Here are some options:

• You can buy a JuicedLink DT454 for $419
• You can buy a BeachTek DXA-SLR for $399
• You can donate $25 to Tramm Hudson to support Magic Lantern development

Tramm isn’t asking for your $25. He’s not asking for any money. But it seems to me that it’s worth $25 to move this effort forward.

Isn’t having decent sound on a T2i worth as much as a cheap dinner out for two?

He’s already got a good start as you can see on the Wiki.

I don’t recommend installing the pre-alpha code unless you’re highly technical and extremely bored. Funny how those two things seem to go together a lot.

But I do recommend taking the step to make a donation to Tramm. I don’t know him personally but I do know that there are few things more encouraging than someone sending cash to tell you they appreciate your efforts.

Here’s how to do it.

Click here to go directly to PayPal.

Click here to go to the 5D Magic Lantern wiki, scroll to the bottom and click on the PayPal link.

I sent my donation because I know how much time and effort goes into building and supporting a product. I appreciate Tramm’s efforts and look forward to enjoying the results.

I prefer using a separate audio recorder but there are times when it would be great to just plug in a small shotgun mic mounted on the camera and start shooting.

Click here to donate on PayPal

Conventional wisdom says that you need a stable tripod with a smooth fluid head for shooting professional video. And that’s what I recommended in the Buyer’s Guide.

But Rodney Charters, DP for the Fox series “24″, in a recent interview on ProVideo Coalition had this to say about shooting with DSLR cameras.

“Park the camera.”

Check Philip Blooms videos and you’ll see that most of the shots are static. If the camera is moving it most often is mounted on a slider. Sometimes you’ll see a smooth, slow pan.

So, why would you spend hundreds (maybe thousands) of dollars buying a high-end fluid head then just “park the camera”?

I received an email from Scott, who purchased the DSLR Video Buyer’s Guide, with this same question:

I’ve found your guide and website very helpful already. I did have one question, though, that I hope you could perhaps help with.

I’m preparing a line of guitar lessons to be sold online and I need to add some video guides. Digital audio is my strength, and I’m only learning how to speak the video language.

Your buying guide and website have confirmed that the Canon T2i is likely the best camera for me. Fortunately for me it’s under $1,000, because I actually need two of them (one for each playing hand at different angles).

You also confirmed that a Sennheiser lavalier and Zoom H4N were the best ways of capturing audio. So far, my instincts have proven to be good ones.

However, I am on a relatively limited budget, and I don’t think there’s any way my boss (i.e. my wife) will let me spring for $1,500 for a couple of the Manfrotto tripod stands your eBook recommends. She’s onboard with the cameras, Final Cut Studio (we already have a couple of good Macs), a $700 lighting kit, but I think a grand and a half for tripods would put her (and our budget) over the edge. I’m running out of money, and I haven’t even shot a single frame yet!

Regarding my needs, please know that the tripod will be used only for indoor use and no panning or the like will be involved. The tripods will be set up once and remain stationary during the entire shoot, so the “glide” and ability to remain stable during hurricane force winds are not a factor. It needs to be stable for light indoor use, but still high quality.

It’s clear that Scott would be wasting good money on high-end tripods. After reading Rodney Charters’ interview, I think most people need a better way to shoot solid DSLR video than the conventional fluid head video tripod.

I wrote Scott back with some affordable camera support alternatives:

Jobi GorillaPod
The Jobi GorillaPod Focus and Ballhead bundle is a heavy duty flexible table-top tripod. You can wrap the legs around most anything if you take it on location. I have a couple of sizes and use them all the time. You need the Focus model to handle the weight and the ball head will give you all the rotation and angles you need.

SLIK Video Sprint
If you want the lowest priced regular tripod with a ‘fluid-effect’ head I like the SLIK Video Sprint II Tripod.

It’s very light weight, easy to carry and fairly stable. The head has some smoothing action to it so you can do a pan if you need to.

I use an old trick to smooth out pans – get a large rubber band and tie it to the handle. Use the rubber band to pull the pan and it dampens the movement so much you can actually start or end a pan while shooting.

I had a SLIK that I loved for years until someone liberated it from me. For $90 it’s hard to beat.

Davis & Sanford PROVISTAGR18
Looking on B&H I found this David & Sanford video tripod with lots of positive reviews at a cost of about $160. One reviewer called it “the poor man’s Manfrotto.” Another had used several high-end pro tripods and said it performed very well at a much lower cost. I haven’t used it personally but B&H is great about returns so you can see how it works for you.

Hey, it even comes with a carrying bag.

So, you can lock your DSLR camera for great stable shots without spending hundreds of dollars. You just need something that works for you.

What’s your experience? What works for you?

-a-

PS – have you checked out the Resources section of this site? More good stuff there.

To me, the importance of this interview is not so much about editing. It’s about the director shooting for the edit. And that only comes with experience of going through the process from concept to distribution many times.

When he says there are 78 pieces of film in about 45 seconds, you’ve got to know that didn’t happen by accident. It was planned and shot that way deliberately.

I’m sure there were clips that weren’t planned that made it into the final scene but all of the key angles were known before the film was loaded in the camera.

Most successful directors say they can see the entire movie in their head before they shoot it. I believe that’s the job of the director.

The opposite approach is something I call the ‘shoe-box’ production method.

You have some idea of a movie and go shoot a bunch of stuff that looks cool. When you get to edit, you find a piece of music that fits your idea of the movie then start looking in your ‘shoe box’ of clips.

You find something visually interesting, drop it in the timeline and keep going until you’ve used all the clips or the music ends.

If you’re doing commercial work, you might have a narration that you’re covering with B-roll but the same thing applies.

Don’t get me wrong. I’m just as guilty of this as anyone. It’s the visual version of cotton candy, sweet but no substance.

Run-n-gun is fun. But it’s not the way great art is created. After watching this clip of a great master, I feel more dedicated to doing the work it takes to create art.

Leave your comments and let me know what you think.
-a-

BTW – there are several other clips from Hitchcock around this one on youtube worth watching if you’re interested in being a student of film making.

There are three important lessons this video can teach film makers about DSLR video.

“Apple of My Eye” – an iPhone 4 movie / film -
UPDATE: Behind the scenes footage included
from Michael Koerbel on Vimeo.

#1 – Play To Your Strengths

While I’m sure they struggled with the limitations of this camera, one of its strengths is that it’s light-weight and very small.  Someone on the team must have been looking at the iPhone and wondered, “What if we mounted it on a model train and went for a ride!”

While there are other small HD cameras that could have been used – like the GoPro HD – they used the thin, light-weight form factor of the iPhone 4 to get shots where most cameras would never fit.

There is power in taking a limitation and turning it into an advantage.

For instance, if you’ve got a Canon T2i and are using the 18-55mm kit lens you’ll find it’s very hard to focus manually. I saw this as a limitation when I first got the camera and believed I’d need to replace the lens. Then I discovered how to use the auto-focus while shooting video and everything changed.

Auto-focus on the T2i is fast, accurate and can even be set to find and focus on faces. While you can’t use it when recording video, just click the shutter part-way down while you’re setting up the shot and it will hit the focus in a couple of seconds.

What looked like a problem became a strength when I worked with the tool rather than fighting it.

#2 – You Have To Shoot It Like A Movie If You Want It To Look Like A Movie

Check out the credits and making-of shots in this project. From top to bottom, they had people to play all the major production roles:

• They filled the key roles of Director, Producer, Set Design, etc. Even if the same team is just ‘changing hats’ it’s important to make sure the key roles are covered.
• They had a Writer. It’s true, all good movies are made from good scripts. This one came up with a sweet story that even leaves you wanting to know more as the movie ends. That’s good writing.
• Professional talent in front of the camera makes a huge difference in the emotional impact of the work.
• Original music grabbed your attention and led you through the emotional story line.
• No zoom? No problem. They used a variety of camera support equipment including dollies, glide tracks and cranes to move the camera into the action.
• The lighting was solid and fit the mood of the piece.
• They recorded the voices after shooting the video (ADR) and mixed them into the final sound track to get the best audio.
• The editor understood how to use the language of cinema to tell the story and maxed out the functions of the editing tool.

One of the things that impressed me about Vincent LaForet’s first DSLR movie – Reverie – was that it looked like a good movie in all respects. The fact that it was shot on a DSLR was stunning but it would have been worth watching no matter what the camera.

Making movies is not like shooting video for events or training. It’s not like shooting stills. Yes, they share common elements but the depth of skill and the breadth of specialties required for movies is unique and demanding.

If you aspire to make movies with a DSLR you may want to forget the camera for a while and learn more about the art and craft of movie production.

#3 – Movies Are Made For The Audience To Enjoy

I remember the first time I saw one of my productions on a large screen. No only were the sound and images completely different from all the times I watched it in edit suites and conference rooms, the reaction of the audience changed everything for me.

I realized that my job was to create entertainment. Sometimes the film had to help sell a product or influence opinions and beliefs. Sometimes it was to convey information required to get from point A to point B.

But if that was all I did then the film became one of thousands of meaningless productions cranked out like someone mowing a lawn.

The concept of an iPhone HD movie made me willing to take a look at this film. The opening shot and the entrance of the actors looked nice, kept me watching for a bit more to see what else they did with the camera.

But when they dissolved to that first train shot with the music twinkling magically, I forgot all of that and slipped inside their movie completely. I had to force myself to stop now and then to check out the tech. That’s an entertaining movie.

It’s a lot more work to get into the head of your audience and create something that speaks their language, something that pulls them in and entertains them, maybe even something that brings a deeper emotional moment to their lives.

But that’s the key to making movies that will keep you working in this business for years, no matter what camera you shoot it with.

Take a moment and leave a comment, let me know what you think.

-a-

This time it’s something that I believe a sane person should avoid at all costs anyway. But shooting it with a DSLR? Well…

Scenario

You’re working on a project shot with DSLR cameras where a character has a scene in front of a well known landmark in a city far from the rest of your story. You look at the budget to get those shots and start talking about other ways to accomplish the scene. Someone pipes up and says, “Why don’t we just green screen it? No need to travel, we’ll shoot in the studio.”

Question

Do you check that problem off the list and schedule the time in the studio?

Reality

Green screen, blue screen, it doesn’t matter which color you use. This is a difficult production technique to pull off correctly under any circumstances. But doing it with a DSLR can make everything even more troublesome.

Pulling a good chroma key requires good chroma. That’s the color information in the video. That’s also the “4″ in the three numbers you see after some codec definitions, like Apple’s ProRes 422.

The best video for pulling a chroma key is uncompressed 10 bit video with a 4:4:4 color space. DLSR cameras produce highly compressed 8 bit video with a 4:2:0 color space. The differences are significant.

Highly compressed 8 bit video with 4:2:0 color is one reason why it’s difficult for high end film producers to embrace DSLR cameras. There’s just not as much information in DSLR video as in an uncompressed codec with 4:4:4 color space. It’s why professional color graders say it’s more difficult to grade DSLR footage. And it’s why you can’t pull great chroma keys from DSLR footage.

Besides, it’s easy to record uncompressed 4:4:4 video. Just get something like the DeckLink Extreme from Blackmagic and tap the full resolution HDMI or SD/SDI outputs of your camera.

What… your DSLR doesn’t have full resolution HDMI or SD/SDI outputs?

Neither does mine, no DSLR camera has these outputs. But you’ll find either HDMI or SD/SDI outputs on all professional camcorders, most prosumer camcorders, and even quite a few high end consumer camcorders.

If you plan to shoot much chroma key video I’d suggest going with one of these setups rather than a DSLR. You can spend about the same money and end up with a much better result. And the good news is that’s it easy to simulate the shallow DOF of a DSLR with a chroma key. Just dial in some Gaussian blur on the background.

But, just for the sake of argument, let’s assume that you take the time to set up the perfect green screen shot. You have your background loaded into your laptop with software that can generate the key. You’re able to overlay the key and view the results on a high quality monitor so you can match lighting and align the shot perfectly. You have the staff on hand to control everything for the perfect shot.

How long do you want to live with that shot on a timeline? Five seconds? Maybe a bit longer?

If you want to cut to a closeup you’ll need to shift your background to match the new camera angle. In fact, if you move the camera at all you’re going to need to adjust everything.

What if you’ve got two actors and need an over the shoulder shot? You’re going to need the reverse of your background that matches perfectly.

What if you want to pan or zoom or make any kind of live action move? You’re going to need to have a system that allows you to move the virtual camera on your background to perfectly match the live camera move.

I’m not saying that any of this is impossible. I am saying that getting great special effects shots take much more preproduction, production and post-production to pull off. If it was easy, everyone would be doing it. How many high budget films have you seen with poor chroma key effects?

On the other side of this situation, there are times when the visual design of the production makes such special effects necessary. If you have to take on such a project here’s a video with the best chroma key product I’ve seen. It will work with your clips from a DSLR and even an HDV camcorder.

Guy Cochran over at dvestore.com sells a product called Reflecmedia. Rather than paint a wall green and light it very carefully, Reflectmedia uses a special cloth that reflects light directly back to the camera. It has an LED light ring that you attach to the front of the camera. The light from the LED is very pure color and bounces off the special cloth to produce a great source for pulling a chromakey. Watch the video and Guy will show you how it works.

Reflecmedia in action – Chroma key made easy from Guy Cochran on Vimeo.

Chroma key is one of those things that people seem fascinated with and can’t wait to try. If you must include a chroma key shot in your project then the good news is that you’ll get to bill your client a lot more. If you’re the client I’d think of other ways to solve the problem than chroma key.

Tell me what you think? What’s your experience with chroma key?

Zacuto has released the third installment in their Great Camera Shoot-Out of 2010. They brought in big guns (pun intended), called on top notch post-production facilities, and shot test sequences on 35mm film and a variety of DSLR cameras – including the Canon T2i.

What more could you want? Read more and I’ll tell you…

Click on the graphic or this link to watch. All three segments are on the same page and they’re well worth watching.

Zacuto makes high end support equipment for the film and video industry. They were one of the first manufacturers to make DSLR specific packages for shoulder mount and handheld use. While their equipment is more expensive than most, it’s also extremely well built.

To their credit, they don’t use the shoot-out video series to sell any of their products or services. They are providing a service to their industry and claiming a position of authority in the process.

The process is detailed on the site but the short story is they brought together top shooters, editors, special effects artists, and colorists. Other companies that support the film and video industry supplied 35mm film cameras, Fuji and Kodak film, processing and transfers, editing and full post production services.

They premiered the final films for a live audience at a local theater will a quality projection system. The  questions and comments from the audience reflects their professional production credentials.

The end result? I don’t mean to spoil the experience so stop reading now and go watch.

The hands-down winner was Kodak 35mm film transferred to 4K digital video files. While there were scenes where the differences were slight, overall that format is still the gold standard.

This doesn’t mean that you must shoot 35mm film or your project is worthless. The DSLR’s looked great in most of the scenes and every piece of equipment has it’s strengths and weaknesses. Imagine having to haul one of those 35mm cameras around for a few days.

But I said that there was something missing from this shootout. And that is your experience.

There’s nothing like taking the time to shoot test shots with your kit then taking the footage all the way through to web, DVD or projection. In my experience it can take two or three times through this loop to resolve major questions and get a firm grip on how to make your gear give you the final video you want.

In this shootout they show three wonderful shorts all shot on DSLR. The quality of film making enabled by these cameras is inspiring. So grab that gear, call some friends, set up scenes that are real world for you, and create your own shootout.

Let us all know how it goes, we’d love to see it when you’re done.

-a-

I mean really… there are lots of productions where you should not shoot video with a DSLR.

Here’s another one.

Scenario

You get a call for a location photo shoot for a regular client. The concept is to follow a top executive through a series of interactions solving a problem with his team. They want you to capture real people, documentary style, with lots of human interest shots.

Near the end of the conversation they casually say, “Oh, you can shoot video of this at the same time, right?”

Question

Do you tell them you’ve never shot video before or do you rush out, buy a DSLR that shoots video and wing it?

Reality

I just talked with a local professional photographer with exactly this situation. From what I hear, he’s not alone.

Here’s my take on this.

I don’t believe you should be shooting video with a DSLR when you’re getting paid for the job and haven’t taken the time to shoot, transcode, edit, grade and render test footage…

using that camera…

those lenses…

in that lighting…

for this distribution channel.

I remember walking backstage at Disney’s Animal Kingdom and catching a glimpse of a team of acrobats going through their show. They played a troup of monkey’s in the Lion King live stage show.

I have no idea how many times they’d performed that act – several times a day for weeks, months, maybe years. Yet there they were, practicing, stretching, working on the timing, putting in the kind of great effort it takes to make their show look effortless.

If you’re a pro in this business you know that’s what it takes.

But then I see professional photographers with zero years of video experience deciding to take on video projects on the spur of the moment.

And I know professional video shooters with zero years of DSLR experience deciding to pick up a Canon 7D two days before a shoot.

Anyone can pick up a point-and-shoot camera these days and take a pretty good picture. Just like anyone can pick up an auto-everything video camcorder and take decent video.

But if you shoot either stills or video for a living you know there’s a lot of work between being able to push a button and delivering professional results.

One of the things I love about shooting video with a DSLR is that takes you back to the essence of capturing lightning in a jar. It’s not auto-anything.

You need to have a decent understanding of lenses, f-stops, focal length and all the other physics of light going through a lens to create an image.

And you need a decent understanding of the full video workflow from capture to distribution.

It’s time to go back to the “beginner mind” and learn experientially how this works for you, your equipment and your type of production.

Play with it all.

Set up the camera, try different lenses, light up different types of objects, try different types of fixtures. Use a light meter and learn to go old school while setting things up.

Move your footage into a computer and push it through the entire workflow. Work out what happens when you transcode the footage, when you apply effects, and especially when you grade the footage.

Test it through the compression and render phase to your intended distribution media.

If you’re delivering on DVD then burn a test and watch it on a variety of systems.

If you’re delivering on the web then post it to at test page and watch it through a variety of browsers and operating systems.

If you’re delivering on Blu-Ray disc to digital projectors lighting up a theater screen then find some way to test your footage in that environment.

Otherwise, you’re just monkeying around and shouldn’t be shooting video with a DSLR.

Leave your comments and tell me what you think.

At least, it’s not right all the time.

Here’s what I mean.

Scenario

Your best client calls with news of a great new project. Their CEO has been tapped for the keynote presentation at the top conference in their industry. They want the whole event shot with multiple cameras then edited into versions for distribution on various media. And… they want to premier the video on huge screens at the annual stockholder meeting a week after the keynote. Wow!

Question

Are there any DSLR cameras that are perfect for this project?

Reality

This production needs to be shot with high quality video cameras. Here’s why.

• You’ll need lenses that can give you decent shots from the edges of the room and that’s likely to be 75 feet or more from the stage.
• You’ll need remote controls on those lenses so your operators can adjust zoom and focus from comfortable positions behind the camera.
• You’ll need all cameras to accept a sync signal so you can live switch the video.
• You’ll need to have all cameras connected to camera control units so a video engineer can adjust white balance, iris, gain and other parameters to keep the cameras as closely matched as possible.
• You need to be able to record continuously for the length of the entire presentation plus several minutes before and after the keynote. That could easily be 45 minutes total record time.
• As this is a one-take production you’ll want multiple HD recording systems for audio and video to ensure you’ve got it. At the very least you’ll want to record the live switched program with an ‘iso’ recording of each camera for editing later.

While you could put a lens on a DSLR that would have the reach you need, virtually all other requirements for this project are out of the question for shooting video with a DSLR.

Okay, you might want one guy moving around, operating in stealth mode, getting cover shots of people being people. That might be a good role for a DSLR in this project.

But I find those kind of shots are easier to get with a long lens on a video camera shooting from across the room. And they are rock solid shots that are easy to use for edits.

Even if all you need to shoot is some guy giving his slide presentation at a trade show, you’ll be better off shooting with two standard camcorders – one for the presenter and the other for cover shots.

Why?  Timing. You’ll need to be able to shoot continuously for more than 12 minutes and that’s the maximum for a DSLR.

Look at the rest of this blog. I love DSLR HD video.

I’m also a working video producer who has to use whatever tools are necessary to deliver the best project possible.

So there you go. One good reason why you should not shoot video with a DSLR.

Leave comments and let me know what you think.

BTW (by the way) to VJ/PJ (video journalist – photo journalist) you can add MJ for multimedia journalist to the list. Now you’ve got all the ingredients for the alphabet soup that signifies the chaos in this market segment right now.

Anyway, Jonathan took the sane position that Laforet had simply given the VJ/PJ/MJ community permission to use standard video camcorders if that suited their purpose best.

Ah… one of my favorite strategies – use the right tool for the job.

As it has been said – if all you have is a hammer everything looks like a nail.

I love taking cutting edge tech and using it on traditional marketing and communication programs.

But one of the key rules of that game is being able to see what is right for the situation and having the sanity to do just that.

Have you heard of Occam’s razor?

It goes like this…

entia non sunt multiplicanda praeter necessitatem

In English that says “entities must not be multiplied beyond necessity.”

In plain English that means the simplest solution is usually the correct one.

For Jonathan, the simplest solution is a DSLR shooting stills and video. He’s in remote parts of the world, shooting by himself with no crew, without an AC outlet for miles, sometimes having to carry his entire kit in a pack on his back as he walks in where no Land Rover can get.

Add in his photographic experience and eye for stunning images and it’s no wonder he gladly traded traditional video camcorders for a DSLR and a couple of good lenses.

Laforet, on the other hand, is likely to find the simplest solution to be a bit different. He’s used to working with a full crew and all the high-end equipment a Canon-sponsored superstar could ask for. I mean, he’s the one in the video above – not Jonathan.

Just to be fair, here’s one of Jonathan’s videos. He’s a man on a mission and brings all his passion to his profession.

What’s the take away for you here?

In golf there is a strategy of “playing your game”. So every guy in your group pulls out a driver with a head the size of a grapefruit and swings with everything he’s got. And they all end up in the crap – sand, water, woods, deep grass.

You pull out your favorite 5 iron and pop one 200 yards down the middle. Guess who will win more often?

Here’s a more relevant situation.

You’re checking the lighting and notice that you need more fill. You could grab a light, a stand, an AC cable, a couple of clips and some diffusion material. Or you could slide a reflector over and lean it up against the wall. Which is simpler?

The danger in this strategy is getting stuck and watching the evolving world pass you by.

I believe the key is finding a way to try new technology that is sane. Here are some ways to do that.

• Adopt the mindset of a beginner – be easy with yourself and laugh at your mistakes.
• Learn everything you can from every source available – even people who are negative about new tech have a perspective worth considering.
• Choose wisely when to step into direct experience – spend the time and money to practice, do dry runs, rehearsals, and test shoots.
• Always have a plan B – if the timing/budget are critical or your reputation is on the line take it to another level and have a plan C.

How are you making the choice of which technology to use? Let me know…

-a-

What’s the right way to create this shot?

How do I get better sound?

I don’t know what your question is but I’m sure you have more than one. I promise that I will answer your question whether I know the answer or have to find someone else who knows the answer.

So click here and ask away!