Film & Editing Blog - Behind the Scenes

I've just got back from Poland where we've been filming a live training event in Warsaw. Because we had to fly there weight is a real consideration but we managed to take out a number of HD high quality solid state film cameras as well as digital SLRs and top of the range Sennheiser microphones.

This picture shows two of the HD cameras having their dailies (the footage from the day) pulled down onto hard drives via a MacBook Pro in our hotel room.

Last night saw the screening of the 22 Mei (22nd of May) a film by Koen Mortier which is set in a shopping mall. A bomb explodes and the film follows the security guard Sam as he encounters the victims who blame him as he comes to terms with his own guilt.

Here's my review:

This year both Ash and myself made it to the Canon Pro Event in London. This event showcases all the latest equipment, software and expertise in the world of indie film making and photography. Without a shadow of a doubt the star of the show was the recently announced Canon EOS 1D X which was reviewed. I managed to get my hands on a 1D X and I've got to tell you I was impressed. Canon went from the 1D mk III photographic stallion to the slightly confused 1D Mk iv which was a worry but it's clear to see they've come back with a thoroughbred here.

The key features are already well documented such as 12 FPS continuous shooting, dual CF slots, 61 AF points etc. But there's other cool stuff when you dig a bit deeper into the menu.

Two features that really caught my eye:

Multiple image blending modes

This camera has a range of modes for blending multiple images as well as the usual additive default. This means we can get more creative for multiple exposure shots. It also optionally lets you discard the original images.

Quicker response shutter release

There's normally a slight delay between pressing the button and the picture firing. The reason is that as you press the button you cause a slight movement on the camera. But you can switch this off and get a faster response. This might introduce more movement but if you're locked down on a tripod or shooting very fast speeds then this shouldn't be a problem.

Other Hightlights from the event

The Adobe team were on hand (main image) doing a series of demonstrations of the new features in the CS5.5 suit. And there was also the usual Canon hand's on stalls where we could play with different cameras such as the FX305 (inset image). It's been a quiet year for film camera development it seems but with another Canon announcement due round the corner who's to tell what's next?!

3D Film Cameras? Hello? anyone there?

One highlight was the complete lack of 3D film camera rigs and software solutions. Last year it was hard to move around without tripping over a Heath Robinson looking 3D rig. This year... nothing just a 3D void! which I'm pleased with. Don't get me wrong, it's fascinating technology, but it's not 3D. And with 3D cinema sales dropping I think more and more people are appreciating that 3D is, for now, a gimmick with little or no real world value. As Ash said "I'll get excited when we have holographic projection". And I agree, so I was glad to see more focus on relevant technologies and a complete absence of 3D.

We've produced a behind the scenes mini documentary of the post production process of the making of the Pete Swims documentary. This includes editing, compositing, audio mixing, graphics, titles, animations and more.

What we're looking at here is approx 24 hours of work time (over 3 days) condensed down to 10 mins. And as one client said... "you make it look effortless" but that's because this is what we do and we know how to use the cameras, software and hardware to get the end results.

To see the Pete Swims Documentary go here.

For those media geeks out there, the screen capture was done using iShowU HD Pro and editing in Adobe Premiere where it went through 2 rounds of time ramping up totaling 1,000,000% speed up.

I then laid the audio vocal track over the top in one take using a Sennheiser K6+ME66 mic through the Marantz 661. For a bit of fun I made the opening animation in After Effects 5.5.

Enjoy

We're very proud to say that our latest video "Pete Swims", a documentary about Pete who swam the English Channel to raise money for his sons school in Leeds is now live on youtube.

This was a really tight delivery schedule. We filmed it on Wednesday morning and finished the editing on Sunday evening! It's an hour long and is shot in high definition. To find out more about the making of this video have a look here.

It's only been on youTube for about 2 hours and it's had 50 viewings already!