This is all I need to do a video shoot with audio on the Canon 5D.
Here we have the 5D with a Bechtek DXA-SLR audio adapter, a Zacuto baseplate and rails, a Chrosziel follow focus and Redrock gear ring for the Canon zoom lens.
Small, light setup for a comedy web video series with Smooth-E (www.smoothe.tv). Filmed at the Association with gaffer Tom Myrdahl.
Snehal Patel
Director/DP
FearlessProductions.tv
I love my new Samsung Captivate with Android 2.1. Check out this cool pic I took with a neat little app called FXCamera. My Captivate has a 5 megapixel still camera and 720p video recording.
Snehal Patel
Director/DP
Fearlessproductions.tv
So you're like me and end up working a lot on set with the Canon 5D and need to have multiple outputs to monitor the image. One for on-board the camera and another for the director. One of the best solutions out there is the Black Magic Design mini-converter that takes in an HDMI input and give you two SDI outputs. The best part about converting the signal is that SDI can be run over long lengths and can be daisy-chained to many monitors.
The problem is that if you've recently purchased this cool box, you find that it doesn't work correctly with the 5D. It displays a converted HD image on your monitors just fine but as soon as you start to roll (and the signal from the 5D goes to SD 480i), the monitors cut out. This is because of a firmware update in the converter box. The new BlackMagic 1.5 firmware does not allow and SD output from the rolling 5D to be displayed. To make the box work correctly, you should downgrade the firmware to 1.4 and everything will work like normal. BlackMagic will address this bug in future updates. For the firmware downgrade, you need a USB cable. Download the Mac version here and the PC version here. It only takes a few minutes to install and update. Stay tuned for a video on how to do this downgrade. Thanks to the Abel Cine Blog for the info!Snehal PatelMy good friend Tom Myrdahl was the gaffer on this cool video about a new airship called the P-791. Much of this material, including all the interviews, was filmed on a Canon 5D by cinematographer Eric Schulzinger, who is the head of the digital media department at Lockheed Martin.
Click to start video:
San Diego based photographer Robert Benson sent me his latest tech creation which is a wireless video monitoring solution that works off the analog signal coming out of cameras like the Canon and Nikon DSLRs. I love people that are makers who hack things together to create affordable solutions for thier professional challenges.
I was pleasently suprised at the quality of wireless video that was being sent over the airwaves by a small transmitter attached to the analog AV ouput of the camera. Robert's new version of this setup has an even better casing for the transmitter and 9V battery sans the black tape. The monitor itself if a mobile DTV that used to have an analog AV input. Robert has modified the lightweight 7" device by dropping in an analog video reciever into the plastic casing of the mobile TV, which is powered by the same rechargeable battery that powers the LCD screen. This reciever is routed through the AV input of the TV, making operation as simple as pushing a button.
In 16x9 mode, the screen is a bit stretched, but it's still easy to get focus see the framing. It's a great tool for times when you are doing a car mount or some other special mount where you just need a simple monitoring solution to see if you got the shot right. For on-set follow-focus operations by the A/C, I would probably go with an SDI or HD-SDI wireless solution. But at $200, it's a great tool to have that will help you in a pinch.
Robert is giving away one of these cool monitor systems on his blog. Also, check out the video "Fight" on his website, it's very very awesome.
Snehal Patel
Director/DP
FearlessProductions.tv
As told by The Association:
Kevin Shahinian of Pacific Pictures and creator of a new genre of wedding films, starting with his Indian wedding extravaganza, "The City of Lakes" is at it again, this time with a new twist - gangsters and wild motorcycle chases for his newest short, "Flawless".
Kevin hired Snehal Patel to produce this film, and together they chose the Canon 5D Mk II camera to shoot their action adventure.
With most of the filming taking place at night, the 5D is coming through magnificently, both in image quality and reduction in set-up time since less lighting equipment is needed to get the shots in the "can". Gaffer Tom Myrdahl said he "is amazed at the images the 5D can produce in the low-light, nighttime scenarios".
The next Canon DSLR Boot Camp for the Canon 5D & 7D is Saturday, August 21st from 1-6pm in Santa Monica.
Snehal Patel can be reached at snehal@theassociation.tv
My friend James Wvinner of www.YTCfilms.com needed a DSLR rig that was good for both lock-down shooting on sticks and for handheld. He was preparing for some heavy-duty multi-cam shoots and wanted something that had a lot of possibilities for expansion and space for add-ons. I contacted Brian Valente from Red Rock to help us out and he put together a custom rig configuration in no time flat. The way we had the battery plate mounted in the back, it balances out the rig for shoulder-mount applications, plus the AB batteries can power both the camera and the on-board monitor at the same time. With a quick release, the rig come apart and plops right into place on the fluid head. Gotta love it!
I'll ask James if he can bring the rig into the next DSLR Boot Camp on August 21st: www.canonbootcamp.com
From RedRock Micro store http://store.redrockmicro.com :
microShoulderMount Deluxe Bundle
microLensGears
Anton Bauer battery power http://www.antonbauer.com :
AB Plate is either AB part number QR-SP200 or QR-SP400A
You need specific AB screws – the AB part number for the screws is 6120-5522Battery
Connector cables:
Canon DC coupler http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/590425-REG/Canon_3352B001.html
Plus switronix Dtap adapter http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/655669-REG/Switronix_XP_DSLR_C.html
Misc:
Bogen quick release for between shoulderpad and cinema bundle
http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554151-REG/Manfrotto_357_357_Pro_Quick_Release.html
I've been using the RedRock DSLR Field Cinema Deluxe Bundle for both my work and for demonstrating in the Canon DLSR Boot Camps (www.canonbootcamp.com). This is a shoulder-mount rig that holds allows you to shoot steady video, comes with a follow focus and is designed to be used with an external monitor.
1. Ergonomics - even with a full complement of accessories, the Deluxe rig balances well on the shoulder.
2. Ease of use - not only are the parts easy to put together, the rig can also be quickly mounted to a tri-pod for locked-down filming.
3. Quality fittings - RedRock is known for making quality parts that really feel solid. Because their gear is made of precision-machined aluminum I haven’t had any problems with plastic parts breaking or threads wearing out no matter how hard I work the rig. Besides blue is my favorite color!
4. Adaptability - for example, with the addition of RedRock's focus ring adapters, still lenses can be made to work with the follow focus. Also for lenses like the new Zeiss CP.2s, you don't have to run out an get a new follow focus because the on-board one works perfectly. Also the rod system works with other manufacturers' accessories.
5. Hack-ability - we were able to swap out the counterweights that came with the rig and mount a battery plate for Anton-Bauer batteries instead. The battery is hooked up to the Marshall 7", providing hours of use plus it eliminates the need for a batter pack on the back of the monitor. (RedRock offers a battery plate of their own design for the same purpose.)
Don't take my word for it. Go check out the rig for yourself or rent it for a shoot.
Snehal Patel
DP/Director
A new video by SmoothE.tv and Fearless Productions. It will appear on E! Network's "Daily 10" show tonight 6:30/7:30 Central
Shot at The Association (www.theassociation.tv) with a Canon 5D MKII. Who say's you can't do greenscreen with a still camera? I filmed with good exposure and make sure the subject was in sharp focus by raising the ISO a bit so that I could stop down the aperature to 5.6/6.3. We didn't have much trouble at all knocking out the green in Final Cut using Primatte Keyer Pro. I created all animation in After Effects and composited the layers in Final Cut. Natress filters were used for the film look.
This little video comes from good pal Rodney Charters, ASC. He's comparing the output from a RED MX and one of the brand new ALEXA cameras from Arri.
Rodney's Vimeo site: www.vimeo.com/user2543414
Can't wait to try this new remote from RedRock Micro! These guys are always making waves with their cool products.
This is an introductory video of the microRemote wireless follow focus system, including microTape real-time rangefinder, basestation, and revolutionary microRemote with optional iPhone/iPod Touch visual interface.
Beachtek ( www.beachtek.com ) was kind enough to send over a DXA-SLR active audio adapter for DSLR (and other) camera systems. I hooked it up to a Canon 5D and a Seinheisser wireless to see how good the setup would perform.
The 5D has pretty decent audio recording capabilities - 48kHz 16-bit uncompressed. The problem is that the on-board amplifier is weak, so if you send in low audio levels through the mic input, then you have to compensate by turning up the gain which causes noise in the recording. The auto-gain function is even worse because it will just turn up the knob whenever the room is quiet.
The DXA-SLR sends in an amplified audio signal and is an active pre-amp and not just a passive XLR to 1/8th inch adapter. That means it sends in a strong audio signal to the camera, letting you exploit the full capabilities of the DSLR. Plus the little box has headphone monitoring, an auto-gain defeating circuit (great for 7D and 1D users), an LED readout to let you know when levels are strong (green) and when they are too high (red). There are two XLR inputs and an Aux input, an output for the camera and phantom power for your mics.
I set my manual gain pretty low in my 5D, a bit under a 1/4 on the camera's scale. When I tested the audio signal, I was in the green both in my camera and on the DXA-SLR. When I yelled a bit too loud, both the readout on the camera and the led on the box went red. The audio over the headphones was superb and my test footage sounded great. The little box comes with a mounting screw that can easily be engaged with a thumb-wheel. You can mount it on the bottom of your camera or on a rig in a matter of seconds plus it doesn't obstruct the battery compartment on the camera. I tried the box out on my RedRock Micro rig with a Marshall 7" Monitor to see how comfortable it would be for someone filming reality or documentary to shoot like they would with a video camera. My conclusion is that you can count on the DXA-SLR to give you the audio capabilities you are looking for in a professional system. I'll be demonstrating this and other great gear in-depth at my next Canon DSLR boot camp this Saturday, July 17th: www.canonbootcamp.comphotographs by Tom Myrdahl of www.tommyrdahlhdvideo.com
Snehal Patel
www.FearlessProductions.tv
Zeiss was kind enough to send over a set of five Compact Prime Lenses with Canon EF mounts for evaluation. They are meant for professional DSLR filming in HD. The lenses are called CP.2 for short and MSRP is $3,900 for each lens. The full set of seven lenses includes the following: 18mm T3.6, 21mm T2.9, 25mm T2.9, 28mm T2.1, 35mm T2.1, 50mm T2.1 and an 85mm T2.1.
I decided to use the lenses for a web commercial I was shooting for a board game with comedian Eric Shwartz of www.smoothe.tv . I paired them up with my Canon 5D and used the following setup to shoot: RedRock Micro shoulder rig & follow focus, Marshall 7" HDMI monitor, Sachtler sticks and head.
This scene was filmed by participants of the Canon DSLR Level 2 Boot Camp on May 29, 2010.
The boot camp is put on by The Association and instructed by Snehal Patel of FearlessProductions.tvhttp://www.canonbootcamp.comThe video was shot on a mix of Canon 5Ds and 7Ds. One of the cameras used was a converted 5D with a PL mount and Zeiss lens provided by Hot Rod Cameras.Audio was recorded in-camera using a mixer and Beachtek pre-amps. Marshall Monitors were mounted on a couple of Red Rock Micro shoulder-mount rigs for hand-held shots. In the opening sequence, we utilized a Micro-Dolly while the second scene was filmed with a Losmandy Port-a-jib. Manfrotto 6' suction cups were used for the car mounts.
Music video for Love Lockdown performed by Janina Gavankar.
Directors: Caitlin Pashalek & Ian Lyman
http://www.thedmp.com
D.P.: Logan Schneider
http://www.youtube.com/user/LoganSchneider
Ian says, "Shot in Los Angeles in early 2010 with Canon 5Dmk2 & 7D. Street stuff we used a doggiecam body rig."