Artful Camera | Analog And Digital Photography And Filmmaking

Carl Olson (DigitalFilm.TV), Chris Fenwick (chrisfenwick.com), and planetMitch (planet5D.com) talk making money in photography and video in today's economy.

Are the new Nikon D800 and D800E - each sporting a huge 36 megapixel full-frame sensor - worthy competitors of the venerable Canon 5D Mark II? planetMitch (planet5D.com) gives us the details on these new Nikon cameras. Canon also released new product this week - the successor to the 24-70mm f2.8 L lens. The new lens is $1,000 more than the original. Is it worth it? The big news last week was Apple's 10.0.3 update to FCP X. Post-production guru Chris Fenwick (chrisfenwick.com) gives FCP X's new multicam feature a thorough work out on a new music video that was shot last week. How does the new multicam feature stack up against other NLE's? Is this finally the FCP X release everyone has been waiting for? Has FCP X finally got its groove back? Listen to the show to hear Chris' reaction to this new update.  We wrap up the show with our picks and recommendations. Chris makes an incredible offer to our listeners - you will have to listen to the show to get the details!

Dave Dugdale (LearningDSLRVideo.com), planetMitch (planet5D.com), Chris Fenwick (chrisfenwick.com) and I span the four major timezones of the continental United States in Episode 59 of the Digital Convergence Podcast. planetMitch rounds up the latest Canon 5D Mark III - the fabled successor of the long-in-the-tooth Canon 5D Mark II - rumors in the wild (literally, in Kenya of all places) and weighs in with his analysis of the unidentified Canon camera photographed by Stephen Oachs.

Episode 58: The Digital Convergence Podcast crew - Chris Fenwick,planetMitch, and Carl Olson talk with special guest Charley Voorhis of Voortex Productions. Charley is also an video production instructor for Wanatchee Valley Tech. His passion for video shines through in his videos, and that passion carries over to his students at Wanatchee Valley Tech. Last year Charley's students placed 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place at the regional Skills USA film contest. The students did so well, that it prompted a controversy: should the Canon 7D camera be banned from use by students who enter the contest? Does shooting with a Canon 7D give students an unfair advantage over other students using older video equipment? Should the equipment used matter? What does this say about the art of filmmaking - is the camera or the person that makes the art? It's an interesting discussion! planetMitch brings us up to date on the latest pricing and pre-order information about the Canon C300 and the new Canon Cinema series T-stop lenses. We l

Carl Olson (Digital Film TV), Mitch Aunger (aka planetMitch of planet5D.com) and Chris Fenwick (Slice Editorial) talk about the new Nikon D4 and dissect it's video capabilities. The subject of mirror-less cameras come up - do they mean the death of DSLR's? This is a debate that Trey Ratcliff started on his StuckInCustoms blog. We talk about the new Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 beta and it's new video editing features. We haven't talked much about the maligned FCP X so we jump back on that soap wagon. Could it be we're slowly warming up to it? The show wraps up with a new feature: tips and recommended tools.

Episode 56 - Chris Fenwick, Mitch Aunger (aka planetMitch), and Carl Olson ponder the question: should freelance videographers sell their HDSLR kits and buy a Canon C300?

Episode 55 - Kris Simmons of MindYourVideoBusiness.com and 6Strong Media

In episode 54 of the Digital Convergence podcast Chris Fenwick and Carl Olson talk about the recent announcements from Canon and RED.

Episode 53 - Featuring Jeff Dykhouse, a pro audio engineer and sound designer with over 25 years experience.

Shane Hurlbut talks about his new partnership with Letus Corp. to create a new line of tools to turn HDSLR cameras into a "mean movie making machine."

Last Wednesday evening I attended the Atlanta Cutters meeting at Georgia Public Broadcasting in Atlanta. There I had the opportunity to meet and listen to Patrick Belden - sound designer and composer for Alton Brown'sGood Eats. Patrick did a fascinating presentation about his sound design work on Good Eats using Avid's ProTools. Patrick Belden's presentation got me thinking about recording live sound, sound design, and sound processing. What can I do to improve my videos' sound? Just how can I get that "Hollywood" sound? How should I get organized for handling audio? What workflow should I follow? I put these questions to Chris Fenwick. A lively discussion ensues about all things audio. Audio in video production is such a huge topic - covering field recording, studio recording, sound design, foley, music and scoring, microphones, monitoring equipment, mixing, audio processing and more. Obviously we only begin to scratch the surface of audio in this episode of Digital Convergence.

Episode 50 of the Digital Convergence Podcast, featuring founder and host, Carl Olson, along with cohost Chris Fenwick, Mitch "planetMitch" Aunger, and Paul Antico (of NeedCreative.net).

Episode 49 A Faster Way To Edit with Chris Fenwick, Dave Dugdale, and Carl Olson

Episode 48 of the Digital Convergence Podcast: Chris Fenwick puts on his Dr. Phil hat and gives me some tough love on how to improve my video ingest workflow that of late has been causing me a good deal of indigestion. It's a geeky episode for sure as we talk about hard drives, LTO tape backups, Drobo, checksums, archiving and media management. We go off on a few tangents, too. Surprised? For example, should you charge your clients for backups?

Episode 47 featuring Mitch Aunger - aka planetMitch of planet5D.com. Hosted by Carl Olson of 16x9 Cinema.

Episode 46 - Featuring Walter Biscardi of Biscardi Creative Media and Atlanta Cutters User Group

In episode 45 of the Digital Convergence podcast, Philip Hodgetts, Patrick Inhofer, Chris Fenwick and Carl Olson discuss last week's polarizing and controversial launch of Final Cut Pro X. Is this the biggest debacle since the MobileMe fiasco? Has Apple intentionally alienated high-end pro users? Can Apple make this right or does Apple care? What is the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of FCP X?

In Episode 44 of the Digital Convergence Podcast, Carl Olson and Chris Fenwick speak with photographer and author David duChemin of Pixelated Image. David is the author of Vision Mongers - Making A Life and a Living In Photography, Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision, and Vision & Voice: Refining Your Vision in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom. He is also the author of a number of wonderfully beautiful and inspiring e-books available at CraftAndVision.com. David duChemin is a thoughtful ranter. He is never rude, but, rather, passionately convincing in his push to help us become better photographers and visual artists. I think you'll agree that David provides a good dose of fertilizer in the cultivation of our art - whether we are still photographers or filmmakers.

This episode marks the return of Carl Olson and Chris Fenwick on the Digital Convergence podcast after a nearly 6 month long hiatus. This episode features a delightful and talented filmmaking couple - Alex Beckstead and Joelle Jaffe of 4SP Films. They have produced a number of fine films including the scrumptuous Tartine Bread book trailer.

Episode 42 - Featuring Victoria Taylor-Gore, artist, educator, and filmmaker - with host Carl Olson (http://16x9cinema.com) and co-host Chris Fenwick (http://chrisfenwick.com). Victoria Taylor-Gore's pastels have been exhibited professionally for over 20 years with representation in premiere art galleries in Sante Fe and Taos, New Mexico. Her pastels have a luminous quality - ordinary scenes appear backlight with warm light emanating from an unseen light source. Victoria recently begin experimenting with a Canon 7D to produce short films featuring her art and antique miniatures. She has also ventured outside captuing such scenes as Cadillac Ranch along Route 66. Victoria says "the Canon 7D has changed my life - what a magical tool." Victoria continues: "Painting, filmmaking, and photography deal with the same essential design components... composition, light, color, emphasis...it's all part of visual storytelling." In this episode, Chris and I are amazed by Victoria's visual story telling and the clever, exp