Film & Editing Blog - Behind the Scenes

This mini online documentary shows behind the scenes of the filming for Student Adventures 2011 London to Paris (L2P) charity bike ride. The final footage was used in the online promotional movie which we produced for them.

The kit shown includes:
    •    Canon 5D with genus, Jag35 and Zacuto rigs - for stable DSLR based filming.
    •    Sennheiser Shotgun mics - for pro audio sound quality.
    •    Stickypod Director Pro Vehicle Mount - for action shots of vehicles and cyclists.
    •    Marantz PDM 661 Audio Recorder - for field audio recording.
    •    Canon XH A1 camera - no hard drive = no jumping!

Special thanks to the guys at www.ratherbecycling.co.uk who did the guiding for the event.

So when you're looking for outdoor adventure filming, give us a call and get in contact.
Spartmedia!

Normally I'm behind the HD Cameras doing the filming. But today saw me acting as the talent for a short promotional movie to promote some Photography DSLR training courses that I'm going to be running this year.

In this image you can see myself surrounded by the equipment needed to do a proper job. There's shotgun mics, proper lighting, HD cameras and my assistant Franka who's doing a great job! I'll post the video on here once I've finished the post production and it's uploaded to youtube.

Our good friend and client Nick Kemp, an international business trainer and coach, popped by our new Offices in Leeds LS2 to review the compositing animation and editing we've been doing on his footage from a training course in Japan. 

We've created a flowing flag animation blending his brand logo into the Japanese flag. We'll let you know when the project goes live. To find out more about Nick and his work abroad, you can visit www.nickkemptraining.com.

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.

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.