Resources For the Indie Film-maker
Archive for April, 2009
Motion Control – Now you can semi-afford it!
Apr 23rd
CamBlock. Doesn’t sound like much at this moment but I think this will become a recognizable name in the future
If you haven’t heard of motion control cameras before than to put it shortly, its awesome. Basically it allows you to set ‘keyframes’ to set your cameras, pan, tilt and dolly. So for example you can repeat the same camera moves over and over again.
That doesn’t explain it too well, just watch the video at their site at http://www.camblock.com/sect-media.php
Sure this kind of stuff has been around for a while but what sets CamBlock apart is the price. I’ve heard a motion control rig as of now can cost upwards to $20000US just for one day!
With a CamBlock system, it could cost half of that and you’ll own it!
What makes this system especially cool is the controller which is a little touch screen pocket pc. Just check out the demos on their site and you’ll see just how cool this thing is!
Editor’s Keys – Update
Apr 7th
It’s been a couple of weeks since I put in a warrenty request for my Editor’s Keys and they have arrived today. This time I asked for a set of Premiere Pro keys instead of the Avid ones I had before. Here’s how they look just after I applied them.
It took a while to remove the old worn out Editor’s Keys but it was a good excuse to clean my keyboard which had become quite filthy over the years.
The glue they use to stick these things down to your keys is quite a pain to remove. Hopefully they’ve used the same type of glue for the clear laminate this time. If you’re wondering, I used hot water with detergent to soak the keys, that did little so after manually peeling the old stickers off, I had to rub the left over glue off the keys.
Overall I’m quite pleased with my new Editor’s Keys and the guys who run the company are true to their word. If your keys fail within 3 years, they will replace them with a very quick and friendly customer service.
August 2nd 2009 update: So far so good, they are still looking brand new.
November 19th 2009 update: Unfortunately, the A, S and the N key’s laminate have started to slide off. Same issue as last time, whatever glue is holding the laminate isn’t strong enough. It’s a shame, I’m not going to bother getting a replacement this time as this cycle could go on forever. They need to figure out a way to hard bake the clear coating onto these stickers instead of the laminate they’re using now.