I enjoyed it- See it in theaters if you can. Not as good as the 2009 Star Trek, but still a very solid summer movie.
There is something missing from it that bothers me and I cannot quite put my finger on it. Wait...it just hit me. The problem with tension...yes...thats it- Typically movies with a large sweeping, epic, end of the world/existence build up and resolution at the end are quite satisfying.
Think of great movie tension as an elephant charging our hero, who is injured, on the edge of death, with a single bullet who is fumbling to get his rifle loaded and only at the very last second does he win the day. In some cases he may not even use the rifle or the elephant may not even be killed.
Into Darkness has many smaller pieces of tension literally scattered throughout the movie. Much like a man killing an elephant, and then eating it one very small piece at a time. Not quite as satisfying, but hey...he got the thing down right?
Ya...this what bugs me about it. Still a pretty good movie.
JJ...whats with all the lens flares? #SeriouslyOverdone.
As I mentioned a few days ago, the team over at Magic Lantern have figured out how to hack the Canon 5Diii to record RAW video. Neumann films is creating a series of demo videos and tutorials on how it works. I cannot overstate how HUGE this is, and it almost sounds like ML is just scratching the surface of what they can do with it. It instantly adds significant value to the 5Diii for filmmakers. While it hasnt been released publicly yet, it should be any day.
I'm excited to get my hands on it and try it out, can you imagine what Michael Andrew Paintballer Pro ® video would look like? I can't even imagine!
After a long day of editing, my friend Brandon and I went out to the desert to make a very fun tutorial video on how to get this type of shot down cold (as well as safely...I was actually standing behind him when the image was taken (this is what remotes are for). I think we have the technique worked out!
Nikon D5200 Crash Course Tutorial Training DVD Now Available!
Ive been real busy with production the last few days on the Canon T5i Crash Course Training Video and Nikon D7100 Crash Course, whose cover should be announced very shortly. I also have a brand new Canon SL1 sitting here in a box that I will open tomorrow or the day after to start testing and getting to know. Thank goodness the Canon 70D has been delayed a few weeks/months. I feel like I am barely keeping up.
In the mean time, I am happy to announce that the actual physical DVD's for the Nikon D5200 Crash Course Training Video are now available on my store. Per policy, anyone who purchases a physical DVD, also gets a copy of the download which they can start right away. Those who want the download only save shipping costs. We have already started getting some excellent reviews on the course.
Canon T5i Training Tutorial Video Now Available for Download!
Happy to announce that my new Canon T5i Crash Course Tutorial Training Video Manual is now available for download on my store. This is the first draft and as always, we expect there to be little hiccups and bugs, so we appreciate all your patience. The download allows for all of my students & customers to start lessons immediately, without needing to wait for the mail or pay extra for shipping.
My T5i Crash Course assumes viewers have zero experience with photography and will take them from Zero to advanced shooting in just a few hours. If you learn all the material on the video, you will know your Canon T5i inside and out and should be able to competently shoot in a variety of situations, with an emphasis on portraits. I even have a beginning course on slr videography to get you started.
We are already working on the DVD version of the T5i Crash Course which should be ready in about 4-6 weeks.
Thank you so much to Kathy D for submitting this article!:
So this guy (John Maloof) goes to an auction house and buys a box of negatives that turn out to be taken by an extremely prolific, talented and secretive street photographer:
...and it is being turned into a documentary.
I highly, highly recommend going over to the website and taking a look at some of her galleries. She was an absolutely excellent photographer. Fascinating & Inspiring!
Hi Def RAW Video Coming to Canon 5Diii via Magic Lantern
A couple weeks ago I shared a report from Neumann Films that Magic Lantern had figured out a hack that would allow 5Diii users to record in RAW Video, though it was limited to 10-12 frames per second. Today Magic Lantern announced on their Facebook page that they believe they have figured out a 24fps in 1080p. Hopefully we will hear more later, but if it turns out to be true, it would be a HUGE break through for all 5Diii videographers. There is even a sample clip available on Youtube. Look at the Dynamic Range between the bright highlights outside and the shadows inside:
Very innovative. If it could be scaled up, in front of a green/blue screen background, get an actor on a non moving center point, you could be in business!
Wow….what a fun, fun day today. I went to the Usery Shooting Range just outside Phoenix with a good friend and we really enjoyed ourselves. Ill post more on that later this week....
Today I wanted to show you a few snake pictures I got the other night. This series here are 2 snakes we found when we were getting ready to shoot on some private property. One of my friends, not to be named, has access to literally hundreds of acres of desert and as we were setting up near the range, we see what looked like 2 large branches intertwined and rolling around in the sand. They were both pretty big, one at least 4 feet. "Snake Sex…this is a pretty rare thing to witness" my friend told me.
Luckily I just so happened to have my Canon 5Diii , Canon 70-200 2.8 IS L and my Canon 2x iii Extender , slapped them all together and started recording some video. (Which I did get some amazing video of). We were within 10-15 feet of them and it was at that time we realized they were harmless bull snakes of some type, not Rattle Snakes.
The male (dirty mouth) was a bit of a punk and hissed at us, then left. The female was completely chill and was even up for being held by my friend to which I simply replied "you are crazy".