In the years that I have worked in the film industry I have observed many changes not only in the technical side but the creative side.
One that really stands out was when the first “Digital Editing System” came about “Avid”. I recall the creative director from the advertising company, telling the director I worked for “Henry Sandbank” how amazing the system was and how they could edit 5 spots in the time it took them to edit 1. It gave them choices to show the client. This was ground breaking!
Another one was when the bidding forms for a job were computerized and not done by hand. Jon Kamen who at the time was the Executive Producer at Sandbank Films had developed this system that allowed him to bid faster and make changes quicker than anyone else in the industry. Now these progressive ideas are standard operating practice in the industry. There were so many that came out of this era!
Henry Sandbank was an innovator and so were the people around him. I was his assistant cameraman for 5 years and learned so much from those years. Henry did all his Visual Effects in camera so take that in mind when you watch his work. One of my hats for him was to do research and help figure out ways to get the job done. His goal was always to take it to the next level, and boy did we ever. Here is a link to an article about him and you can see some of his work there or you tube him. https://www.oneclub.org/
At LH Video Services we strive to take what we do to the next level. It’s not just the technology but the way we work the technology. I learned many years ago when I worked at General Camera that there are standards that exist in putting and organizing a camera package but as I meet many assistant cameraman and saw the way that they worked I realized that each one had their own ideas in areas that were unique and smart. I would adopt this to my way of thinking.
Same goes for the area of video assist. I am a very competent operator and understand how to do my job but over the last 10 years I have worked with many other operators and they have great ideas too and adopted their ideas and use them daily.
People who love their craft set standards and as time moves on those standard get raised and then the expectations on set get set hire. One area that stands out to me is the use of wifi on set and Qtake Monitor which is a system that the innovators over at Incore 2 (Vlado Struhar) and team developed a few years ago.
This brings wireless monitoring to a new level. Imagine being able to allow people on set to view what’s being shot on their own iPad or iPhone. This would have been a fantasy a few decades ago (The Jetson’s) kind of ideas or (Dick Tracy) but these guys made it happen.
Now we can stream live to 16 people at a time on set with Qtake Monitor. This helps the Director, Assistant Director, Script Supervisor, Props, On Set Dressers, etc… It’s become a standard on set these days. Hat’s off to the Incore 2 guys.
But they didn’t stop there, They then brought forward Qtake Server which allows local access to the files that have been recorded so that anyone who has access can look up anything that was previously shot using this software. Another game changer.
Well they didn’t stop there and they added streaming to the cloud so that these files can be accessed anywhere in the world once someone was given access to the system. Wow mind-blowing stuff.
I look forward to what else these guys bring to the plate as they push the envelope and make it work and people like James Cameron, Steven Spielberg, Peter Jackson to name a few use this technology to push their creative vision forward.
Thats what we are here to do. Use these tools to help you or the people you work for push the boundaries of your creativity and get the job done.
Until next time!
Lee Hopp – Video Assist Specialist
Video Assist Specialist
LH Video Services-
We are a company that provides the highest quality Video Assist Services. We offer video assist packages based on the specific needs of your job and provide well-trained operators to run the gear. All jobs are overseen by me. All my operators are trained in QTAKE and understand how to use it. My years of experience enables me to help you get what you need done to achieve your vision!
Please contact me for your next shoot in the New York area!