The cinema5D team thought long and hard about who to award our IBC 2017 awards to – and it wasn’t easy. The discussions went on for long, but in the end, we agreed on three products that really show innovation in their respective fields – namely those of small cameras, camera support, and lighting. Congratulations to the hard-working people behind these amazing products! Sony RX0 Read our coverage here. The Sony RX0 deserves one of our IBC 2017 Innovation Awards because it packs a rather large 1″ sensor into a tiny body with a 24mm equivalent field of view, an extremely sturdy and waterproof housing, as well as professional features like S-Log2, continuous RAW photo shooting, focus peaking or 4K output via HDMI. It’s going to make GoPro’s life even harder, but will branch out beyond the action/sports cam sphere. We predict that this camera will be used in all kinds of different applications very soon. It will cut beautifully with all kinds of other Sony cameras and will also make it possible to build small VR rigs with a bunch of RX0s. Yoshiro Furukawa from Sony accepting the cinema5D IBC 2017 Award. Sachtler / Vinten Flowtech 75 Read our coverage here. Tripod technology hasn’t seen a lot of real innovation in decades, with the underlying principles of currently available tripods being identical to tripods that were sold 20 years ago. With the Sachtler / Vinten Flowtech 75, Vitec Videocom (their mother company) showed that there is still a lot of room for making a shooter’s life easier by enhancing the camera support. Basically as a camera operator, you are usually repositioning your camera tripod dozens of times every day. Changing the height of normal tripods is cumbersome when you are alone and you have a bigger camera on top: you have to open 2-3 latches on each leg to go from low to high. With the Flowtech, that movement is much more simple because of only three levers right on top of the tripod, which allow you to hold and balance the head while you reposition. It’s as simple as it is brilliant when you work with it. Tobias Keuthen and Alan Hollis from Vitec Videocom accepting the cinema5D IBC 2017 Award. Hudson Spider Read our coverage here. The lighting world has changed massively with the increasing dominance of LEDs, but the innovation of manufacturers when it comes to placing these LEDs has proven to be a bit limited to say the least – just look at how many companies produce the 1×1 shaped panel light. In comes LA-based DP Tim Hudson with his Spider light, which looks may look a bit like a funky prop from Star Trek at first, but makes a lot of sense once you see that soft box on top of it. A perfectly evenly lit soft light source is pretty much exactly what you want in many situations, which is one of the reasons for the popularity of the ARRI Skypanel. The Hudson Spider even packs up to next to nothing and is easy to transport. The biggest caveat is its relatively high price of around €6,000 as a full kit, and a relatively big power supply unit that has to go with it. Nick Shaplet from LCA (Hudson Spider distributor) accepting the cinema5D IBC 2017 Award

In this second part of our chat with automobile DP Avi Cohen, we discuss his personal shooting style and his next steps after Top Gear. Shooting that first feature is a huge milestone in any DP’s career. Avi Cohen tells us about his plans for the future regarding his possible plans, as well as the kind of projects — such as humanitarian-oriented documentaries — he would like to complete before considering himself ready to take that step. We also discus the, uhm, gear behind Top Gear, the kind of cameras used, as well as Avi’s particular style involving car-mounted cranes. Diving deeper into Avi Cohen’s personal shooting style, he explains why he prefers to avoid the standard focal lengths between the 25-85mm range, preferring instead the more extreme looks that an ultra wide-angle 11mm, a 100m Macro, or even a 1000mm telephoto have to offer. And lastly we touch on the topic of specialisation: is it better to focus and excel at just one type of shooting, or is versatility the key to a successful career? With Avi Cohen, it was this decision to work in a particular niche that opened the most doors in his career. As he puts it, if you’re going into surgery “you hope your doctor’s like the best open heart surgeon in the world, and not a really great general practitioner”. But is this always the case when it comes to a filmmaking career? Please visit our sponsors’ websites to keep new episodes of ON THE GO coming! TILTA Blackmagic Design Manfrotto Olympus Watch previous episodes of ON THE GO (& On the Couch) by clicking here. Visit our Vimeo and YouTube playlists, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

That age-old question: what gear should I get? In this episode of cinema5D essentials, I decided to answer this question once and for all, in a video as entertaining and educational as I could think of. Which Gear Should I get? For the last 9 years we’ve been constantly on a quest to find better gear to work with and make digital filmmaking easier and more affordable. As we like to work with the gear we test, my new Gear Guide is an attempt to share some of the experience I’ve had with the equipment along the way. Note that this gear guide reflects only Seb’s gear recommendations for the time being. The other authors of cinema5D will follow. Some of our regular readers will notice that the video is targeted at a broader audience looking for gear tips and recommendations. We receive requests for gear tips quite regularly but, even though we try to answer them individually, this can unfortunately be difficult sometimes due to our everyday workload. Gear Used in the Video The video should really speak for itself, so I will not go through the seven essential pieces of gear in this text. Instead, I would like to give you some background on the video production itself. Camera I used the Blackmagic URSA Mini 4.6K as it gave me beautiful, cinematic 4K rendering in a studio environment. I never use it outdoors, but in a studio environment there is no other affordable camera that’s so easy to use and gives such a pleasing picture. I went back and forth between camera and computer to check and implement my shots into the evolving editing timeline and it was an effortless process. Lens My lens of choice was the Zeiss CP.2 50mm Macro T/2.1. This is probably my favourite lens of all time and, although it’s bulky and expensive, whenever I put it on a camera I just love the image it gives me. Additionally, its macro design means I’m not as limited on how close I can get to an object. Bokeh and highlights are beautifully cinematic. Lights I mention the ALZO 3200 Low Noise in the video, which I used with the ALZO 36″ soft box. While it doesn’t have the best build quality, it is super affordable and is an extremely bright light with a great, clean white rendering. I used it as a key light for the top-shot gear photos and every single shot in the video. Due to its special design it is just a little inconvenient to use, but produces a relatively low fan noise. The second light I used was the Aputure Light Storm 120d. It has a lower output than the ALZO, but delivers good light color and is convenient to use. I used this one with a 24″ Westcott beauty dish, the best soft box I know albeit not the largest, which makes it perfect for a back light. I added two additional CTB gels to give me that blue back-light tone on my skin. The blue color in the video comes from a tiny light that will knock your socks off. The Luxli Viola 5″ is a very small LED that lets you dial in any color you like. It isn’t cheap, but it’s the perfect background color light and is super convenient to use. I have two of these, but only used one of them for the video. Tripod The Sachtler FSB-6 with quick legs was my tripod of choice. It’s getting on in years now and the FSB-8 would be a better option today, but it still gets the job done even though the URSA Mini is a bit on the heavy side. I hope you found this video and gear lists helpful. We have never had a proper gear guide on cinema5D, but I know we’re one of the websites where people regularly look for gear tips. With over 3600 articles on our site, it can be pretty hard to find stuff, so hopefully this gear guide will make things a bit easier. Let us know how you liked this episode of cinema5D essentials. And if you have gear tips of your own, why not share them with us and the rest of the world?

In this episode of cinema5D ON THE GO, we meet high-octane automotive director Avi Cohen, and discuss his work on the famous car show Top Gear. With a portfolio of work focusing mostly on automobiles, we knew that fast cars were nothing new to Avi Cohen — we were sure he was going to feel right at home in our ON THE GO Mustang. Avi’s is the kind of life story many out there would envy. With a late start in filmmaking in his mid-20’s in San Francisco while taking a few film classes in community college, he experienced an instant connection and understanding of the visual language. After moving to Los Angeles, Avi Cohen picked up a Sony EX1 to shoot content that he found interesting in order to put together a reel. Not having the usual network of actors, directors and other contacts that film school offers, Avi’s subjects consisted mostly of skaters, dirt bike riders and snails. However, it was during this experimental stage that he honed his skills in shooting cars and developed his own vision, which eventually landed him a role as a guest director on Top Gear. Check out the trailer for the upcoming season below! Avi Cohen also tells us about the work dynamics of shooting Top Gear, his interaction with the other creatives on the show, and how it all comes together. Stay tuned for the second half of our chat with director Avi Cohen! In the meantime, head over to Avi’s website to see more of his work. Please visit our sponsors’ websites to keep new episodes of ON THE GO coming! TILTA Blackmagic Design Manfrotto Olympus Watch previous episodes of ON THE GO (& On the Couch) by clicking here. Visit our Vimeo and YouTube playlists, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

In this part of our chat, Graham Sheldon and his wife Rin explain the ins and outs of funding an indie film for international distribution. Producing a feature film is an enormous undertaking, with the process of finding the money to shoot it being one of the most exhausting aspects of the journey. If you are not backed by a studio, then its really down to you to get the necessary capital to make the project happen. But how to go about it? Also, producer and DP Graham Sheldon explains the concept of foreign pre-sales with apples, oranges, pies and Meryl Streep, going in depth into how to finance your indie film for foreign distribution. We also discuss ways in which you can cut costs, such as by offering equity or creative points to contributing parties, using your own gear, writing a script within realistic means and diversifying your skill set. A fascinating and eye-opening discussion if you are ready to make the leap from no-budget filmmaking! Please visit our sponsors’ websites to keep new episodes of ON THE GO coming! TILTA Blackmagic Design Manfrotto Olympus Watch previous episodes of ON THE GO (& On the Couch) by clicking here. Visit our Vimeo and YouTube playlists, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

In the newest episode of cinema5D Essentials (other episodes here), Li-Lian and Nino take a very close look at camera sliders – both the manual and the motorized versions, and talk about how and where to use them effectively – and for what reason. The Kessler CineSlider with the optional Second Shooter motorization bundle was chosen as for demonstrating this “how-to” video. Camera sliders have been around for many years now – and like many other new things, in the beginning they have been massively overused in many films. However, they still are an incredibly valuable tool in a shooter’s arsenal, especially considering the fact that they are super easy to set up, and give a very high production value to films without a lot of effort. We are giving tips and showing examples, when it makes most sense to use them – either as a motivated move or as a way to spice up a boring corporate office video. It’s not the length, it’s how you use it Through using wide angle lenses and foreground and background, even a short slider can have a maximum effect on the image, and give a huge sense of movement. We demonstrate this with examples. Motorization and the Second Shooter Li-Lian Ahlskog and Nino Leitner surrounded by a lot of camera sliders …   Then we motorize the slider and demonstrate how useful it is to have this literal “Second Shooter” for an interview shoot as an additional moving angle. We are using the Kessler CineSlider with the Second Shooter bundle to do just that. I demonstrate three axis moves with 2 keyframes and we mention other uses for timelapse and the Kessler KOS app. Enjoy the new episode and don’t forget to support our new initiative by subscribing to our YouTube channel. What is your favorite slider – motorized or not? Let us know in the comments below!

In this episode of On The Go, we welcome the newest members of the cinema5D writing team: Rin Ehlers Sheldon and Graham Sheldon. Rin and Graham are a filmmaking duo based in California. They have been writing for our site for some time now, but we finally had a chance to meet them in person during NAB 2017. As the two brains behind production company Stand Up 8 Productions, they share with us how it is like to work with your significant other, and how their individual skills complement each other. They also tell us what it is like to work as independent filmmakers in the L.A area, and why its important to be a member of a union or guild — and also when NOT being a member can allow you to take on other types of projects, such as when Graham shot and participated in the survival reality show The Island with Bear Grylls. We hear about the kind of projects Rin and Graham have taken on with Stand Up 8 Productions, which include both narrative and documentaries, as well as their way of approaching new projects by always looking for “something new”, whether its their subject matter or the gear used to capture it. Stay tuned for the second part of our ride with Graham Sheldon and Rin Ehlers Sheldon, where we discuss the intricacies of funding an independent film! Please visit our sponsors’ websites to keep new episodes of ON THE GO coming! TILTA Blackmagic Design Manfrotto Olympus Watch previous episodes of ON THE GO (& On the Couch) by clicking here. Visit our Vimeo and YouTube playlists, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!

In this episode of ON THE GO, we talk to Eric Kessler from Kessler Crane and Rob Eagle from Bright Tangerine, two veteran brands of affordable, quality camera accessories. Kessler Crane and Bright Tangerine are two companies that are synonymous with quality camera accessories. The evolution in camera technology and the emergence of a new market certainly proved to be key in the cementing of these two brands in the competitive playing field of camera gear. We talk to Eric and Rob about their journey over the past decade or so. Kessler was one of the first brands to start offering professional products to the emerging DSLR market, a sector that was once somewhat looked down upon by the more established film industry. Most famously known at first for its revolutionary Kessler Crane, the company’s focus has been shifting towards sliders and motion control in recent years. Eric Kessler tells us just how he went from owning a paintball accessory company to founding a brand that has become a staple of a whole sector of the filmmaking industry. The Kessler Second Shooter on a Cineslider Bright Tangerine, on the other hand, has seen most success from its lightweight matte boxes. Rob tells us how the company got started by trying to fill a gap in the market offering a more user-friendly solution for the new large-sensor era. The new Bright Tangerine Misfit Atom Whether sliders or matte boxes, what these two companies have in common is a philosophy of creating a solid core product from which to develop a strong user base. Then, its just a matter of listening to those customers before developing new products. Please visit our sponsors’ websites to keep new episodes of ON THE GO coming! TILTA Blackmagic Design Manfrotto Olympus Watch previous episodes of ON THE GO (& On the Couch) by clicking here. Visit our Vimeo and YouTube playlists, and subscribe to the podcast on iTunes!