Canon and Vimeo are attempting a video-equivalent of a Twitter novel. What probably excites me most is the fact that these short films – or at least the first one by Vincent Laforet – will be shot on Canon SLRs, in HD.
The renting of professional HD equipment was always one of the biggest expenses we had on student projects. Almost everything else was provided, but if you wanted to experiment with the HD format, you needed to find a camera with lenses and trimmings that you could afford to rent.
Now you have people shooting professional-grade short films on Digital SLRs, with bodies and kits that are a fraction of the price of their dedicated-video counterparts. The kids can now play with the big boys and actually get to grips with post-production in HD.
If you work in media production, broadcasting or filmmaking that experience is sorely needed and these past few years have seen a gap form between what the schools and colleges are equipped to impart and what the industry demands. Now we’re seeing that gap bridged.
I hope at least one student or amateur project makes it to the finals of Canon’s contest. Even if it doesn’t, I dig it!