IronFilm

On Twitter follow Sam and the others from OpenAI to see the videos they're sharing from Sora, it's truly impossible to watch some of these videos and not be impressed!

You're looking at someone that OpenAI intentionally released to give as "a bad example", they were never for a second saying this is "good". Rather OpenAI was being open and honest about how Sora can still struggle, so that people didn't think they were only showing off the very few rare magical examples where everything came together absolutely perfectly. And you're completing forgetting that less than a year ago this was considering cutting edge (not "a bad example", but the best😞 Don't look only at the current state (which btw is good enough that many stock videographers are going to see their incomes plummet towards zero!), but look also at the rate of change, how quickly it is improving (accelerating even!). Yes, AI is struggling with humans, but for everything non-human? It's already in many cases has reached the "good enough" level. Exactly, in a few years time, who will ever be spending six figures on a car advert?

That's a good point about how the future domination of AI will impact hobbyists too. We're already seeing a little bit of this, as cellphones replaced dedicated cameras, then we see the more recent generations of mirrorless cameras being less available and less affordable on the secondhand market. Imagine a world where instead of Sony selling however many zillion mirrorless models that they sell currently, where instead they only have three? An a6x00 + a7 + a7R. And each one of those models are being priced relatively 50% higher (or even 100% more) than they are today. Or Nikon and Canon only each have two models. Say the latest Z6 and the Z9. And a world where the smaller players don't even exist. Totally agreeing. But remember too that when Pixar first existed then making animated CGI films mean it had to be all render beforehand, but today we can get better results than back then even when rending in real time. Why should humans even voice the main characters?? In the very near term, yes. But beyond that? No. How long until even "the director" gets replaced by AI?? But even if we still have that human role, we've still seen a collapse from an animated film needing dozens/hundreds/thousands of people employed to instead... just one job for the humans We're already there with "AI Celebrities"!

"Other than the biggest & game changing difference, how is this different?" Nobody is paying me to do that Everything we do already in filmmaking is about crafting a beautiful looking spin on reality vs being hyper realistic. (even so called "Reality TV" is not even reality) Would generative AI truly be that different from this? Extremely few people are happy to pay $$$ for that, most people are just happy to hang a pretty picture on their wall. They already use tonnes of stock footage in them, and/or lots of B Roll "filler". Using generative AI is only a half step further along from that. If we can chuck up a few GoPros to capture the "real" aspect of this to feed the generative AI, that can then spit out flawlessly perfect wedding trailers, then why wouldn't I want this? I'd rather spend $500 for this on my next wedding, than spend $5K for a team of wedding videographers & photographs to do it. Ditto the same is true for birthdays / sports / bar mitzvah / etc

AI can't do this in real time, yet. So I see it being a bigger threat to the film industry first of all. Doesn't matter if it takes a few minutes, or a few hours, or days, or even weeks, to generate an AI made movie.

I thought the AI videos we had less than a year ago were mindblowingly good! (even though were also laughably flawed as well) So to see such a huge leap in such a short space of time, makes you wonder, what will it be like in 2025? Or 2027? Stock videography will be dead. (just like stock photography is) How much more of videography will be dead too, what if anything will be safe a decade from now? https://openai.com/sora

darn, otherwise I could have got two! How long do I need to wait until it becomes $50? 15 years?? 25yrs? Probably by that point in time inflation will have gone up so much that the FX30 will never be $50 😞

Isn't there a middle ground between making an JPEG vs doing it 100% yourself manually old school? I thought you could get a Panasonic camera to spit out a whole series of raw images. Thus you get all the benefits of doing it yourself in post, but with the convenience of a single button push to capture everything on set in that take.

You're welcome 🙂 Meh, irrelevant 1) recording transmitters is an exceptionally niche need (I've never had it requested) 2) unless you wish to go with Zaxcom, then nothing at the pro/semipro level can do this in the USA 3) as soon as the patent ends, you can bet a firmware update will be pushed out that same day to enable this feature I'm surprised you need to change gain with the DR10L? (or at least not more than once, if you come across a very shouty or very whispery talent) Just pick the middle ground setting, plus enable the safety track. True, but I presume you've got aspirations at least a half step higher than doing no budget shoots for the rest of your life? So use a lav. This is exactly why you need to get yourself some wireless! Such as the Sony UWP-D21 or Deity THEOS or secondhand Lectros. It would have then become immediately became obvious to you the issues, and you could have then asked him to stop doing this and/or you'd reposition the lav to a better spot. What a fun day! You might like to take this shoot as not just a reminder to up your audio game, but also perhaps a reminder to work on your directing/interviewing skills too? As I've noticed that great interviewers are definitely a lot better at getting the talent to relax and be casual on camera (as it certainly is a big problem, how people without on screen experience can be radically different on and off screen). It might require having some warm up chats on camera first to get them to be relaxed and ease into it, you might even slip into the interview questions without the subject even realizing (that's why sometimes directors will want us to start recording the camera / audio without the subject even knowing). Might require you to be more flexible with the script, not caring if they hit the exact words, so long as they get across the gist / vibe of what you're seeking. A 90% perfect script that is 100% natural is always going to be better than a 100% word perfect script that's 0% natural. Just a few thoughts out of many things to consider as an interviewer/director (I'm no expert at it myself! Merely observed many dozens of them at work) That would be the dream! Never seen it used though in person. Usually the director will just position them directly behind the camera, in line with it, if the talent is struggling to perform to the camera.

Is there an option to shoot in vlog but monitor in rec709? Probably your peaking will work better then? (am guessing here, no experience with the Panasonic L Mount cameras, but this is how it functions on some other cameras) Or.... (and I know @MrSMW would HATE this suggestion 😅 but maybe it works for you @Walter H?), shoot vlog but output rec709 over HDMI (am pretty certain the S1 can do this??) then do the peaking with the external monitor (little 3.5" external monitors exist?). That's another process I've heard of people doing to get better results with peaking. I know the built in photo stacking feature in the Panasonic G9 is very powerful for when doing macro shots and needing more DoF, doesn't the Panasonic S1 have this too? Or is it of no benefit for your style of shooting?

Just realized you're not using a proper boom pole or any real shock mount either!! 😮 😮 😮 Near the top of the list (either just before getting a shotgun mic, or just after getting a shotgun mic) should be getting a shock mount and a real boom pole. Such as one of these: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/554999-REG/Rycote_041107_INV_7_InVision_Indoor_Microphone.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/880280-REG/Rycote_041118_INV_8_Microphone_Suspension.html Or get a Radius shockmount (they're new company set up by the ex-Rycote people). https://radiuswindshields.com/ (B&H is not stocking them yet) Here is are dirt cheap Boom Poles you could get: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1384773-REG/airo_abp1_boom_pole_1.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1601173-REG/proam_usa_boom_sq_10_telescopic_boom.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1266050-REG/e_image_ba12_11_5_section_telescoping_aluminum.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1666142-REG/digitalfoto_solution_limited_bm01c_carbon_fiber_microphone_boom.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1374872-REG/came_tv_ms300c_carbon_fiber_microphone.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1504170-REG/proaim_bp_12c_12_carbon_fiber_boom.html Or spend a little bit more for: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/326966-REG/K_Tek_KE_110_KE_110_Avalon_Series_Aluminum.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/625156-REG/K_Tek_KE_144_KE_144_Avalon_Series_Aluminum.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1606022-REG/auray_bp_59a_5_section_aluminum_boom_pole.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1773622-REG/k_tek_kc108_essential_5_section_boompole.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1490197-REG/k_tek_kp9_klassicpro_graphite_6_section.html https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1639167-REG/k_tek_kp10v_boom_pole_carbon_removable.html https://www.gothamsound.com/product/qp-slim-short-quickpole-boom-pole (my personal choice here)

Why not use the exposed lav I can see on him? (which was the Tascam DR10L? btw, perhaps get this: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1444316-REG/remote_audio_urs_furtangblk_ursa_tangle_cut.html , or even: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/885674-REG/auray_wlw_fuzzy_windbuster_for_lav.html or https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/253753-REG/Rycote_065501_Furry_Windjammer_for_Lavalier.html ) No wind protection??? 😮 Ballsy!!! Just rocking it bare naked. That should be #1 on your purchase list to get next. Don't you still have the stock foam cover for the Samson mics? Something like this, you could wrap around on top of the foam windscreen to give a lot of extra wind protection: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1551649-REG/auray_wsw_vmntg_custom_windbuster_for_rode.html Alternatively, this here should fit the Samson C02 (they're both 20mm width): https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1541174-REG/auray_wsw_vmicro_custom_windbuster_for_rode.html Yikes! But maybe if your mic had been a bit closer.... Phew! That BTS pic looked scary far away. But even 50cm is rather far away. Thanks for the detailed info you gave in your post, much better than people normally do when asking for feedback! I'd say your priorities should be: 1) wind protection for your Samson CO2 mics, as this is super dirt cheap 2) upgrade your boom mic(s), getting first of all a shotgun (lots of choices! Some lower budget but high quality choices are: Rode NTG5, Sanken CSM1, DPA 2017, Audio Technica BP4073, & Deity SMic3. Get one or two), with wind protection (if the mic doesn't already come with it. Such as the Rycote Softie: https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/207238-REG/Rycote_033052_Standard_Hole_Softie_Windscreen.html Making sure it's the right size for your mic of course!) 3) get a blimp for it for high wind situations 4) upgrade your boom mic(s) take two, getting now a hypercardioid microphone (or two... depending on your shooting needs/style), with wind protection for it too. 5) upgrade your Tascam DR10L to a Sony UWP-D21 or Deity THEOS, so that you can monitor your lav audio too. (send the boom mic to your left ear, and radio mic to your right ear, while recording both in your DR60D) 6) get a MixPre or Zoom F Series recorder You can see upgrading the recorder is the very last thing on this list. Just go through this plan step by step, as funds allow it.

How exactly are you using them and your Tascam?

From my perspective. Definitely. But depends on how you are using it? And what's important to you. Do you for instance use it under your camera? The DR60D was designed for it, but I found the stack to be a bit crazy high! The MixPre3 at least is super slim. You'd gain a channel, as the MixPre3 can record 5x ISOs: https://www.sounddevices.com/product/2-plugin-for-mixpre-3/ (note: uses the 3.5mm input. Sooooo... if it is a Gen1 device, you've now just lost the ability to use TC if using the 4th channel) Gen2 can hold TC by itself. Gen1 can't, always needs a TC box attached to it I think the ergonomics of the MixPres are bad compared to the F8 Series, but yeah compared to the Tascam DR60D you probably will like the more modern MixPres, with their pretty color screens and mobile app. Ohhh... maybe that's something to fix first! Before changing your recorder.

You want to automatically start the F6 recording each time the FX30 starts recording? I don't have a FX30 myself, but I kinda doubt that's possible? I think you should perhaps get a Tascam DR701D, which has an HDMI input that can read TC start recording triggers over HDMI

Found it here for $314: https://probroadcastsupply.com/ese-es-71-smpte-ebu-ese-to-usb-converter-ese-es-71 but yikes, that is crazy expensive! ah well, film world pricing yup! we're a teeny tiny niche in the grand global scale of things, vs say buying a smart watch or a microwave

Anybody have any guesses as to what sensor the OCTOPUS16 is using? Maybe it is the Sony IMX585?? It is not a 1" sensor though, it is a 1/1.2 type, but the resolution and pixel size lines up with what they're talking about. Is it a cheap enough sensor though? Maybe, maybe not, when you look at the various prices of chinese made cameras using the IMX585, then it might be a struggle for a boutique camera manufacturer in the UK to hit sub $1K RRP for their first ever camera if it is using the IMX585 But I guess this is ballpark kind of sensor we might be seeing in it?? Edit: Never mind, I missed the bit where it said "will use XIMEA’s 1.1-inch". But which one??? There are a few of them: https://www.ximea.com/en/products Walk onto any random film set. Odds are you will not find a USB audio interface anywhere on set. Exceptions: 1) perhaps the Sound Mixer's recorder (maybe.... but not the case if it is any Zaxcom, or any Sound Devices 6 / 7 Series , or many others that are still quite popular). But I sure as hell am not tying my Sound Bag to the side of the camera! (neither would the AC or Cam Op want that) 2) perhaps the QTake Playback Operator's cart (if there is even one on set, smaller productions won't have this) has a typical USB audio interface built into it. But is he going to pull it out to put in the camera? Hell no! (and the AC / Cam Op certainly doesn't want it either) Meanwhile, if you're to ask for any of: 75ohm BNC cable HDMI cable 3.5mm cable XLR cable ....all very easy to find! If you want a product to be successful, then you need it to be easy for them to work with on their shoots. And not be throwing a whole bunch of problems at them which are completely unnecessary and should never have existed in the first place with a teeny bit of common sense though done during the design process. Nowhere has it mentioned it has internal audio. You're wanting a frictionless experience for the user, not making them hunt down parts they've never seen or used ever before. And the specific bits and bobs they want might not even be in stock in their town / city. When even every single hybrid camera (hardly ones known to ever put a great priority on audio!) have scratch audio, and all of the semi decent ones intended for videographers have an audio input, then why can't the Octopus?? It can't even exceed the very low bar set by hybrid cameras! For goodness sake, even ARRI & RED these days (who would always be assuming TC is being used 100% of the time their cameras, plus always have had an audio input on all of theirs) now has scratch audio for all of their cameras! It's 2024 now. Any camera intended for filmmakers needs to have these three things: Timecode, audio input, inbuilt scratch audio. (or at least two out of those three things) Not true, I work on everything from indie / student productions, up to AAA budget productions, and everything in between. And I can definitely see the OCTOPUS16 being used as an A Cam on the smaller ones, or a Crash Cam in the AAA productions, or be used on any sized productions in between as well. So long as they don't screw up the critically important details to it! Such as leaving out completely any kind of sensible audio/TC setup for it. Either dirt cheap due to commodification (unlikely) or extremely expensive (or even outright impossible to get!) due to being out of production. Look at a part mentioned for the Octopus 8K camera: https://www.octopuscinema.com/wiki/index.php/OCTOPUSCAMERA_8K_LF The mainboard, "Intel NUC 11 Pro Board NUC11TNBi7". You look it up and you discover... it's no longer available: https://ark.intel.com/content/www/us/en/ark/products/205601/intel-nuc-11-pro-board-nuc11tnbi7.html You could go onto eBay and scrap together a few of them, but now you're running into serious QC issues you have to stay on top of because of using eBay vs buying new. Plus you can never get them at a large enough volume to sell the camera at commercial quantities (not even for a boutique camera manufacturer). And every part that's missing would require going back to to the drawing board for a redesign process (with all the resulting testing/refinement afterwards as well). Probably by now, the DB16 is so old, it would make more sense for a new player to start themselves from scratch rather than to replicable the DB16. Ohhhh... Newshooter must've updated the article from when I read it when it was first published. A little annoying when they do that, but also I guess it's good they update it when they get fresh info from the source to make corrections or give extra info. Although, they've still got a bunch of errors in that Newsshooter article, such as: Q. When do you hope to have Octopus available to purchase? A. We are looking to have the 1.1-inch model available by Q3 2020. Riiiight! Anyway, if you read the Q&A in article with the developer of the camera himself (which probably is a more accurate reflection of their original true intentions), before they added on the extra "Planned final features and capabilities" (presumably based on feedback? Phew? Disaster averted? Maybe?) then it was very very clear their thinking was to only allow TC or audio over USB: Hope Octopus sticks to their new plans with external audio & TC, doesn't go back to their bad old plans of using USB!!

In that case they'll be limiting themselves to a market even smaller than the Digital Bolex was targeting. Or as I called it earlier: "shooting themselves in the foot" Z Cam relied on 3rd party monitors from day 1. Their standard was HDMI for video, Octopus' is USB for audio. Both are consumer connectors with extremely wide support among consumer products. Z Cam can use any random camera monitor with an HDMI input. Very common. If a 1st AC was rung up and told they're shooting with any Z Cam (or any Blackmagic) tomorrow, then they can sort out the cables / monitors ready to use for tomorrow. With less than 24hrs notice, even if ran up late at night. Might not be pretty and might not be the perfect solution, but they could rustle up "something". Ditto, same is (mostly) true for me as a Sound Mixer. (ZCams need a quirky TC adapter for the DB9 connector, but at least there is the Aux LTC "work around") This not true for for the Octopus. In such a scenario, then I'd be badly screwed over. Severely so, it might even torpedo the whole project. Either that, or it will force a last minute camera change, so that the Octopus is not used. Not true. The Octopus doesn't have internal scratch audio or a 3.5mm input, which it truly does need both at a minimum. (note: I said "minimum", as hybrid cameras are unpopular for a reason on commercial projects. Exactly because of the hassle of working with it)

Relying upon third party manufacturers to get any sort of semi usable audio or TC with these cameras is exactly why they'll fail to be successfully popular in the film industry. It's like releasing a camera that needs third party manufacturers to support using an external monitor or mounting any lens to it. Would be shooting it dead in the water from day one. Yes, it's hard for anybody to commit to buying a US$13K camera from a company with zero track record. But if they've already got a few successful cameras (i.e. Z Cam E1 / BMCC / etc) then it's easier to take that risky leap of faith in their newer products.

It's a pity they're going to give a big fat middle finger to the film industry and not use any kind of commonly normal process for TC or audio

Which is no timecode support at all 😞 What's the flash syc port connector that you use? Looking that part up on Aliexpress might find a cheap cable for you for a just a few bucks

I've "only" been doing this for a little longer than a decade. Dunno if that's long enough to see the whole life cycle of a large sample of people entering and leaving the industry after having actually achieved anything in film first. (of course people entering for just a year or three then leaving is very very very common) For myself though, I'm doing another degree in Computer Science (my first degree was in Math/Physics), as my way out if/when the demand for Sound Mixing collapses as a job.

@Mark Romero 2, TC was added as a feature for the S1 in a firmware update: https://www.eoshd.com/news/firmware-update-turns-panasonic-s1-into-an-s1h-with-record-time-limit-in-demanding-modes-like-6k/

Just in terms of TC?? I don't believe there is any difference between the S1 and S1H

This video would explain it: Strangely / sadly the GH5mk2 does not 😞 Even though the GH5mk2 came out after the GH5S