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Autumn Red – 4K footage

Byrichard

Autumn is here and the leaves are turning. It is a good opportunity to go out and take video and photographs of trees and their red and brown leaves.

This was shot with the Sony Xperia Z3. Image stabilisation was on. The mobile phone is so light, and the resolution so high that hand held shots are unrealistic. A tripod, monopod or other tool is needed to stabilise the camera. Sony has developed new technology which should help with image stabilisation. I look forward to seeing how stable Sony Xperia Z5 compact footage will be.

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Day In Auschwitz

Byrichard

“If you were young and healthy and if they needed labour then you were selected as slave labour. You would have suffered a slow death rather than a fast one”. This soundbite is 13 minutes in.

In this documentary a concentration camp survivor takes two girls who are the age she was when she arrived through the camp and tells them about her experiences.

We owe it to future generations to keep re-sharing these accounts and documentaries to prevent such actions from ever happening again.

I have just finished watching the documentary and I feel almost shell shocked. I have been to the camp and I have read about the topic. I have also watched a number of topics on this topic. What makes this the most poignant documentary is that this woman, this grandmother of eight is making sure that future generations are aware of what Auschwitz life was like. She tells us about survival.

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4K video and mobile phones

Byrichard

In December I filmed some events at a staff party in 4K and never did anything with that footage because it was a private event. Two or three days ago I went to Geneva with the Sony Xperia Z3 compact and filmed some street scenes as well as the locks closing and transferring a small boat from the Rhone to the Lac Léman. I look forward to seeing what the Sony Xperia Z5 compact can do.

The boat being raised from river level to lake level

I filmed these scenes as a wide shot because I didn’t have the choice but also because 4K is ultra high definition. For me this is an opportunity to film things so that viewers can see context. Imagine landscapes, cityscapes and sports events in 4K or even 8K. With images good enough to fill a wall or two IMAX quality footage will become common place and at a fraction of the price.

SES, NASA and other groups are making serious progress in to providing their audiences with UHD content. Swiss cable operators are also advancing towards this new and emerging market. One of the interesting and key selling points is HDR as well as UHD. With cameras such as the FS-7 among others, capable of shooting in raw the latitude that screens and cameras will capture is closer to what the human eye can see. The limitation for now is the contrast ratio. New legislation will have to be approved to permit brighter screens for example.

Tourism and marketing

Tourism boards, car manufacturers, watch manufacturers and many more industries will benefit from UHD because it will allow them to show their products in ultra high definition. Look at the image I have looking at the Ile Rousseau. You can see more detail and you can get a real feel for the place. If you went to Krakow, to the London eye, to the Eiffel tower you could see not only the famous landmark but people walking and possibly even which camera they’re using. It will give advertisers IMAX quality footage at a fraction of the price, and without the barrier to entry of an imax theatre. Sony’s Xperia Z5 Premium already offers a 4K monitor.

UHD is already several years old but with Sony’s 4K mobile phones, Samsung’s 4K displays and Apple’s 4K recording capability there are many brands that are providing people with the motivation to buy 4K capable monitors or televisions. I read an article that mentioned 2019 as a key date. It was for when regulators would be ready for UHD content.

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Slacklining on a bike – A six month challenge

Byrichard

We have seen videos of people slacklining and we have seen videos of people mountainbiking but having a video where we see people slacklining on a bike is less common. This video shows us some beautiful landscapes with cycling somewhere in shot before descending the mountain towards a slackline and crossing. Kenny Belaey managed the feat.

The images are impressive and what makes this edit stand out from others is the way in which we can hear the breathing of the athlete. Those of us who often push ourselves towards our fears are familiar with it. I love the moment when he makes it across and can’t believe it. I’ve had moments where I breathed like that after particularly challenging segments on via ferrata.

He trained for 6-7 months to get the experience and skill required to balance. The making of is interesting.  The video was shot in La Plagne, France. Spot the drone when he is practicing.

In the near future we will find more and more videos like this, where one extreme sport is combined with another. Pro athletes will have to master more than two sports at a time and so the images will be all the more spectacular. We will see them set up longer slacklines and they will make them longer. It’s about the spectacle. As this variant is in it’s infancy we see the use of safety equipment but in future versions this equipment may be gone.

 

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A chevreuil in 4K

Byrichard

Yesterday I went for a walk around the foot of the Jura and there is an enclosure where deer are kept waiting to be slaughtered for meat. As the Chasse season is coming up this park might not be as busy.

This video was shot using the Sony Xperia Z3 compact. The image is a little blue for my liking.

I look forward to testing the Xperia Z5 compact with it’s improved sensor and new image stabilisation technology.

I have no 4K monitors on which to assess image quality at the moment.

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FLYER THE ESSENCE OF E MOUNTAIN BIKING

Byrichard

 

Mountain biking is a sport that is growing in popularity. We see that technology is keeping up with the riders. Between suspension, specialist tires and safety equipment the sport has had the freedom to become more adventurous. Bigger jumps, more travel, stronger components all allow the sport to become more extreme.

Usually there are three ways to get to the top of a mountain. The first option is to ride up but with a mountain bike that can be tiring. I have an area where I can mountain bike near home but it’s a 12.7km ride up with a 10 percent grade. It takes two hours to get to the base. I could of course take the car up and cycle around at the top but this requires removing the front wheel and putting the seats down. Another option is to head to specialist resorts where the remontée mécanique are equipped to take bikes to the top of the slope. The third option is to walk up and push the bike.

In this video we see a fourth option. An electric mountain bike. I like the idea of mountain biking this way. I like the notion that the mountain bike will assist with getting up the hill more efficiently. Several times I have cycled up a 10% gradiant for a distance of 12.7 kilometres. With the mountain bike I use it takes 2 hours of almost non stop pedalling. It leaves me with little energy to enjoy going off road at the top. With a flyer I’d let the bike get me to the fun part and then use my own power to play up there.

I won’t buy one of these bikes but the video is interesting to watch.

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Edwardian Farming, a BBC documentary series about the life of Edwardian farmers.

Byrichard

I really like this documentary series about Edwardian Farming. it is a fly on the wall documentary following three people through a year on an edwardian farm close to Dartmoor. They experiment with market farming, food preparation of the time, trout farming and so much more. It is relaxing and without an over-enthusiastic announcer/narration.

It’s a fascinating glimpse at a way of life that those who remember it is becoming dead rather than living history.

The BBC excel at this type of content and this is what they should focus on producing more of.