I wanted to share the first two short films I was assigned to create for a class called The Fundamentals of Directing taught by Peter Shaner over the internet. This in itself is amazing – although I do take many classes at UCLA campus – that a class that required video to be shown and critiqued by peers can be done exclusively online.

This first short, titled “A Very Brief History of Entertainment Media” (in the spirit of the curriculum) was in response to the assignment wherein we had to shoot a single take without dialogue that had a beginning, middle and end while demonstrating a variety of shot sized and angles. It was shot on my trust Canon HV20.

A Lowell Tota light, and Chinese lantern were used to light the large area. I shot it in 24P using Cinemode and posted it in Vegas Pro 9.0 using Magic Bullet to color time and add Misfire for the opening effects. I used Sony’s ACID Pro 7.0 to create the score. Total turnaround time from creation to delivery – less than 20 hours.

Click here to view the embedded video.

The second short, titled “Bill” was in response to an assignment that required we shoot a video, three minutes or less, without dialogue, that had a beginning, middle and end that utilized as many types of shot as possible (master, medium, CU, dolly, pan, objective, subjective, POV etc).

I wanted to start playing with classic spookiness in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock (whose techniques could comprise a lifetime of learning and by no means am I even an apprentice to the technique). This meant voyeuristic shots, Dutch angles, shadows and deep contrasts (which are quite difficult to achieve using the narrow contrast range of a prosumer camcorder, or even most digital video cameras, excluding perhaps the Red or Arri digicams). For example note when the actress is walking by the swimming pool, how the sunlit area at the top of frame is way outside the contrast range for the sensor, because I am balancing to the shadier area through which she is walking; the HV20 (and this applies to almost any digicam’s sensor) simply can’t handle such extremes in contrast. I recommend looking up Ansel Adams concept The Zone System (no not the diet) to better understand how to look for the range of 12 zones within a frame. This is a concept that was introduced to me by Deland Nuse, my Cinematography instructor at UCLA.

I asked him how to better deal with this narrow range on a camera like the HV20 – given that it has a range of approximately four stops! He said to keep contrasts low within the frame, and yes that means the actor’s wardrobe, mise en scene etc. Otherwise you may be asking the camera to try and accommodate things at opposite sides of a range wider than it is capable of capturing; thus your blacks won’t be true blacks if you are adjusting for brighter, overexposed objects, and your highlight detail will suffer if you try to maintain detail in the darker elements by raising the gain.

Click here to view the embedded video.

I also wanted to play with better slow motion techniques and the various frame rates on the Canon and see how far I could push it. Suffice to say, without the time available to do full and proper de-interlacing and motion compensation via interpolated frames, my slow mo didn’t work out as nicely as I would have hoped. I shot it at 1/500 using TV mode. I fared better shooting 1/1000th (again in TVMode) to capture the droplets of water at the sink in the bathroom. But my favorite success story was using 1/12th to capture actress Aimee Lynn Chadwick walking down Hollywood Blvd to create a dreamy, over-the-shoulder shaky cam effect. I also used my Canon wide angle lens for some of these shots, and a Tiffen Neutral Density filter to capture the skies outdoors.

For some excellent slow motion workflow using the Canon HV20 and Vegas Pro, Lance Campeau wrote a step by step at hv20.com that demonstrates how he creates incredible slow motion sequences.

See the result of one of his videos here:

Click here to view the embedded video.

Thanks for checking it out.

It seems this impression held fast as almost three years later, the culture and community surrounding the Canon HV20, one of the first Prosumer camcorders to offer HD, 24P video with Cinemode and zebra stripes for under a thousand bucks continues to sell and continues to make great looking video. And the community has not left it.

Anticipating the end of the decade, video enthusiast and professional Eugenia Loli created a series of best-of-the-decade lists for a variety of categories that include best album, best song, best new tech, and most influential camcorder of the decade:

Most influential camcorder
1. Canon HV20 (has the strongest subculture)
2. Canon GL-2
3. Panasonic HVX-200
4. Canon XH-A1
5. Panasonic DVX-100

Like this site, there are dozens if not hundreds of sites dedicated to maximizing the potential and getting around the shortcomings of this excellent performer. Although updated versions have hit the market, the updates are typically very incremental but maintain all the original design and functionality of the HV20 – a testament to its clever and robust design.

See the rest of the list at Eugenia’s Rant.

Canon seems to have done well in this sense – their DSLR the 5D MKII has an equally avid fanbase and is a daily topic of conversation on such noisy platforms as Twitter. THe tools are in our hands, but we are only just waking up to the possibilities of what we can achieve with them.

The highly anticipated successor to the much-hyped and loved Canon 5D MK II has arrived in the form of the EOS 7D featuring fast 8 fps continuous shooting, 18-Megapixel resolution and full HD video recording with variable frame rates and manual exposure control.

Eugenia Loli-Queru and Stu Maschwitz, two of Canon’s “word on the street” champions and fidgety tech snobs both (I mean that in the kindest way) seem to have good things to say about the new mid-range “DSLR” – if you can call it that anymore as these new HD video shooting cameras are being used more and more as just  that – HD “film” cameras.

Eugenia states (via Twitter):

“The 7D is a revolution, similar to HV20’s. I now hear people selling their 5D/GH1s to get one, and these who were waiting for Scarlet, won’t”

I have not had the opportunity to hold or even see one in person, but I wanted to present a list of the camera’s exciting new features and some notes on why this is such a substantial update on this particular approach to both still photography and videography.

Seemingly far more than a slight improvement from a previous model, the EOS 7D DSLR is a brand new kind of product in its own right, boasting new features never before seen in any Canon camera. Whether it’s shooting at eight frames per second (fps), focusing with the new Zone AF mode or recording 24p Full HD video.

Improvements over its predecessor include:

• a completely new 19-point Autofocus system
• a new Canon iFCL Metering System (Intelligent Focus, Color, Luminance)
• a new Intelligent Viewfinder
• 18-megapixel Canon CMOS sensor
• Dual DIGIC 4 Imaging Processors
• 14-bit A/D data conversion
• ability to freeze fast motion in high-resolution with eight fps continuous shooting up to 126 Large JPEGS using a UDMA CF card

The camera improves on Canon typically less than stell low-light shooting with an incredibly wide range of ISO speed settings from 100-6400 (expandable to 12,800!)

In the area of video the EOS 7D features full HD video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution with selectable frame rates of 24p, 25p or 30p and the ability to shoot in native 24p empowers videographers and cinematographers (are they mutually exclusive at this point?) alike to achieve a film look without the need for extensive post-processing.

Powerful Video Features

Another eyebrow-raising feature is the selectable cinematic frame rates for both NTSC (National Television System Committee) and PAL (Phase Altering Line) standards – wow.  No more scouring ebay for the PAL version (which shoots 25P and is often preferred by those who hate having to deal with the technical issues of reverse pulldown and other inherent NTSC challenges).

The EOS 7D features a new dedicated button to initiate live view for both video and still shooting. Once engaged, the same dedicated button will start and stop video recording. Like the EOS 5D Mark II, the Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR camera provides users with the capability to use an external stereo microphone for professional audio effects or a built-in monaural microphone for convenience.

Full HD and HD in a 16:9 aspect ratio and Standard Definition (SD) in a 4:3 aspect ratio, all at selectable frame rates are supported.

The EOS 7D’s New Autofocus System

The Canon EOS 7D introduced what they call the most advanced AF system ever seen in an EOS SLR. The completely re-designed system includes a new multi-axis cross-type 19-point AF grid, where the focusing points are evenly spread out across the image plane and clearly displayed through Canon’s new Intelligent Viewfinder. All 19 points are f/5.6-sensitive for both horizontal and vertical cross-type focusing, while the center AF point adds high-precision diagonal cross-type sensitivity for f/2.8 and larger aperture lenses. The Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR camera is the first EOS SLR to feature 19 cross-type focusing points that remain fully functional with maximum apertures as small as f/5.6, which brings the performance of the AF system to unprecedented levels for assignments as varied as fast-moving sports action or low-light shooting situations.

Some of the innovative new modes introduced include:

• Spot AF mode reduces the size of a single AF point to focus on small subjects like an animal in a cage.
• AF Point Expansion mode uses a cluster of AF points adjacent to the selected AF point to automatically assist focusing on moving subjects, such as an athlete on the run.
• Zone AF divides the 19 AF points into five selectable focusing zones and makes it easier to achieve focus with subjects that are difficult to track with Single Point AF or AF point expansion, such as birds in flight.

“Additional AF improvements include a revised Automatic AF point selection sequence that allows a user to pick any one of the 19 AF points as a starting point for tracking moving subjects in AI Servo mode. (Previous EOS models required the subject to first be acquired by the center focusing point.) If the subject moves away, the camera will continue to track the movement with the remaining points and display the active focusing point in the viewfinder. Also, a time-saving feature is AF Point Switching, which allows photographers to select and register one AF point for horizontal compositions and a second AF point for vertical shooting, ideal for studio and portrait photographers.”

Working hand-in-hand with the new AF system, the exposure metering system for the EOS 7D has been completely re-designed to take color information into account, another first for an EOS system. Canon’s iFCL metering includes a 63-zone dual-layer metering sensor that reads both illumination and color for consistent results in all lighting conditions, keeping exposure levels stable from shot to shot, even as the light source changes.

Improvements To The Viewfinder

A new “Intelligent Viewfinder”  – a 3.0-inch solid structure Clear View II LCD screen with 920,000 dot/VGA resolution – uses a liquid crystal overlay to provide precise displays of focusing points and zones, on-demand grid lines and a spot metering circle.   The LCD overlay can also be illuminated in extreme low-light situations or turned off completely. The EOS 7D camera’s viewfinder includes a large all-glass pentaprism with an antireflective coating to maximize clarity and provide a brighter display. The EOS 7D’s Intelligent Viewfinder features 1.0x magnification with 100 percent coverage for accurate composition and checking of detail.

Additionally, Canon’s new built-in Dual Axis Electronic Level, offers an artificial horizon over the image on the rear LCD screen in Live View or in the viewfinder using illuminated AF points for easy leveling while shooting. The dual axis electronic level shows both horizontal roll and vertical pitch, to help identify when the camera is in a fixed level shooting position.

Even More Features

• A pop-up flash with built-in Integrated Speedlite Transmitter controls multiple off-camera EOS Speedlites without the need for an external transmitter. This built-in wireless option is a compact and economical solution for studio and wedding photography with multiple flash set-ups.
• A new Intelligent Macro Tracking function to reduce blur during macro shooting by recognizing when a macro lens is attached and automatically adjusting the AI Servo sampling frequency. This AI Servo adjustment accounts for camera movement forward and back, a typical occurrence when moving in close for a macro shot as photographers rock back and forth.
• A new “fluid” body design with continuous curves outlining the top of the camera and a revised grip for an improved fit with your hand.
• A new Quick Control Button, which opens an easy-to-navigate menu on the camera’s LCD screen where you can adjust all camera settings including AF modes or set custom button functions,
• A RAW/JPEG toggle button providing quick dual-format shooting, allowing photographers to quickly add large JPEG or RAW file formats to their already selected shooting mode at the touch of a button.
• Nine internal seals enhance weather resistance
• 150,000-cycle shutter durability positions

New Wireless Connectivity

Canon is announcing the availability of the new WFT-E5A wireless file transmitter (WFT) exclusively for the EOS 7D Digital SLR camera. The WFT-E5A wireless transmitter offers professional photographers a wide range of digital connectivity options including IEEE802.11a/b/g and Ethernet, ideal for commercial and studio work. The WFT-E5A wireless file transmitter opens the door to new possibilities in remote and Geotagged shooting applications.

The WFT-E5A wireless file transmitter (WFT) is exclusive to the EOS 7D

Photographers can fire up to 10 cameras simultaneously from across the room or across the country while maintaining control over camera settings and remote live view on a laptop or smart phone.[i] The WFT-E5A wireless transmitter can also transfer and display images on DLNA (Digital Living Network Alliance) compatible televisions and photo frames. Geotagging is now possible via Bluetooth, using compatible GPS devices to append coordinate data to the images.

Pricing and Availability

The Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR camera is scheduled to be delivered to U.S. dealers at the end of September, and will be sold in a body-only configuration at an estimated retail price of $1,699.00 (MSRP). It will also be offered in a kit version with Canon’s EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM zoom lens at an estimated retail price of $1,899.00. The Canon WFT-E5A wireless file transmitter is scheduled to be available in early November and sell at an estimated retail price of $699.99.

Additional Resources:

• A great write-up featuring some video demonstrations and analysis at The Imaging Resource
• Sample Images and Video from the EOS 7D at Digital Photography Review
• For much more run a Twitter search for #7D, #dslrvideo and #Canon