Canon has finally confirmed the release of the new firmware for the EOS 5D Mark II in mid-March 2010!
Of course the good news is the new software enables 24p video recording. Also the 30p video frame rate has been corrected to 29.97, while the audio sampling frequency has also been increased from 44.1KHz to 48KHz with manual controls available for the input levels.
Other improvements include a new histogram display that enables monitoring, and a heightened shutter priority AE mode or aperture-priority mode.
Unfortunately it does not appear to include a 60fps 720p recording mode. I guess Canon can’t give all the goodies away at once.
You can download the new firmware in mid-March from the Canon website.
Well it’s been a year since I wrote the first “Future of DSLR Video” post and a lot has happened to the DSLR market.
Mainly I am referring to the release of canon’s new line of EOS cameras, the 7D and 1D, which are both capable of shooting stunning footage at 24-60fps (60 is at 720p though). The 5D is still a legit contender; though it feels slightly like a horse waiting to be put back in the race once the firmware update arrives giving it 24-60fps. Where you at canon??
Unfortunately, we are also still waiting with baited breath for the release of Red’s new line of cameras: the Scarlet/Epic. The pre-emptive hype has died down now but the potential seems well worth the wait. In the meantime, Canon’s new EOS DSLR’s are steadily kicking ass and becoming a professtional tool for shooting music videos, advertisements, web series, and even feature length movies. Vincent Laforet’s video “Nocturne” demonstrated the amazing light sensitivity of Canon’s new 1D Mark IV, which was shot at night in ambient light without any added external lighting.
Recently I have been presently surprised to see the 7D being used on webisodes and a few low budget features in the Los Angeles area. The fact that the 7D is affordable, shoots 24p and has a more forgiving Depth of Field then the 5D, makes it the prime candidate for the 2010 Underdog Award that I am just making up as you read this. The main drawback to the 7D is also one of it’s strengths: the smaller chip size. Granting it a easier-to-work-with depth of field but lowering it’s sensitivity to light.
So what are a few of my favorite accessories for the canon’s DSLR video arsenal? Red Rock Micro’s Captain Stubling is a solid portable rig that comes with a follow focus and minimal rails for a affordable price. Redrocks second version of the follow focus is a little gritty (Zacuto’s is smoother) but is well built for the price. The rails and handles feel sturdy and light.
Rode’s Videomic microphone is a inexpensive accessory that mounts onto the top of the camera and is great for run and gun shooting.
I’ll add some more of my favorites soon. In the meantime, let me know what you use!
On the last few days in Berlin, we were hired to showcase the inside of the Ghostwriters Studios for a video spot on their website. Owner/producer, Neco Tiglioglu, rented a steady cam and dolly for the shoot. We also used two 500 watt Arri’s with soft-boxes for illumination.
Our trip to Europe in August of 2009 came about as a result of a job offer to shoot a music video for an iconic singer named Ivy Green, who works for a talented young Berlin music producer by the name of Sebastian Budde.
The idea behind the Ivy Green music video “Stomp Yo Feet” was simple enough. Ivy would paint a picture of herself in an art studio. As she is painting the picture of herself, it comes to life and begins singing the “Stomp” song. After the painting is fully converted to a moving landscape of colors and textures, with the pictureland Ivy in the middle, the real Ivy takes the painting down from it’s isle and carries it through the streets of Berlin.
We shot all over the city, mainly using a 5D Mark II, with a 50mm 1.2 lens, mounted on a steady cam. We focused our first two days of shooting on the eastern side of the city in Friedrichshain, by the crumbling wall, that is now covered with graffiti and large art exhibits called the East Side Gallery. The art studio we used was also nearby.
To make it easier for our VFX guy to track and composite Ivy in the painting world, while being carried down the street, we fastened a thick piece of green screen paper to the inside of the picture frame.
The third day of shooting took us to strange partially abandoned building that every inch of was covered with old concert flyers and graffiti. It was ten stories high; and the very top floors had been converted into shabby artist residences. We shot on the bottom two floors.
The scene was: Ivy carries the painting into the building and mounts it on one of the graffiti sewn walls. The camera zooms into the painting and we are suddenly transported to a huge party in the exact same room with tons of people wearing strange animal masks.
We shot with two 5D’s, one on sticks with a 70-200mm lens and the other with the earlier steady cam set up. The extras and dancers were great, though it took a few beers to loosen them up that my producer handed out. Oh to be shooting in Germany where beer is subsidized by the Government! It’s everywhere, even in movie theaters and Mc’donneys.
I digress, after pulling off the party scene that left only the last green-screen shots of Ivy to capture before we could rap. After negotiating with multiple small studios there in Berlin, we found one that would work with our budget. The place was called Frogfish Studios. The shooting went smoothly, though they didn’t have a green screen available so we were forced to shoot on a blue one. Which was not ideal but for the short notice and price was worth it in the end.
The Ivy Green video will be available the beginning of 2010.
The Clara Chill music video “Wie weit wirst du gehen” or “How Far Will You Go” was shot entirely in two and a half days in six locations including the Tempelhof Airport; which is now closed to the public though it is one of the biggest buildings in all of Europe.
For the video we decided on a simple static approach, with no steady cam shots or dolly movements. Instead we tried to capture the emotion of the song by focusing on the singer, more then the movement in the frame.
We also shot Clara on the same blue-screen at the Frogfish Studio in Berlin so we could add some textured moving backgrounds later in post. During the shoot we opened up the piano and shot the keys moving with Clara playing for an interesting look.
The Clara Chill video “How Far Will You Go” will be available in January 2010.
Flickr Photos