Image Mechanics Expo - Collision Conference

We would like to aplogize for some incorrect information that was delivered in a press release on July 22nd.

There was a mistake made during editing and a paragraph concerning the participation of Shane Hurlbut was incorrect in some critical ways. The footage he shot for the Terminator: Saqlvation project was not used in the motion picture as was implied in the press release but was used for webisodes promoting the film. Also the production company "Bandito Brothers" was erroneously omitted from his current production.

The corrected paragraph is as follows:

Shane Hurlbut is an accomplished Director of Photography on major motion pictures and has used hybrid DSLRs (cameras that shoot stills and HD video) to shoot footage on various projects including promotional webisodes for “Terminator: Salvation,” “Cheech and Chong: Light Up America,” and his current project, “I Am That Man” for Bandito Brothers, Legendary Pictures and Warner Brothers. His keynote speech, “Catch The Wave: How Still Photography Changes The Way We Make Movies,” will provide a stimulating, interactive discussion about the Canon 5D Mark II camera and how it changes the way movies are created.

For some great insights into hybrid photography check out these two forums on the Luminous Landscape site. Motion & Video which seems to be more about traditional video, and Combocams which focuses on VDSLRs. Note - there's a lot of cross over between the two sections.

The thread, "Is the future of medium format still imaging actually video?" stands out for some thoughtful posts on the future of hybrid photography.

Forum member TMARK says:

I think, and this is my opinion based upon my experience as a stills shooter in NYC and as a video producer/gaffer/writer/DP in NYC, that stills will be increasingly marginalized, pushed off to the edges as one of three things: a commodity (Flickr, iStock); incidental to the video shoot; or super highend work shot by fine artists.

Forum member mattlap2 says:

I think there will definitely be an even greater shift towards video and away from still.  A reduction in print advertising means advertising will shift more and more to the web.

James Russell writes:

...the talk in advertising is not about print, it's about interactive and motion media.  ...The advertisers that want to get their message out, want it out today and if motion can be added to a still shoot that is just gravy on top and everyone likes a little gravy. ...I know still photographers that just loathe the thought of motion, but I "knew" ex photographer's that loathed the thought of digital capture, so life goes on and everything moves forward.

More insight from James Russell from a Combocams post:

I think we all know where this biz is going and it ain't only ink on paper.

The speaker lineup continues to grow.  In addition to Lou Lesko and Alexx Henry, we are pleased to announce the addition of Frank Rohmer to the roster of Collision Conference speakers.  Frank will be speaking about VDSLR (Video DSLR) workflow from camera into Final Cut. He will go over techniques and terminology that will help hybrid shooters better understand the editing process.

Frank is the creator of the first DVD tutorial for editing Canon 5D Mark II files in Final Cut. He is an online instructor at Lynda.com and has 14 years of experience in professional and broadcast video production. Frank is a professional photographer who combines the two worlds of Photography and Videography producing over 1,000 projects to date.

A funny thing happened on the way to the Coliseum LA Film School.  This conference started as a simple event to announce the Image Mechanics Redrock Micro kit and get all of our clients up to speed on hybrid shooting.  While putting together the presentation, the small ripples we saw coming in the photography world turned into waves of disruptive change for photographers and filmmakers alike.

Esquire and W Magazine have both used the RED ONE™ for feature stories, and the door has opened for photographers to deliver not only stills, but multimedia content as well.  Photographer Vincent Laforet shot a short film using the Canon 5D Mark II that swept the internet, and Redrock Micro released kits that add cinema functionality to these hybrid DSLR cameras.  Photography and Cinematography started colliding as the tools and technologies overlapped enough to cause industry watchers like Lou Lesko to ring the alarm bell at Digital Photo Pro Magazine.

At Image Mechanics, we saw the potential of the RED ONE™ camera and have been closely watching the hybrid photography trend develop.  Bringing the cost and complexity of a 35mm motion picture camera onto still jobs with already stressed budgets has been our biggest concern.  Advertising budgets are shrinking and I don't see magazines being able to pay $4000 per day when they can't even afford the real costs associated with traditional digital capture.  Don't get me wrong, there is a place in photography for the RED cameras, but it will probably take clients combining Commercial TV/Film campaigns with the stills jobs to make it work, and as Lou says in his article, "....DPs already are buzzing about moving in on our territory because work in their genre is diminishing with the current lousy economy. It will be a turf war about who’s more qualified to shoot the new technology".

In trying to address the cost and complexity issues, we developed an approach using the Canon 5D Mark II to deliver video and stills. Redrock Micro filled in the hardware holes by adapting their cinema kit to accommodate the unique requirements of VCS (Video Capture for Stills) .  A 5DMkII  mounted on a Redrock Micro kit becomes a practical and affordable solution for photographers and filmmakers wanting to create content for both print and multimedia.

Like any new discipline, there are some limitations and work-arounds but now is the time to be in front of the next wave of professional photography.  The transition from film to digital seemed fast and caught a lot of talented photographers off guard.  I expect clients to drive this next trend even faster as print media declines and multimedia is needed to feed broadband enabled websites and new outlets like mobile phones and digital signage.

VCS requires a whole new set of skills and knowledge so with some guidance from Brian Valente at Redrock Micro, we started planting the seeds for a larger event that would help jump start photographers and filmmakers into this transition.  It has evolved into a two day event we named the Collision Conference.  Each day of the conference will feature a keynote presentation followed by timely and informative seminars in the main theater covering VCS, Living Posters, Digital Signage, Moving Catalogs, Cinema Style DSLR Filmmaking and Music Video production. Leading manufacturers and retailers will be exhibiting and hosting demonstrations on the concourse floor. Saturday, August 29th will focus on Video Capture for Stills, while Sunday, August 30th will shift focus to DSLR Filmmaking, including a DSLR Film Festival.

As a speaker, I will share the insights and techniques we developed for VCS.  I will be joined by great speakers like Alexx Henry who shoots "Living Movie Posters" and Lou Lesko a freelance photographer and writer who penned "Will Video Kill the Photography Star".  More speakers will be added in the weeks to come.  The Image Mechanics team will also be on hand for a live VCS shooting demo in the concourse area from 12:00-4:00PM on Saturday the 29th.

Conference passes are available immediately from the registration page for $200 per day or $350 for a two-day pass.

Drawings will be held for attendees with full tract passes on both days. Prizes include a Redrock Micro DSLR kit given away each day.

The conference is limited to 300 attendees per day, so like we say in the Collision Conference tag line.....Don't be Roadkill.