Phantom HD GOLD - A camera specifically designed for demanding cinematographer.

Vision Research introduces the second-generation Phantom® HD GOLD. There are over 100 Phantoms in constant demand at major rental houses.

This camera is not a high-speed camera in the traditional sense, but an instrument that gives the cinematographer 35mm depth of field either at HD or 2K resolutions with stunning results. The Phantom HD GOLD combines the visual quality of high-definition imaging with ultra-high frame rates in a exquisite specialty camera.

When it’s TOO FAST TO SEE, TOO IMPORTANT TO NOT SEE.
A sense of time: Combine 35mm visual quality with super fast frame rates and extremely fast exposure and you’ve got a single camera for all shooting needs.

• 555 @ 2048 x 2048 true 2K
• 1,029 fps @ 2048 x 1104 (2k 1.85)
• 1052 fps @ 1920 x 1080
• 1500 fps @ 1280 x 720
• 4,410 fps @ 256 x 256 (scientific)
• Selectable 8- 10- 12- 14-bit pixel depth
• Six micro-second shutter
• On-camera controls

When your imaging requirement is a feature film or network broadcasting of rapidly moving sport events, commercials, music videos, nature documentary, monitoring a rocket launch, or innovative creative work on a specialty film project, the flexible and virtually limitless control of the Phantom will provide unforgettable, unmatched footage. Accepts 35mm PL-mount lenses and can use a Nikon F-mount.

Phantom HD GOLD allows any frame rate, from 1 to 1,000, in increments of one. Shift the frame rate to move the scene into a futuristic viewpoint. Or shift the frame rate a lot and the scene becomes a long-passing moment in ultra- slow motion. The camera’s shutter is variable to 1/500,000 of a second to combine with radically adjustable framing rates for seamless control of the duration, speed and time of a story element. The Phantom can be configured for “live” broadcast , NFL, or studio production with continuous video outputs (720p, 1080p, 1080i). Multiple triggering and recording modes are tailored to application including pre-roll.

See recent projects captured with a Phantom [ jump to view ]

The Phantom HD GOLD is available with 32 Gigabytes of internal memory, but this is just the start of methods to capture and store work. Hot-swappable, non-volatile, solid state recorders; Phantom CineMags, are low profile modules that mount snugly to the top of the camera body to store 256 or 512 Gigabytes each.

Serious Cinema Spoken Here!

HD PodCast - Got KIDS? Too bad.

Too bad more television shows are not produced for young kids. I hear complaints from parents who state most children programming is animation cartoon based. One DVD called The Reef has animated fish, but they don’t teach anything about the Ocean. The fish character speak English, have human-like roles, engage in social situations about every aspect of life with little to nothing about the reef or fishes. Have you ever seen a fish talk? So what is the educational message?

How about a television show about the Ocean in a format kids can enjoy? Young kids can’t experience the reef so let’s bring the reef to them.

Perhaps there is enough kids programming to satisfy the federal mandate, but few are designed to engage kids with science on their level or drive them to the local aquariums. Just more of the same after school cartoons. Boring…

With the exception of the host, this is a concept for kids. Unfortunately I missed the awesome opportunity to attend this year’s National Geographic Producers Workshop @ WGBN Boston. Gives my team a year to wait and hope we are selected next time. What a team!

• Host: Paul Dymon (temporary, cheap, stand-in for real talent)
• Voice of GOD: Bob Cummings (free labor)
• Announcer: Garry Lee Rosenberg (illegal alien)
• Music: (stolen from) Garry Lee Rosenberg
• ICE: Remote from Key West (slave labor)

NO ACT OF KINDNESS SHALL GO UNPUNISHED!

Best view is the HD PodCast on iTunes:  “CLICK” or try the pop-up player.

The second video is seven minutes filled with fun and laughs.

A couple quick videos showing the modular design, quality engineering, and ease of access inside our brand new Mac Pro 8-core Nehalen machine. [Click the image to see this machine on Apple's web site.]

• Yes it is super fast when compared to our former workstation.
• No you cannot have the old machine. Macs don’t retire.

The machine formerly known as “The G5″ has plenty of life now serving as our audio workstation, so our audio workstation is capable of posting HD should we need it, while providing a nice step up in sound design.

• Each clip is a bit over two minutes.
• It’s a GREEN machine, very energy efficient.

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Rapidly changing technology can make last year’s great idea into a slumdog, and that is certianly the case with HDV. The 2009 show seemed to be a sort of catch up year, in that innovations of recent years are now very usable and ready to work.  RED for example: a few years ago the camera was a prototype. This year the accessories were out in big numbers.  3D is big. More on that in years to come.  It’s cool, but the technology has to develop to attract an audience.

NAB camera report

My favorite camera is from Silicon Imaging. Slumdog Millionaire Shot with the SI-2K Cinema Camera. The SI-2K series combine a DCI-spec 2K sensor with CineForm’s revolutionary Visually Perfect® CineForm RAW™ codec. All that- embedded Intel Core 2 Duo powered architecture. It delivers a direct-to-disk recording platform with unprecedented image quality, 11-F stops of dynamic range, an intuitive 7” LCD touchscreen interface that is off the charts, sharp OLED electronic viewfinder option, IT-friendly connectivity, battery powered operation, and up to 4-hours of continuous shooting on its hot-swap 160GB notebook hard drive. My friend Steve Waterford of ZennaTek has already invented an ingenious waterproof housing that has interior climate control and lens clearing airflow for housing lens.  This partial submersion bag is for taking it to the extreme.

Please note: There is no up-side benefit to my company if you shoot a specific camera.  In fact; I’d like to see all ocean videographers using HDV please. This is my NAB 2009 review of cameras I personally would deploy underwater.

Video Podcast 003 - I call this clip “reef life on 11” The Elbow in this image is one of my favorite spots.  We took a close look under an outcrop and reveal one way traffic, but which way? Depends on the flow. It was a team effort to keep the camera in place for this brief shot; we don’t touch anything (but sand) in the process of observing.

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="330" caption="Excellent for observation"][/caption]

Near the end you will see an excellent example of how the musical influence follows the rough surging seas  above. And that’s where I leave you hanging, or floating; just as you start to find your grove.  Get the DVD for the whole story.

Have you seen our iTunes HD PodCast! >>

Try the pop-up player.

Video - HD2O-BlugreenSymphony Do not disturb the residents? I don’t think we could have bothered this blue parrot fish in a cleaning station. We take measures

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="330" caption="Colors and Textures- click for full large image"][/caption]

to be as non-intrusive as possible and to observe without touching anything but sand, which is exactly what this parrot fish returns to the sea at about the halfway point. An awesome toothed barracuda follows some divers who had no idea he was lurking about. They are predators, they look mean, they are very fast, but like the shark- barracudas think HUMANS taste like $#*^! (crap!)  Because if they liked us, as a flavor, they could take their pick of slow moving butts, which is another good reason to stay in shape; predators take the slow injured ones.  JUST KIDDING, eat up, and enjoy the clip.

PS. Somebody has a birthday approaching; I don’t know, but I DO know what you should get them… dah, our DVD.

Click iTunes logo for our HD PodCast!

This is our first!  HD Podcast 001

Join us and subscribe to our Ocean Observations. Click the image will jump to our iTunes listing.  I find iTunes is best for delivering HD quality of over the web. Video clips download to your computer for the ultimate HD experience, then you can load and play on any iPod or iPhone. Come along, let’s see how it works.  I’m sure there will be improvements along the way.

This first Podcast is a very colorful reef I call “Blue-Green Day-Dream”.  The visuals are enhanced by a stellar soundtrack scored for this special reef.  You should find it ~ Relaxing ~ Entertaining ~ Meditative ~ and a bit Seductive ~

Set the mood to cool blue and take a full-screen plunge anytime you see this logo!  Or watch the version below; right here, right now.  Let us know what you think.

For best playback try the pop-up player!

VIDEO in this FLOG ARTICLE - Lots of things peter out; like gum. How about with HD2O?  THE ENTIRE DVD is nap time!

On the other hand; If you’re into entertaining @ home, an elegant dinner party to an intimate evening @ home ~ HD2O is a stimulating experience for your big-screen tv. Video and audio combined into a powerful underwater journey. Get it today in our store.

Grab this sample HD clip and see for yourself.

Musical composer Garry Lee Rosenberg is an exception to that rule. He doesn’t peter-out. Quite the opposite is true. He took on the “HD2O - The Keys” project thinking he would contribute a few tracks. That’s not what happened. Rosenberg ended up scoring all but 8-minutes of the 67-minute looping content, plus he scored the emotional visit to Island Dolphin Care. How the heck did I get a composer to contribute that much effort? I wish I could tell you, but I just don’t know where I went right!

I thought Island Dolphin Care would’ve mentally crippled him so I never released the final videos at that time. It wasn’t until after “Minnow Storm” which demanded a live flutist.

His first clue that I was dragging him into the deep blue water should have been when he found out my tracks were 12-minute compositions; not the usual 3-minute album track like he was expecting. (verse, verser, chorus, bridge, verse; doesn’t work) But that was only the beginning as tunes turned into tracks, a couple tracks turned into several tracks. That’s when I dropped “Track 14″ on him, a monster 20-minute track, I said, “Garry, would it make you feel better if you scored a 30-second disc-intro first? Then do the 20-minute piece?” Rosenberg had just completed Minnow Storm which required live musicians to include a monster flutist for the piece he had written.

By now Rosenberg was hooked, line and sinker. (LOL) Having scored 30 of what he thought was a 45-minute disc, so now he wanted to score the entire thing, and did just that… he scored a whopping 60 of 67-minutes. That’s right- Garry wasn’t counting as the disc blossomed from 45 to 67 minutes. In the end he did it all with the exception of an 8-minute piano solo. What’s most amazing is his Final Two Minutes. After an hour-and-five of amazing music he still had this left in the tank? The Final 2 are Magnificent!

With great admiration for his musical skills and Berkley education I say the DVD soundtrack on HD2O - The Keys is worth the price of the disc without video. The video too is worth the cost. Together the disc is a bargain truly worth having in your DVD and iPod library.

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