Windsurf & Kite Session
I took a couple of hours on Friday afternoon to shoot with an old friend of mine, Whitey . It was a pretty exceptional day for wind and sun, it was almost hard to believe when I arrived at the beach, that I was in Clacton.
For me, I wanted to try out an old, very cheap, manual Soligor lens shooting some action. The wind and direction made keeping the long lens stable a bit of a challenge, especially given the lens length and that I wasn’t using a rail set up. I put this short edit together for fun, from some of the footage, with all except the wide shots at the beginning on the Soligor. Whitey has some nice pics on his page too, so it’s worth taking a look there.
Scratchtapes : Glitch
I’ve just added a new pack to the Scratchtapes collection, the first of a few I’m rolling out over the next couple of months. Glitch, is a pack of 20 short clips, from a few frames, to a few seconds in length. Like the Dirt collection, they are really intended to add low fi elements to clean footage, though they can be used in their own right.
I’ve called this pack Glitch, as that’s probably the best description of how they can be used. Consisting of film clutter, light streaks, video noise & interference, as well as some general weirdness, the pack is available for a reasonable $20/£13.
Here is a very short and slightly leftfield demo, giving an example of how they can be used.
For more info, check out the Glitch pack page here
Creating a grunge title sequence
Following on from my last post on the Scracthtapes demo, I’ve created another little demo clip, showing how, through the use of overlays and textures, you can create a grunge style title sequence. Perfect for horror and thriller type title sequences.
This was created really quickly, using only about 5 or 6 clips. The old film clutter layers were stacked over the titles ( simple text, with a small amount of glow added ), which makes them flash and burn. These were then overlayed again, on to some grimey textures for the end part. All achieved by choosing different composite modes like overlay, difference and screen.
I’ve also added a non commercial licence download to the store, called “Dirt Cheap”. It’s a pay what you like download of 8 clips. So if you want to get stuck in and mess about with these clips, then you can, without paying for the full collection, as long as it’s for personal use. Go here for more info ( scroll down the page ).
Scratchtapes clip update
Continuing with my update on the Scratchtape clips, I’ve added a couple of extra options, while I add all the individual clips for download. I’ve reset the pricing, which was set fairly low, with a view to adding in “pay what you like” versions for personal/non-commercial use. I’ll probably be blogging a little more on this over the next couple of weeks, as I set up more of the clips for download.
Here’s one of the latest clips added. More to come as the week goes on.
Burnout
$10.00 ( approx. £6.50 ) commercial & personal use
Super 8 frame burning out Format: ProRes 720p25 Sound: None Duration:10s (included in Dirt collection )
For some tips on how to get the most out of these clips, please take a look at the main Scratchtapes page of the website, where you can find tutorials as well as a few free clips.
Mountain Race clip ( Cenise Bargy )
I was back in Haute Savoie last weekend and amongst other things, shot a ski mountain race, which I’ve done regularly for the last few years. The shooting conditions were way far from ideal, with rain falling at the start line in the morning.
The race, like a good meal, is in 3 courses. 2 ski mountaineering courses combined with one cross country ski course. Competitors take part as relay teams ( one for each course ) or, as individuals completing all three! It’s primarily a fun event, but still a tough undertaking, especially with knee breaking wet snow. Even with the conditions, spirits were high for everyone involved and even though filming it was quite demanding, I had a lot of fun.
Here is a highlights reel from the day. If you want to find out more about the race, or watch other videos from other years, then visit cenisebargy.fr ( in French )
Scratchtapes download updated
I’m finally getting around to updating the scratchtapes clips and making individual clips available for download. A few clips from the Dirt collection have been added, at $5 ( about 3 quid ) each. These are the most useful clips from this collection ( like super 8 grain and scracthes and leader ).
Hope to develop this with an up to date collection, some time after the Christmas break. For more info visit the Scratchtapes page link in the Nav bar.
December sunrise
I was out on the beach yesterday morning, shooting some stock footage and managed to get out in time for the sunrise. I also managed to get a few photos that I’m pleased with, though I did have problems with lens flares. Footage to come..
And a short edit from yesterday morning. Thanks for watching.
Avalanche documentary update
Last winter was a bit of a strange mix weather wise and a lot of Europe was affected by the snow that came in December ( I spent the weekend with my family at Geneva airport, trying to return to the UK ). But the 2011/12 winter season turned out to be far from a bumper season snow wise.
One affect of this, on me at least, was a sparse season of filming for my avalanche project. Little snow cover, meant fewer opportunities to film spring avalanches. As the winter turned into spring, the dry conditions continued and as there was a lack of melting snow, a lot of the normally high rivers and streams completely dried up. What this coming winter brings is far from sure, but I think it’s safe to say, prepare for the unexpected.
Anyway here is a small taster of last season, which should hopefully give some idea of what the project is all about. I’ve dedicated a page to this film here, which has a little more info on the subject.
Film Clutter mini tutorial
( If you’re not sure what film clutter is and how it’s used, then watch the Scratchtapes demo clips, for a better idea. )
This very simple technique for adding an overlay of film grain and clutter, can have an effect that ranges from the subtle, to the extreme. A lot depends on the source footage, but the method of compositing and how much you grade both layers, can have pretty wide ranging effects on the end result. You might be going for a very low fi look with lots of artifacts or you might just want to introduce a bit of real world grain and noise at a low level. Hopefully, you will be able to experiment a little and use this mini tutorial purely as a starting point.
Scratchtapes – Dirt
After a long break from updating the website, mostly due to several of my projects being held off for various reasons, I’ve decided to make a long overdue update on the Scratchtapes film effects. I’m starting this with a download collection of film clutter, called Dirt. This will be available from May 1st on this site. The freebie clips will stay up and might actually get added to, along with another tutorial or two next week, to tie in with this.
Scratchtapes – Dirt, is a collection of Super 8 and 16mm film footage, which can be used on digitally shot footage, to dirty it up a bit. This first collection will contain some of the original standard definition clips that were incuded on the original disc, along with a few 720p clips. I’ve created this short demo, just as an idea how the clips can be used…
Begin Again
I’ve just completed a short edit of material from this year, with one or two older favourite shots thrown in for good measure. Rather than just create a highlight reel, I wanted to tell a little story with it and, keeping with a seasonal theme, I came up with this. I’ll hopefully be posting an update on the Rendlesham project, with a short piece on the 30th Anniversary Reunion, just after the Chrismas period. But until then.. All the best for the coming year.
Blender Editing
I’ve been messing around with Blender for a few years now, occasionally using it for titles/motion graphics etc. on projects and when I have time, trying my hand at a little modelling. Over the last few months though, I’ve been drawn more and more to it’s post production capabilities, with the upgrade to the sequence editor and the addition of compositing nodes for colour correction and keying. I’ve posted about this a while ago, but have since begun to use this side of the software on a more regular basis. Surprisingly, I now find myself turning to Blender sometimes, as an alternative to “other” post production software, to get some jobs done.
Maybe it’s because I’ve become used to it’s way of working, but I find basic cutting in the sequence editor very fast and just plain logical. While it is still a long way from being an out of the box NLE, that will work in high pressure environments, I feel for film projects of my own, it’s more than enough to sketch out and even polish off some short form material. I recently edited a short piece in Blender, which I shot on one night in January. The footage was of the sun setting over the mountains. When working with it in the timeline, I decided to flip the direction of the shots, reversing some of them, to make it appear like sunrise. This took a matter of seconds to achieve, but it’s the kind of thing that can sometimes be much more time consuming. Anyway, here is the clip, filmed from the Pont D’Andey, overlooking the clouds above the valleys.
View in HD Download 720p HD Version Visit Adrian Frearson’s ExposureRoom Videos Page
Avalanche Alley PT II
Over the last couple of winters I’ve been slowly working away at a long form documentary film, documenting the effect that snowfall and the subsequent avalanches have on the mountain eco system. I’ve never worked on or been involved in any kind of nature production, except my own personal films, but ever since I first picked up a film camera and started shooting skiing and snowboarding, my fascination with this subject has grown more each year.
This winter was a big snow year and ideally I would have liked have filmed more sequences than I did. But anyway I still managed to shoot some material for the film and hopefully, given good conditions next winter, might be able to complete the film in 2010. I’ve made a short teaser from some of this winters shots, which I’ve posted on Exposureroom.
View in HD Download 720p HD Version Visit Adrian Frearson’s ExposureRoom Videos Page
Shooting naturally triggered avalanches is not the easiest thing in the world to do, you need to be in the right place at the right time obviously, but having quick reactions and gear that will react as fast is probably equally important. The last couple of winters shooting for this project have really been a testing ground for me and I’m now realizing that I may need to go back to my 16mm shooting days. I’ve shot most of the material so far with my FX1, which is a notoriously slow starting camera, even by other tape based systems. I think any digital based system isn’t ideal in a situation where the camera has to stay in standby, in the cold for hours on end and then suddenly drop into instant record. So I’m considering the switch back to Super 16, purely for shooting these sequences next year, conditions allowing. Most film cameras that I’ve used don’t suffer from poor start up times, they either run or they don’t! I had been thinking of using the upcoming Scarlet, to complete the project, but as start up on the current Red One is a bit of an issue, I will just have to wait and see how this develops. In the meantime I’m keeping my eye on S16 prices, quite a few people seem to be offloading film gear at the moment, so it could be time to scoop a bargain.
Ade
Stock Downloads
With the switch to this new site I am taking down the Scratchtapes pages, as I simply don’t have the time to update what is effectively 2 blog installs or run an e-commerce site. The Scratchtapes clips will still be available to order via a dedicated page on this site, along with downloads of the free low resolution versions.
Some of the Scratchtapes clips as well as some newer HD versions are now on Revostock and Pond5. This means the clips are available individually, rather than as a disc collection.
From the Top
I was out last week shooting and decided to do some POV shooting on ski’s. I haven’t done much of this recently and it’s something that needs to be practiced fairly often, so that you don’t loose your edge, no pun intended. I had to shoot some shutter speed tests so decided to use this as an excuse. When it came to edit the footage I chose to have a go at using the Video Sequence Editor in Blender.
Blender is an open source 3d modelling and animation package, which I’ve used regularly in the past for creating image sequences and title graphics. I recently watched the animation film ” Big Buck Bunny ” ( go download it for the kids ), which was created by a team of Blender artists and was blown away by it. As well as using and testing Blender for it’s animation/modelling/rendering, the post production on the film was mostly done inside Blender, which inspired and encouraged me to go back and try and edit something with it.
So I’ve cut together my first and very basic edit using this tool. While it took me longer than normal to edit something like this, I did find it very intuitive ( just like other parts of the program ), once I was in the swing of things. Now I’ve started to scratch the surface of Blenders editing abilities, I will probably try and get my fingers even dirtier with another edit.
The Quiet Waters
Here is a short piece that I have just edited, which is a compilation of some of my “keepers” footage from this summer. The theme being water, it’s really a collection of some of the best local spots for just kicking back and relaxing, mainly, Lac Benit, Le Fraichets and the Cascade Du Dard.
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While I was thinking of some music for this piece, I kept going back to an album by Williamson, another artist I found through Jamendo. His music definitely defies categories and this particular track, ” and then it’s all gone ” taken from the album ” A few things to hear before we all blow up” just seemed right.
Hope you enjoy
Adrian
Scratchtapes
The Scratchtapes pages are being updated with some free clips, available for download and using in NLE or Compositing software. The Scratchtapes Vol1 is a stock footage DVD aimed at editors and media artists. A collection containing noise, film flash frames and grain, help to achieve a more lofi look from cleaner digital video.
Vol2, an Apple Loops collection, is in the finishing stages. A collection of B Movie sound effects, sound beds and music loops to complement the Scratchtapes collection. More soon.
