#OverHead 360 Video Booth

[360boothy]

Welcome to our photo booth rental company! We are dedicated to providing fun, memorable experiences for any occasion in the vibrant city of Boston. Our state-of-the-art photo booths are perfect for weddings, corporate events, birthdays, and more.

Our booths are fully customizable, with a variety of backdrops, props, and options to choose from. You and your guests will have a blast striking a pose and capturing candid memories that will last a lifetime

[photoboothsrugby]

Photo Booths Rugby

Photo Booth Rugby is a leading photo booth and magic mirror supplier, catering to a wide range of local events. Our family run team offers some of the lowest rental prices in the UK, giving customers a great choice of affordable event entertainment. Our service can be supplied to weddings, birthdays, proms, and corporate events, 7 days a week. 

Hire quality photo booths Rugby

We supply the highest quality photo booths at the lowest market prices. Whatever event you are hosting, there is a photo booth or magic mirror to suit it. We have an excellent range of booths, ranging in size to fit practically any venue. Whether you are hosting an event at a local community centre, or in the comfort of your own home, we can set up and deliver our booths free of charge.

Our range of products includes enclosed booths, chic booths, I-Pad booths, magic mirrors, and 360 video booths. Each of our high-tech booths come with all kinds of exciting features. Give your photos and videos a fun twist with our included props and interactive features. 

Your guests will enjoy a night to remember no matter which of our photo booths you hire. 

Cheap photo booth hire prices Rugby

Our photobooth hire prices are some of the cheapest around. We always give our customers the best value for money. As we own the booths in our collection, we don’t need to worry about paying expensive monthly leasing costs. The reduction in our overheads is passed on to our customers, resulting in naturally competitive prices.

We do recommend booking in advance too. When you book months in advance, it can save you a lot of money off the cost of hire. You can also save by hiring one of our smaller booths or magic mirrors.

Rugby photo booth hire packages

Rugby photo booth hire packages are a fantastic way to ensure you are getting the most from our service. These value packages include a selection of extra services such as Hashtag printing. With Hashtag printing, you can get a printed copy of your photos sent to you whenever they are uploaded with a provided hashtag. This lets you get copies of your friends and family’s photos too. 

If you have any special requests, give us a call and we will put together a custom package for you. We will always strive to meet the needs of each and every customer. The registered address of Photo Booth Hire Rugby is Eastlands Court Business Centre, St Peters Road, Rugby, CV21 3QP. We take bookings over the phone on 01788 711964, or via email at contact@photoboothsrugby.co.uk.

Photo Booths Rugby Eastlands Court Business Centre St Peters Road Rugby CV21 3QP Tel: 01788 711964

Opening Hours; Mon – Fri: 9:00 – 18:30 Sat – Sun 9:00 – 16:30 eSupport 24 hrs

[nationalparkposters]

Visiting Dry Tortugas National Park

Visiting Dry Tortugas National Park: Some 70 miles west of Key West Florida, in the Gulf of Mexico, lies one of North America's most inaccessible national parks. Renowned for pirate legends, shipwrecks, and sheer unspoiled beauty, Dry Tortugas National Park harbors unrivaled coral reefs and marine life, an annual birding spectacle, and majestic Fort Jefferson, the largest masonry stronghold in the Western Hemisphere. Getting There Accessible only by boat or seaplane, just 60,000 visitors make it to Dry Tortugas National Park each year. Compare that to the more than 330 million people who visited America's national parks last year. But it's really no surprise when you consider what's involved just getting there. The jumping off point is Key West, Florida, and from there, you can choose between an all-day boat ride, and half- or full-day seaplane trips, assuming you don't have your own vessel. Pre-Flight When I visited Dry Tortugas National Park, I opted for the seaplane flight and checked in at the Key West Seaplane Adventures office at 7:30 for an 8:00 am flight. Even though it was late March, the sun was just rising, and filtered by wisps of pink and orange clouds. When the remaining nine passengers arrived, we received our briefing, were introduced to our pilot, and then walked out on to the tarmac together to board the DHC-3 DeHavilland Turbine Otter Amphibian. The plane can carry 10 passengers plus the pilot…and when the co-pilot seat was offered up, I literally jumped at the opportunity! Our pilot has been flying to and from Dry Tortugas for years. He would make five trips to and from Dry Tortugas that day…and after dropping us off, his early morning return flight to Key West would be a solo one. Ready for Takeoff Once we had our seat belts fastened, and perhaps more importantly, our headphones on, the pilot began to narrate our early morning adventure as we taxied out on to the runway. I fired up my video camera…and before I knew it we were airborne heading due east into the morning sun, and just as quickly banking south, then west for a bird's eye view of Key West. It was only then that I had the exhilarating realization I would be setting down in a place I'd only been able to conjure in my imagination — turquoise waters, green sea turtles, bright coral, frigate birds, shipwrecks, and a coastal fortress some 170 years old. The co-pilot's seat offered the perfect view of Key West, its hotels, Duvall Street and Mallory Square, which quickly faded from view. The pilot pumped some music into our headphones…though I wasn't quite sure what to make of his first selection: Tom Petty's “Free Fallin'”! Flying at at 130 knots, we were quickly over an area called the “Flats,” a body of shallow water just 3–5 feet deep extending almost 20 miles to the west. Flying at just 500 feet above the water, these shallows are teeming with Loggerhead turtles and you could clearly see dozens of them swimming about as we cruised overhead. 25 miles out, we flew directly over Marquesas Islands, a coral atoll…and then over an area called the “Quicksands.” Here the water is 30 feet deep with a sea bed of constantly shifting sand dunes. This is where treasure hunter Mel Fisher found the Spanish Galleons Antocha and Margarita — and more than a half a billion dollars of gold and silver strewn across an eight mile area. They continue to work the site, and even today, there are regular finds of huge Spanish Emeralds. But it wasn't long from my vantage point in the cockpit before I could begin to make out Fort Jefferson on Garden Key, and further west, the lighthouse on Loggerhead Key. Fort Jefferson, a massive but unfinished coastal fortress, is the largest brick masonry structure in the Americas. Composed of over 16 million bricks, the building covers 16 acres. Florida was acquired from Spain (1819–1821) by the United States, which considered the 75 mile stretch connecting the Gulf Coast and Atlantic Ocean important to protect, since anyone who occupied the area could seize control of the trade routes along the Gulf Coast. Construction of Fort Jefferson began on Garden Key in 1847, and although more than $250,000 had been spent by 1860, the fort was never finished. As the largest 19th century American masonry coastal fort, it also served as a remote prison facility during the Civil War. The most famous inmate was Dr. Samuel Mudd, who set the leg of John Wilkes Booth following the assassination of President Lincoln. Mudd was convicted of conspiracy and was imprisoned on the Dry Tortugas from 1865 to 1869. The fort continued to serve as a military prison until 1874. Almost There… Our pilot banked the De Havilland to the right, providing a spectacular view of the islands and Fort Jefferson, heading the seaplane into the wind for the smoothest landing I've ever experienced — on land or sea — gently skimming the surface, and we glided effortlessly across the turquoise waters and headed towards shore. One more roar of the engines, a quick turn, and we were up on the beach ready to disembark. We arrived about 8:30 AM…and aside from the 10 passengers on board, a half dozen campers at one end of the Garden Key, and a few National Park Service employees, we had the island to ourselves. As I watched the seaplane take off, heading back to Key West, it struck me just how isolated we were in this remote ocean wilderness. I imagined the islands didn't look much different to Spanish explorer Juan Ponce de León, credited for discovering the islands in 1531. He named them Las Tortugas, or “The Turtles,” as the islands and surrounding waters were aswarm with loggerhead , hawksbill, leatherback, and green turtles. For nearly three hundred years, pirates raided not only passing ships, but relied on turtles for meat and eggs and also pilfered the nests of roosting sooty and noddy terns. Nautical charts began to show that The Tortugas were dry — due to the lack of fresh water — and eventually the islands were renamed as The Dry Tortugas. Taking advantage of the early morning light, I headed inside the fort, making my way up the spiral staircase, and stepped out of the old Garden Key lighthouse built in 1825. The lighthouse is no longer in use, since the “new” 167 foot tall lighthouse on Loggerhead Key, completed in 1858, continues to flash its beacon to mariners, warning of the shallow waters. The view from atop of Fort Jefferson provided a spectacular 360 degree panorama. And besides the few spits of land that make up the park, there was nothing but sky and sea in every direction. About the Park Dry Tortugas National Park, situated at the farthest end of the Florida Keys, is closer to Cuba than to the American mainland. A cluster of seven islands, composed mostly of sand and coral reefs, just 93 of the park's 64,000 acres are above water. The three easternmost keys are simply spits of white coral sand, while 49-acre Loggerhead Key, three miles out, marks the western edge of the island chain. The park's sandy keys are in a constant state of flux — shaped by tides and currents, weather and climate. In fact, four islands completely disappeared between 1875 and 1935, a testament to the fragility of the ecosystem. The Dry Tortugas are recognized for their near-pristine natural resources including seagrass beds, fisheries, and sea turtle and bird nesting habitat. The surrounding coral reefs make up the third-largest barrier reef system outside of Australia and Belize. President Franklin D. Roosevelt established Fort Jefferson National Monument under the Antiquities Act on January 4, 1935. It was expanded to it's current size in 1983, when the monument was re-designated by an act of Congress as Dry Tortugas National Park on October 26, 1992. Its charter: to protect the island and marine environment, to preserve Fort Jefferson and submerged cultural resources such as shipwrecks. Just 100 yards or so from Fort Jefferson is Bush Key. Home to a diverse collection of birds that frequent the islands, it features a mix of mangrove, sea oats, bay cedar, sea grape and prickly pear cactus, reflecting the original character of the islands. A great wildlife spectacle occurs each year between February and September, when as many as 100,000 sooty terns travel from the Caribbean Sea and west-central Atlantic Ocean to nest on the islands of the Dry Tortugas. Brown noddies, roseate terns, double-crested cormorants, brown pelicans and the Magnificent frigatebird, with its 7-foot wingspan, breed here as well. Although Bush Key was closed to visitors when I visited, hundreds, if not thousands of birds filled the skies and the sounds of their screeches and calls filled the otherwise tranquil surroundings. There is no water, food, bathing facilities, supplies, or public lodging (other than camping on Garden Key) in the park. All visitors, campers, and boaters are required to pack out whatever they pack in, so the National Park Service created a wi-fi hotspot — only at the dock — where you can scan a QR code and download a variety of PDFs to your phone or tablet. It's an idea that's bound to catch on with so many mobile devices, reducing the need to print (and throw away) paper brochures. Inside Fort Jefferson, a small visitor's center has a few exhibits and shows a short video. I stepped across the entranceway, and found an equally small office that houses the National Park Service employees who maintain and manage the park. Some of the best snorkeling in North America Although I was only on the half-day seaplane trip, I still had enough time for a quick swim and snorkel on the west side of Garden Key. In the late 1800s, the US Navy built piers and coaling warehouses for refueling, but strong storms destroyed them, leaving only their underpinnings. These pilings, and the deeper water of the dredged channel, now offer an excellent opportunity to see larger fish like tarpon, grouper, barracuda…as well as the occasional shark. Multi-colored sea fans swayed in the gentle current. Colorful reef fish — with their vivid and boldly patterned reds, yellows, greens and blues — were camouflaged amongst the bright coral and sea grasses. Today, turtle populations have diminished, but you may still be able to see green, loggerhead, hawksbill, and leatherback sea turtles. As I walked back to the changing rooms at the dock, the seaplane for my return flight was just landing and I realized my time at Dry Tortugas was coming to an end. If I ever have a chance to get back, I would definitely opt for the full day trip. A week later, after returning home to Colorado and was shoveling snow off of the driveway, a small plane passed overhead and I suddenly thought of my flight to Dry Tortugas : the bright sun, the crystal clear waters, the abundant life — above and below the water's surface — a surreal landscape so captivating, so remote, that even having seen it with my own eyes, I still somehow could barely imagine it. About the Author Rob Decker is a photographer and graphic artist who is currently on a quest to photograph and create iconic WPA-style posters for all 61 National Parks. Rob visited his first national park at age five and began photographing them at age seven on a 10,000 cross-country trip with his family. He would spend the next decade working on his own, building a wet darkroom with his grandfather in the garage and serving as head photographer for the high school yearbook. But Rob's professional training really started at age 19, when he had the rare opportunity to study under Ansel Adams in Yosemite National Park during the summer of 1979, less than five years before Mr. Adams passed away. Since then, he has visited and photographed 50 of the national parks in the US, including those in Alaska, Hawaii, and the Virgin Islands. Click here to see the current collection of posters. https://national-park-posters.com/blogs/national-park-posters/visiting-dry-tortugas-national-park?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=Sendible&utm_campaign=RSS

[luckyfrogphotos]

Why Renting a Slow Motion 360 Video Booth is a Must for Your Event

Why Renting a Slow Motion 360 Video Booth is a Must for Your Event

In 2022, technology has taken over the event arena, with lots of crazy and invented ways to capture your event. Cameras have AI technology built in and drones fly overhead capturing the action from a distance. The traditional selfie has evolved with the popularity of Instagram and Ticktok, with short video clips becoming the dominant format online. Videos, slow motion videos and 360 videos get 10x more views and engagement online vs a regular still picture. The

360 Video Booth

is the hottest new trend of the past year, and combines the fun of a photo booth with slow motion videos. This creates an unparalleled video experience for guests to enjoy and is a brand new way of capturing memories.

WHAT IS A 360 PHOTO BOOTH?

 A 360 photo booth or a 360 Video Booth captures slow motion videos in 120 frames per second; it can speed up, slow down, reverse back and add crazy effects. The 360 Slow Motion Spin Booth has a sturdy platform that holds 1-4 people, and has an HD camera that rotates around the guests. Just the experience of doing something totally unique and futuristic grabs people’s attention, as they stare on in amazement. Soon people see what’s happening on the HD slideshow, and quickly get in line to try it out for themselves.    

HOW DOES a 360 VIDEO BOOTH WORK?

 The 360 Slow Motion Spin Booth is very easy to use and operate; all people have to do is stand on the platform, and then smile, move, laugh or do wacky poses. Couples can kiss, families can have fun and the kids can act silly. There are also optional video booth props that encourage more interaction while posing. After the video is done, our friendly and helpful staff will help you share your videos instantly directly to your phone.    

WHY RENT A 360 VIDEO BOOTH FOR YOUR NEXT EVENT?

 A 360 photo booth makes your guests feel like a celebrity; capturing their movements from all angles. Not only will the 360 Video Booth elevate your event, it will also give your guests celebrity status online by sharing their viral 360 videos on social media.

A 360 Video Booth will also add to the ambiance of your event, with a modern and clean looking setup. Guests will be curious about a crazy looking contraption surrounded by video lights and a TV. Not only are 360 Video Booths trending right now, they also are the perfect party decoration.

While hiring a videographer is the traditional way to capture videos of your event, it can take weeks and sometimes months to get your video footage. By the time you get your videos, guests have already moved on to something else and will be much less likely to share the content.

That’s where a 360 Video Booth comes in…. HD Slow Motion videos are created in a matter of seconds and can be displayed on an HD TV slideshow in real-time as well as sent to your phone in a matter of seconds. Not only is a 360 Video Booth a blast to use, it works extremely fast and efficiently.

[repwinpril9y0a1]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[porchenclose10019]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[repwincoml4a0a5]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[rtscrndr53704]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[chpatdoorsl3z0a1]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[rtawngs20815]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[pat78701]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[stormdoors78476]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[grgedoors02142]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[exfrenchdorsl4p0a1]

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Trends to watch at NAB 2017

Next week is the annual National Association of Broadcasters show, or NAB, in Las Vegas, Nevada. NAB is primarily an industry conference, and isn't generally focused on consumer products, but we go to NAB because it often gives us a window into the future. Tools and technologies created for Hollywood or the broadcast industry have a funny way of tricking down to everyman products over the next few years, and that's usually a good thing (3D television being a notable exception, in my opinion).

So, let's take a look at a few of the product categories we'll be watching at NAB next week that have the potential to impact us not-named-Spielberg types in the coming years.

Tools for Emerging Filmmakers

The filmmaking industry has changed a lot in the past few years: technology has become better, costs have come down, and tools suitable for serious content creation are now accessible to anyone with a dream of producing films and the passion to make it happen. This transformation has ushered in an explosion of what are often referred to as 'emerging filmmakers.'

These are people who often started making films with DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, but have grown their skills or businesses to the point where they need better, dedicated tools. They include independent filmmakers, small businesses working for commercial clients, or any number of other filmmaking roles. Some things they have in common are that they care about creating high quality content, have high expectations for production value, and they don't have upwards of $20,000 to buy a single cinema lens.

This category has grown large enough that we're seeing more companies which have historically catered to the high end cinema market now looking to meet emerging filmmakers' needs. Whether it's to drive revenue or create brand loyalists, we're seeing more tools designed and priced for these users. By way of example, in the past year we've seen cinema lenses such as Cookes and Fujinons with sub-$5,000 price points. We expect to see even more products aimed at emerging filmmakers at NAB. 

Virtual Reality (VR)

Virtual reality is a technology that everyone, from manufacturers to content creators, seems to want to succeed, but which hasn't quite managed to do so. There's clearly a lot of unrealized promise, and even Hollywood executives will tell you they're spending a lot of money trying to figure out how to make it work. Will this be the year VR makes the leap?

NAB will once again feature a dedicated Virtual and Augmented Reality Pavillion where the VR community can show off its latest technology. And there are clearly a lot of businesses betting big money on it, ranging from consumer-focused companies like Yi Technologies, which plans to announce VR capture devices at the show, to the likes of 360 Designs, whose Flying EYE drone system will livestream 360º 6K content from miles away for a cool $75,000. 

The big question is whether any of the VR products or technologies we see at NAB this year will be enough to get significant traction in the market, or collectively move the needle toward wider adoption of VR by consumers, but the industry isn't giving up on this one yet.

8K Technology

We actually saw 8K display technology for the first time at NAB a couple years ago. And yes, it's good bleeping amazing. Last year, Canon had an 8K reference display in its booth with a magnifying glass next to it, teasing you to try to see the pixels. After all, with 8K you're collecting about the same number of pixels as a Nikon D810. In bursts of 24 or 30 frames. Every second. Think of the memory cards you're going to need... but I digress...

What does 8K mean for photographers, videographers, and emerging filmmakers? Right now, not a lot. In fact, it's unlikely we'll even see 8K TVs being widely marketed to consumers for a number of years. But on the content creation side, there's a lot to be said for 8K. With 4K quickly moving in the direction of becoming a standard for viewing content, 8K will give content creators the same advantages that 4K acquisition has for creating 1080p content. Right now we're still talking about very expensive, high end pro cinema and broadcast equipment, but what we see at NAB is often a preview to what we'll see in less expensive gear a few years down the road.

And 8K technology may come faster than we expect. We've seen 4K gain fairly wide adoption very quickly, and most of the industry seems hell-bent on a collision course between full 8K broadcast and the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (having already demonstrated it at London 2012 and run test broadcasts from Rio 2016). Some of this 8K goodness (or massive data storage overhead, if you're the glass-half-empty type) may start filtering its way into our cameras in the next few years.

HDR Video

HDR video is pretty much what it sounds like: high dynamic range video that lets us see brighter brights, darker darks, and more shades in between. It's like HDR photos, but with motion, and done well it can look pretty amazing. From a consumer perspective, most talk about HDR video these days relates to TVs, but the market is still sorting itself out. As the old adage goes, 'The great thing about standards is that we have so many to choose from.' Between HDR10, Dolby Vision, and Hybrid Log-Gamma, there's plenty of room for the marketers to fight it out and educate consumers on the jargon.

But what we're most interested in is content creation, or HDR video capture. Admittedly, there's not a lot here for the enthusiast or prosumer at the moment. But... (and you know there's always a 'but') Panasonic has already told us to expect Hybrid Log-Gamma to be included in the mother of all firmware updates – or, as we affectionately know it, MOAFU (really rolls off your tongue, doesn't it) – that's coming for the Panasonic GH5 in summer 2017. We look forward to testing it. Once we figure out how to test it.

Drones

Love 'em or hate 'em, people are going to use drones for all kinds of things. (At least until Skynet, and we all know how that ends.) Of course, what we care about at DPReview is aerial imaging, whether it's still photography or video. The drone industry has exploded in the past few years, with tools ranging from octocopters that nonchalantly ferry around RED and Arri cameras to consumer products you can buy off the shelf and use to make your own movies.

As with other video categories, what started out as technology available only to well-funded production studios has quickly started to filter down to the emerging filmmaker or prosumer level. In fact, less than six months ago DJI introduced the Inspire 2 drone and Zenmuse X5S camera. That combo uses a Micro Four Thirds camera to shoot 5.2K CinemaDNG Raw video with a bit rate of 4.2Gbps. All for the price of a Canon 1D X II. This is Hollywood-level stuff. They even got cinematographer Claudio Miranda, ASC (Life of Pi) to make a film with it, though he had to carry it around in his hands for some shots.

Why do I bring up a product that was announced a few months ago? First, because it's an indication of where the technology is going, and competitors will need to find a way to respond. We'll be watching to see if that happens at NAB. And second, because for the love of God, DJI, can you please put this combination of tech into a regular camera? I don't care if it's a Micro Four Thirds camera the size of a Canon 1D X II, I will write you a check tomorrow.

Such is my plea.

Live Streaming

It used to be that we recorded home movies which we then forced our friends and family to watch over Thanksgiving. Later came the internet, so we could just send aunt Mabel a Vimeo link, or start a YouTube channel about cats with millions of followers.

Today that's no longer adequate. Things must be on the internet, and they must be on now! Whether it's Vloggers broadcasting live from a tradeshow floor using their iPhones, or sites like DPReview doing live webcasts from a studio, live streaming has gained a lot of momentum, and viewers are demanding higher quality live streams as time goes on.

We've already seen products to meet this need at a consumer level, whether it's a DJI Osmo that uses your phone to broadcast on Facebook Live, or the Blackmagic Web Presenter, which allows you to turn virtually any high quality camera into a streaming broadcast camera. We'll be on the watch for other products and technologies that will fuel our live streaming future. Though we can't promise to stream them to you live.

from DIYS http://ift.tt/2ob55ur

[muzaffar1969]

http://ift.tt/2nbf4hY

What is all this VR, AR, MR stuff? My last day at SXSW 2017.

I spent my final day of South By Southwest on the VR/AR track. It was the official open for those sessions, but it would be the only one of the three days I could experience. As much as I would have loved to learn more, I’d arrived on March 10th for the start of the design sessions, so having even a single day of the AR/VR was great.

As I said, though, it was the only day I’d have with this emerging technology space, so I wanted to get the most out of it. That boiled down to a series of lines (how shocking!). Starting at 11 AM, I bounced from session to session. I was thankful that most of my rooms were in the JW Marriot, as it helped ease my schedule. The day went something like this:

Speed walk to venue.

Hop in long line. Ask at least three people and a volunteer if I was in the right line (when they bend around corners, it’s hard to tell).

Stand for 10–15 minutes.

Bounce into the next line over when I hear I’m in the wrong line.

Stand for 30–45 minutes.

Talk to people in the surrounding area to keep boredom from creeping in (after all, talking to new people is some of the fun).

Go into session.

Get my “sardine” on (they really cram us into those rooms).

Furiously take notes.

Run to bathroom.

Sprint to corner store for an over-priced, pre-packaged sandwich and be grateful to have anything to eat in line.

Hop into next line which already has 50–100 people in it.

All of this became so normal over the last week that it the oddest part of the day was when my group went for dinner and we didn’t have to wait in line… at all.

Of the five sessions I tackled, only one was on a topic other than VR/AR. Titled “Lo-Fi Museum Moments in a Digital World,” this was the only specifically-museum session I attended. I didn’t have any lightbulb moments, though, so I’ll skip over that one to get into VR.

Participants sit in one of around twenty different VR booths.

Before I get into today’s sessions, a little about the differences between VR, AR and MR for context.

The Oculus Rift. Photo courtesy of Oculus.com

VR — Virtual Reality: immerses a single user (almost exclusively) in a virtual world. This means completely shutting out the real world by way of vision. VR may also incorporate sound, movement, and sometimes feelings (i.e. wind blowing on your face). This is primarily used for gaming right now, but film makers are stepping into the space at a rapid rate.

The Birdly uses movement, wind, action, sound, and visuals to create their VR world.

The Microsoft HoloLens. Photo courtesy of Microsoft.

AR — Augmented Reality: combines the real world and the virtual world in seamless and interactive ways. While this technology is still in it’s theoretical infancy, progress is rapid. Ultimately, this will be a lifestyle product which you use even more than your smartphone. Most daily interactions with people, products, brands, etc. will filter through your personal AR device.

MR — Mixed Reality: this is a term which can, for all intents and purposes, be interchanged with AR. With this space emerging as rapidly as it has, businesses and consumers have yet to settle on a consistent name. As it stands, AR seems to be the favored term, but perhaps Apple will settle the debate by naming theirs the iAR.

I’ll apologize for the stock imagery used. Surprisingly, this batch of sessions opted for visual-less presentations. I found it odd considering the industry, but it did help me focus on the content. For the sake of giving credit where credit is due, the photo at the beginning of this blog is courtesy of Microsoft.

OK, onto the good stuff!

A common theme among the panels was about how much this industry will alter the way in which we interact with absolutely everything. While that may seem obvious, let’s dive into it a bit deeper.

We currently live in digital 2D spaces. Facebook is 2D (even the 360 videos are viewed on 2D). Texting is 2D. FaceTime is 2D. Now, imagine all of that, and more, in a 3D space. How would web design change if instead of up/down and left/right scrolling, the actual webpage took up a 3D space? What if you learned physically? Instead of studying pictures of human anatomy, you got to look at all parts of a human body — inside and out — while the interface assisted you.

This will actually be a more natural interaction for us, as we physically operate in 3D, so the transitions should be pretty easy (and freaking cool!).

This brings me to a poignant moment from one of the sessions. While we are all currently​ excited for the possibilities and the fun of swimming underwater as part of a new video game, practical and long term application has yet to be created. I believe it was Mark Cuban who said it, but forgive me I’m wrong, as I heard it third hand, but AR/VR will not have “arrived” until we do mundane and boring things with it.

So, who and how are we determining what these mundane and boring things? I’m sure there’s think tanks pulling all-nighters contemplating how we’ll be able to use our toaster by blinking, and research is already being done in drastically different industries.

The medical community has discovered VR is more effective than morphine for pain management in the burn units.

Following a year of VR therapy, paraplegics participating in a study began to regain control of certain functions, such as bladder control.

While I am unable to cite these studies since they were discussed briefly in a session, just imagine the power these technologies may bring to changing our physical being.

Image courtesy of The Medical Futurist.

What will we learn about each other?

An interesting concept came up in my very last SXSW session. A fellow on the panel, by the name of Ola Bjorling, was in the midst of discussing how film makers will go about changing the movie industry and how a new time of videographic research is underway:

what might we learn about individuals while they are in private experiences.

when no one else is looking, what do you choose to view within your virtual space?

More to the point regarding filming and controlling a person’s viewpoint during a 360 experience, he advised videographers and directors to be less concerned with whether they can successfully​ control the public’s 15° of focus. As he put it, “if you have an interesting scene over here, and the viewers opts to stare at a blank wall, he has other issues.”

They are predicting that within just four years, you may be able to watch your favorite sports team play a game on your kitchen table. Image courtesy of Microsoft.

A few things I will remember going into the future (feel free to use these for yourself, too):

I don’t think we will be able to “opt out” of this one. Whereas some have chosen to keep their old flip phones instead of upgrading to a smartphone, I doubt that will be an option, going forward. Not only will more and more items begin to incorporate technology, this new tech will undoubtedly be a requirement for operating in the real world (i.e. unmanned checkout counters).

Maybe hold off on any new facial piercings for a while. Until we get a more stable form to the wearables, we can’t predict how they’ll sit on our faces/bodies. Certain existing headsets get caught on my nose stud, and I don’t think the visual result is pleasing for anyone involved.

These spaces are new. We need to be both patient and impatient. Patience allows us to get the quality products we want while giving the infrastructure space to catch up. Impatience is what’s driving the industry forward.

Keep some Pepto nearby when using the current VR headsets. Poorly shot video will lead to “hurl moments” every time.

Expose kids to these things. They will live in this future world longer than us, so let’s give them a leg up.

Here ends my daily SXSW 2017 blogs. I don’t think I made too much of a dink of myself in Austin, and I only have about eight new bruises to prove my speed walking is not yet up to par. All-in-all, a successful and rewarding journey (I say as I smack my head on an overhead cabinet).

What is all this VR, AR, MR stuff? My last day at SXSW 2017. was originally published in Austin Startups on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.

March 16, 2017 at 09:00AM http://ift.tt/2ncyCm5 from Scottie Gardonio http://ift.tt/2ncyCm5

[swan1974-blog]

Swan shock treatment dream

Swan woke up and sees sam wearing black in red lighting. Swan wore a red and black suit and matching bellbottoms, Mostly dragon patterned,the dress shirt is satin red,there is a satin purple and black dragon pattern huge bow tie. A waistcoat lapel pattern is rainbow dragons on a royal purple and neon green fire flamed pattern shining in the light changing colors. He has rainbow colorchanging gloves that shine in the light to change colors. He had on hot pink satin fur coat with royal purple fur for the fur lapels on the coat. Swan says to Sam,Can you explain something to me? Why I am dressed like Prince and Willy wonka. Sam says,well this is a shock treatment themed dream I watched you seeing it. So why not. Swan says,I like the outfit but I have it in real life I slept in it right now while dreaming of the film. But it showed in this dream. Why are you laughing at me? Are you hungry? What do I look like a fruitcake! It means gay Sam. Sam laughed at swan's outburst and saying,yeah I know You look like Willy wonka a lot but evil. Swan gave a angry look. Sam says ok ok I was just kidding. Jeez Swan says,HE WAS NEVER EVIL. Sam says,HOW YOU KNOW? Swan says,I NEVER SEEN HIM BE EVIL. Sam says,COME AND BE AMAZED! Swan smilies. They go inside to see a tv studio. The elaborate opening shot begins on Willy wonka in the overhead video booth which has a lot of monitors on the walls. We never see his face only his shadow. and the camera slowly does a 360 degree pan around the room as the crew prepares for the show and swan and Sam finally enter the tv purple studio. Swan sees something that reminded of himself The names on everything Willy was trying to put his name on everything The chairs and all over the studio. Swan felt cheated because he felt like Willy stole everything he has The naming everything everywhere on the cameras and the red and black accents Even adding purple to the mix. Swan says,stay here Sam. Sam sees dr phibes and sy grabbing her. Sam screamed for swan, Swan didn't hear her. Swan goes upstairs to the booth. He sees what that mostly resembled him when he hid in his office like in the film phantom of the paradise. Swan can see Willy wearing a royal satin purple regular suit with a gold and purple fire bow tie With purple lights hiding him With green fog hiding his face. With the camera monitors behind him Giving him a sinister look. Swan asked,why are you here? Is it about Sam? Willy says coldly,OH, SAM, HUH? A SHORT PRETTY BLONDE GIRL WHO KNOWS ALL YOUR SECRETS? MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Swan gets goosebumps as he heard willy's dark creepy words about Sam, In the shadows,Willy evilly smilies at swan. Willy revealed himself to swan. Swan sees willy's hair changed to not curly Into looking like John Denver with long hair. Willy was trying to be like swan with the hair. Swan noticed Willy is trying to be evil. Swan didn't like this one bit. Swan found it creepy. Swan yelled,why are you trying to be like me! Willy says with a dark creepy tone,YOU ARE NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO'S GONE LOONEY. Swan was shocked by his words. Willy says,I KNEW IF YOU SAW YOURSELF YOU WOULD BE SHOCKED! Willy smilies evilly. Swan was shocked. Then swan sees Willy waving goodbye to him as dr phibes and sy take swan away. Swan sees himself while seated in the audience are chosen to participate in the game show Marriage Maze by the supposedly eccentric and kooky host Willy wonka. As a "prize", Swan is imprisoned on Willyville, a soap opera that centers upon the local mental hospital run by sy and dr phibes, They see swan. Swan sees dr phibes wear a white satin and red fur coat along with a satin red 1920's Doctor suit with black buttons. Sy says to swan,HEY, YOU LOOK A LOT LIKE WILLY! Swan says,I KNOW... Dr phibes says, Better than my outfit. Swan says,Yeah right, Dad! Dr phibes smilies at swan remark. Dr phibes says,Why, thank you. Swan says,So who else do I know here? Hm... Then he sees his mother as a crazed nurse. Victoria his mother says to swan,HELLO, SWAN. Swan says,LONG TIME NO SEE. How have you been? Victoria says,A LITTLE looney, but okay. Nice to see you! Swan says,Nice to see you too! Swan smilies at his young mother. They smile at swan, They bring Sam in. They all sing shock treatment, I'm not a loco with motive to suture myself I've been a cynic for too many years Playing doctor and nurse, it can be good for your health I've seen clinics with those gimmicks in Tangiers But if you open your heart to a smooth operator He'll take you for all that you've got He'll hand you a curse that'll be with you later It'll shake you the way he takes off like a shot You need a bit of Ooooh...Shock Treatment Gets you jumping like a real live wire Need a bit of Ooooh...Shock Treatment So look out Mister, don't you blow your last resistor For a vista that'll mystify ya You're blinded by romance, you're blinded by science You're condition is critically grave But don't expect mercy from such an alliance Suspicion of traditions so new wave You need a bit of Ooooh...Shock Treatment Gets you jumping like a real live wire Need a bit of Ooooh...Shock Treatment SWAN FELT A SURGE OF ENERGY GOING THROUGH HIM. So look out Mister, don't you blow your last resistor For a sister that'll certify ya (fy ya, fy ya) You need a bit of Ooooh...Shock Treatment Gets you jumping like a real live wire You need a bit of Ooooh...Shock Treatment So look out Mister, don't you blow your last resistor For a sister that'll certify ya (fy ya, fy ya, fy ya) Swan faceplamed. He sees a red and black cage. Swan is in it with Sam. They look at each other Swan says,Why are we in here? Sam says,Ask HIM! Swan sees Willy grabbing Sam. In a purple and gold dressing room, Sam is given a taste of show-biz as Willy molds her into a singing diva superstar in an attempt to take her away from Swan. Sam says to Willy,YOU'RE CRAZY! Willy says,NO I AM WILLY. We have to get married. Sam says,no Why are you looking like my father Willy says evilly,BECAUSE HE STOLE MY IDEAS AND MADE IT HIS OWN SO I AM MERELY TAKING WHAT IS MINE! Sam says with a shocked tone in her voice,WHAT?! Willy gives her a drug made out of candy. Her compliance is assured through the use of drugs supplied by Willy. Erin and Quinn investigate Willy and other people involved in wonkatv eventually discovering that Sy and Dr phibes are not doctors, but merely character actors, and Willy is jealous of swan because he seen how swan has a better father daughter relationship with Sam,trying to put himself as swan's long-lost twin brother, seeking to destroy Swan and take Sam for himself. The pair rescue Swan from Willyville and Erin says to swan,We have to stop him. Willy is going marry Sam. Let's hurry Swan says,I WONDER HOW HE WOULD MANAGE TO DO THAT? Swan turns to Quinn, Quinn says,my dad drugged her into thinking Willy is you. SO SAM HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE IS DOING! Swan felt anger and says,WHAT GOTTEN INTO HIM?! I WOULD NEVER DO ANYTHING TO HARM MY PRECIOUS GIRL. HE TOOK IMITATING ME TOO FAR! Quinn says,you ready? Swan says,the hell I am. They see the video monitors in willy's office. They all see Willy preparing the wedding with Sam looking woozy. Wearing a purple and green dress. Swan says to the monitor,WHERE IS WILLY? Swan sees Willy saying to someone saying,have her be killed. It would be televised coast to coast Now that's entertainment Swan feels anger at Willy. Swan yelled,I WILL MURDER ANYONE WHO MURDERS MY DAUGHTER! AAARRGH! Swan turns around to see Erin and Quinn. Swan goes downstairs. Erin and Quinn have Swan confront his "twin"on willy's wedding show candy Faust. Swan noticed Willy tries to marry off Sam To show how evil he can be. Willy puts on a boat ride type of wedding With colorful lights and disturbing imagery Like a needle stabbed into a arm and lots of gore It has like purple girl strippers covered in blood Sam emerged in her dark purple and neon green glittering dress, giddily happy with dilated eyes. Swan could still smell everything strongly and knew from the chemical scent that she'd been heavily drugged. Ignoring Quinn's disapproving gaze, Swan clutched Sam by the shoulders. Swan yelled,Sam you have to get out of here, now! Willy going to have you killed! He's not me! Sam says,Killed? Oh, no, you must be mistaken! You going to marry me… Swan yelled in frustration,NO I AM NOT AND BELIEVE ME! AND THE WEDDING THING... Yeah, about that, don't you think it's kind of sudden? Sam says with a woozy giggle,Of course…but it's meant to be! Nothing but good things have happened! Swan yelled,It's because of Willy,Sam! You owe him nothing and God, not him! He's evil Sammy! Sam clutched swan while she shook with laughter. Sam says,We can't all be perfect like you,daddy! Swan resisted the urge to scream in frustration. Swan hoped He was having better luck. Quinn asked as she danced past him,SO DOES SHE KNOW WHO WILLY IS AND HE IS NOT YOU? Swan whispered in her ear,SHE THINKS I WOULD MARRY HER AND I TOLD HER NO. Quinn frowned. As much as she wanted to doubt him, something deep down told her to trust him. Quinn seen swan do amazing things in the short time he have been here. He wasn't fake, not like all the other men. Swan says with fear in his voice,WILLY SAID HE WOULD HAVE HER KILLED! She pantomimed something scary,HOW? Swan said reluctantly,I DO NOT KNOW... That's the one. Their time to talk was up. They'd been drifting further apart slowly and now had to be on opposite sides of the stage. She was still frowning and he wasn't sure that she believed him. Willy appeared in the middle of the flower. It was then that Swan realized what willy had done. He was wearing neon green with purple vest and tie,a rainbow dress shirt with black satin gloves. He had on a purple mask—and so was she. Two sides of the same coin… Swan felt sick to his stomach when he sees them kiss. Of course,Willy wasn't himself right now. His eyes were overly bright from the evil influence inside and the air seemed to darken visibly. He caught swan's gaze with a smirk. Willy said,it's over…I win… Swan dropped Sam's mask of everything being okay and he sent him a pleading gaze. His hands were shaking, but He kept everything else controlled tightly. Swan yelled,SNAP OUT OF THIS EVIL PHASE WILLY! Willy removed his mask. Swan jumped out of his skin when he sees willy's face with the skin torn off,muscles showing, blood veins red and blue showing ,and blood and a little bit of skull showing. Willy says with malice,EVIL, HUH? MWHAHAH! Willy smilies at swan. Swan remembered that same cold expression and it finally dawned on swan that this was Willy. Quinn disappeared from sight and Swan wondered what had happened. The priest started the ceremony. Then swan sees Willy getting a knife and stabbing Sam in the heart. Swan yelled,OH MY GOSH YOU MONSTER! Willy says evilly,MWAHAHAHAHAHA! Willy felt no remorse. Swan sees Sam falling in the floor and held her in her pool of blood. Swan gets up and faces Willy. Swan yelled with anger,WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU? TRYING TO IMITATE ME?! Willy says something that made swan really angry,WELL YOU HAVE HARMED PEOPLE. Swan yelled,I WOULD NEVER HURT SAM! Willy and swan fight. Then Willy smilies at swan evilly as his face was bloody by swan. Swan felt extreme anger and yelled,YOU WILL NOT GET AWAY WITH THIS! Willy says evils, I ALWAYS TOLD YOU THAT TOO, REMEMBER? Swan sighed. Willy imprisons the three and Sam, but they manage to escape in a car along with a local band. The dream ends with swan waking up.