Quick Links

MacBook Pro editors rejoice – new Premiere Pro CS6 supports OpenCL for renderless timeline not just NVidia CUDA! | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
Andrew discovers that his MacBook Pro's video card is supported by the Mercury Engine in Premiere Pro CS6:

Previously even MacBook Pro users with high end (for the time) CUDA capable NVidia graphics found themselves without quite enough video RAM and in need of a hack to get it to work.

That has all changed with CS6.

I have a MacBook Pro 17″ 2011 with ATI Radeon card, running 64bit Lion and the performance in Premiere Pro CS6 is a big leap up from CS5.5, in terms of general responsiveness, editing, playback, FX, etc.

MERCURY PLAYBACK AND THE 27" IMAC | Kanen Flowers | Scruffy Thinking
But Adobe currently only supports two MacBook Pro cards. If your Mac video card isn't listed, you might be able to add it by editing the supported cards list for Premiere Pro:

I use Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 almost exclusively these days. I use it on a 27" iMac with a AMD HD 6790 video card. I've hacked it to work with OpenCL and Mercury Playback.

Here's how (if you like pictures and words):

XDCAM Software and Firmware Updates (5/8/12) | Sony | Facebook
Sony released a software and firmware update that adds support for Final Cut Pro X:

XDCAM Browser Version 2.1
(can be used to import video from either optical XDCAM or memory products into Final Cut Pro X)

Camera Import Plug-In for Final Cut Pro X
(for the ingesting video from XDCAM memory products into Final Cut Pro X)
(note: cannot be used to ingest material from optical XDCAM)

SCI 48 Hr Challenge: Why The Right Film Won | Robin Schmidt | ELSKID
Robin thinks that the wrong movies are winning competitions. Whether that's true or not, I think you should enter 48 Hour Film Competitions for the experience and to learn, not with the expectation of winning. Because with most of them, even if you win, the payoff is so small it isn't worth the effort you have to put in!

Ever since then I’ve become increasingly hacked off with the judging in film competitions as it often seems to be wrong. I don’t mean I disagree with the judging, I think the judges have got it wrong. Now, I’ve actually won a big competition and even in that one I think the judges got it wrong. I made a smart film that nailed the brief perfectly but I didn’t make the best film. Last year’s winner of the Sci-Fi 48 hour challenge was the wrong one, ditto with Virgin Media Shorts.

Online Video by the Numbers | Jay Miletsky | OnlineVideo
Some tips for online video producers:

2: The maximum number of minutes your video should be to retain most of your audience. It’s not always easy to make your point or tell your story in a short period of time, but viewers don’t have a lot of patience. Significant drop-offs will happen at the two minute mark. Keep in mind that if there’s a 30 second pre-roll playing, then the total viewing time of a two minute video is really two minutes and thirty seconds. Go any longer and you’re likely to lose your audience.

Why I have moved over to Adobe Premiere CS6 from Final Cut 7 | Philip Bloom
| Blog
Philip beta tests CS6 and decides be prefers Adobe Premiere CS6 over Avid (and Final Cut Pro X):

Since getting CS6, I have been sinking my teeth into it and found it incredibly rewarding and exactly what I needed FCP to become. It’s also better for mac users without Nvidia cards as the Open CL means we can get the Mercury Engine working on non-Nvidia graphics cards. Multi-format timelines with NO TRANSCODING? Brilliant! I can even mix 24p and 25p on the same timeline.

Episode #77 - Minor Traffic Offense: Keeping the Streets Safe with VFX
| Red Giant
A quick tutorial by director Seth Worley on Rotoscoping with the Roto Brush in After Effects. It shows how you can "insert an actor into busy traffic without actually risking their life."
"The thing about Roto Brush that drives me crazy is - my footage never works with it."



SMAPP Tutorial - Deconstructing Lighting A Scene | stillmotion | Vimeo
A follow-up to a basic interview lighting tutorial, this one uses more sophisticated lights, and more of them:

this week's tutorial will take it up a notch as we deconstruct how we lit multiple scenes differently based on story, all of which was shot in the exact same location. we'll take a look at how each scene was lit and why it was lit a certain way. armed with 5 lights and the same set of modifiers, you will see how and why using different modifiers and techniques can say change the way the viewer experiences the scene.

Cineskates Lighting Review: What Happens When You Mount Your Camera on Skateboard Wheels? | Michael Hession | Gizmodo
A brief review of this low cost slider:

Tragic Flaw
The surfaces you can use it on are extremely limited. Hardwood floor, polished concrete, or smooth counter/tabletop will work. Not much else.