Flashes of Chaos

Seriously?

2012-02-09T02:39:00.001-08:00

I have work to do. I need you by the 26th.

Panithuli set to release in January

2011-12-23T08:30:00.001-08:00

http://m.youtube.com/#/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3DkwOg4w1nbsM&v=kwOg4w1nbsM&gl=US

Airport Beers

2011-11-29T14:00:00.001-08:00

Ted in talks to be the next David Hasselhoff after 1 too many pre-flight beers.
On our way to Sioux Falls, SD, I don't blame him for needing a drink.

More shooting and conceptualizing

2011-11-28T10:33:00.001-08:00

The downtime during shoots is invaluable, as @setla is proving to me while he conceptualizes future projects with Mathias, who is in town from Switzerland.
Sure, Skype is cool and a good way to speak with people across the globe, but don't underestimate the power of sitting face to face with people at a table and brainstorming your ideas.

Second Thoughts

2011-02-28T12:38:00.000-08:00

snapped this while walking this morning in Napa

Sunny Day in Tomales Bay

2011-02-27T22:35:00.000-08:00

Kristen shucks oysters at Clint's party at the picnic grounds of Hog Island Oyster Co in Marshall. Couldn't have asked for a more perfect day.

4'33" December 18th

2010-12-19T09:15:00.000-08:00

4'33" Dec 18, 2010 from Dridge on Vimeo.

4:33

2010-12-17T12:50:00.000-08:00

I thought it would be cool to utilize one of my most under-utilized tools, my Zoom H2 recorder. I read this post about John Cage's piece, 4:33, and thought that it would be cool to post up some of my own versions of it, in different environments that I find myself in.

Here's the first one, taken this morning from my front porch. It had rained earlier, and there's a leaf-blower in the background. It's best to listen to this with a good pair of headphones.

4'33" December 17 2010

Moving... eventually

2010-10-06T15:45:00.000-07:00

My long-time girlfriend and partner in life recently took a new position that is pretty much her dream job. I couldn't be happier for her, and she deserves it, especially after all of the digging she did to find it. Finally she will be able to break free from her current routine of setting up global contracts for companies already in turmoil, while those in her office become increasingly stressed and irritable. I could see this routine taking its toll on her attitude and her health, and it was very disconcerting. Even scarier, though, was the realization that there are thousands of people in the Bay Area who tirelessly devote 10-plus hours a day to a firm that could give them the axe next week and not think twice about it, and they have little to show for it other than a living wage and stomach ulcers.

And where is this dream job, you may ask? It's high in the hills of Saint Helena, CA. 2 hours north of Santa Clara.

Looks like we're moving!

...and it couldn't come at a better time. I am working for myself, so I have no real anchors that require me to stick around, other than the feature film I'm shooting, which will last for the next couple months.

After the film is done, it's bye-bye south bay (except visits to mom and dad, and Sean and Colin, and all of my friends...), and hello Napa and awe-inspiring surroundings, great wine, and a slightly more advantageous location (only about an hour from San Francisco and Sacramento). This might require me to take more wedding gigs and change my self-promotion strategy, but I think it will be a good change...

...right?

Of course, there are boxes to be packed, addresses to change, people to call, arrangements to make...

damn, I need a personal assistant. Any takers?

Racing the Sun

2010-10-04T16:36:00.001-07:00

Yesterday I shot a scene that involved two people on a balcony which faced west. Our start time was 5pm. We also needed a shot of person #2 entering the room behind the balcony, with person #1, already sitting outside and in direct sunlight, in the foreground of the same shot.
Initially my instinct was to cut down the direct sun by putting a flag over person #1 and bounce more light into the dark room behind him for person #2's entry, to equalize the two, and I fought to keep #1 sitting the whole time (we weren't equipped to fly a large silk or flag up over the second floor, but I could flag him in close-ups).
That's what I did.
Then I was hoping to shoot a master shot from the reverse angle, looking west from inside the room, and had to push again for #2 to cross the camera's axis, because even I try to use proper screen grammar when I can. Then I found out that #2 had just received the lines that day, and a long-take master shot was simply not possible without frequent starts and stops.
By this time the sun had gone behind the adjacent hill, and it created a nice light, but as we all know, that light won't last for very long. We shot her lines in close-up, and then did a master shot which looked pretty darn good, and we will come back to #1's closeup next week.
I love shooting under twilight conditions, but every other aspect of the production process needs to be on point and meticulously planned when you do that, otherwise we find ourselves having to go back and finish up portions which we didn't get to. I am confident it's going to look great, and the performance we did get was incredible, but I could do without a backlog of scenes weighing me down.
-Chris

Here we go!

2010-04-26T08:45:00.000-07:00

The RED camera is a ridiculous piece of technology. Imagine a sensor that sees the world the way that you see it, sees into the shadows under that tree over there, doesn't freak out when daylight and incandescent lights are mixed in the same scene, and produces better-than-film resolution images onto a CF card.

RED tests at REDucation Las Vegas 2010 from Dridge on Vimeo.

What was once lit with 500 foot candles, is now appropriately lit at 20 foot candles.

This is the camera we'll be using to shoot the next Dreams On Frames film, Muzhumai. There are several locations that I'm excited about shooting in, including a beach scene lit by a campfire, some locations in Chennai, India, and others. The lighting strategy will focus on the time-of-day planning and light re-direction, rather than bringing in one-ton grip trucks and blasting HMIs through the windows of our locations.

A lot of the aspects of lighting could be MORE difficult, though, now that every little glimmer of luminance will be picked up by the sensor.

I hope I can get plenty of practice before we begin shooting (in June). Ordering the parts commences as I write, we'll see when we can get this rig up and running.

Some highlights of the set-up:

-RedRock Micro matte box/follow focus

-Nikon lenses

-Cine Slider camera slider dolly

Updates to follow...

Greetings from Atlanta!

2009-10-26T14:57:00.001-07:00

This week I'll be posting video interviews, blogs, photos, and general updates from the EMS expo in Atlanta. A friend and fellow filmmaker, Thaddeus 'Ted' Setla, a paramedic for Alameda County AMR, tapped me to help him out with the content production for EMSexpo.net, which is the official social media and web video coverage for the event.
After some confusion over rooms (both at the hotel and at the convention hall itself!) which was eventually handled brilliantly, we found ourselves a home base.
For the past few hours we've been setting up the site, which I must say, is looking great. there's even a way for Flickr users to add their photos to the page via a tag ('EMSExpo2009'). Pretty cool.
This event, and the challenge of covering it, will be a great experience for us, and I think that it will open up many doors for future gigs, similar to this.
I- and we- hope that we can add to the experience of the expo for the attendees.
Stay tuned!

2009-10-15T17:17:00.000-07:00

Today is my birthday, and I'm 28. I thought that things would be a lot simpler and more straightforward in life at this point, when I was growing up. But I realize that as a kid I had two concepts of people: children, and not children. I figured that the not-children would have it all figured out. I was wrong. I also realize that many of the people I expect to be not-children actually fall into the children category. we all know these people.
boy, that was vague. sorry.
The real reason I wanted to post was to show this vertical aspect video that I put on vimeo. I attached my camera to my bike handlebars to test out the shakiness of it. I have to say, I was kind of impressed at how stable the image was:

vertical aspect ratio test from Dridge on Vimeo.

I hope to put more vertical aspect videos up, because I think that certain content will really benefit from it. Mostly short-form, and mostly on the web. I think that it is totally underutilized though.

Course Management

2009-10-10T00:42:00.000-07:00

I learned an important lesson today. A lesson that was learned on the (disc) golf course. It's something that many players call 'course management'. The basic idea is that, when faced with a competitive or high-pressure situation (such as a game of golf or a business negotiation), one is better off being realistic about available moves, choices, and the probable outcome of those choices, based upon how well you know yourself. The key thing is to resist the temptation to attempt an improbable shot, even though you've hit it a few times before. Take the shot that you have practiced, don't overshoot beyond your ability. most of the time the result will only be finding yourself behind an even bigger obstacle than when you started. If you can develop a solid game and really hone certain fundamentals until they are second nature, then the improvements, and the distance between you and those 'long shots' will narrow considerably.

It's all about knowing that the only thing you can truly control is yourself (and some people would take issue with that statement I know), and recognize the variables over which you can exercise no control. There will be gusts of wind, and there will be trees, bushes, rocks, and water between you and the target. All you can do is use the skills which you have practiced to put yourself in a position to see that target, and minimize those barriers. Sometimes that might mean that your drive is not going to wrap a perfect S-curve around the hill and give you a birdie look. You've done it before? congratulations, but chances are it's not going to happen most of the times that you try to do that. By taking that risk, you might come out of it with a nice spot 1/5 of the time, but the other 4 times you'll be out of bounds.

The best golfers I've seen understand what their game can do for them. They are usually not the ones who can throw a disc 600 feet. Their drives land (consistently) in good to average spots, but they always nail their second shot. These players, too, are usually deadly when putting within 30 feet.

So, the next time I go onto the course, I'll remember the time I hit that epic drive, or got through those bushes on my upshot, but I'm going to try a lot more course management, reel it in, and get some solid fundamentals going. I'm going to focus on positioning myself in the best place that I can, without having to cross my fingers that I get just the right amount of headwind, or that I hit that tiny hole between those tree trunks.

I'll let you know how it goes.

In the meantime, check this out:

Parque de La Raza Disc Golf 10/9/2009 from Dridge on Vimeo.

Day 2

2009-09-08T16:52:00.001-07:00

After a good night's sleep we got up and hit one of the city's hottest spots (for people with cameras strapped around their necks and looking blankly at giant maps, ie tourists): Sagrada Familia, or, Holy Family. This church by Gaudi is one of the most epic projects I have ever seen, and is constantly under construction, and won't likely be finished in my own lifetime. Do a quick search for it on the engine of your choice. It is incredible. The interior, and a lot of the facade, was undergoing heavy construction and we couldn't see much of the inner space. Still well worth it.
By the time we circled back to the front where we had entered, the number of people clammoring to take a picture and waiting to go inside was ridiculous. The sun had risen so that the park trees across the street no longer offered any shade, and so I was doubly thankful that Kristen had gotten us up and out of bed at an early enough time to beat those crowds. Unfortunately, we weren't so lucky at Parc Guell.
Don't get me wrong- I loved the place, but so did about ten thousand other people, who had each told 2-3 friends, and told all of them, and they all decided to to when we had. I got some great photos tho and heard some talented musicians playing there on the plaza.

Amsterdam stop-off

2009-09-07T04:15:00.000-07:00

Sitting in a corner kaffe in Amsterdam. Street market in front of me, westerstraat centrum and tweede boomdwars straat.

-Chris

2009-09-04T08:54:00.001-07:00

Test

2009-09-04T08:32:00.001-07:00

Testing my email blog posting. Hoping to use this service while in Barcelona!

Some video, some audio

2009-03-10T12:44:00.000-07:00

Demo Reel 2008 from Dridge on Vimeo.

Rain Funnel from Dridge on Vimeo.

and Here's a sample of a Shepherd's Gate track that I mixed:

Click To Play

Gran Torino

2009-01-31T09:29:00.000-08:00

So I have been away from the movie theatre for a while. I saw The Wrestler and I must say that it's great to see mickey Rourke at full throttle and performing his ass off in that movie. And what more can be said about the lovely Marissa Tomei that hasn't already been said? Though she's supposed to be a washed-up stripper, I think she's still got it. The two of them shine side by side, playing what are basically the same characters with small differences and nuances that split their paths and cause an almost tragic fork in their roads.
Last night, though, I saw Gran Torino, and I thought that it was the kind of movie that I could walk away from and explain to people in a few sentences. I quickly found that it is not that type of movie. It is a film with a simple plot: a hardened war veteran widower comes face to face with people who look to him like the very people he was fighting against in Korea.
Let's stop right there and look at the film's other implicit asset, namely the mythology of Clint Eastwood. Not the star status, but the archetype that he became known for in films like Dirty Harry and The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly. It is a character with what like to call the three G's: Glare, Grit, and Guns. The first shot of Walter Kowalski (Eastwood) in Gran Torino is at his wife's funeral. several people have come to pay their respects, including Kowalski's two sons, and his grandchildren. through simple cuts between his glaring face and his granddaughter's piercings and inappropriate funeral attire by any standards, his glare intensifies. Thus we see Walter -excuse me, Mr. Kowalski, as a man borne out of the past, with both feet still firmly planted there. Instead of lashing out directly and confronting the dreaded change that he sees going on around him- change in the youth, change in the neighborhoods and demographics- he shoots his glare like poison darts at the offending party- darts that have the effect of infecting those who come into his presence with a similar attitude- at least towards him. His own sons display a methodical, rehearsed interaction, wary of his short temper and cutting insults.
It is soon clear that, although it may be exacerbated by it, his wife's death is not the cause of his curmudgeonly disposition. His complaints are muttered only to himself, and some of the film's most revealing moments about his character come from these ramblings.
Many of the details of his life are never revealed- and they don't have to be. His past does not need to be fully understood for the sake of the story, save for a few facts: He fought in Korea and came home with blood on his hands, and he worked at a Ford factory for much of his life. We assume that he retired with a pension, and it's pretty clear that he's lived in the same house for decades. His prized posession is his Ford Gran Torino that sits in his garage, a car that he takes great pride in. "I put the steering column into that car right on the assembly line", he proudly recalls. In his neighborhood, however, where he is seen as a stubborn old reminder of the past, local gangsters see the car as his weak spot.
The real story begins when Kowalski's neighbor, a Hmung boy living next door, is persuaded by the gangsters to steal the car in a gang initiation. Thao is a quiet, introverted boy who, when it comes to grand theft, is obviously green. He botches the job, and is caught by Kowalski, who gomes out toting a military-issue rifle, the very same one he weilded in Korea. For a moment I was sure that Thao was a gonner, and he may have been, had it not been for a carelessly placed tool in the garage, which allows Thao a moment to escape.
But of course he gets away. From this point, Gran Torino is a brilliantly-paced story of two most unlikely friends. Walter unwittingly becomes the hero of the neighborhood after an unfortunate disturbance, and he is showered with gifts by the Hmung residents on the block, in a traditional showing of gratitude. The ice is first chipped away by Thao's sister Sue, who sees that Kowalski is so polarized in the direction of grumpy old fart, that there is only direction his attitude can progress. She is sarcastic in a way that Walt's own kin never dared to be, and speaks to him convinced that his outlook on life is just a phase.
The line that marked the film's major turning point is another muttering that Walt makes to himself after meeting Thao and Sue's family: "I have more in common with these (insert racist asian slur here) than I do with my own family".
Walt is on a path with such great momentum that you know he will never be the person we met in the first few scenes. Eastwood's portrayal of the old man is chilling- and though the classic Eastwood game face never changes, it is still able to convey a total character shift through the movie.
The casting is superb- a risky choice of unknown actors that adds to the film's realism. Eastwood's own son Scott plays a small role, and the acting is neither flashy nor overdone. The cinematography's submission to the story tells us only what needs to be known, and nothing more- and that is plenty.
The film definitely satisfies the moviegoer who wants to leave the theater with something to talk about- whether it's the demographic shift, the 'good old days', or the person who we know who most resembles Kowalski, it will leave you talking. And not in that open-ended, 'what do you think happened?' kind of way, but in a self-reflective way.

2009-01-21T17:45:00.000-08:00

test

New MBP... sorta.

2009-01-21T17:17:00.000-08:00

My hard drive failed the other day (see previous post). I took it to Macservice here in Santa Clara and they replaced the drive- however, they were unable to recover any of the data from my old hdd, so I've lost all of my old Final Cut Pro project files.
After I had dropped off my MBP at macservice, I went immediately over to the good folks at Central Computers and bought an external casing and drive to use to back up my mac so that, god forbid, if this ever happens again, I won't be completely f#@%ed.
I wasn't working on any big projects at the time, so I really didn't lose much... and now all of that unnecessary stuff that was on my hdd is GONE- and there is something that is very freeing about that kind of loss. It's like I have a chance to start over. My computer boots up faster than ever, and my desktop is the cleanest I'v ever seen it.
Still, I think that there were a few photos of my nephew that I would much rather have kept. Instead, they're lost to the void.
I'll just have to take a few more!

2009-01-18T11:20:00.000-08:00

My Mac Book Pro won't boot.
I tried the install CD. I don't have anything to archive to.
I tried clearing the PRAM. no dice.
I think I need to take it to Mac Service and get the hard drive replace. about 350 bucks.
The worst part about all of this is that I can't do my VJ set at Cold Chillin', the music and visuals night at Jack's Bar in Japantown.
We're holding an innauguration edition (as it's on inauguration day) and I was hoping to find some hilarious George Dubya clips (so easy to find- for instance- THIS PLAYLIST). Trouble is, these clips are funniest b/c of their audio. Cold Chillin is about the music.
I'm still bummed that my MBP isn't working.
For now I'm using this old laptop that I had to dust off:

MACWORLD/FCPUG Supermeet Recap

2009-01-10T12:02:00.001-08:00

I attended Macworld for the second year in a row (didn't make it while living in SF a few years ago!) and, like last year, I wish I could've had more time there. I guess that trying to squeeze in lunch with old friends, AND the Final Cut Pro Users Group Supermeet in the same day, can be pushing it.

MACWORLD
I pretty much only use my mac for video editing, blogging, twittering, and watching movies. For these tasks, I think it is unparalleled. This single belief is enough to qualify me as a mac geek, though I can confidently say that I have never cancelled a meeting in order to watch a live stream of the keynote.
Carol, on the other hand, was at macworld 1995 (see picture at left. Note the apple earings, necklace, and shirt). Thanks, carol, for registering me!

Telestream had a great screen capture product that is a lot like ishowU, but instead of transcoding to the video format as it records, Telestream's ScreenFlow has a process of recording to an intermediary codec, and encoding it after the recording is done. This will help to minimize hiccups that one might experience with ishowU, especially on a system as slow as mine! This was a constant issue for me. I would run VJ programs such as VDMX or 3L, and attempt to record the output using ishowU. In theory, it is a great little application, but I would get constant, unacceptable gaps of dropped frames in the resulting video, even at relatively small sizes and not-too-demanding codecs.
Otherwise, Macworld was overflowing with third-party iphone/ipod skins, noise cancelling earbuds, and the usual office-style applications. I was really impressed (again) with MacSpeech, which would come in handy when logging hours of interview footage, and make the process go a lot smoother. Someone should integrate the MacSpeech Technology into HDLog Pro, so that, along with transcribing footage, it could automatically note the Timecode and pull frame grabs from the footage.

FCPUG Supermeet So I went to this with My friend Zach Richard. Zach is an incredible guy who works with me part-time at KTEH. He was with me at Macworld too, and is the type that seems to be able to pick out the coolest schwag that is being given away, and stock up on it, grabbing three or four of each thing to give away later to friends. I know that some people say, 'can I get a couple more of those laser pointers for friends of mine?' and just keep the pointers for themselves, but Zach will take the pointers home, wrap them up, and give them to people as presents, just because. He has a way of making people feel good like that.
So, all I can say is that it must have been simple Karma that let him win that night in the raffle. He won a pack of plugins for FCP from Furnace- I think they're the plugins that do things like noise reduction, film cleanup, etc. they make your ugliness pretty again (if only there were such a tool!) . He also got a few books and a macbook pro keyboard layout for final cut. I had been eyeing the same one earlier at the MW hall, and since he doesn't have a MBP he ended up giving it to me. Thanks Zach!
Oh, and we were the first ones into the meet. We didn't want to miss out on the goodie bags that they were giving out. Very cool schwag inside. Here's Zach in line.

The biggest news to come out of the Supermeet was the introduction (premier?) of the new JVC camera, the GY-HM100, which records onto SDHC cards in NATIVE QUICKTIME files- meaning, essentially, that you can now:
a) buy recording media for this guy pretty much anywhere, and
b) directly import files into your Final Cut project, without going through log and transfer.

The disadvantage I see to this (and also a disadvantage I've seen to the sony XD Cam when used with a disc drive like the PDW D1 or similar) is that you don't have the option of taking only parts of the clip. you are stuck with the WHOLE CLIP. while some people may say that 'memory is cheap, hard drives and raid systems are priced lower than ever, blah blah blah', it has been my experience that it is far easier to trim the fat of your clips and bring in what you need than it is to just ingest everything, and slice and dice later. This also means that you will need to either replace your drive sooner, or dedicate a day to go through all of your files and decide what to throw out, and what to keep, in order to free up valuable space.
For some people this will never be an issue. but for the tv station I work at, when I told our editor that the only way to do a file-based import of the sony XDCam clips into our Avid system was to import entire clips, he was shocked. so was our engineer. their immediate response was a collective 'we don't have the space for that.' I know.
but I digress...
The JVC is a great-looking camera, a little bigger than their everio line of cameras, with a bigger on-board mic attached to the top. Perfect space-saver (and, for the immediate future of your project, time-saver).
The JVC rep teased us all with a silhouette picture of the camera's 'big brother'. I think it's more of an ENG-style camcorder with removable lense.
There were some other good presentations, including a preview of Yun Suh's upcoming documentary, 'City of Borders'. All I can say is, what a perfect title for the film. It follows several gay men and women who live in palestine, and who go through dangerous border-crossings into Israel in order to visit gay nightclubs there. Fascinating look at divisions and, as the title suggests, borders that exist, or are broken down, by individuals and the societies in which they live. If you get a chance to see it, definitely check it out.
Another great presenter was M Dot Strange. I really like the 3D work that he's done and, being a VJ myself, I love to witness the creative process for other VJs, and it was very humbling to see some of the techniques that Mr. Strange used in his productions.
Key word: simplify.
The 3D modeling programs that are out there today can be very overwhelming for the first-time user (myself included). but there is a certain breaking point, after you learn the basics and what commands are available to you, that your proficiency can take off and create amazing-looking things. He showed how he was able to make a character that he'd created 'dance' just by moving the mouse (attached to a certain point in the 3d character's body) while playing back the music (the particular project was a music video). with just a little practice, and as long as you know what it is you're going for, you can somplify the process and still come out with great results.
Eric Escobar also gave a presentation which also used 'simplify' as its over-arching message. His examples were of how to create the look of a million-dollar production by using the tools that you have. The example that he gave was basically 'how to create evil' (or the feeling of Evil). He took the TV show Heroes (which I always admired for its clever use of simple techniques) and the character Skylar (Gabriel). He then looked at some screen grabs and wrote down some notes on how the 'evil' look was achieved, including camera placement, lighting, setting, character, etc.
He outlines everything in his post HERE
I'm looking forward to next year's supermeet for sure. Macworld? maybe not so much.

Vertical Aspect Ratio

2008-12-31T16:41:00.001-08:00

So I've been thinking about some of the many ways that mobile video and small portable capture and display could be used in new ways. The mere fact that with almost any smartphone you can watch and deliver streaming video is in itself revolutionary, but I'm surprised that I haven't seen more videos displayed in a 'vertical' aspect ratio. Granted, most subjects lend themselves to a horizontal, 16:9 or even 4:3 ratio, but haven't you ever been shooting something and felt the impulse to just flip the camera (or cameraphone) 90 degrees to fill the frame better? Of course, if the primary distribution method for such a video were a mobile device, then this would be a non-issue for the viewer, who would simply flip their phone the 90 degrees to correct this. I think that if youtube and other video sharing sites were to implement a 'vertical' option for displaying videos, then it would encourage people to feel comfortable shooting and displaying such video.
It seems that especially with the introduction of sites like qik.com and ustream.tv this option should be be implemented to give people more creative flexibility.
I think you can do something like this on vimeo already, but i'm not sure...
UPDATE: just searched for this topic in vimeo and youtube help. I found this thread (http://www.vimeo.com/forums/topic:7241#comment_659698) on vimeo, and basically found that there is not a way to rotate the display to go 3:4 or 9:16.

Top 5 reasons why I love my HVX200

2008-12-30T15:31:00.000-08:00

Panasonic's HVX-200 was one of the most anticipated 'prosumer' cameras on the market, and oh boy did it deliver. It has managed to remain a favorite in the face of new HD codec technologies coming out in recent years, like AVCHD and other flavours of MPEG-4. While it's not without its share of drawbacks and limitations, I still love it, and here are my top five reasons for doing so:

5) An enormous user base
go onto sites like creativecow.net or DVXUser.com and I guarantee that one search in their forums (if it's a well-guided search) will yeild answers to whatever issues you're having with the camera. By this point, the list of questions that other users have dealt with is beyond exhaustive. If by chance you have a question about the HVX that is not covered in a previous topic, post your question in one of these forums and it will likely be answered within the hour. My point is that with thousands and thousands of users, most of whom are more than willing to share their expertise on the technology, the camera should not be a mysterious magical box. I learned every feature and option of the camera by cruising those forums (and with a little help from Barry Green's HVX Book) and by asking questions.
Another advantage of having so many HVX users out there is that it's that much easier to find a freelanceer using an HVX, and therefore you'll have far fewer color and format issues when you bring everything into post-production. Just match your scene files (you could even do this days before the shoot) and you'll be set. Have you ever tried to edit together multiple cameras, al of which were from different manufacturers, and therefore all of which used a different codec? It's beyond a waste of time. The HVX has become a standard for a lot of people, and they're an easy group to round up for those multi-camera shoots.
Anoter advantage of this is that there is an abundance of third-party manufacturers who make accessories designed specifically for the HVX200: Century had a great fisheye lens, Varizoom has a handy zoom rocker/focus remote, and the list goes on. Some may see this as a limiting factor to these accessories (do they become obsolete once the camera does?) but the fact that they are that much cheaper to begin with makes up for it.

4)Editing support
Okay, so I don't consider myself to be an editor first, but from my experienc with final cut pro and Avid, the P2 workfow has seen a nearly seamless integration. Most systems offer you the ability to preview, trim, and directly import clips using the file-based system. That system started great and only got better. DVC Pro/50/HD are all very reliable formats, and my macbook pro 2GHz, 2G notebook, while not being especially fast, can easily handle the playback and edit of HD, including 1080i footage. I wish I could say the same for some of the AVCHD and Apple ProRes 422/HQ codecs I've tried to edit. I can barely approach the speed needed to play back these timelines without dropped frames.
File-based transfer has reduced ingest time enormously, and time is a filmmaker's most important asset.

3)Compact
Okay, so it's not nearly as small as, say, the Canon HV20 or other small HD Camcorders, but for a swiss army knife-style camera, I can pack it into my petrol backpack, along with a Multi-rig support, and carry all the necessary accessories needed for a shoot on my back. It is the perfect camera for shooting on the road or when you would simply get exhausted if you had to haul around shoulder-mounted ENG-style cameras like the XD Cam F350 or, god forbid, a Beta cam or D-3. It's relatively light and, despite what a lot of friends say about its 'boxy, unappealing' design, I like the feel of it in my hands.
Lighter equipment means lighter support, so the Multi Rig and a mid-level Manfrotto Tripod can round out your gear list. No need for a full array of support rods for any accessory you want to add on.

2) Format options
Besides the obvious advantage of having the option to use a variety of codecs to shoot in, there is the often under-appreciated DV tape option. This is extremely useful because, let's face it, many producers still use tape. Granted, whenever I'm in charge of the process and I see a project from pre- to post-production, I prefer to shoot in HD, which will mean either P2 or Firestore; for a lot of people who are hiring freelancers for smaller gigs, like shooting events, it's just plain easier to collect the tape from the cameraman/woman and write the check. Otherwise more time is required to offload the footage, and if the producer doesn't have a laptop or bring their own P2 cards, then this will likely require another meet-up for an offload session.
miniDV tapes are simply easier in some situations, and I'm glad that I have that option.

1) It just looks great
I'm sure that some people are going to say something about how th eHVX isn't 'true HD' because of the whole pixel offset thing (look it up), but nonetheless, if you know how to use it, the HVX will deliver some incredible images. I have to say that, besides the range of format options to shoot in, the control over the image was the biggest selling point for me. Scene files can be used to generate incredible looks in the shooting process, which can save time in post trying to tweek the image in order to acheive a desired look. I can say that I've even gotten away with shooting a scene 'day for night' that would have otherwise cost a lot more to light, not to mention the disturbance that we would have been to the neighborhood we were shooting in had we really shot at night.
And let's not forget the variable frame rates that the HVX offers. Slow motion and time lapse are easy to achieve, though the frame rates don't go as high as some of the higher-end professional camcorders.

All-in-all, I agree with those who have called the HVX a swiss army knife of camcorders. This post has been a little love letter to my camera, and I think that this love affair is one that has several more good years in it.

calm. lonely.

2008-12-29T16:36:00.000-08:00

I arrived at work today to find half of the staff still out on their christmas breaks. At the company I work for, this means there is a total of 8 people in the building.
I eeked through the day on a steady diet of menial tasks and occasional dips into the world of twitter and the links which I was thusly extended to.
my favorite video of the day:

Slow Motion Punches to The Face from Eduardo Wydler on Vimeo.

2008-12-28T11:38:00.000-08:00

I went to Saint Helena the other day and shot this video while passing by the vines. I was trying out the shutter speed on the HDC-SD5 that I got recently. I think it was set at 1/8000 shutter. I didn't realize how much gain the camera would pump into the image in order to bring it up to exposure, so the image suffered quite a bit. Still kinda cool though.
Vines from Dridge on Vimeo.

2008-12-16T11:30:00.000-08:00

Here's a song by Local singer Mary Stallings, an amazing performer, accompanied on piano by Alan Stegar.
Mary Stallings/ Alan Stegar track 4 from Dridge on Vimeo.

2008-12-11T14:41:00.000-08:00

I've been getting parts for my DOF adapter and have been viewing a lot of tests that others have posted on sites like vimeo. Here are a few of my favorites:

DOF adapter test 2 from Roland Cadieux on Vimeo.

sunny road (DOF Adapter) from M A Welker on Vimeo.

2008-12-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

La Raza brutalized me today, but I was able to walk away from it with a few good putts and a huge birdie. Too bad I shot a triple bogey on the following hole.
Here's some footage I shot:

La Raza 120808 from Dridge on Vimeo.

2008-12-07T09:55:00.000-08:00

How many gigs of RAM does it take to get into the inner circle of those who can process and edit Pro Res 422 HQ at full frame rate?
if you understand that sentence, then you have probably been as frustrated as I over computer editing systems and their constant upgrading and the tag team that they seem to play with video codecs. I need a big mac octo-tower to edit some of the stuff I'm getting into, but I've still only got this 2GHz, 2 GB macbook pro and, though I love it, it stutters constantly.
Who wants to donate to the cause?

2008-11-23T14:13:00.000-08:00

It's been a while. And much has happened...
A gig fell through that I thought was going to be very lucrative: a comedy show at Club Deluxe in San Francisco. Jason Nash, the hilarious host of the Guys with Feelings podcast, and writer for a heap of other funny shows you've undoubtedly seen, was booked to perform at deluxe. Two other folks were set to perform as well, locals Mary Van Note and Bucky Sinister . I was all set to shoot it, put a dvd and cd together, and sell it to the world! there was a lot of red tape and release forms to get through, as there always are whenever it seems like you have a good idea. Taxes, incorporation, and all that other bs... To make a long story short, the club canceled the show. I'm trying to book another show at Rooster T Feathers in Sunnyvale, but haven't heard back from them yet.
My second option is to rent a movie theatre for about 500 bucks, sell tickets, and put on my own show. I'd shoot that and then release the DVD and CD of that show afterwards...

texas rat snake

2008-09-15T10:50:00.000-07:00

Hilarious

Feature Film trailer

2008-08-20T13:27:00.000-07:00

New trailer for the film I shot:

Cold Chillin' is Saturday

2008-08-08T10:09:00.000-07:00

We're holding the one-year anniversary version of Cold Chillin' at Jack's (my friend Jordan's bar) in Japantown San Jose. Those who go to it regularly know about it, and as it's a Saturday, I expect that more people will turn out than ever before. We usually hold Cold Chillin' on Tuesdays, but Saturday will be special. We're opening up the back patio, nobody has to work the next day (oh wait, except me).
I've got the big triple header on Sunday at the Jazz festival: the IMAX theater will be the location for the Smith Dobson Tribute Stage* where I'm scheduled to videotape three separate performers. the gigs are 2-8, so I'll be there from about 1 to 9. No rest for the weary.
Orange dream from Dridge on Vimeo.

2008-08-06T15:50:00.001-07:00

I made this today with 3L. I'm still figuring out a better way to record that won't take up too much system RAM (that's why it's a little stuttery). The great thing about 3L is that it enables Firewire output, so I can roll it straight on to a DV Camera, which will give a much better quality than the built-in DVR.

sinefold effect from Dridge on Vimeo.

media f(x)

2008-08-04T22:01:00.000-07:00

Looks like media function(x) [media f(x)] is not taken anymore as a company name, so that's what we're going with.

Home base for our company

2008-08-01T18:12:00.000-07:00

Today, Joel and I visited ActivSpace in San Francisco's Mission District and put $ down on a space that we could call home for our company. We won't be jumping in full-force into the production game, we just need a place to call home for our LLC. Now we have an address and an official location from which we can conduct our business.
It's not huge, but for what we're paying, it's a good size. There's even a window so that we can keep our vitamin D up to reasonable levels with the sunlight coming in.
We'll soon be painting the walls, staining the floor, and bringing a desk and chairs into the space so that we can establish an official camp.

I suggested that our company be named 'Life-sized Media', so that's our working title at the moment.

Gigs galore!

2008-07-28T12:26:00.000-07:00

I hit up the performer after Wally at the jazz festival, to see if she was interested in having her gig videotaped, and she is interested. I gave her a pretty good deal, but again, I'll already be set up and ready to go, so I won't be spending any extra time getting set up. Her name is Judy Wexler
and I'm really excited to work with her.

2008-07-28T10:21:00.000-07:00

The Zoom H2 recorder was rescheduled for delivery today, but something tells me that it won't arrive until tomorrow. I was able to find more reviews on it, though. The best ones I found were HERE and HERE
The anticipation of its arrival continues to tease and tantalize.
It sounds like the mics on the H2 might be so good that for a live performance I'd be better off setting it on the stage rather than lining out of the mixing board.
Also just came across THIS interesting video of tests with the H2

2008-07-25T18:05:00.000-07:00

I just purchased two kingston 2gb SD Cards to use with my zoom H2 audio recorder. I opted for two 2Gb cards rather than one 4GB card because I don't expect to ever use more than 2GB of audio for a single session. With two cards, I can switch out between gigs.

UPDATE: I just found that many SDHC cards are compatible with the H2, so I'm going to purchase an 8Gb sdhc card from central computer and try it out. The more I think about it, the more I don't like the idea of having more cards to manage.

2008-07-25T00:23:00.000-07:00

There is a single reason why I wanted to blog. I want to lay out my tracks of progress regarding several key projects and goals which I am working towards. Like I alluded to in my first post, the intention is to celebrate successes and learn from mistakes. These words will provide a reference that I can turn to if ever I stop myself, head in hand, and ask, "what was I thinking?"

Project #1: Video Production Company
I currently have a full-time job as a studio technician at the local PBS station. While it's a great group of people I work with, I believe that it's the dream of every filmmaker and producer to run the show themselves. Anyone with at least one eye can clearly see that video as a medium and technology has amazing and far-reaching potential in the realm of... well, everyday life- but, most importantly, for business. I am still trying to comprehend the status of video in this day- it is everywhere, literally everywhere. I am still working on the perfect angle to approach the video market. I am a shooter with decent gear, and some working knowledge of the many codecs and web distribution methods common today, so I feel that I am ready to get my feet wet.
A buddy of mine has agreed to be a partner in the venture, though he doesn't have any experience behind a camera.
My goal is to raise $5000 by the end of February, or invest in an equal amount of gear that will be used for the company. We are looking at a small office/studio space in San Francisco which will be used as a headquarters for our enterprise. so far we haven't placed our bets on a name for the company yet.
This project will consist of both the legal incorporation of our business as an LLC, and the completion of the jobs we get, as well as our own projects, which are slated to include:
-An instructional Disc Golf video
-A music video
-Profiles of artists (mainly musicians and actors) for the purpose of their own self-promotion- a demo reel, if you will.
-Oedipus, Texan (a feature-length adaptation of Oedipus Rex)

Project #2: Germany

While I am a huge fan of the Netherlands and all that it has to offer, my girlfriend Kristen and I opted instead to plan a trip to Germany in April of 2009. I have yet to put a budget together for that. We'll be going for a couple of weeks, and visiting some of the smaller mountainous towns. I am really looking forward to going there, and truly excited to put to use some of the German language that I've learned over the years.

Project #3: The Band
I play in a heavy metal band called Shepherd's Gate. We play in a lot of local bars, and usually don't get paid much. We're too loud for most of my friends, and our following is small but loyal. I want to record an album (something we've been telling ourselves that we'd do for years now) and put out a music video. We have some ideas but haven't settled on anything just yet. The music video would be a sub-project related to #1 (the production company).

Project #4: Bike Tour
I recently bought a great Bianchi road bike that I found on Craigslist, with the intention of using it not just for transportation to and from work, but for a bike tour from here to Santa Barbara. I've been training with some longer and longer rides, and in the next few weeks I hope to ride from here to San Francisco- about 50 miles. The tour and the date has yet to be decided on- prob'ly a more long-term goal.

Project #5: This Blog

enough said.

2008-07-24T11:04:00.000-07:00

Currently cutting (editing) a piece about Jack O'Neill for KTEH. Anyone else hate Avid systems? I'm a final cut user, and I'm armed with the Avid user's guide, but I would've been done with this 2 days ago if I were editing on a familiar software.

Hall + Oates = hit machine

2008-07-23T19:27:00.000-07:00

Come on, you know it's true. and you know that you own at least one of their records.

I am trying to book performers who need videos done at the San Jose Jazz fest. I need gigs. A former client mentioned that he knew of someone- "I think her name is Lisa...", so I did some homework and contacted the only Lisa I could find on the list of performers. Her name is Lisa Engelken, and she's a really talented vocalist from San Francisco. She dreams of getting onto the bill of a European Jazz Festival (Stockholm? dunno...) and thus the video. She needs to show off what she's got. As my minidisc recorder hasn't been working that well lately for live situations (it tends to decide to stop recording after about a minute or so.... weird), I went and bought a new recorder from B&H: the Zoom H2 . Audio is CRUCIAL in this situation, and so I'll be covering myself by using a good microphone hooked up to the camera, AND a clean feed from the audio board going into this new recorder. It's arriving Friday so I'll give a review of it after I test its' limitations.
It just so happens that Wally Schnalle (yes, it rhymes), a former drum teacher of mine and an all-around badass, is performing on the same stage right after Lisa. I'll prob'ly stick around and shoot some of his performance, even if it isn't a paid gig. shooting to P2 is great because I don't have to worry about using too much tape- it's tapeless!

COLD CHILLIN' happened last night- thanks to all who came out and represented their love of good music and great people. I performed with 3L a little bit longer than usual before moving on to the usual remixes made with VDMX. One of these days I need to record one of my sets- if not to show off, at least so that I can let it run when I want to take a break from mixing and let it ride.3L experienced one crash- not really sure what caused it. I was changing the "S Alpha" and "D Alpha" modes of an object and it froze up and eventually quit.
Here's something I put together the other day:

Cold Chillin' 3d from Dridge on Vimeo.

Overall I think that 3L is a great little program, and I've discovered a way to use collada and kmz 3d files from google 3d warehouse in my sets. It takes a good amount of prep work though and my slower system sometimes has a hard time rendering such objects as, oh, let's say, New York City. I've decided to stick to simple objects, like bottles and turntables, and other odd shapes. 3L does have its share of issues though and is somewhat unstable in its' current state. Its creators are brilliant though and I have no doubt that they will correct many if not all of the issues in its' next release. Michael has spent time talking with those people who purchase the software from the site (including myself) and addressing issues and questions that people might have. it's the best tech support I've experienced. Thanks Mike!

One face was missed at Cold Chillin'- Paolo (aka DJ Cutso), who is out touring with the Jabbawockeez. Click his name to read his tour blog which is filled with action, adventure, and creepy white masks.

Introductory offer

2008-07-21T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I'll be honest, I've never hosted a blog and never thought I would, but I've realized that there are a lot of mistakes I've made in my quest for visual enlightenment that are worth sharing, all in the hopes that others will be able to learn from my mistakes. Here's the lowdown on me and my ambitions, gear, and crew, and I'll try making it as succinct as possible.
I attended San Francisco State University's school of Cinema after a few years at De Anza College in Cupertino and a semester at Cuesta College in San Luis Obispo. I graduated in 2006 from SF State with a Cinema degree. I have always been fascinated with the ways that images can have a profound impact on people and society, and wanted to figure out some of the idiosyncrasies of how we as people not only view, but interact with images, and create meaning out of them.
I call myself a Cinematographer and Live Visualist, which are two distinct roles which I am still attempting to marry together.
As a cinematographer, I have been the eye behind a few short films, a feature film, and a lot of my own collection of footage, which I am slowly building as one would build a vocabulary- a language that is completely visual.