If you happen to miss the advert on TV, or fast forwarded through it, here is the much talked about new Sainsbury’s Christmas advert. Made in partnership with The Royal British Legion. This story was inspired by real events from 100 years ago.

For some reason, this touching moment in history has invited a lot of social comment, both bad and good. I suggest watching the video, which skillfully captures and presents the story in 3 minutes 40 seconds, and remember that this is a dramatization of a real event.

If you are interested in ‘Making Of’ videos, check out the YouTube video Sainsbury’s Christmas 2014 – The making of our Christmas ad

Here is another usefull gadget to help with low cost video production which we wish had been available years ago. It’s called the Revolve Camera Dolly, and is suitable for tracking shots and rotational dolly shots as well other cinematic tricks. Advertised at $99, the system is claimed to be compatible with virtually any camera, and is suitable for use on all surfaces and at any location.

According to the suppliers, the Revolve Camera Dolly can create a wide assortment of cinematic effects. Tracking dolly shots, rotational dolly shots, dynamic inward/outward tracking, rotational panning, time lapse photography, stop motion animation, slider motion, and more.

The dolly is compatible with virtually any camera on the market, whether you want to shoot with a DSLR, an iPhone, a camcorder, or point and shoot. Your camera can mount directly to the base of the dolly with the included mounting screws, or you can use a ball head, friction arm, our specialized monopod, or any other mount to give your camera more versatility.

For more on the Revolve Camera Dolly, click here to visit the Revolve Camera Dolly website

Do you use a DSLR camera to shoot video on a tripod? Do you wish that DSLR cameras had a receptacle for the locking pin on your tripod video camera plates? Well here is a smart gadget that achieves a stable platform, while giving other benefits as well; the Camera Lock Plate.

Advertised as a DSLR video accessory piece that lets you tap into the true potential of your camera, the Camera Lock Plate will stabilize your camera on a rig or tripod, and offers protection to the HDMI port when you are using a cable to feed your external display or recorder.

The “Universal video DSLR plate” fits all semi pro/pro video DSLRs including 5D mk2, mk3, 6D, 7D, D7000, D7100, D600, D800.

For more on the Camera Lock Plate, click here to visit the Camera Lock Plate website

Have you an image sequence that you would like to convert into video? Are you taking time-lapse image sequences from a DSLR and wanting to display them as a video sequence? Here are a couple of ways to convert JPEG images to video without resorting to expensive software packages.

Using MPEG Streamclip to Convert JPEG images to Video

MPEG Streamclip is a powerful free video converter, player and editor for Mac and Windows. To create a video from an sequentially numbered set of images follow the following steps:

• Click on the Open Files menu option
• Browse to the folder containing your image sequence
• Select the first file in the list and click open
• The sequence will open in MPEG Streamclip
• Click File, then export to QuickTime
• At the Movie Exporter dialogue select the appropriate Frame Size and any other settings
• Click Make Movie, and select the folder and name for the new movie

Convert JPEG images to Video Using QuickTime Pro (Mac and Windows)

Using QuickTime Pro is just as easy to create a video from a sequence of images:

• Click on the File, Open Image Sequence option
• Locate the first numbered file of the image sequence you want to import, then click Open.
• In the Image Sequence Settings dialog, choose a frame rate, then click OK.
• Click on File, Export, QuickTime Movie, then customize the dimensions and codec of the movie if required.
• Choose a location and enter a name for the file.
• Choose the save option Make movie self-contained to make a stand alone movie, then click Save.

Using Compressor to Convert JPEG images to Video

If you are using Final Cut Pro, then you have Compressor which can convert JPEG images to Video, although there is a minor bug which you may need to work round (See video below). Compressor has a large number of options, so for detail steps, see the Compressor User Manual.

Useful Links:

Squared 5 – MPEG Streamclip

QuickTime 7 Pro for Windows

Final Cut Pro – Using compressor to render from an image sequence

The LOMO effect is a creative photographic effect which makes the resultant captured image substantially different from the original subject. It is named after a plastic camera called the LOMO LC-A Compact Automat camera, which was originally made by the Russian state’s LOMO optical company. The camera was made of plastic and the body was prone to light leakage, hence photos taken with the LOMO LC-A have a distinctive look that came to be known as lomography.

Characteristics of LOMO Effect
The characteristics of the LOMO effect include:

• Vignetting or darkening around the picture edges which helps frame the shot
• High contrast between the light and dark portions of the photo
• High colour saturation or intensity, with unrealistic or distorted colours

Digital photographers can mimic the characteristics of LOMO effect using photo editing tools such as Adobe Photoshop, Corel Paint Shop Pro and free editors like Paint.NET and GIMP. This requires post processing of the image including adding a vignette, adjusting the contrast and distorting the colours to mimic the original LOMO effect. For user of iPhones and other smart devices equiped with a camera, there are apps available which can produce the effect in the camera, so you can review the result before moving on to the next shot.

To find out more about the subject of the LOMO effect, and to see samples, check out the following links:

• Wikipedia: Lomography
• What is the LOMO Effect in Digital Cameras?
• How To Make Digital Photos Look Like LOMO Photography

For smartphone users there are LOMO effect apps available:

• iPhone: LOMO Camera App
• iPhone: Morelomo allow you to save original and LOMO photo as same time
• Android: LOMO Camera App

The LOMO effect makes interesting and unique pictures from ordinary subjects. You can achieve the effect using an original LOMO camera, or with a smartphone plugin, or in post production using your favourite editor. Which ever way, try the LOMO effect and see what you can produce.

Misery Bear is the saddest, loneliest, most depressed teddy bear in the whole world. A borderline alcoholic with anger management issues, the furry little character is the star of a series of BBC short films.

Misery Bear made his first appearance at Popcorn Comedy in 2009. Soon after, he was commissioned to make a series of short films for the BBC Comedy website, all of which are now available to see on the BBC’s YouTube channel. In 2011, Misery Bear appeared in a Comic Relief video with Kate Moss which was broadcast on BBC1 for Red Nose Day.

Since then he has starred in videos for Sport Relief, Amnesty International and Children in Need, as well as penning his first ever book, Misery Bear’s Guide to Love & Heartbreak, see picture below, which was published by Hodder & Stoughton on October 13th, 2011.

He stared with Geri Halliwell and Pudsey in a sketch called How Pudsey Got His Bandana, first broadcast on on BBC1 on the 16 November 2012 for Children in Need.

• Geri Halliwell & Misery Bear in How Pudsey Got His Bandana

Misery Bear’s films are directed by Chris Hayward & Nat Saunders, and produced by Roughcut TV.

Other Misery Bear links Misery Bear’s website Follow Misery Bear on Twitter Like Misery Bear on Facebook

Have you ever wondered about which ISO setting to use for filming using your DSLR camera? Confused about the number of settings and looking for a quick way to simplify ISO Selection? Welcome to the first in a series of quick tips and tricks for film makers who chose to use a DSLR to shoot video.

What Is ISO?
ISO is a camera setting that changes how sensitive the camera’s sensor is to light. It equates to the sensitivity of the film in a pre-digital camera. The higher the ISO, the more sensitive the sensor will be, which allows you to shoot better images in low light conditions. As a quick guide, keep the ISO as low as possible for the best looking image, and increase the ISO as the light level decreases.

Unfortunately, it is not quite as simple as just increasing the ISO to the next setting, as some settings introduce picture noise, also known as image noise.

Image noise is random variation of brightness or color information in images which is not present in the original. It can also originate in film grain, or is an aspect of electronic noise produced by the sensor and circuitry of a scanner or digital camera.

Which ISO Settings to Avoid
Certain ISO settings have a tendency to produce more image noise than others when using a DSLR camera. Multiples of ISO 125 (125, 250, 500, 1000) are the noisiest because they are derived by a digital exposure push. ISO 125 is actually ISO 100 with a 1/3 stop digital exposure push. These settings are sometimes known as Pushed ISOs.

Dynamic range in photography describes the ratio between the maximum light intensity measurable (at pixel saturation) and minimum measurable light intensity measurable (above read-out noise) for white and black, respectively. Due to limited dynamic range, highlights of the subject that are too bright are rendered as white, with no detail; shadows that are too dark are rendered as black

Which ISO Settings work Best
Conversely, 160-multiple ISOs are the cleanest and have least picture noise, because they are a result of a digital exposure pull. This pull brings down the exposure of the entire image, and hides some of the noise that would be visible at the next higher ISO. Generally 160-multiple ISOs, known as Pulled ISOs, (160, 320, 640, or 1250) get more exposure with less noise.

ISO settings which are multiples of 100 are sometimes called native ISO or true ISO settings (100, 200, 400 and 800) and have more noise than pushed ISOs, and have less noise than pulled ISOs. So ISO 160, 320, 640 and 1250 have the lowest noise while ISO 125, 250, 500, and 1000 have far greater noise. ISO 100, 200, 400 and 800 are somewhere in between.

General ISO Selection Guidelines

• Use pulled ISOs (160, 320, 640 and 1250) with video to avoid noise when possible.
• Native ISOs (100, 200, 400 and 800) are better than pushed ISO.
• If you need more exposure, select the next exposure-pulled ISO, or the next native ISO, rather than shooting with the increased noise and decreased dynamic range of the pushed ISOs.
• If shooting a dimly lit scene using higher ISOs, where noise is more of an issue but highlights are not usually a problem, use the 160-multiple ISOs (320, 640, or 1250) to get more exposure with less noise.

Other ISO Selection Resources

• Wikipedia: Image noise
• Canon HD DSLR Native ISO

National Geographic: Dan Cruickshank’s Great Railway Adventures (Steam Revolution / Brilliant Brunel / War Heroes) [DVD]

Writer and architectural historian Dan Cruickshank takes us back into a different world of steam trains and unravels the history that shaped Great Britain. In Steam Revolution, Dan explores the earliest steam railways, discovering how railway pioneers George and Robert Stephenson created the first regular rail service from Manchester to Liverpool in 1830. He reveals how the early railway magnates won and lost fortunes in the investment bonanza that became known as Railway Mania and which created Britain’s modern rail network.

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