Tag: Matthew Graves

Ahhh. That’s the word for today. After a long week of sessions and speakers and cameras and 3D and 3D and 3D, I’ve finally arrived back in Oxford. It was a great week and I tried to learn as much as I could but it’s nice to be back and I’m excited about getting back to work.

   The final day of the exhibits for me was definitely not a letdown. I spent the whole day looking through the gargantuan South Exhibit hall that was barely big enough to hold everything in the Post Production category. There were software people everywhere showing off their products and enhancements and drives and storage solutions. You really get to the point at the NAB show that you have to stare at a blank wall for a few minutes just to reset your brain. I was most interested in what other companies were doing for storage solutions. Almost everything we do is tapeless and the need for reliable storage is a must. I definately saw a lot of shocked expressions when I said our primary storage was single hardrives. It was the kind of look you see in movies when you know a character is about to die. At any rate, it was a nice way to wrap up the week and I got a look at some really great software that’s coming out soon.

Some of the product highlights that stuck out to me included this slick super-widescreen monitor.

   Check out this virtual camera system that could project 3D graphics onto a card. Not sure what we would this but very cool nonetheless. I also was excited to see this small cyclorama screen. After talking to rep, it really made me think we could achieve a similar look in our own studio. More on that later.

 

 I’ve always wanted a tripod head with the wheel controls for smooth tilts and pans and LOVED the feel of this one from GearNex.

 

 Along the same lines was the remote pan and tilt system from a company named Scorpio. It was smooth as silk and would be a fantastic head on a crane or dolly.

  And of course I couldn’t look at film equipment without a stop by Steadicam’s booth. Pictured here is their new prototype rig for the RED One. For some reason, I’ve always been so attracted to steadicams. After trying one out, I’m definately sold. Now if only I could scrape up 20K.

So as I end this week I’m still excited about the opportunity to see the crazy new products in film and television production, and the sessions that I attended were really really helpful. I thinks it’s important to always be learning new things and methods in production and how people tell stories. But again, the most important thing is the story. Everything at NAB is simply a solution to tell better stories but content is king. As I walk past literately hundreds of millions of dollars worth of equipment and software I can almost here the laughter of guys like Oren Peli, the director of Paranormal Activity, who spent $8,000 dollars and a camera from Best-Buy and made a movie that grossed over 100 million. I’m glad I went but I’m glad to be home and I’m really excited to get to work on some of my upcoming projects.

Thanks again for reading and I’ll see you soon!

-Matthew

Whew. That’s the key word for yesterday at the NAB convention. I spent more time in the exhibit hall speaking to vendors and checking out the new gear. Once again, the big buzz word around here is 3D. I was amazed at how many different groups carried a 3D solution or rig. I was able to check out a few new products trying to get in on the action like a 2D to 3D convertor box from JVC that takes your 2D video and determines the planes within the shot and creates a stereoscopic image. It wasn’t perfect but it looked pretty impressive. I was shocked to see how much production with 3D rigs was already  taking place.

   Another big hit this year is DSLR. Canon was really touting their different models, and support systems for DSLR cameras could be seen all over the place. I’ve got to admit, I was a little skeptical of DSLR when I first heard that it would be the future of filmmaking last year but you can’t argue with the image. It looks really good!

   This new camera from Panasonic was  interesting as well. It allows the use of interchangeble film lenses with a 4/3″ sensor that’s roughly the same size as a 35mm film camera image. All at around $6,000. Very interesting indeed…

 

  At the end of it all, you really  get the point that the most important thing in all of this is the content. It’s not the camera, or the support system, or the lighting, or the sound. These are all tools that are really valuable to the creating of the story but the most important thing is the story. It’ s really the only thing that sets anything apart. I would definatly love to use a lot of these tools to enhance the story but I could shoot with the best camera with the best lens under the best light with the best sound but if my story’s crap than all I’ve got at the end of the day is a pretty piece of crap. And who wants that.

  I’ll be spending most of today checking out the Post Production exhibits and sitting in on today’s keynote address with Jeffery Katzenberg from Dreamworks. More tomorrow on the last day. Thanks for reading!

-Matthew

Wow. The best word to describe yesterday’s opening of the exhibit hall at the 2010 NAB covention. Products from manufacturers all over the world were on full display and man did they come out swinging. One of the obvious connections with at least the camera makers were the 3D solutions. Everybody was touting their new 3D Cameras. In this photo you can see one of the formats that’s gaining popularity.

 

3D Solutions offers this rig that inverts one of the cameras looking straight down a glass plane that reflects the lens and inverts it the right way. In other words it creates the conversion of the 2 lenses but allows them to be closer together than they would be side by side for better paralax. Whew! What a mouth full. Panasonic offered to me the easiest solution with a mounted camera lens with dual lenses. Getting my hands on it proved to be similar in controlling our HVX 200.

    Another interesting setup for the cameras was the sets that each manufacturer used to show off the image quality. Seen here is the Panasonic’s 3D camera set up.

I was able to attend some incredibly helpful Final Cut Pro sessions. I use this software every day but was blown away with tips and tricks they taught us. Needless to say, I’ve been burning up the notes. I’m heading off now to a similar session on Color Correction so I’ve got to sign off. Things are definately going 3D around here and I can’t wait for Ole Miss to be apart of it.

Matthew

 

Matthew Graves here. I’ll be spending the week at the 2010 National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Convention in Las Vegas. This annual meeting brings together content providers, filmmakers, visual FX artists, and  more to display the new gear and practices in all things audio/visual. In other words, it’s a filmmaker’s heaven on earth. The exhibits don’t open until tomorrow but the sessions began today and I’m excited to learn as much as I can in the next few days. Some of the sessions I’ve attended today include panels on creative shot design, Render acceleration in After Effects, and Visual FX compositing tips. Later this afternoon, I’m planning on attending sessions on Small Production Lighting, 3D software integration with After Effects, and Media Management in Final Cut. I also listened to a keynote lecture by the Editor of J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek who spoke about her workflow in Final Cut. Exciting stuff! I’ll be blogging on the convention all week so check back for daily updates.