It's not too often that I get caught up in the allure of a shiny new camera, but the Sony NEX FS100 and the Panasonic AF100 both have me pretty excited!

This Sony camera seems to represent most of the factors that digital filmmakers have been asking of their Canon 7D and 5DMkII DSLRs...Super35-sized sensor, uncompressed 4:2:2 output via HDMI, long shot lengths (it's compatible with a 10-hour Sony HXR-FMU flash module), an interchangeable lens system, and built-in XLR ports for balanced (and controlled) stereo audio). I said seems, because it won't be released into the wild until July-ish, so there won't be many clips to judge it by.

This camera is about the size of a Hasselblad digital camera, which is also about the size of a Red Epic. So, the form factor should be very workable. While the list price is $6,800, some analysts predict that it will be released to go head to head with the Panasonic competition below, placing the price right around $5,000.

The current offering at this price point and with a comparably-sized sensor is the Panasonic AG-AF100, using the Micro 4/3" sensor from the very popular GH2 camera.

The AF100 has many of the same features as the FS100, and a similar form factor. The difference in sensor size...17.3mm x 13mm for the AF100 vs 25.1mm x 17.6mm for the FS100...is minimal, about 10%. In a side by side test, this would likely be visible, but I think they would cut well together.

There are purists who would suggest that the Sony would produce a more filmic image, but if the shallow Depth of Field that everyone talks about is what you're looking for, and the 5DMkII is all that you're really satisfied with, then what you're really talking about in motion picture camera terms is VistaVision, where the film runs horizontally instead of vertically. It's cool, but the vast majority of films that are actually shot on film shoot on a camera based on the vertical 35mm mechanism. Standard, anamorphic, or Super35.

For $5,000, either of these cameras should get you there just fine!

A huge honor for a friend of mine

A couple weeks ago I received a brief text from my long-time friend Michael:

Our film is going to be shown at Cannes.

The film in question is his team's entry in Portland's 48 Hour Go Green Film Festival The film is called To the land of the setting Sun. It finished first in Portland, then went to Las Vegas, where it finished first nationally. Out of all the international entries, it finished 5th!

The film can be viewed here.

When I received the text from Michael, I don't think I could have been much more excited than if it was my film that was going to Cannes. We talk about film ideas frequently and collaborate on ideas, so I feel a vicarious thrill through his accomplishment.

Congratulations, my friend!

Hearing what's being said

As individuals, we each have slightly different penchants for what we find entertaining, and more frequently, what we find boring or downright insulting because we just wasted our time or money to watch something that didn't appeal to us.

The same thing can happen in a conversation, even one that we share with our friends. The chatter may move away from a topic we are interested in, and suddenly we find ourselves thinking of something else or realizing that we are bored, even if it is just for a moment.

Each of us has something to say. We are all aware of in inner voice. But we often aren't aware of what's beyond our own voice. We often don't pay as close attention to what others are saying as we probably should.

Artists are unusual among people in that we are willing to emotionally stick our necks out. We are willing to look foolish just to have the opportunity to play with an idea that's floating around in our heads. And that idea can start with something as simple as a single sensory impulse...a color, a scent, the way we feel when we hear a melody, or simply how a phrase strikes a chord in us. Others may not understand this, but that isn't what's important. What IS important is that we take this impulse and put it up an a large, wrinkled, bedsheet screen as we try to express to anyone who will listen "This is how I feel. This is what I see."

What we see may strike us as the most brilliant combination of sound and picture we have ever seen and inspire us to want to create. It can also seem raw, undisciplined, short on technique, and cliche-ridden, and leaving us asking the question "Why did they bother making this movie?"

And that is the critical question. Why. It begs to be asked of the artist, hopefully in a respectful way. It begs to be discussed among your peers as you try to decipher what you're seeing. Even if you don't like the work, don't discount it and move on.

Those of us who have children spend countless hours talking with them, questioning them, and trying to understand them and help them understand the world as they struggle with a vocabulary that can never express the wonder that they experience the world with.

As they mature, many artists struggle with a limited vocabulary that they are trying to expand. Spend the time to ask the questions, and try to understand some of what the artist is trying to say. Because you may have missed the message, and the message might unlock some unexpected beauty for you.

Be open, and be curious.