debrouillardtv's posterous http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com Most recent posts at debrouillardtv's posterous posterous.com Sun, 18 Dec 2011 00:51:17 -0800 Atomos Samurai first impressions from the field - feedback from Atomos MD http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/atomos-samurai-first-impressions-from-the-fie-33978 http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/atomos-samurai-first-impressions-from-the-fie-33978 This is from Atomos MD, Jeromy Young in relation to my findings and feedback using the Samurai on my most recent trip. Interesting reading

Very best for Christmas, Jonathan

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It has been awesome working with you Jonathan and getting you view points. As you have noted, we are predominantly from post production and videography (old DV days) so the higher end productions, whilst we understand very well the technology and the workflows for Drama, Commercials etc.. but our ENG knowledge and the needs of that user were lacking (prior to meeting you Jonathan, are knowledge was not extensive at all).

Thanks for the good words on the built quality and ease of use, we try to employ the Mark Twain principal - "sorry I wrote you a long letter I didn't have time to write a short letter) the design and user GUI and functionality is what we believe is a short letter we spent a long time making sure this unit was easy to use and robust!\

To answer you points:

1. Screen Lock, this has been a requested feature on the Ninja and didn't quite make it to the Samurai AtomOS 2.6 release. Now thanks to this reviewer we understand the urgency and pratical mishaps that can happen in real world shooting and this is a priority for release early Jan 2011.

2. We have been throwing around ideas on a simple tally light that can be connected to the Lanc output of the unit - we are investigating this now and will add this idea to the road map 

3. Battery system and powering down and footage - Firstly we include in the box a D-Tap adaptor to use a Vlock battery with D-Tap or Hi rose or XLR power cables to the Samurai. You didn't get this as your unit was for a show and we had not produced this yet.
If you use the 2 batteries on the unit you will get between 6-10 hours out of the 2 batteries depending on use. This is a primary secondary power system so you when Bat 1 goes flat, it switches to bat 2 and then you have 3-5 ours to change battery 1 or charge is for reuse. We call this continuous power - we are only 6W per hour fully functioning, our nearest competitor is 25W and pother much more. This means we get very long battery life! Plus the continuous power system you should never run out of batteries. 
Now, in saying that we live in the real world, so as happened to you Jonathan, if he doesn't have 2 batteries on or both go flat before he has a chance to scratch himself, then here is what happens:

J1. When the batteries are getting to critical low and no second battery is present or is also flat, then the unit flashes the battery page (2 battery images) with X in each battery and will flash for 10 seconds at a time for 2-3 mins. So you have some warning...

J2. When the unit shuts off, just before it does it closes the current file and ensures it is safe, then powers off. You will not loose footage in this case. 

J3. ENG version
I see why you don't need the screen for recording, we are tossing up between 2 concepts, your idea of a non/small screen version and a case that goes over the unit to protect the screen etc, but then you can still playback your footage and review or play out to a monitor after the shoot for checking.

Batteries
If you rip off the batteries while its running and the Samurai doesn't shut down by itself  - You are crazy and the chances are you will corrupt the files by doing this. 
"DO NOT PULL ALL BATTERIES OFF WHILE RUNNING"
We have thought of this and that's why we have hard latches and catches for both batteries and you actually have to try to take the batteries off or they will remain connected - this is for safety.

Incidentally the same issue will happen if you rip the HDD or SSD out while recording "DO NOT PULL HARD DISK OUT WHILE RECORIDNG"
Any other time there is no need to dismount the disk or do things in a certain order. If you are not recording you can pull the disk in and out at any time and the unit will continue to function (takes a few seconds for the HDD to show up).
Again for Safety we have put a latch on the HDD and yo must really want the disk to come out as you need (deliberately) 2 hands to eject the HDD one for the latch and one to remove the disk.

Remember we are the only makers that record the spinning disks and in our testing 3 years now we have had only 1 fail, and that is one I dropped. Obviously for run and gun and cars and helicopters anything that is vibration harsh environments you will need an SSD but we support slower and cheaper SSD's than many makers because of the efficient way we write to HDD's and SSD';s.

We have tried to make this thing fool proof but if you really want to push the boundaries we can;t do much.

J4 Cables
Their are cables included, they have a Mini BNC male one end (the Samurai end) and Normal BNC male the other end, this was so the user can connect a short normal SDI cable between camera and Samurai lead, these leads were to give you normal BNC connectivity and to not have you by yet another custom cable, so like everything, Batteries, Charger, Dock for reading disks to Mac and PC's we included them - we always include as much as we can for out of the box production. Attached a pic to show this the cables are included but not in the picture (they weren;t ready when we did the marketing shots)
So these cables were meant to be an adaptor only. But after some other testers also mentioned this.
We are happy to announce on this forum that we are now including a 70cm Mini BNC to normal so you can go straight to your camera form our MIni BNC connection.

So we now supply 2 of the ones we originally did (adaptor cables to connect normal BNC cables and ones that connect directly o the camera as Jonathan wanted

Pics attached of both cables 2 of each included.. short one is the adaptor:
these cables are all 75 Ohm and the highest quality materials we custom make these and if you want to test them for quality I dare you :-P

Thanks for the feedback guys!

J5 - Mounting
We have a 7000 series aircraft grade aluminium body and there are 2 x 1/4" whit worth threads top and bottom, you can hang a tank of those connections, usually customers use adaptors like form Manfrotto etc. But for ENG bash and Dash as Jon does, these solutions are not appropriate - we also know that your an ingenious lot who love fashioning new things for your kit, how much is Velcro really used!!! I know I do!
A robust case for ENG is on the radar for a revised version of the Samurai, should we get the interest form customers (so let us know if you want this!)

J6 Avid DNX
The DNX development is going very well and we will  have both and a great direct to edit solution for broadcast and fast productions without compromising quality

J7 Screw thread mounts
Our QA division in the factory tested with a tripod (cheap shit) that they bought and it had a M6 thread....... only a few units had the M6 and not 1/4" I picked this up fast after the first few we found.
As much as you try these things are hard to avoid.
All is good on all units now and as Jon said if you have an issue we will fix it quick smart...

J8 - A producer being happy now thats what we like lol ! Reviewing anytime is awesome, on the train in the car or on the way home form the fishing shoot, anytime anywhere review and playback
Monitor - we will have focus peaking, Zebra, white balance etc in addition to blue only for exposure which we have already in this firmware, we will be perfect as a confidence monitor.

The product is proving to be used in a wide variety of situations, to speed up workflow and improve image Quality and sharpness and no MPEG or transcoding just edit form the disk in 10bit 422, a real dream for end to end speed and cost savings!

Thanks for the review Jon and we are working at meeting the ENG needs!

Appreciate the opportunity to reply and stay tuned lads we have a million ideas o how to make life easier for on any production, faster into to post and cheaper overall running costs of your business

Best in shooting!
Jeromy from Atomos

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Mon, 05 Dec 2011 08:42:21 -0800 Atomos Samurai first impressions from the field http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/atomos-samurai-first-impressions-from-the-fie http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/atomos-samurai-first-impressions-from-the-fie
Hello all, I will apologise in advance if this report seems a little haphazard and chaotic. I have been on the road now for 3 weeks with just over a week to go running around the edges of the Indian Ocean for a new BBC series. I managed to secure one of the first Atomos Samurai 'on board' recorders to take with me on this shoot. It finally turned up at my house at 23.30 after having been on show at BVE North that day.I have been talking to Atomos's UK reps since March with a view to taking the new unit with me on one of my trips this summer to Afghanistan or Africa but due to production issues this opportunity never materialised. Anyway, better late than never as they say and off I went to Heathrow and my first stop, Sri Lanka.

I have to say that my first impressions of this recorder are very good indeed. When I finally managed to get time late one night to set the Samurai up and get it running , all it took was just ten minutes, no manual and very little head scratching indeed to record my first pictures on the unit. The unit looks well made, it feels like that it would be to the rigours of location filming.The graphic on screen menus and icons are clear, well laid out and easy to read. The menus are simple and intuitive. Anyone who has used the Nanoflash recorder will know what I mean. The Nano flash menu feels like using a Texas Instruments calculator circa 1978, the Samurai by comparison is very simple to navigate. The unit overall is a breeze to use and will work straight out of the box. 

What I am about to say to you all is with the complete blessing of the the MD of Atomos, Jeromy Young (no relation at all, by the way !). What began to occur to me very quickly as I began to use the Samurai on my current shoot is all cited below. The point I want to stress is the relationship Atomos wants to build up with their end users.Their outlook towards us as end users is very refreshing. In the couple of weeks I have been using the unit, I have had several direct phone calls from their MD and senior development engineer  as well as number of emails outlining my concerns and thoughts. The team at Atomos originally completed their initial research for the Samurai by talking to camera crews who work predominately in commercials / drama / features which tend to be on the whole more controlled environments. Certainly not like the world of docs and ENG and the single camera man / end user. The team at Atomos come from a post production background and freely admit that they now appreciate that a large number of the end users they anticipate are going to be the one man band crews and owner ops. They are actively looking to receive feedback to help improve their product further. To show how much Atomos are committed to what they say about looking after end users, there have been two firmware updates in the last ten days with another planned very shortly that picks up and corrects the biggest concern I have had from the moment I starting using the Samurai.  

1- The biggest single fault I have found operationally with the unit is the need for a screen lock. A screen lock / switching the monitor off in an ENG / single user mode is a must to get better battery life out of the unit and prevent unintentional switching of modes like TC trigger / video format / HDD formatting etc . I have suggested a double tap in one area of the screen only or an I phone style pin code to access the screen. Virtually every time I have checked the unit during filming, the screen menus have been accidentally    activated and something has been changed (25p to 50 i), timecode trigger from HDSI to Time of Day, the format command screen for the hard drives (gulp !). I have reset the unit to my preferred settings I am using but still just with the general hurly burly of handheld filming , menu settings are getting changed accidentally from just carrying and moving around with the camera . No cameraman wants to be in the position of trying to apologise for his or her footage or lack of it because a piece of kit hasn't worked properly.
On the first day I got 8 hours out of the batteries with the screen brightness turned down to its lowest setting but around 7 hours in the last two days but probably shot more than 4 hours of footage.I would suggest that on the two supplied batteries with the kit , you could easily run for 6 hours safely before needing to change them. The batteries are based on the Sony NP570. I am using 750gb HHD Hitachi Travelstar drives which Atomos recommended and tested as suitable for their OS on the Samurai.

2-  The unit needs a remote tally light on a cable from the unit to allow the user to know they are recording. If the Samurai unit is mounted at the rear, you can't just keeping taking the camera off your shoulder , looking at the back ,checking you are recording etc. This will be a major hinderance . With my Nanoflash I have the cable which has a red led in the end placed very close to the viewfinder so I can keep an eye on the recording . It is a major confidence booster.The Atomos has a LANC in and out put and their designer is looking at using that route to provide a remote tally light. The current firmware has added red bars top and bottom to show you are in record mode on the screen. This really only helps end users at the moment who will mount the Samurai on the camera top to use the monitor as a view finder.

3- I have spoken to Atomos about the idea of producing of a light weight non-monitor version of the Samurai for ENG camera mounting with connections on either end and with flat sides for ease of mounting on sides of camera panels , inside a Portabrace camera jacket or on the rear of cameras at the right hand side or even on the camera battery itself. The lightweight unit should be external power only to run off the onboard power on a camera. A lot of guys have radio mics on the rear right of the camera mounted next to the battery, so the only place to put another unit is on the right hand panel between the lens and the tape cassette door. Or on the rear handle at the back ? I have seen home made cages for Nano flash mounted this way.Atomos tell me with out the monitor they could make an onboard recorder much much smaller.

On the point of external power , many ENG  / docs cameramen have to change their batteries very quickly in the field. Sometimes I have been unable to stop mid take and so the battery has just run down, causing the recording to stop then I quickly change over to the new battery. With tape all you have to due is press return on the lens and the tape pre rolls back to frame accurate timecode to continue where you left off recording. At the moment I have no any idea what will happen if power to the Samurai is cut whilst recording in this way. Will all recordings be lost, does the hard drive have a cache buffer etc to allow this to happen ? If for instance the unit just stops and everything recorded up to that point is lost, there are going to be a lot of very unhappy people. I am wanting for an answer from Atomos.My own anecdotal evidence seems to suggest that the last recorded clip would be safe but any clip still be recorded might be lost.

4- The original cables supplied with the unit are high quality and flexible but are the wrong sex for the ENG user. This came as a shock to me when I opened the box for the first time. Again, Atomos took their lead research from the drama / commercial world with lots of people to help on set etc. These guys all said " we don't need more cables" so Atomos supplied adaptor cables only. They supplied micro BNC female (to mate to micro male BNC on the unit) to normal size male BNC as a short adaptor. All ready Atomos have addressed the this issue and started supplying longer right angled BNC female cables to mate to the camera male outputs. Personally, I would suggest a cable of 30 to 40 cms would be a good length. The one man band doesn't need yet more stuff hanging off the camera in loops that could get caught in a scrum / flowing situation. I also pressed Atomos on the point of connectors , please, please go for industry standard, don't go do the Sony route of trying to make your own propriety connectors that cost a fortune, only one supplier stocks them and then piss everyone else off because there were perfectly good solutions available before ! On the external power issue, the D Tap (originally from Anton Bauer has become the standard for external power supply), I have also asked  if Atomos could consider making sure that for the non monitor Samurai, could they make the power conector latching or locking so it can't come out during filming (eg like an HDMI  lead).

The inputs / outputs on the unit are micro BNC for HDSDI, 3.5 mm for audio monitoring and analogue input (not that I have tested it as I have used HDSDI embedded audio , 4 tracks) and LANC in and out. On the other end of the Samurai, the HDD slots inside the unit via a flip cover . Once the 2.5 inch HHD is inside a caddy that comes as part of the kit and inserted inside the Samurai, It protrudes by about a cm to enable the the user to get a grip on it for removal.

5- Mounting. There are only a few places to put the unit on the camera. For ENG , upright and left hand side of camera is out of the question. It will get in the way. Most cameramen have radio mics already on the right hand side as well and it you throw in a wireless monitor link, It is going to be tight. The unit weighs approx 1.1 kgs with both batteries on board. This makes my HDX 900 with Anton Bauer batteries a pretty heavy camera indeed. Thank goodness for my Easy rig ! I have mounted my Samurai on a blank Anton Bauer radio mic plate on the right hand side of the camera with Velcro on the two batteries to hold it in place.This isn't elegant but it is secure and I have been filming on fishing trawlers and numerous boats at sea. Again speaking to Atomos, they are looking at making some sort of cage or holder with connections in it to mount the Samurai for ENG use. Get your thinking caps on gents.What would you like to see ?

6- From early next year in qtr 1 2012, the Samurai will be able to run Avid DNxHD and Pro Res side by side in the in the same unit.This will be a game changer to compete with the Sound Devices Pix . At the moment I have been shooting Pro Res LT , which at 100mbps matches the DVC Pro HD tape I am shooting.For most crews ,it will be good enough for broadcast productions who have gone down the XDCam 422 50 Mbps route. 

7- Fortunately, the unit I have is 3/8 Whitworth screw threads top and bottom for mounting, not one of the rogue production 6mm thread units.Anyone with the wrongly supplied 6mm thread units can get a 3/8 thread replacement from Atomos.
8-  Also, the screen isn't quite as sharp I would like especially if I were to use it as a viewfinder but the on screen touch controls work very well and again are intuitive. Again, I have asked Atomos if they would consider a peaking facility as part of their next firmware update. The one area that has been the biggest hit with the producer I am working with is the ability to review material from that day on the way back from the shoot in the car. He has been able to judge the presenters PTC's and links etc with out having to resort to setting up playback that evening.He is sold already !

I have only been using the Samurai so far as a recording device in the field. I haven't been laying off to back up drives as yet as the production I am on is firmly tape based and quite frankly were very Luddite in their attitude to me using this new bit of kit.They just weren't interested and the shoot PC was actually dismissive of the new technology as he has " had numerous problems with tapeless shoots and doesn't trust it ". I will, when I have more time conduct some back ups and try to report back about the download and edit side of using the Samurai. My apologies to those who edit as well as shoot, I am sorry that I can't be more specific for you. If any one has any questions for me whilst I am on the road with the Samurai, feel free to ask and I will conduct some more tests.

Very sorry for the long and rambling email but I was keen to share my findings with you all sooner rather than later.I really feel that once Atomos have ironed out a couple of the issues I have highlighted and they add the Avid codec , the unit is going be a real winner , especially for the price point.

Good night all.best Jonathan 

Jonathan Young
Documentary Lighting Cameraman
Debrouillard Limited

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Sat, 19 Nov 2011 10:02:30 -0800 Back on the Indian Ocean http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/back-on-the-indian-ocean http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/back-on-the-indian-ocean First full day here on the south Sri Lankan coast near Galle. We arrived after a nightmare flight with delays at Heathrow of over 5 hours. Traveled down from Colombo shooting the first scenes along he way for programme 5 of BBC series Indian Ocean today. Unfortunately,we got caught in the torrential inter monsoon rains and lost two hours of filming.Bit of a problem when it gets dark at just after 5 pm !
Gallle Fort is an imposing old Dutch settlement on the outskirts of the city but much of the rest of Galle has been extensively modernized after the 2004 Tsunami hit.
Hopefully I will get to play with my brand new Atomos Samurai as well tomorrow ! Fingers crossed for good light and new technology !!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Sun, 27 Feb 2011 09:18:00 -0800 Anglesey - the Royal Couple for NBC Today Show http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/anglesey-the-royal-couple-for-nbc-today-show http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/anglesey-the-royal-couple-for-nbc-today-show

I know pictures of me with my camera are ultimately very boring for you all to look at but if I am to succeed with my SEO venture needs must ! So sorry a big apology to all those who subscribe to my posts wanting to see glamour and excitement. This one has some of that but I am not providing it. The excitement is seeing all four seasons in one day of the coast of Anglesey. I have only ever been to this part of Wales once before but all last week I was upto my eyes in it working for NBC's Today Show. We shot for a week behind the scenes ready for the arrival of the new Royal couple Will and Kate on their first official enagement together in public. It was a very blustery and wet week but it is North Wales though so what do you expect !!!!  My recommendation is to visit in the summer, the place is stunning !!!

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Wed, 02 Feb 2011 14:16:00 -0800 The Last Pharaoh in Egypt http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/the-last-pharaoh-in-egypt http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/the-last-pharaoh-in-egypt

I have been in Cairo since the early hours of Sunday morning. My colleague and I decided to break the curfew before 7am. We left the airport with the only taxi driver who would take us, a guy from Gaza who was driving a 1972 vintage stretch mercedes that had since many better days.We drove in to the down town area to be met by the first of many vilgilante checkpoints. The checkpoints had sprung up in response to looters taking advantage of the police pulling back from the streets. The checkpoint guards are all concerned citizens who have armed themselves with shotguns,baseball batts and even kitchen knvies taped to broom handles. These checkponts in some areas are literally ever 50 meters.

in the last couple of days the tensions at these checkpoint have rocketed as the some guys manning the checkpoints are delirious with lack of sleep. These checkpoints are manned by upto sometimes 30 people especially those crossing the Nile bridges. One guard I spoke to had witnessed the beating to death of one of a pair of looters in his neighbourhood the previous night

I spent all of yesterday and most of the evening in Taherer Sq. with the protestors. The noise was truly deafening, the constant shouts of "down with Mubarak" and "Hurreya" ,freedom in Arabic. Little did I know that today would bring such a momentous backlash from the pro Mubarak protestors. The early part of the day was noisy and energetic running around the city with the rival groups. Then the anarchy started with the horses and the camels in the square. As I turn in for the evening,I can see the odd muzzle flash in the distance and certainly hear the gun fire and the constant sound of the Sikorsky helicopters buzzing over the square. What chaos will tomorrow bring, bukkara inshallah

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Wed, 19 Jan 2011 01:10:00 -0800 Jonathan Youn'g lastest shoot - Iranian Election refugees http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/jonathan-young-lastest-shoot-iranian-election http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/jonathan-young-lastest-shoot-iranian-election

Since the return from Christmas, I have shooting a documentary for BBC around an number of contributors who fled Iran after the election in June 2009. They all have one thing in common,they fled in fear of their lives. They all detail the truly terrible and vile conditions and treatment that they have had to endure as opposition supporters in Iran. Their testimonies are graphic,compelling and an indication of how a regime trys to control what it sees as dissent inside it's national borders.

The shooting of this programme has been across rural Turkey into the heart land of the refugee pipeline.Further on,it has taken us to the new home in Norway of one of the most promient women's rights and social media activists at the time of the election.From the safety of her new adopted home amosngst the spruce trees and fjords,she is able to carry on her work against the traditional punishment of public execution by stoning.The irony is though, Norway is the most connected and wired country in the world. The internet in Norway is the fastest and most reliable in the world,ensuring her message and campaign against stoming reaches the greatest number of people worldwide. This was something she could only dream about when she was blogging from hiding in Tehran.

The programme will be broadcast at 20.30 BBC 1 Monday night ,mid Febru

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Thu, 16 Dec 2010 08:16:19 -0800 Dar Es Salaam to Zanzibar and the finish of Indian Ocean ep1 http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/dar-es-salaam-to-zanzibar-and-the-finish-of-i http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/dar-es-salaam-to-zanzibar-and-the-finish-of-i After a couple of difficult flights from Mozambique (no electricity again in Beira airport) we finally made it into Dar city centre to start shooting. The urban hub of Dar is a huge cultural melting pot of Arab,African,Western European, Indian and now Chinese influences. Or so we thought.... Already the Chinese traders have moved up from street stalls to major investment projects in the space of a few years. Trying to find a few Chinese on the streets of Dar is hard, they now populate the 5 star hotels doing deals behind closed doors.

All the drivers in Dar seem to think that their city is the worst in Africa for traffic and do nothing but complain about it. Well , if Dar is chaos, they should visit Lagos and it will blow their minds !! For anyone visiting a new place, arriving by water is a completely different feel to that of arriving by air. Putting in to Stone Town, Zanzibar's capital is no exception by ferry. The very name conjures up the exotic in the minds of the traveler but for me that's where it ends. I was truly disappointed in what I saw considering the island has world heritage status. It is shabby,filthy (no more so than other parts of Africa) but with the amount of tourists bringing revenue to the island, you would assume that some of the money is filtering down ?

The back streets are worth a visit though for Arabesque influence and the impressive wooden front doors on most houses. St Monica's church, the site of the old slave sale centre is a must to remind everyone of the evils of the slave trade. The trade in human souls continued into the lifetimes of our great grand parents. Sitting for just a few minutes in the underground holding cells is enough for the claustraphobic to truly envisage the suffering of up to 75 men,women and children in the cells waiting to sold. It is not an experience I would either like to repeat ever again.

The real treasure of Zanzibar is the eco tourist island of Chumbebe,just to the south. It is the home to some of the finest and best kept coral gardens in the worlds oceans. It is one of the remaining jewels in Zanzibar's tarnished crown.

The end of episode of 1 Indian Ocean. !!!


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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Tue, 07 Dec 2010 06:53:50 -0800 Grand Hotel slum Beira to Dar Es Salaam http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/grand-hotel-slum-beira-to-dar-es-salaam http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/grand-hotel-slum-beira-to-dar-es-salaam Having left Maputo, we have headed north as a team to the coastal area of Mozambique to look at the diminishing shark stocks off the coastal waters of Pomene. We filmed with fishermen who long line the coastal waters to snare sharks for the Chinese. The Chinese middleman then take the sharks fin that his been cut off the shark to send to Hong Kong and mainland China ready for its preparation in the highly regarded luxury Sharks Fin soup. It is a tragic waste of the shark as most sharks are then thrown back in to the sea and very few are used for their meat.

After witnessing the distressing scenes of marine cruelty on the beautiful tropical beaches, we moved on to Beira, Mozambique's second city. The Grand Hotel fell in to decline as an oasis of colonial luxury during the 60's. Many refugees from the civil war began converge on the disused hotel as a free place to live in one of the world's poorest countries. Now, the old hotel has been strapped of all it's former glory, has no electricity or running water but is home to 350 plus families living in all of the hotels former rooms and public areas. It is a sad epitaph to the decline of Mozambique since the civil war and independence from Portugal.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Fri, 03 Dec 2010 14:45:37 -0800 Off the ship in Maputo and onto the Sharks http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/off-the-ship-in-maputo-and-onto-the-sharks http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/off-the-ship-in-maputo-and-onto-the-sharks I spent three days on the Italian container ship Jolly Bianco earlier this week. I sailed along the coast of South Africa in Mozambique waters .The sight of dolphins managing to keep pace with 200 metre long ship was truly astonishing. There is also nothing quite like falling asleep on a ship with the gentle rocking of the seas.with the ship finally arriving in Maputo at 02.30 on Sunday am, it has been a very busy week ever since. Unfortunately though today was my last chance to see any Whale Sharks, the biggest fish in the seas,off the coast at Tofo. After two hours of searching the beautiful coastline in a rib, all I saw the spectacular flying fish.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:08:46 -0800 Maputo at Sunset http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/maputo-at-sunset-0 http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/maputo-at-sunset-0
Just a couple of pics of  Maputo at sunset before we head north to find whale sharks. Hopefully !

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Tue, 30 Nov 2010 02:08:19 -0800 Maputo at Sunset http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/maputo-at-sunset http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/maputo-at-sunset
Just a couple of pics of  Maputo at sunset before we head north to find whale sharks. Hopefully !

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Wed, 24 Nov 2010 13:01:09 -0800 A very wet day in Durban with the sharks http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/a-very-wet-day-in-durban-with-the-sharks http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/a-very-wet-day-in-durban-with-the-sharks The last couple of days has been very tiring indeed. As a team we have been up and out on the water very early in the morning around Durban looking for sharks and studying the shark nets around the beaches. Today, the weather has been even worse than the last couple of days.Half of Africa is covered with a storm front.But that doesn't stop the shark hunters. 4km off shore we pulled up over a reef and I filmed from the surface as tiger and black tipped sharks circled the boat. They aren't the killers of the Jaws movies but an essential part of the marine eco system. A great but very wet days filming bouncing around for hours in a rib !

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Sun, 21 Nov 2010 15:27:59 -0800 A hectic few days on camera in South Africa http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/a-hectic-few-days-on-camera-in-south-africa http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/a-hectic-few-days-on-camera-in-south-africa
After having spent a couple of days chasing around with dealers and users in the Mannenburg suburb of Cape Town which has big a crystal meth problem, it was great to get back to the Indian Ocean. These pictures were taken at dusk at Cape L'Argulhas, the southern most point in Africa.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Tue, 16 Nov 2010 14:40:37 -0800 Day 2 Indian Ocean - Penguins ! http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/day-2-indian-ocean-penguins http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/day-2-indian-ocean-penguins Have sent a very long day filming at the stunningly beautiful Betty's Bay on the Western cape of South Africa. It is the home to the endangered African Penguin whose numbers are dwindling dramatically over the last couple of years.Climate change and over commerical fishing are alleged to be the cause of the suffering of these amazing little creatures.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Mon, 15 Nov 2010 10:09:50 -0800 Day 1 programme 1 ! http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/day-1-programme-1 http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/day-1-programme-1 We are under way now on Indian Ocean ! Day 1 shooting the opening down at Cape Point, South Africa.At the end of the world,next stop Antarctica. They gave us private access to the lighthouse for soon amazing shots of the ocean.Look at the stairs down to the lighthouse path,hundreds of feet straight down the cliff face.


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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Mon, 15 Nov 2010 01:43:54 -0800 Indian Ocean day one recce photos http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/indian-ocean-day-one-recce-photos-0 http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/indian-ocean-day-one-recce-photos-0
Great first day here on Cape Point in South Africa. The sun, the wind, the birds ! Great recce, I shoot the big opening for programme 1 of Indian Ocean tomorrow !! Really very exciting.


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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Sun, 14 Nov 2010 12:33:15 -0800 Indian Ocean day one recce photos http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/indian-ocean-day-one-recce-photos http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/indian-ocean-day-one-recce-photos Great first day here on Cape Point in South Africa. The sun, the wind, the birds ! Great recce,I shoot the big opening for programme 1 of Indian Ocean tomorrow !! Really very exciting.

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Wed, 10 Nov 2010 08:10:23 -0800 Test post from email! http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/test-post-from-email http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/test-post-from-email Test

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young Fri, 05 Nov 2010 05:06:00 -0700 My new YouTube Channel!!! http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/my-new-youtube-channel http://debrouillardtv.posterous.com/my-new-youtube-channel

Hi all! Just starting to put stuff up onto YouTube. You can see my showreel there or here.... Just uploading it now To see it on YouTube go to http://www.youtube.com/user/debrouillardtv

 

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]]> http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/856988/jy2.jpg http://posterous.com/users/4SnKml5QJPk5 Jonathan Young Jonathan Jonathan Young