"The Twenty-Third Letter" - 3rd Weekend

We're finally rolling cameras again since the Easter break. Everyone was excited to be back.

Day #5 was at home base again. Only this time we were shooting on the terrace. This was Edwin Craig's first day as Seth.




Day #6 was far more challenging. We did a half day/half night shoot in a downtown L.A. alley complete with extras, picture cars, camera crane, the works. What a thrill! We also got to work with Kelly Herrin (Shadow Falls) and All-In-One-Truck again. Two more cast members from Shadow Falls joined the production, James Martinez and Alexandra Boylan. Also, Bill McCullough from DAY:11 made a cameo.

First VTR - 50 Years Ago

It's almost unfathomable to think of a time when television video images could never be recorded in their original format. Can you imagine shoving a film camera into a black tube and "filming" a video monitor as a means of recording the live broadcast? It was called the Kinetoscope. It's even harder to imagine that it took science twenty years to eventually replace the Kinetoscope with an actual VTR. It was 50 years ago this month that the VRX-1000 debuted.

The Videotape Recorder Turns 50

Thanks to FreshHDV for headsup.

New Forum - XLCinema.com

Some Online friends of mine have created a new home for Canon XL shooters to share tip, tricks, techniques and workflow issues. The site will be home to the entire Canon XL series of cameras with a primary focus on the H1.

Check it out.

XLCinema.com

Our Boy Johnny

Johnny, SHADOW FALLS, on the set of Evan Almighty...

Digital Filmmaking - Same as the Old Filmmaking

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - 2nd Weekend

Well, we finished shooting day #3 and #4 on the TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer shoot. We basically shot in and around our home on Saturday. Which is always a love/hate thing -- we didn't have to pack up everything and drive to location, but our home is now in complete shambles.

Sunday was a phenomenal day of shooting. While being in a building basement in downtown Los Angeles with no windows and a TON of dust can be taxing, the quality of footage we got down there is incredible.

So far the Canon H1 has performed flawlessly. The 20x lens is a challenge to focus, especially racks. But it's sharp and the quality we're getting from the camera has everyone grinning. The big surprise is the sharpness of the 3x lens. It's a standard definition lens with some softness in the corners, but it performed exactly how we wanted it to.

H1 Review - DV.com

There's a really great review of the Canon H1 camera at DV.com by the venerable Adam Wilt.

"It's big and heavy, but nothing else below $10,000 can touch it for picture quality. The lens is lacking at the wide end and the controls are rubbery, but you can change the lens. There's some loss of vertical resolution in 24f and 30f, but the temporal signature is correct. No other low-cost 1080i camera does 24 fps better. It accepts any and all XL-series accessories. It genlocks. It has HD-SDI. I haven't even discussed Canon's Console software for monitoring, recording, and tweaking settings over FireWire; the monochrome viewfinder; SD cards for stills and camera setup files; or the enhanced remote controls available.

In short, the XL H1 punches above its weight. It may be as fair to compare it to Sony's new XDCAM HD camcorders as well as to its HDV companions and the HVX200. Only f-mode vertical aliasing and squishy lens servos keep the camera from being a perfect 5.0 score. Even if you dislike the XL form factor, check it out—the pictures are worth the wrist pain."

"The Twenty-Third Letter" - Shooting Begins

Principal photography has officially begun on THE TWENTY-THIRD LETTER trailer. The first two days of a nine-day shoot commenced on Saturday, April 1st and 2nd in downtown Los Angeles.

Short production diaries to follow soon.