Aids for film mtb, cyclocross, bmx, road ..

Final results

A Mountain Biking Film: Lee Quarry from Maia Media on Vimeo.

A Mountain Bike Film: Lee Quarry

I liked the aesthetics of video with DSLR’s so I recently dug deep into my pockets and purchased a Panasonic Lumix GH1. I now need to practice lots before I head out to India as volunteer videographer for Raleigh International in July. This is my first practice. The video follows Patrick mountain biking at Lee Quarry on his Ragley Mmmbop bike. I also took along my glidetrack. I’m looking forward to lots more DSLR filmming and getting to know the Panasonic GH1 a little better
.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Todmorden Cyclocross 2011

The race took place on the 2nd January 2011 and includes the infamous cobbled climb! It was an all new experience for me and my first trip watching a cyclocross event. Shot on my GH1 and testing out my new Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod.

Todmorden Cyclocross 2011 from Maia Media on Vimeo.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
‎10 Things I have learned about Mountainbiking


http://ceciliobenito.blogspot.com/2011/08/imba-espana-10-things-i-have-learned.html



.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Kessler Crane Lite Test from Maia Media on Vimeo.

Kessler Crane review: Mountain bike filmmaking


Our very own 8ft Kessler Crane Lite arrived in the post last week. We’ve made time to play with it so here’s the low down on what we think.

Our brand new Kessler Crane arrivesWhy buy a crane?
The affordability and quality of footage produced by many HDSLR’s has really opened up the filmmaking playing field over the last few years. Back in May 2010 I bought my first Panasonic GH1 and have been a HDSLR convert ever since. It’s been a super lightweight and versatile camera that’s accompanied me on expedition to India and allowed me to delve further into the world of mountain bike filmmaking. So much so that over the next twelve months we are about to embark on what we’re calling our ‘uber film’. Essentially, the creation of a mountain biking film based solely in the UK and filmed throughout all four seasons. We want our film to stand out from the crowd and join the other high quality films within the mountain biking and outdoor adventure film genre. There’s obviously a huge amount of skill, time and effort associated with creating such a film but there are also tools that can assist us along the way. That’s why we chose to purchase the Kessler Crane Lite or KC-Lite as it’s known. It’s our hope that the Kessler Crane will enable us to create shots with an unusual and professional perspective.

How did the 8ft Kessler Crane Lite handle?
Kessler’s reputation is pretty sweet and I wasn’t disappointed when I set up our crane for the first time. The crane itself is extremely well constructed. The Davis & Sanford tripod that comes as part of the KC-Lite package is a no-frills but robust tripod. I had hoped to use my Manfrotto 745xb tripod and video head but it just wasn’t heavy duty enough to take the weight of the crane, particularly the fluid head.

I had read that there was a potential for unwanted side to side movement whilst using the KC-Lite because it only has one support rather than the double support system of the standard crane, but I’m pleased to say that I didn’t notice too much movement on my first test run. I can definitely imagine the double supports create a much studier framework but the potential to carry the crane up and down hills was extremely important factor in our decision to buy the ‘Lite’ version. I think there is a definite knack to using cranes and a skill set that we will have to develop. Bringing the crane to a smooth finish is something I hope to improve.

How easy is it to set up?
It’s really easy to set up and can be done on your own in about 10 minutes or less. Getting the balance weight right is definitely important and we found we had to change the weights based on small changes such as which lens we were using.

Results
A couple of days after receiving our crane we put it to the test. We didn’t want anything too gnarly so we made a trip to the park to follow Patrick about on his bike. Check out the video results below.

Conclusion
I’m sure the KC-Lite is a compromise from a stability perspective but one I’m very happy with. After weighing up different crane options (and we researched a lot) I’m happy we chose the 8ft KC-Lite. The whole rig minus balance weights currently comes in at 20kg which is already pretty heavy if you’re going to be hauling it up and down hills. I wouldn’t want to carry anything heavier on a days shoot in the middle of nowhere. The KC-Lite package also worked out to be about half the price of the standard 8ft Kessler Crane plus K-pod and Hercules head.

What next?
Watch this space. Hopefully in the not so distant future we’ll be bringing you some exciting mtb footage from the top of Snowdon of some other big hill! We’ll also be working on and thinking about other creative ways of filming such as our recent DIY cable cam. We will also be purchasing a new Panasonic GH2 which will enable us to use an external monitor on the crane.

You can keep up to date with our ‘uber film’ by following our Maia Media page on facebook.

http://teampickle.co.uk/2011/03/17/8ft-kessler-crane-test/

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.





Cyclocross outing for my Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod

I wanted to test out my new Christmas present, a Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod, and what better place to experiment than Todmorden Cyclocross race.

As a videographer that enjoys that enjoys using DSLR’s I wanted a light weight, low fuss, support solution when filming. I haven’t been completely sold on the various shoulder mount options made by the likes of Zacuto and others because whilst they do get some good reviews they are ridiculously expensive and cumbersome. They seem to over compensate for DSLR’s not being standard video cameras and forget about the unique features of DSLR’s themselves. So after a little research on the internet I bought the Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod and I am chuffed with my decision.

Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod

When closed the Manfrotto 561BHDV Monopod is 76.50cm in length and weighs in at 1.91kg which for some people may seem a little heavy but it’s so much lighter than my current tripod and felt so sturdy that I am more than happy. Maybe Manfrotto will release a carbon fibre version in the future but that will most certainly bump the price up considerably.

The real bonus of the 561BHDVis how useful and easy it is to shoot video quickly and smoothly whilst out and about. My first outing with the 561BHDV Monopod was at the Cyclocross event. The race only lasts 45 minutes so having a monopod that can be set up so quickly and easily was a big bonus as opposed to lugging around and setting up a tripod.

The 561BHDV is a 4-section aluminum fluid monopod with a maximum working height of 200 cm which is great for getting unusual high angles. It also has a fluid cartridge incorporated into the base which provides a very useful panning functionality when filming. The pan-bar isn’t perfect but does allow for quite smooth panning and tilting movements.

This particular monopod also has three retractable feet which if on a very flat level are self supporting. If, however, I had a pricey camera attached to the top I would resist letting it stand unguarded when other people are around to knock it over. When filming footage however the retractable feet definitely add an extra level of support and stopped the monopod slipping.

I also like to use a glidetrack camera slider which I often attach to my tripod in the central position but I’m looking forward to testing my glidetrack out now using two secure points with the tripod at one end and the monopod providing support at the other.
The event was on the 2nd January 2011 and a bunch of our friends were entering as part of the team ‘Here Come the Belgians‘. It was an all new experience for me watching a cyclocross race and this particular one includes an infamous cobbled climb! Check out the video to see how I got on.

.-.-.-..-.-.-.-.-

Slow Motion Bike Film using Twixtor

Here’s a sweet little slow mo bike film that has used Twixtor to slow the video down to 10% or less. Everything was shot on the Canon 7D in 720p 60fps. Twixtor has had some mixed reviews but this little video is smooth..


Twixtor is essentially a plugin for After Effects, Final Cut, Premiere etc that enables you to speed up, slow down or frame rate convert your image sequences. Twixtor then synthesizes new frames by warping and interpolating frames of the original sequence. As demonstrated by the film above it seems to work best when the background is kept as simple as possible. It also seems that shooting with the shutter speed as fast as possible gives a smoother effect.

Think I may have to experiment with Twixtor over the next month or so.

http://www.revisionfx.com/products/twixtor/

http://teampickle.co.uk/2010/09/29/twixtor/

.-.-.-..-.-.-..-..-..-

.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Flycam Nano


A simple review of the Flycam Nano. Using a Canon 550d and Tokina 11-16mm lens with Bogen quick release adapter system.

.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-..
DIY Cable Cam for Mountain Biking



So there's two key elements to a cable cam. The rope/cable the camera runs on and the unit holding the camera. Our first choice of cable or rope was decided for us. Coming from a climbing background we had plenty of rope and kit to get it reasonably tense so we decided on 10mm semi static rope as our 'cable'. The major issue for us was the design and build of the unit. I had seen a really good version on the web so decided to pretty much copy it.

The video gives you a little insight into how we made the cable cam and the end results. It was all filmed on The Beast in the Peak District on a Panasonic GH1. It was rather overcast on the day but we did the best we could.

We've written up some instructions on how to make your own DIY cable cam -

http://teampickle.co.uk/2011/02/13/diy-cable-cam-how-to/
Made by http://maiamedia.co.uk

.---.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.
Joby Gorillapod Review


pocketnow.com Reviews the Joby Gorillapod laptop tripod