I just dropped by to catch the next “Not a Podcast” episode. And now I’m nearly crying to hear that sound blankets are underrated. That brings a tear to my eye! Thanks Gerald and Josh, you are the best!
Curtis, I give you FULL credit for helping me get my studio's audio setup right. I'd still be struggling if it weren't for your keen insights (and me spending dozens of hours learning from your videos). For Toronto, a HUGE thanks!!
If it weren't for Curtis I never would have tested these sweet sound blankets, which really helped on two recent projects. The stand that company sells for these is, for me, 2/3 good, 1/3 not - but that's a conversation for another day. - Dave
Fully agree on St. Curtis of Judd. I have directly asked him wether moving blankets can be good enough vs. Vocal Booth To Go/Producer's Choice real sound blankets. In his astoundingly polite way, he basically said "Yeah, moving blankets don't cut it. You need the real thing," and of course, he was right. The things are unexpectedly heavy and clearly different than Home Depot moving blankets. Also, I hate pressure on my yolk.
Hoods, yes! Every time I pass through a doorway and hear BONK it warms my soul to remember that it's a plastic lens hood bonk and not a glass/aluminium bonk.
I LOVE this series so much. I hope it’s picking up steam. I feel like when “Not A Podcast” is in the title, some folks might not watch thinking it is actually a podcast and doesn’t contain practical info
It's pretty crazy that I feel comfortable clicking the like button before I even watch more than 5% of your videos (meaning duration, not your library). Your channel is amazing and the quality of the content and the knowledge presented is just miles above the rest. Exceptional work Gerald, always. And much love to MakeArtNow too - just inspired.
There's tons of these, "top 5 underrated gear" videos but somehow listening to you guys it really feels like I'm getting something much more real, and I really appreciate that. Or maybe it's that you're validating my decision to go full v mount for all my gear....
I had a lens hood save my macro lens when my tripod teetered over onto a cement floor. The hood broken but the lens was relatively unscathed. I always use them now.
This channel pays itself just on the info it transmits. I have some managerial roles pertaining show biz and I've become so much informed about the ins and outs of video producing and editing.
I loooove REAL sound blankets. I also have two legit portable vocal booth panels that fold. I used them in a garage in a recent video and it sounded so good with just a light distant reverb.
theres any other place that can ship a little cheaper than the ones gerald recomended? the shipping to PR its $185 plus taxes, its $400 for a sound blanket, ill stay with my reverb more than happy before paying that hehehe
I love the gear conversation. Often purchases border on personal ego and we start to get defensive and u guys so good to have the arguments out on the table.
Curtis Judd - Wow! I learned sooo much from about audio when I started my channel 5 years ago. Great resource to learn the basic from and grow on your own. Jerrold is awesome too!
Sound blankets, yes! Honestly, moving blankets do work well. I love a good pile of all black moving blankets. Shooting a commercial in a really nice house, I wrapped the bottom of my C-stands with a moving blanket and could slide my lights anywhere on the wood floor without scratching or marring the floor or furniture.
If im going after wildlife, unless its a very specific "artsy" shot of like the silouette of a bird with the setting sun behind or something like that, I don't want flares, even then... I'm not sure... However, I keep them on mostly for lens protection.
I'm with you on the light dome. They are useful for interviews so I see Josh's point. But I've been getting into lighting using other methods such as the 5 in one reflectors with the one diffuser and reflecting light as well. So I can see your point. Also if you do product photography on glass it does not look as good as a long rectangle soft box
I always learn something, here. Just set up a sound blanket in my new studio (eldest daughter's old bedroom), and about to do some testing. Thanks, Gerald.
Curtis just recommended me sound blankets too. I spent a small fortune on foam panels, base traps and acoustic panels. Still need more. Am going to test the blankets tomorrow. Before I fork out for more panels
Also for shooting at the beach, Clear/UV filters are great because the salt spray builds up seconds after each photo and it’s nice to wipe the filter than the actual lens
Played with Davinci one time two years ago and said I would edit my next project in it...two years later I'm still using premiere because I never did. You're making me want to try it again. Good stuff 👍
Chiming in for @Curtis Judd. Totally underrated, totally essential. Also, same for @Caleb Pike. I've watched both of them within the past six hours. I was never clear whether you guys meant "parabolic soft box" to mean all soft boxes or specifically true parabolic umbrellas with diffusion front surfaces. If the diffusion surface is effective (even across the surface) it makes no difference whether the umbrella behind it has a true parabolic curve. But it sounds like you're using the term "parabolic soft box" simply to mean "soft box."
Totally agreed on the parabolic soft boxes. I now use a lantern soft box to avoid a cutoff line that a regular soft box still has. Especially useful in lighting food or flat lays.
The issue I have with the light dome and other parabolic deep modifiers is that the moment you stick that diffusion sock on (which for video I basically always do), they just become a softbox, so that extra depth is redundant. My studio is small. I need small modifiers or indeed use other means of bouncing and diffusing 😀
I usually remove the hood on a gimbal, but when going into a wedding crowd...the hood usually comes on, unless I already have an ND filter on the lens :3
Parabolic soft boxes are in my closet collecting dust since buying big LED flapjacks from Falconeyes. I can thank Caleb Pike's review for that. Huge space saver if you don't want to constantly be collapsing domes. I can put them flat up against a wall when I'm not using them (I live and shoot in my studio, so I keep them on rolling stands). They of course have their place (especially when you really need big power), but there is usually no need for a light and diffusion to be two separate solutions in my use case.
Let me preface, not only do I use your channel & content for an insightful resource, but I really enjoy your reviews of tech. Now, how on earth did I miss this masterpiece of a video?! Not that you should quit your day job,but I’d subscribe to more of this content in a heartbeat!
As far as light modifiers, diffusion umbrellas are definitely underrated. Quick and easy to set up, and as long as you don't mind the extra spill, they work great. Softboxes are only necessary if you want darker shadows in your "unlit" areas.
Great ep fellas. Dome vs Scrim? It's a tough one, for a good soft source, a scrim should stand about a metre from the light. So on set, a scrim could take up just as much, if not more, space. And you need an additional stand. But the light will be beautifully soft and essential for shooting woman.
The flare thing depends. It CAN look good if that's specifically what you're going for, but if I don't want a flare or glare than I want as much contrast as possible. Plus it DOES definitely protect the lens like Gerald said.
I literally have those exact sound blankets in a box that just arrived to my house, after building a version of Curtis Judd’s setup for an upcoming film project in a brewery.
Lens hoods are amazing when shooting into the sun, you loose so much contrast sometimes. Think about looking into the bright sun and putting your hand over your eyes to see better, it’s the same idea
I installed DaVinci Resolve a few months ago to try it out. I have not opened Premiere Pro since. I HATED nodes at first but now have no idea why I waited so long to try them out. What a game changer.
As an event photographer, early on in my career, I did shoot in clubs and I had two occasions where my UV lens (yes it was unnecessary in low light environments) broke from bumping into things in the sardine can called a club. I learned to use the included hood to save me lots of money, but that did get dinged up a lot. Though you can get 3rd party hoods to use as lens protectors if you plan to resell your equipment.
Big time for lens hoods! I do club and event photography as well as motorsports. People bump into you, spill drinks etc. Even when shooting in rain it helps to avoid droplets on the lens which catch light in annoying ways sometimes
Commenting as I watch: - DIY Perks has a DIY sound panels made with cheap towels that does a fantastic job (of course then you have to make it, so cost/benefit) - I agree with Gerald about the lens hood and with Josh about uv filter (both for protection) - I don't know much about lighting, but I do think you can get away with less expensive diffusion (compared with a parabolic softbox at least). I've had pretty great results with a Godox light with a simple reflector and an umbrella.
Well said! I’ve found a simple curtain or muslin scrim makes a better modifier than the parabolic softboxes that come with them. Got the tip from Epic Light Media’s channel.
Scientifically speaking parabolic soft boxes don’t work. The parabolic shape works when the light source points inwards and reflects outward allowing the shape to align all the light beams so that they are parallel. We’ve used a beauty dish soft box with less depth and they worked great - allowed us to use a grid to shape the light.
I appreciate that you guys mentioned Curtis Judd. I love his work. And both of your guys are also in my top-10 list of RU-vidrs in this niche as well. Thanks for this!
I bring four large Vocal Booth to Go sound blankets with me to any job I do that uses an interior space. I place them on the floor under and behind talent or sometimes hanging from C-Stands. Makes a huge difference in sound quality. Moving pads are close to useless as sound blankets. Real sound blankets have acoustic ratings for absorbing certain frequencies of sound. I once had all four blankets on the hardwood floor of a historic space we used for a Hollywood film BTS. When I walked onto the center of the blankets there was an obvious reduction of building noise, it was like a cone of silence lowered over my head. Quite a quiet experience. BTW, I have been told by clients that I am the only Mixer they have ever seen use sound blankets on location. Good way to up your game.
I can't count the times lens hood and uv filters protected my lenses on all sorts of situations, I film a lot of skateboarding and stuff at the beach! 😂
Great conversations at "not a podcast!" This reminds me of the Marvel franchise theory. RU-vidrs that you like and respect cross paths making a bigger universe! You are nailing it! Great job...
Great video! I'm not sure if it's just me or the editing but a lot of times it sounded like Caleb was interrupting you and was being quite rude. Haven't noticed anyone else mentioning this so its probably just me. In any case, its a great video with lots of useful information! Thanks!
I think things are changing with resolve. I just convinced my company to switch completely over to resolve and I don't think we're ever going to look back. Every release it's updated with major features and QOL improvements. Best part of all is that you buy it once and use it for life. Suck it Premier.
I 100% agree with Gerald's point about the parabolic soft boxes. They're the go-to resource, every non-famous RU-vidr is making videos about how to light your RU-vid channel and it's a 300D with a Light Dome every time. Aputure's RU-vid channel is actually great about showing how ELSE to use their lights and I wish more cinematographers and videographers would take note. Just like you said, use a 4x4 or a 5-in-1 or bounce off the wall, hell you could even use a bedsheet or a shower curtain and get an even softer look that way.
I use the lens hoods ALL the time if they come with one. Simply because it acts like a lens protector from me bumping and scratching the front element. So many times I've jammed the lens hood and yeah, it protects it.
I'm a fan of the Lightdome parabolic softboxes because they're SO FAST to setup and have nice cases and can be stored with a grid and diffusion cloth all at the same time. Less than 2 minutes to fully setup a 5ft softbox.
Loved this!! My take on each item: Sound Blankets. Right I'm getting some. V-mounts. I use generic NP-F970s and they're great but I know I'l end up on v-mounts one day. Lens hoods have saved 2 lenses of mine but yes, for photography, not for video for me as I use a matt box. Yes, flares are good Josh but only the pretty ones (from a point-light source), not the one's that cut your contrast by hitting the front element. I find a top-flag on my matt-box is enough protection against the latter. UV Filter is good protection, but again, only on photographic lenses. For film, I want to keep it as pure as possible (as I already have a VND on the front. Parabolic soft boxes: I think they’re great but yes, not for everything. Lighting is definitely underrated. Resolve 1000%. Peerless. In 2020 I migrated from Premiere after 20+ years and would never go back. “Don’t tell me what to do Josh” 🤣🤣
Moving blankets work great. I've had to double them up to cut down outside noise at a window (closed) but you can get 12 for the price of 1 high dollar sound blanket.
Hehehe, I said "exactly" when you were talking about the usefulness/protection factor of lens hoods for photographers. Unless it's super cold out and the hood will cause heat distortion or I can't fit them in a case/bag for transport, I leave my lens hoods on all the time; it's so much more convenient than fidgeting with lens caps or constantly worrying about anything bumping the front element.
Okay, also, it feels self-defeating that the other guy is arguing for parabolic softboxes, and pointing out that he's using three of them, while his lighting in this is... I mean, I was gonna try to say it kindly, but honestly, I think it's awful. Heavily side-lit with odd-angled, creepy shadows on the face is not a setup I'd go for in this scenario, and seems like it could be achieved with, ya know, a $20 floor lamp or an open window. 😅
I remember when Parabolic lighting was becoming main stream and it was largely due to the Briese lighting systems. This was about the time that RED was making splashes in the industry for the first time and photographers were looking for lighting that could be both photo and video. And they were used primarily by fashion and beauty photographers who wanted to mimic beauty dish light for video. And they were always more of a "show piece" to impress the clients. I cant tell you how many times ive had to set up a briese for a photogrpaher and we never even turn it on. But it looks awesome on set, and if its set up, the client has to pay for it! Shortly after everyone and the mother was asking for a Briese at studios, Broncolor came out with their first parabolic. Parabolic light modifiers have ALWAYS been more of a trend than a truly utilitarian light source. They are massive and expensive and the quality of light can be duplicated in numerous cheaper ways. It blows my mind that so many youtubers, creators who are generally hailed for their crafty/low budget ingenuity, use such expensive and unnecessary light modifiers.
I usually leave the hood out like Josh. I do use multi-coated filters (technically UV filters I guess), so I can avoid lens caps and easily wipe off the filter instead of touching the len's front element. Even coated filters can affect the image a bit, but they are significantly better than non-coated ones. It's all about convenience.
I find lens hoods can come in handy for exterior real estate photography on a wide. Too bad I always forget to bring it and end up using my hand to block the sun lol.
Love these crossovers. It's like watching Law and Order SVU and then Stabler comes walking out of the shadows and we don't know if Benson is pissed or in love.
