36 STAIRS: LUCASFILM AND THE 5D MARK II

Two phenomenal Industrial Light & Magic artists have combined to their efforts to make one of the coolest looking short films I’ve seen in a long time! Hailed by acclaimed filmmaker Grzegorz Jonkajtys, director of “Ark” (Official Selecton - Cannes Film Festival) and co-written/produced by Philip Koch, the short takes place in a “polluted, megalopolis world where humans utterly depend on bio-mechanical alteration to withstand the deteriorating climate.”

The cinematography they achieved with the 5D Mark II is mind-blowing and it gets me all jazzed up that people in Hollywood are finally realizing what an amazing tool this camera is! You can see some of their behind the scenes photos from the set here!

The film has wrapped production and is now in post, but they’re in need of extra funding to finish off the film in time for Cannes Film Festival. If you like what you see and feel like lending a helping hand, visit their site here.

And well, at the very least, you should watch this trailer:

36stairs trailer from grzegorz jonkajtys on Vimeo.

DEAD SEASON: ZOMBIES AND THE 7D

Makers of “Dead Season,” a new independent zombie flick currently in production, have snagged up the rights to it being the “first film shot on the Canon 7D.” Although the movie in still in the early stages of production, it appears to be shaping up well.

Up to this point, the camera of choice has always been the 5D Mark II for serious film productions, yet I believe we will start seeing more and more productions utilizing the 7D’s wider frame rate capabilities. Despite the smaller sensor, the 7D still turns out an amazing image and I’d say the real test to measure it’s performance is to see it on the big screen. Hopefully more movies like this will do that for us.

“Dead Season” has put out a selection of first week dailies to give us a taste of what they’ve achieved. Check it out below!

Dead Season Week 1 Selects from enzosauce on Vimeo.

YOU, ME, AND THE MOST TALENTED PEOPLE I KNOW*

FOR THOSE IN THE DFW AREA! Friday, Nov. 13th!

Brought to you by the makers of Searching For Sonny, ReelGuyz, and of course DSLRFilm. This year, the Lone Star Film Festival, here in Fort Worth TX, is being stormed by Andrew Disney and crew to showchase a collection of short films by emerging directors, both here in Fort Worth and elsewhere. If you’re in the area and haven’t heard of this yet, get out from under your rock and go! This event is sure to sell out!

Not only will there be some amazing shorts, but there will also be exclusive footage of Searching For Sonny and a hilarious introduction to film in Fort Worth, shot with none other than the 5D Mark II.

Be sure to watch the trailer below, and get your ass to downtown Fort Worth for the event of the year!

You, Me, and the Most Talented People I Know* from Andrew Disney on Vimeo.

SHANE HURLBUT CREATES 5D MARK II CONTEST

I know what you’re thinking… Who the F is Shane Hurlbut?

If you don’t know Shane by now, then you need to look him up immediately! Shane Hurlbut, cinematographer and photographer alike, Director of Photography on Terminator Salvation, has created a contest on his blog. This contest is amazing, seriously!

Shane and crew recently shot a Navy Seal film project using three distinct cameras; an Arri 235, a Sony 950, and of course the Canon 5D Mark II. The Arri is the only one that’s actually film (so we know how that looks), but the Sony has a much higher color depth than the 5D Mark II. Shane’s whole purpose of the contest is to see if you can tell which shots the Canon 5D Mark II were used on. And believe me, it’s really hard!

See for yourself at Hurlbut Visuals

Make a comment on his blog to enter into the contest!

FIRST SHORT ON THE CANON 1D MARK IV

The camera was just announced and there’s a short already? You bet there is!

Canon DSLRs are like cocaine. Once you get a taste, you can help but snort that crap off the dashboard of your friend’s car every chance you get! (That one’s for you Charles…)

And of course, every time a new camera comes out, people have to get their grubby hands on it. And why not?

The first 1D Mark IV short was produced by none other than Vincent Laforet, the same guy who produced the first short on the 5D Mark II two years back. He has a propensity for being the first to test new cameras in a production atmosphere. His shorts might not always be the greatest content wise, but for the short notice he gets to make one (usually 12 to 24 hour notice) they come out pretty great. And he really puts the camera through the ringer!

Click To Read More And Watch The Short

SNL USING CANON 7D & 5D MARK II FOR INTROS

Alexander Buono, Director Of Photography for SNL has recently been turned to Canon’s 7D and 5D Mark II after watching various sample videos online. Philip Bloom is hailed as one of the main contributors to his recent stab at DSLR cinematography.

Most recently, Alex shot new titles sequences as well as bits and pieces of studio sketches on the 7D and 5D Mark II. One fantastic example is “Bladdivan.”

After using the two cameras in a production atmosphere, Alex said he was extremely impressed and even gave some feedback to Canon on what he would like to see improved upon. Personally, I think this is the kind of stuff that needs to happen to make DSLR cinematography a creditable and legitimate tool for filmmakers. Let’s just hope this doesn’t jack up the price on these guys, right?

TIME FOR THE BEST AND WORST DSLR FILM TRAILERS!

VOLUME I:

A HANDFUL OF THE BEST AND WORST DSLR FILM TRAILERS.

This has been a long time coming…

Over the last few months, I’ve been watching a shit ton of DSLR videos out there, and it really saddens me to say that 90% of them have been awful. Just really awful…

BUT! Some of them were fantastic! And more and more people are now realizing that DSLRs can produce amazing films! All you need first is a damn good story. THAT’S IMPORTANT!

Watch my picks for some of the best and worst DSLR film trailers after the jump.

MORE CANON 7D FIELD REVIEWS

So we all know that Philip Bloom has been busy reviewing the Canon 7D, and using it in his DSLR workshops. Well recently he’s been testing monitoring on the 7D, and let me tell you, you will crap your pants when I tell you how good it is! Read on for his explanation.

I also recently read a review by Naturfokus and their test with a beta model of the Canon 7D. The biggest thing they touched on was the surprisingly impressive image quality for a camera with an APS-C sensor (1.6x crop factor). All of their images turned out just as good as the 5D Mark II when the ISO was 800 and under. But even at ISO 1600, the images were amazingly good with very little image noise. Naturfokus was even kind enough to shoot a little video at 50p and slow it down for us to see how the slow mo looks.

CLICK TO SEE THE BOTH REVIEWS

“PERYA”: A CANON 7D SHORT

For anyone who is curious…
How does the Canon 7D compare to the gorgeousness of the 5D Mark II?

Here’s your answer. Plain and simple.
(No color grading / No additional lighting used)

Perya (Town Fair) - a Canon 7D Short from Jason Magbanua on Vimeo.

CANON 7D - PHILIP BLOOM REVIEW WITH VIDEO

As it seems, Canon likes to give road tests of their equipment by handing it’s cameras to people who will put them through the ringer. Of course, since the announcement of the Canon 7D, it’s been passed through several hands. One of which is Philip Bloom, a well known cinematographer, who also put the 5D Mark II and Panasonic GH1 to the test. His initial tests have all been about how it holds up to the 5D.

He’s figured out some pretty amazing stuff that should help everyone’s headaches go away… Or a least numb them.

CHECK IT!