The crew for Phoenix Falling (16mm short film) explore Dustie’s art studio. The inspirational artist and her home studio provides a plate full of “food for thought” for production designer De Ann. The behind the scenes footage was captured from the flip video ultra HD.

Flipping zip lines in Costa Rica… “Once a realm limited to scientific investigations, canopy exploration has quickly become one of the fastest growing and most sought after tour frontiers of the rainforest. The ideal site area, a 17-acre tract of virgin forest, is called Miramar or “ocean view” referring to its commanding view of the Golfo Dulce and the surrounding rainforest. The platforms are strung along nearly a mile of rainforest canopy reaching heights of 138ft.” – Crocodile Bay

I bought this tiny video camera called “Flip” the other day, it’s a very basic point and shoot camera. It doesn’t take professional quality footage, it has a low bit rate for its HD frame and there are no manual settings. It has the capacity to capture audio, however it is not the best quality. Its main purpose is designed for streaming media, it is a camera that shoots for the web and I love it!

This pocket-sized camcorder has changed my point of view. I work with professional videos on a daily basis. In my day job at www.crookedlp.com quality takes a predominant seat; we produce things designed to sell and entertain. So when I come home and rest my hat, the “Flip” offers a fun, creative world where all rules can and should be broken. Something I would never do in the field is encouraged when I put the “Flip” in my hand. The funny thing is I feel like “Flip” strengthens me as a video producer, it challenges me to try new things and see how far I can take it. This may sound weird, but I feel like with the “Flip” as my tool I get to explore and even expand my boundaries as an artist. Whatever new things I discover with the “Flip” I can stash in my memory banks and find fancy ways to incorporate them in my industry videos. Things such as interesting angles, images, innovative story ideas, intriguing locations and interviews with influential characters can all be recorded to my “Flip” diary from the convenience of my pocket.

I don’t mean to sound like an infomercial; needless to say I am quite addicted to its experimental methods… I think it may trump the iphone for Dilla’s favorite toy and I find the word “toy” fitting because I feel like a child would when he explores the cardboard campus of a refrigerator box; this device inspires me. I can compose a video diary entry of just about anything at any time. I can take it scouting with me, set up storyboards, and capture thoughts and moments. It is a brilliant pre-production tool that makes a filming set much more organized and comfortable for our multi-thousand dollar cameras to come in and do work. That is why I set up my new Youtube channel “hdillasflip” (http://www.youtube.com/Hdillasflip) outside of Crooked Lake’s channel (http://www.youtube.com/CrookedLakeProd). The “flip video” will be my companion for the next year or so as I plan to capture and upload daily routines and new experiences to my channel as a way of logging and documentation. Sometimes these sequences from my life will be edited; sometimes they will just be raw clips from something I deemed as intriguing or fun. I suspect that most logs will be under a minute and won’t exceed five minutes. I don’t plan to upload every day, but I will commit to a biweekly period and I promise that everything uploaded there will be from the “flip’s” perspective, so I can share my new found points of view with you.

I am excited to embark on this experiment and I hope you will walk with me and my flip.

To subscribe to Hdillas Flip Youtube Channel please click here:
http://www.youtube.com/hdillasflip

The latest flip video I shot on location scouting…