Archive for the ‘ Canon ’ Category

Playing with the Canon 70-200 F4 L

I had the pleasure of having a relaxing, family oriented weekend just recently so I thought it would be fun to try out my new Canon 70-200 in my studio.  So far, I’ve only made a few hundred exposures with this lens and an hour or so of video, but I love it!  It is one of those less talked about 70-200 lenses, but offers incredible image quality.  Here is an example -

Canon T2i/550d with the 70-200 F4 L lens.  1/200th second, f/10, at ISO 400, 109mm.  Shot on tile board with 2 off-camera flashes.
Hangin' Out

2012
07/09
CATEGORY
Aperture
Canon
Photography
TAGS



Leave a comment

Photograph Like a Sniper with a Shotgun – Tips for shooting kids

Braxton Charles

Ok.  Maybe I’ve been playing too much Modern Warfare 3 lately with the sniper reference. Regardless, I’ve come across several rules of thumb when it comes to shooting kids this past year that I thought might benefit some of you with children.

  1. Shoot like a sniper with a shotgun.  What I mean is be prepared.  Always prepared.  And make sure your lens can get a wide spread.  Then wait for it, wait for it – shoot.  BAM!  Take less shots that are more filled with meaning and personality.  If you shot wide enough and you have a decent camera you can crop to your delight in post.  Long lenses and fast shutters are for sports and fashion.  Not kids!  You want to be up close and on their level.  After you got the shot, be done.  Stop shooting or you’ll just be testing their patience.  The photo at the top was a 1 shot, 1 kill shot.  (F/5.6, 1/200th, Canon T2i with 18-55 kit lens at 39mm, ISO 100, 2 flashes at 1/2 power.)
  2. Be a comedian.  I think there is a lie that kids don’t like to get their pictures taken.  The truth is, kids don’t like to not have fun.  So make a quick photo session as fun as playing with his toys or watching her favorite show.  The more you talk to and interact with your kids when you photograph them, the more likely you can represent them accurately in pixels.  Resist the urge to closely inspect every shot on the back of the camera.  Keep them active and happy by making them tell stories or laugh with them.
  3. Shoot fast!  Face it.  Kids are moving targets.  I have wasted thousands of photos learning this the hard way with unusable images.  1/200th of a second is probably my go to shutter speed most of the time when shooting my son.  Any slower than this and I risk getting unintended motion blur or camera shake, even with an IS lens.  1/200th is also the fastest I can shoot with my external flashes without seeing the black curtain in the exposures.  For sports, I’d probably go up to 1/1000th as a minimum.
  4. Stop down!  Again, face it.  Kids are still moving targets.  Shooting at f/1.4 with a toddler just doesn’t work, period.  The area in focus (depth of field) is such a tiny sliver that I’d say 95 times out of 100 I’d miss focus.  I have had some luck at f/2.0, but that was a lucky shot.  Most of my shots become more consistant at f/2.8 and up.
  5. Don’t sweat technical details.  I think there are really 2 things that matter when making a photograph of a child.  When I think about these two things, I make my best images.  1 – Expression, capture the right moment.  It will only exist once like that.  Good news is if you miss it like I do, there is another expression right around the corner.  2 – Focus, if he or she is super blurry it’s pretty much as if it didn’t happen.  With any modern autofocus camera this should not be a problem if you stop the lens down a little.  Nail these two and in my book, it’s a keeper!

For me, photographing kids and babies is incredibly rewarding and fun.  You get the chance to document a person when they are at such a brief phase in their life.  You can’t ever make the same photo twice and every moment gives you new challenges to overcome.  Take more pictures of them more often.  Most importantly have fun.  If you do, they will too.

2011
11/21
CATEGORY
Aperture
Canon
Photography
TAGS



Leave a comment

Cameras Make Headlines – The C300 and Scarlet

I must admit that I’m a pretty hardcore video technologist. I love video and film perfection. Please take whatever that means with a grain of salt when you read my brief musings on the hot shit that was recently announced from two great camera companies.

If you read my blog, then you probably already know enough of the details and specs of the BIG 2 newsworthy cameras that were just announced – the Canon C300 and the Red Scarlet.

These are amazing, beautiful cinema-style cameras that can create film-like motion pictures.  They are priced in the $15-$20k range once you get all of the required kit to make them work for production.  One has XYZ and the other has this bell and whistle that the other doesn’t.  They make fanboys scream and they confuse old timers that think film is God.  One thing is for certain is that you can shoot as long as you want for “only the price of a shiny new car“.

Don’t get my cynicism wrong.  I’d gladly accept a donated C300 for my personal production arsenal.  I also love to see competition in the marketplace.  Capitalism works best when there are people fighting for your hard earned dollar.  The problem I see is people’s reaction to these new expensive toys on the market.

I see a lot of people (myself included, “me too”) react to announcements like this one and think – “If only I could or would purchase this camera THEN, I could really make something amazing“.  This is a flawed mindset that I fall victim to far too often.  Our DP here at the agency, who also moonlights as a shooter for NFL films, told me something that has stuck.  It’s just another light tight box!

Basically, the idea is that a camera is a camera – a tool.  What I love about the current state of video cameras is that you can just as easily grab a $550 Canon T2/3i off the shelf and tell an incredible story without selling the farm (or going into massive debt which is more likely).  Cameras like the C300 and Red Scarlet make news today and that is a fact.  What I’d like to see is visual artists, DPs, directors, and editors making the news.

How many current directors can you name?  How many camera models or software tools can you name?  I think you get my point.  The question should be Tarantino vs. Cameron, not 1′s and 0′s with x sensor verses 1′s and 0′s with y sensor.

There is a place for these new fancy toys, but most people and small production companies don’t need them.  Getting the right moment, the right light, and the right talent always wins – even if it’s shot with a Flip cam!

Go out and create something amazing with what you have.  I say this as much to myself as anyone that’s willing to listen to me.  You have the best peice of technology that nobody else can buy – your brain and personal creativity.  All it takes is time and effort.

So who wins?  Canon C300 or Red Scarlet?  I’d pick you or myself over those cameras any day.

2011
11/09
CATEGORY
Canon
Post Production Workflow
Production
Red
TAGS


1 comment

Magic Lantern for Canon DSLR Video Tutorial – Why and How…



This is a quick 3 minute walkthrough of installing the latest (October 2011) version of Magic Lantern for Canon DSLRs. The link to follow, bookmark, and download from is:

magiclantern.wikia.com/​wiki/​Unified

With these more recent versions you DO NOT have to go through the process of making cards bootable, because what you place on the card does that for you now. This makes it super easy for anyone with a card reader to install and benefit from. This unified build works on the Canon 50d, 60d, 550d (shown in the video, aka T2i), and 600d. The 5d mkII also has a build, but it is different from the one shown in this video.

Make sure you also read the instructions and manual that are in the downloaded zip package. If you are running an old Canon firmware you will likely need to update that first.

Apologies for the nasty looking out of focus Flip cam footage, but you get the idea.

Huge thanks to Alex for making this tool so easy to use and useful.

vimeo.com/​alexml

Here is where you can follow Magic Lantern on Twitter for the latest updates -

twitter.com/​#!/​autoexec_bin

2011
10/19
CATEGORY
Canon
HDSLR
Magic Lantern
Photography
TAGS



Leave a comment

Braxton’s 1st Corn Maze

2011
10/17
CATEGORY
Aperture
Canon
Photography
Photoshop
TAGS
Leave a comment

Canon T2i Slow Motion (part 2)

I’m never satisfied until I attempt several ways to solve a problem.  Here are 2 other results of different algorithms to create slow-mo from the kayaking shot.  The first test just below was created using the Timewarp effect in After Effects.  This is a free and standard effect in the program.  The way frames are created using this is with “Pixel Motion” (the same method with using the solid line with the frame blending switch).  Timewarp in contrast to simple Time-Remapping allows you under the hood control of how it works.  The downside to timewarp to time-remap is that it is a little messier to work with.  You must precomp a clip and apply the effect to the precomp to have access to a full clip.

Pixel Motion After Effects Timewarp from Chadwick Shoults on Vimeo.

The other big way that is very popular now is a $500 plugin called Twixtor.  Twixtor works very much like the other time remapping tools that come with After Effects, but does its’ own math to make up new frames.  I have seen some really amazing shots created using this tool so I thought I’d try it myself.  After spending an hour or so with it, I am convinced that with irregular organic footage (like water splashing) Twixtor is not up to par with Time Remap or Timewarp.  If you look closely at the Twixtor sample below you will see weird water come off the bottom of the boat in a very unnatural way that does not happen using Pixel Motion.

Twixtor SlowMo Comparison from Chadwick Shoults on Vimeo.

Anyway, for what it’s worth I’ll stick with mostly using the time-remap method of slowing down clips in After Effects.  It allows me to use “Pixel Motion” which seems to be the best for whitewater.  Also, I don’t have to precompose anything or periodically go back to the nested comp to extend the comp duration which is slow and annoying.

And guess what?, I don’t have to spend $500 or so on the plugin!  Yahooeee! (as my boy says)

Now I guess I have to make a Warren Miller flick.  Anyone want to go ski?

2011
06/01
CATEGORY
After Effects
Canon
HDSLR
Post Production Workflow
TAGS


Leave a comment

Canon T2i Slow Motion (part 1)

This past weekend I had a chance to get some R&R kayaking on the Arkansas River and shot some footage.  The goal is to figure out a slow motion workflow that works well for me, for whitewater.  This is the effect that came from using After Effects Time Re-mapping solely with pixel motion blending.

T2i Slow Motion Kayaking from Chadwick Shoults on Vimeo.

Later on, I am going try time warp as well as the popular Twixtor plugin to see how they all fair next to each other.  I think this will work well so long as I don’t go as “extreme” with the slow-mo.  Anyways, this is a rough super slow motion test using the following in camera settings:

2011
05/31
CATEGORY
After Effects
Canon
HDSLR
Post Production Workflow
TAGS



Leave a comment

5 Reasons: I Love Aperture 3

Over the past 10 years, I have been using digital cameras and have accumulated well over 100,000 photographs (and I’m a video editor!).  The photos have been managed with folders, several versions of iPhoto, and most recently Picassa – not the web gallery.  Over time I became pretty disorganized with many duplicates, wasted ram and slow viewing in iPhoto due to “Faces”.  So – I finally upgraded, I purchased Aperture 3 from the app store for $80 and can’t be happier this morning.

After doing all of these sub-par workflows in the past, I figured there might be some other late bloomers (like me) to the world of Aperture 3.  Here is why I love it.

  1. It can handle all of my 100k+ photos without slowing down much at all (probably because I can disable faces and locations, unlike in iPhoto).
  2. It has 2 built in backup methods.  One on import, duplicating photos to a drive of your choosing.  Another in a vault, which is basically a time machine specifically for your Aperture library – LOVE IT!  I am now a self-declared backup junkie.
  3. Processes and works with RAW photographs very easily, the same as jpegs (just a tad slower).
  4. Stacks!  It uses a system called stacks to compare 2 images and pick the best one from a series.  Many times I’ll shot 10 shots of my son, just to get one.  This is a great way to pick the best select.
  5. Adjustment Tools.  Aperture 3‘s adjustment tools are all I would ever want to make non-destructive edits to my photographs.  I have been using Photoshop for about a decade and the tools Aperture borrows from Photoshop are the only one’s I ever use for photo work.  The huge bonus here is it saves your hard drive space by just making small text file indicators that reference the main image to make the versions.  Shortly put – you could make 10 versions of a single photo and it not take up more than a few kilobytes!  Awesome!
How do you manage your photo library?
2011
05/20
CATEGORY
Aperture
Canon
Photography
TAGS


Leave a comment

Tutorial – Importing Canon HDSLR Footage into Final Cut Pro

In 2010 I worked on at least a dozen shows for big brand clients (Dominos, American Express, Kraft to name a few) that where shot with either a Canon 5D Mark II or a Canon 7D in their video modes.  DP’s are starting to add these inexpensive tools to their kit so it is important to understand proper workflow to edit with them inside of Final Cut Pro.  Before moving forward, just know as usual there are 50 different ways to ingest materials into Final Cut, but really 1 right way.  I will show you the right way (for now anyway).

  • First you need to download the Canon E1 plugin from Canon’s website.  Click here and then choose Mac OS X under operating system.  Under software you should see a file called “ce1110x.dmg” – This is the EOS Movie Plugin-E1 that you need for Final Cut Pro.  Download and install it.

  • Next you want to double check your scratch disks are set properly.  You check this under Final Cut Pro -> System Settings.  Ideally your drive or raid should be fast (not usb 2.0) and have plenty of space available.
  • The next step is optional, but starts you with a clean project window.  Create a new bin (command+b) and set it as the logging bin.  To set this folder as the target for where you are capturing to within the project, simply select the folder and right click and “set logging bin”.
  • Now open up File -> Log and Transfer (command+shift+8).  This is a big gotcha for new E1 users.  You MUST change the default capture setting or it will create a ProRes 4:4:4:4 file which is unlikely to be a codec you want to use to edit with.  Click the little gear toggle in the upper right and select “preferences”.

  • Under preferences select “Canon E1″ you have options for what you want to import the footage as.  I suggest using Apple ProRes 422 (LT) for most projects.  This provides a lot of bang for the buck (quality to file size).  It is a high quality 10 bit codec that is even a bit better than DVCPro HD which is a good long running standard.  Their are reasons to choose the Proxy and Regular old 422 versions of ProRes, but in general, if the majority of your project is Canon DSLR footage – choose ProRes (LT).  It will cut like a warm knife through butter.  In a future post I may go into reasons for different ProRes codecs in detail.
  • Time to transcode!  Go to your Finder and double click your disk image you archived properly.  Jump back into Final Cut’s Log and Transfer window and the files should populate.  Do your normal naming or marking of clips and drag your media to the bottom left window.  Now…

FREEZE

It is crucial that you do not touch your computer until this process is done.  Go fix a bowl of Trix cereal and fill up your peanut M&M jar.  There is a known issue that if you go back and start editing or even browse the web, the E1 plugin will randomly only transcode parts of your source clips.

  • Now EDIT, make something amazing.

The value of this plugin goes well beyond the scope of this tutorial.  It would also be good to understand that using the Canon E1 plugin also solves an inherent gamma and color level problem with quicktime.  It adds valuable timecode that comes from the date stamp in the camera.  Timecode allows you to use the show “duplicate frames” feature in your timelines.  It also allows a proper online edit and media management.  In addition the plugin also lets you see all of the data from your shoot in the Log and Transfer window.  These are things like the lens used, ISO, shutter speed, aperture, and focal length.

2011
03/28
CATEGORY
Canon
HDSLR
Post Production Workflow
TAGS




5 comments

Tutorial – How to Archive Canon HDSLR Footage

I admit it.  I’m swept up in the new video tech craze that is Canon SLR shooting.  It’s incredible the shallow depth of field in combo with a nice big HD image you can get out of this new breed of cameras.  I love it.  Anyone can pick up a camera for less than a couple grand (really even less than a grand) and make very pretty movies with some knowledge.

The area that I have found that is lacking is knowledge of proper workflow with the Canon 7D, 5D Mark II, 60D, and T2i.  Once upon a time we would all shoot on video tape.  Then we would digitize or capture the tape data onto our computers using a deck or the camera we shot it on.  Then the tape went back to the shelf seldom to be touched again.  The only times we would touch the tape again would be to online the footage with a better codec or to do a re-edit.  Well, these tape days are pretty much over.  But hey where is our backup footage on the shelf?

With the transition to tapeless media it is crucial to understand the new proper footage backup process.  Here is a workflow that has worked very well for me this past year making the plunge into specifically – Canon DSLR footage..  This process is Mac specific.

  • Copy ALL contents of your flash card to your hard drive in a new folder.  It is crucial that every folder (this does include DCIM, MISC and all of the others that are empty).  All files and folders are important.
  • Rename that outermost folder to a useful “Reel” name.  This should be unique and never duplicated in any of your other projects in the past or future.  I use a method that is very systematic.  If I was archiving a card from a shoot today it would get the name, “110318_CF001″, the first 6 digits are the date going year, month, day.  This is important to follow this order because things you shoot in January of 2012 will still come after this in alpha numeric order.  The last part “CF001″ is just another way to chronologically number all of your “reels”.  To keep track of what is on what archive I use Google spreadsheets and it works well.
  • Open up Disk Utility.  The quickest way that I do this is by tapping, command+spacebar to launch spotlight in the upper right corner.  Start typing “disk utility” and hit enter when it appears.  Now we want to create a disk image of the archived “reel” folder we just made in the last step.  Click File -> New -> Disk Image from Folder.  Now select the folder you made in the last step and leave the file name as it was “110318_CF001″ for example.  Save it to an external hard drive that preferably only has Canon footage disk images stored on it.  Leave the image format as compressed and encryption to none (no changes needed there).  Click “save”.

That’s it!  You did it.  A proper archive of your Canon HDSLR footage using only the mac os and built in disk utility.

Get some coffee, because this will take a while.  Depending on how large a card it might take 20 minutes or it might take an hour or so.  Just let it run.

The benefit of going through this somewhat time consuming process is two-fold.  On one hand it provides you with an equivalent to an old school tape backup that you can then store on the shelf.  On the second hand it is the ONLY WAY to properly relink missing media to a Final Cut Pro project or perform and online edit in the future (in conjunction with the Canon E-1 plugin).  By creating a disk image before you injest into Final Cut Pro you create a “reel” path that is not absolute (meaning that it lives in this folder in this sub directory of your system).  A disk image is independent of a path since it sits on the root and therefore is perfect for transcoding into Final Cut Pro to edit.

In a future tutorial I will go more in depth on ways to work with the Canon E-1 plugin from your backup disk image.  Thanks for making it to the end of my first tutorial on ChadwickPaul.net.

2011
03/27
CATEGORY
Canon
HDSLR
Post Production Workflow
TAGS





4 comments
Follow

Get every new post delivered to your Inbox.