Getting Going
I’m taking some inspiration from Joachim Vansteelant, a fellow dII owner, and really giving this tumblr blog a shot. His tumbler is pretty good, with lots of interesting information on it. You should go check it out - http://a-camdii.tumblr.com/.
I’ve been up to a lot just in preparation for shooting with the camera. There’s so much more to working with this camera than the HDSLR’s and EX-1 I’m used to. Just owning one has been a lesson in inland marine insurance and custom Pelican Case foam inserts to protect the investment I’ve made; new codecs, new software, accessories and storage.
And since this isn’t a camera that most people can readily get their hands on to play with I’m going to try and document as much as I can through my learning process. I’ve already got a list of things to share. Some of this will be old hat to many seasoned filmmakers who are used to working with advanced codecs and gear. So for those who find my content repetitive I’d ask that you add your voice in the comments so we (or at least I) can learn from your great experience. For those who are interested in the camera and are, like me, moving up to it from more common equipment, I invite you to ask questions in the comments and I’ll do the best I can to answer them.
Here’s a brief list of the things I intend to cover in the next few posts:
- After Effects - FCP7 - After Effects roundtrip workflow
- Rail systems, follow focus and matte boxes
- My own education in coloring through TaoOfColor.com’s tutorials
- C-mount lens options
I’ll also be joining my friend, Mike Sutton, who’s a senior account manager over at Rule Boston Camera in a couple weeks to really put the A-Cam dII through its paces so they can decide if they want to rent it out to their clients. My hope is with their extensive rental house I’ll be able to test out a bunch of advance equipment with it to see what works and what doesn’t.
Here’s some of the things I’m hoping to test:
- Timecode sync’d audio with a Sound Devices 744T
- Recording proxies via the HD-SDI out
- Different rail, follow focus and matte box setups
- Real field time with the camera to have a short film to show at the end of it all
