XHA1, Letus Extreme & IndiSlider
 

There was a snow storm here overnight so I decided to get off my butt and try out my Indislider (http://www.indifocus.com/products_in...erpro.htm)...I love this thing. I have the 36" version...

Enjoy

http://www.pinelakefilms.com/snowmotion.html

Steven,

Really looks good. To get the smooth action does it take a lot of practice or can you get consistant slides? I read somewhere that the indislider is a "bear" to rig up to your cam/tripod. What is your opinion?

I'm just going to cut and paste my response to the same kind of question on another forum:

I have the same setup as you and am wondering what it is like with the camera out at one end of the rig? Do you worry about it tipping?

I wouldn't recommend using it without sandbags on each of the tripod legs.

How is the transition between regular tripod and indislider setup?

Not sure what you mean here but if you are asking me how long it takes to switch from tripod to IndiSlider, I'd say about 20 minutes. The tripod is fully functional with the IndiSlider still on. You can lock the head in place in the center so that all the functionality is still there. I'm still new to this so still experimenting. Not sure if the head can turn right and left when it's completely set up properly. I'll have to ask Tim at IndiFocus.

Is the weight an obstacle when working out in the field?

It's cumbersome to be sure but the results are really nice. It's like any piece of equipment...there's only so much you can carry at once and after that you need more people. You could get away with carrying this short distances but it depends on the terrain and strength of the person.

Thanks Steven. Very helpful.

btw, it takes practice to move the camera consistently and at a speed that's appropriate for the shot. The IndiSlider is glass smooth.

Steven, Man. That footage looks super pro. The indie slider (plus your talent, of course) gives it a real touch of class. How did you manage to get such a nice slow motion with the A1?

I just visited the indie slider website. What a wonderful invention! Affordable too. I do understand what this person who contacted you was talking about though. Does it ever feel like the camera/tripod might fall over when the camera and all it's weight are at the end of the slide?

Thank you Rafael,

Like I said earlier, I wouldn't be doing anything serious with this without having sandbags for extra security on each tripod leg. In that case, it would be unlikely to tip.

Very nice! I have the Indirails and Indifocus for my Canon and I was thinking of getting the Indislider as well, but had not seen it in action. I am as good as convinced now.
(you should ask for a percentage from Tim for bringing him customers)
(ha, ha)

Just say I sent you :)

looks superb.

question though, what settings/programs do you use to export for such a nice image? the image quality looks so good.

thanks

It's a kind of laborious process.

I export a flattened Cineform AVI from the Premiere Pro CS3 timeline. I then bring it into Vegas 7 and export it as a WMV at 1440 x 1080, 25mbps. After that, import it into Sorenson Squeeze and export as a Quicktime file (you can get the exact specs by looking at the movie info inside the Quicktime file itself)

The reason why I don't just import the Cineform file directly into Sorenson is that it crashes if I do that. Vegas does a much better job at creating a high quality WMV because with Premiere, you are limited to 10mbps

I just uploaded a new extended version of this piece with over a minute of new footage. Same link as in the first post: http://www.pinelakefilms.com/snowmotion.html

Steven, you have the EXACT look i am looking for, would u say its mostly from the power of the Letus? Did you do color correcting or anything too the blacks? I mean besides ur obvious skill, what's the secret! I NEED that look for a movie I'm writing, its purely amazing. Thanks =D

Loren,

I'm shooting using my VIVIDRGB preset and then I just color correct (for consistent white balance only) and crush the black ever so slightly using a levels adjustment.

I think that's it.

Very cool. What tripod are you using with this. From the photo on the website it looks like it would be challenging to mount my sachtler DV8 head on their.

Also, tell your son to put shorts on after it snows!

B

Your work is amazing!

Steven, very very beautiful! I'm a newbee on the A1, just got one one week ago. This is very inspiring!
Did you 'publish' the latest VIVIDRGB data in April or are there more recent settings for VIVIDRGB?

Best regards, Robert

I believe the April one is the most current VIVIDRGB

Beautiful, artistic, moving! (as usual)

So let me understand, this indislider thing is a 36" track that goes on your tripod and allows you to basically do a 3-foot dolly move by pushing the camera along the track? I'm not totally clear on what this is and how it works, and the description on their site sort of assumed you already knew.

Just curious... how does the Bogen adapter work? Does it help, is it necessary?

Just curious... how does the Bogen adapter work? Does it help, is it necessary?

Looks great!

Steven

Have you tried Procoder (v3)?

thats seems to do all formats and does a great job. should be able to go from CS3 to Procoder to quicktime, but in saying that I haven't tried it as I dont have PPCS3. Give it a test they got a trial version.

I'm sorry Steven but I can't seem to figure out how to "look at the movie info inside the Quicktime file itself." Can you type the info out or briefly explain how I would go about looking at the movie info?

Much thanks.

great footage, thanks for sharing! I am getting my tripod next week, and some other piece of equipment in February, maybe a GlideCam! This is the first I have heard of the slide, very interesting and even affordable (compared to other nice equipment).

Did you have the slide on the ground for the shots towards the end?

Beautiful work - thanks for posting.

Regarding your workflow; have you tried DebugmodeFrameserving directly from Premiere to Sorenson? Seems easier.

Steven -- any way you could post a shot of what your camera looks like when set up with this rig? Thanks.

i second jeff!

In QT player just go to "window" & select "movie properties"

Steven, Hi

Great images here, my favorites are from just above the ground level.
couple of shots look a little dark, wanted to ask your setup on Letus,
can you shoot with open Iris, what is your focusing distance on camera?

Regards, Oleg.

Sorry I can't answer all of your questions right now, I'm really busy. I'll try to get to them in the next few days.

Thanks,

Steven

Hi Steven,

Do you use a (HD) monitor to focus or can you focus adequately through the display?

Robert

Rene, what a great find! I used something similar many years ago but had forgotten about it. It works flawlessly between Premiere and Sorenson and also works with Premiere/Vegas.

That will save me many hours of rendering.

:)

Steven, that looks incredible! I'm not sure how many millions of times you've been asked this so I apologize if this is repetitive, but do you do any kind of color correction in post? What system/software are you using for editing? I saw the sample footage that the Letus guys posted on their site and I have to say they may be stealing business from a couple other companies I almost pledged myself to, haha. Well done my friend!

Indislider Pro setup
 

I got the indislider today I have no no clue how to set this thing up. I got it with the Bogen adapters. I have a ball head. If any of you have any advice as to how to get this thing running, or even want to make a quick instructional video, I'll pay you with my first born son.