What, you haven't heard of the new Letus Airship coming out next month?!!

Thanks Fred :)

Thanks Richard, I'm shooting a serious narrative in a couple of weeks.

: )

The notion of being lost in time. The anticipation of the package falling before it fell. I didn't spend a lot of time on this so it may have missed the mark for most people.

I'm so glad you gave the answer you did; that makes it art!

I've had this really great time the last 12 months studying great inventors and artists and they all share one thing...their work follows their internal compass.

Thanks for keeping the new stuff coming!

By the way, I think you are from Seattle. I've had some great times nearby in Mulketeo.

Yes, I live in Seattle. In fact, I did a short at Mukilteo that's one of my favorite films. It's only available on my DVD....hey, I have to leave something on there that hasn't been seen :)

Thank you...here you go:

The Remarkable Gift

When I was born
I received a gift
Its value has varied
Over the years

I squandered it with worry
Anticipating the future
Regreting the past
Unable to stay in the moment

So when I witnessed
Something special
I was not present
to that moment of awe

My busy mind
Would lower a gray veil
Like a fog
consuming craggy mountaintops
Until all was gone


One day, I looked through
The lens of a camera
and saw time standing still
Everything I had missed
Was there on this tiny screen

All of a sudden I could see
My life perfectly composed
Focused and framed
Exposed for the first time

I grabbed the camera
And began capturing everything
Every color, every feeling
Every moment in time

How could I have missed
All of this?
It was never there
Yet it was always there

I recognized this as a gift
And practiced every day
Until I needed the camera
No more

Thank you Steven! I'm moved by your words. :-)

*preps the XH-A1 with Letus for all-out on filming!*

I use a levels adjustment in Premiere CS3 (it's available in whatever NLE you use) and push the black level just to the point where they begin to crush.

I am using a whole host of different presets in this film so I can't really tell you which is which. I boosted the color to give it more of a "Technicolor" look, like the old Disney films.

The first shot, balloon shot, and ending shots are all using my latest and most favorite preset called Panalook 2. It gives a better response than VIVIDRGB because it's not as biased towards red and the colors in the raw footage are much milder, giving me more leeway in post to boost.

Here are the parameters for Panalook2:

Gamma: Cine2
Color Matrix: Cine2
Color Gain: -4
CPH: 0
Knee: Low
Black: Stretch
Master Ped: -7
Setup Level: -1
HDF: Mid
DHV: 0
Sharpness: -2
NR1: Off
NR2: Off
Coring: 0
RGN: 8
GGN: 11
BGN: 12
RGM: 0
RBM: 0
GRM: 0
GBM: 0
BRM: 0
BGM: 0

White balancing is crucial to get accurate colors.

Hi!

Like so many others in this forum and probably elsewhere on the net, I have downloaded you Panalook presets along with vividRGB (which goes a bit towards red, yes!), etc. Thank you!

I think you achieved the look you wanted, the old Disney movie feel, in the titles as well. The colors really stood out and prompted my initial question.

If Canon hasn't realized this yet, they should at least send you a thank you in the form of some free stuff. I spent hundreds of hours over a half year period reading up on all the latest cameras and I was already "settling" for the DVX100 (which I LOVE!), because all HD cameras that could beat the DVX 100 were around EUR 7000,-. Stumbling across the XH-A1 and your videos less than two weeks before making that other purchase made me change my mind. Finally a camera that can achieve what I want for a price I can afford! Thanx Canon, Thanx Steven!

=)

Aspect ratio is 2.35:1
Image size is reduced to 1280x540 for this presentation
I use AspectHD by Cineform in conjunction with Premiere CS3 for PC

I disagree but I appreciate the comments. The choice of font was to more emulate the Disney style films from the 1970s which gave a kind of whimsy to the whole thing and played into its fantastical subject.

It's not going to work for everyone but it works for me.

It reminded me of Shrek

I didn't create the score. It was a pre-made piece but I edited it a little to make it fit with my voice. I also timed my voice to work with the dynamics of the music. When all of that was done, I began to piece the visuals together.

Not exactly in my home town although a lot of it is shot in my home state. Olympic National Park is my favorite place although there are lots of other locations in this area also. Some of the footage is from Yellowstone, Glacier National Park, Idaho, New Mexico, etc.