Slamdance 2012 - Day Minus 1

Hello Slamdance!

We are back and in a BIG way.
This is day Minus 1. All the frantic organization, is even more frantic. Slamdance 2012 opens tomorrow.
And as usual, Panasonic is again an Official Sponsor. And again, as last year, the AF-100 camera is the official camera of Slamdance 2012.
Things are not so quietly gearing up today. Tomorrow the mayhem will be in full force. "Let loose the dogs of creative filmmaking"
I will update this blog each day as this exciting and important Film Festival wreaks havoc on Park City, UT. And, if I miss a day, well the filmmaker's party went late.

You may recall that last year we partnered with Slamdance and created the Panasonic "Road to Park City" Film Com petition based on the AF-100. It was a bit hit, and yes we are doing it again.

Here, see what Terrie Samundra, Sponsorship and Marketing of Slamdance says to all the attendees in this year's official program.

"At the 2011 festival, though a partnership with Panasonic, we chose 6 teams from our slate of filmmakers. Each created a film around a central theme and the winning team brought home the newly unveiled AF-100 camera. (Bernie comment: Big Shout out to Kevin M. Brennan!)

What transpired over the next year could not have been more beautiful. Filmmakers who formed friendships at Slamdance united and created an omnibus feature film, shot with the prized camera.

This year, their film “Holiday Road” was chosen as a Special Screening, bringing us full circle and solidifying why we do what we do.

On the heels of the successful competition, we have partnered again with Panasonic for “The Five Flavors of Filmmaking Competition”. The challenge goes to 5 teams: Pineapple, Wild Cherry, Raspberry, Watermelon and Orange. Whether an homage to Kieslowski’s color-infused trilogy or a nod to the great American auteur David Gordon Green, who did justice to my personal favorite fruit, the Pineapple….we leave the interpretation up to our fine filmmakers.

More from the official program describing the competition:

Each team is assigned a flavor and creates a one minute film using Panasonic’s new AF100 camera in Park City. They will conceptualize, shoot, edit, and screen their work to the Slamdance audience. The Cinematographer of the winning film takes home their own AF100! How can you make a film about a flavor? Well, that’s up to our fine filmmakers.

Join us Thursday, January 26^th at 4:30 in the Gallery Screening Room for a screening of all five films. The winner of the competition will be announced at the Closing Awards Ceremony.

Yep, can't you taste the flavors? Over the next few days. 5 teams will have their eyes on the prize. Panasonic is proud to once again be an official sponsor of Slamdance.

And I will keep you posted as the flavors start showing their essence.

More to come

The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM and P2 products. However, the opinions on this blog are purely my own. And Rightly So!

US Women's Soccer in 3D!

What a kick!
Sorry, couldn't resist the pun. But it is always fun to shoot 3D.
This last weekend, I was in Phoenix to help shoot the Women's National Soccer Team VS. Sweden game in 3D for Panasonic (who is a major sponsor of the US Soccer Team, and the Olympics, as well). What a fun event.

We were well equipped to cover the game with the brand new 3DP1 camera and three of the smaller 3DA1 cameras.

The game was very exciting. Sweden scored earlier, but the US rallied in the second half and the game ended 1-1.

We had cameras roving the sidelines, and covering the goals and the footage is stunning. Although I must say that shooting a live soccer match in 3D is one of the hardest things I have done. Focus, framing, exposure, convergence and parallax considerations all at once. ARRGH.

The cameras, as expected worked great. Having shot many times with the 3DA1, I was particularly interested in shooting with the 3DP1. All I can say, is wow. The lenses are much better and there are new 3D tools that really help in shooting. Wait until you get your hands on this camera. It rocks! That's me on the 3DP1 at the top of this post.

The crew was fabulous and a joy to work with. In the group picture below from left to right: Jerry Feldman, Ned Weisman, me, Dave Gregory, Remy Medranda, Ken Fleischer (our calm and collected Director), and Philip Robiberio.
If you come to either the CES show in Jan or NAB in April both in Las Vegas, I am sure you will see some of this excitement in the Panasonic booth.






Next stop, Macy's Thanksgiving Parade in 3D.

As always, there is more to come.
The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM and P2 products. However, the opinions on this blog are purely my own.

How Long Do You Want to Keep It?

Arching Digital Footage (Files) is a hot issue. We are now shooting lots of large files and how do we archive them? Should we put them on video tape? No!
Well, what then? The fact is, you have options.
Here is a white paper I wrote, that gives you my current thoughts.
Let me know what you think.
Bernie

archiving your Digital footage (files)

By: Bernie Mitchell

President, Silver Platter Productions, Inc

Archiving Digital Footage (files) has become a hotly debated topic. Any cinematographer/videographer, producer, or rights holder, who is working in media acquisition, treats raw and edited footage as treasured children. The natural tendency is to say, “I need to keep this footage forever”. And some government or news agencies do in fact need access to their footage for the foreseeable future. In reality, must of us do not, but old habits die hard.

“I archive all my footage on tape. always have, always will”.

I can’t tell you how many times I have heard the above statement. Well, as Bob Dylan sang “The Times They Are A’ Changing”.

I have been in the audio/video business for almost 4 decades, and like everyone, I have a long history of storing my precious footage on videotape. As I am writing this, I have footage shot from years ago, stored on the original 2” quad tape, 1”, ¾” beta, digiti-beta, and even VHS and Betacam tapes. The traditional attitude has always been, put the tape on the shelf and it is there whenever you need it. After all, tapes last forever. (This is not technically true, as even tapes that are stored in ideal conditions will still deteriorate over time. They can oxidize, or the adhesive holding the tape to the spool can break down). Tape was never designed to be an archival media. It was convenient and everyone used it, so we forced it to be a storage media.

SADLY, FOOTAGE STORED ON VIDEO TAPE IS A VAULT, NOT AN ARCHIVE.

Why do I say that? Because footage shot on tape is not easy to access. Let’s say I need to find a specific shot of a pristine beach that I shot in Jamaica. Now, fortunately, my tape boxes generally have shot lists associated with them, so after some digging, I find that the specific shot I want is on a Betacam tape. The first thing I have to do is find someone who has a Betacam tape deck (as I no longer own one). Actually, the same scenario would be true no mater what format the original tape was recorded on. I have to do is find a deck to playback the tape, and as the years increase, the ability to find those specific decks decrease. And, then once I have found the appropriate deck, I have to load the tape and fast forward to the exact time code of the desired shot. This is tedious, yes we have all done it, but there is a better way, now.

Tape will be around forever

With the acceptance of digital acquisition and solid-state recording, many people have been predicting the death of videotape for some time. Most major TV networks and studios have stopped using videotape to acquire the footage, but many still use it to vault (and still call that an archive).

Unfortunately, the death of videotape is occurring even quicker than we thought, due to a natural disaster. The recent tsunami in Japan destroyed many videotape factories. In fact, Sony is encouraging TV networks and studios that still use video tape, to reuse the same tapes, or stockpile what they can. It is quite likely, that the destroyed factories will not be rebuilt.

IT IS NOW MORE OBVIOUS THAN EVER THAT TAPE WILL NOT BE AROUND FOR EVER.

ANALOG VS. DIGITAL

Another sad reality is that most tape vaults contain various tape formats. The reason is that footage stored on tape, could not be moved as it is analog. If your footage was recorded on 1”, you would not move it to another format as in the copy process you would “go down a generation” and lose quality. As a result, no one ever moved his or her footage from the original acquisition format, and therefore most tape vaults have many different formats.

WE DO NOT HAVE THIS LIMITATION WITH DIGITAL FILES.

Digital footage is nothing more than audio and video files. And like all digital data, they can be copied and no degradation occurs. We are only copying files. In fact, with a digital archive you will continually move your information to newer storage technologies, as they develop.

HOW LONG DO YOU WANT TO KEEP YOUR FOOTAGE (FILES)?

This is the singular most important question; you must ask yourself when you are deciding on archiving any audio/visual information. As, I said earlier, I have footage that has been on the shelf for decades. No one has seen some of this stuff for over 30 years, and I can safely say, no one will want to look at it in another 30 years, but still those tapes still on the shelves.

Now, that we are acquiring our audio/video information digitally, let’s be brutal in answering the question of how long we want to keep the information.

The answer to “How Long You Want To Keep It?” will determine what media you store it on today.

AND NO MATTER WHAT MEDIA YOU STORE IT ON TODAY; I GUARANTEE YOU WILL MOVE IT OVER TIME.

If you want to keep your data for 1-10 years, you have many options, but if you must keep your material for 20 years or longer, then your options decrease. There is only one media we know of today that will archive audio/video information for 100 years, and that is film. And film deteriorates over time. There is currently a major initiative to restore “old” film prints. And by “old” we are talking about some ‘recent” classics like “The Godfather”. Naturally, we are not going to take our digital files and transfer them to film.

KEY POINT. THE SECRET TO SUCCESSFUL ARCHIVING OF ANY FILE BASED MEDIA IS REDUNDANCY AND MIGRATION. Make multiple copies and move your data as technology advances.

digital footage (file) archiving options. as of today.

There are a number of storage options available today, and budget and “How Long You Want To Keep It” will determine your choice.

LET ME MAKE IT VERY CLEAR, THERE IS NO SCENARIO THAT I CAN THINK OF WHERE I WOULD ARCHIVE MY DIGITAL FOOTAGE (FILES) ON VIDEO TAPE.

Why would I take my digital information and store it on an antiquated and vanishing media?

archiving to hard drive (Short term storage)

The quickest and least expensive way to archive digital footage is to copy your files to a hard drive. Note: This is Short Term Storage. There are a number of hard drive manufacturers that produce expensive raid drives all the way down to inexpensive USB hard drives. But, hard drives are notorious for failures. And when (not if) a hard drive fails, you will lose your footage. However, hard drives are a good solution for Short Term Storage. I suggest copying your footage to at least two different hard drives, be redundant. Hard drives are good for short term storage, say the length that you are working on the project. But, these hard drives should not be considered permanent long-term storage. Even if you never spin up the hard drive again, even if you just put it on the shelf, the lubricants in the drive will dry up over time, causing drive failure. If you are going to store your footage on hard drives, create a regular schedule to move your data to newer hard drives. Duplicate and migrate your data, that way if a drive fails you have a back-up copy. If you need to keep your footage for a longer period, I recommend one of the options below.

archiving to blu-ray disc (MID-term storage)

If you are shooting in High Definition, your files will be quite large. Blu-ray discs provide an excellent storage media for large files. To archive to a Blu-ray, you will basically be making a Blu-ray Rom data disc. You are not authoring a Blu-ray movie disc. Again, you are just copying data files. To do this you will need a Blu-ray burner, Blu-ray media, and specific Blu-ray burning software. Once you have copied your files, treat the Blu-ray disc with care. I recommend putting it in a case, label it and put it on a shelf. Be careful not to scratch the disc, as this Blu-ray will not be as permanent or durable as replicated movie discs. A number of disc media manufacturers are now making “archive quality” media with impressive lifetime specifications. I would think the media would be more durable, but I would be skeptical of lifetime statements. Again, if you want more security, make a couple of discs. Redundancy and migration of the data is the key to a successful digital archive. Remember in order to retrieve your data from this archive, in the future; you will need a Blu-ray drive. On a positive side, every PlayStation sold has a Blu-ray drive, so in 20 years you should still be able to find a drive. Keep your eye on how digital technology advances and migrate your data to new storage technology as it comes to market.

archiving to Standard DVD discs (MID-term storage)

Another option is to take your footage and copy it onto DVD media. DVD discs do not hold large amounts of data, so copying your files to DVD will be both very time consuming and requires a lot of discs, but the media is inexpensive. Burn your DVDs, label them and store them in cases. Like, Blu-ray, these DVD discs will be susceptible to scratches, so handle with care. I recommend making at least 2 copies, for redundancy. Again, as with Blu-ray there are media companies touting “Archival DVD Media”. I would think that this media is more durable, but I would be skeptical about lifetime specifications. Remember, in order to retrieve your data from this archive in the future, you will need a DVD drive. I personally think in 20 years it will be harder to find a DVD drive than a Blu-ray drive. And again, keep your eye on storage technology developments and migrate your data as new devices become available.

archiving to DLT or lto tape (Longest term storage)

At present, if you have to store your footage for a very long time and want absolute confidence in your archival media, you have one option. Do what financial and medical institutions have been doing for years; back up your data on either DLT (Digital Linear Tape) or the newer LTO (Linear Tape Open). These are more expensive options than those listed above, but they are time tested. Note; these are digital tape storage devices, not analog tape (like video tape). A number of companies, such as Quantum (www.quantum.com), Cache-A, (http://cache-a.com/products.php) and others make DLT and LTO tape drives and media. (See WWW.LTO.org for more info). These devices have been specifically designed to work with digital audio and video files.

content management

Once you start storing you digital footage (files) you will quickly amass large amounts of data. You will need to have a method to quickly find specific footage from this mountain of data. Since the information is digital there are a number of content management software and hardware solutions that provide data base like operation to manage your data. Prices range from the few hundred dollars to multiple thousands, depending on the features of the system. Gone are the days of finding a tape and fast forwarding to a specific shot. With these sophisticated content management systems, you can quickly find the specific (file) shot you need. Assuming you have good meta data information about your files.

About the Author:

Bernie Mitchell is President of Silver Platter Productions, Inc. an Emmy nominated Producer/Director, a Multimedia Person of the Year and member of the DVD Association Hall of Fame. He has produced award-winning programs in virtually every format of videotape and digital acquisition. He is an internationally sought after speaker and presenter. Bernie is also the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist.

Follow him on his blog: http://www.avccamontheroad.blogspot.com

Here Comes The Snow (and the Awards)!

Snow is predicted, the Teton's are getting covered with clouds and the temperature has dropped.
Down here in the valley, the Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival is a hot event. We have had a wonderful time talking to the world's premier wildlife filmmakers.
The Panasonic booth has been very busy. As you can see, we have a full line up of cameras, from the very popular (with this crowd) Varicam, to the new HPX250 and the AF-100. We had a program where filmmaker's could sign out and borrow any of the cameras for shooting in the park. Obviously, this made us very popular.

We also have 3D covered with the 3DA1 and the new 3DP1.
In fact, here is the 3DP1 in the lobby of the Jackson Lake Lodge.
There was a day devoted to 3D here at the festival and as you can see, there is lots of interest in this new camera.

Another star was the AF-100, lots of shooters borrowed it and went out and shot in the park (when the weather was good).

For a bit of fun, we borrowed a 18-85 zoom lens from Chuck Lee of Fujinon. Using a PL Adapter it fit nicely on the AF-100. Needless to say, if you do this, use some lens support, as the lens is heavier than the camera.

Many filmmakers have asked for an adapter that will allow them to use their existing zoom lenses with the AF-100. Abel Cine has built just such an adapter. Here we have a Fujinon 17x7.6 lens, the Able Cine Adapter, a PL adapter all mounted on the AF-100. The only thing missing is power for the servo on the zoom.

Tonight is the Gala Award Dinner and Celebration sponsored by Panasonic. I am sure that many of the award winning films that we will honor tonight were shot on Panasonic cameras. As always, I will be sad to see the Festival end. It is one of my favorite events, out here "on the road"

As always, there is more to come.
The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM and P2 products. However, the opinions on this blog are purely my own.

Days Two and Three at Jackson

First, an explanation. The Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival doesn't really start until tomorrow. When I say Days 2 and 3 in the title above, I am talking about the length of time I am up here preparing for the event.
And we are almost there.




We have shot the sunset over the Tetons in time lapse using the Varicam and the new 250 camer. It looked great and will be used as a bumper to introduce various films during the festival. Yesterday, we got up before dawn and shot sunrise. However, there is a fire down the valley (a controlled burn) that sent a lot of smoke our way, so the time lapse of the sun set wasn't as good as we hoped.



Today, there is a separate event here, TEDx Jackson Hole. We have provided 4 cameras to cover the event, including Varicam, AF-100's and the 250.

And, I will be shooting the attendees arriving in 3D using the new 3DP1 camera.

If any of you are attending the Wildlife Film Festival, we have plenty of new cameras that you can sign out and use to shoot the incredible scenery.
Stop by and say Hi

As always, there is more to come.
The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM products. However, the opinions on this blog are purely my own.

Day One Jackson Hole Wildlife Film Festival 2011

Sunrise from the Jackson Lake Lodge.
It is the start of Day One of the Wildlife Film Festival. Once again Panasonic is a big sponsor of the event.
Check it out: www.jhfestival.org/
Steve Mahrer and I have spent the day sorting 60+ boxes and crates of gear. Panasonic is supplying projectors, plasmas, P2 cameras, 3D cameras, AVCCAM products for this event. So, we have a ton of work in front of us in setting up all the screening and meeting rooms, as well as the exhibition space. In addition, Panasonic sponsors the gala awards event at the end of the festival.
I hope to squeeze a bit of time to shoot some of the terrific scenery and wildlife with a bunch of the new cameras.
It is always a terrific event, with a chance to interact with the premier wildlife filmmakers from all over the world. They are already using a lot of Panasonic products and it is always fun to hear what they think of the new cameras and what additional features they would like to see. If you are attending, stop by and say hi.

As always, there is more to come.
The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM products. However, the opinions on this blog are purely my own.

HOT FUN IN THE SUMMERTIME

Here's lookin' at you kid. The latest in summer eye wear.

I really have to blog more often, I can't believe it has been since June that I last posed.
Hey, time flies when you are busy.
Lots of Big News in the AVCCAM traveling road show world to share with you.
Here is what has been going on......
Besides living on the road, on those rare moments when I am back in the studio, I have been hunkered figuring out the details of editing 3D footage shot with the Panasonic 3DA1, for each of the edit software systems. Boy, talk about fun. I have finished two white papers already and there are more to come. I will let you know when they get posted on the Panasonic site.

Learning a different NLE is always fun, but add the challenge of 3D and your mind starts spinning (not to mention the potential of headaches). I am really loving shooting and editing 3D. Makes me rethink the art of shooting. I honestly believe there is a big 3D business in corporate, industrial, museum, event and lots of other non-theatrical projects. Actually, these present an ideal situation for a 3D producer in that since you can control the viewing experience, you can shoot for that and make the 3D all the more effective.

I was at the Illinois Videographers Association meeting in Chicago to showcase the AF-100, here you can see it is all tricked out.
I have to tell you the Event and Wedding shooters who have been using DSLR's were knocked out. The idea of a large sensor camera that not only gives you shallow depth of field, but long (virtually endless) recording time, on board audio recording and monitoring, anti-aliasing, no moire effects, time code, etc. is guaranteed to make the mother of the bride blush. The benefits just go on and on. My experience is once you get your hands on this terrific camera, you do not want to let it go!

Next stop on the never-ending road tour, Kansas City where I presented 3D to the major sports organizations, mainly we talked how 3D can enhance coaching analysis. They had not previously considered that, and I am sure we made some converts.

As I travel around the country, I always have to take a few minutes to remember which camera I am talking about, because they are very different. The AF-100 is all about shallow depth of field and the 3DA1 is all about infinite depth of field. Keeping that all straight, along with the menu structures, and features of the different cameras, is always a bit stimulating.


Here is a shot I took in So. Cal. of the newest top of car installations for the AF-100 and 3DA1. I don't suggest you try this, unless you have good insurance and don't need either camera for some time!



In the middle of summer, where better to be than in the Arizona Desert? Nice resort, huh? Yeah tough job, and the golf course was great, except it was 110 degrees. Ah, the dedication, but I digress. Hot, yes, but, come on it's dry heat. Yes, it is and once again the hottest camera at the show was the AF-100. I presented the AVCCAM line at the Association of Community Access Conference in Tucson. As I am finding all around the country, if you are trying to get the job done with DSLR's, you will absolutely fall in love with the AF-100.

From Arizona to Boston for the University Film and Video Association Conference. The AVCCAM line has already made big inroads at schools across the country with many of them using the very popular HMC150 or the very light weight HMC40 or shoulder mount HMC80. In addition to showing these cameras, we hosted a number of 3D events and I have to tell you the film schools are beginning to understand that the 3DA1 is a perfect camera to teach 3D with.

As I said, it has been a very busy summer.
There are a bunch of other exciting developments to tell you about, but they will be in another blog, coming very soon (I promise).
In the meantime, keep those questions and comments coming in. As the AVCCAM Evangelist, I love hearing from you.
Stay tuned.

As always, there is more to come.
The Road Warrior

FTC Disclosure
In compliance with the FTC rulings, I state that I am the Panasonic AVCHD and 3D Professional Evangelist. As such, I am a paid consultant to Panasonic, and I get free use of the AVCCAM products. However, the opinions on this blog are purely my own.