Panasonic AF100 vs DSLRs

Panasonic AF100 vs DSLRs
Vimeo user Darren Levine compares the Micro 4/3rds Panasonic AF100 to popular DSLR cameras.


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New Version of Fiprecon to connect Final Cut Server and Archiware PresSTORE

New Version of Fiprecon to connect Final Cut Server and Archiware PresSTORE

Fiprecon is a connector for Final Cut Server and Archiware PresSTORE. I've been working on extending fiprecon to especially support these new features:

• recursive archiving and restoring of productions and FCP projects
• stores id, label and barcode of the tape on which an asset has been archived in the asset’s FCSvr metadata
• sends a mail to an administrator, if a tape needed for a restore process is not available. Includes a list of missing tapes, supports authorized mail sending

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Subtitles in Stereoscopic 3D

Subtitles in Stereoscopic 3D
Conventional subtitles typically use single color font with an optional drop shadow or an extrusion. Since such subtitles have no stereoscopic parallax their apparent 3D depth places them on the screen plane.

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AVID hears our calls

AVID hears our calls
Couldn’t believe it when I received a tweet back today. Could AJA Kona 3 owners really be in luck with Avid Media Composer? It’s looking good to me!

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יאללה Black Magic.

Transitioning 3: AJA Kona Board with Adobe CS 5.5

Transitioning 3: AJA Kona Board with Adobe CS 5.5:
We have been using the AJA Kona boards for years with FCP so it’s really important to me that the board work with whatever new software we go with. Happily I can now run my AJA Kona boards smoothly with CS 5.5 thanks to the new 9.0.1 Plug-In release.

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OCZ's RevoDrive 3 X2 review roundup: SSD melts faces with 1.5GBps read and 1.2GBps write speeds

OCZ's RevoDrive 3 X2 review roundup: SSD melts faces with 1.5GBps read and 1.2GBps write speeds:

Did our footage of OCZ's new RevoDrive 3 X2 whet your appetite for more info on the super speedy SSD? Well, your wish is the web's command, and we've got a full roundup of reviews that'll tell you all you need to know. After putting OCZ's latest through its paces, the consensus is that the SSD is seriously quick in remembering and retrieving data. According to Tom's Hardware, the RevoDrive 3 X2 -- with its max 1.5GBps read and 1.2GBps write speeds -- 'smokes everything' they've had pass through their lab. However, AnandTech noted that such capacious bandwidth is 'simply overkill' for most users, as the drive only really flexes its muscles once the queue depth increases from enterprise-level workloads. Several sites noted that the drive's lack of TRIM support was also a concern, and that more cost effective (albeit slower) storage solutions can be had with a DIY RAID array of SATA SSDs. Of course, you don't have to take our word for it, get down to the nitty gritty in the links below.

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X vs. Pro.

X vs. Pro.:

I’ve had a couple of people ask for my thoughts on the new FCPX release given my history with Apple and in particular my experience with how they dealt with another product that was focused (in our case almost exclusively) on professionals – the compositing software ‘Shake’. So, even though I don’t think they’re totally analogous events, I figured I’d use it as an opportunity to make a couple of points about (my perception of) how Apple thinks.
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Final Cut Pro X Can Almost Import Final Cut Pro XML Projects

Final Cut Pro X Can Almost Import Final Cut Pro XML Projects

MacMagazine has discovered [google translation link] that the ability to import a Final Cut Pro XML file is kinda sorta already in Final Cut X but isn't working. Either it's going to be implemented in an update or will work in tandem with a stand-alone app that converts Final Cut Pro XML into something Final Cut X can import.

Either way, there's a little teeny tiny bit of hope.

How to Render Less is FCPX

How to Render Less is FCPX

Got a great tip from a friend... You can work natively in Final Cut Pro X. You just need to change some settings to overcome its desire to eat up disc space. Start by launching Final Cut Pro X. Be sure to keep an eye out for Abba Shapiro's forthcoming title.

Playback Settings

You ned to adjust how media is played back as well as rendered.

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DaVinci Resolve 8.0 released

DaVinci Resolve 8.0 released:

DaVinci Resolve 8 includes multi-layer timeline support with editing, and XML import and export with Apple Final Cut Pro 7™. Also includes OpenCL processing to allow use on Apple iMac and MacBook Pro computers, new advanced processing tools have been added for real time noise reduction, curve grading, advanced multi point stabilization as well as automatic stereoscopic 3D image alignment. DaVinci Resolve 8 also supports the Avid™ Artist Color™ control panel.

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Thunderbolt RAID systems hit the Apple Store!

Thunderbolt RAID systems hit the Apple Store!:

The Apple Store is now shipping Promise's Pegasus R6 Thunderbolt RAID systems. Promise Pegasus R6 is the first six-bay high-performance hardware RAID solutions designed to "unleash" the raw power of Thunderbolt. Pegasus R6 features six 2TB or 1TB 7200-rpm hard drives in a compact hardware RAID enclosure with Thunderbolt connectivity. Delivering over 800MB/s of disk performance, Pegasus is compatible with Mac systems with Thunderbolt and required Thunderbolt cable (sold separately).

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Media Wrappers

Media Wrappers:

Broadcasting today relies on the ingest, storage and playout of content involving many different tape- and file-based media. With the migration toward digital media, numerous media container systems are now in use as well. An overview of these different media packaging standards will make repurposing of content to different fixed, mobile and Web-based devices a more manageable task.

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Metadata

When talking about data in relation to video and audio, it is important to ask yourself whether the data you are talking about is part of the program (essence), or whether it is descriptive information about the program (metadata). Using this as a guide, we can classify different elements of a program as either essence or metadata. (See Table 1 below.)

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Transition 2: FCP Workflow in Adobe Premiere Pro

Transition 2: FCP Workflow in Adobe Premiere Pro:
As we transition from Final Cut Pro to another NLE, I’m running a series of tests to determine which NLE will best suit our needs.

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Changing RED color data in Media Composer 5 | Post Fifth Pictures

Changing RED color data in Media Composer 5 | Post Fifth Pictures
I don’t work with the RED all too much, I do use it from time to time. One of the new advantages of Media Composer 5 is the ability to import R3D files through AMA and edit them natively.

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Shootout: Adobe's Warp Stabilizer vs. Apple's Final Cut Pro X Stabilization!

Shootout: Adobe's Warp Stabilizer vs. Apple's Final Cut Pro X Stabilization!: "

Steve Forde who is AE Product Manager at Adobe posted a video comparing the results of AE CS 5.5's Warp Stabilizer to FCPX Stabilization:

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Larry Jordan gives inside tips to FCP X at London's SuperMeet - watch the video!

Larry Jordan gives inside tips to FCP X at London's SuperMeet - watch the video!:

The London SuperMeet took place on Thursday, 23 June and Larry Jordan took the stage to talk about Final Cut Pro X. Here is the first video that we found on one of the forums documenting this event. The quality of the footage might not be the best as it has been shot with a handheld camera with no optical stabilization but it is the content that matters.

 
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DIY Colour Grading

DIY Colour Grading:
by Mike Jones
The color grading software options on the market right now (Magic Bullet, Colorista, Apple Color, After Effects not to mention NLE plugins) are myriad, cheap and powerful but before you start banging away gleefully at color curve graphs there are some key notions to engrain into the consciousness of every DIY indie filmmaker.

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Lights, Cameras and Digital Storage - Tom Coughlin - Storage Bytes - Forbes

Lights, Cameras and Digital Storage - Tom Coughlin - Storage Bytes - Forbes
The professional media and entertainment industry has undergone a massive transformation over the last 15 years, from an analog world defined largely by video tape and film to one defined by digital formats and metadata (information about the video content and its production history). Modern media production is largely done with what are called File Based Workflows in which rich video content may be captured digitally or converted into digital form and then editing and other post production work is done on this digital content. Digitization has lowered the cost and increased the efficiency of video production, resulting in a surge in the amount of content available as well as the hardware needed to support digital production, distribution and archiving.

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Testing out the 300 FPS with the RED Epic and Mr. Eric Kessler

Testing out the 300 FPS with the RED Epic and Mr. Eric Kessler:

Grading with Magic Bullet Looks.

It was a lot of fun and didn’t take long at all to do. I lit it with some lights that were around the Kessler Crane studio as when shooting 300 FPS you shutter speed needs to be at least 1/600th of a second. That means a LOT of light. I was wide open at F2 on the Zeiss CP.2 35mm, had a 1K soft box on him, a 800 watt hard light on him and a 150 watt kicker. Even with that light I needed to be at ISO 1000 to get exposure. I was still getting some flickering as the lights simply were simply not good enough to cope with the very fast shutter speed.

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