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As the ice finally thaws and the trees begin to bud Ohio HD Video and Film Rental emerges in a new location! This past winter we purchased a 14 acre property on 3465 Noe Bixby Rd. which we have titled “The Backlot.” The property is situated on the south east side of Columbus and was home to John Schwab Recording for the past 20 or so years. Located only 10 minutes from downtown Columbus, The Backlot has a retreat like atmosphere, with 5 acres of mature woods that back right up to Big Walnut Creek.

What make this move exciting and unique is that along with Ohio HD Video, Ample Power and Emerald Door Media have also moved to The Backlot. Ample Power and Emerald Door Media are both production rental companies, which specialize in the grip and electric side of the business as well as camera movement. Together we for the largest single resource in the state for film and video production. In one location we bring together four 3-Ton Grip Packages, one 5-Ton Grip Package, 16 Camera packages, including the RED One and the new 2700 P2 Varicam, as well as a 50 foot CamMate and the only 18K HMI in Ohio.

We have big plans for our new faculty and can’t wait to share it with you. Stay tuned for more details.

As this year has been a little slower for some of us for various reasons, I have had the opportunity to spend more time with my production friends in non-work situations. So… what do we end up talking about? You guessed it… Work. A few months ago I got the idea that it would be great to capture these conversations and share them with the production community at large in hopes creating more conversations and a greater sense of community and collaboration that can help us all. It is an exciting and challenging time to be involved in production. There are so many new tools and ways to approach the work that didn’t even exist 5 years ago. With the onset of HD, new “cine” tools, solid state workflows, lens adapters, and cameras like the RED, our clients have more choices than ever. And while this creates a lot of opportunity it has also created a lot of confusion. Before you even power the camera up we have to have conversations about 1080i, 720p, 16×9, 4×3, 24p, 60i, 30p, SxS, P2 and on and on.

For this reason I am working with various production professionals in the Columbus market who are helping me to create the first of what I hope becomes a series of discussions about various production tools and best practices and how we approach our craft.  I see these as round table discussions that can be cut down to 2-5 minute webisodes that provide insightful production info while promoting the use of Columbus talent and resources.  I want the sessions to be inclusive of various production professionals.  The webisodes will be freely distributed to anyone who wants them to post or distribute as they please.

The initial discussion will focus on the shoot side of the business with a DP round table. Although I initially see this as DP forum I want to expand it to audio, grip, art department, production coordination, and post workflows.  And then some cross discipline discussion that will help production and post have a better understanding of each other’s needs. It would be great to make this a bi-monthly or quarterly event to keep the content relevant.  I would like to cover simple topics in a broad way to help producers, clients and indie filmers get a better grasp on what tools and resources are available and how best use them.

Topics might be…

• How do you see your role of a DP?
• Working with ever shrinking crews
• Lensing Choices
• Lens Adapters
• Monitor choices and proper set-up
• Digital Cinema
• Differences in cameras (Choosing the right gear for the project)
• Filters
• Lighting Styles and Tools
• On-camera Lighting Options
• Camera movement – Dollies, Jibs, Tripods, and Steadicam
• RED One Basics
• Underwater, Lipstick & other specialty cameras
• Indie film tips
• How to assemble the best crew for the job
• Set etiquette

Other topics could include…

• Mic selection
• Best ways to hide a lav
• Wireless Practices
• Digital Workflow Solutions
• Audio for the RED One
• P2, SxS & other solid state recording options
• Archiving
• 1080 vs. 720
• Grip Tools & Rigging
• Car mounts
• Lighting for small spaces
• Pre-production / Coordination
• Art Department
• Why it’s important to have a stylist
• Studio Requirements and Set Construction
• And most importantly the best items to have on the craft services table

For a better idea on what I am envisioning please visit this link from Zacuto.

http://vimeo.com/4884125

I would be interested in other contributors thoughts about what might be interesting fodder.

Earlier this week I spoke with Bill Jingo at Brainstorm about using their amazing new studio space to host the first forum. Bill and Ron at Brainstorm generously agreed to and we have reserved the space for June 30th, which only three weeks away. Now the goal is to recruit the panel. The panel would consist of 3 – 5 people depending on topic.  If we have a group of 10 – 15 participants I am hoping that we can rotate participants on and off of the set, and those who are not on the set for a particular segment can shoot. I am anticipating shooting on a simple black limbo set. I plan on shooting three cameras with one on a 12’ jib or dolly.

I would ask you to please consider being involved in this project.  I welcome your feedback and topic suggestions as well.  Space is somewhat limited and panelist will be chosen on a first come first served basis. So please let me know if you are interested asap. Also, please forward this email to anyone who might be interested in the project, now or in the future. I think this could do us all a lot of good, and bring some positive attention to the production potential in Columbus.

For questions, suggestions, or to reserve your spot on the panel email Scott Handel @ scott@ohiohdvideo.com.

Scott

Scott Handel

Ohio HD Video

1355 Bingham Mills Dr.

New Albany, Ohio 43054

Web: www.ohiohdvideo.com

E-mail: scott@ohiohdvideo.com

Mobile: 614-327-3388

Ohio’s Best Camera Crews - High Definition & SD Camera Packages & Support

Call us for all of your Gear Rental & Crewing Needs.

Ohio HD Video is proud to announce the arrival of our second Sony PMW EX-3. This camera has proven to be an extremely versatile tool. It’s clean crisp color HD viewfinder, ability to interchange lenses and real BNC HD SDI, Timecode and genlock connections have made it a 1^st choice for many clients. The EX-3 is the first small format camera from Sony to carry the Cine-Alta logo as well as many of the characteristics from its big brother.

Now with two of these great cameras ready for rental we should be able to meet more of our clients’ needs. Plus with the HD SDI outputs these cameras will work great with our HS400 Multi-format Panasonic switcher package, allowing for a lower cost two camera flypack option. Please check out the Sony EX-3 on our website or call us at 614-327-3388 for more information about this exciting camera!

Scott Handel

Ohio HD Video

1355 Bingham Mills Dr.

New Albany, Ohio 43054

Web: www.ohiohdvideo.com

E-mail: scott@ohiohdvideo.com

Mobile: 614-327-3388

Ohio’s Best Camera Crews - High Definition & SD Camera Packages & Support

Call us for all of your Gear Rental & Crewing Needs.

What a rewarding experience!  This past month I had the chance to participate in The Ohio Film Music Video Challenge.  Normally I don’t get a chance to participate in this type of contest because my schedule just won’t permit it.  I recently purchased the RED ONE camera and packaged it for rental at Ohio HD Video.  We had been shooting test footage and learning about the camera and the work flow when this contest came up.  It was a perfect match.  We decided the best way to learn all the little idiosyncrasies about the RED was to put into action on a practical project without the stress of having a client involved.

From the start we had a strong team.  We partnered with Matt Munhall, a talented musician who was working on a new CD and had just recorded a new song he wanted to promote.  Al Laus took the lead on concept.  Once Al heard the song he developed a vision for the video crafted around a story of young love lost and then found again.  The remainder of the crew included myself (Scott Handel), Jon Ebright, Steve Jones, Alberto Viglietta, Jay Alton and Jon Fintel.

The rules of the contest were released February 18, 2009.  We had until March 11, 2009 to create the video, which gave us about 3 weeks. The requirements for the project were as follows:

• Each video must include one of the following criteria:
  A location identified by an Ohio historical marker
• A sign that displays the word Ohio in a positive manner
• Apparel containing team logos that are Ohio based
  (Cleveland CAVS, Cincinnati Bengals, Columbus Crew, etc.)
• Items featuring college and university logos. (Akron University, Bowling Green State University, Marietta College, Wright State University, Youngstown State University, etc.)

We chose to focus on the requirement that utilized a location with an Ohio historic marker.  Having young kids of my own I have been to the Columbus Zoo many times and thought about the Historic Carousel there.  It was a perfect tie in to our theme of young love and represented the innocenceof youth.  Jon Ebright took the ball and worked to get the Zoo on board.  They were very responsive and agreed to let us shoot there.  Not only that, the folks Columbus Zoo were very generous and agreed to keep the carousel running after zoo hours to accommodate our young actors schedules.

We shot the video over two days.  One day devoted to the zoo and one day at a Al’s amazing home.  Al Laus worked as the DP with Alberto Viglietta as AC. We were fortunate on both days to have some great sun to work with, which is very rare during an Ohio winter.  We augmented the natural light a bit with some small HMIs and Kinos.  We paired the RED camera from Ohio HD with Zeiss primes provided by Steve Jones.  The results were amazing!  We had all seen RED footage before in various places.  But seeing it first hand on an HD monitor, we were all thrilled by the latitude and color saturation.  The 35mm Zeiss “super speeds” (18, 25, 35, 50 & 85mm T 1.3) provided us crisp sharp images.  We were thrilled by the short depth of field and the image fall off we were able to achieve.

The footage in the house and most of the Columbus exteriors were shot in 4k in order to take advantage of the full 35mm sensor.  The shots at the zoo were shot at 2K so that we were able to over crank the footage to 48 fps.

Jon Ebright, Alberto and I then worked on the work flow side to determine the best way to get the images into Final Cut Pro for the edit.  The process was smooth and Jon got to work on the rough cut and establishing the initial look and feel of the video. Al, Matt and I sat down with Jon once the frame work was there to hone it down with a critical eye.

Through out the process I have said the crew we had was incredible.  Everyone instinctively knew when to step up and when to step back.  That’s probably because most of us have known each other for at least 10 years.  This was a great collaboration and I think the results speak to Columbus’ ability to field great crews for challenging projects.  Please check out the results for yourself and let me know your thoughts! (Don’t Forget to click the HD button on YouTube and then give us a rating for the competition.)

Green In the Morning - Matt Munhall

How often this fall will we hear the word change?  My bet is, so often that it will make your ears bleed.  Well I am not offering any political change, but the is a lot a change going on arround here.  First off is the new website coupled with a new name and new logo.  I have been working with Nat Hagey for a couple of months now to help create a more relevant presence for Scott Handel Productions in this market and on the web.  Ohio HD Video is the product of that collaboration.  This fall I have gone through our inventory and updated everything to reflect our commitment to High Definition video.  I am excited to offer four distinct HD camera packages.  These include Panasonic’s HDX-900 DVCProHD Camcorder, HPX-500 SD/HD P2 Card Camera, and HVX-200, as well as Sony’s new PMW-EX3 XDCAM EX HD Camcorder.  I have also streamlined our standard definition line-up by paring off some of the older cameras and upgrading to Sony’s new DXC-D55WS dockable camera.  This is a 16×9 native camera that can also shoot 4×3.  It docks to traditional Beta Sp recorders as well as DVCam recorders.  In addition we get many requests for the DSR-570 DVCam Camcorder as well as the popular Panasonic SDX-900 2/3″ DVCPro50 Camcorder and DVX-100b mini DV Camcorder.  All of these cameras have can be equipped with a variety of options and are available for immediate rental.

In addition to changes in the equipment, we are revamping the website.  We are working hard to make the website more accessible and easy to use.  The site will now offer a search engine for those of you who want to get right to a specific item.  Products will be listed with their accessories so you won’t have to wonder if a certain matte box will work with a certain lens.  I am also working to create some simple video content that will introduce the features and benefits of our various gear offerings.

Of course the last change I want to talk about will be my blog… I hope to make future entries a bit more interesting than this one.  I want to talk about new gear and trends, as well as best practices and new ideas about how to use video as the tools evolve.

Thanks for Reading…

Scott Handel

Ohio HD Video