Archives for February 2013

New Media from Sony: the SxS PRO+ and Mirroring Memory Sticks

February 15, 2013 by Brad Spinsby Leave a Comment

Matching media, cameras, crews, and codecs can feel like a game of Guess Who? “Do you have a Sony camera that can shoot on SxS cards and record 2K?” GUESS WHO?

In a perfect world, we would only need one media to record everything. But this isn’t a perfect world. In the last couple years a plethora of new cameras, codecs and different types of recording media have been released. Sony has recently expanded their 4K presence and now has upgraded their SxS cards with the new SxS PRO+ cards. The PRO+ cards can write up to 1.5/Gbps and read up to 1.6/Gbps. They are designed to support the massive amount of information required in the capture of 2K and 4K footage. A 128GB Pro+ is available and will hold 240 minutes of MPEG 422 footage at 30P or 20 minutes of XAVC Intra 422 footage at 60P. These PRO+ cards also feature a “power failure management” function that can recreate clips in case of sudden power loss or accident card ejection. Now when lightning strikes, you will be able to save your footage.

Along with upgrading their SxS cards, Sony has a new Memory Stick, the Memory Stick PX, for their NXCAM line of cameras. The Memory Stick PX is a mirroring memory that allows for duplicate recording by creating two partitions within the card. A 64GB Memory Stick PX is available and with the mirror memory feature it has 32GB capacity. On the 64GB card you can record 340 minutes of AVCHD(FX) codec or 170 minutes with mirroring. The PX card also offers additional functionality and the ability to increase write speed by minimizing the capacity of the card. On a 64GB card you could double the speed from the card by making it a 32GB card. Different shooting situations call for different techniques, and now with Sony SxS PRO+ you can get the higher resolution and with Memory Stick PX you can create onsite redundancy backup while shooting.

An interesting feature to note is Sony’s PVM-X300 4k monitor has an optional SxS player in the monitor. This would allow you to pull the SxS card out of the camera and stick it straight into the monitor to review dailies.

Has your Chicago video crew used any of Sony’s new SxS or Memory Stick media? Please let us know and tell us what you think.

Taking Murphy’s Law into Your Own Hands

February 11, 2013 by Tony Muzzatti Leave a Comment

It’s not a foreign concept for anyone in any industry. People understand this law, it’s quite universal, and it’s referred to as Murphy’s Law. It states, if there is a possibility of something happening, it is then likely to happen. It commonly pairs itself with drastic circumstances one would not generally consider preparing themselves to troubleshoot.

In the camera crew production world things happen, and production professionals are entitled to making a mistake every now and then (eg. Superbowl Blackout). The difference between a successful person and an unsuccessful person — the successful person learns from their mistake and NEVER MAKES IT AGAIN. Those are the people who gain “experience” from that event, and those are the people who go on to save the day on another production because of the mistake they had made on a prior production.

Experience Through Repetition

After 10 years of experience you find yourself in a place where mistakes are few and far between and doing things the right way is almost second nature for you. This is the exact reason why, at Crews Control, we will only represent directors of photography who have been in the industry for 10 plus years. We understand the mechanics of creating a successful video production shoot, and starting at its core are the people you hire to get the job done.

Through repetition, directors of photography gain the experience needed to guarantee their product. It’s like asking Tiger Woods to swing a golf club; he’s been doing it for 30 plus years so it’s as easy as breathing for him. Independent DPs, that have been in the industry for as long as ours have, do things because they are second nature to them and those workflows have worked for a long time.

The more experienced freelancers are going to cost more money, that’s a fact. This is the case with any service you require, and with any service you require…you get what you pay for. In the world of cinematography, you are paying for the director of photography to make your shot look as beautiful as it possibly can. So why would you limit your budget in the one place you cannot “fix in post” or “press ctrl+z” to undo?

Trying To Make Sense Of It All

I guess my whole point is companies that make successful videos for their marketing and advertising campaigns do not skimp on the budget for their field production, as they recognize it is a foundation of their entire production. It’s the one part of the entire project/campaign you have to get right the first time because, unlike golf, mulligans cost money.

And that’s one to grow on! (tell me where that quote came from in the comments)

Ben Went To Superbowl XLVII

February 8, 2013 by Kacey Trent Leave a Comment

Ben is a huge Baltimore Ravens fan so he decided he would attend the Superbowl this year. We hooked him up with one of our camera crews in New Orleans and they took good care of Ben while he was there. Ben even met a couple of new friends in New Orleans that shared a similar passion for the Ravens. There is still some speculation at Crews Control over whether or not Ben had something to do with the blackout…

Tarika Technologies Is In The Business Of Making You Look Good

February 1, 2013 by Valerie Nolan Leave a Comment

Has your camera crew ever had to capture live presentations? Imagine an event where you are watching a speaker who is teaching you something new and exciting using a captivating PowerPoint presentation.

Yes, it’s true. PowerPoint can be captivating. How do I know? Because our team at Tarika Technologies has crafted eye-catching, animated PowerPoint presentations.

Here’s how:

We analyzed the essentials of PPT: what made it useful, what made it boring.

We created a storyboard for how to shift the paradigm.

Then we created a video-animated presentation that showcased the opportunities.

Then we got really creative and came up with mobile compatible formats.

Last, but not least, we packaged the new product and loaded it into iPads for our clients.

The end result: What we ended up with was an iPad loaded with the customer’s customized presentation. Customers could then use these iPads to showcase the abilities of their organization and hand them over to high-profile prospects upon completion of the presentation for future use.

Compare this to the traditional means of loading a PowerPoint presentation on a USB drive or an auto-loader presentation on a CD and handing that out.

Consider this scenario: On of our clients, Ocean Renewable Power Company (ORPC), needed to showcase its technology, which was present in CAD diagrams. We created a 3-dimensional model of its turbines and a 3D animation demonstrating the underwater technology. This allowed investors to see how the ORPC technology worked in an interesting, realistic manner.

Tarika Develops a 3D Simulation for ORPC

Pre Production:

Post Production:

Why was the 3D model required?

Christopher R. Sauer, CEO of ORPC, says, “ORPC required a 3D representation of the TidGen(tm) technology to showcase how this innovative new underwater power system works. Since the TidGen(tm) Power System is completely submerged and not visible and because the technology encompasses many first-of-a-kind design concepts, its basic configuration and operational features are very difficult to envision for someone not familiar with it. A picture is worth a thousand words but an animation is worth a million words because the animation gives an accurate account of the basic design, size and operational characteristic, such as rotational speed.”

How did it help ORPC? What was the value add?

“The 3D animation added significant value to ORPC in terms of creating an instant understanding of our TidGen(tm) Power System among our key stakeholders, including potential investors, environmental agencies regulators, public officials, the fishing community, the local community, etc. It has also been very useful in discussion with potential international partners because language isn’t needed to gain a basic understanding of the technology.” explained the CEO of ORPC.

TV network Al Jazeera ran a news story on August 14, 2012, about the use of ORPC’s technology in a Maine tide-powered energy project. The video includes a 3D animation created by Tarika Technologies that shows how ORPC’s underwater turbines will harness energy.

Who can use this service? This customized service is tailored towards specific clients and based on client-specific requirements. For a presentation that has about 20 PowerPoint slides, costs start at $3,000 USD. For more information, click here.

How did Tarika Team help ORPC?

Christopher R. Sauer, CEO of ORPC, commented by saying, “The Tarika team developed the 3D animation on a turnkey basis, working closely with ORPC personnel to make sure the technical and operational details were correct and the model achieved ORPC goals. Tarika provided all of the expertise involved, which saved ORPC the cost and delay of acquiring the expertise in-house. We have gained the highest respect for Tarika’s professionalism, capabilities and focus on providing the client (ORPC) what we want.”

Would you consider doing this again?

Christopher finishes by saying, “Not only would we consider doing this again, we will definitely being doing this again as technology improvements to the TidGen(tm) Power System are made and ORPC’s other power systems, RivGen(tm) and OCGen(tm), are further developed and made ready for deployment.”

About Sachin Agrawal

Tarika Technologies founder Sachin Agrawal has more than 14 years of industry experience in various aspects of business technology.

While consulting for small and mid-size companies, as well as Fortune 500 clients and government organizations, Agrawal became captivated by the value that a properly deployed technology plan can add to a company.

He is on a mission to streamline technology for his clients, and to make technical implementation simpler and more effective.

Agrawal holds a master’s degree in Information Architecture (Highest Honors), a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering, and an associate’s degree in Computer Engineering Technology from Capitol College, Maryland, USA.

He has been a practitioner of KyoKuShin Karate for more than a decade.

For more information, visit www.tarikatechnologies.com