Reeltime Productions’ New Showreel

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Limbering Up for the Big Time

If ever they are in your town or city, make time to see them!  Phantom Limb played in Reeltime’s second city last Friday night.

Bristol Old Vic was full to capacity as the six piece outfit came on stage, to rapturous applause.  Why is Reeltime so interested in this band?  Well, besides the undisputed fact that they are good, their multi-instrumentalist bass player, Dan Brown, also composed a piece of music for a promotional film made by Reeltime (he’s the double bass player, centre-right in this picture).  The band, led vocally by Yolanda Quartey, have a new album out but live, they’ll make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up.

REEL RANDOM – Behind the Scenes

A £6m media campaign, estimated to be one of the largest in the UK in 2009, is underway to launch a new product from Nestlé Rowntree.

The launch campaign includes TV, outdoor advertising and a huge internet presence.  Reeltime Productions Ltd has been involved, filming green screen elements for the Rowntree’s Randoms website in the UK.  The off-beat characters – Ryan Forde Iosco and Giles Alderson – were filmed at Imagist Studios near Bristol, one of the largest chroma key facilities in the south west of England.  We got the biggest studio to play with, studio 1, complete with 7 huge Spacelights, to make sure that the characters would be evenly lit as they moved through shot, full screen, without being confined to a waist-up, restricted-movement scenario.  Additional lighting, in the form of 2 x 2.5kW and 2 x 1kW diffused Fresnel lamps, was also used along with a Kino Flo Diva 4-bank.

The project proved the old adage; if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it in a recession.  We used a Sony HVR-Z1e in HDV mode to film the action.  The agency, greenroom@momentum (formerly Greenroom Digital), was happy with the results.  Admittedly, 4:2:2 colour space would have been better for chroma key compositing and true progressive scan (25 or 50 frames per second) would have been helpful but greenroom had used the camcorder before, getting good results from thoughtful post production.

The UK television campaign by JWT London, is expected to be rolled out from 6 June.  Alas, Reeltime did not have a hand in the TV ads.

Never Mind the Kit, Keep Bailing

The 2009 National Association of Broadcasters’ (NAB) gig in Las Vegas seems to be attracting fewer and fewer visitors every year.  Registered attendees this year came to nearly 84 thousand.  It may sound a lot but read on.  In 2008, that figure stood at 105,250 and in 2007, 111,028 people registered to attend that year’s convention.  Getting the picture?

 

So, what was on offer this year?  According to equipment tester, watcher and commentator, Adam Wilt, this year’s themes ran along the lines of: 3D, storage and plenty of accessories.  It’s hardly surprising that there were no major announcements. Broadcasters and production companies are busy consolidating their positions. With some, it’s a case of, never mind the kit, keep bailing.

 

Back at NAB, 3D is gaining ground as a serious acquisition format, particularly for live action film making.  This comes as 3D makes its 21st century debut on the big stage.  Disney/Pixar’s ‘Up,’ has become the first animated feature to open the 2009 Cannes Film Festival.  And it’s in 3D. 

Will we all soon be asked by clients to shoot using 3D cameras because it’s the latest fad?  What about enhanced black and white? Or, 21st century silent films?

 

A source, actually at this year’s NAB, says that there were really only two new cameras being launched and both were from Sony.  The SRW-9000 HDCAM SR camcorder and their PDW-F800.  

 

The SRW-9000 looks like a replacement for the ageing F900/F900R.  It is capable of 4:2:2 Y/Cb/Cr 10-bit recording at 1080/23.98P, 24P, 25P, and 29.97P, and 1080/50i and 59.94i. It also records 4:2:2 720/50P and 59.94P signals, plus option cards can be added giving 1080 RGB 4:4:4 capture.  This camcorder is going to be a great tool for near-perfect green and blue screen filming and in 4:4:4 configuration, it’ll be right up there competing with the likes of Genesis, Viper and RED, if only for colour space. The SRW-900 doesn’t come out until December 2009 and if you have to ask the price, then you probably don’t do your banking offshore.  (Estimated list price is around 60,000 GBP for the basic version.)

 

As for the PDW-F800, well, it only seems like yesterday that Sony brought out the PDW-F700.  Those who emptied their pockets to the tune of 20,000 GBP will have to look-on helplessly as their investment is superseded.  And, what more does the 800 do that the 700 is lacking?  Over and under cranking.  The PDW-800 can run at a frame rate of 23.98P natively in 1080 mode and it also provides multi-format (1080i/720P) recording, as well as HD/SD conversion and cross-conversion during playback between 1080i and 720P.  There, that’s telling you. 

The 800 will also have two filter wheels – one for colour temperature and the other, neutral density. Sounds like a Panasonic. The Sony is looking expensive compared with Panasonic’s AG-HPX301 (reviewed in an earlier blog posting).  At a guess (because prices haven’t yet been released for the Sony), the PDW-800 will come-in at around 20-thousand GBP without lens.  The Panasonic includes a decent 17x Fujinon lens for 8-thousand pounds. 

 

Yes, there are significant difference between the two models. For example, the Sony uses three 2-thirds of an inch Power HAD FX progressive CCDs while the Panasonic makes do with three one-third of an inch MOS sensors.  MOS sensor users have complained about rolling shutter issues. 

So, if anyone’s still in the mood for spending money, the choice is there – 20-grand, no lens, 3-CCDs or 8-grand, with a lens and some issues with very fast-moving objects and flash photography.

 

Enough of cameras, what about lenses?  

Canon announced the HJ14x4.3 ENG HD lens.  Sources label it as “very impressive with ergonomic improvements and very impressive performance through the zoom range.”

 

Fujinon is releasing PL mount zoom lenses, presumably in response to RED’s PL mount glass. 

 

NAB, and other kit-hungry parties already provide radio, video, photographic and traditional text updates from the annual extravaganza.  With footfall at the show in decline, will there be any point in going to IBC in September? Why not just sit back and watch it all unfold before your screen?

YouBBC?

It looked like a normal news bulletin and it read like one but something was very different.
On Sunday 19th April 2009, an early evening BBC television news bulletin played a clip of the UK’s Chancellor of the Exchequer, Alistair Darling, talking about the run-up to his second, and arguably his most important, budget.
What’s wrong with that, you ask?  Well, the clip was taken from the UK government’s treasury department YouTube channel.
The BBC, which always prides itself on originating news by sending reporters, camera crews, sound recordists, satellite trucks and radio cars as part of its news gathering operation, was having to quote YouTube as a source of news and play a pre-budget interview with Alistair Darling that came from the video website. The quality of the clip was, at a glance, acceptable in both picture and audio terms however, the fact remains that the Treasury isn’t that far geographically from the nearest media hub at Millbank.  The news organisation could have shot its own material, even on a Sunday.

We’ve grown used to seeing television news outlets using ropey old VHS quality that has been mashed up on the internet but in the past, that has only been for Osama bin Laden-style addresses and Middle East terror camp training material where the broadcaster couldn’t get the footage any other way.

So, does this signal a new approach from the BBC and other news organisations with a TV presence?  It also begs the questions, why couldn’t the BBC get the chancellor’s footage from the Treasury without having to resort to YouTube?  The BBC has long promoted some of its programmes on YouTube.  Was this a blatant nod to YouTube?

The fact is that the making of news is an expensive business.  It’s also been largely democratised by cheaper high quality video equipment, the emergence of new media – in the shape of blogs, YouTube, Vimeo, Zimbio, Twitter, Twuffer and others – and an over abundance of under or unemployed media-savvy people.  What this also means is that organisations like the Treasury can now set their own news agenda.  They can film their own news and documentary style pieces, edit and distribute them to the world without having to bow to the whims of TV news broadcasters.
You can almost hear the conversation and thought processes that might have gone on: “Mr Darling, would you be able to get into your office, behind your desk on a sunny Sunday afternoon, days before one of your most important announcements and answer some difficult questions?”
Not likely, thinks the Treasury.  We’ll do it at our own pace, with our own people and equipment several days beforehand and if you want it, we’ll send you the YouTube link.

It’s a sign of just how far non-media organisations have come in professionalising their use and handling of media.  Speaking of Twitter, the Treasury even has its own Twitter page.  You can follow the tweets on the budget, and other pronouncements, in SMS-sized bites of up to 140 characters.
The BBC/Treasury/YouTube story might also signal a permanent departure of companies and other organisations depending on traditional media.  Why would you bother trying to get a story onto television news or into newspapers when more people are watching online channels?
Compete.com, a US web traffic analysis service that publishes rough numbers of U.S. visitors to the top one million web sites in the United States, ranks Twitter as the third most used social network behind Facebook and MySpace.  Compete.com puts the number of unique monthly visitors to Twitter at roughly 6 million and the number of monthly visits at 55 million.  So, again, if you were the head of communications at the Treasury or elsewhere, why would you bother forcing your agenda on broadcasters and newspapers, who can only dream of such audiences?

PR, marketing, citizen journalists and others interested in news, have already moved on from the established wisdom.  So too, it appears, have the Treasury.  Who’s next?

The author of this article has no connection to the Treasury or any other organisation mentioned.

West is Best

Ooops!  The secret’s out.  The UK’s West Country is a great place to live and work – if you didn’t already know.  Design Week has been taking a look at an achingly cool part of the South West – Bristol.  Read the full article here.

Panasonic’s Recession Recorder

Panasonic has been getting on with the business of bringing new kit to market.  The HPX-301e is a new camcorder that’s attracting a lot of interest here at Reeltime Productions.  It’s a 10-bit P2 unit which records in the 4:2:2 colour space.  The shoulder mounted camcorder comes with a reasonably good 17x HD lens for under 9-thousand pounds.  Considering that the 301e is capable of all the usual frame rates and boasts a new 1920 x 1080 pixel MOS sensor, that’s looking like great value for money.

Footage and a review by Philip Bloom are already online.

The wait is over – the latest edition of Reel Life is out

Yes, it’s finally here – the latest edition of REEL LIFE, the newsletter from Reeltime Productions.
In this edition; Game Theory, New Year New Equipment, Predictions for 2009 and, not just a snowman but a whole snow family. Don’t miss it. It’s HERE!

Predictions for the rest of 2009

At the outset, 2009 may look like a gloomy year to come but some reports are predicting a more positive outcome with growth potential forecast, particularly in marketing-related businesses. An insightful report from Marketing Week, 09 The Year Ahead, calls on a diverse range of professionals – from brand design consultants to direct marketers, PR and market research leaders – to give their view of the year ahead.
Google UK director Mark Howe says in one of the report articles, Welcome to Channel Me: “History tells us that slowdowns are when winners get ahead. The performance gap between the most successful companies and their competitors becomes greater than during a growth period. The winners continue investing in growth, and focus on profitable products and customers, while carefully managing costs.”
In the same article, MRM Worldwide chief executive Alastair Duncan says: “Consumers will spend more and more time online, which means that brands will need to create useful and meaningful experiences that connect well with everything else the brand is doing.”
The online space is dealt in a separate article from the creative digital marketing agency, Strange. MD Paul Honey has created what he calls 16 online marketing trends for 2009 including the prediction that mobile advertising will grow this year as an increasing array of devices that can link to the internet come on stream.
Reeltime Productions Ltd has produced content for the mobile space and is looking to continue doing so as demand increases.

Stills Cameras Kill the Video Stars

You know when you expect one thing to occur and then the opposite happens?  A bit like bowling or fielding when Kevin Pietersen is batting.  The Hampshire batsman and former England captain is famed for looking like he’s going for a right hand batsman’s cover drive then switching his swing (reverse sweep), while the bowler is mid-tilt, to that of a left hander, bamboozling anyone at silly mid-on.

Well, the same can be said for Canon and Nikon.  The digital image giants looked as though they were just launching two more high-end digital single-lens reflex cameras.  It turns out that their offerings are also capable of shooting high definition video.

Nikon was first to market with the seemingly innocuous D90.  On closer inspection, the 12.3 mega pixel camera is capable of 1280 x 720p at 24 frames per second.  That’s the same sized frame – and one of the frame rates – of the mighty 40,000 GBP Panasonic Varicam (AJ-HDC27HE).  Admittedly, there are several glaring differences between Nikon’s D90 DSLR and Panasonic’s titan but you get the idea.

Next to market has been Canon’s EOS 5D Mark II – a 21 megapixel DSLR, capable of 1920 x 1080p video at 30 frames per second (release due November 2008).  There has been a lot of excitement at the possibilities thrown up by such hybrid cameras.  So, who is using these cameras and what are they shooting?

The Guardian newspaper has accepted and used footage from staff photographer, Dan Chung, shooting with the D90 while the Pulitzer Prize-winning editorial and commercial photographer, Vincent Laforet, has made a short film, Reverie, to show off the EOS 5D Mark II.   Lastly, cinematographer, Alan Doyle has shot a UK-centric piece with the Canon. The comments and responses underneath the video are as interesting as the footage itself – to me at least.

Essentially, Nikon and Canon have started something BIG.

The next iteration of HD DSLR cameras is eagerly awaited.  Users are stacking up their wish lists.  They want more frame rates (25p and 50p amongst others), better sound quality (the ability to attach professional microphones) and the ability for cameras to be more television-friendly by accepting PAL and/or NTSC standards.  This last request seems to me to be a step back into the dark ages.  720p and 1080p are global standards that work on most computers and progressive scan TVs.  Who needs PAL or NTSC?  Just edit and play the footage.

The question has also been asked: ‘If Canon can produce a 35mm sensor for a 2,300GBP (body only) DSLR stills/video camera, why can’t it put the same technology into any of its professional camcorders?’  There is also a feeling that Nikon should be able to out-gun Canon on specifications and features in future because it doesn’t have an already-established video market to destroy with better stills cameras.
We live in exciting times and the possibilities of these new DSLRs are immense.  Remember, it wasn’t so long ago – 2005 in fact – that Tim Burton shot Corpse Bride on a Canon EOS-1D Mark II.  His brand of stop-frame animation was the first full length feature to be shot digitally – and with a stills camera at that.
So, let’s hope that Canon, Nikon and others continue to innovate to bring us better tools.  Let’s hope that they listen to user requests for better kit instead of resting on their laurels or stifiling development because of cosy agreements to stay on a particular side of the moving image fence.