JJ Abrams: The Mystery Box

I recently watched this TED talks video by JJ Abrams: TheMystery Box.  Abrams is a well-known producer, writer and director who has worked on many hit movies and television shows.  In this presentation, Abrams inspires his audience to be creative with whatever they have. He talks about his grandfather and how he used to encourage him to try different things. He would help Abrams take things apart and learn how they worked. One of the things that Abrams became intrigued with was boxes. He was interested and still is interested in how they are made and constructed. Abram’s grandfather bought him a Super 8 camera when he was ten years old because he wanted to create films. Abrams was inspired and encouraged to create things and use his imagination from a very young age.

Abrams got a mystery box from a magic store a long time ago. To this day he has never opened it. So why not open it, and use what is inside? To Abrams, the mystery box is like his grandfather, it represents hope, potential and infinite possibilities. It is the mystery and the unknown that makes it so intriguing. We are drawn to a good mystery and this can be used in films and television. Abrams uses mystery in many of his movies and television shows like, Super 8, Cloverfield and Lost. Sometimes not knowing something can be more fun than knowing. An example of this is style of filmmaking is seen in the television show, Lost. We don’t really know what the island is, but that is part of what makes it an exciting and compelling show. Abrams encourages his audience to use their creativity because with the advances in technology, we have the ability to create just about anything that we can imagine. It no longer takes an entire movie studio to make a good film, anyone with a good story and the passion to see it through can do it.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera

Will the Blackmagic Cinema Camera take the place of HDSLR’s?

In THIS article, Marco Solorio from OneRiver Media, discusses a new product, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. This camera has a very different look to it, in comparison with most HDSLR’s. Solorio talks about the possibility of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera taking the place of HDSLR’s. The Blackmagic Cinema Camera retails for $2,995 and this includes the camera body, DaVinci Resolve grading software, UltraScope used through the use of Thunderbolt, and you get the Blackmagic Design’s media Express software which allows you to preform live capture of the RAW footage. This bundle of extras do not come with any DSLR on the market that I know of. Another cool feature is the five-inch touchscreen on the back of the camera. This screen has many useful features, one of which is the ability to enter metadata onto each clip. The Blackmagic can also accept most lenses that are made for Cannon 5D’s and 7D’s with an EF mount. This is a great idea because there is already a wide variety of these lenses out on the market, so people who own older DSLR’s and have these lenses and are ready to upgrade their camera, will be able to keep their lenses to use with the Blackmagic.

The Blackmagic camera has many benefits compared to DSLR cameras, which are in the same price range. The Blackmagic has a 13-stop, 2.5K sensor resolution and has the ability to be recorded at 12-bit RAW, internally or externally. You can also record in other formats such as, 10-bit ProRes or DNxHD at the full 1080 HD size. This camera has qualities and functions that only higher end cameras have. The Cannon C500 is the next, cheapest camera that outputs a live, uncompressed, RAW output that is higher than 1080 HD and is higher than 8-bit, but this camera costs around 30,000 dollars.

One of the areas where DSLR’s have an advantage over the Blackmagic, is its sensor size. It has a much smaller sensor in comparison with the Cannon 5D Mark 2 and 3.  IF you have a larger sensor, you will gain to things. The first thing is a greater sensitivity to light, and this will also give you a lower amount of noise at higher ISO values. The second benefit in having a larger sensor is that it will give you a narrower depth of field. There are other ways to get a narrow depth of field with a smaller sensor size, it just takes a little more work.

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera is a very new camera with great functions and qualities, and also has its drawbacks. It has many features that are only offered on higher end cameras, and has a new innovative design. I believe that this camera will become a very popular, cheaper alternative to other cameras on the market. 

Welcome to BRAN.DID

Hi, my name is Brandon Dorn and I’d like to welcome you to my site. I am a creative and passionate filmmaker who loves to direct and edit all sorts of film and video projects. I have worked on short films, music videos, commercials and promotional videos. I love what challenges each new project brings, and exploring creative ideas in order to make each of them unique and professional. Please feel free to check out my work here at BRAN.DID and HERE.