In this special edition of the Digital Convergence Podcast, we leave behind gear talk. Chris Fenwickdelves deep into the mind and vision of Po Chan - a remarkable visual story teller and artist. Po Chan wrote and directed The Ticket and The Last Three Minutes - both films that were shot byShane Hurlbut of Hurlbut Visuals.

Behind every great film is a great story. From where do those stories come from? How do stories make the transition to the medium of film?

How is editing more than just "cutting"? What role does a colorist play in evoking emotion and meaning? How does a director bring the story to life and propel it forward by means of camera position and moves? What role does light play in breathing life into the film?

This interview of Po Chan by Chris Fenwick provides insight and commentary on these questions. You will enjoy the scene by scene breakdown by Po Chan as she explains her thinking - why it was framed, lit, shot, edited and graded as it was.

Creativity on a budget is the theme of this week's episode of the Digital Convergence podcast. We talk about two low budget films that prove to be a good antidote to the toxins of stratospherically high priced gear and software that have unfortunately dominated our conversations on this podcast for a while. Join Chris Fenwick, planetMitch, and I as we talk about how creativity does not need a gazillion dollars of gear and software.

The first film is titled The Camera by Peter Lewis. Peter says that this film was "largely born from its constraints. It had to be doable in my free time, and I had to be able to shoot it during my vacation... with a budget of only $50 to cover the props." The props included an old Polaroid camera that reveals more than is seen.

The second movie is called Copelandia by Luke Neuman. This movie is more than a test of the new Canon 5D Mark III. With just a little grading and a judicious bit of 35 film grain added, Luke has created an engaging movie full of twists and surprises. The film was shot with Nikor primes - something I like to do with my 5D Mark II. The Nikor lenses have a creamy, warmer look than the cooler L glass of Canon.

Until next week, that's a wrap!

This week show was recorded in the midst of what is probably one of the best NAB shows on record. Chris Fenwick, planetMitch, and I only scratch the surface in talking about all the exciting announcements coming out of NAB 2012.

We talk about the $999 Avid Symphony crossgrade from FCP7. We talk about Black Magic Design's Cinema Camera - touted to be a 2.5K camera for $3000 - shipping in July (so they say). Black Magic was spewing out product after product at this year's NAB, but one that stands out to us is the new Davinci Resolve 9.0 with it's sleek new user interface. Speaking of color grading and correction tools, Adobe CS6 now includes SpeedGrade - so we talk a bit about that. We go on a few, um, friendly rants about anti-FCP X snobs (OK, it was me that went on the rant), and also Vimeo's stuttering problem.

The buzz is building for NAB. What is Canon going to announce? Wait, not one, but two cameras? planetMitch, Chris Fenwick, and special guest Paul Antico, all chat with me about we might expect from next week's NAB show in Las Vegas.

Also, in the news we talk about the FCP X 10.0.4 update from Apple - and - ouch! - it breaks Red Giant Software's Magic Bullet Looks and probably a whole bunch of other plugins. We talk about Flickr, 500px, and Instagram. In the course of the conversation we invent three new phrases: data tainting, pixel gorillas, and 4K for free. You'll have to listen to the podcast to see what it all means :) Paul Antico talks about his progression from a "convergence" shooter with the Canon 5D Mark II (and now Mark III) to the FS100 to the C300. Chris talks about the question of whether one should switch to Avid.

Of course, we do our usual artist picks and gear picks. Many thanks toCrumplePop for sponsoring the podcast.

Until next week, that's a wrap!

While battling bandwidth issues that take us back to the nostalgic days of dial-up, the Digital Convergence podcasting team bravely soldier on and press the record button and we thus spring upon our loyal listeners: episode 67 "4K For 10K?"

Chris Fenwick, planetMitch and I talk about the latest announcement from Sony: the new NEX FS700. The NEX-FS700 is touted as a 4K-ready NXCAM camcorder with a superior Super35mm CMOS sensor, super slow-motion capability and an interchangeable E-mount lens system, offering unrivalled flexibility and creative expression. The real question is, 4K at what cost? The camera is reportedly available for under $10,000, but there is no information on how much the 4K upgrade will be or when it will be available. Then the conversation melts down as we we all just implode from the tediousness of the endless onslaught of gear and specks.

This episode really touches on a lot of different topics and as usual we go off on several tangents. We discuss videos going viral (or mostly not), selecting music for videos, hiring big name Hollywood talent, median versus average and what it means in the Bureau of Labor Statistics report Film and Video Editors and Camera Operators, and much more. We wrap up the show with two artist pick of the week and few product or info tips that we hope you will find useful.

We've been getting some great feedback from our listeners. Please keep it coming. In fact, if there is a topic you would like for us to explore, please send me a message here.

One final favor... we want to double the number of our subscribers. To that end, we ask each of our listeners to please refer the Digital Convergence podcast to at least one of your friends or colleagues. Our podcast made it to the "What's Hot" list in iTunes - thanks to our listeners and new subscribers. Chris, planetMitch and I thank you so much for supporting the podcast. I also want to thank CrumplePop for sponsoring our show.

Until next week, that's a wrap!

The Digital Convergence Podcast gang finally managed to get back together to bring you another episode. With my voice box nearly desimated by a cold,Chris Fenwick and planetMitchjoin me in another interesting discussion of video, photography, and post-production.

planetMitch Skypes in from LA where he is working with Barry Andersson to produce a short movie with their brand new Canon EOS 5D Mark III's. planetMitch gives us the scoop on what it was like to work on such an ambitious project on a tightly constrained schedule. Chris, too, has been working on editing some BTS footage for a recent Shane Hurlbut commercial shoot.

In this episode, I lose any chance I could have ever had at being invited to an Apple event. What's that you say? No, it's what Chris said to Apple's Final Cut Pro X project manager at a recent SFCutters meeting. Yikes! But he has a point and Apple really does need to listen.

We respond to some great listener feedback and questions in this episode.

Until next week, that's a wrap!

While I was out "gigging", the Digital Convergence podcast team carried on! I want to thank to Chris Fenwick,planetMitch, and Barry Anderson for conducting an interesting discussion while I was out in the field.

The Digital Convergence panel launches into a discussion on the sunsetting of 16mm movie cameras in film school as reported to us by a listener of the podcast. Talk about convergence timing... planetMitch reports on the latest Kickstarter sensation, the Digital Bolex 2K Raw video camera. Is this camera too good to be true?

The conversation then turns to the craft of shooting video with an eye towards editing. After a shoot, do you have everything you need to tell the story? Do you have enough b-roll? Close-ups and extreme close-ups?

The show wraps up with what I think are two very good excellent choices for featured artists.

The team did a great job with the podcast today. Pardon the audio quality as Chris was in an airport getting ready to catch a plane. To me that's a really cool indication of how far technology has come. We can pretty much record our podcast anywhere!

Until next week, that's a wrap!

With an APB out on Chris Fenwick (we think he's holed up in a KOA Campy Cabin in the mountains), planetMitch (planet5D.com), and Gabe Cheifetz (CrumplePop.com) and I take on the latest news and happenings in the world of video and photography.

We lead off with a wrap-up of the excitement (and fall-out) of Canon's latest announcement: the Canon EOS 5D Mark III. planetMitch brings a balanced, reasoned response to the Nikon D800 demo video that apparently used Canon 5D Mark II footage.

Gabe Cheifetz, of CrumplePop, talks about FCP X. I'm pleased to have CrumplePop as a sponsor of our podcast. I'm fanatical about their plugins and use them extensively in my training series. Gabe talks about their reaction to FCP X when it first came out, and the unexpected opportunity that arose from Apple's tight integration of Motion 5 and FCP X.

Episode 63 of the Digital Convergence podcast brings Chris Fenwick, planetMitch, Tony Reale (of NextWaveDV) and myself together in a lively discussion about learning the craft of filmmaking. Do you need to go to film school? Is a college degree necessary to make it in this business? What is the best way to learn? Does one size fit all when it comes to education?

We also talk about the latest video and photography news. planetMitch talks about his recent weekend trip and meet up with Shane Hurlbut, the director of photography for the recently released feature film, Act of Valor. Much of the movie was filmmed with Canon 5D Mark II's. Chris Fenwick responds to a friendly rebuttal from one of our listeners on the noise reduction / sharpening issue we talked about in the last episode.

I'm pleased to introduce CrumplePop as a new sponsor for the Digital Convergence podcast. I have been using their products for some time now. They make a lovely collection of plugins for Final Cut Pro. Thank you, CrumplePop, for sponsoring the Digital Convergence podcast.

Thank you for listening to the show. Please rate the show on iTunes. Please keep your questions and comments coming!

Episode 62 - Is There A Psych In The House?

All artist face it one time or another. We loath the work we do, wondering "Is it good enough?" 

In this episode of the Digital Convergence Podcast, episode number 62, aptly titled Is There A Psych In The House? - Chris Fenwick and planetMitch provide a little psycho-therapy for my wounded artistic ego and help me face my self-doubt and loathing I sometimes feel towards my work. I worry about doing not only competent work, but desire to do great work. However, does every video we produce have to be a great "epic" to fulfill it's purpose? It's a rather gnarly and sensitive topic.