Knights Templar Before & After

Recently I spent six hours filming during one of the rainiest days in Los Angeles's history. The cast and crew were awesome and did an amazing job. Here is a little secret, if you want to film without a permit, do it during a torrential downpour. The police will most likely leave you alone since the don't want to get out of their car:)

Here is a look at the original blue screen plate, and a quick and dirty comp of what the final shot might look like.

iWatch - LunaTik

What happens when you combine a 6th generation iPod nano, with a LunaTik watch band? An iWatch of course. Until Steve Jobs and Apple finally wise up and decide to make their own watches, we will have to create our own.

Scott Wilson and his TikTok and LunaTik watch kits were the most succesfully funded projects in KickStarter history.

You can buy your own at lunatik.

Carry Speed V-Shoulder Support

Tim over at Carry Speed sent me some pictures of their upcoming V-Shoulder Support rigs. Looks like they are going to be priced just right for the ever expanding DSLR universe. Tim assures me that these rigs will be very light and strong, being that they are primarily composed of carbon fiber. These rigs should be available for purchase later this month.

Carry Speed LVF-32 V Finder Review

One of the most difficult things about shooting with a DSLR is trying to achieve critical focus in bright daylight. The LCD screens on the back of the camera are notorious for washing out and becoming useless under the glare of the sun.

To combat this problem, pro shooters and amateurs alike, have turned to accessory LCD viewfinders. One of the first, and arguably still the best, is the Zacuto Z Finder. The Z Finder brought critical focus to thousands of shooters. The only downside to the Z Finder, is it's high sticker price, which is typical of Zacuto's professional level products. If you can afford a Z Finder, I highly recommend it.

For those of us with smaller wallets, there is the LCDVF, which is a cheaper alternative to the higher end Z Finder. The LCDVF design has become extremely popular and has been knocked off by countless companies.

Carry Speed is one of those companies, but with a big difference. Their version, known as the V Finder, features a couple of improvements. It has a larger eyepiece the cups the eye and keeps out any external light. More importantly, their LCD frame is thicker and heavier than the competitors, and features notched grooves that provide a much stronger connection.

Carry Speed V Finder Specs:

4:3 or 3:2 Aspect Ratio

2.5 X Magnification

2 Metal Frames

Neck Strap

Microfiber Cleaning Cloth

Pros: Notched Frame, Large Eyepiece, Less Expensive.

Cons: No Diopter, No Anti-Fog.

List Price: $59.99

Sonomax V4

Canada's Sonomax has an ingenious new line of custom fit in ear monitors. The neat trick is that the end user is the one who sets up the custom fitting. This is done by injecting silicone into a balloon placed inside their ears. After just four minutes, they are left with a uniquely formed set of ear monitors that are to be worn by just one person.

Sonomax custom IEMs should be available across North American retailers this spring, for $199 (dynamic driver) and $299 (dual armature).

So if you like to stick things in your ears, then you should love these.

Misa Kitara

If Tron could have played guitar, this is what it he would have played. The Kitara multi-touch guitar from Misa Digital would look great next to your Light Cycle.

Specs

8-inch multi-touch display
MIDI out
Audio out (1.25”)
Headphone out (3.5mm)
Onboard multi-voice audio synthesizer with assignable effects blocks
100+ digital sounds
6 pre-loaded effects
24 frets; 144 notes
Linux operating system

I think I will hold on to my Stratocaster a little longer just to be safe:)

Griffin Stompbox

The iPad can do many things, but now it can be a four switch pedalboard. Griffin Technology is soon to release Stompbox, a pedal controller for iPad, iPhone, and iPod Touch.

Studio-quality 4-channel effects pedalboard for use with guitar, bass, and other musical instruments.

1/4" jack accommodates plugs from variable inputs like volume, expression, or wah-wah pedals.

Brings true pedalboard experience to iPad; interfaces with the iShred LIVE app to switch between effects, start and stop practice tracks or metronome, and more.

Heavy-duty dock connector cable links StompBox to iPad or other compatible iOS device.

Nice, now what to do with all of my old pedals?

3 Wise Men - DeKuyper Pucker Schnapps Commercial

A commercial for Pucker Schnapps.

Three bearded wise men, share interesting facts of life.

Starring: Michael Kopelow
Concept by: Michael Eggert & Michael Kopelow
Written by: Michael Kopelow
Directed and Edited by: Michael Eggert
Music by: Marty Vites - "The Pentagon"

Shot on a hacked Panasonic GH1 at ISO 100, 23.976 fps, with a Canon FL 55 f1.2, Canon FL 35mm f2.5, Kiron 28mm f2.0, Rainbow Imaging FL/FD Adapter and Fader ND.

717AH Fluid Head, Benro C-298M8 Carbon HVC Flexpod.

Sansdisk Extreme Class 10 SDHC Card.

Audio recorded with a Rode Video Mic and a Tascam DR-07.

Edited in Final Cut Pro.

Composited in After Effects.

Find out more about Michael Kopelow.

Red Epic Stolen - $100,000.00 Reward

Here is one reason not to be rich. Mark L. Pederson, CTO of OffHollywood, had his RED EPIC stolen from his French chalet while he and his family were sleeping. Oops. EPIC #0006, was the first RED EPIC to be delivered to a paying customer. Mark payed the princely sum of $58,000.00 for the privilege of being the first guy with the new RED.

Here's a list of all that was stolen.

EPIC camera body #00006
EPIC side-handle
EPIC Redmote
5" TOUCHSCREEN LCD for EPIC
Angenieux Optimo 15-40mm
50mm RED Pro Prime - this lens is from the first set shipped - the lens is marked as T1.9 - with engraved text that reads "tested at T1.8"
Prototype of Schneider clip on circular ND filter holder ring w/ND
2 x 128 G SSD (filled with EPIC footage)
REDSTATION REDMAG 1.8"
500G GDrive mini - filled with a back up of EPIC footage)
RED Quick Plate
2 x RED Brick batteries
LCD lemo cable
Lemo adapter power cable
Black Oakley bag

Jim Jannard, founder of Oakley and the top dog at RED, has offered a $100,000.00 reward.

Same thing happened to me, except it was an apartment in Van Nuys, and the camera was a Fisher Price PXL-2000:)

Bobble Personal Water Filtration

If you live in Los Angeles you can almost get a ticket for not carrying around a bottle of water. Just as small dogs have become fashion accessories, so has the requisite water bottle. Nothing says "Hey, I work out..." more than carrying your own water supply.

If you really want to one up those other douche-bags, then go ecologically-friendly with the Karim Rashid (speaking of douche-bags) designed "bobble".

The bobble has a simple activated carbon filter built into the bottom of its drinking spout. As water passes through the carbon, chlorine and various organic contaminants are removed. The filter is good for at least 300 bottlefuls, which should work out to about two months.

13 oz - $8.95

18.5 oz - $9.95

34 oz - $12.95

All kidding aside it's a pretty cool idea and is very well designed and executed. You might even see me carrying one around if somebody would just hold my dog for me:)

Agloves - Touch Screen Gloves

It's winter time, and it's cold outside. Have you ever tried to dial your "capacitive" phone with your gloves on? Doesn't work too well does it? Maybe what you need is a pair of Agloves. These conductive gloves feature silver-coated nylon fibers knitted into a comfortable fabric that puts the conductivity back in your touch. That's #47 on the periodic table for all you geeks out there.

They come in three different unisex sizes and only cost $17.99 a pair.

Can also be used as jumper cables for your car:)