Andrew Cuomo Campaign

I recently directed a project for Andrew Cuomo's run for Governor of New York. The video was written by Jonathan Cranin, former Worldwide Creative Director for McCann and produced by Concentric Entertainment (Craig Anderson), DPs myself, Ben Jacks and Chris Bierlein. I worked with a small crew and shot the spot on both the 5d M2 and the Varicam 3700. I will limit my comments on this blog mostly to production matters.

So the shots with people, I shot on the 5d (myself as DP/Sound and few PAs, producer, staff) and Cuomo on the Varicam (full crew gaffer/sound, staff etc...) Surprisingly, I think the 5d not only holds up against the $60,000 + camera, but in image quality/depth of field, it arguably surpasses it. But when it came down to it, it's the "not ready for prime time" shortcomings in audio and output capabilities that caused us to go with the other camera.

Another main reason we shot with the Varicam for the shots of Cuomo was the monitoring aspect. We wanted to be able to have two monitors: one for the clients and one for myself as well as a viewing option for the DP, and that is just not possible on the 5d. There are solutions with an HDMI splitter but they are not reliable.  Another important reason to choose the Varicam was the need for a quick turnaround for audio since we were also recording Cuomo's longer policy address as well. Again a big short coming for the 5d.

But for the outdoor, man on the street shots, the 5d was amazing. And my Tascam Dr-100, combined with Sennheiser wireless mics and my think tank multimedia bag worked like a gem for the MOS shots.

So what's the lesson here? It's important in this HDSLR revolution to know the limits of these cameras. It's not the be all and end all. It's just a tool like anything else and it should be used as such when it is appropriate. I ran into a fellow doc filmmaker in B&H recently and she was asking me whether to buy an HDSLR or an EX3. Listening to her thoughts, I ended up agreeing with her to go for the EX3. It's a much more common camera, and btw, a lot of networks have not approved the 5d for use on TV shows.

On another note, I was truly moved to be a part of this moment. As a documentary filmmaker, I am usually in the business of capturing a moment from a distance or retelling the history of a moment. But in this instance, I was actually helping create it. And that was thrilling. And seeing this particular politician at this juncture in his his career was both fascinating and a privilege.

Another note,  thanks so much to an amazing crew particularly Scott Olnhausen, Tiffany Faigus (extraordinary production manage and producer) and literally the god of locations - Ernie Karpeles. Literally the best location scout I have ever had the privilege to work with.

"Red" Alert: Panasonic Introduces Hybrid Camera AG-AF100

Panasonic announced it's newest entry into the HDSLR market the AG-AF100 at NAB 2010.  the first professional micro 4/3-inch video camcorder optimized for high-definition video recording. Scheduled to ship by December 2010, the AG-AF100 will set a new benchmark for digital cinematography. It uses the same sensor as in the GH1 with interchangeable lenses.  And with an adapter can take PL mount and cine lenses, still Canon or Nikon Lenses.  The camcorder records 1080/60i, 50i, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) and 720/60p, 50p, 30p, 25p and 24p (native) in AVCHD’s highest-quality PH mode (maximum 24Mbps). Ready for global production standards, the camcorder is 60Hz and 50Hz switchable.

Features that are going to be welcome additions to those of us who are shooting on the 5d or the 7d are built in ND filtering, HD-SDI, HDMI, time code recording, built-in stereo mike and two XLR inputs with +48V Phantom Power, 48kHz/16-bit two channel digital audio recording.  

The bad news though, it records in AVCCAM which is not a great format considered not quite pro.  Also 4/3 chip is not as good as the full frame on a 5d, and the price is going to be around $6000 and won't be available until Dec 2010.  Still good job, Panasonic, come on Canon what are you waiting for?

Best Lenses for Documentary HDSLR- UPDATED

As many of you know, I've been using the 5dMark2 pretty much since the camera came out in late 2008.  Specifically, I've been shooting with the camera for a feature documentary and have since built up quite a kit of lenses.  With so many lenses and manufacturers out there, it's hard to know which lenses to get and which work specifically for shooting docs.

Shooting with the camera on documentaries is tricky because you don't want to constantly be changing lenses, on the other hand the whole reason to use the camera is so that you can get that beautiful depth of field that we all love. It also important to use fast glass so that you're not spending hours lighting for interviews.

Having said that here are some recommendations for lenses to buy/rent if you plan to shoot a professional documentary with the camera.

*UPDATE:  1. Canon 16-35mm/2.8L  Ever since I bought this lens a few months ago, it's been my go to lens for travel documentary segments i shoot for American Airlines.  it's half the weight of the 24-70mm and it is a more useful range as you can get great landscape shots and great interior shots in small settings.  also it's extreme wide is very forgiving when handheld.  my last two shoots in costa rica and alaska i almost  used this lens exclusively for handheld work and it was fantastic.  The 24-70 never got used.  

2.  Canon 24-70mm/2.8L  Still a very practical lens range.  It's a bit heavier than i would like but it's versatile and fast.

3.  Canon 70-200mm/2.8L IS.  Very important to get the IS version of this lens.  Probably the best zoom lens in this focal length ever made. This is my main lens for doing interviews on tripod. Just gives a beautiful depth of field and the zoom lets you vary shots.  NOTE:  Canon released a new v2 of this lens recently but I have not tested it (don't know if it's worth the extra $800 if you're using it primarily for HD video). 

4. Zeiss 50mm/1.4.   If you had to buy only one lens for the HDSLR package, I would buy this one.  It gives and extraordinary bokeh and the movement of the glass if very smooth.  I use this to shoot at night and for beauty shots.  Extremely lightweight and it has a long rotation which is great for focusing or using a follow focus.

5. Canon 28mm/1.8   A great little fast lens for handheld stuff.  I find this useful when i'm doing running and gunning, both at night and day because of it's weight. Great for doing low shots or if you know you'll be moving around an event for long periods of time.


Here are some other great lenses more for cinema look.  These are lenses I would recommend and have shot with in more controlled narrative or studio settings.

6. Zeiss 85mm/1.4  or Canon 85mm/1.2  (great lenses again for cinema look) but not practical for doc work.  Gorgeous lenses both of them.  UPDATE:  Just shot this lens on a commercial shoot.  gorgeous!

7. Canon 24mm/1.4L  Again a great fast wide L glass, but 3x as heavy as my suggested 28mm/1.8.

8. Canon 50mm/1.2L  Again for the price I think the Zeiss lens is a bit more practical and in my opinion gives a more pleasing color rendition.  But that extra stop makes for stunning shots and if you use autofocus it would help.

9. Lensbaby or T/S.   These are great selective focus lenses.  The lensbaby is the poor man's Tilt and Shift but gives an interesting image.  Great for mood, music videos, commercials.

More tips:

Don't be afraid to buy used glass.  You can save a fortune and the great thing about lenses is that they keep their value over time. Going on craigslist is great, but I have to give a recommendation to Adorama because they offer a 3 year warranty on all their used glass. They have a surprisingly large amount of great lenses and their list is constantly changing.   Also you can buy all kinds of old manual lenses from Nikon, Pentax, Minolta for really cheap and use an adapter. 

Renting lenses is also very easy.  If you're in NYC, Adorama, Calumet, K&M, Hello World, Tamberelli, Abelcine all rent lenses at surprisingly low prices.  Also it's good to test a lens before you plunk down hundreds and sometimes thousands of dollars.

Use quality glass.... it makes a difference.  I've tried going with cheaper glass like Sigma and Tamron. And I found that the lenses ended up staying in my bag.  I've sold all of them and gone for Canon L glass and Zeiss.  

So good luck and happy lensing....

Tascam Dr-100 and 5d2

A few months ago, I purchased the beachtek 5d unit. While it worked wonders for the first two months, the unit completely conked out while on a commercial shoot in Miami. This is totally unacceptable and after talking to fellow filmmakers, they had similiar experiences. I decided to go for a dual system sound option.

After testing both the Tascam DR-100 and the Zoom h4n (the go to model for 5d mark II), I decided to go for the Tascam. Here's why. The first difference were the on-board mikes. TASCAM is a pro-level brand and the sound quality was shockingly much better than the H4n.

Secondly, the TASCAM has both a headphone out with dial controls and a line out, which means that you can send a signal to your camera while simultaneously monitoring the Tascam. Because of the headphone dial you can use it like a built in attenuator and if you set the headphone dial to roughly 3, the signal is clean into the camera eliminating the need to sync sound later in post. This is a huge advantage over the H4n which only has one output.

Furthermore, the unit has separate volume controls for the XLR inputs another short coming from the H4N.

The build quality is excellent with most of the controls you need to use easily accessible with switches. The body is all metal. The pre-amps on the XLR inputs are excellent. It has two batteries a rechargeable lithium battery as well as AA batteries. Like the H4n, you can easily mount the unit on your camera with a hot shoe adapter. My tests allowed for about 7 hours recording time with the two batteries.

I bought the unit for $329 at Dale audio but i did notice that the price has gone up since my last purchase. You can still buy the unit for about $310 on Amazon.

CONCLUSION: HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. The TASCAM out preforms the H4N in every category except for one and that is the option of 4 channel recording from the H4N. But since I was so disappointed in the on-board h4n mikes, I concluded i would probably never use it. It is the ideal system for external sound for the 5d.

Zacuto Z-FINDER KILLER!!! at half the price!

I custom made this viewfinder after using the hoodman loupe on my 5d Mark II. I found that it was very uncomfortable and hard to keep in focus. Then I tried the z-finder from zacuto at abelcine. it does have a great feeling and the optics are great. problem is it is out of stock all over town, not to mention price point. what was great about it was the eyecup and the 3x magnification. since i'm a do it yourself type of person, i decided to go out and try to make one on my own. i went to calumet and found this amazing 3x loupe. to my surprise it was exactly the same image as the zacuto. actually i thought that optics were better! and at $160 more than half the price. since i had already placed velcro around my LCD from the hoodman all i had to do was place the fuzzy side around the edges of this unit. it fit perfectly. the glass is german engineered rodenstock. but the design of this loupe was even more interesting.


as you can see when you pull off the top half what's left on the camera becomes a sunshade! it clicks on tightly when its on and easily comes off when you dont need it. brilliant. so all i did was go and buy i used eyecup from an old JVC camera ($15) that fit perfectly on the unit. total cost $175. the square unit is too big for the camera so i might actually create a connection piece for it that will retrofit the part that connects to the camera.

highly recommended if you want to great option from the zacuto!

Hot Rod CSH with 5d MK2

I just purchased a new rig from Abelcine called the HOT ROD CSH. It is fantastic. As you can see from the post below, I had previously used the cavision rig,but that was just so awkward. also it's so massive and bulky didn't lend itself well to run and gun.

this rig is fantastic and allows you to focus while being handheld. that's almost the most important thing with these cameras. extremely portable. here's the part i didn't learn until the cavison. build quality is very important. this unit is priced at 695 but it is machined well and was custom fit for DSLRs so the ergonomics are right. You can also turn the handles upside down and gives you a more eng style. ofcourse there are other rigs at this price. i had seriously considered the redrock THE EVENT but i found out that the dslr plate doesn't allow you to change the battery without removing it. i also looks at the gorilla kits from zacuto, found those things really awkward and unbalanced with a heavy lens and as everyone knows overpriced. this unit fits nicely on the tripod using my same quick release. this system will allow you to later attach a chest pod or a shoulder mount or follow focus, matte box if you want.

here's a video i used with this rig

rainy days in brooklyn / 5Dmk2 w hot rod csh from Diane Paragas on Vimeo.

music from jon brion. little person from synecdoche new york. shot on 5d mark II. brooklyn bridge park, dumbo brooklyn.

never ending rain in the city. used it as an opportunity to test timelapse using intervalometer as well as my new rig in the park near my place....



open shot was time lapse using intervalometer. kept shutter open for 1 second.

lens: 24-70mm f/2.8L (my favorite)





here is the website
http://www.hotrodcameras.com/gallery/?album=2&gallery=4

New Web series shot on CANON 5dmk2

I directed this series of videos for American Airlines new website called www.blackatlas.com. The project is a social networking site developed by Burrell Ad Agency out of Chicago, Juxt Interative and American Airlines targeted at the African American traveller. Nelson George, my frequent collaborator, friend, co-director and co-producer for our upcoming feature documentary (STAY TUNED), is the host and editor of the site. We shot the entire series on the Canon 5d Mark II. The first videos were shot in Barcelona, Madrid, Milan, Rome, Miami, LA and Jamaica. We will be continuing to travel to more destinations through next year...

And for you tech nerds like myself out there, my kit includes Cavision shoulder mount, Beachtek dxa-5d, sennheiser g3 wireless mics, sennheiser ME66, lenses are 24-70mm/2.8L, 50mm 1.4, 85mm 1.8, 70-200mm/2.8, lensbaby composer (for artsy shots), hoodman loupe which i outfitted with velcro, litepanel micro, manfrotto 190cx 501hdv head, Lowepro Slingshot 200a.
Normally I shoot with a DP but because of the quick turnaround and sometimes run and gun style of the videos, I chose to shoot myself. This kit is amazingly portable and since my lenses are fast and low light, I was able to use available light 90% of the time. I do believe these DSLR hybrid systems are going to revolutionize our industry. I literally could carry all of my gear through the airport in a tiny backpack.

I have to say, having shot with all of the prosumer HD cameras from HVX200, EX3 and EX1 this camera blows them away in terms of image.

One downside is the audio options. I used the Beachktek DXA-5d which is specially outfitted for this camera and allows you to disable the AGC as well as attach pro mics. Since you can only monitor what goes into the beachtek and not what goes into the camera itself, you have no way of knowing what you are actually recording. I like the way it is designed but the connector has already given out. Very disappointed. I think I am moving to a two system with either the Tascam DR-100 or the ZOOM.

More later...

check it out. www.blackatlas.com

Canon 5D Mk II and future of HD Cinema

Like many indie filmmakers, I've been trying to achieve a film look by using the newest dv and hd cameras without cracking the bank. Combine that with having a production company and a love of cinematography, you can imagine that I was quite excited when I like many of you heard news of the Canon 5D Mark II, one of the first DSLR cameras to be able to record HD video. I had previously owned the Canon 10D from years ago and always wondered why the pictures had such great depth of field and beautiful bokeh on digital stills while the video cameras I was using to make my documentaries were so much worse. If only I could get a moving image of all these great photos i was taking. In fact in my films in those days I would use digital stills in a stop action technique in my films to achieve that look.

I've used pretty much every camera out there from the p2 cards/ HVX200, Sony's EX3, Red Camera as well as the varicam, the cinealta. Now all of these cameras are  okay but either they are expensive and heavy, or they just don't have the picture quality or the optics to satisfy my needs. One rig came close: using a very crude DOF adapter like the LETUS and putting it on a HVX or an EX1.  I used this technique for a spot I did for Obama.  But adding a contraption in front of a prosumer camera then putting a Nikon or Canon lens in front of that seems a bit cumbersome.

But then late 2008, Canon announced they were making a full frame camera with HD capabilities and sound input, the cost for the body was half of the cheapest HVX and the card format is the regular CF format:  at most $100/16gb as opposed to $1000/16gb for P2 or sXs. And you get the depth of field without all of that extra equipment.

So I took the plunge and bought it.  I should say that I bought and returned the Nikon D90 which was a great little camera with the right lenses but no audio input was a huge down.  It did have one advantage and that was shooting at 24p.

Immediately, I started using it on a professional project which looks great. Will give a more detailed review later once we have finished editing.  But here are my initial thoughts

So far the camera wins out on low-light shooting.  Audio is really difficult.  I have a Beachtek adapter but you can not monitor sound while recording only after as playback.  Not ideal.  also with FCP on any laptop, the H264 format cannot be played natively. i don't seem to have a problem on my mac pro but it's not ideal.  also it shoots at 30fps not 24p and not 29.97 which is broadcast standard.

So my overall impression is, this camera is great for shooting short, scripted mostly MOS footage on a budget.  It's not ideal as a primary camera but a great second camera.  Also I made the decision to invest in the lenses, and then wait for the Red Scarlet in the Fall...

Whatever the outcome, for the first of its generation I am very impressed.