Check out our 2009 Demo reel.
This short demo reel features some of the largest projects for our company in the past year, including:
Graphics package for “Forbes Lux 11″
Graphics package for Travel Channel’s “21″
TV ads for Georgia Southern University
“Disconnect”
“The Last Bullet”
Recently we wrapped up this year’s Atlanta Film Festival trailer, and were lucky enough to not only be able to print it to 35mm film. We’ve also been able to have it converted to jpeg2000 so it can be digitally projected at theaters who support digital projection.
I know it’s not technically HD, but we produced the video in an HD resolution. So it’s pretty much the same.
Take a look at the trailer:
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You can now post HD video files to Youtube.
If you haven’t done so already, give it a try, they look WAY better.
You can check out ECG’s work on the new Atlanta Film Festival Trailer. Make sure to watch it in HD!
]]>We used a mini35 Image converter and a set of 5 Zeiss prime super-speed lenses. The images came out fantastic and the production itself was a blast!
Below are some production pics of our trip down there:
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If you don’t know what these are, Check out my previous post here.
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I’m a little behind the times with this post, but I have a good excuse for that.
I couldn’t really make up my mind about the EX3!
The Tech-Gadget-Guy in me loves all the improvements over the EX1: Removable lenses, better EVF, Larger size(for shoulder mounting), dock for a 60gb HD, and a better clip sorting menu. But I really have to ask myself: Is it worth the hefty pricetag?
We’re talking about a $2k-$3k difference depending on the extras you get w/ the camera. I fancy myself a shooter, so I really LOVE the idea of replaceable lenses. In fact, it’s why my company purchased the XL-H1.
But in reality, it’s 2 years later, and we’ve still only got the stock lens for the H1. Which leads me to believe that even if I owned an EX3, I wouldn’t really need additional lenses for it. If I was planning on renting lenses, I would go with 35mm film lenses and an image converter. But at the same time….what a cool feature for a camera at this price point! I’ll have to reserve judgement until I see how many different lenses we can get for the EX3.
Given the way technology moves, I can guess that there will be a brand new camera by the time I make up my mind…figures…
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ECG’s Production mananger Josh McGill recently attended a seminar on the RED one camera. He took copious notes on the event. Here is what he learned.
ABOUT THE SEMINAR
- organized by WIFTA (Melissa Randle, president, acted as moderator)
- Joe Kleber was the speaker (he is the founder of Red Acquisition Warehouse) owner of the RED#43
- founder and inventor Jim Jannard (Oakley founder) was always a camera enthusiast (rumor has it he has every camera ever made…) but he wanted a video camera that utilized a DSLR sensor (used in high end digital still cameras) - He got together a world class team of designers and fabricators (some from Apple) and built a camera that has analog acquisition processed digitally.
ABOUT THE CAMERA
-CMOS sensor (DSLR) is the size of a single frame of 35mm film masked at 16:9
- This sensor system is different than all other HD and SD cameras because it does not split the image into three colors to get picked up by three separate sensors rather one sensor picks up all the information at once
- The camera uses a PL (positive lock) mount for lens
- Canon and Nikon lens will fit
- the cards are CFC 8G (RED is coming out with a 16G card)- in 4K you get 2G per raw minute
- with the proprietary RED drive you can get 2 ½ hours (the drive is RAID maximized for speed not security)
Stuff to know when shooting on the RED:
- Look out for highlights because of the electronic acquisition
- does not have the contrast ratio of film (so you will need more fill)
- Jim McKinney (DP) spoke about using the RED and mentioned that he only uses the monitor for focus and framing- uses a waveform/histogram for colors
- RED is weak when it comes to quick horizontal pans, fast lateral subject movement (train) or flashes. The rolling shutter is the reason it has these problems.
- You need a proper film crew when shooting on the RED- loader, ACs, DP and light crew that can light for film
- You need the proper camera prep (treat like a 35mm shoot)
- Joe mentioned that ENG workflow for the RED is in development
- undercranks to 120fps (2K) using the RED drive (does 113fps when using the CFC 8G)
- uses 19mm (West coast standard) steel rods for matte box and other accessories (available adapter will allow you to use 15mm)
- Some negatives about the camera is that the 4 channels of audio are not XLR but miniXLR which you need an adapter- the BNCs have the same problem they are smaller than regular BNCs
- There are QUICK workflows and progressively (tons of choices) more ELABORATE ones. The post production process needs to be involved day one (workflow depends on the eventual use of the footage). It has to be mapped out considering time limit, editor expertise, and available technology. A quick workflow involves color balancing as you go and utilizing the quicktime proxy RGB files which can be dropped right into a timeline using RED free online software.
-The RED One is bad ass because it is fully upgradeable. It can be upgraded with RED firmware updates (using the CFC cards- but soon you will be able to hook the camera right up to your computer). There is a firewire 400 port which can be utilized by third party vendors for accessories. Also the actual chip is upgradable.
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Most impressive to me, is their T-Slide! It’s basically a mini dolly that you can mount on a standard tripod to achieve what would normally take a dolly and some track to do properly. This company is local to Atlanta, so I am really eager to purchase one of their products, and support a local company.
Here is the blurb from their website:
“The T-Slide is an innovative alternative to the traditional dolly when your shot can be achieved with up to 5 feet of camera motion. Other than long following dolly shots, most dolly moves are typically just a few feet. With the T-Slide, smooth camera motion can be achieved in a compact, easy to setup package. Are you constantly schlepping a bulky dolly, multiple pieces of track, then leveling the track over thresholds or uneven surfaces? With the T-Slide, just set the slider on a sturdy tripod, drop the monopods down and shoot. Shots can be set up in any angle to the subject including a perfect dolly push-in motion.
The T-Slide features four exceptionally smooth and quiet, state-of-the-art German bearings to control motion with a 100 mm base plate ready for your fluid head to be mounted directly to the unit. The bottom is fitted with either a 75mm or 100mm plate to fit directly to your bowl style tripod. Additionally, a standard Bogen half bowl can be mounted. The ends are pre-drilled with both 1/4 - 20 and 3/8 - 16 threaded mounting holes for optional monopods to add extra support to keep tripod from tipping as the camera reaches the ends. The T-Slide will fast become a workhorse in your productions, saving you considerable timeand adding exceptional value to your projects!
The T-Slide comes in two lengths a 48″ model with 41″ of sliding motion and a 67″ model with 60″ of sliding motion. The “M” series is designed for medium weight cameras up to 20lbs and the “H” Series is mounted on heavier rails and can accomodate up to 40+lb loads. Both are mounted on a solid 4″ by 1/2″ aircraft aluminum base. Weight range of the models is from 15 to 20lbs depending on length and model. It is important to note each model looses 7″ of travel due to the 6″ wide mounting plate and end stops.”
]]>Here is MY top 5 reasons you should never use SD again
NUMBER 1: HD just looks sexier, and everyone can see it. (even my Grandmother)
While the high end HD market keeps pushing the limits of what consumers can/will buy in HD. There is no question that SD is a thing of the past. I recently sat down with my grandmother in front of her new HDTV. She could tell the difference right away, and she’s 84 years old. People who tell you they can’t see a difference between SD and HD are either blind, stupid, or not really paying attention.
Take a look at this sample: It’s apples and oranges
NUMBER 2: Cable companies are scrambling to add more HD channels all the time.
If you have checked in with this blog before, you’ve seen the entries I’ve done on all the new HD content that is being offered by cable and satellite companies. Believe me when I tell you, they aren’t out there trying to see what new SD channels can eat up their bandwidth. Eventually there will be more HD channels than SD channels, this may be decades from now, but I know for a fact that SD is on the outs.
NUMBER 3: SD is not futureproof
If you are pumping a good amount of money into a production of any sort, you are doing yourself a GREAT disservice if you don’t shoot it in HD. Granted…every production is different, and each production has different needs, but if you are planning to produce something which you want to use as a marketing tool for many years, shooting it in SD today is not only a mistake, it’s a gargantuan waste of your time and money. You can alwaysconvert an HD source down to an SD dvd. But you can never make SD source look anything by grainy and artifacty when you try to bump it up to HD.
NUMBER 4: Even if you want an SD master, HD just looks better.
I sort of covered this in the last point. If you shoot in HD you are getting more information. Typically you have a higher resolution, better colors, better contrast. Overall it’s just a far superrior format, HD does SD better than SD ever could. Hell, I’ll even go as far as to say that a top of the line betacam can’t really even beat out the consumer level HDV cameras that are out there. The picture-quality and resolution just can’t be beat. You always want to oversample in production if you can help it.
NUMBER 5: You don’t want people to laugh at you.
If you hang out with even 1 tech-gadget geek like me, if you don’t have a HDtv, belive me, they are laughing at you, and making observant and cruel remarks behind your back.
]]>Check out the stats on our Sticky Pods (From the manufacturer’s website):
Suction Force: 200 pounds! (that’s how much force it takes to pull the Original or ProPak model straight off)
To Release: Just roll up the edge of the suction cup with your finger to release the vacuum pressure.
Dimensions: Rectangle - 11-1/2 X 9-1/2 inches, triangle - 8-1/2 X 9-1/2 (locked down in place)
Extensions: solid black anodized CNC machined aluminum rods (not hollow tubes)
Construction: All metal, no plastic at all.
Weather Climate: sub-zero to 105 degrees F (it doesn’t get any hotter here in Denver)
Duration: Up to 30 days when sitting still, around 4 hours in a very hostile (off road and racing) environment.
Speed Limit: At least 175 MPH! (We do not know the Sticky Pod’s speed limit!)
ECG has two sticky pod directors, with all the bells and whistles that come with them. We can mount virtually any size camera to any part of a vehicle and feel confident that we will get the shot we need.
Recently used our Sticky Pod Directors on a shoot we did for Saab. Here is Jason Sirotin attaching one of our pods to the back to the car, to allow us to shoot the back logo of the car, while it barrels around the big track at Road Atlanta.
Here is Jason setting up our roof camera. Because the cars would be speeding around the track at around 100mph, we stuck with our old XL-1, just in case. But even after streaking around the course AND driving on the skid pad, the camera was solidly mounted to the car, the shots looked great and stable, and the footage pleased the client. What more could you ask for?
To see a full breakdown of our shoot with Saab, check out ECG Atlanta’s post.
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