Thursday 28 April 2011

Shiny New Toys.

Well it's been a busy week here at Icarus. Aswell as kickstarting pre-production on our new Vignettes project, prepping for next month's shoots and getting everything ready for "May Madness" I got my hands on a couple of new toys to play with.

First up, I finally stumpped up some cash and bought myself a HDSLR rig for the 60D. After months of agonizing on what to go for I finally decided on a Gini Rig from Korea, based mainly on the recommendations of CheesyCam and the fact you can pick one up for a decent price on ebay.

Check out my unboxing video.



Even though it's alot cheaper than the big boys like RedRock and Zacuto I'm still really impressed with what I've got.





Everything has a really solid feel to it and comes in a very funky red and black anodized finish. The adjustable handles are really comfortable and thanks to the ball-and-socket joints are perfect for tweaking into postion to suit your shooting style. The cage feels like it can take some serious knocks and keep on smiling, all the time protecting your body and lenses from what could be some damage. The rig I went for came with a couple of arms for mounting your accessories like monitors or the crop of EVFs that are starting to hit the market.



A couple of niggles are the mount isn't the most user friendly of camera mounting options (the tightening screw is a bit of a pig get to) and the shoulder pad has no real cushioning to it but I'll just have to see what it's like after using it in anger for a few hours.

I do like the fact it breaks down and fits in little camera bag quite nicely. Perfect if you dont want to be lugging around to much kit.



Next up is my little prize haul from GoPro after winning their "Everything We Make" daily prize draw.



I've been dying to get my hands on a GoPro HD for a while and after spotting the link to their prize draw on Twitter I thought what the hell and put my name down.

I literally only entered the competition 2 or 3 times before, out of the blue, receiving an email to say I'd won. And look at everything I received.








All I need to do now is find a job to play with all these new toys.

Monday 4 April 2011

Next Generation Broadband Meeting Broadcast LIVE Online!

Want to know more about about the Next Generation Superfast Broadband coming to Cornwall?

Can't make it to the Redruth & Camborne Joint Chamber meeting this Thursday!

Don't worry, Icarus Films (UK) will be broadcasting the whole event LIVE online with the launch of it's new corporate package - EventCasting.


Simply watch the feed here, LIVE, or head over to http://www.ustream.tv/channel/eventcasting on Thursday 7th April at 18:30. You can also tweet in your questions to the speakers - Julian Cowans (from the Cornwall Development Agency) and Paul Clark (from Packetship). Either send your Tweets to @IcarusFilmsUK or by using the hashtag #eventcasting. You can also use Ustream's chat to get in touch.



And all you tech heads with tablets and smartphones you can also watch event live on your mobile devices, simply go to http://www.ustream.tv/everywhere and download the iPhone, Android or Windows Mobile 7 app.

For more information or if you would like your own event streaming live online get in touch with Icarus today.

To contact Icarus Films email enquiries@icarus-films.co.uk or phone 01209 718842