In a move that will be applauded by many (including this editor), Adobe was the first software company to focus a release an update to their editing software that focuses on COMPATIBILITY! Yes, even with other software packages. This newest update to Premiere Pro CS4 allows you to exchange projects with Avid and Final Cut Pro systems. While I don’t expect that every single effect, color correction, or special properties will come through the process perfectly, even simple timeline exchange with cuts and dissolves would be an incredibly useful feature to have in your NLE. And Adobe deserves some respect for being the first out the gate with this type of upgrade.

In addition the 4.0.1 upgrade provides support for the RED camera’s R3d files directly, with no transcoding necessary. Greatly simplifying what was once a pretty unnecessarily complicated Post process when shooting with RED. This latest upgrade adds to Premiere’s support of AVCHD, P2, HDCAM EX, all natively making it the current king of compatibilty among all the editing programs out there. If your camcorder can shoot it, it looks like Premeiere can edit it.

In addition there were stability enhancements  and full support for 64 bit systems included in this release. You can read the full release below:

Read the rest of this entry »

For most of us, the documentary genre is a very real and raw form of story telling that is based on true-life emotion. We watch as our main character struggles with issues, narrates the frustration and we patiently wait for the resolution. As a matter of fact, for most documentary movie buffs out there you may notice that the honest non-subjective documentary you love took just as much planning as the latest big summer blockbuster.

This is because documentary films tell the same character-driven stories that contain a beginning, middle and end, with an issue at hand to keep viewers interested just like any other Hollywood film. The idea that a documentary is “real” and a mainstream release isn’t is wrong.
All documentary films are subjective, no matter how they are put together. There is a storyteller, who may be using real events to tell the story, but they are still telling the story that they want the viewer to see. It does not matter how neutral a stance on the subject they take, or how objective the documentary may seem. In the end there is always the filmmaker, who chooses what story should be told and how they are going to tell it. It is up to the filmmaker to edit out information that may show another side to the story. If three documentary purists were put in a room and asked to film the same story, each story would end up different. Because every filmmaker tells the story that they find the most interesting. If the art of making a documentary film was indeed “real” every documentary would be a lot less entertaining and probably only contain one static shot. Therefore, in my opinion documentary film is not objective, and is not as “real” as people tend to think it is.

I want to present this issue and see what some of our readers think. Are documentary films “real”? Are they subjective? Are they just as phony as the last Indiana Jones movie? Let us know what you think.

If you’re the type that gets excited about tools and devices that beep, buzz, hum and generally need a battery to operate, then you may already know that the biggest international trade show is fast approaching and devotees are planning their visit like Trekkies at a Star Trek convention.

I’m talking about the Consumer’s Electronics Show,

commonly called CES that takes place annually during the first week of the year in Las Vegas.

According to Information Week, early reports say that digital cams, both still cameras and video cameras, and bluetooth technology and mobile devices, like smartphones  are going to be the biggest hits this year.

People from more that 140 countries representing 2,200 electronic companies worldwide annually converge at this event, and you can bet that the Videomaker Editorial Team will be there, looking the show over to find out what the next year’s gear will look like.

From gaming to kid’s electronics to planet Earth sustanibility, there’s going to be a lot to see, but we’ll try to keep focused on mostly video cameras and accessory related toys!

CES, sponsored by the Consumer’s Electornic Association, (CEA), began in 1967 and has been going strong ever since. Watch for more news on the event, and product announcemts, on Videomaker’s blog, during the next few months.

There’s some new wrinkles to Red’s camcorder lineup. First off, everything you knew about Scarlet? Forget it. They’ve revamped the whole thing and have a new version of the Scarlet alongside the Epic. The idea is that you can have a fully modular camcorder setup that is prepared for digital cinema at whatever resolution you want to shoot. You can start with the Scarlet “brain” for $2500, add a compatible (2/3″) lens, batteries, and as much monitoring, I/O and recording modules as you like. Then if you feel so inclined, you can graduate up with a new “brain”, lenses, etc.

The traditional camcorder manufacturers (and, really, film camera manufacturers too) are probably more than a little worried watching the Red lineup evolve. The pricing is fierce. The stuff looks cool. There are some Hollywood productions on the drawing board that will be using Red’s technology. We expect hard drive manufacturers to be rubbing their hands together in anticipation of big sales (on the order of terabytes, easy) of drives to Red camcorder owners working on big productions.

The lone problem? Red is mum about the exact date when the new stuff will become available. The original Red One is now shipping, though.

The Videomaker/Canon Short Video Contest has gone to judging. We accepted 159 entries this year, and they are all being viewed.

My hope for sending all of the entries as H.264 files was dashed, though. While computer monitors are getting better all the time (and computers are also getting quicker), the thing that I didn’t consider was that only one of our editors has a way to watch H.264 directly on their TV. (One of us has a PS3, but ironically, the H.264 files worked better for that particular judge, as he is in Tokyo right now. But more on that later.) So I leveraged the power of TMPGEnc 4.0 XPress again to create some quick DVD-Video compliant files and threw them over to Encore for burning and menus. It worked out pretty well, though. All of the entries that were submitted as HD encoded very nicely, making for some of the nicest-looking DVD-Video footage we’ve seen in quite some time.

Although the machine we used to create those files? Sloooooow. I set up a big batch to encode overnight, and my workstation was only half-way through when I arrived at work the next morning. If you find yourself working on a contest in a technical capacity, it’s worth your while to ask about getting a nice dual-core machine. Trust me.

Reprinted from a Canon press release:

Building on the success of the XH A1 and XH G1 High Definition (HD) camcorders, Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging, has introduced the newly refined and upgraded hand-held XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders.

Both products incorporate enhanced features for improved operation, including greater image control and improved audio capabilities. Whether it is for corporate video production, wedding and events, or filmmaking, the new Canon XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders help professional videographers realize their creative vision.

The Canon XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders incorporate an expanded array of controls for customizing the image, display and operation to match individual needs. Utilizing the industry’s most affordable digital video recording media - HDV tapes - both models are ideal for long-format applications such as wedding and event videography, digital filmmaking, documentary production, government and media education.

“HDV tape format continues to be the most cost-effective medium for high-quality high definition video capture and storage,” noted Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager, Consumer Imaging Group, Canon U.S.A. “With the new XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders, professional user-requested refinements have been incorporated to provide even easier on-camera usability and operation.”

Improved Lens Operability

The Canon XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders’ Genuine Canon 20x HD Video Lens offers manual zoom and focus, which can operate simultaneously in either manual or Autofocus mode. The three independent manual adjustment rings, (focus, zoom and iris) have been redesigned for easy access and comfortable operation. Other lens innovations include: three sensitivity settings for the manual focus ring; normal, fast, and slow zoom speeds; smooth movement when starting or stopping zooms; and selectable rotational angles between the tele and wide ends of the lens zoom. Additionally, the lens features Canon’s SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization (OIS) system, which corrects camera shake instantly on hand-held shots at full telephoto, shots taken from a moving vehicle, or other challenging situations.

To improve lens operability, the new Canon XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders are equipped with a function to customize the “operational feeling” of the camcorder. Acceleration and deceleration have been added to the zoom when starting and stopping in the zoom key mode to achieve a more natural zoom sensation during filming.

User-Definable Operation

The new camcorders provide users with an unprecedented range of image/color settings, camera-control functions, and viewfinder display choices. Video can be captured and output in multiple frame rates to meet the demands of diverse production assignments. These frame rates include: 60i for mainstream production; 30F for perfect frame grabs or Web delivery; and 24F for emulating the look of motion-picture film. Canon’s Factory Service Center can also provide an optional upgrade to add 50i and 25F frame rates. The camcorders can be switched in all frame rates between 1080-line 16:9 aspect ratio HD video and 480-line 4:3 aspect ratio SD video (or 576 lines in 50i or 25F mode).

Both models provide Total Image Control for customizing image and color settings, with a total of 23 custom presets available for image quality adjustment, with the range of image color presets extended from +/-9 to +/-50 steps for fine-tuning the picture (an important feature for achieving the visual subtleties favored by cinematographers). Custom image preset files can be stored to an onboard SD/SDHC Memory Card and shared with other Canon professional models including the XL H1S, XL H1A, XH G1, and XH A1 camcorders for seamless multi-camera production work.

Custom camera functions and operation settings total 21 items and 33 sub-items for achieving creative “looks” for footage. Among these functions are: “shockless” white balance for smooth, color-accurate dissolves between two pre-set white balance values (adjustable from 2000K to 15000K); the ability to increase gain in 0.5dB increments from 0dB up to +18dB, and 3dB and +36dB settings. A selective noise-reduction function is available for reducing the noise in targeted color areas, which is important for blue/green chroma-key applications in special effects work.

Using the custom display settings feature, a camera operator can tailor the display to match their shooting style. These include 22 items and 40 sub-items for selection of status information that can be shown in the camcorders’ 2.8″ widescreen LCD or color EVF.

Improved Audio Specifications

User-requested refinements in the Canon XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders’ audio capabilities include: two-channel audio performance; two built-in XLR terminals with separate audio-input sensitivity settings; the ability to simultaneously record sound from the supplied internal microphone and an external microphone; line output level switching; an audio (manual) limiter and a new metal headphone jack for reliable connectivity. The result is better overall flexibility and control of the camera by enabling the use of one cameraman to do the job of many.

Optional Hard Disk Drive Recording

Canon offers professionals in the field the option of recording video to HDV tape and directly to an external Hard Disk Drive by using the FS-CV DTE Recorder.

XH G1S HD Camcorder Exclusives

The Canon XH G1S HD camcorder includes industry standard terminals, which are a trio of connections that provide professionals with outstanding quality and versatility: HD-SDI/SD-SDI Output, SMPTE Timecode Input/Output, and Genlock Input. The HD-SDI connection outputs an uncompressed 1.485 Gbps digital signal with embedded audio and LTC Timecode (SMPTE 299M), reducing the number of cables and improving the camera operator’s mobility, enabling easy seamless integration into broadcast studios. To complement the XH A1S HD camcorder’s 24F frame rate mode, the model adds flags when outputting video through HD-SDI (which normally outputs 60i). These flags allow compatible hardware or software to locate the frames needed for removal during professional editing, resulting in native 24F video.

Users can easily facilitate multi-camera shoots with the Canon XH G1S model due to the camcorder’s Genlock synchronization input. This feature permits trouble-free switching of the camcorders in a multi-camera situation. With its SMPTE time code input/output terminal, each camera on a shoot can have matched time code.

The Canon Difference

Since it is critical to achieve very sharp focus when shooting in high definition, the XH A1S and XH G1S models feature Canon’s revolutionary Instant AF focusing system, which uses an external sensor, in combination with Canon’s autofocus system, to significantly decrease the time it takes to find focus, even in low-light conditions, reducing focus “hunting.”

Both camcorders also feature Canon’s DIGIC DV II proprietary digital signal processor, which Canon designed specifically for HD acquisition. Found also in Canon’s flagship “XL” camcorder line, the DIGIC DV II processor provides highly accurate color and tonal reproduction needed for high HD image quality. A new noise reduction system, combined with a new gamma system, helps to reduce noise in monotone and shadow areas. The fast processing speed of the DIGIC DV II chip allows video and photos to be shot simultaneously. Furthermore, the processor’s low power consumption contributes to longer battery life.

The new Canon XH A1S and XH G1S HD camcorders are scheduled to be available in late December for an estimated retail price of $3,999 and $6,999, respectively.