STUDIO CITY ENGINEERING
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photos by: Shohei Uda and Matt Georges. Snowboarding always produce highly recomended quality video content, that I always enjoy watching. There its a few videographers in that industry that I follow on Social Media as a big fan of their work, and Alex Pfeffer is one of them. For those who are not familiar, he is an european videographer hailing from Munich (Germany) who is killing it for brands like NITRO, L1 PREMIUM GOODS, VANS... It’s seems like in Snowboarding videography the Panasonic AC160 (or the HPX250) with the Century Xtreme fisheye is the standard setup for many filmers. What do you think it’s have to offer compared with other HD camera setups when it’s come to filming in the snow? I like that you can have everything in one camera and right now there is no other fisheye lens that look better than the Century Xtreme fisheye in HD filming.
How is it filming in the snow with the Century Xtreme fisheye? What do you do to keep the lens safe and crispy? I think its the same no matter what you are filming with, but in the snow you always have to keep an eye to be sure the lens stays dry and that changing temperature are not fogging the inside of the glass. I use a sack of rice in the bag to keep everything out of moisture, and a piece of microfiber cloth is useful as well swiping off the snow from the glass.
The tricks and setups in Street Snowboarding are so gnarly on their own that in my opinion the use of a fisheye angle could be considered unnecessary a lot of the time. How do you find a good balance between fisheye and long lens angles in your videos, and how do you approach the distortion of the Xtreme fisheye? That’s a hard one! We struggle a lot when it comes to the question of filming fisheye or not. In many cases we just try to do both and decide after whats better. Fisheye angles looks always cool but I try to film as less as possible, and only use it when its makes really sense and at spots where you can get really close without much risk in getting hit. Compared to the MK1 (that I still using with my VX1000) you really have to take care about your vertical height. The horizontal is almost 180 degrees so you dont have to stress too much about capturing whats happening on the sides. Its more about vertical filming without getting to hectic in the movements.
Your Real Snow 2018 edit with your good friend Benny Urban is so sick! Congrats for that silver medal... more than well deserved. Seems like you both together are always a good dynamic duo. For that one, you guys went to Japan and put in hard work searching for new spots and dropping some heavy hammers as we can watch in the video. Tell us how it was to be part of such an awesome and challenging video contest as X-Games Real Street. Thank you! As you said we put a lot of work and travelling into that one. For us it was a whole new experience working together on a project with so much pressure that we had on ourselves aswell with a lot of deadlines from X-Games and sponsors that trust us. Travelling Japan for the first time was amazing! Im a big fan of the japanese culture and food. Since then I have a different view of things and I adopted a lot from the japanese kitchen in my daily cooking.
Your work as filmer on projects like VANS “First Layer Russia” & “Space Camp”, and your filmer/editor projects like “Americka”, “Novy York”, “Zaciniti” or “Soft Lime” are amazing (all of them playing on Youtube). Great filming, good editing/soundtracks and always some awesome Super8 & 16mm cinematography in them aswell. What’s the next? When we gonna see more new crispy footage from you? Thank you! Your kind words really motivates me for future projects. Unfortunately our last season got interrupted pretty early due COVID-19 and most of the projects got cancelled. I hope that the situation will get better and be able to finish them. There might will be a new VANS Snow Europe project... ;) Thanks a lot Alex for your time answering these questions. Is there anything else you’d like to add to finish it up? Thank you for the good questions. Keep up your work with zine and things you like doing the most. Greetings from Munich!.
instagram.com/alexpfeffer alexanderpfeffer.com vimeo.com/alexpfeffer
Let's talk about…
There is a lot of variety these days in HD filming, but in my personal opinion nothing beats the look of a Panasonic 3CCD camcorder with a Century Xtreme fisheye. Yeah, I know… these camcorders are older, they are not full HD and some of them record on expensive P2 cards, but the truth is that they are a solid workhorse and a perfect “run and gun” camera, with the ability to zoom, making filming much more fun and footage more interesting for the viewer’s pleasure. Even if most of the bigger video dudes moved away from this setup, it´s still relevant and popular, which is why we are gonna talk a bit about it (without getting too much into technical details). First, it´s important to mention that the “sweet spot” for the Panasonic HVX200/HPX170/HMC150 is 720p at highest bitrate - it looks better than 1080i. Although you can set it to 1080i, you don’t get any more useful resolution by doing that and the compression motion artifacts are a bit more visible than in progressive mode (p).
HVX200
The oldest of the Panny camcorders. Capable to record in Standard Definition on MiniDv tapes and 720HD on P2 memory cards. Released in 2005, it was really popular back then for independent and professional film & TV companies (the BBC channel used it to shoot the Olympics in 2006 and 2010), but nowadays it’s outdated, because it’s heavy (with the tape deck in the side), and noisy in its image. The HVX200 is easy to recognize for its bulky body and by the horizontal placement of the battery on the back of the camera. It’s still in use by a few filmers, mostly for second angles or long lens shots, and you can watch it in recent videos such as VANS “Alright Ok”, with Will Rosenstock filming Gilbert Crockett.
HPX170
Released in 2008, with a smaller lens and body size compared to the HVX200, the HPX170 is lighter (no more tape deck), but keeps the same structure of controls and functionality. Like the HVX200A, less noisy than the ancient HVX200. This camera records strictly on P2 cards, using the codec DVCPRO HD on a 4:2:2 color sampling, offering more room when it comes to color correction in postproduction. Still considered as the standard “look” in Skate videography.
HMC150
From the same generation as the HPX170 (2008), it’s basically the same camera without variable frame rate, and recording in a cheaper recording format (codec AVCHD) using SD cards instead of P2, with a 4:2:0 color sampling. The HMC150 and the HPX170 share the same chips, producing mostly the same footage, but since the HMC150 records in a different codec and format, the files are more compressed, giving less margin for color correction. If you can’t afford P2 cards this is your best option, and it’s also lighter. Not as popular in Skateboarding as the HPX170, its used a lot in BMX, and you have seen footage from this camera through Tony Ennis and FIEND.
AC160 & HPX250
For those looking for a 1080/60p Full HD camera, there’s the Panasonic AC-160. From 2011 with the same body and lens than the HPX250, using CMOS sensor instead of CCD (CMOS produce a more sharper cleaner picture than the CCD), and with a longer zoom (x22). The AC-160, like the HMC150, records in AVCHD codec and SD cards, while the HPX-250 records in DVCPRO HD and P2 cards, and the price of both as you can expect is higher than the 3CCD Panny camcorders HVX200, HPX170 and HMC150. They are really popular in Snowboarding videography, and easy to recognize in footage (while using the Xtreme fisheye) because the camera lens is wider and produce more vignette.
AC160
HPX250
PHOTOS by: Tim Storey .
If you’ve been paying attention to the Australian BMX scene for a while, the name Troy Charlesworth or “Big Salad” should sound familiar to you. I caught up with Brisbane´s OG filmer to talk about his camera setup, filming and his new video projects. First, could you explain where did your nickname “Big Salad” come from? Man I’ve had that nickname for years! hahaha Everyone thinks I eat shit loads of salad or something… but my friend Chris O’Donnell aka “Danger” gave it to me. We were on a trip in Sydney and I was going off about something and he yelled “stop being a Big Salad!”. That trip I did a Barspin down some stairs and it got the contents page of 2020 Bmx magazine and it said something like Big salad with the Barspin instead of my name. It just stuck… I had to own it and now I’m “Big Salad”, “Salad”, “Biggie”, “Big fucking unit”!. How did you initially get into filming? Do you remember your first time picking up a camera? Yeah, I’ve always been fascinated with filming. I got a camera for my 17th birthday but it wasn’t until I met my friend John Young around 2005 that I really got into it. Then in 2006 I broke my leg two times and just focused on filming and edit. Next minute I was hooked!.
You are one of the first non US filmers (with the OGs Mayol and James Cox) that I remember have seen using the HPX170 and the Century Xtreme fisheye setup. Is it true that you made the money to buy your HD equipment gambling at casinos?... Hahaha Not all of the money, but yeah I play at the casinos a fair bit, and had a fucking roll on the craps table which helped me to buy my fisheye and a plane ticket to LA. Got all my camera gear from B&H shop sent it to “Dilsys” (Dave Dillewaard) & Jason Enns´s place and flew over there and picked it up in Cali. I’m not a craps player, I just was fascinated with the game at the time and learnt about it all and rolled for a hour or so, and made some cash. After all these years filming and putting out a lot of good video content, and seeing how things have been changing in BMX videography, it’s sick that you stick aroundwith the Panasonic setup. What are the reasons that you’ve been sticking with it? What is in your opinion the best of this setup, regardless of the high cost of the fisheye lens and P2 cards, and the non full HD resolution of the HPX170? Man, this setup is easy to use! I’m from “VX land” so it’s basically the same as that. I recently bought a Sony FS5 II 4K but haven’t really used it yet. Im thinking Im going to switch over soon and start making videos with that. As far as my style of filming I think it will remain the same. 90% fisheye clips, swooping it around jamming it into the ground for the look. My HPX is breaking down!… like somedays it doesn’t even work and I have to cool it down with the air conditioner in my car, as well the lens has a massive scratch in it that shows up in the light now. If they kept making that camera and lens I would buy it all again. I just know how to use it but I’m sure I will get like that
with my new Sony camera. By the way, your HPX170 camera with Century Xtreme fisheye tattoo is one of the sickest I’ve ever seen!... Mad props to your tattoo artist! Dude… that was my first tattoo!, I fucking love it!. Shout out to Frank at 383 down in Broadbeach. He’s done all of my tattoos so far.
As you might heard, the production of the Century Xtreme fisheye is being discountinued last year and the chances to buy one are really limited, plus prices are going crazy on the second hand market... Do you think it’s gonna be “the end” of the Panasonic setup, and gonna force filmers to move into other different cameras setups and other styles of filming? It does sucks because I love the look of it and I’ve been using it for so long. Definitely will see people using different cameras, even myself. There are some skater filmers in Melbourne that use the Sony FS5 that I just bought and its looks sick how they use it. I’m like “ohhh yeah that looks sick!” might try give my videos a different look to switch it up. That’s kinda my reason
at the moment of not using it yet. I just want to start fresh with a whole new vibe in a way, but still have my style with a twist I guess. What do you feel has been the biggest inspiration in your video work aside from BMX? Skateboarding! I watch Skate videos more than I watch Bmx. The way they film tricks, etc… I get a lot of my filming style from Skateboarding. I like Jason Hernandez videos and that’s where I kinda got a lot of things from. I just feel like he’s on his own level with the random pop up clips. Ty Evans is the goat as well! “Pretty Sweet” DVD blew my mind!. What part of the process of making a video do you enjoy the most? I like being out filming. I get pretty excited when I nail a clip and I get a buzz out of it and full of energy vibes. Editing as of late I’ve been on struggling with just my mind has been a bit off with other shit going on in life and trying to make things land with the song too perfectly. Its gives me the shits and I end up going out to kiss chicks and go back to it later a fair bit now. What do you think about the filmer/ Team Manager position? In Australia I feel like we don’t really have the filmer/TM thing going on. The only one I can think of is Cooper Brownlee from Colony. Kinda hard for us to relate to that down here. I just worry about filming the best I can, and I try to stay away from the bullshit and do my thing, but If VANS would like to give me a job like that I’m definitely interested in the TM/filming role!.
It seems like the Australian filmer community works together and is more communal than the competitive US community... We are not competing for nothing down here, everyone is down with everyone in a way. I feel like it’s who the rider wants to film with. My work this year has all been from the riders wanting to film/party and make a cool video with me. That’s just BMX, other countries different story I guess hahaha. Australia has some awesome architecture and seems like some “defensive” too. Have you done a lot of rigging of spots out there? What’s the most production of that type you’ve put into getting a clip? Wouldn’t say we fuck with the spots too much. We cut the “dicks” off rails... kinda pretty standard shit!. Ohhh we pulled this rail off this hubba, and it’s just made this insane hubba spot but yeah it’s just the same old shit. We are all doing no crazy stories! What are your thoughts about filming trends like Strobeck’s zoom, or walking while handling the camera like those Japanese VX filmers? Strobeck´s style is becoming a thing for sure! I think I film completely opposite to him. I like to show the spot then the trick going down it, if that makes sense with like a slow zoom in or fisheye with everything in the picture. Jason Hernandez is definitely a major influence on my filming as I said. I’ve definitely got a lot of my ideas over the years from him and continue to watch his videos all the time. The walking thing is not for me. I do watch some of it but I wouldn’t film like that. I like my stuff to be clean and everything in frame. That’s just me!.
In these days with all those DSLRs, drones, stabilizers, RED cameras... it’s kind of cool to see the young Australian generation of filmers like Ben Norris keeping the Panasonic dream alive. How do you see the Australian BMX videography in general? Benny is a G! I love his thing he got going on with Lewis, kinda reminds me of the exact situation I was in with a super close crew and out there doing it! I got big respect for that, I love them and only hung out with them a few times haha. I think the aussie scene is hot right now. We are getting recognised different nowadays as in before we actually had to be over in “The States” to make a name for yourself or whatever you want to call it. Now we are in Australia, filming video parts for legit companies. I just feel Iike it wasn’t like that for us years ago. Australia is sick! we have our own thing going on I feel! and there’s hot chicks everywhere!. How was your experience in Beijing filming for your new full length video “Tear Da Club Up” with the climate, unbelievable marble spots, high security presence and so many pedestrians around the spots? I heard from Tony Ennis that filming in China with the Xtreme fisheye was a nightmare because of the humidity... Oh man that’s true! My camera was fogging up sometimes over there too. The first time it did it I freaked out like the thing broke. I’ve been to China a few times to film and yeah remember that day well the first time it happens. I love China!!!! I think that was my fourth trip over there, first time in Beijing. It was a perfect trip, that was actually what kicked off the whole video it started with that trip. I don’t know what’s really going on with China and the world right now, but I recommend going there to ride when we can again. It’s just spots everywhere, super cheap. It’s a fun time over there I got a lot of amazing footage from that trip. It’s busy and people over there crowd around to
watching. I’m sure there’s a lot of that China trip on people’s instagrams somewhere cause everyone had there phones out! hahahahaha
How did the line-up and name for “Tear Da Club Up” come about? The name came from my last premiere. The video finished and everyone went fucking wild! there was like 20 cops that came in and kicked us all out of the place so that’s the name for this one. The line up came basically from who came on that China trip, then I added a couple other people in it. With this Covid-19 shit a lot has changed. It’s very mixtape style now. I’m trying to finish it ASAP but not being able to travel and these lock downs are fucked! It’s slowed the video right down big time! Its will be out soon… we are hustling it now with the night missions!. Yeah I noticed that when you’re not out clubbing or in the pub, you are down for night filming missions. What is the beauty of filming at night for you? I’ve been back out kissing chicks a lot lately. But yeah the night footage is my jam!!! I just love the look of it, I reckon over the next years you will probably just see me out filming at night. It’s fun! Sooo much fucking fun, everyone’s excited and just gets sick clips at night where during the day we fuck around in a way. In “Tear Da Club Up” there is a lot of night footage!.
clips at night where during the day we fuck around in a way. In “Tear Da Club Up” there is a lot of night footage!. Putting together a full length video is not a joke, but it seems like you mastered it from your early days with 2020bmx mag. What more can you tell us about this new one that you are working on and all the hard work that’s involved to make a project like this? What’s the importance of full length videos, in your opinion? I started making full length DVDs like from day one. I guess that was the era I was in, so that’s what I did. I don’t even know if this will be a DVD or what. Now I think I will just do a digital download because no one seems to have a DVD player anymore. This video has been super hard in a way to make for me. I got my own shit going on with depression and anxiety to the point that I’m like yeah this could be the last full length I make cause I’m a bit over the place and can’t focus on it like I used to. I only really started making this video for myself as a distraction to stay busy while I sort my shit out in a way, which has been one of the best things
I’ve done for myself, but at the same time I get to editing and I’m like beating myself up about it all and can’t focus on it. I’m beginning to feel the hype from it now I’m winning with it, and it’s a pretty gangster video!. What are some of your videos that stand out for you and bring you some good memories and/or fun stories behind the lens? I feel like everything I’ve made has something that’s happen that I could tell you about it. Feels like I’ve seen some shit. 2015 was my year! I made so many web videos that year. I finished up with 2020, I wasn’t working a normal job, but I was making crazy money gambling at the casino nearly every night and I just made web videos all year for all these companies. I’ve been on some wild trips, like WILD… I can’t even talk about it! I don’t think. I love being on tour hahaha.
Your 2015 edits with Jason watts (for Haro and The Shadow Conspiracy) are some of my favorite web edits to date. How determine is for you as filmer got good spots, and a rider with good style and a proper trick selection? What do you think is the most important thing for making a solid video? I’m massive on a good looking spot. A lot of people try give me shit cause they will take me to some bush looking rail that runs into a gum tree with a kangaroo and a Joey in the pouch and be like “I’m going to crook this dude, Bigggggie!”. And I’m like “man I got other rails that just look so much better on footage down the road or whatever”. It’s important! Good looking spots with good looking tricks make a good looking video!. I hear it all the time some people saying “ohhhh Biggie won’t film this cause it lands into the fucking bush”… It’s not that, it just looks better if it didn’t. Or “this is Australia, these are the spots we have”… Yeah, okay fine but that’s not really true. There’s good stuff everywhere that doesn’t land on a emu. Anyway one day I will make a bush rail video... it’s on the cards!. Music is always an important aspect in videos. What do you like more, when the rider picks the music (and even force you to use it “yes or yes”), or when you both pick it together because it fits better with the riding, personality of the rider and vibes of the video? I’m pretty into the music aspect. I think with my style of filming and editing I choose to go with fast songs in a way?... Well I do now anyway. I mostly choose the songs with my videos. It’s all about the flow but I run it by them in a way. Actually it’s 50-50. I don’t know, I have a folder of songs on my phone I want to use for videos. There’s gold I’m smashing through hahaha.
It seems like filming in Australia is a good mix of pedaling around the city, proper Street setups and even some cool schoolyards. What are some of your favorite places to film, and who are your favorite people to film with? Any all time favorites? I love Perth. Perth is rail heaven and such a beautiful place. If I didn’t love Brisbane and the Gold coast so much I would move to Perth. Australia has spots! Just got to search the unknown for the new gems but we got spots that we just take for granted everyday. My favourite people to film with at the moment is Boyd. I just love that dude and have all the time in the world for him. I’m his filmer, I’m claiming it and that’s fucking it!. Calvin Kosovich is another one I love filming with. “Danger” back in the days. There’s a few people… Ohhh Jake Norris! I love filming with him. His part for “TEAR DA CLUB UP” is coming together amazing… I’m fucking hyped on it!. Boyd Hilder’s ODYSSEY “Locked Down Unda” edit came out sick! Congrats mates!. Tell us more about this project and also about the other one with Alex Hiam. I saw you guys been stacking clips... Boyd blew out his ACL filming for this video so we got forced to finish filming and wrap it up. His surgery went well and now he is walking again. Its been a while since I put out a video so I felt a bit rusty at first but feeling motivated as fuck now!… Glad you are pumped on it!. Alex Hiam and I are working on a part for VANS right now. I’m so stoked for this! I’m a big fan on working for who I want to work for, and this opportunity with VANS is like a dream come true. I just love Vans and I really want to work for them as much as I can, and also be involved with them on other future video projects.
In your opinion, is the Australian BMX scene the healthiest and strongest that it’s ever been? We are definitely blowing up!. Not sure if Instagram has a bit to do with that or not, but it’s really growing and we seem to be getting a lot more opportunities then ever now. Nowadays there’s a lot of pressure from some brands to produce fast quick content and some young riders are more worried about their Instagrams than their video projects timelines... How do you see the future of BMX videography with this new era that we are living in? Yeah, I like to take my time nowadays making something I’m happy with. I feel like the way I film and edit people think they need to film like 30 clips but I edit so fast that we almost need double it. When I tell them we need more clips they’re telling me to put something out fast haha. I wouldn’t say it’s vanished for me. In Australia I still have a lot of people and brands that fuck with me, which is good and I feel like I vanished for a few years and making a little come back. I reckon it’s just going to be all Instagram soon. Even when I think about making edits I’m like “yeah just post it on Instagram” hahaha. You been doing it all during all these years behind the lens... Web edits, DVDs, roadtrips, Tours, international trips... What keeps you motivated and what do you want to accomplish with filming that you haven’t yet? I don’t really know what I want to accomplish beside working for VANS. I just want to work for brands I absolutely love and support, so hopefully more work comes with them in the future and I can travel a lot more again and just enjoy life. Any words of wisdom for those aspiring filmers out there? Watch other stuff other than Bmx, and do your thing. Filming is just like riding… You progress as you go!. Anything else to finish this interview? Thank you BMX, and everyone that films with me now and in the past. I love you all!.
@instagram.com/therealbigsalad @instagram.com/imhisfilmer
Knowing how to use your equipment and being familiar with how to get the best from it is a priority. Why invest money on a good Panasonic camera and don’t know how to take advantage of some of his best features?... Scene files are crucial, and define the look and the quality of your videos, especially if you want a cool “right out of the camera” look without spending a lot of time with color correction while editing.
The Panasonic camcorders has a scene file dial that allows you to choose one of 6 scene files, also referred as “looks”. In reality, the look is only a portion of the total scene file. A look changes the way the camera sees tones and color, but a scene file can change everything about the way a camera performs. Scene files from other Panasonic camcorders models can be adapted or used as a reference starting point too. The HMC150 and the HPX170 have almost identical scene settings (the only real difference is that the 170 has a Frame rate option and a Operation type option, VIDEO cam or FILM cam). Depending on the scene file that you are using and the lighting conditions, the camera will deliver better image. These 6 scene files are: F1 (Normal): For normal HD recording. F2 (Fluo): For recordings indoors under fluorescent lamps. F3 (Spark): Creates a better “resolution”, “color level” and “contrast”. Your image will become brighter with richer colors. F4 (B-str): Broadens the contrast of the dark parts of the image, and would be effective for a scene which has dark & bright areas together on locations such as sunsets and in the theater. F5 (Cine V): To shoot a “movie-like” scenes where contrast is to be emphasized. Also used to prioritize contrast. F6 (Cine D): To create a “movie-like” scenes where the dynamic range is priority. These 6 scene files factory presets are not finely tuned and they are only a starting point. You gonna have to do some experimentation and adjustments on these presets settings to get the most of your camera and achieve a good looking image for your videos. To change and customize the presets settings you need to push “MENU” button >”CAMERA MENU”>”1. SCENE FILE”.
*IMPORTANT: You must select “SAVE” to save your new settings, otherwise they will reset when the camera is turned off. Here is a quick round down of the scene files parameters. It´s important to mention that setting up some of these parameters to “0” doesn´t necessarily make them flat or neutral. *Detail Level: Makes the image look sharper. If you crank up the Detail Level and your image is noisy/grainy, then the noise and grain will get sharpened too and will be more noticeable. *V Detail Level: Same idea as Detail Level, makes the image look sharper. It is slightly subtler than using Detail Level. *Detail Coring: Noise controller. The higher it is set, the less noise you’ll see in your image. This is great to use in conjunction with Detail Level. The higher you set the Detail Level, the more noise you could get, but Detail Coring can help reduce the noise. Use it sparingly though, the higher you set it, the softer your image could look. Skin textures are especially affected. *Chroma Level: Controls the saturation of your image. Low setting = less saturation. High setting = more saturation. *Chroma Phase: Works like a tint controller. This is pretty subtle so you can’t do any crazy color grading in camera but, when set on the low side the colors will shift towards the yellow/greens, when set on the high side the colors will shift towards the purple/magentas. *Color Temp: After do White Balance, you can warm or cool off your image. *Skin Tone: DTL: Helps smooth out imperfections on the skin of your subject. *Master Pedestal: Contrast control. The higher the setting the more the blacks or dark items in your shot will blend together. The lower the setting the more the picture will look washed out. *A. Iris level: This setting lets you instruct the automatic exposure to be darker or brighter. *DRS: Dynamic Range Stretcher refers to the luminance range, making able to set a different exposure level for different areas of the image. *Gamma: The “look” of the image. HD NORM produces a normal video-like image, and has a medium level of image noise. B. PRESS has the least noise. CINELIKE V is almost identical to B.PRESS, and its gives a bit more punchy look. It´s what people call the Panasonic “mojo” or “look”. Will look better on television but will not give you as much latitude for a film out. CINELIKE D is popular and can provide the most latitude that the camera is capable of. Its gives you too the most dynamic range and options to play with colors in post, but the images on television will be flatter because of the widened contrast. The major issue with CINELIKE D is noise. *Knee: This setting helps with overexposed portions of a shot. It tries to smooth the transition from a properly exposed area to an over exposed area. *Matrix: These different settings basically tell the camera to process the colors of your shot in slightly different ways. NORM1, NORM2, FLUO & CINE-LIKE.
Avoid CINE-LIKE if you don’t want noise on your image. Go with NORM2, if you are looking for a low noise image. *V. Detail Freq: This setting is only applicable when shooting Standard-Definition video in progressive-scan mode. It has no effect on High-Definition mode. The best learning experience is go out and film with different scene files, gamma and matrix combinations. Shoot something that has a wide variety of color, blacks, bright whites and some movement too. After a few seconds recording on each scene file, check the results on your editing program, compare them and do some adjustments. Yes, it takes time and it’s boring but its totally worth it.
If you get invited to tag along on a filming session where someone is putting in work and trying to get shit done, here are some COMMON SENSE guidelines (without any order of priority) that most people forget over and over:
ROLL SOLO: Resist the urge to invite anyone else you know to the session. If you´re not trying the trick, you´re likely not in charge of the guest list. Ask before you arrive with more guests! KEEP THE HYPE AND DON´T BECOME A DISTRACTION: Helping to warm up the session riding with the rider, or giving him some advice or moral support could be a big help, but know when its time to take a seat and let the show go on! DON’T BE NOISY: You don’t want to call the attention of neighbors, security guards or cops and get the boot before the rider gets the clip, so don’t be a loud mofo and ruin the mission. Be respectful! DON´T BE A SPOILER: Keep your phone in your pocket, and don’t blow out the spot and the trick with your fucking Instagram! HELP OUT: Everything helps to get the clip and since you are there and you are not the one who is going in or filming, give a hand cleaning/ fixing the spot, helping with mechanical issues, or assist the filmer with second angles. Also make sure to always offer to do a quick car/store run to get wax, water or a tool, and watch for cars and pedestrians traffic while action is happening.
BOYD HILDER | ODYSSEY “Locked Down Unda”
It´s been a while since OG Brisbane filmer Troy Charlesworth put out a video, but the wait was totally worth it. This new edit does not disappoint and his HPX170/Xtreme is still holding it down documenting the savage Boyd Hilder. Awesome all terrain riding, sick good looking spots, and a perfect music choice that couldn’t work better with the vibe and action, make this video a must watch for sure! Gotta love Troy’s classic editing style with fast cuts and city time-lapse B-roll. That night clips section in the middle of the video, though!.
FIEND | “Dark days”
While the BMX world is still recovering from “Always Fiending”, Garrett and his goons deliver more fire, this time in a never-before-seen video category for the FIEND videography: a trip edit. With Matt Closson as host in Las Vegas, the team drops hammers one after another on some of the best gems “Sin City” has to offer, without losing the camaraderie vibe and the flow of the video. The line up is the boss Reynolds, Colin Varanyak, Johnny Raekes, Antonio Chavez, Matt, and Ty Morrow plus Tony Ennis, as always keeping things real. Like all the previous FIEND videos, this new one has it all! Riding, filming, editing, spots... and a couple of classic good Nirvana tunes to marinate the action. Definitely felt good to watch BMX the way it was intended to be filmed!.