Auscam Sep 2011 by Australian Videocamera

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The Video Magazine for Broadcast, Film, Professional, Enthusiast and Beginner

September 2011 Issue #36 $7.95

Using tablets in the video world

Software: Boris Continuum, Final Cut X

Hardware: Benq, Sony, JVC

Technique: Keyframes, Avoiding Wind Noise, Video with dSLR

Regular: Business, Movies, News, New Products

write | light | shoot | edit | distribute

DeckLink Studio has SD/HD-SDI & HDMI, loads of analog connections, simultaneous SD & HD playback for only $715! The new DeckLink Studio includes more video and audio connections than any card on the planet! You get SDI, HDMI and enhanced analog connections in full 10 bit in SD and HD. Connect to equipment such as HDCAM, HD-D5, Digital Betacam, Betacam SP, HDV cameras, big-screen TVs, projectors and more! More Video Connections! DeckLink Studio includes 10 bit SD/ HD-SDI, HDMI, component, composite, S-Video, 4 ch balanced analog audio, 2 ch AES/EBU, reference, RS-422 deck control and a built in hardware down converter. High speed 1 lane PCI Express gives you more HD real time effects and supports advanced video formats such as ProRes(Mac), DVCPro HD, JPEG, DV, HDV playback and 10 bit uncompressed capture and playback!

Built in SD Keyer DeckLink Studio includes a built in internal SD keyer that lets you layer RGBA images over the live video input. You can also use the included Photoshop plug-ins for broadcast graphics! DeckLink Studio also supports external SD keying with key and fill SDI out. Windows™ or Mac OS X™ DeckLink Studio is fully compatible with Apple Final Cut Pro™, Adobe Premiere Pro™, Adobe After Effects™, Adobe Photoshop™, Fusion™ and any DirectShow™ or QuickTime™ based software. DeckLink Studio instantly switches between, 1080HD, 720HD, NTSC and PAL for full worldwide compatibility.

Hardware Down Conversion For monitoring, you’ll love the built in HD down converter that’s always active on the SD-SDI, S-Video and composite video output connections. The built in hardware down converter lets all video outputs remain active in both capture and playback mode, and in all HD video formats! Instantly switch between letterbox, anamorphic 16:9 and center cut 4:3 down conversion styles.

DeckLink Studio

$715

Learn more today at www.blackmagic-design.com.au

Insider/ Insider/ Insider/ Hardware/

From the Editor_____________________________________________________ 2 Letters____________________________________________________________ 4 Buddy’s Bits & Pieces________________________________________________ 6 BENQ M11 Camcorder______________________________________________ 8

Sony HXR-MC 1500P Hardware/ Software/ Insider/ Software/

Using Keyframes___________________________________________________20 Tutorial: Minimising Wind Noise_______________________________________22 Microsoft Windows Media Center & Blu-ray____________________________26 Final Cut Pro X ____________________________________________________28 Classic Scene _____________________________________________________32 Samsung 900x Laptop _____________________________________________34 Samsung Blu-ray DVD recorder/player Model BD8900A _________________36 The Tunnel _______________________________________________________37 The Future of DVD _________________________________________________38 Directors Need Broad Shoulders_____________________________________40

Tablets. Do I Need One? Insider/ It’s a Wrap/

JVC GMZ-HM970 Camcorder________________________________________12 ProDAD Mercalli___________________________________________________14 Training Materials__________________________________________________15 BorisFX Continuum_________________________________________________16

dSLR and Video Part 2 Pro/ Pro/ Pro/ Software/ Feature/ Hardware/ Hardware/ Feature/ Feature/ Feature/

2011

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| | September

Into the Lens______________________________________________________43 The Numbers Game________________________________________________44

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2011

t the current time, it appears the ‘brave new world’ of IPTV is in dire need of a serious rethink by the TV networks. The only one that seems to work is the ABC’s iView, which while very useful, I don’t think totally fills the expectations of people’s needs. Take tonight. For those of us that cannot get digital TV but are Formula One fans, the announcement that OneHD would be streaming was greeted with joy. Shame it doesn’t actually live up to the hype. The Hungarian GP started 5 minuted ago, but still no feed, despite the OneHD Twitter feed telling us it is all hunky dory. The same thing happened last GP too, with the feed only kicking in at around lap 7 – but we were continually told by the Twitter feed that it really, really was working. Based on the Twitter replies to that, I was not alone; dare I suggest that the OneHD people are checking a local network feed and not the broader Internet one? Earlier in the day a colleague in New Zealand tweeted that a supposed feed of the AFL was not working either. Listen TV networks, if the feed is NOT working, treat it as a dead air signal and put up a message on the website saying so, so that we are not left wondering if it us or our ISP. How hard can that be? Apart from live feeds, can we also get some consensus on what we can get through ‘net enabled devices? Through my PS3, I get iView and Channel 7 (for what THAT is worth. 7NOW is almost unwatchable as it coughs and hiccups all over the place). But why cannot I get SBS? Does Channel 9 even have one? I understand there are commercial arrangements between hardware vendors and the networks but imagine buying a TV that didn’t receive all channels, a camcorder that wouldn’t record the colour blue or say, a radio that only received Alan Jones? God forbid. There needs to be some agreement between all the ‘stakeholders’ that benefits those that ultimately pay the wages – the viewer – before this whole new broadcast paradigm really takes off to all participant’s satisfaction, and also closes the distance/location gap that curses much of Australia. On a happier note, we have had a slight change of format to the new mag. It is a minor one in terms of its implementation, and hopefully most will not notice, but we hope it has made the readability of the typeface easier than in edition one? Let us know will do via david@auscamonline.com And as always, don’t forget to visit our website at auscamonline.com David Hague Publisher & Managing Editor

Publisher & Managing Editor David Hague Contributors Dr Frank McLeod, Steve Turner, Ben Longden, Chris Oates, Adam Turner, Anthony Caruana, Juanita Grayson, Dr David Smith, Andrew Ferguson Design & Layout Drew Turney psipublishinganddesign.com Photography Ross Gibb rossgibbphotos.com.au Advertising Sonia Gunn sonia@auscamonline.com Ph: 0411 511 711 Auscam is published by VBtheDog Productions Pty Ltd (ACN 128 231 247) PO Box 609 Bridgetown WA 6255 Tel: 08 9467 5922/0413 632286 Web: www.auscamonline.com Email: info@auscamonline.com Printed in Australia The data in this publication has been compiled from information supplied by various manufacturers and distributors. As such, Auscam, its writers, editors, contributors and employees cannot be held liable for any errors therein with regard, but not limited to, specifications or prices.As with any purchase, please check all details before continuing with the transaction.

Budweiser The Dog 2

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2011

Letters

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We love to hear from our readers with their questions, experiences and ideas. Have you found a new technique for editing, a neat trick way to get a shot or a novel approach to a special effect. If so, email us at info@auscamonline.com or post it to PO Box 609, Bridgetown WA 6255. If you have any pictures or screen shots, even better! Each month Auscam publishes let-ters and emails we receive where we think the content and/or reply might be useful to others. Please send any emails to david@ auscamonline.com or post to PO Box 609, Bridgetown WA 6255. n As a subscriber to the paper

magazine, I would also like to be able to login to the web site so that I can view the pages available to members. I assume I need to be issued with a user name and password to do this? Can this be done? Russell H (via email) All people who subscribe to the full 12 editions of the magazine have automatic access to the website’s full content. The easiest way to implement this is let us know at the time of sending the subscription what login name and password you’d like. We’ll do the rest. n Thought you might like to

know I’ve just taken delivery of a new Canon XA10 – thanks for reviewing it recently, it helped me to decide. Stock was hard to come by, so I ordered it without having actually held it in my hands – and I’m so amazed how light and compact it is. Great for my classical music recordings, yet I can still toss it in a backpack for those nature shots, so it suits my needs perfectly. Happy to give more feedback once I’ve put it through its paces! Linda (via email) Thanks Linda, it’s a top camcorder isn’t it? And you are right in that it can be used in a multitude of locations due to that size/weight combination. Be sure to point us and other readers to any of your footage. We find Vimeo a better proposition than YouTube due to 4

a better signal to NOISE ratio. David n Recently on an episode of

“Sanctuary” there was an effect that can only be described as shooting through a glass tube. A circle at the centre of the image is pin sharp, but the edges ‘flare away’ in radiating lines from the centre. Make sense? I was wondering if you had any idea on how this was done, or what package/plug in may have been used to make it. Dave (via email) Hi Dave, We asked our friends at Boris FX for this one as they make a gazillion filters for all occasions. They hadn’t seen the clip in question, but they responded, based on your description thus. There are a couple of filters in our product line that I would suggest for generating this style of effect. The first one that comes to mind would be FEC Lens. I think it’s exactly what you are looking for, it’s super easy to set up and very fast to render. Basically all you need to do is apply the filter and then adjust the Size parameter. If you don’t have FEC then the second option would be BCC Bulge, but it’s not nearly as effective at generating the result that I think you have in mind. The FEC Lens filter is a part of Final Effects Complete. The BCC Bulge filter is a part of Boris Continuum Complete. Full information is on our website at borisfx.com Peter McAuley

Community site: Media Composer: Getting Started Fast at avid.com/ mcgetstarted Completely dedicated to new users, this forum is designed to help new users of Media Composer get started quickly, providing them the support and information they need to be successful in a short period of time! We encourage you to share this forum with students and lecturers, alike, and are confident they will benefit from exploring the range of topics discussed and the volume of information available. Of course the Avid Community is a great place to ask those “new user questions” – the ones people are often afraid to ask because they may be considered too simple. No question is too basic in this forum! Those of you experienced with Media Composer are welcome to participate in Getting Started Fast and we look forward to hearing about the positive experiences from our new users. Karen Eastmure

We have also been asked by our friends at AVID to let users know of a new forum. We are very excited to announce a new forum launched on the Avid w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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SDI to Analog

Analog to SDI

SDI to Audio

Audio to SDI

SDI to HDMI

HDMI to SDI

Optical Fiber

Sync Generator

$505

2011

$505

$305

The most advanced 3 Gb/s converters for SD and HD that include AES/EBU and analog audio! Build your studio with the world’s most advanced converters. Only Mini Converters include auto SD/HD switching, redundant input, AES/ EBU and analog audio on 1/4 inch jack connections, plus advanced 3 Gb/s SDI! There are 8 great models to choose from depending on the conversion you need! Auto Switching SD and HD

3 Gb/s SDI Technology Mini Converters include the latest 3 Gb/s SDI technology, so you’re always future proofed! 3 Gb/s SDI is also fully compatible with all your existing standard deﬁnition and high deﬁnition SDI equipment. Broadcast Quality

Mini Converters instantly switch between all SD and HD formats, including NTSC, PAL, 1080i/59.94, 1080i/50, 1080PsF/23.98, 1080PsF/24, 720p/59.94, 720p/50. Updates can be loaded via USB.

Mini Converters are built to the highest quality standards with low SDI jitter, so you get the longest SDI cable lengths combined with ultra low noise broadcast quality analog video and audio. Mini Converters are the world's ﬁrst converters to include 3 Gb/s SDI on all models!

Redundant SDI Input

Eight Exciting Models

Most Mini Converters feature a redundant input and loop through SDI output. Connect a redundant SDI cable to the second input, and if the main SDI input is lost, Mini Converters will automatically switch over in an instant. That’s great for mission critical tasks such as live events.

Mini Converters include more new technologies than other converters, while every model is an affordable $505. The Sync Generator model is only $305!

Pro Analog and AES/EBU Audio Standard 1/4 inch jacks are built in to most Mini Converters for professional balanced audio that switches between AES/EBU or analog. Unlike other converters you don’t need expensive custom audio cables.

Mini Converters

$505

Sync Generator

$305

Learn more today at www.blackmagic-design.com.au

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2011

Buddy’s Bits & Pieces

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Budweiser the Dog’s monthly round-up of all the latest news and developments you need to know from the world of film, video and AV.

New Panasonic professional camcorder models Last issue we were extolling the virtues of the latest Canon professional cameras (XA10 and XA300/305). This month, it’s Panasonic’s turn to announce a raft a new models ranging from approximately $4500 to $6700. All models are due on the shelves between late September and early November. All now use the common-of-the-garden SDHC memory cards for storage. The AG-HPX250, is an ultra-portable handheld camera featuring full-HD 1080 resolution and 10-bit 4:2:2 intra-frame recording in a one-piece unit without the need for an add-on recorder. Panasonic claim this is an unprecedented level of image quality in a lightweight camera The AG-AC160 delivers the longer lensing in a small form factor, highbandwidth AVCCAM – Panasonic’s

implementation of MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 high-profile encoding. The AG-AC160 offers the flexibility of Full HD off-speed recording and an HD-SDI out. Weighing less than 2.5 kilograms, the AG-HPX250 incorporates highsensitivity 1/3”, full-HD 2.2 megapixel 3-MOS imagers and a 20-bit Digital Signal Processor to acquire native 1920 x 1080 resolution images. Offering a 28mm to 616m (35mm equivalent) 22X 6

HD lens with 3 independent adjustable rings, the AG-HPX250 is equipped for many shooting situations without the need for a wide-angle conversion lens. The 22X lens also features an Optical Image Stabilizer (O.I.S.) function to prevent handshake. The AG-AC160 and the AG-AC130 incorporate high-sensitivity 1/3”, fullHD 2.2 megapixel 3-MOS imagers to capture native 1920 x 1080 resolution images, with a new, wider 22X HD zoom lens. New key features include two SD Memory Card slots for relay or simultaneous recording, compatibility with both SDHC and high-capacity SDXC media, an enhanced viewfinder and LCD display as well as DV recording. The AG-AC160 includes additional top production features such as variable frame rate recording in 1080p, Linear PCM audio, HD-SDI output, and switchability between 59.94Hz/50Hz. See more at panasonic.com.au

Rotolight appoints New Magic Australia as distributor New Magic Australia has been appointed the Australian and New Zealand master distributor for Rotolight (rotolight.com). Rotolight products are extremely cost effective and versatile mobile LED professional lighting solutions for HD image capture

workflows with prices starting at $199. Applications include dSLR Photography, Video Shoots and Medical lighting. The Rotolight products can be deployed in under 5 seconds and this can mean the difference between capturing the perfect shot or missing the action. Some camcorder lighting systems provide harsh light with highly defined shadows, Rotolight’s quality LEDs deliver a diffused light which is particularly suited to portraiture, resulting in perfect skin tones without the sickly bluish cast found when using inexpensive consumer LEDs. Three models are available: 1. R otolight RL48-B: Single Rotolight with colour temperate and dimming filters. 2. Rotolight Creative Colour Kit: Single Rotolight with colour temperate and dimming filters, 1 x Rotolight Stand, 1 x Rotolight Colour Filter Kit and 1 x Rotolight Accessory Belt Pouch 3. Rotolight Interview Kit: 2 x Rotolight with colour temperate and dimming filters, 2 x Rotolight Stand, 1 x Rotolight Colour Filter Kit & 1 x Rotolight Accessory Belt Pouch. Rotolight features: • 48 Latest Generation Pro Grade ultra-bright LEDs, (now 25% brighter than previous models). • Perfectly calibrated for 6300K, 5600K, 4300K and 3200K. w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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• With the new stand the Rotolight mounts via Accessory shoe or directly to a spare tripod, lighting stand or stud. • Continuous light source for dSLR photography. • Delivers a widely dispersed light with soft diffused shadows, resulting in evenly balanced illumination. • Shoot what you see – no flash shadows or red-eye. See more at newmagic.com.au

Atomos Announces IBC Shipping Date For Samurai Atomos, has announced the HDSDI Samurai 10-bit Apple ProRes Field Recorder, Monitor and Playback/ Playout device will begin shipping in September, during the IBC show in Amsterdam. Samurai is already the most complete and affordable HD SDI ProRes Field Recorder with: • High resolution 5” (800x480) touchscreen/monitor • Continuous Power battery management system • Recording to low-cost HDDs and SSDs w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

•S ilent, fanless operation •T ough, aircraft-grade aluminium construction Samurai will now ship with fullresolution HD-SDI (1920 x 1080) decoded from the Samurai’s recorded media. Samurai can be used as an HDSDI, single-channel playout device for instant review or broadcast, or in any situation that requires an extremely high quality full-HD source – with up to 20 hours of HD playout from a single disk. Producers, directors and camera operators can check quality and composition on-set or on the way home, using the Samurai’s built-in high resolution 800x480 SMPTE colour-spec screen, for portability, or at full quality on any HD/SD SD-SDI monitor. Playback controls emulate a traditional tape transport, with extra flexibility afforded by the touchscreen. •T ouchscreen scrub navigation: instant seek to any point – even on a 20-hour clip. •S huttle controls (stop, step, play, fast fwd, fast fast fwd, fast rwd, fast fast rwd) •F rame-by-frame advance and reverse With this new playout capability, the Samurai becomes the lowest cost, portable recorder that plays out Full HD from Apple ProRes files for uncompressed quality on any size of monitor. Samurai is $1595 USD/€1145/£995 and will be available early September 2011. See more at atomos.com

Newtek 3Play 820 ship date NewTek has announced the shipment of 3Play 820, a 10-channel (eight-in, two-out), slow motion system that supports the simultaneous display, recording, and instant replay of up to eight video streams, each with up to quad channel audio. 3Play 820 gives sports broadcasters, leagues, teams and schools an

affordable option to deliver instant replay and slow motion for broadcast, webcast, arena scoreboard displays, and more. Utilizing their own IsoCorder technology, the eight-input, twooutput 3Play 820 offers revolutionary price-performance value, and retails at a fraction of the price of current four-input, two-output devices on the market. The system includes an intuitive control surface, giving replay operators hands-on control of every input. In addition, the ability to connect to any switcher provides ultimate flexibility for all production environments. Benefits of NewTek 3Play 820 include: •1 0-channel slow motion instant replay server supports simultaneous, continuous recording from up to eight sources, with two fully independent playout channels •W orld-class, interpolated slow motion delivers smooth playback, and ensures still frames are free of ghosting or blurring •F ull support for a vast range of video formats and frame rates · •A second display may be used as an ISO monitor bridge, including Heads Up Display (HUD) · •E asy import and export of a wide variety of popular media file types · •M ultiple playlists, including transitions, sound tracks, and more · •L inear timecode (LTC) support for synchronized capture of live action and efficient post production · Capture content from live video inputs to the destination drives of choice, with support for writing a single channel to two simultaneous drives for fail safety, when required · •C ompact 4U rack mount design includes an always on-air, multitiered fail-safe system and redundant hardware. See more at adimex.com.au n

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• Includes LEE Filter Gel kit. • Fast – deployable in under 2 seconds. • Dimmable over 1.5 stops using neutral density filters. • Warm natural ‘shadowless’ colour. • Lasts up to 4 hours on AA batteries with the new redesigned battery compartment.

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2011

hardware

BENQ M11 Camcorder

’ve been playing with a BENQ M11 camcorder, but before I start to dissect its pros and cons, let me get something off my chest. And this doesn’t just apply to BENQ. It’s all very well to have a Quick Start paper manual that tells you how to charge the camcorder and where to put the SD card. In fact I would suggest in the days where we all have mobile phones, tablets and the like, this is pointless as that stuff is no longer rocket science – we all KNOW what a charger looks like and what an SD card does. But it IS imperative that a decent operations manual be available. But, say the manufacturers, there is; we have placed it on the CD with the (usually) crappy software we have supplied. Fabulous. So here I am on Cable Beach in Broome at sunset and I need to find out how to turn on backlight compensation. Don’t quite happen to have a laptop with me. Get the idea? A paper manual costs cents to produce, can be carried WHEN YOU NEED IT in the camera bag/backpack/ whatever. And yes I know I can print out the PDF, but when I am paying decent money for a camcorder, why should I have to just so you can save the cost? OK. Moving right along. The BENQ11, unlike its sibling the

S11 reviewed a few months back, is a full bodied HD camcorder that will sit in the palm of your hand. As mentioned, it is SD card based, and there are minimal physical controls as it is primarily touch screen driven. The engine room is powered by a 10MP CMOS sensor and there is 5x optical zoom, and larger than average 3.0” 16:9 display. There are some nice features embedded too such as time lapse shooting, accelerated or slo-mo playback, a 3 second pre-record facility and even touch screen focussing. One very neat party trick is the ability to record two video streams at once – one for hi-def playback on a large screen TV and the second as a lower resolution stream for embedding in websites, emails, posting on YouTube etc. This means you don’t ever have to play around editing and rendering two different versions. Available ports are USB, mini HDMI and A/V out; there are no in ports at all for external mic or headphones. And joy o’ joys, an HDMI cable is supplied. We might be winning the war in this area at least folks. Instead of allowing the user to set their own ISO settings (which is another

Auscam Rating

Performance

We Liked

Documentation

Keen price, Touch ISO settings, time laps/ slo-mo/accelerated shooting

Features

Disliked

Setup

No stability control, ergonomics, documentation

Value for money

Price

$249

Contact

BENQ Australia benq.com.au

way of saying most purchasers of this camcorder which is only $249, don’t know what ISO means), the M11 offers touch-activated auto settings – simply tap on the screen where the light levels look right and the correct exposure level will automatically be set. Scene mode selections allow vision to be captured in up to ten shooting modes: Auto, Night, Sports, Landscape, Portrait, Sunset, Sand/Snow, Flower, Firework and Aquarium. But here is the kicker; nowhere in the manual or on the website for Benq is there any mention of image stabilisation. Thinking I may have missed something, I also checked a bundle of online reviews and not one mention of it there either? No optical or the lesser electronic version seem to be in this camera which is an amazing oversight. Yes the camcorder is inexpensive, but this is probably the first time I can remember that I have come across this. Especially in what amounts to a beginner’s camcorder. That to me is a big black mark against its score. In use, I really didn’t like the ergonomics. Even with my hand fully inside the strap, the natural thing was for the camera to pitch to the left, meaning you had to cock your wrist upright, which after any period of time starts to hurt. Over a longer period of time, say a minute or more (the length of wedding vows say, or one of the kiddies piano recitals), your wrist then starts to wobble a bit. And of course there is no stabiliser … There are some things really good about the M11, but the few rough edges spoil it. Perhaps the next iteration of the model will have worn those off. n David Hague w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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2011

Sometimes a new camera comes along that changes things in an unusual way. Sony saw a gap in the market and filled it with the HXR-MC1500P. Steve Turner put it through its paces in the field.

n the beginning… Cameras were big, really big, and really heavy. Even the first generation domestic cameras were large and you had to carry around a portable tape recording unit as well. So our friends in Japan worked out how to make them smaller and lighter. Sony invented Betamax and the tape recorder moved into the body of the camera. Then along came Video8. Smaller still and the first generation of lightweight domestic cameras came out. Next came miniDV and the tiny cameras that could be made to hold these small but fantastic digital tapes. For a moment they were too small so grew back to a ‘holdable’ size with a decent lens. HDV didn’t change the size but certainly changed the quality. Suddenly high definition pics came from small cameras. But there was still a problem, one I’ve been writing about for many w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

years now. Perception of size. Unlike the male appendage size does matter in a camera’s body, depending on the work you are doing. I first came across this years ago when shooting a community service spot for Channel Nine. I used my own Panasonic AGEZ1 semi-pro camera – not domestic size but not a conventional pro camera either. The client couldn’t get his head around the idea that this camera could deliver the pics we wanted. It could and did.

hardware

Sony HXR-MC 1500P

Fast forward to now and there’s a swag of small cameras delivering the very best in full high definition images that will blow your flat screen away. The trouble is that the size issue has not gone away. From wedding shooters to docco makers size can still very much matter. So do cost and the big cameras, brilliant though they are, also have a big price tag. So Sony has made a very smart move delivered full format cameras at a budget price. Nick Buchner from Sony told

Ready for action: The HXR-MC1500P with the ECM-CG50BP shotgun mic

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2011

Down the barrel

hardware

The Sony G lens is nicely wide at 29.6mm and runs out to 360mm at the long end so can cover most needs nicely. There is a digital zoom but stay away from using it. The engine room has a single 1/4inch CMOS chip and I was surprised at the quality of the pics given that it’s a small single chip. It runs AVCHD at a respectable 24 Mbps producing 1920x1080/50i. From there you can step down for longer recording times and, if you want, shoot 1440x1080 at 5Mbps. Before you scoff remember that’s still a decent size picture. The rule though is to always shoot at the highest standard you can and then downconvert as needed.

Auscam that...”Over the years, our HXR-MC1500P shoulder-mount HDV camcorder has enjoyed good popularity with those at the budget end of the pro market (also education etc.), who prefer the larger form-factor camera, either for its handling benefits or perhaps also the “professional image” it portrays. With increasing popularity of memorybased camcorders, the HXR-MC1500P is a logical step, to bring a similar form-factor to the latest generation of models.” There is, of course, a price to be paid. More on that soon.

Why this camera? Mainly because of all of the above. Impression and size. Also because it sits nicely on the shoulder but is strangely light. It took me a while to get used to it. The viewfinder also doesn’t come out quite far enough so could be difficult for those of us with a big head. The other huge reason to want one is simply price. For under $2000 you get a camera that not only looks the business sitting on a nice tripod but can also deliver really good full HD images. This is not just show – it’s tell as well.

The Tech Stuff

Viewfinder

2.7 inch LCD

Lens

Sony G lens with 12x Optical zoom, 160x Digital zoom

Records to HD

MPEG-4 AVC/H.264 (AVCHD) SD: MPEG-2 PS

Still Picture Storage Dimensions

MAX. 7.1M (3072 x 2304 pixels, 4:3)

Optical Zoom (x)

Digital Zoom (x)

180! w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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2011

The pics. Very nice. Good resolution and sharp. I can, however, see the difference between this and my other cameras. But they cost way more and are set at a different level. For the money and given the specs this camera does very well and is exceptional value. There is a decent front ring that’d I’d always use for manually focusing. You can use the viewfinder or the flip up LCD. This is smallish my modern standards bit is clear and sharp and rotates nicely for use as a field monitor. The menus on the LCD are easy to set and forget and no problem to get used to. Unlike other cameras the entry level feel is shown in the simplicity of the

menu options. This is a good way to get to learn how menus are used and how settings are found and, well, set.

The sound department One thing that obviously sets this camera apart from it’s more professional family is the lack of XLR connections for microphones. XLR plugs are almost like a badge that tells the world you are serious about audio. Apart from issues such as phantom power though you need to remember that and an XLR connection is just a connection. So is a mini jack. Of course it’s not as rugged but really what are you going to do that’s going to dislodge it? You’re going to have to try very hard, that’s what. If you need to you could easily add a

third party XLR add on anyway for a few hundred bucks.

hardware

Picture this

Still life Yes it does take stills. Do you really want to? If you do it will take respectable pics at a large 7meg (3072 x 2304 pixels). It’s awkward taking stills with a camera like this. I’d have a small dSLR with me instead.

The jury’s back All in all, this camera is a good entry level shoulder camera. There are better small cameras around, but that’s not the point. The point is that this is a bargain priced pro-looking camera that can get a whole load of people work they otherwise might struggle to get. n

Auscam Rating

w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

Performance

We Liked

Documentation

• The whole look • Image quality for the price and specs • Ease of use

Features

Disliked Light weight

Setup

Value for money

Help functions

Price

$1,815

Contact

Sony Australia sony.com.au/professional 11

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2011

hardware

JVC GMZ-HM970 Camcorder

he JVC GMZ-HM970 is a strange camcorder in comparison to others in that it shoots in 2D with a single lens, but by digital party trickery, can covert footage to 3D that can be played back on a 3D TV or projector. Indeed, the LCD of the camcorder itself displays a 3D image without the need for glasses but I found this hard on the eyes. I am told reliably by an optometrist this is very much a hit and miss thing and depends on the individual. A switch on the top of the camera switches the LCD modes between 2 and 3D. The shape of the HM970 is not quite conventional either; normally both sides of a full sized camcorder follow the shape of the overall ‘barrel’ but this camcorder’s LCD is a rectangular slab shape nuzzling up against the barrel of the body. It doesn’t affect the usage of the camcorder in any way, just looks a little – well, odd after all these years of sameness between brands. It’s a good size too, 3.5” and rotates through 270 degrees. When open, you have access to some physical controls such as iAuto on/off, change to manual mode which for some reason is called “User”, an info

button showing space left and used depending on the format used, plus battery usage. A final button switched between video and still. Also under the LCD are a mini HDMI slot – and a cable comes with the camera – and a USB port. The HM970 also supports Bluetooth. The top of the camera, as well as having the aforementioned LCD mode switch has a horizontal rocker/ tele switch that doubles as a volume control in playback mode, and a shutter button for still shots. The rear of the camera simply has video start/stop. Component/AVI out and DC in are under flaps on the right hand side of the body of the HM970. All other controls are contained is a straightforward user menu via the touch screen LCD. Large text is used which is nice and the system is quite easy to follow – and anyway, if you do get stuck simply punch the iAuto button and the HM970 will work it all out for you. One thing I did like particularly was the option to have the onboard light off, auto on or on permanently. Too many times I have been caught with a great shot but not enough light so ended up with grainy footage. It’s not a super

Auscam Rating 8

We Liked

Documentation

Large viewfinder, onboard light, high speed recording, iAuto

Features

Disliked

Setup

3D a bit superfluous as you need a 3D TV, no viewfinder

Value for money

Help Functions

Price

$1299

Contact

JVC Australia jvc.com.au w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

SO11502/AUS

Performance

powerful LED, but more than enough to light say a face, or nocturnal animal. A few other party tricks include high speed recording, wind cut and the ability to add a favourite function to the “User” button, hence the mystery of its name resolved. In the hand the HM970 is nicely balanced with only a slight tendency to tilt to the left. This is no doubt due to the LCD weight, but is not “fixable” as there is no viewfinder. The HM970 comes with 32GB of internal flash storage and will also accept SDXC cards. The lens is a JVC F1.2 beastie with a nice 29.8mm wide angle. Footage is crisp and clean in 2D mode at least. 3D was a little hard to test as a 3D screen wasn’t available at time of testing. A fuller test will be forthcoming when this can be done. Personally I am not a fan of 3D in a domestic camera; it just adds another drawer to the already overly available cupboard of effects people have access to. It works for big screen movies – but not all I hasten to add – and requires a different skill set to use effectively. Having said that, the HM970 is a great workhorse camcorder. At $1299 it is not over the top and has all the features and functions an enthusiast could want. n David Hague

| | September

2011

Always dreamt of making movies? Then our new digital Super 35mm is for you.

Sony’s NEX-FS100 ... a dream come true. Introducing the world’s first really affordable digital Super 35mm interchangeable-lens camcorder. Delivering the control over focus that you need and employing Sony’s Exmor Super 35 CMOS sensor for outstanding exposure latitude and sensitivity, the feature-packed NEX-FS100 lets your creative vision shine through.

The new Super 35mm NEX-FS100 camcorder. SO11502/AUS

sony.com.au/professional/nexfs100

“SONY” and “make.believe” are trademarks of Sony Corporation.

| September

2011

software

ProDAD Mercalli

S$249 might seem an awful lot to pay for an application that is in essence, a one trick pony. That is not being disparaging of Mercalli, far from it. Do a Google search and any number of reviews will be found praising the virtues of the package to the highest. The fact is that Mercalli, unlike a lot of applications that are additions to your standard non-linear editing system (NLE) is designed to do one job and it does it spectacularly well! Simply, it removes camera jitter from your footage. And trust me; you will need this at least once in your life! Probably twice. Or more. Let’s face it, there are times when you simply cannot carry a tripod or the action is happening so thick and fast that you just haven’t the time to set one up. So you shoot anyway, and then when you get back to the studio/office/ home/TV station, you find the footage is jerky and all over the place. Classics for this are footage from moving vehicles (hand held or on a mount), from aircraft and in a boat. Electronic stabilisation in camcorders these days is pretty good, but NEVER so good there is no place for applications such as Mercalli. And it is a lot less expensive than After Effects or Boris Red (although these two do give you MUCH more than just camera stabilisation to be fair). Mercalli is available for a bunch of NLE

Stop the shakes: The interface of Mercalli allows fine control to remove jitter.

packages including Adobe Premiere, Sony Vegas, AVID and Final Cut as well as a few others. It simply acts as a plugin – that is, you use its power from the interface of the host application. You simply drag the Mercalli effect on to the clip in question you wish to stabilise. Once applied, the Mercalli control panel opens offering two levels of control. One offers four preset levels of stability whilst a further expanded panel gives much more individual control. Once the effect has been applied via a preset for instance, Mercalli fires up, analysing the clip to which it has been assigned. ProDAD’s engineers have taken full advantage of the latest technology in processors too; if you have an 8 core for example, it will use all 8 to full capacity and you can see this in real time.. Make no bones, analysing video is a very intensive operation indeed so I’d be shutting everything else down first. Mercalli opens a supersized version of your clip while it does its thing, and while this does drop the resolution of the finished product a tad I am told, it is not discernible. You can open a split screen to see what the difference is between the two if you wish. The presets can be overruled via

controls for roll, tilt and zoom, but in honesty, they do a pretty damn fine job without that in most cases. The difference between them is pretty hard to suss out. The best suggestion I have seen so far is to try all of the presets and see which offers the best solution. Over time you’ll get a feel of which to use. I played with footage from my Canon XHA1 and this uses tape; if you have a CMOS based camcorder, you can use another feature of Mercalli designed specifically for rolling shutter cameras. You won’t need Mercalli all the time. In the same way, you don’t need a fire extinguisher all the time. But in the same way a fire extinguisher can save your burning bacon, Mercalli is there when you need your own bacon saved because of jittery footage. In those horrible moments, USD$249 is a small price to pay! To see some samples of Mercalli’s goodness, go to the ProDAD webvsite. We’ll also be putting up samples on The Auscam site by the time you read this. n David Hague

Auscam Rating

Performance

We Liked

Documentation

Superb results

Features

Disliked

Value for money

It does the job, what more could you ask?

Price

US$249

Contact

ProDAD prodad.com w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| | September

2011

Training Materials At Auscam, we hold a large number of DVD titles for video training for camcorders, editing software, techniques and more. To order, simply go to our website and click on Store in the menu bar, or see below for more purchase options.

In ABCinema there are over 80 hours of tutorials. It will appeal to the movie fan who is interested in film in general as it contains a large collection of known and lesser known flim clips from 1878 until the present day. Each exerpt is an example of new discovery, film language, editing, camera movement, image cutouts, sound, talkies, colour film, acting method and so on.

$99.00 Camera Confidence Get the inside look with Douglas Spotted Eagle and Kevin Hicks as they guide you through every angle of camcorder use, regardless of the camera you own or your level of experience. All basic camera features and functions are discussed and explained in this DVD. Learn how to control light through shutter speed or aperture, and see the difference. Go indepth on topics such as codecs and file-based workflows. Watch practical demonstrations of the 180, camera movement, frame rate and coverage. Get advanced info on 35MM adapters and tips on achieving the elusive “film look” in your video projects. From beginners to seasoned w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

pros, there’s something for everyone to improve on their camera knowledge and operation.

$59.00 Light ‘Em Up Light is the most important part of visual communication. Without it there can be no picture and all that you capture when you film an image is the light reflecting off of the objects in your scene. So Make sure you are doing it right with the Light ‘Em Up DVD. With over an hour of instruction, this contemporary guide to video lighting is an absolute must have for anyone who wants to take their productions to the next level visually.

$59.00 Inside HdSLR dSLR Film and video production is immensely popular, for good reason! Stunning imagery and unlimited possibilities are at your fingertips with a dSLR camcorder. Raymond Schlogel and Douglas Spotted Eagle expose all aspects of HdSLR film and video on this two and one half hour training DVD. From lenses to metering, to preparation and peripherals, Douglas and Ray show you how to get

the most out of dSLR film and video production.

$79.00 Inside HdSLR Get more from your Sony Vegas Movie Studio software! Join awardwinning videographer and Sony Vegas Certified Trainer, Douglas Spotted Eagle, on a complete tour of Sony Vegas Movie Studio and more. With over 5 hours of training on two DVDs, viewers can choose how they want to learn.

insider

ABCinema

$49.00 Payment As well as ordering these online, they can also be obtained by sending us a cheque with delivery details to: PO Box 609 Bridgetown WA 6255 Or call us on 08 9467 5922 or mobile 0413 632 286 Please allow up to 2 weeks for delivery just in case we are out of stock of your item(s).

Payment Or we accept payment using the

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| September

2011

Review: BorisFX Continuum

software

Boris FX has been around digital video for a long time and have an unparalleled expertise. David Hague thinks Boris Continuum is the grand-daddy of effects filters.

or users of standalone editing packages, the concept of plugins may be a bit of an alien subject. You’ve never had to use them – and in fact your package may not even accept them – and you reckon that everything you need is already a part of your base package be it Premiere Elements, Sony Movie Studio, Pinnacle Studio, Corel Studio, Magix – whatever. In short however, you don’t know what you are missing! So what is a plugin? In simple terms a plugin uses your application as a “host” so you are using a familiar interface, but getting access to a whole new set of tools. A good example is Boris FX Continuum. Here all illustrations are shown using Sony Vegas as the host, but you can also use Adobe Premiere, After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro, AVID DS, as well as other AVID applications and those from Autodesk and Quantel. In all, there are over 200 filters available to you ranging from the spectacular to the highly technical. For example, some effects can be very visual such as the Morph filter (think back to Michael Jackson videos), others can be used to “repair” dodgy video such as tone smoothing or reducing noise reduction and yet others can be used to create actual footage, especially the fabulous particle filter generator. Here are just a few of the filters available.

Particle Filter When you think of particles you probably think of lots of atom like objects dashing around unpredictably. But reflect a bit more and you’ll realise that a bunch of particles can be any ordered or unordered group; smoke and fog, a 16

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| | September

A Host of Effects From top: • Rays Puffy 2 • Glitter

2011

Auscam Rating Performance

We Liked

Documentation

Excellent toolset, great results, available across a range of hosts

Features

Disliked

Value for money

Perhaps a little expensive up front, but can save HUGE amounts of time and adds incalculable creativity beyond host

Price

$1,067

Contact

ADIMEX – adimex.com.au Publisher: BorisFX – borisfx.com

pod of dolphins, even a massive Goblin army or a universe of exploding stars! Get the idea? With Boris FX Continuum, you have the freedom to create well beyond your imagination.

Volumetric lighting and glows You know those shots you see of the inside of old cathedrals, with light streaming through windows and dust motes dancing in the light beams? This is an example of volumetric lighting; physical lighting can be a tedious, long and expensive exercise requiring much expertise, so using Boris’ FX Continuum’s filters can save huge amounts of time and cost.

based line and mask technology, 3D extrusions from splines are available and key framing can be applied. Other features include spectacular lighting effects such as Glint, Glare and Glitter, film effects (bleach, damaged and grain) and various blur and lens filters are all in the single package for the host you choose. Boris Continuum is an invaluable tool in our estimation for the video editor. Coupled with your favourite editor or compositing program, it provides the missing link at the point where we have all said at some point, “I just wish I could do that”. Sample videos and trial versions are available from the Boris FX website. n See over for more effects...

Motion Tracking If you have a clip that is unsteady, but there is a reference point in the clip that is stationery in reference to the shooter – say a lamp pole or similar – motion tracking allows you to use Boris Continuums tools to steady the shoot by moving pixels in each frame to their correct location in reference to the stationery object. This can be time consuming of course, but can also save your bacon! This is just a small subset of what Boris Continuum can do. As mentioned there are over 200 filters but additionally there are 200 animated presets and 1500 stationery presets all ready to go. Open GL acceleration (using the intelligence and speed of your video card) is fully supported as is spline w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| September

2011

Clockwise rom top: • Clouds • Glint • Colorize Glow • Tile Mosaic • Glare • Lens Blur

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| | September

2011

dSLR and Video Part 2

aving decided to jump in to dSLR video, you probably are now finding yourself at a decision point. You’ve got the basic gear. What next? “Basic” may, of course, be an understatement. There’s nothing basic about a prosumer or pro dSLR. These are complex devices with many capabilities built into them, not least of which is high-def video capture. But in terms of what you need in order to give your video assignments a professional touch, a dSLR is just the starting point. Being able to see what you’re shooting is critical. No viewer will tolerate an out of focus image for long. Problem is, trying to judge focus on the rear display of a dSLR in live view mode is a recipe for disaster. The display is too small, leading everything to look like it’s in focus, even when it’s not. This calls for one of two solutions. The cheaper of the two is a simple housing that fits over the rear display that enlarges the preview and blocks

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out ambient light. It’s like putting a loupe over the display. The more expensive option involves an external display that hooks up to your dSLR’s video out port. Keeping your subject in focus requires a follow-focus accessory. This matches a large control wheel with a gearing system and a grip on the focus collar that allows you to shift focus smoothly as the subject moves without touching the lens. Fitting it requires a set of rods that attach to the base of the camera, along with a baseplate. These rods form the skeleton upon which other accessories can be fit, such as a matte box and handlebar grips. The challenge is knowing what bits and pieces to ask for, especially if you’re new to building a dSLR video rig. Two pieces of advice in this regard. First is to ask around to find a dealer in your area who knows what they’re on about and, just as importantly, is genuinely interested in helping you get a handle on the equipment you need and how to use it.

If you’re far from such a source of expertise, here’s a bit of a cheat. Visit Redrockmicro’s web site, where you’ll find a selection of rigs that have been pre-configured and bundled together into a package. You may not choose to buy their gear, but seeing how they bundle components together to suit particular shooting tasks will give you a good idea of what you will need to suit your own assignments. Along with a low tolerance for poor focus, an audience won’t put up with poor audio for long. A dSLR is incapable of recording usable audio with its built-in microphone. Just forget about even trying it. The most basic solution involves mounting an external mic such as RODE’s VideoMic Pro on the camera’s hot shoe and plugging its jack into the camera’s mic port. Of course, as your productions ramp up, you’ll likely want to expand to an external audio recording system, radio mics, boom mics and someone who knows how to handle all that stuff. Finally, support. If you’re likely to be shooting documentary or live action, you’ll need some support, such as a shoulder stock or handlebars, while you and the camera are in motion. Both these accessories provide a measure of stability that is important when capturing footage but very difficult to achieve by holding the camera as you would when shooting stills. If you’re shooting from a static position, a tripod with a fluid head is essential. Videographers diving into dSLR shooting will almost certainly have a good video tripod already. Shame on you if you haven’t! Photographers dipping their toes into dSLR video need only swap out a standard tripod head with a fluid head to get those smooth pans working. n

pro

Chris Oaten continues his look at entering the wonderful world of dSLR video

| September

2011

Using Keyframes Keyframes are an integral part of video editing in the digital age, but sadly are misunderstood by many. Frank McLeod demystifies keyframes in this tutorial.

pro

n the old days of cartooning for movies, to give life and movement to a character in a clip, the lead artist would draw two images, one representing the starting position of the character and the other in the position it would hold at the end of the clip. These were the main or ‘key’ frames, now called ‘keyframes’. Secondary artists would then draw a range of frames, showing the intermediate positions between the two as shown in the key frames. ‘Tweening’ is a name used for the creation of these intermediate frames. Much like the flicker books of days of old, when these images were screened rapidly in succession, the character appeared to move through the range of movements from that described by the first keyframe to that shown in the second. This of course was ‘animation’. ‘To animate’ means to give life to something that doesn’t have it. In video terms, it means changing one or more characteristics of a video clip over time. By extension, therefore, that means anything you can change about a clip over time can be animated.

Keyframes’ function In our present digital days, a keyframe’s function is to describe to the editing program the state of a selected characteristic of a frame at that particular point in the clip. However to animate – or change over time – any characteristic then at least two keyframes are required, one at the beginning and another at the end. The changes that occur in the frames between the two keyframes are calculated or ‘interpolated’ by the computer, taking the place of the secondary animators of old. You need a separate set of keyframes for each function you wish to animate. 20

Thus, we want a ‘camera zoom in’ effect we will need only a ‘zoom’ (=scale) set of keyframes. If we want a ‘pan and zoom’ effect then we need keyframes to change both scale and position over the duration of the effect. First, let’s zoom in on Sam, my old Boxer, to demonstrate. I am using Premiere Elements 9 for this demonstration, but your program will have similar controls but probably accessed differently (see above). So, with the clip selected in the timeline, the ‘EDIT’ tab is selected and ‘Edit Effects’ clicked. This brings up the Motion and Opacity controls which can then be fiddled with. This is best seen in the second close up photo of that area of the display (see right). The controls under Motion show up when you click the small twirl-down arrow near ‘Motion’ and now you see the position, scale and rotation controls. Note that I leave ‘Uniform Scale’ box checked as I want any changes to be in correct proportions, which is why the ‘Scale Width’ is greyed out.

I tell Premiere Elements that I am going to animate something under Motion by clicking the blue master stopwatch icon at the right of the screen on a level with the word ‘Motion’. All the stopwatches turn blue, showing they are all ready to do their own special stuff if and when I want them to. Note that scale is 100% at this point. By clicking the ‘Show Keyframes’ icon

Zoom zoom We will zoom in over 10 second starting at the 5 second point. w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

(above the master animate stopwatch), the keyframes themselves become visible as small diamond shapes. Premiere Elements 9 insets a single keyframe for all the parameters under the play head indicator at this stage just in case you need it, but unless something is changed or another keyframe added then nothing happens.

position, there retaining the final value I choose. Sam in the picture has now ‘come closer’ but moved away from the frame position that I want (see below). (As an alternative method, I could have moved the playhead and clicked the ‘scale’ white diamond and inserted a keyframe and then changed the scale percentage if I had so wished, but why

Now I move the playhead to another point, say the 15 second mark and I need to change the scale to imitate that the camera’s zooming in. As soon as I move the scale control Premiere Elements, being ever helpful, inserts a keyframe under the play head indicator’s

not let Premiere Elements do the work?) So now I have to adjust his position to make this look right. From the start of all this, I already have a ‘position’ keyframe that was automatically set at the 5 second mark, locking in the start position at 720 horizontal and 540 vertical. Now at the 15 second mark, if I alter the position values to get Sam where I want him in the frame, another position keyframe will be automatically placed under the play

Use the arrows on either side of the ‘insert/delete keyframe’ icon (which looks likte a keyframe diamond) to move exactly to the position of any existing keyframe. w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

2011

head indicator defining that position. Sam needs to be moved down a fair bit so the 540 is now 966 and to centre him, 720 become 830 (see bottom). While I have only used scale and position to simply zoom in on Sam and keep him properly framed, I could have just as easily zoomed in on his eye alone by simply adjusting the degree of scale and altering the position to suit. Had I used a seascape panorama as the subject, I could have used the same technique to have appeared to have panned the camera more dramatically. The point of this article is not so much about ‘pan and zoom’ but rather to demonstrate the nature and function of keyframes. The same principles can be applied to many of the effects available in most editing packages. For the illustrations in this article, I have used Adobe’s Premiere Elements 9. However, no matter your program of choice, whenever you progressively alter such functions as size, opacity, rotation and position, you are in effect inserting keyframes. Most programs will also let you alter – or animate – colour, brightness, saturation, noise and a whole lot of other effects. In fact many effects or filters that you might apply to your videos can be animated using keyframes. Check out your editing suite and have a go. You won’t regret it. n

pro

| | September

This makes it easy to be frame accurate in setting new keyframes for other parameters.

| September

2011

Tutorial: Minimising Wind Noise Wind noise is one of Ben Longden’s pet hates.

pro

othing annoys me more on a location shoot than wind noise. In fact I’ve had more than an earful of it, and decided to do something serious about it. The occasion was on location at a major horse stud, filming a tutorial for my client, a major veterinarian firm in northern Victoria. Up until now, all previous talking head pieces had been done in the stables; this time however, it was to be an outside shoot for a specialist tutorial, but a strong wind had sprung up. REALLY strong. The talent was around 30 metres from the camera and wearing a radio microphone clipped to the shirtfront, and it was fitted with a custom-made foam windsock. It certainly didn’t help the situation to have the talent speaking quietly either, typically hovering around -15db, which meant the compressor was working overtime to compensate. I could hear the wind rustle then crackle while I was monitoring through my cans (headphones) and stopped tape to do another take. By now, the wind noise was utterly swamping the speech.

D w t

Rode timeline: A picture tells a thousand words. This screen grab shows the dramatic noise reduction capable by the Blimp, as well as the efficiency of basic noise reduction techniques such as a foam sock and a furry.

nothing much. There are certainly lots of patent applications for electronic noise reduction systems, but a bare handful on the issue at hand. Asking mates in the industry proved I had been on the right track for years. But to me this was an area where I confess I have little knowledge or expertise, despite a childhood spent building electronic gear including mic preamps, mixers and amps and an adult life using them and creating radio adverts.

Turning your back

Danger! Science content

The problem was fixed immediately by having the subject turn their back to the wind, as his body sheltered the mic. Mind you the lighting issue was now another problem, but a quick rejig of reflectors and lights fixed that. This particular wind problem got me to thinking; what can I do to reduce the wind noise problem on outdoor shoots? I mean to say the radio mic has a foam windsock and the Rode shotgun mic not only has a foam shield, but also permanently wears a furry. I did a net search and found, well,

What I did know from basic science was that the microphone element inside the mic was designed to pick up sound waves, and that the movement of air, no matter how ‘gentle’ would always create sound as it struck any object. The clue was to have it strike the object as far away from the mic element, and preferably have the resulting sound and energy absorbed instead of being reflected so it could hit the microphone element. Or to put it in another way, having no moving air next to the microphone.

A quick way of checking this thinking was to stand into the wind, and cover the ears. Deflecting the wind worked. While I have always thought of a foam windsock on a mic as more of protection from physical damage than wind noise, I thought it time to literally bite the bullet and do a test.

Noise, damned noise When out and about, I use the Rode shotty with ‘full protection’ and the on camera mic has its foam cover and furry as well. I use this combo simply because it was an economical system of best practice to reduce noise – but how effective was it? So I played with the gear- the unprotected shotty versus the foam sock, versus the foam sock AND furry. The answer was a no brainer. The furry combo won hands down for wind noise reduction. My sound gathering for fieldwork was up to scratch. That was until I had to record an interview in slightly stronger wind conditions where there was no escape. And by slight, I am talking of ten knots on an open plain. Monitoring the sound proved the problem was there, even w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| | September

2011

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han uces ly red e t a e r is G ind no and w

| September

2011

pro

Rode level 1: The first test with a bare mic, the on camera mic level on the left, the Rode on the right

Rode level 2: The second test with the Rode wearing just a foam windsock (right hand number)

with a sheltered lavaliere or lapel microphone. Using the shotty on a boompole as I frequently do was no better. There HAD to be a solution. I had heard of using an enclosed case, nicknamed a Zeppelin due to its shape, but found them to be rare and very, very expensive.

In flew the Blimp I discovered Rode Microphones, an Aussie company, was now producing the Blimp. The Blimp is an enclosed protection device for just this situation – and at the brilliant price under $250 including delivery. No way was I just going to do a review. I needed this gear as well. When my order turned up, I assembled the mic into it and decided there was only one thing to do and that was to test it. I headed off to the Echuca Airport where it was blowing 25knots. (Interested readers may also know that Ben – or ‘Biggles’ as we call him – is also a qualified pilot. For some reason, a large proportion of Auscam authors are interested in either aircraft or fast cars! Misspent youth? Or not yet grown up? Hard to tell – Ed) Once there I set up the mic stand next to the camera and pointed things toward the wind – and airport windsock so the wind speed could have a visual reference. As the camera has two audio channels, track 1 was left to the on board mic, in situ with its foam sock and furry combo to act as a reference, so the audio from the test could be directly compared. Channel 2 was set to the Rode NTG-2 connected via coax for the testing.

Flight testing the Blimp The Rode would be set under several strict conditions; 1. Bare mounted in a Rode suspension mount to isolate it from mechanical noise from the mic stand. It was to have no protection. This was to be the baseline measurement. The mic was set to give a flat response, and not engage the bass rolloff, which is used as a common wind noise reduction technique.

Rode level 3: With the Rode wearing a foam sock and a deadrat

Rode level 4: The noise attenuation of the Blimp is astonishing at -26db

2. Still mounted in the suspension frame, it was fitted with just the foam windsock 3. As above but with a furry slipped over the foam sock. 4. Taken out of the suspension mount, the shotty was placed inside the Rode Blimp following the maker’s instructions. The Blimp was mounted on the mic stand so it would be in the same physical space as before. 5. Exactly as for the Blimp base test, but with the Rode dead Wombat fur coat placed over the Blimp. (Dead wombat is Rode’s name for the furry). The results were not that surprising. Even looking at the VU meter on the camera and monitoring through the headphones, it roughly indicated there and then that the wind noise reduction increased to the point of being -30db compared to the on camera mic. In anyone’s language, that is a huge reduction. But it was not until the vision was imported into my NLE, and the sound lines gave an astonishing result. The Blimp with Dead Wombat was giving a flatline. You can easily see the reduction when looking at the photo. For the folks who need numbers the test results were as follows; Bear in mind the wind was around 15 knots and gusting to 20, as can be seen from the airport windsock. On camera mic -10.1db. Bare Rode -0.1db A gain of 10db. This was to be expected. The on camera mic was protected with its foam sock and furry that is always in place. The Rode was completely bare. 1. On camera mic -17.3. Foam socked Rode -13.8 A gain of 3.5db. Again an expected result, as the on camera mic has more protection. 2. On Camera mic -12.8. Rode with Foam sock AND furry -15. A reduction of 2.8db. I was not expecting this result. I was thinking it would be closer to the on camera mic, as the foam is almost identical and the synthetic fur is from the same roll of material. Mind you, the human ear is just able to distinguish a 3db change, which represents a multiplication factor of two in terms of energy. The Rode was receiving half the noise energy as its on camera counterpart. 3. On camera mic -12.2. Rode fitted in Blimp -26.3. A reduction of 14.1db. What can I say? Astonishing. w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

4. On camera mic -9.2db. Blimp in a dead wombat -31.2. A reduction of 22db. This is truly a mind-blowing result and considering the conditions, The Rode Blimp was quite at home.

Blimps and foam? The question did arise; what if the mic wore a foam windsock INSIDE the Blimp? Well, what I was able to find out was that this is not advised, as the higher frequency end would be attenuated, and that as the air inside the Blimp was not moving, the foam sock was a waste. So how does all this work? Simply by reducing the energy of the wind and absorbing it before it hits the microphone element! With the Blimp, the outside frame supports a very fine mesh, which stops the wind from passing through, and it also absorbs the energy released. With the dead wombat on top, the long hairs further reduce the velocity of the wind, while also allowing sound to pass through. The bottom line is providing the immediate area around the mic with non-moving air; of dead space.

Rode level 5a: But wearing the dead wombat, the Blimp is truly in its element at -31db

Any shotty will do; almost The other great thing is that Rode have recognized that not all the world has caught on and use their mics, so they provide adapter rings for the double ringed suspension frame to carry mics with a diameter from 21 to 30mm up to 325mm long with the usual three pin XLR connection. To ensure wind proofing, the Blimp is fitted with a tail cable, so you simply attach your mic cables to the handgrip base. For those who want to mount the Blimp, the standard screw thread is there and fits perfectly on a mic stand or boom pole. Its also light as well, weighing 755g with the tail cable and no mic, its easy to move and balance. The thing to get used to is that it is big; 490mm long and 125mm in diameter and

What is a furry? Simply it is a custom-made microphone glove made from acrylic fur. Some makers call it a dead cat, but being a cat lover the name HAD to change. Rode call their series in order of size, dead kitten, deadcat and dead wombat. Other makers call them fur windjammers, windcutters, fluffies, dead koalas and even roadkill. The best thing is that you can make a fluffy for yourself, if you have access to a sewing machine or know someone with one. Simply take the mic with foam windsock fitted, and a sheet of paper. Then trace a pattern on the paper to the w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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is supplied not only with the dead wombat, but also a special hairbrush and hex key for customizing the suspension mounts to your microphone.

Protect the Blimp As the Blimp is somewhat fragile, it can’t be expected to lie in the back of the car getting battered and bruised. One low cost answer is to buy an aluminum tool case that looks like a briefcase from a super, cheap retail outlet for about $30. Remember the Blimp is 490x125mm in size. The “grab bag” I use is about 20 years old and it easily takes the Blimp, a set of headphones, the Rode Mic, radio transmitter, spare 20m of coax, windsock and furry and wombat along with spare mic batteries, tapes, cables and Panadol... While Rode Microphones, an Aussie company is renowned as being one of the leaders in mic technology, it has to be acknowledged that their new Blimp is one of the greatest assets any mic user will benefit from.

Just another test

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But what about interior work? As a mic is an expensive and fragile piece of equipment, I have always used it – and stored it – with at least the foam sock as shock protection. I did another test, at home with the air-cooling off so the air inside the room was as still as possible. Just moving the bare mic in the shockproof mount showed wind noise. This was astonishing, as I had never really thought about it as a potential problem. As mentioned before, the noise of the still air striking the metalwork of the moving microphone was creating noise. The issue was fixed simply by placing the foam sock on the mic. I cranked up the air cooler (it was 42 in the shade outside) and repeated the test. The wind noise was noticeable noise even with the foam sock. This was reduced to a negligible level by slipping on the furry. Moral of the story; for maximum wind noise reduction on set use a furry inside and a Blimp outside. n shape and size of the furry you need for that mic. Next head to a fabric shop, and ask the assistant if they have acrylic or synthetic fur and buy a metre. And simply transfer the pattern to the fabric, cut and stitch then fit. You will be able to get away with at least two furries (one for the shotty, and one for the on camera mic) for about $25. The next thing you need to get is a hairbrush. One with the long plastic bristles about a centimeter apart is best. Once the furry is on the mic, give it a gentle brush to keep the pile from matting, which would otherwise reduce its performance. Further information; rode.com.au 25

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2011

Microsoft Windows Media Center and Blu-ray

am of the opinion that the world of video and film making has not totally coalesced as yet in terms of the average person having a seamless system to take advantage of every piece of equipment and software they have.

pro

Components

Let’s look at the components that make up the ideal whole; of course you need a camcorder of some description and these days it would be pretty hard to find other than an HDV one – either tape, SD/CF/P2 card etc or HDD based. Let’s face it, in the public (and corporate) eye, SD (as in standard digital, not the card type) is a dead duck – even if the TV stations can’t quite get their act into gear with their digital channels. Next is editing software. Again, even at the most basic level you would be hard pressed to find something that wouldn’t edit HD, and the majority will also burn to Blu-ray these days. The packages that are supplied with cameras/ camcorders and even burners are pretty how’s-yer-father, so many tend to opt for the likes of Adobe Premiere Elements, Sony Vegas Movie Studio, AVID Studio, Corel Studio, Magix and their equivalents at the mid-range $200 or so end At the upper echelon of editors, the professionals, broadcasters and enthusiastic amateurs might choose for Sony Vegas, Adobe CS 5.5, Edius, AVID Media Composer and so on. And before I get shouted at, yes I know there is also Final Cut Pro for the Mac, but with the latest release, the jury seems to be decidedly divided so until we have a full review, I am not prepared to say it is at this stage a current major player, and by all accounts, Premiere for the Mac is going ahead in leaps in bounds.

Whilst not critical for most users, of great use at the professional (and perhaps enthusiast) levels are applications such as Adobe After Effects and Boris Red, collectively described as “Motion Graphics” applications. For the uninitiated, this simply means they are mainly used to deal with imagery over seconds of time or less, rather the editing of a full movie. An example might be moving text around on screen – think text graphics as used on Hungry Beast on the ABC. Specialist titling applications (BluffTitler DX9, ProDAD, Pinnacle Title Xtreme) and special effects (Pixelan Spicemaster, Trapcode, Shine, Particle Illusion, FXHome, Red Giant) also has their place in the video maker’s toolset. Next we have the display/playback options and there are a number of options here. A hi-def TV is needed obviously, and there are many, many options available here from a bunch of major manufacturers (Samsung, Panasonic, Sharp, Toshiba, Sony, LG) and lesser known brands usually classified as lesser quality than the premiums. I won’t go into the argument of plasma v LCD v LED or even projectors here as I am not qualified in that area and there are many references on the ‘net that abound discussing the pros and cons of each. But do remember “You’s pays for what you’s gets”. Most TVs these days will accept content on an SD card, or more likely, you will have a digital ready DVD recorder/player plugged in acting as a media player and TV receiver. But here is where the most interesting part of the puzzle starts, and I’d like here to offer one possible solution. PVRs are quite popular as they allow recording (using digital media guides) and even internet connection. In the past I have used a DVICO TVix, but there are many others such as Topfield, Happauge and STRONG available.

Timeshifting: Incorporating IceTV with Windows Media Center allows timed recording

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All-in-one: Windows Media Centre can also be used to play back your own tapes as well as store photos, movies, music and videos

But if you are shooting your own stuff, does it not make sense to make full use of its capability? So have you considered a combination of a Blu-ray player/burner and Windows Media Center? I have been using WMC for around 2 years and have got to know its quirks and limitations, especially living in the country and only getting ABC and occasional (weather permitting) SBS broadcasts. This is not a drama for me as I rarely watch commercial TV – AFL is on GWN 7 as are the V8 Supercars, F1 I get through the ‘net from Channel 10’s live feed via the BBC and that mostly satisfies my advert based viewing. (7NOW via the ‘net is absolutely abysmal in its streaming capability so I don’t even bother). This means I can set up WMC with the IceTV digital media guide to use the PC as a video recorder, and I have installed a dedicated Seagate 1TB hard drive for just this purpose. The PC is also my radio station – surprisingly I don’t have a great interest in “country” radio’s topics, and instead listen to ABC Perth, Triple M Sydney and others that stream via the ‘net. One interesting thing I have found is that with my PC’s video card connected to my Denon receiver amplifier via HDMI, I get full stereo broadcasts via my hi-fi and even streamed TV (eg F1) comes through with full digital stereo audio. This is a much better set up than using a set of speakers attached to the PC obviously and a bonus! Similarly, Blu-ray discs or my own creations either direct from the PC or via a burnt disc, can also be played through the system. If you are running Windows 7 Premium or above, you already have Windows Media Center available, Blu-ray player/burners have plummeted in price in the last years to around the $250 w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

or less mark, an HDMI enabled video card may already be installed, but if not, can be had for under $100 and I am willing to bet you already have a hi-def enabled TV. Once you have seen your own footage played back in all the glory it was meant to be shown, you’ll never go back. And the added convenience of WMC as a stored music, movies and photo centres, especially in a networked environment allowing all devices to connect simply makes sense. (For networking I use a SiliconDust Homerun Tuner). All the technical knowledge you need is to be able to use a screwdriver and understand the concept of folder sharing and libraries. Windows 7 and the WMC software pretty much takes care of the rest. n David Hague

Companies and Products mentioned • Adobe Premiere Elements • BluffTitler DX9 • Pinnacle Title Xtreme • Pixelan Spicemaster • Particle Illusion • Red Giant • Panasonic • Toshiba • LG • Topfield • STRONG • SiliconDust Homerun Tuner

• Boris Red • ProDAD • Trapcode • Shine • FXHome • Samsung • Sharp • Sony • DVICO TVix • Happauge • IceTV` • Denon 27

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2011

Final Cut Pro X – a beta release you pay for

software

Final Cut Pro has been a major success story over the years. But the latest version seems – well – not up to expectation finds Chris Oaten.

here’s a good reason for why they spirit jurors away from media exposure. Helps keep them unbiased towards the defendant. This is why a Final Cut Pro X review was going to be a hard task, because without any effort on my part I’ve encountered the kind of venom that hitherto has been reserved for the likes of truly dreadful software. Like Microsoft Publisher. And, to be fair, after trialling FCP X, I can understand how some people would think it is truly dreadful software. Having reviewed Final Cut releases since the first version, I was just a little surprised to see what X had become. So I figure the best thing I can do

developers who have had the FCP X SDK for some time and will deliver to market a whole bunch of plug-ins to fill the functionality gaps. This is a bit like putting a car in a showroom and telling buyers that the steering may not yet work as they would expect it to but at some time in the future a third party will deliver a solution that helps them turn sharp corners. In the meantime, drive only on roads with gentle curves in them. As of this writing, there is just one plug-in available (sourced from Apple’s own FCP X resource page) that I would regard as bringing workgroup functionality to FCP X of the sort that users of FCP 7 would take for granted.

Multitasking: Final Cut Pro X starts running background processes on imported clips, allowing immediate editing of source material

here is confirm your worst fears ahead of prognosticating on what X may yet become but, before I do, this plan of attack requires that I spit my own wad of venom and wonder how many of you will still be here when this review runs out of space. Here goes. Apple tells me the missing features and functionality users are looking for in FCP X may yet be delivered by its own updates along with third-party 28

This is Automatic Duck’s Pro Export FCP, which enables exporting audio to Pro Tools via OMF or AAF. One plugin to replicate some “old-school” FCP functionality? It’s not a good start, so for this and myriad other reasons, it’s easy to understand the widespread dismay within the industry.

Dramatic changes With that out of the way, let’s turn to

confirming some of the most dramatic changes in FCP X. First up is the inability to import projects from earlier versions of FCP. Apple tells me this is because overhauling FCP into a 64-bit application meant the underlying 32-bit-based structure of earlier versions could simply not be accommodated. Thus, you cannot possibly change up midway through a project without starting all over again. But seriously, what kind of idiot would do that anyway? Not a pro, I’m sure, who would (should?) run a mission-critical app in a test bed scenario before committing to it in any case. Perhaps the more frustrating issue here is that Apple doesn’t offer a trial version of FCP X, so you’re committed to spending $319 on it via the App Store. The absence of a trial version is a madness inherent to the Mac App Store purchasing model, and I don’t like it one bit. If you do buy it, you can continue to run FCP 7. If you’ve heard FCP X makes 7 disappear, you have been wrongly informed. But the most pressing issue with not supporting older FCP projects lies with not being able to re-visit old projects that might need a good refresh. Perhaps you cut a great doco a few years back and its titling looks a bit tired. Well, let’s hope you kept your source footage in a safe place if you want to refresh it with FCP X. I’m guessing that over at Adobe they’re quietly happy you can move an FCP 7 sequence into Premiere via an XML export. The irony that Premiere can accommodate an FCP project but FCP X cannot is worth noting. I’m guessing some readers have turned the page by now and moved on w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

A shift in editing: FCP X’s “trackless” editing takes some getting used to but works surprisingly well

to some hardware reviews. An abrupt discontinuance of project support in a software upgrade will do that. For the rest of you, let’s press on.

the latter reveals three drop-down menus: Format, Resolution, and Rate. Two radio buttons let you determine Non-Drop Frame and Drop Frame

2011

File-based capture and ingestion is the future, Apple says, so that’s how FCP X is designed. I’m guessing a few more readers just turned the page but just before you do go you may like to know there’s a list of supported cameras at http://help.apple.com/finalcutpro/ cameras/en/index.html … just in case you were interested. If you’re still with us, the next thing you may notice is the viewer doesn’t have a scrubbing tool. If you want to scrub, you can resort to your JKL keys or drag your cursor (not click-drag) over the timeline or the clip thumbnail in the Event browser, just like in iMovie. There’s that consumer software reference again. It’s no big deal, really. JKL transport control is second-nature to a lot of editors, but I mention it because, at

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Obvious The most obvious change in FCP X confronts you when you first launch it. This clearly ain’t your daddy’s FCP. Gone is the familiar default layout and in its place something that looks very much like iMovie. Gone are quite a few other things, too. There are no longer any Audio/ Video setups. Instead, on your first import session for a new project, you establish the timeline properties in one of two ways. Either it is set automatically according to the properties of the first clip or you can customise it. Choosing Auscam Rating We Liked 64-bit performance, enabling effective background processing. No more render and wait! Muchimproved asset management. File synchronisation. Disliked Changes to the tool set but, mostly, Apple’s release strategy. By Apple’s own admission, there are features yet to come to make FCP X complete, and that makes it by definition a beta version that nobody should yet be paying for. w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

The big picture: All the timeline edits seen in the previous image have been combined here into a “compound clip”, one of FCP X’s niftier features

timecode display and Audio Render Properties. It’s very simplified by comparison to FCP 7. Apple intended for it to be, though for most new projects you’re likely to begin, the options – from SD through to 4K – should be adequate. Another thing you won’t find is a Log and Capture window. This is because FCP X is designed around a file-based workflow, rather than a tape-based one. You can still ingest footage via the Import from Camera option, but it doesn’t have any of the finesse of Log and Capture.

least in my progression through the new package, it was the point at which all the other small-yet-major changes began cascading into view.

Video Effects The video effects and generators, transitions, titling and media viewer (for photos, music, Foley and the like) occupy a window to the bottom right of the layout. You drag these elements to the timeline to add them to the clip. Very soon after figuring this out you realise there’s no way to numerically alter the effect parameters. (cont pg 31) 29

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2011

Same but different: Final Cut Pro or iMovie Pro? Many who have tried FCP X say it looks and feels like a beefed-up iMovie. Certainly, at face value, that opinion is easy to understand

Put to work, FCP X shows some spirit My first taste of working with FCP X was a simple one and just the ticket for a first run – a press conference, shot with a 5D MKII. I also recovered some old HDV clips to have some fun with. FCP X’s file management system immediately showed some appeal, organising clips hierarchically into date and their assigned event complete with scrollable thumbnails for instant previewing of content. Assigning keywords is a cinch, so “headshot”, “wide”, “B-roll” and the like makes sorting through a large collection of clips an easy affair. Some of the asset management was taken care of, with FCP X analysing clips and automatically generating “smart collections” of medium shots, one person and wide shots. But this is small beer next to performance improvements. With FCP X now a 64-bit app, it churns through tasks that in FCP 7 would have me yawning. For instance, FCP X will show transitions and effects in the timeline instantly while the render (if one is needed) runs in the background. What’s more, FCP X is very clever at managing processor loads and will throttle performance between background and foreground tasks, keeping you working uninterrupted. No more render and wait. And that, friends, is fabulous news. The timeline is a different beast to FCP 7 and takes some getting used to with its “trackless” layout. You can still build stacks of clips in layers but they’re not assigned a track, so no V1, V2, etc. Even so, I like it, and didn’t feel at all lost without tracks to keep me oriented. In fact, it 30

was kind of liberating. A handy new trick is the ability to link elements of a sequence together and shift them about as a single unit. Apple calls it a compound clip but effectively it’s the same thing as nesting, and if you’ve got a bunch of elements you want to shift up or down your timeline, linking them into a compound clip brings all the benefits of sequence nesting to the fore. Adjusting exposure levels involves a slider-based tool that has more in common with Aperture than FCP 7 and, in use, is fast and simple, with sliders to adjust exposure in shadows, mid tones and highlights, plus a master adjustment. Saturation and colour adjustments work in a similar way. It lacks numerical parameter editing but it is easy to use. If you’re shooting video on a dSLR, it’s important to use external audio in your project. FCP X makes this easier than FCP 7 by a long shot. Select a video clip (with an on-camera audio track) and its corresponding external audio clip, choose “Synchronise Clips” from the Clip menu and FCP X analyses the waveforms to match them up. Joy. Absolute joy. One other tool got my press conference sequence finished in short order: Balance Colour, which after shooting at about 400K too high (silly me!) sorted skin tones nicely, amazingly enough with the auto adjust, though I suppose a white shirt constantly in shot helped that along. I can understand that editors with long experience with complex projects using FCP 7 to deliver a feature production might scoff at FCP X. I hear that. I get it. However, right now, FCP X is a terrific tool for dSLR shooters.

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Same goes for the colour grading tool. Care to add a point or two of red in the highlights with only a trackpad on a laptop? A bit ham-fisted, and that’s why, among other reasons, numerical adjustments are a desirable thing. But they’re not there and so FCP X feels amateurish in play. And it’s at this point when you realise that FCP X doesn’t feel or act much like the professional editing tool you’ve known and come to love. This is before you realise the other bits that aren’t there but should be, such as multi-cam editing, which as I recall was trumpeted by Apple as one of its greatest innovations when it first featured. What else is missing? Er… a roll edit tool? No, hang on. Searching Help reveals you use the Trim tool. Hold on edit point and drag. Trim = roll edit? FCP X shortcut is T but FCP 7 is R? What? This sort of thing is confusing. You need to re-train yourself and that, frankly, is a bit of a pain. There are a bunch of other features yet to be brought into FCP X – if at all, who can know? – whose absence will be more obvious to other editors depending on the nature of their work. I’ll not list them all here. It will get tedious. So what’s going on here? Did Apple really just slap all its loyal FCP editors in the face by releasing an app that just doesn’t measure up to professional expectations?

Scopes? We have scopes: One pro feature thankfully not abandoned in the new version

Well, yes, but something I know about Apple is the company is willing to upset its users by changing direction in drastic ways. Apple will pursue a means to an end, even if the end isn’t apparent to anyone but Apple. Floppy disks, anyone? OS 9? Even Aperture, when Apple first released it, was little more than a muscular version of iPhoto, but with successive versions it’s earned its stripes as a professional image management tool. Do we see the pattern yet? We’ve been here before. In this instance, Apple wanted to take FCP into 64-bit territory and build a new kind of workflow around it with better asset management, which it most certainly has achieved.) The problem is the way they’ve gone

I’ll have some extra blue with that morning rowing scene, please: Colour, saturation and exposure adjustments are a cinch, but no numerical editing of adjustment values is a nuisance

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about doing this. Without a roadmap to when FCP X will be complete, pros can’t plan an upgrade path. This leaves them without certainty in their decision-making and leaving forcing one of two choices – stick with their current FCP version and keep on working as they have been while keeping an eye on FCP X’s development, and cross their fingers and hope for the best, or jump ship and take the Adobe route, or whatever other software option seems most appealing.

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Churlish But for all its shortcomings or frustrations I believe it may be churlish to dismiss FCP X out of hand. If you can keep an open mind, do so, because my gut feeling tells me that those who jump ship too early may find themselves down the track having invested a lot into a new system, only to discover too late that FCP X managed to shed its iMovieish infancy and grow into the beast we had hoped it to be in the first place. You’ll need OS 10.6 or later to run FCP X. If you do run it on the same machine as FCP 7, bear in mind that only one can be running at once and the help files default to FCP X. Final Cut Studio is no more. FCP X, Motion and Compressor are all that remain of it. Each can be bought separately from the Mac App Store and are available only as a download. n 31

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2011

Classic Scene

atching for tracking shots is always fun, but they work best when you don’t even realise they’re there. Director Matt Reeves’ Godzilla homage Cloverfield had a unique device that allowed him to include some impressive sequences – the story about a giant beast attacking New York was all done from the point of view of a camcorder user, Blair Witch Project-style. And the scene of the Liberty head bouncing down the street that closed the much-downloaded teaser trailer (shot before the film was even properly underway) became the most iconic sequence in the movie. The partygoers who’ve collected on the roof after the sudden blackout see the huge explosion on the horizon and bundle down the stairs to the street outside. As soon as they do the three-minute tracking shot starts, comprising filmmaking techniques from the manipulation of old fashioned sets and superimposed backdrops to CGI foregrounds. It actually would have been nearly impossible to wrangle that many on-set effects and extras in a single take, and several cuts are hidden in moments where Hud (TJ Miller) – the guy ostensibly holding the camera – whips it back and forth and refocuses to follow the action. From the moment the crowd bursts out of the stairwell, it’s a Hollywood sound stage much later – the rooftop scene was filmed on location in New York months before. Hud, hero Rob and their friends converge, panicked and scared, and an off-screen production runner yells ‘roar’ to signify the awful noise of the distant monster attacking that will be added in post. Everyone looks down the street in terror © 2008 Paramount Pictures

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Constructing the Statue of Liberty money shot of 2008’s Cloverfield, director Matt Reeves bought a host of techniques and crafts into the fray, as Drew Turney discovers.

and the camera whips around to see a black speck flying towards them. The huge steel head careens off a nearby building in a huge explosion and crashes to the street just metres away. Along with the New York cityscape at the end of the street, the approaching head, explosion and point of impact are all digital. As Hud and his friends scatter out of its path, ‘thumpers’ send nearby parked cars bouncing into the air as the head passes and Hud turns to capture it as it slides to a stop. Sparks marking its passage are showered across the road and a purpose-rigged street lamp falls to explode across the road after the digitally added head clips it. There’s another cut as Hud pans in and the camera tries to focus on the metal face of Lady Liberty, gashes taken out of her skin from the attack. When it does we’re looking at a real head model on the LA set as the extras crowd around, taking pictures and not quite believing what they’re seeing. There’s another shocking roar off screen and everybody turns. After another cut in the fast pan we’re watching the digital New York again, with a huge shape passing. The lights go out in a nearby skyscraper and it crumbles down in a cloud of dust and debris that billows up the street towards the camera, crowd and audience. Everyone rushes into a nearby convenience store. The shelves and fittings shake from the cacophony outside, rigged with more thumpers on the set. When the dust cloud arrives, it’s actually smoke and debris machines blowing clouds of ‘dust’, papers and rubbish past the storefront outside. The windows of the store are rigged to explode inwards and the power goes out as the monster causes havoc in the city outside. When it seems the danger’s passed for the moment, the group tentatively picks their way through the rubble in the store to see what’s transpired outside. Courtesy of another cut, the streetscape outside has now been dressed for the catastrophic fate that’s befallen it, with crushed cars strewn here and there and dust covering everything. Down the street, the backdrop of New York is now dotted with spot fires and crumbled buildings, all added digitally. Offscreen, smoke machine are blasting smoke and dust and set technicians are throwing papers and debris from the conflagration. As Hud pans away to the end of the street the digital New York backdrop now reveals spot fires on buildings caused by the destruction. n

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Above, clockwise from top left:

Below, left to right:

• The Statue of Liberty’s head impacts a nearby building. All the backgrounds and explosion are CGI.

• Top row – the digital New York backdrop (added in post production on the green-screen image) and foreground set in LA.

• The digitally added head bouncing down the street towards the foreground actors on the real-world set. • ‘Thumpers’ bounce the cars from the ground in time with the head passing.

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• Bottom row – panning across the wreckage after the Libery head’s while technicians make smoke, dust and debris.

• The digital head slides to a stop in time with the streetlight falling and sparks appearing on set.

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2011

hardware

Review: Samsung 900x Laptop

o many reviews tend to ask whether something is faster than something else. Is it thinner, lighter, faster, smaller, more powerful, has more storage and even prettier or more funky. But this does not address the problem about something being more suitable for a job than something else. We have turned computers into accessories rather than tools; do we care if a washing machine, or drier or lawnmower is available in pink or white or paisley? Do others care if we have a pink, blue or red laptop? So it was with a technical view to video editing that I approached the Samsung 900X laptop. Simply, how does it fare against my current mobile tool for the job – an Acer Ferrari 5000. Oh yes, some may say that is not a fair contest. The Ferrari is now over 3 ? years old and technology moves fast. The Samsung is bound to beat it hands down. But is it not also true that people upgrade to a newer model because something is better than what they have? I don’t really think that the majority of people compare laptop to laptop to laptop when they buy; I think they look at pricing and features for the job at hand. Or if they don’t maybe they should and I have just done my bit for computer/gadget buyers’ education.

I may be wrong. It’s only my opinion and I would love to know otherwise so please contact me via david@ auscamonline.com with your thoughts. Anyway… moving right along. On the stylish front, the Samsung 900X is certainly a looker. Thin, light and with a huge trackpad/mouse combo. The screen is very bright and sharp, and startup time is superb, measured in seconds not minutes as my dear old Ferrari can be. I like the keyboard too. Personally I like a bit of key travel, but even though the Samsung keys barely move when pressed there is still a ‘feel’ to them; nothing yet has come close to my favourite all time keyboard, the venerable Tandy Model 100 that is now more than 25 years old – and mine still works! A good keyboard that is comfortable to use over a period of time is important to me – and is a game breaker when iot comes to buying one computer over another. Another is battery life an the Samsung

Auscam Rating

Performance

We Liked

Documentation

Lightweight, super-fast, sexy looks

Features

Disliked

Setup

Comparative lack of HDD space, no optical drive

Value for money

Price

$2,498

Contact

Samsung Australia samsung.com.au

it is very good, although the battery is sadly non-removable. I am getting close to 7 hours and that alone is a reason to switch from the 2 hour Ferrari. Even my HP 5103 netbook gets 4 hours and this is another area that can force a user to switch to a new computer – and even camps. So is weight, and with no ‘proper’ hard drive, but instead a SSD (solid state) unit tucked away inside – albeit only 100GB. This makes it borderline for video editing use, although there is nothing to stop you plugging in an external USB drive (using the supplied USB 2 and 3 ports). Other ports include HDMI, headphone, microSD and a proprietary LAN port. Proprietary in this day and age is nuts, but of course Wi-Fi is also built in. The ports are tucked away under flaps on the left and hand right sides of the 900X, and being kind, could be better engineered in terms of access. Finally, the engine room is an Intel Core i3-380um (1.33GHz) processor with 2GB of DDR3 memory. So how does the Samsung 90X stack up for video use? Not bad. Nice screen, very fast and light weight are box tickers. Lower than average HDD space, no optical drive and the price (RRP $2498) are negatives. An extra tick is given for the “sexy gadget” appeal. I’d buy one in a heartbeat for day to day computing, despite the price, but throwing serious editing in the mix makes me stop and think with my head, and regretfully say, no. n David Hague w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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write | light | shoot | edit | distribute

| September

2011

hardware

Samsung Blu-ray DVD recorder/player Model BD8900A

amsung appears to have stolen a bit of a march on their competitors in a number of areas of late – not the least being in the style department. Compare the Samsung 900x laptop (reviewed on page 34) with any comparable unit from HP, Acer, Lenovo and so on. Yes, it is fair that Samsung has probably watched Apple’s modus operandi very closely; even the packaging is reminiscent of the fruity one’s offerings. The BD8900A is no exception. Featuring a glittering black case with all controls being touch based and lit up by backlight LEDs, a tasteful, thin chrome strip across the front is pretty much the only blemish in the smooth blackness. A drop down hatch on the right hand side contains a single USB port. The panel’s opening is far wider than necessary with what looks like a knockout panel behind it, but there is no clue as to its use. The centre front contains the discreet opening to insert DVDs and Blu-ray discs. The rear of the unit has a pair of HDMI slots, one being audio only, a LAN port (wireless is also built in), coax in/out and component and composite out. Now, if anyone tells you that hooking up HDMI devices is a doddle, take that with a grain of salt. It CAN be, but not always, and with the BD8900A I had no end of trouble. The system I was hooking it to was a Denon AVR 1508 receiver connected by HDMI to a Sony Bravia 52”. Other systems have not been an issue, but for some reason, I couldn’t get a peep out the Samsung. I admit the Denon is not a simple plug and play receiver as HDMI ports have to be configured as do digital audio ports but if you know what you are doing, it is usually a pretty straightforward affair. I am supposed to know, having done

it dozens of times, however the life of me, I couldn’t get a single pixel or tweep out of the Samsung. Compounding the problem was the fact the review unit didn’t come with a manual (not uncommon) and the Samsung website to download manuals was down. For the uninitiated, a major advantage of HDMI is not just the minimal use of cables, but also that the receiver becomes a “switching station” automatically detecting HDMI devices. This means you are never playing around with the TV controls to switch from one port to another – this is all done simply using the receiver’s remote to select a device. All the necessary settings are then brought into play for you. To finally get the Samsung working, it was necessary to connect it directly to HDMI 3 of the Sony Bravia, which while workable, defeats the purpose to a large degree. In some cases, you will also lose the full effect of surround sound. As mentioned, the 8900A has a LAN port; this of course intimates that the Samsung can connect into your local network and hence to the Internet. And indeed it can giving access to ABC iView, Big Pond Movies, YouTube and a

lot more. Presumably 7NOW and SBS and 9 offerings will follow at some point. Mind you, I have found one potentially very nasty gotcha; if you live in the country in areas that don’t get digital TV, it appears that the ‘recorder’ part of the 8900A is useless to you in the main. You see, the 8900A is only a digital TV receiver, and as you only get an analogue signal there is no way we know of (or Samsung either as we asked) to get the signal from the TV to the recorder to actually – well – record it. Under normal circumstances the Samsung would be the receiver and the TV simply a passive display unit. Of course this will all going away when we are all digital (or the NBN comes into the equation), but for now, you’ll need to look at other options. For me it meant using my older Panasonic DVD recorder to capture analogue, and as I at least have ABC digital, using the Samsung to record that. Not ideal, but it works. And to be fair, I watch sod all commercial TV anyway with F1 coming live through OneHD on line leaving really only the AFL and V8 Supercars. Still it is a real shame because in every other aspect, this unit is a corker. The 1TB hard disk just adds to the overall package. n David Hague

Auscam Rating Performance

We Liked

Documentation

Good price, net connectivity, good looks

Features

Disliked

Setup

No analogue tuner, case could be subject to scratching, no supplied HDMI cable

Value for money

Help Functions

Price

$899

Contact

Samsung Australia samsung.com.au w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| | September

2011

The Tunnel

arlier this year, a brave project was undertaken in Sydney, that of creating a movie. Now that has happened before of course; think Mission Impossible, The Matrix and many, many more over the years, all blockbusters in their own right. Australia has become quite a location for the big movie houses to create their wares for a number of reasons, not the least being the level of talent in the production area – shooting, editing, lighting, casting and so on – we are among the world’s best. But this project was a bit different in that you can see it for free, and it was developed with that concept in mind right from the start. The idea is that it would be released on BitTorrent for

w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

all and sundry to gain access to – for nix. The revenue would be recouped at least partly, by a neat concept of selling individual frames, or blocks of frames, all 135,000 of them and so hence the name Project 135K. Auscam has secured an interview with the key players in this project and our very own movie buff, Drew Turney, has volunteered to put this together in the next edition. We’ll find out all about their shooting secrets and the other things they had to do to put the Tunnel together. In the meantime, here’s some images to whet your appetite. You can view the full movie (90 mins in length) via BitTorrent as mentioned, but it is also available at this time on ABC’s iView and via thetunnelmovie.net n

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The next time you board a train in Sydney, or drive through the Cross City Tunnel… David Hague suggests you keep your ears and eyes WIDE open…

| September

2011

The Future of DVD

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Can the age of the DVD be over already, Drew Turney wonders?

VD outstripped VHS in sales and rentals in 2003, toppling the latter’s 25-year reign over home video consumption. But some believe the Digital Versatile Disc is dying out already as the world shifts towards digital video delivery. Apple spearheaded the effort to win over consumers when iTunes became the computer-based tool of choice for buying, downloading and enjoying media. They’ve even led the charge in devices that download straight to your TV with AppleTV, to bridge the disconnect many of us still feel of the TV/lounge room being the play area while the PC is the domain of work. And as the economics of fibre and the coming NBN make internet access cheaper and faster, everyone wants a piece of the action. As you read these words, Bigpond is closing its mail-based DVD rental service to encourage uptake of its T-Box digital download service. “We started the DVD rental service as a precursor to our movie download service,” says Telstra corporate relations officer Sarah Green. “DVD’s a large consumer market but BigPond is now fully focused on our download service.” Could content and access providers like Telstra be reading the writing on the walls? In April, ubergizmo.com reported on Digital Entertainment Group findings that DVD sales in the US were down 20 percent on the same period the year before, where movie download giant Netflix grew 33 percent. Because it’s not the consumption of movies that’s falling, just the consumption of DVD. For one thing, we’re all carrying movie playing devices. As a report by industry consultant Gartner points out, “...with the fast adoption of smartphones and mobile broadband, mobile video {sic} is becoming more relevant.” The same report shows how any of five video consumption behaviours, become less popular with each subsequent older age group. The take-away message is that kids are happier than any other group watching web-delivered content – a preference they’re going to grow up with.

The video Blus Blu-ray is becoming mainstream as fast as standard DVD did, and as a result we’re seeing the patchy adoption by region we did last time. Americans can now pay as low as $30 for a Blu-ray player while you’d be hard pressed to find one in Australia under $150. Blu-ray growth across the Asia Pacific (apart from in Japan) has been slower than in the US and Europe. US market research firm the NPD Group confirm the slow38

and-steady growth, saying that while Blu-ray wouldn’t be replacing the DVD market any time soon, it’s helping to prop up a ‘sagging’ home entertainment sector. Most mysterious is the response by Sony itself. When Auscam asked the company behind Blu-ray to comment on the likely impact of cloud services on the future of disc media like Blu-ray, they declined to comment apart from saying ‘there will always be a place for physical media, even with cloud services’. Read into that what you will, especially as nobody in the know is suggesting we start the funeral march any time soon. As the same Gartner report mentioned above said, ‘production of Blu-ray players will continue to grow at more than 50 percent in 2011, while the compound annual growth rate for 2010 to 2015 will be 21.7 percent.

The dark net But don’t throw all your money in download company stock just yet. Despite the explosion of cloud services, public confidence is still shaken after Sony’s catastrophic PR in June when a hacker group shone a light on lax security by stealing the personal details of more than a million users. Movie download services might also become victims of their own success. The pricing and technical limitations of the Internet might not support us downloading movies en masse starting from tomorrow. After a May report revealed Netflix was using 30 percent of the peak internet traffic every day, several large US providers imposed user data limits for the first time. Or is it because the big ISPs like Comcast and AT&T offer w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| | September

their own entertainment products, with the likes of Netflix and (free TV streaming website) Hulu their biggest threat? AT&T customers told they had 150GB per month found they had a limit of 250GB if they used it on AT&T’s Uverse streaming entertainment service. On top of all that, the average consumer still thinks cloud services refers to the weather forecast. Another Gartner report says consumer data accounts for less than 3 percent of cloud services traffic, blaming privacy and accessibility concerns. But aside from all the online brouhaha, almost all of us still own DVD players we’re not even close to throwing away. The number was almost 75 percent of Australian households, and that was in 2005. The very fact you can buy a DVD player for as little as $35 means we’re still buying them in colossal numbers. When it comes to the discs themselves, Australians collectively own tens of millions of them, to be watched over and over, and it’s still a cheap content delivery system. For years the movie studios have known TV broadcasting of their back catalogues is their bread and butter, and they’re bringing the experience to you. Several large studios have already launched services custom-burning obscure or out of release films on DVD one at a time for about $20. It’s the same model that enables print-on-demand for books, where customers can enjoy the long tail and get just one copy of a book when it’s not economical to commit to an entire print run.

Long live the disc But at least one business is still betting big on DVD. Bigpond isn’t just distributing its old discs to staff as drink coasters – WA-based mail rental service Quickflix has bought the entire library. “DVD’s still the dominant format by which we enjoy our movie watching,” says founder Stephen Langsford. “It’s a $1.5 billion rental and retail market in Australia. DVD’s still the first window Hollywood supports after cinema so we get movies to our subscribers ahead of Pay TV and digital.” Langsford then lists the reasons for the strong economy of the DVD infrastructure. “We buy it once and rent it out as many times as we want. Being online we can offer better range, better value and convenience and we’re more efficient than the physical store.” As his comments highlight, DVD sales aren’t a true reflection of use when a movie is purchased once but stays in the supply chain indefinitely. Like many others, Quickflix is in the throes of launching its own download service, but Langsford is just trying to get ahead of the curve for when it happens. “There’s no question digital’s the future,” he says. “the question is how long will it take? The transition from DVD as the dominant format to streaming will play out over the next three to five years but even in seven to 10 years DVD will still be a sizeable share of the market.” n w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

2011

| September

2011

Company Directors need broad shoulders

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Proposed changes to tax laws will see greater responsibly placed on company directors – for their own sake! The government gets tough on phoenix company activity, says Andrew Ferguson.

t’s that time of year again when the taxman cometh and so we thought this edition’s business information page should reflect that. We asked specialist Andrew Ferguson from the accounting firm MJ Consulting in Sydney for some general advice suitable for those in the video industry. One of the cornerstones for operating a business through a company is the separate legal entity aspect. A company is “person” at law, albeit without a body or mind – these are provided by its directors. It can sue and be sued in its own name. It can hold property in its own name. Sole traders and partners in a partnership have their personal assets exposed to business debt. Putting a company in place of a sole trader or partnership used to provide a solid defence in the event of business failure. For many years it has been a feature of the business landscape that, where a small corporate business fails, the prospect of creditors recovering debts virtually disappears. Creditors are often left with the hard commercial reality that chasing money from directors of a liquidated company is a waste of money. And when small business goes bad the ATO is often the one with the most to lose. The ATO usually sits at the top of every creditors listing. ‘Report as to Affairs’ of the company will usually see no return to the creditor. In practice the ATO accept this and move on. Note they would not be so lenient on an individual as there are usually assets to support the outstanding debts. The 2011 Budget proposes new measures, which if passed usurp the “corporate veil’ that protects company directors from liability for company debts. Company directors’ personal assets are now at even greater risk. Where company directors manipulate the tax system for personal benefit by

allowing the company to fail its tax compliance obligations the Commissioner of Taxation will be able to lift the corporate veil and expose the personal assets of the company’s directors. These measures level the playing field by making company directors personally legally responsible for a company’s tax debts in a similar fashion as is a sole trader, a partner in a partnership or the trustee of a trust. Where these entities fall foul of the tax the principals/trustees are personal liable for tax debts.

Directors now personally liable for Super Guarantee Charges Penalties and interest arise when a company fails to pay superannuation contributions for its employees on time (i.e., in the hands of the superannuation fund trustee by NO LATER THAN the 28th day of the month following the end of each quarter). Further, the late contributions, together with the interest and penalties applicable to that late payment, when paid are not tax deductible. These were considered great incentives to comply. Under the proposed changes, company directors will be personally liable where the company fails to pay statutory superannuation contributions to their employees’ superannuation funds.

Changes to PAYG tax debt If made law these provisions will see personal PAYG credit for Directors and associates frozen until the company has paid the ATO for the debt. Companies are separate legal entities. It is the company that is registered to withhold tax from employee remuneration and remit it to the ATO via Activity Statements (BAS & IAS) either monthly or quarterly. Where Activity Statements are lodged reporting PAYG withheld from salaries & wages and those amounts remain unpaid, the directors of that company will not receive a credit for the unremitted PAYG in their personal income tax returns. This is different to the non-director employee who will continue to receive their PAYG tax credits even if that PAYG remains unpaid. This provision includes denial to PAYG tax credits for associates of company directors – such as spouses and other family members. In the past, some nefarious directors have even deliberately w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

lodged Activity Statements reporting PAYG withheld for their own remuneration with no intention of paying this to the ATO. They then set about to “wind up” the company with the PAYG never to be paid. In the meantime they will have lodged their own personal tax returns, claiming the supposedly deducted (but not paid) tax, even receiving a refund of “overpaid” tax. Even easier than printing your own money! In response to this practice, the ATO will freeze the PAYG credit for directors, where the company has outstanding PAYG withholding.

Penalty Notices If the provisions get up, the ATO will be able to (without notice) issue a director with a liability statement where the company has failed to lodge some forms of tax compliance. The effect of this new measure is to push businesses to lodge outstanding income tax returns, BAS forms, PAYG summary Annual reports, FBT returns and other tax compliance documents. Any tax compliance outstanding for more than three months will be the subject to this regime, which can be issued without notice. The ATO will estimate the amount of tax due and payable as well as interest and penalties. This will form the amount of the director’s penalty and will become a personal liability on the company’s director(s). The most significant aspect is that the ATO can act without notice. Prior to 1 July 2011, the ATO was required to provide 21 days notice. This gave the director(s) time to either, settle the debt, arrange a payment schedule, appoint manager/ receiver or even leave the country thereby avoiding that personal liability. In the past the notice was the trigger for Directors to appoint managers/liquidators to wind the company up, leaving the taxman at the top of a creditors list. Unless the ATO had refutable evidence showing director negligence, the amount was written off. Millions of dollars in lost revenue is the driver behind this measure. In response to the growing frequency of this scenario, these provisions will usurp this practise and bring the liability for unlodged and outstanding company tax compliance to directors personally. It is important to note that the ATO will still provide a 21 days grace period when issuing a Directors Penalty Notice for tax debts that are known – i.e. they relate to a document correctly lodged with the ATO. The new provisions will see company directors exposed to personal liability, for the companies tax compliance shortcomings.

Background The ATO have always been keen to know how much tax a taxpayer owes. It is one thing to lodge tax returns and BAS

w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

2011

forms on time, it is another thing to ensure that tax is paid on time. However, this is the lesser of the two evils. To not lodge any tax compliance on time, be it tax returns, BAS forms or other tax forms, will incur the wroth of the Tax Commissioner. The ATO will work with any taxpayer (individual, company or other) to pay off a tax debt. Interest free payment arrangements are now in vogue. Properly managed, a taxpayer can ‘enjoy’ additional time to pay a tax debt. The main criterion here is a solid compliance history. Not only is lodging tax forms, statement or returns on time a good business practise, its fair play. Those with tardy tax compliance are more likely to: • b ecome easy targets for tax audits; • h ave requests for remittance of penalties and interest refused; and • g enerally lose some of the financial flexibility that helps small business survive. Tax Audits are best avoided. They are expensive, time consuming and test the patience of the most hardened business man. Poor compliance history also hinders the success of requests for remission of minor penalties & interest. A good compliance history will make it far easier in getting the odd late lodgement penalty forgiven or late payment interest remitted. Those in business must be aware of their legal obligation to lodge tax related documents as and when required. Whilst it might be naive to expect all business operators to know their tax obligations inside and out, ignorance of the law is not a great excuse. Failing to acknowledge an ATO notice will place the taxpayer in an uncomfortable and uncertain position. These new provisions begin removing these uncertainties. Ignore the ATO and EXPECT a problem. Now the ATO can make the directors personally laible. No Notice Required. Ultimately, the ATO is only interested in collecting taxes, not imposing penalties and interest for taxpayer misdemeanours. Provided a good history is shown, and a genuine reason is provided for a late lodgement the ATO will be lenient. BE AWARE that the government has provided additional money to fund two key areas of tax compliance audit activity – fraudulent tax refund claims and government grant claims. The government will provide the ATO will approximately $100M and will expect to generate an extra $362M in revenue over the coming 4 years. IF YOU RECEIVE any document from the ATO it is important that you immediately contact our office to discuss the document and quickly determine your options. Andrew Ferguson is happy to give individual advice based on your own circumstances in his capacity as a Tax Accountant. He can be contacted via email via andrew@ mjconsulting.com.au or telephone 02 9979 7009 n

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| | September

| September

2011

Tablets? Do I need one?

hardware

I wonder how many have asked this question? And how many more just went and bought one? Baaa! David Hague has a few suggestions.

read a piece today whereby the original designer of the One That Started It All, the original IBM PC, said that the PC as we now know it has done its dash. Yep, the used by date has clicked over and we should all move on. Nothing to see here folks. He maintains that the PC was a device for its times and those times are not a-changing as his Bobness warbled, but are gone. We need a new toy to amuse us in the digital stakes and he reckons – at least for his use – a tablet is the way to go. Now I have heard this argument before, and reckoned that any number of reviewers have said the same thing, usually with a shiny new Apple iPad tucked under their arm. Me? I am of the opinion that any new device needs a good solid thrashing in the field of actual and potential use before an informed opinion can be made, and not merely a ten minute ‘my-tablet-hasmore-apps-than-your-tablet’ game in the playground. I had a two week play with an iPad. And I didn’t like it. And before any Apple fans accuse me of bias, of being antiApple, and threaten to write rude words in lawn with weed killer (first you have to find me and then discover I don’t have a lawn anyway, just a bloody big paddock), I didn’t say it was a bad device. I said I didn’t like it. It is too heavy, bulky and proprietary FOR WHAT I WOULD USE IT FOR. Got it? I also had a look at the Telstra T-TAB. Good price. Android based but it just felt – well – flimsy. Finally, for this experiment, the Samsung Galaxy TAB, the 7” was put through its paces. At first Android drove me nuts; it just was too un-Windows like, I couldn’t get

it to synch to Outlook (being Google driven an’ all), battery life was pretty grim, it had a proprietary USB cable/ charger I kept misplacing and I just couldn’t see how it could be used in this biz. Then it dawned on me. The Galaxy TAB is NOT a computer in the sense that my desktop PC, full size Acer Ferrari or HP Mininote are. These are devices for being creative; the Samsung Galaxy TAB on the other hand is a device for being much more … ah … passive with. Think reading, listening, watching. I have always been struck by two computers in literary history. The first was the wonderful Minisec as ‘invented’ by Arthur C. Clarke in the book Imperial Earth and the second is ‘Richard’s’ pocket computer in the Rama series also by Clarke. These devices would accept and store almost any data type, could perform fabulous complex calculations, take photos, act as book readers, play back video – get the idea? So I started again, this time looking for applications to suit the need and not the other way around. The first necessity was to be able to sync contact, diary, notes etc between my main PC and the Samsung and here I found Companion Link does the job in conjunction with a freebie called Deja Office. This will cheerfully update Outlook on the PC and Deja Office and the native Android apps on the tablet. There was a gotcha, and it took me quite a while to find; you must turn of Skype on the PC for it to sync properly. Google mail, contacts and diary etc is not an issue as of course the OS, Android, is a Google product so therefore does it natively. Next was a note taker, come scribbler, come doodler. If it synched to the PC all the better! Here I use two

apps. The first is Evernote which is free, and I have it installed on all PCs so they autotragically update without any intervention from me. Just brilliant. I also use Springpad, which like Evernote syncs between devices with a web based host. At time of writing, I am also playing with apMemo which has definite possibilities in the graphics area. A ‘given’ app is DropBox. This allows me to store data on the PC – any data – and DropBox syncs it via the cloud to all other devices I have using it. For me this is especially useful for Word and Excel files, and I use a Microsoft Office compatible app on the Samsung – Thinkfree – to create, read and update files. For reading books while in downtime, I have the Kindle app, for keeping up to date with news, The Australian newspaper app, and finally for keeping in contact with others, Tweetdeck. And of course, again natively, the Samsung Galaxy TAB will play back music and video which are all stored on a 32GB microSD card. Oh and yes, one more thing. Acrobat. Why? So that all the manuals for my camera gear and other devices are immediately accessible when I am in the field and WHEN I NEED THEM. The only other purchases have been a leather cover, a stylus (I hate sticky messy, fingerprintery screens) and a car charger. So if you are thinking of acquiring a tablet, and yes, they do have significant use in the video and photography disciplines, my advice is to invest in some serious time in what it can do for you, find the applications that match and then get the tablet. Don’t simply be a sheep. Or a donkey that eats apples. n w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| | September

2011

Into the Lens

veryone knows what they’re in for when they sit down to watch a comedy but spare a thought (and a giggle) for the actors. The other side of the camera is an entirely different world and the journey can be fraught with danger… As a viewer, I never really gave much thought to the back end of any film genre but when I started to take acting classes, I was certainly given a rude awakening with respect to comedy. Comedy is funny so surely it should be fun, right? Sometimes, absolutely! At other times, though, it’s more hard work keeping serious and not giving in to the fit of giggles threatening to escape. The really ironic thing about comedy though, is that it is most funny when at least one of the characters sees no humour in the situation. We’ve all been there in social situations – the funniest joke is always when someone doesn’t realise what they’ve said until after they’ve said it. Sometimes not even then. Or when a celebrity dies and very soon after there are jokes about the newly departed. At some point it’s just not funny but give it a bit of time and the situation becomes hilarious. Not so long ago I was shooting a scene in class that involved my character picking a fight with her partner, primarily because she has PMS but ostensibly because she feels guilty that she’s unemployed. The beleaguered partner struggles through the conversation/argument until he realises its ‘that time of the month’ and makes the foolish error of taking pity on her because she has PMS. Dumb move. It was an excellent scene when we got it right but it took a take or two for me to realise that the whole scene had its life only because she truly believed she wasn’t good enough. As is often the case, the female part was the set up and the male was the comedy gold. My job was not to be funny at all but to lay the foundations for his lines and actions. What happened in rehearsal was even funnier though. The scene starts with the couple waking up so I positioned

myself on my side with my leg and arm thrown around him in what was, hopefully, a sleepy, relaxed looking position. It all seemed good until we watched it back and realised that the camera shot was a medium close up so the end of my hand wasn’t visible. I swear, I was just giving him a hug. After that near-miss, we did a few more takes where I made sure my off screen actions could not be so misinterpreted. Keeping a straight face while reshooting the scene with the first take in my mind’s eye was difficult and I will say that I blew a few takes right there. Thankfully, so did he! As we settled down to a more suitable energy level where I was angry and he was bewildered, we had worked out where the best moments of comedic value were: his confusion and my self-loathing. But greater than that, we discovered that the best way to make comedy is to truly believe in the tragedy of the story. That and not to mess with PMS. n

insider

Juanita Grayson continues her series on being and becoming an actor

Comedy • Rehearse a few times to find the comedic value points • Truly believe in the tragedy • Be prepared to blow a few takes!

w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

| September

2011

it’s a wrap

The Numbers Game Sydney’s Darling Harbour is the home of SMPTE, the showcase of all things video. Steve Turner flogged a few frequent flyer points and winged his way there for Auscam

Killer camera: Panasonic’s new model

usually dislike markets and find wandering around one well, a touch dull and too quickly lose the will to live. I often wondered why there wasn’t a decent gadget market that would keep a nerd happy for hours. Well this year I found it. For any self confessed gadget and especially camera nerd, SMPTE is the place to be. SMPTE is the Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers but is now an acronym for what is Australia’s biggest motion picture gear expo and a showcase of fabulous new goodies. I had planned a casual few hours at SMPTE then a loose afternoon around the harbour but in the end I spent all day wandering around the exhibition. My main motivation to be there was to look at some new cameras and meet some key industry people. In the end I was continually distracted by gear I’d not seen before, not just the cameras but the myriad of camera add-ons and other gear; everything from editing to vision desks to audio and lighting. It’s the best gear shop you’ll ever get into (OK NAB in Vegas may top it). Whatever your interest there’s heaps to see from high end movie gear to tiny iPhone steadycams (and how good is that – it really worked, making smooth pics from the hopelessly

SMPTE: A bigger line-up than ever

unsteady camera phone). Mind you while I was there it was being demonstrated by Garrett Brown, the inventor of the Steadycam, so it would be good! Camera wise there were three that spiked my interest for Auscam readers. Panasonic has what looks like a killer camera coming soon. The AG-HPX250 has the works. An unbelievable 100mbps top speed and a fantastically wide to long lens starting at under 30mm and going out 22x for the long haul. This will compete for space with the Canon XF300/305 so let that battle begin! We’ll have one as soon as they’re out of the oven. Sony brings the NEX100 to the table in an attempt to settle the dSLR versus Video cameras argument. Sony’s Nick Buchner made a compelling case for the video camera although I’d have to say I was part of the already converted audience. The NEX100 brings a monster CMOS chip with it that dwarfs the largest existing dSLR chip but has the ergonomics and form factor of a much more versatile video camera. Also from Sony is the upcoming NX70P. This is a bit of clever marketing that Canon latched onto a few years ago with the tiny HV10 HDV camera. The trick here is to appeal to what at first looks like a niche market but probably has far greater numbers than you’d think. For both cameras it’s the adventure types. The NX70P is aimed at the world wandering docco makers who can’t risk having problems in far flung corners of the globe and face extremes of weather. To show how extreme the demo camera was left in a fish tank with water constantly pouring over it. Very cool. For one who freaks at the first sign of moisture this was superbly done. The camera is seriously waterproof and dust proof to boot – with limits on both of course. Auscam has already booked test drives on both units so stand by for that. n

New fish: Sony gear gets wet

w w w. a u s c a m o n l i n e . c o m

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【D141】ロゴマーク案

2010.03.19 Visual Design Dept2.

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2010.03.19 Visual Design Dept2.

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2010.03.19 Visual Design Dept2.

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【D141】ロゴマーク案

2010.03.19 Visual Design Dept2.

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2010.03.19 Visual Design Dept2.

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