8112 goes to Chicago

We'll be traveling again this weekend, this time, to Chicago. We're gonna be filming some behind the scenes and performance stuff of Crash Boom Bang and Plain White T's for our documentary. Should get some great footage and check out a city we've never been to.

#1 on our site seeing list:

Interview with Tom Higgenson

So, we are producing an independent documentary on an up-and-coming band, Crash Boom Bang. Tom Higgenson of the Plain White T's produced CBB's new album and has taken them under his wing, so to speak. So we travelled to L.A. (Malibu) where the T's are currently recording their new record to catch an interview with Tom about his thoughts on CBB. Here's a couple photos:

We love 3g iphone..must get 3g iphone....

So, as the apple fans that we are, of course we are quite excited over the new iPhone 3G. We've had our trusty iPhones since they debuted last july and personally I can say this thing has saved our "lives" on set numerous times. Now its faster, has a better battery, proper GPS mapping, and all sorts of cool 3rd party apps to enjoy. Also I can finally batch delete my emails, phew.





So here is what's supposed to be a negative ad.......however, I take it as a positive. Must get iphone....3G. :)

Interview for IA TV

So this is a little old, but it just aired a few days ago. It is the interview that IATV did with us regarding the music video "Regret" for the Speaks. If you are wondering why its so chopped up when either Michael or I speak, its because we were saying so many ridiculous things that they had a tough time cutting around them to end up having us make any sense. Anyways, here it is:

Letus Extreme

Its about time we give due props to the Letus Extreme.

The Letus Extreme is a 35mm lense adapter. If you're not familiar with this type of device, its main purpose is to give you the depth of field of a 35mm film camera or a digital cinema camera with a sensor the size of a 35mm film frame (like the RED one). The adapter does this by using a focusing plate to display an image through the external lens attached to the adapter. Since this image is focused onto a translucent screen the camcorder is able to frame this intermediate screen and record it. The principle of one of these adapters is similar to pointing a video camera at a movie screen. The lens attached to the adapter now takes the job of the camcorder's focusing and aperture mechanisms, as the camcorder's only responsibility at this point is to record what is being projected onto the focusing screen (called backfocus).

The major drawback to this type of device has been a large loss of light, typically around 2 stops. However what makes the Letus that "extreme" is that it only has a 1/2 stop light loss!




Letus35 Extreme Features

New prism technology with proprietary Image Orientation Correction technology (IOC). This adapter "flips" the image upright
Highest optical grade achromatic lens (custom-made for this specific adapter)
Custom condenser specially tailored for this adapter to get the best possible picture quality
New and improved Ground Glass element
Beautiful film-look bokeh
Absolutely no vignetting
Best edge-to-edge sharpness in the industry
Stunningly beautiful image colors
Casing milled from solid aluminum
Anodized black finish
A sleek, built-in On/Off indicator with LED
Battery is fully enclosed and secured by 2 magnets for ease of replacement during a shoot
Virtually silent vibration system that will not interfere with microphones
Alignment is a breeze with the new and improved 72mm, 77mm, or 82mm ring design
Interchangeable thread rings and lens mounts for easy adaptation to different cameras / lenses on the fly.
Comes with your choice of one free mount (Canon FD, Nikon AI, Canon EF (EOS), Pentax K mount, Minolta MD, M42 Screw mount)
PL mount and OCT19 mount also available at a discounted price if selected as the primary mount on the Extreme.
Hex key for adjustment/installation
End caps included for protection during transport/storage
Light switch brought to the back to avoid distraction to those in front of camera
Threaded hole on the front tube for matching up to support systems
One year warranty

Use a storage robot instead of a regular old hard drive

So we are looking at the Drobo, billed as the world's first storage robot to handle backing up our data, especially since we now work without tape as media by using the EX-1 and the RED. The Drobo not only keeps the data safe, but monitors and repairs problems when data is put at risk. Its also very easy to set up and use, and beats RAID configurations. Check them out

Cool slow motion piece

Caught this on Vimeo the other day and had to post it, since it features some great examples of slow motion. To shoot something with this many frames per second you'd have to look at a camera such as the Phantom HD


Action Figure slow motion video from Stig Nordas on Vimeo.

RED mythbusters prove ease of work flow

We are big fans of the RED one camera, and are really looking forward to their new Scarlet and Epic cameras. Well, there has been a lot of discussions as to the workflow and the editing process, especially using a consumer level Intel Mac with Final Cut Pro. Well the guys are RED have shot a piece called "Red Mythbusters" and its an excellent proof of just how easy it is to take the footage from the RED, get it online in an instant, and edit it with a basic Intel Mac setup. Click here to watch it in quicktime.

Why shoot with a diffusion filter?

So if you happened to see below, one of the secrets to making video look like film is to shoot with a diffusion filter. Why, you may ask? Well there is a great posting addressing this issue at the DVcreators website, and it basically takes a better look at using Tiffen filters, which are known as some of the best in the market. There are also links to see and buy different filters. For example, by using one of the "Soft F/X 3" filters, when you zoom in on detail such as individual strands of hair, you see that the “video edge” is now smooth, but that the greater image is still sharp with crisp edges and still looks in focus. Click here to read the whole article

Mike's trip to Hawaii!

Hey its Mike. Here's a little video I shot on my trip to Hawaii for a friend's wedding. Was only there for a few days and boy did I not want to leave. The island I was on was Oahu which was incredible but I do wish I had time to visit the other islands. Alas.... I'll go back soon enough.

The source material is all from low resolution video shot on my trusty canon powershot still camera. Wish I had our EX1's with me. Next time...






That was a 50 foot jump I did after a jungle hike to a waterfall 3 miles in. Yes it was scary as hell.

New Flip Mino

So coincidentally after we blog about our(doug's) beloved Flip video a new one comes out. Although Doug got his for free, I still want to make him jealous, cuz now theres a smaller sexier way for him to take funny videos of his dog winston.

Meet Winston:


Meet the Flip Mino:


It comes out tomorrow, June 4. It'll set you(doug) back about $180.

:P

Incredible stop motion film

We've always loved stop motion...this takes it to another level:


MUTO a wall-painted animation by BLU from blu on Vimeo.

Seven Secrets of Shooting Video to Look like Film

An excellent posting we came across from the DVcreators.net forum gives 7 steps on how to make video shooting more film like. Below are the basic seven steps, but for explanations and a little bit more insight, click here.

#7 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Fog
#6 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Shoot 30p or 24p
#5 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Add depth with smooth moving camera shots
#4 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Use Shallow Depth of Field
#3 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Shoot with a diffusion filter
#2 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Use a professional light kit (when feasible)
#1 Secret of Shooting Video to Look like Film: Sharpen your Cinematography Skills

RED Camera Rental info

Here is a refresher for those of you who might be interested in renting our RED camera. Email us for rates and availability at red@8112studios.com

Basic Package (everything you need to shoot)

> Red One Body
> Charger
> 3x Brick Batteries
> 4x 8GB CF cards
> Onsite Backup to Raid1
> Tripod
> 19mm Rails
> LCD monitor
> Shoulder mount w/handle
> DIT/Operator Included
> Nikon Mount
> 1x NIkon 17-35 f2.8
> 1x Nikon 28-70 f2.8
> 1x Nikon 80-200 f2.8
> 1x Nikon 50mm f1.4

> Subject to availability:
> 1x Nikon 60mm macro f2.8
> 1x Lensebaby 2.0 www.lensebabies.com
> 1x Nikon 85mm f1.8

Extras:

> Zeiss Super Speeds
> Set (T1.3) 18, 25, 35, 50, 85mm
> Mattebox and Arri Followfocus

Selected shots from Crash Boom Bang

So one of our projects has been a documentary covering one of our favorite bands: Crash Boom Bang. These are some selected clips from some of our first days covering them on the road, opening up for the Gin Blossoms and playing another show in the Balitimore area. Their new CD debuts this fall and was produced by Tom Higgenson from the Plain White T's. Check them out



Untitled from 8112 Studios on Vimeo.

Back to the Future gone....

So sad news today, as a fire burned at Universal Studios and ended up destroying the "Back to the Future" set, the King Kong attraction, and about 40,000 film and TV titles.

Interview Lighting

Came across this excellent PDF on interview lighting. Created by David Tamés with blog at Kino-Eye.com, this 35 page document takes you through several different set ups for lighting an interview. This could be very handy for the novice who needs a crash course in lighting before or during a project.

LaCie Little Big Disk!

At half the physical size of our other LaCie drives these little(big) guys would be great for us - as we do travel quite a bit. It sports an all aluminum heat sink body design, connections for connections for eSATA, FireWire 400 and 800 and USB 2.0, and unrivaled (for its size) data transfer speeds.

At the moment of this posting it comes in 400GB (7200rpm) and 500GB (5400rpm).