4/27/2010

Currents of Belize

Here is another nicely produced fly fishing film that demonstrates you do not need a well known host to capture the audience. Fishing enthusiasts are over the format that injects the "well known" angler or captain into a local scene where the entire film is about them and not the place. You really have to understand that todays audience wants to see the destination for what it is and listen to the "guy" who has spent a lifetime getting to know the waters intimately. Make it personal. The idea is for the viewer to feel as though they have been welcomed into the living room of the local expert to share in the knowledge and experience accumulated over years. Great job Costa del Mar. You have another winner on your hands with "Currents of Belize".




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4/22/2010

Big Game Legends Film Clip

A clip from Full Throttle Media's "Big Game Legends" film. This is a historical documentary about the development of big game fishing and tackle around the world. This footage was shot on 16 mm and edited for the express purpose of achieving an edgier effect. The fishing is taking place on the Great Barrier Reef.



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Seth Horne

4/21/2010

Once in a Blue Moon

The guys at On the Fly in New Zealand are doing some incredible fishing on the other side of the planet from where I am. You have to get down there and experience some of these goods.




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Seth Horne
SuperFish by Rick Rosenthal is a must see flick on the health of the marlin and sailfish fisheries in Costa Rica and a few other countries. The footage is absolutely amazing. To watch a baby sailfish swimming and feeding is remarkable. We are, as Rick states, watching a race to catch the last big fish in the oceans. Take time to grab this film and watch one of the true masters of underwater filming at work.




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Seth Horne

Vision Research Unveils the Next-Gen Camera, the Phantom Flex












Setting new standards for innovation, Vision Research, a leading manufacturer of digital high speed imaging systems, proudly unveils the Phantom Flex, the company’s next generation, high-speed camera for the digital cinema market. Redefining what’s possible when it comes to high-speed imaging, the Phantom Flex offers industry-leading flexibility, allowing users to fine tune and adapt the camera to their changing needs and to deliver impressive slow-motion images in just about any application or environment.


User-Selectable Shooting
Modes

For situations that demand the ultimate in resolution, the Phantom Flex boasts a specially engineered four mega-pixel color CMOS sensor which offers a maximum resolution of 2560x1600. When set to Standard Mode, users can enjoy a maximum recording speed of 1,560 frames-per-second (fps) at the camera’s maximum four mega pixel resolution. Higher recording speeds can also be achieved by reducing the camera’s resolution. For example, when used in full-HD resolution (1920x1080), the Phantom Flex offers a maximum recording speed of 2,800 frames-per-second. When reduced to 720p HD resolution (1280x720), the Phantom Flex offers a maximum recording speed of 6,100 fps. The camera can go even faster, recording at 13,000 fps at 640x480. In addition to delivering impressive results for high-speed imaging, the Phantom Flex can also be used to record at more traditional speeds with frame rates starting as low as 5 fps, further adding to the versatility of the camera system.







Enhanced Image Quality

Users will also benefit from the camera’s Phantom HQ shooting mode, a high performance setting which yields the ultimate in image quality. A step-up from Standard Mode, Phantom HQ Mode employs Vision Research’s proprietary image enhancement technology. An unprecedented achievement in digital high-speed cameras, Phantom HQ Mode ensures stable blacks, low noise, higher dynamic range and repeatable shots over the full range of supported resolutions, frame rates, and temperatures, all without the need to conduct pre-shot black references. When set to Phantom HQ Mode, the Flex trades speed for enhanced image quality; however, the camera still offers impressive maximum recording speeds of 780 fps at 2560x1600, 1,390 fps at 1920x1080, and 3,000 fps at 1280x720.



Additional high performance features include:

 - Breakthrough sensitivity: increased peak quantum efficiency and reduction in noise-equivalent power
- 1000 ISO (measured using ISO 12232 SAT method)
- 12-bit pixel depth

- Flexible lens options: choose between 35mm (PL, Canon EOS, Nikon F, Panavision), Super 16mm, and 2/3” lenses
- Global, electronic shutter down to one-microsecond

- Select raw digital workflow, video workflow, or combine both for maximum control and flexibility
- Internal mechanical shutter for hands-free and remote Current Session Reference

- Dual HD-SDI outputs: 2 x 4:2:2 HD-SDI ports can be configured as dual-link 4:4:4 video

- On-camera controls for mode selection, settings, playback, edit & save
- Frame synchronization to external signals allows multiple cameras to be synchronized, essential for stereo 3D recording

- Two 12V DC auxiliary power outputs for powering external devices
- Remote port for connecting Phantom Remote Control Unit

- 16GB or 32GB of high-performance built-in dynamic RAM
- Phantom CineMag, CineStation and CineStream support



Service and Technology Protection


 With the purchase of any Phantom Flex digital high-speed camera, Vision Research provides a three-year service protection program, which covers any needed repair as well as software and firmware updates.

Vision Research is also offering an aggressive technology protection program that gives current Phantom camera owners to the ability to trade-in their used camera to experience the new Phantom Flex at a discounted rate. Depending on the condition and age of the used Phantom camera, customers can receive a trade-in credit towards the purchase of a Phantom Flex. Thanks to this unprecedented program, loyal Vision Research customers can maximize their investment and stay at the forefront of the continually advancing, state-of-the art high-speed imaging technologies offered by the company.



Additional information and detailed specifications for the Vision Research Phantom Flex can be found atwww.
visionresearch.com



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Seth Horne

4/14/2010

The Hole Gets Bigger

The global appetite for fish is a major cause for the hole forming in the ocean. This giant hole sucks millions of tons of sea life out of our oceans year after year and it only gets bigger. The sad part is that so many countries and citizens of this world just do not care or are completely unaware of the problem and it's ramifications. Either way, this is a dereliction of our role as citizens of this planet.  We are edging ever closer to total population collapse for dozens of species. Really, we are past the tipping point with this shit.

I am a fisherman, but I am a conservationists first. From an early age, I was taught to respect the land and the animals that inhabit it. Of course, at that early age, my point of reference was the ponds and rivers that were juxtaposed next to our property. Even then, I was aware from my grand fathers stories that the rivers just did not have the same numbers and sizes of fish that they did when he was young. In the early 70's, it was pollution that was choking the life out of the river and killing off the food chain that so many species depended on.

Now, today, not only do our rivers and oceans have to struggle against pollution to sustain so many fish and animals, but, there is the never ending demand for more and more "protein" from these waters. Tuna, sharks, marlin, swordfish, sea turtles, dolphin, whales, and on and on are all fished to near total population collapse. We are fishing them while their population numbers are below sustainable yield. This means that the species cannot produce fast enough to keep up with losses due to harvesting. How far will YOU allow this to go?

We all have a responsibility to the earth. Wake up people before it is too late! Because while you sleep, those that have been charged with monitoring and protecting these species continue to fail us. They need more time to do studies and assess population numbers before they can set proper quotas. This is a joke and all those involved with setting catch quotas for international fishing operations should be ashamed of themselves.


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Seth Horne

4/08/2010

Watch out Red

I like the direction the industry is heading with the modular cameras with PL lenses. First it was Red revolutionizing the industry and now ARRI is rolling out Alexa with some very enticing features. Damn, just when you think you have things figured out the earth starts shaking. I like it. Studio Daily Article about Alexa here


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Seth Horne

4/07/2010

Viewer Centric

Are you looking at your audience through the eyes of your production company or through the eyes of your audience? How can you better manage receptiveness by end users to your product and what content do they really need or want? Be viewer centric! Think about what the relationship between current productions and the audience is and what improvements are necessary to maintain and build said audience. This is not hard, but can be time consuming.

The key is to know your target audience. Understand them intimately. This is more about what end viewers want rather than what your company may want or assume the audience wants. Broaden your knowledge base, talk to subject matter experts. For good measure, it would pay to submerse yourself in the subject by either being a follower or becoming a follower. Walk in the footsteps of your audience for a little while.

Where do current productions fall short? What are you competing against? What are the trends, past, present and what will they be going forward? Having measurable audience and comparable product metrics will pay huge dividends in the end. You have to differentiate yourself.


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Seth Horne