SLIDERS. I remember the first time I heard about these things becoming available on a consumer level. Someone in Europe slapped a camera on an industrial IGUS carriage rail and went, "Oh... a... mygod...
And thus the company Glidetrack was born. Of course, it didn't take long for people to realize, "wait a minute... that's just a slab of metal with a rail carriage on it." I can buy that straight from IGUS and make it myself! And then it didn't take long for people to try that and realize, "ugh, fuck, this is hard."
The select few who weren't too lazy though did go on to start selling their own. Then more people started making sliders. AND NOW EVERYONE MAKES SLIDERS. Even Glidecam is releasing their own slider:
And not gonna lie, it's pretty damn solid. It has a good amount of drag and doesn't bend under the weight when you push the carriage to either end like most lighter-weight sliders do. At the end of the day though, it's a piece of metal with a thing on it that goes left and right. And that's...about...it.
"WELL FUCK THAT," says Indie-Dolly Systems, who demoed their new slider prototype at NAB this year.
They're sliders work more like mini-dollies, with 3 foot lengths of track that can be connected to one another. The carriage, while a roller wheel system, has a nice weight to it and good amount of drag. When you have carriages that just roll freely left and right, the operator has to do more to make it smooth. (UGH, I don't have to hone skills, c'mon) Having drag lets you feather in the start and stop. Imagine pushing an empty shopping cart vs pushing a shopping cart with an Asian man in it.
The Indie-Dolly Systems slider will ship with 9 feet of track and the carriage with the option of 75mm, 100mm, or flat mount for around $800 and a target release date of July. It's a novel concept that at least gives you a little more flexibility considering its length isn't fixed. I think Asian Bike Cart Man will be a much more effective dolly though, but it's still in the prototype phase unfortunately...
And on the topic of Asian things by Asian people, the folks over at Nori in Toronto were showcasing this little doo-dad.
Oh that's right, it's a bounce board...
...AND AN UMBRELLA. Calm down Toronto, really. There's only so much innovation I can handle today after finally watching the highly anticipated video to Pitbull's "Back in Time," the official theme song to MIB3.
For $189, you get one silver BOUNCEBRELLA (my official new name forever because Square Bounce is not nearly as cool), one white bouncebrella, and a shoulder sling. So you can re-enact all your favorite katana-drawing scenes from movies where katanas or other similarly lengthy objects are produced from one's backside.
And none of this "expected release date" shit, YOU CAN BUY 'EM NOW.
ZOMG. Blackmagic's doo-dad movie-making box is now available for pre-order from B&H! Personally, I say hold off until the next iteration, which I imagine will be pretty damn soon given how often these things are coming out. It's a neat camera that produces impressive results, but if you're looking at it as an investment as a production camera, there are just too many design irks in my opinion. Until there's a confirmed non-touchscreen way to operate the thing, I'm gonna pass. Or as Jim Cramer would say, BUYSELLBUYSELLBRAWWWWWWWWR.
But hey, if you've got $3,000 in singles lying around that you need to hide because you've secretly been moonlighting as a stripper and you don't want anyone to know, then knock yourself out.
I was super excited to visit the Shape booth over at NAB because I absolutely LOVE their handgrips. They don't have an unnecessary amount of articulation (like the O-connor's O-grips or the Zacuto ones), and because they use rosettes instead of a ball-and-joint lock, they're rock solid. Plus they're only $300!
They're my zombie apocalypse weapon of choice (if I had to choose between parts of a camera rig to defend myself against zombies... otherwise my zombie apocalypse weapon of choice would be this sound cannon thing that can implode things). Aw man, if only there were some sort of establishment in Vegas that made available all my favorite zombie apoc- OH WAIT.
THANK. GOODNESS.
My only irk with the handles was that they could only be used with 15mm setups, and not 19mm studio setups. I've always liked the idea of accessories that can adapt across systems, whether it be DSLR or RED or a camera mounted on the head of a chicken.
So I was pumped to hear that Shape just announced a new hybrid 15mm/19mm rod block that adapts to their Arri rosette handgrips.
The price-point is miles above their 15mm grips unfortunately, at $1499 for the handles and $269 for the rod block. To be fair though, I imagine these would be the last set of handgrips you'd ever have to buy. SLOT MACHINE TIME.
---
Over at RedRock Micro, they had working demos of their wireless follow focus system, which, I hate to say, is not as horrible as I thought it'd be. I remember seeing videos from NAB last year of their prototype iPhone remote thing and was like, YOU STOP THAT. YOU STOP THAT RIGHT NOW, BRIAN VALENTE.
But they have managed to create something here which, at the very least works like an electronic follow focus should.
With the airwaves clouded up by so many electronics (particularly in the sound dept, DAMN YOU SOUND), most vendors actually couldn't even demo any wireless products. So I've yet to see the wireless transmitters and receivers in action, but the guys over at RedRock say they have a range of 300ft.
Their motors are actually smaller than Heden motors, and they say they perform just as well... SKEPTICAL.
I will say though, I'm not a big fan of their receiver design. On this and their remotes they use these buttons that feel like your grandma's tv remote buttons after she wrapped it in 13 layers of plastic wrap because you kept spilling juice on it whenever you'd visit. There's not much physical feedback to denote that it's been pressed, and in the dark, the near-flush buttons may become hard to see.
The remote too is curiously un-ergonomic. It can be powered internally, but the power input as well as the input for if you wanted wired control is right where your hand would naturally hold it.
It has its design flaws, but here's the kicker, IT'S ONLY $2400 FOR THE WHOLE KIT. Considering a Bartech sans motor is already $2100, with a motor running you at least another $2600, it's quite the attractive option for entry level users.
Again, how it stands up to actual production, we'll have to see~
--
Finally, some more things from Arri!
Here's an aks block that has a 1/4 20 and 3/8 16 taps to mount whatever your heart fancies to your MMB-2 (I use mine to arm out a mirror to make sure no zombies are attacking me from behind). This way you can get monitors a better distance away from your face as opposed having to crane your head back all the time like you're avoiding the mouth of that girl at the club who more than likely has mono who's trying to drunkenly make out with you. Plus it's only $30! (the aks block, not the girl at the club)
HDMI cable locks are getting pretty popular these days, because it turns out people really like breaking HDMI cable. I KNOW I DO :D This makes Germans frown though, so here's Arri's cable lock system. What sets this apart from most is that it doesn't mount flush to the body, which often blocks the other ports on the camera. Instead, it mounts to Arri's DSLR cage. I for one have never been a huge fan of cages. I find it completely defeats the purpose of shooting on a small body~
And lastly, here's Arri's shoulder pad. I'm not a huge fan of the actual pad, but I am a fan of the quick release rod block it's attached to. You can use it mount other accessories such as battery plates or what have you. Its design allows you to attach and release it at any point on along your rods, instead of having to slide them all the way off one end.
While the idea is nothing new, it is by far the smoothest version of this I've played around with~ It's essentially the same way the Arri MFF-1 attaches to rods.
---
Now if you'll excuse me, I'm off to continue my win streak at these awesome new official Dark Knight slot machines. Because, you know, that's why Christopher Nolan even made that movie in the first place.
So hey, BlackMagic Design just came out with a new camera. Why? BECAUSE EVERYBODY'S DOIN' IT, MAAAAAAN. What's that? You haven't come out with your own large sensor camera that shoots in intervals of K yet? Whoa now, don't you want to be cool? C'mon, everybody's doinnnnng it. If you do it, you'll get laid at prom this year, I SWEAR. And judging from all the press this thing has gotten, BlackMagic is getting mad amounts of head in the bathroom behind the Quizno's at NAB. If you're out of the loop though, BlackMagic is the company that makes the color correction program DaVinci Resolve as well as those little video signal converter boxes.
Back when I was working in rentals, it was their invention that made me spend hours finding a way to rig an HDMI to HDSDI box to a battery plate to an HDSDI to SDI box to another battery plate to some asshole's Rebel t2i. THANKS BLACKMAGIC.
Their new converters come in regular duty and heavy duty flavors (for those of us who use these converters as the chest plate for our Iron Man arc reactors).
And on top of that, their new "Battery Converters" have built in rechargeable batteries, which is a win. Unfortunately though, not bearing the official Heavy-Duty label, they can't "withstand being run over by the largest OB vehicle." (WELL THEN WHAT'S THE POINT?!) It would have been nice to see some sort of mounting option for these guys onto rails though. Oh well, I guess I'll have to stick with my current method of chewed bubble gum and hope. But I digress, ALAS, the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera.
Look at Mr. BlackMagic's pimp lean. What a pimp.
Here are the specs in a nutshell: - Shoots 2.5K RAW to SSDs - 13 stops of dynamic range - Records as Cinema DNG, ProRes, or DNxHD - EF Canon Mount - HDSDI out - Thunderbolt out - 5" Touchscreen LCD - Bundled with a copy of DaVinci Resolve and Ultrascopes - Choice of soup or salad All for the delightful price of $2995! Which is actually more like $2000 if you consider the fact that DaVinci Resolve on its own costs $995. BUT, like I said, BlackMagic does own DaVinci Resolve and has been trying to push that "open source" CinemaDNG format for a while now. It's COMPANY SYNERGY, as fake Martha Stewart explained to me in the made for tv movie Martha, Inc. It's a neat camera, all in all, and the test footage that I've seen so far isn't bad~ http://vimeopro.com/johnbrawleytests/blackmagic-cinema-camera PIC DUMP TIME.
The entire rear panel is a touch screen LCD with 8 physical buttons. The top left one activates iris control to open up or close down the aperture using the FF and REV buttons. The top right is peaking (which is my opinion was pretty shitty and pales in comparison to the peaking on a SmallHD DP6, for example). Double tapping on the screen also zooms in though if you want to focus that way.
Here's the Canon lens mount. At the moment, they say there are no plans for a PL version. The sensor size though is only slightly larger than the micro 4/3 sensors on the GH2 or AF100.
I do like the fact that the mount extends out in front of the body like this though, which make it easier get follow focuses on for lenses whose focus rings are super close to the mount~
Here you can see the various outs of the body. The audio in ports are actually 1/4" jacks, so... yeah, sound things. You've got HD-SDI out below that, which has the option of sending a completely clean signal for either a client monitor or recording to an external recorder. You can also record out via the Thunderbolt port below that, which will also be the only way you can view any sort of waveforms or vectorscopes while recording as the built in lcd CANNOT COMPUTE.
Then below that you get the power input. There's an internal battery that lasts all of about 90 minutes, so you'll have to bank on feeding power via p-tap to AB or V-mount bricks. Or just make your shoot days 90 minutes long. I prefer the latter option.
On the other side you've got the SSD slot, which takes any ol' SSDs you've got lying around. Just make sure to wipe the porn off of 'em before someone on set asks for playback.
Here's a look at the menu interface. *touch touch touch*
And that's actually my most fundamental problem with this camera. It's not that I'm writing it off altogether. I'm actually really interested in seeing what this camera can do. But there are just little things here and there that make me hesitant.
The fact that the touch screen is literally the only way to access particular controls on the camera irks me. I've had touchscreens fail me on set (*cough*Epic/Scarlet*cough*) because it was too cold or too humid or too RED. And if the screen gets damaged at all while you're shooting, then all you can really do is start and stop.
Hopefully by release date they'll have some option for physical button control of the camera (considering there is a slot for Remote on the side panel), but the BlackMagic rep said there were no specific plans for it at the moment. All I want is a camera that I can control via my PS3 controller, is that really too much to ask?
What also worries me is the fact that the camera uses off the shelf SSD drives, which aren't exactly designed for production use. They're designed to be taken out of an anti-static bag and straight into a computer, not tossed around a set. I'll hand it RED, their SSDs are built like a tank, and I've done all sorts of shit to 'em, JUST FOR FUNSIES.
I realize these are worst-case scenario concerns, but it's the little things like these that end up setting all these new cameras apart in the end. Putting a sensor in a body is one thing, but putting a sensor in a body that can withstand getting set on fire, on the other hand...
Again, I know I'm chugging a lot of haterade here (THIS NOVELTY VEGAS CUP IS HUGE), but I'd be lying if I said I wouldn't jump at the offer to shoot on one.
Third party accessories will inevitably start popping up to make the thing look less like a tiny HP photo printer, and who knows, come next NAB, Zacuto will probably have a whole new line of Zlackmagic Zineza Zamera Zezzoriez that start at $4999 (but have a lifetime warranty!).
In the meantime though, with all these new cameras coming out, IT'S A GOOD THING I FOUND THIS:
Take that BlackMagic! I bet I won't be able to use the box for your camera as a slate, now will I??
It's NAB 2012 tiiiiiiiiiiiiiime. I actually didn't have much time to browse the showroom floor because I got to Vegas later than expected today. On a completely unrelated note, there are delightful sales going on right now at the Tanger Outlets just outside of Las Vegas.
In the hour I did have before closing though, I did get to check out some of those items at Canon that EVERYONE AND THEIR MOTHERS RAGING OVER. (My mom was not as impressed D:)
So here's the 1DC, Canon's latest and greatest in tiny sized movie making technology. In a nutshell, all the hub-bub is surrounding its ability to shoot 4K in a DSLR body. ZOMG. It's that DSLR form factor that by now we've all (by force or not) have come to know and love, but with more flavors of recording. A lot more, actually~
Along with 720p, 1080p and 4k, you can also shoot in a Super35 aspect ratio. This S35 option allows you to use cinema lenses that don't quite cover full frame sensors (which ironically includes some of Canon's new cinema zooms). I was gonna type out the full specs, but then I saw it was long... Soooo, I took a photo of it instead.
(Click on it to see it IN STUNNING 4K) As you can see, there's a lack of frame rate options, which is a shame~ For that, you'll have to turn to the C500. BUT, the C500 can only capture 4K 4:2:2 into an external recorder as opposed to the 1DC, which can do it straight to CF cards. I didn't get the chance to see the C500 up close and check it out, but this is what the guy in the Canon polo tells me, SO HE MUST BE RIGHT.
Here are Canon's new cine zooms~
And primes!
Here's a 400mm (I think?... I'm the worst blogger ever) on a 1DX, the stills version of the latest in the 1D series. The photo rep guy told me was he was sad that everyone kept coming over thinking it was the 1DC, and would leave when they found it wasn't. "This camera is cool too!," he said. To which I responded with, "Ooh, Sachtler makes steadicams?!?" and walked over to try one on.
I actually didn't even know they made Steadicams. They're part of a line they call the Artemis, and they come in at pretty curious price points. Their mid-range level model, for example, which is supposed to compete with the Glidecam X-22 or Steadicam Zephyr comes in at under half the price point (~$4500). They didn't have one on display, unfortunately, SO I CAN'T JUDGE IT WITH MY HANDS.
Before the hall closed, I got the chance to take a look at some of Arri's new swag. With new camera bodies coming out more often than George Takei updates his facebook (ducks, whaaaaaaaaaaaat), I've found that more recently I've turned my financial attention towards BLING. Here are Arri's latest grips, essentially their version of O-grips, with ball-joint handles that lock in an infinity number of positions.
They adapt to lightweight 15 and studio 19mm rods, so you'd be able to use them with both DSLR rigs as well as larger Alexa or Red rigs, which is ideal sauce.
Plus the handles and rod bracket are tapped with 3/8 16 holes all over, which allows you to Noga arm off all sorts of things, like a monitor, an evf, or a piece of chicken.
And here's Arri's 15mm base plate for the Epic/Scarlet. I was wondering when they'd come out with support for those cameras, considering Wooden Camera seems to have a monopoly on aks for those bodies at the moment~
I'll be more productive tomorrow, I SWEAR.
But I did just get a coupon from Banana Republic...
So I live in Manhattan now, but I grew up on the west coast in a suburb outside of LA called Rowland Heights, area code 626 (or 818 for you old school folks). While I absolutely love living in New York and more than appreciate all the great food that fancy pants local markets and restaurants have to offer, every time I come back to visit home I find myself facing yet again one inexorable truth: shitty fast food is FUCKING DELICIOUS.
Thus, every time I visit home, my brother and I go on what we dub "shitty fast food runs," where we plan a route that in a single day hits as many of our guilty pleasure west coast fast food joints as possible. Yes, this is perfectly healthy.
1) The Sourdough Jack at Jack in the Box
I find there are essentially three schools of thought when it comes to burgers. 1 - the thick steakhouse burger a la Peter Luger or Alias, 2 - the small but thick almost meatball shaped burger a la Dumont or Corner Bistro, and 3 - the wide floppy fast food / diner burger, where there is no choice in done-ness, the only option is wide floppy curiously juicy deliciousness. The Sourdough Jack is that latter burger.
DA-MEN SHOW! (CROSS SECTION SHOW!) Don't get me wrong, I love me some perfectly medium-rare all beef burger with a nicely seared crust, but every now and then, I just want that perfect storm of buttery toasted sourdough, tomato, beef, cheese and bacon that is the $4 Sourdough Jack. Be sure to get it without mayo though because, you know, that makes it healthy.
2) The Classic Beef & Cheddar and Curly Fries at Arby's
I'm not going to try to defend the Beef & Cheddar from Arby's. I really have no idea why I find this thing delicious. I think at this point it's just for nostalgia sake, but I. CAN'T. STOP. I will defend their curly fries though. Now I'm sure Arby's didn't invent the curled french fry, but it was the first place I ever had 'em, thus I forever associate Arby's with the seasoned curly fry, AND ALL OTHERS ARE FOREVER SAD IMITATIONS. On a completely unrelated note, is there some unspoken universal seasoning for every curly fry on the planet?
DA-MEN SHOW!
3) The Hot Dog from Costco
To this day, I've yet to find a more satisfying hot dog than the classic Costco hot dog. Why? IT'S ACTUALLY FILLING. This is a hot dog that feels like a real meal for a change, plus it's buck... and you get a soda!... and all the great deals at your friendly local neighborhood Costco!
4) The Orange Julius at Puente Hills Mall
It's a melted orange creamsicle that's frothy. I mean, what?
5) The Cheese of Stick at Hot Dog on a Stick in Puente Hills Mall
IT'S FRIED CHEESE ON A STICK.
DA-MEN SHOW!
6) The Beef Burrito and Carnitas Super Nachos at Moca Salsa
This costs 7 bucks. Rice, beans, AND TWO BURRITOS. Nobody needs two burritos in a single meal, but TOO BAD, you get two burritos. And goddammit, they're delicious burritos. Even before you get to the filling, Moca Salsa has incredible tortillas. Soft and chewy, they layered almost like a croissant. And inside is piping hot stewed pulled beef with bell peppers and onions.
DA-MEN SHOW!
And yes, I know Moca Salsa is more known for their Super Fries than Super Nachos, but I've found that Super Fries are just wayyyy to filling. I mean, it's like, 4 lbs of french fries topped with guacamole, salsa, beans, sour cream, and meat. NACHOS INSTEAD MAKES IT LIGHT. Either way though, super anything is a godsend, especially with carnitas instead of carne asada.
7) The Oreo Shake at Jack in the Box
Well ya gotta come full circle, and the Oreo shake from Jack in the Box is a beautiful thing. This is no ordinary milkshake, IT'S JUST SLIGHTLY MELTED ICE CREAM. The straw is purely for aesthetic purposes because it's literally impossible to drink this thing through a straw. You're better off using it as a really inefficient spoon, which is really the only way to properly enjoy this glorious dessert.
