XDCAM EX1 on the road blog

quick question philip (or anyone else for that matter). have you had a chance to try the ex1 on a steadicam of any sorts? i noticed that you did alot of run 'n' gun for the newest war short and also the cool, trippy german thing (german shepards, nurses, flourescent lighting). while the follow shots really do work well naturally, i was just wondering if maybe you've attempted a merlin or even the 4000 glidecam?
 
i have a merlin but not tried it yet. i really should. About to upload a better version of the trench. much more like a trailer with better structure. I must stop fiddling with it!! Am not even editing the finished short just this trailer!

Whilst in the states will still be on email through my blackberry so please feel free to contact me. This shoot will be my biggest test of the ex1, shooting mostly at night for about 10 nights!! Sometimes with Letus, mostly without. Mostly handheld too!
 
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Nice work Phil. Your use of that Gorecki piece sent shivers down my spine. Shots were nice though the clipped highlights pulled me out of the moment once or twice. So did the physical acting - those guys lacked a little conviction in their movements. Maybe that was due to the long pointy things at the end of their rifles :)
 
cheers, we had immense budget and time restrictions. We had one shot at the explosions so no retakes and most of the actors were amateur enthusiasts. But I am pleased with what we got. I tried to make it look as filmic as possible. Which I think i achieved.
 
I am hearing that a firmware update will be out potentially within a week. Although the only feature I have had confirmed is support for 32gb cards.
It will be done by connecting the camera to the computer via USB, the downloaded firmware will include a utility that will detect the ex1 is connected and update like that.
 
Finally, Sony is going to let us pion users update our own firmware? This is good news. Would appreciate a post of the link when it comes out. Thanks!

(Just came back from rehearsal with the symphony and am running on vapors. Have to offload 11GB of audio from laptop and 8GB off the EX1, plus 13GB off the V1U. Tomorrow is concert date. Have lots to do between now and then!)
 
philip bloom said:
I am hearing that a firmware update will be out potentially within a week. Although the only feature I have had confirmed is support for 32gb cards.
It will be done by connecting the camera to the computer via USB, the downloaded firmware will include a utility that will detect the ex1 is connected and update like that.
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That's great news. Hopefully they will have a few other surprises for us!
 
Phil,
I see your heading off to the U.S. Im curious to know how you fly with two Ex1, both as carry on luggage? Ship them ahead? Also, what kind of case do you usually carry them in? Im looking around at the moment and thinking either the Kata Backpack 205 or the Petrol Camporter 16:9.
I thought you'd be the guy to ask seeing as you travel so much with these cameras.
Awesome work btw. Your blog has made it to the top of my bookmarks. Thankyou.
 
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The Trench looks very cool! Nice work. Very film like. I love the high shutter stuff, too. The slow motion is nice. The costumes and explosions are great. You could have used some blood, but that has nothing to do with your images. I also love the music.
 
kubalsky said:
Phil,
I see your heading off to the U.S. Im curious to know how you fly with two Ex1, both as carry on luggage? Ship them ahead? Also, what kind of case do you usually carry them in? Im looking around at the moment and thinking either the Kata Backpack 205 or the Petrol Camporter 16:9.
I thought you'd be the guy to ask seeing as you travel so much with these cameras.
Awesome work btw. Your blog has made it to the top of my bookmarks. Thankyou.
Click to expand...

Can't speak for Phil but I had a nightmare at Gatwick this morning trying to take EX1 in same bag as Phil has (Portabrace) on as hand luggage. They have a 6kg limit and they aren't going to let you go over it. In the end I transferred everything (including ultraportable laptop I'd wanted to use on flight) except the stripped down EX1 to my suitcase - yup including all the li-on batteries, explained it couldn't possibly much over 6Kg and there was no way I could put a 4 grand camera in a soft bag into the hold and they said "Well try it, but if security stop you it's your problem". Of course security didn't stop me, but I'm dreading the check-in for the return flight now.

Ian
(in Vegas)
 
that's terrible Ian. But Gatwick is worse than Heathrow. You can take two bags at Heathrow but still only one at Gatwick which is insane. I had a Portabrace bag with one EX1 in it (the other one stayed at home, the producer here in LA has his own which I am using) all my batteries, about 6 of them. 12 SxS cards, 2 big IDX batteries, Zacuto rails, and other bits. In the other bag was my 17" Macbook pro and hard drive with power suppy.

So was it check in Ian that gave you grief? I had that at Gatwick 3 weeks ago when I went to Lithuania. Never had them weigh my hand luggage before!

I would dread putting my camera in the hold. So many times stuff has been delayed. Far too risky. That' not even taking into account how careless baggage handlers can be with luggage!
 
thefilmaddict said:
The Trench looks very cool! Nice work. Very film like. I love the high shutter stuff, too. The slow motion is nice. The costumes and explosions are great. You could have used some blood, but that has nothing to do with your images. I also love the music.
Click to expand...

We weren't allowed to put blood on the costumes, it would have meant buying them. The hire company were VERY strict. But thanks so much for comments!
 
philip bloom said:
that's terrible Ian. But Gatwick is worse than Heathrow. You can take two bags at Heathrow but still only one at Gatwick which is insane. I had a Portabrace bag with one EX1 in it (the other one stayed at home, the producer here in LA has his own which I am using) all my batteries, about 6 of them. 12 SxS cards, 2 big IDX batteries, Zacuto rails, and other bits. In the other bag was my 17" Macbook pro and hard drive with power suppy.

So was it check in Ian that gave you grief? I had that at Gatwick 3 weeks ago when I went to Lithuania. Never had them weigh my hand luggage before!

I would dread putting my camera in the hold. So many times stuff has been delayed. Far too risky. That' not even taking into account how careless baggage handlers can be with luggage!
Click to expand...

Yup it was check-in. They were weighing everyone's hand luggage. This is Virgin Airways. Ended up with two laptops going into the hold (video editing laptop and an ultraportable). Put a padlock on the case and it arrived the other end without the padlock :-O Luckily nothing seemed to have been taken.
 
Help Needed In Vegas!

Help Needed In Vegas!

We are shooting a feature doco in many global locations and for 3 nights next weekend we will be in Las Vegas.

If anyone is available to help us out that would be great! We are a low budget small team consisting of me the DP, a Director, a Producer and a Sound Recordist. We could do with an assistant. Someone keen to learn and hang out with a bunch of very laid back people.

We are in LA at the moment and we may need someone here too, but the producer thinks he has found someone.

We are shooting on two EX1s, one of them with a Letus Extreme 35mm adaptor.

Ideally you need to be local as all we can offer is the food expenses and the experience, but if you are interested drop me an email @ philip.bloom@mac.com

Thanks!
 
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