On Friday I was working a VIP Super Bowl party for Rolling Stone magazine. I’m stationed on the RED carpet with other press (video and photography and VR). Next to me is this guy that I overhear is working for the PR firm. They ask him if he is shooting video with that (gesture to iPhone on osmo mobile gimbal). He says yes, it is 4K. Later there was some confusing about whether he got an interview of someone that they could use. He wasn’t using any microphones, just the iPhone.
So I’m there hired by Rolling Stone through a production company to basically do the same thing. Film b-roll and grab a few interviews with our guy. I’m using a fully loaded Sony Fs7 with an Easyrig. And we’re not shooting in 4K because it is all going to web and social. I bet his back wasn’t feeling it later.
This blog is gear centric because I’m a gear head though I don’t get to buy as much fun stuff as I used to I still pay attention to what is coming out, where things are going etc.
The first day of NAB had me pretty excited, just following Twitter, etc. BlackMagic throws down a bunch of stuff. DJI makes the RONIN lighter. A company called 3D robotics throws down with a pretty sweet drone (for those of us that don’t have the time to practice flying and crash a few). RED reveals their Weapon and confusing upgrade paths. Freefly has cool coptor thing to fly bigger cameras. I think there were some microphones the canon 4K offerings and I’m sure there was a lot more.
Tuesday left me with that feeling after gorging on Black Friday sales. Do I need any of this shit? Not to be too negative but events like NAB really drain the storytelling. That is what filmmaking is, right? I know it is a business and part of the business is making stuff that you need to buy to make the product. This post is really about not losing sight of why you are making films. 4K is great and maybe even necessary to remain competitive in this market for some projects. So I will continue the work until that new thing is indispensable and then it is time to buy.
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But seriously Canon? $16K for a camera that isn’t even as good (specs and ergonomics) as the Sony Fs7.
I got to try out the new stabilizer tonight. Just a first impression but I really liked it. It was much simpler to balance than a steadicam and can be used in really dynamic ways. Here’s a clip of the footage. My children are the subjects.
Here is a shot from @MplsFilms
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