Just to let you know that from next month Sony we will be holding a tour in selected European countries to showcase their Handheld camcorder range, and as a result starting from November they will visit 4 locations across the UK, as detailed below. I will be in attendance at the UK events offering free advice and info, so if there is anything you are struggling with why not drop in and see me:
The workshops are sponsored by Sony and are free. I’ll be covering a full end to end workflow from composition, to lighting, exposure with different gammas, workflow and post production as well as HDR.
A busy couple of weeks coming up with several FS7 and FS7 II workshops in the USA. I’ll be covering all the essential stuff including gamma curves, log, CineEI, Rec2020 and HDR.
I’m running some workshops for Singapore Media Academy in September. Spaces are limited and I don’t get to visit Asia as much as I used to. So if you are interested in attending one of my highly regarded and popular workshops here is a great opportunity.
CREATIVE COMPOSITION:
The first is on Creative Composition. Good shot composition can make or break a production. In the workshop I will guide you through ways to achieve images that will draw the audience in, focus the viewers attention or create different emotional reactions. I will show you how to deal with composition in moving shots, something that can be difficult. We will use case studies of well known movies to see clever use of classic techniques such as the rule of thirds, vanishing lines or Fibonacci curves. We will see how subtle lighting changes can be used to direct the audiences gaze. From the framing of a simple interview to the staging of a complex scene the workshop will help you develop engaging and interesting images. Understanding basic composition is one of the keys to great productions whether it’s for TV news or the cinema.
DIGITAL CINEMATOGRAPHY, LOG AND RAW (Plus HDR).
The second workshop is on Digital Cinematography, Log and Raw. This is an essential workshop for those serious about obtaining the best possible images with a modern electronic video camera. I will explain the differences between standard gammas, log and raw in a way that’s easy to understand but will give you all the information you need to be able to make informed decisions about which to use and when. Next I will teach you how to expose Log and Raw looking closely at how to use exposure offsets for the best results in differing lighting conditions. Then we will look at Look Up Tables. I’ll show you how and when to use them and how to easily create your own. We will finish with some practical end to end workflow sessions where you will develop your own LUT’s, shoot with log or raw and then perform a basic grade on your content. This will include how to use color managed grading tools such as the Academy of Motion Pictures workflow “ACES”. There’s no hard to understand mathematics, no complex formula’s, just easy to understand explanations and great practical tips and advice that will make log and raw easy to understand and use. I will also include how to expose and shoot for HDR and what you need to consider for HDR productions. More details can be found with the links below:
In case you missed the webinars I presented yesterday here are recordings of the 2 afternoon sessions. The first one on HDR, what is it and what does it mean for you. The second is a question and answers session on Sony’s large sensor cameras, from the FS5 to the F55. There were quite a few a6300 and A7s questions thrown in there too!
Hopefully I will be able to find a sponsor that will be able to make these a regular event.
On Tuesday the 26th of July I will be hosting a series of free live webinars giving you the chance to ask me questions about many of the things I write about here. This is a trial run, I’ve done webinars for many people in the past and they have always gone down well, but these webinars are going to come live from xdcam-user HQ.
If they are a success I will make this a regular event with a webinar day once a month with new subjects covered each time as well as an open Q&A session. This will give you the chance to ask questions on any aspect of video production, so start thinking about what you want to ask.
If you haven’t attended a webinar before here is how it works: You log in online to the webinar using the link provided. You will hear me and any guest presenters and see any pre-prepared information slides that I have on your computer/tablet/phone screen. You ask questions by typing them into a question box, nobody will see or hear you. I will try to respond to as many questions as I can within the one hour time limit. The session will also be recorded and can be downloaded later if you wish. There are dedicated online versions of the webinar page for computers, tablets and smart phones, so you should be able to log in almost anywhere where you have an internet connection.
There will be 2 webinars where I will take questions on any of the Sony large sensor cameras, including the FS5, FS7, F5 and F55. If you want to know about settings, exposure, LUT’s, slow mo, lenses or anything else you can ask me on the 26th. These are timed so that there is an opportunity for people in most countries around the world to join one or the other at a sensible time of day.
Click on the appropriate link below to register. Please only register for sessions you will actually attend as numbers are restricted.
If you can’t attend I will make the recordings available after the day. If you think this is a good idea then please share this page so others can also join in.
I will be running a one week, limited numbers, intensive workshop in Arizona between August 21st and August 28th.
Lightning over Tucson
This workshop is timed to coincide with the Arizona monsoon season which will should give us some really exciting opportunities to put into practice many of the things that will be taught during the week.
Each day will begin with a 2 to 3 hour workshop on different aspects of modern video production including such things as log, raw and high dynamic range. We will also cover timelapse photography, lightning photography and include some basic motion control methods. So the workshop will be suitable for both still photographers as well as video camera operators. Below is an idea of the topics that will be covered:
Sunday 21st: Arrival day. Social evening, time to meet everyone.
Day 1: An introduction to lightning photography and video, including basic time lapse and slow motion techniques.
Day 2: An introduction to scene files, picture profiles, log and raw.
Day 3: CineEI, exposure index, gain and ISO and offsetting your exposure for the best results.
Day 4: Post production grading with DaVinci Resolve including the use and creation of LUT’s. How to use ACES to streamline your workflow.
Day 5: HDR, high dynamic range and Rec 2020.
Saturday 27th: Putting it all together, editing, grading and viewing your footage before social evening and diner.
Sunday 28th: departure day.
Night time thunderstorm in Arizona.
This schedule is subject to change as we will want to maximise opportunities to get out and shoot any interesting weather and storms. Most afternoons and evenings we will be out and about putting the things taught in the workshops into practice. For one half of the week we will likely be based in Tucson, Arizona and the other half Flagstaff. This will give us opportunities to shoot the incredible lighting storms that are common at this time of year as well as spectacular scenery such as the Grand Canyon or old western towns such as Tombstone (the location of the OK Coral). We will shoot conventional video clips as well as time lapse, so expect some early starts or late finishes as we shoot sunsets and possibly sunrises.
The minimum number of participants for this workshop is 4 and the maximum is 8. Ideally you should bring your own camera equipment and a laptop to edit with, but this is not a requirement.
The course fee is $1,500 USD per person. This does not include accommodation, food or your transport to Tucson, Arizona. It does include transportation each day of the course. We will be staying in a mid-priced motel (Holiday Inn Express, Hilton, Hampton Inn or similar), and you should budget around $110-$150 per night for accommodation.
Please use the contact form if you are interested in joining this exciting workshop.
Just in case you haven’t seen this, one of my seminars at Vocas in Holland was filmed in it’s entirety. There’s lot of information about the FS5 and how to shoot 8 bit log or with the cinegammas in the video from about 1 hour in.
I have one spot still open on my storm chasing photo and video trip.
This is NOT a trip where we will try to get as close to a tornado as possible. The aim of this trip is to capture some of the incredible beauty of mother nature when she is angry. So we will be trying to capture incredible stormscapes, lightning, supercell storms and maybe tornadoes from a safe distance (at least 1 mile). Full details are here: https://www.xdcam-user.com/tornado-chasing/
Supercell Thunderstorm in South Dakota
You will get to spend 10 days between June 6th and June 16th with me as your guide and mentor. I will help you get the very best images. There is no guarantee that the weather will play ball and there will be long hours in the car travelling. But if you spend a week in “tornado alley” in June and are prepared to travel, then it would be very unusual not to see some incredible weather and storms. If that happens then we will make good use of the time shooting some of the spectacular scenery that states like Colorado, Kansas, Nebraska, Montana, Wyoming and the Dakotas have to offer. Use the contact form if you are interested in joining me.
Bennington, Kansas Tornado from about 2 miles away.Dying Supercell Thunderstorm at Sunset in Nebraska.
Want to know more about the PXW-FS5? I’ll be running a couple of workshops at Jigsaw24 in London on the 10th (this Thursday). You should pre register if you wish to attend using the link below.
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