Matt Jeppsen

Hi all, I wanted to share a very interesting study I ran across online, where researchers used viewer eye-tracking to analyze what people were watching in select scenes from There Will Be Blood. They then provided a clear visualization that shows areas of attention in the frame. The result is nothing short of amazing, and I see it as a hugely valuable resource for blocking, lighting, cinematography, and editing. It's interesting to me that they chose There Will Be Blood, because this film is (IMHO) a good example of how slow pacing and a long-form editing style can still artfully direct the viewer's attention through the use of a few simple, but effective onscreen cues. It's fascinating to see how the audience all reacts in a similar fashion to the onscreen action. I've posted on this at PVC, and also included another bit of research on editing continuity; a PhD thesis by Tim J. Smith entitled An Attentional Theory of Continuity Editing that is basically like Murch's "In the Blink of an Eye" on crack...it's a 300 page PDF chock-full of editing and continuity principles analysis. Thought I'd share these resources here, hope that you guys find them as interesting and useful as I have.

Hey Gus, can you explain further what you mean? Thanks

Having just wrapped another 5-day shoot with the Red One, I was inspired to finish an article I started back in November (yes, following another Red shoot). It's a bit long, and a bit ranty, but there are a number of things I need to get off my chest about this amazing, yet very frustrating camera system. The article is too long to repost here, but feel free to comment here in this thread. I'll answer any questions or flames folks want to reply with. :-) http://provideocoalition.com/index.php/fre..._with_red_rant/ Matt Jeppsen FreshDV

Valid points, Jonathan. Don't forget however that some folks are not located right down the street from a rental house, and in many cases it makes sense to have your own kit on hand that you KNOW works (and you know how to work it). But sure, when you get a big camera package rented you generally just use the FF it comes with (probably an ARRI). It's funny you mentioned the remote focus device. We actually tested a Bartech BFD along with these follow focus units, and I was very impressed with it's performance. Very precise, and extremely powerful motor (the Palomar M-One). I could see it driving even the stickiest of lenses without breaking a sweat. We'll have a review of that unit out shortly.

Hi all, thanks for the great feedback on this instructional series. I also wanted to mention that we've just added a 720p HD version of the Art of Pulling Focus Part 3 segment, so you can download it and watch offline. And of course it's a bit easier to see the focus pulls and analyze what Bob is doing. It comes zipped up in a 450MB archive which contains the full 15-min H.264 Quicktime video at 1280×1440 (wonky size = two 720p clips stacked vertically). Download, unzip and enjoy! You can download the video here.

As noted in this thread, the Chrosziel is actually one of the more cost-effective speed crank options that I am aware of. It has a standard port, so it should interface fine with the Redrock FF.

Thanks...I think. :-) Care to clarify your use of the term "cesspool"?

Thanks for the feedback, guys. We appreciate it. I completely understand where you are coming from, I'm the same way. :-) Stay tuned at that link, we're working on getting a .torrent of the entire series up at hi-res/bitrate. Figured that those who want to download it would also want it at a higher resolution.

Hey all, just a quick note to let you know we've posted a three-part educational video series entitled "The Art of Pulling Focus" at FreshDV. In summary, Chicago-based AC Bob Sanchez shares his deep experience and knowledge on the role of an AC, as well as some tools and techniques of the job. In the Part 3 video demonstration we block out a few simple scenes and Bob demonstrates his technique on a handheld camera rig. If this proves helpful to you, please let us know what you think. Many thanks.

Abraham, can you provide a few more details of the path you took acquiring and editing the HDV footage? Did you capture the HDV footage native, or convert to an intermediate codec? On the FCP timeline, how did you deal with the HDV footage being interlaced, while the was Varicam progressive? You say in reference to the HDV footage "all the shots with movement started to go soft". Was that movement inordinately fast? Sorry for the barrage of queries, just trying to understand the details. Thanks!

In addition to the (crappy) onboard mic, the iRiver 700 and 800 IFP series have Line-In also (which is software-switchable to a Mic-level input as well). You can select bitrates up to 320 in stereo, 160 in mono. Note that the iRiver is wired slightly non-standard, so a typical mono mic will not work with it (it doesn't correctly identify the mic as mono, and record a single channel of audio). For event lapel-variety recording, Darrell at Giant Squid Audio Lab wires a special mic for the iRiver recorders that allows it to use a mono mic to record just one stereo channel, therefore virtually doubling your recording capacity (if that's your bag). If you don't want to mess with mono recording, pretty much any stereo mic will work, the Azden 503 is well-suited for event work (lapel) and the price is right around $25 at B&H. With capacities from 256 up to 1GB, the iRivers make excellent recorders and the price is phenomenal. I recently snagged a few refurb 790's (512MB) for under $75/each. Matthew Jeppsen www.FresHDV.com

Lumiere HD just announced a beta solution that enables you to edit in FCP. It's a kludge, but it works. See this HD For Indies post for more details. In contrast, Vegas 6 and CineForm AspectHD already fully support 24p HDV material, just like any other media.

Cheap DAT-alternatives are Sony MD or iRiver flash recorders (700 & 800 series work great). Timecode synch can be a bitch though. Recently a a nice DAT-replacement at a VERY reasonable price has become available: the Tascam HD-P2 field audio recorder. This device is under $1000, and includes an unprecedented number of pro features at this price point. It records HD-quality audio to CF cards, and offers plenty of timecode synch options. * 44.1kHz to 192kHz recording resolution at 16- or 24-bit * Time-stamped Broadcast WAVE file format * Retake button - re-do the last recording with a single button press * XLR mic inputs feature phantom power * Unbalanced stereo RCA I/O * S/PDIF digital I/O .....and a ton of other features. Check it out. -MJ

This also affects certain Canon camcorders that utilize Sony CCD blocks. Links and more info at FresHDV.com

Check out this FresHDV.com post on the HD100U. You'll find 3 very interesting links; a first impressions review, a hands on review with the HD100U and the P+S Technik 35mm adapter including raw M2T footage comparisons, and finally hundreds of MB of footage and stills from the camera at WEVA. -MJ