Welcome to the ChappyShowcase BlogSpot

Please enjoy an eclectic diversity of content and subjects created by Matt Chapman. This blog page gives more in depth detail and cool anecdotes pertaining to each video, film, or perhaps something else completely. On top of that, you will find info about the online video making paradigm, production, post-production and more. ChappyShowcase has content channels all over the web. All links for each channel are located for your convenience at a click of the button. Be sure to check the blog regularly to be updated on what is happening with Growing Up Guide Pup, ChappyShowcase, and GurillaTV. Or, better yet, subscribe to one of the RSS feeds so every new post is automatically emailed to you. Enjoy...and remember, keep that camera rollin!

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Friday, August 28, 2009

Is YouTube going to sell out to Hollywood?

We have already experienced Metacafe selling out to Hollywood and I just stumbled upon this video made by "therealweeklynews". If YouTube is succesful in monetization partnerships with companies like Disney, video producers and filmmakers are being pushed aside. Watch this video. It's done very well at explaining things.

Waterdog Filming

We have always known that our current guide dog puppy was special. She has all the inherant qualities that will make her a good candidate for guide work. What we didn't anticipate is what an incredible athlete she has become. Her very first trip to my parents swimming pool revealed that her natural labrador retriever instincts have not fallen far from the tree. She loves the water and is fearless when it comes to diving in with no reservations. She and our career changed lab Eli are inseperable and both love swimming. Please check out Chapman Digitals latest video

Friday, August 21, 2009

Make A Doggy Cam

I really enjoy my dog Eli. So much so that I thought it would be fun to figure out a way to mount a camera on him and call it a doggy cam. My buddy Darren Schmidt (cinematographer for GurillaTV) generously donated his POV.1 made by VIO. It is a nice cigar camera that is supposed to be waterproof, dustproof, and shock resistant. All good things when putting a camera on a 90 pound beast like my four-legged goof ball.

Here is a fun video tutorial that shows the doggy cam below.



Here is my film entitled NAUGHTY PRIEST that contains a shot (it only lasts like 2 seconds) from the doggy cam footage above.

Monday, August 17, 2009

Fix your aspect ratio for videos on YouTube

You're able to alter the appearance and format of your video by adding specific tags to your video. You can add these tags before you upload your video file to the site, or you can also add the tags to edit an existing video that you've uploaded to your account in the past. The video's altered appearance will display when the video plays on YouTube, and in embedded players.

Here's how!

If you'd like to add formatting tags to a video file you're about to upload:

Sign into your YouTube account, and click the yellow upload button.
On the next page, click the "upload video" button. Then, select the file you'd like to upload from your computer.
As the video file's uploading, you'll see categories below the upload progress bar, including the category "Tags".
Depending on how you'd like to format your video, type on of the following tags into the "Tags" section:

Tag: yt:crop=16:9
(zooms in on the 16:9 area, removes windowboxing)

Tag: yt:stretch=16:9
(fixes anamorphic content by scaling to 16:9)

Tag: yt:stretch=4:3
(fixes 720x480 content that is the wrong aspect ratio by scaling to 4:3)

Tag: yt:quality=high
(default to a high quality stream, depending on availability)

Once your video uploads to the site, it should be formatted according to the formatting-tag you added while the video was uploading.

If you'd like to add formatting tags to a video you've already uploaded to your account:
Sign into your YouTube account, and click account (in the upper right hand corner of the page).
Click Uploaded Videos, and select the video that you'd like to edit.
Click the "edit" button below the video.
Depending on how you'd like to format your video, type on of the following tags into the "Tags" section:

Tag: yt:crop=16:9
(zooms in on the 16:9 area, removes windowboxing)

Tag: yt:stretch=16:9
(fixes anamorphic content by scaling to 16:9)

Tag: yt:stretch=4:3
(fixes 720x480 content that is the wrong aspect ratio by scaling to 4:3)

Tag: yt:quality=high
(default to a high quality stream, depending on availability)

Here is a video from dctcool with a great explanation:

Time-lapse filmmaking talk

Godfrey Reggio's first film KOYAANISQATSI changed my perspective on time-lapse photography. This film should be watched by every filmmaker because it gave birth to the explosion of what we know as time-lapse today. Everything from CBS's Survivor to the recent Beijing Olympics uses this style of photography. If you are not familiar with the film you can watch the trailer below.


I have been experimenting with time-lapse videography for a long time. It is a really cool way of viewing the world from a altered perspective. The ability to watch something 1000x faster then it is normally viewed can create a visceral experience and help you see something in a whole new light.

I have found that time-lapse is a great way to show an event to a mass audience. An event that would normally bore people can be very engaging when it only lasts a minute or two. My video ONE MINUTE ENGINE REBUILD -DIRECTORS CUT is my favorite of all of them. I shot the repair over a period of three days. I set up a 1k lowel tungsten balanced light, and put my Panasonic DVX-100A on a tripod with lots of sandbags. I set up the camcorder on a 100 shutter, 3.2 Kelvin white balance, 2.8 exposure, and a fixed focal of 72 for the event. I set the time-lapse to recording 15frames every 1 minute. In post I took the footage and multiplied it by 1000%, cut out the dead spots where the work was not progressing, applied frame blend, and added music from my Smartsound collection. The rest is history.




Here is another fun video of car repair. Since i'm mechanically inclined and don't have the money to pay a mechanic, I might as well combine both of my skills right? This video incorporated all the same camera settings I used before. The difference is I wanted to see what it would be like to view a time-lapse that jumps all over the place. I move the camera at least a dozen times throughout the process to give a different perspective. Check it out!

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

Simple Camera Trick

I made this video because I wanted to show this simple camera trick I coined the "dutch angle tilt". I don't know if anyone out there has thought up the same thing, but I'm pretty certain no one has ever made a tutorial video showing the technique. It's really easy, and only requires one to rotate the camera 90 degrees. Seriously..check it out!



Here is the film entitled "IN CASE OF EMERGENCY" that I referenced in the simple camera trick video. Check out how I used the camera trick to convey that "Joe" was spiraling out of control.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

The High Quality, yet affordable AG-HMC40

I am really excited about the new Panasonic AG-HMC40. My buddy Josh Staley of Moss Productions put out a message about it yesterday, and I was floored when i read about it. This camera retails for less than $2,300, shoots various frame rates and formats, and shoots to SD card. It has a smaller housing size like my favorite camera the DVX100A. I am definately going to get one of these things. I would recommend contacting Media-Solutions.us about the product instead of using B&H or Panasonic to buy it. Media-solutions has great prices and they are willing to go the extra mile to make it's customers happy. They are also on the west coast for those who hate waiting for their stuff to come from New York. Contact Richard Raines who works for MediaSolutions at 707-803-1664 for more info.

Here is the Panasonic AG_HMC40 press release info:

AVCCAM - the Industry's Next Generation Affordable HD

Panasonic's latest introduction to its popular AVCCAM line, the AG-HMC40 handheld, combines full HD AVCHD video recording with high-resolution 10.6-megapixel still photo capture, giving you the benefits of two professional cameras in one affordable package.

Compact and lightweight at 2.16-pounds, the HMC40 is a versatile HD camcorder offering high-quality AVCHD recordings, high-resolution still photo capture, an easy-to-use SD card workflow, and professional audio capabilities for a wide range of applications and markets including schools, government agencies, event videographers, web designers and more.

Full HD Video & 10.6-Megapixel Stills -- All in One Compact Camera

With a full resolution 3-megapixel, 1/4-inch 3MOS imager, the HMC40 produces stunning 1920x1080 video in AVCHD (MPEG-4 AVC/H.264), delivering images far superior to HDV. When used for digital still photography, the camera captures photos with 10.6-megapixel resolution directly onto the SD card as a JPEG image. The camera can also be connected directly to a PictBridge photo printer (no PC required). And unlike HDV tapes, video and photos can be accessed randomly and immediately from the SD cards and played back on a number of consumer devices.

The camcorder's advanced Leica Dicomar lens system offers 12X optical zoom, wide-angle setting (40.8mm) and an optical image stabilizer (O.I.S.) feature for precise shooting. The compact camera is also packed with professional video and audio features (HDMI out, date/time stamp, remote zoom, XLR option, etc.)

High Definition Performance, Standard Definition Price

Using high-capacity SD memory cards, the HMC40 provides hours of beautiful high definition recordings at professional level bit rates. It records in a range of 1080 and 720 formats with all four professional AVCCAM recording modes: PH mode (average 21 Mbps/Max 24Mbps), the HA mode (approx.17 Mbps), the HG mode (approx.13 Mbps), HE mode (approx. 6 Mbps). AVCCAM offers the benefit of a fast, file-based workflow using widely available and reasonably priced SD memory cards.

Stats:
• HD formats: 1080/60i, 1080/30p, 1080/24p (Native); 720/60p, 720/30p, 720/24p (Native)

• Three newly designed 1/4.1" Progressive 3MOS Imagers for full HD resolution

• 12x Leica Dicomar lens (13 elements in 10 groups), 43mm filter Ø, zoom range of 40.8 - 490mm* (*35mm equivalent.)

• Extremely slow, smooth zoom for the precise control needed for dramatic sequences

• Time Date Stamp enables shooting Legal Depositions or Surveillance

• Long record time: 3 hours with included battery (7 hours continuous with 5,800mAh Battery)

• Remaining battery time readout in minutes so shooter is warned (Info Data Secure Battery)

• 3-second pre-record function captures the shot from the beginning

• Shooting assist functions: focus expand, focus bar and Face Detection feature in Auto Mode

• Waveform monitor helps with luminance for green screen where lighting has to be evenly distributed

• Professional interface with HDMI out, Component Out (mini D terminal), Composite Video Out and RCA Audio Out

• Additional features include: three user set buttons, Time code (DF, NDF, REC RUN, FREE RUN) and USER BIT, two scene files, auto functions (Auto Focus, Auto White Balance and Auto Neutral Density)

• Connects directly to PictBridge photo printers

• 2.7-inch 16:9 Touchscreen LCD display (Just touch the thumbnail for playback)

• Manual and remote control connection for Zoom, Focus, Iris, Start/Stop functions (similar to HMC150). Focus ring can also be used for Iris and Zoom

• Min. Illumination: 1 lux, (F1.8, Gain: +34dB, Slow Shutter: 1/2 sec.)

• Syncro Scan Shutter, 60i- 1/60-1/250, 30p- 1/30-1/250, 24p- 1/24-1/250

• Selectable Gammas & DRS Dynamic Range Stretch

• Lightweight, yet durable, design with removable handle

• Optional AG-MYA30G Professional XLR adapter available (features audio inputs with +48V Phantom Power, Mic/Line, Attentuation, Ch 1&2 or Ch2, Level Controls and Mic Holder (8 pin push on precision connector)

• Edius Neo 2 edit software included in carton (Through March 2010)

• 3-Year limited warranty (1 year + 2 extra years upon registration)