HurlBlog Technology Guru: Mike McCarthy Part II

posted April 24th, 2010 by Shane

Here is the much anticipated post-production work flow blog that you have been asking for from Mike McCarthy, our technology guru. Please visit Mike’s site at hd4pc.com for even more in-depth technical information on the post-production work flow process.

Post Work flows for DSLRs

“Here at Bandito Brothers, we have been handling the post aspect of many of Shane’s DSLR based projects, ever since the first “Terminiator Webisodes.”  The tools available have developed during the past year from a relative hack job, to a reasonably well supported work flow.

File Format:
The first thing we need to understand about a work flow, is what we are starting with.  In the case of Canon DSLR footage, we have full raster HD footage, in YUV 4:2:0, with a full range (0-255) of 8bit color values, at a variety of frame rates.  This is saved into Quicktime files, encoded with H.264 compression at about 40Mb/s, with 44.1khz audio.  While high bit rate H.264 files preserve a tremendous amount of detail into a relatively small file size, that level of compression makes it difficult to playback the native files in any editing program.  In almost all cases it will be easier and more efficient to convert the footage into an intermediate editing format before editorial.  This choice of formats will probably be dictated by your NLE options.  DNxHD will be the format of choice for Avid, with ProRes for FCP, and a couple other options like Motion-JPEG, MPEG2-IF, or Cineform for Premiere Pro.

Screenshot of QT Movie Inspector of a 5D file

Screenshot of QT Movie Inspector of a 5D file

Frame Rates:
From a post perspective, the most obvious unique work flow challenge presented by the original Canon 5DMk2, was “30P!?”  Since a transcode to an intermediate format was already required by most work flows, we slowed the footage and the audio by .1% to 29.97 for our first few projects.  So 29.97 based work flows can be relatively simple, and are even easier now with the true 29.97 support in the 7D and 1D, and recently the 5D as well.

Screenshot of Canon frame rate menu

Screenshot of Canon frame rate menu

Inter cutting with film on the other hand usually requires editing and finishing in 24p, (by which I always mean 23.976p) which is a lot more complicated challenge with 5D footage.  As Shane has mentioned in the past, the simplest way I have found to deal with this requires that you edit in Avid, and online with Twixtor in AE and Premiere Pro CS4.  We use Re:Vision Effects’ Twixtor plug-in to convert our 30p clips to 24p, with true motion compensated frame blending.  It works quite well for more footage, but it is extremely render intensive and take a long time to process footage.  The details of the relinking process for Twixtored footage with Avid edits are fairly complicated, but can be found on my site, (Link to Avid page on my site) for anyone who is interested in going down that path.  For footage shot at 24p on a DSLR, the on-lining process should be relatively straightforward by comparison, and have no unique challenges over 29.97p DSLR work flows.

Editorial Options:
While Premiere and FCP are both useful tools that will work well on smaller DSLR based projects, Avid is the most stable and responsive editing program, for large projects that encompass hundreds of hours of footage spread across thousands of individual clips.  Most Avid edits of DSLR footage will use DNxHD as their editing codec.  Since Canon MOVs have a full 0-255 color range, you have to select the RGB (0-255) color space when importing the files into Avid, in order to maintain the full range of the color space.  If you are going to use you Avid output as your master, without a separate online conform, using a 10bit editing codec like DNxHD175x will prevent you from losing bit depth during the Rec709 conversion on the initial import transcode.  We use 8bit DNxHD36 offline files in our Avid edits, since this is an offline, because we aren’t editing at the 5D’s native frame rate, and we use simple EDLs to online in CS4 via file name relinking after the frame rate conversion.  There are other more expensive options for on lining Avid edits, but I am not as familiar with any of them, since Adobe’s Creative Suite satisfies most of our current needs.

Screenshot of Avid import options, with 5D clips in the background project window

Screenshot of Avid import options, with 5D clips in the background project window

Now as a PC guy, I will still be the first to admit that Macs do have their uses. (Specifically generating Pro Res files and accessing HPFS volumes;)  For Final Cut Pro work flows, life is a little simpler in that Pro Res is capable of 10bit color by default, as long as the host application supports it.  Batching your DSLR files to Pro Res in Compressor should allow you to maintain the full resolution and color space.  Compressor also has the capability to solve the 30p to 24p issue through use of Apple’s Optical Flow technology.  Compared to Twixtor, our tests have found this process to be slower and the results aren’t quite as good, but if you can’t afford a dedicated conversion plug-in, this is probably the next best thing.

Screenshot of5D files Converting in Compressor

Screenshot of 5D files Converting in Compressor

For Premiere based edits, while DSLR files can be played directly on the time line, using an intermediate format will give you a more responsive and stable editing experience.  Adobe Media Encoder will give you the proper processing bit depth to convert your files into a variety of possible third party formats, for editing or on-lining in CS4.  At Bandito Brothers, we batch process our Canon 5D footage in After Effects, which allows us to use Twixtor to convert our 30p clips to 24p.  If the footage is already in the right frame rate, AME is totally sufficient and will process the conversions much faster.  We usually online with Cineform AVI files, to utilize the head room that 10bit color offers, especially since SpeedgradeXR can access native files, which is usually our next step after the conform.

Screenshot of 5D files converting to Cineform in AME

Screenshot of 5D files converting to Cineform in AME

Finishing:
Once you have exported an online conform, preferably in 10bit color, there is one more step that should be added to DSLR work flows.  There are a number of cleanup processes that can be undertaken to deal with common imaging issues with DSLRs, similar to a dust-busting pass on film work flows.  Dead pixels, usually caused by dust on the sensor, which can happen to any camera, are more frequent on DSLRs due to their large sensors and interchangeable lenses.  These artifacts are usually static and can be fixed by overlaying nearby pixels that were unaffected, usually directly above or below.  You also may see rolling shutter issues, caused by the top of the frame capturing a slightly different moment in time than the bottom.  Certain types of rolling shutter artifacts, especially ones related to camera motion, can be fixed with plug-ins from companies like the foundry.  Other rolling shutter artifacts like horizontal bands caused by flashes of light are much harder to fix, unless you manually replace the image data with information from another nearby frame.  And if you have run a frame conversion process like Twixtor on your footage, this is when you should replace any frames that interpreted poorly with frames from the original source files.  These processes are all very labor intensive and require quite a bit of fiddling and fine tuning to perfect your image.  As with any step in the process, consider your available resources and carefully prioritize the issues you want to fix.

Once you are finished fixing any defects in the footage, the resulting files should be similar to any other workflow, and you can proceed to visual effects, color correction, tape lay back, web encoding, or disc authoring the same as you would a project from any other acquisition source.  Most of the things that are key to an efficient DSLR based work flow take place at the beginning of the process.  Once you are off to a proper start, the later steps should come together the same way as any other tapeless project.  Hopefully the tips above will give you a good overview of the potential pitfalls, and things you can do to stay one step ahead of the game.  I have much more detailed information available on my site www.hd4pc.com/techblog/2010/04/24/editing-dslr-footage-in-avid/, that I will continue to update as new developments are released.”

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: , ,
Posted in Post Production | 22 Comments »

The Making of “The Last 3 Minutes”

posted April 16th, 2010 by Shane

It was terrific meeting everyone at NAB this week. Thank-you for all of the wonderful comments, support and continually fueling the DSLR revolution with your passion for shooting.

Here are details from our EPK crew on “The Last 3 Minutes.” With this first person perspective, it is not like a scene where you do a wide shot and then go in for coverage. It plays out like a play where everything has to work. If you did a normal scene, there would be 5 takes on a master, 6 takes on over the shoulder, another 6 takes on over the shoulder, 4 takes on a close-up and 4 takes on another close-up. We did 10-20 takes so it all worked as one shot which was very challenging. One of the most difficult things in film making is to have it all happen in one shot and not breaking it up into individual set-ups. Here is how we did it.

EPK Director/Camera Operator: Tim Holtermann

“When Shane told me he wanted to shoot behind the scenes footage of “The Last 3 Minutes” I was very excited as I had only used the 5D MKII for narrative work. I knew that using the 5D for run and gun style documentary work might be a challenge and loved the idea of diving in head first.

Shane and The Hurlbut Visuals Elite Team Prep

Shane and The Hurlbut Visuals Elite Team

Prep: There was no real prep for this because of time constraints and schedules so I pretty much showed up on set day one and just started shooting. However, we had discussed some things ahead of time like shooting freehand (no rigs) vs mounting the camera on a RedRock shoulder mount rig with follow focus and a Zoom H4n for sound. What we found out after a few hours on day one was that free style was the way to go. It was light, nimble and easy to move around a sometimes crowded set. The less intrusive the better – especially for low key documentary style stuff.

Director Po Chan, Rudy Harbon, Shane and Marc Marguiles

Director Po Chan, Rudy Harbon, Shane and Marc Marguiles check out a shot

Crew: Shane’s Elite Team Members Marc Marguiles and Rudy Harbon helped me with delivering two different perspectives with their camera work. Not only was it a blast to work with Marc and Rudy but a privilege too. Nothing like a good group around you when you are pulling long days and nights.

Shane, Tim Holtermann and Derek Edwards

Shane, Tim Holtermann and Derek Edwards With the Helmet Cam

Gear: Aside from the 5D MKII my lens of choice was the Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L lens. This lens proved to be a great help in low light situations and is perfect for run and gun style shootings. I tend to stay around 24 for most hand held work because it just helps keep the image steady but there were occasions where I did zoom in, you just have to watch the motion. Marc used the Canon EF 24-105 f/4 with IS. The image stabilization seemed to work well when he zoomed in which was helpful for those times where we couldn’t get close enough. When we were shooting in low light he would be up in the 1600 ISO range where I was happy at ISO 640. So there are some trade offs.

For the most part it was just the 5D MKII and a lens griped with our hands. No tripods, no camera supports, no lighting, nothing at all.

Derek Edwards, Tim Holtermann, Antonio Soriano and Shane

Derek Edwards, Tim Holtermann, Antonio Soriano and Shane

Audio: I guess I could have included this in the gear section but I think audio is important so it gets its own special section. We did have a Zoom H4n and a Rhode microphone with us and if I had an extra sound guy to follow us around I might have had it rolling sound. The problem with recording sound like this is that you have to deal with it sooner or later in post. You either need to slate your shots or use some type of plug-in to help sync up the sound with the visuals not to mention the extra time you’ll need to catalog all of the sound files. Sometimes in run and gun style documentary shooting there is just no time or ability to shoot a slate so the question became, do we just roll the audio and attach the Zoom to one of us and hope for the best or should we just concentrate on the visuals and hope the camera mics hold up. We decided to let the cameras record with their own mics. We just didn’t have the time or crew to fuss with the Zoom in such a fast paced schedule. For the most part the sound from the cameras holds up pretty well except during any amount of wind or camera/hand shake.

If we had had the time before hand I would have tested a few more options – for example, mounting one of the smaller mics such as the Rhode VideoMic or Sennheiser MKE 400 directly to the camera which would have probably been a lot better than the on board mic and since they would feed directly to the camera we would not have to worry about syncing the audio up later. The other nice option would have been to try out the new audio control of the 24P firmware but there was no time.

Caption needs to go here

Shane and Kyra Hurlbut

We wanted to get some dialogue from Shane to lay down as voice over as well as an introduction so when there were a few minutes to spare during lunch on one of the days we put Shane under a tree with a Sennheiser G3 wireless lavalier which fed into the Zoom H4n and recorded away. This was the only time we ended up using the second system sound.

So the bottom line – I was surprised the camera mics did as well as they did but would have loved to have improved upon this and will make sure to get some testing done before the next run and gun shoot.

Lighting: Well there wasn’t any – not by the behind the scenes crew anyway. We relied on available light. Outdoors we used the sun to our advantage but had to ND the lens most of the time. There were a few times where I just stopped the camera down past 11. Usually lenses show their weaknesses when you go into the 11+ range but since we were not shooting things for beauty I wasn’t too concerned. In fact the images look pretty good and it allowed me to keep focus more easily. The choice was – worry about a less pristine image due to the aperture or an out of focus image. I would rather have the focus, at least in this situation.

During the lower light scenes and night shots we tried to use the set lighting as much as possible. There were times where I was wide open at 2.8 and 640 ISO or higher but the camera held up fine. It’s just that pulling focus can be a problem at this point so I highly suggest getting use to using the cameras 10x magnification feature, finding a focus point and then hitting record quickly or using something like the Zacuto ZFinder.

Rudy Harbon, Shane and Derek Edwards discuss a shot

Rudy Harbon, Shane and Derek Edwards discuss a shot

Marc Marguiles, Shane and Derek Edwards

Marc Marguiles, Shane and Derek Edwards

Shooting the behind the scenes for “The Last 3 Minutes” was a labor of love. It was challenging, fun and exhausting all at the same time but that is what makes film making so rewarding. It was great documenting Shane and the rest of the crew at work as they are all so passionate about what they do. A true pleasure. If you have specific questions or want more details, my email is Tim@hurlbutvisuals.com.”

Caption needs to go here

Marc Marguiles, Po Chan, Darin Necessary, Bodie Orman and Shane

EPK Camera Operator: Marc Marguiles

“When you tell a story it is important to have a beginning, middle and end. I thought of opening the case and ending it with putting the camera back in the case and the in between would be sequenced by a scene by scene telling a story within the story.

I preferred using the 5D over 7D and 1D because it was more familiar and we had done extensive testing with picture quality and noise reduction. The lens choice needed to be able to do a wide shot while also capturing closeups without being right in the middle of the action or in everyone’s face and getting in the way of production. I chose a Canon 24:105 zoom with a Tiffen ND .9 or ND 1.2 to decrease the depth of field while shooting at 160 ISO during the daytime to make it look more like film. The night shots were at 1600 and 3200 ISO because the t-stop was a 4.0 on that lens.

It was great to collaborate with Tim to compliment certain shots; we alternated with wide or tight angles. The overall vision was to have an educational how “The Last 3 Minutes” was made so the audience felt like they were actually present on the set. If you would like to discuss everything in more detail, my email is Marc@hurlbutvisuals.com.”

Shane, Darin Necessary and Bodie Orman

Shane, Darin Necessary and Bodie Orman

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: , , ,
Posted in Education, Short Films | 50 Comments »

“The Last 3 Minutes” Canon 5D 24p Firmware Shines

posted April 7th, 2010 by Shane

When the rumors about the 24p update for the Canon 5D were swirling, I was perfectly happy with my cocktail that I had perfected on the Navy SEAL film; 30p and then Twixtor to frame blend. Then, commercial production companies and the ad agencies started to inquire about needing 24p because they could not deal with the rendering time of all the Twixtor files, the 7D started to rise as the premium capture.  That is when the aha moment happened for me.  I wondered, why is everyone asking for second best when the Canon 5D is king?  At that point,  I knew I had to be a proponent of the 24p upgrade and to shoot something with it that would bring people back into focus about the camera that started it all.

So Lydia Hurlbut negotiated with Canon to sponsor a visual short produced by Hurlbut Visuals and Bandito Brothers Productions that showcased the 24p firmware update in the 5D to remind everyone of the power of this amazing tool.  A tool that can inspire out of the box thinking.  I wanted to feature the Canon glass to show what I had learned over the last 13 months shooting one feature, 12 commercials, and 20 short films with this platform.

Director: Po Chan

“The day when Shane asked me to come up with “The Last 3 Minutes” treatment I was so excited. I knew that I did not have to limit my vision and could go wild because of what this camera can do.  I wanted to write a story which would enable us to showcase different kinds of lighting scenarios and extreme camera angles that will touch audiences hearts. Visuals without a story have no meaning. My own little philosophy about life is that life is like a BIG CIRCLE. We are all born INNOCENT. No matter how many wrong doings or right things we have done, at the last minutes before death we will again become innocent. This is the big circle of life and it is the inspiration behind “The Last 3 Minutes.” The main element in this film is the CRYSTAL that William carries with him, which represents the theme of INNOCENCE and William’s own conscience. A crystal refracts light, so when William looks inside it each refraction becomes a different memory in the course of his life. It is analogous to peeling back layers of an onion with the center layer being just at the moments before death. All of the elements in this film: casting, music, wardrobe style and color, make up (the lipstick color on the actress), hairstyle and color, set dress pieces and the texture of those pieces to the look of the crystal. Everything was carefully planned and considered to make sure every element worked in concert with the story, together in harmony.” For further questions about the concept please email Po at pchan731@yahoo.com.

Canon 5D First Person Perspective

Cinematographer and Executive Producer: Shane Hurlbut, ASC

“I asked Po to write this short and she delivered a phenomenally creative concept within a day. Po not only wrote a heartfelt story but a piece that took advantage of every unique possibility with the Canon 5D technology, especially because of her ideas with using a first person experience. A huge thank-you to Po for her tireless vision and leadership.

When Po and I discussed her creative concept, I believed that the Canon L series glass would be the perfect lens choice because of the close-focus ability and creamy quality.  The Canon glass shined on this project and I was so impressed with the 35, 50, 85, 100mm Macro L Series lenses.  Their contrast range and color knocked me out.

The main character in the short is William Turner, a janitor who’s life seems mundane and uninteresting on the surface but as it unfolds there are many layers. We shot his boring existence in the present day at 24p utilizing the new firmware.  The story then goes on a journey of William’s life over a time period of 67 years which we shot 30p and pulled it in at 24fps so that it would have a slightly dreamy feel. The creamy Canon glass delivered the period look that we were going for as we went back in time beginning in the 1980’s and moving backward to end in the 1940’s.

On the tech front, Doggicam came forth with an amazing new 5D helmet cam that put the 5D very close to the right eye and moved gracefully down the 3rd base line as well as crawling through the high grass in the Vietnam sequence. It uses Doggicam’s patented 5/8″ rod technology to put the camera wherever you would like.  It is extremely lightweight and stable.

HV Elite Team member Bodie Orman wearing the Doggiecam Helmet

Our shoot encompassed 17 different location over 4 1/2 days.  The project was a labor of love from the Hurlbut Visuals Elite Team Members and all the production staff from Bandito Brothers.  This would never have been possible without their time, expertise, willingness to donate gear and take on whatever roles the project demanded. Jacob Rosenberg and his post production Elite Team from Bandito Brothers knocked it out of the park!!  For specific post questions, please email Jacob at jacob@banditobrothers.com. A big thank you to Andrew Huebscher (andrew.huebscher@gmail.com) for his amazing color correction and Brett Novak for his beautiful crystal transitions. The biggest thank you goes to my wife and collaborator. She was the glue that held this little short together with countless hours on the phone connecting people, arranging the deal, coordinating the finances, working with the parents to schedule all of the children and watching over the kids on the set which was a daunting task.”

Director Po Chan and Shane with HV Elite Team Members in action

Carmela McCoy (Costume designer and Makeup) on right and Hether Breckrest (Makeup) on left

HV Elite Team Member Rudy Harbon and Shane viewing a shot

Producer: Greg Haggart

“My team and I knew that we had the task of making this project go off without a hitch. Our job is to anticipate potential problems so we can avoid them to stay on time and within the budget. I location scouted with Po and asked many favors from equipment vendors and the special effects team members from “Act of Valor.”  I believe that the Canon 5D encourages the essence of what film making is all about. Everyone giving it their all; whatever needs to be done for the love of the project with the end result of putting the highest quality image possible up on the screen.”  For further questions about production, please email Greg at greghaggart@mac.com

Vietnam scene with HV Elite Team Members Darin Necessary and Bodie Orman

Editor: Vashi Nedomansky

“Po asked me cut “The Last 3 Minutes” and then brought me super-detailed storyboards and the script that proceeded to act out every shot, angle and transition.  What I realized right away was this was to be no ordinary short film.  Once I received the footage, I had confirmation.  As an editor, I have seen the best and worst shot footage from every camera.  What Shane can do with the 5D mkii will make your jaw drop.  The images are so organic and pleasing that we spent most of the time looking at the reference monitors in disbelief.  The edit was a smooth one and with so many choices for each scene, I let the visuals do all the work.  I did hide a couple zero-cuts in the edit to blend two takes together but otherwise I tried to stay out of the story’s way.  It’s amazing how a cinematic image can instill more emotion into a scene.  That, along with the shallow depth of field, really gives you more tools to tell your stories in the most visually interesting way.” For further questions about editing, please email Vashi at vashikoo@yahoo.com.

Behind the Scenes of “The Last 3 Minutes”

Stay tuned for a sizzle reel of the Behind The Scenes video of “The Last 3 Minutes” directed and edited by Elite Team Member Tim Holtermann.  In the Behind The Scenes footage, we break down how different scenes were done and discuss how a particular scene was blocked, different camera angle choices and unique lighting set ups.  It will be released on the Canon’s Digital Learning Center usa.canon.com/dlc/controller?act=GetArticleAct&articleID=3409 as well as the Hurlbut Visuals website and the HurlBlog.

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: , , ,
Posted in HDSLR Cameras, Lenses, Short Films | 139 Comments »

HurlBlog Technology Guru: Mike McCarthy Part I

posted April 5th, 2010 by Shane

We are so excited to feature guest blogger Mike McCarthy on the HurlBlog. Whenever I am asked about the post production work flow and technology, I always consult with Mike about what he feels is the best. Visit Mike’s website to learn detailed post information and workflow at hd4pc.com.

Mike is that he has been at the forefront of designing the Canon 5D work flow since the camera was created. He understands the camera platform inside and out, how it writes its media and is a genius in post production process. Mike takes the time to get out there and do the research by blogging or reading about technical data. He constantly educates himself about the medium and always has a can do attitude with a smile. It is an honor to have his brain trust on our blog because Mike’s IQ is about 180.

Media Management for DSLR’s

“I am Mike McCarthy, the Director of Technology at Bandito Brothers.  I have been working with Bandito Brothers since the company started in 2006, and have been involved with projects using almost any format imaginable. (Film, SR, HDCam, XD, EX, P2, Red, Si2K, and DSLR among others)  I work with many different hardware and software companies through their beta and development programs, to find the best solutions to the work flow problems presented by new formats and tools.  I also document many of the solutions I come across on my own website hd4pc.com, and do occasional consulting work for companies that are trying to adapt their existing work flow to new tools and formats.

At Bandito Brothers, we have been working with Shane over the past year or so, to really push the Canon DSLR work flow to the limits.  This is in regards to both visual quality and organizational efficiency, factors which are both critical to being able to scale the Canon DSLR video work flow up to larger projects.  Hopefully the things we have learned from this process, and presented here, will be of benefit to others who are sure to find themselves in similar situations.

A large part of my job over the past year has been to develop a solid work flow for handling Canon DSLR footage, from shooting through to final delivery.  This work flow has evolved dramatically over the last year, as new projects had different needs, and new tools have been developed.  While media management is a subject that has been touched on by previous articles on this site, this one is going to focus on certain steps you can take to process and sort your media as you shoot, that can greatly simplify your post process.  We have developed this work flow while supporting many different Canon DSLR shoots, from commercials to feature films to documentaries.  Most of these tips can be applied to any project and will improve your editing experience regardless of whether you are cutting in Avid,Final Cut or Premiere.

Cards1

CF Cards (Click for larger images)

Backing up your Footage:
The first step in that process is to make multiple backups of every card before it gets wiped and re-used. Due to the possibility of drive failure, I make sure that every clip is backed up on at least two drives before releasing the card to use again.  Usually this will be a copy from my Express Card CF Reader onto my laptop HD, and onto an external drive.  If I have power available, this will be an eSATA drive for best performance, but frequently it is a bus powered USB drive sitting on the palmrest as I work in the seat of my car, or where ever else we happen to be shooting.  Once the footage is on two separate drives, I rename the folder on the card.  This causes the camera to acknowledge that there is data on the card, but shows nothing in the playback window.  That way the camera assistants know that the footage is backed up, and also that they need to format the card before they begin using it again.

Laptop1

Laptop1 with Drives (Click for larger images)

As long as the footage is duplicated on two drives, I feel safe, until the end of the day, when I make up four copies at night and send them different places.  Once I have the footage safely on a Raid5 array the office, I wipe all but one of the backup drives and return them to the field.  The copy on the Raid becomes my master copy, that I use for for all the remaining steps detailed below.

MOV

MOV Files (Click for larger images)

Sorting your Footage:
Good media management is clearly important for any tapeless workflow, especially with DSLRs, and that goes far beyond just making backups.  Naming conventions play a large role in organization, since having all of your footage named MVI_####.MOV is not ideal, especially if you are shooting with multiple cameras.  Eventually you are likely to have overlapping numbering, leading to duplicate filenames.  I deal with this by sorting all footage by camera as it is shot and backed up.  This is a much simpler process if all of the cameras are shooting in totally different ranges of numbers.  The cameras can be forced to start numbering the files where ever you want, and once you have the footage sorted and logged, it is a good idea to rename each file using a convention that makes it easier to sort through and organize them.  I have a very specific breakdown of how I would recommend doing that posted on my site here. www.hd4pc.com/techblog/2010/03/28/managing-footage/

Excel

Footage Log in Excel (Click for larger images)

Logging your Footage:
Keeping a log of your footage and file names is important, not just for sorting through the content, but because it allows you to retrace your steps if necessary, and it can also assist in automating certain steps in the work flow, for example the file renaming process.  Once you have a folder full of properly sorted and renamed MOV files, (and a few backup copies as well) you are ready to begin the real post work.  I will give an overview of the post production options and recommended work flows in another post coming shortly.”

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: , ,
Posted in HurlBlog Guest Bloggers, Post Production | 23 Comments »

A Charity Poker Meet Up At NAB For Filmmakers

posted April 2nd, 2010 by Shane

I am not a great poker player so I was surprised when Benjamin emailed to ask me to be a part of this event allinfilm.org/ALL-INfilm.html on Monday evening 4/12 in Las Vegas at The Hard Rock Cafe during the week of NAB. Then, I learned the details that a portion of the proceeds benefit the American Red Cross for the Haitian earthquake relief effort. It will be an evening of great fun that helps a fantastic cause.

images

The event will be held in a way to give players of all skill levels an opportunity to win a few awesome prizes. You can absolutely stink at poker and still win a prize worth hundreds of dollars! This is about meeting up with some fun people and giving out great prizes.

The current prize list (which keeps growing) is as follows:

-1 Steadicam Merlin
-1 Letus Mantis System
-1 Redrock Micro Ultraport DSLR Bundle
-1 Blackmagic Designs Intensity Pro
-1 Cinevate UNO DSLR Rig
-1 Zacuto Z-finder
-2 Zacuto Z-grips
-4 SmallHD monitors
-1 Schneider Optics 5-filter 4×4 pack
-1 Jag35 DSLR Cage
-1 Jag35 Follow Focus
-1 Glidetrack HDm1
-1 Kessler CineSlider
-15 CRAM Compressor plug-in licenses
-15 Schneider Optics Lens Cleaning Kits

See you in Vegas!

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: ,
Posted in Contests | 1 Comment »

Color Correction: Put Your Best Foot Forward

posted March 30th, 2010 by Shane

My first experience with the 5D DI color correction was for the Terminator Webisodes produced by the Bandito Brothers through Wonderland Sound and Vision.  McG asked me to be the Director/Cameraman for these alternative marketing shorts that were going on the Internet.  They would release one a week leading up to the opening date of “Terminator:Salvation.”

I wanted the look and feel of the Webisodes to feel like a prequel to the film, so the style and color that I had done on “Terminator:Salvation” would be the consistent thread throughout the project.

When we began the color correction process we quickly realized a new grading process was necessary as the old rules did not apply.  We started with a LUT (look up table) that gives you the look and feel of Kodak Vision print stock in the digital world and the Codec just fell apart.  Andrew Huebscher, the colorist at Bandito was earning and learning as we dealt with this very compressed Codec for the first time.  The old rules of color correcting film and when Andrew would turn the knobs to make a change the color would shift radically.  We soon understood that with this fragile color space you had to move the knobs very delicately.  We learned not to use the Vision LUT when color correcting digital footage.

TechCom #2 My first project on the Canon 5D and color correcting with the 8 BIT compressed color space

TechCom #2 My first project on the Canon 5D and color correcting with the 8 BIT compressed color space

I treated the 5D like I was exposing reversal film stock, you had to get it close to what your final product would be.  Any extreme manipulation in color was difficult. For example, if you were in an interior and then moved outside and forgot to change the color temperature and shot footage. Then, all your exteriors would be blue. It would be very difficult to just fix it in post and difficult to swing.  You can do it but it never matches well. It just feels wrong.

This was a shot from the Untitled Navy SEAL movie. We were color balanced for underwater which is around 7000 deg. K and when our camera surfaced it was way to cold, we tried to swing it but it had a weird quality.

This was a shot from the Untitled Navy SEAL movie. We were color balanced for underwater which is around 7000 deg. K and when our camera surfaced it was way to warm, because our daylight was around 5200 deg. K, we tried to swing it but it has a weird quality.

This is another example of our camera being set at 7000 deg. K and trying to swing the image to a more neutral tone, it is not bad, but I feel it still has a bizzarre quality to it.

This is another example of our camera being set at 7000 deg. K and trying to swing the image to a more neutral tone, it is not bad, but I feel it still has a bizzarre quality to it.

Our solution was to go back to the RAW Cineform 444 files and start anew. This worked very well and it seemed to give us much more range. I also realized too late that this camera needs light.  If you don’t feed it enough light the 8 BIT compressed color space quickly goes to 4 and then to 2.  You can always create contrast by stretching the image by pushing the whites and pulling your blacks down.  Underexposure is a powerful tool with this camera, but the whole image cannot be underexposed.  It will result in noise, fall apart quickly in color correction and just look muddy.

After this first experience I knew I needed to educate myself. I read about different picture styles that gave you more digital latitude but I wanted to create my own and each camera’s sensor is different.  It is not a plug and play technology.   I set out to tackle the EOS utility and the Picture Style editor to create my own RAW look.  I took a RAW still image then dragged that image into the Picture Style editor window.

Picture Style Editor w/tool Palette

Picture Style Editor w/tool Palette

I then moved my mouse down to the lower left corner where there is an icon that has two squares in it.  You click on that and two identical photographs show up on the screen.  I then move over to the right side where you find a curve graph.

Icon used for creating two identical pictures so that you can see your changes realtime

Icon used for creating two identical pictures so that you can see your changes in realtime

I start at the bottom of the curve and start to bend it to open the shadows.  Then, I move up to the middle and open up the mid-tones and then finish at the top swinging the highlights so that I can suppress them to hold more detail.

Bending the curve to open up the blacks slightly to increase your dynamic range

Bending the curve to open up the blacks slightly to increase your dynamic range

Bending the highlights to bring them slightly down to increase your dynamic range

Bending the highlights to bring them slightly down to increase your dynamic range

Once this RAW file worked well in the color-grading bay, I wanted to now design a picture style that took in each camera’s sensor personality.  The 5D is the king of the hill and all the others are trying to climb up to the top but they don’t even have a rope.  The 7D has much more contrast, more saturation and less detail.  The 1D is a very unique sensor and is incredibly sensitive.  I cannot put my fingers on it but it lacks even more detail than the 7D and has a strange contrast along with gray skin tones.  It has to be the small mega pixel count.  So, I factor all these things into my RAW look for each camera.

Then I went a step further.  Balancing camera color is one of the most important things that you can do.  Each camera comes from the factory supposedly balanced but all of them have a bias.  Set up a white card with the correct color temp. on the camera, which it depends on the color temp of your light.  If you are shooting with a Tungsten source then you would be at 3200K, if it is daylight you would be at 5200K and so on.  Or you can auto white balance, your choice.  Some cameras come with a yellow bias, a magenta bias and or a green bias.  Sometimes you get one that is perfect from the factory but from my experience that is not the case.

White Balance Shift

Go To your White Balance Shift and select it

My 7D’s have come with a magenta bias and I intensely dislike that color.  So dialing that color tone out was my first priority.  Here is what worked for me: Go to WB/Shift+- and select it.  A graph will come up where it shows a little white dot in the center.

Here is your WB Shift Grid, here you can shift your bias

Here is your WB Shift Grid, here you can shift your bias

Go up to the little advance button, which is above the big wheel and it also moves your focus box.  Push it one-way or the other to swing your camera to produce pure white.  If your camera is coming up magenta, then you would give it a few points to the green.

If your camera is magenta bias then slide the dot up into the green 2 points

If your camera is magenta bias then slide the dot up into the green 2 points

If your camera has a yellow bias, I would swing it into the blue region.

If your camera has a yellow bias then add two points of blue

If your camera has a yellow bias then add two points of blue

Now if the color is somewhere in the middle of what those controls can do, you can even more specific with different shades of green, blue, etc. by going diagonally and you get a shade of the red, green and blue.

This is if your camera has a magenta yellow bias, you are making cyan by sliding up the grid diagonally

This is if your camera has a magenta yellow bias, you are making cyan by sliding up the grid diagonally

This is if your camera had a red yellow bias, you are adding magenta to counter the yellow and blue to counter the red

This is if your camera had a red yellow bias, you are adding magenta to counter the yellow and blue to counter the red

I take one camera that I have balanced perfectly white and it becomes my default camera; every camera is now balanced to that.  I have tried the waveform monitor thing, but found that to eye it works better for me.  If this color space was not so compressed it would not even be an issue.  But it is for now and this is the best way that I have found to maximize your color space.  Taking two identically calibrated monitors, I put my default camera on one and then the new camera on the other monitor and adjust to eye.   Once I get them very close I put a HDMI switcher in line and go back and forth from my default camera to the new camera on the same monitor until it is exact.  I just repeat this process until all my cameras are balanced to the default camera.  It is so helpful because when you are out shooting with multiple cameras and multiple operators you need to know as a cinematographer that they are choosing the right exposures and color temperatures based on one common denominator, that every camera looks the same.

On the Navy SEAL movie this task was daunting.  We had so many cameras coming in from so many different vendors. It is a process that is incredibly important and not many people know that this function exists.  We are led to believe that it comes balanced at the factory.  I can tell you this isn’t the case.  Take the time and create a RAW look that you are happy with and see if your camera or cameras have a bias.  Happy in-camera color correcting.

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags:
Posted in Post Production | 102 Comments »

Keeping It Small

posted March 15th, 2010 by Shane

I have been doing research on other sites recently and checking out the monster camera configurations that people are creating.  I question if that is the right path based on the two things attracted me to this camera; the filmic looking sensor and the size.

I saw one the other day that was bigger than the Genesis and that baby weighs in at 45-50 lbs in all. In  film the camera is huge and I have been in the mass moving business since I started in 1986.  The Canon 5D Mark II inspired me to throw out the mass and really break all the rules.

Man cam in minivan

Man cam in minivan with backpack on the floorboard

Studio hand held mode in Washington

Studio hand held mode in Washington

Studio hand held in Cambodia

Studio hand held in Cambodia

Motorcycle Stripper

Directors Mike McCoy and Scotty Waugh on Motorcycle Stripper

Man cam with DC-3 Flyover off the Horn of Africa

Rudy Harbon lensing with a Man cam with DC-3 Flyover off the Horn of Africa

Rigged stripper on diplomat's car in Phnom Penh

Rigged stripper on diplomat's car in Phnom Penh

My camera is still very small for Studio hand held mode, Man Cam, and even smaller for Action Cam mode.  Keeping it simple is our motto at Hurlbut Visuals and one that the Elite Team members believe in as well.  What is the smallest, most compact set-up that delivers the story?

When I shot “Into the Blue,” I asked a lot of experienced cinematographers about their experience with shooting on water and what made them the most productive.  I listened to all of their advice and chose a hybrid route by using some of their ideas mixed with my own. When I discussed my plan, a few of the naysayers said that my set-up count would go down by 75%.  I was also told that Mother Nature would challenge us everyday. Unfortunately that would not be an option for us.  Our budget was tight at 53 million for 60 days of shooting topside and 99 days underwater. It seemed impossible to pull off the director’s vision.

So, we came up with a new master plan that we put into action.  Director John Stockwell loves to keep his crews small and intimate with the flexibility to change at a moments notice.  Having a large crew would not make this movie a reality, so what we opted for a very large camera pkg. that fit into one Catamaran. 45 people and one boat made the entire on the water sequences of the film.   If it was blowing hard and we could not go out, we tucked into a bay and shot to get the day.  Not a huge flotilla to navigate and anchor.  Just one camera boat, a picture boat and a few running support boats for divers and lunch.  We started at 28 set-ups the first day, and then ramped it up to about 35 to 40 a day.  This was ground breaking! But it was a very similar concept; lots of cameras ready in every configuration, small crew, small footprint. That equals speed, creativity, and the ability to capture serendipitous moments.

Our 10 1st Unit camera pkg. consisted of 1- Arri 535B on a 30’ Technocrane, 1- Arri 435 camera in a AquaCam housing on a 20’ Foxy crane that had a moving fulcrum to submerge the housing, 2- Arri 535B cameras in hand held mode, 2- Arri 535B cameras in Studio mode, 2- Arri III cameras in Underwater housings, 1- Arri 435 for slow-motion work, 1- Arri 535B on the Steadicam.  This was all on the deck of a 45’ x 14’ Cat, that had below storage bays, a head and two supercharged Honda 350 outboard motors that blasted this baby across the ocean at 25 knots fully loaded. For further details you can read the ICG article at www.cameraguild.com/index.html?magazine/stoo0905.htm~top.main_hp

Big glass no gack

Rudy Harbon with big glass no gack

I am sharing this with you because it worked well. Now, it is your turn to make the decision for your shoot and it may have a variety of different solutions.  The same holds true for a smaller production. This camera can be huge. I chose to do it with glass but not with all the other gack.

There is one critical question to consider. Do I need to make the camera look like an impressive movie camera for me to be taken seriously?  The answer is NO!  If we are going to embrace this new technology, everything has to change.  The way we work will become more efficient; video village shrinks, people start to trust, re-invent, think out of the box, force their hands.  If we want to achieve this we all have to NOT function like it is business as usual or the camera will blow up to what I see on all the web sites. It is the monster of all monsters with cables, adapters, converters, switchers, battery packs, wireless transmitters, etc.

I worked on all the Navy spots without a video village because the agency watched the playback on my lighting monitor when the directors were happy with the performance and the shot.  If the agency wanted something different, we delivered it and then moved on.  The end result was increased productivity. What shows up on the screen increases in a cheaper, more eco friendly way.

Though it is not always possible, try to start with the simplest set-up and build from there. If you need an on-board monitor so that you can broadcast a signal, put it all into a backpack: an Anton Battery pack, MDR, video converter, cinetape, wireless video transmitter, or a hard line that comes directly out of your back, not near the camera.  Get another Marshall monitor with an Anton Battery back and run a hard line to the director first, then if you have to go wireless, again put it in the back pack. Just remember that adds time and things can fail, so the more you add the more it can go down.

Try out this idea, you go from Studio hand held mode to Man Cam by just plugging in cables to the camera, so you go onto a head where your back pack hangs on the dolly or your sticks.  If you need all this stuff, just don’t put it on the camera.  I would love to see your configurations that inspire and create.  Send some pictures!

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: ,
Posted in Camera Configurations | 60 Comments »

Responsible Filmmaking

posted March 4th, 2010 by Shane

When I stumbled onto this HDSLR technology, I realized within minutes of using the technology that it was a “game changer” and the rulebook had to be thrown out and a new one created.

I thought if we can start a new rulebook, what if it is done to make a difference.  There is so much waste in the film business that it boggles my mind.  Sets are built, torn down, thrown into a dumpster, never to be seen again; all the wood, glue, nails, labor, design, creativity thrown into the trash.

Recycling is such an easy concept. We consume more than any other country in the world.  When will we stop? When will we say no? Every little step that one single person takes adds up to a big change.

As a cinematographer I dislike curly-que fluorescent bulbs in my home because they are not warm like an incandescent lamp and their quality is very antiseptic.  But as one who wants to try and make a difference I went out and changed every light bulb in my house to a fluorescent one.  It cut my electric bill by 2/3rds and I am trying to make the smallest difference so that my children can experience a planet that will not be destroyed.

I moved my family way out of L.A. and chose to educate them at a public school, coach their sports teams and try to educate them about how our planet is sick and needs all of us to heal it.

Now to the point.  The HDSLR technology recycles, it is small, it requires less space, less crew, less light, less power, less fuel, and less food.  I can go on and on for a long time about how this technology produces less waste. The most important point is that with less waste also comes the power for infinite creativity.  I have coined the phrase “small footprint, big vision.”  Isn’t that what we want to teach our children and the world? Leave a small footprint, but have a big vision.

I ask all cinematographers, videographers, still photographers, directors, producers, agency creative’s, production companies, studios, actors, and technicians to embrace, push, sell, believe in, experiment, inspire, convince, persuade, not doing business as usual. Think out of the box to save our planet.  It starts with one and grows to many.  By the way, this HDSLR technology saves loads of money also.  I will lead the march and unite as many co-collaborators to drink the HDSLR Kool-aid.

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: ,
Posted in HDSLR Cameras | 44 Comments »

Camera Stabilization

posted February 22nd, 2010 by Shane

I walked into Samy’s Camera last week and a camera assistant was mounting gyros on the 5D to stabilize the camera.  She was getting beaten up by the mount and said, “I cannot get this clamped on here.”  I said “ Hi, I would love to help you with this rig.”  She said she would love any advice I could give her. I grabbed the gyro, removed it, placed it on the counter and said, “There you go, now you’re all set.”  She looked at me for a second.  I told her she just needed a good hand held set-up. The HV Moviemaker Pro was booked immediately on the spot.  It flew to Texas in the overhead bins to shoot a music video directed by Mark Pellington and lensed by my good friend Eric Schmidt for Crossroads Films.  They used 2- 7D’s , 1-1D Mark IV, a set of Zeiss ZE primes, the new custom HV base plate along with the new View Factor black Exoskeleton, HV lighting monitor and all the other goodies to bring the video to life.  Eric came by Bandito Brothers Production Company to check out the Moviemaker, loved it and mentioned the gyro incident at Samy’s.  Once he put the HV hand held rig on his shoulder, he felt at ease and realized that it did not need gyro stabilization.

Studio hand held rig

Studio Hand Held Rig

The secret is weight and where it is placed.  This camera can be anything you want it to be.  It can be stripped down to a still camera or dressed up on a tripod with matte boxes and all the other bells and whistles.  But the fact remains that it is a 2.5 lb still camera, which just needs a little love in the right place for hand held work to shine.

Dressed Up To The Nines For Intense Long Lens Work

Dressed Up To The Nines For Intense Long Lens Work

Dressed Up On A Head That Quickly Turns Into A Man Cam

Dressed Up On A Head That Quickly Turns Into A Man Cam

A Gyro is one of the most unnatural pieces of movie-making gear you can put on this camera.  I made the mistake trying to use this device for the intense hand held action work on the Navy SEAL Project. I would back pedal down a hallway and try to pan slightly to frame a SEAL coming down an adjoining hallway.  The camera spun out of control, ruined the shot and it just felt wrong.  It added: more cables, more batteries, more weight (in all the wrong places), and the noise for sound was deafening so we scrapped it.  Chalk that up to having your hat handed to you. Now, for helicopter and ocean work, I think I would entertain the use of one of these beasts, but other than that I am not sold on this technology.

The 5D, 7D, and 1D can be steady with good operating or they can be shaky and intense if that is what is needed to help tell the story. They can glide on a steadicam, fly on a technocrane, soar in aerial photography and land precise choreographed smooth moves on the dolly.  You choose!

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: ,
Posted in Camera Configurations | 42 Comments »

The Power of Focus

posted February 12th, 2010 by Shane

Focus is probably one of the biggest obstacles that the 5D encounters.  So many of our colleagues have questions and wonder why it is absolutely essential to have a focus puller.  They are the backbone of this amazing technology.  Shooting with practical lights and minimal crew is one thing, but a focus puller is the anchor for the entire project.

Gauging exposure so that you have the necessary depth of field to give your focus puller a chance is as much your job as it is to light the scene, block it and compose it.  I have found that a 4.0/5.6 is the lowest you want to go with the 5D.

Techcom "Terminator:Salvation" Webisode

Techcom "Terminator:Salvation" Webisode

For example, when looking at a face, I prefer to have the nose, mouth and especially the eyes in focus, the ears can gradually fall out of focus, but the nose and mouth being out of focus is very distracting.  The photo above is a close-up of a face that I shot for the Terminator Webisodes. It was shot on a 28mm Nikon Prime at a 5.6 which is about a 19mm equivalent on a 35mm motion picture camera.  Look at his ears and the fur on his jacket, they are completely blown out of focus, the nose and mouth are slightly soft and this was at a 5.6.  I might have 1.5 inches of depth of field here.  With a Canon 85mm lens, at a 1.4 t-stop you have a 1/32” of focus.  At a 4.0/5.6 you have 3/4-1” inch.  So you can see how shallow it is.

These cameras are so compact and light, you can move a camera in new ways.  You are not moving the mass that we used to have prior to the invention of the HDSLR technology.  In the movie business it was all about figuring out how to move the camera mass, whether it is with a crane, Steadicam, dolly, helicopter, cable cam, hand held, etc.

Moving an HDSLR camera wide open following action, pulling or pushing someone, or just shooting a scene that has simple blocking is a recipe for disaster.  I can only speak from my experience shooting the beginning of the Navy SEALS film at a F-stop 2.0 and nothing looks sharp.  There are bits that are sharp but because it is such a shallow plane of focus, it seems all out of focus.  The 7D is a different animal because of the smaller sensor.  You can shoot at a F-stop 2.8 and get the same focus feel as the 5D.  So, you can roll with 2 times less light and have good odds that it will be in focus.  Be careful about giving this camera too much focus.  It will start to look like video quickly and you will have many more moiré’ and aliasing issues because of the increased depth of field.  The background lines do not fall off like the 5D.  The 1D camera has an anamorphic sized sensor and this will deliver a focus footprint like the 5D at a F-stop 2.8/4.0 split.

The people that I have assembled on the Elite team have motion picture experience and have had to relearn the still platform. They have been so inspired by all of the still photographers and have immense respect for your contribution. The Elite Team members have pulled focus for years and understand how to Zen gauge distances and the mechanics for what it takes.  My advice to all still photographers that are diving into motion would be to seek out these talented people.   If you need help I can provide you with names of top-notch personnel in many cities across the United States, Mexico, South America, Europe, and Asia.

Manual follow focus is not an option at all unless you are on a fluid head of some sort.  Anything that touches this camera while operating will throw you off because of its minimal weight.  There are several remote follow focus systems available that are affordable.

Bartech remote follow focus will cost around $3,500.00 to buy.  Their system uses 900 MHz data transmissions and with 8 channels.  It comes with a MDR, remote follow focus handset, cables, and Heden focus motor as well as the now M-one motor.  It is a unit that has been tested in the film industry under extreme conditions and works well for single channel focus control. www.bartechengineering.com/

Bartech Remote Follow Focus System

Bartech Remote Follow Focus System

View factor remote follow focus costs around $2,600.00 for the Indie model and about $9,500.00 for the Pro.  Their system has Blue-tooth technology.  It comes with a MDR, cables, follow focus handset, and a focus motor.  I have tested this system and it works very well.  The people at View Factor are very accommodating and will custom build equipment if need be.  This kit is available now, with upgrades that are worth waiting for that should be ready in late February, early March. www.viewfactor.net/

View Factor Remote Follow Focus System

View Factor Remote Follow Focus System

Preston III Remote Follow focus system is the premiere industry follow focus.  It costs anywhere between $25,000.00-$30,000.00.  It is a 3 channel system so that you can do focus, zoom and exposure. They are all hand-made have been battled tested on features since the 1980’s.  It also has a cine-link function where you can get wireless focal distances sent from a cine-tape sonar focus device that shows up on that screen at the top of the handset.  The hand grip is very important for your focus puller.  It gives them the ability to do very precise racks.  It comes with rings that you can calibrate to every lens in your kit.  So, put your lens on, hit calibrate and the motor goes through its rotations.  Once that is complete you set infinity and all your focus marks on your handset sync with the lens.  It is genius. www.prestoncinema.com/

Preston Follow Focus

Preston Follow Focus

Cinematography Electronics Cine-tape Sonar focus system will run about $8,000.00.  It is a device that rides in the hot shoe or on the matte box that helps gauge focus through sonar waves.  It is an essential tool to roll fast.  It gives the focus puller a digital readout of what the distance of an object is in front of your lens.  It does not move the focus on the lens. The focus pullers job is to interpret what the devise is saying, determine the distance and whether we want that in focus or something else in the frame in focus. www.cinematographyelectronics.com/

Cine-Tape Box With Sonar Focus Horns

Cine-Tape Box With Sonar Focus Horns

IR Laser range finder costs about $150.00-$250.00 for a good one.  It is an IR device that allows you to aim at an object from where you are standing and get the distance.  Leica makes one, but it does not work well in daylight. The Hilti Laser Range meter is the best and it works in the blazing sun. Head to your local Home Depot and pick one up.

Hilti IR Range Finder

Hilti IR Range Finder

Focus Magnifier on the Canon Cameras is a very powerful focus tool.  It provides accurate focus checking by zooming in 5x and then another push of the button will get you 10x magnification. You cannot use this while you are recording but it is great to check focus before you start rolling.  Make sure your focus box is in the center of your LCD screen, aim the box at what you want to check and hit the magnifier.  That little box bugs me, so once I use the magnifier I move the box down to the lower right hand side of the screen.

All these are amazing tools to assist with focus during shooting and for you to move the camera in ways that we have only seen on a computer.  Even with all of the tools, there is still a very talented technician, co-collaborator delivering your images in searing sharpness.

Shane shane_hurlbut Tags: , ,
Posted in Cinematography | 53 Comments »

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