Photoshop CS5 Extended is a powerful tool for photography and video. Some of the new features are huge time savers for retouchers. Other features greatly expand the creative capabilities for the working pro. I am thrilled to have another way to create photographic images properly formatted for a video or a DVD menu, and to create 3D graphics with animation to be exported to Final Cut Pro.

The Content -Aware feature allows us to delete an object from a photo and recreate the background in one move. This used to take much longer to re-draw the background manually.

Puppet Warp is a powerful tool and lots of fun to use as you can see in the basketball photo of my son, Justin (below). I can now bend an object with or without distortion, (i.e. I can reposition arms and legs).

Adobe Raw has improved controls to eliminate color and luminance noise in photos shot at high ISOs like indoor basketball and dusk architectural shots.

3D and Animation: I am most excited about creating 3D effects from text or objects. I can then animate the different layers in a PSD and even add camera moves. The files can be exported to Final Cut Pro. The cloud photo (above) is a still image pulled from the animation.

HDR Pro I have not used yet in CS 5 but I will try it soon. My 3 architectural shoots were done with Photomatix Pro for merging the bracketed exposures and tonemapping. I would then bring the flat image into Photoshop for curves adjustments and overall enhancing.

Large video and photo files have created the need for safe, no-hassle backup of data. I am going with the Drobo, a 4 bay external unit from Data Robotics. Each bay can hold any manufacturer’s 3.5″ SATA drive of any capacity. That’s right, they don’t have to match. It uses their own “BeyondRAID” disk management system. I will start with two 1TB Western digital drives. If one drive fails my data is backed up. When I add a third drive I will be covered in the event of two drives failing. If my storage needs grow suddenly I can install four 2 TB drives for a total storage of 8 TB.
The Drobo connects with FW 800. Setup and management of data is simple. For larger storage needs look at the DroboPro. It has 8 bays.

An experienced photographer can solve lighting challenges.

We arrived at Elliptical Mobile Solutions prepared to shoot a 3 minute video for their RASER product, a 1,000 pound mobile container for servers. We were shocked to find the large product tucked into a small room (16′ x 16′) with 3 walls entirely of mirrors and a low ceiling! The product was made of reflective metal. We now had light and sound bouncing off the product and the three mirrored walls.
The reflections from the metal and the mirrors were eliminated by using 2 large moving blankets to the right of the product. The blankets are not normally a part of our lighting kit. One small 500w Rifa soft box and a 300 watt Mole Richardson fresnel lit the right side from just over the blankets. A medium Chimera box (750w) provided the main light from camera left.  That was all the equipment we could fit in the small room. Keep in mind we needed latitude for 6′ dolly rolls left and right.  Black cloth and gaffer tape on the mirrors masked off any remaining problem areas.
An hour and a half later we were ready for a sound test in this echo chamber. Our blankets eliminated echoes from camera right. The mirror at camera left was covered with a 12′ x 12′ silk normally used for lighting. The silk extended back behind the camera.
All reflections and echoes were eliminated. The client’s comment on the final video…”I love it, love it, love it!

Watch the video

You are putting together a multimedia presentation. You need photos, some video, the perfect song and you need to record a voice over. Oh, and you like that Ken Burns effect. Would you think to call your photographer? You should.
Call one vendor. Explain your goals one time and let us assemble your presentation.

It’s a new world out there. We’re making it easier for you.

Combined experience for Frank Salle and John Trotto:
Photography – 55 years, Yikes, that’s a lot of pixels!
Video – 13 years

The Ken Burns effect is the panning or zooming in or out on a still image to create motion when there is none. Ken Burns is the award winning filmmaker whose recent work, The National Parks, runs on PBS.
Searching for music can be very tedious and expensive. We have many sources to find you the right music for the right price. If you stay away from current, popular music ($15,000/song) we can find your song for $40 – $60 dollars.
Resizing the pixel aspect ratio of your stills takes some knowledge of both Photoshop and Final Cut Pro so they won’t distort.

Assembling all of this in Final Cut Pro provides much more creative freedom than other editing software.

Digital SLR cameras from Canon and Nikon have Rocked the video world, but cameras from Red Digital Cinema will turn it upside down.

Photographers turning to video like the DSLR’s for their familiarity and they can use the same lenses. They produce stunning quality even at low light levels. They provide the “Film look” of selective focus because of the larger sensor. The Nikon D90, to select one, records in 720P at 24 FPS. The price is under $900. One problem is that the CMOS sensor will show action or panning as “jelly movement” The chip is scanned in lines by a rolling shutter from top to bottom. As you pan across an object like a light pole the bottom of the pole is scanned later than the top thus it is skewed diagonally down the frame. Recording quality sound is harder because it lacks XLR inputs. XLR cables for audio are balanced so there is no hum. Also none of the DSLRs are capable of recording for longer then 12 minutes. Excess heat buildup on the flash card can add artifacts (noise). The Canon 5D mark II sells for $3,300 for the body only.

Red Digital Cinema will release the 3K Scarlet this spring. It has been reworked to better compete with the video-capable DSLRs. Red calls their line DSMC, digital still and motion cameras. Yes, the Red will shoot high quality stills also. The Scarlet records in uncompressed raw, whereas the DSLRs record in compressed JPEG. The proprietary CMOS sensor doesn’t show “Jelly movement”. The Scarlet brain only will sell for $2750. This is the basic sensor and lens for “run and gun” shooting. A package will sell for $4750. the quality it delivers is worth many times that. All Red cameras are modular. All the accessories for the scarlet will fit the 5K Epic, to be released later this year. The accessories, such as A/V module, RedMote, and battery pack, are added to the back of the camera. Nikon and Canon lenses can be attached with an accessory ring however there will be significant cropping due to the smaller sensor area (2/3″) in the scarlet.

The Red Mini Prime lenses will sell for $950 each. they are cinema grade and fast, 1.5.

Their flagship camera, the Red One, is the first video camera to replace motion picture film cameras from Ari and Panavision. This will eliminate the costly and time consuming telecine process for converting film to video for editing.

More info at www.red.com

Designers, photographers and videographers, anyone up for getting smarter? You can learn from schools, seminars, webinars or books. I’ve done them all, most recently I’ve used the books from the Apple Pro Training Series and Adobe Press (pictured below) along with a few other books on cinematography and video production.   I prefer the self-paced learning from books.  This method fits around my work and family schedule. I’ve ordered most of them from Peachpit Press.

Being a visual person, I remember more of what I see than what I read. So, I recently tried the video tutorials from Lynda.com. The instructors explained everything in a clear, concise way, and, unlike college, when your mind wanders you can just scrub the video back and play it again or pause the video if you are an avid note taker like I am. I’ve used Lynda.com for Apple’s Motion 3 and Color. Now I feel more comfortable diving into the complexities of 3D motion graphics.

It can cost as little as $25 per month or pay for a year, $250, and you can download the files used in the lessons. Check it out. You will be amazed at how many tutorials there are.

So, here’s to more brain power: www.lynda.com

This simple, “roller-skate” dolly will provide smooth, quiet dolly rolls that one person can set up and operate.  Sure, you can rent one but you don’t always know on which production day you will need the dolly. You can make the basic platform and wheel trucks for about $166.00, less if you use fewer wheels. This dolly rolls on sixteen 65mm roller-skate wheels with ABEC 3 or 5 bearings ($66). The metal V trucks, 8mm axles and welding it all together cost $100. I chose to bolt a high hat ($153.00) to the platform with a 75mm half-ball adapter ($40.00) to level the fluid head and camera.

It glides on speed rail. I made this one 6.5 feet long and 13 inches wide ($125). It would be simple to replace the 6.5 foot sections with 10 foot speed rail for a longer dolly roll outdoors. It mounts onto two low boy stands which you may already own for reflectors or lights (Matthews $265, or Modern Equipment $177, low boy with rocky mountain leg). You can set the speed rail on the ground or apple boxes for low-angle shooting. I keep 6 wedges with the dolly to level the legs.

So, as you see it here the dolly portion costs $359. The speed rail costs $125 for a total of $484 without the low-boy stands.

Weights can be added to the platform without affecting the smooth roll. Weights are used to balance a larger camera, longer lens or teleprompter. I attach a small 7” monitor to the platform to follow the action as the camera rolls.

With a little practice you will be panning as you roll.

Due to the large number of variables, your video could cost roughly from $500 to $3,000 per finished minute.

Well, that’s quite a range. How do you get closer to the lower number? There are 3 ways to save, they are: 1) plan, 2) organize and 3) plan some more.

Pre Production planning is the key to a successful video, both in accurately telling your story to achieve your goals, and to get the best price. A disorganized production day will increase both production and editing time.

A. What existing content can be used in the new video?

1) Old video footage

2) Photos

3) Graphics

B. Major cost factors

1) Script writing; $1200 – $1800

2) Talent, on-camera or voice; Starting at $350 for 2 hours

3) Music (if not royalty free); Starting at $50

4) Motion graphics; Starting at $250

5) Green screen; Starting at $350

6) Teleprompter; 1/2 day – $375, Full day – $550

7) Sound Mixer; Full day $450

The first step for most companies is to get a “No Frills” video on their web site. This could be a 1 – 2 minute video of the CEO speaking to clients or employees. The production would consist of one hour to setup lights and mics, and 30 – 60 minutes with the CEO for as many takes as is necessary. The edit session would be 2 -3 hours for logging, editing, adding a few graphics (supplied by client) and to output for the web. Total cost is around $975.

A basic video where the client (you) provides the script and on-camera talent would cost about $2,500 – $8,000. This would include a few of the “Major cost factors” from above. Most corporate videos with hired talent and motion graphics would cost $8,000 – $20,000. This may involve 2 or more days of production and 5 days of editing. The first client consultation is free. Subsequent meetings go into pre production costs.

You can view and print out my video production checklist here. I will be asking these questions in our first meeting to estimate the cost of your production.

Each Herman Miller chair was shot separately on blue screen by remote control with a Panasonic HVX 200 camera in 720 P30, set to one-shot, single frame recording. More than 2,000 frames were recorded. The blue background was removed with chroma key filters in Final Cut Pro. Each chair had it’s own video track. The size and position of each chair (and logo) within the frame was controlled with motion parameters in the canvas window. The logo was altered in Photoshop to move independently. Music and whistle from SoundRangers.com. Output for web.      Length; 46 seconds.       Production time; 7 days Watch WorkSpaces video

Videotape is history. The two main methods of professional video acquisition are Sony’s HDCAM, which is a 23GB Blue-ray disk, and Panasonic’s P2 card, which comes in 16, 32, and 64 GB sizes. The Blue-ray disk is relatively inexpensive and is also a storage media whereas the P2 card is for acquisition only. Digital data is then backed up onto hard drives and the card is reused up to 100,000 times.

I chose the Panasonic HVX200 camcorder for it’s versatility and 4:2:2 color space so I will list the benefits of P2 (DVCPRO HD).

RELIABLE: P2 cards/cameras are solid state so there are no moving parts in the camera to break down or wear out and the card can withstand shock and record at temperatures from -4 to 140 degrees. You cannot record over your previous clips. There is no drop-out like we had with tape.

FASTER, MORE EFFICIENT WORK FLOW: Recording starts instantly. All clips are immediately accessible as thumbnails just as your photos are on your digital camera; no need to search. If your production requires interval recording (time lapse), fast/slow motion or one-shot recording (animation) the clips will playback in-camera with the intended effect. There is no need for a frame rate converter to see your effects. If you don’t like the clip you can delete it and free-up space for more recordings. If you like it you digitally mark it as “good” which can save time logging. P2 records in a universally interchangeable MXF data file so it’s compatible with Mac and Windows. On location I can unload the data to my Windows laptop through the PCMCIA card slot using the free P2 Viewer software just as I would unload a CF card with photos. Back at the edit suite the camera connects directly to my non-linear editing system where the digitized data files are quickly “copied” to my Mac hard drive or logged directly into Final Cut Pro where they are readily dropped into the timeline. There is no need to digitize the clips as there was with videotape.

The P2 card enables a more efficient work flow in that it allows me to record in the “Native” mode which fits a full 85 minutes of HD recording onto 32GB of card space. I prefer to record in 720P/24PN. The native mode only writes the”native” 24 frames per second to the P2 card. No pull-down frames are recorded. (Animation [one-shot] and time lapse [interval] must be recorded at 30 fps.)

VARIABLE FRAME RATES: Over-cranking and under-cranking were only available with film or expensive video cameras. Now I can record frame rates from 12 – 60 fps for fast/slow motion playback. The effects can be reviewed instantly in-camera. Footage recorded at 60fps and played back at 24 fps shows a very smooth, slow motion.