Blog Salad: Green Eye for the Lapse Fly

It's time to toss filmmaking ingredients together and add dressing in this week's edition of Blog Salad. You'll learn all kinds of stuff to clean out your system and take another step toward that body (of work) you've always wanted! Not served in a wooden bowl, but tasty nonetheless...

Up, Up and Away
Need some crazy aerial footage? Don't fork out thousands to rent a helicopter--attach your camera to a small glider. Okay, so you're really attaching one of those RiteAid camcorders (you weren't planning on sending your DVX100 up there, were you?) that records to internal memory, but who cares? This instructable from Ohm shows you how to cannabalize the wee recorder for your own nefarious shots. Once attached, it's into to wild blue yonder. Sample video included. Crazy!

Time-Lapse Panning and Scanning
If you're a fan of time-lapse photography and want to be able to pan or tilt your shot while recording, then you'll like this nifty mount and tripod for your digital SLR still camera. While the software isn't yet written to be controlled by a computer, there is an external controller that should let you get the footage you want. The YouTube video is a commercial as well as a demo, and it's pretty informative. The cost is also low, as $68 (for the motorized head and tripod) sounds pretty reasonable for this sort of thing.

Microfilmmaker Goes Green
The latest issue of Microfilmmaker is out! This informative web magazine always has lots of features, tips and reviews for any DV shooter out there. This month, the focus is on chromakey use, and there is plenty to digest. Several software titles are examined, and even instructions on how to build your own green screen. While I'm not a huge fan of keying (it often looks fake and is pretty easy to spot), it does have its uses and the information presented here in one place is nicely done.

Groovy Like an Eyeball
Cool blog Groovy Like a Movie has just posted a nifty effects clip they have prepared for a client. It's pretty simple, but could have lots of use for those in the narrative world. I like effects like this that aren't overly complex, but have a real impact when used in the proper context. I can see this effect in a horror film or psychological drama where the eyes are literally the window to the soul. Thanks, Brent!

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