Notes On Video

I put together a short video - edited in Final Cut Pro X - of video shot at the Sony NEX-FS100 Pub Night event held at Rule Boston Camera last week. (The video wasn't shot using the NEX-FS100 !) It was an interesting night; I really liked the camera with the Zeiss 18mm lens ; I found it very easy to focus and operate hand held, which was a bit of a revelation; I've been kind of wary about this camera for run & gun stuff, but now I'm starting to think it would be quite useable. However, the realist in me suspects that I won't like the lack of image stabilization when using that lens, and would end up using the kit lens in most of those types of situations... A longer report of the Pub Night can be read here: NotesOnVideo : Four NEX-FS100s at Rule Camera Pub Night

This monring was the monthly Boston Media Makers meeting. The group meets the first Sunday of every month, and it's an eclectic group of people interested in social media of all kinds who show up. From video people, to writers, podcasters, artists, PR and social media people (I'm cribbing this a bit from the About page of the Boston Media Makers web page.) I enjoy going because there's always something interesting that comes up. Final Cut Pro X Before the meeting had even started, I found myself in a discussion with Matthew Gelineau and Adam Weiss about Final Cut Pro X.  Matthew's a Final Cut Pro user who's deciding whether to switch to another editing environment. My take on Final Cut Pro X so far is; I don't care about the features that are missing - the lack of XML and OMF etc., - as an individual editor I never used those features. No, what is currently vexing me is that it doesn't edit the way that I'm used to! I often set in points and...

Each month Rule Boston Camera offers free LearningLab's on different subjects at their offices at 395 Western Ave, Boston MA. Friday July 15th, 12noon - 2pm [ NOTE Different Day and Time ] The New Steadicam Zephyr Peter Abraham, Tiffen's Director of Technical Services presents the newly released Steadicam Zephyr with 30lb lift capacity, adjustable Iso-Elastic Arm and a combination of other innovative features. Wednesday July 20th, 10am - 12noon New Product Showcase Rule's Tom Talbot and team provide an overview of the latest RBC products, technology & upgrades in cameras, external recorders, lenses, adapters and more such as the PMW-F3 with 4:4:4 S-Log, Cinedeck & Nexto, CineSlider, CP.2s and the Alexa. Wednesday July 27th, 10am - 12noon Canon's XF305 Camcorder and HD-SLR News Canon presents the latest in their professional camcorder and HD-SLR line-up featuring the XF305 with 50 Mbps MPEG-2 4:2:2 recording to CF cards, multiple recording bit rate...

Collected together here are links to some of the most interesting opinion pieces posted on Final Cut Pro X over the last couple of days; this list is not complete, as several earlier posts are collected in previous posts on the blog. A personal Opinion: A Zen Approach to Final Cut X. A long (but balanced) view |  Jeff Greenberg | CreativeCOW It is a dichotomy between those things you wanted and expected versus what was delivered. Bonus: It occurs on a schedule you don't control. Apple's marketing/business model is to let design happen not by consensus but by vision.You may not share Apple's Vision.  It doesn't make Apple evil nor you great.  Apple is abandoning the professional market |  Scott Raymond | ZDNet Apple appears to be abandoning the professional market in favor of the more lucrative consumer market. And that may actually be a good thing. Apple Responds to Video Editors’ Grumblings Over Final Cut Pro |  Lauren Goode | WSJ.com Greenfield...

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 ...