Directive Studios Blogs

Sometimes the best way to execute the shot you want is to not touch the camera at all. The Shutterboss Timer Remote allows us to do just that. With a 3 pin connection for canons, the wired remote can be set for either a number of shots or unlimited shots with delays and intervals. This allows you to control taking the photo without touching the camera, and prevent the camera from shaking. The timer is highly suggested for those Time-Lapse recordings and night shooting.  B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/840098-REG/Vello_rc_c2ii_Shutterboss_Version_II_Timer.html

The Canon 580 flash is a great addition to our lighting inventory. The 360 degree swivel head allows us to get any lighting angle we need on a subject. With a metal hot shoe you can adapt the flash right on top of your camera. The more consistent color and enhanced controls help our cameras achieve the best quality photos. By making sure our camera has the best lighting, the flash exposure lock that targets our subject helps us do just that. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/801246827-USE/canon_1946b002_speedlite_580ex_ii.html

The Kessler Crane Second Shooter is a 3 Axis motion control system that allows you to pinpoint the exact shot you want by tilting, panning, and even sliding. The awesome keyframable positions makes it so you no longer need to record your every move. This device is especially handy when you are short camera operators. This is a very fast, effective, and portable way of getting total control over our camera with limited hands. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1088280-REG/kessler_crane_ss2003_second_shooter_bundle_3_axis.html

The best way to display our live feed from our camera is by the iKan vk7i 7” Display Monitor. This 7 inch monitor runs directly from our camera through a simple HDMI cord. This display also allows us to adjust the brightness, contrast, chroma, and even sharpness! As portable as it is, we travel with it without any hassle! Great display with great customization that we need in and out of the studio!  B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/968089-REG/ikan_vk7i_n_vk7i_su_7_hdmi_field.html

The Rode on camera shotgun mic is our choice of audio backup in the studio. It's a great safety net for us so we don't encounter the worst. We simply mount and plug it into our camera's mic input, check our levels with it's 3 way positioned level control, and we're on our way. Nice to know we have have this pointed at our talent just incase.

As our number one audio recorder, we use the Zoom H4n to capture the sound from our Rode NTG-3 mic. By simply running off of two AA batteries, the back-lit LCD display helps us determine where our audio levels should be. Even though we connect our Sony headphones to this recorder for monitoring, it also has an integrated speaker that allows us to quickly check our recordings just in case something were to ever happen to our headphones. It is extremely portable, and at the end of the day all our audio files are put on to a SD card which we can easily move to our computer. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/search?N=11116977&InitialSearch=yes&sts=pi

White balancing our camera is one of our very first steps to any of our shoots. We certainly couldn't obtain this without our One Shot Digital Target. By being able to hold up the target in front of the talent, our only job is to take a picture with any of our cameras. This is a very fast and convenient technique when you want more than just a white balancing preset.  B&H Lunk: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/492619-REG/Photovision_DT6020_6_Mini_One_Shot.html/prm/alsVwDtl

Whats a good video without good sound? Here in the studio our source of hearing is the Sony MDR-ZX100 headphones. We could be filming for hours and hours, which is another reason why we recommend these lightweight, very comfortable set of headphone for your audio. Just like almost every other headphones, the stereo mini can plug into laptops, cameras, ipads, ipods and almost anything else. We love making sure our audio is at its finest, and these headphones help us do that. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/757685-REG/Sony_MDRZX100_BLK_MDR_ZX100_Stereo_Headphones.html

No matter where or what the weather is, we have a camera for it. A great addition to our inventory is the GoPro HERO3+ Silver Edition. Shooting full HD at 1920 x 1080 and 60fps, the ultra wide angle lens captures any video on and off land. We no longer are afraid of the rain or bad weather knowing the fully waterproof housing will keep this camera safe. With a battery life that lasts 30% longer than the HERO3, we're not afraid of missing any footage while we're out and about. Now that GoPro also has an App for our mobile devices, the built in wifi helps display the image we're hoping to get. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1003322-REG/gopro_chdhn_302_hero3_silver_edition_camera.html

This 2.8 12-35mm lens is officially our number one lens on our GH4! We use it mainly for our standard, “waist and up” shot on our talent. It is a very compact and light-weight lens that comes with many awesome features such the 2.8 brightness that covers the entire zoom range. Works and looks great. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/865111-REG/Panasonic_H_HS12035_Lumix_G_X_Vario.html?gclid=CKe-kpb53cYCFRCEaQodBB4MlA  

Wondering how you're going to get that perfect shot of someone running or walking? We tend to go with the DJI Ronin. The Ronin is a 3-Axis camera stabilizer that will self-adjust to balance your video camera. We're looking forward to getting more familiar with ours!   Official DJI Website: http://www.dji.com/product/ronin B&H link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1137174-REG/dji_ronin_m_3_axis_handheld_stabilizer.html Check out what the DJI Ronin is good for!  

By owning a few Canon lenses, we decided to get a hold of the Speed Booster EF-M43 since we have a couple of GH4s in the studio! The speed booster, also known as a speed adapter, is powered by the camera to help adapt third party lenses to the Gh4. Even though we are highly satisfied with the lenses we have for our GH4s, we never know when we could use more of a variety. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/bnh/controller/home?O=&sku=1079566&gclid=CN6Gxb_U9MYCFUoXHwod3voMrQ&is=REG&m=Y&Q=&A=details

We’re excited to have two Panasonic Lumix GH4s in the studio for our videos. One of our only concerns we have about these cameras is that our clients will look at the size of these without knowing what they are capable of. Awesome quality and color packed into such a small body!  B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1028453-REG/panasonic_dmc_gh4kbody_lumix_dmc_gh4_mirrorless_micro.html

Perfect images rely on perfect lighting. Our handy tool here at the studio that helps us achieve that is the Sekonic Light Meter. This handy cordless meter helps us determine the f/stop we should be setting our cameras to. This weather resistant meter can also tell us information such as the ISO and measuring modes. The easy to read LCD that displays icons and symbols really helps us get that perfect lighting here in the studio.   B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/368226-REG/Sekonic_401_309_L_308S_Flashmate_Light_Meter.html

For any cameras from 4 to 10 pounds, the Glidecam HD4000 is a great walking and running stabilizer we have here at the studio. The quick release plate makes it nice and easy to put on and take off the camera. It's free floating, 360 degree pan and tilt really gives you the variety of angles needed for any running or walking shot. Simply counterbalance the weight of your camera with the adjustable weights on the system itself, and you're off to the races. Great for those unsturdy, quick shots. B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/579908-REG/Glidecam_HD_4000_HD4000_Stabilizer_System.html

Not all of our work is done here in the studio. What better way to explore outside than the DJI Phantom 2 Quadcopter. We love using ours with any of our GoPros (Hero 3, 3+, and 4), for recording great B roll for company videos. Having the 3,280' Line-of-Sight Wi-Fi Range really helps us monitor its every position while in flight. Running off of 2 GPS modes, we can assure that the Phantom will stay close to our home base position during windy or low battery days. Such a nice piece of equipment to help us get the videos we normally couldn't get! B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1018649-REG/dji_cp_pt_000083_phantom_2.html

We're looking forward to start using the Tascam DR70D. This sound recorder can record up to four channels as once. A really nice feature it also has, is the audio output. This allows you to connect the recorder right to the camera's mic port. Which essentially means the audio and video will be synchronized for us! B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1086798-REG/tascam_dr_70d_4_channel_audio_recording.html

We have the Rode NTG3 Shotgun mic in our studio for our clients when we shoot talking head videos. We have had our share of background noises around the studio, anywhere from trains outside to phones ringing. Surprisingly, the NTG3 Shotgun has been killer for not picking much of those noises while our talents are talking. The audio has shown great waveform when we bring it into Adobe Audition and has worked tremendously. Highly recommended mic! B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/573977-REG/Rode_NTG_3_Basic_Shotgun_Microphone.html

A new addition to our lens inventory! Looking forward to work a little more with this 35-100mm Lens. So far very satisfied. We're setting this on our second GH4 to get a nice close up while it's at the same distance away from our talent as our 12-35mm Lens. We will see how much more we can do with it in the near future! B&H Link: http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/892457-REG/Panasonic_h_hs35100_35_100mm_f_2_8_Lumix_G.html

  I followed CheesyCams advice about these converters and using the NP-F Batteries instead of V-Mount Batteries and it works like a dream AND I saved a bunch of money. We used the Wasabi Batteries listed below. CheesyCam is the Bomb! http://www.cheesycam.com  I purchased this to power our F&V K4000S LED Studio Panel | 3-Light Kit. This converter brings our cost down to roughly $150 per light for the 2 NP-F Batteries and the Converter instead of the $350-$400 V-Mount Batteries. We would of needed three of them to power all three light panels. First here is the link to CheesyCam's post and video about this: http://cheesycam.com/v-mount-adapter-for-sony-l-series-np-f-batteries/ I purchased the following: 3x Wasabi Power Battery (2-Pack) and Chargerhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FQ0RB92/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 3x Wasabi Power Battery Chargerhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0043WZY0W/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i01?ie=UTF8&psc=1 3x NP-F Battery to V-Mount Battery Converter Adapterhttp://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00E0CEDIE/ref=oh_details_o02_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 BONUS: My son Dillon found this at radio shack and it made it so all 6 charges could plug in to 1 strip for $20! http://www.radioshack.com/product/index.jsp?productId=11115445...