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Saturday, September 08, 2012

Quick Links

What's The Big Deal With Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera's M4/3 Lens Mount?
| Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter
Blackmagic announces a new version of their Cinema Camera:
The newly announced passive M4/3 mount Blackmagic Design cinema camera (BMCC) presents a more attractive proposition to many shooters than it’s sister the EOS mount BMCC. Why? because it opens up a whole range of lens options that are otherwise impossible or difficult to mount on the EOS version of the BMCC. 



EPIC-M Monochrome | Jarred Land | RED Forum
RED announces a Black & White camera

  • Newly Developed Mysterium-X Monochrome Sensor. 
  • Native ASA 2000.
  • Increased net resolution ( Removal of the debayer process, so every single individual pixel is used for luminance / image data )
  • New Low Pass Filter with to accomodate the reduced pixel pitch ( 1x1 vs 2x2 Bayer )
  • $42,000 ( brain only ) includes upgrade to Dragon Monochrome Sensor spring 2013. 



Canon C100 | Zacuto
Zacuto highlights rigs for the Canon C100:
If you are looking to shoulder mount this camera, we recommend using an in-line rig like the Stinger or Recoil and using an EVF. The LCD screen on the back of the camera is in an awkward position; it isn’t directly in the back and it isn’t pushed out to the side enough to offset the rig. It is very uncomfortable to try to shoulder mount this rig and use the Z-Finder/LCD Screen.


Sony Launch New PMW-150 | Proactive
To complete the market leading XDCAM HD 422 handheld camcorder line up with the PMW-100 and PMW-200, the PMW-150 is a compact camcorder with three 1/3-inch-type Full-HD sensors. With its high-quality Full HD MPEG HD422 at 50 Mbps recording capability in MXF format 


NVIDIA Quadro K5000 for Mac | NVIDIA
New graphics card for the Mac:
The Quadro K5000’s next-generation streaming multiprocessor design offers important architectural changes that can transform your workflow. These include tremendous increases in per-clock throughput of key graphics operations for new levels of performance and power efficiency. Plus the Quadro 5000 features a large, 4 GB frame buffer that lets you work with larger scenes and improve interaction during the creation process


WHEN SHOULD YOU GIVE UP? | Scott Macaulay | Filmmaker Magazine
On a film, not your career:
But some films shouldn’t come out. They don’t work, and they don’t represent the filmmakers’ potential as much as they need to. Where would Quentin Tarantino be today if he had spent years flogging on the festival circuit and then DIY-releasing his own largely unseen first feature, which he admits in interviews was chopped up into guitar picks? (Yes, we’re talking the days of celluloid here.)


Film Is Dead? Long Live Movies | MANOHLA DARGIS and A. O. SCOTT
| New York Times
As the theorist David Bordwell writes, “Theaters’ conversion from 35-millemeter film to digital presentation was designed by and for an industry that deals in mass output, saturation releases and quick turnover.” He adds, “Given this shock-and-awe business plan, movies on film stock look wasteful.”


THE WEEK IN CAMERAS: THE SOFTWARE EDITION | Michael Murie
| Filmmaker Magazine
A look at news for Adobe Prelude, Story, Final Draft Writer and iStopMotion:
Last month Adobe also changed some of the licensing details on Adobe Story. For those not familiar with Story, it is a script writing tool that has several interesting features; available as a web-based tool and an AIR app, you can edit and share files stored on Adobe’s servers, or work on files locally (the AIR app is only available with the paid version of Story.) In addition to online collaboration features, Story is tightly integrated with Premiere, so you can import the script and have Premiere use the script to help with speech analysis of the clips


Two Animation Bootcamps with Emmy Nominated Instructor
| Somerville Community Access Televison
If you're in Boston, check this animation workshop with Gabriel Polonsky, a professional, Emmy nominated animation director who has created projects for Cartoon Network, Discovery, and SyFy Channels, PBS, Miramax Feature Films and Nickelodeon:
The class for adults and teens over 15 years old is a fun yet intensive hands-on course that covers everything beginners need to create great 2D character animation. It is great for students who want to improve their skills or build their portfolio, adults who want to learn something new, and those who simply love the art of animation. It will run for three Saturday sessions, September 15, 22, and 29 from 11:30am to 5:00pm. The course fee is $250.

Friday, September 07, 2012

Quick Links

Video review of the BlackMagic Cinema Camera!! | Philip Bloom | Blog
Philip has posted his video review of the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera:
I for one will continue to use my C300 for the bulk of my work as the workflow is way faster, the image super sharp and the dynamic range just a stop less than this camera. It isn’t raw though or prores HQ…but as most of my work is documentary work the C300 is by far the best choice for me…yes for me…It is an expensive camera and way out of the budget of many.


Shipping thread - Blackmagic Cinema Camera | EOSHD Forum
Looks like the camera has been delayed:
The camera's production has been hobbled by a parts shortage. Terry from Blackmagic:"Would love to give dates and a more exact timeline, but right now we can't until we get info on when that slow to arrive component will arrive in bulk. When we know that, we will communicate when we will be shipping in volume right away."


Blackmagic in New Orleans | Diamond Blog
Write up on shooting with the BDCC:
We are shooting some RAW DNG daylight today and will be posting a graded edit along with some RAW DNG and Pro Res files soon. You can click on the pictures to get the full 1080 versions as well as save them. Remember that these are low res. We will be posting Hi Res stills when we get back from the road.


Texting is Gefährlich – A Cinema Camera Short, Part 1 | Marco Solorio
| One River Media
Another write-up and images from shooting with the camera:
We even wanted to keep rolling shutter and vibration in there. Mounting the camera on the Porsche with its stiff suspension proved well, and obviously not a typical solution. I almost didn’t want to include that footage, but felt that the audience would want to see ALL shots in their extreme variants. Again, rolling the dice and taking chances.


Canon 1DC Camera Tests from “The Ticket” | Shane Hurlbut | Hurlblog
Shane got to shoot with the Canon 1D C:
We found that we could boost the ISO higher on Neutral and get less noise and banding than with Canon Log. Canon Log limited us to about 1250-1600 ISO, where Neutral gave us a workable noise level around 6400 ISO. We shot 70% of the film in Canon Log to gives us that expanded latitude


Viewfinders “The curse of the new camcorders” | Philip Johnston | HD Warrior
Interesting thoughts from Philip about the quality of the viewfinders on video cameras. The externals LCDs have improved, but the viewfinders have gotten worse. Perhaps they should just stop putting them on and acknowledge that in the +3K range, people will buy external viewfinders rather than use tiny little ones:
When I read the specs for the C100 I could not believe that Canon are planning on using a 0.24 inch viewfinder in an $8,000 camera. My Canon Legria HFG10 has an 0.24″ viewfinder and I think it’s unusable. I realise that the C300 0.52 inch viewfinder is usable – but not great. At least they could put the C300′s viewfinder on the C100. 


Rokinon 8mm Cine Lens Review | Ricky Perrone | YouTube
A nice short video review of this budget Cine lens:
  • Specifically geared toward video
  • Clickless aperture marked in T stops
  • Teethed aperture and focus ring to work with follow focus
  • Solid well built lens
  • Priced at around 349$


Declicking a Rokinon/Samyang 35mm 1.4 lens | DSLR Film Noob
You can sort of convert a still lens into a cine lens by de-clicking it:
If you have the Rokinon/Samyang 35mm f1.4 lens, an easy upgrade is to “Declick” the aperture ring. Youtube member c2thew does a pretty good job in this video of walking you through the process. It isn’t very hard to do and gives you the ability to have smooth aperture transitions.


A Complete Guide to Setting Up a Home Color Grading Suite | Ryan E Walters
| NoFilmSchool
In the room I have dubbed “The Viewing Room” in my house, my goals were threefold: 1. Have a tightly controlled room that I could grade my work in, 2. Be able to view 10-bit content as I grade, and 3. Be able to watch blu-ray’s and content from my computer (web pages, photoshop, etc.) directly on my 50″ Plasma.


Anatomy of an iMac Suite | Walter Biscardi | Biscardi Creative Blog
Here’s a good look at the iMac configuration, that’s the iMac in the middle, a Dell 24″ monitor on the left and a Flanders Scientific LM-1770W reference monitor on the right.  Adobe Premiere Pro CS6 is the editing tool.The iMac configuration is as follows:  27″, 3.4GHz Quad-Core Intel Core i7, 32GB RAM, 256GB SSD Startup Disc, 1TB Secondary disc, dual Thunderbolt ports.


Premiere Pro CS6 (6.0.2) update: HiDPI for Retina Display, bug fixes, and new supported GPUs | Todd Koptive | Adobe
The update for Premiere adds: Windows 8 certification, Mac Retina support and expanded support for GPU processing: GT 650M (which is in the newer MacBook Pro computers) and GTX 680

  • tearing in image when using XDCAM EX footage
  • numeric keypad keys couldn’t be assigned to keyboard shortcuts
  • audio deleted when enabling Audio Follows Video without enabling multicam for audio track
  • color shift introduced by Three-Way Color Corrector at default settings when GPU acceleration turned off
  • color shifts in some imported M2TS assets



Organizing Your Premiere Pro Project | Andrew Davis | Premiumbeat
A tip on organizing projects:
In Premiere Pro you can import items directly into a bin.  To do so, simply open a bin and choose the standard import methods (as referenced above).  The items will automatically be imported into the open bin.  This can save a lot of time when organizing your Premiere Pro project.  Create bins specifically for your sequences to keep them organized and all in one place.


Thursday, September 06, 2012

Quick Links

Blackmagic Cinema Camera | Chris Hocking | LateNightFilms
Some impressions of this new camera:
This is NOT an RED Scarlet or Alexa replacement, but if you have a no-budget shoot, or if you need a decent “B Camera”, then this is a fantastic option. This camera is incredibly cheap for what it does – but at the end of the day you get what you pay for.


Dungeness shot on the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera | Philip Bloom | Vimeo
Philip is working on a full review, but has posted this video first:
One thing I found on this pre-release camera is there is a touch of pink in the highlights when using ProRes HQ. BMD are aware, and it will be fixed for release. This doesn’t happen in the raw. The ProRes is beautiful. Sharp, flat as hell (very log-c Alexa like) and way easier workflow than raw.


Canon C300 vs Blackmagic Cinema Camera – chart test | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
A resolution comparison, note that Andrew also saw the same color issue:
Considering how the C300 is probably the cleanest 1080p camera on the market, the BMCC puts up a good fight here.Bare in mind that the false colour you see is from the pre-production model. There’s also some pink highlights in ProRes mode (due to green channel clipping earlier than the red channel) which will be fixed on the final camera. This is why I am waiting to review the retail model that will actually ship to the first customers in 1-2 weeks.


Cinema DNG Transcoding - Example Session | Roald Christesen | Vimeo
This is a very early demonstration of Cinema DNG Transcoding in my new software.
32 bit floating point rendering, adjustable debayering algorithm, CDL for red/green/blue/lumina, 3D LUT, color adjustment via HSV curves, waveform scope, film stock and grain simulation, output to Apple ProRes or image sequences, 16 bit Tiff export, project/clip/render management ...


New Sennheiser MKE600 XLR Shotgun Mic Designed For Video Journalism
| Dan Chung | DSLR News Shooter
What I like about the MKE600 is that for a reasonable price you get a mic that will grow with you in your career. It will work on a basic camera like the Canon 60D, but be equally at home on a C300 or broadcast camera. Sure there are better small shotguns out there – such as Sennheisers famous 416 and the newer 8060, but even if you upgrade there will always be room for a spare and this mic will still be useful.


Contour Plus 2 | Contour
Contour announces a new camera:
We took our most coveted features from the ContourROAM and the original Contour+ and created a camera that is not only easier to use, but brings an entirely new perspective to your adventures. [...] Featuring even better video quality, an Instant On-Record switch, and a 60-meter waterproof case for those underwater adventures, the Contour+2 will bring your stories to life like never before.


The Zacuto Z-Finder: Crisp, Clear, Magnified Viewing | Bjorn Petersen | B&H
A look at the Z-Finder system:
The Z-Finder is a standout system in regard to overall quality and versatility. The principle of the viewfinder is simple, yet executed very well with ample room to accommodate different user’s preferences and needs. The update to include 3.2” LCDs further expands this system’s capabilities, and the adaptability of the viewfinder allows for use of one Z-Finder across multiple platforms.



4K at 60FPS is Coming from Sony, New Cameras Likely Not Far Behind | Joe Marine | No Film School
There will be more 4K sensors to come, but what’s more striking for me is how far ahead of the game Sony’s sensor development is than the other Japanese manufacturers. Of course companies like RED and Arri can get high frame rates — but they have a very specialized business and they can work with a sensor manufacturer to design exactly the right sensor they need. Sony, however, is usually working on a far larger scale.


Sony now has three different E-mount 18-200mm lenses; the original SEL18200 [$898] model, the newer SEL-18200LE [$848] and the power zoom model coming with the NEX-EA50. This review compares the first two, and notes some differences:
The New SEL18200LE is much lighter and smaller than the older version SEL18200, but the image quality is not quite as sharp in my opinion. It’s more noticeable in the corners as the center is really sharp. [...] On  a Camcorder, I would go for the older 18-200mm for the slight better quality, much better balance, and looks.


John Lee | Twitter
Editor John Lee, who worked on The Dark Knight, took part in a #PostChat on Twitter last night. Check his tweets here. You can also read an interview with him here: Behind the Cape & Cowl:Shedding Light on the Post for ‘The Dark Knight,’ Part 1 | Editors Guild Magazine

When cutting action always remember geography or people will get lost. Even tho its fast it must make sense.
Test everything in first weeks so as not to find problems 12 months later!


Unique Typography in After Effects with Type-O-Matic | Danny Greer
| Premiumbeat
A controller lets you modify the opacity, position, rotation and scale of your text.  Additional tools create text masks and unfold (giving the appearance that the text is actually ‘unfolding’).  Whether you’re a video editor or motion designer, Type-O-Matic is a quick way to make your typography more dynamic and engaging.



An NLE companion app is what I really wanted out of Avid Studio for iPad
| Scott Simmons | ProVideoCoalition
A look at the former Avid iPad app and what it could have been; note that it's currently free on iTunes! (now named Pinnacle Studio]:
To makes this process work and to have the iPad be really useful as an editorial tool in a professional environment it’s important to think about not what could you edit on an iPad but what would you want to edit on an iPad. A tiny touch screen isn’t all that appealing a place to work for hours on end when you have a full-blown edit station near but the idea of sitting back on the couch to get some of the early cutting on a program done is one that really intrigues me.


Wednesday, September 05, 2012

Quick Links

IFA show report – Sony FS700 4K firmware due in a few weeks for same price as F3 S-LOG upgrade? | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
Some tantalizing details on the 4K upgrade for the Sony NEX-FS700:
Encouragingly this 4K firmware update is ‘weeks away’ according to Sony, unless that strategy changes or any unforeseen consequences occur. I asked about pricing and I am told it will be similar to the S-LOG upgrade for the Sony F3 which currently retails for £500 + VAT at CVP in the UK. It is just a firmware update. 


Exploring Frame Rates and Resolutions On A Phantom Flex High Speed Camera
| Tom Guilmette | Blog
In most cases during our test, in order to capture a bullet leaving the barrel of the gun, we had to be out on the open range. The Phantom was not doing well under the shade of the small roof that was over our heads. You will see in some of the 10,000 frame per second shots, the footage is grainy. I had to work on it in post because it was so dark in the Phantom Flex viewfinder and resulting file. The Zeiss CP2 85mm f2.1 was really struggling near the end of the day to allow us to get usable stuff at super high speed.


The Great ‘OGRAPHER Giveaway! | Zacuto
Get to hang out with Philip Bloom!
So how does this work? It’s really simple. One photographer and one filmmaker (ahem) will be chosen to win on October 2, 2012. Just click the link below to enter and you could find yourself chatting it up with Mr. Bloom and blowing $1,500 in gear and music for your films! Don’t worry though, if you don’t win this first place prize, we are offering 2nd and 3rd place prizes of a Z-Finder Jr and an iPhone Point’n’Shoot!


Back to School with SpeedGrade | Eric Philpott | Adobe
A replay of a webinar on Speedgrade, as well as other educational tutorials for the program:
The recording of of our recent “SpeedGrade for Aspiring Colorists” webinar just became available.That webinar was aimed at editors who are interested in adding color grading to their workflow – and we know that there are a lot of you out there! Our presenter, editor and colorist Jeff August, started off by taking us through the color correction tools in Adobe Premiere Pro, and then moved on to see how much you can do with color and look design in SpeedGrade.



The Making of “A Liar’s Autobiography: The Untrue Story of Monty Python’s Graham Chapman” | Adobe
A free webinar coming up: Thursday, September 27, 2012 at 10:00am Pacific Time
This presentation will cover Made Visual Studios’ digital workflows which relied on After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, and other Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium tools to weave the creative visions and talents of many contributors into a film that mirrors Chapman’s genius.


'Sophie' - Behind the Camera | Phil Arntz | Vimeo
Some fun behind the scenes showing people running around with cameras (a Sony NEX-FS100) making a war movie!
This is a short montage of what goes into making a film, behind the camera. All the BTS Footage was shot by Daniel Freytag who came up with the genius idea of mounting his GoPro to the camera rig too!


Redrock Micro Delivers Another First: The New ultraCage | blue for Canon EOS C100 | Digital Picture
Redrock Micro, the recognized leader in affordable professional-level cinema accessories, announced today the new ultraCage | blue for the Canon EOS C100. Built in partnership with Canon for the premiere at IBC 2012, the ultraCage C100's form-fitting design matches the ergonomics and size of the C100, adds needed support and mounting features, and minimizes bulk and weight.


Carl Zeiss to Show New Compact Prime and Compact Zoom Lenses at IBC
| Studio Daily
Zeiss will introduce the new Compact Prime CP.2 25/T2.1 lens at IBC next week in Amsterdam. The company will also show a new full-format 4K CZ.2 Compact Zoom lens, the second Compact Zoom in its new series introduced at NAB in April.


R.I.P. THE MOVIE CAMERA: 1888-2011 | Matt Zoller Seitz | Digital Junkies
An article at the moviemaking technology website Creative Cow reports that the three major manufacturers of motion picture film cameras — Aaton, ARRI and Panavision — have all ceased production of new cameras within the last year, and will only make digital cinema cameras from now on.  As the article’s author, Debra Kaufman, poignantly puts it, “Someone, somewhere in the world is now holding the last film camera ever to roll off the line.”


Color Grading 101 - Part 1, Getting Started in resolve 9 | Den Lennie | F-STOP
| Vimeo
I've created a FREE 4 part video series called Color Grading 101. Since Black Magic Design released DaVinci Resolve 9 Lite powerful color grading is now accessible to all. However if you are moving from layer based 'looks' like Magic Bullet , then there are some key differences when using Resolve.I'm a DP first and so wanted to share my journey into color grading from the point of view of a shooter.

Tuesday, September 04, 2012

Random Bits & Pieces

The importance of story

As I already mentioned, my daughter started college last week. The school organized a number of activities for parents, including a tour of three of the arts buildings. The film/video building particularly caught my attention. On the video side, they are using Final Cut Pro 7 and FCPX, but are thinking about going to Adobe Premiere CS6. It’s a liberal arts college, and their focus (in all the schools) is more on the theory and principles of how to do things, rather than getting hung up on the software and equipment. I think that’s a good thing.

One of the tour speakers mentioned that a few students had already shot projects with the RED camera, but that you could do almost as good with DSLRs. As he said, you can now create something that looks as good as a Hollywood movie, and that will get the viewers attention for the first five minutes, but what happens after the first five minutes? Then it’s all about the story.

I seem to hear that a lot from other people…


The Canon C100

I’m really intrigued by the Canon C100. When looking at the current large-sensor video cameras (not including DSLRs) under $10,000, there’s now four choices that I'm attracted to:

Sony NEX-EA50: I like the zoom lens, shoulder mount and "pro" features like XLR input. Price looks good, but no ND filters is disappointing and image quality probably not as good as the other four.

Sony NEX-FS100: No ND filter and placement of the LCD is a problem. Price is okay.

Sony NEX-FS700: ND and Super-slow motion are great. LCD placement a problem. Price is a serious stretch. Several people tell me the image isn't quite as good as the C300..

Canon C100: ND and built-in support for Canon EF lenses. Not sure about LCD placement. Will the image be close to the C300? No Slow-no. Price is a serious stretch.

When it comes down to it, I’d like to get either the NEX-FS700 or C100, and picking between them could be difficult. Will the image on the C100 be slightly better – more filmic – than the NEX-FS700? Super-slow motion is a big plus for the NEX-FS700, but I have a bunch of Canon EF lenses, which makes me lean towards the C100, even though you can get adapters for the NEX-FS700.

Of course, at the moment, I can't afford any of them...


University of Massachusetts Fall 2012 Film Series

Through November, the University of Massachusetts is hosting a series of documentary film screenings, with a Q&A with the filmmakers afterwards:
The series hosts filmmakers for Q&As moderated by curator and lecturer Chico Colvard. The Film Series also partners with UMass Boston faculty, film industry insiders, and local organizations to participate in post-screening panel discussions about the issues central to the featured films. Ultimately, the UMass Boston Film Series aims to create a synergy of place between UMass Boston and the moving image.
Crazy Horse (dir. Fred Wiseman)Wednesday Sep 26
Detropia (dirs. Heidi Ewing & Rachel Grady)Thursday Oct 4
Girl Model (dirs. Ashley Sabin & David Redmon)Tuesday Oct 16
Poster Girl (dir. Sara Nesson & Robynn Murray)Thursday Nov 1
An Oversimplification Of Her Beauty (dir. Terence Nance)Thursday Nov 15 @
Code Of The West (dir. Rebecca Richman Cohen)Thursday Nov 29

University of Massachusetts Film Series

Monday, September 03, 2012

Changing pricing on the Sony NEX-EA50

It isn't shipping yet, but there's already been some price fluctuations on the Sony NEX-EA50.

The day it was announced, B & H were listing it at $4,000 U.S., but the next day it was changed to $4,500. Today I notice that it's listing at $3,599, and that's with the 18-200mm servo zoom lens.

Another variable; in the interview on DSLR News Shooter, a Sony rep mentioned that in some markets it would be sold without the lens and microphone, which would drop the price even further. At the moment, there's no sign of that option here in the US. Of course, if you're going to buy this camera, the servo-zoom lens would be very useful...

I'm curious to see if the price sticks at $3,599, or changes some more (in either direction.) Obviously, $1,000 makes a significant difference for this camera.

Quick Links

In the RAW | John Brawley | Blog
John's been playing with the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera for some time now, and offers these thoughts on working in RAW:
A RAW workflow asks a lot from those who would use it.  Firstly, it pretty much demands an extra *processing* step.  In the same way shooting on film meant you had to “process” the film.  The same thing happens with raw workflows, and you can’t realistically use the RAW files to edit with.  You have to transcode them into more edit friendly forms. There are two ways to approach this.


Sony's FS100 vs. Blackmagic's Cinema Camera: a Low-Light Showdown | Joe Marine | No Film School
Joe offers his thoughts on the low-light test shot by Frank Glencairn:
As far as noise goes, yes, it exists. There is no noise reduction happening in the camera, unlike the FS100 which is getting a little bit of noise reduction through the image pipeline as well as a smoothing of the noise thanks to the AVCHD codec. Either way, the BMCC is no match for the FS100′s bigger sensor, especially since it can go well above 10,000 ISO (but most of you probably could have guessed that already).


BMCC...which frame is prores which is raw? | Philip Bloom | Facebook
Philip posts some frames from the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera:
So here we go. Side by side comparison of #BMCC prores & raw, both untouched and then graded...


Focus Peaking Making Its Way onto More Digital Cameras | Michael Zhang
| Peta Pixel
More and more manufacturers (and third-parties) are now baking it into digital cameras: Pentax is offering it in its K line of DSLRs, and the feature can be added to many Canon DSLRs using Magic Lantern firmware. According to 43Rumors, Panasonic will be offering focus peaking as a feature in its upcoming Panasonic GH3 mirrorless camera.


Resolve 9 - Upgrading the Pain-Free Way | BlackmagicUser
Patrick Inhofer offers a video that explains how to upgrade:
If you're already using Resolve you've possibly already upgraded which isn't to say you won't benefit from the wealth of information contained in this video. If you're new to Resolve you'll undoubtedly learn a lot here but we also have basic tutorials listed that'll show you the quickest ways to get the ball rolling after install etc, which might be better suited to you.


Tutorial - FCPX - Exporting Clips using a Timeline | Chris Fenwick | One On One
My friend Danny wanted to know how to export portions of a large clip and make a series of shorter clips. There are a couple of ways to do it, and this is the way that most resembled the way he used to do it in FCP7. There is another way to do this that I highlight in another video. 


known issues with CUDA 5.0.17 and 5.0.24 driver (including crashes and kernel panics) | Adobe
Tech note from Adobe explaining issues with the new CUDA drivers from Nvidia that cause crashes and kernel panics in Premiere Pro.
  • forcing or allowing the system to go to sleep while running CUDA applications on 2012 MacBook Pro models with automatic graphics switching will cause a system crash (kernel panic). 
  • CUDA applications will not automatically engage the discrete GPU on 2012 MacBook Pro models with automatic graphics switching. 


Video Cards for Adobe Premiere CS5, CS5.5 and CS6 | Studio 1 Productions
Lengthy article on using video cards with Premiere Pro:
This article covers a lot of information, not just how to unlock the video.  It coves topics such as the video card requirements for the unlock to work,  how to setup Premiere for GPU Acceleration, I show some benchmark results, talk about power supply requirements, video card cooling, how to do the unlock and more.  Please read the article in it's entirety.


Guest Post: The changing face of music videos | Olly Knights | Philip Bloom
Interesting look back, from the band's perspective, of making music videos:
Now although we enjoyed the sheer madness that our lives had become we had always privately questioned the true worth of these high budget video’s that seemed stilted and difficult, as a band we were constantly trying to steer them into deeper philosophical realms like our music but had to battle a label and a media more interested in how we looked and acted, it was all surface, it was the world of pop.


"Side By Side" Director Chris Kenneally on How Keanu's Curiosity Sparked the Film | Tribeca Film
CHRIS KENNEALLY: I was working as post-production supervisor on a movie called Henry’s Crime, which Keanu produced and acted in. He was really curious and wanted to know how post-production worked and how the technology was changing. One day we were sitting in Technicolor, and we were watching the two colorists at work—side by side—to make sure that the chemical print matched the digital work that we had done.


Globe on Screen to broadcast Shakespeare and Marlowe plays in cinemas
| MovieScope
Upcoming broadcasts if Shakespeare’s All’s Well That Ends Well, Much Ado About Nothing, and Christopher Marlowe’s Doctor Faustus:
Dominic Dromgoole, Artistic Director of Shakespeare’s Globe said “With the advent of new technology it is now possible to see and hear theatrical productions in the cinema with a wonderful sharpness and clarity.  We are delighted that these productions will be finding new audiences, who can experience Globe shows as if they were in the building.”

Sunday, September 02, 2012

Quick Links

Interview: Keanu Reeves on “the end of film” | Andrew O'Hehir | Salon.com
Keanu talks about his career, love of movies, and the documentary about the transition from film to digital:
...to answer your question — I mean, it’s not as groundbreaking as when film went from silents to talkies. Let’s say that. Or from black-and-white to color. This doesn’t have that feeling of sea change to it. But there are many implications that come out of it. Especially in the early days, there was the question of the quality of the product you’re looking at, the quality of the image.


TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 25TH BOSCPUG: BOSTON PREMIERE OF THE BLACKMAGIC CINEMA CAMERA | Boston Creative Pro User Group
Registration isn't live (yet) but it should be open shortly...
Tuesday, September 25th BOSCPUG Meet: Boston Premiere of Blackmagic Cinema Camera featuring Rob Bessette & Marco Solorio - ALSO! Stay Tuned for News on our FULL DAY DaVinci Resolve 9 & Blackmagic Cinema Camera Workshops BOSCPUG will hold in NOVEMBER


Grant Petty - The Blackmagic Cinema Camera (P2) | Rick Young | Vimeo
Grant Petty, CEO Blackmagic Design, talks in-depth about the Blackmagic Cinema camera. The thoughts behind building a camera from scratch; what distinguishes this camera from others on the market,the power offered by raw recording with a wide dynamic range and how this integrates with DaVinci Resolve.
Part 2 of 3..


Keeping Avid Relevant | Michael Grotticelli | Broadcast Engineering
And interview with Avid CEO Gary Greenfield:
“[The consumer products division] had developed some great, fun products, but it was a distraction and not really in Avid’s DNA to be playing in that space,” he said. “Our biggest strength is in our professional products. With the simplification of our company organization, we’re now well positioned today for new growth.”


Very unexciting technical camera test - Sony FS100 native AVCHD vs Blackmagic Hyperdeck Shuttle Uncompressed | TobyLoc | Vimeo
A comparison of the Sony NEX-FS100 and recording to AVCHD, or to the Blackmagic Hyperdeck external recorder; is there really any difference in image quality?:
My conclusions: The internal AVCHD is very good on the FS100, I've heard this before and it seems accurate. I'd say there isn't much of a difference between it and uncompressed in reasonably exposed footage, there is a difference but slight. But when you're using flat profiles, higher ISOs and you're lifting the footage you will find an external recorder will really help from ISO 3200 and up if you're looking for maximum quality.


RAW Formats, Shooting, Workflow & Post with Geoff Boyle – New York | AbelCine
A two day, weekend workshop Sept 8-9 in New York on working with RAW formats. It's $600 (save $75 if you order today.) Ahh, if I only had $600 lying around...
AbelCine has partnered with Geoff Boyle to present, RAW Formats, Shooting, Workflow and Post. From acquisition to on-set media management to post processes, this two-day workshop is for anyone interested in RAW workflow. We will cover all RAW camera systems on the market today, including but not limited to, Arri ALEXA, Sony F65, RED, and the Blackmagic Cinema Camera. Post systems include SpeedGrade, Resolve, RedCineX and more.


Why Adobe Premiere Does Not Edit CinemaDNG Files Natively | Cinescopophilia
A look at Premiere workflow issues with the Blackmagic Design Cinema Camera:
If you really require your newly bought CinemaDNG capable camera to work in Premiere Pro then send Adobe a brief note letting them know just that. The more people that write to Adobe asking for CinemaDNG to work in Premiere Pro natively the quicker it might just happen.


SpeedGrade CS6 (6.0.3) Update | Adobe
The latest update to SpeedGrade includes HiDPI Support for Mac computers with Retina Display as well as several fixes:
Fixed: Layer renaming issue, after renaming layer application jumps back to Timeline Panel
Fixed: Distortion issues with AIF files from Audition at less than 32bit
Fixed: Zoom to fit values did not always update correctly
Fixed: Mask applied incorrectly in some instances
and more...


Final Draft Writer vs. the Innovation of Less | Stu Maschwitz | Prolost
Stu takes a quick look at the new Final Draft iPad app, and offers some cheaper alternatives:
On the negative side, the app’s performance is not so great. Writer promises a perfect match to Final Draft’s industry-standard pagination, revisions management, and scene numbering, as well as some nifty bells and whistles, such as character highlighting and colored rendering of colored pages.
Note: You can get Final Draft Writer for $20 off until 9/30: