David Threlfo is a cinematographer, editor, and 3D animation artist for Castle Media Group. Before joining Castle Media Group, he worked in Australian commercial TV (NBN and TEN TV) for thirty years. Threlfo has shot with everything from 16mm sync sound film cameras to digital video, created special effects and animation, and worked for nightly news to ENG News Documentaries doing TV station commercials and promo work. As one can see, Threlfo is a well rounded and highly experience media professional.

David Threlfo

Recently, Threlfo filmed a steam festival in Maitland, Australia that featured variety of steam powered locomotives and tractors. The assignment was to produce TV commercials for the 2010 event. He shot HD footage using a Sony EX-1 camera. The footage was then edited into four commercials and a web video for the Client using Sony Vegas Pro 9.

Threlfo says,

“In TV commercial production, speed is as essential as great on-screen results.”

In order to produce great on-screen results with the speed necessary to push the production through to completion, he turned to NewBlueFX. Threlfo explains,

“NewBlueFX is like the box of glass filters we used to take out on location. Now I don’t have to worry about that in the field – just frame the shot and record the action, knowing that ‘the look’ can be done with NewBlueFX in the calmer atmosphere of Post. The simplicity and speed of applying NewBlueFX in Post is spectacular and the unlimited creativity the plug-in(s) provide is an asset to the end result.”

After shooting, capturing, and importing the footage, Threlfo says,

“Video Essentials II and Video Essentials III were used extensively with this project- - specifically Color EQ, Rack Focus, Noise Reducer, Gradient Tint, Dual Booster, Vignette — and were vital tools in the post-production process, especially the new, and awesome, Stabilizer.”

NewBlue Stabilizer was used to smooth out shots taken in and from the cab of a moving express steam locomotive. Says Threlfo,

“I was amazed when I saw the steam locomotive cab results. I cannot explain how intense the movement of that engine was, so to see [NewBlue Stabilizer] smooth out this footage was spellbinding! Stabilizer also smoothed out the rain falling on tracks footage and the steam locomotives that were shot hand-held on a long lens.”

Take a look at NewBlueFX in action and how David Threlfo best utilized and applied them.

He continues with an enthusiastic response to the completed footage,

“The results were incredible and I simply used the default settings with a slight crop adjustment. Years ago, I had a high-end compositing program that did do image stabilizing, but it needed two renders to analyze the footage and apply the ’steady’ controller. It was a painful process and nowhere as accurate as the NewBlueFX Stabilizer.”

David Threlfo leaves us with these final thoughts,

“I’ve used Sony Vegas Pro to edit for years. This is a great NLE; however, with the addition of NewBlueFX, it goes from great to amazing. The ability to capture video footage and edit it with such an array of creative tools is a cinematographer’s dream. NewBlueFX is always at the back of my mind when I’m in the field filming – in fact I shoot many shots now specifically knowing that I have a particular NewBlueFX plug-in to apply to it. NewBlueFX products free-up a cinematographer to ‘get the shot’ and give an editor the creative freedom in post-production to make that shot look awesome; Great products, brilliant results!”