My video setup: Canon HG10 with 35mm adapter

~ 04 February 2010 ~

I’ve had a penchant for filmmaking ever since I was a little kid. I’ve never had the right equipment, though. I’m trying to finally change that, while still trying to stay within budget.

The photo above shows the setup I’ve been piecing together over the last few weeks. I haven’t shot anything with it yet, but I’ll give it a good run in a couple weeks when I film the Colosseo letterpress poster being printed. We’ll see how it goes.

Two years ago this would have been a killer setup—it’s similar to the setup Benjamin Reece used to shoot “Fifty People, One Question”. Nowadays, a Canon 7D or similar is probably the way to go for those of us doing indie-style film stuff. Check out this fantastic video shot with a Canon 7D:

I’ve had my HG10 for a while now, and I’ve been able to do some decent shooting with it (see “Roma Italia”). I’m not ready to make the step-up investment to a 7D just yet. So I’m doing what I can with the HG10, while making sure much of what I’m purchasing will also work with the 7D at a later date.

It’s taken quite a bit of research to piece all of this together, so I’m documenting my equipment here for those of you searching for something similar:

• Canon HG10 HD hard-drive camcorder (you can get these for under $400 on eBay nowadays, though I’d recommend something more recent like the Canon HF S100 if purchasing your first non-tape camcorder)
• Greg Tay’s GT35pro 35mm depth of field (DOF) adapter
• Nikon NIKKOR 50mm f/1.4 AI manual focus lens (this one is from the late 70s, snatched on eBay)
• Opteka X-Grip
• RODE VideoMic
• Sima LED video light

Check back in a few weeks to see some of the video I’ll shoot with it. Fingers crossed it turns out okay.

Archived article 18 comments

Michael Bierut on clients

~ 01 February 2010 ~

Michael Bierut is such a down-to-earth, practical designer (and speaker) who works hard to do amazing work without the typical stigma associated with graphic designers. This practicality is clearly evident in the video above, a presentation given at CreativeMornings in New York City. And if you haven’t seen Helvetica, you need to see how his commentary really helps the movie shine.

Michael’s presentation on clients is one of those “should be required viewing” kind of presentations. It’s fantastic.

Clients are the difference between design and art. I would go insane trying to work … without clients…. I really need clients to provoke me as a designer to do work.

Thanks to Tina Roth Eisenberg for making this happen.

Archived article (comments off)

Colosseo: Available March 2010

~ 26 January 2010 ~

Watch the full resolution video on Vimeo.

This project began 12 months ago when Suzanne and I purchased tickets to Rome. It’s consumed a good portion of my working life since then. This is a sneak preview.

Sign up to be notified by email when it’s available:

Archived article (comments off)

The Authentic Jobs Twenty Ten promotion

~ 08 January 2010 ~

We just kicked off our Twenty Ten promotion over at Authentic Jobs. In short, post a listing and save 20%, and 10% of your purchase will be donated to Charity:Water to help provide clean drinking water around the world.

Alternatively, you may donate to our campaign without purchasing a listing.

Use promo code MOLLTEN when posting your listing. Offer ends January 22.

Archived article (comments off)

Do what works best for you, not them

~ 06 January 2010 ~

Of the many things we do well as creative professionals, we often forget to think for ourselves, relying on thought leaders to determine what works for us and what doesn’t.

Paramount in this failure to think for one’s self is the fact that these thought leaders often struggle to encourage others to explore new thinking without belittling their methods—or worse, ostracizing them—in the process.

Whether or not the title of thought leader can be applied to myself, I’m just as guilty as anyone else. In “20 tips for better conference speaking”, I offer this short-sighted observation:

There is absolutely no reason in the world you should use anything other than Keynote. Period.

Admittedly, I still struggle to see why anyone would prefer to use something other than Keynote. But the phrasing of this observation with its absolute terms leaves little desire for anyone not already convinced about Keynote to explore my preferred method.

The simple fact is this: You, and only you, can determine what works best for you. Regardless of how biased or objectively the advice is phrased, you would be unwise to not consider alternate methods and ideas throughout your entire career. You would be even more unwise to be swayed by every new compelling or forceful argument that comes along merely because it was spoken by someone notable.

Mac vs. PC, Photoshop vs. Fireworks, print vs. web, GTD vs. to-dos on a sticky note, 4-hour workweeks vs. 40 hours, XHTML vs. HTML5… the list is endless.

Rest assured a “better” tool, a “better” process, a “better” way will always come along. However, what will remain unchanged is the need for you to know what works best for your personal, project, and client needs—and to adapt when it really is a better way.

Archived article 21 comments

~ | Archives | ~

“Moll’s blog is worth any web or graphic designer’s time.”

–Jeffrey Zeldman