The iPad and Photography Workflow

June 24, 2011 by Scott Emmick | Leave a comment

Getting Images to the iPad – Apple’s iPad Camera Connection Kit

The iPad Camera Connection Kit is the first step in the digital photo workflow. It ships with a pair of “pigtail” like connectors that attach to the iPad’s dock connection port. The first gives you the option to use your camera’s USB cable to import shots directly from the camera. The second connector allows you to import images directly from an SD card.

Because the iPad supports a host of RAW and JPEG still image formats, as well as SD and HD video formats, including H.264 and MPEG-4, you can transfer virtually every file on your memory card right onto your iPad. I found the video from my Canon S95 also plays back on the iPad once transferred, but not all formats support playback. For example, my 1080p files from the Canon 5D Mark II, transfer fine, but can not be reviewed until they are synced back to the computer. A minor limitation, but something to keep in mind.

Camera Connection Kit – Buy it here!

Review and Quick Edits for Clients

FilterStorm Pro has been around for some time now. The newest version is feature-rich and continues to push the envelope for image editing apps on the iPad. It’s a powerful little app.

It’s feature set includes:

Curves (Luminance, RGB, red, green, blue, cyan, yellow, magenta)
Brightness
Contrast
Color balance
White Point Picker
Saturation
Text tool
Black and white fine-tuning
Red-eye reduction
30-step Visual History
Cropping, with the ability to specify aspect ratio
Scale
Scale to Fit
Rotation and Image Straightening
Vignetting
Sharpen
Tone map
Blur
Noise Reduction
Clone Tool
Multi-exposure Tool
Border Tool

Hobbyists might find Filterstorm’s interface a bit cumbersome. The addition of the library and sorting tools in FilterStorm pro adds some versatility, but in my opinion takes a step backward as you find yourself digging deeper into what are essentially folders and sub-folders to get to the images you need to edit. To support the new library feature, Filterstorm duplicates the images during the import process. Hardly an optimal scenario assuming you’re importing 21MP RAW files from a Canon 5D or Nikon D3s. With files that large, you can’t really afford to store those files twice. Even with 64GB, space fills quickly. So be careful using apps that copy files on import. Otherwise, you’ll find yourself with no space in no time.

So despite its power and versatility, the future of Filterstorm seems uncertain. Developers with substantially greater resources like Tiffen and NIK Software are releasing professional apps with polished interfaces continue to hit the market and add pressure to the early entrants into the image editing arena.

Realizing Your Vision Quickly

The newest image editing app to hit the app store comes from the highly respected developers at NIK Software. Snapseed is a powerful editing tool and exceptionally fast, both from a workflow perspective and in it’s ability to preview, compare and process images. The interface is slick. No part of it gets in the way of the image. Most options appear only when you swipe the screen. Swipes up and down change editing options, while swipes left and right increase and decrease the amount of the adjustment. It’s brilliant, intuitive and addictive.

Most importantly, it’s fast. The image above took me about 2mins to create and is the result of a Bleach Bypass combined with the selective editing tool. It’s the Selective Adjust tool that makes this app a NIK Software app. NIK has brought its patented U-Point technology to the iPad and it’s executed (in some ways) better than it ever could be on the desktop. Things just work better when you can pinch, scale and adjust with your fingers instead of a mouse or tablet.

Snapseed’s features are divided into two categories – Basic Adjustments and Creative Enhancements. Here is a look at what you get:

Basic Adjustments

Auto Correct – Automatically analyzes your photo and adjusts color and exposure to perfection.
Selective Adjust – Make precise selections and enhancements to specific areas of your photos in seconds with Nik Software’s revolutionary U Point technology.
Tune Image – Use Ambience to create depth and vibrancy that uniquely adapts to colors and textures. Adjust White Balance, Saturation, Contrast and.
Straighten & Rotate – Rotate or straighten photos with simple gesture controls.
Crop – Easily crop images to remove distracting parts of your photo.

Creative Enhancements

Black & White – Give that classic Black and White look to your photos with this darkroom-inspired filter.
Vintage Films – Make any photo look like a vintage color film photo from the 50’s, 60’s or 70’s. Includes nine different color casts, plus controls like brightness, saturation, textures and vignettes.
Drama – Add breathless style with a custom effect specifically tailored to your photos, ranging from subtle enhancements of textures to wildly creative and artistic effects.
Grunge – Give your photos a totally unique, hip, and dingy look with the Grunge filter.
Center Focus – Draw attention to the subject of your photo blurring the surrounding background with a few simple gestures.
Organic Frames – Add stylized borders to your photos for the perfect finishing touch.

While Snapseed doesn’t feel much like a version 1.0 product, it will be great to see where NIK Software takes this product in its next iteration. Until then, do yourself a favor and spend the $4.99.

Blogging Tools for the Rest of Us

With support for both Blogger and WordPress blogs, Blogsy surpasses most desktop blogging apps with it’s drag and drop image, drag and drop video and drag and drop web support. Add in a beautiful WYSIWYG editor and intuitive formatting controls and you have yourself a full featured mobile blogging platform for the iPad. This is without a doubt the best blogging application for the iPad and perhaps the best blogging app period. MacStories had this to say in their review of the app:

“Blogsy finally brings quality blogging to the iPad — a device that was desperately waiting for an app like this to change the way bloggers can get things done without giving up on rich content editing, and media.” – MacStories

There isn’t much else to say about this one. Just buy it and use it. You won’t be disappointed. I promise.

Back to the Desktop

The best thing about PhotoSync, aside from its simplicity and versatility is it’s ability to sync images back to your desktop wirelessly. Not only do they wirelessly transfer to your computer, they can automatically be added to your Aperture or iPhoto library. Sorry Lightroom users. You’ll need to import.

Yes, it’s a beautiful thing. Simply choose a gallery from the library icon in the upper left corder of the screen, then tap PhotoSync’s tiny red synchronization button in the upper right hand corner of the screen. Then, select the ‘sync all’ option, and select computer from the devices listing. Synchronization with your computer only requires a tiny server/companion app that runs in the background on your laptop or desktop. It’s a free download and can be found here.). Once installed, you’re ready to go.

You can also configure PhotoSync on the iPad to sync with your DropBox account, FTP accounts, or even Flickr. If you shoot reference photos on your iPhone and want to transfer those to a first generation iPad, you can also transfer images wirelessly between devices using the ‘iPhone-iPod-iPad’ option.

Wrapping Up

The iPad is a perfect addition to the digital photography workflow. In the field, it’s a valuable tool for reviewing images, evaluation exposure and focus. You’ll wrap every shoot with confidence that you’ve got the shot you needed before you get back to the studio.

Posted in Uncategorized

Final Cut Pro X is here. Editors are hot under the collar.

June 21, 2011 by Scott Emmick | Leave a comment

It is finally here. Apple has released Final Cut Pro X and it is just as nebulous to everyone as it was when premiered at NAM in April. I’ve been digesting most of the chatter today and saving my comments, but I can say this. I have a pretty good sense of what Final Cut Pro X is and isn’t in its current form. It IS essentially a version 1.0 release of a completely rebuilt 64bit editing application with some paradigms lifted directly from iMovie. It also has a lot of editors “hot under the collar” and Twitter is trending with feedback on the “missing features” of the newly released software.

Yeah, it's different. Yeah, it looks a lot like iMovie. But iMovie doesn't do 4K!

It’s important to remember that we’re bridging into a new millennium with this new approach to non-linear editing. Final Cut Pro X has some revolutionary features, but it’s going to drag people with it kicking and screaming. Will it become the “standard”? Too soon to tell, but Apple has released the software knowing that production houses will “experiment” with the new release while they continue to utilize FCP7 for their production workflow.

The idea or strategy was to get it into editor’s hands so that they can familiarize themselves with what will be ultimately be a paradigm shift. The missing features will come. I have no doubt about that. In the meantime, most editors will continue to use FCP7. Lots of pros are going ballistic. It’s all doom and gloom. But I don’t see any reason to jump to conclusions about the future of non-linear editing. Not just yet.

Here’s the bottom line. I used version 1.0 of Final Cut back in 2000. Avid users said it would never take over the market. Editors kicked and screamed that it wasn’t ready for primetime. Remember that? Anyone? I was sitting in a room in the old Hollywood Athletic Club tower at the time – working for Dale Herigstad at [h]Design. I remember listening to a bunch of editors basically dismiss Final Cut. I remember it like it was yesterday. We had plenty of time to talk about it too because we were rendering everything and the render times were insane. It did, on the other hand, give us plenty of time to go across the street to the Cat N’ Fiddle for some food and a beer. Nothing like a job with benefits. Right? At least FCP X makes rendering a thing of the past. Wait a minute? I’m not sure that’s a good thing.

So what will I do? I’ll continue to use FCP7. For now, I want to put Final Cut Pro X through a true DSLR workflow cycle. It is, after all, particularly well suited to DSLR material. I want to see how it handles, how it affects the creative process and how it improves efficiency. Then I’ll report back here with a review of the product. By that time, we should already see an update and maybe a hole or two in the missing feature list will be plugged up.

Here’s an idea. I’d like to see Ron Howard put Final Cut Pro X through its paces for Project Imagin8ion. A new DSLR workflow for DSLR filmmakers! Just an idea. The good people over at Imagine Entertainment have visited my blog, so I hope they’re listening this time around. – P.S. I’d like to come to the premiere of Project Imagin8ion in New York.

Final Cut Pro X is available in the Apple App Store and is $299. There is no upgrade path from Final Cut Studio 2.

Posted in Filmmaking, Photography, Videos Tagged Apple, DSLR Video, Filmmaking, Final Cut Pro, Imagin8ion |

Technicolor’s Cinestyle Color Profile for the CANON 5D MkII

June 13, 2011 by Scott Emmick | Leave a comment

I ran some preliminary low light tests with the 5DMkII using the standard color profile. Nothing new here really. The blacks are pretty heavily crushed. Color is very saturated and it’s easy to see why most shooters recommend dialing down the contrast and sharpness.

I shot the test using a stock Canon L Series 24-105mm lens at f4 ISO 3200. Shutter speed was 1/60 for 30p. Here a few of the stills from that shoot. Yes, I’ve broken the golden ISO rule for the 5D here – shooting in multiples of 2x starting at 160, 320, 640, 1250, 2500, etc. I guess I was afraid to push the sensor too far and destroy the image given my restricted lens speed at f4. What to do? Buy a new lens I suppose.

The stills are taken from the transcoded raw footage. Here, I’ve transcoded to Apple ProRes 422 (LT), which seems to amplify the already crushed blacks. Bottom line is you’re left with an image that is pretty difficult to color grade effectively in post.

While there are a variety of custom profiles out there for improving the latitude of the 5D footage, Technicolor’s Cinestyle Color Profile seems to be about the most effective offering out there at the moment – and it’s free. Technicolor announced the profiles at this year at NAB and it is already being used extensively by the Canon DSLR filmmaking community.

Leave it to Vincent LaForet to put it through a its paces. He has posted tests here and they clearly show the increased latitude and the preservation of shadow detail. You can read Vincent’s detailed blog here. I think you’ll find that shadow detail well preserved even after grading your shots in Magic Bullet Looks.

You can download the profile from Technicolor’s website.

Posted in Filmmaking, Photography Tagged Canon, Color Grading, DSLR Video, Filmmaking, Post Production, Technicolor |

Remembering Fallen Heros: Red, White & Blue – A Color Study

June 9, 2011 by Scott Emmick | 2 Comments

I had the opportunity to spend a few days in Indianapolis over Memorial Day weekend. The midwest always fills me with a renewed appreciation for the American Spirit. A Memorial Day flight in my brother’s RV-12 was a great way to celebrate. So here’s a color study from the hanger and flight at Hendricks County Airport. Red. White. Blue… and a little yellow.

Posted in Photography Tagged Canon, photography |

Ron Howard Wants You to Imagine Entertainment for Him

May 25, 2011 by Scott Emmick | Leave a comment

For anyone who’s ever dreamed of collaborating with an A-List director, your opportunity awaits. Ron Howard, legendary child actor, oscar winning director and co-founder of Imagine Entertainment, has teamed together with Canon on a project that gives still photographers the opportunity to inspire Howard’s soon to be produced, user-generated short film Project Imagin8ion.

“I was moved by the opportunity to collaborate with the masses, tapping into consumers’ creativity and using their photos as building blocks to produce a film‚” said Howard. “I hope the project stimulates peoples’ imaginations whether they are an amateur photographer, a world traveler or a proud parent, and I hope what we create is meaningful.”

Howard first took interest in DSLR technology for filmmaking while shooting the Presidential Reunion skit for Saturday Night Live using the 5D Mark II. Now Howard joins a host of directors exploring the potential of the 5D including Spike Jonze, Rodney Charters and Sam Nicholson of Fox’s hit series 24 and Greg Yaitanes of House. Project Imagin8ion will be shot on both the Canon 5d Mk II and the Canon 7D to emphasize the versatility and accesibility of the cameras – a phenomenon Philip Bloom (the talented DP and primary catalyst behind the DSLR filmmaking movement) refers to as the “democratization” of filmmaking.

Project Imagin8ion kicked off it’s submission process this week with the assistance of a prime-time network ad campaign from Canon. There are eight submission categories including: setting, time, character, mood; and relationship, goal, obstacle, the unknown. The eight individual category winners will get to travel to New York for a red carpet premiere.

Check the Imagin8ion YouTube site for submission details.

Posted in Events, Filmmaking, Photography, Social Media Tagged Canon, DSLR Video, Filmmaking, Imagin8ion, Ron Howard |

The Story Behind the Still – The series that took Cannes by storm.

May 13, 2011 by Scott Emmick | Leave a comment

After being awarded the Pulitzer Prize for his post-9/11 photographic coverage overseas, Vincent Laforet (photographer and DP) was named one of the 100 Most Influential People in Photography by American Photo magazine in 2005.

Last year, he kicked off a great campaign for Canon called “The Story Beyond the Still”. The “Story Behind the Still” was part campaign and part contest as it sought to grow the community of DSLR filmmakers through use of the Canon 7D and the industry favorite Canon 5D Mark II.

Laforet kicks off the campaign with Chapter 1 – titled “The Cabbie”. If you haven’t seen this short, you probably should. It’s a testimony to the versatility of the DSLR as a filmmaking tool, a spectacular example of what the camera can do in HD and all of it accompanied by a richly drawn (LOST fans take note) story. Great stuff. The campaign was awarded Silver, Gold and Bronze Titanium Lions at Cannes in 2010. Enjoy!

Chapter 1: The Cabbie from Vincent Laforet on Vimeo.

Posted in Videos Tagged Filmmaking |

Integrated Content Design

May 12, 2011 by Scott Emmick | Leave a comment

Why Integration is Important

As designers, we have always faulted the web for its lack of integration, especially as it pertains to browsers and existing content delivery models such as HTML. Unfortunately, these delivery mechanisms have seen little innovation. What plagued the user experience from the internet’s advent continues to plague it today – a primarily horizontal screen is persistently being utilized to deliver primarily vertical content in a manner suggestive of a page. The concept of the ‘page’ naturally evolved from traditional paper media, but there’s an obvious problem here. The screen is not a page. It’s not paper. It’s not a vertically friendly space. It’s not even a space with which we can directly interact. Does it really matter? You bet it does. And user acceptance of new devices that break with the rapidly aging screen paradigm are evidence to the importance of integrated content design and a seamless user experience.

User Experience Matters. Enter Apple, Inc.

Thanks to Apple, many of these functional deficits were addressed with a new form factor. Take a custom OS, pair it with a touch sensitive screen and load it with apps designed to conform to its physical screen space and the result is a device that addresses the most glaring flaws of the desktop computer.

The iPhone and especially the iPad provide better integration of content and a better user experience. In fact, my argument for the iPad’s success centers on the full-screen app and its ability to provide a user experience superior to other screen based media. It’s an immersive experience tailored to both the device’s embedded OS and custom coded to the physical resolution of the screen. True, it makes for a less portable application, but portability does not vary directly with user experience. In fact, I would suggest that they are inversely related.

The Threat to Integrated Content

Many developers complain about the cost and ongoing support commitment that comes with custom iOS applications. They are pushing hard for web apps and Web OS. Sure, Web OS and web apps reduce development costs substantially, but they also severely compromise the user experience. The result is an experience reminiscent of the browser, poorly integrated content, and a host of usability problems.

There is no greater threat to integrated content design than web apps and Web OS. If Web OS is to be successful, developers must first address its fundamental flaw – the inability to deliver seamlessly integrated content. I’m not sure that can be successfully achieved within the confines of the Web OS platform. By design, it is a contradiction to the very essence of the experience Apple has created.

In other words, if the application is portable (installable on a variety of operating systems and platforms) and the screen experience is scalable, we’re essentially just porting the same user-experience and all of its shortcomings from the desktop to a mobile device. We’re left with zero innovation and clinging to failing and flawed screen paradigms. App makers are rewarded with an “open” platform, but the integrated and immersive qualities of the apps we’ve grown to love on our iOS devices will fade away.

In the meantime, fear not. Given how savvy the consumer has become, the fact that they’ve all driven a Ferrari (with their iOS devices) makes it very unlikely that they will then tolerate driving a Hyundai anytime soon.

Long live the App. May it continue to drive increasingly integrated content and better our productivity via better user experience.