Blog

  • Y2k – A Decade Later

    Do you remember when gasoline was $1/gallon? I know, some of you geezers remember when it was 50 cents. Today’s video is from 1999 and the gas pump shot confirms it.

    As I was going through some old tapes, I came across one of my favorite stories from my days working in TV news for FOX in Philadelphia – Y2k preps. It’s funny how crazy some people were getting over the overhyped computer glitch that some said could send us back to the stone ages.

    It’s fun to watch this video more than decade later. Presented by Tracey Matisak, produced by Mary Fay and shot and edited by Rob Parker. Enjoy!

  • Time Lapse – Interview Setup

    I shot this time lapse with the Canon 7D. I was hired by O’Keefe & Associates to shoot the second camera for a two camera interview for ESPN’s Outside the Lines program.

    I set the 7D to shoot 1 frame per second and created a movie using QuickTime to generate a 30fps image sequence. The lens is one if my favorites, the Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8.

    The Crew: Denis O’Keefe (DP), Kevin Trainor (sound), Rob Parker (2nd camera), Jeff Sicile (PA).

    Interview Time Lapse from Rob Parker.

  • Big 5 Basketball Hall of Famers

    Since 1959, the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame has honored and celebrated the game’s greatest moments and brightest stars. On the occasion of its 50th Anniversary, we look back as the greatest shrine to the greatest game fulfills its steadfast promise to be the world’s finest sports museum.

    The first manifestation of the Basketball Hall of Fame occupied a small piece of real estate on the campus of Springfield (MA) College, just a midrange jump shot from where the game was first played on December 21, 1891. That day, a physical education instructor named James Naismith introduced a new game to his class of 18 young men in an otherwise unremarkable gymnasium at the YMCA International Training School in Springfield.

    The objective of this new game seemed simple enough: throw a round ball into a round basket tacked to a balcony 10 feet above the floor. But the winning team in that first game managed only one basket, on a 25-foot toss by William Chase. The pace of the game was slow and its origins humble, but the new pastime spread quickly, and by 1894, basketball was already being played in France, China, India, and more than a dozen other nations.

    The original Basketball Hall of Fame opened its doors to the public on February 17, 1968, during a pivotal time for the sport. Just a month before, on January 20, 1968, Elvin Hayes had just led the University of Houston to a thrilling 71-69 victory over Lew Alcindor and the Bruins of UCLA in college basketball’s version of the Game of the Century. More than 50,000 fans packed the Houston Astrodome that night and millions more watched from home as this epic battle was the first-ever regular season game to be broadcast live on national television.

    Today I was part of a three camera remote show for Comcast SportsNet. Host Neil Hartman interviewed this years’ inductees, all Philadelphia basketball legends and they hire the best photographer from www.anniekinserphotography.com to take the picture. From left to right in the photo: Neil Hartman, Speedy Morris, Rollie Massimino, John Cheney.

    coaches

    click picture to enlarge

  • African American Museum Presser

    Bellevue Communications group hired me to do some lighting for a media event at the African American Museum in Philadelphia. They decided to have the press conference in the exhibit area just off the lobby. The existing lighting in there is rather dramatic so I tried to make the extra lighting blend in.

    Citizens Bank announced a donation of $25,000 and Mayor Michael Nutter was on hand as well.

    click to enlarge

    click image to enlarge

  • Seals Football – State Champs

    I made the trip to Hershey for the PIAA State Championship game between my alma mater, Selinsgrove High School, and Manheim Central. I was able to get onto the sidelines to get some great stills and video. I used the Canon 7D to shoot some really amazing footage as the Seals took the lead late in the game and won the state crown.

    Now you can relive the final moments as I saw them from the sidelines and on the field. You won’t see this on TV!

  • The Boxer

    I recently dropped by Joe Hand’s Boxing Gym in Philadelphia to test out a new piece of video gear that I am really excited about. The Glidetrack SD is a nifty aluminum slider for small video cameras. It allows you to get cool tracking shots that can take your videos to the next level. I have never had such a simple and relatively inexpensive piece of video gear add so much polish to my videos, right out of the box.

    I was fortunate to drop in on the workout of Kenneth Weister, a 32 year old personal trainer/fitness consultant and amateur boxer who has won some city championships including the 2007 Philadelphia Golden Gloves Championship. Ken is a few fights away from turning pro and I’m happy that he allowed us to take a few shots of him.

    Shot on the Canon 7D with a Canon 17-55mm f/2.8, a Nikon 135mm f/2.8, and a Tokina 11-16mm f/2.8. Glidetrack SD. Music: “The Boxer” by ParkerDigital.

  • Angry Creek

    I was driving near the rain-swollen Wissiahickon Creek yesterday and couldn’t resist the urge to jump out and grab some HD video with the Canon 7D. I used my Zacuto Z-finder, my trusty Tokina 11-16mm and my rather low-end Canon 18-200mm. I got surprisingly good results with that lens!

    [qt:http://parkerdigital.net/video/angrycreek.mov http://parkerdigital.net/video/angrycreek_poster.mov 480 270]

  • Flyin’ Solo With The Canon 7D

    This was a first for me. I’m used to shooting HD video – heck, just about everything I shoot these days is HD. Today was special because it’s the first time I shot HD on a video DSLR camera without any help from a sound guy or a grip or a production assistant or another DP. Today was a challenge of high order. I had to light, mic and shoot four interview subjects in four different locations on the Canon 7D with no technical help at all.

    [qt:http://parkerdigital.net/video/Heads091201_500.mov http://parkerdigital.net/video/Heads091201_poster.mov 500 282]

    I used a variety of lenses – Canon and Nikon. My favorite interview lens is the Canon 50mm f/1.4, followed closely by my Nikon 135mm f/2.8. The camera shoots really well in low light compared to a regular HD video camera and there’s absolutely nothing like it for the price.

    This stuff was shot “news style” meaning we had very little time to set up and light things. One of the interviews was strictly “available light.” As a result, it falls short of my standard but it’s a testament to the camera that we were able to get something that is very usable.

    These shots were quickly graded using Magic Bullet Looks.

  • Time Lapse – Comcast Center Video Wall

    Shot with the Sony PMW-EX-3 at 1 frame/second. This camera’s ability to over and undercrank makes it a real fun tool.

    [qt:http://parkerdigital.net/video/videowall.mp4 http://parkerdigital.net/video/videowall_poster.mov 500 282]

  • 3 Shoots in 3 States on 3 Video Formats

    This was a fun one. It’s not often that you get a chance to do three completely different jobs – all challenging and interesting – in three different states on the same day. Throw in three different video formats and you’ve got a party.

    8:30am – Philadelphia, PA – XDCAM EX

    I started with a media training shoot on XDCAM EX with my friends from Bellevue Communications Group. I shoot the trainees being interviewed and then we play them back for critique. The idea is to present them with a stressful scenario, train them to give appropriate answers and show them how to improve. The beauty of XDCAM EX is that I can shoot an interview, pull the card from the camera, pop it in my MacBook Pro, and play it back immediately in high definition. Sweet.

    2pm – Wilmington, DE – DVCAM

    Who doesn’t love a good mystery. My mid-day shoot was at the headquarters of TIGHAR, The International Group for Historic Aircraft Recovery. A media outlet in Toronto, Canada hired me to shoot an interview and b-roll with Ric Gillespie. He has spent the last several years trying to unlock the mystery of Amelia Earhart’s disappearance in the South Pacific. Very, very interesting stuff. In a nutshell, Gillespie is using science to build the case that Earhart landed safely on an uninhabited island (Gardner Island, now Nikumaroro in the Republic of Kiribati), sent distress signals for several days, and eventually died there.

    5pm – Camden, NJ – BETACAM SP

    Philadelphia based Nobis Productions hired me to shoot a party to celebrate the achievements of Tom Corcoran and wish him well as he leaves his post as CEO and president of the Coopers Ferry Development Association in Camden, NJ. Corcoran was hired by Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter to head up the new Delaware River Waterfront Corporation. Corcoran and his team have spent the last 25 years developing Camden attractions like the Adventure Aquarium, The Susquehanna Bank Center, Campbell’s Field and the River Ferry to and from Philadelphia.