Monthly Archives: November 2014
Jon Dreams of Sushi
I began dreaming of Jiro on a visit to AJA last month. Nick Rashby, President of AJA, invited me to dinner at Sushi in the Raw–in Grass Valley, CA. Cut to: Tokyo, a few weeks later. Sushi maestro Takashi Ono presides over 10 seats at the counter and 2 tables. He is the second son of Jiro Ono, the 90-year old dreamer of sushi. If we were naming films, this would be “Son of Jiro” — as good as, perhaps better than, the original. read more…
Tags: AJA, Jiro, Jiro Dreams of Sushi
InterBEE 2014 Slideshow
InterBEE 2014 took place in the massive Makuhari Messe on November 19, 201, 21. The convention center with the German name (Photokina is held in the Koelnmesse) is about an hour’s train ride north of central Tokyo, past the giant ferris wheel and Tokyo Disney World. A record number of visitors attended: 37,959. 977 companies exhibited in 1,773 booths, including 543 exhibitors from… read more…
Tags: InterBEE, InterBEE 2014 Tokyo
Enzo Castellari “KEOMA” Screening
12/9/14
Enzo Castellari : at USC Broccoli Theatre SCA 112
“KEOMA” Screening with Director Enzo Casellari Tuesday, December 9, 2014 at 3 PM USC School of Cinematic Arts The Albert and Dana Broccoli Theatre, SCA 112 900 W. 34th Street Los Angeles, CA 90007 Admission is Free with RSVP. Special screening of “KEOMA” and a Q&A with Director Enzo Castellari moderated by Jon Fauer, ASC. Presented by Band Pro Film &… read more…
Canon 8K Zoom
Canon showed a prototype 8K 19.7-138 mm T2.8 Zoom at InterBEE Tokyo. It covers Super35 format.
Sony F55 Doc Dock
Updates from InterBEE in Tokyo. Sony showed the latest improvements on their “Doc Dock” (also known as Build Up Kit) that turns the F55 into a comfortable, shoulder-resting Documentary/ENG style cameras system. Introduced a few months as a prototype, the designers listened to suggestions from camera operators and the Dock will ship in a month or two with a much greater… read more…
Tags: Build up kit, Doc Dock, ENG cardle, Sony, Sony F55
AJA CION to Ship December
Tokyo. InterBEE. Nov 19. If you are good and the elves in Grass Valley deem the camera to be ready, AJA CION is expected to ship around Christmas time. AJA announced at InterBEE this morning that they are now accepting orders for the camera. CION is a 4K 35mm cine camera designed by cameramen (AJA’s Nick Rashby and Jon Thorn both… read more…
Hurricane Wheels
Wheels for GimbalRigs. Matthias Uhlig is releasing the successor to his Brushless Gimbal RC Interface (BGRCI) (www.hurricanewheels.tv) — the new Brushless Gimbal RC Interface MK2. The BGRCI offers a more professional way of controlling handheld (or airborne, crane mounted, car mounted…) gimbal rigs like the DJI Ronin or the Freefly Systems Mövi family. While the original BGRCI is a modular system with the… read more…
Tags: Gimbals, Hurricane wheels, MoVi
FDTJ Board Meeting
The first annual board meeting of Film and Digital Times Japan was conducted last night in a private teppanyaki dining room of Yebisu Restaurant — on the top floor of the Westin Hotel Tokyo. Chef Aya presented a refreshing take on what can usually be an overly-theatrical event with her calm, artistic, and almost zen-like cooking. The dinner was: Appetizer of grilled smelt, crab… read more…
Tags: FDTJ, Film and Digital Times Japan
InterBEE Tokyo
11/19/14 – 11/21/14
InterBEE 2014: FDTimes Japan will be there
This is the 50th anniversary of InterBEE, the largest production, video, audio and communications professional exhibition in Japan. More than 31,000 visitors came from 35 countries last year, with 918 exhibiting companies. November 19, 20, 21 at Mukuhari Messe, Tokyo www.inter-bee.com/en/
Tags: InterBEE
FDTimes Japan
November 1614. The two-year Siege of Osaka began. The Tokugawa shogun ended the last opposition to rule from Tokyo (Edo). November 2014. A 400th anniversary celebration in Osaka, with Samurai museums, tours of the castle, concert by Aiko, and the launch of Film and Digital Times Japan.
Tags: FDTimes Japan, FDTJ
ALEXA 65 Updated Specs
These latest specs did not make it to print or PDF in time for the Camerimage and InterBEE Japanese editions. For the ARRI Alexa 65 — please note: Maximum recordable resolution: 6560 x 3100 and sensor size: 54.12 x 25.58 (diagonal 59.86). Current maximum frame rate: 28 fps read more…
Tags: ARRI Alexa 65
ARRI Full Factory Tour (PDF)
Special for Camerimage 2014. Free Reprint and Update from FDTimes issues since September 2013: AMIRA Factory Tour from issue 62-63, ALEXA 65 Special Report, ALEXA SUP Updates, ARRI Accessories.
80 pages. Best viewed in Adobe Acrobat with View-Page Display set to Two Page View, and Show Cover Page in Two Page View. read more…
Tags: Alexa, ALEXA 64, Amira, ARRI, Camerimage
Band Pro 2014 Open House
12/11/14
Band Pro Open House 2014: One World Expo
The annual Band Pro One World Open House will be Thursday, December 11, 2014 from 1 pm to 8 pm at the Burbank Headquarters of Band Pro Film and Digital This year, Band Pro’s Guest of Honor will be Italian Director Enzo Castellari, maestro of the Spaghetti Western genre. Mr. Castellari directed the original Django, Few Dollars for Django (Pochi dollari per Django), the original The Inglorious… read more…
AbelCine NYC 25th Anniversary
12/6/14
AbelCine 25th Anniversary: Celebration in New York
AbelCine will celebrate 25 years in New York on Saturday, December 6 from 11am-5pm. From a garage in Staten Island to the spacious in the West Village location, it’s been a focal point of the New York film community. The December 6th celebration will feature special guests, panel discussions, giveaways, lunch, drinks, and the chance to connect with colleagues. Panel Discussions A distinguished… read more…
Ban Banner Ads
FDTimes decided to totally eliminate banner ads. They were annoying, ugly, and slowed the website to a crawl. We only ran a few, seldomly, and only for trade shows. It was gratifying to read Farhad Manjoo’s article “The Fall of the Banner Ad: The Monster That Swallowed the Web” in the NYTimes today. “Twenty years ago…a team of well-meaning …coders…inadvertently unleashed on an unsuspecting world one of the most misguided and destructive technologies of the Internet age: the web banner ad. read more…
Tags: Banner Ads
Sony 28-135mm f/4 FF Zoom
Meet Masahiro Hosoi, Sony Designer of the 28-135mm f/4 Full Frame (24x36mm) Zoom Lens. It could be what you would call “disruptive technology.” How can a 35mm cine zoom have a suggested price of a mere $2,500 when it ships in December? Admittedly, it comes in Sony E-mount only (18mm flange focal depth.) It will be the “kit lens” for the new Super35mm format… read more…
Tags: 28-135mm f/4 FF Zoom, Sony
Broadcast India 2014
By Jacques Lipkau Goyard “Cinema in India is like brushing your teeth in the morning. You can’t escape it,” says Bollywood superstar Shahrukh Khan. (Brush with bottled water or beer.) Mr. Khan is right, considering the vast number of people who flocked to Broadcast India 2014 at the Bombay Convention Centre in Goregaon on October 15th to 17th. The… read more…
Tags: Broadcast India
ARRI Rental Atlanta
ARRI Rental Atlanta is now open. Ed Stamm presides. Ed ran the ARRI Rental Miami office (previously named ARRI/CSC). ARRI Rental Atlanta will be the USA mother ship for the new ALEXA 65 camera system. Craig Chartier takes over at ARRI Rental Miami as General Manager. ARRI Rental Atlanta 3980 Dekalb Technology Pkwy, Suite 800 Atlanta, GA 30340 Phone 678 248 5432… read more…
Tags: ARRI Rental Atlanta
BirTV 2014 Beijing
Confucius said, “If you think in terms of a year, plant a seed; if in terms of ten years, plant trees; if in terms of 100 years, teach the people.” Beijing’s 2014 International Radio, TV & Film Exhibition (BirTV) is growing every year. It is one of the most influential exhibitions for the Broadcast and Film industries in Asia. read more…
Musician on the Cover
The man on the cover of FDTimes February 2014 is Lenzan Kudo. He is a master musician, specializing in shakuhachi, the traditional Japanese flute. He was playing in the spectacular setting of the Peninsula Hotel lobby in Tokyo a year ago when we took this cover shot. And he’s playing there now. Preparing for InterBEE, coming soon, it was time to catch up…. read more…
Tags: Kudo Lenzan, Shakuhachi
