Tag: film

drone, film, photo, photographic, technology, video

Parrot Flies Sky High With New Bebop Drone

Posted on December 20, 2016January 18, 2017 by Big City

Technological company Parrot has been setting new standards in the world of personal drones, and they just hit one out of the park with their new Bebop Drone. Parrot announced recently that the new drone will be planned to be released next month for $500 US. The drone comes with a 14 mega pixel “fish eye” camera, a sky controller to control the drone from the safety of your tablet, and a first person view of the action with Oculus Rift glasses or Ziess Cinemizer glasses.

Features/ Specs

14 megapixel camera
Fish eye 180 degree lens
WiFi/iOS/Android compatible
4 brush less outer motors
Glass Fiber reinforced
emergency mode (emergency landing)
Sky Controller ( tablet holder w/ 2 analog stick control)
3800×3188 photo resolution
2 km distance from Sky Controller
1080p HD video

The Sky Controller gives users a first person view of what the camera is recording

The Bebop comes with a very unique and extremely cool Sky Controller to maneuver and control the drone. As you can see it comes with a tablet holder, 2 analog sticks, record and picture buttons etc. The Controller helps boost the WiFi range for the drone, making the camera go further then just using your tablet.

The drone can also be flown indoors, as the drone has protective glass fiber frames around the 4 motors. Overall, the drone and accessories look like an incredible piece of technology, and considering the price of an Oculus Rift Glasses ($350) and the Sky Controller, the price of the drone will be not much more expensive then the base price ($500). I will definitely check out this drone when it is released in December 2014!

LED Superbank Bi colour Film Video Photography Toronto Canada Edmonton Calgary Montreal USA

Long LED Superbanks Now Available!

Posted on December 20, 2016January 20, 2017 by Big City

Big City Lights has done it again, we now offer a long LED superbank. This unit only uses 121W of power but puts out the tungsten equivalent of 2000W of light! It runs on standard AC, and with it’s low power consumption can even be run off of large battery packs. This light is great if you need to light a large area, or a full body of a person. It is daylight balanced, but also included is a diffusion and a 3200K (Tungsten filter). You can purchase them HERE

The LED Superbank from Big City

Basic specs

calgary, canada, film, fresnel, LED, LEDGO, lighting, lights, photo, photographic, photography, toronto, USA, vancouver, video

LED Fresnel Lights Now Available!

Posted on December 20, 2016January 18, 2017 by Big City

Big City is proud to announce 3 models of high power LED fresnel lights. Finally a high power focusable directional light that uses a fraction of the power, and generates almost no heat! The problem with most fresnel lights in the past has been the enormous amount of power needed to run them, so often film productions would have to rent noisy and expensive generators. Well no more, the Big City F-100, F200 and 100M Fresnel Lights use only 100W or 200W of power but they put out a amazing 750W or 1.5K worth of light respectively. To top this all off they also generate almost no heat unlike their incandescent predecessors that would get so hot that you couldn’t handle them without protective clothing. The F-100 and the F200 also come with a wireless remote so you can turn them on or off and adjust the brightness, while the DMX 100M can be controlled via DMX board. Selling at a reasonable $750 and $950 CDN what professional film production company not can afford to pick one up! You can PURCHASE THEM HERE.

BIG CITY LED FRESNEL 100 LIGHT SPECIFICATIONS

Casing: Metal
weight: 8KG
Size: 8 x 12 x 8 inches
Control either manual or with wireless remote (included)
Input: 110AC – 100W
Colour Temperature: 5500K
Luminous Flux (LM): 10000

BIG CITY LED FRESNEL 200 LIGHT SPECIFICATIONS

Casing: Metal
weight: 10KG
Size: 8 x 12 x 10 inches
Control either manual or with wireless remote (included)
Input: 110AC – 200W
Colour Temperature: 5500K
Luminous Flux (LM): 20000

BIG CITY DMX CONTROLLED LED FRESNEL 100M LIGHT SPECIFICATIONS

Casing: Plastic
Weight: 5KG
Size: 8 x 10 x 8 inches
Control either manual or DMX
Input: 110AC – 100W
Colour Temperature: 5500K
Luminous Flux (LM): 10000

edit, editing, film, photo, photographic, photography, program, technology

Top Ten Plug Ins For Adobe After Effects

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Big City

Here is a list of the top ten Adobe After Effects plug-ins. (which occur in no particular order)

1. Plexus 2: $199.99

You can purchase Plexus2 here: http://aescripts.com/plexus/

Plexus 2 is a 3D shape and object generator that can be used for both prints and videos. This program can create physical simulations and also has several key components that make the program appear on the top ten list. Some of these features include the ability to, create 3D beams in between objects, to create splines to amp up the look of your piece, to apply facets (triangles) to your media with easy adjustments and finally the program includes a renderer that allows you to render the effects this program provides fast. If you are looking for a program that creates interesting visualizations and structures by creating interactions between shapes, Plexus 2 is the one for you.

2. Nodes 2: $349.01

you can purchase Nodes 2 here: http://www.yanobox.com/Nodes/

Nodes 2 is a 3D motion graphics generator that allows you to make 3D objects and particles that are complex and unique. The software allows you to make custom and outstanding 3D objects and particles using 3D effects like ossilating, noise cooridinate production and morphing to create a truly unique shape or universe of particles. It also comes with 100’s of shapes and particle templates that can be edited and morphed to make your video 10x cooler. The software also allows you to create custom point clouds of your images and videos, and can create complex diagrams and screen graphics to make your video truly unique. Used in a variety of big budget movies, Nodes 2 is perfect for the advanced editor who wants more out of their editing.

3. Ray Dynamic Color: $29.99

You can buy Ray Dynamic Color here: http://aescripts.com/ray-dynamic-color/

Ray Dynamic Color is made to help your life much easier by allowing colour change in each layer to o be much easier than it is now. This powerful colour management tool is made for the colours used in After Effects. This tool allows you to link the same colours used in the program together, allowing you to change that colour to a new colour. Wherever that original colour showed up previously, Ray Dynamic Color will automatically change it for you. This plugin will come in handy when a clients or yourself changes their/your mind and what to change up to colouring in the video or photo. Once you have this luxury you will never want to go back to manually changing it again.

4. Variable Diffusion: $69.00

You can purchase Variable Diffusion here: http://lesterbanks.com/2014/12/variable-diffusion-plugin-emulate-glass-filters/

The Variable Diffusion plugin for After Effects allows you to add millions of colour effects resembling what glass filters would look like. This plugin cuts down the cost of having glass filters, and allows you to decide after shooting what colour effect you would like best in the shot. With the ease of pressing a button, the possibilities of the final shot are endless. Additionally, the plugin also edits and perfects the appearance of skin tones and allows you to manually adjust imperfections. All in all, this program will end up saving you time and money, making your life that much easier and better.

5. Denoiser II: $99.00

You can buy Denoiser II here: http://www.redgiant.com/products/all/denoiser-II/

Now-a-days, the ability to shoot nearly perfect lighted shots in the dark, with only using a camera has skyrocketed. Changing the ISO allows you to shoot in the dark, although it also compensates with the quality of the photo or video. This is where the plugin Denoiser II comes into play. This program is used to “denoise” the shot to make it a crisp and clear resolution shot. Say goodbye to grainy, fuzzy shots and hello to a great looking result. This plugin is ideal for saving low-light shots, making your time and money more valuable.

6. Colorista 2: 199 full, $99 Academic

You can buy Colorista here:http://www.redgiant.com

Colorista 2 is a colour editing software that features precision editing to pin point exactly where you want to change your colour on an object,background or person. It features 3 stages of correction: Primary, Secondary and Master, that let the user edit any object or person to change the exposure, colour balance and image contrast. Like photoshop but for Adobe After Effects, the software is easy to use and lets you pinpoint and edit an object or person with two custom shape power masks that automatically shape around your object/persons/background. Overall it is an easy to use software that comes in at a decent price from a trustworthy company, and is sure to benefit your editing experience.

7. Lipsyncr: $49.99

You can buy Lipsyncr here: http://aescripts.com/lipsyncr/

Lipsyncr is a unique animation software that creates high quality Viseme-based mouth animations that sync to your audio files. The software comes with 3 different viseme maps, 4 illustrations (low quality), 7 illustrations (medium quality) and 10 illustrations (high quality), which means that the the animation comes with 4,7 or 10 mouth movements. The program is available in english, spanish and German, and it allows you to customize the look and style of the ‘talking head’. This plug in is good for intermediate to advanced editors who are looking for something unique and surprising to spice up their video.

8. Lenscare: $199

You can purchase Lenscare here: http://www.frischluft.com/lenscare/index.php

Lenscare is a software that moves the depth of field of the camera to wherever you want the camera to focus on in post production. The software makes it possible to choose anything or anyone in your shot to be blurred out just enough so you can still see the object/person in the backdrop, but be able to see the object, person the camera is focusing on. Lenscare is like an upgrade to the aperture on your camera, with the software getting rid of long 3d rendering times, and making the image look crisp and unique. The software is able to focus on 3d animations, motion graphics etc., perfect for executing any shot.

9. Motion Monkey: $129.99

You can purchase Motion Monkey here: http://aescripts.com/motionmonkey/

Motion Monkey is an animation/graphics software that boosts your layered animation to a whole new level. All you have to do is put your layered animation (made in illustrator or after effects) into the plug in, then you can select a wide variety of effects that makes the animation come alive. Motion Monkey works with most layers including text, video etc., and Kuler palettes are compatible and easy to import and use in your animation. Motion Monkey is a great way to make your animation/logo stand out from the rest.

you can purchase Trapcode Sound Keys here: http://www.redgiant.com/products/all/trapcode-sound-keys/

10. Trapcode Sound Keys 1.2: $149.00

Are you wanting to see the beat? this plugin for After Effects allows you to sync any audio and watch the sound keys flow. Although this effect is not for everyone, it is ideal for music videos. This effect highlights the beat and sounds which will go along with a music video that is telling the story of the song. Trapcode Sound Keys adds a unique feature to videos and can be frankly used anywhere you desire.

4K, 52 megapixel, camera, canada, film, light, lighting, lights, photo, photographic, photography, smartphone, technology, toronto, video

52 Megapixel, 4K Video, 16 Lens Camera That Fits In Your Pocket

Posted on December 19, 2016 by Big City

L16 Camera from Light

Tired of lugging a bag full of camera gear around every time you want to take great pictures? Not satisfied with the images or video you get from your smartphone? Well Rajiv Laroia, co-founder and CTO of Light, may have a solution to this problem.

He stated that “I developed the underlying technology for the Light L16 Camera because I was

And I’m still not satisfied with the “good enough” pictures I get from my mobile phone.”

This camera is the first multi-aperture computational camera. With 16 individual camera modules, Light’s technology fuses 10 images into one super high-quality, 52-megapixel image. These images have fantastic depth of field control and incredibly low noise. And the camera offers true optical zoom from 35-150mm while being slim enough to fit in a pocket.

Close up of the multiple lenses of the L16

Looks like this camera is still in pre-production, and is expected to be released in summer of 2016, but they already are taking pre-orders. Introductory price is $1299 USD until Nov 6th, 2015, then will go up to $1699 USD after that date.

How to properly use gels to colour photos/films

Posted on December 19, 2016June 19, 2017 by Paola Pasqualini

Colour and visual tone are very important when one is shooting a film or photograph. Many times we find ourselves choosing the same lighting set up and will often get stuck in a repetition. In cases where images looks dull and colourless, gel kits become handy tools to correct colour and liven images up. A standard gel kit will come with 20 different sheets – a few specifically for colour correcting and the rest, a range of colours.

This photo shows the different effects of each colour.

In order to successfully use the gels, they have to be placed on specific lights with a precise strength (hard/soft). Although gels have been around for quite some time, people tend to forget the magic they can produce for an image’s entirety.

A lighting set up using a light Cyan Gel, direct flash and a soft box with a Magenta Gel.

The combinations become endless when mixing and matching different gels and techniques together. The possibilities become endless too when using different equipment – you can mix strobes and flashes, try various light modifiers, use soft boxes and reflectors to bounce of specific colours. Another way one can experiment with gels is using different shutter speeds to create traces of color. For example the following photo slowed down its shutter speed to create this specific look:

Colour gels also come in handy when trying to create surreal looks that resemble fantasy. Instead of relying on effects done in post, adding gels to the set can create more natural occurring colour.

In any case on a set shoot, having gels in sight is always a good idea, aside from colour correcting an image, gels can help to add life to dull visuals. The kits themselves usually range from $75 – $100 but separately come to no more than $6 each, depending on quality and colour.

camera, film, glidecam, gopro, hexo, photo, technology

Go Pro Camera Drone to be released in 2016

Posted on December 19, 2016January 24, 2017 by Big City

The GoPro has been becoming increasingly popular and with the new camera drone coming out, they are most likely going to explode with business. Since last year, GoPro founder Nick Woodman announced yesterday that the company is building its own quadcopter, the HEXO+ flying camera. The drone is set to launch in the first half of 2016. This is incredibly exciting for the film world because it means not only are our limitations for shots minimize but the cost of budgets will too. It was once impossible to get any birds-eye view shot without getting a helicopter – now it is as simple as driving a remote control airplane.

The simplicity behind the device makes it user friendly, allowing the handler to control setting from their phone screens, as well as a view finder. If you are alone and would prefer to be the subject of whatever is being filmed, the hexo+ has a built in sensor that is able to track you wherever you go. You can choose to capture yourself in action from any angle, front, back, sides, above and everywhere in between, close up or far away.

The hexo+ can travel as fast as 40Mph/70kmh and is able to fly in winds up to 15mph. The only downside to these revolutionary drones is that the battery life span only lasts about 15 minutes but to make it fair, 15 minutes of footage can be a lot and only takes about 1h and 30 minutes to charge, so always bring an extra battery or two.

-Harsh Patel

iPhones slowly taking over the (amateur) film world

Posted on December 19, 2016June 19, 2017 by Paola Pasqualini

We all know how much success the iPhone has brought to the digital world of photos but whoever thought it could become so handy for filmmakers. Camera technology is advancing fast and the photo/film world is constantly evolving but who knew that shooting with an iPhone would become more prolific than a RedEpic. Magnolia pictures recently released a new movie Tangerine that was shot entirely on an iPhone 5. Director Sean Baker had originally decided to do this for budget reasons. But after saw that the format and aesthetic that the iPhone had given it, matched the bright bold look that he was looking for. In order to contribute to quality without having to change devices, Baker also used anamorphic adapter prototypes from Moondog Labs as well as Filmic Pro to capture the film at a higher compression rate and, along with a Steadicam rig. Watching the trailer you can see that the quality is definitely still there and adds a natural, unique look to the film.

Tangerine hasn’t been the only movie ever shot on an iPhone. There are quite a few successful films that have all used to the same technique to help give their films a particular look. Their have been a few very successful ones that have stuck out amongst the rest – for example a film that came last year, “I play with the phrase each other” tore through festivals with its success. Another movie that brought itself great success and all shot on the iPhone 6 was Romance in New York. Although the film is only 18 minutes long, it falls short of any regret in using the iPhone as a their medium. Other films including: Uneasy lies the mind, Framed, The editor and Dragonborne are all critically acclaimed movies that have had a lot of success in the iPhone film world.

Not only are movies being shot on iPhones but ever since the launching of the iPhone 6, Apple has been showcasing the remarkable quality one can get from their iPhone. Going in this direction, movies shot on iPhones are only going to increase once people realize that sometimes its not the tools but the carpenter.

– Paola Pasqualini

HD Camcorder and iPhone Sent to Outer Space.

Posted on December 20, 2015March 13, 2021 by Big City

Today we found quite a fascinating video in the webs whirlpool of viral content. This particular video focuses on a experimental spacecraft that was built by a man with the help of his young kids using simple objects found around the home such as, foam, hand warmers (to keep the camera and iPhone warm), strings, weights and so on. To get the contraption up there, they used a weather balloon and, the iPhone was used as a GPS tracking device while the HD camcorder was obviously used to record the journey. The video shows beautiful imagery of earth as seen from space. Although the chances of an accident are minimal, in order to release the balloon to that altitude special approval and notification was needed by FAA. What’s amazing is that the balloon landed only 30 miles from the original launch spot, this video inspired me and I’m sure it will do the same for you.

Click below to view the video (I recommend watching in HD) :

Homemade Spacecraft from Luke Geissbuhler on Vimeo.

film, focus, photo, photographic, photography, shutter, video, zoom

Lytro camera, the “focus later” camera!

Posted on December 20, 2015January 20, 2017 by Big City

Last week, Lytro introduced a new and most interesting camera! A camera that can take pictures of any thing and have it in focus, no matter your distance to the subject. Here is how it works, it’s is a still camera with no auto-focus motor and no stutter delay, it allows you to focus after taking the picture, on your computer using the software that comes with it, and you can get a number of stories from one photograph, fascinating! It’s a fairly small camera with two buttons (the power and the shutter buttons), a touch screen, a slide to control the zooming, and an 8X optical zoom lens with a constant aperture of f/2.

It’s built for Mac OS and requires a minimum of OS x 10.6 or higher. They’re still developing a windows application.

So, the question now, is how to get one of these cool cameras! You can pre-order it from the lytro official website starting at $399 for the 8GB camera, and $499 for the 16 GB, and you can get it early 2012.

The science behind Lytro camera:

15 years ago, Stanford University captured the most advanced light field, which required a roomful of cameras all connected to a supercomputer. The supercomputer has been replaced by a combination of hardware and software called the 1.0 light field engine, which is able to process the light ray data captured by the sensor using a series if complex algorithms . The light field sensor captures up to 11 million light rays, which allows you to re-focus the pictures later on.

film, filming, news, suicidesquad, toronto, video

Suicide Squad filming in the heart of Toronto

Posted on December 19, 2015January 24, 2017 by Big City

The filming of Suicide Squad has brought a lot of hype to the streets of Toronto. Being one of the biggest movies ever filmed in here, the production has closed down Yonge Street between Queen and College streets from Monday night at 7 p.m until Thursday 6 a.m which has caused the streets to be more hectic than usual. In the past few weeks, they have managed to film multiple live action scenes including a plane crash that took up Yonge Street almost entirely. They shut down a Union Station bus terminal for a train scene and also filmed a helicopter crash that was shot in the financial district. This being said, it is no cheap production.

The super villain movie is one of the largest and most visible ever shot in Toronto.

The shooting of the film has brought Hollywood Actors, Ben Affleck, Will Smith, Jared Leto and Margot Robbie, as well as 500 other local actors and crew members on set.

The good news for Toronto is that it is becoming a popular location for the US to shoot their movies because of our low Canadian dollar. In 2014 $1.3 billion dollars was spent on location filming in Toronto which is up 4.3% from 2013 – which only shows how rapidly the desire to film in Toronto is getting. Right now there are 30 different productions being shot in Toronto, which include ‘My big Fat Greek Wedding 2″ and “Special Correspondents.” The increasing popularity for filming in Toronto helps to foresee a successful future in movies for the community of film.

Stop Motion Animation

Posted on January 24, 2015August 25, 2021 by Carlos Jochico

First of all, what is stop motion?

Stop motion is another way of creating film, but instead you’re using a bunch of photos of and playing them at a high speed to give the illusion that it’s moving.

For example: the movie ‘Wallace and Gromit The Curse of The Were Rabbit’, the characters were made out of clay. Which is called claymation (clay animation) How it works, is they use clay to sculpt their subject like Wallace, then place him into a set. Then they take a picture of him, and depending on what they want him to do, they slightly move a part of him then proceed to take another picture. After multiple pictures later, it’ll look like that the character is moving on it’s own. Clay isn’t the only way to create stop motion films, other people use Legos as well. The main idea of stop motion is just to create the effect that an inanimate object can move on it’s own.

When creating your own stop motion, you’ll need a few things. First a camera, it doesn’t matter what kind of camera, as long as you can import it’s images into your computer. Which is for post production (editing). You’ll also need lighting, preferably indoor lighting. If you use outdoor lighting (the sun) then the stop motion will look funny. Why? well because stop motion takes time, and as you may be shooting outside, the sun might be blocked by clouds and affect your scene. Another thing that is very crucial for stop motion animation, is a tripod. Having a tripod is the most important thing in creating stop motion. You can still do it without a tripod, but your creation will look very shaky. Once you have these, all you need now is your subject.

Stop motion isn’t always necessarily about making inanimate objects come to life, you can also achieve cool effects with just a person. For example: have a friend jump in place, and while mid-air take a photo, have him/her repeat this and after every jump, have them move up one step. If done correctly, it will look like your friend is flying in the air.

paulquevedo

Helped us pick out a lighting setup for a school dance that fit within our budget. Really easy to work with, great rental pricing and equipment was in excellent condition. we will definitely be coming here again!

DeDon Tv

I have been renting lights and backdrop from big city lights since 2022, Mr Clint will take his time to show you how the equipment work, and times I had issues with the equipment on site due to my ignorance, when I call he always help me resolve the issues with ease. I recommend this place anytime

Joseph Gaudreault

We've been working with Big City Lights the last few years and they are amazing. They always have what we need, quick and easy communication, and really friendly customer service in person. Would highly recommend for all your lighting / event needs.

EPizzle

Rented a disco ball for my wife’s birthday and people loved it! Had an amazing experience at Big City Lights. Friendly, knowledgeable, and hassle free. Will definitely come back!

Az Mo

Great place, rented an outdoor party light on Thursday for a neighbors wedding on the weekend, i was down there on Thursday, the owner gave me an incredible deal since was only needed for one night and i lived far away, very much appreciated thanks again!!