Category Archives: General

Bare Necessities?

Tech Zone, Video

When one browse dvxuser, a leading video/cinematography forum, for advise on what equipment to purchase, it is very likely that he would deem all the results outrageous–outrageously expensive that is. dvxuser is littered with comments like “$2500 beginner kit”, and mind you Hong Kongers that’s US dollars. Not that those commentators are wrong, for they are just giving their genuine opinions; I would say they are just the wrong people to ask. Photography and cinematography are not that far from fashion–a small selling point could command a significant price. What beginners need are often tricks and tips that allow results a layman would not complain about. I can make a big fuzz on my peers’ photos–and I am sure my photography mentor can do the same on mine–but that would not be helpful; in fact it is more likely to be counterproductive. So allow me to suggest the following: ask someone close to you who knows nothing about photography or cinematography–a stereotypical suggestion would be your mother or grandmother–whether your work looks good; if they think so then you’re all set. Do not try to accommodate the “pros” for it will never work. It sounds somewhat ironically to say so when I keep upgrading my gear, but just think about it–as much as I complain about the low (sub-amateur in times I would say) standard of Hong Kong’s television dramas they never lack audience.

So yes I prefer better gear, but no I don’t think they are necessities.

Command and Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars

General

So the theoretical trailer and demo is out. First the later is much more interesting even if you are just looking for the cut scenes. The game play itself is, let just say, unimpressive; EA is trying too hard to bring back the original C &C feel when the world has already moved on. The cut scenes on the other hand is like nothing you have even seen in a game; not even in the previous two installments or the Red Alert Series. They have relatively famous actors–Billy Dee Williams (Lando Calrissian, Star Wars: Empire Strikes Back), Tricia Helfer and Grace Park (Caprica Six and Sharon Valerii respectively, Battlestar Galactica). The cinematographic style is a mix of Battlestar Galactica (the GDI command room) and 24 (shaky camera movements). If not for the disappointing game play it will be a sure-buy.

In any case, I finally have to admit that my > 5 year old computer is too old for modern video playback. It’s probably not due to raw processing power but SSE, for my Samsung Q1’s humble 900mhz Celeron M has no problem on this area…

Equipment Evaluations

Tech Zone, Video

Having used my new equipments for a few times here are my thoughts,

1. Nady CM-2S
Brilliant sound quality. Really the result was better than what I expected, worthing every penny of the $99.95 price tag. Here is a test clip; the original sounds even better.

2. SignVideo XLR-PRO
Again more useful than I expected. The ability to adjust volume on the fly is so useful that the unit is now a necessity.

3. Rode Videomic
Despite being the most expensive audio equipment ($149) I have I actually did not used it a lot for the past two weeks–I have been recording music mainly, while in other situations the speakers use microphones connected to speakers anyway. But for the few moments I did use the Videomic it seems to work well.

4. Yunteng VCT-880RM
This Chinese copy of Velbon DV-7000 works fine, but nowhere great; then again it only cost me HK$235 (~US$30). On my part I need to practice my panning skills and remember to turn off optical image stabilization (ouch!).