We're developing a short video series of bar "tips" written by comedian Kendra Cunningham. Recently, we shot the first installment of the series with the Canon 7D. I'm happy with the way the footage looks, though I'm a little disappointed that the 7D overheats so quickly. The lights heated things up a bit, but I'm guessing the space was no warmer than 75 degrees (within Canon's suggested temperate range). We only had an hour to get the shots we needed, so the camera was on and going for most of it. Keeping the LCD dim/off or going to an external monitor seems to help, but I hope they figure this issue out for future generations of DSLR's. I've read a lot of other comments about this issue on various forums, and some have even suggested shooting with the camera on an ice pack.
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Marketing online is becoming increasingly popular, and increasingly effective. The quality of web videos are rising, and so are our standards. Below are two examples of how big brands are focusing their attention and their marketing dollars online, specifically for high production value video advertising.
IKEA explores web video as an alternative to Television advertising. Their branded web videoseries, "Easy to Assemble" has become the most-watched sponsored web show, with over 5millions views and counting. Television quality, on web dollars. [source] [source]
The recession has hit many of us hard, but we're seeing an opposite effect on the digital front of advertising. The economy's downturn has changed the way brands are marketing themselves."Our production quality online is better than our broadcast." says Jim Farley, VP-globalmarketing at Ford Motor. [source]
Not that this is a surprise to anyone at One Glass, but the online video venue has "exploded." Or is currently exploding. Either way, videos online are getting their fair share of viewers. Some quick stats that might be of interest:
- nearly 178 million U.S. Internet users watched 33.2 billion videos in December
- 86.5% of total U.S. Internet users watched online videos
- 134 million people watched more than 13 billion YouTube videos
What also should be noted here is that December was also a record setting month for Hulu, marking huge growth for the group. This is great news for not just content developers for online video, but also for online advertisers.
At CES 2010, Panasonic slated the release of its professional and accessible 3D video camera for Fall 2010. Before this camera, in order to achieve the illusion of depth, 3D filmmakers would place two separate cameras 6.5cm apart (the approximate distance between the human eyes). Adjustments to the cameras have to be infinitely precise, and are usually controlled by an external computer or video controller. The rig is unwieldily, expensive to set up, and a challenge in post production. However, the new lightweight Panasonic P2 HD 3D camera shoots with dual side-by-side lenses that can be manipulated using the camera's own controls, and will allow for a far simpler post workflow. Although, it's not exactly at consumer prices yet; the suggested retail price is $21,000, and it's strictly made-to-order.
There is much debate on whether or not the 3D trend in Hollywood right now is here to stay. The 3D technology currently exists for home televisions sets, and earlier this month it was announced that there will even be an exclusively 3D channel (brought to us by Discovery, iMax and Sony). I wonder, will this technology soon extend to other avenues of video production, such as web? The fact that viewers need to wear special 3D glasses may just keep the technology in the gimmick realm, but it's definitely something worth watching.
3D Television sets were a big buzz at CES 2009, and now at CES 2010, some companies released their work to get rid of those pesky glasses with autostereoscopic technology.
So we've acquired our first Canon 7D and have been testing it around the house. While I've read a a couple gripes about the Canon 7D (the 1.6 crop, having "too many" megapixels) I can confidently say that we're overall impressed and happy with the purchase. The camera gives us the ability to get a film-quality HD look but at a fraction of the traditional costs since the 7D is an SLR camera. Furthermore, the large light chip allows us to shoot in low lighting situations that originally, with our old Canon A-1, would have required the use of many high powered production lights.
All of these advantages - a higher receptiveness to light, less expensive lenses, and the overall mobility of the camera - are pushing me to think of more ways to shoot video, especially in ways that were not possible (with our budget) to us before.
The first experiment that I will be trying out is exploring the video results when using infrared filters. For a long time, thanks to being the sibling of a photographer, I've been quite aware of the effects of IR filters on still photography. What you get is a almost other-worldly image of brightly lit foliage and against dark skies. And while I've seen similar effects in larger budget movies, I'm itching to find out how easy it would be to create the same effect with our new Canon 7D, an inexpensive filter, and minimal post color-correction - and of course, I'm hoping these midday videos will not just look like inexpensive night vision goggles. Any great post person knows you can achieve amazing color effects solely in post, but at the same time, would the look be more "authentic" if our raw footage already contained this information? And again, while I know anything is possible in post, I'm looking to create this look with minimal-to-no post work involved.
There is a big issue that I'm planning to arise: my shutter speed.
First, many digital camera makers build in a filter that reduces the amount of IR light that can be recorded. I'm guessing this somehow enhances the visual field of light (but again, I'm no camera maker, that's just a guess). Regardless, with this built in IR blocker in most digital cameras the amount of IR light is significantly reduced. I've read that for a couple hundred dollars one can get the IR blocking removed, but I'm not about to tinker with our new toy. Also, this anti-IR effect varies from camera to camera, and I have no idea if this would even be necessary for our Canon 7D. Anyway, back the my main point: keeping in mind that most of the IR light will be blocked by a [very likely] built in feature of the camera combined with the fact that the IR filter will block out other light wavelengths, we're basically working with a tiny amount of light, even on a bright sunny day. With still photography, this isn't a huge issue, because one can lower the shutter speed, and as long as the subject isn't moving, you can get a great shot. But with video, we're very much limited to how slow our shutter speed can go. But again, this is an experiment, so I'm keeping my fingers crossed that we'll get something great!
Here's a simple video I found on Youtube where it looks like someone is testing our a homemade IR video setup. This person was able to work with the lowered amount of light, so it's definitely possible. And while the image quality is pretty low, but the color effect is still pretty cool.
If you haven't heard yet, flexible plastic screens are finally here! I'm using the word "finally" here loosely, as the technology has been around for a while now (ie Entertainment Weekly's video ad), but it sounds like they're finding their way into mainstream consumer items as well.
The new QUE e-reader, developed by Plastic Logic, is one such consumer item that takes direct aim at the Kindle. The new e-reader uses polymer technologies to create a screen that is plastic, flexible and NOT fragile. The reader of course, comes with a hefty price, but I'm sure that as time continues the price point will eventually descend to earth for the rest of us.
The screen that the QUE uses is black and white, just like the Kindle, but I did some poking around, and it looks like color plastic screens are being developed by Sony, so I'm sure/hoping it won't be longer before there are devices with flexible full color screens on the market.
There's also the Readius, which has a roll-up screen. The video below shows an older generation of the Readius; the current model on the market (released in 2009) has a fold up screen rather than one that is pulled out. Again, the device is used primarily as an e-reader (and also has a hefty price tag), but I'm really curious about the possibilities for video as screens become more and more convenient to carry (and fold up!).
This is an interesting article: A Decade in History of Online Video. I can't believe web video has only been around in any relevant way since 2004 - look at how far it's gone in just 6 short years.
