Vital Films

Indie Film Pre-Production List

admin — Thu, 29 May 2008 03:00:59 +0000

Zak Forsman, a member of Scarlet User, has a good pre-production checklist, starting with:

6 PHASE TOTAL

Phase 1 & Phase 2:

A) LOCK SCRIPT
B) Send script out to Library of Congress for official copyright, with treatments, character descriptions and supporting documents attached to script.
C) Send script package to WGA to register.
D) Have one final night of sleep.
E) FIND Co-Producers & an A.D. that will commit.
F) PRODUCER / DIRECTOR ANALYZES SCRIPT FOR THE FOLLOWING
1. Master Prop List (and secondary props)
2. Master Set Design List (and secondary set decorations)
3. Master Costume Design list (and continuity chart)
4. Master Lighting/Grip List for all gear outside camera & sound.
5. BUDGET
6. ONE-LINE SCHEDULE (Location changes, 6 day weeks, extras, etc.)

G). Lock A.D. – AD & 2nd AD for One line & Shoot Sched.

To read the rest, go to the original forum post.

XDCAM EX Shootout with F900 and Super 16 Film - What Happened?

steven — Sun, 24 Feb 2008 17:16:36 +0000

Hey people, we saw this google result for a shoot out event we apparently missed. Anyone know what happened? Any first hand accounts? We’re going to email Sony but if you were at the XDCAM shootout against the F900 and the Super 16 (Vision 3 7219) stock, let us know. We’re dying to hear!

Sony Debuts PDW-700 XDCAM with 2/3″ CCDs

steven — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 20:04:33 +0000

Using brand new 2/3″ Power HAD FX CCD’s, the Sony PDW-700 XDCAM records to all previous XDCAM formats, including DVCAM, IMX as well as XDCAM HD formats using 50 Mbit/sec and 1920×1080 4:2:2 format. The PDW-700 records into a Dual Layer Disc and is 1080/720 switchable.

According to Sony’s press release:

“The PDW-700 will have three 2/3-inch progressive CCD sensors each with full 1920 x 1080 resolution using newly developed “Power HAD™ FX” technology. 14 bit A/D conversion, 4:2:2 sampling and recording, and advanced digital signal processing will ensure superb picture quality. The PDW-700 will also support recording in both 1080 and 720-line formats.

The PDW-700 has been designed to increase the appeal of XDCAM HD for applications such as news, European TV drama, documentary and mainstream entertainment programmes that required a high quality look.

File-based acquisition onto Professional Disc, with thumbnail and proxy operation will also make the PDW-700 ideal for fast-turnaround news and live applications where speed of production is a critical requirement.”

If you’re big into feature specs, here they are:

Three 2/3-inch Power HAD™ FX CCDs for RGB image capture, each with 2.2Mpixel resolution
Support for existing XDCAM HD and XDCAM SD formats
4 channels of digital audio
Dual-layer Disc (50GB) and Single-layer Disc (23.3GB) support
3.5-inch colour LCD
Thumbnail operation
Proxy recording and metadata
Compact and lightweight at 4.2kg (without viewfinder, lens, microphone and battery)
Dual HD/SD-SDI output and composite/HD-Y output
Built-in up-conversion to HD from SDI input when recording
HD/SD conversion and cross conversion between 1080 and 720 at the camcorder output during playback
Pool-feed input (HD/SD-SDI and composite) option
Ethernet interface
i.LINK interface

Shoot the Impossible

steven — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 19:44:17 +0000

This is an inspirational video of a few guys, a station wagon and a HD camcorder - probably not the XDCAM EX (wasn’t released yet), but imagine what you can do with your new XDCAM EX, some post skills and a good idea. Go for it! These guys did and it looks awesome.

XDCAM EX + Steadicam Merlin Arm & Vest Combo

steven — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 01:40:04 +0000

What a sweet combo this would make - we’re talking XDCAM EX (not pictured, but very similiar form factor to the pictured Sony Z1), Steadicam Merlin, along with the Steadicam Merlin Arm and Vest package. As you can see, this will redistribute your fatigue for those long shots, and at the same time, give you the most professional moving images you can get.

The XDCAM EX-1 is awesome because it packs Cine Alta quality into a Z1, pro-sumer size. With the Steadicam Merlin Arm & Vest package, you are getting top of line stabilization on top of that great 1080/24p footage you’re shooting. The Merlin is about $1,000 and the Arm & Vest is $2,000 at Adorama or B&H. That’s about $3,000 for a top of the line stabilization system. Add $6,500 for the XDCAM EX and $1,000 for 35mm Extreme, and $1,000 for things like a decent lense set and you have a sweet system for about $11,000. Not bad, especially if you’re a working DP. Of course the XDCAM EX can be rented from us, along with the Merlin and 35mm adaptor, at the lowest rates in New York. Either way, its a great package!

XDCAM EX + Letus Extreme in Times Square!

steven — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:25:50 +0000

Inspired by Phillip Bloom’s excellent XDCAM EX-1 / Letus Extreme 35mm adaptor shots in London, 8112studios has done the same thing but in Times Square. Its not Youtube, but click on the pic to see it on his site as a Quicktime file.

XDCAM EX-1 / Steadicam Merlin Combo?

steven — Sat, 23 Feb 2008 00:08:40 +0000

One reason we like the new Sony XDCAM EX-1 so much is its portability. We’re talking broadcast quality at a fraction of the price AND the weight. The XDCAM EX-1 is 4.7 lbs - that’s under the 5 lb maximum limit for use with the venerable Steadicam Merlin. The Steadicam Merlin is a small miracle in of itself. We’re not talking generic steadying devices here, we’re talking about the one and only Steadicam.

The Steadicam Merlin, while designed for small cameras, is no joke and its own portability is a huge plus for independent mediamakers. While we don’t have footage of the Merlin with the XDCAM EX-1 yet, we do present the Sony Z1, with the same form factor, riding on a Steadicam Merlin. Plus the music’s great. With some practice, we’re sure this is an awesome combo. If you agree and would like to see the XDCAM EX-1 and Steadicam Merlin package for rent, drop us a line or comment. Thanks!

Sony XDCAM EX-1 Settings

steven — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:12:37 +0000

Phillip Bloom is doing some great work with Sony XDCAM EX and he’s even revealed some of the settings he’s used on some great shots. We’ve heard that when using the Extreme 35mm you might want to up Detail to between 5-15 but apparently he’s set it at 0 and it works out just fine.

Matrix ……………on

Select…………….hisat

Level………………0

Phase……………..-5

R-G……………….75

R-B……………….0

G-R……………….-18

G-B……………….-32

B-R……………….-27

B-G……………….13

Color Correction…………..off

White………………………..off

Detail………………………..on

Detail Level…………………0

Detail Freq………………….0

Skintone…………………….off

Knee…………………………on

Auto knee………………….on

Point………………………..90

Slope……………………….0

Knee SAT level……………50

Gamma Level…………..-8

Gamma Select………….CINE1

Black……………………..-12

Black Gamma…………..0

XDCAM EX Shoulder Mounts

steven — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 07:07:44 +0000

Most expensive, best: Zacuto system:

Cheap but effective. Its called the CVP SM1 Shoulder mount and can be found here. Price? $100. Not bad.

XDCAM EX Selected As Official Camera for GothamTube.com

steven — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 05:19:39 +0000

Gothamtube.com has selected the Sony XDCAM EX-1 as the official camera and digital aquisition format for their New York City video sharing site. GothamTube.com is a take-off of Youtube.com and focuses on New York City shenanigans. Gothamtube.com will be consulting with VitalFilms.com for production, equipment rental and crew resources.

Along with so-called user-generated content, Gothamtube.com will also produce regular segments on real estate, nightlife, neighborhoods and lifestyle and will be using the Sony XDCAM EX as its A camera for productions requiring the highest level of portability - from gothamtube.com all the way to HD television broadcast.