Here you can see how the .mov file created by the raw2dng app has a file creation date different than the original video. I shot the RAW video at 8:42pm on June 20th but the ProRes video file wasn’t created until July 4th so it will be out of order in Final Cut Pro.

If you import a video file created by raw2dng into FCPX, the video lacks timecode and therefor will be arranged by the wrong time in your event browser.  FCPX is all about metadata and you don’t want the video times to be wrong when working on a long-term project.

Delete the preview .mov file created by raw2dng and convert your .dng files into TIFs using Photoshop. You will now have a folder full of .dng and .tif files.

I’ve written a simple Applescript that will batch convert folders with TIFF files into 1080p24 ProRes422HQ video. It is included in the .zip file at the bottom of this post. If you just use the .mov files created by raw2dng then skip to Step #3.

The file creation date of our video file is different than the original RAW file.

Run my other Applescript which changes the file creation date of the new .mov files to match the .RAW files of the same name. This works for batch folders. You can find the script at the bottom of this post.

Now the .mov file creation date matches the original .RAW file.
The video file still lacks timecode though.

Get the QTchange app for Mac. The demo allows you to do 8 files at a time or you can buy it for only $25 which is well priced.
QTchange will add a timecode to the video files based on the file creation date that we set earlier.

Now when we import our converted video files the date and timecode are correct!

Grizzly bears play on a frozen lake on the Arctic tundra just outside of Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. Photo: Ryan Jackson. June 10, 2013. Financial Post

Aerial shot of a collapsed pingo on the Arctic tundra. Pingoes are large mounds of earth that cover a core of ice. Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. Photo: Ryan Jackson. June 10, 2013. Financial Post

Aerial shot of the houses in the hamlet of Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. Photo: Ryan Jackson. June 10, 2013. Financial Post

An excavator pushes mounds of earth during the first phase of construction of the Inuvik to Tuktoyaktuk highway. Tuktoyaktuk, NWT. Photo: Ryan Jackson.  June 10, 2013. Financial Post

The sun sits on the horizon during 24 hours of daylight over the Mackenzie River. Inuvik NWT. Photo: Ryan Jackson.  June 11, 2013.  Financial Post

I went to Tuktoyaktuk with Financial Post reporter Jeff Lewis and Postmedia head of video Andeep Singh who was the producer.

Here I am mounting suction cups in a helicopter for my DIY spinning gyro stabilizer.

Balancing my Panasonic GH3 on my DIY gyro stabilizer.

The hotels in Inuvik were sold out so we lodged in this floating work camp barge. When more workers are needed somewhere else, the whole thing can float away.

Inuvik has the world’s most northern greenhouse.
You can watch a cute video we did about it here.

I experimented with a new shooting rig for this trip.
I bought a DSLR cage on eBay and used it to keep my Canon 5D3, Beachtech audio mixer, accessories and 7″ Ikan monitor all together.
The rig is really heavy but that’s a good thing because it reduces shake. But now I need a bigger video tripod head!
I’ve since removed the 7″ monitor and replaced it with a bag to hold my wireless mics and I have my Panasonic GH3 on the rig now instead of my Canon 5D3.

Here’s our first interview. I used the nice green paining as a background. To keep travel weight down I just packed a magic arm to hold my LED lights instead of a flash stand. There’s always a chair somewhere.

This was the first of three interviews we did in the same room. We moved chairs around to give ourselves more room. This room was great because the walls were all painted different colours. This interview had a green background.

The 7″ monitor really helped with checking focus and framing.
Though I prefer just using focus peaking with the Magic Lantern firmware hack on my Canon 5D3 now.

For this interview I used the same green wall but moved further away from it so that it would be a darker green because there was less light falling on it.

24-hour sunlight. This picture was taken at 11:38 PM !!!

24-hour sunlight. This picture was taken at 2:11 AM !!!

What happens when old corn brooms are replaced by newer brushes?
Journal videographer Ryan Jackson created a short film about one such broom for the 2013 Brier.
To find out the fate of our old curling broom go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/broom

All the volunteers showed up at 8-a.m. and had no idea what the script or anything was. I played them a rough cut video I made from the storyboard and we started curling!

Here is my original storyboard. I had thought it would be cool to have the rocks talking and picking on the broom but then I decided that talking rocks would be confusing so I just used music.
I spent hours writing and re-writing the script to make it as simple and manageable as possible.
It’s way easier to fix your script before you shoot than after!

This was the final shot of the day. I used gaffers tape to mask my 7″ monitor to 2.35:1 aspect ratio to help with framing.

Jason Franson was helping me for the shoot and took this photo of me filming Carleigh Johnson with the broom. I was able to pull the scene off with only two 500-LED light panels and one small 160-LED light panel to the right.

For a 360-degree view of Princess Diana’s tiara go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/life/diana-celebration/tiara/index.html

I used a spinning serving tray from Ikea and covered it in black tape.
I then used a small continuous servo motor connected to a Phidget server controller and my laptop.
I timed the servo so it would turn the table 10-degrees, wait 5-seconds for me to take a picture , turn 10-degrees, wait 5-seconds for me to take a picture, etc. for 360-degrees.

The little tire is from an old Meccano set.

Here’s Lucas Timmons smiling politely. I used one 24×36 soft box as my main light and two lights with grids behind to make the tiara sparkle.

Braden Paquette, left, and Tara Jackman dance to the music of Kellie Pickler in the beer gardens at the Big Valley Jamboree in Camrose, Alta. on August 3, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

The view through a night vision scope of Canadian solders on night patrol at Forward Operating Base Maiden 1 during Exercise Arctic Ram near Yellowknife on February 13, 2012. Approximately 1,500 Canadian soldiers and Rangers participated in Arctic Ram to re-familiarize the army with a harsh winter environment and to exercise Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. Journal reporter Elise Stolte and photographer Ryan Jackson were embedded with the military this week and saw the exercise first hand. Go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/arcticram for photos, blog updates and check out The Journal on Sunday and Monday for the full story on our military in the arctic. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

8 Platoon commander Lt. Nick Ethier climbs into a snow cave built during winter survival training with the Canadian Rangers at Forward Operating Base Maiden 1 during Exercise Arctic Ram near Yellowknife on February 14, 2012. Approximately 1,500 Canadian soldiers and Rangers participated in Arctic Ram to re-familiarize the army with a harsh winter environment and to exercise Canada’s Arctic sovereignty. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

A couple walks down a pathway in Edinburgh, Scotland.

Wouldn’t it be cool to sit down for a chat with party leaders for the 2012 Alberta provincial election? Well, now you can. By stitching together four separate videos, Edmonton Journal videographer Ryan Jackson puts you at the same table with the leaders of the Progressive Conservative, Wildrose, Liberal and NDP parties. You can pick which candidates you’d like to hear from on five hot topics in 360-degree interactive video. So grab a cup of coffee and go to edmontonjournal.com/360election In this frame grab you can see (left to right) Alison Redford, leader of the Progressive Conservative Party, Danielle Smith, leader of the Wildrose Party, Raj Sherman, leader of the Liberal Party and Brian Mason, leader of the NDP at Cafe Rista in Edmonton on March 29 and 30th, 2012. This image was created by stitching multiple frames together. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Judith Benson, librarian at the Alberta Legislature poses for a photo in the library of the Legislature building in Edmonton on August 21, 2012. The Legislature turns 100 years old this year. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Students with St. Joseph Seminary created a giant “Snow Pope” in honour of Edmonton’s Archbishop Joseph McNeil society in Edmonton on November 7, 2012. There was supposed to be a fundraiser for the Archbishop Joseph MacNeil Society at the seminary but it was canceled due to weather so the students spent their day creating the sculpture and shoveling sidewalks for neighbors.
For a fun video of the students creating the “Snow Pope” click here. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Neil Herbst, owner of Alley Kat Brewing Company poses for a photo in his brewery in Edmonton on August 27, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Simple Plan performs on the Telus Stage at Capital Ex on July 28, 2012. This image was created by stitching multiple pictures together. The Journal’s Ryan Jackson has created a fun “choose your own adventure” style 360-degree panoramic tour of Capital Ex including 360-degree videos on a roller coaster and several other rides. You can eat corn dogs, play games and watch the fireworks. The game is especially neat on a gyro-enabled iPad2 or iPhone 4. Go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/capex360 (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

The sun sets on the Pacific Ocean along the west coast Highway-1 in California.

A panoramic view of the homes on 9th St. SE in Slave Lake, Alta. on May 23, 2011 (top) and May 2, 2012 (bottom). Nearly one-year after after a wildfire devastated the neighbourhood. Images were created by stitching multiple pictures taken taken at GPS location N55°16.411′ W114°45.859′ (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal) To see these images in a 360-degree interactive split screen view, go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/slavelakemap where you’ll find more before-and-after photos and panoramas.

A view of the Alberta Legislature building minutes after a severe rain storm taken from the roof of the Annex building in Edmonton on August 23, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Marie Dann and Adrian Smith enjoy some A&W on their wedding day in Fort Saskatchewan, Alta. on August 25, 2012. Photo by Ryan Jackson / ryanjackson.ca

Aaron Hoyland holds his soon-to-be bride Lisa’s hand while her bridesmaids keep her hidden.

A blacksmith poses for a photo at the Ukrainian Cultural Heritage Village near Edmonton, Alta. on September 1, 2012. Photo by Ryan Jackson, ryanjackson.ca

The sun sets on a snowy field along highway 21 near Camrose, Alta. on December 11, 2012. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Here is my Pan/Tilt/Slide robot that I’ve been working on for months. I added 8:1 ratio pulleys to the motors to make the movements smoother and slower. I also surrounded the motors with plastic to dampen the sound. (not shown here). The design is constantly changing which is why I haven’t blogged about it much. Though I guess I should blog about all the changes!

I made a DIY teleprompter using cardboard, tape and my iPad running the Teleprompt+ app. This was my first time recording reporters with a teleprompter and it made my life so much easier! The subject doesn’t have to fumble for words and some say it makes them forget about the camera a bit.

Here is the very rough version 1.0 of my Pan/Tilt/Slide robot controller.
I plan to eventually control everything with an iPad app that I’m writing so there’s far less wires!

Frame grab of David Staples from the video. I just used two 500LED lights for him.

Here is my setup for David Staples in City Hall. My assistant and friend Megan Voss is on the right.

Frame grab of Gordon Kent from the video. I just used two 500LED lights really close to him. The sunlight coming through the window was much brighter than the video lights so they had to be placed close.

Gordon Kent in City Hall talking about the hockey arena saga. It was hard to balance him against the bright window with only two 500LED light panels so I underexposed him a bit and then brought up the shadows in post.  Photo by Megan Voss.

My setup for Graham Thomson in the Alberta Legislature talking about former Alberta Premier Peter Lougheed’s death. I got Graham to stand on a box so that I could frame him with the portrait.

Frame grab of Stephanie Coombs from the video. She has a 1800-watt 48″ Octobox to her left and one 500LED video light to her right.

Stephanie Coombs at her desk to talk about the Hub Mall shooting. You can see I used my Olympus LS10 audio recorder connected to my wireless Lav for sound. It’s always better to record your sound separately and monitor it with headphones. Photo by Megan Voss.

A frame grab of Sandra Sperounes from the video.
I just used the light on her desk and a small Light Panel with an orange filter off to the left.

Sandra Sperounes at her desk talking about the Paul McCartney concerts. Photo by Megan Voss.

Marty Klinkenberg at his desk to talk about Highway 63. Photo by Megan Voss

Frame grab of Jim Matheson from the video.
I used two 500LED lights and one small Light Panel as a hair light.

Jim Matheson in Rexall Place to talk about the NHL Lockout.
I wanted to film him in Rexall place to illustrate the empty stadium seats and lack of hockey.

Ever wanted to drive a train? Journal photographer Ryan Jackson has created an interactive tour of the Battle River Railway story. Take a seat at the controls of Engine 5353 and learn how to drive a train! The tour works on your desktop or mobile device. Go to http://www.edmontonjournal.com/BRR

Will Munsey, volunteer Engineer for the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo in Forestburg, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future.  Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Battle River Railway Engine 5353 transports grain near Galahad, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. Photo by Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal

Ken Eshpeter, Chairman and CEO of the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo in Forestburg, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Peter Wetmore, Forestburg-area farmer and railway conductor for the Battle River Railway, links two grain cars near Galahad, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

Peter Wetmore, Forestburg-area farmer and railway conductor for the Battle River Railway, poses for a photo near Galahad, Alta. on December 1, 2012. The BRR is a community-owned railway line between Camrose and Alliance, Alta. The new generation co-op purchased the 80-km short-line from CN in 2008 after they announced they were going to sell off the rails for scrap. By keeping the line active, local area farmers are able to save money and time transporting their grain. The co-op also turns a profit which it returns to it’s shareholders and plans to offer tourism and oil transport in the future. (Ryan Jackson / Edmonton Journal)

I got to drive a train!

Here’s how the story turned out in the paper. The designer Keith did a fantastic job!  You can read Marty Klinkenberg’s wonderful story here.

Turn on location services for your iPhone or enable the GPS on your Android phone to embed the GPS co-ordinates in all your camera photos.

Go to http://maps.google.com and zoom into the area you took a photo. Then Right Click (CNTR-Click on a Mac) at the exact spot you want and then select “What’s Here?”. The GPS Longitude and Latitude will appear in the search box.

Neil Herbst, owner of Alley Kat Brewing Company, which is celebrating its 18th year in business with a $300,000 expansion.
Canon 5D Mark-II, 16-35 2.8L lens @ 16mm, F7.1, 1/160. Four Alienbees strobes.I moved the red hose into the frame to make the image more dynamic and add colour. 

Jim Pettinger, who carries hundreds of varieties of beer at Sherbrooke Liquor on St. Albert Trail, says inducements are an “open secret” in the industry.
Canon 5D Mark-II, 16-35mm f2.8L lens @ 23mm, F18, ISO160.The beer cooler is super dark and I wanted all of the colourful bottles to pop so I used four strobes. Two on the background to shine on all the bottles and two on Jim. 

Clayton Little is co-owner of Accent Lounge near Whyte Ave.

Canon 5D Mark-II, 24mm f1.4L lens, F11, ISO160.One Einstein strobe with a 22″ beauty dish and a grid on Clayton. One Einstein strobe with a 7″ reflector and grid behind him. 

Craig Martell takes pride in exclusively selling micro brewed beer at Wunderbar on Whyte Avenue, which he co-owns.
I wanted to bring attention to the colourful sign and also show all the beers that they offered. I put one Einstein strobe with a grid to shine on the sign and a second Einstein strobe with a grid to shine on Craig. Since the grid makes the light beam super narrow, the light only shines on the sign and Craig and the rest of the picture is dark.I used a 24mm Tilt-Shift lens to correct perspective and keep the lines straight as I was shooting from a high angle. 

Here you can see my lighting setup for the portrait of Jim. Two background lights, an overhead umbrella and a ring flash.

This was my setup for the portrait of Neil. One 7-foot PLM reflector as the key light. An Einstein with a grid to the right for a rim light. Then two strobes in the background to make the tanks shine and pop.