Day: April 5, 2010

JVC intros flagship ProHD GY-HM790 camcorder http://bit.ly/9a0Fje Looks like a year of camera updates.

Along with this new JVC camcorder, Pansonic have announced the HPX-370 as an update to the HPX-300 (that was the top ranked, sub $10K camcorder in the 2009-2010 edition of the HD Survival Handbook).

The GY-HM790 is somewhat more expensive than the other models in the range, but sports 3 x 1/3″ CCDs (so no CMOS image wobble or slanting) with a modular design so that ANSI or BNC connectors can be added, to suit different peripherals or purpose-specific modules (like microwave uplink). Supports all major video formats.

Panasonic’s just-announced the upgraded HPX-370 from the HPX-300 (good deals were available on the run-out). Same size sensors but a sensor upgrade for lower noise and better sensitivity. Other than the upgraded sensor (at the same price) the HPX-370 is pretty much the same camera as the HPX-300. The AVC-Intra support makes it the highest record quality field acquisition camera under $10K (street price).

I was hoping for an NAB of radically new cameras with large sensors. I still have hope for Canon who have the best pedigree (of the majors) for large sensors, except they’re in the DSLR division, not the video camera one. Hopefully there are some bridges within the  company!

Should you blog during production? http://bit.ly/d9JEVH Director v money (and the answer is yes!) Great discussion of the issues.

It’s long been part of my discourse that producers and directors (at a minimum) should be blogging their production from the first story ideas. It’s a fundamental part of building an audience for an independent production (as opposed to throwing $47 million at marketing a $35-50 million movie as MGM/UA did for Hot Tub Time Machine). It never occurred to me that there was a potential argument against it!

As it turns out, once Raymond De Felitta wrote that he’d been asked to stop posting by his “money people” the response changed those minds and the blog of outtakes, stories etc now gets thousands of hits per day.

“As to what message I’m sending by complying with the request to not show the dailies, clearly I’m agreeing that the last century and its thinking is still correct, that the world order is unchanged, that 19th- and 20th-century notions of ownership and control (as well as 19th- and 20th-century fears) are still wagging the dog. But let’s face it: Even large corporations realize that in the current world, any viral presence is a help, not a hindrance. Clips of movies on YouTube are a non-starter in terms of harming people’s copyrights. Clips are clips. Not movies. They are their to educate you on the existence of the finished product, not rob you of the opportunity to see it.”

Brand inclusion starting earlier in the production cycle and pushed from the brand side. http://bit.ly/8XBvQo

Yet another data point that traditional advertising isn’t going to be the “solution” for the future. Brand or product placement definitely provides better value for the brand and less intrusion for the viewer.

Pretty much fulfilling the predictions I made in my Nov 2006 Keynote Presentation to the Academy of Television Arts and Science’s NEXT TV: What’s next for your career symposium.