What I've been up to

I know that it has been quite a while since I have posted.  This, of course, coincides with the fact that I have been quite busy.  Besides starting my senior year in High School, I have acquired a couple new gigs (that span over the course of multiple months) and that has left me completely exhausted.  I wanted to make sure and update all of you with the work that has taken me away from the blog.  First off, I am the president of my school so that in itself is a time consuming job.  On top of that, I now make weekly videos for my school's football team as a "hype" for the upcoming game.  I do not take this job lightly.  The guy who had the job before me set a high standard of quality videos and so when I came and took over, I knew that I had to make a good impression.  You can see some of those videos here: http://vimeo.com/brennanrobideaux or watch some of my favorites below.


STM - Pre Teurlings Hype Video from Brennan Robideaux on Vimeo.


STM - Pre Breaux Bridge Hype Video from Brennan Robideaux on Vimeo.

This is actually a fantastic job for me.  It is giving me a hard deadline to work with and forcing me to not procrastinate.   It is a great opportunity and a learning experience so it is essentially worth it (just boy am I tired).  On average, I spend probably 30-40 hours per week on each video.  I film them on Friday night, edit all day Saturday and Sunday, and then continue to wrap up the edit by Wednesday night so I can hand it off to the coach to prepare for Friday's game (and don't forget that I am also dabbling tests, homework, projects, and other videos in between this).  Then it all starts again.  Finally, at the end of the season, I will put together and "end of the year" highlight film (about 45 min).  Now, I needed an additional camera to film these games from on top the press box because a sideline shot with my 60D just wasn't going to cut it.  I wanted to have 2 separate shots of each game.  So I went ahead and bought the Canon XF100 to use as my secondary camera and hired another kid from my school to control that one.  That alone (camera+hiring) cost me about $4,000 - (you can see how I am not making a lot of money off of this).

With that job, the middle school that I am an alumni of contacted me and asked me to also make an end of the year highlight video for their football team.  Those games take place on Thursday and the coaches want a DVD of the game by the next day.  So now I am editing all weekend and week for my high school and then the day after I turn in the DVD to one set of coaches, I am back on a separate field shooting the middle school games and then delivering a raw cut DVD to the coaches the next day.  All in all, my life is busy as hell now.  In fact I am writing this blog post whilst in the middle of class because I know that when I get home, there will be no time.  But I don't want to seem like I am complaining.  This is possibly one of the greatest opportunities for me.  I am managing multiple jobs, school, and others quite well and I know kids my age would love to have the jobs that I have - For that, I am so grateful.

In addition to the jobs above, I am preparing for college. With that, I am trying to put together a portfolio for myself that showcases some of my finest work.  I am sure that most of you have seen my Celtx winning doc Stepping into the Future: STM Help Desk and also my short doc Skaterz which can now be found on vimeo.  Finally, I managed to find the time to work on another short narrative film that I have had in my head for a while titled Just Another Quiet Morning.  I won't give anything away and I will go ahead and embed it down below so you can watch it here.  Just make sure to watch it in full screen.  Anyway, I submitted that piece as well as a few others to the YoungArts foundation to see if I could get some scholarship money.


Just Another Quiet Morning from Brennan Robideaux on Vimeo.

I will most likely be writing a full length blog post about just that video in the near future.

So that is basically it.  I am still trying to get that feature length documentary about bumper stickers back up and running.  I am hoping that once football season is over, I will be able to focus on my own work.  You can check that out here: http://www.brobesfx.com/2011/08/bunper-sticker-documentary-going-strong.html

Thanks for reading and I hope to blog some more soon!  Please share.

-Brennan Robideaux

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Best Reviews/Tests of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera (BMCC)

The Blackmagic Cinema Camera has created quite a stir in the indie film making world; however, unfortunately because it is so fresh to the market, there are very little ways for us to get the full review yet.  Sure, John Brawley has released test footage for us to view and even download for ourselves (fantastic), but few people have put the camera through the reins and given an honest review of the product… yet.  Thankfully, the camera has finally started shipping and many people like Philip Bloom are receiving the camera for reviewing purposes.  So I am writing this blog post to link to all of the best BMCC reviews/tests that I can find.  That way, it will all be at one place and you can get the full review right here. 

So far, Philip Bloom is the only one to release a full 45 minute video review of the camera! I will continue to update this post as more reviews come along.  Also, if you know of any great reviews, please email me at robideaux515@gmail.com

Philip bloom: http://philipbloom.net/2012/09/05/bmd/
Philip is one of the best sources for reviews and overall opinions.  He has great ethics and will only tell you his honest opinion.  He also says that if you watch Dungeness, you need to download the mp4 because Vimeo is not doing it justice.

Dungeness shot on the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.



Video review of the Blackmagic Cinema Camera from Philip Bloom on Vimeo.

Vincent Laforet: http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2012/08/31/black-magic-cinema-camera-bmcc-beautiful-befuddling/
An absolutely insightful and fantastic article by Vincent Laforet.  He touches on the main pros and cons of the camera and focuses on the crop factor of the camera.

Final Cut King: http://finalcutking.com/review-of-the-blackmagic-2-5k-camera/
Another fantastic article.  Zack King is a person that I follow regularly on YouTube and is honestly a large role model for me.  His article describes how he would use the camera as a YouTuber and what it can offer us.

John Brawley:
Check out of his test videos, here is a great low light one.

Afterglow from John Brawley Tests on Vimeo.


Rick Young:
Make sure to watch his 3 part interview with Blackmagic Design CEO, Grant Petty

Shooting with the Blackmagic Cinema Camera from Rick Young on Vimeo.

Grant Petty - The Blackmagic Cinema Camera (P1) from Rick Young on Vimeo.

Frank Glencairn:
Fantastic showdown between the BMCC and the FS100

Blackmagic Cinema Camera vs FS100 Lowlight Shoot-Out from Frank Glencairn on Vimeo.


NoFilmSchool: http://nofilmschool.com/2012/09/wide-angle-lenses-compared-blackmagic-cinema-camera/ 
I would also strongly suggest heading over to NoFilmSchool.com They are constantly updating on the BMCC and have great reviews.

OneRiver Media:
These guys produced the first commercial type shoot with the BMCC and a great comparison of it against the 5D mk III.  AWESOME!

Comparing the Cinema Camera & 5D Mk III from OneRiver Media on Vimeo.

Texting is gefährlich / Texting is dangerous from OneRiver Media on Vimeo.
  

Again, most of the people that have reviewed the camera so far haven't even been able to touch the camera; however, their reviews are still fantastic. I can only imagine what we have in store for us once it is out in the world and we can see its true potential.  I want one (badly!) but I am going to wait a month or so to see how everything goes.  And a reminder, if you have any suggestions or links for me to add, please contact me.  Thanks!

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48 Hour Film Project in NOLA

So I finished up directing my first 48 hour film project a couple weeks ago and had a blast.  I slept maybe 5 hours total during the event and met so many great people.  We had a HUGE team - 27 people and it was an experience of a lifetime.

You can see our finished product here:

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Skaterz (A Short Documentary by Brennan Robideaux)

I just recently uploaded my newest mini doc about a small skate park in my town called the dust bowl that is in jeopardy of being taken away.  Please feel free to watch/comment/critique.  Thanks so much!


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Watch my Doc on Celtx

So as I stated before, I was one of the selected entries into the Celtx Seeds Grant.  My video has finally made it up on the Celtx YouTube page and so you can go check it out now!  Please comment on the video with any questions you have and I will make sure to answer.  You can also comment on this post.    Over the next few weeks, I will try and post more information on how I made the doc.  Thanks Guys!

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SmallHD Price Drop! (Again!)

SmallHD has become one of the top selling DSLR external monitor.  Recently, they dropped the price of the DP4 from an already outstandingly low $549 to only $449!  Check out the other deals here:

http://www.smallhd.com/Products/DP4.html

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Upcoming Projects

Sorry for the extended delay...  I have been pretty swamped.  But I am excited to tell you all about a project that I have helped out with that can use your help too!  It is a feature length documentary titled Joie de Vivre and it has potential to be inspirational to all.  The director, Crystal Place, has spent the past 5 years researching the importance of "play" in the modern society.  Over this time, she has had an increasing interest on the topic and is now ready to portray it to the world.

To start off, we have begun the process of creating a kickstarter video (which should be up by August 1) to promote the idea of the film and why you should become a part of it.  Until then, I will be giving a couple more updates and such but I just wanted to let you guys no ahead of time about the project. Follow @Mogulkey

I Will be Featured by Celtx Media!

A few weeks ago, I submitted my documentary about the STM Help Desk to a grant program at Celtx Seeds.  They selected 10 individuals and 5 schools for a total of $25,000 in grant money.  I was one of the 5 that were picked for the school's seed and so I won $1,000 and will be featured on their YouTube channel and also on their website over the next few weeks.  Please support me and Celtx by going over to those two sites and commenting and giving me critiques etc.  I would really appreciate it.
Thanks guys!

Also, if you haven't actually seen the doc, this is the older version that is on my YouTube Channel:




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Joseph Kony: ?

 Invisible Children is a shady website..

For those of you who do not have time to watch the video, I will sum it up as quickly as possible. Joseph Kony is an invisible man who must be shown to the world. He is the leader to a rebel group in Uganda who abducts children and forces them into sex slavery, murder, rape, etc. Terrible man. Right now, 2012, is the time to stop him. We finally have troops in Uganda who are training their army to become better and finding him. But the catch is that the US will not keep troops somewhere oversees unless it is obvious that its citizens are in support of it.


So please, I ask of you, spread this video around. Let it reach 10 million views by the end of the week. See, this is the beauty about the world that we live in. The most average person now has the ability to change the world. With your computer, you have the ability to access people all over the world. Let's make this happen people!


An important date to remember is April 20th, 2012. This is the day that we are asked to go all through the night and hang up Kony2012 posters not in support of him, but rather to bring attention to eventually stop him. We can do this people, that is the beauty of social media!


I cannot express how, as a filmmaker, I want to be a part of this; documenting every step. I want to help spread videos that I make and raise awareness. It is opportunities like this that I thrive for and it can be yours, too!. Let's do this thing together. If you would like to assemble a group of filmmakers for this project, please contact me at brennan@brobesfx.com .


Also, I strongly suggest that you do not simply read this article, but also watch the entire clip. It is truly powerful and inspired me to no end. Follow @Mogulkey

5D Mark III Coming Next Week (maybe)

The long awaited Canon 5D Mark III is rumored to come out as early as next week.  March 4th.  Canon Rumors has hinted that this new camera will include:

• 22mp
• 61pt AF
• 100% VF
• 3.2″ LCD
• Dual CF/SD Card Slots
• Price: Around $3500 USD
• Announcement on February 27 or 28, 2012 (Depending where you are on earth)

So why am I excited about this?  Well two reasons:

1. The Canon 5D Mark II will drop down in price and I could pick one up
2. The newest model may have even better low light performance than the Mk2 and I really would like to see that!

Lately I have been quite interested in the FS100 because of it's incredible low light, but the C300 is a close second.  So I am hoping that Canon will at least come close to the new C300 as far as low light performance goes because that would be incredible.


What I want to see on the Mark III

1. A camera that is tailored with film making as the top priority.
2. Better low light (usable up to 12,800 ISO)
3. Good price
4. Build quality close to the 7D
5. Swivel LCD would be nice (although they will definitely not because that is considered "consumer")
6. Clean HDMI out (no change in quality)
7. Mic input with full audio control
8. Headphone monitoring
9. LONGER RECORDING TIMES!  (20 min+ would be fantastic) 

So do I think that all these specs that I desire will be included?  No probably not, but it would be nice to see at least half of those included in the new camera.  In any case, I am excited as hell.  

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