Snowfun

I look like that and all I do is watch my screen.
And deceive myself.

Blackmagic RAW has arrived on the Pocket 4K camera, meanwhile Cinema DNG has been remove due to patent claims, and basically being an obsolete format with poor performance and compatibility. I don't really mourn Cinema DNG, but it's a shame they had to remove it for legal reasons.
What's very interesting on the hardware side is how Blackmagic are able to deliver such a dramatic firmware update. A lot of consumer cameras have hardware based on ASIC chipsets. The Blackmagic Pocket 4K has a FFPGA (Fast Field Programmable Gate Array) which is a type of chip that can be completely reprogrammed at the hardware level by software commands. This is how Blackmagic are able to deliver such fundamental features as an entire new raw codec, which would have necessitated a hardware change on a normal camera.
Blackmagic are providing a BRAW Player as well for MacOS which allows quick preview and playback of clips from the Finder. BRAW clips are a single file unlike Cinema DNG, which is a folder of still DNG frames in sequence.
Read the full article

In modern Scots idiom “braw” means good or attractive as in “it’s a braw day” or “you’re braw looking”...  the latter might need to be used with care however (or you’ll be greeted with a 12bit uncompressed “Glasgow kiss”). 
Not, I hasten to add, that it’s my own preferred variation of the Queen’s English.
Playing with the settings after I upgraded reminded me just how superb the BM user interface and menu system is. 

Debating whether I dare post a picture taken with my iPhone of the Hydrogen controlling the P4k on h4vuser...  it might incur the wrath of the faithful few. 

Once I figured out how to get Bluetooth to connect it works seamlessly. Superb.
Now I need to get a cheap zoom/AF lens to play with. 
Highlight of the forum for a very long time.

Done...
Excommunication will follow shortly.

Done...
Excommunication will follow shortly.

Done...
Excommunication will follow shortly.

Done...
Excommunication will follow shortly.

Done...
Excommunication will follow shortly.

Debating whether I dare post a picture taken with my iPhone of the Hydrogen controlling the P4k on h4vuser...  it might incur the wrath of the faithful few. 

Once I figured out how to get Bluetooth to connect it works seamlessly. Superb.
Now I need to get a cheap zoom/AF lens to play with. 
Highlight of the forum for a very long time.

Well, here we are then.

The 3C app is now officially available from the Play store for Android devices.
3C enables you to remotely control and monitor the primary functions of your Blackmagic Design Pocket Cinema Camera 4K from an Android device using Bluetooth LE.

Using 3C, you have access to the following camera functionality.

Aperture
ISO
Shutter Angle
White Balance
Record
Focus & Zoom (with compatible lenses)

With 3C you can also store your own custom setting sets for exposure, focus and zoom parameters for later recall as well as automate transitions between stored focus points*.

For ease of use, 3C uses a single screen touch interface to control all of this functionality and avoid the need for you to have to activate any sub-menus to change settings.  
 

3C has a scalable user interface to enable you to remove focus and zoom controls from the screen should you not require them and wish to run the app on a small screen Android device.
In addition, 3C can also be used as an interface hub to enable control of the camera from compatible Bluetooth gamepads.
You can purchase 3C from the Play store here http://tinyurl.com/y5eyujeu
You can read the PDF user guide here User Guide For 3C v1.1 by CDA-TEK Ltd .pdf
You can use gamepads from iPega and 8Bitdo that support keyboard mode and examples of these are https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B00KA6OR7Q (iPega) and https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B017PAX036 (8Bitdo).
3C will also support wireless live viewing from the camera in a future update with additional hardware.

Zach, it’s Sunday, almost Monday, are you writing something?
If you saw my art practice, ANYONE who sees it, would agree, love it or hate it, that it required a TON of work on my part. Clearly decades of development. Sitting on your ass playing video games or whatever the fuck does not make you an artist... no exceptions!!!
 
Sorry not sorry!!!

I saw this posting over at the Z-Cam Facebook group. It seems there is a vender working on producing a new Anamorphic lens for the M43 system. The vender claimed that the new lenses would be quite affordable. It's expected to make the light of day in about three months. Here is a picture of the lens.
 

We write the file headers/close the file every 5 secs during record, our cameras since the BMCC have always periodically written the headers/closed the file so at most if you lose power you might lose the last 5 secs of the clip. If you lose power before 5 secs of recording, then it could be an issue.

I disagree with this on many levels. If you need to make money right now, then yeah, do something that people will pay for, whether its a computer programming job or making coffee for other filmmakers. But if filmmaking is something you enjoy, then do it. You aren't born with talent, you develop it with hard work and experience. Which is exactly what Zach is asking for: how to get experience without access to like-minded people.
That is a fantastic reason to make films. When automation and AI make human labor obsolete, people whose sense of self-worth is tied to fulfilling an economic need will find their life has no meaning. (getting off on a tangent, but the point is you should pursue things that you enjoy, regardless of their relevance to other people).

You all I have to focus on my college homework this weekend, but maybe next weekend when I have spring break I'll make the short films okay.
I am not so sure how to answer this? I just want to make films to make films to entertain myself.

I suppose the easy answer is simply to start directing.
You mentioned that within your local community there is no passion for filmmaking. So identify what are the local passions and exploit those by making a film relevant to local interests and concerns. Find a local business with an Instagram account and offer to do a film for them (limit of 60 seconds so it’ll focus the mind). And do it again. Reputation grows slowly - your experience and skill set more rapidly.
The people skills will develop too as you relate to those you work with/for.
Set up your own Instagram account and shamelessly show off your work. Progress to Vimeo or YouTube but don’t expect huge viewing figures.
Be realistic. Remain optimistic. With a hint of idealism thrown into the mix. 
Possibly the most important thing (others will know a lot more about this than me)  is to do something - anything - to get you started...
And have fun along the way.

After you have delivered the Sock Puppet short to Kye’s desk...
I want a three minute short called “My Town” posted here by next weekend. You don’t need a set or actors or a planned story - it’s all happening out there. Be a director and tell us your story about your town. You decide how to edit and cut - fast paced or slow. Day or night? Handheld or tripod?
Get music from Eric’s site soundimage.org.  
Improvise. Create. Direct.
Think of this not as some stupid suggestion on an Internet forum (which it obviously is) but as a commission - your first - so try to show off your talent. Who knows if you do it, someone might take notice and the first career building brick might slip into place.

Do it Zach!!! Take the Snowfun Challenge™️

I suppose the easy answer is simply to start directing.
You mentioned that within your local community there is no passion for filmmaking. So identify what are the local passions and exploit those by making a film relevant to local interests and concerns. Find a local business with an Instagram account and offer to do a film for them (limit of 60 seconds so it’ll focus the mind). And do it again. Reputation grows slowly - your experience and skill set more rapidly.
The people skills will develop too as you relate to those you work with/for.
Set up your own Instagram account and shamelessly show off your work. Progress to Vimeo or YouTube but don’t expect huge viewing figures.
Be realistic. Remain optimistic. With a hint of idealism thrown into the mix. 
Possibly the most important thing (others will know a lot more about this than me)  is to do something - anything - to get you started...
And have fun along the way.

After you have delivered the Sock Puppet short to Kye’s desk...
I want a three minute short called “My Town” posted here by next weekend. You don’t need a set or actors or a planned story - it’s all happening out there. Be a director and tell us your story about your town. You decide how to edit and cut - fast paced or slow. Day or night? Handheld or tripod?
Get music from Eric’s site soundimage.org.  
Improvise. Create. Direct.
Think of this not as some stupid suggestion on an Internet forum (which it obviously is) but as a commission - your first - so try to show off your talent. Who knows if you do it, someone might take notice and the first career building brick might slip into place.

After you have delivered the Sock Puppet short to Kye’s desk...
I want a three minute short called “My Town” posted here by next weekend. You don’t need a set or actors or a planned story - it’s all happening out there. Be a director and tell us your story about your town. You decide how to edit and cut - fast paced or slow. Day or night? Handheld or tripod?
Get music from Eric’s site soundimage.org.  
Improvise. Create. Direct.
Think of this not as some stupid suggestion on an Internet forum (which it obviously is) but as a commission - your first - so try to show off your talent. Who knows if you do it, someone might take notice and the first career building brick might slip into place.

I suppose the easy answer is simply to start directing.
You mentioned that within your local community there is no passion for filmmaking. So identify what are the local passions and exploit those by making a film relevant to local interests and concerns. Find a local business with an Instagram account and offer to do a film for them (limit of 60 seconds so it’ll focus the mind). And do it again. Reputation grows slowly - your experience and skill set more rapidly.
The people skills will develop too as you relate to those you work with/for.
Set up your own Instagram account and shamelessly show off your work. Progress to Vimeo or YouTube but don’t expect huge viewing figures.
Be realistic. Remain optimistic. With a hint of idealism thrown into the mix. 
Possibly the most important thing (others will know a lot more about this than me)  is to do something - anything - to get you started...
And have fun along the way.