Sony HXR-NX5E

Sony HXR-NX5E

Ok after doing a few events with this solid state camera thought I just had to mention how great it is for event work.


This month I did a job with Drew Perry of amplify video and we used 2 of these cameras to cover the Rock Diva Freestyle Dance event at Bridlington spa.


When your cover an event like a dance event in a theatre it throws up all sorts of issues like filming in low light conditions/mixture of different light sources daylight/tungsten/led pars/follow spots/ pyro's and orange people (way to much fake tan) all things that can really test a camera.


When looking for a camera to cover an event I like it to have a few things to make your life easy:

• A lens and chip that can perform in low light
• At least a 16x zoom
• motorised/programable zoom
• To output 4:3 (you still find a lot of venues with 4:3 Projection screens)
• output HD and SD and have SDI
• A good screen or viewfinder

On first impression both Drew and I found the layout of this camera was really good lots of assignably buttons and everything just seemed to be in the right place and it ticked all of the above points.

I did find that in the dark I was fumbling around to find buttons. I found the buttons a bit small and close together so was not sure if I was on the correct one,but this is probably just because I haven't used the camera enough to get my hands muscle memory to land on the dial/right buttons to change everything on the fly with out looking. Its very similar in layout to a lot sony units that are this size e.g. Z-1 Ex-1 etc.

Sony EX-1

I found the auto focus coped well and only on a few occasions did it struggle when we lost the follow spots on dancers, I know I hear you all saying what you used auto focus but when your on an event like a free style disco dance event and your zoomed in you struggle to keep up with the action as well as adjusting exposure.

Having worked on loads of dance events some times peoples costumes can cause issue with auto settings if they are heavily bejewelled throwing out focus so you just have to be on the ball ready to over ride issues. This did happen a few times but it can only be expected when lighting conditions are changing so much. I found that even adding gain the noise level was very acceptable for being shown on screens during the event.

So far I have been really impressed with this camera and for its price think its very good, if you get one with the 125Gb drive on the side you can record something like 11 hours of footage which would cover even those ridiculously long boring conferences we all some times have to do :)  plus you can record onto SD cards at the same time so you have a backup.

I cant wait to get my hands on one of these cameras again I have been really impressed with the performance of this small chip camera so far.

Conference Streaming

Recently I have been involved in some conference streaming jobs which have been great fun. There are a number of options open for clients for streaming pending on there budget and how complicated there shows are.

One great piece of kit I have used for a number of jobs has been the tricaster studio.

Tricaster Studio 350

 The tricaster is an amazing piece of kit for your conference or live event needs, not only can you mix 6 live feeds you can input computer feeds, overlay graphics, chroma key live, essentially its a TV studio in a box. Not only can you record the show as your mixing it you can simultaneously output it to a live stream across the Internet. Its amazing to think that something like this is now available to buy off the shelf at such a reasonable price. This kind of technology was only available if you had very deep pockets or had access to an OB Van a few years ago, now schools and places of worship and clubs have this technology for there events.

As powerful as the tricaster is some times it can be a bit over the top if say your client just needs a single video feed and the ability to stream there presentation to the web at the same time as the event.

So when the budget is tight using such streaming sites as Ustream can be an amazing tool. Even using the Ustream free Producer software you can do Picture in Picture which is great for when someone has slides in keynote or PowerPoint.

 You can also cue up videos to be streamed full screen or using pip in Ustream. All these tools weren't impossible to do a few years ago but they were hard to pull off.This kind of technology has meant that streaming your event live to the world is much more accessible than it ever used to be all you need is an Internet connection and someone who knows what they are doing like me :)

Exciting times for 550D/T2i Owners

If like me you own a Canon 550d/T2i you may be aware of the Magic Lantern open platform for developing the firmware on the 5D, and now at the end of 2010 the latest 550D version of the firmware are available to download.

Magic Lantern have brought what video users of DSLR's have been asking for with the latest version I have been testing the 24/12/2010, you now have control over elements of your video that were previously not available when using just the official canon firmware.

Now you can choose your white balance via kelvin from 1700k to 10,000k, select a much wider iso range including 160/320/640/1250 which you could not before. You can have an active Histogram on your live display along with active zebra markings for under and over exposed areas.

Blue checks show under exposed areas on the frame.

You can now disable the hideous AGC (auto gain control) and actual control the audio levels going into the camera via the internal or an external input, you have control over the analogue gain and your able to add digital gain to the individual channels.

Over the next few weeks I will be doing more tests with my camera I have already done a few audio and video tests and once I edit the footage I will be uploading my findings.

For now here is an iso test I will be trying lots of tests to see if its really worth using magic Lantern on your 550D. If you have any good ideas on a test you would like to see let me know.

Will we ever see DSLR Technology in the live event Industry?

SONY - DVCAM - DSR-450WSPL

I was thinking to myself the other day when I was on an event job doing the camera work. For years now Sony's DSR-450 DVCAM seem to be the norm most hire companies have them so if you need a another camera on a job you can easily get hold of one.

HD cameras have been around for quite a while now but you might be surprised to learn you  actually don't see many HD units being used in live events such as award shows and conferences etc.

There are a number of factors cost being a major if your using HD apart from the cameras and lenses being more expensive you need a HD Desk to mix the event.

It seems that a number of companies are waiting holding onto there DVCAM units and I can see why, they still perform great and when an event is live its more than likely just going to be shown on a few screens during the event or on an LCD Projector (which tend to non HD) the reason if you use a HD Projector is your client really want to pay the extra £1000 or so just for a nice 10k christie projector and £400 to hire a lens for it or will they be happy with the Sanyo XP variant at a fraction of the cost.

Another reason I think some hire companies are holding out is they are waiting to see what becomes the new event work horse camera that every other hire company has. That way you can get more units in if required on a job you will have accessories that would fit the hired in unit.

My Friend Mark op'ing on your average event, This was an awards show.

'

Its a big investment for a company to make when buying new cameras it has to be right not only for the company but also for its clients no point in buying lots of nice cameras if you don't have the client base that can afford to hire it all.

I'm sure in the next 2 years we will see more HD units but what will we see? Its an exciting time in the world of cameras as well as going tapeless and new senors has  lead to the growth of DSLR video revolution. Stills cameras that can produce some amazing results that we only dreamed we would be able to achieve on film. Units such as the Canon 550D,7D,60D,5D seem to leading this field.

Canon 5d Mark II

Obviously we are not going to see these such cameras for event work but will we see something that that uses similar technology such as the new cameras that are coming out like the Panasonic AG-AF101. Its has uncompressed audio capture via its XLR inputs,HD-SDI output all thing that make it a more event friendly camera. Sure its not perfect for events but is this the start of something?

Panasonic AG-AF101

 

 

For events work a good zoom lens is essential something that has a x16+ will always make your job easier if your stuck at the back of the room and you need to get a Mid shot on the person at a lectern.

Lens gear giving you focus and iris control are always handy to have the accessories you need at your finger tips on your tripod arms.

I'm sure a number of company's will just be buying units like the Sony PMW-500 but it would be interesting to see if how the DSLR revolution will cross over/effect this part of the events industry.

Sony PVM-500

AdamASAV on Twitter

Well I Blame Justin Of Broadsword Productions for my addiction to twitter. He needed someone on a job for the Microsoft conference "imagine 09" to look after the Microsoft Surface, updating all the tweets and photos that were being fed to it via #tags.

Microsoft Imagine 09

The Microsoft Surface in Action on the day.

This is where I come into it Justin rang me a few weeks before knowing that I know my stuff with computers and said:


 "do you use twitter" no I reply "well you need to know all about in 2 weeks I have a job for you."


So I decided to set up my twitter account and hence since I have been an avid Tweeter. Its a strange concept that so many people seem to be able to tell thousands of people whats going in there life to complete strangers (me being one of these people)


Anyway if you use twitter you can find me here I look forward to "tweeting you"

ASAV the Blog

Well its about time I started my Blog and seeing as I have a few spare days. So I have spent my time wisely updating my web site with my camera operator show reel. Which you can see Below.

I Hope that over the coming months I will give you a bit of an in sight into my world from behind the sc's of working in the events and film industry.

Im looking forward to making new friends and contacts with my Blog.