Nikon D4 footage-University of music and preforming arts, Vienna. Image video project. Part 1

http://vimeo.com/39035275

For the last 3 weeks I've been producing/directing/filming an image video for one of the finest universities in the world. The university of music and preforming arts situated in Vienna, Austria (mdw.ac.at/?pageid=1)

When writing the concept to the image video together with my co-director Tobias federsel, we decided to put the teachers and students at the heart of the film. There is nothing like convincing statements from dedicated teachers and satisfied students to pass the unique massage this university brings. 

As a second layer to illustrate how unique this university is, me and my crew joined some of the unique "one on one lessons" the university is offering its students.

Last but not least, Vienna is famous and reworded for its cultural tradition. It was clear to us that the city must come out in a way to fully support our "dynamic tradition" concept.


It is not easy sharing "work in progress" footage, but since the tools I chose for the job might be in some interest for the community I've decided to do so.

Camera choice decision: 
There are lots of fine filming tools out there, but I chose to use the change in the VDSLR generation as an opportunity to explore and learn more about the up coming new tools.

Nikon was the first to support my wish with a D4 pre production model. For the last 3 weeks I've been running with this camera and learned to like what comes out of it. (Canon 5d mark III footage and Nikon D800 might follow)... 

The D4 pre production model I had could not record to an external device like the ninja. Also, there was something kind of wrong with the picture I got in full frame mode. It was too soft and the overall quality was not satisfying. In a way I was now forced to work in 2.7 crop mode, the one Nikon recommends most for best results. 
Stay tune to learn more in the next part if this problem was fixed in the production model.

The first part is dedicated to some footage I took during interviews. Mind you, non of the footage is graded. 
A decision Tobias and me took was that when ever it's possible to use a wide angle shot during an interview we will do so. 
Challenging as it is since we all know how "normal" classes looks like, I am happy with our decision. In the overall product it will connect us better to what the university has to offer, a feeling I could not express in "tight shots".

Audio:
Audio is recorded separately. Only a guide track audio is wirelessly fed into the camera. 
Note: now that I have the production model with me, I'm investigating if the recorded audio is noisy as the pre production model was. 

Light:
Most interviews were done with Litepanels 1x1 LED light (litepanels.com/language/pages/onebyone_standard.php) and Viso kinoflow type light (visiolight.com/pro_flu_p.html)
Additional lights: Arri tungstan 300-650w 

Additional equipment list for the shown footage:

Sachtler system 18 S1 ENG 2 CF tripod
Vocas base plate
Cineroid Metal HDSDI EVF
TVlogig VFM 056W 5.6 monitor
Kata FlyBY 76

Many thanks to my dedicated crew:
Co director-Tobias Federsal
Sound man-Franz Moritz
Gaffer- Ewald Grabenbauer
Camera assistant- Claudia Würtl

Austria Czech Nuclear-Ghostly dinosaur

http://vimeo.com/34099827

Shot with Canon 7d. Picture profile-"Cinema" by http://www.cineplus.ch/cinema.html 

Austria, which has long been anti-nuclear, has called for the continent to abandon nuclear power altogether, but its neighbour, the Czech Republic, is pushing ahead with plans to increase dramatically its production of atomic energy.

The nuclear age ended in Austria before it had begun. Just outside Vienna is the atomic power plant at Zwentendorf on the Danube.

In the late 1970s, it was ready to go into operation. All that was needed was the installation of the fuel rods and the push of a button.

Correspondent: Bethany Bell

Vienna coffee houses-Working with the Sony NEX5n for broadcast

http://vimeo.com/33429338

Working together with my BBC correspondent Bethany Bell is a cameraman's dream come true. The reason is simple, she lets me do my job....:). 

A minute before the new Canon C300 and Nikon D4 are here to lift the picture quality bar, here is our attempt to work with the Sony NEX5n in a "normal short feature for broadcast environment". It is part of our ongoing effort to test different modern working tools.

Lenses: the kit 16mm f/2.8 and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 lenses (my decision using those lenses was based on their "off the shelf availability"). 

Creative style: "Sunset". Settings: contrast -3, saturation -1, sharpness -3. 
Format: AVCHD 1080/25
Tripod: Sachtler DV8 SB
Rig: Vocas
Camera bag: Kata FlyBy 76
Audio: Tascam DR-100 recorder, Sennheiser G2 EW100 wireless system, Sanken Lav mic, Cos 11D
Electronic VF: Cineroid Metal HDMI version
Light: Cineroid mini LED light L2C
Editing: Adobe Premiere CS2 with Cineform Neo4k
Color correction: Cineform “FirstLight”

The little Sony is a lot of fun to work with. Its low light capability is very nice and working in even 1600 ISO is a absolutely "worry free". Moiré and aliasing are surly there but after working with the Canon 7d how can I complain...:) 
Camera DID NOT warm up and shut off probably due to the fact that I was working with EVF connected and my sequences (even the interviews) did not stress the camera to the limit. 

About this short feature:
Vienna's coffee houses are often called the city's "public living rooms". For the price of a hot drink and perhaps a piece of cake, customers can come and spend the day, just relaxing with friends or reading the newspaper.

Often housed in beautifully grand and ornate buildings, coffee houses are so much a part of the fabric of the Austrian capital that Unesco recently included them on their list of intangible cultural heritage - describing them as places "where time and space are consumed, but only the coffee is found on the bill."

Bethany Bell went along to Vienna's Cafe Weimar and Cafe Diglas to find out more.

Music: Karl Minarik

The BBC Close-up series focuses on aspects of life in countries and cities around the world. What may seem ordinary and familiar to the people who live there can be surprising to those who do not. conditions. bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-16538189

"forever-a while"- A music video Shot with

Sony A-65 

http://www.vimeo.com/29245251

“forever- a while” by Angel of Sona, sonaofficial.com
Shot in a day with the yet to be released Sony Alpha A-65

There is not much info about the video quality of the new Sony VDSLR cameras which are not out yet (A65/77 NEX-7), so I felt it is time to make the effort and see what the A65 can do to start with. I had the camera for a day and I’m happy to share the footage with the community.

My aim was to test general picture quality and camera usability during “normal” production environment conditions.

The Lovely Angel of Sona and her nice producer Ingo were quick to respond to my offer for shooting a no budget “instant” music clip.

The A65 I got was very close to the final production model.
I have no doubt that after lerning the camera inside out, better picture quality can be achieved.

Besides being curios seeing the overall picture quality, I wanted to experiment low light sensitivity, codec strength when color correcting and last but not least see if moiré and aliasing are controlled in an acceptable way.

The 3 Sony lenses I got to work with are all widely available and very affordable.

Disclaimer: I do not work or got paid by Sony for doing this music clip

Gear used:
Camera: Sony Alpha A65
Lenses: Sony 35mm f1.8, Sony 50mm f1.8, Sony 17-105mm f3.5-5.6
Tripod: Sachtler DV 8SB
Fader ND: Light craft
Rig: Vocas 
EVF: Cineroid metal
Lights: Cineroid mini LED 
Bag: Kata, Bug 203

Editing platform: Adobe Premiere CS2
CC: Cineform "First Light"