The correct use of color bars

The importance of color bars cannot be overstated. One of the most important steps in making your video look the best it possibly can is knowing how to use them.

Some of you out there probably think that the familiar SMPTE color bar image is only useful with scopes. Not true.

Here's an excellent article on the subject.

Some of the TV industry doesn't quite get it

I've missed the past few weeks of BSG (Battlestar Galactica) and I really wanted to get caught up to the present. I went to hulu.com and there they were! Well, on closer examination, the most recent couple of episodes were there, and the previous new episodes had an icon with a subtext that said "Watch on SciFI.com"

No problem really. I do like hulu's interface quite a bit, but I'm not so hard to please. On clicking the icon, I get a 404 error from SciFi.com. Huh?? Seems they pulled all but the more recent couple of episodes. Why?

It's not just them either. Other networks have done the same, and prefer to allow you to see only the most recent shows. It took years for the Networks to figure out that we wanted the option to watch full length shows via computer. How long will it take them to figure out we'd like to see a whole season?

Maybe it's the economic times. They don't give hard drives away after all! Oh wait, I have several good unused drives laying around that I'd be willing to donate. They'd hole more than a whole season of a few shows.

New stupid thing from Sony

First of all, let me say that this has very strong language, and is definitely NSFW!. I have to admire the production work from the Onion. These folks are so spot on. You may have seen this already, as it's definitely been making the rounds. I've not heard anything from Sony about this. Could it be that they actually have a good sense of humor? Or perhaps do they realize all press is good press? Well, we all know they darn sure ain't dumb.

On camera LED lighting - Great if you can afford it

These are the LED lighting units from Zylight. While I've not seen these first hand, I have read quite a bit, seen video demos, and so on. If I had the money, one (or more) of these babies would be my first choice. The ability to tune the color temerature is amazing.

Do I now use LED lighting on camera? Well, no. I use a Luxman dimmable 50 watt halogen mostly. Why you may ask? After all, arn't LED lights better in every possible way? In a word, no. For one thing, they are expensive. An entry level Zylight kit is about $750. Sure, you can get lights in the $300 to $400 range, but there are problems will all of them as far as I can see. First of all, virtually every one is a default 5500K or so in color temperature. What was the thinking here I wonder. Virtually all event video work I do is at night, or indoors where the color temperature is 3200K, not 5500k or more!

For those that may not know, mid day sun is about 55oo to 6500K in color temperature. Tungsten lighting is about 3200K, a much cooler light. Our eyes adjust quickly, but the camera sees sunlight as bluer, and indoor light more in the yellow/orange range. Sure you can put gels on these lights, but that just knocks the output way to far down. A couple of models offer flip up gels, but looking at units such as the one offered by Varizoom look way too fragile. In fact, several lights I've looked at in the price range look rather fragile.

Don't even consider one that lacks a dimmer, as you will piss of the guests, and then the client in that order. Also, you will probably want some sort of diffuser with most LED based units. Unless I have some sort of winfall, I suspect I'll stick with my halogen.