I'm no VFX guy but I'm always keen to pick up some new skills. Here's a little test comp I put together in After Effects CS5 using a few Weisscam HS-2 shots I did with DP Jon Miller. The composite is made up of 5 different shots all acquired at 2000 fps in 1080p. Gotta love winter.. There's just never time for these kind of extracurricular activities when it's super busy.
On a recent Sunday afternoon I randomly had a Weisscam HS-2, a macro lens, and some Hermit Crabs in my apartment. True story.
Crabs from S P A C E from Ben Cain / Negative Spaces on Vimeo.
200 fps recording to ProRes HQ via AJA Ki Pro. 100mm Ultra Macro @ T2.8. Crabs were safely returned to the pet store after their voyage in space.
Music is Biosphere from the album Substrata. An ambient classic.
Weisscam HS-2
Ride the gain! If you're seeing noise in the blacks or seeing fine, faint black lines all over the image, drop the gain until it's minimized. You'll lose some stop but the camera is already pretty fast. This is the number one complaint I've heard about the camera and if you know how to deal with this problem when it arises, you can shoot consistently clean images.
Phantom Flex is now shipping. I have some days booked with it next month and can't wait to start working with it. It's a shame the Weiss hasn't managed to snatch more of the high speed market because it's such a great system. Phantom is already synonomous with high speed videography and the Weiss has been a tough sell to producers who are already well versed in Phantom workflow. Flex being so "flex"ible may really seal the Phantom deal. We'll see what happens but I'll still be gunning for the Weisscam.
I have two main interests at this point - high speed video and stereoscopic 3D. High speed 3D? Go see the truly terrible Step Up 3D to see some otherwise incredible images.
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