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Videocraft is proud to announce its platinum sponsorship of Driving Oz with the Black Dog — an incredibly important year-long campaign to raise money and awareness for Lifeline Australia and mindDog. We have been incredibly lucky to be able to collaborate with our industry partners Sony Australia and Avid Technology to be able to put together a video and photography production package to help Paul and Kirstine and their family document their travels to the remote areas of Australia, raising awareness of these two important organisations.

In deciding to support Driving Oz with the Black Dog, Videocraft's Managing Director, Jeanette Taylor says it was a straightforward decision. "For the team at Videocraft, we can all relate to the Roadley's mission of awareness and the importance of supporting services such as Lifeline Australia and mindDog. Within the production and broadcast industry, we have all seen how the stress of the job can take over, and some of us have had experiences with anxiety or depression. It is important for our industry to have the conversation and be open to help our colleagues through these times." So we have geared up Driving Oz with some key products that will assist them in spreading their message further while travelling around the remote parts of our country. As you can imagine space is limited, so we have put together a specific documentary and photography kit that will allow Paul to not only capture the action of travelling around our beautiful country, but also to gather interviews from the field, record events on the tour and capture the key moments to help build the campaign for their very relevant and important messages.      

So what's in the Driving Oz's case of production gear?

With the assistance of David Green, from Sony Australia's Professional Solutions Division, we were able to come up with a kit specifically chosen to work well in the varied climates and locations the Driving OZ team will travel throughout the year. As well as provide tools that can capture the footage and audio at professional broadcast quality. David and the team at Sony went above and beyond to support the Driving Oz with the Black Dog and to support both Lifeline Australia and mindDog. The Driving Oz production kit includes a Sony PXW-X70 Camcorder, Sony A7II Digital Mirrorless Camera, some 4K Sony Action Cams plus a Sony Digital UWP Wireless Microphone package, Sony Monitoring Headphones, Manfrotto Rolling Travel Case and a copy of the industry's best editing software Avid's Media Composer for post production. The package offers them the best in image and sound acquisition in an unbelievably lightweight and compact size — perfect for the Tetris-style packing required for a family to fit their lives into camper/trailer and car for the next year.   We will be staying up to date with the Roadley family on their adventures and encouraging our network of industry friends to helps us to help them in raising awareness and funds for this important cause. So please share their story, donate to their MyCause page and keep the conversation open around your workplace, community, friends and family.

Why do we need to help Lifeline Australia and MindDog?

Suicide remains the leading cause of death for Australians aged between 15 and 44. The overall suicide rate in 2014 was 12.0 per 100,000 in Australia. This is the highest rate in 10 years. The most recent Australian data (ABS, Causes of Death, 2014) reports deaths due to suicide in 2014 at 2,864. This equates to almost eight deaths by suicide in Australia each day. Most deaths by suicide in Australia are males, accounting for about three-quarters. However, during the past decade, there has been an increase in suicide deaths by females. The suicide rate amongst Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples is more than double the national rate. In 2014, suicide accounted for 5.2% of all Indigenous deaths compared to 1.8% for non-Indigenous people. For every death by suicide, it is estimated that as many as 30 people attempt to end their lives. That is approximately 65,300 suicide attempts each year. Lifeline is a national charity providing all Australians experiencing a personal crisis with access to 24 hour crisis support and suicide prevention services. Somewhere in Australia there is a new call to Lifeline every minute.   mindDog Australia is a not-for-profit organisation that exists to help people procure, train and accredit psychiatric assistance dogs. A mindDog comes in many shapes and sizes, and may look different to other assistance dogs experienced by the public previously. Clients of mindDog are supported to find a suitable dog, train and eventually pass a public access test. Just like other assistance dogs, mindDogs are required access to public spaces in order to fulfill their duties. MEET LUNA Luna is Paul’s Mental Health Assistance Dog, MHAD (also known as a Service Dog). Luna is trained through mindDog Australia. Luna has saved Paul’s life by being there when he is really struggling. Luna senses Paul’s emotional/stress levels and responds when required, without being given a single verbal command. To read more about Luna - read her page on the Driving Oz with the Black Dog website   We also celebrated Kirstine's birthday with the Videocraft Melbourne team, so there was chocolate cake all around!

Sony is expanding its Super 35mm FS series with the new FS7 II camcorder. The latest model builds on the original FS7’s strengths by adding advanced features including Electronic Variable ND technology, a lever-lock E-mount and a new mechanical design for faster and easier set-up. The new FS7 II camcorder supports Sony’s α Mount system, which includes more than 70 lenses to suit every budget and requirement. While Sony's FS7 it remains in the professional camcorder line-up, the new FS7 II will equip creative professionals with a broader range of creative tools and features that Sony derived from actively listening to end users’ feedback. Designed for long-form shooting and production applications, the new FS7 II camcorder is extremely suitable for documentaries and independent filmmaking. Here is a rundown of the key new features of the FS7 II:   Electronic Variable ND Technology

Sony’s FS7 II camcorder’s Electronic Variable ND filter system, combined with its large sensor, delivers greater exposure control with the option of preset or variable operation modes. Variable ND mode (clear + 2~7 stop range, in seamless transition steps up to 1/128) allows users to adjust the density of the ND filter during shooting and achieve seamless transition between steps. The camcorder’s expanded ND operations enable fine exposure adjustment by relegating iris to set depth of field, preventing soft focus caused by diffraction and color shift caused by stacking multiple external ND filters. The camcorder can compensate for exposure fluctuation caused by iris control while adjusting the depth of field. Users can adjust exposure while keeping the same bokeh in changing shooting or lighting environments. Preset mode allows users to assign three ND settings to the filter turret, which is extremely useful, for example, in selecting the most appropriate filtration range for changing light conditions. Auto ND mode is also available, allowing exposure to stay at a fixed level while adjusting the depth of field with iris control. E-mount (lever lock type) for Professional ShootingWith the new E-mount (lever lock type), Sony’s FS7 II allows the change of lenses by rotating the locking collar rather than the lens itself. Therefore, users can save considerable amount of time during production as they do not need to remove the lens support rigs.               Mechanical Design EnhancementsLike its counterparts in the FS series family – the FS7 and FS5 models – the new FS7 II features several design and ergonomic updates for comfortable and functional use in the field. The FS7 II’s “tool-less” mechanical design allows users to make on-the-fly changes to the camcorder’s set-up and operation. For example, no tools are required to adjust the Smart Grip or viewfinder positions. The viewfinder eyepiece provides a third stabilizing contact point during handheld shooting. Durable square section rods and lever-clamps on the LCD and camera body provide simple and precise front-to-back VF adjustment while retaining level positioning.             New 18-110mm Sony G lensSony is also introducing a new E-mount, Super 35mm lens specifically designed for documentary and motion picture production. The new lens, model E PZ 18-110mm F4 G OSS (SELP18110G[1]), covers Super 35mm and APSC sensors. Compact and lightweight (1.1Kg) with an 18 to 110 focal range (6x zoom), the new lens uses a new fully mechanical/servo zoom switchable system, capable of snap zooms and entirely devoid of lag. The focal range is also optimized for Super 35 and APS-C sensors. The lens is compatible with Sony’s α Mount system cameras, including the α7 series interchangeable-lens cameras and professional Super 35mm 4K camcorders such as Sony’s FS7 or FS5. Although perfectly suited for still image taking, filmmakers will fully appreciate the lens’ extended creative capabilities for shooting motion images. The lens benefits from Sony’s Smooth Motion Optics (SMO) design, developed to optimize performance during motion image capture. The lens design eliminates undesirable characteristics and artifacts that do not affect still image taking, but can severely limit a lens’ usefulness for motion shooting, such as:

• Ramping: F stop gradually diminishes when zooming tight.
• Not holding focus while zooming.
• Breathing (angle of view variation while focusing).
• Optical axis shift (image moves in the frame while zooming).

  XQD Cards The FS7 II supports the XQD memory card format, designed for capturing and transferring high bandwidth, high resolution files. Sony’s latest XQD card, QD-G256E – with an industry-first 256 GB capacity – enables recording time of approximately 45 minutes at 4K 60P and 3.5 hours at 2K 30P. Combined with a read speed of 440MB/s and write speed 400MB/s, users can shoot for longer without the need to change media cards.   The new FS7 II is planned to be available from January 2017 onwards[1]Due to a change in the specifications, the SELP18110G is not compatible with the SEL14TC and SEL20TC teleconverters.