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FCC gives the RED EPIC-M its teardown treatment, so you don't have to
Ever wondered what it feels like to tear down a $58,000 professional video camera? Well, unless you're as minted as Peter Jackson or James Cameron, chances are you'll never get close to a RED EPIC-M (without breaking the law) to find out. That said, you may get some insight from this fresh batch of disassembly shots, courtesy of the FCC. Sure, there aren't any jewels or unicorns hidden inside this powerful 5K imager, but you'll get plenty of close-up shots of its delicate circuitry -- it's actually pretty impressive how much the hand-machined chassis holds. Head over to Wireless Goodness to admire the full glory, but make sure you don't dribble over your keyboard.
Condition ONE app combines iPad and photo journalism
Traditional photo journalism has always had a limited point of view. You could only see what was in front of the camera. Video photo journalism added a new dimension to reporting as the camera could pan around an area giving the user views from multiple vantage points. However, with both photo and video journalism, viewers have no control over what they see in the shot. War documentarian Danfung Dennis is on the brink of changing this thanks to a custom camera system and the iPad. The former is a new tool for the photo journalist to record events, and the latter is a tool for the viewer to immerse themselves in that event and control what they see. Dennis created an app called Condition ONE, which allows viewers to use their iPads as fully interactive windows into photo journalist images. As you can see in the video below (warning, NSFW language), Condition ONE allows you to interact with a current scene in what is probably most easily comparable to a moving photograph from the world of Harry Potter. Users can pan up, down and rotate around to get a complete look at an event in a set moment in time as if they were actually there. Dennis told Time that the point of Condition ONE is to create a new form of storytelling that will "shake viewers out of their numbness to traditional media and provide them a powerful emotional experience." While there is no hard launch date or price, the Condition ONE app is set to debut in mid-2011 and is sure to change the way many see an event that has occurred halfway around the world. "Once viewers enter a video experience, they can move the tablet in any direction and see the corresponding field of view," says Dennis. "The traditional two-dimensional, rectangular frame is shattered as viewers step inside the frame and experience the stories as the protagonists."
Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD video recorder / monitors bring compression jutsu to pro filmmaking
We all drool over the hi-res video shot by cameras like the RED EPIC, but for indie-film types, processing the massive files produced takes a lot of time (and therefore money) and not everyone has an ARRI ALEXA to do native recording compression. Enter the Atomos Ninja and Samurai HD recorder / monitor / playback devices that take your 10-bit video and compress it in Apple's 1080p ProRes QuickTime format to make your post-production life a little easier. The Ninja pulls video through HDMI and deposits it on your choice of 2.5-inch HDD or SDD storage, does playback via a 4.3-inch 480 x 270 touchscreen, and has continuous power thanks to dual hot-swappable batteries (available in 2600, 5200, and 7800 mAh varieties). Meanwhile, the Samurai matches the Ninja's specs, but swaps out the HDMI connection for HD-SDI ports and adds SDI Loop-Through to connect an external monitor, a larger 5-inch 800 x 400 display, and 3D support (if you get two Samurais genlocked together). Both units have FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 and 3.0 connections for offloading your vids. Those with Spielbergian aspirations can pony up $995 for the Ninja right now, or pay $1,495 for the Samurai upon its release this summer.
RED EPIC-M stars in gorgeous vid, RED ONE jealously shoots the footage (video)
By now you're probably familiar with the $58,000 RED EPIC-M and what it can do, but it's hard to properly admire its hand-machined beauty from a distance. We can't ship you a unit, of course, but we've got the next best thing: close-up footage of the compact 5K beast shot with another RED camera -- the original 4K RED ONE M-X. Lousiana post-production company Digital FX lovingly fondled EPIC-M #98 on camera, not to mention goodies like the Bomb EVF and 5-inch touchscreen LCD, and you can watch, drool and share your oh-so-envious thoughts with us right after the break.
MI6 marketing firm seeking original Dead Rising 2, Halo: Reach trailers from college students
Considering the volume of fan-made game trailers cast onto the YouTubes every day, we're guessing MI6's "Making the Cut" competition will bring in a number of qualified entrants. Here's the deal: Any college student who makes a "non-traditional" trailer for either Halo: Reach or Dead Rising 2 can send said trailer into MI6 (the marketing agency, not the branch of British intelligence services), which could be chosen to receive an award during the annual MI6 Video Game Marketing Conference and Awards Show. Participants are encouraged to use their imagination, but must also incorporate gameplay footage provided by the games' developers. Interested collegiate filmmakers can check out the rules and regulations or register for the contest on the official site. Then, it's just a matter of brainstorming and filming an eye-catching concept. How about ... backwards pre-teen zombie girls? Those seem to be pretty "in" right now.
Chicken-based camera stabilization more effective than the human head mount (video)
As you're undoubtedly well aware, the chicken's vestibulo-ocular reflex and gaze stabilizing function (Google it!) is highly evolved, making it just the thing for steadying your camera. Of course, you need access to live poultry, a tiny camera, some sort of rubber band, and the patience and skill to befriend a rooster and bring him to your film shoots. You've already seen one loyal Engadget reader's fledgling attempts at the Chicken Powered Steadicam™, but you can rest assured that this fowl gadget (groan) is constantly in development. Check out our friend Jeremiah's video after the break to see comparison shots between a rooster cam, a handheld camera, and one just sort of strapped to Jeremiah's head.
Chicken Powered Steadicam proves poultry has a future in Hollywood (video)
If you've decided to use a full-fledged Steadicam in your next indie blockbuster you'd better make sure you have the budget -- they can run upwards of $45,000. Sure, there are cheaper options out there, some more sophisticated than others, but none are quite as amazing as this. It's the Chicken Powered Steadicam from Pennywhistle Productions and it is, quite simply, a chicken with a camera on its head, making use of the bird's stabilizing vestibulo-ocular reflex. In the video, embedded for your enjoyment below, you can see that version 1.0 didn't go so well. So, our intrepid barnyard cinematographer quickly advances to version 2.0 -- "a much bigger rooster." While the video quality is low the effect is actually quite well done, but it's the ending that really makes it all come together. Just watch the video, we won't ruin the surprise.
Peter Jackson nabs thirty RED EPIC cameras to film The Hobbit, tempt you to blow your savings
We're still slightly bummed that Peter Jackson never made Halo, but this should patch things up a tad -- the Lord of the Rings director will film The Hobbit in 3D entirely on thirty hand-machined RED EPIC cameras, starting early next year. That's the news straight from RED founder Jim Jannard, but that's not all, as a limited number of pre-production EPIC packages will be available to early adopters as well. $58,000 buys your deep-pocketed budding director a machined EPIC-M body, titanium PL mount, Bomb EVF and 5-inch touchscreen LCD, a REDmote, a four-pack of batteries, a charger and a solid state storage module with a four-pack of 128GB SSDs. Jannard expects to hand-assemble that first batch of 5K imagers in December or January, start the real assembly lines a month after that, and hopefully have widespread availability by NAB in April, though he's not making any promises there. That's how RED rolls. PR after the break. [Thanks, Patrick]
15 Minutes of Fame: Film pros shoot raiding lifestyle documentary
Video has NSFW language near the beginning. 15 Minutes of Fame is WoW.com's look at World of Warcraft personalities of all shapes and sizes -- from the renowned to the relatively anonymous, from the remarkable to the player next door. Tip us off to players you'd like to hear more about. It used to be that any mainstream media coverage of gaming that didn't completely denigrate gamers rated rabid cheering and high-fives all around. Things have gotten better in recent years, but we're often left with a sense of lingering embarrassment when journalists miss the boat and ask all the wrong questions from all the wrong angles. It's with great relief, then, that we report on documentary project that's working hard to get it right. LFG Productions, the brainchild of two film industry vets who are also WoW players, is filming a behind-the-scenes look at the intersection of hardcore raiding and real life by following a top-ranked PvE guild through the post-ICC lull and into the coming expansion. (See a sample of some of the raw footage they've collected at last year's BlizzCon, above.) Documentary co-creator John Keating, aka Xod of <Royal Militia> on Bleeding Hollow (US-A), has been corresponding with us for months now about the LFG Productions team's efforts to put its finger on an accurate portrayal of the hardcore raiding lifestyle.
RED ONE getting Mysterium-X sensor upgrade next week
RED may be busy talking up and showing off its new EPIC-X and Scarlet cameras these days, but it's not about to leave its loyal RED ONE users behind, with it now announcing that they'll be able to upgrade their camera to the new Mysterium-X sensor starting January 22nd.. That's the same sensor that will come standard on the EPIC-X, and promises a range of improvements for the $5,750 it'll cost you -- not the least of which is improved low-light performance (one of the few knocks against the original sensor). Along with it, you'll also get a new version of REDCINE-X to handle the improved video, and those interested in stepping up to the EPIC-X beta program can expect to get a $1,250 credit if they qualify and join at the first or second stage.
TUAW Featured Video: Dennis Liu's 'Pretending to Work'
As you may recall, previously on TUAW we brought you innovative filmmaker Dennis Liu's extremely creative music video for The Bird and the Bee's song "Again and Again." Next, I managed to snag an interview with the busy Liu while he was preparing one of his next projects. And now, though the miracle of the modern Internets, I can bring you his new project right now. Liu has been hard at work creating a fascinating new piece using a tool many of us use each and every day: Microsoft Office. And, of course, his trusty Mac and OSX. But instead of doing another music video, Liu decided to branch out and instead created a short film highlighting how easy it is to pretend to work while at the office.Creativity is where you find it and Dennis Liu proves you can find it just about anywhere if you know where, and more importantly, how to look. Check it out.
TUAW Interview: Filmmaker Dennis Liu
As we recently showcased here at TUAW, filmmaker Dennis Liu's Mac-inspired video for the group The Bird And The Bee combines his love of music, filmmaking and the Mac to create a very entertaining and innovative piece of work. In fact, we liked it so much here at TUAW, that we decided we wanted to know a bit more about Dennis and his creative process. I spent some time talking with the filmmaker recently and got some info on how he made the video, why he made it, what he hopes to gain from it and what's next for this very talented guy.CHRIS ULLRICH: Tell me a bit about how you came up with the idea for the video? What inspired you to do it? DENNIS LIU: I'm a 23 year old college grad trying to become a full-time director/creative. Right now, I'm a producer at an ad agency, but I've always had some ideas for Apple commercials and always wanted to shoot one. Apple has some of the world's finest advertising, and I wanted to play at their level. The film industry is so competitive these days, that you really need to do something innovative and different to stand out, and I wanted to really make something that would get some attention from my peers. So the result was this viral video for my reel, Apple, and one of my favorite musicians - The Bird & the Bee. For Apple, I figured it was a cool idea that shows the beauty, style, and most importantly - the function of Apple computers. People think they're really cool looking, and I totally agree, but they are also wickedly powerful machines. So the video combines style and function.
Draganfly SAVS R/C helicopter does aerial photography "on the cheap"
The main problem with amateur film making is that no one is handing out million dollar checks to fund your latest art house masterpiece, meaning that your choice of shots is basically limited to what you can accomplish with a Handycam and a homemade fig rig. Aerial photography can be especially tricky, as renting a plane, helicopter, or crane to shoot those dramatic establishing shots is prohibitively expensive on a shoe-string budget -- so Draganfly Innovations has come to the rescue with an R/C helicopter for the everyman cinematographer. At $2,500, the company's Stabilized Aerial Video System (SAVS) is still no bargain, but it does give you everything you need for overhead filming in one pre-assembled package: gyroscopically-stabilized copter, anti-vibration video camera, and wireless video receiver from Diversity. Most appealing about this solution is the so-called Thermal Intelligence self-leveling feature, wherein on-board infrared sensors use temperature differences to distinguish the sky from the ground and allow the helicopter to automatically hover without any input from the controller. The 19-ounce Draganfly SAVS is portable enough for almost any application, but the trade-off here is battery life: the relatively tiny lithium-polymer batteries only allow a maximum 15-minute flight.
Cinea's SV510 USB key puts movie footage on lockdown
With movie studios sending around an increasing amount of digital footage before a film is even released, there are a growing number of opportunities for pirates to get their hands on that valuable content and do what pirates do best. We've already seen Dolby Laboratories subsidiary Cinea attempt to combat this problem by shipping secure DVDs and players to Academy Awards judges, and now the company has released a portable USB 2.0 video key called the SV510 that brings the same encryption technology to the dailies and rough cuts that need to be distributed throughout the filmmaking process. Once the desired footage has been encoded with Cinea's S-VIEW encryption and watermarking technique, it can be safely sent on a DVD or via the Internet to recipients with an authorized SV510, who must plug the device into their PCs and enter a six to twelve digit code if they wish to view the content. This system ensures that even if a laptop and SV510 are both lost/stolen together, the encrypted video cannot be viewed without a password; and for heightened security, any of the Cinea peripherals can be remotely de-authorized by the content creators. The Windows version of this product is available immediately for $600 -- a Mac edition will be shipping in October -- along with a "management fee" of $20/month for the life of the device.[Via über gizmo]
