News From Here & There

"News From Here & There" is back! Yes, the past week or so has been overwhelmed by that software release, but here's to getting back to the real world...

Rules for Documentary Makers
Doug Pray (Scratch, Infamy, Art & Copy) offered several tips on documentary filmmaking at a recent film workshop:
  1. The more organized and meticulously planned your documentary production is, the more time you’ll have to play, be free and discover genuine spontaneity and cinema verité beauty.
  2. Research is essential, but pre-interviews with your subject can kill good interviews.
Well worth reading.
Flux.net: Doug Pray’s 7 Basic Rules about Making Documentary Films



10.6.8 Update Breaks CUDA support
Users report the recent Mac OS X 10.6.8 update breaking CUDA support for Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve. Current solution: Rollback to previous drivers.
Adobe.forums: Premiere Pro CS5.5 stopped recognizing my CUDA-enabled card



Review of the Sony HXR-NX70 & NEX-FS100
A few days ago, Philip Johnston at HD Warrior posted a fairly extensive report on using the new Sony HXR-NX70 [$2,799] to shoot some footage in different locations. It seems like a great little workhorse, and they really like it, particularly with the XLR inputs. Note that while the camera is rain and dust proof, it's NOT water proof!

I was a little troubled by the one real complaint they had; that the zoom rocker-switch is very prickly, and really jumps from slow to fast.

And yesterday he posted a similar review for the Sony NEX-FS100. In the demo he's using a Nikon f/2.8 zoom with an MTF adapter. Interestingly, he recommends getting a Cokin P Filter holder and ND 4 filter rather than the variable filters that others are using.
HDWarrior: Review of the Sony HXR-NX70
HDWarrior: Reviewing the Sony NEX-FS100



Magic Bullet Suite 11
Red Giant has released Magic Bullet Suite 11, a set of tools, filters and effects. What's new:
  • Magic Bullet Cosmo: Beautiful cosmetic cleanup in a click.
  • Magic Bullet Looks 2: Color effects that set the mood for your story.
  • And introducing our Single Serial installer! Now one installer and one serial number will serve up all nine products in the suite.
Cost: $799. They also made a short movie called "Plot Device" to demo the new effects, and there's an interesting Behind the Scenes on their site:
Red Giant: Magic Bullet Suite
Red Giant: Plot Device
Red Giant: Episode 57: Behind the Scenes of Plot Device



Thunderbolt devices & cables
Apple now has a third-party drive and a Thunderbolt cable for sale on their website!
fcp.com: Promise Thunderbolt drives now available on the Apple Store
AppleInsider: Apple releases $49 Thunderbolt cable, offers external RAID systems



Questions About RED Scarlet
It's been a long time coming, and we still don't know when it will arrive, but Jared Land of RED has popped up on the RED User's Forum to answer some questions about Scarlet:
Q: Am I right in my understanding that the removable lensScarlet is still supposed to come out? Can we end the rumors of the removable lens scarlet plans being thrown out the window?
A: Scarlet 2/3" removable and the Mini-Primes that go with it are still on track and is due to be released after the 8x fixed Scarlet ships.
REDuser.net: 10 Scarlet Questions



Sony NEX-FS100 Judder Test
Floris Liesker posted a short test video, writing:
Some people complained the FS100's movement is stuttery. I improvised a test to see if footage contains stutter. I made the whole screen move in the opposite direction in a linear way. A straight line, no curve.
I also put some text in for reference. What I see is a smooth movement, a hand-made pan. No stutter.
Vimeo: FS100 judder test



Most SuccessFul KickStarter Campaigns
FilmakerIQ has assembled together a list of the 25 most successful - i.e. made the most money - film pitches starting with the $345,992 Save Blue Like Jazz, through to the $50,866 The Blue Eyes.
FilmmakerIQ: Top 25 Most Successful Kickstarter Film Pitches



4:2:2 and 4:4:4
If you've never quite understood that whole color-subsampling business, then Andy Shipsides at Abelcine has the post for you:
First, I’ll talk about different color models in the HD world, which are often shown as ‘Y Cb Cr’, ‘Y Pb Pr’ or ‘RGB’. Then I’ll cover color sub-sampling, which is most often described by a combination of numbers such as 4:2:2 or 4:2:0. 
CineTechnica: HD Formats: Color Model & Color Sub-Sampling






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