Hello readers!
Happy New Year everyone! It's finally 2010 the year I officially shoot my first feature film. Only 157 days left (as the counter so constantly reminds me)!
Oh and I'm soda free thus far this year! Woot! WOOT!
Updates
The Showdown Begins!
On Monday Jon (my DP) and I shot a short movie using both the Sony EX-1 HD video camera and the Canon 7D digital-SLR. As mentioned before these two cameras are now competing with one another to be the camera I select to shoot Love, Concord.
So rather than shoot random test footage we decided to start off by shooting a short script Jon wrote years ago. I directed the actors while Jon, and our trusty assistant Jimmy Freeman, handled the cameras. Jon's lighting for the shoot gave us the ability to test daylight balanced lights mixed with actual sunlight for both cameras. We had hoped to shoot a tungsten balanced scene, however, the 7D's only battery died and we weren't given a charger.
We shot most takes on the 7D and then did a final take of shot with the EX-1. Right off the bat, the ability to use prime lenses on the 7D made it a heavy favorite. But at the same time it's lack of balanced audio inputs forced us to use the EX-1 as our primary audio recorder. On the set I noticed how just based on appearance alone both cameras look almost the same in terms of quality. But when I looked closer on a few takes the thing which set the 7D apart was the depth of field. The larger chip and the longer prime lenses we used definitely gave it a more polished look than the EX-1. And for one shot, the compact size of the 7D also was a great benefit.
There's still more test scenarios that need to be done before I sign off on the 7D but as of now, the EX-1 should be nervous. Keep posted to the blog as I'll feed you side by side comparisons like the ones below as we shoot them.
The Festival Selections are Finalized
Jon and I finalized the films to be screened at the first ever SF Opificer's of Film Festival. Here they are in the order they will screen on Saturday night starting promptly at 7:15pm.
"Time Capsule" directed by Jimmy Freeman
"Drowning" directed by James Z. Feng
"The Price of Morality" directed by Hisham Izzeldin
"The Claw Machine" directed by Megan Johnson
"The Fence Line" directed by Brian Rasmussen
"Wake Up" directed by Devon Perez
"....a Thousand Words" directed by Jonathan Bertain
"Waiting" directed by Maressa Stertz
"Marta's Last Exit" directed by Gustavo Guardado
Again, we'll begin promptly at 7:15, screen all nine movies back to back, and have a 10 minute Q and A session immediately following the presentation. After that, there'll be a social/mixer in the lobby of the theater until 10pm.
Tickets for the event are $12 at the door. Refreshments will be sold as well. Please come early or on time. I hope to see many of you there and to meet all the new filmmakers and their friends and family.
Well that's all for this week. Next week I plan to post photos from the festival and hopefully some more test footage.
Forward!
-Gus
Just to add some details, we shot the 7D at 500ISO (ISO or ASA: a photographic measurement of film/video's light sensitivity), which is the equivalent of the fastest (most sensitive) motion picture film stock on the market, and faster than many prosumer cameras when set at their optimal quality settings (usually somewhere between 200 and 320 ISO).
ReplyDeleteNext test is to try out a nighttime exterior with both cameras. The Canon 7D (according to reviews) can shoot up to 800 ISO without noticeable grain/noise in the image, but shooting 1600 ISO (incredible sensitivity to light) can still be an option, which is what we plan to test out.