Can the V-Mic D4 handle a Yamaha Grand?

Surprise to find an extension cable that doesn’t add noise to the signal path.

What if all you have is a pair of Deity Microphone V-Mic D4 Duo and you need to record and shoot some (not-so) awesome piano? I will try to figure out an answer.

Problem 1: mic may not be able to handle the high dynamic range;

Problem 2: optimal mic placement may not be the optimal camera angle;

Problem 3: the stereo mic array is very close together but not pointing at the same direction, this is a physical limitation, and I will have to figure out how;

This didn’t work.

Putting the entire rig into a piano is a bad idea, it is a horrible idea, don’t even try it!

#veryserioustest

Sigma FP Test Shots with the Nikkor lenses.

Orange and Teal

Took me a while to acquire a Nikon G mount to Leica L mount adapter; the leica mounts came first, as always. But the Nikkor lenses took me by surprise — not only are the larger barrel sizes made it easier for me to manually focus, the slighly larger lens makes the camera system a lot more balanced.

I will touch on these on my VLOG.

These two screengrabs are direct-from-camera files, recorded via HDMI to a Blackmagic Design Video Assist recorder, with Prores RT codec; not the best in the world, but looks pleasant and promising.

My widest Nikkor is a 10.5mm crop-sensor fisheye lens, subsequently 12mm, 20mm, 24mm, 45mm, 50mm, 80mm and a 105mm micro.

Cinemic colour

IMHO. Nikkor and Leica are still the best.

“Coke Glasses” a sigma fp test.

Soon after the birding outing with Vincent Thian, I noticed the footage from the camera is far from satisfactory — I had to go through a whole lot of processing to barely get close to what I wanted.
No, this is NOT the camera I bought.
Upon investigation, I think I have found the culprit: recording through HDMI, even though at ProRes HQ, with the Blackmagic Design VideoAssist, is not the same as recording the footage in-camera.

I will have to do more testings.

A Guy Who Asks Me for a Story and a Girl Who Tells Me a Story.

developing a mini series is tough.

This is one of those projects that was initiated by someone who asks if I can develop a story so he can help produce it but later turns out to be just another empty promise. I have met many of these people, and along the way, new ideas were spawned, money spent, time invested, and efforts made, but they disappear in thin air.

Not being in Malaysia for almost 15 years has its disadvantage; it takes time to identify trustworthy people, and sometimes people can be really convincing. “My company works very closely with XYZ, this will definitely work!” they often tell you.

But they are either not in the position to make decisions, or they are just fishing for new ideas.

Though like many film projects, what’s meant to be often are not to be. As storytellers, we should just focus on the story, and when all the stars are aligned properly, miracles will happen.

2020 Golden Horse Award

If Only Pigs Can Fly…

Some say it’s the pinnacle of Chinese Cinema, cheering for it while jeering at the other film festival across the Strait, but a dead silence among others, those who take a slightly different approach to the world of cinema indeed will have a different view, and their silence is deafening.

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Make Movies, Not Wars!

13 more days and counting down to the political drama at the White House. This has been my primary source of entertainment for the last 9 months — yes, life under lockdown is painful.

The Pandemic has given me a new revelation in how many of us make a living, mine especially. I live in Kuala Lumpur, but I have not derived a single cent of income in Malaysia for the last 14 years. Being lockdown in Malaysia has amplified this fact more than tenfold, and the feeling is painful.
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Where’s the Cavalry When We Need Them?

TIFAF Director’s Salon for Upcoming Talents

Where’s The Sincerity?

When MyCreative announced a grant as part of it’s initiative to help reboot the film industry, I was elated to see a quasi government body finally doing something to help small production houses and projects to at least make the first steps towards producing a film.

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翻唱歌曲當然要付費啦！

MACP 突然跳出來要代表詞曲創作人收取數字表演版稅的做法有點耐人尋味。傳統上 MACP 收取的是 Performing Rights Royalty，任何公放音樂（公開播放和現場表演牽涉到的版權有點不同，但也算是 public performance 的一種）的公開場合如餐廳電影院機艙內，甚至公交車內原則上都得繳交 Royalties。

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