Category: Technology

Edelkrone SliderOne Pro

Posted on by Kevin

Mail call! I have a new piece of kit that I’ve been wanting for a while and this particular brand checked most of the boxes for me. The Edelkrone SliderOne Pro.

A quick summary of my wants:
I was looking for something to add some production value to interviews, b-roll, and any other motivated slider shot. But along with that, something that is more portable than my existing IGUS based DIY slider. The only thing I didn’t like on this unit was the price, especially when you’re only getting just under 8in of slider travel. But when you look at other motorized slider systems, they cost 3x as much typically, and again put me in pinch over whether I want to lug a 3ft+ slider around to locations.

The box includes:

  • The SliderOne Pro unit
  • A small allen/hex key tool for adjustments
  • a 1/4-20 to 3/8 adapter screw
  • Instruction manual with QR code

One of the aspects I was concerned about was noise. It does make some, but how much exactly. I did a very basic test with a dB meter (A weighted) on my iPhone to find out. I did one set up readings 1 inch from the center of the slider as the slider completed one complete movement from A to B at a given speed. Then another set of readings from 6ft away to simulate a more real world recording distance. The results are good. It’s obvious you wouldn’t want to use a mic that is mounted to or near the slider, but at distance, it’s practically inaudible.

Edelkrone SliderOne Pro dB Test

- A weighting
- Baseline reading 27dB
(%) Slider Speed(dB) 1in from Center of Slider(dB) 6ft from Slider
103927
204329
304730
404932
505132
605332
705233
805434
905434
1005536

 

(I purchased this myself and am not being paid/supported/or have any relationship with Edelkrone.)

Toying with DJI’s Osmo

Posted on by Kevin

I’ve been eyeing one of the small 3-axis gimbals that are on the market. I currently have a GoPro, so options like the Feiyu G3 received a small portion of my research foray. I also looked at the DJI Osmo—and ultimately purchased one.

The shot that inspired me to get such a device was this:

A video posted by @heavymetalconcepts on

Having just gotten back from documenting an epic cross-country trip with our overland group Peach State Overland, issues and wants from the trip were fresh in my mind and grabbing quick and smooth shots like these would have improved the production value greatly.

So far my qualm’s with the Osmo are battery life and the bobbing movement that persists. The latter is unavoidable unless you get DJI’s new Z-axis that, like a Steadicam, isolates the camera from the natural movement in a person’s gate while walking. But despite these minor short comings, I’ve been very impressed with the quality and ease of use of the device. There are some other suggested accessories:

  • Additional batteries, at least three, so you can cycle them out while one is charging.
  • Some ND filters so you can lock down your shutter speed in bright sunlight.
  • A Rode VideoMicro mic and the DJI Quick Release 360 Mount for the well-documented issue of motor noise during recording.

I put together a quick video the other day as a test, enjoy!

Toying with DJI’s Osmo from Kevin Keegan on Vimeo.

Update:

Here’s another quick vid of a quick ride through some forest service roads over Mother’s day weekend.

Kanye Perusing Pirate Bay

Posted on by Kevin

By Kevin Keegan

So some interesting news this week arrived via a post by none other than the hip-hop artist, Kanye West. Never short of headlines, his latest blip on social media is especially ironic considering the industry from which he claims his fame is also the one he appears to be cheating.

This image was pulled directly from the publicly visible @kanyewest Twitter Account. 

An image that West posted on his twitter feed (@kanyewest) shows what appears to be himself listening to Sufjan Steven’s song, “Death With Dignity,” on YouTube. But it wasn’t the subject of the photo that made headlines, it was the other tabs that were open on the web browser in the image. They consisted of…

  • Xfer Records Serum t…
  • Pirate Bay Torrent Xf…
  • The 50 Best VST/AU p…
  • MediaDownloader
  • MacKeeper

 

This may not mean much to anyone outside of the music or audio engineering industry, but let me summarize. A VST/AU plugin or Virtual Studio Technology is essentially synthesizer or effect that works within digital audio editing software. Xfer Records Serum is an audio effect plugin that retails for about $200. Pirate Bay is an infamous website that is used for the distribution of pirated copies of music, movies, and software. And the last tab of interest is MacKeeper, a piece of software for Apple computers that allows users to control the internet traffic in and out of their computer, including software activation and verification traffic. This essentially allows users to thwart pirated software from activating.

The combination of these items together is more than coincidence I would argue, and is quite suspect to say the least. Even fellow Tidal artist, Deadmau5, called Kayne out calling him a, “dick.” While there are certainly explanations for this particular history of internet browsing and no way to verify from the image that this is even his computer, this is a perfect example of why you have to be careful about what you put on the internet. Some images can be more than they seem, especially if you’re $53 Million in debt. As an artist that wants to limit how and where his fans can listen to his music in order for the artists to make the money they deserve, it certainly seems apt for that artist to do the same for the technologies that allow them to do what they do.

Original Article: http://www.theverge.com/2016/3/2/11145148/kanye-west-pirate-bay-torrent-twitter

NAB 2013

Posted on by Kevin

Eight years! It’s been eight years since I’ve been to NAB. 2005 was the last and only time I’ve had the privilege of attending the National Association of Broadcasters trade show. That was when I was fresh out of school and was attending both NAB and the BEA awards for my Special Olympics video. That was quite an experience. I’ve been out several times since then and if I remember correctly this will be my sixth trip to Las Vegas.

I’ll be posting pics of the event during the two days that I’m attending. I’m looking forward to seeing all the new gadgets and wiz-bangs. I’m also looking for some specific technology for Millenia 3 as well. Wish me luck!

Update: I’m here… thought I’d post a pic or two since it’s just a few hours until bed time.

Bye Bye, Canon EOS-M

Posted on by Kevin
Image courtesy of BHphotovideo.com

I made a trip to San Francisco in the beginning of March for a vacation. Even during the planning stage for the trip I was beginning to dread taking my heavy 60D with me. I did end up taking it, without the grip and with only the 28-135mm kit lens. And while I appreciated the speed and incredibly sharper and more dynamic images than that of my iPhone 5, I hated the weight of it. By the end of the trip I was already researching mirror-less camera options to sub in for my 60D for my next excursion. Continue reading “Bye Bye, Canon EOS-M” →

Canon Visit

Posted on by Kevin

We had a visitor today. Canon! Robert, my boss, just happens to be friends with Mark Karwisch, the Southeastern Broadcast Account Manager at Canon U.S.A. He made the trip down to our office and brought with him a few toys for us to look over. Let’s see here… the XA10, XF105, XF305, 5D Mark III, and the C300. The C300 is the one we’ve been waiting for and I hadn’t had a chance to go hands-on with one yet.

We’ve been looking for something that is a little easier on the workflow than the current HDSLR’s we’ve been shooting with. Ever since this camera was announced, it’s been gaining more and more of my interest, especially with all the positive reviews that have come down the pipe. I’m tired of syncing audio, i’m tired of the tiny LCD screen, and i’m tired of the limited record time. I’m not going to go into details as to the pro’s and con’s of this camera, all I can say is that this exactly what I need to solve the issues that I’m tired of dealing with. Time will tell if we end up getting one or justifying the cost of ownership vs just renting. But I definitely appreciate Mark taking the time to come out and show us the latest goodies that Canon is offering.

Google Wave

Posted on by Kevin

I’m now on the wave…

Overall, i’m baffled at the amount of hype that Google’s Wave has received.  Enormous amounts of press spoke of the revolution of email.  This eventually led to mixed reviews from the tech blogs, though.  Bottom line, this is a step in the right direction.  It has a lot of kinks still, and a lot of features that have yet to be added.  But as a tool for small business, especially one’s with the need to a collaborate on creative ideas, this just might be the ticket.  It’s like email, an online forum, and IM all in one.  So far I like it.

Snow Leopard Upgrade

Posted on by Kevin

Well, my family and I have just ordered the family pack of OSX Snow Leopard. I’m very excited about the slight speed bump and extra HD space but will of course be holding off on any production machines at home or at work. Too many pieces of software are still unproven with it and it’s just smart to wait a few weeks for all developers to work out the kinks. Happy upgrading.

Update: All computers at the house have been upgraded to Snow Leopard. All apps passed the compatibility test and I’m good to go. Still need to investigate the changes to Quicktime and how to continue to use QT7pro efficiently.

Update 2: Okay so I’ve found a few bugs. One documented and one not so much.

First, I can’t turn on airport on my iMac. There’s a fix involving deleteing preferences, but that does some weird stuff with the way the computer shows up as a shared volume.

Second inside illustrator, when you high-light text, the high-light box flickers like crazy. Not sure what’s going on here, but that doesn’t affect any functionality. It just looks sketchy.