Hi Phil

I had a look at your new version of course this time around I know what happens..

This is very professional looking which wouldn't be out of place on channel four as a short story etc. So its positioned at the highest level and all in all deservedly so.

However some things that I feel would have improved this and this is only my opinion and the direction I would have gone in.

This whole piece felt like a stage play and could easily be one. Where David walks to to the bench and sits is wrong (Very stagy) And if he's walking away what changed his mind?

The close ups of the station deteriorating were a distraction and unnecesary and need cutting out.

The Priest was well suited to his role but David was played as a weak character to emphasis his victim status..

In my opinion it needed to be played with more aggression as not only was he a victim but now a predator who has in his twisted mind come up with a punishment for the Priest who actually may grow to like and accept what David is doing. This is twisted and therefore the character needs to be too. This is reinforced even more at the end the Priest didn't run after him or beg him therefore we didnt see a man truly agonising and desperate. I felt Davids clothes made him appear to soppy unless he had a shotgun or serious weapon underneath in which case it would be a different story and not as good.

The soundtrack was drab in parts the squall of seagulls I felt was unnecesary and held back from the serious drama unfolding.

Some of the camera work Sorry to say this but wasnt positioned correctly for the actors although it was right for the background???? I have to wonder why were'nt the actors re-positioned to get better framing? If it was to include the station sign and you wanted that badly enough perhaps a dummy could have been made up?

I didn't like some of the wide shots that distanced us from the characters so why did we need to be disconnected from them? Why the need for isolation? If it was to add to the atmosphere of being alone I think that was already well established at the beginning?

I still think it was to slow in its opening and I realize that by keeping the pace slow when we realize what is going on its a good hit the only problem is many would have switched off by then. The answer is I think would be to make David more interesting with his acting clothes and look. Perhaps signs of his rebelling and outrage in the world like tatoos an earing even if he looks like he has changed perhaps scars or hair dyed just something that emphasises his turmoil. Even if its none of those things just some weakness in his character then like a phobia or twitch?

The other problem is the ending. I don't think it clearly establishes the punishment as enough to really shake the Priests world and because it doesnt then the end twist is diluted. I guess the premise is here we have an abuser who believes he is doing nothing seriously bad and the thought of someone else doing the same is abhorrent to him so much so that this is enough to be a punishment for him. Really if this is the case it needs to played out with some serious acting from David to make it believable.

In conclusion it really does work and I can easily see this on TV but I think it could have been much more.

Mark, I think Phil was only director of photography on that short so you might want to take it up with the director rather than shoot the messenger.

I'm trying to give an honest review from my point of view and I would hope thats what people would do for me.. My review was intended to be constructive and helpful.

So, is the deadline November 15th or 25th?

Philip Bloom Blog says November 25th
Bloom's Forum :: View topic - 2nd competition finally says November 15th

Hopefully my Ultimate will be back from repairs next week.

James, Im curious to know, what needed repairing on the Ultimate?

I've got my film entered into Phils competition here!

Philip Bloom's Film Competition 2 on Vimeo

Yeah :)

did you change the rules? There seems to be a lot of videos entered that don't have the music at all.. Maybe they are just using your group to get views?

this is a HORROR video I did for the video contest. My nephews helped me out a lot...

Warning... it gets graphic. LOL :lol: :lol: :lol: Play with the volume turned up loud, and the lights turned down for best results. It has the music...

http://www.vimeo.com/2021795

Good one, Erik.
I'm still desapointed that nobody gives any detail like, where, with what, how long, and any trick they used to make the movie.
Some details on the first idea and how close you think you are with the first idea.

Making really short video is good in itself, but this kind of details can add a lot of value.

I had a lot of ideas, but nothing I would be able to get on video. This one, about the haunted pumpkin seemed do-able. We shot it at Mt Charleston just outside of vegas using an EX3, editing on Sony Vegas. Took us two days to get all the shots. The effects were all old school, strings to make the vines move, reverse video and so forth. Blue screen was put inside the final pumpkin for the last effect... don't want to give it away for those who haven't seen it yet. :) The story is VERY close to what I had in mind.. everything worked. If we make a sequel it will be less music video and more horror story.

Actually, if you watch past the credits, there is a little making of montage. :)

Thanks for the detail. I did watched the movie to the end, having your so small kid making the EX3 seems really big :)

I still have to fine tune my story and shoot... time is running so fast...

No problem man.. can't wait to see it. For some reason I had trouble uploading to Philips group. The first time it failed all together, the second time the title and video information didn't show up. Which is weird because if you to go my vimeo page, all that info is there...

just upload and let me know and I will add to group. Let me see who is entering, if there is no aquarium i will have to remove them! rules are rules.

Just put two new shorts up on my website/blog at philipbloom.co.uk

One called Return to Siberia, the other Grand Canyon.I have yet to make my (non eligible to win) entry!

HI Phil, what do you compress your movies to coming out of Compressor for the best results on Exposureroom? I have been faphing around with a 1280x720 4 minute movie in mp4 using H.264 to upload and it seems far too big at 450 Mb, though the quality is great.

Done a new blog detailing all the main gear I recommend and more importantly use myself.
http://philipbloom.co.uk/2008/11/08/...ourite-things/

Hi Phil.

I'm very surprised that in regards to the brevis35 you say "if you want the most flexible, lightweight, quality 35mm adaptor out there you can’t go wrong with it" when many of the active EX1 & Brevis users on this forum seem to be having issues with it.

Is yours really free of vignetting / light fall off in lower lighting situations when zoomed to z70?

I feel quite mislead by reports of the cfXL curing all EX1 / Brevis related issues and your write up seems to be doing the same. It may have helped with edge softness, but even that isn't completely fixed.

I'd be nervous about recommending the Brevis to any EX1 owner at the moment, it's a big investment and unfortunately Cinevate do not see these issues as being a compatibility issue with the EX1, they blame it on the EX1's "inconsistent lens" so there's no refund path should you not be happy.

That's disappointing to hear. Because of my alignment being out I was zoomed to z79 and had no issues with fall off. Are they really not saying there is a problem?

Paul,

Are you using your Brevis with the flip now? and are your results the same with and without?

Dan

Cinevate understand that there is a problem with light fall-off, but they blame it on the EX1's lens. the cfXL was designed to correct edge-edge sharpness issues alone, and the closest it comes to doing that is at z70. The trouble is you need to zoom in a lot more to get past the light fall off and in the process the edge-edge sharpness is lost too. Unfortunately this in not made very clear in their advertising, which states "Designed to address the Sony EX1 optical issues" and "the sharpest edge to edge EX1 solution in existence".

From various tests I've carried out it seems the image projected onto the brevis by the 50mm lens is fine, this can be seen by zooming out and recording some footage at around z60 - z65. Once you zoom up the frame however the light fall off appears. This light fall off is not present in the EX1 without the Brevis though so it definitely has something to do with the light path through both.

Here's some examples of how the light fall off looks on my camera. Excuse the terrible images, I really wasn't thinking about what I was pointing the camera at!

http://www.olikai.com/forum_images/brevis/z60.jpg
http://www.olikai.com/forum_images/brevis/z65.jpg
http://www.olikai.com/forum_images/brevis/z70.jpg
http://www.olikai.com/forum_images/brevis/z75.jpg
http://www.olikai.com/forum_images/brevis/z80.jpg
http://www.olikai.com/forum_images/brevis/z85.jpg

yes I use the flip, I haven't tried without, I think I'd need an additional achromat to do that.

it's a shame that they didn't look at fixing the light fall off, think it would need a special achromat like the one on the letus...Perhaps they will bring out a new achromat for the flip that will do this. It is billed as the EX1 fix.

When I first got the Letus Extreme had the same light fall off you are experiencing and it wasn't until they brought out their new achromat that this disappeared. Are you sure they def won't give you a refund so you can try a different product?

phil

I have to say that Dennis,Hubert and co offer some of the best customer service I've experienced, they respond quickly and personally to emails. Unfortunately after several emails trying to solve the issues it became clear that that there was no cure though, other than using a different camera. I asked if I could get a refund and the answer was an explanation that it's the EX1 that's at fault and not the Brevis which I take as a gentle no. I haven't pushed any harder as yet.

Paul, etc.,
After talking with Dennis the other month about the same light falloff issue as yours he thought it might be my specific camera. So on Friday I did a test with 2 EX-1s and a Brevis and a Letus Extreme. Did every combination: no adapter, brevis on each, letus on each, and filmed a lit white surface. The results show that it is not my camera, as my buddy's cam looked the same and our results were identical to the stills you posted. With the Letus you can zoom past the dark edges (and maintain "good enough" edge sharpness) but with the Brevis I still see falloff even zoomed to 85 (or 99 for that matter). It is a shame, because I do think the Brevis works great on other cams, but the Letus is certainly the winner for the EX-1.
I can post stills or video of these results when I get a chance.

B

Hi Benjamin, thanks for confirming what I already suspected. it would be great to see some of your results although Phils thread probably isn't the right place to keep talking about this issue, how about we take it over to http://www.dvinfo.net/conf/sony-xdca...-ex-1-fix.html

regards

paul.

video contest is over, time for the nervous part! :)

Philip Bloom Blog Archive 3rd Film Competition! Great Prizes!! Fantastic Sponsors!!!

Win a Letus Extreme and loads of other prizes!!

I just want to say, although I am having a torrid affair with the Panasonic HPX301e, I still am married to my one true love the EX3. Being a french national I believe I am allowed to take a mistress...I couldn't help it! She had a sleek body and promised me a more voluptuous figure of 4:2:2 than the waif like 4:2:0. Her brain is a bit smaller, but I can cope with that! ;-)

Ah ... Phllip ...
 

A torrid affair is just what the doctor ordered and oh so French but don't let your better half go cold. She'll rear up and bite you on the arse!

i did suggest a menage a trois, but it seems the bits don't fit in the right slots. Just incompatible. Damn!

twitter
 

Hi guys,

In case you didn't know I do have a twitter account. philipbloom (philipbloom) on Twitter that appears on my site. I use it to drop latest news and also work opportunities so check it out!

Phil

Nice one, always looking for video related twitterers. Mine is Paul Joy (pjoy) on Twitter

regards

Paul.

Phil

To satisfy your "needs" you could buy a "device" for your seemingly inadequate EX camera. Convergent Design makes a "box" that will "put out" 4:2:2 at native resolution!! Imagine, one "girl" who can fulfill all your desires!!

am half French. One girl could never fulfill all my desires!

New tutorial section launched on my site. I hope it is of use to people.

Philip Bloom Tutorials

Thanks Phil, the Letus looks interesting. Just one small question (the video terminated before it reached the end so maybe you dealt with my question) can you use Nikon wide angle lenses with the Letus, (35, 24 or 20mm) and still acheive a wide angle view.

how did it terminate before the end? i need to check that...widest lens I use is 17-35mm. Wide angles look great with it.

Just tried the video again and no problem this time, maybe it was just a spike in the stream.

Thanks for the info on wide angle lenses.

Thanks so much Phil for both those tutorials. I really appreciate the effort you put into helping out others trying to learn this stuff. I bought an EX1 last summer, have only used it once, I bought a Letus Extreme at the same time and that has yet to be used. All this is sad I know, what a waste. Good news is I have several projects about to start so I'll finally put this stuff to work. That's a lot of hard earned money I have sitting in a closet.

Any more tutorials you pass down the line are always appreciated.
Thanks again.

all three of you demanded it....so have started a "test" video blog. Starting with my trip to NAB, Las Vegas. Enjoy...hopefully!!

The humour (as is the spelling of the word humour) is very English so you may not "get it"!

Bloom’s “DAILY” video blog from the USA…VEGAS

My first footage to go onto 35mm film from the EX3 and Letus will be shown in cinemas very shortly.

Please read my blog here to learn more! Philip Bloom NT LIVE

Awesome footage Philip!!
I'll be very interested to see how the EX looks on the big screen.

That's REALLY nice Philip! I bet it was fun to shoot that. Can you give us any details on how the project moved along? How many people involved? Etc.... (I'm very jealous)