Resources

Strategies & tactics; tools & training that I've found useful in my life and career.

10 Tips for Creating a Personal Photo Project

November 18, 2012 by Doug Leave a Comment

What can’t you help but photograph? What are some of the common threads in the images you’ve made up until now? Think about these questions and mark down any ideas that come to mind.

Make a list of some of the best photo experiences you’ve had. Then look for links between them that might lead you to similar great photographic experiences to pursue in the future.

Do you have special access to an interesting place, person, or story through a personal connection or through work, relatives, or friends? Are there story ideas there?

Make a list of places near where you live that you like to spend time. Do any of these places have opportunities for photo projects? How do they change when viewed at different times of the day? Do you regularly pass by places that make you intrigued to see what’s there?

Make a list of photographers whose work you admire and see if any of the stories they pursue might be a direction you want to take. Look for small stories in newspapers and magazines to develop into projects.

Come up with some photo shoots you think would be fun. It could be anything, anywhere; money is no object— let yourself go. Don’t think too much, just mark stuff down. Come up with a list of subject matter that you think will inspire you. It could be anything, anywhere, no limits.

Is there a group of people or a person you admire who might make a good day-in-the-life or portrait series? Are there issues you are passionate about where you can aim your camera to communicate and promote awareness of that issue?

Make a list of dream jobs for the future. They don’t even have to be photographic. Talk-show host, chocolate factory taster, anything. Any story ideas there?

Go to a place that has newspapers and magazines from around the world and look for ideas to pursue from stories you find. If it’s not the specific story, maybe you can find a way to localize and work on a similar story.

Go to a big bookstore with a great photo book section and get lost in those shelves for a couple of hours and make notes in your You Book or iPad

From “The Passionate Photographer: Ten Steps Toward Becoming Great” by Steve Simon

The list above is from one the most thought-provoking photography books I’ve read in a while. I am only through the first chapter and I already have four concrete ideas to improve my photography and lots of additional food for thought. This book is about purpose, not technique.

Two Wireless Webcams for Live Streams

October 16, 2012 by Doug Leave a Comment

In my daily work, I do a lot of live streaming, Skype and Google Hangouts. Creating interesting camera angles with webcams has always been a challenge. The straight on, built-in webcam common in laptops and mobile devices presents all sorts of issues: boring camera angles; tethered to the laptop/device; odd light & shadows. Moving the camera off of the device solves a lot of problems and opens up new opportunities. Within two weeks of one another, two new camera options have emerged.

First, we get the WiFi BacPac and iOS app for GoPro Hero2 Cameras. Now comes the Logitech Broadcaster Wi-Fi Webcam. 1080p would have been nice, but 720p gets the job done.

The real test will be Wirecast. If these cameras work natively with Wirecast Pro, they could be game-changers for low-end live streams.

A Camera Kit for Web Documentaries

June 26, 2012 by Doug 3 Comments

Recently, a friend asked me for some advice on the best beginner camera setup for the shooting web documentaries. Her parameters were:

Documentary/interview series. Probably be about an hour long. Uncut, raw, conversational. Distribution via the web.

Initially, she was looking at the Canon Rebel T3i. Her logic was sound as the video DSLR can, with the right accessories, be a solid video capture platform, with the added bonus of making an excellent still camera. However, her planned shooting style, particularly the planned shot length, makes the video DSLR a bad fit.

With that in mind, let’s examine the pros and cons of DSLRs as a video platform.

PROS	CONS
Interchangeable Lenses Greater Depth-of-Field More Cinematic Footage Greater Control of Image Better End Product, Visually Doubles as a Still Camera	Unusable Native Audio 12-30 minute max record length Substandard HDMI out Some post/edit workflow quirks Hidden Costs of Accessories Steep Learning Curve

For the experienced shooter, all of the pros of the DSLR can allow one to create a far richer, more cinematic image than any consumer camcorder. Full-frame DSLRs produce better results than many professional camcorders. So, there are distinct advantages to going the DSLR route. However, for my friend, the cons very much outweigh the pros. Let’s explore each con in greater detail.

Unusable Native Audio: Most, if not all, video DSLRs come with an onboard microphone. The problem is, it isn’t very good. The DSLR form factor doesn’t allow a lot of room for quality microphones. In addition, there is no cheap way to plug in a professional microphone for better results.
The least expensive solution is something like the Sennheiser MKE 400 or Rode VideoMic, both of which get’s the job done, but are still far from ideal. Tools like the BeachTek DXA-SLR or the JuicedLink CX231 allow one to add pro mics to your DSLR, but they also add a considerable amount of bulk.

Ultimately, the best solution is to use an external recorder like the Zoom H4N to capture quality audio from professional mics. In this case, the onboard audio of the DSLR becomes very useful as “sync audio” which will allow easier syncing of the high-quality audio in post. With software like PluralEyes, this sync process can be almost automatic.
12-30 minute max record length: Video DSLRs have limited capture lengths; from 10 minutes for the first model to 30 minutes in the new Canon 5D MKIII. There are lots of opinions as to why this limitation exists, but there is no firm answer. Regardless, the shot length limitation is a real problem for long form interviews and or event recording. Essentially, it requires multiple cameras to capture the entire event and that means more work in post.
If one is not capturing one long take, this limitation has dramatically less impact. Most shots can be broken up into smaller takes and the shooter, whether a documentary or narrative filmmaker, can reassemble the disparate cuts in post, usually to greater effect than on long, uninterrupted shot.
Substandard HDMI out: One possible work round for the the short shot length is external capture. Most DSLRs have an HDMI out, which means one could pass the video signal out the camera to and external capture device like the Atomos Samurai or the Sound Devices Pix 240.
There is only one problem, this HDMI out is only intended for external monitoring and the HDMI signal is usually not full HD and is often compressed, which produces substandard footage, at least from the professional point of view.
Some post/edit workflow quirks: From rolling shutter, to non-standard capture codecs, shooting with a DSLR introduces some extra steps in post-production (post). In most cases, this might be as simple as a format conversion with something like Magic Bullet Grinder. Still this is an extra step and, depending on one’s shooting ratio, it may add considerable time and cost to post. Newer non-linear editors (NLE) like Final Cut Pro X and Adobe Premiere CS6 have much better native support for DSLR footage, so this concern is diminishing, but not yet entirely gone.
Steep Learning Curve: Learning how to produce, shoot and edit video can be daunting in and of itself. The complexity added by shooting with a DSLR will only add to that learning curve, which may ultimately dissuade the new shooter from … shooting. The less one shoots, the less one learns.
Hidden Costs of Accessories: Between lenses, additional software and external audio capture, the things you need to create and work with HDSLR footage can add up over time. For the new shooter, that can quickly mean a blown budget, which may erase many of the DSLR’s inherent advantages.
In this case, that money would have better spent on a higher-end camcorder, like the Sony EX-1 or the Canon XF 105, which would produce solve all many of the DSLR’s problems while providing a suitable image, while offering both a simplified post process and a greatly reduced learning curve.

If not a DSLR, then what?

There are so many options, it really depends on one’s price point. Given what my friend’s needs, I’ll provide the best solution for her. But, if you are looking for something more, please drop me a line and I’ll be happy to help you find the best solution for you.

With that said, here is the kit I recommend for the budget-conscious, first-time shooter.

GEAR	COST
Canon VIXIA HF M50 Camcorder	$585
Deluxe All In Lens Kit For CANON VIXIA HF M50	$50
BP-727 Battery Packs (2) + Rapid Travel Charger	$35
Sennheiser MKE 400 Shotgun Microphone	$200
SanDisk Extreme 32GB SD Cards (2)	$75
Pelican 0915 Black SD Memory Card Case	$20
Manfrotto 785 Modo Maxi Photo Video Grip Head Tripod	$50
Manfrotto 709B Digi Table Top Tripod with Ball Head	$45
Kata KT DL-DR-467 Digital Rucksack	$110
TOTAL	$1170

The Canon HF M50 is a solid little camera that can be tucked into most backpacks or messenger bags, so it is easy to carry and easy to shoot with. At work, we are now migrating to this camera from it’s predecessor, the HF S21, for some of our clients with tighter budgets. In addition to being a great little camcorder, the M50 also takes stills. The lens kit adds 2.2x Telephoto Lens and a .43x Wide Angle Lens to the camera, as well as some filters. So, it makes the camera itself a little more versatile. The battery packs and charger make sure you always have enough juice to get the shot, even if you don’t have an electrical outlet nearby. Keep them charged at all times.

The Sennheiser MKE 400 was mentioned earlier as a solution of unacceptable DSLR audio. While the on-camera mics of the M50 are better than that of the average DSLR, I recommend adding the MKE 400 or the Rode VideoMic (a bit pricier) to help you capture better audio at a distance. Camcorder mics are designed to capture decent audio at close range. If you need to be farther away, either of these shotgun mics will help you close the gap.

I use Sandisk memory cards almost exclusively. You can get cheaper brands that work just fine, but I find that SanDisk just works. I’ve never had one fail. Get at least two, four if you can swing it, as you never want to miss a great shot because you ran out of storage space and HD footage eats up memory. Put them in the Pelican Case, you won’t regret it.

The Manfrotto tripods offer a lot of versatility. The 785 will handle most situations and fits in your most backpacks or carry ons. The 709B is great for putting a small camera like the M50 right on the table or podium with your subject to get a more intimate shot with an interesting angle. And, it is tiny.

The Kata bag may seem a little pricey, but the thing is a lightweight, versatile tank. Among our crew, they are practically standard issue. The only drawback is the Manfrotto 785 Tripod won’t fit inside, but it will strap on to the outside. And, it will carry your 17″ laptop as well.

This kit provides the following advantages for the first time shooter. Will the footage be suitable for the Sundance Film Festival? Probably not. But if your target audience is on the web, you would be hard-pressed to find a better value.

Relatively low cost of entry.
High quality HD video for the web
Native digital capture, with expandable storage.
Low cost lens adapters for broader
Solid performance for documentary footage
Great “bang for your buck”

If you’ve found this post useful or have any questions, please take a moment to post a comment below.

Three Things We Need From Sound Devices

June 15, 2012 by Doug Leave a Comment

At NAB 2012, the Sound Devices PIX 260 (shown above) was at the top of my list of “must sees”. We use the PIX 240 in daily production and it is … butter. In my opinion, there is no better all-around production capture device for BOTH audio and video. The PIX 240 brings all of the rich, powerful audio capture tools that production sound techs crave and adds crisp, clean 1080p ProRes (or DNxHD) capture from HD-SDI or HDMI, with pass-through. Drop it in your production chain and you are golden.

The Pix 260 brings all of the 240’s sexy to the party, while adding three more SATA docks (with RAID-1) and a rack-mountable form factor which allows the device to more easily plug into a fly-kit. The PIX 260 does not ship until the fall, but it is now on my short list of “must have” gear.

Having given Sound Devices their much deserved due, I’d like to break down three things I would love to see added to their line up by NAB 2013. Each is essentially an enhancement of an existing product or, like the PIX 260, a new form factor for one of their already excellent devices.

H264 Encoding in the PIX Family: Since I opened with the PIX line, I’ll address it first. Each of the PIX devices record to a high quality, post-production ready format like ProRes or DNxHD, which is excellent. However, in almost all of our live events, we need to capture an H264 copy as well. In some cases, it is just a lightweight review copy for the client. In others, it is a simple heads & tails edit before we push it up to the client’s Youtube or Vimeo channel. Right now, the solutions are as follows:
1. Add one or two PC/Macs to the pipeline and encode using software (ie. Telestream’s WireCast),
2. Encode with hardware (i.e. Blackmagic Design’s H.264 Pro Recorder) and capture to a PC/Mac,
3. Bring in a “big iron” encoder (i.e. Elemental Live), which is bulletproof, but cumbersome and expensive; especially in the field.
I’ve used each of these options at one time or another and each has significant drawbacks for a mobile production team.

By adding H264 encoding to the PIX family, Sound Devices would solve every problem caused by one of the currently available solutions. Ideally, this new PIX, let’s call it the PIX h264, would simultaneously encode both ProRes/DNxHD and H264, with the former going on the SSD and the latter on the CF card. Sound Devices would be sure to eliminate the buggy encode problems found in current lower-cost solutions from Telestream and Blackmagic Design. And, even if it were half-again as expensive as the current PIX 260, it would still be almost half the cost of the Elemental Live, while taking up one tenth the space/weight. Reduced shipping costs alone would pay for the PIX h264 within a few jobs.

As ubiquitous as H264 has become, it is amazing that no one as addressed this need at a serious professional level. I really hope Sound Devices makes this happen.
Rackmountable 788T: Follow the PIX 260’s lead and make a 1U, rack mount version of the 788t portable digital audio recorder. No need to change the internals, just the form factor. Of course, like the PIX 260, I would expect Sound Devices to add cool new features to a larger, rack mounted 788t, but I’d settle for just a new form-factor.
Why do this? The 788t is designed to be carried by a sound engineer, so XLR jacks and other ports are placed all over the box to provide audio capture techs lots of ways to access/configure the device while keeping it mobile. While great for field mobility, it makes the 788t a pain to mount in a fly-kit rack.

There are other, similar devices already out there, most notably the Motu 8pre (no recorder) or the TASCAM HD-R1 (not multi-track), but all of them lack major features found in the 788t and none of them have it’s rock solid reputation for reliability.
Small Form Factor Pre-Amp with Audio Capture on SD/CF Cards: In the simplest terms, I want a Sound Devices tool that marries the recording capabilities of the Zoom H4n and the form-factor and mic pre-amp of the BeachTek DXA-SLR Dual XLR Audio Adapter. The closest thing in the Sound Devices family is the MixPre-D Compact Field Mixer. Adapt the form factor to easily mount to a DSLR or ENG camera RIG, add recording to CF or SD (preferably the latter) and you’ve got a killer product that would absolutely smoke the competition.

There you have it. Sound Devices is already taking market share from bigger players in the market. If they add these updates to the mix, stand back; because Sound Devices will explode!

"Rackable, Stackable" Mac Pro Makes Sense

June 5, 2012 by Doug 1 Comment

If the rumor mill is to be believed, Apple will refresh four of their five PC form factors next week. Reliable sources have been reporting that updates are all but certain for the Macbook Pro, MacBook Air and iMac. So, the fourth refresh will either be the Mac Mini or the Mac Pro workstation. Over the last 48 hours, consensus has been building that we will, indeed, see a long-awaited refresh to the Mac Pro. And, if 9to5 Mac is to believed, it will be more of a transformation, rather than a simple refresh.

Huzzah!

Some were declaring the Mac Pro dead, with the formal death knell to be sounded next week. Instead, it looks like production professionals and IT pros will get a box which serves both of their needs. Reading the tea leaves (rumor blogs), here is what we can expect from the new Mac Pro:

Minimum 8 core/16 thread 64 bit processor (probably the Intel E5-2600).
At least one model will probably have dual processors, bumping the core/thread count to 16/32.
Thunderbolt ports
USB 3.0 ports
PCI Express 3.0
Faster Graphics pipe.
More available RAM
3U rackable, stackable form factor

All of this has me very excited but, odd as it might sound, “rackable, stackable” has me most giddy. Why? It is like a expandable Mac Mini on steroids.

This reimagined form factor makes perfect sense for the following reasons.

PLATFORM

The discontinued XServe and the other four current Mac form factors are, arguably, single-purpose “appliances”. Only the Mac Pro can serve as an expandable, customizable platform for multiple high-end use cases. Among the possible uses are: video production (NLE), music production (DAW), 3D, CGI workstation, live streaming workstation, high-end render nodes and small/medium business servers. Because the Mac Pro is a platform, it’s hardware can be tailored to maximize performance for those use cases and more.

DENSITY

In combination with the multiple processors and reported high capacity for internal drives, the 3U rackable, stackable form factor allows incredibly dense ratios of storage and processing power per square rack inch of data center/server room space. A Mac “blade server“, while cool, would be overkill and the market would unsustainably small.

MOBILITY

Where density serves the IT professional, mobility serves the production professional. Video production, in particular live event streaming, is a booming market, which will only get bigger. While Mac Minis and Macbook Pros both have their place in mobile production, both are hamstrung by their form factor. Neither are sufficiently expandable or fast enough to handle the quick turn arounds of live event production. A smaller, rack mountable Mac Pro solves that problem.Why is smaller and rack mountable so important to mobile? Ever shipped a current Mac Pro or iMac? It is cumbersome, expensive and requires custom hard casesto protect the gear. Production professionals deal with it (and the cost) because the Mac Pro is a stable, useful machine; but we do not like it.By moving to a 3U, or even 4U, rack mountable form factor, the new Mac Pro can drop into a standard, shock mounted, 19′ production shipping case, which we use for all of our other production gear, thus reducing configuration and shipping costs. Build one with SSDs instead of mechanical hard drives and you have an incredibly stable, compact mobile production power house.

Will the new Mac Pro be ugly because it rack mounts? No. It is an Apple product. It will be gorgeous. I imagine it will sit on/under an editor’s desk in it’s base, workstation form. This base design will probably include something similar to the “handle/legs” of the current Mac Pro, which improve airflow and, therefore, heat dissipation. However, in the new Mac Pro, I suspect we will be able to replace these “handles” with very stylish rack ears.

Finally, I am equally excited by what this news indicates for the future of Apple Pro Apps (Final Cut, Logic, Aperture). In committing to new professional production hardware, Apple would further illustrate their long-term commitment to the Pro App line.

So, if these stories are true, the rumored demise of Pro Apps, like that of the Mac Pro itself, will be highly premature.

Doug Daulton

Storyteller (Words & Images)

Resources

10 Tips for Creating a Personal Photo Project

Two Wireless Webcams for Live Streams