Tag: Freelance cameraman

Buying Professional Video Lighting gear

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Gear, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley

So you are after some new lights to shoot video with. With this comes lots of decisions which will be mainly answered by the video work you are doing or want to do.

Choosing the type lighting for your shoot makes an enormous impact on the quality of your final video. The correct use of lighting allows you to

  • control the mood of your video
  • Direct the eye of the viewer where you want it to go
  • Emphasize and de-emphasize elements within the frame
  • Add texture and color
  • Make people look beautiful, ugly, sinister, or angelic

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Essential Video gear – The C Stand

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Gear, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley, Uncategorized

There is an ever increasing range of camera and lighting gear, new LED lights through to camera gimbals. But the C stand is probably the piece of gear that will be used on almost every shoot. The term ‘Century Stand’ goes back to the early days of motion picture production. Century Stands also known as “C Stands” are one of the most frequently used stands in the film industry. They are mainly used by grip and lighting and can support other things on film sets.

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A typical professional video shoot

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Canon, Gear, Sony, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley, Uncategorized

A typical professional video shoot normally means you need a wide range of gear. Even the seemingly simplest shoot can need a huge amount of gear to make the end video look fabulous.

Keep in mind, there is no “one size fits all” equipment package for everyone since there are so many variables including budget, type of project, shoot style and shoot locations to name just a few.
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Which lights should I use?

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Gear, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley, Uncategorized

When you are starting out or want to try a new lighting look, people always ask which lights should I use. While this is a great question, it’s not an easy answer. There is no one light that is great for every shoot. There are however lights that can be used in a variety of ways easily that make them worth considering.
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At last a really useful drone

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley, Uncategorized

It seems every man and his dog has a drone these days. The sad fact is though that the vast majority of these are either not equipped with a decent camera or are flown badly or even worse illegally.
To get great results you do need to get a professional drone crew. On shoots that I have been on by far the best results have been achieved by a two person Drone crew. One person to fly the drone and the second to frame the camera.
The good news is that there are better drones everyday equipped with better cameras giving more options to get the shot. I have to admit though I am old school and can easily see the advantages in shooting from a Helicopter with a stabilised mount. In this type of setup you can choose the camera and lenses you need rather than having to accept a fixed lense that distorts the image from prosumer type drones.

But all that aside, here is the best way to enjoy using a drone I have seen.

Move it with Michelle

by North Coast Videographer, posted in April 2016, Gear, Sony, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley

Michelle Bridges

Unless you have been living under a rock, surely almost everyone is familiar with the kickass reputation of Aussie TV personality and trainer Michelle Bridges.

Tim Bradley at Minds Eye Films certainly knows now that she applies this can-do attitude across all areas of her life, and especially so in her training programs.

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Working on water

by North Coast Videographer, posted in April 2016, Canon, Gear, GoPro, Sony, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley

Working on Water

Its not just you – Tim from Minds Eye Films is definitely looking like he has been on a vacation somewhere with a lot of sun. But in fact, Tim’s tanned skin is actually a result of days of working in an idyllic location – on water!

And not just any body of water. Tim has been shooting on Sydney’s iconic harbour and the pristine Pittwater for two exciting projects for two separate clients. Minds Eye enjoys the challenges that come with tackling a new location, and shooting on a 50-foot game fishing boat and a 60-foot yacht certainly presents some unique ones!

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Gear gear gear ….

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Gear, MindsEye, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley

Does it ever end ? No, when it comes to film and TV gear. So with that in mind I have a bunch of new gear. New lighting frames 10 x 10, 6 x 6 and 4 x 4. Also a new Chromakey green 10 x 10 screen as well as some new new textiles for my other frames.

I also have a new monitor stand setup to make having a monitor on set in the right place easier and faster. This is a combination of a few Mathews products specially designed for onset monitors.

I now have a “low boy ” attachment for my Wally dolly kit. This enables the tripod head to be mounted to the T frame on the dolly, making for some really nice low angle shots.

Then there is a load of other new gear, including Shot bags x 4, C stands and more light stands.

All this new gear comes included with all my existing gear as part of my shooting package which means I can handle any shoot.

Dragon Upgraded to swapable OLPF

by North Coast Videographer, posted in Dragon, Epic, MindsEye, Red, Sydney cameraman, Tim Bradley

We have just completed the Dragon camera upgrade to take the latest swap-able OLPF (Optical Low Pass Filters) We also have both of Reds OLPFs which give more options for shooting.

The OLPF come in two varieties:

The Low Light Optimized is the original RED DRAGON OLPF tuned for higher ISO shooting, and similar to the OLPF used in the EPIC MYSTERIUM-X. This OLPF provides excellent color and tone reproduction in dim environments. Use this OLPF to capture and preserve color quality in mid-tones, darks, and shadows.
The Skin Tone Highlight OLPF offers a stop of extra highlight protection, the most incredibly accurate skin-tones and color science as well as additional flare control, with the expense of a stop of light sensitivity. Use this OLPF to capture and preserve color quality in highlights, bright colors, and well-lit environments. While using the Skin Tone Highlight OLPF with ND filters there is no need for Infrared filtering.
Dragon swap-able OLPF