomsday crier.

Excellent work by Garret Harkawik.

A friend of mine living in Brazil contacted me asking advice on creating a DSLR gear set up for the purpose of producing training videos. He’s done his homework, but was just asking my advice. He works for a non-profit, and they have close to $20k to spend on equipment. From my experience this is a nice budget!

So here’s what I recommended to him. This of course is just my opinion, which I base on my own experience. I have experience with most of this gear, but not all. I’ll add on my reasons behind what I suggest.

I too work of a non-profit and have to make every cent count when it comes to purchasing gear. I also have my own small business which allows me purchase my own gear as well.

Camera – Canon 5D Mark III – $3,500

Personally I use the 7D, but I want the 5D Mark III because of it’s improved qualities such as anti aliasing and the ability to monitor and control sound in camera.

Note that this list is not necessarily in the order of importance.

2nd Camera – Canon EOS 6D – $2,099

I would strongly suggest getting two of the same camera if you are looking for a two camera set up. It makes life easier and saves time. I’m listing the 6D as a cost saver, or even as an option of getting two of them as opposed to the 5D to save money.

Lenses:
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Zoom – $2,299

Most of my lenses are Zeiss or Nikon manual focus primes. I’ve saved a great deal of money going this route and buying used. However, a quality zoom can save money and time. I also recommend auto focus zooms over primes if you are going to shoot stills.

Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM Zoom – $1,179

Thanks to Daniel’s comment I’ve had to change the lens recommendation of the 17-55mm. I forgot it will not work on a full frame camera! Since the 24-70mm covers the wide to medium range I’d recommend the Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 to cover the telephoto range. $2,099

Camera Mic – (2) Rode Video Mic Pro – $229 ($598)

Just upgraded to the pro and I love the size. You also get a free copy of Pluraleyes if you purchase before the end of the year. That’s a great deal!

External Audio Recorder – Tascam DR-100mkII -$295

I have a Zoom 4N, but recommend the Tascam because I’ve heard it has more gain.

Lav Mic – Sennheiser ew 112 G3 – $629

I use these regularly and love them. Great quality for the price.

Boom Mic Kit – Rode NTG-2 Shotgun HDSLR Kit – $619

This is the mic I want. I rent a much higher end boom mic from time to time, but will be purchasing this set up soon. Philip Bloom loves them. Must be good, right;-)

Case – Pelican 1510SC – $250

I’ve had this case for about a year and love it. I’m getting ready to purchase a second one to house my Zacuto gear.

Headphones – Sennheiser HD 280 Pro – $99.95

I use this for audio mixing and all of the local sound engineers have these. Great price, comfort and quality.

Tripod – Vinten Vision Blue – $1,164

I’ve had this tripod for a couple of years. I really like how smoothly it works. Here’s my video review of the Blue.

Vinten Vision Blue Review from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

Hand held rig – Zacuto Strker – $789

I have several Zacuto rigs, but he Striker is my go to run and gun set up. Zacuto makes quality gear and backs it up with a lifetime warranty. Here’s my video review of the Striker and Crossfire.

Zacuto Striker/Crossfire Review from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

Viewfinder – (2) Zacuto Z-Finder – $375 ($750)

A must have for any DSLR, and the best one on the market. Don’t compromise on a viewfinder.

Batteries – (6) Canon LP-E6 $58 ($348)

Memory Cards – (4) SanDisk Extreme Pro – $130 ($520)

(4) SanDisk 32 GB SDHC $64.26 ($256)

Card Reader – Lexar Dual Slot – $36.95

ND Filters – Genus Variable ND Filter 77mm $116.95 and 82mm $148.75

If my calculations are correct so far $15,322.60 has been accounted for out of $20k. So the next few things I’m going to list are dependant on need.

Lighting – Kino Flo Diva Lite 401 – $1,089

I’ve only used this kit for one project, but loved the light quality. It’s a bit expensive, but worth the cost. A more affordable option is a three point Flofight kit, which is $550.

Slider – Kessler Crane Philip Bloom Signature Slider – $1,095.95

I admit this is a bit of a luxury item for most folks, but I love this tool. It’s amazing how much effect you can get out of a small amount of tracking. I’ve used the PB slider a lot and can’t recommend more. If you ever see a tracking shot in any of my stuff 95% of the time it’s this slider. Here’s my review.

Kessler Crane Philip Bloom Pocket Dolly Review from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

Monitor – (2) IKAN V5600 – $550 ($1,100)

I use a 7″ Marshall monitor, but that’s what I have access to, but with a tighter budget I would get the smaller and lighter Ikan 5.6″ monitor.

Quick Release System – (2) Kessler Kwik Release – $139 ($278)

I use a Manfrotto 357 Pro Quick Release system, but honestly I don’t like it. The release lever often jams on me and I’d much rather have the Kellser release design. It also works with the Really Right Stuff & Wimberley (Arca-Type) QR systems.

A Closer Look: The Kessler Crane Kwik Release Plate from Preston Kanak on Vimeo.

So this puts the total at $18,884.60. Instead of listing more gear I would go back and add a second tripod so documenting interviews. $1,164. That makes the total $20,048.60. So I’m just a bit over. Of couse adjustments can be made by finding cheaper gear.

This has been a fun exercise, but took a bit of time to research. If you have suggestions or recommendations feel free to chime in. My opinion is just that…an opinion. You have to make the final decision on what your organization needs.

Keegan’s Story from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

For my friends Ryan, Beth, and Keegan.

A few months ago I started working on the story of Ryan, Beth, and Keegan Chupp. This is what I call a rough cut of what we have so far. There are many things that need to be done to make this piece final. The score is temporary and the voice overs by Ryan and Beth are going to be tweaked as well.

Normally I would never release a project before it has all of its final touches complete. However, today is the anniversary of Keegan’s death, and my wife suggested publishing the short film for the sake of the Chupp’s. I agreed with my wife (she is a brilliant woman). So I contacted Beth and she loved the idea.

Please take time today and remember Keegan. He was an incredible little kid that suffered more pain than most of us will ever experience in this life.

Special thanks to Ryan and Beth for sharing their story.

NIGHT/DAY DIRECTORS CUT from PSN CREATIVE on Vimeo.

I found this short film while browsing one of my favorite Vimeo channels, Modern Day Bezalel, this past week. The story was produced by PSN Creative, which includes Paul Nevison and Salomon Lighthelm just to name a few. I’m a huge fan of Salmon’s work. He’s on the cutting edge of church film story telling and works for Hillsong Church in Sydney, Australia.

If you have time take a look at this 24 minute short that ties three lives together from three very different cultures. It’s wonderful storytelling and beautiful visuals to boot. All elements of this film, color grade to sound design, are done so well. I hope to some day achieve this level of work in my own filmmaking.

There’s also a behind the scene blog post by PSC which gives a ton of insight into the story, how it was developed, and the creative process.

Remember watching Michael Jackson’s Thriller back in the day? I do. The year was 1983, and I was 10 years old. The local cable company in my hometown, Murray, KY, wasn’t offering MTV as an option yet, or at least I wasn’t getting it at my home. So my friends and I made our way to the local skating ring to watch the 14 minute short film. Yes, you read that correctly. Whoever was the owner of the Murray Circus Skate was a genius. As a marketing ploy the owner taped Thriller on VHS and would play the Jackson horror film at the top of every hour on a big screen TV.

I remember my preadolescent friends and I would gather in a smaller room just off the main skating floor to grab a good seat. Of course there weren’t any seats. Actually the room was filled with wooden barrels for some odd reason. I guess the owner was going for some sort of antebellum sea faring transport theme. Who knows. All I know is when Thriller came on the room was void of chatter. We were all fascinated to see the King of Pop (he wasn’t dubbed that title at that time) do his best acting, singing, and dancing. Michael was a true triple threat. Well, sort of. His acting lacked a bit, but what he lacked in talent as a thespian he made up for in singing and dancing.

Currently I’m in pre-production of a Zombie Comedy, more to come on that later, but after storyboarding one of the films I took a look at Thriller. It’s been years since I’ve watched the music video. When watching and reminiscing I was blown away by how many of my shots were complete rip offs of the video! I’m not sure if the shots I planned were resurrected from some dusty subconscious part of my brain, or if John Landis, the director of Thriller, choose every cliche horror movie camera shot. Either way I was flattered to see I had something in common with one of the best music videos of all time.

First let me say I’m not a fan of posting my work on YouTube because the quality just isn’t as nice as other video hosting services. However, the score to this video is a commercial song, Cosmic Love by Florence and the Machine. If it violates copyright issues YouTube will remove the video, and I’m fine with that.*

This video was produced as a part of a live mutli-media production for One Life Church. I think it works as a stand alone as well since it’s really just a music video. If you haven’t watched the video please do before reading on. I’d prefer you have your own interpretation of the art before I give you what I was trying to communicate as the producer. You’ve been warned!

Theme:
The large theme of the story is the struggle we all face in making decisions between light and dark. Or better yet good and evil. It hearkens back to the story of Adam and Eve and the fall of man in the book of Genesis found in the Bible. When I say evil I’m talking all levels. There’s a huge range of evil including selfishness, greed, stealing, murder, etc. You get the picture.

We all encounter choices daily of how we should behave. For example, when driving my car the other day I cut through a parking lot to make a faster exit to a street. I didn’t put anyone’s life at risk, but I did prevent a motorcyclist from pulling out at a stop sign. He yelled at me for not looking out for others. I deserved the reprimand because I was selfishly going about my business. I wanted to flip him the bird, but I restrained.

As we were coming up with the larger theme of the choices between good and evil, Matt Breivogel came up with the concept of our dancer struggling with some internal choice. She would be distraught and this would be portrayed in the “real world,” and the struggle would be symbolized through her dance in a dream world.

If it isn’t obvious the real world is symbolized by the character walking through an alley. The dream world is symbolized by the basement where our character dances.

I came up with the dark character that would be following her around in the background. The dancer would be drawn to the light, but at the same time be intrigued by the dark character who was played magnificently by Brian Notess. He’s our go to creeper.

Process:
The cool thing about all forms of art is the evolution that takes place from inception to end. Our original story was not what we ended up with. Some of the changes came about due to the limitations we had to work with. There were suppose to be two dancers at beginning, but one had to back out. I actually like that we ended up with only one.

The dark character was also added to create more tension. Without him the female character would have just been dancing in front of some light. The seed of this idea was brought in by Austin Maxheimer while brainstorming the story.

Working with others is always better than working alone. At least that’s true for me. I can come up with a concept, but when I bring in folks that are creative and usually smarter than me the story tends to get better.

So the original story of two dancers dancing in a scrap yard surrounded by rusty metal objects morphed into something much better.

The Tech Side:
Thanks to my friend Damon Hancock I had access to the Sony FS700. I thought getting some high speed shots of our dancer in action could create more drama as well as better eye candy. So we shoot all the slo-mo at 120fps. It’s amazing what a bit of slo-mo can do in the right context.

We chose the location of a former brewery basement because we had access. I had used the location once before for something else entirely different. So I was familar with the space. It was very dark and dusty. This is something I thought would add character to the story.

Lighting the space was a bit of a challenge. We ran three Arri 1K’s through an 8′ x 8′ scrim to create a large key light. In the background we used some daylight balanced Flo Lights to illuminate the back walls of the basement to define the space, create dimension, and backlight.

What we came up with turned out nice. We used a Kessler Crane K-Pod for all of the tracking shots as well as a Kessler Crane KC Complete with a Canon 7D for the crane shots. All the other footage was shot with the Sony with the exception of the ally scene. It was shot with the 7D using a Zaucto Stricker for support.

All in all I was happy with this project. We shot it over two nights and a morning. About 8 hours of shooting in all. It was my first time to work with the FS700 which I reviewed and you can check out here.

Credits:
Executive Producer/DP: Chris Weatherly
Producer/Director: Matt Breivogel
Producer: Austin Maxheimer
Producer/AC/Gaffer: Brian Notess
Producer: Damon Hancock
Dancer: Sadia Brimm
Dark Character (in the tight shirt): Brian Notess

*YouTube license agreements are strange. You aren’t suppose to upload a video with music that isn’t licensed, but at the same time if you do they may contact you verifying you’ve used copy written music. They can remove the video all together, or may notify you they are allowing the video to exist, but are turning on ads, which is what happened with this video.

Slow Skate from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

This is a quick edit of footage taken with the Sony FS700. Thanks to my friend Damon Hancock (aka: Fat Head Media) I’ve had a chance to test the camera a bit. I’ve posted a personal review of the camera if you haven’t seen it.

I also used this cut to test the variable speed options in Final Cut X. I haven’t dug very deep, but I do like the what FCPX is capable of.

In the mean time enjoy the eye candy of my friend Thomas Bernardin inline skating at 240 fps. I took my wife’s suggestion of using classical music as the score.

Thomas is also an excellent DP/editor, and has his own cut as well. I’m sure I stole most of my editing ideas from him:-/ See below.

Rollerblading in Color from Thomas Bernardin on Vimeo.

Caleb and Holly from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

After shooting one wedding video I decided it’s not really the genre I enjoy. There’s money to be made in documentary wedding videos, and there are some really great wedding videographers out there. Still Motion is my favorite. Their work is world class, and when I watch their stuff I’m blown away by not only the visuals, but the story telling.

I’ve pretty much priced myself out of weddings. I’ll do one, but it has to be worth it. So when my good friends Caleb and Holly set their wedding date I asked if I could shoot their wedding. They are great friends. Holly actually introduced me to my wife 10 years ago (Thank you Holly!) Caleb and Holly’s love for one another is obvious. Their commitment to one another and their faith is a rare find these days. So this is what inspired me to throw together a highlight reel of their big day.

Congratulations to Caleb and Holly Daugherty!

FS700 Review from Chris Weatherly on Vimeo.

Thanks to Fat Head Media, I got a chance to shoot my most recent project with the Sony FS700. At first I was hesitant to use the camera since I had no experience with it, and Sony is known to be less than user friendly when it comes to camera operation. To say the least, we kept things minimal on the shoot. Of course we used its over cranking abilities as well as shooting at normal speeds. We also used the trusty Canon 7D for some over cranked crane shots as well. The two cameras cut together, but there is noticeable aliasing with the 7D footage.

I’m not a great technician so for this review I’ll just speak to my limited experience with the FS700.

The things I liked:

Super Slow Motion – Over cranking is what this camera has to offer over anything else in its price range. I loved 60p with the Canon DSLR’s, but 240p? It’s amazing! The only adjustment one has to make is the need for more light. Because the Sony shoots at a higher frame rate (250th) while in super slo-mo it needs more light to make the proper exposure. I learned this on a previous night shoot I produced prior to this project. You just have to plan for this in advance while lighting. There’s also a noticeable flicker when using artificial light. The flicker can be removed with a filter in post, but isn’t perfect. More on that later.

In camera audio recording – I used the camera’s built in audio while shooting an interview for a documentary. I do like the fact that proper audio recording can be done within the camera. This saves time in post and lessens the amount of equipment needed on set. It’s far better quality than using the Zoom H4N I normally use. Occasionally I forget to hit record on a separate audio devices so having video and audio recording simultaneously is a huge help when you’re operating as a one man/woman band.

Continuous shooting – The FS700 is a true video camera. So those of us limited to shooting with DSLR’s are freed up to shoot over the limits of 12 minutes at a time. This helps tremendously when shooting interviews and on documentary projects.

S35 sensor – It’s nice to have a large sensor in a true video camera. That’s what many of us want. A full size sensor without the limitations of a DSLR. Sony has delivered and the image quality is nice. It’s a bit sharper than what you get out of Canon’s cameras and less “sexy”. The thing I love about Canon is the ease of making great looking images. It seems Canon has figured out how to get great skin tones, among other things, with their sensors. Sony’s image needs a bit of work in post some time. It all depends on what you are going for. But the footage in this review has not been graded, and looks pretty darn good.

Things to adjust to:

Image – I’m use to what I get out of the Canon 7D. It makes getting a film look so easy. The biggest draw back to Sony’s image is the way the camera handles highlights. It tends to lose detail easily in the highlight areas, and there this lack of blending from highlight to mid tone weirdness that’s going on. It’s hard to explain, but it seems Canon’s image smooths this transition out in a nice aesthetic way while the Sony’s image does not. Now, I haven’t spent tons of time adjusting custom picture profiles in the FS700 so there may be a work around, but so far I haven’t found one. Here’s a great post from AbelCine on some custom profiles they’ve come up with.

Size and weight – This camera is considerably larger than a DSLR, but what would you expect from a true video camera. I won’t complain about this because it’s to be expected. However, hand holding the FS700 is not for the weary. Because of it’s weight it requires a support system. I tried just holding the camera at waist height on a few shots and could pull off a thing or two, but I couldn’t do anything extended without getting too shaky.

LCD Screen – The LCD screen placement is very limiting. Plus it doesn’t tilt in all directions. I’m surprised Sony didn’t catch this in the initial design of the camera. Not to mention the size of this screen. I added a 7″ Marshall when shooting so I could see what I was doing. I will say it’s nice to have a histogram and peaking built into the Sony monitor, but the size is very limiting. I didn’t even use the Sony view finder. I’m a bit of a view finder snob due to my experience with the Zacuto EVF. I would definitely use an EVF over the Sony any day.

Ergonomics – I think most of us have accepted that camera companies are less concerned with ergonomics and focused more on specs. I’m okay with this for the most part, but it does create more costs when configuring the camera for handheld shooting. If you want to shoot the FS700 on the shoulder you need a proper rig. Fortunately the handle on the Sony FS700 is removable so the good folks at Zacuto are configuring a handle relocator much like they’ve done with the Canon C300. This makes camera operation so much easier with a double grip system, which is needed with the FS700 in my opinion.

Is the FS700 worth the cost? To be honest I haven’t bought this camera yet. With all the new cameras coming out it’s difficult to make a decision. However, it seems for the price bracket the Sony is the clear winner over what Canon is trying to develop. The C100 is the FS700′s closest competitor. Canon seems to have given up on offering over cranked as an option. So if you need super slow-motion and a good image quality the Sony is the way to go. If you don’t need the super slow-motion then check out the FS100.

Here’s an in depth review by Brian Notess on Fat Head’s site. Brian does a great job of covering detailed technical information. Something I’m not so great at.

Sony FS700 Skating in slo-mo

Rollerblading in Color from Thomas Bernardin on Vimeo.

I shot this short to test the 240fps slo-mo of the FS700. Due to the flicker you get when shooting high frame rates under artificial light I took the camera outside to get some nice shots of Thomas skating. Not only was he the on camera talent, but he also cut this footage together.

Kevin Higgins was gracious to share some footage he shot under some wicked artificial lighting in a gym with the Sony FS700 at high frame rates. The example of flicker in my review wasn’t very obvious, but this a better example. Thanks Kevin!

TEST SHOTS: FIU Volleyball – In Motion from Kevin Huggins on Vimeo.

Below is a video I found on Vimeo showing flicker tests using the Sony camera under different types of artificial light at different frame rates.

FS700 Flicker Test

Flicker Test for the Sony FS-700 at 240fps from Hello World Communications on Vimeo.