Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Red Giant’s New Short Film “Go Bag” Shows Off Trapcode Suite 13

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Red Giant released a new short film earlier this month to show off the recently updated Trapcode Suite 13. Go Bag is an action film packed full of VFX shots that rely heavily on post production techniques using Red Giant’s assortment of software solutions. You can watch the full film embedded above.

As you’ll see in the behind the scenes video below, director Seth Worley relied heavily on Trapcode Suite 13 for muzzle flashes, sparks, smoke, debris, and the film’s cinematic end title sequence; the Keying Suite for green screen and compositing; and Magic Bullet Suite 12.1 for color correction. [Read more…]

 

Convergent Design Odyssey7Q+ Gets $500 Price Drop

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Convergent Design Odyssey7Q Plus

Convergent Design has dropped the price of its Odyssey7Q+ to $1795 (was $2295), which slots it in between the competing Atomos Ninja Assassin and Shogun. At $1795, it arguably offers more value than either Atomos option since the Odyssey7Q+ offers up to ProRes 4444 12-bit recording out of the box and includes a 256GB Convergent Design SSD. It offers 4K capture over both the HDMI and SDI inputs.

Additionally, the Odyssey7Q+ offers the ability to upgrade to RAW recording options with compatible cameras via a paid upgrade from Convergent Design. You can find the Odyssey7Q+ at the new price point here at B&H Photo.

Z Camera’s E1 MFT 4K Camera is Now Shipping

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Z-Cam E1

The new Micro Four Thirds Z Camera E1, which was brought about via Kickstarter, is now shipping and available at retail for $699.

In addition to capturing 4K video at 24p and UHD video at 24p/25p/30p, it also captures 1080HD video at up to 60p and 720HD video up to 240p. Still images in DNG or JPEG are also possible at up to 16MP resolution.

More info on Z-Cam’s website and you can order it here at B&H Photo.

Red Giant Trapcode Suite 13 Includes Major Updates and New Trapcode Tao

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Trapcode-Suite-Pullout

Red Giant recently released its updated Trapcode Suite 13, which includes major updates to Trapcode Particular, Shine and Mir, as well as Trapcode Tao – a new plugin for generating 3D geometries along a path. Trapcode Form, Sound Keys and Starglow also get new features.

Check out the overview of Trapcode Suite 13 in the video below.

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B-jeXkpwtU4&w=700&showinfo=0&rel=0]

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

Convergent Design Unveils Apollo Portable Multicam Recorder

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convergent-design.com-apollo-flat-1000px

Convergent Design has announced Apollo, which is a portable HD multicam recorder/switcher that captures up to four simultaneous HD video signals over SDI inputs (one can be HDMI). Additionally, it will record a fifth HD channel of a live switch program feed among the four channels or a quad-split reference view. (Also, some exciting news for Odyssey7Q+ users below). [Read more…]

Giving Your Video That Cinematic Look – Why Understanding ISO Is Just as Important as Having the Right Gear

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Giving-Your-Video-That-Cinematic-Look

This article on Giving Your Video That Cinematic Look – Why Understanding ISO Is Just as Important as Having the Right Gear is from guest author Corey Benoit. 

From Still to Motion

Like many, my projects require both still and motion images and are often lacking essential light to simplify the production. Switching between the two, I have found that understanding ISO is equally as important as selecting the right gear for your shoot. This article takes a look at ISO and gear for creating cinematic video in low light situations.

The ISO Myth

Many photographers and videographers think that ISO only affects the overall exposure of the image or the light being received by the sensor, and this is a myth. ISO doesn’t just affect the exposure or the lightness/brightness of an image. It basically destroys the color integrity and accuracy. Your greens will take on a lighter shade and will most likely have noise. Reds turn into more of an orangey kind of red, and blues will typically take on a cyan color. Color pollution is a problem with higher ISO. The color matrix will be polluted the more you push the ISO. Not to mention the damage that is done to the black/gray shades. They are polluted very badly with higher ISO. [Read more…]

Fusion 8 VFX Software Free Public Beta Now Available

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Fusion 8

Fusion 8 is a powerful VFX program that is used on tons of Hollywood films like Maleficent, Edge of Tomorrow, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, The Amazing Spider-man 2 and The Hunger Games trilogy, as well as hit TV shows like Battlestar Galactica and Orphan Black.

Before Blackmagic Design purchased Eyeon (the previous developer of Fusion), version 7 was planned to retail for $2500. Version 6 launched at $5000.

Blackmagic released version 7 for Windows for free – with a Fusion 7 Studio version available for $995. Fusion 8 will continue that trend and, for the first time will be available for Mac OS X, as well as Windows. [Read more…]