Getting Organized

A little work on the front end can help you stay organized

Michael Guncheon

When I edit, the more time I spend on non-editing tasks, the more the project suffers. That’s why I make sure that my workflow for tasks like outputting approvals and ingesting footage are nailed down with presets that I’ve worked out ahead of time. But there’s an even more important process that makes me efficient: organization. Being... Read more

How Is 2020 Going To Change The Camera Market?

A look at the current state of the pro video camera market and how the pandemic has affected it

Daniel Brockett

2020 may be looked back upon in the near future as the year that everything changed. This is a still from the last production I shot pre-quarantine, just a week before the stay at home order was issued. Heading into 2020 from 2019 saw a lot of excitement in the professional video/mirrorless hybrid/digital cinema camera space. We saw several new cameras... Read more

Taking It Online

Preparing yourself to grow your skill set and utilize it in new ways for potential clients and audiences will likely become a part of our “new normal”

Daniel Brockett

Is 2020 the year that live streaming graduates to the mainstream and beyond? Circumstances seem to be dictating that may come true. Since we’re still smack in the middle of the great quarantine of 2020, and many of us are heading into month three of little to no paying work, I want to talk about taking it online. As witnessed by a casual browse through... Read more

Remote Editing, Part 4

Did it work?

Michael Guncheon

I wrote about getting the right connections for remote editing. I talked about encoding so I could stream my session live. Last time, I examined the whole concept of latency—how delayed the stream would be when it arrived at a client’s location. Now the questions are “Did it work?” and “What did I stream?” Even though I went through various... Read more

Sound Devices Steps Up During Pandemic

Doing well by doing good

Daniel Brockett

In 2017, I purchased the Sound Devices Mix Pre 3, a small mixer/recorder that’s perfect for more video-oriented users who want to record better quality audio as well. First, a bit of history on my part. I’ve been using equipment from manufacturer Sound Devices for about 10 years. I’m not a full-time location sound mixer; I record sound on many... Read more

Remote Editing, Part 3

Did I need near-zero latency?

Michael Guncheon

Last time, I talked about streaming services’ understanding of low latency. Now it’s my turn. I usually edit with clients in my suite, so I’m accustomed to near-zero latency (yes near-zero, as there’s latency in displays). But as I thought about latency for a remote edit, I realized I had to be realistic about what I really need. I had to... Read more

Remote Editing, Part 2

Encoding and latency

Michael Guncheon

Last time, I talked about the importance of handling all the connection details when you edit remotely. It’s up to you to decide if that was the easy part. The next step was to be able to stream my session to my clients who’d be in different locations with different connections and different levels of patience. Luckily, before this whole environment... Read more

Mounting An Overhead Camera With The WALI Monitor Arm

An easy and inexpensive solution to overhead shooting

Daniel Brockett

Finding an inexpensive, small and light way to mount an overhead camera has been a challenge. The methods we’ve used work but are not small, light or inexpensive. Until now. One of my favorite types of production to light and shoot is tabletop. It’s rare as a DP to have complete lighting, art direction and stage control over a scene unless it’s... Read more

Remote Editing, Part 1

First step: getting the connection

Michael Guncheon

It was fortuitous that I attended the Hollywood Professional Alliance Tech Retreat in Palm Springs in February. Editing in the cloud and remote access were some of the key presentations. The demos were pretty impressive. But now reality has set in. A lot of the workflows in the cloud require planning, preparation and, in many cases, a Hollywood budget.... Read more

Dealing With HEVC/H.265 Footage

What do you know about the H.265 codec and how to most effectively use it in your production and post workflow?

Daniel Brockett

The Panasonic Lumix DC-S1H is one of the newest generation mirrorless hybrids that utilizes the H.265 codec for internal recording. Does your current primary camera support H.265 recording? Other than a preset in your camera’s codec/recording options, what do you know about the H.265 codec and how to most effectively use it in your production and... Read more