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QHT 012: Interview with Tom Guilmette, Videographer and Filmmaker

by Dave Warner on December 4, 2009

This is a Quick Hit Podcast short and we’re going to talk to Tom Guilmette. Tom works in the television and film arena. A major turning point in his television life occurred when Sony released an inexpensive High Definition camera that used the newly developed HDV format. For the first time, Tom was able to shoot in 1080i and edit video at full 1440 × 1080 resolution.

Tom says: This is my first film shot with the Canon 5DmkII digital SLR. This camera is simply amazing and it is really changing the “film-look for video” game.

The idea for this film came to me a few days ago. I wanted to shoot in an old, abandoned house with no electricity. My goal was to light the entire film with available light and light from a single oil lamp. The low light capability of this camera is unlike anything I have ever used before. This camera is amazing when shooting with the light from a single flame.

I called my friend, Adam, and asked him if he would meet me at on old vacant farm house in Attleboro, Massachusetts so that we could shoot a film. We brought a few props, like the old tin, oil lamp and photograph for the film and shot non-stop from 11am to 5pm. We started outside in the rain and then moved into the dank dirt-floor basement. Later in the afternoon, we shot upstairs in the decaying house.

All sound was recorded separately with the Zoom h4 stereo recorder with the built in microphones. I used Vinten tripods, and especially loved my new Vinten baby legs when shooting with the Vision 3 (spring#1) to get the low angles.

I edited this project with very little grading to the final film with Final Cut Pro and Magic Bullet Looks. If you have any questions about the Canon 5DmkII or the making of this film, please visit my website and post your comments there. Link: tomguilmette.com

I have also posted the untreated rough cut of the 1960 farm house flashback. This rough cut includes reference audio directly from the 5Dmk2 microphone. I figured this might be helpful to those who want to hear how the built in mic sounds. Link: vimeo.com/5302278

Special Thanks to:
Matt Johnson
Chris Nicini
Joe Francazio

List of Questions (PDF format)

Equipment, Software and sites mentioned in this podcast: Zacuto hardware, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 1D Mark IV, Glidecam 4000, Zoom H4n Audio Recorder, Sony EX1, Letus35 Ultimate Adapter.

Show Sponsors: ExpoImaging, Inc., ScanCafe

To listen to the full podcast interview, click on the player’s forward arrow below. You can also play the Podcast in a popup window, download it OR subscribe to it via iTunes.

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Alien Skin Software Announces Eye Candy 6 Graphic Design Effects Plug-in for Photoshop

by Dave Warner on December 1, 2009

Gorgeous detailed effects look organic and natural. Over 1000 presets that adapt to image size make Eye Candy easy to use. Professional features support production environments, such as CMYK color mode, 16-bit/channel images, and acceleration for multi-core computers.

Raleigh, North Carolina – December 1, 2009 – Alien Skin Software today announces the immediate availability of Eye Candy® 6, the new version of its graphic design special effects plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop®. The 30 filters in Eye Candy render beautifully detailed realistic effects that are difficult or impossible to achieve in Photoshop alone. Now it is easy to create attractive results quickly because Eye Candy adapts to the current image size.

“Eye Candy could always render a huge range of beautiful effects, but you had to be an expert to achieve them,” said Terence Tay, the architect of Eye Candy. “Now version 6 hands them to you on a silver platter by providing improved presets which automatically adapt to your image size.”

Beauty
Eye Candy handles every situation elegantly, from slick Web interfaces (Chrome, Glass, Perspective Shadow) to tasteful logos (Bevel, Brushed Metal, Extrude) to spectacular titles (Chrome, Corona, Fire). Realism sets Eye Candy effects apart from the generic filters built into Photoshop. Effects like Animal Fur, Smoke, and Reptile Skin are rendered in exquisite detail down to individual hairs, turbulent wisps, and irregular bumps. Eye Candy makes your designs look natural and organic, not computery and fake.

Ease of Use
Eye Candy makes it easy to apply tasteful special effects to any project, which is quite a feat considering that it contains 30 filters, over 1000 presets, and hundreds of controls. All that power is tamed by a deceptively simple user interface. The presets are now organized into categories and each one adapts to fit the size of your current image. The numerous presets handle nearly any situation, but you can also customize each effect and save your own settings.

Help for Eye Candy 6 is everywhere. Tooltips appear above every control and a detailed manual pops up with a single key press. The Web site has a large library of tutorial videos, example images, a knowledge base, and a discussion forum.

Professional Features
Eye Candy is made for professionals in demanding production environments who need support for 16-bit/channel images and CMYK mode. Eye Candy 6 now takes advantage of multi-core CPUs to run fast on modern machines. Eye Candy 6 is one of the first plug-ins to work with the 64-bit version of Photoshop. Panels for Photoshop CS4 are provided for starting Eye Candy filters with a single click and for quickly creating attractive buttons. Eye Candy provides multiple techniques for non-destructive editing in Photoshop, including Smart Filter support and rendering effects on a duplicate of the original layer.

Pricing and Availability
Eye Candy 6 sells for $249 USD. Owners of any version of Eye Candy may upgrade for $99 USD. Online or physical delivery is available through the Alien Skin website at www.alienskin.com. A real live human can take orders or answer questions at 888-921-SKIN (7546). Free upgrades will be automatically sent to purchasers of the Eye Candy 5 Bundle (Impact, Nature, and Textures) who purchased after October 11, 2009.

Host Requirements
Eye Candy 6 is a plug-in and requires one of the following host applications:

Adobe Photoshop CS3 or later
Adobe Photoshop Elements 6 or later on Mac OS X
Adobe Photoshop Elements 7 or later on Windows
Corel Paint Shop Pro Photo X2
Adobe Fireworks CS4

System Requirements
Microsoft Windows users must have at least a Pentium 4 processor or compatible and Windows XP or later. Apple Macintosh users must have a PowerPC G5 or Intel processor and Mac OS X 10.5 or later. A monitor with 1024×768 resolution or greater is required.

About Alien Skin Software
Alien Skin Software makes Photoshop plug-ins for photographers and graphic designers. We distill advanced math and cutting edge research into simple tools that render beautiful pictures. Our reputation for bug-free software and fast, friendly tech support has grown worldwide since 1993. For more information, visit our website at www.alienskin.com.

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QHT 0011: Interview with Kevin Shahinian, Filmmaker and Founder of Pacific Pictures

by Dave Warner on November 20, 2009

This is a Quick Hit Podcast short and we’re going to talk to Kevin Shahinian. Kevin is an award-winning filmmaker, graduate of the USC School of Cinematic Arts and founder of Pacific Pictures, a boutique film production company based in Los Angeles, CA that produces live event, corporate and original concept productions for clients around the world.

Can a love story be told as a thriller? Megan & Narbeh’s true romance seemed to inspire the myth, conventions, and iconography of the great international suspense films, set in the iconic Uppsala winter of their hometown. Knowing only that Narbeh was a member of the Swedish Air Force, and that he used to sneak off the base at times just to see Megan, we took a little dramatic license in this one-of-a-kind love story-thriller hybrid, and hope to have celebrated the places that remind these two what made their very first moments together unforgettable.

List of Questions (PDF format)

Equipment, Software and sites mentioned in this podcast: Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D.

Show Sponsors: ExpoImaging, Inc., ScanCafe

To listen to the full podcast interview, click on the player’s forward arrow below. You can also play the Podcast in a popup window, download it OR subscribe to it via iTunes.

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QHT 009: Interview with Scott Bourne about HD DSLR’s

by Dave Warner on November 13, 2009

This is a Quick Hit Podcast short and we’re talking with Scott Bourne about video in DSLR’s, the capabilities in his new Canon 7D and how things are going so far with it. Scott is a new media producer, consultant, photographer, author, lecturer, teacher, technology enthusiast and Twitter Ori Master with more than 46,000 followers.

Video (C) Scott Bourne 2009

In this podcast we talk about what HD DSLR’s Scott has, his first impressions of the Canon 7D, his most unexpected result from using video in these cameras, the easiest AND hardest skills for still photographers to pick up on, what new opportunities and markets this may open up for still photographers and must have additional gear to shoot video.

List of Questions (PDF format)

Equipment, Software and sites mentioned in this podcast: Zacuto hardware, Canon 5D Mark II, Canon 7D, Canon 1D Mark IV, Red Camera, Red Rock Micro hardware, Sony Vegas Pro 9 software, Adobe Premier Pro CS4 software, 300-800 mm Sigma lens, Nikon D3, Miller DV 20 Tripod & Fluid Head, Canon 400 mm lens, Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1, Nikon D300s, Nikon D90, LensBaby, PhotoFocus, Chase Jarvis, Vincent Laforet.

Show Sponsors: ExpoImaging, Inc., ScanCafe

To listen to the full podcast interview, click on the player’s forward arrow below (sorry for the poor quality of MY voice on this one – SOMETHING was off on my equipment). You can also play the Podcast in a popup window, download it OR subscribe to it via iTunes.

Podcast: Play in new window

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