R|com Creative Blog

As twilight settles over LA, the Swift Water team from 88s swings into action.

It’s difficult to go anywhere these days without hearing about how the Canon 5dMKII and the 7D are changing the indie film world. And while that’s true, it’s also true that the 7D is a remarkably capable still camera as well.

The Canon 7D represents part of a new arsenal of equipment for our team. We’ve spent the past year evaluating various bits of kit, and with the knowledge that we’d need to use the gear for a wide range of projects, the 7D became a leading contender. The remarkable reviews by noted DP Philip Bloom and some of his amazing 7D videos didn’t hurt either.

Just this past week, on December 7th, while on location in Los Angeles, our LAFD radio crackled with a river rescue assignment. This was a wet week in the City of Angels, and the risk of being swept away was higher than normal (normal is no worries, as the LA River is man-made and is concrete and dry!). Even with rush hour traffic, we were able to safely get on scene within a few minutes. A homeless person, perhaps living in the vegetation in the center of the concrete channel was trapped – not in water, but unable to get off his “island.”

Swift Water Experts from LA, Glendale, and Pasadena rescue a stranded person.

Cameron took the trusty HD video camera and I grabbed the Canon 7D. We’d only taken possession of the camera a few weeks earlier, so this was going to be an interesting assignment. The sun was already down and it was twilight. How would the Canon hold up in extremely low light?

Several things happened: The homeless person was rescued successfully, uninjured, and in need of only fresh clothes (regardless of the weather). And, the Canon 7D really came through. I mean – it was a joy. The viewfinder makes it easy to properly frame images quickly, and the information provided helps me, as a photographer, make decisions about each visual setting prior to exposing a frame (on a CF card, too!). And, finally, every other photog or videographer on scene had a comment to add: “Oh, is that the new Canon? Nice!” Even a river rescue firefighter stopped to say, “I love that camera! Have you seen the HD video that comes out of it?” Um… yes! I shoot HD video with it!

As the rescue was executed, the light of day was gone. Yet, the 7D continues to deliver detailed images with limited noise.

In this case, I was most impressed with the image quality in near black conditions. As night fell, only the jumpy circle of light from a hovering LAFD helicopter lit the area. Overall, it was dark enough to want a flashlight. Yet, the 7D really brought the story to life. See the images attached to this story. No light. Really.

During the coming few weeks, we’ll offer up some field review entries, and hopefully share how the 7D is being integrated into our equipment inventory. Consider this entry to be a bit of rah rah over our delight with this new bit of kit. And if you have a Canon 7D, we’d love to hear from you as well.

NOTE: Our team works closely with the Los Angeles Fire Department, and as such, shooting video at incidents such as this are an ongoing and normal part of our activities.

The introduction this week of the new NXCAM format is really great news for anyone producing a wide array of professional video product, and notably for documentary producers. The camera combines capabilities found in other manufacturer’s (often more expensive) products and the result is a flexible, high-performance full HD camera. When I started blathering on about how thrilled I was that Sony had taken this step, peers and staff asked the same question over and over again – “Why?”

The initial model (unnamed as of this date) in the NXCAM series does a number of really important things: It records AVCHD full HD 1920×1080 material (in all variations of resolutions) and as such, is easily compatible with other cameras, including as one example, the Canon 7D hybrid still/video camera. It utilizes a relatively new type of glass, and although fixed to the camera, this lens, called a G-Lens, delivers excellent optics, no doubt a result of Sony’s purchase of Minolta. And, the camera is ideal for the wide variety of production requirements a documentary requires.

In our situation, we’re interested in the best tool for a variety of situations. That means we’ll shoot portrait interviews, mount a camera on a moving vehicle, hang from a helicopter, and so on. And, if we’re doing all of these things, it also means we’re shooting a lot of material (hours vs. minutes). If you’re making a film, you’ll work from a shot list, and the shooting ratio may be 3:1. In our documentary work, we’re going to capture reality as it occurs, and then weed out the footage that isn’t essential to telling the story. The result is often 30:1 or higher. That’s right, we may shoot 30 hours of video to get a one hour show. In fact, for a documentary we did in Australia that covered two weeks of a cross-country race, we shot more than 100 hours of video. The final product was a broadcast-ready 44 minutes.

The AVCHD format is ideal for this type of work. And, being able to record to a flash drive that mounts into the camera is fantastic. There’s no box attached to a shoe that gets in the way of moving the camera about. It snaps into place. You can record literally hours of material, and then, using USB connectors, transfer the files directly to your PC or Mac.

There’s more to like as well. The imagers in the camera are native 1920 x 1080. The imagers in other cameras in this class are typically 720p and upscale to 1080p. This is really important and becomes even more so when you discover that the camera will output a full HD 4:2:2 signal via the built-in HD-SDI port while shooting. That type of flexibility allows us to integrate this camera with other, far more expensive cameras.

It’s difficult to capture a strong, clear image if you can’t see what you’re doing. The NXCAM shown off by Sony offers a 1.2 million pixel 16×9 display using backlit LED technology. The Panasonic HMC-150, by comparison (same compression system, similar price, etc.) has a display with approximately 210,000 pixels in a 4×3 display that is letter-boxed. What? To use the Panny (which has great images), you really need to add an external monitor, or you’re going to be disappointed with the results. Sony avoids that extra complication. Add-on monitors are terrific if you’re on a tripod and locked off. They don’t work if you’re jumping off a fire engine and following firefighters into a smokey building. Sony resolves that problem with not only the flip-up external monitor, but the built-in viewfinder as well. You can learn more by watching the intro video produced by Sony.

So, as we envision some of the production work we’re scheduled to produce this year, the Sony NXCAM fits in really well. We can shoot portrait interviews using prime glass on our Canon 7D. We can match that (remember, same codec) with footage captured “in the field” with the Sony NXCAM. And, we can edit in both PC and Mac NLE solutions without drama. No tape. No fuss. Oh, by the way – there’s more to like as well. Because we shoot on location, as documentary producers, we are careful to log everything we shoot. Now, with the NXCAM, there is GPS data added to the metadata of each file. Whoo hoo! So, the next time we travel 2,000 miles across the Stewart Highway in Australia, we’ll know where each shot was captured. And, if we decide to shoot in a studio, we can lock multiple NXCAMs together, thanks to the new (if proprietary) timecode in and out connectors.

The only bad news is that the camera isn’t available yet. Hey Sony – want some remarkable footage of firefighters saving lives? How about the California coast and wine country? Or, how about some footage of the latest sports cars being testing on windy country roads at speed? If so, get us an NXCAM ASAP. We aren’t asking for a freebie. We’ll own it. Love it. And we’ll tell the world.

We’ve added a Canon EOS 7D to our production equipment inventory. Already, I’ve found multiple occasions to use it during the first week we’ve had it. It is a fabulous production tool. It also represents a major breakthrough in some respects, but it is not, as some would tell you, a fix-all for video production.

First of all, a few initial comments for anyone not familiar with the Canon EOS 7D, or why we’d write about it. This is a digital SLR (D-SLR) still camera that also happens to record lovely 1080p video images. It is one notch below the Canon 5D MKII, and is competitive with a number of other DSLRs on the market.

As a still camera, it offers a new 18 megapixel sensor, a fantastic three inch viewfinder that displays 100% of the frame (many cameras show 90 or 95% of the frame). It includes a flexible AF system with a dedicated processor for focusing – so it’s fast. The shutter system is also new, permitting an impressive 8 frames per second (in still mode). As with other Canon products, it features the EF / EF-S lens mount system. Sensitivity is also terrific, with Auto ISO (100 – 3200) or manual ISO from 100 – 6400 in 0.3 or 0.5 EV increments. It offers nearly all of the professional features you could imagine for a camera of this type, and a great place to see a review of its still capabilities is at dpreview.

As a video camera, it’s also pretty amazing. It has standard video outputs in both NTSC and PAL, plus HDMI output for HD video. It includes a built-in microphone and has an input for an external mic as well (mini plug). The camera will shoot 1920×1080 at 29.97, 25, or 23fps. It will shoot 1280×720 at 59.94, 50fps or even (but why?) 6340×480 at 59.94, 50fps. It records using H.264 in a QuickTime .Mov wrapper. Note however, that the QuickTime wrapper does not mean any NLE will recognize the footage. More on video reviews in a bit.

There are three ways to use this camera: As a still camera. As a video camera. As a film-style camera.

Image shot with EOS 7D - Battalion Chief Kawai

When using this as a still camera, it’s a joy. Many people wrestle with the Nikon vs. Canon brand issue. In my experience, I see both everywhere. However, it does seem that when you’re a portrait photographer, there are reasons to use Nikon products, and if you’re a journalist or sports photographer, Canon offers some benefits.

This camera is easy to hold. It’s easy to read. The menu system is a snap, and you can pre-set commonly used menu elements. As a result, getting high-quality stills is literally a snap. As a photographer, you can really focus (sorry!) on the image to be captured – framing, lighting, depth, etc. A fantastic review of the camera can be found at Rob Galbraith’s blog. Additional reviews for photographers can be found at Alexa.

As a video camera, this is a bit of a different animal. You can’t (obviously) shoot with a vertical orientation, as you can with stills. The camera is heavy to hold for video motion, and a tripod or camera rig is an absolute requirement over the long term. However, this doesn’t make it unusable in “camera format.” Some things work differently, but it is still quite capable with just Canon lens and related support gear. Simply put, you can point and shoot and get really nice images.

There are some things you can do to improve the immediate video capabilities of the camera. One is to add a proper microphone. Rode makes a stereo mic that mounts to the shoe and plugs into the body. We purchased a Rode with the camera and it has been fantastic. Philip Bloom, the noted British DP has recently produced a really nice video package with the 7D and the Rode mic – right here in California at Venice Beach. It’s a really nice video story and highlights the EOS 7D.

It’s when you think of the 7D as a film camera that it really changes the landscape (again, sorry!) for producers. This is a camera that starts at perhaps $2,000 with a nice lens. You can start to add various bits and pieces to it, including a mic, follow-focus, matte box, remote trigger, etc. Suddenly, it’s a complete motion picture camera rig – for less than $5,000. And the images it creates are full-on cinematic quality – no “cinema mode” crap either. To see a great example of the camera rigged for news video, check out this Matt Jasper 7D video clip.

The difference is the glass. This is a camera that allows total control over the Z-axis as well as the overall frame. As such, you can dial in a lovely depth of field that permits you to shoot video with a realistic, natural, film look. You can add a prime lens to the Canon. In fact, there are a few firms already making PL mount conversions. While that may only be useful to anyone who already owns a suite of PL glass, the knowledge that you can pick a lens for any specific shot is a breakthrough event for most videographers. In fact, if Panavision rented glass without a camera, you could really lose your mind. Check this out.

In my initial shoots with the 7D, I found the camera to be very balanced. The image was crisp and as with any HD camera, the critical issue was and is focus. But the ability to shoot with such a nice depth of field is eye-opening (I’m so sorry!). Even in the first day of shooting, I was thinking, “oh this is sweet!” as I was rolling chip. That’s another thing: no tape. The EOS 7D uses CF cards (UDMA only, type 6 or faster). And with a 32GB card, I can capture more than 80 minutes at the highest resolution.

We have been really busy with production the past few weeks, so publishing our own 7D clips will have to wait for a few weeks. Rest assured, however, that we will publish a variety of 7D clips. We’ll also share opinion regarding the workflow overall and our use with editing software.

In the meanwhile, here are some fantastic examples of the 7D at work:

Canon EOS 7D at 30p – by Philip Bloom

Dublin’s People – by Philip Bloom

Around Rome – by Shawn Landersz

Sony's extraordinary EX3

The DV Expo was really small this year. We ripped through the tiny section of the Pasadena Convention Center set aside for the likes of Panasonic, Sony and JVC, in about three hours, and that included saying hi to nearly every person working every booth. My cranky left knee and I like small shows.

Of course, we’re looking for our next tapeless camera purchase, and it didn’t take long to be neck deep in options. We want something that will shoot a picture that will knock your socks off, we want it to be relatively light weight and tough, we don’t want it to cost too much money and we want the recordable media to be affordable. Also, if it would open the garage door and cook dinner every now and then, we’d like that too.

Sony's EX1 - the travel-sized version of the EX3.

Most expensive on our list are the Sony EX3 and EX1. It’s hard for me to turn my back on a Sony, even when they tell me the media will costs ten billion times what compact flash and SDS cards cost. I’ve fallen asleep with my Sony Z1U cradled in my arms in a tent in the Outback of Australia, on a night train between Hamburg, Germany and Paris, and after a very strange night of drinking some neon green liquor in Lyon, France. It’s been in dozens of fire engines and ambulances with me, not to mention smoke filled houses and burning hillsides. But it’s getting tired. I can’t blame it. And that whole recording to tape nonsense is getting really tired. So soon, I’m going in to have it surgically removed from my right hand.

JVC's HM100U - looks just like a camcorder, only smaller!

Do I want to replace it with another Sony? Yes. Do I want to pay Sony SxS card prices? Um, no. Is the EX1 and the EX3 worth the price? Probably.

But I thought I should look around, and there was something about the GY-HM100U that really drew me over to the JVC booth. I loved the view finder – BIG! I loved the size of the camera – small! I loved that it stored files on the cheapo SDHC memory cards. I loved that the entire XLR shotgun mic assembly (which comes along for no extra charge) popped off with the turn of a nob, making the camera positively minute. I swear that camera could fit into a pocket on my shooters’ vest without the mic. It weighed a little more than the competition across the show floor – the Panasonic AG-HMC40, but it was much smaller, and the view finder was higher resolution and the XLR shotgun mic came with it. I thought this was an awesome, itty, bitty little camera that I could add to our Sony line up, that would be inexpensive enough to abuse and replace as needed.

I expected the price to be right around that of the HMC40 – list $2,295. Then they told me the bad news. The HM100U lists at $3,995. I waited for the guy in the JVC booth to start laughing. Give me an elbow in the ribs and say, just kidding. And I waited a little more. He seemed mesmerized by how my mouth was gaping opened. He seemed disturbed when I finally gathered myself enough to ask “Whaaa?”

Anyway, that happened.

This is the final cut for the short film about Carol Anne McGuire and her program of music and education: Rock Our World.

Our team has recently completed production of a short mini-documentary project.  It has been one of the most delightful experiences we’ve had in the production space. The film is called “Harmony” and is about a remarkable teacher, Carol Anne McGuire, and her education program, Rock Our World. This is a “fine cut” of the project – a final cut will be completed shortly.

We first met Carol Anne five years ago. The Apple Distinguished Educator was part of a group of teachers we were videotaping for Apple. When we learned about Carol Anne and her interest in changing the world, we were smitten. At the time, Carol Anne was teaching at a school in Orange County, CA. She had just made a video film, using her students. The film was about themselves. All of the students were (and are) blind. But, that’s Carol Anne for you.

More recently (as discussed in a recent blog entry), Carol Anne has been working with the New Village Leadership Academy in Calabasas. She has been sharing her ongoing core curriculum teaching program that is founded on an international collaboration of music. The program is called “Rock Our World.” It is one of the most amazing methods of delivering education I’ve ever seen.

As Carol says, “when I was a kid, if I wanted to learn about Japan, I’d pick up a book and read it, and that book might have been ten, twenty, or even fifty years old.” Today, when Carol Anne’s students want to know something about Japan, they place a video chat call. Literally. By building musical scores with schools from around the world, and injecting core curriculum (math, science, social studies, etc.), Carol Anne’s children discover a bigger world. And by becoming part of it, they make it theirs – and perhaps a bit smaller, too.

This short video is hopefully a preview of a full-length documentary on the subject. The fine cut process is important, as it gives the filmmakers (us!) the chance to step back from the project for a few days. We can look at the film and evaluate little changes or updates that will help increase the end-result.

Canon HV20 handheld HDV camcorder

There is an interesting balance when it comes to gathering material for any project. The time you spend translates into expense. Even if it’s just your time, wear and tear on the gear, and the cost of media, there is a cost. At the same time, it’s important that you give yourself the best chance to be prepared to take advantage of any situation.

In this case, I’ll refer to video/film. Our team is working on developing a documentary about the history of the Los Angeles Fire Department. It is centered in the present, with flashbacks through history. We must cost every hour of production. So, we typically are careful about how and when we’re spending time or money.

At the same time, I always keep a camera with me. This past Friday, I was in Los Angeles, attending several meetings, including one at a fire station. In the car, I had my firefighter protective gear and a small Canon HV-20 HDV consumer camera. The last thing I was planning on was needing to use it. That alone should be a clue.

During my meeting at Fire Station 76 in the Cahuenga Pass, the Captain noted it was starting to look foggy outside, and it was a sunny day. We opened the front door, and across the Hollywood Fwy, the shoulder of the freeway was ablaze. The Captain picked up the mic on the PA and told his crew, “still alarm, guys. We’ve got a grass fire across the freeway!” I grabbed my gear and as I climbed into my seat on the fire engine, I was thinking, “why am I stuck with this little camera?”

I started rolling tape before we rolled out of quarters, and as we made the turn down Cahuenga Blvd., you could see what looked to be a “nothing fire” across the way. 75 seconds later, as we spotted the rig to block the road and protect the firefighters, the wind was whipping the flames up and potentially threatening brush and homes nearby. This spot was less than a mile from the origin of the large and dangerous Hollywood/Barham fire from March of 2007.

David Barrett gets a muddy face, and camera, while shooting on-scene at a small grass fire in Hollywood.

Because I had a small camera, I felt I was going to be limited in what I could capture. While the camera does shoot HD quality material, it uses a single 1/2-inch CMOS sensor, and the camera itself weighs less than two pounds. So, I decided to focus on POV material, getting tight on firefighters as they attacked this small fire that was trying to become a big fire. I even got directly into the spray from a 1.5 inch line and had to stop for a minute to clean the camera, which was completely covered with mud.

The overall results ended up pleasing me very much. I got some great shots of a firefighter using his line to work through thick smoke to get to the base of the fire. And, as the incident unfolded, I began to test the camera’s capabilities – and while movement is something to be careful with, I was consistently surprised by the image quality.

While still not my first choice for a primary camera, the reason our team has kept it was for this exact purpose – when not expecting something, be prepared to get the unexpected. So, at the end of the day, I got some big shots from a small camera. Watch the video clip below:

Even the Canon HV20 can be built-up into a full cinema rig. But Why?

The footage above was imported into Final Cut Pro, and compressed in HD using Compressor. It was not color graded, so what you see is what the camera delivered.

Now, before signing off, note that the Canon HV20 is a highly regarded little camera. We acquired it for use in our production of a cross-country racing documentary in the fall of 2007. We used the camera as an in-vehicle mount, while our larger cameras captured the majority of the action.

As camera technology improves, people are beginning to use these little cameras more and more. In fact, if you want, you can totally lose your mind with these little cameras. The camera rig shown is using a Canon HV20, and includes railing, a matte box, follow focus and even a Marshall monitor for preview and monitoring. The rig costs three times what the camera does, and the 35mm lens conversion device close to double the cost. Imagine that.

We’re pleased to announce that our favoriate Academy-Award® winning producer/director Terry Sanders will be sitting back with family and friends this coming Saturday night when KCET airs his remarkable documentary, “Fighting for Life.” The documentary film has received remarkable reviews and will certainly catch your attention.

Sanders directs Fighting for Life in Iraq.

The film, which Sanders and his crew shot in Iraq, Germany, and the U.S. follows surgeons trained at Uniformed Services University. A majority of military surgeons are allums from USU these days, and their job is often a challenging one. “It was always busy,” Sanders recalled. “And you’d be in the operating room with the surgeons and suddenly the air raid sirens would go off and you knew that mortars were going to be inbound. I was slightly nervous. But, it is an important topic, and I’m very pleased with the result,” he said.

When I first saw the initial sample clip – an eight minute piece that reflected where the film might go in post production, I was really taken aback. The story content was so powerful. Now that the film has been completed, I see new things every time I watch the film. It is moving, heroic, and non-political.

Shot with a multiple types of HD cameras, including the Sony Z1U, Sanders and his crew were given tremendous access to hospitals, surgeons, and patients by the United States Military. The Sony Z1U was useful as it allowed the camera operators to get into areas where a larger camera might not have been as useful, including operating theaters and even a C-17 airlift intensive care aircraft. The film was cut using Final Cut Pro, and for theatrical release was transferred to 35mm film. “It held up very nicely,” Sanders said of the telecine conversion.

KCET will air Fighting for Life on Saturday, May 23, @ 10:00PM local time.

One of the more difficult things to do smoothly is to capture rapidly moving aircraft. Our projects with the Los Angeles Fire Department often get us hooked up with the Air Operations Unit at Van Nuys Airport. And, not including air to ground footage, getting the shot of the Bell 412 airships from the ground is not an easy task – not if you want to be smooth and get the right perspective.

These sequences were shot during actual emergency response incidents, or at Van Nuys Airport responding to a call. Sony HD Cameras were used, and all content was edited in Final Cut Pro. This material is not graded, although we may come back and do some color adjustment in the future. These shots should just be considered a montage, as the elements will eventually find their way into our documentary on the history of the department, Smoke Eaters.

Apple CEO Steve Jobs addresses the crowd

This week marks the last MacWorld Expo that will be attended by Apple. Steve Jobs did not deliver the keynote address. For many people, this signals the end of an era, and for them, I guess it is. I would propose, however, that it is merely the end of one chapter and the beginning of another in the ongoing arena of personal computer use.

Apple has evolved. It attracts more people to its stores on a daily basis than dozens of MacWorld Expos. As professionals that rely on the tools that we use to help our clients, isn’t this an opportunity for the MacWorld Expo to evolve as well?

Paul Kent, the GM at IDG who runs the MacWorld Expo is a pretty smart person. Although we haven’t spent any time together during the past two years, I’ve known Paul for more than a decade and he has always been about education, evolution and guitars. In my book, that’s a winning combination! Prior to running the overall show for IDG, he was responsible, via his own company, for the conference and seminars. I would guess that Paul might have a clue about what comes next, and something likely will, even if it is completely remade – new name, new place, etc.

There is a place in the world for a Mac-specific trade show. In fact, there are probably several of them, but in today’s world, the niche value is what’s important to those of us who use the tools. For example, we use Mac technology for our video post production work. So, a show that is specific to the Mac relative to video would be of interest. And even more so because of the Mac itself.

The Mac represents more than a tool, which is why some people don’t care for it. It represents style. Class. Elegance. And, Apple has been smart – they’ve moved away from direct PC comparisons, such as processor performance, to keep the mystique of the Mac in the forefront. And, I think it works.

I was an exhibitor at the very first Macworld, in 1984. It was not at Moscone, as it has been for more than a decade, but at a smaller venue near city hall – and it was underground. Literally. The booths were mostly pipe and drape, with some carpet thrown in. Most were ten by ten or ten by twenty. And the innovations that were being shown were all about things like “desktop publishing.” So, the people who were attending were interested in low-cost productivity tools that related to printing, design, newsletters, etc. Today, my mother-in-law is snapping photos with her digital camera, ingesting them into iPhoto, making books, slideshows, etc. It’s just part of how she communicates with her children and grandchildren.

The last MacWorld I attended was two years ago. In between, I didn’t miss one. As an Apple vendor and developer, we often had software before the public did. We often had the hardware prior to public release, or knew about it. And, in many cases, our input, along with many other Apple vendors, developers, and designers was important to the product that was being created.

So, why go to the show? There was no way I’d stay away, particularly after Steve Jobs came back to the company. In 1996, Apple was on the verge of dying. Wired put out an issue (I still have it) of an Apple logo (the old multi-colored one) with a thorns around it and the title, “Pray!” The media had written Apple off. Many of my peers as well.

Steve Jobs knew the potential that existed within the company. He was extremely shrewd about it – and that’s something many people forget. And he recognized the evolution of our social environment from an analog world to a digital one. And so, every year, he would propel Apple forward, using MacWorld and special events to generate mystique, hype, and energy around a product line that had been given up for dead. Equally important, he made certain that the products offered worked. They had to work. And, after a bit, they were not only competitive again, they began to chew away and absorb big chuncks of the markets they were sold into.

Each MacWorld Expo was a chance to see Jobs speak, and many of us thought each speech would be the last one. After all, when he returned, he coined the “iCEO” term, meaning he was at that time the interim CEO. He wasn’t planning on staying. In those days, he used to end his presentations with, “oh, and one last thing…” and it would be the show’s bombshell. The big deal. I’ll never forget the 2000 Macworld, when he said, “oh, and one last thing… I like what I’m doing, so I’m going to stay.” There wasn’t a dry eye in the house. And all of this for the CEO of a computer company. By the way, his salary was $1 per year. That wasn’t his total compensation, but it was his salary.

Imagine taking that type of enthusiasm and energy and applying it to the auto industry. Does any automotive CEO have that panache? Perhaps Dieter Zetsche of Mercedes Benz, but only to the industry – his TV ads never really helped the company move forward, at least in the USA. And it’s a lesson we can all learn from. In these times, we all need to focus on what is possible. What can be done? What will people react to?

We use Macs because they help us get our work done faster, more efficiently, and with better collaboration. We also use PCs for various things, but not for our personal workstations. Hey, I use an iPhone instead of a Mac for a lot of things these days. But, I do enjoy the mystique of the Mac. I hope that sticks around for a bit.

One of the things I love about our team is their ability to adapt to changing situations. In 2005, we produced a one hour documentary on a cross country solar car race. The North American Solar Challenge took our crews across the U.S. and Canada as well. We were shooting on public highways, covering 20 teams, and each hour of each day brought about unexpected surprises.

Cameron Barrett focuses on the action

It would be easy to miss key events, and we probably did miss a few. Overall, however, combining the use of radios, text messaging, and multiple camera crews, we were able to stay on top of the action. This was also our second one-hour HD production, and we shot more than 150 hours of video. If only today’s tapeless workflows existed for a reasonable price back then!

Every time I see this show, I think about how important it is to have talented shooters. Cameron Barrett was fantastic at knowing how close to get so the action lept into the lens – without her intereferring with team, drivers, or safety issues. Our assignment shooter, Jim Lahr, was terrific with motion shots, and overall, being able to grab what we needed, when we needed it was a joy to behold.

The key to this show was taking the time in pre-production to assess all of the possibilities that could arise while on the go. We often shoot in a run and gun style, so it’s important to know that we might run into. The experience of this cross country jaunt will help us with a variety of new projects as we move forward. There’s no replacement for experience.