Aaron P Kohn

Student. Filmmaker. Storyteller.

July 24, 06:34 PM

What comes after the DSLR...?

Lots of filmmakers love HDSLRs, but the still camera can't be the end solution for video. Follow focus systems, dual-audio, eyepieces, tons of memory cards...it's not simple. Apparently Panasonic and Sony noticed that people were spending money on all these items that are being built by other companies like Indisystems and Zacuto instead of on more expensive cameras that incorporate everything to begin with...so the next evolution of the video camera in the sub $10,000 range appears to be DSLR chips in video camera bodies. Check out the full story and interview with Philip Bloom at coolhunting. Here's a little outtake from the interview with Philip Bloom. He told me a little bit about his friends:
Philip Bloom's Friends from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo.
Philip Bloom in NYC with his friends on the Highline
See the full story at coolhunting.com.

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May 17, 10:22 PM

Tutorial: Timelapses

People keep asking how I shot the timelapse in this video that I made for the Columbia newspaper's new blog. It's not the greatest, as it was the first that I did, but let me refer you to the resources that taught me how to shoot these. Check out Spectrum - 7D from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo. The first video I've made on my 7D. Check out Spectrum at http://spectrum.columbiaspectator.com First of all, Philip Bloom seems to be the master of timelapses on DSLR's. Below is one he recently made in Dubai. Room with a view: Dubai timelapse tests from Atlantis hotel from Philip Bloom on Vimeo. All shot from my room in the Atlantis Hotel in Dubai. Different timelapse shots to test the best way to capture day to night and vice versa. First sequence and penultimate sequence done with Panasonic GF1, the rest with the Canon 5DmkII and Canon 7D. To be used in Documentary on Dubai Royal Family for Media Prima and Talkabout Media. Read all you need to know about shooting timelapses with DSLRs here: http://philipbloom.co.uk/2010/01/17/dslr-timelapses-addictive-frustrating-and... Most people assume that a timelapse is a sped up video, but it doesn't have to be that complicated (and that would be super hard with 14min clip limits on FAT32 cards). Also, people assume that I'm panning my tripod head, but there's an easier way around that. First of all, you'll need a juiced up battery, solid tripod, DSLR, and some sort of interval remote. Canon makes one that's absurdly expensive. You can get a wireless one for less, but I have two knock-offs that I've bought from Hong Kong (!) that have worked really well (takes a week or so to ship from Asia). They make the same remote for Nikon/Pentax/Canon and probably others, though I think Nikon has the function built in. Then you need to think about how many frames you want to have. If you're mixing the timelapse with 24 frame video from your Canon, like I did, remember you'll need 23.98 frames per second. It adds up, so make sure you have room on your memory card. If you're not going to pan through your video (coming later), you won't need to shoot an 18/21 megapixel file. This is a chart that I finally saved. Even though it's really simple to do the numbers on the fly, it's easier just to have this printed and thrown in my wallet or camera bag. The way I process the footage is through Quicktime 7 (Quicktime Pro). Quicktime in 10.6 doesn't have the feature, but you'll find Quicktime 7 in your Utilities folder in Applications if you have Final Cut Studio installed. You can watch Philip Bloom's tutorial on his website, but basically inside quicktime you open an "Image Sequence" from the folder that has the stills from your camera. It allows you to pick your framerate that defines the duration of each individual frame and makes a movie. When you save the movie, you can open it in Final Cut Pro. Remember, if you composed your timelapse of 18 megapixel images (5184 x 3456) is a lot higher than even 1920 x 1080, so it is bigger than your video canvas. This means you can either shoot a lower resolution (on my 7D even a 4.5M image is 2592 x 1728), or you can take the 5K video, and pan or zoom (even "Ken Burns" effect) your video clip using motion keyframes in Final Cut Pro. I hope this helps! Post questions of comments!

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May 04, 04:49 PM

BREAKING NEWS! The Final Cut of People Suck!

Here it is! A full post coming soon...

People Suck! from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo.

"I need hardly remind you that people are more inclined to believe in bad intentions than in good ones, and hence my account will carry no less conviction than yours."
-The Decameron, Boccaccio
Richie is a normal guy who tackles the question many of us face in life about how much to trust people. Just as Richie decides to give up on humanity, things change for him.
Directed by Aaron KOHN
Written by Robert CAUDY
Starring Kostas PARAGIOS
Shot on a Canon 7D
with Support from Zeiss, Indisystems, Humble Monkey, Columbia University Film Productions.

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April 29, 09:07 AM

NY DSLR Meetup with Philip Bloom

While Philip Bloom and gang are probably recovering from a long night in midtown, I decided to try to be the first to get some pictures and video up from the NY DSLR Meetup, which was awesome! About 100 filmmakers and photographers who are all interested in the video capabilities of DSLRs met up in Times Square, and well, geeked out, met some new people, checked out gear, exchanged cards...and of course, we all got to meet Philip Bloom who basically was the main attraction (If you haven't seen his work, check it out!). I pitched my work a bit, and also talked about the new DSLR rig that I designed with Tim Ovel over at Indisystems, the WRAITH (more coming soon!). Sadly I didn't have it on me. Anyway, about halfway through the meetup I got pushed aside by a film crew with a 7D on a steadicam...as it turned out, by coincidence. It was a Brazilian crew shooting a doc with the Zeiss 50mm lens we had for People Suck and a 7D. I followed one of their shots where they had our gang line up in a circle to pretend to be paparazzi. I think my video is steadier than theirs! The meetups should be a more frequent event! Nice meeting everyone! [SlideDeck id='1' width='100%' height='300px'] PS: Check this awesome still from Tramm Hudson, the creator of Magic Lantern!

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April 29, 05:27 AM

Back from the ER

Just released from the ER, The Actor, a Picasso canvas that was torn in January when a woman fell in to it, is back on display at the Metropolitan Museum of Art as part the Picasso show that opened Tuesday. The painting, now protected behind plexi-glass, certainly raises numerous questions about the balance between making art accessible in museums, while still protecting it. Since the story of The Actor’s restoration will certainly be one of the big headlines in the art world this year, what are museums to do to conserve their art? I am not an art appraiser or historian by any means, but here's what I've gathered: Maybe the Metropolitan Museum of Art was lucky to have the accident occur. First of all, Picasso was one of the most prolific artists of the last few centuries. He produced more than 50,000 works. It is impossible to be familiar with them all. Most people are familiar with Picasso’s Guernica, his portrayal of the Spanish Civil War, and his work that popularized cubism. Many of his other “Rose-Period”, “African-Influenced”, and “Blue Period” works are lesser known—of which The Actor was one. Maybe the unfinished painting on the back of the canvas even suggests that Picasso painted the work as a casual exercise. Either way, the lesser-known work headlined Art sections and blogs when the accident occurred, and is doing so again now that it is being re-released part of the new Picasso Show at the Met opening April 27. Last year, curators probably thought it might be lost amongst the 300 paintings they were planning to install for the exhibition, but now The Actor stands chance to be the star of the show. The large canvas will be a draw for tourists, conservationists, art historians, and interested visitors. No longer a minor work in the Picasso repertoire, The Actor and woman who tore it [accidentally] created a new narrative that helps the work stand out, maybe to become one of his most scrutinized pieces. The curious painting on the back that historians know little about will probably be studied by many more, and students studying Picasso and Conservation will probably have a new work added to their syllabus. It may even make it into the ArtHum curriculum, which already studies Picasso. Sure, the art community is lucky that this event took place at the Met, a museum that probably has some of the best conservationists on hand. Carol Vogel of the New York Times wrote in one article, "It's virtually impossible to tell" that the painting had been damaged. But, to say that the tear devalued the work, I think is a misunderstanding of the narrative of The Actor. It's hard to hide things at the Met, but if museums are incentivized by devaluation from damages, I wonder how many other pieces have been restored elsewhere without the public knowing. Maybe in the future they’ll try to make headlines!

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April 25, 12:25 AM

Teaser: People Suck!

I'm pretty excited about this announcement! First of all, we're on track to finish with the film next weekend, but in the meantime, we've partnered up with Mitch Aunger, the creator of planet5D.com. He just posted the first in a series of stories about our production, so check it out! Also, Mitch and I will be screening the final cut May 3rd at 6PM EST live online and will chat after. Come listen in and contribute too! After May 4th we'll be posting some tutorials about how we made the film and also some reviews of gear that we used. Enjoy the Preview! -Aaron
Teaser: People Suck! from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo.
May 4: Coming to your computer, or iPad.
Check back May 4 for the Final Cut, and after May 4 for behind the scenes footage and tutorials.
PEOPLE SUCK!
Directed by: Aaron Kohn
Written by: Robert Caudy
Starring: Kostas Paragios
Featured Musicians: Noelle Martinez, Jake Snider

May 4: Coming to your computer, or iPad. Check back May 4 for the Final Cut, and after May 4 for behind the scenes footage and tutorials. PEOPLE SUCK! Directed by: Aaron Kohn Written by: Robert Caudy Starring: Kostas Paragios Featured Musicians: Noelle Martinez, Jake Snider

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April 12, 09:00 AM

COMING MAY 4, 2010.

Here's the first look at People Suck! Come back May 4 for the finished film. This version has been down converted to 720P, has not been color graded and you're listening to the in-camera microphone. To see it in full 720P, click the link to exposureroom.com [xr_video id="fd11fb4715394801bdac081ed1d744a0" size="sm"]

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April 11, 05:39 AM

The shots are in for People Suck!

Here's a preview at the behind the scenes from last weekend's shoot. I can't thank enough people for their help and time. It was an amazing 48 hours, and everything went very well. Here's just a small sampling of shots from our On Set Photographer, Kristina Budelis. [gallery link="file" order="DESC"]

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April 01, 11:42 PM

People Suck!, DSLRs, and other announcements

Saturday the crew assembles at 12:20PM for the gear pick up, and Sunday we wrap at 6PM. So far we have a cast of 10 actors (mostly professionals), 15 confirmed extras, and a crew of 30 (mostly students) who have been collaborating over the last few months. It has been a great experience so far, to see so many people with different interests and talents working together [all for free!]. People Suck! is a short film staring Richie, a middle-aged man who struggles with the question we each face everyday about how much leeway should you give people in life? When we meet Richie, he has lost faith in humanity, but over the course of the 10-minute film, things will change for him. The screenplay was written by a GS student at Columbia, Robert Caudy. The final cut of People Suck! will go live online, right here on May 4th. Throughout this weekend we will be updating people-suck.tumblr.com with photos, videos, and notes from the production, and in the final weeks before the film goes live, I plan to post a behind the scenes video each day. The purpose of these videos is going to be to talk about two things. One is making student films. The second is to talk about how new technology, specifically DSLRs, can be a great tool for low-budget filmmaking, and we'll share some tips and lessons from our production. ....more on that coming soon. In the meantime, if you end up seeing us filming this weekend or decide to be an extra, bring a camera and upload your photos to people-suck.tumblr.com/submit Also, I need to extend a special thanks to our sponsors who are helping us out with free stuff, distribution, and demos to use during our shoot. Sponsors: Zeiss Lens Humble Monkey Productions indiSYSTEMS Nussbaum and Wu Oren's Coffee The Donut Pub Check back for more updates!

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March 20, 03:13 AM

Congo - Five Days on the Road

It's all online now. In the coming week or so I may post the audio blogs and photos from my trip to Republic of Congo to film for INCEF last summer, but for now, you can see the finished film on INCEF's Vimeo Channel.
Day One - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.

Day Two - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.

Day Three - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.

Day 4 - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.

Day 5 - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.
A couple photos I took (or that were shot of me): [gallery link="file" columns="2" orderby="ID"]

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March 11, 08:31 AM

Day Two: Five Days on the Road

If anyone is familiar with the Elephant Listening Project, or maybe saw the "60 Minutes" segment with Katy Payne, she wrote the following in response to my INCEF video from Day One. Anyway, Day Two is now live!
Day Two - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.

Listen, if you are interested in conservation. We do not yet understand the complex of priorities that drive the decisions that are undermining the natural world. Priorities of people in positions of power differ from those who are powerless and desperate merely to survive -- we have got to understand all of these. Nothing is harder than working on both ends of the spectrum towards what might become a sustainable future.

I speak as one who has been concerned for two decades with the behavior and welfare of wild elephants in African savannas and forests. The bitter pill of those years was the incremental discovery that understanding elephants is easier than understanding the human decisions that determine their destinies.

While swallowing that pill I became aware of a small collaborative venture called INCEF -- the International Conservation and Education Fund -- and realized that this group has, in just a few years, opened the possibility of an unexpected solution. INCEF's founder, Cynthia Moses, is an American filmmaker whose deep contacts with Congolese conservationists and educators have made it possible to listen to remote villagers and to respond to them in helpful ways as never before -- empowering them to see themselves less as victims than of guardians of natural processes. Thanks to the expertise at its helm, INCEF is documenting not only the evidence of gradual changes in perspective but also the process through which this is being achieved. Far from being a jealous competitor for limited funds, INCEF is a transparent effort, for the rest of us to witness and learn from.

Over the years my work has had many benefactors -- has received help from most of the large conservation organizations whose dreams of a healthy earth coincide with mine. All those organizations are necessary and profoundly appreciated, but none is proving as adequate as INCEF to the task of listening -- continuously and sensitively listening -- to what is happening on the ground. Now I hear that INCEF -- initially dependent on the limited resources of its founders and still too small for its mission -- is struggling to survive. I write to urge potential supporters to take a look at this remarkable group and its robust start at fundamental ground-level change. It must not be allowed to fail. If INCEF fails there is nothing to replace it.

Sincerely,

Katy Payne

Founder, Elephant Listening Project

Author, Silent Thunder: in the Presence of Elephants

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March 08, 10:09 AM

Five Days on the Road! - Day One

So the day has finally come. Last summer I travelled with INCEF, who I have interned with for the last few years, to Republic of Congo. I spent three weeks there...one of which I travelled up north with two of their educators, Ella and Erick. They were beginning their two month mission to educate villagers about hunting and ebola. I filmed their journey and their work for five days, and over the next few weeks INCEF is going to release one day of the documentary every three days. At the end I'll post some behind the scenes images and journal entries. To learn more, check out INCEF's website, and help them out, and pass the word along!
Day One - Five Days on the Road from INCEF on Vimeo.

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March 01, 05:21 PM

Announcing Spectrum - First 7D Video

So I've taken the dive, and I'm now a HDDSLR filmmaker. This is the first film I've made on a HDDSLR. Okay, well not exactly. I did shoot a film in Quito on a 7D, but it wasn't mine. So I think this counts as the first. I'll be writing more about shooting on HDDSLRs as the production for People Suck! begins. In fact, we will be blogging and posting videos about what equipment we're using throughout the production...more on that soon...and our sponsors (hint hint)! Anyway, I am a training editor at the Columbia Spectator, so I help train people to incorporate multimedia throughout the workings of the paper. I decided to make a release video for their new website and their new blog, Spectrum. Check it out here Vimeo.com

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February 15, 02:54 AM

Monoblogues

The monologues have been performed, and the parts for my next short film have been cast. The short comedy that I'll be directing, one of my first experiments in fiction filmmaking, was written by a Columbia graduate student. The shoot will be in April, so stay posted for updates! [caption id="attachment_429" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Casting at Columbia"] [/caption]

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January 17, 02:25 PM

Goodbye Quito

I'm at the Quito airport, about to head back to NYC, but I thought I would post the unedited final images from my story with Veronica De La Cruz. I really have to say that it was a special experience to be let in on some intimate family moments all in the course of only 4 days of shooting. The other treat in Quito was being teamed with Alejandro Reinoso, a photojournalist. He is an amazing photographer. I plan to share his work from the last week; a great story that he chose about the parallels of adoption. And as soon as I edit it, I will post the interview I conducted with Alejandro and his fiancée, Soledad, a fashion photographer. I'll be posting Alejandro's work and some other things from Quito soon! Interview with Alejandro:
Quito Photography Rough Cut from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo.
Shot on a 7D and downcoverterd to 720P.
You can also view parts of the Truth With a Camera Workshop on the official blog. [gallery columns="2" orderby="title"]
Introduction Sequence to Veronica Solorenza from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo.

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January 14, 08:14 PM

Zambiza

A friend in Cleveland, Jeff Prough, told me that I had to check out Quito's dump. He had been there before, and people essentially were living and working in the city's garbage. So, I had some free time and made my way there. I guess I must have snuck in, inadvertently, as the guards were attending to some workers. The main garbage site has been moved out of Quito, so Zambezi seems like a smaller recycling plant. As I got to the back and took some of the portraits below, I was stopped by a private armed security guard. I told him I didn't speak Spanish, and as he left, presumably to find someone else, I decided I should leave. As I got back to the gate, the entire administration was waiting for me and a woman who spoke English got pretty angry...seemed like they're trying to hide something. Maybe it's worth a look sometime. [gallery link="file" columns="2" orderby="title"]

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January 14, 07:49 AM

Truth Show Invitation

Saturday, January 16th, at 3PM, if you're in Quito, make your way to the Universidad San Francisco de Quito to view the final works of the Truth With a Camera Workshop this week. Here are two of the prints I'll have in the show so far. [caption id="attachment_378" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="Veronica and her 8 month-old son, Anderson walking to one of her jobs."] [/caption] [caption id="attachment_384" align="aligncenter" width="200" caption="Veronica hanging laundry at one of her jobs."] [/caption] Back to the streets with Veronica and Anderson at 7 in the morning! Good night. Updates also at http://www.truthworkshopblog.org/

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January 14, 02:24 AM

Day Three (of shooting). Day One (of a story).

[Introduction to Veronica Solorenza] Veronica Solorzano is twenty-four. She has five children. The father of four of the kids, Washington De La Cruz comes and goes. Damaris and Tania, Veronica’s two-year-old twins are both looked after at ABEI Infantil, the NGO I’ve been assigned to. Veronica lives in a two-room house, looks after her children, and tries to earn money. She used to hawk candies on the busses in Quito until the Police began to crack down on vendors. One day, her eight-month old, Anderson, fell off the bus and hit his head on the street.
Damaris and Tania were both taken in to ABEI to treat their malnutrition. Veronica works where she can during the day, and today I followed her to a job cleaning laundry. Her life is a testimony to the burden there can be from having a family, especially when you are already struggling to survive. [gallery] Sequences:
Introduction Sequence to Veronica Solorenza from Aaron P Kohn on Vimeo.

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January 13, 08:16 AM

Quito Updates

Lots happening. Updates on: www.twitter.com/aaronpkohn and http://www.truthworkshopblog.org/

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January 11, 06:26 AM

Finding Truth (and our NGO)

Today was the first full day of the Truth With a Camera Workshop, and we got a lot of groundwork done so that we can get to work. We began by meeting all of the students and the NGO's that we're planning to work with at Universidad San Francisco de Quito, a beautiful school near our hotel in Cumbayà. Through Friday I'll be working with Alejandro Reinoso, a local photojournalist who is on the staff of a local paper, El Telégrapho. It's great since he's familiar with Quito, speaks Spanish, and seems like a great photographer. Our first assignment was to take portraits of each other. Also, we learned that tomorrow we're heading downtown to make contact with our assigned NGO who was slightly MIA today, but hopefully that works out. My instructor for the workshop is Dave Ellis, the Director of Photography for the Fredericksburg Free Lance Star. The other instructors are Stephen Katz and Josh Meltzer. [nggallery id=4] Updates also at: http://www.truthworkshopblog.org/ and http://twitter.com/TruthCamera

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Aaron Kohn

at Cool Hunting

Online Media | Greater New York City Area, US

During the school year, Aaron is a student at Columbia University in New York City, but his mind is constantly wandering to the stories he enjoys working on sharing in his free time. In 2006, his documentary about the people featured in the 1980 film "The Gods Must Be Crazy" won awards at festivals in the US. Since then Aaron has continued to share stories from around the world across disciplines.

Jun 2010 - Present

Contibutor / Cool Hunting
Jan 2010 - Present

Multimedia Training Editor / Columbia Spectator

Training staff to incorporate multimedia throughout the departments of the paper.
Dec 2009 - Present

Director / People Suck

Directing a short student film production.
Jun 2007 - Present

Intern / Producer / INCEF

Interned in for INCEF, which focuses on training and equipping Congolese to document and tell important environmental and health stories in their own language for other Congolese; worked on education resources at Washington, DC office, and worked in the field with educators, filming their methodology in northern Congo.
Jan 2007 - Present

Film Production Intern / INCEF Brazzaville, Congo

Produced a promotional series in Congo on INCEF for the web and funders. INCEF is an NGO that focuses on communications aspects of environmental and health issues in Central Africa.

Afraid to Get Out of My
Jan 2010 - Jan 2010

Workshop Participant / Truth With a Camera

Truth With a Camera workshop was designed for photojournalists to get experience working with NGO's and non profits, to help provide usable forms of storytelling that can help people in the world.
May 2009 - Jun 2009

Director / Afraid to Get Out of My Car

Spent a month recording oral histories in Cleveland, Ohio’s “off limits” suburb. Empowered residents to tell their stories, and compiled a photography exhibition that explored geopolitical boundaries in post civil rights movement America. Collaborated with Columbia University Oral History MA graduate, Phil Sandick.
2005 - 2008

Volunteer / Kalahari Peoples Fund

Arranged for two major conferences about the Kalahari Bushmen of Namibia, one of which two Bushmen attended. Raised over $5,000 in 2005. Organized international media attention. Researched film proposals.

2009 - 2013

Columbia University in the City of New York

Activities: Columbia Spectator (Newspaper), CUFP (Columbia University Film Productions)
2005 - 2009

Hawken School

High School
2008 - 2008

Maru-a-Pula

British A Levels
2006 - 2006

The Maine Media Workshops

Video Production