Dynamite In The Palm of your Hand: AJ Wedding Looks at the Killer
New Gear from NAB 2011
by
AJ Wedding
Every year film and tv professionals converge on Las Vegas for the NAB convention to see what's new in production technology. With a down economy all across the world, it was expected to be a smaller show with less traffic and no buyers. However, this NAB was bigger than ever! Not only was there a great deal of traffic, but there were also a lot of people and companies buying. Certainly a good sign that things are turning around! Here are some of the highlights from the show.
The Red Booth was packed at all times.
Cameras
Certainly the big news in cameras is that the Red Epic is finally here, with the Scarlet not far behind it. Getting my hands on what Jim Jannard calls "A Nuclear Reactor in a Matchbox" was certainly a thrill, and I can truly tell Epic fans everywhere.....IT EXISTS!!!! And it certainly lives up to the dream.
All of the development and testing that has been done with the Red One has paid off in this amazing new camera system, though not cost effective for most microfilmmakers. If you're like me and you wish there was a step between the Scarlet and the Epic, get ready. Red will be releasing a 'lite' version of the Epic known as the Epic-S which will have many of the same features but a much lower purchase price. This camera system is not likely to be released until after the Scarlet, as production is already ramping up for Epic and Scarlet, but what a great middle ground! Playing with the Scarlet as well as seeing the myriad of alien-looking support equipment they have developed alongside the camera systems has also been a shock. But all your questions and suspicions are quelled when you see the new Red Reel.
The vision is finally here!
Some of the other amazing new things coming out are the new line of Sony Cameras. They have really taken the DSLR and Red revolution to heart, pushing their own cameras. The Sony F3 is an amazing new camera which allows you to choose your lens mount for a super 35mm chip with 1080p recording size. It's an amazing camera for the money, though a little out of a microfilmmaker's budget at around $13,500 without a lens. But those considering a Red are seriously thinking... They have also offered up a new version of the XDCam that accepts any lens mount, which also evens the playing field quite a bit.
Sony has reentered the camera market with a blast.
A new item on my radar that a lot of you folks are into is the GoPro helmet cam, which can work underwater, on a skateboard, pretty much anywhere you can fit this tiny camera. It is great for extreme sports and shoots multiple frame rates...at 1080p! There is also a new 3D rig for the GoPro, which is amazing. NAB attendees were able to purchase the GoPro for $200, which is $100 off! I certainly took advantage of that. And while I've only had a week or so to play with the GoPro, I can certainly say that it's worth twice it's weight in gold. Even at a $300 price point this camera is more than a deal. If you're looking for the GoPro you can get it on their website and I've also seen them at Costco for a great discount price.
A packed Redrock booth.
Grip Redrock has finally released shipping dates for their remote follow focus, which will work with an iPhone app or with a simple wired shuttle knob. The complete unit with the sonar will release this summer.
Stylish handle choices.
A simple, low cost 3D rig from Redrock.
The high quality follow focus units from Redrock, including a double sided one and a glow-in-the-dark one..
Redrock also showed off a nifty glow-in-the dark follow focus, as well as their double sided follow focus. All items are top quality, at decent prices. They also had a simple 3D rig which shows that Redrock is planning on developing products into the future! Some of the simple products have also started to take on some extra style, like the handgrips or the full digital camo-shouldermount rig!
Digital camo? Awesome! If only my camera was digi-camo.
A great new item from Matthews Studio Equipment is the DC Slider. It acts as a camera slider which can be weighted for smooth movement, and has a hand crank for slow moves. But that's not all...with a simple flip you turn the slider vertical and can do some amazing jib moves without all of the space that a job normally requires! You can also use it as an actual jib and set the camera move to counter the up and down jib move!
The DC Slider allows jib moves with no horizontal space.
It also helps you place the camera where you never could before.
Counter jib moves, as well!
It's such a versatile piece of equipment. Speaking to Ed Phillips, the head of Matthews, they have already sold more than they planned to make! It's worth mentioning that Cinevate also makes a version of this which has a lower cost, but it's not nearly as sturdy and doesn't have all of the different uses.
While inexpensive, some Litepanel knock-offs don't have the proper CRI to match your other lighting.
Lighting
All of the lighting manufacturers are trying their hand at LEDs as they seem to be the future of production lighting. Everywhere you look there are low cost knock-offs of the LitePanels 1X1 but you must be careful as many of them do not have the correct color spectrum. Some interesting products include the Sola ENG from Litepanels which is a focusable fresnel and the wide soft LED light by Cinemills. It acts as a soft light with a nice wide throw. In the powerful LED arena LEDZ still sits on top with their product line, and now have battery solutions for all of their products. They also released the small LEDZ Brute 3 with a battery system for $449 which is amazing for the amount of light it puts out.
Adobe was packed with people learning about the CS5.5 upgrade.
Software
Not far from the Red booth in the South Hall was Adobe's tentpole location where their software engineers highlighted some of the changes in the new release of CS5.5. After Effects has some new features such as an improved camera stabilization tool and a camera lens blur tool allowing for some great DOF effects. Those of you who became fast fans of the online screenwriting software Adobe Story will be happy to hear that your script can now be exported directly into Premiere Pro, bypassing the use of OnLocation. This allows you to verify metadata and speech recognition from your footage with, allowing your videos to be searchable not only on your editing system but on your finished product! Some other smart changes include improved professional sound tools with Adobe Audition, greater GPU acceleration, and improved integration across the programs that make up the Creative Suite.
Maxon offered in depth tutorials from amazing artists.
Red Giant, the makers of Magic Bullet and owners of Trapcode are releasing two free plugins that are very useful to anyone working with others overseas, online, or just across the street. Magic Bullet Colorista has very simple color wheels that handle some complex changes in color, allowing you to create some amazing cinematic looks without a ton of work. Now they offer it free to anyone who would like to use it, as well as a tool that helps you use it called LUT Buddy. This software allows you to capture your color information and sent it as a Look-Up Table via email to others you would like to share this info with. Rather than sending your editor or colorist a reference jpg or immense file that shows the coloring you want to have on your footage, you can send a small, 35kb LUT that can be imported by the next user along your movie assembly line, no matter what software they are working with! Even programs like Smoke and After Effects can use the same information. Everyone at Red Giant was so excited about this ability to share information that they decided to offer it to the public at no charge. It's a great way in which they are giving back.
The Foundry are makers of Nuke and many other useful programs!
A company that MFM is starting to do more work with is the Foundry...the makers of Nuke. I was fortunate enough to get the chance to work with Nuke on my most recent film trailer for "Junior Crew." While being only an After Effects guy, I was able to pick up the interface in a day. Soon after that I was doing some seriously complex compositions, which seem to be laid out in such a way that matches my brain. It's possible that we could do a review soon in Microfilmmaker featuring Nuke, as they are toying with the idea of a low-cost floating license.
Overall, NAB 2011 was a success for everyone involved with sales up 40% over last year across the board! If you're around the Las Vegas area or need a reason to be there, you should check it out next year! Seeing all of the new tech under one roof, grabbing free swag, and getting great deals on equipment are all great reasons to be there next April!
A.J. Wedding is a graduate of Western Michigan University and has won festival awards for his first feature film, "Pop Fiction". As a writer/director, he has won several awards for his short films, and recently garnered worldwide distribution for a feature film titled “The Disappearance of Jenna Matheson” releasing this year. His hit web series, “Infamous” created an instant fanbase, and spawned interest from networks to create a tv series based on it. A.J. currently works with The Production Green, directing and editing commercials as well as developing his next feature film, "Junior Crew."
