Newly Refined Rig for TV Commercials

Since the earlier post detailing the HDSLR rig we were using for the ABC Family commercials, my team has done several more tv commercials and have extensively refined the kit. The last setup was highly functional but a bit of a Frankenstein monster.

The new rig is more compact, cleaner and more functional, especially from the standpoint of pulling focus — which is kind of a big deal. You can see the new rig in the slideshow below. The major changes outlined underneath.

… Continue Reading

Canon EOS Movie Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro is Out

The Canon EOS MOVIE Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro is now available and you can download it directly from the Canon website – not from the Apple Final Cut download page as stated in the earlier Canon press release covered by PCN.

Once you are on the Canon 5D Mark II page, click the Drivers & Downloads tab and then use the “Select OS” pulldown to choose Mac OSX. The plugin should now be at the top of the “Software” list. If you want to download the user guide scroll down to “Guides and Manuals” and grab the PDF or click here.
… Continue Reading

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update – “We’re Sorry”

Canon Issues Fix for Audio Problems in 5D Mk II Firmware

Version 2.0.4 available for immediate download.. Never ceases to amaze me that companies release this stuff into the wild and then f&*^* it up like this…

We apologize sincerely for the inconvenience caused to our customers by suspending the availability of the Version 2.0.3 firmware.

We are now introducing the Version 2.0.4 firmware. This firmware corrects the malfunction that occurred in the previous Version 2.0.3 firmware, in which the manual recording level changed and made recording impossible.

Customers who have the Version 2.0.3 firmware on their cameras should update the firmware to Version 2.0.4.

[From Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update]

Deadline for Short Films Contest Extended ( Films Shot With Canon VDSLR Cameras Only)

Can-Do Film Festival and Competition deadline extended to April 20th

There is a big contest for movies under 4 minutes “shot using ONLY the Canon EOS HD enabled DSLRs – eligible current models are: EOS 1D Mk IV, EOS 5D Mk II, EOS 7D, EOS Rebel T1i” and they have just decided to give everyone more time to complete the “assignment”
See the details at their web-site – prizes are Canon cameras and Zeiss lenses. Check it out!
… Continue Reading

Canon EOS 5D Mark II firmware update featureing 24P available for download immediately

Canon 5D Mk II Firmware now available here

Version 2.0.3 of the Canon 5D Mk II firmware is on the Canon site at the link above with a whole slew of new features that were previously reported by us so I won’t go into them again. The big story is, of course, the 24 FPS addition to the frame rate so that movie makers can now get video that will output to film without frame rate conversion. There is a repeat of the Electronista announcement after the “more”.
… Continue Reading

Canon Digital Learning Center – Introducing EOS Movie Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro

I know, I know – this is an old announcement but I randomly discovered this page on the Canon USA web-site with a lot more information about what, exactly, the plug-in is going to do.

I’m only going to put the first couple of paragraphs of the post here – read the whole thing on the Canon web site – but there are a few key features that I’d like to point out:

• -Time Code is added to the clips
• Automatic transcoding from Canon’s H.264 to ProRes (various flavors)
• Up to 3X Faster transcoding than Compressor
• Ability to transcode only portions of a clip
• DMG archiving or memory cards
• Compatible with: 1D-Mk IV, 5D Mk II and 7D (Rebel support coming soon)

There is a full workflow example on the Canon page…
… Continue Reading