For my fellow filmmaking friends, the last couple of days has brought some terrific news.

For those who have been frustrated with the features lacking in FCPX, there has been an update that among other things supports XML exporting/importing. This means you can use all of those third party applications and work with others on a project much easier. I look forward to still using Soundtrack Pro and Color with FCPX. I have been waiting for this update for months! Lots of bug fixes- we are on our way with FCPX! For those who are on the fence about FCPX, you can download a free 30 day trial here: http://www.apple.com/finalcutpro/trial/  I also HIGHLY recommend the tutorial videos to learn FCPX from Ripple Training: http://www.rippletraining.com/.  It’s $40 for the videos and well worth it! I have been using Ripple Training for years and Steve Martin, the trainer on the videos- not the actor, was my teacher when I became an Apple Certified Instructor.

Also, exciting news is the long awaited Lacie Little Big Disk-Thunderbolt drive! For those who don’t know about Thunderbolt- Apple and Intel have worked together to create a blazing fast connection that is 20x faster than USB 2.0.

Why is this exciting? Because when you edit the massive high quality HD files, your computer is drawing the source material in real time from the place where your files are stored. If you are like me and you edit a lot of projects, there is not enough space on your computer (nor is it good to tax your computer that your software is running) for all of these files. In the past Firewire 800, was the best option. But it was dragging down my projects and I had a lot of crashes because of read speed. I also need a fast drive for editing while traveling with my Macbook Pro. Both my Imac and Macbook pro have thunderbolt technology. If you do not have thunderbolt, than this drive is not for you. Mark my words, this technology will eventually be in a lot of devices and change how we access our files and bring on new possibilities.

The Lacie Little Big Disk is $399 for 1TB and $499 for 2TB available here: http://store.apple.com/us/product/H7150ZM/A/lacie-little-big-disk-thunderbolt-series-hard-drive Don’t forget to get a Thunderbolt cable- it doenst come with one.

Finally, I would like to mention something completely unrelated. I have been working on a website to serve as a hub for all of my projects including The Philmont Documentary, The Tobasco Donkeys, current projects and my blog. I’d be happy for you to visit and take a look at: www.LarryMcLaughlin.net

If you’ve ever wanted to take better pictures or video, this post is for you. It doesn’t matter if you’re shooting with a mega camera or a cell phone, these basic composition techniques will make your pictures at least 57% better or your money back!

Composition in photography refers to how you frame your subject(s). There are many techniques, but I’ll focus on 5 that you will get the most use out of. These are so simple, yet so powerful to include in your photographer’s tool bag. Millions of photographers around the globe will protest this post, because it spills the beans on trade secrets from thousands of years. I don’t care, because I’m a rebel, a rule breaker, a nonconformist! These scandalous secrets must be revealed!

RULE OF THIRDS

The number one composition technique that you can almost always use.  It is everywhere in photos, art and movies.  Look around at pictures and I bet you’ll notice this technique being used. The idea is to split your frame into 3 imaginary horizontal and vertical areas.  Put your subjects on those areas (vertically or horizontally).  Or where they meet.  Look at the photos below to see what I mean:

Most cameras have the option to actually put these grids on your display screen if that helps you to get the concept.  But you don’t need the lines.  The best thing to do is to just look for this in photographs and see lots of examples of how this is used.So the next time you take a picture of your friend at that awesome place- try putting them on a third (not in the middle).

LEADING LINES

Use a line(s) to lead the eye into the frame toward your subject.  Lines are everywhere- you just have to be on the lookout for them.   They can be roads or fences or any number of things in architecture.  Check out the pictures for examples:

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For years people have been asking me this question.  And every year or two my answer for a camera model would change- because video cameras are changing as fast as any other technology.  Video cameras have become computers with lenses.  Which isn’t such a bad thing because you can do so much more with much less money each year.  Problem is your cool camera can become ancient history in about 3-5 years time.  So it’s important to choose wisely in order to get the most for your money.

When people starting out ask me which camera to buy- I ask for a little information first:

1. What do you see yourself filming with the camera in the next year?
2. How often will you be realistically using the camera in the next year?
3. Do you want to be a filmmaker who shoots your own stuff or would you rather have someone else shoot it?
4. What is your final output?  (Internet, DVD, etc…?)

The reason for the above questions is because I have always been a strong advocate of renting cameras until you plan to use them a lot.  Many people tell me they want to get together with some friends to finally make that short film and they want to know which camera to buy.  I say go rent it for enough time to learn the camera a week before your shoot for practice and enough time to cover your shoot and return it.  There’s probably rental places in your area but here’s a place you can check out prices for: http://www.borrowlenses.com/category/Video.  If you are more interested in writing, directing or editing and would rather have someone else shoot the film for you- don’t buy a camera.  Find someone who loves shooting who has a camera.

However if you want to shoot more- here’s my recommendations as of the date of this post, according to what you would like to spend.  You’ll find some of the best prices and great reviews at these online stores: www.bhphotovideo.com, http://www.adorama.com, and www.Amazon.com – among others.   I buy most of my stuff from B&H.

$300 – $600:

If you just want a little HD camera that shoots great video for family or fun projects- I’d recommend Canon or Panasonic.  I’ve had great luck with Cannon’s Vixia models.  Great cameras for my beginner students and the quality and build is fantastic.  These cameras are really best used with everything on automatic.  So if that appeals to you- go for it.  As a person who is against using Auto settings on a camera- these things have actually have surprised me on many occasions.   If you have any interest in manual focusing, don’t get one of these cameras.  They have little focus ‘dials’ but they are about as useful as a bag of crap.  Many of them have incorporated iPhone’s model of touching the screen where you want it to focus and the face detection.  They also try to have ‘Intelligent Autofocus’ to put your subject in focus and everything else out of focus for that pro look.  But often times when people aren’t paying attention it’s the tree in the background that is in focus and the subject out of focus.  Be aware of the cameras limits and you can do great things with it.  You may want to get something that allows a small boom mic to attach to it for better sound.  But for fun family videos the onboard mic is fine.  Here’s a link to some wee nice cameras.

If you want a nice still camera and video camera in a small package I have heard GREAT things about the Panasonic Lumix GF2 which retails for less than $600!!  Check it out here.  

$700 – $1500:

One of the most exciting things to happen to filmmakers lately is the DSLR revolution.  That is, using Digital SLR cameras for video.  So if you are looking for a still camera and a video camera- consider one of these!  I love the look of the video of the DSLR cameras.  Awesome!  And being a guy with kids, I only have to carry one camera with me know to family events.  A button switches between video and picture mode.  I have a Cannon 5D Mark II which is a great camera, but maybe a bit more than you really need to spend if you aren’t making a living with your camera.  In fact I’ve heard amazing things about the Canon 7D (price for body: $1500) here and a really great buy is the Canon T2i (Price for body: $700) here. You have to buy lenses in addition to your camera which can often cost more than your camera.  I could make a whole post on lenses- but instead I’ll give you a link for a great video tutorial to get you started here.

The downsides of shooting with DSLR’s is that you have to buy a lot of accessories to help you shoot great video with it, because they are built to be stills cameras.  This can cost you a small fortune.  For example- you’ll need an external mic to record and a separate audio recording device.  You’ll need something to help you focus better- because you can only focus by looking through the LCD screen on the back of the camera, which can be challenging especially outside on a sunny day.  You may need something to rig to the camera, that allows you to hold it better for less shaky images.  But if you just want to shoot music videos, this thing can be great and there’s lots of DIY tricks out there to make these cameras more user friendly on the cheap.  I have a couple of former students who just started their own production company with a Canon 7D.  They are making music videos and even made a cheap shoulder rig with PVC pipe and electric tape.  Awesome!  I’m so proud of them- and they are doing some great stuff.  You can check them out here: here: https://www.facebook.com/EsotericFilms  (I think they are still working on an official website)

Final thoughts:

Remember it’s the content that you shoot that really counts.  Just look at all the low quality videos on youtube with millions of hits.  I’m sure there’s probably a beautifully shot HD video of a yellow rose on youtube that probably has only 60 hits. If you want to learn to become a better filmmaker- get anything that is available to you.  Borrow a camera or shoot on your phone.  But DO KEEP IN MIND- that if you want to edit the footage, be careful to know what format your camera shoots in and what your editing software is capable of before making your masterpiece.  For example, if you get a mini-DV camera that takes small tapes be sure you have a firewire port on your computer to capture the footage.  If you get a camera from 10 years ago- it may not be digital, and your will have to figure out a way to convert your analog tapes to digital before editing on the computer.  I’ve never had a ‘Flip’ camera but I’ve heard horror stories of people trying to get the footage from the camera to their Windows Moviemaker or iMovie.

Finally, another great way to check out footage of a camera you are looking into is to search on www.vimeo.com.  For example if you search for, ‘Canon 7D’ you’ll find some great videos that people have shot with it.  Vimeo is a community of artists that value great work and shares with others. It’s definitely a big step up from youtube in my opinion.

Have fun, hope this helps!

Class dismissed.

- Mr. McAwesome

In an effort to make this blog more beneficial to the world at large- I will be creating a series of blogs about the basics of filmmaking.  Everything from cameras, filming, lighting, sound, editing etc… Through the years I have talked to so many people who just want to beef up their home videos- or maybe make a little short film to enter into a film festival.  Cameras are everywhere now and editing software comes free on every computer.  So why the hell not?  Let’s have fun!  Maybe you’ll be the next Steven Spielberg or create a documentary that ends up saving the world somehow.  All I ask is that you thank me at your Oscar speech (and 1 million dollars).  These lessons are for beginners.  They come from experience and my time in film school and my time as a filmmaking teacher.

I went to film school and I’ve learned a lot of BS textbook stuff about filmmaking and the important stuff I learned by making mistakes.  These lessons will just be the important stuff.  I’ll break it down into bit size pieces.  I will still blog about my travels and experiences as a working filmmaker- but will make the distinction more clear in the title of the post.  My lessons will be labeled something like, “Mr. McAwesome’s School of Film: Choosing a camera”.  Sound good?  I hope you can follow- if you know of others interested in learning filmmaking basics, please pass this onto them.  I hope people chime in too and ask questions!

If you subscribe to this blog than they can be emailed to you as I write them.  So enroll now! This is your chance to be the head of the class! The big man on campus! The smarty pants of filmmaking!  It’s free!  It’s easy!  It’s Mr. McAwesome’s School of Film!

Until then- you may get a chuckle out a web series that I made with my high school film students a few years ago.  I played a wannabe Hollywood filmmaker turned teacher.  The kids were great actors in it and they shot and edited everything and they won awards for it!  The web series was called, “Making Evil Tree” and it was fun to make.  I want to point out that it was completely fictitious.  I was really not like this as a teacher.  We didn’t even use our cameras and studio space for the series because we wanted everything to look really amateurish.  Anyhow- you can check out the series here: http://vimeo.com/album/1466631

Hope to see you next time, up front and center at Mr. McAwesome’s School of Film!

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I awoke this morning at 3:30am to capture a time-lapse sunrise over the REI Denver Flagship store. It’s a cool store located downtown on the Platte River in a beautifully restored historic building. Everything from the architecture, design and landscaping, are incredible. The store is massive with various levels that would drive any gear head into a frenzy. If your in the Denver area it’s worth a visit. It’s located in a historic area with lots of other attractions nearby, it would be easy to spend half a day here.

So since I am standing next to my camera for the next couple of hours, I figured I’d try to provide some practical advice to anyone looking to shoot a time-lapse video. I’m shooting mine mine with the Canon 5D Mark II- but you can take a time-lapse on any DSLR or camera with an interval timer. They even have an app for shooting time-lapses with your iPhone. You’ll also need a tripod, interval timer, and patience.

For sunrise or sunset shots you’ll need to know the times when they will occur. You can find this information for your area online or in a local newspaper. I have a great app called, “Sunrise Sunset Pro” which is quite handy and even includes a compass that indicates where the sun should rising or setting in relation to where you are standing. Be sure to set-up well before civil twilight to get the full effect. If you show up at the designated sunrise and sunset times you’re already too late.

Find a shot that will be suitable for the duration of your sequence. For example if you are filming sunset over 2 hours and you don’t notice a particular street light in your shot that comes on in the middle of your shot midway through, you may lose your charm and become disagreeable. Get your camera on a tripod or some other device that will not let your camera move over the course of the time your shooting.

Figure out your interval time. Most video in the US is either 24 or 30 frames per second. Figure out what you need to shoot at (that’s a whole other topic) and then calculate how long you want your video clip to be and how long you want to capture your sequence. For sunrise/sunset shots those can be done in 2-3 hours. Each photo you take is 1 frame. So you’ll have to do some math to figure out how long you want your intervals to be. I have a basic app on my iPhone called, “Timelapse” that does all the work for you.

You’ll need an interval timer that is a remote that plugs into your camera to take pictures at the intervals you want. Cannon sells one for their cameras for about $150, but I got a generic for $16. The generic does an excellent job for me, the only thing that bugs me is that it has no off button so I have to pop the batteries out when I’m not using it.

Now the fun part… time and patience. If you are in a place where you can’t walk away from your camera, you may want to bring something to do or read. Relax and grin at how impressive your hard work will pay off. Think of how your friends will raise toasts to you at dinner parties for being the best time-lapse photographer they know. For sunrise and sunset shots be sure to stay long enough for a complete transition. The sky changes so much that it can sometimes be difficult to see the full effect of your final piece with your eye. The clouds could be doing some cool stuff that you only notice when you put it all together and if you stopped early, you might get frustrated and throw something across the room and become an unpleasant person who loses their friends and relations and then lose your job and have to live under a bridge where you will most likely develop a drug habit.

When you are all finished,  you’ll need to put it together on your computer. You can research online what software does this best- but I use Apples QuickTime player version 7. The latest version X lacks a particular feature which makes this all possible. That feature is under the file menu called open or import sequence I think. Since I am away from my computer I can’t give proper directions for this but just google how to make a time-lapse sequence with QuickTime player and you’ll find plenty of directions.

Good luck with your time-lapses! They are fun, a bit addictive and can have a nice payoff if you’ve got the patience.