Below is a preview of the article Lou Lesko wrote for the Collision Conference program.
When I walked into my office this morning my normally ebullient office mate was staring at his computer screen with the gaze of a doped up mental institution inmate. “Why so glum?” I asked. He had his last cigarette on Friday night. Just over forty-eight hours into his cold turkey dismissal of his smoking habit he was having trouble reconciling his old routine with his new routine. The new routine being the old routine sans cigarette. Determined to succeed, he vowed to look at his day in a different way and tried to avoid reacting to the triggers, like a phone call that he would take outside, that would typically send him reaching for his pack of smokes. It is all about habit adjustment and perspective. The photography industry is in the same boat as my office mate. Wholly resistant to change, even though it must change to survive and be healthy.
A few months ago I wrote an article entitled “Will Video Kill the Photography Star” for Digital Photo Pro magazine which, in part, inspired the Collision Conference that you’re sitting in today. I received a lot of emails about the piece, but the one that struck me the most was; “Thank you for writing your article. I thought it very well done, but since I don’t know the first thing about shooting video it freaked me out. I soiled my pants. I’m writing this from the laundromat.”
You Tube and the Ego Boost. If you are at all hesitant about jumping into video, saunter on over to You Tube and select a random video to watch. If the little voices in your head are saying things like “that video is crap, I can do better than that” then you have taken the first step to a greater plain. Clients are not expecting a production driven by a screenplay. They are expecting a stylized You Tube video that they can run on the web. It’s technically very easy as long as you apply your existing knowledge of lighting, composition and story telling. A moving version of what you already do. If you’re concerned about editing, cop a squat in front of iMovie (the movie application that comes with Mac computer for free) and start playing around. Your inherent talent will take you the rest of the way in less than an hour.
Read the rest of this article in the official Collision Conference Program.
Liam Finn – Writer, producer and director of the first HDSLR feature length movie REJOUER will show a "Sneak Peek" from his new feature REJOUER. The movie was shot on the Panasonic GH1 using cinema lenses and Hot Rod Camera's PL mount adapter created by REJOUER technical director, Illya Friedman. The team will discuss adapting cinema lenses for a still camera, format pros and cons, and compare sensor sizes to film formats. Take away how-to tricks for using this ground-breaking format and learn how to make a Big Movie on a Little Camera.
“The idea that a little camera can only make a little movie is dead. It’s true. I know for Indy filmmakers it’s a new day, and I’m really looking forward to see what effect the still photographers will have on the future of movie making.”
SmugMug Pro has generously agreed to sponsor a continuation of the current prices. From now until Aug 14th, you pay only the original price and they will pick up the difference! All the early bird specials were about to expire today, raising the conference ticket prices by $50 across the board. SmugMug Pro has really come through here to make this conference more affordable in such a tight economy. They are also sponsoring Vincent Laforet's keynote address so be sure to stop by their booth and say thanks at the conference.
The Collision Conference schedule is officially finalized with great speakers and really interesting content. I will start off Saturday with a look at the equipment available along with the workflow that Image Mechanics has developed in order to stay competitive in this hybrid market. Alexx Henry will speak about his experiences shooting "Living Posters" with the RED™ ONE motion picture camera and the Canon 5D Mark II in a seminar called "Living Art - The Future of Motion in Photography". Next, Frank Rohmer will present Canon 5D Mark II Editing Workflow for Final Cut Pro. There will be a VCS live shoot with the RED ONE and a Canon 5D Mark II mounted on a Redrock Micro cinema kit, in the concourse area during the lunch break. The shoot demo will be followed by a presentation from Jeff Jochum of Smugmug entitled "Ignite the Fusion" where they will screen and discuss projects hosted by Smugmug including Vincent Laforet's Reverie. The keynote speaker of the day is Vincent Laforet who will be speaking about his experiences shooting Reverie and his transition into hybrid photography and filmmaking.
Sunday August 30th will focus on DSLR filmmaking with Director of Photography, Shane Hurlbut ASC as the keynote speaker. Shane has used the Canon 5D Mark II in innovative ways and will talk about the future of these hybrid cameras in motion pictures. Liam Finn and Illya Friedman will discuss using cinema lenses on the Panasonic GH1 to create the cinema look for DSLR Filmmaking. Ted Shilowitz from RED will present "The Future is Now... and What's Coming Next for 4K and Beyond" where he will screen 4K RED footage and discuss advantages of the RED system for photographers and filmmakers. The Cinematographer for the television show 24, Rodney Charters ASC CSC, will talk about "Creating a Hollywood Esthetic Without a Crew" focusing on a recent project in North Korea using a RED camera as well as blending 5D Mark II footage with RED on television projects. Last up before Shane's keynote speech is a look at what's new in Final Cut Pro 7 by Frank Rohmer.
Rodney Charters ASC CSC - the Emmy nominated cinematographer on the Fox Hit Series 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland will be speaking on Sunday August 30th at the Collision Conference.
Rodney will demonstrate some of the tools which he adopted on his recent trip to North Korea where he was able to shoot with a RED (very appropriately) in the capital of Pyongyang. He will also discuss comparative tests that he did 9 months ago on the set of 24, between the 35 mm Panaflex XL and a prototype of the 5DmMKII (with the help of a support system from Red Rock Micro), and how he was able to use 5DMKII's on a pilot for CBS entitled Washington Field.
We are excited to announce Shane Hurlbut as the keynote speaker on Sunday August 30th at the Collision Conference. Sunday's focus is on DSLR filmmaking and Shane is great fit as an accomplished DP whose will be talking about the future of DSLR filmmaking.
Collision Conference is excited to have Ted Schilowitz - the "Leader of the Rebellion" at Red Digital Cinema as a speaker. His seminar is entitled "The Future is Now... and What's Coming Next for 4K and Beyond". He will screen footage shot with the RED ONE camera on the LA Film School's 4K projector which shows the full capabilities of the state-of-the-art accompanied by discussions of;
Using the RED ONE to simultaneously capture footage AND still-frames for print publication
RED's advanced Next Generation cameras that will shoot both high rez motion and stills
The future of affordable high resolution digital capture as RED sees it.
Vincent Laforet will be the keynote speaker on Saturday August 29th. He is an accomplished photographer who was the first to realize the potential of the 5D Mark II with his short video Reverie. We are excited to have him share his insights into the future of still photography and video. You can read more about Vincent on his website.
Check out this behind the scenes video for Reverie
SmugMug Pro
Rodney Charters ASC CSC - the Emmy nominated cinematographer on the Fox Hit Series 24 starring Kiefer Sutherland will be speaking on Sunday August 30th at the Collision Conference.
We are excited to announce Shane Hurlbut as the keynote speaker on Sunday August 30th at the Collision Conference. Sunday's focus is on DSLR filmmaking and Shane is great fit as an accomplished DP whose will be talking about the future of DSLR filmmaking.
