Following Accsoon, Core SWX, and Atomos, camera accessories manufacturer SmallRig is joining the Black Friday sale. Also, if you missed it, don’t forget to enter our own CineD x Mzed Black Friday free giveaway, where you can win up to $20,000 worth of camera gear!

SmallRig Black Friday deals

Until November 30th, SmallRig is running Black Friday deals on nearly their entire website, with discounts ranging from -20 % all the way up to 50%. The deals are divided into five categories:

• Camera cages: from Sony to Canon, Nikon, FUJIFILM, Panasonic, Blackmagic Design, and so on, there is very little doubt you’ll find a discount on the suitable camera cage for your specific camera.
• Stabilizer and shoulder rig: gimbal handgrips and accessories, quick-release plates, shoulder pads, handles…etc. You can get your hands on a wide range of useful accessories at up to 50% off.

• Mounting brackets: heavy-duty or lightweight travel tripods, fluid and ball heads, magic arms, monitor mounts, etc.
• Light and power solutions: if you’re in the market for a V-Mount battery or a more compact USB-C chargeable battery for your Canon or Sony mirrorless camera, this is your chance to save some money. Some highlights are also -20% off their COB lights:
  • SmallRig RC 120B 120W COB LED Video Light
  • SmallRig RC 120D 120W COB LED Video Light
  • SmallRig RC 220D 220W LED Video Light 
  • SmallRig RC 220B 220W Bi-Color LED Video Light
• Other accessories: matteboxes, smartphone cages, including ones for the recently released iPhone 15/15 Pro, filters, top handles, etc. You can save up to 50% on all kinds of small but handy camera accessories.

Furthermore, if that’s not enough, SmallRig is giving you an extra $10 discount for orders over $149, $20 for orders over $199, and $30 on all orders over $249!

Most of these Black Friday deals are available through our partners B&H and CVP, and you can find all of them directly on SmallRig’s website here.

What do you think about these Black Friday deals? Have you already gotten gear from manufacturers? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

We’ve teamed up with some of the biggest names in our industry to give away more than $20,000 USD in camera gear and accessories to 20 lucky winners. Best of all: anyone can enter, and it’s free!

The prizes are sponsored by FUJIFILM, iFootage, Angelbird, Lightbridge, Libec, SIRUI, Tilta, DoPchoice and MZed, and let me repeat again, they are worth more than USD 20,000 in total. For a more detailed list of all the prizes, scroll down to the bottom of this article.

Enter our $20,000+ Gear Giveaway here!

The drawing will take place on December 15, 2023, at midnight Pacific Time. The winners will be announced on CineD and MZed after the drawing. No purchase is necessary – full terms here.

20 winners will be drawn

You might be thinking, “Well, what are the odds of winning anyway?” But don’t worry, there won’t be just ONE winner. We will draw a total of 20 lucky winners and contact each one individually. The prizes are organized in neat packages that include various items from the prize list. For example, the 1st prize winner will receive a FUJIFILM XS20 with a kit lens, a Libec tripod and camera bag, an iFootage light, a brand-new product from Lightbridge, and a memory card bundle from Angelbird. The other 19 packages include full lens kits from SIRUI, $500 vouchers from DoPchoice, a Tilta Nano II follow focus and Gear Lab tools, as well as dozens and dozens of further prizes from iFootage, Angelbird, Lightbridge, Libec, and so much more. 

20 ways to enter and increase your odds of winning

20 winners, 20 ways to enter – check out the giveaway widget above to see how to enter. It’s up to you how many tasks you want to do, but there are 20 different tasks in total, and each task will raise your chances of winning! Some are as simple as subscribing to our newsletter or following us on our social channels, and some questions are a bit more tricky, just to keep things interesting, but I am sure that you will manage to complete all of the steps to have the best odds at winning one of the 20 prizes. 

MZed Pro annual membership is $199 instead of $349 this week only – and increases your chances

Becoming an MZed Pro is $199 (instead of $349) and significantly increases your chances of winning.

Oh, and here’s a pro tip: being a member of the best online filmmaking education website, MZed pays off as well: MZed Pro annual subscribers get the highest amount of entry points in the gear giveaway draw!

You’re not signed up yet? During Black Friday week only, an annual membership to MZed Pro is only $199 instead of $349 – the biggest discount of the year. Now is really the best time ever to subscribe to MZed Pro, and apart from getting access to over 800 lessons on countless creative and filmmaking subjects from some of the best creators in the world, you will also have the highest chance of winning in our Black Friday Gear Giveaway. Don’t miss this chance. 

So don’t waste any more time; our giveaway is open until midnight PT on Nov 27th.

And don’t forget: The more ways you enter our giveaway, the higher your chances are at the prize draw. Don’t forget to read our Terms and Conditions to learn who’s eligible to enter. 

Good luck to all of you, and: happy Thanksgiving!

20 prize packages in our Black Friday Giveaway

A special thanks go out to all our sponsors who have participated in our Black Friday Gear Giveaway! Below, you can find a gallery list of all the products you can win!

1st Prize Package – Value $3,626.00

2nd Prize Package – Value $2,136.97

3rd Prize Package – Value $3,567.97

17 more packages – see what other products you can win

Here’s a quick summary of the MZed Pro subscription:

• Over 800+ high-quality lessons spanning over 465 hours of learning. 52 courses plus many more courses are on the way.
• Highly produced courses from educators who have decades of experience and awards, including a Pulitzer Prize and an Academy Award.
• Exclusive access to videos and master classes from ARRI Academy and The American Society of Cinematographers (ASC).
• Unlimited access to stream all the content during the 12 months.
• Offline download and viewing with the MZed iOS app.
• Purchasing the courses outright would cost over $8,000.
• 7-day money-back guarantee if you decide it’s not for you.

Become a MZed Pro member now!

Guys, GOOD LUCK! Let us know if you are participating and what products you hope you will win in the comment section below.

Chinese manufacturer Accsoon has been designing and manufacturing wireless video systems since 2014. The company gained recognition for its budget-friendly solutions and stepped up its game last year with the Accsoon SeeMo, which was the first HDMI-to-smartphone adapter. The SeeMo is an interesting device that allows you to use your smartphone as an on-camera monitor. 

If you want to add Accsoon gear to your camera kit, the company currently has a Black Friday sale on many of its products.

Accsoon TopRig S40 and S60 Black Friday Sale – save 20%

Last month, Accsoon entered a new market by introducing their first video sliders: the TopRig S40 and S60.

These compact, motorized sliders are available in two sizes, 41cm/16.1in for the TopRig S40 and 61cm/24in for the TopRig S60, and they can take decent payloads: 4kg/8.81lbs horizontally and 2.5kg/5.51lbs vertically.

The sliders have built-in controls, and the translation speed can be adjusted from 0.1cm/s to 5cm/s. Also, they feature a built-in parallax mechanism.

While both sliders came out with an attractive price tag of $349 for the Accsoon TopRig S40 and $399 for the S60, you can save an extra 20% during this year’s Black Friday. If you do the math, the TopRig S40 will retail for only $279, and the TopRig S60 will come down to just $319.

Accsoon CineView wireless video systems – save 20%

The CineView is Accsoon’s “prosumer” lineup of compact wireless video systems and consists of the CineView Quad, CineView HE, and CineView SE.

The CineView HE is an HDMI-only system with a 350m/1200ft transmission range and a USB-C UVC output for live streaming. During Black Friday, you can benefit from a 20% rebate, which brings it to $399.

The CineView SE has the same 350m/1200ft range as its HE little brother, but it has SDI input and output ports. This model also has a 20% discount, which brings it to $519.

Lastly, the cost-effective CineView Quad has both HDMI and SDI video inputs but no video output loopout on the transmitter. Also, it has a lower transmission range of 150m/500ft, but it has a compact design thanks to its foldable antennas and a sweet spot price of $423 with the 20% discount applied.

Accsoon SeeMo HDMI adapter Black Friday Sale – save 20%

The SeeMo HDMI adapter is a compact accessory that attaches to the top of your camera and transforms your camera’s HDMI output signal to an iOS/Android compatible video output. The SeeMo HDMI can be powered via a Sony NP-F battery or USB-C. If you missed it and want to learn more, make sure to take a look at our in-depth review here.

The Accsoon SeeMo HDMI will come down to $143 during Black Friday.

Accsoon iPad PowerCage II and PowerCage Pro II – save 20%

Last but not least, if you need a handy cage to turn your iPad onto a director’s monitor, you can save 20% on the Accsoon iPad Powercage II and Powercage Pro II launched earlier this year.

Both cages are made from aluminum. The PowerCage II is compatible with the iPad Gen 5 – 10, the iPad Air Gen 3 – 5, and the iPad Pro 9.7 inch, 10.5 inches, and 11 inches generation 1 to 4, while the Accsoon PowerCage Pro II is compatible with the iPad Pro 12.9 inch generation 3 to 6.

The cages feature multiple 1/4″-20 mounting points and two cold shoe mounting points. The cages come with the ACC04 Sony NP-F-style battery adapter. Also, both cages are compatible with the SeeMo HDMI adapter so you can turn your iPad into a large HDMI monitor/recorder.

During Black Friday, the Accsoon PowerCage II comes down to $103 and $111 for the PowerCage Pro II.

What do you think about all these Accsoon Black Friday deals? Would you consider getting yourself one or multiple tools to make your life easier? Have you already used Accsoon products? Don’t hesitate to let us know in the comments below!

The incident occurred on the 4th of October 2023, at London Stansted Airport as a commercial Airbus A321 took to the sky. On board the Airbus were eleven crew members and nine passengers. As the aircraft gained altitude, the passengers reported unusually low temperatures. Quick assessment pointed to a missing window and the plane turned around for an emergency landing. Ground inspection reported airbus window damage – two missing windows and one dislodged.

Airbus window damage – the weakest link

The windows on an airplane have been a long-time weak spot in the aviation industry. The fact that they are transparent dictates that specific materials won’t always align with aircraft-grade alloys. Among the most famous cases involved the world’s first jet airliner, the British de Havilland Comet.

First-gen risks

As a tech-savvy audience, CineD readers are well aware of at least some instances involving various malfunctions in first-gen products. Innovation comes with a plethora of new challenges, and some are not as apparent as others. In our industry, a mere firmware update would solve most issues. In rare cases, a recall will take place. Regarding the aviation industry, the stakes are much higher. The Comet’s new technology was limited by outdated engineering methods. Its windows, much like every other window of any other aircraft, were rectangular. Unlike airlines that came before the Comet, it flew at an altitude of 40,000 feet. Maintaining a pressurized cabin at such an altitude meant more contraction and expansion of the fuselage. Since windows don’t respond the same way as the alloy around them, the fuselage becomes compromised as tiny cracks appear and grow. This phenomenon highlighted the dangers of metal fatigue in pressurized aircraft and led to the adoption of oval-shaped windows on modern airliners.

Back to the A321

As the investigation went on, an important detail was revealed: The A321 had been used for an undisclosed filming activity. Twelve high-capacity floodlights, six on each side, had been aimed at the middle of the craft.

The lighting gear was identified as the 12,000 Watt FILMGEAR Maxibrute 12. Each of them reaches a max surface temperature of 200 degrees Celsius. While the minimal working distance is specified as 10m, it appears the fixtures were positioned much closer, resulting in thermal damage and distortion over approximately five hours of filming.

An important lesson

This incident highlights our responsibility as filmmakers. As we work with powerful lighting fixtures, heavy rigs, tall stands, etc., we must take great care regarding safety regulations and use a decent amount of common sense. Accidents might happen, but it’s our responsibility to minimize them as much as we can.

Have you ever worked on a set where a safety issue wasn’t recognized? What do you think about the potential for accidents on set? Let us know in the comments below.

When I started with videography back at the end of the last millennia, it was all quite straightforward. If it was a compact and mostly “horizontal” design, it was certainly a stills camera. If the design was bulky and elongated, the camera shot video. I started young and energized, so I haven’t complained too much about hauling those sVHS beasts around, but as time went by, I found myself leaning toward photography. But now it’s all very confusing. The concept of a “Stills camera” and a “Video camera” aren’t as firmly defined anymore.

Not a history lesson

This article will not go through the short and intense history of hybridizing stills-motion-capturing devices. I will mention some notable landmark cameras, such as the RED ONE, among the first 4K capable cameras. No discussion about hybrid cameras can omit the one that started it all – the Canon EOS 5D Mark II, the second in the series, the mother of HD-DSLR, and the breaker of chains. I find it somewhat ironic that a camera so groundbreaking was still designed like a 35mm film camera, but maybe that’s just me.

Sony has produced its fair share of innovative cameras. Some radical early designs challenged traditional camera design with the DSC-F828 or the Cyber-shot DSC-R1. Live-View was, in many respects, the first important step toward hybrid cameras. Sony was also one of the great pioneers of live-view cameras with its digital Single-lens translucent mirror (SLT) cameras, which ended the Sony-Minolta A-Mount. The Panasonic LUMIX GH series took advantage of its smaller sensor to overcome read-speed hurdles and provided cameras with ground-breaking specs at market-breaking prices. The GH4 was the first 4K capable hybrid camera, and the GH5 was the first to introduce 4:2:2 10-bit All-I capture to the segment, later followed by practically every other competitor.

OK, but why now? What happened?

Though it seems the most influential events have already happened, and the existence of the hybrid segment is an objective constant, some interesting shifts have taken place recently. None is specifically significant as an isolated event, but their culmination suggests a new frame of reference:

The BURANO – Pure cine, teeming with hybrid features

No one will argue that the BURANO is a dedicated cine camera. Among some awe-inspiring features, one stood out to me as an arguably “world first” among cine cameras. The BURANO has IBIS.

The presence of In-Body Image Stabilization (IBIS) in a purely cine-oriented camera was considered unnecessary, and even a problematic feature. Two glaring examples of it lie in two motion-centric versions of hybrid cameras: the LUMIX GH5s, which forego an excellent IBIS to stretch the sensor size and secure the sensor firmly to allow extreme vibrations (such as mounting the camera to an offroad vehicle). The Canon EOS R5C also omitted its hybrid sibling’s IBIS for even less, since the sensor maintained its size.

But with the BURANO, Sony decided not to heed traditional doctrine, and let loose its technological prowess. The new camera gained an IBIS but also added an electronic gradual ND, single-operator ergonomics, and the latest and greatest AI autofocus.

Another common claim suggested the impossibility of accommodating both IBIS and an internal ND system. While this may be true for some mounts, this is Sony with its rather compact a-Mount, which managed to cram both together. This does require some bulk though, so it might not trickle down to compact hybrids soon.

RED adds face detection to their flagship V-Raptors.

One can argue that the incorporation of continuous tracking autofocus into the Sony BURANO isn’t as groundbreaking, more like technology “trickling up”. Such an argument is quickly dissipated regarding the high-end-cine-only manufacturer – RED. With no enthusiast line, the company had to develop its face detection system on its own. This level of R&D probably doesn’t come cheap, so the company must see some significant relevance to such a feature. Though traditional cinematic work takes advantage of manual focusing as a medium of expression and usually refers to autofocus as a hobbyist’s tool, RED decided to take the road less traveled and invest in such ability for both its flagship V-RAPTOR and KOMODO lines.

FUJIFILM introduces motion-centric abilities in medium-format cameras

Digital medium format is the pinnacle of still capture – used by the most meticulous photographers on the most demanding assignments. Cultural heritage preservation, high-end landscape, architecture, or studio scenarios were the medium-format natural habitats. Those use cases rarely required speed, hence the entire R&D never delved into such matters. Those were lumbering beasts with modular design, slow and steady, measured in seconds-per-frame rather than frames-per-second. None were ever aimed at motion capture.

Winds of change started as CMOS sensors gained popularity. Without getting too technical, CMOS technology enables more energy-efficient sensors, capable of higher read speeds and higher ISO settings. The Pentax 645Z broke new ground with its 50mp CMOS sensor. The camera was way more affordable than most of its peers and the new sensor tech opened up so many new possibilities. Aside from the demonic speed of 3 frames per second and unheard-of ISO range, it also managed to shoot normal-speed Full HD video. Other manufacturers followed, incorporating various levels of video features into their systems, taking advantage of the large sensor and its respective unique look.

Not an afterthought

Sporadic video features paved the way for the hybrid revolution, but it’s the intentionally hybrid cameras that make it a true segment. FUJIFILM was the first to design a medium-format camera that did more than allowing some basic video capabilities. The FUJIFILM GFX100 was the first to include professional video specs, such as (relatively) high bitrate (up to 400Mbps), 10-bit recording, and many more video-centric tools, ports, etc. Not to steal the GFX100 thunder, I believe the GFX100 II is way more innovative, influential, and revolutionary. The list of features is awe-inspiring: Internal ProRes recording, RAW video output, various frame sizes, anamorphic assist, and various video resolutions up to 8K.

But it’s more than the magnitude of features – it’s the motivation behind them, and behind the camera as a whole. I wouldn’t go so far as to say that the GFX100 II is equally aimed at stills and motion, but it may just be the first medium-format camera designed for serious video work. Its price tag may buy you some nice video gear (especially considering GF optics) but it might be the first medium-format camera that won’t require an additional video rig to maintain a high level of video. That’s no small feat.

Nothing happens in a vacuum

The aforementioned innovations appear within context. Recent years have graced us with a growing number of very capable cameras. High bitrate and color depth trickled down to entry-level cameras. Log color space, external recording, and video-centric tools can be found in many new and affordable cameras. I would argue that this evolution is motivated by two major factors: Technological innovations in the fields of sensor technology, mainly regarding read speed and data transfer speed, and the growing pressure applied by ever-improving smartphones. We’ve just recently seen Apple shoot an entire event on iPhone 15s.

Hybrid extremes

Hybrid cameras were, in most cases, synonymous with compromise. Mostly occupying the beginner-enthusiast segment, most models had to prioritize stills over video, and some (LUMIX GH series, I’m looking at you) put video as their top priority, compromising stills performance. Only in rare cases were flagship stills cameras used as motion cameras (namely the Canon 1DX Mark II and III). High-end cine cameras never came close to shooting stills. Moreover, those cameras refrained from the slightest adoption of any stills-oriented feature. But no more. it seems as if niche cameras must broaden their scope of operation, and they are doing just that.

What is your opinion about the development of hybrid cameras? Let us know below in the comments.

Rethink TV, published by Rethink Technology Research, is a service that provides research and data on OTT technology predictions and how changing business models affect video delivery. They also monitor the leading Pay TV companies, streaming services, and their partnerships with tech providers.

280.4 billion hours of viewing each month!

Recently, they released the Rethink TV Social Media Video Market 2023-2028 report. According to the report, the fastest growth in the Social media sector over the past ten years is in short-form videos like TikTok and Instagram Reels, for example. Incredibly, video viewing is projected to surge to 90.8% of total Monthly Active Hours (MAHs) on Social media by 2028. This amounts to a staggering 280.4 billion hours each month. You read that right!

Additionally, the report shows that short-form OTT videos are contributing most to the increasing share of Social media’s advertising income. This trend is expected to become a $314 billion market by 2028 – far higher than Pay TV ($135.5 billion ad revenue) and long-form OTT ($123.9 billion ad revenue).

In fact, Social media may soon take over long-form OTT platforms. For example, using content from popular YouTubers is now viewed as an inexpensive and easy way to create additional FAST (Free Ad-supported Streaming Television) channels with ready-made content, instantly drawing dedicated followers.

Let’s look at the numbers

But even if you exclude YouTube, Rethink TV claims, social media’s ad revenue will grow 58.5% over the next five years to a whopping $270.9 billion in 2028. Compare that to just $123.9 billion ad revenue expected for long-form OTT platforms and $135.5 billion from Pay TV.

What brought about these changes? Partly, it’s Social media’s ease of access (who doesn’t carry a phone with them?), and the content is based on personalized algorithms for users based on their interests and preferences. Additionally, there is a surge in affordable, quality technology for content creators – just look at the iPhone 15 Pro.

So what’s the problem?

Rethink TV finds that “Social media poses a legitimate threat to the distribution landscape for more traditional media and entertainment assets.” This brings up concerns that Social media has become a crucial part of many discussions within the industry regarding things like codec adoption, fair contribution (to ensure that creators are fairly compensated for their work), and ad targeting (Social media collects a vast amount of data on their users leading to concerns that this data may exploit users for profit.) In fact, many key issues “are massively impacted by the decisions of just a handful of Social Media companies”, according to the report.

If you want to read more, RethinkTV has an archive of current reports and forecasts. However, you will need a subscription to access them. They do offer summaries of their reports for free on the RethinkTV website.

What do you think about how fast short-form OTT is advancing? What are the benefits and the pitfalls in your opinion? Let us know your thoughts in the comments!

For nearly four months, the filmmaking industry came to a halt, shutting down numerous productions because of the actor’s strike. The work stoppage also affected several big film releases, postponing them as union members were not allowed to promote their work or attend premieres (including “Dune: Part Two”, “Spider-Man: Beyond the Spider-Verse”, and “Challengers”, to name a few).

The strike ended at midnight, and starting today, all picket locations are closed for good.

Actors strike: what happened in a nutshell?

On July 14, the Hollywood actor‘s union announced a strike, joining their colleagues from the WGA (Writer’s Guild of America), who had put their pencils down in May. The reason for the walkout was unsuccessful negotiations with The Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), with whom they couldn’t reach an agreement for the new 3-year contract. The Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (or SAG-AFTRA) demanded a fairer split of profits from the streaming giants, better working conditions, and strict regulations for the use of artificial intelligence. (Read more about how and why the strike began here).

The subsequent negotiations went anything but smoothly, with both parties periodically leaving the bargaining table. After WGA voted to authorize its members to return to work, it seemed as if the actor’s strike was also approaching the final straight. However, on October 11, SAG-AFTRA broke down the negotiations yet again, restarting them only later in the month.

This past weekend, the studios reported that they delivered the actor’s union their “last, best & final offer”, which caused a huge wave of memes and reactions all over the Internet because of the manipulative wording.

Nevertheless, despite all the hiccups, AMPTP and SAG-AFTRA were finally able to reach a deal that satisfied both sides. Union president, Fran Drescher, called the agreement “historic” in her emotional Instagram post. In return, the studios mentioned in the official press release that the new contract “represents a new paradigm” for the film industry and the actors.

The new 3-year contract and its terms

So, what’s inside the “historic” agreement? The full terms and details are not to be released until the union’s National Board reviews them. However, in the official statement, SAG-AFTRA mentioned that the new contract is valued at over one billion dollars (which triples the last one), and for the first time establishes a streaming participation bonus. It also includes raised pension and health caps, and increases in pay minimums along with better benefits. Moreover, the challenging issue of AI found a resolution, incorporating “unprecedented provisions for consent and compensation.”

We have arrived at a contract that will enable SAG-AFTRA members from every category to build sustainable careers. Many thousands of performers now and into the future will benefit from this work.

A quote from the SAG-AFTRA announcement

This new tentative deal will affect around 160,000 film and television performers worldwide who are active members of the union.

What‘s next?

SAG-AFTRA promises to stay in touch in the coming days with information about celebration gatherings around the USA. In the meantime, actors can come back to sets and red carpets, so let the productions roll!

Were you also on strike? Or did the actor’s work stoppage impact your job? What do you think about the new contract? Share your opinion with us in the comments below!

Feature image source: SAG-AFTRA

Libec, one of the leading camera support producers in the market, continues their growth by opening up a new headquarters and manufacturing facility. Their history goes back to 1951, when the company started producing and selling photo tripods in Toshimaku, Tokyo. Four years later, thanks to their expansion, they founded the company Heiwa Seiki Kogyo. It was in 1995 that they established ‘Libec’, the well-known video support brand, and then added a distribution subsidiary in LA (2006) and Singapore (2017), and another manufacturing subsidiary in Taiwan (2007). At CineD, we have covered many of the Japanese brand’s new releases like their LX-ePed pedestal for PTZ cameras and the HS Series 75mm bowl fluid tripod head for mirrorless cameras.

Although Libec started producing tripods and fluid heads for professionals, their expansion added new products like sliders, tracking rails, dollies, remote heads, etc. Their growth and reputation have led to this recent expansion, which includes a new headquarters facility.

Another step towards Libec’s 100th anniversary

Libec President & CEO, Koichi Yamaguchi, recognized the difficulty of making such a decision during a complex and uncertain time. Nevertheless, they recognized that this decision aligned with one of their core values.

The company asserts that this new facility will improve production efficiency, add new functionality to the warehouse, and promote the development of synergies between various departments.

As a global brand of camera supports, we are determined to unite and take a big step forward to contribute to the imaging/broadcast industry as well as the Japanese manufacturing industry, both of which have nourished our company.

Koichi Yamaguchi, Libec President & CEO

This new expansion is another step forward toward their 100th anniversary in 2051, and it will indeed support the innovation and customer care the company has always pursued. 

Have you ever used a Libec product in your productions? What has been your experience? Please drop us a line in the comments below!

The live stream will start on November 7th, 14:00 GMT. We’ll set our watches and report shortly afterward here at CineD.

A look back at Sony Alpha History – humble beginning

Sony was the first camera manufacturer to produce a mass-market full-frame mirrorless camera. The original A7 duo had a rather humble beginning. Announced a decade ago, on Oct 10, 2013, the system kickstarted with two camera bodies, The a7 and the a7R. The legendary a7s was announced a bit later, in April 2014. This camera boasted an incredible ISO range (still impressive a decade later), XAVC S codec, and could capture 4K video with an external recorder. As for optics sony launched one normal zoom, and two prime lenses. The kit zoom was a rather uninspiring 28-70mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS kit lens. Regarding its first primes, Sony took a road less traveled: Two ZEISS-branded, high-end lenses were launched. Both the compact Sonnar T* FE 35mm f/2.8 and the faster, longer Sonnar T* FE 55mm f/1.8 had to carve their own niche. Being slower and less affordable than most of their competitors, it was their build and optical qualities that had to be convincing.

Adaptable: E-Mount gained momentum

With excellent tech-oriented cameras and competitive pricing, the market reacted. Building a lens lineup is a long and complex challenge. The Sony-Minolta A-Mount, along with a unique SLT adapter, was enlisted in the effort. It was an impressive attempt, but in the end, those were the third-party adapters that turned the tide, enabling the use of Nikon F and Canon EF lenses – the latter, being fully electronic, were extremely adaptable and popular. With this newly gained abundance, the E-mount started its unstoppable momentum.

Becoming Alpha

As the decade progressed and the E-mount gained a substantial user base, we saw more manufacturers join the fray. SIGMA created an E-mount version of its venerable art series, TAMRON added some unique lenses, and Sony itself pumped out loads of new lenses. The days of adapters seem long gone by now, and those electronic contraptions are being used only in some fringes, such as Tilt-Shift optics, and in the long and fast professional tele segment, where the E-mount is somewhat lacking compared to other competitors.

Sony’s E-mount is among the leading mounts in the industry. Spanning across multiple segments, from vlogging cameras to high-end cine monsters with lenses in all shapes and sizes. The journey continues on Nov 7th and you are welcome to join!

What products do you think will be announced? What do you miss in the vast Sony lineup? Let us know in the comments.

The Adobe Sneaks demonstration covered all kinds of projects under development, including tools for generating 3D forms, enhanced photo editing with AI, and instruments for simple video compositing. Also, you might have already heard of the project Primrose, which garnered wild reactions from all over the Internet. Its idea follows the question of how the fashion industry would change if our garments could be reconfigured as easily as their designs, by simply clicking a button. Have you ever seen a non-static digital dress that allows its owner to refresh the outfit in the blink of an eye? Definitely worth a look!

Below, we picked several “work-in-progress” AI tools from Adobe, which sounded especially interesting for filmmakers. If you want to watch the entire livestream, head over here.

Storyboarding like a pro with AI tools from Adobe

Personally, I know only a handful of filmmakers who don’t sketch out their shots prior to filming. But, the accuracy of those pictures may vary depending both on the skills of their creators and the time they have available. As you know, not every production (especially not the indie ones) can afford a professional storyboard artist, and yet you still want to bring your vision to paper and communicate it to the team. Well, lo and behold! Adobe’s project Draw and Delight might become your right hand in this respect.

At first sight, it looks like a new image generator similar to Midjourney or Firefly. Yet, you don’t have to tediously adjust the text prompt to get the picture close to your idea. What this new tool basically does is turn a very rough outline of an object or a character into a detailed doodle. In the presentation, the developer sketched a cat playing with a ball and let the AI interpret it. As you can see below, the result exceeded expectations, perfectly matching the cat’s pose. And that was only the beginning.

This model also allows creators to add some text input, easily change the pose of a generated character (for example, by commanding “the cat dances”), color it with a couple of rough brushstrokes, and insert a background or another subject using the same simple scribbling style. The most exciting part? All the images are created in vector, so you can take them to Adobe Illustrator. You can then move them around and alter them as you like. Sounds like the perfect way to create fast storyboards on your own.

Level up for content-aware fill

If you work with any VFX in Adobe After Effects, you are probably already familiar with content-aware fill. With its help, filmmakers can mask out the disturbing elements in the shot, and the tool will do its best to fill in the gaps. However, Adobe decided to take this technology to a new level and presented Fast Fill.

The demonstration consisted of three different showcases. In the first one, artificial intelligence extracted people from the background, seamlessly matching the camera movement of the video (just like content-aware fill, but a bit more advanced).

The further examples looked so unreal that I’m eager to try them out myself. With a simple mask, a few words, and a press on the “generate” button, the neural network added a tie to a walking businessman and exchanged the pattern on the moving coffee surface in a close-up shot. The crazy part about it: the new elements didn’t feel out of place. The lighting changed consistently with the rest of the video. The tie fabric moved to correspond to the body movement, and the coffee’s wobbling blended seamlessly with the new pattern, and you would never guess it was altered.

Remember all those times you struggled to insert a rebranded client’s logo onto a product to update an older commercial? Seems like that will soon be nothing but a memory.

Upscaling videos within your Adobe software

Another tool Adobe is going to release is nothing new to the market. A so-called project ResUp is an AI upscaler, as the name suggests. There are several leading applications in this branch, the widely-known Topaz Labs among them. However, the possibility to upscale low-resolution imagery directly in the Adobe software will definitely make things faster and more convenient for editors (assuming that you work with Adobe products).

Like its competitors, ResUp will process images and videos from different sources even smaller than HD. The presentation featured sequences from a drastically zoomed-in shot, a scene from an old movie, and even a tiny GIF. The results looked convincing, but we will have to wait for public access to make a final judgment.

Dubbing tool for audio: speak several languages without learning them

And now to the project that freaked me out. Using AI, Dub Dub Dub will apparently be capable of dubbing your video clip into a foreign language automatically. In the showcase, the neural network not only translated a woman’s speech, it also recreated her voice and generated video versions in several languages, which she probably doesn’t even know. A remarkable result, but also utterly intimidating, to be honest.

Surely, it will make things easier for a lot of creators out there with YouTube vloggers at the forefront. Yet, I imagine that seeing myself speaking Chinese – a language I never learned – would make my hair stand on end. Also, there is an issue with processing and using my voice (or a client’s voice, for that matter). Where will all this data go? Who can have access to it?

Some comments on this tool, which I found on social media, confirm that I’m not alone with my worries. Users are afraid this new AI technology might be used in the wrong way and with bad intentions. Also, they are not sure whether it might build a distorted image in people’s minds, like “If AI can do it, why should I hire a human creator at all?”

The text-to-video approach in AI tools from Adobe

Another Adobe livestream included a couple of words on their text-to-video approach. As you probably know, several companies work on technologies that will allow us to type a scene description into a simple text box and get back a generated video (for instance, we wrote about Google research here). In fact, the Runway’s Gen2 already does it – although not flawlessly, of course – and you can even try out their neural network.

Adobe doesn’t want to be late to this party, so they also introduced the new Firefly Generative AI for video, which might be integrated into Premiere Pro in the near future.

According to the demonstration, we will also be able to upload a still image and let Firefly animate it for us. Sounds like a possible replacement for all the pans and zooms that editors and content creators often apply to such pictures to make the videos more dynamic.

On top of that, Adobe promises to enable users to train their own custom models, which hopefully will be a bit easier than figuring out this complicated task by ourselves.

The new Firefly model released and other AI tools from Adobe

All the above tools are only a sneak peek. We are not able to test or use them yet and have to wait for them to be released to the public. Will they change filmmaking and become huge parts of our everyday workflow? Maybe. Maybe not. What we have to keep in mind regardless is that these projects are only the beginning, and this technology will only get better over time.

For example, the new model of Adobe Firefly image generator that was recently released promises to deliver much more naturalistic-looking and consistent imagery than its predecessor. If you have an Adobe account, you can try it out here alongside some other graphic-based tools. We will do a thorough review of the new model soon, so stay tuned!

What is your take on the recently announced AI tools from Adobe? Do you think they might revolutionize the future of filmmaking? Which one do you think would be useful in your daily routine? Please, share your thoughts in the comments below!

Feature image source: Adobe.