Its not how big it is that matters!

I  am fascinated by the use of  low cost tools to make engaging films.  A mentor of mine in the field of audio who had recorded some of the top musicians of the 70's and 80's told me "  its not the tools we use that make a hit record, they often get in the way of the process."  Of course this didn't make any sense to me at the time because the big recording studio was the way to make a hit song in my mind.

I have been on many big recording studio projects and film shoots over the years using some of the top cutting edge equipment etc......  What I have been seeing lately is some amazing things done with some simple tools that lighten the load and seem to provide more freedom to the recording engineer or film maker.
They say that when technology provides the tools of creation that are cheap enough for everyone the real artist will emerge?

With the venues that the internet platform has giving us for sharing our art, there has never been a better time as a artist to get out there and make it happen!

                                                                 

Binary Recording Studio a Video / Audio Production Company in Bellingham Wa.

Have indie films Recovered, top dollars from distributors?

A list of some of the acquisitions at Sundance.  Some pretty big names for indie film production companies? ( Sony, Fox, HBO, Magnolia Pictures) 

Narrative

1. The Way, Way Back: $9.75 Million, Fox Searchlight
2. Don Jon’s Addiction: $4 Million, Relativity Media ($25 million P&A)
3. Austenland: $4 Million, Sony
4. Lovelace: $3 Million, RADiUS – TWC
5. Kill Your Darlings: $2 Million, Sony Pictures Classics
6. Fruitvale: $2.5 million, The Weinstein Company
7. S-VHS: > $1 Million, Magnolia Pictures
8. Ain’t Them Bodies Saints: $1 Million, IFC Films
9. We Are What We Are: > $1 Million, eOne Distribution — US and Memento Films — International
10. Concussion: > $1 Million, RADiUS-TWC
11. The Spectacular Now: > $1 Million, A24
12. Before Midnight: Undisclosed, Sony Pictures Classics — North American and UK
13. jOBS: Undisclosed, Open Road
14. The Look of Love: Undisclosed, IFC Films
15. Newlyweeds: Undisclosed, Phase 4 Films — North America
16. Prince Avalanche: Undisclosed, Magnolia Pictures
17. The Rambler: Undisclosed, Anchor Bay Films — North America, the U.K. and Australia
18. Toy’s House: Undisclosed, CBS Films — North America
19. Two Mothers: Undisclosed, Exclusive Releasing

Documentary

1. Blackfish: > $1 million, CNN Films and Magnolia Pictures
2. Pussy Riot — A Punk Prayer: > $1 million, HBO Documentary Films
3. The Summit: > $1 million, AMC Networks’ Sundance Selects
4. Twenty Feet From Stardom: > $1 million, RADiUS-TWC
5. Dirty Wars: Undisclosed, AMC Networks’ Sundance Selects
6. History of the Eagles: Undisclosed, Showtime
7. Inequality for All: Undisclosed, RADiUS-TWC
8. The Machine Which Makes Everything Disappear: Undisclosed, Icarus Films — North American rights

You don’t have to spend $20,000 on a camera.

Shane Carruth’s Sundance film this year was shot of a DSLR Gh2 Panasonic $1000 dollar camera.
Trailer below.

The real lesson to take away, is that the tools exist cheaply enough to get you a professional looking result. You don’t have to spend $20,000 on a camera, especially if a sub-$1,000 camera can get you 3/4 of the image quality. You don’t need to shoot on RED or Arri to get a movie into a bigger festival. 
The tools are in your hands so the next thing to do is tell a great story!






Binary Recording Studio is a Video / Audio Production Studio in Bellingham Wa.

RØDE's New smartLav iOS Lavalier, iPhone Recorder.

This is a amazing way to use a iPhone for your audio recorder for a video shoot as a secondary system. Selling for $60 dollars.  I am looking forward in getting one. They are shipping it to their retailer now so you will be seeing these soon.  Here is the link to the free recording app called Rode Rec LE  and here is the link to the $5.99 version with more options  Rode Rec

                            Check out this video on some ways that it can be used:

                               .

Color Correction Tips for Video Production

If you produce video's, color correction is part of your work flow.  Color correction for myself is most often fixing the look of a clip to match a previous clip or to create a look for the film or scene.  It has been a learning process for me with broadcast levels etc......   One thing for sure is the  software tools are getting better all the time.
This video clip I want to share gets into the basics which I think can really help.  Its a 27 min video by Steve Hullfish who has made many great documentaries. He talks about mixed media clips ( vintage footage mixed with new footage) how to use the scopes and how to get a great look.






Binary Recording Studio is a Video / Audio Production Company in Bellingham Wa.

Multi Track Field Recorder, 6 channels and stereo track

We often record multi tracks in the field for film or live music performance. One of my favorite recorders right now is the Tascam DR680. Great price at about $690 dollars.

What I like about this tool is that I can mix levels right on the unit without having a mixer on the job. I also am impressed with the signal to noise ratio, with mic pre’s set right you can get a real clean recording. 

I use a 32 gig flash card and never have had to change it out durning a recording.  It will record 6 tracks,a stereo track,  and up to 24k / 96 kHz.  Six of the inputs have phantom power.  The phantom power is in pairs which can be a bummer sometimes.  You can run it on batteries or AC.  It will eat up batteries if your running full on with phantom power on every channel.

There are plenty of spec’s you can look up, but what you really want is to talk to someone who has used it. To really see how the unit performs,  you need to put it to the test on different recording jobs and bring the tracks back into the studio control room to really listen critically.  

I have, and will give this the Binary Studio seal of approval, we have used it on many situations and will be using it in the future.  For the price I think its pretty cool.

Binary Recording Studio a Audio / Video Production Company in Bellingham Wa.

Sound Design Effects, your change to save the world!

Charles Maynes and SoundDogs.com have teamed up for two very special sound effects libraries. 

100% of the proceeds from these libraries will perpetually be donated to Amnesty International, Doctors Without Borders, The Halo Trust, and Wounded Warrior Project. 

Volume 1 is 19 effects of U.S. and NATO infantry small arms weaponry. Volume 2 is 18 effects of Russian small arms weaponry. Both packs are 24 bit/96 kHz.

Head over to the product page for more information, previews of the libraries’ contents, and to support these charities with your purchase.

Binary Recording Studio is a Audio / Video Production Company in Bellingham WA.