I attended the Canon Intensive Workshop on HDSLR movie making yesterday at the Createasphere HD Expo in Burbank, California. The workshop was hosted by Neil Smith, the managing director of Hdi RAWworks. The workshop show focused on the production and post workflow process using HDSLR cameras.

The room was jammed with people eager for information. Neil did a great job of keeping the conversation from becoming a mishmash of information. Films showcased were, Refresh (not on line) a short and a feature promo, Indian Gangster shot by Rodney Charters the DP on the TV show, 24 and directed by Snehal Patel.

Also impressive was Hdi RAWworks' own demo reel which intercut several cameras: Red, 5D and 7D. Neil offered a free Scarlet to anyone in the audience who could successfully match the image to the camera. An impossible task but clearly made the point that HDSLR cameras make beautiful images. Hdi RAWworks focuses on post flow and color correction and their work is impeccable. It's not very complicated, they work in Final Cut Pro and Color using Pro Res files.

What caught me off guard was how many TV shows right now are using the Canon 5D. Stargate Studios, a company that does visual effects, uses the Canon 5D to shoot virtual backdrops. It is seamless stuff. Check out the reel marked VIRTUAL BACKDROP. I created the image above, it's low rez, but gets the idea across. I am going to have a hard time believing what I see on TV ever again.