JIBERISH, “FALL 2011 LOOKBOOK” : Directed, Shot and Edited by Michael Clarke, Creative Direction by Pete Drago, Blake Kimmel and Gabe Anderson

I was a professional skier for five years, representing a variety of different brands. Jiberish was one of my first sponsors and was always one of my favorite companies to be associated with. When I moved away from skiing Jiberish continued to support me.

This fall, Jiberish asked me to create a video that captures the vibe and style of some of their good friends wearing their favorite Fall 2011 pieces on a classic autumn day in Denver.

Song is “The World” by Charles Bradley.

UNDER ARMOUR, “TOM BRADY, CHARGED COTTON STORM” : Shot and Edited by Michael Clarke, Camera Assist by Kevin Steen, Lighting by Jay Michelfelder, Lighting Assist by Nik Jung, Creative Direction by Brian Boring, Produced by Steven Nardone, Animation by Matt Hoppe, Color Grade by Off Hollywood

Shot on the RED One and 24 Canon 5Ds in one hour.

This March I teamed up with Justin Dorey and Simon Dumont to put together this video. It was a fun two days, where I got to try out some new camera angles. Nothing like a switch lead follow down the middle of a halfpipe.

Ski porn, got to love it.

Check out UA MTN’s website for more videos like this one.

How I Did It: For The Camera Nerds

This video was primarily shot on my Canon 7D, with the exception of one shot provided by Jake Strassman, which was shot on the Panasonic HMC-150. Most shots were captured with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8 lens, mounted on my Glidecam HD-4000. Additional shots came from a Canon 24-70mm f/2.8 and a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8 IS.

For camera settings I used a custom color profile, which was built off of the in-camera neutral setting. All footage was captured at 60fps, a shutter speed of 1/125th, and an ISO of 160.

Sound came from a combination of sources: both in camera and on my h4n field recorder. For on camera sound, I used the Rode Videomic Pro. On my h4n I used the onboard stereo recorder, as well as a Seinheiser wireless lav, which I placed on various locations down the pipe wall. Almost all sound in this video was added later in post, and slowed down to 50%. I also placed a small reverb on much of the ski audio.

For editing I used Final Cut Pro and transcoded all material to Apple ProRes 4444. Color Grade was done with Magic Bullet Looks.

Song is “I’m God” by Clams Casino

Click here to view the embedded video.

music by Robotic Pirate Monkey

I’ve been shooting with the Red Epic the last two weeks for an Under Armour basketball campaign. On an off night, Ryann and I decided to head up to Chelsea and shoot a few shots as the sun was setting. Not much thought went into this (or coloring). The only thing I knew was that I wanted to shoot some slowmotion and embrace the lens flares. We mostly just went out to have some fun and to play with this awesome camera for a bit.

Song is “Go Outside” by Cults

The Making of Footsteps

Click here to view the embedded video.

UNDER ARMOUR, “THE MAKING OF FOOTSTEPS” : Shot and Edited by Michael Clarke, Additional Cinematography by Justin Beckenheimer

Teaser for The Making of Footsteps

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UNDER ARMOUR, “TEASER FOR THE MAKING OF FOOTSTEPS” : Shot and Edited by Michael Clarke

I picked up the Canon 7D when it was first released about a year and a half ago. Since then I’ve added a 5D to my arsenalt and picked up just about ever DSLR video toy available. I’m talking everything: a Glidecam HD-4000, a RedRock Micro rig, Glidetrack slider systems, monitors, etc.

While these are all great additions that I use on a regular basis, what are the bare essentials that you will need to really make the most out of your DSLR experience? Here are the top three things I think you need.

1. Zacuto Z-Finder

Soft images seem to be in these days, but when you’re ready to actually hit your focus you’ll need one of these.

It took me awhile to cave in and buy one of these overpriced items, but let me be the first to say that these things are totally worth it. There are a few other options on the market, which are probably cheaper, but the overall design from Zacuto‘s offering is my favorite from what I’ve seen.

The design is pretty swell. I keep a guerrilla baseplate on my 7D and 5D, switching the Z-Finder between the two by just un-snapping and re-snapping. It’s quick and easy, plus the optics are superb. Now all I need is Zacuto‘s new EVF and I’m set.

2. Genus ND Fader

What’s one of the coolest parts of shooting video on a DSLR? Probably the fact that you can get such a nice shallow depth of field. Well, to make sure you can actually shoot wide open you’ll need to get some type of an ND filter.

Why is that the case? Because you need to keep a constant shutter speed of roughly double your fps.

So what’s that mean? If you shoot 24 fps you’ll want a shutter of 1/50th, 30 fps shutter of 1/60th, 60 fps shutter of 1/120th.

Why? I don’t have a good answer for you, but it has to do with the 180 degree shutter rule that you learn about in film school. I never fully understood it so I’m not going to sit here and try to explain it.

The ND Filter comes into play here as it lets you keep your lens wide open, but still allows you keep that desired shutter speed. When I first started out, I used a Tiffen filter set. However, the biggest pain of that is having to switch around different filters. Enter the Genus ND Fader. What’s this give you? It offers you the option of eight different stops to choose from just by turning the polarizing filter.

3. Rode Videomic Pro

I’d say the worst part of working with a DSLR for video is dealing with audio. The internal mic is junk, has automatic gain control, and just doesn’t sound good.

So, how do you fix that? Enter the Rode Videomic Pro. This little guy is a shotgun mic that really gets the job done. It offers a High Pass recording option, and three different Db options: -10, 0, and 10. These settings are easily accessed on the backside of the microphone, and lets you get a small amount of control when recording directly into camera. The mic goes directly into your DSLR through a mini jack.

One downside I’ve found is the rubber shockmount, which comes as part of the microphone. It’s a little flimsy, and I’ve had some problems with it popping off. With that aside, this is a great option for getting quality sound out of your camera.

Rode also makes the standard Videomic, and a Stereo Videomic, which are both excellent options for getting your sound dialed on on your DSLR.

Note: All product is photographed on my Canon 7D, with a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8: the best wide angle lens I’ve for the 7D and any cropped sensor.

Click here to view the embedded video.

music

“Hold Up” by Robotic Pirate Monkey

credits

Cinematography and editing by Michael Clarke, Lighting and direction from Jay Michelfelder, Produced by Steve Nardone, Creative Direction by Marcus Stephens and Brian Boring

Canon EOS FCP Plugin

This is best used when importing directly into a computer from a compact flash card. The reason I say this is that you need your original CF card file structure to use this plugin, and it requires the original .THM and .MOV files. The cool thing about the EOS FCP Plugin is that it allows the user to preview shots and set marked in and out points, all the while using a batch capture window. The EOS Plugin is my preferred method of these two that I cover.

Use this this step by step tutorial for the EOS FCP Plugin.

Step 1 – Download and Install the Canon EOS Plugin:

First things first, you need to download the plugin. Head to Canon’s website, choose drivers and software, and select your operating system. Locate the EOS Movie Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro, download, and install.

Step 2 – Set the Capture Scratch:

You need to tell the computer where you want all these files to go once they’re transcoded. Open Final Cut Pro and set the Capture Scratch to your desired location by going Final Cut Pro > System Settings

The window below should appear:

Set your scratch disk by pressing the “Set” button under the Capture Scratch tab.

Step 3 – Opening Log and Transfer:

Begin by removing your compact flash card from your camera and plug it into your computer with a CF Card Reader. Open Final Cut Pro and locate “Log and Transfer” by going File > Log and Transfer

NOTE* The shortcut for this is command, shift, 8

All video files on your CF card should appear in the Log and Transfer window. If they don’t, locate the little wheel at the top of the clip browser (highlighted in the image below), and select add custom path. From there, you can locate your CF Card.

What happens if you don’t have time to log all your footage directly off your CF Card, but you would still like to use the Canon EOS FCP Plugin to log and transcode footage?

Well, it can be kind of a pain. You have to maintain the exact same file and folder structure that was on the CF Card. What that means is that if you’re dumping your card and want to use this plugin, you have to pretty much replicate the entire CF Card by drag and dropping it to a new folder on your computer. Make sure you have everything from the original folder name, the DCIM, the MISC, the .THM files, and most importantly the .MOV files. Once you’re ready to log your footage, use the “Add Custom Path” button and locate your reconstructed CF Card you previously made.

If all of that sounds like a hassle, MPEG Streamclip handles this a little bit more easily.

Step 4 – Setting Your Target Format:

Under the same wheel in the clip browser above (pictured in Step 3), choose the “Preferences” option on the drop down menu.

This window should appear:

Locate the “Canon E1 EOS MOVIE” Source Format. To the right in the Target Format, select your desired output codec and press OK. I typically use Apple ProRes 4444 as it seems to give me the best colors and quality. You can decide for yourself there though.

Step 5 – Labeling and Transcoding:

Now you’re all set to log and transcode your footage. Refer to the image and steps below if you are unfamiliar with the Log and Transfer window in Final Cut Pro.

1. Select a desired clip in the left browser window. This file should open in the right viewer. Above you can see that I selected MVI_8339, which is now open and ready to be viewed.

2. Mark in and out points on desired clips by pressing “i” and “o” while watching your shot. You will see little arrows placed in the viewer similar to this >| |< … Whatever lies in between these in and out points is what will be transcoded once you add the clip to the Queue.

3. Name your clip under the “Clip Name” section. I like to name my file based off of the location, what / who is in the frame, what’s happening in the frame, and the shot type.

For example, let’s say we just did a shoot in Alaska with Kobe Bryant dunking on some Eskimos. The shot your labeling is Kobe driving to the hoop and its an extreme close up on his hand. I would label it as Alaska_Kobe_Drive_Hand_ECU

What this does is allows for a neat and organized project browser once you get into editing your piece. What I mean by this is say that you have that same shot of Kobe driving to the hoop from a few different angles, you can just exchange the last two words – “Hand” and “ECU” –  to fit the new description. For example: Alaska_Kobe_Drive_Feet_MD. This shot would describe a medium shot of Kobe’s feet driving to the basket and would sit right next to the previous shot in your editing browser.

4. Add your clip to the queue to be transcoded. Do this simply by pressing the “Ad Clip to Queue” button under the viewer. The file will be saved to wherever you previously set your capture scratch in Step 2 and will appear in your project browser.

You’re now ready to edit.

MPEG Streamclip

I think this isn’t quite as awesome as the EOS FCP Plugin, but it does a nice job for batch processing, or if you don’t have a .THM file to go with your desired .MOV file.

You can download MPEG Streamclip for free online, do it.

Step 1 – Importing Your Footage:

Begin by removing your compact flash card from your camera, and plug it into your computer. Locate your DCIM folder and sort the finder window by “Kind” to separate .MOV, .THM, and .JPG files. Locate all files ending with .THM and delete them. These are your thumbnail files used for easy viewing in camera and are no longer needed when transcoding with MPEG Streamclip.

Now, find all desired files in the DCIM folder and drag them to a chosen location on your computer or external drive. Do not use any applications such as iPhoto, simply drag all .MOV files to your system.

Step 2 – Setting Up a Batch List:

Open MPEG Streamclip. It’s a very simple, little program and should look like the image below.

Now, go to “List” in the top menu and select “Batch List” (NOTE* this may also be done by pressing command B).

This window should appear:

Press the “Add Files” button in the lower right screen and select all desired files from the folder created at the end of Step 1. Now click on the “To Batch” button.

The following window should appear:

Make sure your task drop down menu is positioned on “Export to Quicktime” and press “OK.”

Now you will allocate your destination folder, which should be a newly created folder and different from your original file location. Press “Select.”

The following window should appear:

Follow these steps to set the correct output settings:

1. In the “Compression” drop down menu select “Apple ProRes 4444” or your desired codec
2. Slide the “Quality” level to 100%
3. Make sure your frame size is set to your source material size, or project size
4. Deselect “Interlaced Scaling” as DSLRs shoot in progressive.

You are now set to begin transcoding. Simply press “To Batch” and your Batch List should pop up in a new window. Press the “Go” button and the your files will begin converting automatically.

NOTE* You can also use MPEG Streamclip for individual shots. Just press File > Open Files and follow the same steps above. You can also mark in and out points when working with only one file.