Tag: photographic

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.

camera, Nikon, photo, photographic, photography, technology

Photographer or phoDOGgrapher?

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

The world is constantly evolving and finding new ways of using technology to better our quality of life but sometimes it completely misses the mark. Nikon has just launched a new prototype camera that gives Dogs a chance to be the photographer. It seems like they are further concreting the idea that anybody and anything can be a photographer now a days including our dogs. This camera is designed to strap to your dogs neck and the photo is taken based on the dog’s vitals. An elastic band is used to monitor the dog’s heartbeat. Using bluetooth, it sends the information to the Heartography SmartCase which will activate the camera’s ability to take the photo.

Because the product is somewhat begging for a collection of useless photos, Nikon has not commented on whether or not this prototype will be released as a product. If this product makes a successful launch, the youtube world will only explode more in endless cat videos.

The camera is a humorous invitation to allow to dogs to get creative and tell a story through their eyes.

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, Canon, lens, Nikon, photo, photographic, photography, toronto, video

7 Best, Inexpensive Lenses

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

If you own a camera you have a slight idea of the high prices in film and photo equipment. Photography can be an expensive hobby and is often hard not to spend less than a couple hundred dollars on a certain gadget upgrade. The lenses these days are becoming increasingly expensive with newer features and cleaner designs. Finding a lens that is good quality and affordable can be challenging, but we can rest assured that there are a few out there that wont break our wallets.

1. Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 – $125

This is an excellent prime lens that is affordable and delivers good quality photos. Because the length is a little longer than a lens you would used daily use, it is a handy lens for something like portrait photography. Another plus to this lens is how far the aperture opens up – a maximum aperture of 1.8/f allows the photographer to catch lots of light as well as if desired, create great bokeh effects.

2. Lensbaby Spark – $90

Now this is an interesting lens because of the manual freedom the user gets with it. The lensbaby spark allows the photographer to pull the lens in and out to adjust the focus of the photo as well as an option to skew the photo . The effect of the lens may not be for everyone, but for those who enjoy experimenting with photography, these lenses create original and classic low-fi photos.

3. Canon EF 40mm – $199

This is a great portable prime lens to guarantee clarity in your photos. The lens allows you to open up to an aperture as low as 2.8/f, giving you a relative amount of light for any given scenario. This lens is highly recommended in the photo world as the perfect normal’ lens on full frame, providing an extremely natural perspective to images.

4. Nikon AF NIKKOR 50mm f/1.8D Lens – $130

This is a great lens for users using Nikon cameras. It is an incredibly light, offering a f/1.8 maximum aperture for effective low light shooting and shallow depth of field control. Be sure to check your camera’s lens-compatibility information before selecting this lens as it can only be used with manual focus.

5.Nikon AF-S 35mm f/1.8G – $196

The Nikkor 35mm f/1.8 is the perfect answer for owners of Nikon DX-format cameras. Because most S-SLRS use APS-C size sensors, their 55mm lenses are actually equivalent to 75mm, making them too long. It is equivalent to 52.5mm/f 2.8 so the focal length is correct for the standard lens. A perfect prime lens that is perfect for low-light shooting and creating softly blurred backgrounds; its classic “normal” angle of view makes it a great all-around lens – meaning it is the closest image to what we see with our eyes

6. Nikon AF-S Micro-Nikkor 40mm f/2.8G – $277

Although the price is ranging a little higher for this specific lens, it is still no doubt very popular for its ability to get up and close to objects with great quality. The DX Micro is a great little all-purpose normal lens that can also focus super close. Although, if you desire any serious macro work, a 40mm lens is a bad idea because you have to get too close to your subject to get close-ups and you will end up blocking your life. That is why this 40mm lens is mostly for use as a general-purpose normal lens, with the ability to focus very close for occasional use.

7. Diana lens DIY bundle – $49

The great thing about these lenses is that there is an adapter available for Canon and Nikon for only $14. Lomo photography has gotten popular in the last couple of years. With that being said, these lenses help give a soft and dreamy look to your photos. Their are many lenses available for purchase such as: 20mm fisheye lens, 38mm, 55mm wideangle/close-up combo, 75mm or 110mm telephoto lens. And again, for no more than $49! Something to keep in mind when not wanting to spend over a $100.

– Paola Pasqualini

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.

Stolen image ends up all over the world

Posted on December 20, 2014January 20, 2017 by Big City

In 2006 Noam Galai took a few photos of himself and uploaded them to his Flickr account. He got a few comments from people who liked it but nothing more. Then one day a friend asked him why didn’t he tell them that he was making t-shirts of his photo. At first he didn’t believe them then he saw one for himself. He went online and did a reverse image search using TinEye and was shocked at how prolific his image had become, all without his permission. It is even being used as a symbol of protest in Iran.

The people at Fstoppers are responsible for this great video entitled “The Stolen Scream”, it details his story, and how he has become an anonymous and uncredited global icon. Ironicaly he tried to sell the photo to Getty Images, and they told him there was no market for it.

In the Video Galai says that National Geographic are the only company who paid him for his photo. He also says the photo has been used in 40 countries and is still counting. A cautionary tale to say the least.

The Stolen Scream: A Story About Noam Galai from FStoppers on Vimeo.

film, photo, photographic, photography, technology, video

LightTrac 2.0 – A Convenient Tool for the Outdoor Photographer

Posted on December 20, 2013January 18, 2017 by Big City

Have you ever planned an outdoor shoot and the weather literally rained on your parade? Well thanks to a new Apple application called “LightTrac” you may never have to face that problem again.

This new app can help photographers track the elevation as well as the angle of the Sun for any given date or location on our planet. What this means for the outdoor photographer is that you can plan your photoshoots ahead of time! We all know the weatherman isn’t exactly ‘honest abe’ so this app is useful even if you know your locations well.

There is also a complementing app named “Visimoon” that functions basically the same way for those night time shoots. LightTrac is available for 4.99 and Visimoon is for 2.99 for iPad, Android or iPhone.

camera, film, frames, million, photo, photographic, rental, video

A camera that shoots one million frames per second!

Posted on December 20, 2013January 20, 2017 by Big City

A camera that shoots one million frames per second? Here it is, the Phantom v1610, it can shoot up to 1,000,000 fps.

This new digital high speed camera shoots videos at a speed of 16,000 fps, at a resolution of 1280 x 800. However, it can shoot 1 million fps if the number of pixels is reduced to 128 x 16. It does sacrifice quality for speed, but still impressive.

Phantom v1610 Camera

The camera has a custom-designed sensor of 28 micro pixels, ensuring excellent light sensitivity, 12 bit depth, and monochrome ISO of 16,500 T (ISO 12232 SAT method).

So this camera is really not for an everyday videographer or filmmaker, but it’s an awesome tool for scientists and researchers for capturing high resolution images or high speed videos.

Phantom v1610 camera

The company has prices it out at $100,000 USD

camera, film, photo, photographic, photography, red, redepic, toronto, video

The Hobbit, the 3D secret

Posted on December 20, 2012January 20, 2017 by Big City

Shooting the new movie “The Hobbit” in 3D with the most “sophisticated and capable” camera ever engineered and built. Peter Jackson is using 48 RED Epic digital cameras, with the most advanced processor in the world, offers a 5K Mysterium X sensor, captures up to 120 frames per second, each frame at 14MP resolution. The camera also provides a 35 mm motion film resolution with an extended dynamic range of up to 18 stops. Since the movie is shot in 3D, all the cameras must be positioned at precise distances from each other in order to achieve the 3D effect. In a package one third of a RED ONE’s size, the camera needs custom camera rings for the lenses to fit, which made it almost impossible to place them at the right distance. The filmmakers had to order custom camera rings from 3ality Technica to create specialized mounts for the cameras. The specialized mounts uses a mirror system that allows a one eye camera to shoot into the mirror, and the other eye camera to bounce off the mirror, where operators can change the distances between the camera lenses, allowing them for a view similar to the human eyes, making it look more believable! Fascinating!

THE RED EPIC

Two RED EPIC cameras to create 3D

The movie won’t be released until December of 2012, but it could be the best looking 3D film ever.

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