JSD LABS: Panasonic GH5 VFR 180fps ver. 2.2 Test – Maihama Skate Park

2017 Dec 19 By answer 0 comment

When the newest GH5 Firmware update came out, it claimed to improve the stability of the VFR. To me, in hope, that was fixing some of the issues that I had earlier with the high speed modes beyond 120fps. We did do a few 120fps shots in Tokyo Dreams and I really didn’t see what everybody was complaining about. I had a few editors not even know it was shot in HD next to the 4K footage. So, with firmware version 2.2 in hand, I set out to Maihama Skate Park in Tokyo to practice skate filming and see…

Tokyo Dreams – Luis Mora Short Film

2017 Dec 12 By answer 0 comment

Since October, I have been working on and off with Luis Mora on a film he’s wanted to make since he came to Japan for the first time earlier this year. We had planned to try and shoot it in a few weekends, but that drastically changed into all weekends and many weekdays/weeknights. Even with a lot of planning, this was a challenge to get done by his deadline. We only got to see a small part of Tokyo but it still came out huge. Luis’s goal was to tell his story with Japan as a backdrop. I have…

Filming the Eupholks Live at the Basement Bar in Shimokitazawa, Tokyo

2017 Oct 24 By answer 0 comment

I have know the singer of the band Eupholks, Koike, for a few years now. He asked me to film some of his live shows, so I decided to give it a shot. The first time I tried to do a 2 camera shoot by myself… and it didn’t go well. More people showed up than expected and my b-camera was blocked partially or fully for most of the show. So, I acquired some help for the next one and figured… why not do it in anamorphic? At first I was going to try some kind of 2x/1.33 hybrid,…

Yokohama in 8K – A Panasonic GH5 6K Photo Mode Anamorphic Exercise

2017 Aug 26 By answer 0 comment

Becoming impatient waiting for Panasonic to release the firmware update with full resolution Anamorphic mode, I decided to take Friday off and try to get some good shots around Yokohama using the 6K Photo mode. It didn’t end up going as planned, but I decided to upload a few shots anyway. In order, the shots were filmed at Yamashita Park, Osanbashi Pier, the Landmark Tower Sky Garden Observatory, and Ishikawacho Chinatown. As luck would have it, it ended up being one of the hottest, or the hottest days of the summer. It made it hard to move around, focus…

Focus and Light Test #1

2017 Feb 11 By answer 2 comment

In one of many, I set up a quick lighting and focus test on my anamorphic rig. I have been shooting a lot with it, but there are still some things that I need to work out. The biggest issues are the flares and the focus. For awhile I have been shooting just on my 45-175mm zoom at f/4.0 because I wanted to be ready to shoot at a moments notice with few issues. But I want more bokeh for certain shots and the right kind of flares for others. The 42.5mm, as I have said before, is the…

JSD labs: 2.0x Anamorphic Rig Tests

2016 Nov 17 By answer 2 comment

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rZgbG634Ef4 (vimeo) Finally getting around to doing some test shots and setups with my anamorphic stuff. I recently picked up an Elmoscope-II and a SLR Magic Rangefinder to make the filming process a bit easier. I had done some tests with my other lenses (they’re on instagram) so I wasn’t completely lost as to what to do. But I still ran into some challenges. I originally filmed with a clamp and lens support on rails… but on the first day of shooting I had a few scary moments with the lens just… falling out of the tightened clamp. I NEVER…