News from Here & There

More on the Sony PMW-F3
EOSHD.com has an interesting article about the chip in the forthcoming PMW-F3, and how it might differ significantly from the one in the Panasonic AG-AF100. Having fewer pixels should mean better low-light performance and less problems with moire and aliasing. But the proof of the pudding and all that...we really have to wait and see what the actual images look like.
EOSHD.com: Lowdown on the Sony F3's 2K cinema sensor

And if you're thinking of getting the Panasonic AG-AF100, now that you know you can't afford Sony's offering, you might want to check out Matthew Duclow's intro to Micro Four Thirds lenses: Diving Into Micro Four Thirds



Final Cut update early next year?
Dustyn Gobler emailed Steve Jobs about Final Cut Pro and got the following reply:

A great release of Final Cut is coming early next year.

Interestingly, this was a month ago, but it only just now seems to be bouncing around the interwebs.
DustynGobler: My email to Steve Jobs and his reply



Foley Artist
There's a great short video showing Foley artist Gary Hecker at work.
Devour: Foley Artist

"How To Train Your Dragon" Sound Show
Soundworks Collection has a video of a panel at the M.P.S.E Sound Show featuring Supervising Sound Mixer and Sound Designer Randy Thom, Sound Designer Al Nelson, Sound re-recording Mixer Gary Rizzo, Director Chris Sanders, and Film Editor Darren Holmes.
SoundworksCollection: "How To Train Your Dragon" Sound Show



Build Your Own Follow-Focus
Can't afford a follow-focus? Mathieu Bujold has a video at Vimeo that shows you how to build a simple follow-focus based on a skate-board wheel.
Vimeo: DSLRexperiment DIY Follow Focus



The 180 degree Shutter Rule
Ron Dawson discusses the 180-degree rule as it - might - apply to DSLR filmmakers:

Plain and simple, the reason for the 180 degree shutter angle rule is to have proper motion blur. The rule states that your shutter speed should be set to relative to the frame rate of your camera. It’s very simple to figure out. Just double your frame rate. If you’re shooting at 30 fps, you shutter speed should be set to 60.

BladeRonner.com: The 180s of Filmmaking: Part 2 – The Most Commonly Broken Rule