Today I worked on some jumping shots as a part of some pick ups for a short film I shot last spring. The original plan was to us Twixtor to create some really cool over-cranked images. Unfortunately my special effects guy, Damon Hancock of Fat Head Media, didn’t get any time to test the software. So needless to say we didn’t have much success in slowing things down. Always test new gear/software was the lesson learned.

Thanks to Salomon Ligthelm’s tutorial on Philip Bloom’s site we are going to give things another go on creating some super slow-mo imagery through Twixtor. Hopefully we get some good results, and if not try, try again.

I know folks probably think I have a man crush on Philip Bloom because I’ve posted quite a bit about him lately. However, the guy has the chops, and shares so much information it’s so worth sharing his info.

This latest story, Booths and Bodies, a documentary shot with the Sony NEX 5N, is flat out quality story telling. Philip is the master of great visuals, but his story telling is getting even more compelling. It’s cool so see the latest toy being used to shoot something, but the content of this story blows all of that tech stuff away.

This story seems to be a bit more minimalistic from a visual standpoint. I could be wrong, but it seems Philip spends more time letting the subject, Anthony, tell the story on camera than usual. Of course a big part of this could be that Anthony is a good story teller. Or maybe Philip felt too many visuals may get in the way and distract from the story. I’m not sure what he was thinking, but either way it’s a quality piece.

Be warned the F-bomb is dropped once and there are a few visuals that are morbid is theme.

The above video is a comparison between the iPhone 4s video and the Canon 5D MkII. Of course the Apple product is limited in its features as compared to the Mark II, but at least you can see an image quality comparison. It’s actually scary how good the iPhone 4s camera image looks.

I’ve been happy with my iPhone 4 (it was my first iPhone), and really don’t need the 4s, but when I saw the specs on the upgraded camera Apple put in the new phone I knew I had to have it. I use my iPhone camera all the time. I probably use the camera more than anything else the smart phone has to offer. I’m sure this is true for a lot of folks.

So I’m going to be a semi early adaptor. I ordered the 4s, and plan to sell my 4. As of right now the used 4′s are selling at their original price because folks looking to update their handle held device without signing another two-year contract are snatching them up.

So here’s to waiting on Apple to deliver my backordered phone.

Update: Just found this cool iPhone 4s post on Kessler Crane’s FB page.

Bryan Tosh has a great post on his site about demo reels along with some great examples from Paul Antico, Jared Abrams, Tom Baurain and Brad Zerivitz .

I’m embarrassed to admit this, but it’s something I’ve yet to do. It really does help to see what other folks have done and I appreciate Bryan pulling together some great examples.

I’ll reiterate something Bryan points out. Play to your shooting strengths. A demo reel isn’t about showing every type of shot you can pull off, but more about impressing clients with your unique style.

A couple of weeks ago I “borrowed” Coldplay’s latest song “Paradise” as a sound track to One Life One Year video. Here’s the official video produced by the band. I love the song, and admit the video is fairly creative. I would have never taken this approach, but I appreciate their sense of humor. Check it out!

It’s official! Canon will release the EOS 1DX, a new full frame DSLR, next spring. The retail price tag will be $7,000. This will be Canon’s flagship camera so it’s main target is not DSLR video users. The video features are present and improved, but most indie film shooter are still waiting for Canon to release the rumored 5D MKIII, which should be more affordable.

Philip Bloom has more details on his blog.

Most of the time I reflect on the past year when it’s literally the end of the year, or at least the beginning of a new one. However, this year is different. October 2010 to October 2011 had a significant effect on my life.

To be honest things started out bleak last October. I was laid off from my job at a church I had worked at for five years along with seven other employees. I knew this was coming so it wasn’t a total blind side. One week later those same employees launched One Life Church in Henderson, Kentucky, on 10.10.10.

To be honest I was hoping we could get 400 people to come on a regular basis. The first day there were over 1,000 people in attendance. I knew this was a fluke because Henderson is a small town, and people were just checking out the new thing. Week after week people kept coming. I couldn’t believe it.

One Life was over 1,100 people each week. That to me was a sign that God was doing something because no matter how great One Life’s services were there’s no way people would come just for some songs and teaching.

We’ve done a lot of stuff over the past 12 months at One Life. There were baptism services, the worship night, Project design, and don’t forget that Sunday happens every seven days!

Throughout the year I put my photojournalism training to use and documented as much as possible. So when it came to our one year anniversary it was a no brainer to do a compilation of the past year’s events.

I do want to thank Jeff Seymore, Jason Williams, and Amber Hogan for covering these events by shooting stills. Thanks to these stellar volunteers I can focus exclusively on shooting video during events. Plus they do fantastic work. Also, Damon Hancock helps me shoot video as well, and does a fantastic job with the moving pictures..

Of course none of what happened at One Life this past year could have happened without so many faithful volunteers. I wish I could have listed everyone, but because of its length no one would read it!

I hope you enjoy the video. I’m looking forward to seeing what happens between now and next October.

In my previous job I shot a lot of comedy shorts because we had some funny guys that could write funny stuff. I wrote a couple of comic shorts, but Chris and Andy were the masters.

I meet weekly with the comedy duo and Chris shared this SNL Digital Short with me. Today was the perfect day for this. I’m in a rush edit for tonight, and had to change gears for five minutes just to keep my brain from exploding. Enjoy!

So I’m a little slow at times to notice what’s happening on the interweb. I was visiting Philip Bloom’s site (I know, I should make it a daily routine, but haven’t yet) and noticed he’s created a “PB Fav” Vimeo channel. What a brillant idea of the British Indy Filmaker, DP, Director. Philip is extremly talented in his own right, but I think it’s very cool that he shares what he sees other folk producing and shares it.

Philip is a generous chap when it comes to sharing information, wheather it’s about gear or films. I’m sad none of my work is on the channel (I almost made it on to Zacuto’s Critics thanks to Philip, but it didn’t workout…long story). So at least I have something to aspire to! Someday Mr. Bloom. Someday.

I know what I’m going to watch in Vimeo’s couch mode tonight!

As a small token of gratitude I put together a short video of the McClain family to say thanks for allowing me to share their story. I’ve never suffered the loss of a child, and honestly cannot fathom the pain they suffered losing A.J. It took a great deal of courage for Kitten and Trey to share a deeply personal story of loss.

Thank you Trey, Kitten, Alyssa, and Morgan for allowing me to share in telling your story.