Here is one of the recap videos I put together for the Blogs With Balls conference that I shot at in Las Vegas.  I assure you, this was as much hard work as it looks.  Read more about this trip here.

Rob and I shot video and stills during the panels, which they will be distributing for people who could not attend the conference.  We also did some shooting during the two parties on Thursday and Friday nights.  One was sponsored by ESPN and was a premiere of a documentary as part of their “30 for 30″ series.  The second night, which was definitely the highlight of the trip for me, was the Blogs with Balls Charity Poker Shootout.  This event was sponsored by Carbon Poker and put together by Dan Levy from On the DL Podcast.  The event was to raise money for Ante Up for Africa, a charity started by poker pro Annie Duke and actor Don Cheadle.  Playing for charity is great, but playing at the stunning Hard Rock Casino with 99 other players, including a dozen poker pros was A BLAST!  I surprised myself by making it to the final table, getting knocked out in 8th place.  Not too shabby, if I do say so.  And I did this while jumping up to shoot interviews and b-roll, in between hands.

Me and poker pro Annie Duke

All in all it was a great trip.  Technically everything worked out quite well.  I shot a little bit with my new Canon 7D, but mostly it was used for stills.  I did take it out one night for fun and shot some very nice looking video in some very low-light situations.  I may try to put together a little video of the extra stuff I shot.  I mostly used my heavy, but maneagable EX-1 rigged out on my Zacuto shoulder mount system, with 2 wireless mic receivers, Zylight on-camera light, and battery for the light.  It is kind of a monstrous system, but it is much easier to shoot handheld with, especially with extra lights, batteries and mics.

But here is the first of several highlights videos that Rob and I put together for Blogs with Balls.  Enjoy!

Click here to view the embedded video.

I find packing for air travel to be somewhat of a pain.  Baggage costs are now astronomical, plus the logistics of transporting gear through the airports can be quite a hassle.  I tend to pack lighter than some other productions, typically with a smaller lighting kit then when I am shooting locally.  My goal is to check 2-3 bags and carry on the camera, laptop, and enough accessories that if that was all I had, I could shoot something.  Last year on a trip to Central Pennsylvania (flying to BWI) my large checked bag did not show up and I had no lights or tripod.  I was reduced to find a small camera shop and bought the best tripod they had (which was only $50 and ridiculously underequipped for a large camera), and fortunately could rely on available light for the warehouse I was filming in.  Basically I try to keep on my person whatever I need to get by in a pinch.  I also always look for rental houses in the area I am shooting (which sometimes does not exist in more remote places).

On this trip the only lighting I need is for run and gun interviews so I packed my Zylight Z90 LED light.  This is a very versatile little light that I can put on my camera or a stand and is really all I will need for this shoot.  I did bring an extra Sony EX-1 as we will be shooting some different things simultaneously and I also have my new Canon 7D, for it’s inaugural shoot.  I will mostly use the EX-1s this week as I need to run 2 wireless mics and an on camera light, but hope to get some creative B-roll with the 7D.  We may get out on the strip tonight to shoot some fun videos to show at some point during Blogs with Balls so I may use the 7D for that.

So I have my large rolly Kata case (the OC-97) with my tripod, several wired and wireless mics, the Zylight, my Zacuto shoulder mount system and other accessories.  I have 2 Kata backpacks (the HB-207…I love this bag) with the EX-1s, the Canon 7D and lenses, batteries, media cards, and a couple mics.  I sort of felt like a walking Kata advertisement, rolling through the airport this morning.  We checked in fairly easily with only a 70 dollar charge for our three checked bags (after shifting some stuff in the big bag to keep it under 50 pounds).  So all in all, it wasn’t a bad travel experience, but it helped to have Rob around to help out.
So on to Vegas and Blogs with Balls.  More to come in the next few days.

So I went over, armed with my trusty Visa card, to buy my very own 7D.  This was really the first time I had even touched one (other than this past weekend when I nearly accosted a photographer at an event I was at who had one around her neck), and it felt very robust.  Much heavier (in a good way) than I expected; it felt very pro.  Unfortunately the lens I had ordered online was not expected to arrive until the end of the week, and I couldn’t stand the idea of going home without a lens (since I was buying the camera body only), so I looked through the selection at Newtonville, as there were a couple other lenses I had planned to purchase.  They had me try a fantastic wide-angle zoom, the Tokina 11-16mm 2.8.  It looked great, felt great, but I had not planned to buy that one (yet).  I was looking for a “normal” range prime lens and was deciding between the Canon 28mm 1.8 or the Sigma 30mm 1.4.  Well they did not have the Canon in stock.  I had read mostly favorable reviews about the Sigma and the Canon is a much older design, so I opted to go with what they had, so I could play at home.  So I left Newtonville with new camera, lens and a few spare batteries in tow, and a significantly lighter wallet.

Now here is what kills me…first is that I had purchased some Compact Flash cards with the lens I had ordered online, so I have nothing to shoot on until they arrive, and second is that I have three projects that I need to finish editing over the next week and have literally zero time to go out and shoot.  The camera spent all day sitting on my desk just staring at me, asking to be used.  I have certainly turned it on a bunch and put it into video mode and walked around the house, framing up nice shots of my dog, or my wife Kate cooking dinner, or my coffee cup on my desk.  And the stuff looks great, but I can’t even press record because I have no CF cards yet.  Sigh.

But soon, I will have what I need and my current projects will be done, and I can go out and use it, and then start putting it to work.  It is already very clear that this camera shines in low light compared with my beloved EX-1 (which for an HD video camera is quite sensitive in low light), and it has a very nice shallow depth of field due to the much larger sensor.  Will it become my “A” camera?  Probably not.  My EX-1 is certainly more versatile for many situations, and there are some drawbacks to shooting video with a DSLR like the 7D, but it has a very nice, filmic look that I think will work well for scripted or stylized shoots.  I am definitely going to take it to Blogs with Balls next week in Las Vegas, along with 2 EX-1s and put it to use.

Can you tell I am excited?

BWB was such a big hit, that Chris and his partners were asked to hold another conference as part of Blog World & New Media Expo, a huge industry conference.  Fortunately, through some very generous donations, BWB got enough funding so that I can go back and work the event again.  I don’t typically do a lot of event work, but this turned out to be a blast last time, and the conference is one I would benefit from attending otherwise, both for the content and the networking.

Plus it’s Vegas, and I’ll never turn down a job in Vegas.  The icing on the cake is that Chris organized a BWB poker tournament hosted by Annie Duke (a major poker pro).  I am an avid poker “hobbyist” so getting to go work a fun event AND play poker with a famous poker pro sounds like a total blast.

So that’s it.  I am just excited!  You can check out the highlights piece I put together right after BWB 1.0.

Click here to view the embedded video.