One of the things that is really interesting to me, is the fusion of video and stills in the new cameras like the Canon 5D Mark II and the new Canon 7D. There is just this amazing capability that we’ve been handed with these new cameras, yet it is a path fraught with LOTS of things we don’t know as still photographers. It’s easy to think that once you have HD video in the camera, that you can run out and shoot 1080P commercials! Or, that you can just go out and shoot some video at the wedding and easily put together this great production. Well, I know that myself, and MANY others are finding out that there is a lot more to it than that.
For instance, there is a TON off additional equipment that you are going to need that you don’t even know about yet. Take the Zacuto Z-Finder that I wrote about just a couple of weeks ago. A great addition to your camera bag for stills AND video, but guess what? There are several other products that they make that you might need. It starts getting complicated, and it adds expense. Not to mention figuring out just exactly what you need.
What about software? OK, everyone does NOT have a Mac, and there are a lot of video editing programs out there for both platforms. Which piece of software can handle each of the different formats of video being shot? 24, 25, 29.97, 30 frames per second? What does all that mean anyway? Is there any OTHER software that you need? What is shutter roll anyway?
For me, there are just a lot of questions, and the minimal experience I’ve had shooting video in the past is just not helping me with what is going on today. I’m also pretty sure, that I am not the only one out there who feels this way either. There are some good sites that are covering this, like Planet 5D, but I want to get into the specifics with the folks that are using these cameras. I want these questions answered, and I want to see examples posted of what it can look like using the techniques that they bring to the table.
So – two things. One, I’m going to highlight cool videos that I find in this section, AND you can expect to see me interview some of these folks who are doing cutting edge work with the Canon equipment in the main Episodes section. Vincent LaForet may have started it off with his film Reverie, but there is a lot of work that has been done in the meantime. So, enjoy the first film created with the Canon 5D Mark II. There will be many to follow.
