Archive for the ‘Video Shooter (Book)’ Category

One should never base a camera purchase decision on imager native resolution alone. The resolution perceived by an audience is influenced by many factors beyond a camera’s imager size and native pixel count. High compression, choice of codec, quality of optics, dynamic range, even the use or non-use of a matte box, can seriously impact contrast, which in turn can negatively affect the perceived resolution of an image. A more relevant measure when considering a new camera is performance, that is, how well the camera behaves under the most difficult conditions you’re likely to encounter in the course of your shooting day. A  camera able to perform well in a wide range of conditions  is going to be far more useful to most users than a camera system with merely more pixels jammed into the face of an imager. In fact those cameras with very high resolution imagers should in general be avoided in order to preserve the best low light sensibility and dynamic range.

After months of work the second edition of Video Shooter is now a reality. With photos from recent projects in India and Africa and updated references to the latest cameras and tapeless workflows, Video Shooter 2 will provide if nothing else hours of entertaining reading. I tried to make my lessons and insights fun, as video storytelling and life in general should be. It’s not a technical book although it can be technical at times. It’s really a book about framing the world and communicating with a camera. Ultimately it’s about  telling compelling stories – which is all your audience cares about anyway.

In a way you could say I’m an anti-nerd nerd. I despise technical discussions in general, although I understand and can fully appreciate the video artist with technical proficiency and mastery of his tools. That’s one of the major lessons in Video Shooter: from a technical perspective the video storyteller only needs to know what he needs to know. Anything beyond what the audience requires to experience a good story is pure geekiness.

Welcome to BarryBraverman.com! Your port of entry to fun and knowledge – and plenty of attitude. If you’ve typed in videocycles.com, you’ve been re-directed here. Don’t worry. Videocycles.com is coming soon! In the meantime leave me a comment or two.