Vimeo, the video-sharing site that’s not YouTube, revealed a new look today and a whole list of new features and updates.

The first thing you notice is that all videos are now big and looking lovely. It’s like switching from Flickr to 500px, if you know what I mean. I like it.

In a move slightly resembling the recent YouTube relaunch, Vimeo now displays a stream of the latest videos from your contacts and groups on your landing page. It’s called My Feed. Right next to it is a new Activity tab, which will remind you what you’ve done, watched or liked recently – or what your contacts have. But I particularly like the new Discover tab, which I’ll be visiting often to see what others have created. Discovering new – curated or otherwise recommended – videos on the site has always been my favourite activity as as a viewer on Vimeo, so I’m glad this option has been made a bit more prominent.

Prolific uploaders will be pleased to know Vimeo now supports multiple file uploads, which in theory means you should be able to add several files to your upload queue simultaneously. I haven’t tested the feature yet, so the most important question still remains open: has the upload speed improved too? Last time I uploaded something it was painfully slow and I guess my broadband provider was only partly to blame. But the video below seems to suggest the process should be less painful now.

There are also new options for those who prefer to download rather than upload. As you may know, Vimeo creates several versions of the file you upload (including ones optimised for mobile devices), but until today if you wanted to download the video, you could only get the (in many cases gigantic) original file, provided the owner enabled downloads.

Now you can choose from four versions: a mobile file, a SD .MP4 file, an HD .MP4 file or you can download the original file. That should be pretty useful.

Vimeo is still working on the new look, so not all features are perfect, for example, my embed options were not available at the time of writing.

Regardless of all that, it’s still my favourite video sharing site and a brilliant source of inspiration. See here for the full list of new features.

I took this picture recently in an old recording studio in London, now converted into an indoor cycling/fitness facility.

Current owners of the space have rescued one of those ancient audio editing machines – and I love them for it. I used Studers like this when, almost 20 years ago, as a fresh radio reporter I learned the basics of audio recording and reel-to-reel editing.

I still remember the shock I got  when my editor shortened my first 50-someting-second long piece to just under 30 seconds – just by editing out the unnecessary gaps and making everything ‘flow’ and sound more dynamic. It took him just a couple of minutes, maybe even less. The difference was striking. And all that using a Studer like the one above.

(Almost a decade later, during an induction course for new BBC radio journos, I was grateful for that knowledge when I realised tape was *still* preferred over digital – and most people on the course had never used tape before.)

The more time I spend filming using DSLRs with their pathetic sound recording capabilities, the more I realise how important it is nowadays to be able to replace low-quality camera output with better quality, independently recorded audio.

Regardless of whether you use tape or digital, the quality of the actual recording is as, if not more, important as good sound editing skills. But sadly, both often seem to be neglected. And I’m not talking here about casual mobile YouTube uploads, but rather videos created with more advanced gear, sometimes for clients.

I recently watched a clip by an international video production company (no naming and shaming here), with some fun advice on how to shoot a video using a DSLR. Great clip, pathetic sound. No effort was made to rectify this or even mention this as a potential issue. Which kind of rendered the otherwise good video useless.

So what can you do?

1. Invest in good external recorders – from Zoom to Tascam, there’s something for every pocket.

2. Invest in improving your audio editing skills. If you shoot video, you probably know how to edit it too. Basic principles of both are similar. Find an online Lynda course or simply browse YouTube for free advice on levels, noise reduction and audio matching. Or anything else, in fact.

3. Learn how to get audio right from the start – think about the space in which you are recording, about who you are recording and why; avoid background noise like crowds, buzzing air-con units or ringing phones; learn the difference between different types of microphones; and read this excellent duckrabbit blog post which pretty much nails it.

Trust me, with a bit of effort, it will improve your audio immensely. And you don’t need a gigantic Studer machine and a splicing block.

With so many tools and resources to learn from, you frankly have no excuse.

And while it’s not cheap, it’s likely to remain the king (queen?) of full-frame HDSLRs for a while.

Unless you’ve participated in the 17-month simulated Mars mission, you probably already know that Canon has recently announced its latest baby. The Canon C300 offers film-makers an unbelievably advanced tool – at an ubvelievable price too.

As the camera has not yet been officially released, there have only been a handful of videos showing the camera’s output. The latest video, however, is slightly different from the more cinematic samples we’ve seen so far. As its author, Jonathan Yi, admits, “Canon, not thrilled with my sense of humor, does not credit or condone this video, but I think it shows a lot of the camera’s strengths.” It certainly does.

If you are a serious filmmaker – and have £14,000 to spend – here’s what the money buys you:

For more technical specs see here. Also, the British Journal of Photography has published an interview with Peter Yabsley, responsible for business development at Canon Europe, on how this camera was created.

Possibly even the most striking ad I’ve ever seen – in general. Some of you may have already seen it as it’s been on YouTube since June, but somehow I’ve only just discovered it.

Be warned, it’s age-restricted, partly explicit and therefore possibly NSFW.

Moritz Oberholzer, the author of this video, spent 30 hours over several days filming the footage from various London buses. The resulting video is very simple, but mesmerising and nicely edited.

The whole project reminds me a bit of the From the Upper Deck project Przemek Wajerowicz has been working on for years now. Who knows, maybe one inspired the other?

Thanks Natalie for the link.

After the initial avalanche of let-me-be-the-first-to-show-you-how-good-it-is videos and images, first *really* impressive iPhone 4S videos begin to emerge. Like this one, called “Framed”.

There’s a mini story, very lovely cinematography and the filmmakers relied on the iPhone’s image stabilisation to make the shots look really smooth. They also relied on an additional Glidetrack slider and a tripod for smooth panning shots and movement.

The film was edited in Final Cut Pro (you can’t do more than some basic edits on your iPhone, unless it’s some casual footage) with some Magic Bullets colour grading. Which is what you would do with footage from other, more ‘professional’ cameras. The iPhone has now joined their ranks.

I’ll say it again: get over it.

There are two links you should explore if you want to know why.

The first one is this really mind-blowing (in terms of the unexpected outcome) comparison video, where Canon 5D Mark II’s footage  is compared side by side with iPhone 4S’s HD output.

Yes, I know – the latter is in no way a replacement for the former, but even with its really basic controls (AF/AE lock and image stabilisation), the iPhone achieves stunningly good results. Professional filmmakers won’t swap the 5D for the 4S, that’s for sure (although many will no doubt experiment with it – and the results can be amazing), but amateurs on a budget and video enthusiasts have now a really powerful tool in their hands. No wonder the phone is likely to become Apple’s fastest-selling gadget ever. (refresh the page if the vid below doesn’t load)

iPhone 4S / Canon 5d MKII Side by Side Comparison from Robino Films on Vimeo.

At the opposite end of the spectrum – where the professional crowd gathers – we have Canon’s latest creation, the 1D X – yours for £5299 on pre-order. Here’s a camera which dramatically improves on what Canon’s high-end DSLRs already had to offer, but also adds solid (although not groundbreaking) video capabilities.

DP Review does a good job of analysing the major features of the upcoming camera, but what you really want to read is Dan Carr’s 10 Awesome Things About The Canon EOS 1D X You Might Not Know. A dual CF card slot, automatic movie file creation (to bypass the 4GB CF card limit), on-screen audio levels – just a few features many film makers will welcome with open arms. (Although the 5D Mk II and 7D still remain fantastic – and much cheaper – alternatives for most DSLR video makers).

There’s no doubt that shooting stunning video – at least technically stunning – will now be much easier than ever before.

This is exciting.

This sneak preview video focuses on five really basic rules:

1. Think in shots
2. Don’t shoot until you see the whites of their eyes
3. Keep the brightest light behind you
4. Treat your video camera like a still camera
5. Keep your video short

Watch the video to get more info on each of those points. (He did keep it short.)

They set up a YouTube channel, where they upload videos of everyday stuff bursting, colliding, breaking, etc. – all in extreme slow motion. Such fun.

I think the last minute or so of this video is priceless, but watch the whole thing too:

More from them on their YouTube channel.

But for many the switch photography to videography is not easy. Not everyone has a great guru to teach them or enough patience and determination to discover how to use their camera’s more advanced features. Sometimes we even neglect or ignore the basics.

But thanks to the University of Waterloo in Canada and its Digital Arts Communication course in particular we have now access to a brilliant series of ten short videos explaining the basics of DSLR videography. The series was produced in July 2010 and, although made using a Canon DSLR, most of these short tutorials should satisfy any budding videographer, regardless of what DSLR they are using.

The first video in the series explains the advantages of shooting video with DSLRs (great quality, switchable lenses, shallow depth of field), but also points out the disadvantages – or rather challenges (not really built for video, the need for an external microphone).

The whole series can be found on the brilliant Vimeo Video School page (which is, by the way, very useful if you’re interested in more advanced tutorials too), but here are links to the remaining individual parts of the above series:

2. Lens assembly
3. On-off, recording, movie mode
4. Focal length & Prime vs Zoom
5. Perspective
6. Shutter speed and FPS (this one is particularly good)
7. Aperture
8. Depth of field
9. ISO
10. White balance

So these are just the basics. I would suggest you watch Philip Bloom’s series for Vimeo too – it also covers the basics, but Philip also explains many other useful things – including camera settings, timelapses, filming at night and dealing with sound.

If it wasn’t for his really annoying sidekick, this mini-series would be really fantastic:

Introduction to DSLR Cameras with Philip Bloom from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.