4K

Pulse, 3 Weeks Into Winter and I’m Longing For Spring.

Here we are 4 days into 2017, and officially 3 weeks into winter. Tomorrow, we are supposed to get 4 inches of snow, and the high temps are going to maybe hit 20 degrees, which frankly has me longing for my favorite time of the year, mid-May through early July. All of this got me to thinking about the powerful thunderstorms that roll through the midwest fueled by warm moist air blowing up from the Gulf of Mexico and colliding with a cold front rolling in off of the Northern Plains. That got me to searching the internet for some video footage to warm my chilled bones and remind there are just 84 more days until spring.

My discovery this afternoon was the video below by Mike Olbinski. Shot in 4K, color graded to black and white, timed out to just under 5 minutes, it’s absolutely breathtaking. The fact that he had the idea of taking this in a new direction with a black and white post production just makes it. The soundtrack adds to the ominous power of the visuals and makes me long for the opportunity to be able to sit on the sun porch and watch this happening live. (not the tornado part, I like my house).

If you have the opportunity watch this in 4K on a larger TV. The visuals will knock your socks off. For more info on how Oblinski made it click through here.

Craft. A Modular Camera System.

In the last 20 years there has been a massive change in photography and cinematography technology. Digital changed the game, then smartphones. One thing that has remained fairly constant though is the form factor. Aside from smartphones, digital cameras look and function very similar to an analog film camera. Your fancy DSLR might have upgraded electronics and a digital image processor, but it still looks and functions the same way your old film camera did. Buy a body, buy a bunch of lenses, get the the battery grip, etc. So here comes a new camera company that might just change all that.

b_full-craft-camera

Craft has designed a camera system where every component is interchangeable allowing you to design a system best suited to your needs. While the video below is just a 3D rendering of the yet to be released final product, the system shows promise. This is a modular system with a number of unique innovations, and a very competitive price point for photographers. The website shows a complete 4K video set up for less than 2 grand which is not bad when you consider what you get.

Some of the innovations that I find really intriguing are the hot swappable lens mounts, the ND filter set up, the connectivity module, and the fact that you can build this to fit your needs. Full tech specifactions are at the bottom of this post.

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Technical Specifications (Full technical specifications will be announced early this summer):
HD Video Element, Super 16mm CMOS Sensor with Global Shutter (1920×1080, 1280×720)
4K Video Element, Super 35mm CMOS Sensor with Global Shutter (4096 x 2160, 1920×1080, 1280 x 720)
Frame rates 23.98, 24, 25, 29.97, 30, 50, 59.94, 60
Fast and slow frame rate speeds at intervals up to 120fps
Recording Formats Cinema DNG and ProRes (additional formats will announced).
Dimensions (W x H x D)
Video Elements: (97.15mm x 96mm x 39.68mm) (3.7” x 3.6” x 1.5″)
Store, Battery, Audio Elements: (97.15mm x 96mm x 33.4mm) (3.7” x 3.6”x 1.3″)
LCD Elements: (97.15mm x 96mm x 30mm) (3.7” x 3.6” x 1.2″)
Fully assembled cinema camera: (97.15mm x 96mm x 170mm) (3.7” x 3.6” x 6.6″)

“Ancients” from Nicholas Buer.

Over the last few years motion controlled time-lapse videos have exploded on the internet. As the cost of the equipment has come down, and the quality of digital video equipment has gone up, people are producing some really spectacular short films. One that really stands out for me is “Ancients” by Nicholas Buer. For the full back story on the video below click through to Vimeo. What I love about this short film is, unlike a lot of time-lapse landscape shorts, Buer uses framing to capture reflections of the stars in the foreground, or dropping the stars out of focus to create a dreamy bokeh behind a silhouette of tree branches. The editing, cinematography, and motion control all add up to a really nice piece with some stand out features. There is no list of equipment used, but this is all available at 4K resolution so I’m assuming he probably used a RED, a Cinema EOS or the equivalent.

“Huelux” Randy Halverson’s Film Lets You Know Spring is Just Around the Corner.

Yesterday at this time most of the central midwest was in the midst of an epic snowstorm. I know in the area of Kansas City I live in we got at least 10 inches of snow which is a reminder that winter isn’t over for at least six more weeks. If it’s anything like last year, I bet we have snow late into March. With that said, the video below is a reminder that Spring and Summer are just around the corner, and soon we will all be talking about how hot it is.

Randy Halverson shot Huelux from April-November 2013 in South Dakota, Wyoming and Utah enduring many of the challenges you are faced with when shooting time-lapse footage, especially the weather. His goal was to capture the Milky way, and Aurora Borealis, but cloud cover and storms hampered his attempts. What he did get was some amazing footage of night time thunderstorms as well as the the stars and magnetic fields at play. For more info on the film, and the gear used go to his Facebook page here, or click through to Vimeo to see the full write up on his process and equipment. The 4K version which I highly recommend watching is available here.