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TakeZer0 jQuery(window).bind("load", function() { jQuery("div#slider1").codaSlider() jQuery("div#slider2").codaSlider() });   reviews portfolio forum about How to Choose a New Video Camera January 6, 2009 1:07 PM ~ By Sean ~ A Quick Guide 5 One question that I get asked over and over again is:"What camera should I get?"In this day and age, even for anyone who's completely involved and surrounded by the film industry, it's practically impossible to keep up with every single new camera from every single company. It's just as well that many companies release new cameras all the time. And even as much as I like geeking out and doing a bit of research on new products, I really do get asked this question more often than you might think.So that's why I'm writing this little guide. I'm not going to suggest actual brands or specific models; instead I'll talk about the different new technologies that have come out in recent years, and what to look for when choosing a new camera.Now, I'm writing this from the perspective (or at least for the perspective) of the amateur filmmaker: someone who'll potentially use it to create "art" in the form of a steady narrative, and nothing too experimental. Features That You Absolutely NEEDThese features are ranked by priority. Flash memory is the most important, manual focus is the least.Flash memory - Trust me, this might be the most important thing when choosing a new camera. When we switched from our old camera to our new one, the flash memory stick was one of the best new features. We were using Mini-DV for so long that we hadn't noticed the huge amount of time it ate up in post. Flash is as easy as sliding the card out of the camera, plugging it into your computer or a card reader, and dragging and dropping your video clips. You can quickly and easily review what you shot, and delete clips or portions of clips. It's super productive. Once you try flash, you'll never go back.At least 1280x720 - Standard definition is dead. You want a camera that can record in HD. Even many of the cheapest cameras support at least 720p; even better if you can get one with 1080p. Despite what you've heard, most of the new HD codecs are very easy to work with; or at least they're easy to convert to meet your needs. They're also very good at compressing your footage while still keeping it sharp and at a high bitrate. So at the very least, you'll want HD to future-proof your videos.24p - If you're serious about filmmaking, you'll want progressive mode and 24 frames per second. This is the closest representation to actual film as you can get in a digital camera.Manual Focus - Auto focus is bad. Manual focus is at least really, really useful.Features That Some Of You Might Care AboutFocus ring - While many consumer cameras do have manual focus, it can only be accessed via a menu system, or a slider, or something else that's not very intuitive. A focus ring is important if you care about being able to move from one focal point to another, in a single shot. If you can't find/afford a camera with a focus ring, well then, you can always mod your camera: Photo courtesy of PadawanGeekOvercranking / Undercranking - Sure, this is only used as a stylistic device, but I've found it to be one that I like to use a lot with our new camera (even if I'm only pushing it slightly faster or slower than normal). Even better would be the ability to ramp your fps during a shot (as in, gradually change from one frame rate to another, thus causing your footage to move from normal speed to slow motion, or fast motion, all in-camera!), but cameras with that ability can be expensive.Sensor size - This is a big one and definitely a deal breaker for those of you who care about low light, less noise, and higher dynamic range and color space. But this is also one that will cost you money. As a bit of cautionary advice, many lower end camcorders squeeze the same amount of pixels onto a smaller sensor, causing your image to not appear as sharp as it could be. Add Depth to Your Shots (with the Foreground) January 2, 2009 2:14 AM ~ By Take Zer0 7 Get the Flash Player to see this video. var s272 = new SWFObject("/videos/guts/player.swf","ply","480","290","9","#FFFFFF"); s272.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s272.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always"); s272.addParam("flashvars","file=/videos/hd-add_depth_to_scenes_with_your.flv&image=/videos/previews/hd-add_depth_to_scenes_with_your-preview.jpg&backcolor=CCCCCC&frontcolor=000000&lightcolor=AE3635&screencolor=000000"); s272.write("hd-container-272"); Get the Flash Player to see this video. var s272 = new SWFObject("/videos/guts/player.swf","ply","480","290","9","#FFFFFF"); s272.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s272.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always"); s272.addParam("flashvars","file=/videos/sd-add_depth_to_scenes_with_your.flv&image=/videos/previews/sd-add_depth_to_scenes_with_your-preview.jpg&backcolor=CCCCCC&frontcolor=000000&lightcolor=AE3635&screencolor=000000"); s272.write("sd-container-272");       A new year just rolled in, and so we tacked on an extended title sequence to briefly recap the past few days!Anyway:Like paintings and photos, movies are a two-dimensional medium. It can be argued that "good" cinematography is a matter of tricking the viewer's eye into thinking they're seeing a three-dimensional image on a two-dimensional screen. Otherwise, your shots can look unintentionally flat and uninteresting, with little depth and distinction. One easy way to solve this problem is to place an object in your foreground. Because when a foreground is implied, the middle ground and the background naturally follow suit. This instantly creates a sense of depth and dimension.These tips should be especially useful to anyone without the ability to use shallow focus (i.e. users with lower-end digital cameras), and can at least make a shot look more interesting if not necessarily better. 10 Movies to Look Forward to in 2009! December 31, 2008 12:26 PM ~ By Sean 3 Happy New Year everyone! Hope you all have/had a safe night. I'm going to spend the evening with Guitar Hero: World Tour, hot apple cider, and my confetti gun, which I'll fire off at the stoke of midnight.So what movies are you looking forward to next year?Here's my list: Watch the trailerStar Trek - Totally looks like a movie to see in IMAX. Looks like it could re-ignite the whole franchise. Go J.J. Abrams! Watch the trailerCoraline - I have a automatic bias towards anything stop-motion. And a new stop-motion in 3D directed by Henry Selick, with a story by Neil Gaiman, is not to be missed in my book. Watch the trailerThe Brothers Bloom - It doesn't look like a masterpiece, but it does look like a pretty fun, imaginative ensemble "adventure" story. Watch the trailerHarry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince - I know some are getting tired of this series, but I'm still looking forward to the new HP. Watch the trailer9 - It's really early, but the trailer looks amazing. It's like an animated version of Wanted set in a dystopian, Tim Burton-esque world. Hannah Montana: The Movie - Just Kidding.And here's Peter's list: Watch the trailerWatchmen - Of the two most respected graphic novels in recent memory, one of them is called The Dark Knight Returns. We know how that movie turned out (even though it was inspired by that other graphic novel, The Long Halloween). The other is a less commercial but no less enduring work called Watchmen. Some claim the upcoming adaptation, which looks admirably faithful, will make The Dark Knight look like soap opera. I say that's a possibility. But then again, of the two novels, Watchmen is my undisputed favorite. Heavy on dialog, wrapped in exposition, and spanning several eras of American history, Watchmen is at least ambitious for a "comic book movie." Watch the trailerRevolutionary Road - Sam Mendes' career seemed haunted by American Beauty. Oh sure, Road to Perdition was good, but Hall's cinematography and Newman stole the show. Next up was Jarhead, and that was a critical and near-commercial disappointment. Now we have Revolutionary Road. Not only is it an adaptation of the renown novel, but it pairs up Winslet and DiCaprio since Titanic, and allows Mendes to slip on the thematic glove he wore so well in American Beauty: empty suburban lives. This one looks flawless, and may prove that American Beauty was just a warm-up. No trailer yetPublic Enemies - You say that Michael Mann is directing a period gangster epic that stars Jack Sparrow and Batman, and features Doc Manhattan as J. Edgar Hoover? This movie cannot fail. While I enjoyed the Miami Vice movie (up to a point), I realize how much the majority disqualified it after the success of Collateral. Well, you have to admit that it had awesome gunfights. I expect no less from Public Enemies. No trailer yetShutter Island - I don't think Scorsese has ever done a "pure" period mystery/thriller. That leaves me intrigued. Nevermind that I've been meaning to read the book, by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Gone Baby Gone), which has a twist ending. I think Scorsese making genuine Hollywood entertainment, as straightforward as can be, is akin to those rumors of Kubrick making a : because the artist in question is so over-qualified to do such a simple job, the movie must be excellent, right? The Departed was Scorsese's "first film with a plot." This one looks to be his second. No trailer yetInglourious Basterds - I think Tarantino fell out of his quality writing period after his adaptation of Jackie Brown, which I love and consider to be superior than Reservoir Dogs. Kill Bill was all direction and performance, and nothing else, and I got bored. In Volume Two, I was merely less bored. Now we have Basterds, a homage to Spaghetti Westerns. I love Spaghetti Westerns, which is all style, all performance, in all the right places. I know Kill Bill was pantomiming those old Shaw Bros. kung-fu flicks, but I thought the fight choreography was tame and, well, a little boring. They were supposed to be the centerpieces, right? At least with Inglourious Basterds, Tarantino can ditch the tame fight choreography and return to what he does best: tell stories of bad people who do bad things in an atmosphere that encourages it. Amen. Rootclip: The Alien! December 26, 2008 10:18 PM ~ By Sean 2 Get the Flash Player to see this video. var s269 = new SWFObject("/videos/guts/player.swf","ply","480","290","9","#FFFFFF"); s269.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s269.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always"); s269.addParam("flashvars","file=/videos/hd-rootclip_the_alien.flv&image=/videos/previews/hd-rootclip_the_alien-preview.jpg&backcolor=CCCCCC&frontcolor=000000&lightcolor=AE3635&screencolor=000000"); s269.write("hd-container-269"); Get the Flash Player to see this video. var s269 = new SWFObject("/videos/guts/player.swf","ply","480","290","9","#FFFFFF"); s269.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s269.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always"); s269.addParam("flashvars","file=/videos/sd-rootclip_the_alien.flv&image=/videos/previews/sd-rootclip_the_alien-preview.jpg&backcolor=CCCCCC&frontcolor=000000&lightcolor=AE3635&screencolor=000000"); s269.write("sd-container-269"); Hey everyone! Guess what? We've teamed up with the guys at Rootclip.com!Rootclip is a very original site for filmmaking. They provide a short film (a "root" clip) with a cliffhanger ending. People can participate by continuing the story with their own submissions. It's a really fun concept and everyone over at their community is nice and friendly.Our partnership makes a lot of sense because while we teach people about filmmaking, they get people to contribute with their own films. Oh yeah, they also give out prizes to the people who make the best continuation! To start off our partnership, we created our very own "root" clip (I wrote and directed it) with its very own cliffhanger [see included video]. Rootclip's users will be competing for t-shirts, a book, and a few other neat things. And now we want to invite you guys to compete with them as well! Take Zer0 Say Merry Christmas! December 24, 2008 10:09 AM ~ By Take Zer0 5 Get the Flash Player to see this video. var s264 = new SWFObject("/videos/guts/player.swf","ply","480","290","9","#FFFFFF"); s264.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s264.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always"); s264.addParam("flashvars","file=/videos/hd-take_zer0_merry_christmas.flv&image=/videos/previews/hd-take_zer0_merry_christmas-preview.jpg&backcolor=CCCCCC&frontcolor=000000&lightcolor=AE3635&screencolor=000000"); s264.write("hd-container-264"); Get the Flash Player to see this video. var s264 = new SWFObject("/videos/guts/player.swf","ply","480","290","9","#FFFFFF"); s264.addParam("allowfullscreen","true"); s264.addParam("allowscriptaccess","always"); s264.addParam("flashvars","file=/videos/sd-take_zer0_merry_christmas.flv&image=/videos/previews/sd-take_zer0_merry_christmas-preview.jpg&backcolor=CCCCCC&frontcolor=000000&lightcolor=AE3635&screencolor=000000"); s264.write("sd-container-264"); We were about to post an ordinary tutorial this week, but...it's Christmas! What with some of our usual crew visiting family out of town, thus leaving Sean and I all alone, we decided to shoot this saccharine candy cane of a Sinatra song. It's not quite a music video, and it's not quite a skit. It's also not that good (but good enough). It's called The Present.As to whether or not the present that's shown in the video is real or made-up, well, who knows, yeah? One thing is for sure: that first draft is one thick burger. That'd be one epic, three-hour movie or something; split into a trilogy nine-hours long (and I haven't even mentioned the four-hour Director's Cuts). Mmmmm...Merry Christmas everybody! More Articles Rootclip: The Alien! December 26, 2008 10:18 PM ~ 2 Comments Take Zer0 Say Merry Christmas! December 24, 2008 10:09 AM ~ 5 Comments We're in a book! December 20, 2008 11:32 PM ~ 4 Comments Set Your Camera to Manual! December 17, 2008 12:56 PM ~ 6 Comments Soundbooth CS4 Review December 13, 2008 5:52 PM ~ 1 Comments  First Time Here? Watch this video to learn the fateful origins of Take Zer0, as interpreted through the lens of French New Wave cinema! Hey, it's not our fault it's pretentious! For more direct information, check out our About page. Oh, and Subscribe to be notified of every new video we post! TakeZer0 Episodes Snippets of Our Daily Lives            Movie Reviews Sean and Peter at the Movies             var gaJsHost = (("https:" == document.location.protocol) ? "https://ssl." : "http://www.");document.write(unescape("%3Cscript src="http://www.takezer0.com//" + gaJsHost + "google-analytics.com/ga.js' type='text/javascript'%3E%3C/script%3E"));try {var pageTracker = _gat._getTracker("UA-406920-10");pageTracker._trackPageview();} catch(err) {} |
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