HDR Video

HDR Video is something I started toying around with in 2007.  The post production side of it was a challenge and a whole series of blog posts to touch on what I’ve found to be “best practices” for me.  The image below shows one single frame of the video. Each frame actually consists of 7 shots taken on continuous shutter release at 9fps on a D3.  Each frame was merged to HDR and tonemapped and then laid down in Final Cut Pro’s timeline.  The D3 was on a tripod with a fluid head and it was a manual (not perfect) tilt move.

I started doing the HDR Video segments for architectural shoots for builders, architects, realtors, rental companies, vrbo … the kitchen sink.  I had exported them out for video CD-Roms and marketing DVDs. The problem then was that the whole HD-DVD versus Blu-Ray DVD was a battle that had not been fully settled yet.  So I didn’t bother exporting out the segments to high definition.  I’m going back to old hard drives and bringing that footage back online into Final Cut Pro and doing that now so that I can export out to 720p for Vimeo and 1080p for YouTube.

The first one I converted to HD was not an architectural interior, but rather a segment I shot near the back yard of a client’s home for sale that happens to bump up against a state park here in North West Florida called “Eden Gardens”.  I’m still exporting and uploading the YouTube 1080p version and that won’t be done until later tonight after the Super Bowl, but the Vimeo 720p version is live now.  I’d let it cache and watch it full screen.  There is also a link to the right and below that allows you to download the video to your computer if you want to see it in much greater detail.  It is 720p, H.264 quicktime at 30fps.

I’m not even going to embed it. You really need to view this at full rez.  Here’s the link:
HDR VIDEO on VIMEO – 720p HD

I’ll be uploading more videos in the coming weeks.  All were shot from 2007 to 2009.