Cyclists v Motorists Documentary Film

A documentary film that I produced which covers the subject of motorists and cyclists in my home town of Cambridge. To view the full film watch the embedded YouTube video above.

Time Lapse Photography by Bradley Stearn

The above playlist contains photography time lapse videos photographed by myself. I will be shooting time lapses regulary throughout summer. Subscribe to my channel on YouTube to be kept up to date with what I am shooting. At the end of summer I will be making a montage containing all of the best time lapses that I shot. So far I have shot starscape and cloud time lapse.

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How to photograph stars for time lapse

Now I am no expert at photographing the stars, but I have learned a lot from the small amount of experience that I have had. In this post I am going to give a step by step guide on how to achieve the best results when photographing stars, along with tips and tricks I have learnt, and also with some tips on the post production side of star trail photography.

Equipment needed for star photography is very basic, you will need a DSLR, a wide lens (I use an EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5), a sturdy tripod to ensure the camera doesn't move during the long exposure shots or during the time lapse shoot and an intervalometer which is a device which automatically takes a picture for you at set intervals of time. I use the Magic Lantern firmware hack on my Canon DSLR, this makes it to I can have a built in intervalometer which saves carrying extra equipment. I highly recomend taking warm clothes, you will not regret taking gloves and a beanie hat, as it will get cold standing outside at night doing nothing.

These are the settings that I used for the star trail examples below, these settings don't need to be copied exactly to get good results. Firstly make sure you are using a long shutter speed, I recommend between 25 to 30 seconds long, doing this allows for plenty of light to hit your DSLRs sensor which helps bring out the stars in the sky. You also need to make sure you are shooting with an aperture which is at least f/3.5 or lower. ISO depends on how much brightness you need, but I usually use ISO 1600 on my Canon T3i because anything higher is quite noisy.

I won't go into too much detail about the post production side of star time lapse photography, but I do have recommendations on software to use if you are a Windows user. I usually batch edit and process time lapse photos using Digital Photo Professional, which is the free editing software that comes with all Canon DSLRs. I will then use Sony Vegas to edit the photos into a video file that can be uploaded to YouTube. I also have a free application called 'Startrails' which places every photo from a star time lapse into one image to show the 'trail' of the stars over time. You can download the 'Startrails' application by clicking this link which will take you to the official website.


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DSLR Time Lapse Light Streak Cars Magic Lantern

Photography by Bradley Stearn

A time lapse I have been wanting to make for years now, I have just been procrastinating about it. I finally persuaded my friend to drive me to make this last night, and I am very happy with the result. I have always liked the light streaks that you get from long exposures and car lights at night.

I shot this time lapse with the Canon 600D / T3i DSLR, with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens. I used the Magic Lantern V2.3 intervalometre to make the time lapse, I shot at 5 second exposure at 7 second intervals.ISO 100, f/5.6, 18mm focal length.

Equipment used in this video -
Canon 600D / T3i DSLR w/ EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5 - 5.6 kit zoom lens
Manfrotto 700 RC2
Magic Lantern V2.3
Integral Ultima pro 32gb
Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.0

Time Lapse is something I really enjoy, I am shooting another time lapse during this week, so expect to see that on my YouTube and blog by next Monday.

Psychological Thriller Short Film Teaser Trailer - DSLR Filmmaking

A few weeks ago I shot some test footage for a psychological thriller film. At the time of shooting the test footage we did not have any idea of a clear narrative, apart from the idea of having a psychologically challenged character walking through the woods. The protagonist in the film is troubled in life, and the idea that in the film we will hear various voice-overs from key moments that have led to his insanity.

I am working on this film with a friend, he is helping come up with the 'psychological' elements to the film, as he is a big Christopher Nolan fan.

''The person the main character kills could actually be a colleague or a friend (as inspired by Christopher Nolan's 'Insomnia'). He might have killed him accidentally whilst he was apprehending the real criminal. And because of it, he kept it a secret - this could be the cause of his coma''




The test footage/ teaser trailer was shot on the Canon 600D / T3i DSLR with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 zoom lens on the Manfrotto 700 RC2 fluid head. For the super wide angled fisheye shot I used the GoPro HD Hero camera, to create a sense of distortion to the shots to help represent the protagonists state of mind. 

If you would like to be kept up to date with the production of this short film, please like my facebook page by clicking here.

Canon DSLR 60fps Slow Motion Video Footage

A video I shot yesterday for the fun of it involves an air rifle, cans and bottles and a dslr filming at 60 frames per second, all of that equals a lot of fun. I have never tried slow motion before, so when my friends started shooting an air rifle in the garden, I decided to film the impacts of the air rifle pellets with my Canon 600D DSLR, at 60fps (frames per second) to capture the full explosions of the cans and bottles being shot. I then took the footage into Sony Vegas Movie Studio 9.0 and changed the playback rate to 24fps (frames per second), which resulted in the footage being in super slow motion, whilst being smooth at the same time.

I used my Canon 600D/T3i DSLR along with the EF-S 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 kit zoom lens to film these video clips.



Below is the same footage, but played back at normal speed. The original footage really shows how slowed down the slow motion video is above -



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Canon Auto Zoom 318M Super 8mm Cine Camera Overview - Kodak Ektachrome 100D

I hope everyone had a great Christmas, I certainly did and received some fantastic presents. One of my presents was a vintage Super 8mm camera. I asked for a Super 8 camera because I am a big fan of the style of film that they shoot, with scenes in films such as Paranoid Park and Somers Town inspiring me to shoot on this small format. I received the Canon Auto Zoom 318M Super 8 Camera, in very good condition, I would say almost brand new with all the original packaging inserts, and even a leather case. In this post I just want to do a quick overview of the camera, I will be sharing digitally processed footage as soon as possible. 

The Canon 318M has a zoom lens that can be altered automatically with the Wide or Tele switch, or manually with the zoom ring. It has a focal length of 10mm wide and 30mm tele, with an f stop of f/1.8, I am excited to see how it performs in low light situations. The lens does have an optional macro mode, with an orange switch on the left hand side of the camera triggering focus for anything below 22.5cm. 

A fairly large dial is located on the right hand side of the camera, this is for the focus. It goes from infinity which is 15 metres/50 feet, down to 1.5 metres/ 5 feet. I have found that this focus dial isn't the smoothest, I am not focus pulls are something people do with Super 8 cameras though, I think I will have to set the focus, and then film without changing the focus.

A switch opens up the battery and cartridge compartment on the rear of the camera. It takes 3 AA batteries to run this camera. I also received Kodak Ektachrome 100D Colour Reversal Film 7285 to use with this camera. I will use it wisely though, as it is limited to under 5 minutes of film. I am aware that Kodak have recently discontinued the Ektachrome 100D film, so I was very lucky to get a reel before they ran out, as they are currently not even available on eBay. I predict that limited supplies of the reels will result in much higher prices, I definitely need to think twice before filming anything with my reel. I am aware that Gauge Film currently have Ektachrome 100D in stock, I think I will be stocking up on some more reels. 

I am extremely excited about learning this new format, and you can follow my process with Super 8mm on my photography and filmmaking related facebook page.

I found a short film that was shot on the Canon 318M Super 8mm Camera, I hope to create similar edits to this one. This video seems to have been cropped from 4:3 to 16:9 aspect ratio, doing this means the top or bottom of the image has been cut off.



Below is one of the skateboarding sequence's in the film Paranoid Park, directed by Gus Van Sant and cinematography by Christopher Doyle, one of my biggest inspirations in filmmaking and photography.

Starscape Timelapse Test Canon DSLR

This is a short starscape time lapse that I produced for a college music video project. I wanted to produce a much longer time lapse to share on my channel, however I liked how this version turned out. We used this 4 second time lapse in our music video. Also it isn't a shooting star going through the sky, it was actually an airplane.

I really did want to produce a longer time lapse to share on the channel, however after a week of attempting most nights, I just couldn't produce it. It was either too cloudy to see the stars, too foggy, or once it was okay, and 20 minutes into the time lapse the clouds appeared ruining the video. I decided that this version worked the best, with the airplane.

I shot this on my Canon 600D/T3i HDSLR with the EF 50mm f/1.8 II prime lens. I shot with a 20 second exposure, with 25 second intervals using Magic Lantern on a 32gb SD card. Auto white balance, and ISO. I left the camera shooting for around 16 minutes.

Equipment used in this video -
Canon 600D / T3i HDSLR
EF 50mm f/1.8 II
Integral ultima pro 32gb SD card
Magic Lantern firmware hack with the built in intervalometer

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Tunde Kelani 'MAAMI' Q&A at the Cambridge African Film Festival

An audience question and answer session with Nigerian director 'Tunde Kelani' which I filmed after the screening of his film 'MAAMI' at the 'Cambridge Arts Picturehouse' as part of the 2012 'Cambridge African Film Festival 2012'. In this video Tunde Kelani answers a few questions from the audience, and also discussed Nigerian cinema, 'Nollywood'.




Credits -
Filmed and edited by Bradley Stearn
Director - Tunde Kelani of Mainframe Productions
Host - Michael Boyd (Director CAFF, Take One Magazine)

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Cambridge Film Festival: David Frankel, Monika Treut & Stelios Kammitsis

Above is a short video that I produced over two days at the Cambridge Film Festival. The video contains an audience question and answer session and interview with Hope Springs (Meryl Streep, Tommy Lee Jones & Steve Carell) director David Frankel (The Devil Wears Prada, Marley & Me), and also interviews with Jerks director Stelios Kammitsis and The Raw And The Cooked director Monika Treut. I had a great time producing this video, and also met lots of new people who are active within the film industry. Click here to see more videos shot at the 32nd Cambridge Film Festival.

To see some photos and to be kept up to date with everything film and photography related, please like my facebook page.

Monika Treut 'The Raw And The Cooked' Interview - Cambridge Film Festival

Above is the video containing the full interview by Hayley Dean with German filmmaker Monika Treut, on her newest documentary film 'The Raw And The Cooked'. The documentary concentrates on food culture in Taiwan, and this interview gives a little insight into the film. This video contains sections of the trailer to the film, so hopefully you can get a feel for what it is about.

To see more videos shot at the 32nd Cambridge Film Festival 2012, click this link to see the full playlist.

Stelios Kammitsis 'ΚΩΛΟΠΑΙΔΑ' Interview - Cambridge Film Festival

Above is the full interview with director Stelios Kammitsis at the Cambridge Film Festival, about his début feature film 'ΚΩΛΟΠΑΙΔΑ' (Jerks). A story which follows three Greek friends during their last twelve hours in Athen before they leave to start new lives in Berlin, Germany. This video contains some of the trailer to the film, and the wonderful original soundtrack by Nikola Metaxa 'It's All Right'.

To see more videos shot at the 32nd Cambridge Film Festival 2012, click this link to see the full playlist.

Canon EOS 600D T3i Test Video Footage

One of my most viewed videos on YouTube is the first video that I uploaded that was shot on the Canon 600D DSLR. I uploaded the video as soon as I got the camera, at a time of low content in ways of test footage with this camera on YouTube. The views rocketed up into the thousands quickly, and I would like to  see more people watching the video since the view count has slowed down drastically since the new 650D DSLR was released by Canon. I would like to increase the view count of this video, so if you can do anything to help, it would be much appreciated. Please comment, like, favourite and share to all of your friends and family. Please don't forget that you can follow my photography and filming projects on my facebook page.

Cambridge Rock Festival Television 2012

I had the privilege of filming and editing Cambridge Rock Festival TV for this year. The festival this year was over four days, we filmed on the final two days on the Saturday and Sunday. Basically it was our job to film as many bands playing live as possible over the three different stages at the festival, and to interview and chat to as many bands as possible, along with festival goers, workers and people behind the scenes. The playlist with the two episodes, expanded out over five separate videos can be viewed above. Overall I feel the videos were a success, the owners of the festival said they enjoyed the videos, and many other festival goers have praised them.

I also did some photography on the Friday of the festival, these photographs can be viewed on my facebook page, so please head on over and like for regular updates on my filming and photography.