The first ever Musicbed Challenge is starting today. It is a 30-day competition for filmmakers to create one short film featuring music from Musicbed artists and a chance to win prize packages totalling more than $80k in grants and gear. There are five categories and the submissions are due until July 9th. The winners will be picked by the jury and announced on July 19. Musicbed is a music licensing site which you have probably, as a filmmaker, already heard of or used. The site has been around since 2011 offering many hand-picked songs for licensing. Last year in October they launched membership plans. Today Musicbed launches their first ever filmmaking competition – the 2019 Musicbed Challenge. Musicbed Challenge The Musicbed Challenge is being launched today and it will run for the next 30 days with the deadline for entries on July 9th 2019, at 11:59 p.m. (CST). Musicbed challenges filmmakers to create short films using pre-selected songs from their artists. The films can be entered in one of the following five categories: Narrative Documentary Music Video Spec Ad Travel Lifestyle Talking about prizes, Musicbed awards a total of $30,000 in film grants to bring winning projects to life. There are also additional $50,000 in film gear as part of the prize packages from various Challenge partners, like Freefly, RØDE, Rhino, PolarPro, and others. Musicbed Challenge 2019 offers prizes worth $80k. Source: Musicbed Entering the Musicbed Challenge is free and the Starter Kit with more instructions can be downloaded by clicking this link. The Musicbed team has put together a panel of judges to evaluate the applied films and select the winners. They will announce the results on July 19. I think filmmaking challenges, if you have the time for it, are a good opportunity to realize a project with a high degree of freedom. It will give you the opportunity to try some new techniques and to experiment a bit. None of those things are usually possible on a regular paid job. As a bonus, there is a chance to win some really cool stuff. However, even if you won’t win, the experience will certainly push you further. In the past, I have taken part in a couple of competitions myself. I did not win but I still use the applied project to present my work from time to time. What do you think of the Musicbed Challenge? Are you considering to enter this competition? Have you ever taken part in a filmmaking competition? Let us know in the comments underneath the article.

There are lots of interesting deals for filmmakers available. We selected the best 10 offers of filmmaking gear from our partners’ online shops for this week. Including Gimbals, Panasonic GH5S, V-Mount Battery Set, MacBook Pro, 4K Monitor and more. Watch out – The first deal in this article expires tonight, August 14th, at 11:59 PM EST! I went through the current deals on our partners’ websites and selected the top 10 offers currently available, which I think could be interesting for you. First, there are B&H offers listed for our readers based in North and South America and then a couple of deals from our European partner CVP. By shopping at our affiliate partners’ stores you are supporting cinema5D through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission when a purchase is completed. Now, let’s take a look at this week’s top 10 deals for filmmakers: B&H: IDX System Technology V-Mount Set – $218 Discount There is a very interesting – limited time – deal regarding a set of two 14.4V 96Wh V-Mount batteries along with a 2-channel sequential desktop charger from IDX. The batteries handle up to 10A loads and they have circuit protection, two unregulated D-Tap accessory outputs, 5-LED battery life indicators and USB port. The charger supports Li-Ion and NiCd batteries and has 4-Pin XLR power output (36W). Watch out – This deal expires tonight, August 14th, at 11:59 PM EST! Buy link: IDX System Technology V-Mount Set Was: $657.00  Now: $439.00 (Savings: $218.00)   B&H: Moza Lite 2 Gimbal Stabilizer – $300 Discount This 3-axis motorized gimbal stabilizer from Moza has a maximum load capacity of 11 lbs. It features a modular design with detachable handlebar and offers upright, underslung & briefcase modes. This particular product is the “premium” version, which includes the wireless thumb controller, bluetooth interface for configuration, power distribution box and 2800mAh battery with a charger. The “professional” version, which includes even more accessories, is also on sale. Simply click the link below and choose the “professional” bundle. Buy link: Moza Lite 2 Gimbal Stabilizer Was: $1,099.00  Now: $799.00 (Savings: $300.00) B&H: Feiyu SPG Plus Gimbal Rig – $20 Discount This discounted dual-handle, 3-axis motorized gimbal is probably the cheapest one I have ever seen at the moment. With the available payload of 3.9 to 7.8 oz (110 to 220 g), it can handle most smartphones and action cameras. It has a dual handle design and five 1/4″-20 threaded accessory mounts. The remote control shutter button can be found on one handle and the gimbal can automatically switch to vertical mode. The gimbal has up to 8-hour runtime after charging it once. Buy link: Feiyu SPG Plus Gimbal Rig Was: $99.00  Now: $79.00 (Savings: $20.00) B&H: Panasonic GH5S Camera and Microphone Set – $200+229 Discount The 10.28MP Panasonic GH5S is the lowlight king among MFT sensor cameras. We reviewed the camera back in January 2018 when it came out. To find out more about it head over to our hands-on video, mini documentary or lowlight comparison against the GH5. It records video up to 4K60p, Full HD up to 240fps and can record internally up to 4K/30p 4:2:2 10-bit ALL-I at 400Mbps. The discounted set includes the Rode VideoMic Pro with Rycote lyre shockmount. Buy link: Panasonic GH5S Camera and Microphone Set Was: $2,727.99  Now: $2,297.99 (Savings: $200.00+229.00) B&H: Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (Late 2016) – $1,400 Discount Once again, there is an interesting and powerful MacBook Pro configuration with a huge discount. It has 2.9 GHz Intel Core i7 Quad-core CPU, 16GB of 2133 MHz RAM, 2TB PCIe SSD and AMD Radeon Pro 460 GPU (4GB GDDR5). Furthermore, the laptop displays the MacOS Sierra on a 15.4″ 2880 x 1800 retina display and communicates through 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2, 4 x Thunderbolt 3 (USB Type-C) ports and 3.5mm headphone jack. Buy link: Apple 15.4″ MacBook Pro with Touch Bar (Late 2016) Was: $4,299.00  Now: $2,899.00 (Savings: $1,400.00) B&H: BenQ PD3200U 32″ 16:9 4K IPS Monitor – $100 Discount This 32″ IPS panel from BenQ has a native 3840 x 2160 (UHD) resolution at up to 60Hz, 1,000:1 contrast ratio, 350 cd/m² brightness, 178°/178° viewing angles, 4 ms response time and 1.07 billion colors (8-Bit+FRC bit depth). It can be connected via DisplayPort, HDMI or mDP inputs. Buy link: BenQ PD3200U 32″ 16:9 4K IPS Monitor Was: $799.99  Now: $699.99 (Savings: $100.00) B&H: Dracast LED160 3200-5600K Variable Light – $80 Discount The Dracast on-camera LED light has a 160W equivalent light output with 45° flood beam angle. It features 3200K and 5600K CRI 95 LEDs, a brightness dimmer, an integrated L-Series battery plate and a 4-LED battery indicator. Buy link: Dracast LED160 3200-5600K Variable Light Was: $149.95  Now: $69.95 (Savings: $80.00) CVP: FeiyuTech MG-V2 – over €113 Discount I am starting the European list with a motorized stabilizer. The MG-V2 from FeiyuTech is a single-handed 3-axis motorized gimbal, which can carry cameras up to 1,630g. It features 360 motors for unlimited movements, a quick-release plate and a handful of useful functions. Buy link: FeiyuTech MG-V2 Was: €565.96  Now: €452.77 (Savings: €113.19) CVP: DJI Mavic Propeller Cage – over €57 Discount Safety first – the Mavic propeller cage is used to protect people and objects from the Mavic’s 7728 quick-release folding propellers. The propeller cage improves overall flight safety and will also protect the propellers from being damaged. Included in the box is: 4x propeller cage, 2x securing lock and 3x Pair of 7728 quick-release folding propellers. Buy link: DJI Mavic Propeller Cage Was: €179.00  Now: €121.66 (Savings: €57.35) CVP: TV Logic VFM-055A OLED Monitor – over €118 Discount The TV Logic VFM-055A is a 5.5-inch Full HD 1920×1080 OLED viewfinder monitor. It offers cinematic image quality with deep blacks, wide-gamut colour reproduction, a very wide viewing angle, and support for multiple video formats via 3G-SDI and HDMI 1.4 inputs. Useful functions include cinema camera log-to-linear LUT conversion, HDMI-SDI cross-converted output, waveform and vector scope, markers, focus assist, audio level meters, among others. There is even an extra gift included – with the purchase of the VFM-055A monitor you can get a 5 inch Monitor Guard for free. More informations and conditions are available on the CVP product page. Buy link: TV Logic VFM-055A OLED Monitor Was: €1,187.72  Now: €1,069.23 (Savings: €118.49) What do you think of this week’s selection? Share with us if you know and like any of these products.

Roll up, roll up. Weekly deals time. We selected 10 great offers of filmmaking gear from our partners’ online shops for this week. Including lenses, cameras, hard drives and a camera crane (remember those?). Here’s a few deals we found in the bottom of the digital bargain bin that you may find interesting. As per usual, 5 items are from our US partner B&H, and 5 are from our European partner CVP. B&H: Zhiyun-Tech Crane v2 3-Axis Handheld Gimbal Stabilizer Starting us off is a 3-axis handheld gimbal. Zhiyan-Tech seem to have a general sale on at the moment, this is one of best picks of the bunch. The Crane v2 has a 3.9lbs payload, so Sony mirrorless with a decent lens territory. Buy link: Zhiyun-Tech Crane v2 Was: $649.00  Now: $359.00 (Savings: $290) B&H: Sony Alpha a7R III Mirrorless Digital Camera (Body Only) Speaking of Sony mirrorless, here’s a deal to go with your new handheld gimbal. The A7sIII is currently the sole flagship Sony Alpha mirrorless body, whilst many users anticipate the A7sIII. You currently get a $200 saving plus 2% reward, not bad. Buy link: Sony Alpha a7R III Was: $3198.00  Now: $2998.00 (Savings: $200) B&H: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens There are quite a few Canon lenses currently on offer. I’ve gone down the middle with the 24-70mm, a staple and reliable ‘standard zoom lens’. Here are respective links if you want the tele or the wide zoom sale versions. Buy link: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II Was: $2199.00  Now: $1899.00 (Savings: $300) B&H: LG 29UM68-P 29″ 21:9 UltraWide FreeSync IPS Monitor Ultra wide monitors can be a great option for edit suites. Particularly if have a grading monitor already, having two working monitors starts to clog up space and ports. Combining them saves a bit of space, but clearly most importantly super cool. Here’s an offering from LG that saves a few quid. Buy link: LG 29UM68-P 29″ 21:9 UltraWide Was: $399.99  Now: $229.99 (Savings: $170) B&H: Samsung 1TB 860 EVO SATA III 2.5″ Internal SSD A modest saving here of just $20, but it’s always worth keeping an eye on useful media like this. 2.5” SSDs are very handy, not only good for upgrading your computer systems, but can be used as media for Atomos devices (and similar) or my favourite – paired with a standard enclosure to make a fast onsite backup drive. Buy link: Samsung 1TB 860 EVO Was: $269.99  Now: $249.99 (Savings: $20) CVP: G-Drive EV Raw SSD 1TB Starting the European deals is another hard drive, this time a portable rugged one. Less versatile than the aforementioned Samsung 2.5”, but a great option for fast onsite backup that is a little more client-friendly. Buy link: G-Drive EV Raw SSD 1TB Was: £341.06  Now: £237.47 (Savings: £103.59) CVP: Hawk-woods DC-5D1X 70CM The LP-E6 battery has been become a bit of an industry-standard micro battery solution. Tons of manufactures use these style of batteries – from cameras to wireless follow focus systems to monitors. A LP-E6 dummy should be a staple bit of kit for any filmmaker/AC, here’s one with an 8.4V regulator. Buy link: Hawk-woods DC-5D1X Was: £76  Now: £53.20 (Savings: £22.80) CVP: Kessler Pocket Jib Traveler Remember jibs? With the influx of drones and gimbals, the good ol’ jib hardly gets a mention. There is only one of these in stock (opened item), but the price makes it worth a mention. Kessler are one of the most renowned brands for compact jibs, here is their smallest offering. Buy link: Kessler Pocket Jib Traveler Was: £406.25 (new)  Now: £354.16 (Savings: £52.09) CVP: Cinedesign CDL-VCT14 A VCT plate – maybe one of the most boring purchases one can make. But another product that can be found in nearly every filmmakers kit bag. This is one of the best prices I’ve seen from a reputable new seller, so it makes this weeks list. Buy link: Cinedesign CDL-VCT14 Was: £179  Now: £125.30 (Savings: £53.70) CVP: Dedolight SYS-DLED9-BI The 150W Dedolight has been the industry-standard micro hard light for years. Here’s a bi-colour LED version. This is personally probably one of the best deals on the list. The versatility of a traditional 150w Dedo needs no introduction, add to that low power draw, cool running LED and bi-colour, this becomes a very attractive little package indeed. Buy link: Dedolight SYS-DLED9-BI Was: £1701.90  Now: £1191 (Savings: £510.90) There’s a ton of offers from both B&H and CVP currently running. These are just a few that stuck out particularly for me. Follow through on one of the below links for a full list from either reseller.

There are lots of interesting deals for filmmakers available online. We selected the best 10 offers of filmmaking gear from our partners’ online shops for this week. Including gimbals, Atomos recorders, DJI drone, tripod and wireless follow focus. I went through the current deals on our partners’ websites and selected the top 10 offers currently available, which I think could be interesting for you. First, there are B&H offers listed for our readers based in the US and then a couple of deals from our European partner CVP. By shopping at our affiliate partners’ stores you are supporting cinema5D through our buy links, as we get a small affiliate commission when a purchase is completed. Now, let’s take a look at this week’s top 10 deals for filmmakers: B&H: ikan EC1 Beholder 3-Axis Gimbal Starting off this week’s deals with motorized stabilizers, the ikan EC1 Beholder supports cameras between 2-4.5 lb (1-2 kg), which should be enough for most mirrorless cameras and smaller DSLRs. Keep in mind though, that using heavy lenses can cause problems with balancing the setup. This is generally the case with most handheld stabilizers. The gimbal features 360° rotation along all 3 axes, 32-bit controller & 12-bit encoder, three follow modes plus auto-inversion, lock mode & auto point-and-lock mode. It has a quick release baseplate, OLED display, 3/8″-16 tripod mount threaded hole and 1/4″-20 accessory mount threaded hole. Buy link: ikan EC1 Beholder 3-Axis Gimbal Was: $699.00  Now: $449.00 (Savings: $250.00)     B&H: Axler Handheld Gimbal This 3-axis motorized gimbal stabilizer is aimed at lightweight mirrorless and compact cameras as it only supports loads up to 1.9 lb (862 g). The gimbal has a quick release plate and offset adapter, follow and lock modes and a thumbstick for pan and tilt adjustment. It can be used in inverted mode for low-angle shooting. It has a 3/8″-16 threaded mounting hole, 5V USB output and is powered by three 18650 batteries. There is a USB-Powered LED light included in the kit. Buy ink: Axler Handheld Gimbal Was: $599.00  Now: $299.00 (Savings: $300.00)    B&H: Zhiyun-Tech Smooth-Q Smartphone Gimbal The smallest of this week’s price-reduced gimbals is the Smooth-Q from Zhiyun-Tech. This smartphone gimbal can take loads up to 7.8 oz (220 g). It can charge the phone via USB while shooting. The stabilizer has one-step balancing knob, up to 12-hours run time, 320° pan, tilt, roll axis rotation, 4-way joystick, zoom control switch and a 1/4″-20 mounting thread on the bottom. Buy link: Zhiyun-Tech Smooth-Q Smartphone Gimbal Was: $139.00  Now: $99.00 (Savings: $40.00)   B&H: Canon XC10 4K Camcorder The Canon XC10 camcorder was presented already back in 2015. My colleague Johnnie did a review of the camera. The Canon XC10 is a category of its own – looking a bit like a mix between DSLR and camcorder. It has 1″ CMOS sensor accompanied by the DIGIC DV 5 processor. The XC10 can shoot up to UHD 4K at 29.97/25/23.98p, up to 305 Mb/s 4K or 50 Mb/s HD Recording. It has SDXC/SDHC and CFast card slots, HDMI output which supports 4K monitoring. The camera has a fixed lens (f/2.8-f/5.6) with 10x zoom (8.9 to 89mm focal length), 100 to 20,000 ISO range and an ergonomic tilting handgrip. Buy link: Canon XC10 4K Camcorder Was: $1,599.00  Now: $1,399.00 (Savings: $200.00)   B&H: Manfrotto Nitrotech N8 Video Head & 546GB Pro Tripod This interesting video-head-tripod combo by Manfrotto is now available at B&H at a discount. The Nitrotech N8 is a 17.6 lb (8 kg) capacity fluid drag tripod head. It has a sliding balance plate with safety lock and nitrogen piston counterbalance system. The Nitrotech N8 also has adjustable pan & tilt drag, 75mm flat base with half ball adapter. We took a closer look at this video head back at NAB 2017. The 546GB Pro Tripod has a ground-level spreader, 12.8 to 62.4″ height range and independent leg adjustments. Buy link: Manfrotto Nitrotech N8 Video Head & 546GB Pro Tripod Was: $949.95  Now: $749.95 (Savings: $200.00)   B&H: CINEGEARS Single-Axis Wireless Follow Focus Express Plus Basic Extreme Kit CINEGEARS now has a good deal for this wireless follow focus set. It includes a wireless express plus focus controller, high-torque wireless lens control motor, 19mm mounting bracket, 19mm to 15mm adapter bushing, two hard stops, additional focus marking disc, customizable rubber lens gear ring and waterproof case with foam inserts. Buy link: CINEGEARS Single-Axis Wireless Follow Focus Express Plus Basic Extreme Kit Was: $1,979.00  Now: $1,579.00 (Savings: $400.00)   B&H: HP 14″ ZBook X2 G4 Mobile Workstation This multi-touch 2-in-1 computer is suitable for creative professionals thanks to the NVIDIA Quadro M620 graphics card (2GB). It has 2.7 GHz Intel Core i7-7500U Dual-Core processor, 8GB of DDR4 RAM and 256GB PCIe M.2 SSD. It displays the Windows 10 Pro (64-bit) OS on the 14″ 3840 x 2160 UWVA IPS touchscreen. Connectivity is provided by an SD/SDHC/SDXC card reader, Thunderbolt 3, USB 3.0, HDMI 1.4, 802.11ac Wi-Fi, Bluetooth 4.2 and NFC. The set includes the ZBook X2 Pen. Buy link: HP 14″ ZBook X2 G4 Mobile Workstation Was: $2,399.00  Now: $1,699.00 (Savings: $700.00)   CVP: Atomos Ninja Flame This week I will start listing the European deals with Atomos recorders, as our partner CVP now has interesting offers on older models. First is the 7.1″ Atomos Ninja Flame which features a 1920 x 1200 resolution 1500 cd/m² (nit) bright touchscreen display. It is capable of 10-Bit FRC monitor processing, has 4K HDMI input/output, HDR mode with 10-stop dynamic range, high bright mode for Rec. 709 viewing. The Ninja Flame can record UHD 4K up to 30p or 1080p up to 120 fps in 10-Bit 4:2:2 ProRes & DNxHR encoding to to 2.5″ SSD/HDD media. It is powered through dual Sony L-Series battery slots. Buy link: Atomos Ninja Flame Was: €784.33  Now: €657.37 (Savings: €126.96)   CVP: Atomos Shogun Flame Next good deal on external recorders from Atomos is the Shogun Flame. It has the same features as its cheaper brother Ninja Flame (see previous specs) but it additionaly offers a 12G-SDI inputs/outputs. My colleague Tim took a closer look at the Shogun Flame and tested it in the field. Buy link: Atomos Shogun Flame Was: €987.46  Now: €798.43 (Savings: €189.03)   CVP: DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter And finally, this week’s last deal is quite an interesting one. CVP currently has a good offer for the old DJI Phantom 2 drone. Please note that the offer is for the drone plus the remote controller only. There is no camera included, nor a gimbal. For GoPro owners this could be a great bargain though. It achieves up to 25 minutes flight time. Buy link: DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter Was: €292.29  Now: €112.48 (Savings: €179.81)   What do you think of this week’s selection? Share with us if you know and like any of the products.

As every year, November is the month of special offers and discounts. We prepared a quick roundup of the best deals for filmmakers currently offered by B&H, because we think they are relevant to our audience. You can support cinema5D by buying through the links of our sponsors. Dracast LED1000 Silver Series Bi-color Light The Dracast LED1000 Bi-Color Light with V-mount adapter has a nice discount. There is one on the 30W version too, but the best deal available goes with the stronger 60W version that offers 70% off. Was: $795.00  Now: $344.50 (Savings: $450.50) Link: Dracast LED1000 Silver Series Bi-color LED Light with V-mount battery plate Panasonic GH4 Body with RODE VideoMic Kit Although we now have the Panasonic GH5, the GH4 is still a very affordable alternative for beginning shooters. Now available at a discounted bundle with the RODE VideoMic for a lot less. Was: $1,497.99  Now: $897.99 (Savings: $600.00) Link: Panasonic GH4 Body with RODE VideoMic Kit Panasonic G7 with 14-42mm Lens The Panasonic G7 is an even cheaper camera than the GH4, but still offers good video quality in 4K. It is now on sale as a bundle with the stabilized Lumix G Vario 14-42mm f/3.5-5.6 II Lens. Was: $797.99  Now: $497.99 (Savings: $300.00) Link: Panasonic G7 with 14-42mm Lens Steadicam Merlin 2 Who needs gimbals? A mechanical stabilizer from the brand “Steadicam”, for small cameras up to 2.27kg (5lbs) is also on sale. Was: $599.00  Now: $199.00 (Savings: $400.00) Link: Steadicam Merlin 2 Zhiyun-tech Crane V2 3-axis Gimbal Here’s the popular 3-axis gimbal stabilizer from Zhiyun-tech. It can carry cameras up to 1.8kg (3.9lbs). The sale is not huge, but there’s a worthwhile discount. Was: $649.00  Now: $479.00 (Savings: $170.00) Link: Zhiyun-tech Crane V2 3-axis Gimbal Sony A6300 Kit with 16-50mm and 55-210mm Lenses The Sony A6300 mirrorless camera in a bundle with the 16-50mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS Lens, the 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 OSS Lens, a 64GB SanDisk memory card, an extra battery and a shoulder bag comes at an interesting price. While the image quality is amazing, keep in mind that the a6300 has the overheating issue which usually limits your recordings to under 3 minutes. It’s worth eyeballing the Sony a6500 that comes without overheating. Was: $1,346.00  Now: $996.00 (Savings: $350.00) Link: Sony A6300 Kit with 16-50mm and 55-210mm Lenses and more accessories Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens This popular zoom lens from Canon (EF mount) is now slightly cheaper as well, so it deserves a place in this list. Was: $1,899.00  Now: $1,699.00 (Savings: $200.00) Link: Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens Apple New Macbook Pro (Without Touchbar) And here’s a limited time offer on the entry level Apple Macbook Pro (without touchbar) with a significant discount. Was: $1,499.00  Now: $1,199.00 (Savings: $300.00) Link: Apple Macbook Pro Luxli Viola 5″ Multicolor LED Light Finally here’s a very handy LED light that Seb used on some of his productions (example) as a back light. It’s not cheap, but very useful. Was: $349.95  Now: $289.95 (Savings: $60.00) Link: Luxli Viola 5″ On-Camera RGB LED Light

cinema5D together with Olympus Europe is proud to present the first out of six episodes of “Perspectives on Filmmaking”. A discussion between leading filmmakers who endorse working with compact tools in their film productions. We are proud to present “Perspectives on Filmmaking”, a discussion with 5 acclaimed filmmakers that the cinema5D crew produced together with support by Olympus, and that I was honoured to host. This was recorded in the wonderful city of Copenhagen, in one of the locations where Olympus hosted their “Perspective Playgrounds”, where people can try out cameras for free and test their photographic abilities in a creative manner. Thanks to an invitation by Olympus, we took over the place in the evening and shot a wonderful, long discussion, which we are going to post on cinema5D and our YouTube channel over the next 6 weeks on a weekly basis. OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA Let us set the record straight: Yes, kind people from Olympus are sponsoring this initiative and paid everyone’s flights and accommodation in Copenhagen. Olympus doesn’t really have a big name in the filmmaking industry yet as their cameras are still mostly used only for photography. One of the guests of this conversation, Janne Amunét, discovered how unbelievably good the in-camera stabilisation in their current top model camera is (watch our Photokina video here for a demonstration, and a discussion with Janne in our ON THE GO talk show here). All the guests have tried their cameras out before – but there is no further affiliation between any of the guests to Olympus other than the fact that THEY got in touch with Olympus because they wanted to try their cameras out for their own productions. Very briefly about each guest: Dirk Wilutzky is an Academy-Award-winning producer and documentary director from Germany. He’s best known for “Citizen Four”, a documentary about whistleblower Edward Snowden, for which he won the OSCAR. Noaz Deshe is another incredibly talented and daring filmmaker, also based in Germany – he is currently working on documentary projects relating to migration. He’s best known for his film “WHITE SHADOW”, which won prizes around the world. Janne Amunét is a Skandinavian shooter/director based in Finland, with an incredibly creative showreel and a big range of commercial work in the industry. He’s best described through the TALENT FEATURE we ran about him here a few months ago. Florian Lein, based in Germany, is a filmmaker from Germany with a film production company that shoots a lot of car-related content, with one of their big clients being AMG. Steve Won is a young filmmaker based in Germany who is behind Red Bull’s Flying Revolution series about incredible break dance artistry. In this first episode, we mostly talk about each other’s background and cover the importance of shooting with a small footprint with small gear. Tune in next week for the next episode of “Perspectives on Filmmaking”! And let us know in the comments how important filming with small gear is for you.  OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

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!

There are certain “party tricks” in movies that directors use to thrill audiences and impress filmmakers. A one-take, or “oner” is among those techniques commonly used. But it’s also one of the most challenging. In this article we will describe how to pull off a perfect one-take. A oner is a scene that is covered using a single, continuous shot rather than a series of different angles edited together in post. A great oner creates a special moment on screen by allowing time for the audience to connect with the story without the interruption of cuts. Our latest short film, “The Get Together”, (co-written, directed, and produced by Michael B. Allen and I) is an 8 ½ minute one-take that tells the story of an introvert stuck at a house party. Check out the film below. The short film was a technical challenge that taught us plenty of lessons on visual storytelling, but none more valuable than what it takes to prepare for a shot of this length. Looking back on the experience, we can see that there were three important steps in the rehearsal process that all but assured our success in pulling off this difficult technique and create a perfect one-take. Step 1 to the Perfect One-Take: Build the Foundation Because our story took place at a house party, it was written to play out across multiple rooms, with dozens of extras, and a handful of secondary characters that all needed to work together. The amount of direction needed was intimidating, so we decided to rehearse in layers starting with the foundation: our principal cast. Before the first rehearsal, we filmed a rough “walkthrough” of the scene in order to show the principal cast what the finished film would look like. This “video storyboard” was crucial to their understanding the blocking so quickly. Afterward, we spent the entire night walking through the moves until we got a complete run-through without any mistakes (though to be honest, it was still pretty rough). It’s cool to see how alike the final film was compared to the rehearsal video. Check it out below. Step 2 to the Perfect One-Take: Get Your Crew On Board Once our principal actors learned the blocking, we added our cinematographer and camera operator into the mix. It took some time to orchestrate the timing of our actors and the movements of our camera operator because of how small of a window our actors had to hit their marks. Once they were working in sync, we were able to see unique framing opportunities that we hadn’t noticed before. We made changes on the fly, which helped propel the story forward and kept the frame interesting. We ended up implementing a lot of unique shots into the scene like filming through windows or mirrors.   When you’re not able to rely on coverage or cuts to convey the emotion of a character, it’s vital to frame up the most important elements of the story at all times. It’s funny how fast secondary characters and reactions get left out of the scene when you know you can only fit one character in a close up. Step 3 to the Perfect One-Take: Fill The Frame With Action The final step was to add in extras. We added extras into the mix in order to get some much-needed energy between scenes. The hardest thing to solve when attempting a oner is how to keep the frame interesting during transitions. You won’t believe how fast your story can lose momentum when the pace is not maintained between scenes. Because our story centered on a guy following around a girl at a party, we knew we risked boring our audience if there wasn’t a lot of activity going on in the background from partygoers and tertiary characters. So, we decided to make a blueprint of the house and evenly divide the extras into “zones” when they arrived. Then, we gave them specific blocking in different areas of the house to cross camera and bring life to the foreground and background of each scene. Their disruption in the frame helped keep our viewer’s eyes active and engaged with the story while adding movement to the setting. Filming a oner is hard enough when you consider all of the moving pieces. But if you rehearse your scene in layers and follow the steps above, you’ll be able to efficiently build a killer one-take from the foundation up. For more help in executing a oner, go to RiotStudios.com/oner to download the complete eBook on the making of our short film. For more tips on filmmaking visit RiotStudios.com.