Adrian's Journal

Here’s a 3-minute video of the clearest views of Earth as seen from space.   Astronaut - A journey to space from Guillaume JUIN on Vimeo . http://vimeo.com/111049676 I am going to space.  Adrian Lee

The new GoPro action camera, released in October 2014, comes in three models. The trio are the GoPro Hero4 Black, the GoPro Hero4 Silver and the GoPro Hero. Top of the range, is the GoPro Hero4 Black , which is the focus of this post. What are the selling features that attracted me? Shoots 4K video at 30 frames per second - professional videographers love this Shoots 1080p HD at 120 frames per second - for perfect slow motions Snaps 12MP still photos Manual ISO adjustment Night Photo and Night Lapse Mode - for crisp dark scenes What features did not meet my expectation? No touch screen like the Silver version 4K video occupies 16GB in just 30 minutes Battery lasts only 1 hour plus shooting 4K Will I invest in the GoPro Hero4 Black? At S$700 (US$500) for a small and light camera, I will go for it. I intend to travel with it shooting time lapse day and night stock footage in 4K 30fps. I may also use it as a b-roll cam for seminar shoots. https://www.youtube.c...

Testing the iPhone 6 Video Camera Slo-Mo feature, I shot a few items falling to the ground. Adrian Lee http://adrianvideoimage.com/2014/11/epic-240fps-slo-mo-movie-and-sound-effects/

Adobe released a series of free iPhone apps for image and video creation. My interest as a Videographer is the video editing app called Adobe Clip. It’s free, and currently runs on iPhone only with iOS 8. No android app yet. This post is an overview of my favourite feature. The full tutorial is coming soon. http://videolane.com/2014/11/edit-video-on-iphone-with-free-adobe-clip-app/ Adrian Lee VideoLane.com  

Why shoot with more than one camera? Originally, I use a second video camera as a backup. Things happen, and the backup footage saved the day many times. Then I realised the final result looked great…  like a higher budget production with multiple camera crew. The extra footage was also used to cover up all that panning and zooming between the lecturer and the slides. From then on, I used the second cam footage even when nothing happened to the main one. Clients win, as they get a multi-crew production standard for the price of one. How can one man handle multiple cameras? The basic setup uses two cameras. The main cam is bigger and more professional. One that is always with me. I am controlling it throughout the shoot. The main cam is mostly following the lecturer at mid shot. The second cam is smaller and lighter. Even the tripod accompanying it is smaller and lighter. The second cam is mostly wide shot of the ...

Excited to present at SIM… Adrian Lee

Best ever! Ok Go never fail to surprise me. Is this 100% real? Or is it a mix of green screen and animation? One thing for sure, it takes a lot of practice… …And clever/creative use of the flying camera drone . How did they do it? 2328 umbrellas 1 camera drone (UAV) 1 continuous shoot  2.6 million YouTube views in 1 day 1 month rehearsal 4 days to film 44 takes / 11 complete routine / 3 takes ok manual and GPS-controlled 700m (half a mile) up in the final scene  actual movement in slow mo, sped up in edit  released on Oct. 27, 2014 created in Chiba, Japan, outside of Tokyo Japanese director Morihiro Harano Multi-Copter Pilot Kenji Yasuda featuring J-pop band Perfume as production crew at the start featuring Honda scooter chairs - UNI-CUBs and the 4 brilliant American Ok Go talents Adrian Lee http://adriansjournal.blogspot.sg Sources: http://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/music/news/ok-go-new-music-video-the-boys-are-back-with-...

http://adrianvideoimage.com/2014/11/two-iphone-camera-apps-take-advantage-of-ios8-features/ Want to take better photos with iPhone 6? Reduce noise and grain in low light situation? Here are two apps that utilizes iOS8 camera features that will help you take better low light photos. 1.  Manual by Little Pixels 2.  VSCO Cam by Visual Supply Company Put the camera apps in auto mode. Make sure the ISO setting remains on auto while you adjust the shutter speed down. Keep the camera steady. Hold it against a stable object or use a tripod. Follow these steps for better quality low-light photos from your iPhone 6. Let me know how it works for you. Adrian Lee http://adrianvideoimage.com/

I was asked for tips on setting up a webinar.  Here’s Part One… What is a webinar? Webinars are web-based seminars with more than 30 participants.  Online presentations, workshops, lectures and meetings. Webinars are interactive between the viewer and the presenter.  Why conduct webinars online? Save money on travel, catering and venue. How to organise a webinar? Set the date in advance.  Avoid dates near holidays to ensure maximum attendance. Set the right time. Avoid timings when your participant will be out of office and avoid having it too close to the end of the day. Set the agenda. Determine the duration and list out the topic.  Include some Q and A time. Select you webinar tool. Test various tools and choose the one with features that suits your requirement. Practice running the webinar.  Ensure you know how to use the webinar tool to run the session smoothly. Send the invitation. Outline the agenda so participants will know if ...

A client asked me face-to-face to propose the quickest way to shoot a lecture with the slides and upload to the web without wasting time editing and with minimum budget. Here’s the situation… the client is hiring me to shoot raw only, and their multimedia production team will edit the final video. Here’s one more thing… they would like to achieve the TED-style of production. Three Ways to Video Record a Lecture with Slides    I gave three proposals… 1. The world-class TED-style production method. 2. The quick and dirty old way of shooting. 3. The ultimate low budget time saving way. Who Will be Watching the Video?   First I asked ONE important question… Who will be watching the video? Internal staff or external customers. If internal staff is watching, then use the quick and dirty old way of shooting.  Why? They have to watch it anyway because the information is more important than the visual-audio quality. If external customers are watching, the...

Somehow I knew about this, and now it's confirmed.  - “People think the goal of meditation is to empty the mind, it’s not about clearing the mind; it’s about focusing on one thing. When the mind wanders, the meditation isn’t a failure. Our brain is like a wayward puppy, out of control. Catching it and putting it back to the object of focus is the mediation.” -   Mike Brooks, an Austin, Texas-based psychologist, - Incorporate mini meditatations while walking, running, cycling, eating, drinking, or doing a task.  - Focus your attention on one thing. The sound of insects. The feeling under your feet. Listen to your deep breathing.  Taste  your meal.  - When your mind wanders, catch it and bring it back to the original focus.  - “Research shows that a total of 15 minutes of meditating each day for several weeks produces detectable, positive changes in the brain as well as corresponding reductions in stress, anx...

Accumulating a large bulk of unedited action footage on your hard drive waiting to be edited? Searching through hours of footage to find the best moments is tedious. Antix developed an app to help automatically edit.  What it does: - Controls GoPro wirelessly. - Uses sensors in the phone to track motion during the recording. - Determines when something exciting has happened. - Extracts the exciting moment and posts to user’s profile. Available on the Android first. iPhone version will come later. (this is unusual indeed) https://www.antixapp.com   News Source: https://wearabletechnologies.co.uk/2014/10/antix-app-can-now-use-artificial-intelligence-automatically-edit-gopro-footages/ Adrian Lee https://adriansjournal.blogspot.com  

Audio engineering seems alien to most Videographers.  But audio is so important in any video that we cannot ignore it.  Here are three audio adjustment filters you must know to make your audio sound better… (my totally simplified definition). Compressor :  Lowers the loudest volume. Raises the quietest volume.  Expander : Raises the quietest volume without lowering or raising the loudest volume.  Limiter : Sets the loudest volume level, so no volume can go over it. Use each or a combination of the filters for different types of audio (voice, music, etc). Questions? Adrian Lee VideoLane.com

If you have the preferences set to Safari opens with:  “All windows from last session”, it will not work when you close Safari with the red X button on the top left. The proper way is to QUIT Safari either from the main menu on top or from the bar below. Adrian Lee AdrianVideoImage.com