My Very First Camera

Going through some old tapes in our warehouse recently, I came across a bunch of old Hi8 tapes. Remember Hi8? I sure do. In fact, it's the format that started my career. Sit back, my friends, and I'll tell you the tale. Yessir, right about near the end of the last century, oh, about nineteen hundred ninety, as I recall...

I was in the midst of my college career at the University of Maryland (go Terps!), and had recently switched from being a vocal music major (I'm not kidding about having a lovely singing voice, you know...) to RTVF, Radio Television and Film. I'm working at the RTVF Tech Center, the campus TV studio, having a blast, learning all I can about the TV engineering world. It's a fairly well-equipped facility for the time, with 1" machines, betacam decks, a Chyron Scribe, an ADO 1000, and a brand new Grass Valley 200 switcher. Two studios, one for the students to beat up on (equipped with Norelco PC-70 cameras!) and one for the "real" production work, primarily the athletic department's coaches shows.

I was getting some freelance jobs, tucking away some money, and I knew I wanted to buy a video camera for myself. But what to buy? (Cue the choir music, the footage of the clouds parting and beams of light shining through...)

Sony had just introduced a new tape format, Hi8, and the flagship model of the Hi8 line was the CCD-V5000. Full sized, shoulder mounted, VU meters on the side...hoo boy, this baby fed my naive techno-lust by the shovel full. I saved up my money, got on the waiting list (they were in very short supply at first) and eventually got the camera.

Dave was a very happy boy. Ignorance was bliss. I didn't know what a nightmare Hi8 would end up being in terms of dropouts (Fuji eventually came up with a tape formulation that worked, but it took a couple of years), didn't know that the initial run of these cameras had backfocus problems, didn't know how limiting it would be that the camera was single-chip.

Nope, all that stuff came later. This thing was the bees knees, it looked so dang professional, and as long as there was plenty of light it really did make some fine looking pictures.

A few years later Sony came out with the UVW betacam decks, which allowed us to enter the "big leagues", format wise, and later miniDV was introduced. We used to jokingly call miniDV "Hi8 that works," since they filled the same general niche in the production world. These days it's DV50 and HD, with no-excuses gear that makes drop-dead gorgeous pictures, runs without a hitch and never complains.

But that first camera, well, I suppose it was partly the fact that it was mine, my first investment in trying to make a real go at this professional video thing. That camera was pretty special to me.

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Fresh Textures

AE artist David Torno has started a new blog called MacTex, dedicated to free image textures, primarily macro images. There are some really nice images there, and kudos to David for being so willing to share.

You never know when a nice, organic, natural texture will serve as a point of departure for your creativity. I find there's something especially pleasing about natural textures that digitally generated imagery has a tough time matching. Particle generators or photoshop texture generators have their place, but using a real image as the starting point, even if it's the thing you use to let the digital filters use as a starting point, tends to lead to more pleasing results. In my opinion, of course.

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Classics Revoiced

A short little diversion today. Ladies and gents, I give you classic movies, voiced by the cast of SpongeBob SquarePants.



True story - Our chief animator, Frank McIntyre, went to RISD with Jay Lender, who worked on the SpongeBob show. Jay was almost cast as the voice of SpongeBob, having done the scratch-track recordings for preproduction animations.

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Thieves Thwarted

The production van parked in the lot in front of our office was broken in to over the weekend. The crooks drilled out the lock on the side cargo door. The van was empty, and nothing was taken. But it's going to be a pain for Matt (who handles the insurance for the van) to deal with.

I think I'll contact my insurance agent and see if he's willing to write up something for pixelcadabra on business insurance. It's an important topic, suddenly made a tad more relevant for us, here.

And yes, by the way, there is a special circle of hell reserved for the thieves of the world. I don't want to get into the gory details, but let's just say it involves endless backflips off of the couch, while watching reruns of Jm J. Bullock in Too Close for Comfort.

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Cheap Umbrellas!

Here's link to what appears to be a pretty snazzy deal on an umbrella lighting kit -

LINK -Handheld Items

I'm guessing that none of this gear is particularly beefy, but the price is right and it's one of those things that's very useful to have in your bag of tricks.

An umbrella give you a nice soft light source, very flattering to the talent. I suspect this particular kit still gives a bit of a hotspot, since the light source has no reflector directing all of the light into the umbrella. Still, this could be useful for lighting someone in an interview, or for lighting up a green screen.

One popular methods when working with umbrellas is to actually us the light coming through the umbrella, rather than the reflected light. So you aim the pointy part of the umbrella at the talent. You get less light, but it's very soft and even.

The down side of umbrellas is that you have very little control over the light, which tends to spill all over your set and background. This can be a problem, especially in small spaces. That's why most soft lighting for video is done using Chimera's, which provide much more directional control over a soft source than an umbrella. They are also much more expensive, but in my own experience they are a worthwhile investment, making it much easier to achieve a nice lighting effect quickly.

Still, having a couple of umbrellas in your kit is a good thing, and at these prices it's hard to go wrong.

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Glory Be! Free projects for AE!

Dean Velez over at The Anvil has posted a nice collection of After Effects projects that are St. Patrick's Day themed. Best of all, they're free! Rainbows, pot-o-gold, gold coins, it's more fun than a bowl of Lucky Charms! But hurry, they're only available through March 17th, after which they'll be harder to find than a leprechaun's gold!

Check them out here.

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Keying in After Effects - Basics

In an earlier post we showed a simple green screen chroma key setup. Today we're going to go into After Effects and look at how to quickly key the footage, while dealing with some minor lighting issues.

Here's the link to view the video, in Quicktime format.

After Effects Keying Demo

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"Where's My Master?!?"

Years ago, Pixel Workshop had a regular, steady ad agency client. This particular agency was run by an owner who had, shall we say, a strong personality. Very creative guy, but he was always the smartest guy in the room (just ask him and he'd tell you) and wasn't in the least bit collaborative.

This was very frustrating for us, because we pride ourselves on being creative partners, not just button-pushers. We're a project studio, not a post house. But you adapt to every client, and in this case we quickly learned to simply do exactly what was asked of us, nothing more, nothing less. A bit demoralizing, but it paid the bills.

One day, one of his people called, in a tizzy. "I'm sending someone over to pick up a copy of that project you did for us. We've got a presentation this afternoon, and we can't find our copy!"

Now, normally we don't let our only copy of a project out the door, but in this case the client was in crisis mode, so we let them have it, reminding them to please, please, return the tape right away.

You can see where this is going, right? Nine months go by, and the tape hasn't been returned. We're busy with other projects, and have stopped asking for it back. It's just fallen off our radar. 

My phone buzzes. It's the agency owner on the phone. 

"Hey," he says, "we need you to make a copy of that project we did. I've got a client coming this week and I want to show it to them."

"I'd love to," I reply, "but you've still got our master. Remember, you needed it desperately, and it never got returned to us."

"WHAT?!? Look, I KNOW we returned that %^$%$@#ing tape to you, and you'd better *&^%#ing find it." 

This line of conversation went on for a little while (I never lost my cool, to my credit) and honestly, soon I was actually doubting myself. Had the tape actually been returned? Maybe it had, and I just didn't know it. I started looking around in the tape library, just in case it got dropped off and filed without my knowledge. Nope, not there, not anywhere in the shop.

Eventually, after much back and forth, someone at his agency found our master, in his shop. Disaster averted, although he never did apologize for his behavior. (It's been my experience that people with that temperament rarely do...)

I vowed to never find myself in that situation again, so I built a tape library database in Filemaker Pro to keep track of all of our assets. Every tape gets a number and detailed description, and the database is set up to print labels and even to print directly on to CDs and DVDs. But most importantly, each database entry has a "current location" and "signed out by..." field, so whenever a physical piece of media leaves our shop there's a record of it entered in the database. Even stuff going off site forever gets labeled "client permanent" so we have a record of how many copies were sent out, and when.

In the years since I started this database it has been extremely helpful countless times, especially when a client calls asking about a particular piece of media or a raw footage tape, and we can quickly look it up in the database and tell them, "Yep...I have a record here that Bob Smith signed out that tape on January 23rd, 2004, and it never came back." Having such thorough records means they rarely argue. We've never had anyone threaten to sue us for losing a tape or anything like that, but our record keeping would surely work in our favor should anything like that ever arise. 

And, of course, having everything labeled and numbered makes it much easier to find tapes and other media when needed. Look it up in the database, go where it tells you, find the number, bingo - it's there.

Of course, we're quickly heading toward a tapeless production environment. I've budgeted for a Sony EX-1, and I wonder how I'm going to adjust the database to deal with tapeless long-term storage of media. Any ideas?

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Same as it ever was...

David Byrne, of Talking Heads fame, is learning Final Cut. He writes about it his blog.

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U2 3D - Amazing

Yesterday was election day here in Maryland, so schools were closed, and I took my son Scott to the Maryland Science Center for the day. We had a great time, but the highlight of the day for me (and, I must admit, one of the main reasons I chose the science center) was seeing the IMAX 3D presentation of the concert film U2 3D.

I'm what you classify as a casual fan of U2, having come up through high school in the 80s when they were making their splash on the music scene. I've got a few U2 albums in my old vinyl collection (Under a Blood Red Sky got a lot of turntable time in my bedroom, as I recall...) and their greatest hits on my iPod, but I've never been to a U2 concert. I know Bono and The Edge, but couldn't name the other two gents in the band.

My son Scott, who's eight, was less forgiving when I told him U2 was a band that was popular when I was in high school.

"So we're going to be seeing a bunch of old guys..." he snarked.

"Yes." I replied. "Hopefully they won't trip over their walkers and canes."

Cutting to the chase, I was blown away by this film. It is an amazingly immersive experience, being in 3D, with the huge IMAX screen filling most of your field of view. The 3D is done tastefully, with very few "Hey look! It's threeeee deeeeeeeee!!!!!" moments. This is a high quality production.

From a technical point of view, I found myself looking all around the band a lot, trying to see what camera gear I could spot, trying to pick out obvious edits or overdubs. The film was shot in HD, primarily using Sony Cine Alta cameras. There's a great story in Film & Video magazine about the production.

If you have the opportunity, do check out this film. Not only is it a compelling, powerful concert piece, but it's an impressive technical achievement, with much to be learned from trying reverse engineer how they shot.

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Your Basic Green Screen Shoot

Here's a quick example of a fast, simple, yet very effective green-screen setup.


A total of four lights. We're using the 1K ARRI open face light with a Chimera as the key light, bouncing light off a Flexfill for the fill. This soft lighting is very flattering to the talent, and also easier on them to work under when there are a few hours of video to shoot with this setup, which is what we had here. We've got a 150 watt ARRI fresnel as a back light, on a dimmer so we can dial in the right amount of light. The green screen, which is simply a 24' x 12' piece of medium weight fabric designed for this use, is hung from the drop ceiling using spring clips. It's being lit with a pair of well-worn MiniMole 200 watt fresnels, one on each side.

Here's a screen capture of the resulting shot -



There are a few things to note here. First of all, we have the luxury of being in a big room here, allowing us a lot of distance between the camera, the talent and green screen. Having some distance between these elements enables us to use a long lens, which in turn makes our background go soft, helping to minimize any issues with wrinkles in the green fabric. Using one of the camera's neutral density filters means we can open up the iris, which also helps give us a shallow depth of field.

Having the green screen a good distance from the talent minimizes the amount of green light spilling on the talent, making for an easier key. This is an important point - it's a common mistake to blast the green screen with light. Even light is the most important thing here. In this particular case I ended up dimming the key light in order to make the relative level of the green screen higher, since I had plenty of sensitivity in the camera. I also tend to make my backlight a little hotter than I otherwise would, since having a nice rim on the talent helps separate them from the background. The light is falling off a bit in the top right corner, but that's okay since we'll be using a garbage matte when we go to key this.

Next time we'll load this footage into After Effects and do some keying. Stay tuned...

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Welcome Strobists!

Just a quick "Welcome!" (and a big thanks to David for linking to us...) to everyone checking us out from Strobist. Have a look around, and please, visit regularly! Pixelcadabra is not unlike a Strobist-for-motion-media, offering tips and tricks from my many years as a pro shooter, editor and motion graphics animator.

So set yourself down for a spell, and check out what we've got to offer. Questions and comments are always welcome.

Dave Bittner

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Apple Skipping NAB

Well, now, this is an interesting development! Apple has made it official that they won't have a booth at NAB 2008. This is a big deal, since Apple has in recent years had one of the largest (and loudest) booths at the show.

I have to admit, like many of us, I snickered last year when Avid announced they were skipping a big booth at the world's largest video trade show, choosing to spend their money on more direct customer interaction. Sounded like more spin than the grand finale at an Ice Capades show, and I personally concluded that Avid was experiencing a cash crunch and couldn't afford the expensive show.

But now, with Apple skipping too, the story is much more intriguing. Apple has traditionally announced major Final Cut upgrades every second year, so 2008 would have likely been an "off" year for them, with minor announcements expected, like the shipment of Final Cut Server and perhaps an upgrade to Shake or DVD Studio Pro. Could it be that with Avid off the show floor Apple doesn't see the need to spend millions on a booth?

And what does this mean for the NAB show itself, with the two of the top video editing providers bowing out? Already there are discussion boards buzzing with folks saying they'll likely skip the show this year, or that with Apple and Avid not showing they've lost their justification for attending.

Me? I wasn't planning on attending NAB this year, even before the Apple announcement. I've gone to the last couple of shows, but I find that, for the most part, NAB is more about the social connections I make, meeting industry friends at events like the Media Motion Ball, than the pure technical experience. With the internet I can get instant access to all of the latest press releases as new products are introduced. So while I still enjoy the NAB experience (and if you've never been, it's worth the trip. It's a huge show.) I don't feel the need to attend every year. And this year I'm skipping it.

What do you think? How big a deal is this announcement from Apple?

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Louder!

Until recently we had a Canon XL-1 in the shop, a real workhorse that had served us well over the years, paying for itself many times over. A couple of years ago we added a Panasonic DVX-100 to the tool box, and the XL-1 hardly got used anymore, and sat sadly in the back of the warehouse in our own little island of misfit toys. So, eventually it went off to eBay, where hopefully it has found a new home with people who love it. Sniff...

Ahem. At any rate, one thing that bugged me about the XL-1 was that the headphone audio level was never loud enough. The built-in amp just didn't have enough oomph (to use the technical term) to really crank the audio.

What do do? Well, there are a bunch of little headphone amps out there, but my personal favorite is the CMOY amp. You can build one yourself if you're handy with the soldering iron, or, if you're like me and you still have burn scars on your hands from early attempts at being handy with a soldering iron, there of plenty of them available for sale on eBay.

I bought one from this gentleman, and it's a really nice unit. Makes a huge difference, and when I'm not using on shoots I use it between my iPhone and my car stereo for some additional punch. The folks at JDS Labs have excellent customer service, and the unit it very well built.

And hey, what could be more fun than an amp built into an Altoids tin?

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Jawbone Spots

Check out this online spot from bluetooth headset maker Jawbone -



There are three other spots in the series available here.

Obviously, these spots aren't intended for broadcast, given the violent and edgy content. They're designed to be viral ads (a goal I've inched them closer to by posting here).

We're seeing more and more of this, with the GoDaddy superbowl ads, and older entries like the BMW films spots and the Mini Cooper series.

Do they work? Well, I can tell you personally, I had no idea what a Jawbone was before I saw these spots, but now I don't think I'll forget.

There's also something to be said for a company that's willing to take a risk like this. Think about it - how many of your clients would respond positively to a pitch meeting where you told them you were going to create a series of spots with violence, profanity and gay sex?

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You're Fired!

It's very exciting when you hire a new employee, full of promise and enthusiasm, ready to help take your company to great heights and set the world on fire. Of course, sometimes it doesn't work out, and you've got to fire them. Which is one of the least-fun things about being a boss, in my humble opinion, but it's something you've got to be able to do. Over the years I've learned a thing or two about letting people go.

First of all, chances are you're going to know pretty quickly if someone is right for your organization. You'll likely get a good feel in the first couple of weeks (or days, or hours, or minutes...) and you'll know if it's going to work out. Set clear goals for the worker, and address them if they don't meet them. If they just can't seem to hit their goals after a reasonable amount of time, don't fool yourself into trying to work things out. If you have a strong feeling in your gut that the person isn't right for your company, better to get rid of them quickly and get moving on to the next person. Especially as a small business, you simply don't have the time or resources to hold someone's hand or hope for the best while they continue to flounder.

One of the first employees we every hired (when we were young and stupid) came in with a lot of bravado, telling us how he was going to help us build our business, we were all going to rich - RICH I TELL YOU!!! Well, nine months later we'd heard every excuse in the book from him, and none of us were rich. Quite the opposite, in fact, because we'd been burning through cash paying this joker. After we let him go, it was crystal clear to us that we should have let him go six months earlier. But we were caught up in the emotions of it, trying to work it out, giving him every chance, and, in part, refusing to admit to ourselves that we had hired the wrong guy.

And we had indeed hired the wrong guy, for which we were completely to blame. In our inexperience we simply didn't know how to go about attracting a qualified employee.

We learned a lot from that costly mistake, and today we are much more clinical when it comes to hiring and firing. That's not to say we completely ignore the human element, of course, because there is certainly something to be said for working with people you get along with, especially in a creative, collaborative environment like the one we have at Pixel Workshop. But this is, ultimately, a business. If you can't perform, well, good luck to you, we'll find someone who can. (Fortunately this business is heavy on freelancing, so it's usually easy to give someone a trial run before actually offering them a staff position.)

How about you? Got any interesting hiring/firing stories? Total train wrecks? Ever been stuck in a toxic workplace where you just couldn't wait to escape?

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Blast(off) from the Past

Going through some old Betacam tapes today I came across this countdown animation we created, probably in 1995 or '96. Back then, nonlinear systems were still fairly exotic (we had a Media 100 "whole deal", as I recall) so it was common practice to put a countdown on your master tapes to help the tape operators at the dub house or broadcast facility cue up the tape and know when the program was starting. (This is still done, particularly for broadcast, but it's become less important with digital media servers that have random access to files for playback.)

We had just opened shop as Pixel Workshop, and were still stretching our wings, trying to find our place in the production community, and thought it would be cool to do a fancy countdown showing off our animation capabilities. At the time we were using the Electric Image Animation System, which was the high-end animation tool for the Mac, and cost a hefty $7,500 per seat. Big bucks for poor, right out of college twenty-somethings that we were! But it was among the best looking animation packages out there, and it was fast. Keep in mind our fastest machine in the shop was a Powermac 9500/132. So render speed mattered, and Electric Image was blazing fast. (We've long ago switched to Maya, but I'll bet Frank McIntyre, who animated this segment, still has his cool EIAS leather jacket in the back of some closet in his palatial estate... )

Here's what we came up with -


Not bad, especially considering it was at least thirteen years ago. Looking at this now, I can see it was heavily influenced by Marathon, which we spent countless late-night hours playing on our networked Macs. (None of us had kids then...) There's also a certain Battlestar Galactica vibe there, launching out of the landing bay. (The original series, which we worshiped as kids...)

The textures aren't as photorealistic as they'd be today, the lighting is a bit overt (Oooh! Lens flare!) but overall this is still a clip I have a lot of affection for. It's fun to look back every now and then, to see how far you've come.

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