Oliver Daniel

Thank you for this. I think I need a break to clear up the brainwaves... nothing is making much sense, not even my sandwich does.

This morning, I plugged in a G-Speed Studio Thunderbolt 2 4-bay (24TB) to edit video on my iMac 5k, and I'm kindly looking for a little advice on people who know better. Previously, I've just edited from a single Thunderbolt drive (with external backups) and it's been fine until recently (more complex tasks/more drive space required/faster speed). hence the purchase of this recommended item. I've looked into setting up the best configuration, but my brain has melted into mush (I've had a lot of personal/business changes to deal with recently, so very technical things are not computing at the moment! I need a break!) The drive is currently setup as RAID 5 - but I'm trying to get my head round the workflow of such configurations. These tasks will be done: Editing 4k and 1080p footage... finishing in 1080p on FCPX. Some grading in DaVinci Resolve. (not too heavy duty). Codec types are ProRes (mostly LT), XAVC I,S & L, H.264, Cinema DNG (only a few shots). I transcode to ProRes if possible but may not due to time. Basic VFX work (quick logo animations). It would be ideal to get the benefit of great speed and redundancy, from what I see RAID 5 looks good. My question about this configuration is the workflow. It seems excessive to write the data to all the drives and not get the benefit of the large capacity - so the objective would be to remove the data from the drives once the project is complete (to clear space), but keep a copy of the files/project data - just in case I need the files again in the future (very likely). While the process was simple beforehand, this RAID stuff is spinning my battered delicate head. (yes, I need a break). What workflows do you recommend and in which RAID configuration? Any comments are much appreciated.

Simply just use a good pair of headphones with a visible audio waveform. Another tip for very precise editing is to move the playhead left and right around the beat. Through your headphone, the beat placement will be even clear as day. (usually a much heavier click or thud then the underlying audio). Stick a marker there for reference.

No problem. Appreciate you spending your time to give your opinion. Maybe there are better ways to say the first line. We will keep tweaking.... It is hard to stand back, look at yourself and wonder "what the hell are we?" We are nudging the commercial side, and currently this site isn't dominantly selling that. Internally, it's being pushed massively. Until the content shifts in this direction, momentarily we will nudge, and nudge. So in the nutshell of it all, "what are we?" Well, we are music video specialists. So why the punch with commercial? It's a thin line to tread yes. But along the thin line are people who want to work with us because we are music video specialists and they want something else. (Example - Kukri Sports video we did). I'd rather tread thin now then live a successful life of filming spinning coins.

Haha, thanks again for the 101 talk. We've made a bit of a friend in digital corporate marketing (she's excellent), and she influenced a lot of our decisions on this improved version, including the redo of wording on the cover page and the more compact look. Her words.. "I'm finding clients are going for somebody who has the balls to do something different and strike their message straight down the middle." All worlds are different it seems. The wording throughout this site is just that - straight to the point, "this is what we do", no bollocks. To be honest, we appear much much more commercial than we actually are on this site. We are client focused, but we have a particular way of working and also a particular rounded style. Whilst we can be traditional, coming to Video Ink isn't the place for a traditional video. We are happy with that. In some weird way, I can feel kind of proud we can potentially scare the shit out of someone, at least we got them to "feel" something. Sounds mad! But yeah, puppet monkeys! It's early doors, and the early signs are looking good. Move, tweak, move, tweak... and it goes on.

I used it the other day to get some pick up shots for a music video. Shot in Slog.... It's the same old story you will hear over and over. Very yellow, kind of ill-looking Homer Simpson skintones, lots of tweaking required but achievable. HOWEVER - mess with the Slog profile (lots of resources online) and Slog becomes something quite beautiful. Still, grading after is key. Filmconvert, Impulz and the like are your friend. Everything is cool with this little guy. Battery life isn't the best, peaking could be better - but hey - it's a great tool in the bag. Highly recommended.

I agree. 24-28mm is a lovely look, especially if you get close to the subject. Also another spellbinding look is using the SLR Magic 12mm at f2 on GH4 and using it to frame a close-up. Looks pretty insane! (as the lens has a macro like function). I haven't come across a lens for S35 that can match that look.

Very true. Glad to see the positivity. It did take me a very ,very, very long time to make this - and I'm getting really great feedback. (p.s this particular client will ring you - they want to shoot tomorrow and shoot on a RED Epic Dragon in the highest resolution on a yacht in the dark with 200 semi-naked models, for $500.)

Well... version 2.0 of my new site is now up: Hello hello hello!! Generally the whole thing has been revamped under the same design.... faster, more compact, re-worded and also all sorts of little tweaks. Now I'm a zombie. Boo! (p.s working on a blog section too... 90% there!)

Generally we have got amazing feedback from our previous corporate clients. All the usual buzzwords. We are playing the game behind the scenes, and it's going well so far. Can only keep going! New layout of website is going up tomorrow - it's about 5-6 times faster and is much more compact on the front page. Thanks Aaron, I'll check that out. There is a way.....

Been in this situation quite a few times. Generally it's not going to be Branson who decides. Thanks. As said, the whole thing is going through tests. We'll work it out. Currently it's inly accessible on the site through Vimeo until tomorrow. Thanks Andrew - "one of Manchesters finest"... That's quite a statement! I'll just keep going and hope more people enjoy my work.

Thanks very much for all the feedback. It's much appreciated like all constructive criticism. With the site loading, it's being looked into. The "contact" heavy interface is based on a current call-to-action one-page high content trend (make sense?), the generation of the scroller. A lot of it is experimentation - and the site will be amended accordingly with data collected from certain behaviours (such as the Pop up contact box and clicks on buttons). As most of my clients are musicians/agencies/labels - the site still has to be branded to favour them as that's where the chunk of our content is. The next step is direct contact with creative agencies where we illustrate where we are now (this site) with what we are offering as commercial/corporate video makers (with examples, PR and such). This is to drill up projects in this area internally and adjust our public image appropriately over time. A big amount of feedback we have received is the true lack of style with substance for commercial/corporate in my local area - apparently it's very hard to find, and that's our USP. Recently we had a sportswear client who came to us because they didn't want a boring, done-it-all-before video. They wanted our locations, visual style and modern-natured thinking while still being corporate (Kukri Sports - Together Stronger). Everyone involved understands we are probably too outlandish, energetic and not boring enough for bread and butter "give me all your money" corporate work, and this is a factor we are considering away from the "Video Ink" brand. So much in fact we have employed someone to develop it. We understand the money is good to keep things very secure and successful. Even a subtle taste of our style in this area might work wonders. We will see. On the other hand, there are unconfirmed big things in motion which, if they happen, will completely change everything. But at this moment in time, we just get on with it and prioritise our majority client base

Everything on the site is very low in data - I just need to look at why Google integration is slowing it down. It's not an issue on fast, reliable connections. At my studio its fine, but in a coffee shop it's a bit slow.

The site likes fast internet connections. I'm in dialogue to speed up the response time on the server. It's Google integration (analytics and fonts) that slow it down.

My RX10 II's are from DigitalRev and they are fine. Took one out for a quick spin as needed some pick up shots for a simple narrative in a music video. First Impressions: Good Stuff - A lot of fun to shoot with! - Steady in the hand, even at 200mm. - Easy to use and change settings quickly. - Lens is the best feature! - Slo mo is great upto 240fps. - Amazing "shot-getter", could be used as an A-cam on low budget stuff. - Not too difficult to get some nice shallow shots. - Very compact. - Motion cadence is better than expected. - Stills are good enough. Areas to Improve - Peaking and zebras seem to need a bit of firmware tweaking for accuracy. - Zoom is slow when recording. And noisy. - Screen is very flimsy, needs looking after! - 2 seconds is not long enough for 240fps. - Video thumbnails are pixelated in preview mode. - Menu button placement is awkward. - Should be able to use shutter button as record. (come on Sony!!) - Battery life is terrible. (Sony should do better here!!!) - No MLUT for Slog2 (judging light is hard in this mode without MLUT). - Not good in low light. - Difficult to seperate subject from background on mid-shots. (cant have it all). - Can look sterile in 4k out the box (incredibly sharp!) For the money.... it's a fantastic litttle camera.

Many thanks to the positive comments Many of the shots here are actually re-graded from the originals. Encouraging to see the rapid improvement but shocked to see what I thought looked good previously!! The video you mentioned Aaron is "Davoodi - Party Life". I think another puppet video is on the cards soon! So much fun.

Well that took a bloody long time! But I've just this minute completed my new reel and site. It's not "announced" until Monday.... social media campaigns etc blah blah. But it's live! Check them here: View my new showreel and website! Some info Each and every image - I shot, lit, edited, graded. A little directing. Very involved in creative ideas. Core crew was mostly 4-5 regular people in these productions (Director, DOP, Production Manager, Spark, Make Up Artist). For the geeks - cameras used are Sony F55, FS7, FS700, RED Epic, GH3, BM Pocket. All images are music videos, but going for commercial/corporate work aggressively into the next year. (and still many music videos). The aim is to have 100% new material for Showreel 2016. Max creativity required. Anyway, if you like it or don't like it, whatever. Just thought I'd share.

Yes, I have one of the 2 sitting in front of me right now. Haven't shot a single slow motion clip, even though I have a hyper chihuahua and a cat to get the best slow mo shots you have seen! More interested in checking the dynamic range on the picture profiles and how the lens operates. Looking good so far. Throwing them straight onto a decent budget music video next week for some guerrilla narrative stuff. (Performance was shot in FS7 - used 150fps only twice, ha!). URSA Mini? Plenty to be getting on with. It comes when it comes.

I never know if Zach is a parody poster or actually insane. Both of these things are better than being a boring, miserable sod. I rent from Procam, ITV Provision, Media Dog, Panny Hire... whoever has what i need. Got 2 RX10 II's coming today and a bunch of other stuff, so that will keep me busy for a while!

To quote myself, the tracking data now says it's out for delivery in my area. The cards haven't come yet though so will have to hustle on getting a card sorted when they arrives today.

Just a word up to say the cameras are being shipped from Hong Kong and will arrive in a week. From what I know, RX10's from Hong Kong have no recording limits.

Yes, it's a bazooka! I completely agree with you. If I'm honest, I haven't bought a new camera for 3 years. The last one I bought was a Panasonic GH3. I bought a load of old FD and M42 lenses for it. I never loved the camera, but I was happy with the work I was producing. Business still going well. I'm still using it now and rent the FS7 when required. I never jumped on the 4k bandwagon - I want more than just a jump in resolution. I pre-ordered the URSA Mini as I love the Blackmagic image. Also I put down a small deposit (not the full fee) so I could monitor the progress of the camera up until it's eventual release. I can cancel whenever, but it's likely I won't. Most of my clients ask for cinematic imagery, high frame rates and high resolution images - features that many other (sort of) affordable cameras don't have. The URSA Mini does - so in the scheme of things, this could be a blossoming relationship with the new dude on the block.

True - and that's why I have gone with it. I've been using the FS7 regularly and I was very excited about the camera when it was announced. It is excellent - I can barely notice the difference side by side the F55 (F55 seems to have very very very slightly more pleasing color). But I don't love the feel of the image, it lacks something in soul I can't quite put my finger on. I just love Blackmagic images though. They have that something. I don't tend to shoot above 800ISO, so sensitivity doesn't bother me. All cameras produce their best images in decent lighting, hence why I have quite a lot of it! This really is the difference. On another note, I had no idea the Varicam 35 was £17.5k http://cvp.com/index.php?t=product/panasonic_varicam_35_video_camera&gclid=CPDTycDKnMcCFQXnwgodBWoL-A, I had the impression it was just beneath Alexa pricing. Doesn't seem very popular - looks like a bazooka all kitted out! But again, Blackmagic are competing with this for around 1/4 of the price!

Seems this is a very risky proposition for client work. Maybe someone can design a fridge type rig for it, or just wrap it with an underwater covering and dunk it inside an ice bucket between shots.

Yep, you're right. The URSA series is definitely not targeted at your high street consumers. People were attracted to original BMCC as it was an industry bombshell, but it's going to be strictly pro's with the new ones. Its frustrating they have to treat announcements this way. Why can't they just tell us? Is there any marketing reasons to be so cryptic? Does it make us talk more? They also want buyers of the original cameras to upgrade to these new URSAs, and they will keep going from there. I think Blackmagic will return with another model below the URSA and above the Micro. Perhaps "Blackmagic Cinema Shooter"... Sort of a hybrid between the BMPCC and BMCC with a Super 16 sensor, but 4k, 1080 60p, global shutter, a bottom handle and an articulated 1080p screen. It's due for sure, but probably not how we expect! I really have high praise for this company. A big reason why "I broke my rules" and pre-ordered the URSA Mini is because I've always wanted to shoot on Blackmagic. The image is incredible. And now they have delivered on ergonomics and HFR, it's too hard to resist. I expect it to be an interesting ride, and hopefully a camera I will learn to love and put to some great use. I really think Arri and RED could potentially shake up the market if they offered a solution in FS7/URSA territory. But they won't. RED footage files are really juicy and deep. Alexa is buttery smooth and incredibly organic. I don't think the URSA Mini 4.6k will be far behind.