I’m back in London this month for a workshop at the Jacobs Pro lounge, helping photographers and videographers improve the way they shoot real world events. There are only eight places available as we want to be sure everyone gets some hands on tuition – so please book quickly if you want to come.

I’ll cover both the technical side and the journalistic one. I’ll go over the basic kit I use day to day including the use of ND filters, audio adapters, support rigs, led lights, sliders, LCD magnifiers and EVFs (I’ll have the new Zacuto EVF with me for people to try). I’ll also discuss my approach to shooting, illustrated by examples of my work, with plenty of tips learned from experience on assignment. There will be sections on slow mo and time-lapse too.
 
Participants should bring their own equipment if possible but there will be a limited amount of demo kit on show too.

 
The workshop will be £150 for the day ( 10am-5.30pm ) and will take place on Wednesday 8th June in the Jacobs Pro lounge, 74 New Oxford Street, London WC1A 1EU.
 
To book a place please contact Henrietta or Donal on 0207 436 6996.

 

By Johnnie Behiri

Bionic reconstruction from Johnnie Behiri on Vimeo.

After two years, the VDSLR has become my main working tool. True, I do have access to many other video cameras, but what convinces me is the fact I have to THINK every time before pressing the REC button. I feel it has made me a better shooter and storyteller. Sure, I was thinking before when using a conventional ENG camera, but I’m talking about the extra care when shooting with VDSLRs.

So what is there to think about?  Light, lenses, aperture, depth of field, movement, audio recording, audio levels, are all equally important to achieve the best possible result when working with a “far then optimal” big sensor photo camera that shoots high definition video.

When Neil Bowdler, the BBC science correspondent, came up with the idea of doing a “bionic reconstruction” story, the obvious working tool for me was a VDSLR. Neil was excited and open-minded about exploring that possibility.

The story is about an Austrian resident who has chosen to have his dysfunctional hand cut off so that it can be replaced with a bionic limb. His Vienna-based surgeon believes elective amputation and what he calls “bionic reconstruction” can give some patients with traumatic injuries the best hope of regaining bodily function.

My goal this time was not to achieve the super shallow depth of field “film look” that some regard as optimal. I felt in this case there was no point of having a completely blurred background when Neil is talking about a situation happening behind him….

We did some nicely lit interviews but unfortunately did not use them in the short version of the story for BBC World news. Those were used later in the longer version done in London for BBC Newsnight which you can see here.

Equipment used:
Camera: Canon 7D
Lenses: Canon 17-55 f2.8, Canon 70-200 f4.0, Tokina 11-16mm f2.8
Audio: Tascam DR-100 recorder, Sennheiser G2 EW100 wireless mic system, Sanken Lav mic, Cos11D
Rig: Vocas
Electronic VF: Cineroid
Tripod: Sachtler DV8 SB
Light: Litepanel 1×1, Viso PH 5502 (Kino style flo light)
Editing: Adobe Premiere CS2 with Cineform Neo4k
Color correction: Cineform “FirstLight”

Johnnie is working in Vienna, Austria.
Johnnie also films documentaries, commercials, music videos, and marketing videos when not working for the BBC.

So this is my last post from NAB 2011 – only 2 days late. I had a great time seeing old friends, meeting new ones and of course checking out all the new toys. I’d like to thank the dslrnewsshooter crew members Seppe Van Grieken and Johnnie Behiri for their tireless work during the show. Their contribution really made our coverage much better this year.

As a parting shot here are a few more bits of gear that we would have featured in detail if only we had the time:

Canon Explorer of Light Bruce Dorn was at NAB showing his unique iDC system Zero rigs. These are an update of his earlier designs and use a friction based follow focus on a custom bracket to keep the rig ultra compact. The rig for the Canon 60D looked especially nice. Bruce says there is a version for the Panasonic GH2 in the works.

Zacuto was showing off their prototype Scorpion rig. It has an interesting integrated shoulder support/carry handle and is articulated in a way to make balance easy. With the Zacuto Z-EVF fitted it was nice to use.

Manfrotto had a whole range of new gear. Most important to many news shooters will be their new video heads. The 509HD is a model up from the popular 504HD and features the same bridging technology (whatever that means). There is also a new lower end model called the 502HD which is essentially a replacement for the ever popular 501 head.

Manfrotto also showed Dado – an innovative spherical universal junction that connects to threaded accessories or rods. Looks like a piece of 1970’s art but it very cool. They also have a new snake arm which is a more flexible alternative to the magic arm.

There were a lot of Ipad based teleprompter systems at NAB this year. This one is probably the cheapest and I’m thinking of getting one for myself. It’s only $299 from LCD4video.

GoPro were at NAB again this year showing their just launched 3D system for the diminutive action cams. As I was walking past their booth I spotted none other than legendary Steadicam inventor Garrett Brown trying it out on a Merlin stabilizer.

Another 3D solution came from Mio 3D. Instead of using two cameras their rig has 3, allowing them to shoot with two interocular distances at the same time. Make sense? if not don’t ask me – check out their website.

Fastec were a company getting a lot of press coverage for their new hand holdable TS3 high speed camera. Capable of 720 frames per second in HD. Wow! Now if only it were the same price as my DSLR.

Rig company Denz had an interesting solution for mounting an EVF to cameras like the Panasonic AF100. I’m going to need to work out some arrangement for my own EVFs so this is definitely an option.

The Radcam has got to be one of the coolest DSLR gadgets I saw at NAB. I’d love to see shots from one of these.

And to finish our NAB 2011 coverage is this DSLR helmet cam. Recognise the celebrity anyone?

Chinese manufacturer FV Light show an unusual combined V-lock battery plate and HDMI splitter with multiple power tap outputs with different voltages. There is also an option to power the Canon 5DmkII, 7D or 60D with a special cable.

FV Light also showed an inexpensive $10 follow focus gear. Many Chinese companies showed what appeared to be very similar copycat designs of popular western brands at NAB 2011 – It is good to see that at least one is doing some innovation of it’s own.

Video by Seppe Van Grieken and Johnnie Behiri

Joshua Pines of Technicolor talks to us about the ‘Cinestyle’ picture profile they have developed for Canon DSLR cameras. Designed to give footage from cameras like the 5DmkII maximum room for colour correction and grading in post production. This is done by using a REC 709 log curve instead of a standard gamma curve to create an image.

Video by Seppe Van Grieken and Johnnie Behiri.

Turntables in the camps from simon weyhe on Vimeo.

I recently spent twelve days in Lebanon and it was an adventure and an experience I will never forget; I saw another side of the world. I was traveling with Simon Lebon and Martin Fernando from Den Sorte Skole and Rita and Lei from Ladybox, who came to do DJ workshops for the Palestinian refugees living in camps. About 425,000 refugees are registered in Lebanon, but because they are not formally citizens of another state, they are not able to claim the same rights as other foreigners living and working there.

Turntables in the Camps was set up to spread the means for musical creativity, break down boundaries and to create a window to the world for marginalized refugee youth. It conducts workshops and sets up permanent local DJ schools for refugee boys and girls in order to show that everybody can be a DJ or an MC.

It was hard to plan much from home because of the language issue and all of the restrictions there are with filming in Lebanon and especially in the camps. So I had to go there and take it one day at the time – definitely not the optimal way to go about making a documentary.

I knew that I had to pack light and leave a lot of the equipment in Denmark, because there would be situations where we had to smuggle gear into the camps and then stay as low key as possible once inside. I took:

- Canon 7D and Canon 550D (Canon T2i)
- GoPro HD camera
- Fader ND Filter (a great tool for those sunny days; don’t leave home without it)
- Two lenses, a Canon 16-35mm f2.8 and the Canon 24-70mm f2.8 – both work great for run and gun shooting
- Two time-lapse controllers
- Zacuto Z-Finder, I find it pretty much impossible to film without this one.
- Sennheiser wireless mic. The system works perfectly with the Zoom H4n
- Manfrotto tripod with a ball head, mainly for time-lapse
- Small slider dolly
- Manfrotto light weight monopod (I always use the monopod for running and gunning as it’s fast and gives you many options for getting a steady shot. I use an elastic belt with a pocket to hold the monopod as this way you can get steady shots when standing still, even with a 70-200mm lens.)
 
There was a lot of run and gun shooting and I was always keeping an eye out for the military, because there is one thing you don’t want to get caught doing and that is filming the military, especially in the camps. On top of all that there is stuff going on, that you don’t talk about and most definitely don’t film either. So all in all, you need to think before you pull the camera out of the bag… it was a learning process in filming in tight and tense areas and always having one eye open to spot problems before they happen.

I also did at least 25 time-lapses, although only a handful made it into the edit. They are great as b-rolls and transitions – they take a lot of patience, but can pay off big time. Everything has to be right to get a good resolve: it’s not only about the right shutter speed and so on, but also about mother nature and being in the right place at the right time… If you want to know more check out the master Tom Lowe on Timescapes.org and this great tutorial from Philip Bloom on how to edit them.
 
Editing the movie was done in Final Cut Pro. I used the 3 way color corrector, to get my look, exposure and so on and then I used Magic Bullet Looks to give them a final touch.
 
I met a lot of really open and friendly people and I was invited in with open arms wherever I went. It was a heavy reality call for me: these people don’t have anything, they can’t work, own a place to stay or move freely. Most of them don’t have a future, if they don’t leave; then again would you want to run away and leave your whole family behind, not knowing if you would end up in jail in another country? But they still have their dignity and an open heart. It was a very positive experience to see that even though everything seems like you are at the end of the road, you can still be friendly, positive and spread good karma…
 
For more info visit: http://www.turntablesinthecamps.org/

About Simon Weyhe:
You can see more video from Simon on Vimeo.
And find our more about Simon’s work here.

By Omar Khalifa

I’m always trying to break the rules. This time I seized my opportunity during the shoot for Al Jazeera’s Rageh Omaar Report in Lebanon, building some side projects on the 7D. I was Assistant Producer for the programme and shooting second camera, particularly for interviews. I wanted to capture some behind the scenes footage for the web, but in the end was able to create something more unusual – a piece that was somewhere between a behind-the-scenes, a cinematic, and a brief of the programme. It was great to get our correspondent, Rageh, on the fly. It was more like Channel 4′s Unreported World than the usual piece-to-camera.

I had a bag of the usual DSLR gear – including the Tokina wide zoom, Fader ND filter, Zoom H4n, and Rode video mic etc – but no Z-finder or shoulder mount. I like it rough and ready, but sometimes it can be a bit too rough and ready. I’m interested in Jag35′s new Monitor-X and Field Runner, as I’m not a fan of the current viewfinders on the market, and they seem affordable.

Mastering a DSLR as an AP for an international broadcaster is an extremely valuable thing. You’ll be caught up in co-producing, logistics, scripting and editing, as is expected of you. But if you can bring second-camera skills to the table, with an eye on web production, it will certainly put you in a good position going forward.

Above is a short BTS video from the shoot done using a little Harinezumi fun cam.

I should also mention that we’ve launched a new strand of programming at Al Jazeera English called Frames. It promotes short-form documentary content (between 2 and 4 minutes in length) and we are currently commissioning and acquiring films. Luscious DSLR shorts, like those by Jason Taylor – who I was fortunate enough to come across on Vimeo – are particularly what we’re looking for. Get in touch with me via Vimeo http://vimeo.com/groups/aljazeeraframes/.

Omar is a journalist and filmmaker with over five years experience in international news and programmes.
omarkhalifa.com
http://www.facebook.com/okhalifa

Korean accessory manufacturer Varavon have released some pictures of their new line of DSLR loupes and rigs. Not much detail at the moment but the solution for the Panasonic GH1 and GH2 certainly looks interesting. You can check them out on the manufacturer’s website here.

***Update – Varavon have posted this video of their armor in action***

VARAVON ARMOR from varavon on Vimeo.

By Jonah Kessel

As 1.4 billion Chinese people celebrated the Lunar New Year yesterday, cameraman Paul Morris, journalist Kit Gillet and myself packed our bags to capture the remarkable pyro-chaos welcoming the Year of the Rabbit.

According to ancient Chinese mythology, an evil spirit known as Nian (年) would terrorize villagers on the first day of the new year. To protect themselves, people would create loud noises to ward it off. Millennia later, the Chinese still uphold this tradition by setting off fireworks continuously for a two week period.

Firework safety is paramount in the West, but far from most people’s minds in China, where fireworks are set off within high-rise compounds, tossed on the floor, detonated in narrow alleys, and even thrown at friends good-humoredly.

To capture the spirit of the Spring Festival, the three of us hit the alleys, streets and roofs of Beijing to record the pyrotechnic display. The truly remarkable aspect of New Year’s Eve is that all of the fireworks you see in the video are bought and set off by regular Beijingers – a perfect visual representation of the overwhelming size of China’s population. Their chaotic release of fireworks produces a spectacular display that looks strangely organised, lighting up the sky and echoing through the streets.

Our goal in filming the event was to capture this and grab some colorful frames. We were packing …

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon EOS-7D
• Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
• Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
• Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM
• Canon EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
• Canon Extender EF 2X II
• De-Clicked Custom Tamron 24mm F/2.5
• 190Cx Carbon Fibre Q90 4-section Tripod
• Manfrotto 3021 Pro Tripod with Manfrotto 3047 Head
• Dan Chung’s old 20″ compact slider, made in Singapore and borrowed for the night
• Custom Jag 35 Straight Rig with Red Rock microHandGrip
• F-Stop Gear Tilopa Backpacks

During hours of close-up filming, we were subjected to flying debris, ear-splitting explosions, and the occasional stray firework that would ricochet off lenses, nearby cars and even my ass.

Technically, shooting at night can be a bit tricky. Our ISOs ranged from 400-3200. We found with higher ISOs a lot of images came out with a cooler color temperatures or blue color casts. In the case of shooting fireworks, this isn’t such a bad thing. Most of our frames had a large variance in color anyway. With a few of the close-up shots involving rapid firework explosions the cameras had issues with the rolling shutter.

Sounds and music for this production were purchased from www.stockmusic.net.

Jonah M. Kessel is a Beijing-based freelance visual journalist and interactive art director specializing in photography, video, news and Web design.
Paul Morris is a Beijing-based freelance assistant producer and lighting cameraman.
Kit Gillet is a Beijing-based freelance journalist and documentary maker.

Here’s a quick roundup of some interesting bits of gear that have caught my eye in the past week or two:

Ikan has a new LED light range. Most interesting is the ILED-One which at only $99 but has a metal body and a choice of 3200 or 5600K colour temperatures.

Kessler Crane has a really interesting looking tripod head called the Hercules 2.0

Dslrnewsshooter contributor Sam Morgan Moore contacted me to tell me about his evolution of his Half inch rails system. The rig is designed for lightweight run & gun and now uses 15mm rods as an option. It will be available to buy soon.

Jared Abrams over at Cinema5D has just got an interesting ultra-light rig called the Chosziel DV balancer to test. I’m interested to see how it performs.

Jag35 have a new wired Electronic Follow Focus on the market. They also have a prototype wireless version which may be available at some point in the future. I have this unit to test and it is a very fun piece of kit.

Another innovative Follow Focus option has gone on sale called the Okii USB – I am not sure how well this will work as it uses the Canon USB connection to control an AF lens using it’s own inbuilt motor. Hopefully there will be some reviews soon.

I don’t normally look at compact stills cameras on this blog but here is a potentially interesting duo from Sony – handy because they both shoot Full HD 1080p/60P AVCHD at 24Mbps. DPreview has the low down on the new Cybershot DSC-HX100V and DSC-HX9V.

Rycote, manfacturers of audio accessories, have been in touch to say they have a some nice mount solutions for the new Rode VideoMic Pro.