The Association and the Brooks Institute are proud to announce our partnership in offering Canon Boot Camp workshops in Burbank, California, August 25th & 26th.

The Canon DSLR cameras have revolutionized film and television production. The Canon engineers have empowered millions to shoot 35mm quality films.

We show you the menu settings, software, rigs and techniques to improve your skills as a filmmaker, whether you’re a beginner or an experience professional.

Our Canon Boot Camps are held in a relaxed but focused learning environment. We follow a step-by-step checklist based on the Active Learning method of teaching, i.e. you’ll learn by doing. You go at your own pace. Our friendly team of pro’s are happy to help you through any steps that may be confusing to you. Drills give you certainty that you have mastered the techniques.

Then, on Day Two, we shoot scenes for a short film so you can apply and absorb what you’ve learned on Day One. You then receive your Canon Boot Camp Pro Level 1 & 2 Certificate.

NOTE: Anyone may attend this Boot Camp. Don’t let this opportunity pass you by. Sign up now. Prepare yourself for real digital film production with the Canon DSLR 5D, 7D or 60D!

Early registration rate for the 2-day Canon Boot Camp (lunch incl.) is $699 if you register before August 23. After that the regular price of $898 applies.

The title of the graph says it all for some companies. But it’s not just an affluent target market that’s important. It’s showing up in Google search results as well.

Even if you’re not a technical whiz, you’ve probably heard about disagreements between Google, Twitter and Facebook. Last I checked, the agreements Google had between Twitter and Facebook were no longer in place. So exactly how much of Twitter and Facebook’s data stream makes it into Google’s Search Results is unclear. At least, I haven’t been able to figure it out.

But Google+ is obviously OWNED by Google. Of course the data shared there will be accessible to Google. That’s important because the social shares on Google+ can affect the ranking of your content in search results. Technically, Facebook Likes and Twitter Tweets should affect ranking as well, but if that data isn’t always accessible to Google…why take your chances? Anyone executing a long tail keyword research strategy is going to want to take advantage of the Google+ share capabilities.

Many websites already have share buttons for the major social networks. If you haven’t already updated your website with a Google Share button, now would be the time. There’s an affluent market out there you could be influencing with your content!

Excerpt from the Canon Boot Camp Manual

What’s the big deal about the Canon 5D?

The Canon DSLR 5D’s large sensor produces a shallower depth of field (depth of focus) than small sensors. Hollywood D.P.’s heard about the massive 5D sensor and the beautiful image it creates, and the way it threw the background out of focus. They loved it. A movie-making machine in the palm of your hand. And they saw that on the TV screen it looks as good as 35mm motion picture film, as you can see in the frame above.

D.P. Gale Tattersall shot the Season 6 finale of “House M.D.” using a Canon 5D with Canon lenses.

Gale Tattersal l, D.P., “House M.D.” stepped in front of “Hollywood’s tank” with Greg Yaitanes watching his back, and shot the season finale of “House M.D.” with Canon DSLR 5Ds instead of the usual 35mm Arriflex cameras. “I think these cameras are as game-changing as anything we’ve seen in this business in at least the past 30 years.”

Shane Hurlbut, D.P., Terminator: Salvation Shane has passionately embraced the Canon  DSLR 5D. His film, The Last Three Minutes, shows the amazing pictures and functionalities this camera brings to the cinematographer. Shane’s “digital films” for the Navy Seals and the Marine Corps demonstrate how the camera enables intense, fast production.

Shane told us he can shoot at least 40–50 percent faster with the Canon 5D compared to Hollywood’s 35mm cameras. Shane established his own 5D rental facility and his blog is a fount of information and battle-hardened tips about shooting with the 5D.

The Canon Boot Camp teaches you what you need to know to shoot professional video in just two days. Don’t wander through an engineer-written manual on your own. Get an experienced guide to show you the way – fast. The Association has the longest-running Canon DSLR Boot Camp in the world.

Can’t come to the Canon Boot Camp? Preview Pro Level I by downloading Part I of the Canon Boot Camp Reference Manual (red link below) from our Facebook Page.

Download the full Canon Boot Camp Reference Manual

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In Honor of “Be Kind to Humankind Week”

Have you ever wondered if you could, as a single human on this planet, have a profound effect on many other people? Of course you can! How many films have revolved around that exact theme? I find such stories fascinating.

You’ve probably never heard of “Be Kind to Humankind Week, but it does exist. And it’s one of those “one person took action” type stories. Oddly enough, the end of a life started ‘Be Kind to Humankind Week” in August of 1988 by Lorraine Jara in Toms River, New Jersey:

“I created this celebration in light of a very upsetting newspaper article I read. The article dealt with the story of 2 young men, both in their 20′s, who were boating in our local town’s waterways. Apparently, they were in a small rowboat, which overturned. The story went on to say that as they clung to the overturned vessel, 2 young ladies in another boat plucked them out of the cold water. The ladies did not have a motor boat or a radio on board their vessel to call land for help. 2 maybe 3 other power-operated boats with radio antenna’s

passed them by, refusing their calls for help. One passing boater reportedly said, ‘We don’t want to be bothered.’  Understandably, I grew very ‘bothered’ by their reaction. When finally rescued, one of the young men died.

“I was so devastated after reading this article that I felt something had to be done in honor and memory of the deceased young man.

“I phoned his family and asked permission to have a memorial erected in a park where he lived, and understandably they thanked me but refused. They were too grief stricken to think about it. I then thought…well, they have Be Kind to Animals Week so why not celebrate ‘Be Kind to Humankind!!!’ That was in August of 1988!”

In honor of the this holiday, which occurs on the fourth week of August, we have decided to be kind to humankind by extending our early bird pricing on the Canon Boot Camp! Officially, the Early Bird pricing ended August 14th. So for all of those shooters who were waiting for Friday’s paycheck to come in and missed the cutoff for the lower price, you’re in luck!

Ok, I admit, I didn’t even know about this Holiday prior to writing this blog post. But you have to admit, it’s still a kind act to all filmmakers everywhere. Just roll with it.

Did you know Canon Boot Camp Graduates are eligible to come back to any boot camp class free of charge as a “refresher?” And if anyone referring someone who pays for the class gets a $50 referral prize. Just a couple more ways we can be kind. So pay it forward and refer a friend today!

Excerpt from the Canon Boot Camp Manual

Canon developed the 5D’s sensor to replace 35mm still photography film, which measures approximately 37 x 24mm (the size of a VistaVision frame). They were successful.

35mm film runs through a still camera horizontally. The frame size is approximately 37 x 24mm. That’s the size of the Canon 5D sensor.

35mm film runs through a movie camera vertically. The frame size is approximately 22 x 16mm. That’s the size of the Canon 7D sensor and the Panasonic AF 100 and many others.

Here is a comparison of the Canon DSLR 5D, 1D and 7D sensor sizes.

Download the full Canon Boot Camp Reference Manual

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Let’s face it, there’s a lot of competition out there for independent filmmakers when it comes to getting their films noticed. And if most of the budget is spent on getting the film produced, promoting an independent film afterward might be a challenge. Unless you’re loaded with extra cash.

There’s not much point in producing a video, film or feature of any kind if no one ends up watching it afterward. If you’re a new filmmaker starting with a minimal base of fans, there’s no time to waste. Increasing your online fan base during production is imperative.

Fortunately there’s something you can do about it and it doesn’t cost anything but some time and consistency. Let’s keep it simple, shall we? There’s two free tools available you can put into use immediately.

Google and Email

Yep. Those could be your best tools.

Why? Thing is, just about everyone, regardless of age, knows how to search on Google AND they have an email address. Both are tools you can use to your advantage without a lot of know how. Forget focusing on social media. Should you establish a presence on social sites? Yes. But don’t focus on them only. A blog you can own, social sites can be taken away from you. If you establish a huge presence on Facebook and the Page gets deleted, what then? Besides, we all know people who still haven’t figured out Facebook or Twitter. Probably because they keep changing how they work!

Create a blog on WordPress or Posterous.com. Get a friend to create the look you want or do it yourself if you can. Then blog everyday. Just write something every day. It doesn’t have to be about your film all the time. Just express yourself. Make it part of your routine.

Once you get used to blogging every day, it will get easier.

After about 50 blog posts or so your blog will start getting picked up by the search engines. Google and other search engines like new content, and if you add content all the time, they will come back for more. Search Engines love content, and every blog post (over 150 words) creates an indexable page from their point of view. From your blog you can distribute your content to your social networks (whichever ones you have).

At the same time, establish an email newsletter. Most email newsletters have a built in way to collect identities, such as a form you can post on your website. Or a least a built in form you can link to so people can submit their email addresses. You’ll probably have to offer something in return for their email addresses, so that’ll have to be figured out. Constant Contact has a variety of plugins for social media interaction already built in. For example, a form that integrates with Facebook to allow people to sign up for your newsletter.

If you do a good job, people will find your blog, sign up for notifications on your progress or future showings of your project and then you’ll have a list of people to market to when the time comes.

That’s really the simplicity of the basics. Content and a newsletter. Content leverages the tendency of fans to search for content, and email newsletters keep them in touch afterwards. There’s more to do, but if these two things aren’t mastered first, you won’t be found online at all.

Where are you from and where the heck have you been for the last 25 years?

I’m a California boy, born in Pasadena. I went to film school at Loyola Marymount and specialized initially in documentary. I made several award-winning projects in my early period, then I went to work for the UN and did projects in Asia. When I came back I got into the IA. I was an assistant cameraman along with having my own production company in Hawaii, where I worked on series shows and shot documentaries that were pertinent to Hawaii at that time. 

After I came back to the United States, I lucked out and got a job with Lockheed, now Lockheed Martin, and started a career that really never stopped. I’ve been with Lockheed Martin for 25 years. I’ve shot projects with the [aircrafts] SR71, 117, F22, and the F35, shooting most of their commercials in the last couple of years and specializing in their product web videos. Everything I’ve been shooting with Lockheed has been with the Mark II 5D. We’ve gotten such good results that Lockheed Martin no longer shoots anything with their agency. We do everything for them, so it’s been a really great experience. We already have over thirty projects lined up for next year.

What do you do here at The Association?

I’m a Director of Photography at The Association. I also help them put together camera packages and help them analyze creative shooting elements in a script they might have.

Favorite camera?

The favorite camera that I’ve been using right now has been the Mark II 5D, and I’m looking forward to this new C300 and other cameras that Canon will be bringing out.

Most exciting project you’ve ever done?

It’s hard to choose, really. I’ve had a good experience shooting Lockheed Martin’s aircraft carriers. I’ve had great experiences shooting the SR 71, which is the CIA aircraft that spied on Russia for 40 years. Airplanes have been a big part of my life. Also, when I was getting my M.A. at Loyola, I was very much involved in the Chicano movement in East LA and with one of the films I did, I ended up going to about eight riots. The last documentary I did for them was the Chicano moratorium when Ruben Salizar was killed. It became sort of the pivotal event between Los Angeles and the Chicano community. I was honored to give them a twelve-minute documentary on that, which became sort ofa historic piece for their movement.

What’s so great about the Canon Boot Camp?

It’s best because it teaches people the basics. They have checklists that the teachers go through with the students on how to set the camera up properly. You end up fully understanding the still camera and video settings so that you won’t end up making a mistake when you go out to shoot something.  What’s really great about this boot camp is that it not only teachers you how the camera works but it also teaches you about the pitfalls and mistakes you can make on the way. I use the 5D because it gives me the best picture, although it’s not very easy to work with. When you take this boot camp you’re going to walk away with the knowledge to use this camera properly.

Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro

If you’ve been wondering which editing software to purchase, and hoping for a way to test drive both softwares WITH a guide (instead of plowing through ignorantly by yourself), here’s your chance.

Larry Jordan has been helping editors navigate both these softwares for years and is intimately familiar with every aspect between the two programs. Accordingly, we’ve put together two workshops that cover both Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro X so you can get your hands dirty and compare.

The Association is pretty well known now for our signature Canon Boot Camp. In the tradition of “Active Learning” we strive for in our Canon camera classes, our digital editing workshops won’t just be a simple adobe premiere demo and a simple Final Cut Pro Demo. No. Larry will be taking you through the actual programs and actually EDIT a project. So bring your laptop and don’t forget the free adobe premiere download or the FCPX free trial! You’re going to need them.

Sure you can stumble your way through random tutorials on YouTube, but why not go the direct route? Dive into both programs with a guide who’s been there and knows the landscape like the back of his hand. Ask questions. Get empowered to make a decision about which software is best for YOUR projects. Larry CAN answer all your questions.

Stay tuned for registration signup form. The class date is set for November 17th, 2012 and will run from 9 am to 4 pm if you attend both workshops. The Adobe Premiere Pro workshop will be in the morning, and after lunch we’ll pick up with the Final Cut Pro X workshop until 4 pm. To get our event updates sign up for our Filmmaker’s Notebook newsletter or Like us on Facebook.

Students in Maine are getting busy learning filmmaking (as well as acting) to bring social issues into the spotlight. Project Aware, an organization based in Saco, Maine, has been working on film projects with younger generations since 2003, on difficult topics such as teen anxiety and bullying

Carl Lakari heads up Project Aware and is also a co-founder. The overall purpose of Project Aware is to empower young people to lead, and they achieve this through a variety of projects and programs.

What caught my eye are the films Project Aware is teaching students to create. Here’s an example of a anti-bullying PSA:

There’s so much to Project Aware, I find it hard to describe it in just a few words, so I’ll focus the remainder of this article on their Summer Film Institute for Teens. Imagine empowering younger generations to visually communicate about resolving important issues that affect their own generation? Powerful. Here’s a few results taken from their website:

• SFI Attendees produces the movie Listen (available on DVD) was produced along with powerful PSAs on cyberbullying, racism and distracted driving.
• two (13 and 14 years old) attendees created a PSA on parenting that ultimately served as the basis for Project AWARE’s 3^rd movie Influenced. This award-winning movie was created at the 2009 institute and is available on DVD.
• 10 Sanford kids who attended the Institute went back to school, got involved in their film club, and created the award-winning movie April’s Heart
• a young women returned to her school and created a PSA with her new skills; it received rave reviews and the commercial was picked up, re-produced professionally and aired nationally.
• A PSA created on teen pregnancy has received over 200,000 views on You Tube and has sparked deep conversation about this contentious issue.
• Recently an 8^th grader used his PSA and story on bullying in his hometown; it now airs on broadcast TV in Maine and he was nominated and chosen as a top 10 finalist for a $10,000Colin Higgins Youth Courage Award from thousands of applicants nationwide.
• 4 young women created a powerful video about sexual assault as they processed their own childhood experiences. Sexual Assault Response Services is planning to use the PSA for education in schools.
• finally, a 14 year old teen was able to write, direct, and lead in her own movie about the healthy passions of youth. A Shoestring for Mackenzie is planned for a 2012 release.

Tell me, where do you find such programs today? Far and few between. So when you find one, be sure to support it in any way you can. Love filmmaking? Foster it in the younger generations. You can donate or possibly offer your time as an instructor.  At the very least, share this article with your fellow filmmakers and spread the words.

Good deeds deserve to be shared, don’t you think? Know another filmmaking-related project worthy of a little recognition? Let us know by communicating to us in the comment box below.

Excerpt from the Canon Boot Camp Manual

When Shane Hurlbut says the Canon 5D is equivalent to a VistaVision camera, you
may wonder what he’s talking about.

Briefly, the VistaVision process was created to produce a huge image in the theater.
It uses wider-angle lenses to give greater scope on the big screen. The 35mm
negative travels horizontally through the camera frame (with eight sprocket holes
per frame instead of four), producing a negative image with an area nearly three
times the size of the standard 35mm movie image.

The Canon 5D sensor is as big as a Vistavision frame. Pictured below is a VistaVision negative on the left, and regular 35mm movie film on the right.

[NOTE: For a full history regarding VistaVision and it’s part in film history, visit the VistaVision entry in Wikipedia.]

The above data is a taste of what awaits you at our Canon Camera Classes, specifically Pro Level I (the first day of our 2 day boot camp). Hungry for more? Download Part I of the Canon Boot Camp Reference Manual by clicking on the red link below.

Download the full Canon Boot Camp Reference Manual

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