So nobody’s actually used this combo in this capacity to my knowledge. So here are my brief thoughts followed by a few photos.

It’s really portable. This rig is small. I’ve had lots of admiration for a professional setup as small as this. Before this shoot in Cairo, we talked about the rules on filming without a permit since I don’t have one and didn’t care to get one. It’s frowned upon in Cairo to look like you’re producing a film but not have paperwork to back it up, but I was reassured that my set up would not cause any issues and it hasn’t: see next item.

1. It’s wickedly stealth. I drew no more attention to myself beinga 6′+ westerner in Egypt than my dad did with the DSLR. In fact, in my hands, the SI, lens, and mattebox were smaller than the DSLR my dad was carrying. I was dismissed after casual observations by both law enforcement officials and normal passers-by.
2. It’s stinkin’ fun to use. The SI feels like a gun in your hands. You can hold it like a pistol, in your palm, move it, twist it and it feels good all the time. I set the SI up on the tripod during an interview and just held the Cinedeck in my hands, playing with color while it was recording checking out different looks. I did some more coloring in the car between shoots. Massively fun to use and touch and watch while I’m filming- it just feels good.
3. It’s ridiculously easy to use. This version has the Silicon Imaging DVR software on it, but I can say from experience that the Cindeck DDR software is just as easy to use, prettier, and packed with more goodies you can use, abuse and pre-vis before, during, and after a shoot.
4. Cineform RAW and Cineform compressed 4:4:4 files. Whoa. Can you say spoiled? I can do so much with these files in post it’s amazing. The depth and latitude in color just blows me away. You can get this with RAW, and R3D files but I think that’s about it. It makes the quality of the other file/codec options look like mere plastic generics. Yes, I transcode my stuff to Cineform but I still don’t have nearly the room to work the color in post.



5. It overheats like a beast. I talked with Cinedeck about this in the recent hours and we’re pretty sure it’s due to a fan issue of it kicking off when you hit ‘record’ (and probably 100+ degree weather). I poked around and found the SI preferences file that adjusts the fan speed. I’ll have a couple of those tips up later.
6. It’s a little hard to see. Only in direct sunlight. I built a makeshift hood out of duct tape for the “in my bag on the street” moments. Ghetto, cheap and functional. The obvious fix is to connect a secondary small monitor (say the SmallHD?) to it as the external output. Mount that right behind your camera and you’re set.

Would I recommend this box? Absofrakinlutely. So while everyone pines away for Scarlet’s release, quit whining, rent a an SI-2K and Cinedeck from HD Camera Rentals (who provided my SI for the trip) and get addicted. They happen to be the only people supplying this combo right now as an FYI.

Most projects don’t have this kind of need- especially if they’re web-based. But if you’re looking at a doc film or projection of any sort, this might be worth looking at. I don’t have enough projects that justify this set up to own right now. But if I did own this setup, I’d shoot everything on it. I don’t have aliasing or rolling shutter issues, I can shoot 2K, I have a whole host of pre-vis options, the camera is the smallest form factor you can get, and well, you get the idea. This set up is easily worth it’s just south of $20K price tag- you can’t get more bang for the buck, much less any nicer of a set up in the industry with these features.

I’ll have more photos and thoughts as I continue using it.

Tags: cameras, cinedeck, cineform, downtime, Production, tech, tools

This post is exactly why I have a “downtime” tag and “production-free” category. That said, my wife (the usual food blogger) is sick and been in bed all day. I’ve been out doing various spring projects around the house and yard that winter prevents. I got a fair bit accomplished today. To reward myself I ran down to the local market and grabbed a Ribeye. For some reason, a rare steak + chilies sounded good so I snagged some serranos and habaneros. Then I got home and googled. Here’s what I’m rocking that made my eyes burn after trying the sauce pre-fridge:

*side note: the local microbrew I’m drinking takes on completely different and really amazingly good flavors post chile sauce taste*

Posted verbatim from here

My adjustments: 1 additional habenero- all seeds left in, 1 additional garlic clove, on one big-ass ribeye. Grilled with the sesame and olive oil rubbed on as it cooks. Grill as hot as possible to sear and eat rare.

Serves 2- (unless it’s my big-ass ribeye)

You will need:

• 4 serrano peppers
• 3 cloves garlic
• 1 tablespoon soy sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon fish sauce
• juice of 1 lime
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar
• 1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/2 teaspoon dried cilantro
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1 (1 1/2 pound) flat iron steak, about 1 inch thick
• 1 teaspoon sesame oil
• 1 tablespoon olive oil

1. Remove the seeds from two of the serrano peppers. Add peppers, garlic, soy sauce, fish sauce, lime juice and rice vinegar to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped. Transfer to a bowl. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes.
2. In another bowl combine garlic powder, dried cilantro and kosher salt. Rub mixture over steak. Allow to rest for about 20 minutes.
3. Heat sesame and olive oils in a large heavy bottom skillet over medium heat. Cook steaks 3-4 minutes per-side for medium rare. Transfer to plate. Cover and allow to rest for 10 minutes.
4. Slice and transfer to a serving platter. Spoon chili-lime sauce over the top. Serve immediately.

Tags: downtime, food

My wife and I took the dogs up to the park today. I took the T2i and a monopod and my lenses. Here are my thoughts after actually shooting with it in a run ‘n gun capacity with no support (except the monopod), no filters, no follow focus and no audio:

1. Focus – This will be impossible in a run ‘n gun capacity without viewfinder amplification (I ordered the Z-Finder)
2. Exposure – This will work without a histogram if you a) use the built-in light meter by b) practicing.
3. Support – You will not get a steady shot without some sort of support, I thought my monopod was awesome, not to mention cheap. I would like a single handle though.
4. Focus 2 – Trying to keep steady and focus will not happen if you don’t have some sort of follow focus assembly (still looking- traditional FF’s are just way to big and appendage-y for what I need.
5. Exposure 2 – Forget trying to do anything faster than F/2.8 if you’re a one-man band and moving- you simply WILL not be able to focus well- MAYBE F/2 but that’s pushing it. Static interviews will probably be okay though.

What I have noticed is that anything out of the HDLSR also has a hybrid “look” and by that I mean, it’s not quite your typical DV look but it has a crispness that lends itself to almost looking fake. The following shots are simply colored in First Light by adjusting lift, exposure, saturation, and contrast. I wanted to make the mailbox stuff look a little vintage but wanted to see how colorful I could make this piece in it’s “crispness.”

FYI: My T2i settings are pretty simple- I pulled every setting down to it’s maximum decrease

I am VERY pleased with what I can do with this H.264 stuff after I transcode to Cineform. VERY pleased. The results I get just frankly, blow me away and I’ve worked with about every codec out there now. I’m VERY happy and struggle to really find that I need anything more than this.

I have a whole bunch of real gear coming and a couple real gigs. In a change from what I usually do, I’m going to look at a workflow where I edit in Avid “offline” then do my final online in Premiere and After Effects. Avid just blows Premiere away in terms of easy use, and responsive editing.

Tags: avid, cineform, downtime, hdslr, tech, tools, video