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In this charming and engaging talk at Semi-Permanent he unveils his creative process, taking us step by step through his inspiration, pitches, frames and storyboards to the final outcome.

DSLR video has changed the industry. Over the past year, our photographic sensibilities have propelled the moving image-opening the door to a new realm of storytelling possibilities. For photographers, the form factor is comfortable and familiar. The lens selection? A dream come true. Custom color pallets, high ISO capture, all with a professional esthetic rivaling the production values of major Hollywood productions-how could this not be industry changing? Life changing, even?

Reviewing the rushes from my first outing with the Canon 5D Mark II, I almost lost my mind. The depth of field separations, lowlight performance, and 1080p quality were outstanding. The footage was easy to shoot. It was easy to drag and drop onto my computer. It was easy to play back in QuickTime Player. Then I loaded my footage into Final Cut Pro, assuming that post-production would be easy, as well.

This was the part where I really did lose my mind: editing the 5D II footage was a total nightmare. While things looked pretty good on the timeline, I couldn’t get the precise cuts that I wanted. Some chops were off by as many as five frames. Adding basic transitions, simple text–any small change–required rendering. Exporting dailies to DVD resulted in playback with dropped frames, digital artifacts, and the occasional Hulk-mad green screen. Here I was with a load of beautiful footage and no way to efficiently edit it.

The problem with DSLR video is file compression. The most popular cameras out there use web-friendly formats. For shooting and sharing, this would be great, but web-friendly isn’t always edit-friendly. Canon’s 5D Mark II, 7D, 1D Mark IV, and Rebel T1i use QuickTime H.264 compression. This is the same compression method employed for most of the movie trailers we view online. Nikon cameras like the D3S, D90, and D5000 use AVI (Motion JPEG) compression. Pentax bodies like the K-7 and K-x utilize the same thing. Used within most nonlinear editing systems, these files are all terrible.

This article was written to help anyone that’s been there. I feel your pain. It took me a while to find the workflow that fit my editing style. Today I’m sharing my findings. There are many ways to arrive at your destination. This article is a great place to get started. In the coming months, there will be other techniques, strategies, and software available to simplify your life. Until then, let’s talk workflow. Quick note: I’m a Final Cut Studio user. If you’re on another NLE, skip down to Transcoding with Freeware.

Transcoding with Compressor

Before you begin, it’s best to organize your media files for efficiency. Create a file folder for your video footage. As a best practice, keep the folder limited to video files-no pics, thumbnails, or reference stuff. Video only.

Transcoding is a process that changes one file type into another. Using Compressor, a piece of high-quality conversion software included in Final Cut Studio, we’re going to transcode our DSLR video footage into something a bit more edit-friendly. Final Cut Pro plays well with almost all of the major video formats out there. In theory, we could transcode our footage into any one of these formats. But for maximum flexibility, I’d recommend using one of Apple’s ProRes offerings. Why ProRes? It doesn’t require rendering on the timeline, and if your project incorporates footage from other HD or SD cameras (non-DSLRs), everything still works well. For most users, ProRes 422HQ, 422, or 422LT should do the trick.

Launch Compressor. In the Settings window, you’ll find a range of ProRes options under Apple->Formats->QuickTime. Select any of the ProRes 422 settings. ProRes 422HQ offers the highest quality, but can get a bit heavy in terms of file size. If you’re working on a special effects project with loads of composites and motion graphics, consider ProRes with Alpha (ProRes 4444).

If you plan to work with DSLR video often, make your ProRes selection and click the Duplicate Selected Setting button (the third button from the left at the top of the Settings window). This copies your favorite ProRes flavor into the Custom Settings folder.

Double-click your ProRes setting. This opens up a small Inspector window. Click the Encoder button (second button from the left at the top of the window). Under Video: Settings, you can alter the frame rate to your liking. I recommend keeping this on “Current.” It’s best to do your initial edit in your DSLR’s native frame rate. Only alter these settings if your project requires you to do so.

In the Settings window, you should also see a tab labeled Destinations. Click this to specify where you want your transcoded material to be recorded. There are some prescribed options in the menu, but you can choose your own by clicking the “+” icon at the top right of the window.

An untitled project window should be open above the Settings and Inspector slugs. If not, use Command+N to create a new one. Click Add File at the top left of the window. A navigation finder will open up. Use this to locate your video content.

This is where it helps to have some patience. If you’re using a Core 2 Duo processor, you really don’t want to select more than 10 files at a time. Transcoding with Compressor is a bit taxing on the system, and if you overload it, it tends to crash. Quad Core users or editors who are working with a cluster of machines can work with a greater quantities of clips. The more powerful your machine or network of machines, the better luck you’ll have with larger batches.

Select all the clips in the untitled window with Command+A. Drag your ProRes selection from the Settings window over the selected clips. Choose the destination for your transcoded footage from the Tool Bar (Target->Destination). Click Submit at the bottom right of the window.

An option to name your project will appear. This auto-populates with the name of your first clip. Change this over to your project name, make sure that Priority is set to High, and click Submit.

Depending on the amount of footage that you’ve queued, the transcoding process could take minutes or hours. When the process is finished, you should be able to drag and drop your highly stable ProRes footage directly into Final Cut Pro.

Transcoding with Freeware

I love freeware. By definition, it’s free and often provides services that pay-software companies haven’t addressed yet. This is especially true with transcoding. Whether you’re on a Mac or a PC, MPEG Streamclip from Squared 5 is a fast and efficient way to change your footage over to a more stable format.

Install and launch MPEG Streamclip. From the Tool Bar, select List->Batch List and select the video files that you want to transcode. You’ll need to drag these into the Batch List window. Unlike Compressor, the software holds up pretty well under a bulky queue of clips. Keep the number of your selections conservative, though-the larger your queue, the more likely a crash.

Since most NLEs are compatible with QuickTime, select Export to QuickTime from the pop-up dialogue box. From here, you’ll choose a destination for the converted footage in the “Select the Destination Folder” window. Click Select. From here, an options window opens with all of the available QuickTime codecs on your system. Since your DSLR captures in HD, I’d recommend using an HD codec. If you’re on a Mac, choose a ProRes flavor. PC folks can use a DVCPRO HD setting or any HD QuickTime variant they prefer.

Pull the Quality slider to 100%. Click the radio box to turn Interlaced Scaling off. All current DSLRs capture HD progressively, so there’s no sense in scaling your footage.

Click To Batch. A new window will open. Click Go. The transcoding process can take a while. However, MPEG Streamclip is significantly faster than Compressor.

Does the speed boost make the freeware better? Well, yes and no. If speed is the name of the game, use MPEG Streamclip. It’s fast and relatively stable. If you’re on a Mac and want a higher quality file, use Compressor. Shadow detail is significantly cleaner and the overall image has fewer artifacts.

Whichever way you choose to roll, your transcoded footage will now play nice on with your NLE. It’s good to experiment with both approaches. There’s no right or wrong here.

Summing It Up

DSLR filmmaking is probably the fastest growing segment of the moving image market. This transcoding tutorial is just a starting place for those of you that want to work with your footage in the editing room. As I said earlier, new workflows and software products are already on the way. Stay tuned! Stay sharp! Can’t wait to see you and your film on the festival circuit!

David Flores is a photographer and filmmaker based in New York City. He is a member of the B&H Creative Content Team. His latest film, Blue King, is set to debut in 2010 at the Derby City Film Festival.

VIA: PS3Comedy

VIA: DecembersEdge

Anatomy of a Budget

A budget consists of the summary page, known as the top sheet, and a series of department-by-department itemizations for that budget. Even if a film’s expenses top $200 million, every roll of tape must be budgeted, receipted, and credited to its particular account. The numbers may get large, but the need for attention to detail never diminishes. Each day throughout the course of the production, the actual expenses are reconciled with the budget to calculate the production’s accuracy in planning and to make the necessary adjustments to keep the project on time and on budget.

Every budget contains several different types of expenses. Above-the-line expenses are the major costs that set the scale of the production; they include the salaries of the director and leading cast members, the cost of the script, and the producer’s fee. In the studio world, they are often negotiated in coordination, so that star salaries are proportionate and the director has a deal somewhat similar to those of the other above-the-line participants. Below-the-line expenses are typically the production expenses, which include the remaining cast, locations, sets, costumes, permits, and equipment rentals. These costs tend to vary less than above-the-line expenses; the cost of a location permit, for example, does not change based on the fame of the cast. The budget must also reflect postproduction expenses, including the editing, sound, addition of special effects, and titles.

In addition to the production and postproduction expenses, significant other budget items include the various forms of insurance which must be maintained, legal fees, accounting expenses, and a small budget for capturing film and video content to be used in the publicity of the film and as extras on the DVD or Web site.

Traditionally, the scale of a film was set by above-the-line costs, which represented the most significant portion of the budget. In today’s movie-making environment, however, this may not be the case. The visual effects added in postproduction can equal or exceed the cost of production and may represent expenses as great as the salaries of top-name star talent.

Special Considerations: Music

Music has always been an important part of filmmaking. The film score can influence the emotional impact of a scene, shaping audience reactions at a subconscious level. Featured songs can carry the audience’s emotional associations with those songs into the film’s world of suspended disbelief. For instance, when Wall-E incorporated a video clip from Hello Dolly, it helped to bridge the audience age gap and served as instant shorthand for the values learned by the main character, a self-aware robot, during his 700 years of isolation.

The details of music licensing for the film score, featured songs performed for the movie, and needle drops—prerecorded songs played during the film—but because music has become not only a vital aspect of independent filmmaking but also an expensive one, the filmmaker should pay particular attention to its role in the budget process. The budget should separate out the payments to the composer of the film score from the budget for featured song and needle drops.

Budgeting for needle drops requires the filmmaker to identify the rights holder, which is typically the record label. The record label will want information on the planned use of the recording: “opening credits,” “end credits,” “background,” or “featured in the scene.” The label will also want to know the budget for the film and the planned distribution.

The record companies understand that motion picture promotion can lead to great sales for songs and records. But their goal is to maximize the revenue, so songs that are already more popular among filmmakers demand a high premium. In addition, it costs money for the companies to review the music license rights for each song, so they tend not to be particularly helpful unless the filmmaker already has a distribution agreement in place.

For filmmakers who do not have distribution agreements, the record companies’ compromise is to offer a festival license. For a modest fee, the record company gives the film company permission to use its song in one or more film festivals. This gives the film company the authorization it needs to proceed, implying permission to copy the song onto the audio tracks of the film, edit the song to the appropriate length, and otherwise exploit the song enough to prepare the film for its festival release and screen a rough cut to potential distributors.

The significant downside to the festival license is that it does not state the cost the filmmaker will have to pay to use the song in theatrical distribution or in any of the other media for which a license will ultimately be needed. The festival license leaves the filmmaker at the mercy of the record label, perhaps even creating a risk that the film rights will be sold for a price below the cost of the music rights. Unfortunately, few record labels are motivated to provide complete fee schedules to low-budget filmmakers.

Filmmakers must anticipate the financial challenges of music acquisition. If they hope to use popular recorded music, they must set aside a budget for this purpose. Wherever possible, they should avoid relying on popular recorded music unless they can establish the price for the music’s use. If the music is featured in a scene, then the film is put at great financial risk unless the filmmaker can rely on a fixed price to acquire the music. Filmmakers should use other music sources to the greatest extent possible to avoid the licensing trap created by the festival license.

This is part of a series of book excerpts from Independent Filmmaking, The Law & Business Guide for Financing, Shooting & Distributing Independent & Digital Films designed as an introduction to the many legal issues involved in the filmmaking process.

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…1. Gamma setting

A couple of versions ago, FCP added a gamma settings preference (User Preferences / Editing). This lets you compensate for gamma differences in graphics created on other platforms. Ever since FCP7, I have found that the best setting to use is 2.2 (the native gamma of PCs). “Source” and other options don’t seem to yield the best results. As such, I now set all systems I use to 2.2 gamma.

This gamma preference applies to imported QuickTime movies as well, if they were created with an RGB codec, like Animation. Bring them in as “source” instead of 2.2 gamma and the level will be wrong. Like all other such settings, changes made to this setting only affect files imported after the change was made.

While we are looking at this tab, note the Still/Freeze Duration time. Crank this baby up. You aren’t creating any more media by doing so. If you have it set to 4 minutes, then that means you can have a still or a freeze last up to 4 minutes long as a single clip on the timeline.

— Digital Films| Read The Full Article