Category : News

Using the Sony FS700 for Television Commercials

We were hired to produce three television commercials by Wilshire Consumer Credit.   We  were excited to use the FS700 for the shoot which we have been loving for the past 4 months since we have been using the camera.

We were very happy with the results and are anxiously awaiting the release of the Odyssey 7Q which will  give the camera 4K capabilities. In the meantime we shot the commercial 1080 24p and we were happy with the results.

We used a 27″ Panasonic monitor to gauge color and focus on set.

TBJ BTS 3TBJ BTS 2TBJ BTS 1

 

Two of the finished commercials can be seen below:
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Testing out the new Panasonic GH3 at South by Southwest

Gh3

We were lucky to get our hands on the Panasonic GH3 earlier this year when it first became available and we used it on our first project in Austin at the South by Southwest music conference this past week.   This will recap our observations while using the camera extensively for 5 days.  At the bottom of the article you can also see two videos that were shot using the camera in different lighting conditions.

Overall, I was very happy with the camera, I have used both the hacked GH1 and GH2 and can safely say that this camera unhacked is better than both.   Their are several things that really set this camera apart:

1. 1/8″ Headphone Jack- this was a huge issue with the previous models and Panasonic obviously listened to us and understand that people are using this camera to shoot video and we need to monitor the audio.

2.  All-Intra recording at 72/mbs per second.  This is essentially what the hack on the GH1 and 2 did for those cameras but now comes standard without having to perform a hack.  This also means that the files write to your card as .Mov’s with no need to import them into your editing software after you shoot.  This takes up more space on the card as it is not compressed like the AVCHD footage, but rest assured you still have the option to record in AVCHD. The resulting footage is beautiful and clean and for those wanting to delve deeper into the technicalities, check this out: http://vmi.tv/training/useful-stuff/avc-intra

3. Improved low-light capability-  the camera does better than its predecessors but still has its faults.  The camera does particularly well in areas of shadow with about a stop more in dynamic range then the Gh2.   Considering it is a micro 4/3rd sensor, it does pretty well.  I had to shoot in some dark venues at South by Southwest and I saw some  noise at levels 1000-1200 and which can be seen in the Flying Lotus video, but it does perform better than the GH1 and GH2.

4. Time Lapse function.   This is kind of a “gimic” feature on the camera but it works great.  Instead of shooting 5 minutes of footage and speeding it up 2000% for some timelapse, the camera can take a frame of footage at intervals thus savings SD card space.  There is also no post processing needed, the footage has a timelapse look out of the box which is great.

5. Rugged body construction- the body is much more solid which doesn’t feel as “plasticky” as its predecessors.  This makes the camera heavier, but in my opinion is more balanced and feels a lot more like a Canon 5D when its in your hands.

The camera has its limitations due to being a Micro 4/3’s camera, you will still deal with rolling shutter as you can see in some of the footage I shot below.   Overall, the moire and aliasing is much better than the previous models.  The body only price is about $400-500 more than the GH2 but is worth every dime.

 

Below are two videos shot on the GH3.  The first had some great lighting conditions and the second was shot in a dark club with ISO at 1000-1200 using a 20mm 1.8 lens and using the Extra Tele Conversion Function to get some crop in.

The Panasonic Lumix GH3 Has Arrived!

Just not in stores yet….We have been excitedly awaiting the arrival of the latest addition to Panasonic’s GH series, the GH3.   The camera line started a DIY DLSR micro 4/3rd’s revolution for thousands of indie-filmmakers with the release of the GH1 almost 4 years ago.   However the true potential of the camera wasn’t […]

Working with the Bay Area’s Tainted Love

For over the past month we have been excitedly working on a promotional video for one of the country’s hottest 1980’s cover bands Tainted Love who hail from San Francisco.   We flew to Sacramento on January 18th to film the band’s sold out show at Harlow’s.   We utilized the slow motion capabilities of […]

Music Video Shoot with Maleficent Vigor

In December, we started production on a music video for LA based death metal band Maleficent Vigor for their song Internal Nightmare. We shot over 2 days, shooting live band footage one day and the storyline footage another. We shot primarily on the FS700 and shot some B-roll on the hacked Panasonic GH2. For the live band footage, we utilized a crane mounted to a dolly on track for some great moving shots. This was the band’s first ever music video and we are really excited with how the footage is coming together.   The band was great and Mike the drummer put in a long day’s work as we did close to 30 takes of the song.   We are planning on having the video edited by the end of January and will have it up soon after.

We love filming music videos for up and coming independent artists and as musicians in bands ourselves we know what its like and the struggles you face.   That’s why we feel we are in a unique situation as filmmakers as we understand a lot of the concerns bands have when making videos, such as how they are portrayed, their image, how to reach a large audience, etc…

Slow Motion with the Sony FS700

We purchased the Sony FS700 last month to add to our arsenal and so far I am loving shooting with it.   Obviously one of the key attractions to this camera is the ability to record in 240 frames per second super slow motion without taking a hit in quality.  The camera can shoot 480 […]

New relationship with EMSS

We just wrapped on a testimonial video for Emergency Medical Scribe Systems which are based in the South Bay.   They provide scribes to Doctor’s in Emergency Rooms so the Doctors can spend more time doing what they do best instead of filling our paperwork.   I enjoyed working with Sareth, their new marketing head, and we will begin work on another video for them in mid-October.  We filmed in Ventura and in Upland using two hacked GH2’s and a two softboxes due to the limited space we had to film in for one of the interviews.   EMSS wanted the video to be simple yet effective so we strayed away from fancy intro’s and lower thirds and let the testimonials do the talking.

Its amazing what simple testimonial videos can do for companies.  There is something about seeing a testimonial that works in a way that reading one doesn’t.   We have filmed an increasing number of customer testimonial videos as videos become mandatory for companies websites.   If you are looking for professional testimonial video production, please contact us today to see how we can help you.

EMSS Testimonial Video

Tarfest-2012

We spent this past Saturday at the La Brea Tar Pits covering the 10th Annual Tarfest for sponsors Jakprints.   The weather was scorching for the first part of the day but luckily some cloud cover came in and everybody was able to enjoy the day’s festivities which included some awesome live bands including Blondfire, […]

The little workhorse that could-Panasonic GH2

Over the past 3 years, the trend towards shooting video on DSLR’s has exploded thanks to the Canon 5D Mark II, and the more affordable Canon 7D.   For the first time, people could get that amazing shallow depth of field look that people are used to seeing from expensive cinema/film cameras.   The large […]

New Website!

So we are excited to announce our new website and its completely new layout.  We hope you enjoy the advanced portfolio presentation and the increased usability!  We spent over a month designing it and are very happy to launch it.  Keep your eye out for brand new videos as well in the coming weeks from […]

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