In the age of smartphones and tablets a forgotten piece of video kit is the humble tripod - David Hague looks to rectify this David Hague We are often asked when a tripod should be used, and the generic answer is "whenever you have one with you". Unless you purposely want that jerky, jumpy video look that was a trademark of some TV shows for a period, there is nothing worse than a video that is not rock steady. There is a reason that TV camera operators routinely use them no matter the circumstances. Trust me, you wouldn't lug one of those dirty big TV camera tripods around everywhere with you by choice! But not all tripods are created equal. The one you can buy for $15 in Big W has nothing in common with any of the tripods you'll see in this story other than it has three legs and a screw to mount a camera! Read More

You Can Shoot Like A Pro With These Budget Camcorders David Hague Lately, users have shied away from using lower priced camcorders in favor of shooting video with their smartphones and this is a bit sad in my opinion. The quality of footage from a phone can never replicate that of even the least expensive of genuine camcorders due to a number of factors, not the least being the lens. The physical design is also a factor; camcorders are built the way they are for a reason, primarily the ergonomics with everything at your fingertips. And of course, the camcorder is always the right way up, shooting proper 16:9 high definition footage (PROPER high def) in landscape mode and not portrait as smartphones do. So which are the best low cost camcorders on the market? With a budget of $500, we wondered just what you could get... Read More

none Growing up in Palo Alto, CA, Jacob Rosenberg had a passion for skateboarding. As the years progressed, Jacob also discovered he had a passion for filmmaking. When the opportunity to combine the two presented itself, Jacob jumped at the chance. As Partner, Chief Technology Officer and Director of LA based Bandito Brothers, a full service media company that creates, produces, manages and distributes audio/visual content, Jacob seized the opportunity to spearhead and direct the sophisticated, heartfelt and visceral documentary "Waiting for Lightning" about longtime friend and skateboarding legend Danny Way. Read More

'The Berlin File' and Post Production with DaVinci Resolve none As the capital of Germany, Berlin is a beautiful city with both modern infrastructures and sites of historic interest, but as the setting for 'The Berlin File', a 2013 South Korean spy thriller written and directed by Korean action auteur Ryu Seung-wan and starring Korea's top actors including Ha Jung-woo, Han Suk-kyu, Ryu Seung-bum and Jun Ji-hyun against each other in the twisty tale of political intrigue and personal redemption, Berlin has to be unpleasant enough. With a strong opening in box office, the action blockbuster attracted 7 million admissions in early 2013 to become the all-time highest-grossing Korean action film and the critics applauded its "secretive and gloomy atmosphere", which contributed to the film's great success. The magic that turned Berlin from a beautiful city to a gloomy cold place was performed by colorist Park Jin-Young with CJ Powercast with her 8 GPU Linux based DaVinci Resolve. Read More

none When Eternal Word Television Network (EWTN) launched on August 15, 1981, few thought there was enough demand for a Catholic network. However, EWTN proved differently as now in its 32nd year, it is the largest religious media network in the world, with programming in more than 144 countries and territories supported by Blackmagic Design's Teranex 2D Processors. EWTN operates nine SD television channels broadcast in English, Spanish, French and German throughout the U.S., as well as one feed in Canada. The organization also has HD English and Spanish channels and AM and FM radio stations with more than 200 affiliates in the U.S., as well as an online presence that consists of nine channels of 24/7 live streaming and video on demand.. Read More

Daniel Joseph Barry On August 15, 2012, Saudi Arabia's national oil and gas company, Aramco, suffered a debilitating cyberattack. More than 30,000 computers were rendered inoperable by the Shamoon virus. US Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta described this virus as the most destructive weapon ever used against the business sector. Network security is a growing problem in the IT industry today. The very trends that have revolutionized users' access to data are the same ones that are leaving networks vulnerable to attacks by cybercriminals. Read More

Dave Anderson Besides the usual issues related to game development, as the business shifts ever more to connected technology whether it is console, mobile, apps, MMOG, nearly all games contain some element of online connectivity. The changing legal environment and the applicability of various privacy laws to the data that is gathered through this connectivity is raising all sorts of issues. Read More

Why Zaxwerks can work for you Ko Maruyama Here's why Zax Dow created Zaxwerks and why his software is so valuable even if you already have another 3D program. 3D work can be divided into two main categories: Bread and Butter work, and Custom work. Everyone would like to get custom work but it's the bread and butter work that keeps food on your table. The big mystery here is why most people use custom software on bread and butter jobs? Do they even realize there is a difference? Doing that is like drawing animation by hand; the result can be completely custom but boy does it take a lot of time and skill to do. Read More

Leading Paris S3D facility creates stunning 3D movie 'Feu' for world-famous Paris cabaret none FlyingS3D opened its doors early in 2010 as France's first dedicated stereoscopic 3D post production facility. FlyingS3D is the brainchild of managing director Audrey Bourdiol, who had spent her career up until then looking after the technical side of one of France's largest post houses. With already more than 30 major S3D projects under its belt, in 2012 FlyingS3D won the full post production for 'Feu' (Fire) - a 3D film by Le Crazy Horse - one of its most ambitious projects to date. Le Crazy Horse cabaret was founded in 1951 by the avant-garde artist Alain Bernardin and has delivered its own special brand of glamour entertainment to millions of men and women for more than sixty years. 'Feu' is designed to bring Le Crazy experience to cinema audiences worldwide; 3D was "the natural choice" to achieve this aim, says Audrey Bourdiol. Read More

Off-Broadway Creator Embarks on Retrospective Miles Weston Ed Darino pioneered in using computer technology for animation and has been involved in the production of more than 300 feature and short films. Now he prepares for a video showing and the production of a retrospective. Read More

5 questions for Sorenson on new relationship none Sorenson Media and Sony Creative Software have formed a new partnership to offer the Sorenson Squeeze video encoding software to video professionals through the Sony Online Store. With this offering, video professionals will benefit from combined workflow capabilities of Squeeze and Sony Vegas Pro, including access to Squeeze 8.5?s professional features. Read More

none Cultural heritage is a community's legacy. Something we live with today, and what society will eventually pass on to future generations. Acting as custodians of the past, archive centers around the world are tasked with not only storing content, but also making it accessible. Groningen Audio Visueel Archief (GAVA) is one such facility in the Netherlands responsible for looking after more than 24,000 audiovisual items relating to the region of Groningen, which are kept on formats varying from nitrate film base to digibeta. Founded in 1992 as the second regional AV archive in the Netherlands, GAVA specializes in cataloging and preserving sound and video programs about the province of Groningen, as well as productions created by residents from Groningen. In addition to acting as a repository, the center is also tasked with making all of its archived footage available to broadcasters, artists, museum organizations and businesses online. Read More