12. June 2008 by Jacques.

The auditions are over and the two leads have been picked. Shooting is set to take place on July 12th & 13th…

To read more, click on the tab “Passive Aggression” at the top of the page.

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18. May 2008 by Jacques.

My venerable Canon XL1s has done a valiant job and proven why the XL series is such a popular choice with independent and low-budget videographers. However, due to its rapidly-decreasing resale value, I decided to take the HD jump a year early and sold it to partially finance the purchase of a new Canon XH-A1.

I’m not one for brand loyalty much, but Canon is the exception that makes the rule (at least for their cameras - their printers are another story). I received the camera last Monday and I spent three afternoons taking it out for a spin. Let me summarize by saying that Canon demonstratres once more the quality of their product.

I shot some outdoor footage the first day using the fully-automatic mode, and the camera does beautifully in point-and-shoot. The 60i footage looks amazing on my 55″ HDTV, although night shots are a bit grainy due to the automatic gain (which is to be expected).

The next day was bright and sunny, and I shot in the park in fully-manual mode and 24p. The film look at that frame rate is very impressive, although there is noticeable motion blur - again, to be expected in 24p. The detais were very sharp, but the colours were a wee bit washed out, which seems to be a stylistic choice from Canon while Sony favours more saturated colours. Still, the camera’s level of customizing is impressive and it includes colour-correction that can be done right at the image capturing level, instead of in post-production. The adjustments can be saved as presets and loaded as needed.

I spent the third day downtown, again using the camera in fully-manual mode but in 30p, which yields a fair compromise between the film-like (but jittery) look of 24p, and the extra-crisp evening news look of 60i. I wasn’t the only person in shorts shooting pigeons with a video camera, but while the XH-A1 is fairly compact its impressive design won’t have you confused for a tourist. The only shortcoming of the camera that really bothers me is the absence of a shoulder pad, like the one found on the XL1s, so I had to bring a monopod to try out the 20x zoom without too much jitter. The camera has a “lock/standby” switch which lets you turn it off while preserving the settings (aperture, shutter speed, etc.) so you can have it out of its case, powered on and shooting in less than 5 seconds.

I was also pleasantly surprised by the performance of the built-in mic when I taped a couple of street musicians. Not only was the sound clear and well-balanced (with auto levels on), but the mic did not pick up any of the moderate wind.

All in all, the XH-A1 is well-worth its purchase price, and I’m looking forward to shooting my next project with it - although the increased level of details of HD will require the use of a talented make-up artist to keep the actors looking their best!

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2. May 2008 by Jacques.

We are currently looking for one male and one female actor in their lte 20s or 30s, for a 5-minute short. Must be a native speaker of either English or French, and fluent in the other (accent OK), as the project will be simultaneously shot in both languages.

“A bickering couple has found a creative way to channel their pent-up anger. After all, what the other doesn’t know cannot hurt them - or can it?”

Visit the “auditions” page on our site (link in the left column) to find out more.

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21. March 2008 by Jacques.

Wednesday, March 19th, was the last day of shooting for The Intruder. Click on the tab on the bar at the top of the page to read more and to see a few more photos.

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15. March 2008 by Jacques.

Want to read more about our on-going production and see pictures of the shoot? Then click on the tab marked The Intruder on the top bar of this page.

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14. March 2008 by Jacques.

We are beginning casting in Montreal for our next 10-minute project titled The Door.

Go to our home page and click on Auditions for more details.

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