60 Foot star curtain

Our new star curtain comes in 6/10 foot panels. Twinkle, chase and blink effects as well as dimming and no camera strobing. All pieces lace together and are standard DMX controllable.

Also new in DMX 5 controllable LED par lights. Call for more info

AJA Ki Pro, Transcoder, 422 recorder

Picture This Production Services and Stage Just in-The AJA Ki Pro is a tapeless video recording device that records high-quality Apple ProRes 422 QuickTime files onto computer-friendly media. Because it features SD/HD-SDI, HDMI, and analog inputs, you can interface with virtually any type of camera you might own or rent.

Wireless Communication System

Picture This Productions Services is now offering a 5 Pack Wireless ClearCom System. With a range of up to 100' , it is self-contained in a single road case for easy packing. This system is perfect for any production where a Director has to communicate with roving shooters. The basestation is only $100 and is compatible with any number of wired ClearCom beltpacks available for $25 each.

Please call Picture This at 503-235-3456 with questions or to take it for a test drive.

Sony NX5 packages Now Available.......

Just in at Picture This: Sony HXR-NX5U

Say good bye to tapes. The new Sony NX5U is the companies newest prosumer camera designed to take the place of its current HDV cameras. The NX5 is part of Sony's new line of NXCAM cameras, and just as HDV replaced miniDV, NXCAM is designed to replace HDV. The NX5 records 1080i 60i, 30P and 24P as well as 720P 60P all to SD cards or Memory Sticks. But it doesn't end there, the NX5 also comes equipped with the HXR-FMU128 Flash Memory recorder. This 128GB hard drive unit is capable of recording over 700 minuets of the cameras highest quality 1080i HD. With two 32GB SD cards and one 128GB Flash unit, you can record for 1,068 minuets or roughly 18 hours of Footage. Now thats just one way to shoot, you can also simultaneously record to both the flash unit and the the card media giving you a back up of your footage, or you can have a copy for you (flash memory) and a copy for the client(card media). Or you can shoot Standard Definition on one and High Definition on the other. You can even choose to have one media record with the button on the hand grip and the other media record with the button on the top handle. This camera system allows you to choose the work flow that works best for you and your clients. Oh I forgot to mention, it can over crank to 120FPS.

Another successful show put to bed.

Another successful show put to bed.

Picture This just completed the ADP General Session for their presence at the National Automobile Dealers association in Orlando, FL. With a skeleton crew, we flew out to Orlando where I met up with a local team to set up for the show.The hotel was not able to get us into the room until midnight so we pulled an all-nighter. In the morning the Director took over the helm and lead a fresh crew through a marathon of rehearsals right up until showtime when I returned from my sleep to assist the crew with the show. Live events are known for their long and unusual hours but even still, I am rather proud of this one: 4am pacific time through 10:30 am the next day eastern time! After that, we headed over to the ADP booth at the convention center where we shot a short video to be sent out on webcast as an "Almost Live" broadcast. The sounds of power saws and people shouting and banging around in the background really helped put across the hive of activity as hundreds of people got ready to greet the public! Another Picture This Development on display was the iPhone display at the booth which demonstrated the new iPhone Dealer App. We also developed a web interface for auto app sign up, through our partners at Feedia .

Getting home just long enough to sneeze, Perry and the crew shot another webcast, much more extensive this time, and then turned right around and flew down to Southern California for another ADP event, Pacesetters. Talk about frequent flyer miles, PDX airport security greets him by name and it's NOT because his photo is posted by the xray machine. :)

All in all, it was a great success. The client seemed really pleased with the results. The local crew did great. We received many positive comments. While we were in Florida, we even had a chance to visit our Uncle Walt. I think he might just be your uncle too.

Canon EOS 7D Digital SLR

Yes, It's here, Stills and full HD. come on in and check it out.

A Whole New Class of EOS.

With a host of brand new features designed to enhance every facet of the photographic process, from still images to video, the new EOS 7D represents a whole new class of camera.

Made to be the tool of choice for serious photographers and semi-professionals, the EOS 7D features an all-new 18.0 Megapixel APS-C size CMOS sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors, capturing tremendous images at up to ISO 12800 and speeds of up to 8 fps. The EOS 7D has a new all cross-type 19-point AF system with improved AI Servo II AF subject tracking and user-selectable AF area selection modes for sharp focus no matter the situation. The EOS 7D's Intelligent Viewfinder, an entirely newly-designed technology, provides approximately 100% coverage and displays user-selected AF modes as well as a spot metering circle and on demand grid lines. New iFCL Metering with 63-zone dual-layer metering system uses both focus and color information to provide accurate exposure even in difficult lighting. The EOS 7D also captures Full HD video at 30p (29.97 fps), 24p (23.976 fps) and 25p with an array of manual controls, including manual exposure during movie shooting and ISO speed selection. The EOS 7D features a magnesium alloy body that is dust- and weather-resistant and shutter durability of up to 150,000 cycles. Compatible with over 60 EF and EF-S lenses as well as with EOS System accessories, the creative opportunities - not just with stills but also with video - are beyond amazement.

Features

	18.0 Megapixel CMOS Sensor and Dual DIGIC 4 Image Processors for high image quality and speed.
	ISO 100-6400 (expandable to 12,800) for shooting from bright to dim light.
	8.0 fps continuous shooting up to 126 Large/JPEGs with UDMA CF card and 15 RAW.
	Advanced movie mode with manual exposure control and selectable frame rates: 1920 x 1080 (Full HD): 30p (29.97) / 24p (23.976) / 25p, 1280 x 720 (HD): 60p (59.94) / 50p, 640 x 480 (SD): 60p (59.94) / 50p.
	Intelligent Viewfinder with approximate 100% field of view, wide viewing angle of 29.4°, high magnification of 1.0, intelligent viewfinder with glass pentaprism and an overlaid LCD display in viewfinder supports various shooting styles.
	New 19-point, all cross-type AF system equipped with dual diagonal cross-type sensors in center at f/2.8 and f/5.6 and AF area selection modes to match various shooting situations.
	iFCL Metering with 63 zone dual-layer metering sensor that utilizes AF and color information for optimizing exposure and image quality.
	Magnesium body with shutter durability up to 150,000 cycles and exclusive dust and weather resistance.

P+S Technik Pro35 Adapter

P+S Technik Pro35 Adapter.

The P+S Technik Pro35 Adapter is a perfect match for the Sony F800. This adapter can turn any 2/3" B4 mount camera into a PL mount camera. The Pro35 adapter coupled with our PL mount lens sets will give your film the depth of field you require.

Sony PDW-F1600

Sony PDW-F1600

Sony's companion deck to the F800. The F1600 is Sony's only XDCAM deck capable of playing back and recording natively in 23.98 frames a second. The deck is designed for both field and in house use, and incorporates a 4.3" LCD screen for recording/playback and Thumb nail view for clip preview and editing. The F1600 is designed for high speed transfer at approximately 220Mb/s, making it ideal for field and in house editing.

New Sony PDW-F800 available

Just in at Picture This:

-Sony PDW-F800 CineAlta XDCAM HD camera

-Sony PDW-F1600 CineAlta XDCAM HD Deck

Sony PDW-F800

Currently available for rental is Sony's newest and highly anticipated high definition camera, the PDW-F800. Capable of recording multiple formats, resolutions and frame rates, the new F800 is Sony's top of the line full size camera. The camera records the new XDCAM HD422 codec on to either a 23GB or 50GB XDCAM disc. XDCAM HD422 is capable of recording 1080P,1080i, and 720P at 23.98,29.97 and 59.94 frame rates at 1920/1080. The F800 is also Sony's first full size XDCAM HD camera capable of over/under cranking.

Histogram, Histogram, what art thou, O histogram

Read the Histogram

Because this image was overexposed, its tones are clustered on the right side of the histogram.

The key to correcting an image’s tone problems lies in understanding the histogram that appears at the top of the Adjust palette. The histogram is a bar chart that shows the distribution of tones in an image. Black is on the far left edge, white is on the right, and everything else is in between.

By learning to interpret what the histogram is telling you, you can take much of the guesswork out of correcting bad photos and discover ways to make good photos even better. Usually, you want photos with as broad a range of tones as you can get. Think about boxes of crayons: you can create a much more detailed image with 64 different crayons than you can with just eight. Likewise, if the bars in the histogram are crammed together in a narrow space, your image probably doesn’t have the resources it needs to depict subtle detail.

With a well-exposed image, the histogram’s bars will stretch across the full range of the graph. If your histogram’s bars are clumped on either the left or the right side, the image is probably underexposed (lacking good highlights) or overexposed (lacking good shadows), respectively. If the bars don’t stretch to either edge, then your image lacks contrast.

Reprinted by permssion of Ben Long:

www.completedigitalphotography.com.

Another Succesful Event!

I am glad to announce that another successful show is in the can. We recently descended into the depths of the waterfront marriott and navigated the most confusing elevator button labeling system ever devised by mankind to set up for a truly unique corporate awards ceremony. The show kicked off with a re-cut of MJ's "Thriller" edited and overdubbed with a Michael Jackson sound alike changing the lyrics to reflect the nature of Printer/Copier sales and service. Around the time the Vincent Price voiceover started, about a dozen professionally made up zombies ambled into the room and flopped onto the stage just in time to be reanimated into Jackson Backup dancers. The dancers were amazing! We put on a great light show, video was handled through HD projectors spraying widescreen 9x16' surfaces and the sound system really got to go through a workout.

If only all corporate events could be this fun.

At the event's conclusion, our crew came in loaded for bear because we had to get the whole show out the door in 90 minutes. We would usually expect a strike this size to tack 3-4 hours. everyone worked together like a finely tuned machine. Jonathan set to work re-setting the projectors and screens for the events banquet portion while I coordinated with the DJ to make all the pieces come together. The first show got broken down with twelve minutes to spare!
...The rhumors are true, Picture This is, in fact, awesome.

Follow the Blog- Luke

Register to follow the Picture This Blog, get updates on our new equipment , and production info in the Portland Area ,

PLUS receive 10.00 off your next rental!

So easy. So Fast. So why not?

Go to :

www.pixthis-pt.blogspot.com

register to follow and your done.

You can even do it here! Now! and get that coupon for 10.00 off your next rental.

The Blog is Strong with this one

Pan and Tilt Professional Style

Okay, so we have all seen them, and wish we could get some practice time on a geared head.

Well now you can! The Worral Geared head is now available in thePTPS eq. room for free practice sessions and with time and some practice you can operate with style, and upgrade that day rate.

Super smooth, super cool and another skill for your bag of tricks.

A great tool for that next feature. Impress your clients and be the envy of the other DP's.

Come on in and put some time in, and see whats new this month at PTPS.

Thanks to Mark Loring for the video with our new head and tilt plate, and yes.....

the Red camera is available too!

Handles up to 170 lbs. so even Panavision cameras are okay.......

Come on, you know ya want to try it, so stop on in. a give it a whirl.

Just in !PDWF1600 Sony Professional Disc Recorder

Wow, We love the Sony XD camera format. Paired with our New PDW-800 you have a winning combination.

The PDW-F1600 is a compact HD recorder which provides outstanding picture quality of MPEG HD422 as well as an eight-channel (HD-SDI), 24-bit audio recording capability. The foundation of the PDW-F1600 deck incorporates the features of the PDW-HD1500, and acts as more than just file-based recording deck. With its insert/assemble editing capability, it can be used as a recorder in a linear editing system - just like a conventional VTR. 23.98P and SD legacy formats are supported as standard. What's unique about this deck is its ability to operate on AC, DC or power. With its large 4.3-inch* LCD and built-in speaker, it performs as a versatile and high-quality recorder which is suitable for both in-house and field operations. It comes equipped with a multi-format up/down converter, which is highly useful when employing both HD- and SD-format materials at the same time. *Measured diagonally.

Contact Ben or AJ for more details

P

Standalone audio for transcription, Red Camera

Zoom H4n Handy Recorder:

The H4n is a versatile 4 track mp3/WAV recorder with built in stereo mic. Its perfect for use as a digital backup/reference on ENG shoots, live events, audio transcribing, music events, and more. The built in mic has both 90 degree and 120 degree settings depending on your subject matter, as well as an external mic input and line inputs. The data is stored on an SD or SDHC card and with 20 different compression ratios you can choose what works best for your project. The H4n is indeed a handy little recorder and will prove to be a handy asset for any shoot.

Round and Round she goes

PTPS Motorized turntable kits are available in large and small configurations.

Our large turntable is towable, a mere 24" high and holds a baby grand

Our smallest, a diamond ring or other with the slowest smoothest speed imaginable!

For more info, contact Tim Carroll.

Heres the specs:

Large 8 foot turntable

Towable 1 3/4 “ ball

120 VAC, reversible, ON/Off control

Speeds .10 RPM ( One RPM every 6 minutes) thru 10 RPM

Tested Weight-1250 Lbs 568 Kgs

Small Turntable Kit

120 VAC, reversible, ON/Off control

Multiple turntable sizes,

Speeds .5 RPM thru 10 RPM

Large base 10”

Small Base 3”

Wooden platter

1/2”- 3”,6”,9” Extensions,

1/2 “ variable offset plate

1/2” tri-sectionalized, articulated arm to 3/8” screw

1/2" Clear 3", 9", 12" extensions

1/4”- 3”, 6”, 9” extemsions

1/4” 45 degree offset plate

8.5” x 9”, 12” Tube risers

30” milk glass round,

10” wood platter,

3”,6” black plastic round

2,4,5,6,8,10 clear round base

Tested Weight 40 Lbs 18Kgs

New Sony PDW-F800 available

PTPS is proud to announce the PDW-F800 camcorder. It offers multi-format recording flexibility as standard – including SD recording and a frame rate of 23.98P in 1080 mode. The PDW-F800 camcorder builds on the features of the PDW-700 camcorder. Enhanced functions, such as Slow & Quick Motion (over-crank and under-crank recording), make the PDW-F800 ideal for cinema and TV drama productions, as well as ENG applications

This camera is a favored by DP's with its easy to use and familiar functionality, full camera size and top of the line imagery.

Pair it with the Pro 35 adapter and our prime lens set for a Cinematic look that cant be beat.

Call AJ at 503.445.7877 for more details.

Nine Light- New Light

As you may know we have received a 9-Light Maxi Brute. Each bulb is controllable with Med Flood, 1,000 watt Par 64s. This head takes 100 Amp bates for power and is best used on a Crankovator stand. We have landed on a day rate of $125, distro and stand not included. We do have spare bulbs as 1 should go out with it if it happens to leave property for rental. This light is very versatile since you can use it anywhere from a 1k-9k and is great for a large group key light with a soft good in front.

Picture This was privileged to be a part of the Scion Garage Fest Music Festival. 40 bands were invited to play at four different venues in downtown Portland. We provided the production team with 14 Hi Def Cameras and enough P2 cards to capture the entire event, as well as all grip and lighting for seven interview suites. We were responsible for overseeing the four track audio recording of each band's interview and 24 track recordings for each act to play in each of the four venues. This was a major logistical coup. We were able to put together 8 multitrack systems and live recording engineers, as well as coordinate crew and systems to be in place and ready to roll in time for each segment of the production.

On Friday, October 19th, we set four four-track systems, wireless lavs, cameras and lighting into four suites on the top floor of one of Portland's fine hotels. We worked hand in hand with the production team to shoot and record ten hours of high paced, back to back band interviews. The bands were from all over the country from Miami to Chicago and LA, and even from across the pond.

On day two, Oct 17th, the real fun began. We all met up downtown early in the morning at 5th and Couch where we moved our interviews to three mobile homes that had been rented for the event. The quarters were very close with lights placed inside cupboards and technicians setup on the beds or standing at the kitchenette's sink. The RVs were located right on the MAX lines, so audio was a major concern. Four band members, two cam ops, one sound recordist, a director, and the person conducting the interviews all squeezed into the RV for an hour. Oh, did I mention that it was raining! While that was going on, the live recording crews set up 24 track recording rigs at the four bars while the bands started rolling in. Music was happening all over downtown from about 2pm until 2am.

It was a great event and everything went off perfectly. It was exciting to be called upon to do something so unique and challenging and to really pull it off. Picture This is proud to have been a part of such an incredible opportunity.

Summer Features:

It's been a feature filled summer at Picture This. August brought "Train Master 2" a locally funded and crewed sequel to a film shot in 07'. PTPS was the vendor of choice for both grip and camera department. The film traveled to many rustic locations in the portland and SW Washington area. The equipment room provided multiple EX cameras, monitors, HD POV camera, jib, and the ever popular steadicam flyer. The grip department provided the 3-Ton grip truck fully loaded with a tungsten and HMI packages, dolly's and distribution.

September brought an independent feature produced by a local company "Exterior Films". The untitled drama will be shooting in the portland area and Picture This gear will be there. The Grip truck with full tungsten package will be on site. The EQ Room is providing the RED one and full Prime lens package for the durration of the film. PTPS has been working along side these films supporting them along the way.