U-Flycam – Steadicam
About a month ago I purchased a steadicam from Ebay called the U-Flycam. This think is almost 1/10th the cost of most steadicam units, though you do get what you pay for.
For general running around, it works pretty well, but the more I use it, the more I am beginning to realize how many things can be improved. Here are some ideas that other Youtube users have.
First thing I noted was the cheap construction of the mounting device for the camera. Spokes me out a little bit, as I can picture this lever just breaking off. This guy just replaced the whole mounting unit with a quick release plate from Cullman.
I spent a few hours today trying to get my unit balanced with my Canon 60D. The big issue is that my camera is too light. I’ve used bolts and wing nuts in order to add weights to the top, but they are too close to the center pivot. This guy moved the center of gravity up, by raising the camera with a block of wood.
Besides the weights, I also noticed that the universal joint is pretty cheaply made and although one axis can be adjusted, the other axis cannot. The pivot is slightly off, and since this is very close to the balancing center, even a few millimeters throws it off. So, for example, even if it’s balanced, when I twist the handle by turning, every get’s wonky again. I guess I should consider replacing the u-joint with something better, like one of these babies. Or, I could just follow this guy’s DIY handle assembly. Wait a minute, I want to use a gimbal, not a universal joint.
$100 for the U-Flycam, plus $40 shipping, $6 for misc bolts, plus probably another $50 – $100 for more parts to get this rig working the way I’d like. Or, I could just invested a few thousand in this full body unit. HAH! Oh, but this reminds me that I need to find a way to control the sled. Or get all steampunk and build a suit myself from PVC piping like this DIY project.
Besides the hours of playing around, I did come across a reminder to make sure and get as fast a shutter as I can get, to reduce motion blur, assuming that is the look I am going for.
The Hunger Games
“I just keep wishing I could think of a way to show them that they don’t own me. If I die, I wanna still be me.”
“I just can’t afford to think like that.”
LAIKA’s ParaNorman Trailer
From the creator’s of Coraline, LAIKA presents ParaNorman. Looks like this could have benefited from a Halloween release. Oh well. It seems that we’ll have to wait till August.
North By Northeast Festival
I was unaware of what was going on, till it was almost over. This past week was the annual North By Northeast Music & Film Festival… and Conference.
On Thursday I went to a show that started at midnight and ended at a 4am? A friend of mine recommended I join her to see Noah Pred, who did not disappoint. There’s plenty of music being labeled, “Tech House”… and I’m really liking the sound of much of what I’ve heard… especially when it stays tribal and funky. I’m tempted to call it “Minimal House”.
On Saturday I was taking a rail car into downtown and disembarked when we hit a diversion point. I soon walked past a huge line of Lady Gaga fans who were waiting for hear arrival. In Dundas Square, I was with thousands watching Devo playing on a big screen. Large, free (with donation) bottles of energy drink were being consumed by many. Even ran into , complete with illuminated logo t-shirts. Plus, all week long, many venues received a special alteration to their liquor licenses… they could serve till 4am???
On a different, but similar note… Sunday night was my first experience of Cherry Beach. Other than Tuesday night’s in Whistler, BC… I haven’t seen this many people rock it out on a School Night in a long time. What? You say this is EVERY Sunday? Oooh boy.
Taking Video w/ Digital SLR Cameras
I am upgrading my DSLR for video.
A pleasant situation occurred that put me in possession of a Nikon D300. I LOVE this camera, but it’s making me a bit of a snob when it comes to image quality. Please keep in mind that I am NOT a professional photographer, but I can recognise washed out colors and artifacting when I see it. This camera has neither.
So that brings me to the point of this little post. I currently have a JVC Everio HD camcorder and a Sony MiniDV. I love my Sony because it is feature rich (i.e. time lapse video & night vision) and has been very reliable till recently. Since I’m working with tape, it sometimes gives me some digital artifacts. Also, due to the mechanical moving parts, it’s not as light as my JVC and the battery life is about 1/5th that of modern camcorders.
I’m seriously thinking about purchasing a DSLR that takes digital video. Some key things that I am focusing on is the quality of video taken in low lighting conditions, weight, price and the severity of rolling shutter.
Big questions I’m asking myself is do I want to consolidate? Can I find a single camera that would replace my Nikon D300 camera, my JVC and Sony camcorders? Something that takes pictures as good as my D300 (“good enough”), yet can record video and be relatively light weight.
The D5000 has video capabilities and seems very comparable to the D300, though is about half the price ($700). This article compares the ISO quality of the Nikon cameras. From what I can see, the D5000 is approaching “good enough”.
This article compares the the latest offerings from Canon, including video examples of the rolling shutter. They recommend the Canon 7d ($1500 USD) for those on a budget. Gizmodo also has a good articles showing the 7d’s capabilities.
Comparision
The Canon 7d and the Nikon D300 are both around 2 lbs. The D5000 is about 1.25 pounds.
This forum thread seems to be doing a great job of doing a comparison breakdown of the Canon 7d vs the Nikon D300.
A perfect example of rolling shutter. Notice the vertical lines bending as the camera moves side to side?
What about video on the cameras vs the camcorders? Do the camcorders also suffer from rolling shutter? Most do not. Most camcorders use CCD sensors (Charge-Coupled Devices), while digital cameras, including the famous Red cam, use CMOS sensors. According to Wikipedia, “CCDs use what is referred to as global shutters which take a single snapshot representing a point of time and do not suffer from these motion artifacts.” Therefore, camcorders using CCDs don’t suffer from this bendy rolling shutter effect.
Conclusion
I’m going to hang onto my D300 and look into purchasing a better camcorder that will be a good substitute for my JVC and Sony. This article discusses how I can record video from my D300 using an attached PC.
*Update*
I decided to purchase a Canon 60D for video and have sold my D300. I have manual lenses for my Canon for video and everything is looking great. The manual focus is helping train my imperfect eyes as well as building respect for nice “glass”. The rolling shutter effect has not caused me any issues with my 3D tracking using Syntheyes, so far. A review of my Canon D60 is overdue.
Vancouver International Film Festival
The last two weeks have been pretty crazy. Back to work in a studio cubical and also attended the Vancouver International Film Festival.
I started everything off with Monsters, and ended if off with the beautiful, French, somewhat depressing The Illusionist. In total I saw 28 films.
- Monsters
- Waste Land (trash is art!)
- Cold Fish (violently disturbing)
- R U There? (yes, I am… I’m just sleeping)
- An Ecology of Mind (documentary on the amazing system theories of Gregory Bateson)
- Crossing the Mountain (…zzzZZZ)
- David Wants to Fly (documentary on David Lynch and his association w/ Transcendental Meditation)
- Tree (needed a dose of good drama)
- Philosophies of Life (short film collection that I didn’t have the patience to finish)
- Turn It Loose (breakdancing!)
- 13 Assassins (live action version Ninja Scroll?)
- Secrets of the Tribe (anthropologists decimating each other’s reputations)
- Drummer’s Dream (luckily they were selling copies on DVD at the door)
- The Man from Nowhere (South Korean action flick w/ a Korean version of Keanu Reeves)
- Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (still trying to “get it”, but the ghost monkeys were sweet)
- Nénette (I ♥ orangutans)
- Guido Superstar (love them poop gags)
- Into Eternity (now one of my fav documentaries)
- Cell 211 (violently beautiful)
- Rubber (the killer tire could be a cult classic)
- Schooling the World: The White Man’s Last Burden (spreading the gospel without thinking of the consequences)
- Aftershock (wicked earthquake scene followed by Hollywood inspired drama)
- Cities on Speed (documentaries where the titles say it all, “Bogotá Change” & “Mumbai Disconnected”)
- When the Devil Knocks (documentary on a woman with multiple personalities)
- Armadillo (Danish film on the Afgan war)
- The Repeaters (Groundhog day with 3 addicts)
- Plug & Pray (I ♥ Joseph Weizenbaum)
- The Illusionist (French animation from creators of Triplets of Bellville
How to Survive?
1) Bring a water bottle & snacks. You will be downtown all day long, surrounded by Starbucks, McDonalds and $2 pizza slices. Considering you’ll be sitting on your butt all day long, just how much torture do you want your body to endure?
2) Sharpie for the marking up of your schedule.
3) Learn to live without your phone for a few hours. I was amazed at how insistent the staff were in having the audience turn off their phones. I was even more amazed at how difficult it was for us to follow this suggestion. I must say, I only pulled out my phone a couple times to quickly check the time. I swear!
4) Networking. In line I met tons of people that made me regret not having a business card, though we all had smartphones so the problem was easily solved. meeting people in line was also a great way to get suggestions on films. If it wasn’t for the texts from my new friend Michael, I would have missed 13 Assassins, and that would have been tragic.
Speaking of “meeting people”, I finally met my doppelganger. According to Michael Hayward, there may be potential for me playing a younger version of Wallace Shawn (Princess Bride) in his autobiographical documentary.
Toy Story 3-D in IMAX
Who goes to see a midnight sneak showing of a 3D animated family movie?
Me, myself and I.
I was just driving around and saw the midnight showing. I couldn’t resist. Can Pixar do 3 in a row? I’m think so.
Light Value Drawing Exercises
Travis recommended I try this drawing exercise, where you quickly sketch the light values of shots in a movie. Pick a movie (he picked Orson Well’s “Jane Eyre”). We then found shots that were interesting and paused the movie. Finally, we spend a minute or two (less time the better) and just blob down the values. This also really helps get a feel for composition.
I remember Matt telling me how to better balance my line weights and get good values in my drawings by squinting.
This was a great exercise that gives me a greater appreciation for lighting composition, especially black & white film.
Here’s the two pages that I sketched out. See if you can find the following 2 shots in my two pages of sketches.
Dragonlance Chronicles
Donating a copy of the Dragonlance Chronicles to our studio library. In my search for images, I discovered that the first book was made into an animated movie, back in 2007. Can’t believe I hadn’t heard of it.
