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

Making The Right Proxies

Successful proxy workflow

Michael Guncheon

Do you experience dropped frames either from using an underpowered computer or from editing higher resolution files with harder to process codecs? Using proxies for playback while editing can help but getting them to work can be difficult. I previously talked about a proxy workflow with Adobe’s Premiere Pro. There are a couple of ways to start the... Read more

Reducing The Load With Proxies

How proxies can help with playback

Michael Guncheon

I’ve gone through several posts on various ways to use proxies and how to make sure that workflow is successful. But, I haven’t talked about using proxies side-by-side with your original footage on an edit workstation. You might ask, “Why use proxies if the real files are available?” As camera resolution has increased, the load on edit computers... Read more

An Archeological Expedition

Much like a modern-day Indiana Jones, join me as I dig through the relics and remnants of production laying around our office

Daniel Brockett

Much like a modern-day Indiana Jones, join me as I dig through the relics and remnants of production laying around our office. I’ve been doing some straightening and organizing around the office lately. Upon excavating several storage boxes that I haven’t looked through for quite a while, some of them it’s been even years since I have gone... Read more

Proxy Assumption

Making sure proxies work

Michael Guncheon

Previously, I talked about creating proxies to use for remote editing. The original footage remains in one location—not linked to the project—and only the proxies are used. I emphasized that you should make sure that the proxy files are created in such a way that they easily and faultlessly link up with the original footage. You can’t just assume... Read more

The Camera Business Case

A lot of your decisions about when to buy a new camera and which camera to buy should center on the business case

Daniel Brockett

Over the past six months, it’s been a season of new camera releases, each more tempting than the last. The latest crop of mirrorless hybrids and digital cinema cameras present some compelling new features and innovations designed to make shooting more efficient and the output, to me, more impressive. The past few months have seen several new cameras... Read more

Wireless Video In Production

The costs for wireless video systems have steadily fallen while the quality and features have just as steadily climbed

Daniel Brockett

Wireless video has become the latest must-have? Not sure if you’ve felt that distant or perhaps not-so-distant call yet, the siren song of wireless video? What exactly do we mean when we say wireless video? It’s a somewhat amorphous term in the production world but generally, wireless video transmission is used by either: A. Assistant Camera... Read more