Wild Wheels TV Nabiac seg-2

I have been busy shooting and editing Wild Wheels TV second show.  This weeks show comes to you from Nabiac on the Mid North Coast of NSW which is round 6 of the NSW Championship.

Ever wondered what it takes to build your own buggy.

Wild Wheels TV caught up with Bradley Bishop from the Southern Highlands in NSW where Bradley is in the process of building his new buggy car 317.

WWTV will follow Bradley's progress right through to the first race day.

Buckle up and hang on you're rough riding with Wild Wheels TV

Here is my Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/WildWheelsTV
Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/WildWheelsTV

Wild Wheels TV

It's been a while since I last posted as I have been busy with working all over the country shooting TVS, info ad's and anything else that pops up during the working week.

Well, I'm very excited about a new projectt that I have been shooting and editing.  This is titled, Wild Wheels TV and is all about Off Road Racing throughout Australia.

Wild Wheels TV is a program that promotes all forms of off road racing and the community behind the sport and is a great way to expose the sport to a wider audience via community TV programs.  Off Road Racing, in general is great for the community to experience whether you're a professional team or a family that wants a great weekend out.

The show is aimed at enthusiasts and professionals who are into Off Road Racing and  focuses on all aspects of racing and competition while incorporating driver and crew interviews, behind the scenes and tech segments.
Wild Wheels TV follows drivers and racing teams throughout the racing calendar.

Here is my Youtube page: http://www.youtube.com/user/WildWheelsTV
Facebook page:  https://www.facebook.com/WildWheelsTV
WWTV website: www.wildwheelstv.com.au

Casio CTK 600

This is one of the videos from the Casio CTK 6000 training series that I shot and edited earlier this year.  The equipment I used was the Sony PMW 500 and some CoolLights for lighting. Audio came from a Sony Lapel mic.  Editing was in FCP, Motion and Photoshop.

The training series follows from basic features through to advance features on the Casio CTK 6000 keyboard.

MusicEDU

I have been working with the MusicEDU program over the last few months on training videos for the launch of their new music program & website.

This is really a great music program aimed at school kids wanting to learn the keyboard and piano. MusicEDU is based on a step by step easy learning method that anyone can get a grasp of quickly.

I shot this with the Sony PMW500 in 1920/25p, 422,50mb and edited in FCP.  I used all available light where possible and with some interviews I used the Coolights 256 spot for a bit of pickup on faces and also as a rim/hair light.

Kevin Borich Live @ The Basement

This is a clip from a live shoot that I was on from 2008.  Kevin Borich Live at the Basment with Lucius Borich on Drums and Harry Brus on Bass.

I remember how loud is was that night and with the floor shaking and vibrating, keeping the cameras still was impossible we just had to go with it.  These guys can rock so If they are playing in your town check them out.

This video is courtesy from SGProductions.  I have known and worked with Steve many times over the years and on this shoot I was a camera op out front on the left side of stage, I think I used the EX1 that night.

This video is part of a DVD that was shot at The Basement here in Sydney and showcases the whole gig that night.  Steve form SGProductions has edited this for Kevin Borich and is available for purchase.

Casio CTK-6000

Last year I shot a short preview of the new Casio CTK-6000 keyboard
Well I'm at it again with Casio shooting and editing a ten part demonstration on how to use the main features on the CTK-6000.  This will be divided into two sections: Basic & Advanced Operations.

On the Casio shoot I used the Sony PMW 500 with a Fujinon HA16x6.4 BERM lens, Small HD connected to the 500 via SDI and two 5.6k Cool lights plus two small 5.6k fluros as lighting.  I also shot some green screen for intro & outros.   With audio, I ran a Sony wireless lapel on the presenter and a direct line out of the CTK-6000 for keyboard sounds, this all ran into the 500.

It was great to work with Ric Mills again and rather than presenting, Ric was directing and script writing.  Our presenter on the day was the talented Robert Woodward.

The Casio CTK-6000 training series should be up soon.

Here are some grabs from the day shot with the Canon 5DM2.

Hypergamma

Hypergamma, what does it all mean?

Sony have a great article and online video on the Hypergammas.  You can download the video which is the better option to use with the article on the Sony website.

I use a combination of Hypergammas when shooting in varied locations such as, indoor, outdoor, extreme contrast situations, beaches and this list goes on.  I generally use HG 3 OR HG 4 which I find is great for colour grading.  Some times I'll use standard gamma if I need to roll off some heavy lighting coming through a window or an indoor lamp which is washing out a scene.

Link below
Digital Cinematography with Hypergamma

Here is another great article on Hypergammas from Alister Chapman.

 

Better Audio with FCP & STP

I often get asked how do I get my PTC'S and VO sounding tight in the final mix.  I thought I would try a small tutorial using Camtasia on how I go about getting better audio levels in Final Cut and then finishing this in Sound Track Pro.
I find for most of the audio I need to compress this seems to work well.

Enjoy

Creative Shooting Tips with Sony

This is old information from Sony going back to 2008 and I thought the information is still great for todays use with Sony cameras.  Also I wanted a place that I could access the information when needed.  This is a series of step by step instructions on how to use various camera functions and achieve a specific look.  All the information on the various camera functions are easy to understand with detailed technical info for the camera operator.

Tips for Overexposure

Tips for Film like images

Enhancing Colours in low light areas

Enriching Colour Saturation in Dark Areas of an image

Improving Picture Sharpness

Reproducing Solid Picture Edges of an images highlight

Reproducing Vivid Colours under a bright enviroment

Tips for shooting without Coarsening Dark Areas of an image

Tips for shooting pictures with Rich, Deep Black reproduction

Sony PMW 500 Review

When I first became interested in cameras, I purchased a little handheld Sony camera that shot in 4x3 and I thought, wow man, I can do some great stuff with this.  Little did I know that this hobby would turn into a full time profession.

Since then I have always owned and shot with Sony cameras and now my latest camera is the PMW 500.

This is a short review on the 500 and why I chose this camera over the PDW 700/800 Sony cameras on the current market.

The Sony PMW 500 is the latest XDCAM HD CCD, 50Mbps, 4:2:2  2/3in shoulder mount tapeless camcorder.  It's a mixture from the PDW 700/800 and the PMW 350 XDCAM EX series.

The reason I went with the 500 vs the 700/800 were for many factors: Image, cost, media & power consumption.

Image:

The image out of the 500 is very similar to the 700/800 as far as I can see.  The sensor is the same CCD block as the 700, also the low light rating of the 500 at F12 is better than the F11 rating on the 700.  Paint settings in the 500 are similar, with access to the Hyper Gammas, knee settings and the endless matrix settings, one could match the 500 to the 700/800 with a bit of tweeking.
So, image out of the 500 is broadcast ready with most of the basic menu functions from the 700/800.  This for me, was a high priority when choosing the 500 and the fact that I could shoot next to a 700/800 and produce similar broadcast images and still offload to a broadcast house with the same 50Mbps, 4:2:2 requirements needed.

Cost:

Now, getting set up for a shoulder mount broadcast camera involves more than just camera and lens, you really need to be set up with batteries, tripod, battery charger, cases, body glove and the list goes on.  For me this was easy, as over the years I've been using shoulder mount cameras, so all of these items, I have in my kit which kept the overall cost down.  Knowing that the image from the 500 is derived from: 2/3in HD Power HAD FX chips at 50Mbps, 4:2:2 which is the same as the 700 and lower cost with the 500, the 500 won me over based on the cost.

Media:

Having owned and worked with both the SXS cards and the Sony Professional Disc camcorders, I'm a massive fan of the SXS cards and workflow.  I travel extensively by air and having the SXS cards and two reliable hard drives for backup takes up very little room compared to the Sony Professional Disc system.  If I'm shooting for two weeks with the Professional Discs and I need to take 20-40 discs, this takes up valuable room in my luggage.  Ten SXS cards takes up very little room.  The other major factor with SXS cards vs Professional Discs is, using SXS cards there are no moving parts inside the 500 body.  This was a major factor for me.  The Professional Disc system uses a laser block system to record it's media and this is a very reliable system.  I've used this for years without any problems, although I prefer the card system with no moving parts and the off load speed to hard drive.  Getting media off the card is quick and easy.  Those familiar with the EX1, EX3, PMW350 will feel right at home here.   I use a Mac Book Pro 17'' on tour which has the card slot in the side and the new cards that I'm using with the 500 {Sony SXS-1 32GB) are super fast at transferring via XDCAM transfer or the Sony clip browser software.
Now, if I need to give a client a Professional Disc with the days footage, this can be achieved by using a Sony PDW-U1 deck.  This is an extra cost and well worth it for off loading to broadcast houses that require disc backup.

Power consumption and weight:

This is always an ongoing concern with me as I shoot a lot in remote areas where there is no available power until I get back to camp and turn the generator on or back to the motel.  The 700/800 is power hungry.  With the 500 I'm finding I can shoot almost all day using two 95 watt rating batteries instead of four, this is great news for me.  The body of the 500 is so light and when I first picked it up I wondered if there were any electronics inside the body, it is so light.  Having to lug around a shoulder mount and tripod all day gets very tiring and the reduction in body weight really is a bonus to me.

Menus:

Accessing the menus is very easy with two locations: one under the LCD screen and the other under the switches at the front of the body.  Menu structure is very similiar to the EX1, EX3, PMW350 and arranged in a logical manner.  I won't go into all the functions here.  Main menus are: Operation menu, Paint menu, Maintenance menu and File menu.  Within these menus are a massive amount of changes one can do to the camera to customise to ones desire.  The menu structure is very easy to get around and laid out in a logical manner and once you get familiar with this, changing a setting becomes very quick.

Audio:

The 500 is equipped with a front mic input which is a 5 pin connector as well as two rear XLR inputs with mic, mic+48V and line options.  Another reason why I chose the 500 was because now I could map and monitor channels 1/2, 3/4 with individual volume adjustment.  Also, there is room for a WRR digital wireless receiver which fits into the body of the 500.

I'm using a Fujinon 16x6.3 BERM -48 lens on the 500 which is giving outstanding images.  There is a lot of glass in this lens which makes it front heavy so a readjustment was needed for the tripod plate and when I have a battery on the back, the 500 sit's on the shoulder giving a nice balanced feel.  I'm also using the  Sony HDVF -20A viewfinder which gives a crisp black and white image.  Next season I might look at the HDVF C35W as an option.  All the standard switches are in the correct place from white balance, gain, shutter and also six assignable buttons and switches which allows the user to assign certain functions within the menu to these locations.

The LCD screen is sharp and fits into the side of the camera and produces a great image for playback.  The playback controls are located on top and also under the side flap near the audio controls.  Locating and playing back clips is very quick and easy.  I'm a massive fan of shoulder mount cameras as they seem to fit with my body and body movements, they feel solid and very easy to use.  My hands seem to find buttons, switches lens operation much easier than the small EX1 handy cams and this is why when the PMW 500 was released with the CCD block, I jumped on this as my main camera for all styles of shooting.

Overall, I'm very pleased with everything about the 500.  It has all the magical formats that I tend to shoot in.  Although, why did Sony not put full 1920 x 1080 under and over cranking?  I guess that's why we have the PDW800.  This doesn't bother me as 720 S & Q still looks great.  I have been waiting for a full HD, CCD, F12 shoulder mount camera that is card based and Sony produced the PMW 500.

I think the PMW 500 it's a great camera for my needs.

Cheers