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Guest blog from Curtis & Kar: We Used HD Glidetrack for Every Shot

by on Feb.01, 2012, under Reviews, Tips, Videos

We set ourselves the challenge of shooting some high-end idents with next to no budget.  We knew what look we wanted to achieve but the challenge was creating it.

While we were knocking ideas around on how we would do this, we heard that the guys over at fstoppers.com were holding their annual BTS video contest. Fstoppers.com is a great resource for BTS videos and I highly recommend you check them out.

Behind The Scenes – Making Of ‘Grolsch Idents’ from Curtis & Kar Productions on Vimeo.

As you will see in our BTS video, we built one set, lit it, and then tweaked the lighting to get nine different looks. We filmed the final packshot for each ident first. This consisted of a slow forward track towards the bottle, moving no more than 1ft on the slider. Simple enough in theory but with the added weight of a Marshall monitor on the camera, the centre balance is soon thrown off. I usually tend to point one of the tripod legs in the same direction that you are gliding to prevent the whole thing tumbling over. In this case, we added a small lighting stand to the other end to add more support. Then it’s down to the operator’s hand movement.

For the standard horizontal glides we mounted the Glidetrack directly to a Manfrotto 055XPROB tripod and placed a Manfrotto 501 head on top.

Moving on to the mid and close-up shots, we used the 50mm 1.2L for the mid and the 100mm 2.8 Macro for the close ups. Again, we used the Glidetrack horizontally but this time we utilised the whole 1m length, tracking from one end of the slider to the other while keeping the bottle in the same part of the frame.

For the close ups we wanted to follow the bottle up and down vertically, starting with a black screen and rising from the bottom of the bottle to the top and then back down again. We didn’t have a jib, which may have been the easier option, so we placed the Glidetrack vertically to get the shots we needed. Once the Glidetrack was placed vertically, we used the Manfrotto 410 geared head to level off the camera.

May I add that if, like us, you are using the 100mm 2.8 macro lens, then you are going to get a lot of camera shake. We added sand bags to the tripod to make it as solid as possible. Or if you can afford it, get the Image Stabilised version.

 Overall, the HD Glidetrack is a very versatile piece of kit – one that we take with us to pretty much every job. In this case, we used it for every shot. It’s perfect for adding that little bit of depth to what would normally be a static and boring shot.

Curtis & Kar is a production company run by two DOP’s. Myself – James Kar (@jameskar) – and fellow DOP, Edmund Curtis (@edmundcurtisdop).

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If only all trade shows could be made to look this exciting

by on Jan.25, 2012, under News, Reviews, Tips, Videos

If only all trade shows could be made to look this exciting

It’s always nice to see Glidetrack products being used to shoot original types of video. We see loads of great variety of coastal sceneries or travelling shots with bemused foreign nationals wondering why you’re filming their little village, unaware of its beauty, to a city dweller who would like to change places for a day.

So when Joey Graziano, a bi-coastal freelance videographer, chose to use his Glidetrack HD to shoot the Agenda Trade Show we were intrigued to see how it turned out. The Agenda Trade Show is geared towards street wear and action sports. Joey shot some brands and booths that he was ‘feeling’ (to use his own words). The following video is a little three-minute masterpiece.  Joey favours using Canon cameras, the 5D MKII being his weapon of choice, and along with Canon 24-70 2.8 L USM, Canon 50mm 1.8 and Canon 15mm 2.8 lenses, he shoots a video that is really easy on the eye with a cracking soundtrack to boot.

AGENDA Long Beach – Jan 2012 from Joey Graziano on Vimeo.

Joey uses his Glidetrack HD Slider like a professional – his varying use of horizontal and vertical tracking shots to capture people while popping out from behind a wall or columns of baseball caps on display are really impressive. The two styles of shot that blew me away were the horizontal tracking shot that changed the aperture and focus while keeping a continuous movement and the sped-up tracking shot of people packing up.

This is a really good video to watch if you want to learn how to use a slider properly. It’s so good in fact that if he presented it to the Agenda organizers, Joey could probably get this used in the advertising for next year’s show!

Well done, Joey, keep up the good work! We’d love to see what you do with your Glidetrack next!

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Will the new Samsung Wi-Fi camera change how we share video

by on Jan.17, 2012, under News, Reviews, Tips

Will the new Samsung Wi-Fi camera change how we share video?

As we mentioned in last week’s blog, the sale of point and shoot has been on the decline since the emergence of smartphones with the capability to upload your videos or pictures instantly to a social media platform of your choosing.

This is not good news if you work in the camera side of a consumer electronics business… unless you work for Samsung, that is.

Samsung debuted their new point-and-shoot camera (with a difference) at the CES last week.  The WB850F ($379), WB150F ($229) and ST200F ($199) models all come with Wi-Fi built in.

Samsung WB850F

Samsung WB850F

This allows people to shoot and create videos, and instantly share them with their friends via email or upload them to Vimeo, YouTube or Facebook.  Samsung claims the integration is “extremely user-friendly” so we’ll have to take their word for it for the time being. Not only are Samsung introducing Wi-Fi cameras but they are also launching a cloud platform – so you’ll have somewhere to store  your files.

This evolution on Samsung’s behalf could really swing the point-and-shoot camera market back to life. It will most certainly swing the market share in their favour without a shadow of a doubt. So if you’re looking for a new camera to shoot and share film, why not go for one of the new Samsung models above.

The WB850F seems to be the big daddy of the three.  A 21x optical zoom, 16-megapixel image sensor and shoots 1080p video tells us they mean business with this product. It also has a geo-locator built in so you don’t even need to remember exactly where you are when you take your pics.

The whole shoot-and-share mantra that Samsung is preaching is right up our street. Glidetrack have always been about sharing your video content with your friends. So why not rig up your Glidetrack slider, attach your new Samsung WB850F Wi-Fi camera, shoot some fantastic video and share with your friends instantly? Nothing beats the feeling of shooting a pure video and letting your friends see it straight away.

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Behind The Scenes – The Making of Grolsch Idents

by on Jan.11, 2012, under Reviews, Tips, Videos

Behind The Scenes – The Making of ‘Grolsch Idents’

Ever wonder how companies go about making the little, quick ads that they use to get their brand across when sponsoring a TV / film? Look no further than this blog. Embedded below is an eight-minute video created by James Karinejad (@jameskar) and Edmund Curtis (@edmundcurtisdop).

Edmund and James entered fstoppers.com competition with this video they created with the help of a Glidetrack HD Hybrid Slider.  James and Edmund firstly filmed their collection of idents for Grolsch and then proceeded to film a BTS (behind the scenes) film on how the made each of their fantastic idents.

What is the fstoppers behind the scenes competition, I hear you ask?

Fstoppers.com website describes it as a “contest open to any photographer/videographer around the world who wants to share how creative they are behind a camera. You must be willing to share your creative side and explain exactly how you tackled your project. In order for your BTS video to be well received by our audience, you must include the photo/video gear you are using, show the final images within the video, and also give out useful information to help teach and inspire other photographers.”

The guys talk you through how they created their idents for Grolsch. Idents are 10 – 15 second commercials that sponsor events on TV. Each of their idents represents a different film genre – i.e. romance, thriller, horror, comedy, crime, Sci-Fi, etc.

Behind The Scenes: Making of Grolsch Idents

 

Behind The Scenes – Making Of ‘Grolsch Idents’ from Curtis & Kar Productions on Vimeo.

The lengths that Edmund and James go to in order to create the effects for their idents are fascinating. The crime-themed ident is particularly impressive. A chemistry experiment and some taped-together torches give the realistic feel of a seedy, night-time crime scene that looks fantastic and has cost nothing at all to make.

Think the guys spent thousands creating these clips? Think again. They only had three main pieces of equipment: A Camera – 5D mrk2, Lenses – 50mm 1.2 & 100mm 2.8 and their Glidetrack HD Hybrid Slider. A keen knowledge about various types of lighting styles and techniques helped them create the different effects they were after.  About 90 seconds into the video James and Edmund talk you through a step-by-step process of how they actually managed to light the Grolsch bottle in the ways that they did. This is a really eye-opening video and great for first-time filmmakers who are looking for something to show them how to get started on a small budget.

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Touchdown in motion

by on Dec.27, 2011, under Reviews, Videos

At Glidetrack we like nothing more than when we see excellent videos shot with the help of one of our products. Except, that is, when that video has been shot with an amazing back story.
Afghanistan: touchdown in flight is a video filmed by Lukas and Salome Augustin, starting on their plane journey into Afghanistan and then the everyday living of local Afghani people. It was filmed in part to be a tribute to Lukas’s friend Gayle Williams who was killed by the Taliban while working as an aid worker in 2008. Lukas lived in Kabul from 2006 to 2008, and while working as a humanitarian aid worker for an Organisation called Operation Mercy he met and became friends with Gayle. Lukas returned to Afghanistan with his then fiancée, now wife, Salome.

Lukas and Salome used a Glidetrack HD while making their intimate, moving six minute video. They capture the Afghan people and way of life absolutely perfectly.
Lukas has shown that even videographer working on a low budget can produce the most capturing of videos. The shots of the man carrying wood along on the road on the back of his mule sets the scene for a very open look at the Afghan way of life. The shot captured using his Glidetrack HD of the Mosque barely visible through the cherry blossom trees paints an very different picture to the Afghanistan we are shown on the news. Lukas’s shots show Kabul and Mazar-e Sharif as places of beauty.
Lukas wanted to go to other places as well but there were several incidents and it wasn’t safe for them. Just one day after Lukas shoot at the blue mosque in Mazar-e Sharif a mob started from the very same place before storming the UN building.
Videos like this show the extraordinary lengths people go to to ensure that others can see what it is they see in a certain place. Lukas sees beauty where others are told to see despair. Lukas’s video opens our eyes to the real Afghan people.
For more of Lukas’s fantastic video work why not check him out.
website: lukasaugustin.de
For more information and production photos: Facebook or Twitter

Touchdown in motion is very much Glidetrack’s video of the upcoming year.

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