The Manhattanhenge

I had filmed it twice before, but, until now, I hadn't realized that there was actually a name for it.

The Manhattanhenge occurs semi-annually around the summer and winter solstice and it is the only time that the setting sun is in alignment with the streets of NYC.   Meaning, that on a few specific days, when the sun sets over the Jersey palisades, there is an unusual opportunity to film and photograph sunsets in Manhattan.

This is a very blessed occasion, because even with a half dozen IPhone apps, and all the cosmic info available on the net, tracking exactly where the sun will rise and set can be tricky business.  Yeah, you can calculate where it will occur, but finding the right place to put down your tripod, so that the shot looks decent is another thing.

Last year I filmed the sun down 13th Street, near the Gansevort Hotel, just as it was setting over the High Line.  Stunning!   I was using a 300mm lens on my EX3 which with an MTF adaptor, which magnifies the image by a factor of 5.4.  So, in essence, it became a 1,600mm lens.

This year I put the same lens on my Sony F3 and recorded into a Nanoflash external recorder.  Although the lens was not as extreme,  the results were still excellent and the low-light capability of the F3's large sensor allowed me to catch the last bits of golden light, long after the sun had dropped.

One important suggestion when using any type of telephoto lens is to have a solid tripod.  The tiniest amount of vibration will show up when using a long lens and having a decent foundation is crucial.
As of late, I have been using the new 509 fluid head and the 536 carbon fiber legs from Manfrotto.  This gives me the firm foundation I'm looking for while still remaining an amazingly lightweight package.

Aside from being very easy to balance, it has a light-up bubble which is essential for low-light shooting.
An important feature when you are huffing around Manhattan with a camera over your shoulder.

July 12th is the next time Manhattanhenge will occur so, be ready!

The Crazy Duck Web site
Chuck Featured on Sony's VideOn site

The Green Lantern

Last we Sarah and I helped launch another new coaster at Six Flags: The Green Lantern!

This ride has two minutes of the usual spine-chilling climbs, loops and corkscrews, all performed at a lightning speed.  The difference here, is that the rider is standing.

Our job was to work with Kristin, the park's PR manager to film the ride, create and duplicate a video press kit in a time frame of less than 48 hours.  

Weather was not on our side, either.  It had been pouring for the last few days and we had a limited window of opportunity to pull this off, the press launch could not be moved and was now or never.
     
A local weather report indicated some clearing was heading our way, but, for now, it was still raining.

We arrived a 9:00 am.  Our first task was to mount a POV (point of view) camera on the front of the ride.  After which, we would need to reverse the camera and film a crew of brave riders.

We've mounted cameras on dozens of coasters over the years and still our deepest concern is safety.  Rigging used to take hours and often required mounting large cameras and portable tape decks.   Everything had to be taped and bungeed into place.  A loose part becomes a missile at 60-80 mph, endangering riders and anyone on the ground.  We also take into consideration that this is a multi-million dollar ride that they are letting us play with and we want to leave it just as we found it.

Although mounting a POV camera has become a much easier affair with the introduction of miniature, light-weight cameras like the Go Pro, everything must be secured and safety checked by the ride park's engineers before we proceed.

Carefully covering the ride with gaffer tape to prevent scratching the paint, Sarah and I used a Manfrotto maffer clamp and Magic Arm to secure the camera to the front panel of the ride.  Amazingly, we were able to immediately view the test results, get our client's OK on both angles and move on to our ground shots.

I was fortunate to have the loan of a Genus shoulder mount for this shoot.  In the past, I found it difficult filming rides using my Sony EX1 and EX3 cameras.  The EX1's LCD viewer sucks in daylight and the EX3's shoulder mount is both clutzy and difficult to hand-hold, especially when you are trying to follow a high speed coaster car around a steel pretzel.

The Genus consists of a hot-plate,  rails, a shoulder pad and counter-weight was quick and easy to balance and it fit very comfortably on my shoulder.  That's pretty much all you want to say about a shoulder rig, except this one was designed to be used on my tripod as well, so with a simple click, it was in place and no time was lost changing mounts.  Simple, perfect, sweet.

The rain cleared long enough for us to shoot, but, care had to be taken to properly show off the ride against the bright white skies.  The best camera's can be pretty dumb at times and seeing all that brightness, the camera's internal metering system would change that white sky to 18% grey for very unpleasant results.

After a late night edit and a few online approvals the job was delivered with 18 hours to spare and the Green Lantern press event (this time with sunny skies) was very successful.  Go Kristin!  

Check out the ride:  The Green Lantern Ride film
Other links:
duckyou.com

Chuck featured on Sony's VideOn site

The Genus Rig

Getting Back to Business

I've received dozens of inquiries as to why I had not been keeping my blog up to date.  In fact, I heard from people all over the globe that I had no idea were following my ramblings and often, reading all the way back to my first entries.  I was chuffed.

Well here's the deal...

I put away my writer's cap for a few months, because I began to feel that I was talking more and doing less.

It's not true, really.  I'm just kind of tough on myself, which is the result of being self-employed for 30 years.  None the less, I felt I had to stop writing for a while and get out into the field and do more doing.

Fortunately, in the last five months the studio has been jammed with new projects, acquired several new clients and purchased a state-of-the-art camera.  Sarah and I are moving forward and making significant progress in a very sluggish economy and I am truly thankful for the blessings bestowed upon us.

Best of all, we have found a great deal of joy and artistic direction in filming New York City.   Getty Images has proven to be a decent stock footage partner.  We now have hundreds of video clips online and our images have been seen on everything from CSI to CNN to SNL.

Even more important than finding the time to do all this new work, Sarah and I have gone out of our way to find the time to enjoy each other and our beautiful daughter, Ellie, who just last week, celebrated her 2nd birthday.  What an amazing thing that is!

                      (Sorry Eric... I couldn't help myself.)

At a time when most workers and business owners are looking toward retirement, I am more stoked than ever about the type of work we do, the people we work with and some of the brilliant and talented professionals that I have had the great honor of swapping industry stories with.

I look forward to more!

Chuck's Bio on Sony's VideOn Network

duckyou.com

All that Jazz and More

One of the great perks of our video production business is access to things we might never see on a day to day basis.   Last week was no exception.

I was brought in to film Latin Jazz pianist extraordinaire Michel Camilo, an amazing performer that I am proud to say that I have had the honor and pleasure to work with previously.   We have twice filmed him recording in the studio and on stage at the Blue Note in New York City.

Michel is a brilliant, extremely energetic composer/performer.  He's won a Grammy, a Latin Grammy and an Emmy for is work and he plays every show as if it was his last chance opportunity to perform.

Jeff Davis, a long time friend and associate of Michel and his wife Sandra, arranged the recording session for Universal Records and also arranged to have us come in and film.   The location was Avatar studios in NYC where only a few weeks before, we had been filming Alicia Keys.  The studio staff is great to work with and very accommodating.

It was a Saturday and Sarah was not able to make the shoot.  I was fortunate to be able to get my associate and good friend Danny Hoffman to come in and assist me.  Dan is an experienced video professional in his own right, yet he can easily put the ego aside to assist me.  Truly an asset when I have a limited amount of time to make things happen and need to move very quickly.  We were also aided by John Sampson, a high school freshman that has just begun interning with us.

Every time we film in a recording studio it's a brand new adventure.

When possible, I like to get into the studio early to enhance the lighting, while the artists are still setting up and long before they actually begin recording.  This way the performers are familiar with the cameras and the slightly higher level of illumination, right from the start.

Having said that, it's not always possible.  Sometimes, due to the nature of the recording process, my actual access time with an artist might be limited and more time will be spent hanging out in the studio hallway or lunchroom, with equipment ready, doing what production crews know how to do best.
"Hurry up and wait".

It is rare that all the performers are in the same room.  Often the percussionist, bass or other musicians are isolated in sound-proof rooms with glass panels so that the artists can see each other, while not over powering each other's sound.  So, when possible, I try to incorporate more than one camera.

Even if it's just a small handy-cam type camera, the added production value of being able to cut between two artists relating to each, in sync, makes all the difference in the final film.

Lighting in recording studios generally sucks and is rarely designed with video in mind.

I try to keep my lighting as simple and as cool as possible.  Small rooms heat up very quickly and respect to the artists and their environment is key.  I try to work at an illumination level that will allow me to incorporate the existing lighting while still maintaining a complimentary light on the artist's faces.  So soft, indirect lighting is usually the way I like to go.

Michel's percussionist for this CD was the incredible Giovanni Hildago, whom I've had the pleasure of working with previously while directing a PBS special with ex-Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart and his Planet Drum project.  Giovanni's performed brilliantly.  His energy seems endless and he appears to have grown younger with time.

Giovanni Hildago

I used a Sony EX3 as my primary camera with an EX1 as my alternate angle camera and backup.  As they are nearly identical, the resulting images match in both color and texture.  With the correct profile setting, the EX cameras will work well in controlled, low light.  Usually working at a lens setting between F=2.8-4.0, at 30P.  On the primary camera I also used a Nanoflash recorder which automatically gives me a backup copy of my footage at a higher bit rate.

Charles Flores on bass

The EPK (Electronic Press Kit) is like a mini-documentary, composed of interviews, performance and perhaps some B-Roll (background footage) to help knit it all together.  The Avatar tech supplied both cameras with an audio feed direct from the recording console, insuring the best possible sound and less audio complications when it come time to post the video.

There'll be no searching for the right take, it's there, locked right in the correct place.

Michel Camilo

Jeff Davis is a professional writer and great as an interviewer.  He listens to his subjects as they speak, doesn't over-complicate the questions and he skips over questions that have already been answered.  And to this end, all three performers gave terrific, enthusiastic interviews.  There would be no doubt that these gentleman truly love what they do.  They just seemed to say all the right stuff and you could see the edit points fall into place as they spoke.  The EPK will almost edit itself.

I am looking forward to filming some New York footage just to compliment some of Michel's compositions.

Michel Performing at the Blue Note

Michel's Website

Crazy Duck's Website

Chuck Featured on Sony's VideOn Website


Jeff Davis' Website

A Walk In the Park

It was Christmas day and I was still with my family in North Carolina when they announced that a major snow was heading for New York City.

Most folks would want to avoid a storm like this, but I packed up the car and immediately headed right for it, straight up I-95.  The snow was already beginning to fall when I hit Virginia and I was fortunate to get home before the sky opened wide.

The actual snow didn't begin until first light, the next day and I was determined to be out filming in it.

I used a custom raincoat to protect the camera, carefully taping the connections around the matte box and eyepiece.  The basic matte box on Sony's EX3 camera has a built in door that can be closed to protect the lens and the lens itself was protected by a clear UV filter.   My tripod was made of carbon fiber and would therefore be safe out in snow.

Ok, the camera will remain warm and dry.  What about me?

Knowing that we would be filming through the winter, both Sarah and I had invested in serious winter ski gloves and coats made by Killy.  I layered myself in thermal socks, shirt and underwear, a scarf, knit hat and gloves.  I felt like the Michelin Man, but it was all necessary, as 30 mph gusts were creating a wind chill in the lower teens.

Over four inches had fallen in the first few hours of the storm.  By the time I reached Manhattan the streets were already covered in white and taxis were skidding and sliding, everywhere.

Although the entire city seemed magical covered in white, my first destination was Central Park.  At this point, I was not sure how long it would remain snowing or for that matter, how long I could remain out in the snow without freezing my face off.

I was thankful that due to the holiday, there were plenty of empty spaces near the park, so, I set up the tripod, mounted the camera and headed past the Dakota into the park at 72nd Street and Central Park West.

To conserve on energy and remain able to move around comfortably, I only brought one additional battery with me, which fortunately, I didn't need until the very end of my shoot.   I wanted to avoid opening the camera's protective coat, as the windblown snow would quickly melt on the camera's warm surface.

The EX3 uses SxS media cards which, if you are using 32gb or 64gb cards, allows for hours of HD shooting without having to expose the camera to the elements.  A reel plus in this type of weather.

It was amazing.  Even with the heavy snow and blowing wind, the park was still fairly populated.  Along with your die-hard runners, there were cross country skiers, dog walkers and a good share of tourists.

All of that aside, Central Park was absolutely stunning.  Every angle was simply breath-taking and I immediately began filming.

The snow was falling very fast and quickly accumulating on my camera and in front of the lens.
I brought along a very small can of compressed air to blow the snow off the lens.  I avoided using a cleaning cloth for the lens as it would simply smear up the filter.  Fortunately, the cold wind kept the snow dry and it was easy to blow away.  At one point I discovered a small drift that had accumulated in my matte box.

I filmed around the lake for just over two hours.  It was exhausting.  I don't know how the explorers climb mountains and carry a ton of camera gear,  Just moving a few hundred yards was challenging in the wind and heavy snow and removing my gloves to make a simple adjustment, became painful.

Much more snow had fallen and conditions were growing worse by the moment.  I wanted to be able drive out of the city without getting stuck.  I decided to head back to the car.

By the time I reached our Volvo it was covered with at least 10 inches of snow and I was thankful that the car had little issue with the icy streets.

Was it worth it?  Absolutely!

Sarah and I filmed in the two following storms and they're predicting a heavy snow next week.  I'm pretty sure that I'm one of the few people (over the age of 16) looking forward to it.

Why are we filming in the snow this much?  Because it's never around when you want it.

If a client is looking imagery under unique conditions, such as a heavy snow storm in Manhattan, it's a good bet that it's not going to happen on cue.  Conditions must be right, if the conditions will occur at all and chances are that they will turn to a stock agency to try to find the shots they're looking for.   So, the broader we can make our collection, the more opportunity we'll have to sell our work.

Aside from all that, it's fun.

www.duckyou.com
Chuck featured on Sony's VideON site

A Production Date with Alicia Keys

On Friday, Sarah and I filmed performing artist extraordinaire Alicia Keys for an upcoming exhibit at the Sony Wonder Technology Lab in NYC.  What a fun gig!

As her performance will be integrated with computer graphics and we needed to film her against a green screen so that the final images can be composited.

Alicia was great to work with, but our production day started 7 hours before she sang a single note. The black lacquer Yamaha piano might as well have been a mirror.  It reflected nearly every corner of the studio and we had to make sure that none of the green could be seen in any of those reflections.  In the end it looks like a simple shot.  Hah!  And that's just what it should look like.

Stepping back a moment, there were so many things that needed to be arranged for this shoot to go off as planned that it took weeks of preparation to make it all look so simple.  Sarah, in the role of senior producer was at the helm of this ship and organized everything and everyone, flawlessly.  From day one, we had the right people, asking the right questions so that everything would be in place on the day of the shoot.

Of course, it was more than just the act of filming her singing.  One of our first consideration was audio quality and to this end, Sarah decided to set the shoot up at a recording studio.  Why try to reinvent the wheel when a decent recording studio will have most everything in place for us?  For this, she set us up with Avatar Studio on 53rd Street.  A classic studio that has been host to major recording stars for years.

Her next step was contacting the Jedi Master, Grammy winning producer / audio designer Jeff Jones.

If the position of the microphone in piano is off by a couple of degrees, well, honestly I'd be talking out of my butt if tried to explain any of that stuff and with the Jedi on board, I was free to concentrate purely on the visual aspect of the production.

Sarah also contacted Kevin Hunt of Top Gear Lighting.  Kevin has worked with us on several major projects for Victoria's Secret and several other clients.  Like the Jedi, when Kevin is on the set, everything arrives on time and remains cool and calm.  He knows how to light, but much more importantly, he knows how to listen.   He's great to work with and one of the best reasons to not try to do it all by ourselves.

On a recommendation from Kevin, Sarah brought in John Chiaparti to operate the XDCAM F-800 that had been arranged for the shoot.  John is an experienced DP/camera operator and as my sole function was to be the director on this project, she wanted someone she and I could trust looking through the viewfinder.

Anders Sulisalo from IMS was in charge of the hospitality and rider and made sure that everyone was comfortable, well fed and that everything was presented beautifully.

Sarah had gathered a well crafted pool of talented, low maintenance professionals who managed to deliver excellent results without the least bit of friction.  That, is a talent in itself.

Piano tuner, special microphones, hair, makeup, clothing stylist, security, audio technicians, studio management, tele-prompter, production assistants... All of these elements needed to come together to make this a smooth production and I'm so proud of Sarah for pulling it all off without a hitch.

Tech Talk:

The F-800 is a stunning HD camera and part of the CineAlta line of Sony Digital Cinema cameras.  It recorded directly to optical disk at 1920x1080 4:2:2 50 mb and we were able to simultaneous record out of the HD/SDI port onto a Nanoflash digital recorder at 100 mb.  This gave us great quality and a backup recording at the same time.

The audio was being recorded separately with a feed returning back to the camera.  Jedi will work his magic on the mix of vocals and piano and later we'll match picture and sound with the help of a time code slate that marked the location of the audio as it was being recorded.

The last of the technical speak is about the monitors.  Sony provided us with a PVM-740 OLED monitor which has the truest reproduction I have seen in a long time.   Skin tones were accurate and it helped us create beautiful, clean lighting with an accuracy that has followed all the way through to the post production.  The monitor has a built in waveform monitor that helped us balance the lighting on the green screen and our talent.  The photo above shows us that the screen is brighter on the right and needs to be balanced properly.  What a great tool!

For our clients we rented a few Sony LMD-2450 studio monitors so that we could monitor the action from the control room.  This also aided in crowd control on the set.

All in all, Alicia was beautiful and terrific to work with.   And OMG that voice!
She recorded parts of "If I Ain't Got You", "For No One" and "Empire State of Mind" and we all got chills watching and listening to her perform.

It's one of those times that an extra take is a gift.

 www.duckyou.com
Chuck on Sony's VideOn Channel

Finding The Zone

Where did my mojo go?

Some days it's tough to get that creative flame ignited.  Winter is approaching and temperature is dropping down into the 30s again, making it that much tougher to get out of a warm bed and stand in the darkness waiting for the sun to rise.  Wind off the Hudson River is constant and biting.

It's 6:30 am and the city is enshroud in a blue-grey haze and I'm fairly certain that the sun - not interested in my desire to record its brilliance cutting through the mist - has decided to stay in bed a few minutes longer.

There is also the fact that I have not been out filming as much as I'd like.  Family and our daily production work comes first and recently, I have spent more time at the editing and photographing than filming.  Unlike falling off a bicycle, I do lose my focus if fall out of my usual routine and it takes a while before I can get back in the groove.   When I do return to it, I instantly want to jump in at the speed I was previously moving and that doesn't always happen.

Adding to the morning chill is the after taste of the camera issues I've been facing in recent weeks.  Several stunning sunrises had to be scuttled because the images appeared soft.  Not soft like Elvis singing "Love me Tender", more like "Killing Me Softly" or plain out of focus, which in HD is the death card.

Perhaps my EX3 was annoyed that I was using other the PMW-500 Sony let me borrow last month.  Certainly, it had been the top banana up until that day.

And of course, there's my day job.  After spending all day looking through the viewfinder and staring at monitors, do I really want to get away from it all and spend my personal time doing the same kinda thing?

So, what do I do when the urge to create isn't exactly feeling... urgent?   Well,  I do find that not unlike jogging, biking or any other activity, once I get out there, I'm usually pretty glad I pushed myself to do so and even though I might not have the slightest spark of inspiration, simply setting up the camera and looking through the viewfinder will give me some sort of direction.

Once, I resorted to flipping a coin to decide my shooting location.  Heads, I'm heading for the east side.

I've often read the same about writing.  You may stare at your blank page with absolutely nothing coming to mind, yet, you still have to discipline yourself to sit down and write something every day, even if the only thing you write is that you are sitting here with nothing to write.

Sometimes a new lens or tripod will inspire me to get out there to test it, but it's not a sustainable practice.  It's not only the expense of always needing the next great piece of kit,  I actually find it often gets in the way of creating decent imagery.  It's only after I get totally familiar with a piece of gear that it becomes transparent enough to enhance the picture rather than become it.  The recent over-concern for depth of field or over-use of camera sliders and follow-focus devices is pretty obvious evidence of this.

A few times, what seemed like a plain vanilla morning turned into a blazing sunrise and on one occasion the Queen Elizatbeth II glided past in the mist of the early dawn.  I was so excited that I almost forgot to press the record button.   It was certainly a day that I was glad that I didn't sleep in.

www.duckyou.com