Ed_David

Testing quick skin tone test - with fujifilm look on Alexa and Sony F35 - seeing if they can intercut.
So Amira was on 100mm ultra prime on sticks
Sony F35 was handheld with 85mm ultra prime.
Opps!  Should have both cameras on sticks and with same lens!  Being lazy helps no one.
Anyway, I found the cameras incredibly similar looking.
Hope this little test is useful in some small way to someone out there, anywhere.
And if not, I am so sorry I wasted your time.  I really am.
If I wasted your time, please comment that I wasted your time and I will reply and say, "I''m really sorry I wasted your time."
The other thing is that the f35 with odyssey 7q to dpx 12 bit is around a $10,000 solution right now and the Amira is about a $60k solution.  Sure the Amira is a much nicer ergonomic system and has built in NDs and has many more nice convenient options, but really - you save $50,000. Because people don't like stuff from 2008.  They need stuff from last year.  It's kind of nuts how "gear-forward" everyone is.   Especially now that most cameras are in the same ballpark of log or RGB recording and resolution and sensor size.  Oh well, gotta keep selling the latest and greatest.
So you save $50,000 - that's a lot of money.  Just by buying something that was once new and cool and expensive but is now forgotten.  
This is what you can buy with $50,000 you save.
A set of nice lenses
A house.
A really nice car
Help save the planet's infrastructure
Help save the planet's wealth discrenpancy problem.
Shoot a feature film.
Bail your friend out of jail.
It can buy a lot of great things.
Remember kids, the latest technology is nice - but the best stuff from 2008 still holds up.  Go ahead, give it a try!  It's fun to play with old things!

I don't think this camera will survive.  I think you'll get a similar resolution and color out of the blackmagic 4.6k ursa and the AJA upgrade - but cheaper and with pro res options as well and better support.  The whole 6k, 7k game is pointless.  Look at the Taylor Swift "bad blood" music video shot on the red weapon in 6k - does not look as good as anything shot on the Alexa which is 2k.  The motion looks weird on that.
I don't know - it's getting to that point I think - where no camera has the edge anymore - it's about options.
Poor guys - picked the wrong time to make a new camera.
There are so many other areas to make products in filmmaking right now - drone technology - easyrig alternatives, etc etc - why so many trying to go the camera route?  Just seems so expensive and risky in this day and age.  Especially now that Blackmagic and AJA have entered the ring.

Testing quick skin tone test - with fujifilm look on Alexa and Sony F35 - seeing if they can intercut.
So Amira was on 100mm ultra prime on sticks
Sony F35 was handheld with 85mm ultra prime.
Opps!  Should have both cameras on sticks and with same lens!  Being lazy helps no one.
Anyway, I found the cameras incredibly similar looking.
Hope this little test is useful in some small way to someone out there, anywhere.
And if not, I am so sorry I wasted your time.  I really am.
If I wasted your time, please comment that I wasted your time and I will reply and say, "I''m really sorry I wasted your time."
The other thing is that the f35 with odyssey 7q to dpx 12 bit is around a $10,000 solution right now and the Amira is about a $60k solution.  Sure the Amira is a much nicer ergonomic system and has built in NDs and has many more nice convenient options, but really - you save $50,000. Because people don't like stuff from 2008.  They need stuff from last year.  It's kind of nuts how "gear-forward" everyone is.   Especially now that most cameras are in the same ballpark of log or RGB recording and resolution and sensor size.  Oh well, gotta keep selling the latest and greatest.
So you save $50,000 - that's a lot of money.  Just by buying something that was once new and cool and expensive but is now forgotten.  
This is what you can buy with $50,000 you save.
A set of nice lenses
A house.
A really nice car
Help save the planet's infrastructure
Help save the planet's wealth discrenpancy problem.
Shoot a feature film.
Bail your friend out of jail.
It can buy a lot of great things.
Remember kids, the latest technology is nice - but the best stuff from 2008 still holds up.  Go ahead, give it a try!  It's fun to play with old things!

Testing quick skin tone test - with fujifilm look on Alexa and Sony F35 - seeing if they can intercut.
So Amira was on 100mm ultra prime on sticks
Sony F35 was handheld with 85mm ultra prime.
Opps!  Should have both cameras on sticks and with same lens!  Being lazy helps no one.
Anyway, I found the cameras incredibly similar looking.
Hope this little test is useful in some small way to someone out there, anywhere.
And if not, I am so sorry I wasted your time.  I really am.
If I wasted your time, please comment that I wasted your time and I will reply and say, "I''m really sorry I wasted your time."
The other thing is that the f35 with odyssey 7q to dpx 12 bit is around a $10,000 solution right now and the Amira is about a $60k solution.  Sure the Amira is a much nicer ergonomic system and has built in NDs and has many more nice convenient options, but really - you save $50,000. Because people don't like stuff from 2008.  They need stuff from last year.  It's kind of nuts how "gear-forward" everyone is.   Especially now that most cameras are in the same ballpark of log or RGB recording and resolution and sensor size.  Oh well, gotta keep selling the latest and greatest.
So you save $50,000 - that's a lot of money.  Just by buying something that was once new and cool and expensive but is now forgotten.  
This is what you can buy with $50,000 you save.
A set of nice lenses
A house.
A really nice car
Help save the planet's infrastructure
Help save the planet's wealth discrenpancy problem.
Shoot a feature film.
Bail your friend out of jail.
It can buy a lot of great things.
Remember kids, the latest technology is nice - but the best stuff from 2008 still holds up.  Go ahead, give it a try!  It's fun to play with old things!

Testing quick skin tone test - with fujifilm look on Alexa and Sony F35 - seeing if they can intercut.
So Amira was on 100mm ultra prime on sticks
Sony F35 was handheld with 85mm ultra prime.
Opps!  Should have both cameras on sticks and with same lens!  Being lazy helps no one.
Anyway, I found the cameras incredibly similar looking.
Hope this little test is useful in some small way to someone out there, anywhere.
And if not, I am so sorry I wasted your time.  I really am.
If I wasted your time, please comment that I wasted your time and I will reply and say, "I''m really sorry I wasted your time."
The other thing is that the f35 with odyssey 7q to dpx 12 bit is around a $10,000 solution right now and the Amira is about a $60k solution.  Sure the Amira is a much nicer ergonomic system and has built in NDs and has many more nice convenient options, but really - you save $50,000. Because people don't like stuff from 2008.  They need stuff from last year.  It's kind of nuts how "gear-forward" everyone is.   Especially now that most cameras are in the same ballpark of log or RGB recording and resolution and sensor size.  Oh well, gotta keep selling the latest and greatest.
So you save $50,000 - that's a lot of money.  Just by buying something that was once new and cool and expensive but is now forgotten.  
This is what you can buy with $50,000 you save.
A set of nice lenses
A house.
A really nice car
Help save the planet's infrastructure
Help save the planet's wealth discrenpancy problem.
Shoot a feature film.
Bail your friend out of jail.
It can buy a lot of great things.
Remember kids, the latest technology is nice - but the best stuff from 2008 still holds up.  Go ahead, give it a try!  It's fun to play with old things!

A massive price drop for a camera that has just started shipping......cool!
I still think the URSA Mini is the better option though. From what it seems... better ergonomics, better sensor (4.6k one), better dynamic range, better usability (from seeing previews), sensor switchable, internal RAW, better frame rate options, 1080p included OLED screen, fantastic affordable add-ons, massive Blackmagic community and support, will work out cheaper overall = much much better value. 
I think filmmakers will only go for the AJA if it comes down to the "mojo"....anything else, the URSA Mini seems to be the much better creative tool. Gotta love Blackmagic. 
p.s the URSA Mini looks more stylish too.  

If he got a girlfriend we are fucked! ;-DD
 

The film industry is constantly changing – we all know that.  But the thing that doesn’t change – the PA life – and it mostly stinks. Underpaid, overworked, abused mentally and physically.  Almost as timeless as filmmaking itself.
Production Assistants.  They are the low people on the totem pole – the entry job into filmmaking.  You don’t need a resume.  Just get recommended by a friend and have a smile and please be on time.
PAs do many things.  Some are assistants to the director or producer, or the production manager, or the first assistant director.  They can do equipment runs, drive a van on nonunion shoots, do coffee runs, cable wraps, assist departments, do crowd control, lock down streets, get releases, just about everything.
They aren’t protected by any union and at the end of the day, they usually make minimum wage, which is sad to me because they do this on shoots where everyone else is usually paid well.
In New York they make about $100 to $200 a day on a commercial shoot.  Sometimes up to $300 a day.  But they work on average 14 hours a shoot day.  They get there 1hr to 1.5 hours before “call time” and stay till the end – including wrapping out, and many times driving home the crew.
So that’s around $7.14 a day which is lower than minimum wage in NYC which is $8.75 an hour in 2015.
I was a PA on set for about six months and in post production for about two years.  I did a bunch of stuff.  Drove a van. Picked up gear.  Picked up coffee.  Got yelled at about getting a bad walkie talkie – and by a DP who called me “Ed Wood and a pain in the ass” and gaffers and grips (never wrap cable unless you ask them first) – but overall I had it pretty easy. Being a post production PA is a lot easier – it’s a controlled environment.  Not as potentially chaotic as being on set.
I’ve heard a lot of horror stories.  The worse happened this year – I heard of a PA who died driving – don’t know if it was after a long shoot day or after the job wrapped.  I have heard stories of a PA delivering the stools of a producer to fed ex – his feces, packing them up and mailing them off. And just the usual stuff – getting berated by assistant directors, directors, and producers.  Not getting paid after the job.  And of course just working very long hours and no overtime.
There are a lot of stories if you ask around – but the thing is for me, I wish someone would look out for them.  Take Mad Max – Fury Road – $145 million dollar Hollywood production – and the PAs made $60 a day.  Link here.  
Why is this?  Why do people think PAs deserve to work long hours and get paid below minimum wage?  I think it’s because “that’s the way it is” – they just go with the flow.  Also most PAs are starting out – they aren’t going to complain and organize because they don’t want to be seen as being a “bad sport” – they want to start their career in film.  But the thing is, someone then has to say something about this.  And many people have.  And now, why not, I’ll go for it.
Here’s things I think could improve the production assistant’s way of life.
1.  Make sure PAs are paid for overtime work.  There is no reason they aren’t.  They aren’t the “producer” – and even producers should get paid overtime.  Why shouldn’t everyone get paid for the hours they put in?  If you don’t want to charge for overtime, fine, but if you do charge for overtime, you should be paid.  I know the justification is that the pick up and drop off days are usually half days at full pay – but still, why not just do overtime and negotiate a rate for the pick up and post day that’s the same.  Legally all people need to be paid for overtime in the USA – so why can the film industry get away with this?
2.  Make a group or website that sets a standard for PA rates.  This could be any website – or blog.  I say, and why not, the PA day rate on a commercial should be $200-300 a day for a 10 hour day.  Overtime at 10-12 at time and a half.  After 12 double time.  Turnaround time 12 hours or minimum.  Just like the standard is for everyone union member unless you want to do on a 12 hour day then double time after that.  Why not?  Why not give PAs a living wage as they “climb the ladder” – what is really the harm in that?  If they have more money, they can give back more to the economy and other things. Pay their rent.  Not have to live three hours away or move away.
3.  Put PAs into departments – like camera PA, lighting PA, production PA, etc etc.  Have it more specialized – makes them more productive and know what to do.  I think a lot of time on set, PAs can receive no marching orders.  And I’ve worked with PAs who work so much better when they are under the command of a smaller department.
4.  Today’s PA is tomorrow’s Boss.  So why not treat them well.  They may soon be hiring you for the next gig.
The film industry sets a high standard of decency and fairness.  We DPs are part of a community of sharing information and helping others – we are storytellers – we help get people’s messages across to so many. We are a very nice profession – full of really amazing, caring, lovely people.  I love my co-workers so much.  So many of them make me laugh.
So why not look back at the ones starting out try to help them?
I love when people are happy and positive on my sets – when people want to learn and don’t feel like they are being taken advantage of.  The energy of every crew member really helps.
At the same time, a bad apple hurts the collective energy. So let you help me.
There is nothing better on any set, than at the end of the day, when you feel like you and your co-workers help create something beautiful or meaningful, and all did it together – where everything comes together. I want everyone to feel that pride – everyone – the craft service person, the security guard, the medic, the PA.

That was good!

That was good!

That was good!

Watch your language or your going to be the subject of Ed's upcoming documentary. 

​man I wish I hired you to write some lines!

Here's the response from Werner, 
"I put a look on the skintone because we are trying to make the thing naturalized - and we can't if its flat - if I show you the raw image - then you have to do the work. So we are trying to save your time.  Which is very, very valuable.  I am sorry that me and my team did a bad job on the skin tones and that they look too Hollywood - we will try better next time if we don't all die very quickly by accident by a comet or something just as random as that, like getting hit by a stray bullet."

Man, tough crowd, tough crowd.
To address the comments
1. "This wasn't Werner - this was an imposter" - What do you mean, do you not recognize his voice?  It was Werner Herzog.  I have proof.  Check my instagram feed, edwardcdavid
2.  "Wait, did Lars Von Trier not executive produce your Charlie Chicken film about a dog artist whose medium is feces?"  No, of course he did.  I have his personal number.  I met him on the set of Paul Blart: Mall Cop
3.  "So why did Werner do a test?"  Because he saw that Phil Bloom was leaving the camera review game after his latest plea on his Sony FS7 video that if he doesn't reach his "go fund me" goal, he'll never make another test.  Werner felt he needed to come in and do a test, to make people feel better about themselves if they lose their camera reviews for free on vimeo.  He just wants everyone to experience some sort of joy before, they die.

Dear jeff cb radio. I did review the ursa mini 4.6k and alexa mini. Watch it again and make sure you have the audio on. It is there. At about 3 min in.

naturalized the skin tones more in this version also made the DB footage look so much better!
 
 
 

​Werner says you are not allowed to find it funny about the context of the heavy look on the camera skintone test to obscure the results - which should not amuse you.  

​man I wish I hired you to write some lines!

How can I be amused when the cold blue deepness projects into the void of the horizon and reflects back nothingness? 
Here on the edge of this urban wilderness, we ask ourselves, are we more or less than this visible spectrum?
Spinning like a dancer.  Like photons; never existing but always existing  
Yet, the dog continues running alongside his master. Day after day for hundreds of miles.  

Here's the response from Werner, 
"I put a look on the skintone because we are trying to make the thing naturalized - and we can't if its flat - if I show you the raw image - then you have to do the work. So we are trying to save your time.  Which is very, very valuable.  I am sorry that me and my team did a bad job on the skin tones and that they look too Hollywood - we will try better next time if we don't all die very quickly by accident by a comet or something just as random as that, like getting hit by a stray bullet."

Here's the response from Werner, 
"I put a look on the skintone because we are trying to make the thing naturalized - and we can't if its flat - if I show you the raw image - then you have to do the work. So we are trying to save your time.  Which is very, very valuable.  I am sorry that me and my team did a bad job on the skin tones and that they look too Hollywood - we will try better next time if we don't all die very quickly by accident by a comet or something just as random as that, like getting hit by a stray bullet."

https://vimeo.com/128428344
Thanks Werner for coming by!
better skin tones below:
 
 

https://vimeo.com/128428344
Thanks Werner for coming by!
better skin tones below:
 
 

https://vimeo.com/128428344
Thanks Werner for coming by!
better skin tones below: