Notes On Video

For Sale Blackmagic Intensity Pro HDMI/Analog HD/SD editing card that was used three or four times is for sale for $160. Location: Boston. These sell for $189 on Amazon Contact Adam at @AdamWeiss on Twitter Jobs We are a New York based documentary TV production company looking for shooters in Boston. We are currently staffing for a potential documentary series. Please send resume/ credits and references. MediaMatch : Shooter (Boston) Send Boston related jobs, items for sale to :  Email NotesOnVideo

The Cambridge, MA Brattle Theatre is running a Trailer Smackdown Competition . Cost is $10 and the entry deadline is July 13th The goal of the Brattle’s Trailer smackdown is for teams or individuals to create an original trailer for the fictional movie “Labor Day”. Each trailer must include one item from each column listed on the entry form (“Genre”, “Location”, “Character”, and “Action”). one written-in “Wild Card” will be allowed per entry. Please note: selecting one item does not preclude using other items from the same list. All films submitted must be less than two (2) minutes in length. The films may contain violence or nudity, but we cannot allow anything that would be deemed pornography. You may not harm real animals or unwilling people in the making of your video. Brattle Theatre : Full Competition Rules

Documentary Shooting With The NEX-FS100 Eric Koretz bought the NEX-FS100 for an HBO documentary and he's written a post about setting up the camera with a PL mount adapter from Hot Rod Camera. He also warns against using the camera with a quick release baseplate: As you can see in the picture above I added a shitty quick release plate (in the field) because I needed to pop the camera off quickly..DON’T do what I did (Illya warned me not to put the plate on FYI). Because of the ergonomics of the camera and the poor (plastic) build of the plate it makes the camera unstable and adds slop (movement) while pulling focus. ImageHunter : HBO Documentary – SONY FS100 with O’Connor, Hot Rod and Zeiss New Olympus 4/3 Lenses Olympus have announced two new 4/3 lenses which should be usable with the Panasonic AG-AF100 . M. Zuiko Digital ED 12 mm f/2.0 Lens [$799.99] M. Zuiko Digital ED 45 mm f/1.8 Lens [$399.99] HD Warrior has a bit of information, along as mentioning a couple of ...

Video Review Of Canon XF100 / XF105 CVPTV has posted an introductory review of the Canon XF100 / XF105 . This is primarily a feature demonstration/overview, though it includes an example of "night-shot" mode and additional sample video in the last half of the segment.[ Good luck finding one in stock! B & H Canon XF100 $2,999.00] Creative Video : Introductory review of the Canon XF-105 (XF105, XF-100, XF100) Full HD 50Mbps camcorder Why I Bought An NEX-FS100 Sam Morgan Moore explains why he bought this large sensor video camera from Sony, moving away from DSLRs, and why he chose it over the AF100 . He also mentions that he bought the kit lens , even though: This is a really unappealing looking bit of glass. But I’ve got it because its just going to be so handy (like the better specced 24-105 on my 5d). AF and image stabilisation, few lens changes, less messing with the ND that will be required DSLR 4 Real : Why I bought an FS100 Why Doesn't That Sony Dea...

Avid is offering a cross-grade offer to Media Composer for $995 Sony is offering a cross-grade to Vegas Pro 10 for $299 Adobe offer 50% off to switchers for Adobe Premiere and Adobe Production Premium: : Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium - License [ Add the Full version to the cart, then in the cart, click on the "Click here to enter a promo code." text just below the details and enter "SWITCH" and the discount is applied ]

Are things getting a little crazy, or is it just the 4th of July weekend? Now Sony has stepped up with a Competitive Upgrade for Vegas Pro 10 . It's $299.00 (selling for $521.99 on Amazon at the moment) Sony : Vegas Pro 10

Ricoh is buying Pentax . Neither of those companies have much involvement in video, so it's hardly worth noting, except that my first SLR camera was a Ricoh. Ricoh's SLRs used the Pentax K mount for lenses, so the two companies have had a relationship for many years. In fact, I bought the Ricoh camera (followed by a second Ricoh two years later) because I couldn't afford the Pentax camera I liked(!) Ricoh cameras were cheaper than the Pentax models. At the time I thought that one day I'd "upgrade" to Pentax. Not that I was unhappy with the Ricoh camera. It served me well until I started playing with digital cameras in the mid-90s; infact it lasted until I switched to digital - and ended up with Canon. Macworld :  Ricoh to buy Pentax, set sights on digital SLR market  Ricoh XR-7 ( source : photo.net ) It seemed a lot rounder, and a lot cooler when I bought it!

Hot on the heals of Avid re-introducing their $995 deal for Avid Media Composer to Final Cut Pro users, Adobe is offering 50% of Adobe Creative Suite CS5.5 Production Premium [$849.50 instead of $1,699] or Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 [$399.50 instead of $799] to Final Cut Pro and Avid Media Composer Users! Offer runs through September 30th : Creative Suite 5.5 Production Premium - License [ Add the Full version to the cart, then in the cart, click on the "Click here to enter a promo code." text just below the details and enter "SWITCH" and the discount is applied ] See also: Adobe: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5 / Switching to Adobe Premiere Pro : Why switch?

Tips & Tutorials Importing Sony XDCAM media Apple has posted a technote explaining how to support Sony XDCAM media in Final Cut Pro X : Summary To be able to import Sony XDCAM, XDCAM HD and XDCAM EX media into Final Cut Pro X, you'll need to download and install the Sony XDCAM Transfer software and XDCAM Drive software. Apple : Final Cut Pro X: Importing Sony XDCAM media Free 8-Point Garbage Matte Alex Gollner has posted a free 8 point garbage matte filter on the fcp.co forum. fcp.co :  Free FCPX 8 Point Garbage Matte Resources List Alex Gollner has been posting a lot of links to different resources at his blog. alex4d : Apple support for Final Cut Pro X and Motion 5 Unrecognized Raster Sizes FCPX Quirks notes that Final Cut Pro X doesn't allow non-standard raster sizes in projects. FCPXQuirks : Unrecognized Video Properties The Magnetic Timeline Chris Kenny at Nice Dissolve explains how you should think about the magnetic timeline: The funda...

The NEX-FS100 and the Kit lens The tired, the thirsty and the hungry video production people of Boston had a place to go to last night; Pub Night at Rule Boston Camera ! Free pizza, free beer, and gadgets to play with; could it get any better? Sony was presenting the NEX-FS100 Super 35mm camcorder and the BVM-E250 OLED [$25,499.95] monitor. Rule had four NEX-FS100 s set up in different configurations; one stripped down on a Steadicam , one on a rig with a Nikon lens and follow focus and external monitor, one with just a Zeiss lens and lens adapter, and one with the Sony Kit lens . You could get hands-on with them, and really get a feel for the camera. Tom can't decide which camera to demo... Tom Cubby from Sony gave a short intro to the NEX-FS100 , talked about it's features and demoed it's low-light capabilities, and then we were free to handle the cameras. He also had the A to E-mount adapter , and an Alpha mount 50mm lens, which he put on a camera. 16mm pan...

Tutorials Color Correcting Dan Allen has added a video tutorial showing color correction in Final Cut Pro X . YouTube : Final Cut Pro X Basics Tutorial Pt. 2 - Color Correcting / Grading Introduction Kevin McAuliffe has a second part in his introductory series: In Lesson 2 of this Final Cut Pro X video tutorial series, Kevin P McAuliffe takes a look at more importing features, and the most important part of FCPX.....editing clips in your timeline. CreativeCOW : Apple FCPX - Final Cut Pro X Tutorials : Kevin P. McAuliffe Tips Hiding Events in the Event Library Apple has posted a support tech note explaining how to hide Events Hint : it involves moving the Event folders out of the Events Library. Apple : Final Cut Pro X: Hiding Events in the Event Library OMF Export Scott Simmons experiments with Automatic Duck 's OMF export and tries importing the results into Adobe Audition . My thought has been that even though FCPX’s timeline is trackless the clips are sti...

Stop-motion animation legend Ray Harryhausen is 91 today, June 29th. His work influenced countless others, and he is perhaps best known for Jason and the Argonauts

Digital Production Buzz, Jun 30th - Final Cut Pro X Andrew Little, Patrick Inhofer, Philip Hodgetts, Bruce Sharpe, Alex Grossman, and more will be on this weeks Digital Production Buzz webcast. This week, we talk with a variety of developers to get their take on the new software. When will plug-ins be released? How hard is it to develop for? What can we expect? We get all the details this week. All this, plus Pick Our Brains, on this week’s show! Thursday, June 30th 6PM (PDT) DigitalProductionBuzz Tips FCPX.TV has put together a page of Final Cut Pro X tips - for FCP7 editors: 002 Add Edit is now called Blade (Cmd + B) . This is different from just selecting the Blade tool (B) which requires a click on the media to perform the edit. FCPX.TV : Final Cut Pro X Tips From the Trenches - LAFCPUG Meeting Report Michael Kammes reports on Tuesday's meeting of LAFCPUG , which featured Phillip Hodgetts , president of Intelligent Assistance; Larry Jordan , trainer, author; as...

Resources The Empire Strikes Back Apple comes out, sort-of swinging with an FAQ of their own answering several questions. Some of the answers are no [ Can I import projects from Final Cut Pro 7 into Final Cut Pro X? ] and some of them are "support coming": Does Final Cut Pro X allow you to assign audio tracks for export? Not yet. An update this summer will allow you to use metadata tags to categorize your audio clips by type and export them directly from Final Cut Pro X. Can Final Cut Pro X export XML? Not yet, but we know how important XML export is to our developers and our users, and we expect to add this functionality to Final Cut Pro X. We will release a set of APIs in the next few weeks so that third-party developers can access the next-generation XML in Final Cut Pro X. They also note that Volume Licensing will be "available soon." Apple : Answers to your Final Cut Pro X Questions 50 Pro Features Apple also wants you to know that Final Cut Pro ...

" 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: 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. 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 & N...

Tutorials & Webinars Fading Audio A new tutorial at Premiumbeat : In this second post in our series on working with sound in FCPX, we’ll take a look at the new tools for fading audio in and out on the project timeline. Premiumbeat : FCP X Audio Tutorial Part 2: Using Final Cut Pro X’s Audio and Music Fading Tools Webinar - Final Cut Pro X Hands On Tour A free webinar with Scott Simmons : Thursday, June 30, 2011 @ 10:00 AM PDT to 11:30 AM PDT FilmMakingWebinars: Hands On Tour Final Cut Pro X Webinar - Transitioning Your NLE ProMax is offering a series of webinars for those transitioning from Final Cut Pro 7 : ADOBE : July 14th @ 10am pst - Switching from Final Cut Pro 7 to Adobe: Cost, Infrastructure Changes, Collaboration & Benefits AVID : July 21st @ 10am pst - Switching from Final Cut Pro 7 to Avid: Cost, Infrastructure Changes, Collaboration & Benefits FCPX : July 28th @ 10am pst - Switching from Final Cut Pro 7 to FCP X:Cost Infrastructure Changes, Co...

I'm a somewhat erratic reader of books. I love them, but I find that I'm inconsistent in my actual reading of them. When it comes to books, one of three things happens: I buy a book, excited by it's topic and interesting cover. I take it home and never open it. I bring a book home, read a bit, put it aside, read a bit more. Over the course of two months, I read about three chapters, by which point I totally lose interest, and I never finish it. I read a book from cover to cover in two days flat, often staying up all hours to finish it. I've always been this way, and it's somewhat frustrating that I can't be more moderate in my book consumption. I've tried, but I can't. Here's the thing, I won a copy of Sell Your Own Damn Movie! by Lloyd Kaufman at a recent BOSFCPUG meeting, and one of the things group leader Dan Bérubé asks people to do is to review or let him know how you like the thing you won. Talk about getting some guilt with the prize!...

Larry Jordan at the London SuperMeet MacVideo has posted clips of Larry Jordan talking about Final Cut Pro X at the London SuperMeet last week. "Apple released Final Cut Pro X, and you would have thought that people's children were being kidnapped." Larry gives quite a spirited defense of Final Cut Pro X ; though he notes the limitations and his complaints, and remember this happened just two days after the release. MacVideo : London SuperMeet: Final Cut Pro X (parts 1 & 2) Larry continues to update his free video training clips: YouTube : LarryJordanFCP Update On Gamma Issue Chris Marquardt updates a gamma issue he was seeing with video played in Final Cut Pro X 's viewer window: Thanks to a comment from jhazelbaker and some more experimentation, it's now clearer what caused the issue. Apparently FCP X does indeed honor ICC display profiles... as long as they are ICC version 2. Profiling your display with an X-Rite ColorMunki, which is what I u...

Rule Boston Camera is having two events on Wednesday June 29 featuring the Sony NEX-FS100 and the BVM-E250 OLED Monitor. LearningLab : 10am to 12pm (with Bagels and Coffee) Pub Night : 6pm to 8pm (with Pizza and Beer) Both at Rule Boston Camera. RSVP : to events@rule.com Tom Cubby will present on the NEX-FS100 , and Steve Dirksmeier on the BVM-E250 OLED monitor. More Info: Constant Contact : Rule Boston Camera

B & H is offering a free Panasonic Lumix G Vario HD 14-140mm f/4.0-5.8 ASPH./MEGA O.I.S. ($849.95 Value) with the purchase of the Panasonic AG-AF100 [$4,795.00]

I wasn't expecting to do a second update today, but there's been a lot of new stuff posted... Bugs & Problems Macworld has posted its own list of Final Cut Pro X issues: Bugs & Fixes: Troubleshooting Final Cut Pro X Refunds [UPDATE 4:00PM] People who requested refunds over the weekend, and told it could take 5 to 7 business days to process, are reporting that they are already getting their refunds. Tutorials Adding Audio A tutorial at Premiumbeat explains how to work with audio in Final Cut Pro X . Among the “updates” in this latest incarnation of Final Cut Pro, there have been some changes about the way the application imports and handles audio in project timelines. Like in previous versions, you can still bring audio into your project by using FCP X’s import function or dragging in audio from the Finder / Desktop. However, FCPX also includes a built-in “Music and Sound” browser to, perhaps more quickly, find audio elements for project use. Let’s ...