CES 2012 Behind The Scenes
By: Ricky Cadden January 20th, 2012 – 4 Comments »Actually using the products that we carry in RadioShack stores is one of the coolest and most important parts of my job. You’ve already seen this as we shot the 3D motorcycle video with the HTC EVO 3D, and with our Verizon Stop-Motion video recorded entirely on the iPhone 4. As we started planning for the 2012 Consumer Electronics Show, I knew we needed to step up our game.
To do that, we used the Apple iPad 2 to shoot every second of our videos. That’s right, the iPad 2. Of course, we also had some additional gadgets helping out, including a unique sound setup that allowed us to use a total of 3 different microphones and a custom-made tripod mount for our iPads from Makayama. Here’s a video showing off our full kit:
Aside from some post-production that included adding graphics and soundtrack, the footage you saw in all of our CES coverage is pretty much exactly as it came through the iPad 2. The iPhone 4S’s 1080p video capture might have been slightly better, but the iPad 2 allowed us a larger display on which to preview footage and line up the shot on the show floor.
The results, as I’m sure you’ll agree, were impressive. All of our videos were posted in full 720p, and the sound turned out great, considering there were 150,000+ people milling around us and booths blasting their own sounds. The iPad 2 had plenty of storage and the connectivity options to upload straight from the floor – in many cases, we had the final cut of one video before we even finished shooting the next.
If you wanted to do something similar, here’s a handy shopping list that would get you started:
Apple iPad 2 (we used 64GB WiFi-only models, based on storage requirements)
Zaggsparq 2.0 Portable USB Charger
The software that we used on the iPad 2 is the Makayama Movie Mount app (iTunes link), which lets you lock the white balance and exposure. This app also allows you to monitor the audio levels, which is key when shooting video, especially with an external microphone.
What sort of awesome videos have you captured using something you bought at RadioShack? Leave a link in the comments below so we can check them out!
4 Responses to “CES 2012 Behind The Scenes”
January 23rd, 2012 at 12:14 pm
Really cool. I just put iMovie on my iPad but honestly haven’t used it for any video yet. Now I’m inspired!
February 22nd, 2012 at 7:02 pm
Hello,
Im very interested in you’re setup for the iPad 2 @ CES show. Could you please explain the setup inside the bag. You mentioned it a little but I’d like to see the connectivity from start to finish. Im the Mobile Technology Manager for SCDC a non-profit in the Southeast Los Angeles Area. We have a mobile technology lab on wheels which we teach digital literacy classes off of. We utilize a cutom built 40′ mobile command unit with 15 MBPros, Macmini server, satellite internet, Wifi, bio-diesel generator, surround sound, 88″ smart board, video conferencing etc….. We’re starting to get into video and would love to do what you guys did here.
April 19th, 2012 at 8:42 am
Hey, actually there was another company doing the same thing, only with the new ipad (3) and a custom rig called the padcaster.com. Check them out and maybe you will end up carrying their rig as well?
http://www.thepadcaster.com/
April 19th, 2012 at 8:43 am
Cool, thanks for the heads up! Definitely some awesome uses for the iPad.