Less than three weeks ago this space was two units, you can clearly see the division in the wall and beam color. December is probably the toughest month for a commitment from a contractor but some how we did it. The dry walling is almost complete, plumbing and electrical tweaks next, follow by 2 or 3 coats of paint and we’ll be up and running, not a moment too soon
The North light is fantastic, can’t wait for our first food shoot.
The printers, painters and photographers that occupied these studio spaces on the fourth floor of 224 Wallace Avenue have been swept aside by their neighboring tenant, the digital juggernaut Ubisoft. With a quarter Billion (yes, that’s a B) dollars in Provincial tax credits they are unstoppable! Good thing I’m moving out at the end of the year ; ) The last 12 years here have been great, but bigger and better things await at the new space on King Street, can’t wait to get going.
These are screen grabs from a video project exploring time lapse and product photography. The Milky Way element took five trips to an observation area West of Bracebridge before I was able to get the desired result. Clouds, ice and midnight dew all had to be over come, and I will never forget the sound of the lonesome freight train as it slowly rumbled through the landscape of lakes and Canadian Shield, a beautifully evocative sound. The video is part of a larger project due in the Spring, stay tuned! ; )
Going on location is expensive and can be a logistical nightmare. “There’s got to be a better way!” Digital locations are always available, easily redecorated and photo-real, the possibilities are endless!
And for our next magic trick we will turn this dump into a beautiful Alaskan wilderness. It will be interesting to see how it all turns out as a flight to Alaska wasn’t in the budget…this time! 🙂
The camera path is automated, and you guest it ” there is an app. for that!”
Patrick sweats it out while the snow (paper pulp) is set up, it was actually raining while we shot this segment.
In this mock-up a digital double stands in for Patrick, to test the environment.
Got the chance to experiment with the beautiful Magnolia Stellata (star). Tested some time lapse setups and the under slung mode, for a classic overhead perspective. Mr Super Beetle made a cameo appearance, working with insects requires a lot of patients. Here are a couple of stills from the 650 Gigs of footage we shot.
OK, we all know how much smart phones have changed the way people work and play the world over but is this (see below) the future/evolution of all digital media, from art and entertainment to journalism, business and social engagement? Oculus Rift (a popular headset with Gamers) recently bought by Facebook for 2 billion US, was started by Palmer Luckey in his parents garage in 2011, yeah, just 5 years ago!! Makes you wonder where it will be by the end of the decade?
and of course XXX
I’ve been experimenting with capturing RAW images from the Canon 5D mk3 using the Magic Lantern ‘hack”. With all that amazing image latitude going to waste in “normal” mode how could you resist! But now I have that power there comes a great responsibility. What is the correct way to move forward with this new power? Magic Decoder Rings, of course! This is my none technical way of describing LUT’s or Look Up Tables (not so sexy). They can transform an image from an ugly duckling into a magnificent swan! Below is an example of a few ways to get the most out of the RAW image. Going from quick and easy to a more complex approach that balances three different “Magic Decoder Rings” to emulate the look and feel of images the way they were created before the age of computers. Using exotic media like Kodak Eastman Vision3 5219 negative for the creation phase and out putting to Vision 2393 Positive Release Print film for the distribution phase (movie theaters, web or marketing), see last example below. Why go to all this expense and trouble you ask? Well, if you want an aesthetic that people see as natural, authentic and beautiful, the film look is the only way to go. For more about the amazing power and beauty of “Film Emulation”, Vision Color is a great resource.
Casa Loma is a wonderful location and has a surprisingly generous amount of natural light, even in the middle of a snow storm, which gave us beautifully diffuse, wrap around light for this shoot. My assistants weren’t too happy that the elevators weren’t working, but at least they didn’t have to haul the furniture up the stairs, just my 65lb camera cart! LOL. Actually I did that, seriously! Lead by example is my motto : )
Ida makes the beds look Sham’tastic!
Reviewing the shot on the Cine Display with the client. Big Bed shots require a lot of styling tweaks. If it looks like we are all panting it’s because we climbed 10 flights of stairs to get to this room! Lol
Even though the rooms are vast, sometimes you have to work around immovable obstacles, like this full size, slate snooker table. The shots came out great though and instead of the 10 listed for our 2 day location, we came away with 18! I’m sure we will be returning to the Casa soon…Hope they fix that elevator!
Images captured by Patrick Moher
Here is a great example of one of the many advantages of shooting in a RAW format, it captures a scene more closely to the way in which the human eye see’s it and, as a result, looks way better than even an awesome codec like ProRez, which has only 10 stops of dynamic range compared with the 30 stops available in Raw. Even the human eye can’t beat that, at 24 stops, although the eye does have a uber, high tech auto exposure system attached to it called the brain.
If you’re wearing your pocket protector you may want to find out more at this great resource. Cambridge in Color
