I'm an advertising photographer based in Los Angeles, California. My mission is to create striking advertising photography, corporate photography and editorial photography of people for major advertising agencies, fortune 500 corporations and major magazines. I shoot photography and video assignments throughout California including Los Angeles, San Francisco, San Diego as well as the rest of the world. As a photo educator I am happy to share my unique vision and methods. I'm currently teaching classes at Santa Monica College in video production for professional photographers and photography students.
Thursday August 12, Brooks Institute of Photography hosted my Secrets of Video Production on what turned out to be one of the first truly sunny summer days this season. Both students and a large number of faculty attended my presentation held in one of the school’s spacious studios. The theme was tabletop so I was able to spotlight the Indisliderpro with the Manfrotto 501 fluid head supported on Manfrotto 536 MPRO legs. Everyone was impressed with how sturdy and versatile the IndisliderPro was both when mounted on the Manfrotto legs and when placed right on the tabletop. Everyone appreciated the value of the False Color and Peaking filters of the Marshall’s monitor and enjoyed being able to see what was going on as some of the students tried out the techniques I presented. RedRockMicro’s support system and microFollowFocus was instrumental in demonstrating techniques like rack focus. The cucaloris effect of the Chimera Window Patterns added life to both the background of some setups and dappled light directly on one setup illustrating a push-in technique with the Indisliderpro. The LEDs from Litepanels were used as both main sources and kickers along with both the Lastolite Triflip and Skylite light modifiers.
Indislider Pro
Everything was shot to a RAW 16GB CF card and down loaded through the high speed RAW Firewire card reader on to LaCie harddrives supporting editing in Final Cut Pro on MacBook Pro. Along with demonstrating a number of tabletop shooting situations, I had enough time to show a very basic NLE workflow. Student received a Sonicfire Pro disk and suggestions on the use of royalty-free music in their future video and still to video productions.
The students asked lots of questions and quite a few got a chance to try the equipment for themselves in actual shooting situations.
Below is the tabletop wine video we did in the workshop.
Below is the tabletop push-in we did in the workshop.
Secrets of Video Production for Photographers is coming to Charlotte on June 18 and 19. I’m looking forward to my first visit to what promises to be a charming city.
Friday night is going to be the APA evening presentation from 6:00pm to 9:00pm at Paradox Film & digital where I give a basic outline of the process of video production. I do this keeping in mind video is an additional component to a still production. I will discuss the techniques and tools needed to do video production. See http://charlotte.apanational.com for more details.
Saturday’s workshop is always fun and informative as I have more time to really get into video production. In the morning, we look at the basics from a different point of view and then build on those basics including when to call in a post house like Rawworks to help. In the early afternoon we do some lighting and camera techniques followed by a short commercial shoot with the latest equipment from Manfrotto, Panasonic, Ziess, Marshall Electronics, Redrock Micro, Beachtek, Sennhieser, K-Tek, Hoodman, and LaCie. I then take that video into Final Cut Studio, edit it and output it for various distribution methods. The day gives anyone interested in video production a good outline to follow in video productions. See www.tiny.cc/june18 for more details.
Video production is changing by the day and can be confusing to photographers just getting into motion. Having a working understanding of the overall picture, helps give the photographer getting into video production an understanding of how to judge what equipment and software to use.
Christopher Lozano www.tlsHollywood.com did this time lapse click (MOVIE) of the LA evening presentation.
Chicago was surprising. As with the other cities, I had no doubt that the photography professionals attending would be welcoming but I had not expected the warmth they extended to me. I did both my Secrets of Video Production for photographers evening presentation and Saturday workshop at Callie Lipkin’s very spacious studio. Callie and her husband/studio manager Robert were great hosts and they have a great space that is also a rental, so if you are in need of a studio in Chicago, give them a call 773.853.2339. APA’s Midwest director Megan was indispensible in getting things set up for my events.
Everyone was intent on learning about video production as this is a no nonsense group of professionals that see video production is the next stage of the now ever-changing landscape of professional image making. They understand the days of being a pure professional photographer are fast disappearing and they are willing to take the next step, which is into video production. I had at least two photographers who drove from Columbus Ohio to attend. Two more came from Milwaukee and plan on sharing what they learned with the rest of the crew at QuadPhoto. Dave Busch of QuadPhoto was nice enough to send me an email that included the following quote, “The combination of facts, experiences and practical ideas you presented will undoubtedly save a lot of money and pain for any photographer that is just beginning to investigate video production. Plus the tools, toys, and software you shared were a real eye opener for those of us who have already started shooting HD video with DSLR. Thanks again for making the event well worth our time and the 180 miles we drove to attend!”
It was exciting to share with them some of the new development I saw at NAB a few days earlier in Vegas, including the exciting developments of Litepanels new hybrid LED that flash sync’s. Zeiss’s new cine compact prime series was well as introducing them to Zeiss’s HDSLR series lenses for Canon and Nikon cameras. Sonicfire’s new Voxal vocal albums and, of course, Redrock Micro’s upcoming wireless follow focus were just a few of the items I told them about.
I have no doubt that the Chicago professionals I met will have little problem making some great short form video content. I look forward to them sharing some of their video experiences with me.
News from NAB 2010. The new “Voxation Series” from SmartSound the royalty free music company I suggest gives a new dimension to customizable music for your video and multimedia productions. The brand new Voxation Series features lyric-based vocal music from talented bands and musicians. This lyric-based vocal music is still easily edited in length, arrangement and mix using Sonicfire Pro.
It works by having the instrument tracks and vocals on separate layers, which allows Sonicfire to manipulate the songs to fit the changes in your video. SmartSound is the only company that can offer this level of adjustability.
These first two albums are one by Brady Harris with melodic tunes and savvy lyrics and the other by Indie Pop/Rock band Steep with more to follow. SmartSound is going to keep the lyric driven music series growing and is working with a number of bands and musicians in developing more albums.
The pricing is $149.95 for an album and $59.95 for singles from the albums and as in the past are available online or in disk form (at a additional charge). Visit Smartsound.com for more information and hear samples.
My first day at NAB in Vegas brought into perspective just how quickly the world of video production has changed. The number of new and innovative products that deal with making video with HDSLRs has increased dramatically. At the same time, the video cameras are starting to have advancements that are going to blur the line between video and DSLR cameras.
Litepanels by Manfrotto is bringing out a new hybrid LED with a flash function. Panasonic has a new 4/3 video camera that accepts a variety of still camera lenses. RedRock Micro has a number of new products for follow focus and cine lenses. Carl Zeiss has a whole set of new Compact rime CP.2 cine lenses. Hoodman has a number of new recording cards and focusing assists.
These are just a few of the new products I have seen at NAB that in some way will make producing videos easier or slicker. I will be reviewing these new products I have been shown as they actually become closer to being available.
Video production for photographers is coming to Chicago on April 16 and 17. I’m looking forward to the windy city right after visiting NAB in Las Vegas for a few days.
Friday night is going to be the APA evening presentation from 6:30pm to 9:00pm where I give a basic outline of the process of video production within a still production and the additional software and equipment needed. Richard Wiser of VMI Broadcast and Professional video said of the evening, “ I found the information accurate and interesting and your presentation top-notch.” See http://midwest.apanational.com for more details.
Saturday’s workshop is always fun and informative as I have more time to really get into video production. In the morning, we look at the basics from a different point of view and then build on those basics including about when to call in a post house like Rawworks to help. In the early afternoon we do some lighting and camera techniques followed by a short commercial shoot with the latest equipment from Manfrotto, Panasonic, Ziess, Marshall Electronics, Redrock Micro, Beachtek, Sennhieser, K-Tek, Hoodman, and LaCie. I then take that video into Final Cut Studio, edit it and output it for various distribution methods. The day gives anyone interested in video production a good outline to follow in their own productions. See www.tiny.cc/chiapr17 for more details.
Video production is changing by the day and can be confusing to photographers just getting into motion. Having a working understanding of the overall picture, helps give the photographer getting into video production a understanding of how to judge what equipment and software to use. Once the photographer is producing video, there are a number of ways to market their new skill set to current and potential clients.
Christopher Lozano www.tlsHollywood.com did this time lapse click (MOVIE) of the LA evening presentation.
“I found the information accurate and interesting and your presentation top-notch” – Richard Wieser video professional services for VMI Broadcast and Professional Video.
Seattle’s Secrets of Video Production for Photographers evening presentation and workshop was a blast. Both events took place at the Seattle Pacific University, a beautiful campus in northern Seattle. Along with my past sponsors of Apple, Manfrotto, Zeiss, Panasonic, Redrock Micro, Beachtek, Smartsound, Marshall Electronics, Sennheiser, LaCie, Hoodman USA, there were the new and very welcome sponsors of Rawworks, K-tek and Agencyaccess.
I’d like to say a little bit about these new sponsors who along with my other sponsors that help bring photographers across the nation the information photographers are going to need to compete in the new media world. Rawworks is a post house, which means it finishes the video with editing, audio sweetening, color grading (color correction) and format conversions. Although Rawworks handles all type of video, it has taken a special interest in HDSLR post-production. I suggest before embarking on a video project involving serious post-production, consider talking to them. Check out their website at hdirawworks.com.
K-Tek has also joined in spreading the video production information to photographers. They added important items to the equipment I have been showing which are a superb shock mount and a combination fuzzy with shock mount. These improve the sound quality by reducing the unwanted vibrations and wind noise that otherwise would be picked up by the microphone. Their website is ktekbooms.com.
And, of course, all the right equipment and hard work in producing video means little if you are not letting the world know you have added this new service. This is where Agencyaccess becomes an important part of your overall plan. They can help you in getting the word out to potential clients by supplying you an up-to-date database of prospective clients and a wide variety of ways of getting your promotions designed and out to them. To see more of their services, go to agencyaccess.com.
Friday evening’s group was there to find out what this new convergence of photography and video is going to mean to them and get a glimpse at the new tools and techniques they would need to use. Richard Wieser of the VMI video, www.vmivideo.com, was there to answer questions for some of my sponsors like Panasonic, Sennheiser, and Marshall Electronics. VMI has stores in California and Washington and is an excellent resource for video gear.
Some of Saturday’s group already had upcoming projects that included a video component and were seriously looking for answers to the many questions shooting video brings up for the photographer. I gave the group a good overview of how to get started and what to prepare for in video production. I also had a chance to answer specific questions about individual photographer’s problems concerning their future productions.
One of those historic snowfalls did not deter New York photographers from getting to Secrets of Video Production for Photographers. Over 170 professionals enjoyed getting in from the snow and ice in the Root studio to see my Secrets of Video Production for Photographers. New Yorkers, always being right on top of the latest, asked probing questions and took copious notes.
Just that day, The Wall Street Journal broke the front-page news “Google Jolts Telecom Rivals” about Google starting to supply higher speed connection than presently available. Google stated it was to improve the rapid downloading of video. I has been saying this is the year photographers will be have to move into supplying video along with photography or begin to lose ground.
I’m is scheduled to continue spreading the latest in tools and techniques of photography/video in upcoming presentations in Seattle, Chicago and New Jersey.
There was another big turn out for my Atlanta “Secrets of Video Production for Photographers” given for APA Atlanta. Along with gear I had from my sponsors Apple, Manfrotto, Zeiss, Panasonic, SmartSound, RedRock Micro, Beachtek, Marshall Electronics, Sennheiser, LaCie and Hoodman, Apple was there showing Final Cut Studio and gave away a $1000.00 Final Cut Studio suite of video editing software. The Zeiss representative showed their special Canon and Nikon mount lenses with long focus barrels and color-matched glass.
Showcase camera store of Atlanta, a beautiful fully stocked professional camera store, also supplied additional gear from the above mentioned sponsors to give attendees a chance to see the various pieces of equipment up close and personal.
Big Studio, 404-874-6111, was a wonderful host of both the Thursday evening event and Saturday workshop. It is a great studio to work in and Megan the studio manager was both gracious and professional.
Below are pictures Lindsay Lewis the director of APA Atlanta took during my evening presentation. The first is me talking about the false color filter of Marshall Electronics V-LCD70P-HDMI monitor. The second is me talking about the Sonicfire Pro program and five royalty-free multi music tracks. I have arranged for every attendee to either of my events to get the music tracks for free.
Lee White with Marshall Electronic false color filter
The Saturday workshop was especially interesting for me, as I got to really delve into shooting video with stills then editing. We talked about planning and equipment in the morning and after the lunch I provided from a tasty deli nearby, we got into the gear.
Everyone had a chance to try some hands on using a complete video rig. I did a couple of lighting demos and shot a short commercial. The picture below shows me shooting the commercial using a Reckrock Micro rig with a microFollowFocus geared to a Zeiss ZE 50mm F1.4 lens, on Manfrotto sticks (tripod) and fluid head with a Beachtek 5d audio adapter cabled to a Sennheiser ME66 microphone. On top of the rig, you can see the Marshall monitor showing the camera feed. In the foreground is a Litepanels MicroPro LED light and in the background a medium Lastolite Skylite diffuser.
After shooting the video, I took it into Apple’s Final Cut Studio and showed how to transcode the files into a more edit friendly format using Compressor onto a LaCie rugged drive. A step you can bypass when using video cameras from Panasonic. Then I show everyone how to get the files into Final cut Pro, edit them into a commercial and output several distribution formats. I ended the workshop by showing how easy it is to match music from SmartSound’s Sonicfire Pro with video or pictures.
My Saturday’s workshop was a fun and educational experience. In the morning, there were a few hours of chatting about video in general and the new skill set needed to estimate and shoot video along with stills. After a quick lunch provided by APA-LA, there was a simple combination photo/video lighting demonstration followed by a hands-on follow focus experience by each attendee.
I then set up a simple commercial spot production and shot clips to be edited into a commercial. Following the production, I delved into putting the clips together in Final Cut Studio to finish the commercial. First, I showed them how to transcode the HDSLR files into a more edit friendly format of ProRes422. You can skip this step with video clips from video cameras like the Panasonic. I brought the clips into Final Cut Pro to edit them into a sequence and did some color correction. I then showed a couple of output options.
Following all that, we had a chance to explore the Sonicfire Pro application and how it creates custom length royalty-free music.
I make sure every attendee to either my Thursday evening presentation or Saturday workshop gets a copy of the Sonicfire Pro application and five free multi-layered music tracks they can use commercially.
Hoodman USA