CES 2020

Finding answers at CES in Las Vegas

Michael Guncheon

Every year, I make the trek to the desert to join 170,000 other attendees so I can walk nearly 3 million square feet of exhibits presented by about 4,400 exhibitors at CES, the technology show put on by the Consumer Technology Association. (They don’t call the show the Consumer Electronics Show since not all technology is electronic, I guess.) It’s... Read more

Standing Up For Post

Standing up for yourself during pre-production conversations

Michael Guncheon

I’ve often joked that projects I work on are never finished, they just run out of time and money. In the past, that was more of a joke, but with the ever-pressing need to produce more and more content with less and less resources, the humor in that statement is somewhat diluted. The challenge in post is being able to match the edit to everyone’s... Read more

Making Proxies That Work, Part 2

Getting proxy settings right

Michael Guncheon

The proxy workflow designed into Adobe’s Premiere Pro is a great way to work when you deal with footage that taxes your computer during playback. When set up properly, a click of a button underneath the source or program monitor windows toggles between normal and proxy playback. Since the original footage is available with a simple click on a button,... Read more

Autofocus For Everyone!

The evolution of autofocus technology

Daniel Brockett

Fujinon just demonstrated their UA 107×8.4 AF Outside Broadcast Lens with Auto Focus at InterBEE 2019, the first box lens with stand-alone AF technology. The Box Lens Goes Autofocus? The past couple of years in camera technology have been kind of amazing if you look at the tools we’re now using objectively. One area that has grown in leaps and... Read more

Look Before You Leap

When it comes to firmware and software updates, proceed with caution

Daniel Brockett

Just beware that new Firmware Updates may not always result in your happiness as a user. Fujifilm recently released a new firmware version for the XT-3 mirrorless camera, V3.10. This new firmware version claims to improve some existing bugs and allows for remote control of the Fujifilm XT-3 via gimbals from DJI and Zhiyun, as well as control when mounting... Read more

In Search Of Lighting Horsepower

When in doubt, it's always best to have a surplus of horsepower than to have not quite enough

Daniel Brockett

As LED Lighting continues to mature, more and more users are searching for LEDs that can replace HMIs. LED technology for video lighting is in an interesting place right now. I’ve been shooting video and digital cinema with LED lighting now for more than a decade, as many of you have also been. My older Tungsten video lights like my beloved Arri Softbank... Read more

Making Proxies That Work, Part 1

Creating proxies during ingest

Michael Guncheon

I promised that I’d talk about a better way to make proxies that work. In this case, I refer to a proxy workflow in Adobe’s Premiere Pro that allows you to switch between proxy playback or camera original playback at the click of a button. Flipping to proxy playback reduces load on the computer and helps if you drop frames during playback. If... Read more

Hiring The Experts To Get You Hired

How much do you need to use your skillset and smarts to land work and when do you need to call in the experts and pay them to help you grow your business?

Daniel Brockett

How many crew positions pictured here can you do? There’s an old axiom, “It takes money to make money.” What I’d like to explore is how much do you need to use your skillset and smarts to land work and when do you need to call in the experts and pay them to help you grow your business? No matter how you define your role in our business,... Read more

Resurrecting Old Footage

In search of playback

Daniel Brockett

Hi-8 was actually a fairly popular analog videotape format in the early to mid-1990s. I’ve been on eBay, looking for the right playback device. What kind of playback device? Hi-8, of course. What, might you ask, is/was Hi-8? If you’ve been in professional video for more than probably 10 years, you may have encountered the Hi-8 format in the wild,... Read more

Which Way Wireless?

As the FCC continues to sell off UHF spectrum without involving the majority of the population that needs to use wireless spectrum, we need to consider alternatives to keep on recording location sound effectively

Daniel Brockett

This blog is really about wireless spectrum, not wireless gear itself, but alliteration is so much catchier in headlines and titles, isn’t it? It’s been a while since I’ve written about wireless spectrum, and in the time since I last wrote about what was happening with the spectrum, the world of wireless has evolved quite a bit. A few years... Read more