Selecting The Right Tripod For Your Smartphone

Everyone shoots photos and videos with their phone nowadays right? Who wants to carry a tripod around everywhere? If you do need a tripod which is best for you?

Here's one airninja's take on specific tripod requirements:

Best Value Binaural Video ASMR Recording Device (£129)

So my journey has continued from iPhone through Sony offerings and I thought I'd settled on the ZTE Axon 7 (because Dolby Atmos and playback dynamic compression). However the size and weight of the Axon made it somewhat klunky in the pocket which was bugging my airninja-ness.

So I started looked for smaller, lighter phones that weren't the Sony Xperia X Compact (because the binaural mics on that phone are sub-optimally positioned). I happened across the Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 - a refurb at just £129, so I thought I'd take a punt after some critical listening to example video footage.



Bear in mind the A3 2016 does not have any optical stabilisation and is somewhat "stripped down" compared to more current smartphones - no fingerprint scanner, no water resistance, 16GB internal RAM - yes just 16GB internal RAM (ah but expandable by 128GB using microSD so perfect for my video needs!)

The camera is "only" 13MP but it is f1.9 which is great, but "only" records at 1080P @30fps (and does display some minor minor uglies in 50Hz lighting). The camera is however better than the camera in the ZTE Axon 7 (richer colours, snappier autofocus - though nowhere near Sony Xperia XZ snappy).

So for a phone that was released to the world in December 2015 it aint looking too shabby even now almost half way through 2017 - and it's "cheap", I mean £129, I've bought pairs of shoes that cost more than that! (Yes I'm an idiot).

I've been so pleased with the A3 2016 that I have now taken a punt on the A3 2017 model (released January 2017 IIRC) which also includes a fingerprint scanner and is IP68 dustproof/waterproof (can be in a metre of water for 30 minutes). Internal RAM can be expanded to 256GB and it's a USB-C connector.

Using relatively low cost equipment has been a goal of airninja for quite some time and it looks like I can finally put a tick in that box :)

Here's a couple of binaural stereo video recordings I made to test the Samsung Galaxy A3 2016 phone that cost me just £129 -







As always I'm happy to hear your own opinions in the comments so don't be shy!

☴ REVIEW: Sony Xperia XZ (Platinum, unlocked, 32GB, F8331)

Nowadays it seems a new smartphone release must be a controversial affair for anyone to pay attention and it's against this landscape of headphone jack removal and exploding batteries that Sony have released the Xperia XZ into the world.

Sony Xperia XZ (platinum)

What to say.

There's nothing very controversial about the XZ. It's elegant. Understated. Solid. Tasteful. Minimal. Designful.

Whilst other companies shave off everyday interfaces and leave an empty space with the excuse it helps the acoustics of its product's speakers (and co-incidentally drives sales for its brand of wireless headphones) and call this courageous, Sony has none of it. Instead Sony present (yet another!) iteration of its smartphone design know-how.

The days of being delighted by a smartphone - any smartphone - are long past to anyone who has owned more than a couple of handsets over the last decade. Dare I say the user experience is at a plateau and the land-grab is in full swing. Humans are irrational beings and it's our emotions that are appealed to and right now Sony is the brand that appeals to me - but let me rationalise :)

I'd barely owned my Xperia X Performance (XP) a few weeks when Sony announced the XZ. If you're not interested in videography improvements than I'd say get a deal on the XP now.

The Sony Xperia XZ back camera sensor augmentation

The XZ introduces some new sensors for the videographer, whilst keeping the superior Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) which produces much better results with the moving image than any current smartphone Optical Image Stabilisation (OIS) - especially in environments with high frequency vibrations (for example the dashboard of a car).

I won't bore you with the marketing speak, but basically the XZ camera is augmented with a couple of extra sensors. Once deals with white balance, one with focus. This results in incrementally better video results than the XP (which to my eye is already very good).

The XZ keeps the f2.0 wide lens but still produces very acceptable results in low light compared to any other contemporary smartphone, including those with f1.8 lenses (such as HTC 10 and new iPhone).

The binaural sound recording has been a staple with Xperia since at least the Z2 (my first Xperia purchase) and here again it appears incrementally refined, certainly a better signal-to-noise ratio than the entire Z series by around 3dB.

I still love the fact that the face of the Xperia is uncluttered with any physical button, and I regard the placement of the volume rocker as a distinct advantage in everyday use (I have never accidently changed the volume on an Xperia device, ever - the same cannot be said of the other Androids and iPhones I have owned with more traditional placement of those buttons).

The dedicated camera button on the XZ remains welcome, and is by far the most responsive including versus the XP.

The fingerprint sensor is another button placement that I find perfectly acceptable, and it's very quick to recognise my prints.

Sony Xperia XZ front facing camera records 1080P video

I'm not much of a vlogger but it's good to see that the XZ front-facing camera keeps a wide field of view and records 1080P and looks decent.

No SIM tool is needed to change the SIM or access the microSD slot. Storage expandability is another plus to the Xperia line in my book.

Finally, the XZ brings USB-C to the Xperia X line which is just a much more convenient and potentially more versatile connector than either microUSB or Lightning.

I've noticed the popular press has been kinder to the XZ after pretty much universally slating the XP - which is funny and cements my opinion that if you want a smartphone for a specific purpose you should do your own research; if not it's pretty difficult to find a truly awful smartphone in 2016. Which shows just how far the category has progressed and is an indicator of that plateau.

Did I mention the XZ carries forward the ingress protection (IP68) 'waterproofing' of the top end Xperia line. Although Sony seem to be keen to play this down, and it seems the camera app has had Touch Block removed - it remains to be seen how recording video performs underwater! But it does mean accidental dips should be nothing to worry about.

The Good
Well placed microphones for binaural recording.
Around 3dB (estimated) improvement recording SNR over recent Z5 handsets.
Elegant design.
Improved sensors including addition of laser assisted focusing.
Expandable storage via microSD.
USB-C.
f2.0 / 24mm lens.
Front facing stereo speakers.
Ingress Protection IP68 waterproof.

The Bad
It's quite big and relatively conspicuous.

The Ugly
Sony bloatware cannot be uninstalled.

☴ ANALYSIS: iPhone 7 binaural videography

iPhone 7 not available in blue.

There's a saying in the film industry: "nobody gives a f5ck about sound". Although that's not strictly true, it is one of the first areas to be compromised in a tight spot during production.

Apple does give a f5ck about sound having employed the likes of Tom Holman to consult on audio direction.

Whilst I believe the iPhone 7 lack of headphone jack is no big deal considering a wired connection remains possible with an adapter, and everything else like dual lenses, stereo speakers, and fast f1.8 lenses is playing catch-up with Android and Windows 10 Mobile Lumia, there remains a glaring omission in the contemporary iPhone spec sheet.

After nearly 10 years the iPhone does not record binaural video (I say binaural video because saying stereo video could mean a stereoscopic 3D effect, but I mean the two-channel sound with video).

The iPhone certainly has enough microphones to have a binaural recording capability. From what I've seen of mic positioning there has been no major changes with iPhone 7 - it has three - one on the front, one on the back, and one on the bottom edge.

This is precisely the same mic positioning as the HTC 10 which does record binaural video. So this is a choice being made by Apple to not record binaural video, not a technical limitation.

Now it might be that Apple are waiting for another design iteration to "do it right" (the HTC mic positioning records mildly biased stereo because left and right channels are not capturing vibrating air molecules equally and it is applying algorithmic compensation and noise cancellation DSP which increases the noise floor with digital uglies in certain scenarios).

Tom Holman's initials form THX (Tom Holman Crossover).

But when? It's been almost 10 years since iPhone dropped and we are in a vibrantly sounding 21st century that would be lovely to capture binaurally with all that hosing of iPhone video.

Clearly, binaural video recording is not important to corporate Apple since Sony Xperia have been offering high end models with binaural video recording for years, and very good it is too. Again it is clearly a choice by Apple not to offer the function because they see it as not important enough to make their list of priorities.

But here's the thing. If you're someone who appreciates sound and making your own recordings, once you've experienced the depth and breadth of decent binaural recording you just don't want to go back to monaural.

There are third party mics that record stereo (the Shure MV88 comes to mind - very good it is too but ultimately creates a biased stage due to it being on the other end to the lens) but the Airninja Movie Method is about less - less to carry, less to remember, less technicalities, just record your damned movie and be assured of decent results by default with a device straight out-of-the-box.

I appreciate that the telephone is a monaural device but an iPhone is so much more than that. It's a pity that out-of-the-box iPhone only creates monaural content. Proof, if any were needed, that binaural sound remains a niche interest - and therefore, opportunity.

The iPhone 7 is also 'water resistant'. The top end Sony Xperia are essentially waterproof in freshwater shallows (IP68) as demonstrated in the following binaural video which ends up fully submerged underwater.




There's just zero reasons for current iPhone to be the airninja's first choice.

☴ Review: Sony Xperia X Performance (Dual SIM F8132- 64GB - Unlocked)

Lime Gold Sony Xperia X Performance - Dual SIM / F8132 / 64GB

Why would anyone buy this phone?

That was the consensus I kept reading at the Android pop sites. Indie reviews are thin on the ground so you'd be forgiven for thinking this phone is a turkey.

So why would I buy the Sony Xperia X Performance (XP) when so many websites are saying it's a very disappointing phone and there are better alternatives out there in 2016.

I've thought about this, and, ultimately, it's consistency.

I have come to value consistency and relative predictability in my pocket computing devices for these are the staples of reliability.

Sony TRRRS jack present

Sony has rocketed through iterations from the Z1 to XP and arrived at the current evolution through continual improvement.

That's the first thing professional reviewers remark on - the relatively unchanged look of the Xperia line. Well personally, why mess too much with perfection?

There's a reason the Sony Xperia phone line has earned the nickname 'Kubrick' and it's not just because of a monolithic black slab that can project the cinema screen.

Sony Xperia omni-balance earns nickname 'Kubrick'

Kubrick is renowned for balanced perspective framing in his films and the Xperia line strives for a similar omni-balance.

23MP camera for excellent EIS 1080P video

No camera bump on the Xperia line of phones. Stereo speakers. Stereo (binaural) recording. Expandable storage. Ingress Protection (limited waterproof capability). Buttonless face. Volume rockers tucked out of the way. Dedicated camera button. ClearAudio+. Best EIS in class. Well positioned microphones. No SIM tool required to open the tray.

No 4K. Not a loss to me. On a 5" screen what possible good does pixel density that high do that a FHD 1080P display can't do? Just like the lacking 4K video recording which is currently a gimmick and most cinemas you've been to project at 2K and you haven't even noticed.

1080P display, why would you need 4K at 5" size

In short, the Xperia X Performance brings a lot to an Airninja table and jettisons a lot of faddy fluff that is mere distraction and bandwidth hogging. I am primarily concerned with the quality of binaural recording with video.

Sony invented the Walkman. Even the company name is partly derived from Sonus.

Sony, having had it's ups and downs for sure, has movies in its DNA from the mutation with Columbia Pictures. Sony sensors helped capture Star Wars films digitally before it was cool.

Sony consistently delivers a functional form factor that helps me get binaural AV work done with minimal fuss (I have previously owned the Z2, Z3+, and Z5C amongst other brands of smartphones).

Here's a video recorded with my Z5C unboxing the new XP underwater:

THE GOOD

A great all-rounder with well thought out design and engineering that adds value to audio-visual recording in the form of consistent quality of binaural video coupled with excellent standard of electronic image stabilisation (EIS).

THE BAD

Populist specifications such as QHD display and 4K video recording are not implemented. Retail price isn't worth paying once you know the street price, so hunt out a cost saving.

THE UGLY

Long video takes can run with a temperature warning in mild ambient conditions especially if something like Google Photos is uploading the previous video you just took in the background over WiFi.

AIRNINJA OVERVIEW
Definitely a pocketable device capable of running with the Airninja Move Method, though the stereo recording crown still belongs to larger Microsoft Lumia 950XL. Beware of recording video with a lot of WiFi background activity since this will lead to heat; remember to put the Xperia into Airplane mode before filming to avoid the problem.

☴ Mobile Video ASMR Binaural Recording Awards (Summer 2016)

For as long as I can remember I've enjoyed experiencing hi-fi stereo sound - many an hour spent sitting in that sweet spot listening to an album.

Later I became interested in capturing authentic stereo sounds, experimenting with binaural and mid-side (M/S) stereo recording techniques to create interesting sound experiences for picture. Sound design with minimal design (because all the best design is as little design as possible).

With a surge in interest in ASMR (experiencing head tingles from certain sounds usually through headphones) and the Airninja Movie Method preference for stereo recording it was time for me to rationalise my gear to see what works best for capturing great stereo sound with decent video.

BRONZE - Shure Motiv MV88 and Apple iPhone SE

Shure Motiv MV88 attached to Apple iPhone SE.

This is a great combo, the mic has an excellent SNR and user configurable dynamic compression and limiter which is saved on the mic itself.

KILLER: The killer feature on the iPhone SE is its speed of autofocus utilising 'focus pixel' technology. Its very rare for autofocus to hunt on this device.

PROS: The iPhone SE is a true Airninja device with it's 4 inch screen and unassuming appearance. It's a very powerful device with a f2.2 lens and has a pretty amazing software ecosystem. User configurable dynamic compression and limiter on the MV88 accessory microphone remains persistent, stored in onboard memory.
Because the MV88 does not employ noise cancellation DSP it has no susceptibility to digital artefacts.


The above video was shot using the iPhone SE and MV88 combo.

CONS: The iPhone SE must be accessorised in order to record any stereo sound since the onboard mic array only records mono. This adds complication and decreases spontaneous opportunity. Once an accessory such as the MV88 is plugged into the lightning port on the device it's not possible to use a battery pack and record at the same time. The biggest flaw however is that without even more gear to mount the MV88 more central to the lens it hangs off one side giving an unnatural bias to the stereo sound particularly on close subjects. The MV88 in its case is another thing to carry and potentially lose out in the field.

UGLY: no onboard stereo sound recording on the highest priced smartphone of its class.

SILVER - Sony Xperia Z5 Compact

Sony Xperia Z5 Compact has a mic on the short side edges.

Slightly smaller than an iPhone 6S the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact with all its features was a very very close contender for Gold - however these awards have a strict focus on audio recording as the deciding factor. As decent as the Z5C is, it does not capture rich bass.

KILLER: If you want to record sound in shallow water this is the only device certified to do it without requiring any special housing.

PROS: The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact uses onboard microphone array to record binaurally with video captured through f2.0 lens. Whilst it may not be true hi-fi since the low-end is lacking somewhat, it does provide decent clarity and positional audio without need for any additional accessories. It's rugged design is dust and water resistant meaning this device can confidently go pretty much anywhere on the spur of the moment where other devices may require some forethought and accessorising. It's a compact device so remains discrete and unassuming.

The video above shot was using only the Xperia Z5 Compact onboard mics.

CONS: The Sony Xperia Z5 Compact audio can regularly be susceptible to quite nasty sounding digital artefacts, likely a result of ambient noise reduction.

UGLY: The camera app shuts down after prolonged use due to overheating issues (for example you won't get an hour long take using 1080P at 60fps, the camera will overheat and shut off after ~45 minutes).

GOLD - Microsoft Lumia 950 XL

Microsoft Lumia 950XL has mics front and back.

If you're going to go large you may as well go all out Xtra Large. The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is a 5.7 inch screen phablet equipped with astonishing binaural recording capability coupled with great video. It's a great value proposition as long as you don't think about Windows 10 Mobile future too much.

KILLER: The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL inherits Nokia's four microphone array with noise cancellation DSP and records stunning binaural sound with good rear-noise rejection.

PROS: The Microsoft Lumia 950 XL is currently the top-of-the-line Windows 10 Phone and its price has also dropped like a stone. Excellent condition used handsets can also be found for bargain prices. So for mobile recording with video it's a fantastic value proposition. It has everything you need - 'RichRecording' purports to capture true hi-fi sound from 20Hz - 20kHz with a sampling rate at 48kHz. Though it's not perfect it is the best audio recording with DSP  in this class of device and captures a rich range of positional frequencies that generally sound great, particularly in headphones. The camera has a wide lens which is optically stabilised and a f1.9 aperture.


The video above was shot using the 950XL onboard mic array.

CONS: it's phablet sized so not ideal for every size of pocket. A lack of support from Apple or Google for Windows 10 Mobile means that, for example, getting video off the device is best done from a Windows PC. Even uploading directly to YouTube from the device is not officially supported and somewhat flakey. Sure you can record to micro-SD and then take the card out but that's extra faffing about too. Digital artefacts can be present in certain conditions but at levels lower than the Sony Xperia Z5 Compact.

UGLY: integration with Google services is lack-lustre to non-existent, including reliable YouTube MCN uploading.

SUMMARY

These are all great devices with their own particular strengths and weaknesses, but when it comes to the airninja movie method the Microsoft Lumia 950XL is the device to beat. It allows you to remain agile without needing any extra gear to record hi-fi sound and I've recorded an unbroken two-hour long 1080P @ 60fps video take with no issues. It's nimble, versatile, reliable in the field - and unless it's in your pocket the size is not a huge issue ;)

☴ Ear On The Nokia Lumia 830 (yes Microsoft Windows Phone)

As I do airninja prep on PAINthemovie I am reminded that my current ASMR recording setup still involves a bunch of faff with an external microphone. Wouldn't it be great if there was a video device that could record rich stereo sound along with the picture?

Turns out, there is. And you'll find it that it's not from Apple - their devices after almost 10 years are still only capable of recording mono sound with the onboard mics (as crisp as that may be).

I've been vaguely aware of Nokia's HAAC mic arrays for a while but, well, since the phones that carried them were always out of my price range for a punt and carried a 'losing' OS, I could never bring myself to take that punt.

Until now.

Two things have happened.

Firstly, the Nokia brand has tanked, hit the ground hard, so it's now possible to get the stereo HAAC devices much cheaper - worth taking a punt. I'm not talking about the newest Microsoft branded Lumia devices but ye olde Nokia branded Lumia devices - specifically the 930 and 830.

Secondly, amongst others, the embedded video below - why was I not informed? I am amazed that this sound (as dynamically compressed as it is, natch) could be captured so articulately by a phone released in February 2014.


Oddly, on paper, the mid-range Nokia Lumia 830 offers better value to the ASMRtist than the one-time top-tier 930.

Why?

Well for video the 830's smaller sensor is adequate, the 16GB internal storage on the 830 all but useless for video takes - however the 830 also offers expandable storage via micro SD card and a removable battery - whereas the 930 is fixed with 32GB non-expandable storage and a sealed-in battery that can't be removed.

I've found used carrier-locked 830 in the UK for as low as £50.

I've taken a punt on a £60 "excellent condition" used handset locked to EE - it could yet all go pear shaped (how annoying is it going to be to get video off the device for example?) but, man, it records sweet stereo audio to my ear - rivalling my expensive iOS gear for ASMR video recordings.

One MAJOR caveat for my with the 830 is that it cannot record 60fps video, and that does limit its appeal to zero for HFR ASMR projects I am involved in. But, did I mention, the 830 records sweet stereo audio to my ear - with no extra gear required. Sweet enough to make me consider 30fps ASMR projects.

I expect to get my 830 by early next week. If it's easy to get the videos off I think this will be a great device for ASMR recording. Microsoft's marketing department are missing a trick, I think!

iPhone SE - A Lot To Like

So the 4" screen iPhone SE is here, retailing in the UK for £439 with 64GB storage onboard.

The real kicker? It has the guts of the latest iPhone 6S inside in terms of A9 processor and 12MP iSight camera with focus pixels.

For an airninja like me that is very very tempting. Why? Apart from the fact it is simply light and powerful and strips away a lot of the flimflam.

Over the years my iPhone usage has matured, much like my iPad usage - which has fallen away completely. I'm old, I'm boring, I don't play games (at least, I have played my favourite genres to the point of boredom) - the idea of having an understated - yet powerful - iPhone appeals.

And I've had extensive use of all the public iPhone form factors at this point.

I started using big screen phones with the Dell Streak, believing that I would soon be able to get real meaty work done with the occasional attachment of a keyboard. It's never really happened though - my usage pattern has basically reverted to iPhone for comms/navigation/camcorder and any heavy lifting done on my 2013 13" MacBook Air - if that computer is tied up doing a heavy render I reach for a ChromeBook to do stuff.

I think this is a result of failed mobile UX paradigms as much as my own brain calcification. Which ever way you look at it, editing a video is fiddly on a small screen (I attach my 13" MBA to a 24" display for proper narrative video editing sessions - though I did edit my first feature film on the 12" screen of a PowerBook).

There are a couple, and only a couple, of reasons I will resist pulling the trigger on a 64GB iPhone SE purchase:

1. My current 128GB iPhone 6S Plus has 61GB storage free - this tells me that 64GB max storage just isn't going to cut it for me without additional admin/habits.

2. The size of the iPhone 6(S) Plus means it has a huge battery relative to smaller models. I am just not concerned about shooting video all day whilst powering a microphone on the lightning port. Take that battery away and it becomes a choice of lightning microphone or an external battery pack - and, that's right, potentially a whole bunch of admin.

It's a case of iPhone SE at £439 (still a significant chunk of change) vs my iPhone 6S Plus at £789 though - and the airninja movie method has always been about grasping value propositions early on. For my actual usage, I suspect the iPhone SE with 64GB would do just fine (after all, I have made feature films using iPhone 4S - albeit with onboard mics and an external battery pack).

Remember, zig when they zag. Avoid the mushy middle. It is tempting.

Top 5 Things I Learned Directing for TrashArts

Tuesday evening during a live film screening event an episode of "Making Of" being produced by TrashArts was shot before, during, and after. Directed by me.

DSLR and stereo X/Y mic atop for POV experience

Fortunately the actors knew their characters really well so it was more a case of AD'ing myself and being continuity person (fuck continuity) to ensure enough coverage for the edit.

What a luxury to just turn up, direct, and go home!

The current cut of "Episode 2" is a shade under 20 minutes. We shot it all in one location in just over four hours.

Anyhow, what did I actually learn?


1. Microphone technology, and audience tastes, have shifted to the point where the camera can truly become a character (indeed this was part of the brief).
Despite shooting at a noisy event in a pub screening the football and a short film night the Røde Stereo Videomic picked up a fine stereo soundstage and intelligible dialogue (at my direction, natch - move closer!)

2. The film clips of the late Michael J Murphy went down a storm.
Part of the script called for reactions to local low budget films. I opted to show excerpts from Murphy's Avalon (German release) and his commercially unreleased super8 Bloodstream.


Boy did those clips get reactions! Secretly, I think MJM would be proud even from the afterlife.

3. Let go but keep time.
This was shot from a five page treatment (by the time I'd added my notes) and then completely performed improv. In the chaos of the venue it was pointless to have done too much planning - but doing just enough to, well, provide direction (as the director, see?)

Antagonists

4. Texan four bean soup sure does look like puke.
I wasn't sure whether to go for the brown realism or the camera friendly yellow-y GAIN style demonic possession vomit. The brown stuff worked out just swell in context.

5. Great actors can appear from nowhere.
I don't know where Sam Mason Bell finds them, but the casting really works. Like I say it probably helps that the majority have already been through the award winning "Episode 1" experience. Those that hadn't were well prepared and researched - leading to some great ad-hoc exchanges between the protagonists and antagonists.


So despite the football running into extra time (I have no idea what the final score was) and a room full of local film nerds watching what film nerds watch at these events I brought a 20 minute episode in on time and under budget (the Texan four bean soup is a tax deductible line item I assured them).

All in all, 21st Century Fat Fox movie magic.

Relax. You're Quite Safe Here.

How new interest in VR could re-ignite the music video and album sales.

Not wearing headphones.

There's been a lot of chatter recently about VR (and AR) from the usual suspects. Apparently the tech is a lot better looking now, you know, realistic and immersive.

The immersive part always makes me laugh. I can be immersive with a pair of headphones and a decent binaural recording. I can be immersed reading a book. Imagine! I digress.

The point was, the narrative goes, VR failed in the 80s/90s because it was clunky low resolution shit.

True dat.

VR - then.

VR - now.

It was also true that gaming in the 80s/90s was clunky low resolution shit. It fucking rocked and a new industry was born - well documented in crowdfunded Bedrooms To Billions for one (I particularly like the founder of U.S. Gold admitting that he had no idea what he was doing).

So VR failed, 8-bit gaming skyrocketed through to the consolidated industry we know today. Stay with me.

Sitting passively wearing headphones. And that other thing.

I believe that VR may continue to fail whist it is physically non-passive. It will appeal to paintballers and lots of other people but who will actually prance around all day in that get up? I don't see it being as big as console gaming (famous last words of course). You can sit playing games at a console all day. VR all day? Be my guest.

Gaming, in common with watching movies, or watching a hybrid of the two - a Twitch stream - is largely passive, hypnotic.

Contemporary VR you must be awake standing up looking around bending reaching tripping over your furniture.

So even though today VR may look amazing it's is not a medium to be frolicking in for hours on end around staircases.

So, by my reckoning, VR must become a more passive activity to succeed - whatever success is nowadays.

VR reminds me of 3D in the cinema - it's going to be rolled out every generation to see if it sticks.

Anyway.

Passive VR. Immersive. Remember what I said about headphones and binaural? This has lead to a boom in Youtube videos promoting ASMR - sounds that make you feel good - and discussions around frisson - music that makes you feel good.

Strikes me that ASMR and frisson typically occur when the subject is passive rather than running around having all senses abused and bruised.

Still no headphones.

So if VR is to become a household medium, how could we shoehorn VR with sounds that make you feel good? Music, of course. Ambient soundscapes. More. No doubt over time a grammar would develop more akin to cinema than gaming (but Twitch is evidence that lots of people enjoy watching games passively and this goes right back to the days when computer games were in the arcade at the seafront - I remember watching that guy beat Space Harrier, awesome!).

Music video can be a great experimental landscape, as indeed can music itself.

VR is so fixated on the vision it forgets the wave.

Ignore the tech companies, ask an anthropologist.

Or, of course, not.

Persuading anyone that they need a helmet to listen to the latest album by the current big thing won't be easy. That's why a new category needs to be invented, and a progressive company needs to be first in it. Which is where it all falls apart. No smart money here! (unless the helmet plugs into a lightning port).

'EyePhone' VR, 1989. Note single cup headphone, d'oh.

Problem Solved: If Apple Ditch The Headphone Jack

The sky is falling as Apple is rumoured to be ditching the headphone jack in iPhone 7. Aside from the fact it is merely conjecture at this point, the entire planet seems to have forgotten that Apple are unlikely to ditch Bluetooth and, that being the case, instead of lining Apple's pockets you can buy a third party Bluetooth receiver to use with your old headphones.




Sure, this is not perfect - if you are able, use a cable - because of course the Bluetooth receiver costs money and is another battery to charge, another device to pair, another complication in your life (simplicity at Apple died with Steve Jobs?) - but it does make Apple's decision easier to deal with if they do indeed ditch the headphone jack and you really want to keep hold of your old headphones (I'm quite attached to my iGrado pair for example).

Actually, it's a TRRS jack, and I'm kind of more annoyed that it will render my Røde Smartlav+ microphone obsolete without some Lightning adapter or improved Bluetooth protocol inclusion.

There's always Android!

☴ Watchlist: HFR & ASMR

I've noticed an emerging trend amongst progressive filmmakers. Firstly they treat online as their primary global distribution platform (natch) but secondly I am seeing more and more content produced with HFR and ASMR.

HFR has largely been rejected by cinema going audiences, but I believe long-term it will become de-facto standard and 24fps will be regarded by my grandchildren as I regard the quirky looking 18fps footage of a hundred years ago incorrectly played back at 24fps.

Everyone can be a filmmaker using a single device.

It's ironic that as a young filmmaker stuck with 50Hz PAL video, I hated that horrible 'soap opera' look of 50i. I strived for that 'film look' just as some modern filmmakers strive for that 'VHS look'. Madness! I yearned for D1 720x576 but when it was finally affordable it was basically obsolete. I wish I'd discovered Laver's law in my twenties then it may have all made a lot more sense to me.

I remember reading, I forget where - other than in print in the early 90s - that when developing Star Tours the boffins got great reactions from audiences when subjected to HFR (60fps was trialled IIRC) - not interlaced like TV, but progressive, actual frames, like film. It wasn't to be though, probably due to reasons of expense and available bandwidth in existing technology. Wish I could remember what the article was and where I read it!

Reading that, it stuck with me to this day. So HFR came as no surprise to me. I believe more motion data is just as important as UHD and beyond. Kids growing up on console gaming just see a blur when they go to the cinema. In fact, so do I (and I don't even own a console).

Cinema may stick with 24fps (for that extra stop in low-light during acquisition), but it's doubtful if IMAX will. I firmly believe IMAX will supplant contemporary cinema as the 'narrative event experience' because home cinema is more comfortable (and a whole lot cheaper) than going out to the cinema. Audiences are split about 3D at the cinema but frankly that's a big fat red herring that gets rolled out every couple of decades. If you want 3D go see a stage play, they are awesome nowadays.

There's an argument that the dating scene will sustain modern cinema. I call bullshit on that, as Netflix & Chill has been marketed so successfully to the younger generation who have grown up with choice and abundance.

EXT. Star Tours.

No way home cinema will stick with 24fps, it will cater to the console kids who grew up gaming at 60fps and will demand their own normal when voting with their wallets (well, assuming the concept of a wallet survives ...)

HFR, especially at 60fps, solves a lot of problems for the progressive filmmaker.

ASMR hasn't made it into cinemas, mainly because 'true' ASMR required the listener to be wearing headphones. It's unlikely that traditional production technique will ever cater to ASMR. However, again, I believe my grandchildren may be more au fait with it than the general public of today. Whilst it may never be mainstream, I believe its benefits will ripple out just as Hi-Fi has done over the last 40 years or so.

There's no doubt that ASMR is pseudoscience, however I have definitely experienced emotional and 'tingly' responses to sound and ASMR is a good an explanation as any.

Essentially ASMR boils down to two things, of which in my experience only one needs to be present (but both is better).

POV often neglects audio completely.

Firstly, perhaps most importantly, ASMR is positional stereo. This usually means recorded binaurally POV. Not practical for most narratives (great for first-person-shooters that the kids play on their consoles - are you detecting a theme yet?). However, I believe a good stereo sound stage reproduction will suffice (more practical for production of traditional narrative).

Secondly, frequency response. Not necessarily flat, but it needs to be 'clean' rather than 'muddy'. This is because the ear cannot discern the direction of bass frequencies but higher frequencies can be highly positional. Higher frequencies tend to lend more air, and thus feed into those ASMR tingles.

It's totally possible for ASMR to be mono, but it is far more effective in stereo. Stereo allows the ear to pick out positional details due to time differences in the sound wave hitting each ear.

This is why it annoys me that Apple's iPhone cannot record stereo with its three (count 'em!) onboard mics. In every other way, the onboard audio always amazes me except for this glaring omission. Sure, external mics are available (and very decent M/S mics they are too - see video embedded below) but sometimes the onboard mics are all you have - typical during the frugalwave. Onboard stereo mics on an iPhone would no doubt be thought about and positioned correctly in relation to the camera lens (or the corrective/adaptive DSP would be spot on).



So Apple has 800 engineers working on the iPhone's camera that they buy from Sony - so what about the audio-visual?


UPDATE: Yes, I should have mentioned the digital bits that represent latitude and all that good 4:4:4 stuff but I think something akin to Moore's "law" in CCD / CMOS / NEXT TLA will see better and better low-light performance over time - it's going to happen anyway.

Sound Really Is 50% Of Your Movie

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was God – it’s the big bang that started it all, not the big picture!

The sound wave, not the light wave.

Sooner or later you’ll hear someone say how important sound is – but rather than wave them on and uttering “we’ll fix it in post”, have you stopped to consider what it is that sound actually brings to your movie?

Here’s a quick test. Watch your favourite movie with the sound turned off.

Does it still engage you fully? Honestly? Would you sit so long through the end- credits (or opening title crawl) if it weren’t for the choice of music?

Does that really constitute 50% of the movie? Well, on a purely “count the senses” – vision and hearing – yes, yes it does. Arguably sound can improve the visual, and even make people see things that aren’t there.

Good sound can really help prop up a substandard visual but bad sound is, well, just bad sound. Our eyes provide vision as a dominant sense, our ears provide sound almost as a secondary sense – a sense waiting to alert us to events rather than continuously inform us in the foreground. Vision gives us actual information – “that bloke is closing a door” – sound gives us implication – “I heard the door shut, it must be shut”.

Seeing is believing; hearing is implication. Implication can exercise far more of the imagination than actual seeing (afraid of the dark? things that go bump in the night?) – yet so much sound today is used with direct correlation to the visual, giving little room for imagination amongst the (im)perfectly rendered CGI.

Imagination is possibly the most visual weapon in your arsenal as a moviemaker – and that can be driven by sound moreso than picture.

It’s not all about imagination though. Most directors agree that a performance recorded on-set will be better than any looping session (looping, or ADR, is the re-recording of dialogue in controlled studio booth conditions), although often certain environmental conditions will mean that the production sound recorded on-set or on-location is not useable.

Sound is also positional in a way that vision is not – the cinema screen is immersive, yet sound allows you to hear things off-screen (given at minimum a stereo soundstage to work with). Even with the latest 3D visual technology, you still need glasses and everything is still contained within that rectangle. Sound is reproduction of actual physical waves in the air, broken free and authentic in ways that photons are not (and, of course, vice versa – arguably – headphones are entirely optional!).

We could get into stereo miking techniques here, but I suspect that’s best saved for another post. Suffice to say I’ve been a convert to stereo recording for several years, yes, even for production audio. It gives so much more depth and spatial precision versus the cost of full sound design – cost usually being a major factor in the indie moviemaker’s world (whether that cost be in time spent or money spent).

“Real” sounds obviously work best at “real” locations and not those recorded in the fakery of the staple studio system. In the late sixties, “Easy Rider” and “Midnight Cowboy” promised to liberate the moviemaker from the shackles of over-engineering. Then Star Wars happened and moviemaking was never quite the same again.

What do you think? Is sound under utilised in modern movies? Can indies get one up on contemporary Hollywood by tapping into imagination drawn from intelligent sound rather than absolute CGI that uses sound as a crutch only?

Since originally writing this article in 2012 for OTTfilm (now defunct), it's interesting to see the rise of popular ASMR related content on YouTube vs the cinemas push for 3D glasses and a general overall industry push to 4K imaging, IMAX, and resolutions beyond.

Taking Stock

No, not some euphemism for my Little Shop work on Hayling Island, this is more to remind me what the Deer Studios production slate is at this moment.

Whilst the world must wait for the Provincial's chilling horror short Dark Is A Long Way (coming 2016 ... we hope!), the Airninja movie method has been persistently seeing acquisition and edits through to final production.



1. After successfully collaborating with Mark Handley for Pompey Princess, we are now discussing potential for a video for his Christmas single. If it happens it will happen fast and within a couple of weeks.

2. On the theme of Christmas, I shot the interview with Graham Stansfield (famous keyboardist of Rare Bird fame amongst other fascinating things) to support the upcoming release of his new Christmas album release.

3. Earlier this month we had the first production meeting for another Mark Handley video, this one called Bella Ballerina - expected to shoot Jan/Feb 2016. We have great talent and crew lined up, technically elevating the production away from pure airninja-ry but remaining true to the spirit!

4. The next short film by award winning director Chris Jupp. Currently in pre-prod/development. I expect to be recording production sound and edit producing on this show. Likely shooting Q1 2016.

5. A dementia related project, or two. I have one ambitious project in development and another more practical, smaller, project slated to shoot over-night some time this winter. The one may lead to the other.

6. Longer term, the making of a feature length documentary on the work of prolific low-budget film director Michael J. Murphy. I have gathered several new interviews to augment the FilmRaker interview with the late director. This is an ambitious project in terms of cataloguing the material and assembling it into a coherent, comprehensive narrative without alienating Murphy's fanbase - but also allowing it to be accessible to anyone else.

Below is a small tribute video assembled from this last ever recorded interview with Murphy, and screened at his funeral earlier in 2015:



7. Recently completed edit of found-footage for the video to Owen Troman's single Winter Child (presumably another Christmas release). I worked on Owen's previous single in a similar fashion - finding footage and mashing it up into something symbolic for the track.


There are many other side-projects I am involved with but I am on the periphery or only providing services on-demand. Two most notable are both for Trash Arts, schedules TBA.

A busy season!

Eating Humble Pie - Apple, Pie

So you may remember I was very disappointed with the direction Apple is taking lately, with its subscription model and general smugness. So I switched to a Sony Xperia Z3+ via a refurb Z2 (still a good value phone I reckon).

It's not that Android is bad. Indeed, I am completely won over by Google services once more and thanks to Google Music I am actively listening and rediscovering my music library once more.

Google Inbox has matured to a point where it just seems normal to me, I've always used my email as a to-do list, so it's perfect(ing). I've been centralising my schedule with (Microsoft's) Sunrise Calendar and not looked back. And Google Keep has since been released for iOS.

So the software that sits on Android is not bad.

It's the ...

Well.

Those that know me know that I have virtually zero tolerance for a product flake out in critical working situation.

You guessed it.

The Xperia video camera let me down. More than once.

I can workaround the native camera not recording 1080P video for more than 30 minutes, but some things I can't comes to term with:

1. Camera lag. From activation delay to a delay after pressing record, it is not acceptable to me when one of my primary uses for bothering with a smartphone is to have a reliable and robust video camera on me at all times. The Xperia hardware may be robust and reliable but the software has proven to me over the last couple of months that it is neither robust nor reliable.

2. Fixing the exposure. I mean, c'mon. I want to set an exposure and keep it there, please. I didn't realise how important that feature had become to me on iPhone.

3. Third party camera apps that are a bit flakey. Likely because of that F word.

I just don't have time for this shit. I need something that "just works", shit here I am on my knees begging for iPhone to take me back because in my experience it "just works".

So I guess I've learned a lesson here. I love recording live stereo sound, I really love it. However, moreso I love a reliable and robust video camera that records mono. And there always the Shure MV88 and my credit rating before I bankrupt myself with another round of Apple gear and Lightning cables.

Like I say though, Google services have won me over. Android hardware flakiness is to Apple network services flakiness in my experience - frustrating and somewhat second-rate; mediocre.

My next iteration airninja mojo core kit looks like being a previous generation Apple phone running current generation Google services. Win win, right?

From #2wkfilm To AirNinja Movie Method

Talking with co-conspirator Evil C about our next January film production, I was reminded about how AirNinja germinated from the tactics used filming and completing "The Original Soundtrack" over a two week period in 2009.

The project was a success, here's a brief trailer:



One other output from that project was an essay entitled "Giving My Movies Away For Free" (reproduced below) which was first published in 2009 by the Royal Baronial Theatre.

I thought I'd dust it off, and see if any insights still stood today. I've reprinted my essay below, but do check out the others that were part of the same project.

The full length version of "The Original Soundtrack" can be viewed for free on YouTube.

--Begin Essay--

A Short Essay: “Giving my movies away for free”.

We live in interesting times. Avatar reportedly is the most expensive film in history and is the culmination of 10 years work. It’s projected to make $1 billion globally. Cameron is advocating 48fps and stereoscopic acquisition. The film is almost three hours long.

How on earth do you get to make films on such a scale?

Let’s start by paraphrasing a piece of Cameron’s advice to filmmakers yet to have made a movie: “Start by making a film. Complete it. From then on you are negotiating budget for your next one”.

But that quote’s probably two decades old or more. From a by-gone era - it’s from the era of scarcity when not everyone had access to the means of making a decent movie. We now live in an era of abundance where punters will accept anything from shakycam smartphone footage to 4K RED, or anything inbetween. Shooting at 1920 x 1080 (the same resolution the Star Wars prequels were acquired at) only requires a modest investment with the huge advantage that you can also go tapeless.

In the era of abundance you need to be able to stand out from the clutter. Cameron largely does this on reputation (“From the director of Titanic, Terminator, Piranha II”, etc). How can you hope to match that reputation? Do you even need to? Zen Buddhism has a good piece of advice, “begin by beginning”, in other words get out there and do it, make a fool of yourself until you’re comfortable with the process. With the technology abundant (therefore affordable), it doesn’t make sense to hold back if all you want to be doing is running around out there making movies. If you want to raise finance and stay warm and dry, study accountancy, wear a suit, go to meetings and act conservative. 

It wasn’t really until April 2009 that I’d realised how things had progressed with the technology - and how affordable moviemaking had become to outlaws such as myself. Having just signed up to Twitter I was invited to take part in the first #2wkfilm aka two week film challenge - shoot, edit, finish a feature length movie in a two week window before the end of May ’09. Up to that point I’d basically been spinning in neutral since the completion of my mockudrama ‘Crooked Features’ which was shot standard definition on miniDV tape with the Canon XL1 and a Sennheiser K6/ME66.

Seeing #2wkfilm as a way to get the fire started once more I started looking around for a means of acquisition. I already owned a Panasonic Lumix TZ which could record 848 x 480 and a bunch of professional boom mics with a Sound Devices 702T. All I needed was a script. And crew. And actors. And locations. Etc. I only had about two weeks to sort all this out if I was to meet the deadline of the end of May ’09. Oh, in that time I also upgraded my Lumix to a TZ 3 which shoots 720p (1280 x 720).

Well, we did it. The result was ‘The Original Soundtrack’ which screened on home turf alongside the other completed #2wkfilm entries at the Portobello Film Festival. The intent was never to make money from this particular venture. It was to make connections with local moviemakers, test a cheap SDHC card tapeless workflow, and chalk another one up in the IMDb. Secondary objective was to promote the local musicians without whose work the ‘Soundtrack’ part would not have been possible.

In aggregate the two versions of ‘The Original Soundtrack’ (700MB and 2.5GB version) on mininova have been downloaded 5,500 times. Somewhat predictably, DVD sales have been anemic (though to be fair it’s not like I’ve given the product any marketing push whatsoever). It was never meant to make me a profit though (the DVD is sold at cost), but it has added considerably to my wealth of connections and experiences.

In comparison I’ve had short film work on Archive.org for several years (always the progressive, me) and the most downloaded there is  ‘Adult Contacts’ at 60,000 times. It’s been there so long I can’t remember when I uploaded it. It’s also my directorial debut (well, with real live actors anyway) if you’re interested in my take on “two people talking in a room” from 1995. The final cut is just under seven minutes but funnily enough I remember the original cut was almost 15 minutes long. Yet, now, I can’t remember what I cut out. I do remember cutting between a Video8 deck and a NICAM VHS deck and some crappy Sony LANC protocol which was not frame accurate; being really jealous of my mate who was editing on Media100 NLE. Anyway, I digress.

Part of my “problem” is that I am a part-time moviemaker. Like many outlaw filmmakers I have a day job, a family, and a life. I just don’t have the energy for self-promotion and I don’t have the bravado to go full-time freelance. I like to eat, and so do my kids. Taking part in the first #2wkfilm has enabled me to re-engage locally and led to my enrollment onto the second #2wkfilm. That, however has turned out to be an entirely different kettle of fish.

‘The Fix’ is my second #2wkfilm effort although currently I disqualified it: although we shot the rushes over just five days, the remaining time was not enough to complete the movie to fine cut (though I did get it to a very rough cut and survive a bout of the ‘flu). The big difference here was bringing a production designer on-board and having access to Rennie Pilgrem’s back catalogue as well as a commitment for some scoring. The production locations were also more ambitious, everywhere from an autumn forest to a small studio space at Ealing. I also shot using a Xacti at 720p and recorded sound single-system (poorly but mostly adequately, the horror) with my recently acquired used Neumann RSM-191 M-S mic. Lesson: my next movie really must be shot double-system and that pretty much precludes it from being a #2wkfilm. It’s expected that ‘The Fix’ will be completed by June ’10 (some way off from the #2wkfilm target of October ’09) but that’s the great thing about being an outlaw - no rules, no deadlines, all my own terms.

To conclude, Hollywood finds itself at a juncture, similar to that when the printing press arrived in Europe in the 15th century. The printing press was a revolution for many reasons, and it put many scribes out of work. The advantages of the printing press were obvious to almost everyone and production costs were 700% less than employing scribes. I guess the scribes weren’t too happy about that.

In the 21st century is it a necessity to spend $300 million to tell a story on celluloid? Will outlaws become organised and create a parallel industry leaving Hollywood to wither on it’s own sick vine. Or perhaps efforts like Paramount’s to keep a slate of $100,000 movies will appease the masses and put the outlaws out of a job. One thing’s for sure. No one can predict the future. Everyone can sidestep the little bits of history repeating. Me? I really enjoy home cinema.

--End Essay--

'Scissor Happy' Major Collaboration with Fat Finger Films and moakley54

Last night saw filming of the title sequence and final voice-over for 'Scissor Happy'. I was there representing Deer Studios in my capacity as sound recordist. We got some cracking footage and a silky smooth v/o. And a beer.

Chris Jupp, Mark Oakley and Phil Lyndon rehearse title sequence actions.

We were also able to review the final cut of the film and it's a really well-paced dark comedy.

Hat tip to Mark Oakley for a great edit.

It does however need some serious work on M&E (music and effects) which is where I come in. I'll be working with director Chris Jupp of Fat Finger Films over the coming weeks to nail the foley, spot effects and any music cues.

No doubt I'll also have an opinion on the final mixdown.

This project will continue to be a lot of fun, though will no doubt need a solid few days to complete the post-production sound. This is planned to happen after next week - which gives me plenty of time to continue working on another major Deer Studios project - Seb Hunter's 'Dark Is A Long Way'.