SAICFF WINNERS

BEST OF FESTIVAL
Agenda

BEST FEATURE FILM
The Penny

AUDIENCE CHOICE
Runner From Ravenshead

Vision Forum Film Academy

The blog will probably be a little quiet this week as I will be attending the Vision Forum Film Academy and Festival this week. There has been a great conference so far, and I hope to do a bit of review next week!

SAICFF Website

Jimmy Valiant: Scions of Danger

SYNOPSIS:

Jimmy Valiant (Brant Harris) is a maverick young soldier-for-hire. When an anonymous client recruits Jimmy to shadow a controversial Texas State Senator, Jimmy initiates an investigation that uncovers some startling truths, and brings him face-to-face with the last man in the world that he ever wanted to meet again.

Jimmy soon finds himself caught up in a conspiracy that threatens to undermine everything that he has come to trust.

PRESS RELEASE:

Today we release a teaser trailer for the short film Jimmy Valiant: Scions of Danger. Taking you panning through the halls of the Texas State Capitol, roaring in a Ferrari over the hills of Canyon Lake, and racing down the San Antonio Riverwalk, this film has been an adventure to make and promises to be an adventure to watch.

In early August I joined hands with a group of friends and filmmakers to begin production of a short action thriller. What began as an idea for an elaborate promo has grown into a production all its own. A tale of spies and suspense, vengeance and justice, set across Texas’s broad stage.

I greatly enjoy both dramas and documentaries. We have some really incredible and important dramas and documentaries being produced, and I’m proud of the teams that are making them, but I also believe that Christian films should not be limited to these two genres. Right now we may be seeing perhaps a disproportionate number of documentaries and dramas rolling out. It’s time Christians tackled some of the other genres and utilized their special storytelling advantages. While some might consider an action thriller a challenging genre to pick for a Christian film, we think it’s a natural.

Over the next several weeks, we hope to reveal more to you about this film, but in the meantime, we welcome you to visit the film’s web site www.jimmyvaliantthemovie.com later today, sign up for the latest on Twitter, and join our fan base on Facebook.

- Be sure to check out the movie page on Facebook to see lots of behind the scenes pictures!

www.jimmyvaliantthemovie.com

Panasonic AF100

Article by Stu Maschwitz

This is the AF100. A proper video camera that will presumably ace its test charts, and also sports a 4/3” sensor like the GH1 and GH2. Interchangeable lenses. XLR mic inputs. HDMI and SDI outputs. No aliasing. Waveform monitor and focus-assist peaking in the viewfinder. Read his detailed write-up — Barry Green does a much better job than I ever could of pumping this thing up.

It’s easy to understand his enthusiasm — this is everything we’ve been wanting. Or is it?

When I tweeted about the availability of the AF100 for pre-order from B&H Photo, I got a couple of replies to the general effect of “but will the images hold up to those of the 5D?” Now, why would a person ask that? Obviously Panasonic has gone to great pains to emphasize that this is a camera for grown-ups, with no pixel binning or line skipping. They have repeatedly stated that their target is zero aliasing artifacts. Between this an all the other pro features of this camera, such as its focus and exposure aides and various gamma modes, there’s no reason to doubt that this camera will make superior images to the current crop of HDSLRs.

No reason? Oops, I meant to say three reasons. One artistic, one technical, and one marketplace reason.

First, the technical reason to doubt the AF100: its codec. The AF100 is an AVCHD camera. We’ve discussed this codec here before, and while opinions vary, few would argue that it is a professional codec. At 17mbps it cripples the GH1. At 24mbps, the maximum allowed by the format, will the images from the AF100 be “good enough?” That strikes me as a sad question to be asking about a $5,000 camera body with a mission statement of quality.

The marketplace reason has to do with the availability, cost and quality of lenses for the AF100, and how those issues meld with the camera’s unique features. A big part of the cost and advantage of a camera like the AF100 is sophisticated autofocus. Even with my Redrock Micro EyeSpy Deluxe rig and my Zacuto Z-Finder, I find shooting with my 5D and 7D to be laborious for the simple reason of focus. The idea that I could enjoy shallow depth of field with (occasionally, mind you) reliable, fingertip-on/off face-tracking autofocus is actually quite revolutionary. You might save enough money in follow-focus add-ons and blown takes that the AF100 could start looking less expensive than a kitted-out 7D.

But if you want to take advantage of this revolution, you must chose from Panasonic’s small selection of continuous-AF, video-optimized glass. Most of these lenses are zooms, and rather slow:

• 7–14mm F4
• 14–45mm F3.5–5.6
• 14–140mm F4.0–5.8
• 45–200mm F4.0–5.6

You can see where I’m going with this. The top reasons for a big sensor are light sensitivity and control over depth of field. But with these lenses, you’ll be hard-pressed to create a sumptuous, DSLR-like narrow-focus world.

Panasonic does offer a 14mm prime that’s F2.5, and an awesome 20mm pancake at F1.7. Here’s a shot made with the latter.

Panasonic GF1, 20mm at F1.7. Photo by Josh Locker.

Clearly with the right lens, Micro four-thirds is plenty big to create a shallow-focus look. But so far there’s only one or maybe two video-optimized lenses that offer this. Which might be fine for many users, who look at the Micro Four-Thirds format as an opportunity to collect abundant, adorable little speedy primes, or to use a PL adapter to mount gloriously fast cine lenses. But in doing so, you’re not only making an investment in glass that might start to feel out of proportion to the camera, you’re also back to manual focus, which means an abundance of expensive support gear.

This rambling point I’m making about lenses has one last nuance, and its a personal one that you may or may not share. One advantage of shooting video with the same DSLR that I use for stills is that I only ever have to buy one kind of lens. As a result, I buy them more freely, and I buy really nice ones. If I suddenly had to collect completely different lenses for stills and video, the sad fact is that I’d buy fewer of each — even though these adorable little Panasonic lenses are quite reasonably priced.

The last reason to doubt that the AF100 will impress us more than the 5D Mark II, the artistic one, is the biggest, and it relates directly to the lens issue.

Quite simply, we have tasted full-retard DOF, and it is good.

Canon 5D Mark II, 50mm at F1.2

With a 5D Mark II, its sensor double the size of a motion picture film frame, we can achieve cinematic focus at F4. We can get fetishistically shallow depth of field at F2.8. At F1.2, we can create abstract art in a Burger King. The insanely shallow DOF afforded by the 5D Mark II is the artistic solution to the camera’s numerous technical problems.

Buttons and features and resolution charts just had their ass handed to them by sex appeal.

So the question becomes, if you have a little sex appeal and you nail the buttons and features and charts, do you defeat the less expensive, double-duty camera with its wealth of gloriously speedy lenses and sex appeal dripping down its glistening magnesium-alloy body?

Not with an F4 lens you don’t.

So at long last, here’s the thing about the AF100. It’s the sensible solution. But we might not want to grow up and use it. It’s a compromise. Its sensor is slightly smaller than that of the 7D, which you may recall I also weighed in this sex appeal equation, and determined that it just barely passed. Meanwhile, in this corner, the AF100 — smaller sensor, slower lenses, a $5,000 invite to the “buy a bunch of new lenses” club.

At this point, you must be thinking, “Man, I thought Stu liked Panasonic, and here they built exactly what he’s been asking for. Why so grumpy?”

The truth is, I am thrilled that Panasonic made this thing. They do get it. And by all indications, this camera rocks. Did I mention that it shoots at arbitrary frame rates up to 60fps at 1080p? Including funky frame rates like 22fps, for those post-lasagna-lunch Kung Fu fight scenes? It’s a true filmmaker’s camera.

What it needs is a better codec and some sexier continuous-AF lenses.

That’s all, and it ain’t much. I mean think about it — if this thing shot to ProRes, it and a PL Mount would be a ghetto Alexa for a tenth the price.

Now if I don’t buy an AF100, you can’t take that as a poor review from me. I’m not a pro shooter. Not even a responsible adult. I like doing things the wrong way, especially when I’m trading technical accuracy for images that make me want to lick the screen.

But that’s just me. You’re rockin’ it Panasonic. You’ve begun the flow of sex appeal into the world of proper video cameras. Please don’t stop though, you’re not quite done.

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Source Article

Christian Visual FX Company

Some friends of mine have started a new company that provides visual effects for Christian media. They specialize in greenscreen replacement, motion graphics, CGi and more!

OVERVIEW:

The Effects Forge is a visual effects company that offers a comprehensive pipeline for creating graphics and integrating digital effects into motion pictures and visual media.

MISSION:

It is our mission to provide groundbreaking digital effects for the independent Christian film industry. We seek to promote Christ honoring messages that will impact our culture more effectively when they are visually more compelling.

We also desire to see the Christian media industry reach a level of professionalism and technical quality that rivals the best in the current entertainment field.

- Be sure to check out their website to watch the demo reel, read more about the company, and to see a list of "team members." Here are a few still images from the demo reel.

www.effectsforge.com

The Child - Documentary

SYNOPSIS:
"The Child is a documentary that explores the current state of parental rights in America. An unseen battle is developing between the rights of parents and the authority of the government to direct the upbringing and education of children. The stakes are high; the outcome of this struggle will affect countless future generations."

Featured in the film are interviews with experts, leaders, and sadly, parents and children who have already experienced the pain and consequences of misguided government intervention in their family.

America is at a turning point. It is vitally important to the survival of our nation that American citizens realize how much they stand to gain or lose on this one issue alone. Because it is not just "an issue" - it is a battle for the future.

Plan to watch The Child when it is released this November 20, 2010.

www.thechilddocumentary.com

The Mysterious Islands DVD

SYNOPSIS:
"This beautiful ninety-minute documentary takes viewers deep beneath the ocean waves among hundreds of white-tip sharks, into volcanic craters with giant lizards, and to the unusual habitat of the blue-footed booby. Featuring a Christian team of scientists and investigators to shoot a documentary on the Galapagos in 2009—Darwin's anniversary year—The Mysterious Islands brings a fresh perspective on the Theory of Evolution and presents sweeping cinematography of one of the most remote, desolate, and fascinating locations in the world."

It was several months ago when I watched this film, and I really enjoyed it! I found this film to be visually stunning, Biblically sound, and the storyline informative. A great movie for the whole family!

Learn more by clicking the banner below

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Disclosure of Material Connection: I received one or more of the products or services mentioned above for free in the hope that I would mention it on my blog. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission s 16 CFR, Part 255: Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in advertising.