My 5 Favorite Field Apps for iPhone

Below are my five favorite apps I like to use when working in the field. I use an iPhone 6, so sorry, Android users. Some of them are on Android, but I’m not sure which ones.

• DSLR Filmmaker Toolkit is a app that includes a slate with shot log, a viewfinder, and a depth of field calculator. I mainly use it for the slate and shot log, as I can email the file to myself as an Excel sheet. It’s a paid app. 
• The Magic Hour app alerts me an hour before and during the magic hour. It also gives me the angle of the sun at my exact location and a countdown to sunset. It is free. Can’t beat that.

Magic Hour

• Dark Sky tells me almost to the minute when rain is coming my way. On the Gulf Coast, this is useful, whether you are shooting or not. You can request a weather report for a particular address and even receive UV and wind reports. I received it for free at Starbucks, but it's a paid app.

Dark Sky

• Google Maps is a no brainer, but it just gets better and better. The app can now calculate your drive time while on route and can let you know if a faster route is available. You can also get public transit routes and bike paths if you lack a car.
• Adobe Hue CC is the newest app in my toolbox. It only came out days ago, but I have already fallen in love with it. It allows you to make LUTs on the go with your phone’s camera. If you are an Adobe Creative Cloud user, you can sync your LUT collection to use back in Premiere Pro or After Effects. App is technically free, but is better with the Adobe CC.

Adobe Hue CC

 Happy Filmmaking!

Release of Google Photos: Good News for Indie Filmmakers!

DISCLAIMER: This blog is hosted on Blogger.com, a Google product.

I love storage clouds! The files are virtually accessible everywhere, and clouds make collaboration easy. Clouds have become cheaper and larger over the years (just like physical storage), which for filmmakers is a godsend.

Online storage is not without its flaws, however. Servers can be hacked and your videos and photos leaked, which may be detrimental to your business if your clients' projects depend on confidentiality or non-disclosure agreements. Your creative work may also be stolen. While unlikely, servers COULD be wiped clean by hackers. So, even if you are backing up to the cloud, it is important to still use physical storage (such as a hard drive or data disk) for your most important files. That way, you have both.

As a Mac user, I also use iCloud and Photos for many of my personal photos and videos. While Google Photos appears to be a direct competitor, I see the advantage of both systems and will plan to use both. Google Photos will be able to store unlimited videos in 1080p, which should make every indie filmmaker rejoice. If your files are bigger than that (such as 4k), then physical storage may still be the answer. However, I would recommend using Google Photos to make an archival copy of your final projects.

Happy Filmmaking.

Magic Bullet 12 Released!

Need a color job, but can't afford a colorist? While nothing replaces a good colorist, smaller jobs can be done with the use of the proper editing tools. Magic Bullet has been around for a while, and today, Magic Bullet 12 was released. The entire suite looks fantastic for quick jobs, like music videos or wedding videography. Demos are available on Red Giant's website. Check it out! The suite is not cheap ($800), but you may be able to offset the costs if your production volume is high.



Happy Filmmaking!

Product Review: Skullcandy Navigator Headphones

Recently I was in the market for a nice and AFFORDABLE set of on-the-ear or over-the-ear headphones for post-production. Ideally, I would love to buy Bose or similar, but plunking $300+ for a headset is not feasible. And while Beats by Dre continues to be popular, I think they are overpriced for the sound quality. 

I tested several headphones in-store before picking up the Skullcandy Navigator headphones. Skullcandy also can be overpriced, but at least are more affordable than Beats by Dre. For the first time in a long time, I was blown away by the sound quality. The bass was deep and rich, which is good because most of our clients and potential clients for Lagniappe Cinemas are hip-hop artists. The price was even better: $100. I got them for $80, because they were marked down at Target. 

The headset is very comfortable and lightweight. They sit on-the-ear--if I'm editing, I prefer over-the-ear--but I can live with it. At home, I listened to Daft Punk's "Get Lucky", Curtis Mayfield's "Pusherman", George Clinton and The Parliament's "Atomic Dog",  Nas and Jay-Z's "Black Republican", Santana's "Samba Pa Ti", and Mozart's "Symphony No. 25 in G Minor". The headphones passed with flying colors. Some of the treble is sacrificed for bass, but voices are very clear.  I'm not complaining for $80. 

The box mentioned the headset was "made for iPod, iPhone, and iPad," but I always think this is weird considering you can use almost any headset with Apple devices. That does remind me, however, that this is still a consumer product, not a post-consumer product. The headset has buttons to control your device, and even works with my MacBook, but it's a feature I most likely will not use. The audio cord is detachable, which is a good thing. 

These will work great until I am ready to move up in my audio game. Happy Filmmaking!

If you are not subscribed to Adobe Cloud, what is your major malfunction?

Not to be rude with the title, but I wondered this about myself. The Adobe Creative Suite is an invaluable tool for creatives everywhere, but its price point tends to separate the haves from the have-nots. It also tends to turn normally law-abiding citizens into artistic pirates. Come on, Adobe, it's art for art's sake, not art for money's sake.

Well, Adobe listened and came up with an innovative and modern solution: a cloud. Users pay a monthly subscription to access all of Adobe's Creative Suite offerings, usually $50 a month for a year. Let's crunch the numbers for a second.

The average CS offering costs between $1700-$2500. Photoshop alone can cost over $500. Premiere: $700. After Effects: as much as $1000. Factor in upgrades at about $150-$350 a pop and you have a software program that is almost literally worth its weight in gold.

Creative Cloud for an annual commitment will cost $600. In monthly $50 chunks. You can even buy just one program for $20 a month, but why would you wanna do that? A plus: you may even qualify for the $30 a month price. I caught the sale price of $30 a month. There is also a student version for the same price.

So for $30-$50 a month (you know you spend more in gas!), you get:

• Most updated CS, currently CS6 (or maybe CS7 this month, according to rumors).
• Web hosting for up to 5 websites.
• Access to all Adobe's programs***.
• 20GB Server storage.

Thank you, Adobe. Yeah, you can argue that paying a monthly subscription means you might be giving more money to Adobe in the long run, but we live in a capitalistic society and Adobe does make an excellent product. Plus, you know it saves you time you could be working versus looking up cracked versions on Pirate Bay that don't work.

Oh. And this ain't the Google Docs version of CS. As you can see from the screenshot below, these are the full versions of the programs. Thinking cloud and thinking of web-based programs was my original hesitation to try, but I must admit I am happy with the fact I can run any CS program without being connected to the Internet (and if you are creative, you may want to work offline every now and then).
 

 ***Now for the caveat. As you can see, I'm still running Windows XP, like the broke 20-something I am. Although I plan to upgrade to a MacBook Pro this year, I'm not quite ready yet to say goodbye my faithful mocha-colored Vaio. My computer was Vista ready when I bought it, but I don't have to explain why I never upgraded. If you are running an older operating system, be prepared to notice a few programs missing. Maybe ones you were looking forward to, like After Effects. That's because your OS is not compatible. For Windows users, that means you must be running a 64-bit system. I had to Google that, so please, Adobe,  make that more apparent on your website or something. BUT...the cloud gives you 2 licenses, so hey, maybe that's not a big deal for you if you have more than one computer.

A pleasant surprise is Adobe Muse, which is like the Lightroom version of Dreamweaver. It's still a fairly new program, but an easy learning curve if you are already familiar with CS. I'm using it to redo the Lagniappe Cinemas website. Muse seems to be the star program, and for good reason. Web design is everything. 

If you don't commit to a year, you'll pay $75 a month. But, seriously, just do the year contract. Many projects last much longer than that. A year moves fast.

Happy Filmmaking.

Quick Filmmaking Technique: Rotoscoping

The rotoscoping technique is back with a vengeance! From Kanye West's "Heartless" video to Charles Schwab commericals, the trend is picking up again. What is rotoscoping? Basically, it's the technique of animating or tracing over either live-action or other representations of people or objects. In its most basic form, all elementary school children have done it to "show off their art skills." You remember? Of course you do.

Rotoscoping is not only the art of making a subject look animated, but it is also responsible for greenscreen effects (Forrest Gump) and those doppelganger effects in some films (Eddie Murphy's Nutty Professor).

Luckily for the filmmaker on the budget, rotoscoping is alot easier and cheaper nowadays. The effect is easily achievable on a computer with high-end motion graphics software. Adobe After Effects is optimal, but you may want to try out some open-source software as well.

When shooting, keep these steps in mind:

• You should plan for rotoscoping prior to reaching post-production stage, ideally, in preproduction.
• Shoot your live-action in a neutral and uninteresting location, such as a soundstage. This will help maintain a clean rotoscoping without looking cluttered.
• Pay close attention to light and shadow during the shoot. You don't want your subjects looking too 2-d!
• Rotoscope only works if your actors actually act. Rotoscoping maintains a human element to what appears to be living 2-d art.

When editing:

• Use a vector technique (such as the infamous "pen" tool) to draw around your characters or objects. Some programs can trace a subject automatically, but always check the accuracy first for a professional look.
• This would be used as a matte, which you can use to onionskin (superimpose) your image to sync with the live footage. Your matte and your live footage should have the same frame rate.
• For Kanye's look, you would need to flatten the colors of your actors. Stick to a limited palatte that creates a "pop art" look.
• For the A-ha or the Charles Schawb look, draw a visible outline around the subject. Make the line as thick as you would like. Emphasize the lines, not the colors.
• In both, resist the temptation to dramatically recolor actors' clothes.
• Don't forget keyframes or rendering!
• Practice before make significant changes to your rough cut.

For more great examples of rotoscoping, check out the master: Ralph Bakshi. His films like American Pop and Lord of the Rings inspired many filmmakers.

Happy Filmmaking!