Christopher Graham NYC, Western Mass, NY Capital District Local * Available Nationally and Internationally

So Many Screens

Thu, 9 May 2013 08:33:39 -0400

The first thing I would like to talk about is the newest tool in my kit, the Ikan MR-7. Pictured above, this little monitor is pretty amazing. The best feature is the built in VU meters, waveform and vectorscope displays. Amazingly crisp and menu dimmable. For a 7” monitor the picture itself far surpasses my original test monitor, the Ikan VX-9. It will take an HD/SD SDI signal up to 2K as well as composite and HDMI. It even has a Canon DSLR zoom feature so you don’t need to watch those pesky menus while you are working with your 5D. Built tough with rubberized edges and a screen protector the unit is meant for the field. Another bonus feature is the built in .h264 encoder for quick dailies recorded straight to an SD card and handed to your director or producer as soon as shooting is finished! I am really happy with my new “sniffer” upgrade from my old Ikan VX-9. And for those of you who are looking for an extra small monitor on set, for prompter, camera viewfinder, or stage manager, let me know and I can bring along the VX-9 for a reasonable rental fee.

The next screen I would like to talk about has been in my arsenal for some time. My Flanders Scientific 1760W. An excellent display with great dynamic range and rack mountable! Not only that but it just keeps getting better! Over the past few years FS has kept the firmware coming with features like enhanced display features, fixes, and LUT support. They have just released an S-LOG 2 feature last week so you can see in the field the way it can be manipulated in post! Amazing display with HD/SD SDI, component, composite, DVI, and even a reference input. I would highly recommend the Flanders Scientific brand for those of you looking for feature rich displays for directors or reference monitors especially on digital film sets and under professional conditions.

So you may have thought I was going to talk about something else with a title like screens. The reference is used often to the growing number of devices we use to view content. From the television to the computer, smart phone and the new tablet craze, we are surrounded by screens and there are many people out there trying to get the formula of how to keep your eyes on their content in all of them. I recently did a “New Front” event (not to be confused with Upfront) for Digitas, a web based content creator. Some of you who know me may be aware of my skepticizm of the digital age in the terms of tracking, lack of privacy, and shedding of freedoms. This event scared me as far as seeing how people are using the data we put out on social networking sights. Beyond that the overwhelming variety of ways we connect socially. And it seems there is a new one every day. It is hard to get a handle on. Again if you would like to talk off line about this you can e-mail me... or better yet... connect.

Education Insight

Tue, 7 May 2013 14:17:56 -0400

So one of my most soul refreshing adventures recently came on a day in Brooklyn at BAM’s Harvey Theater. You may have heard of TED.COM . It actually surprised me how many of you don’t and in my opinion it is worth navigating your browser to and checking out. Anyway the gig was a recording of talks with a focus on education for a special airing on PBS which premieres tonight. I am married to an educator. My mother is an educator. I am friends with many others working professionally in public and private education. This day moved me and made me think also about education and the future. Whether you have children, are concerned with the future of our country, or work or have someone who works in the educational field I implore you to check your local PBS listings and watch this special.

As for my part in the production was not one of granger. Also to be remembered as one of the most interesting 2 days of work: sitting in a black transit recording the show on Cinedeck RX machines. These are interesting little boxes, and if you would like to have an offline conversation about, them I would be happy to discuss my opinion on their benefits and limitations.

PBS and You (and Me)

Fri, 1 Mar 2013 15:08:12 -0500

March is PBS fund drive month. I know we all remember the last election where the Republican candidate was going to solve our financial woes by “getting rid of Big Bird” (truth be told The Corporation for Public Broadcasting uses a fraction of a fraction of 1% of the national budget... and most of the funding for CPB, which includes NPR and PBS, is funded by private investors, trusts, and viewers like you). Anyway step away from the politics cause that’s not what this is about.

PBS and NPR is the last bit of philanthropy we have left in media. I dare say the last remaining entities to produce educational and informational programming without a corporate agenda (an American agenda maybe). I know the children’s programming by far beats out the competition for education and innovation. Also the institutions of Nature and Nova take a foothold of the world around us and present it as fact and strive to document and educate. Of course the PBS NewsHour and NPR News may not be the most thrilling, but the content is real and well more unbiased than that of FOX, NBC, CBS, ABC and the rest. PBS and NPR programming do deserve our support and I urge you to think twice about donating to your local PBS station this month. For more information I urge you to check out these 2 links.

http://www.pbs.org/funding
and
http://valuepbs.org/

And now the ME. Part of the fund drive includes an Aaron Neville concert from Brooklyn Bowl last Fall which I was proud to be on hand for. Check out this link. The concert will be aired this month so if you are into the Doo Wop or want to see a really great musical experience (another thing PBS usually provides) check your local PBS network listings.

Who's Your Hero

Mon, 3 Dec 2012 21:13:19 -0500

GoPro announced their Hero3 just about a month and a half ago. Now for those who have worked with me know I have never been the biggest fan of the GoPro. While the Hero2 last year was a huge step in the right direction, the use of a GoPro to replace a professional POV to save a few bucks always erked me. A low quality CMOS sensor. Poor low light performance. A meatless h264 encoded file that doesn’t hold up in post. Auto focus and aperture. No color balancing functionality at all. OK, you get the point.

It was about a week and a half ago when my Black Edition Hero3 arrived at my doorstep. As advertised it’s smaller size is a definite advantage and the change of the waterproof housings double release lever to protect from unwanted ejections is indeed a welcome surprise. The real feature I was interested in was the superspeed action. I am a geek when you get right down to it and the addition of a 1080 60fps and a 720 120fps camera to my arsenal for action and nature/scientific shots is exciting. The new Hero also boasts a 2.7k mode at 30 or 24 frames and even a 4k option(only 15fps). Other improvements include white balance settings and a all new Protune mode (which is also available now for Hero2s with a firmware upgrade). Protune gives the camera a neutral color scheme with greater detail in shadows and highlights, a 35Mbps data rate, and 24p capabilities (so you can mix it up in your cinevideo project). Certainly this mode makes the GoPro much more post friendly and easier to mash up with your other cameras. With all the praise don’t forget this is still a consumer camera. There are still no iris, focus, or professional color balancing handles. Lens selection is still limited to the ultra wide (distortion has been reduced from previous models), the medium (which is more of a standard wide), and narrow field of view. Low light performance still has very much to be desired. All and all, I am not saying this should take the place of a Iconix or Toshiba, or a well placed professional robotic, but the updated Hero3 is certainly a tool with a place in the professional world.

My pair are ready for your next challenging shoot. Give me a call! (oh, they make a great extreme 3D if you are still on that kick too!)