I'm trying to cut the video I shot Saturday around Planet Snoopy at Cedar Point and I'm in awe of how quickly I forget all of the keyboard shortcuts and such in Final Cut Pro. Cutting is easy enough (and I have a Shuttle Express controller), but I can't remember how to quickly apply transitions to a range and such. And I'm really lost trying to remember the "right" way to do graphics in Photoshop and get them to key right. I don't use it enough!
Anyway, I realized while shooting that my camera is actually very capable and makes beautiful images. It's obvious why the indie crowd really latched on to it, even with cheaper HDV options that came out around that time. My objections have been that it's a bitch to use handheld and P2 cards are/were a little on the expensive side. Anton/Bauer just released a new support called the Stasis Flex that really turns me on though, especially if I can put one of their batteries on it! The P2 cards have become much cheaper, hard drive space is ridiculously inexpensive, and I feel like there's some good potential there to start shooting more serious HD content.
The other thing that's, well, not an objection, but a weak understanding, is how to get short depth of field with the lens. I received a book from Panasonic that a popular Internet guy who uses this stuff wrote, and it does go into more detail about it. You can do OK if you have subjects that are right up in your grill. There are also 35mm adapters available, which intrigue me. You can create some beautiful photography like this, and once you have that adapter, as Tyler knows, you can get used manual lenses uber cheap.
And that brings me to the short film thing. I woke up with an idea for one a couple of weeks ago after a really strange dream. What makes it weird is that's it's a kind suspense/quasi-horror genre thing, a far cry from the usual coming-of-age ideas that typically come to mind. The idea is fleshed out enough in my head that I honestly think I can start writing it soon. It sounds like 20 to 30 pages in my head, and I could probably shoot it for under two grand. I'll keep you posted.
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