As a photographer getting into DSLR video, I love it when a reader of ours emails us with a question we can answer or better yet a question we have not thought of before. Well FS reader Christian emailed us about how we sync our DSLR audio with audio we may have recorded in a separate unit (zoom, iphone, computer, etc). Until recently we used to just do it manually by lining up our wavefiles from both sources in Adobe Premiere. But there is a much much easier way now thanks to Plural Eyes by Singular Software. Plural Eyes simply analyzes each waveform and automatically aligns each and every camera angle and audio clip right there in your timeline. It's brilliant software and extremely inexpensive for what it does. Check out this little demo from the 2010 WEVA Expo and click the full post to see a well made tutorial on how to sync your files step by step.
WEVA News: Singular Software PluralEyes demo from WEVA on Vimeo.
There are so many photographer's who I don't know by name but recognize their work once it pops up. One such name many of you may not be instantly familiar with is cultural photographer Glen Friedman who is most famous for his photographs of early skateboarding pioneers Tony Alva, Jay Adams, and Duane Peters, and rebellious hip hop artists like Ice-T, Beastie Boys, Public Enemy, and Run D.M.C. In this video Glenn talks about his work and in the second video he talks about what it was like growing up during one of the creative hot beds of American and World culture. If you are in the San Francisco in the next few days, check out his gallery showing at 941 Geary Gallery before it wraps up the end of the month. Oh and the first words out of this video are "Fuck You All" just as a warning :)
One of the first early adapters of DSLR video for professional use was Shane Hurlbut of Terminator Salvation, The Guardian, The Last 3 Minutes fame. A few days ago he released a really well shot commercial for the US Marines and decided to make a short contest out of it. The video has over 27 frames shot on various Canon 5D, 7D, and 1D cameras as they do every cinemagraphic move possible. I'm thinking we might get a BTS video of the filming of this commercial after the contest is done but in the meantime Shane is going to give away a free copy of Adobe's CS5 Production Premium Suite to whoever correctly guesses what camera shot what footage. You can head over to the contest page for more details and the entries will be accepted until the end of Jan 26th, 2011.
Nissan has a new commercial out that is pretty clever. Whether you believe in global warming or not you probably still lust after a car that uses less gas and doesn't require half a Benjamin at the gas pump. The idea Nissan had for their new car the Leaf was to follow a polar bear around as he travels across the US trying to track down the owner of the new electric car. I always love seeing behind the scenes videos of real commercials running on tv and being able to give commentary during commercial breaks. Now everyone, go out and grab a potentially dangerous wild animal and start making your own BTS videos :) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ASM4lR5soQw<
The guys over at Stillmotion have been a huge source of inspiration to us at Fstoppers. If you haven't checked out their vimeo channel, head over there and be prepared to watch hundreds of well shot wedding videos. They have also released a really informative video on how to use different microphones for your video projects and BTS videos. Once you start getting into filming video, capturing good audio is going to be of up most importance to you. Anyone remember those horrible audio tracks on some of our BTS contest videos? Well now you have no excuse for getting good audio of your own.
introduction to audio with DSLRs from stillmotion on Vimeo.
Scott Holstein sent us this video a while back and it must have gotten lost in our email (thanks iphone fans). Being from Tallahassee, Florida, Scott decided to use the swamp as his backdrop. He also came up with a cleaver way to light up little lanterns used in the shoot. Maybe I'm the only one, but I'd be a little scared of getting eaten alive or being bit by something hiding in those country swamps! <
It's the end of the month which means it's almost time to judge the monthly Fstoppers Forum photo contest. The response for this month has been really great and I can't wait to see who wins it and takes home some new gear. The final submissions will be valid until Midnight (EST) on Feb 1st so be sure to submit now rather than later. As we do every month, the winner of the contest gets to pick the next theme and Jay has chosen "Power". This month's winner will also win a custom image and website link on the Fstoppers rotating banner above and also a Photoflex Octodome Extra Small Kit which is our goto soft light for location shooting. As always, our contests are judged by the winner of the previous month's contest so you have to impress Dec winner Jay Malone and not anyone on the Fstoppers Staff. Have fun submitting to the January Fstoppers Forum Contest and good luck to everyone!
Douglas Sonders is an amazing photographer out of Washington DC, and his work is very stylized with studio lighting and exotic action themes. Check out this behind the scenes video as he brings out the weapons, poker chips, and Bond characters during his Secret Agent shoot. Also check out his website for more inspiring work!
Secret Agent Photoshoot - Douglas Sonders Photography from Douglas Sonders on Vimeo.
Our friend Tyler Kaufman from New Orleans is a young sports photographer who had the opportunity to go and photograph Super Bowl XLV. Understandably, he was so busy shooting that he didn't have time to create a proper behind the scenes video on what it must be like shooting one of the largest sporting event in the world. Luckily for us, Max Morse was able to make a video showcasing many of the Sport Illustrated photographers in attendance. During our own interview with David Bergman, an SI photographer also in attendance of the big game, I learned that sports photographers do not simply show up and try to frantically track each player and each play for the perfect shot. Instead they are stationed in strategic spots which allows each photographer to cover their section of the field and specific players....assuming the play does come in their direction. I've always thought shooting sports at this level must be extremely difficult, and that might be why I have such respect for great sports images. Click on the full post to see a video on Tyler's experience in Dallas!
Sports Illustrated Photography at Super Bowl XLV from Max Morse on Vimeo.
At the young age of 25, professional photographer Michelle Moore is producing some really amazing images. Check out her latest project and click the link to read about how she photographed these editorial fashion images for Salt&Prep
Gabriel Goldberg is a young editorial and commercial photographer. His portfolio has some really interesting images and this behind the scenes video shows you how he created his latest photos for Grazia Magazine.
Yuri Arcurs is perhaps the most well known photographer shooting microstock images in the world. His images are clean, inviting, crisp, and natural looking which are all important qualities needed to sell images in bulk. This video by Fototv might be the best video you watch all week because Yuri's tips are not only related to stock photographs but also hold true with almost any photograph requiring a model or human emotion. If you've never signed up to a stock website like Istockphoto, Fotolia, or Shutterstock, I'd recommend you at least try to get approved and test the waters for a few months. Nothing in my opinion strengthens your eye and photographic skills more than producing images that can sell in a highly competitive market like the stock agencies.
As you can see from our site take over, we are hosting our first ever Fstoppers Workshops down in the Bahamas from May 28th - June 1st. During these 5 days, we have 10 of the top photographers teaching small, intimate classes on all genres of photography. Today Peter Hurley was the first instructor to sell out spots for his flagship course The Headshot Intensive. Every other class from the other instructors still has availability, so if you are planning on attending we don't want you to miss out. For the full
With over 100 students spanning 20 different countries, the first ever Fstoppers Workshops was a HUGE success. Join us this Sunday at 3pm Eastern (NYC time) as we recap some of the most interesting moments, catch up with newly made friends, and start taking suggestions for next year's event! Lee and I will be hosting the video chat and who knows what famous photographers will pop in to answer some of your questions. This is open to anyone and we look forward to seeing everybody again!
For the last 5 years, Fstoppers has been an outlet for education, news, inspiration, and behind the scenes photography content. Even with the amazing writers we have on Fstoppers, we have always wanted you,our readers, to have a voice. Well today I am happy to announce a new part of the Fstoppers Community: the Fstoppers Groups.
