SBFinalCut Blog

SBFinalCut Community

2008-12-14T14:55:00.001-08:00

Happy to announce a big makeover at SBFinalCut.
Finally migrated things over to a new website.
Some things are still becoming active but the majority of features are there.

Check it out and let me know what you think.

Click here for the new and improved SBFinalCut.

Get the CalDigit RAID Card for Only $349 for a Limited Time!

2008-12-03T19:24:00.000-08:00

For a limited time only CalDigit is offering the CalDigit RAID card for only $349. Don't miss your opportunity to take advantage of this once in a lifetime deal. Users are now able to get the 100% hardware RAID, high performance, CalDigit RAID Card for just $349. That�s an incredible savings of $200!

For more information about the CalDigit RAID card visit CalDigit. You must act fast to get in on this limited time offer, that�s a saving of $200 on the powerful CalDigit RAID Card. Get yours today. Use this special SKU 760600.

Click here for more information on the CalDigit RAID card.

Mike Curtis on the New Red

2008-11-15T11:23:00.000-08:00

Today Red announced 8 (yes, EIGHT) new cameras. Sensors range from 2/3� to 186x56mm (yep, that�s 7 1/3 by 2 1/5 INCHES), with resolutions from 3K to 28K, with prices from $2500 to $55,000 for the �brains� of the units (more on that below). Incredibly modular to a Legos or Erector Set degree. There�s a HUGE amount of information up on Red�s website here, but after the jump I�ve organized/summarized, have some analysis, and answers to questions not found on their site. Continues after the jump....

Click here for the rest of the article at Pro Video Coalition.

High quality YouTube video hack

2008-11-15T10:48:00.000-08:00

You may have noticed that the video of Burn-E I embedded looked a bit better than a normal YouTube video. YouTube has been quietly offering high-quality versions of some of their videos for quite some time via a "watch in high quality" link just underneath the player. It's not HD, but it's definitely an upgrade of YouTube's legendarily crappy video quality. By default all videos on YouTube and embedded on other sites load at normal quality, but there's a way to set your default viewing quality to high, link to high quality video, embed HQ video, and even save HQ videos for later viewing.

Click here for more from Kottke dot org.

Going to DV Expo?

2008-11-04T04:34:00.000-08:00

Stop by the FCP UG SuperMeet at DVExpo.

Where? - LA Convention Center Room, 502A
When? Wednesday, Nov 5, 7:00PM - 9:30PM
Why? Because we need somplace to hang out and wait for traffic to die down. And you need to learn something and we need to learn from each other.
How Much? - Free
Any raffle prizes? Of course. $2.00 per raffle ticket or 3 for $5.00

Click here for more info.

Click here to register for DVExpo.

Photoshop for Video Available from the Focal Press

2008-10-28T11:43:00.000-07:00

Real-world solutions for making graphics for video, motion graphics, and DVD authoring
Expanded coverage of High Def video 16-bit and 32-bit image processing techniques for greater color fidelity Integration guides for top selling Editing, Motion Graphics, and DVD software Automation and shortcut methods that cut production time and improve final product

This isn�t a book about using video in Photoshop. Rather, it�s a basic Photoshop training manual designed for folks who work primarily in video programs and want to add Photoshop to their arsenal. Focusing on those aspects of Photoshop that pertain to video, this book does an excellent job of explaining such topics as pixel aspect ratio; the differences in image size and color for NTSC, PAL, and HD; and transparency for video.� �Peter Bauer, Photoshop User Magazine

Click here for the Focal Press website.

Do Not Click This Link

2008-10-28T11:31:00.000-07:00

Your daily dose of hi-res movie trailers.
What more can I say . . .

I warned you.

opencut 3 Announced

2008-10-27T07:22:00.000-07:00

OpenCut is a completely open-source film competition designed to encourage people to take professionally shot material and edit it in their own way.

As there is no "one way" to tell a story, so too can stories benefit from being re-edited and re-told from many different vantage points and perspectives.

An initiative started by Torrey Loomis in 2008 . . .

Click here to register.

Technolust and Video on DSLRs

2008-10-23T07:04:00.000-07:00

"Let's get something straight. The video from the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D MkII is not of good quality. It's over compressed, over-processed, over-sharpened, and lacks professional control. It skews and shears and shuts off in the middle of a take. It sucks.

So why are we so excited by it?

Because the video from these DSLRs stimulates us emotionally. It's contrasty, with sexy depth of field. It looks like cinema, if you don't look to close. Guess who doesn't look too close. Everyone."

Click here for more from Stu Maschwitz on ProLost.

Art of the Guillotine

2008-10-21T06:30:00.000-07:00

An online resource for editors and filmmakers called Art of the Guillotine has some great resources.

Here's their mandate:
This webpage is designed to help establish an online film community for film editors. We will connect editors and future editors with ideas and techniques that make films great as well as connect them with each other.

Check 'em out.

Click here for the Art of the Gillotine.

New From Digital-Heaven: Loader

2008-10-15T14:09:00.000-07:00

Digital-Heaven just released another very interesting product called Loader. It facilitates importing assets into a FCP project and will even do some transcoding as well.

This is in addition to all the other very impressive products from this company like BigTime and Final Print.

Click here for the Digital-Heaven website.

Aspect Ratios Explained

2008-10-07T08:00:00.000-07:00

Losing sleep about aspect ratios?
Wikipedia has a great article explaining the ins and the outs of 16:9, 4:3 and even 2.39:1!

Click here to get the picture.

Real World Video Compression

2008-10-07T07:54:00.000-07:00

Andy Beach has published a great guide to video compression on the Peachpit Press.

"Video is the Internet these days and as the growing trend toward viewing video on mobile devices increases too, the attention is turning toward creating a good user experience for downloading and viewing that video. One of the keys to this is delivering video in the correct format with the proper compression for that delivery. Real World Video Compression is one of the first books on this topic to demystify the various approaches to compression. It begins by describing the basic concepts of video compression, explains why you might choose a particular compression tool over another, and covers important workflow practices."

Click here for the Peachpit website.

New GarageBand Book Available at Amazon.com

2008-10-04T22:15:00.000-07:00

Todd Howard, founder of Massachusetts-based creative media production / consulting company Howard Digital Media, has just published his new GarageBand Book called: GarageBand '08 Power! The Comprehensive Recording and Podcasting Guide.

GarageBand is one of the most powerful tools for capturing and manipulating sound that has ever been made available to the public. Although GarageBand has always been easy to use, it provides an amazing amount of power and sophistication to users who really want to dig in and get the most out of the program. GarageBand '08 Power! provides an easy to understand, detailed guide on how to make professional sounding music, podcasts, soundtracks, mixes, mashups, and much more with the newest version of GarageBand.

Check it out at Amazon.com.

Citizen McCaw Screening @ Fiesta Five

2008-10-03T22:03:00.000-07:00

The film chronicles events since July 2006, when editor Jerry Roberts and five of his colleagues quit the Santa Barbara News-Press, citing owner and Co-publisher Wendy McCaw's abandonment of journalistic ethics, which McCaw denied. Since then, McCaw and dozens of her former staffers have been engaged in a fierce clash of wills that raises important national questions of journalistic ethics and media ownership.

The re-edited and final version of Citizen McCaw is showing @ Fiesta Five October 9,10,11 at 7:30pm, and the 12th @ 2:30pm with a discussion panel following.

Click here for CitizenMcCaw.com.

DigiEffects Sale Today

2008-09-30T07:36:00.000-07:00

Delerium, Aurorix, AND Berserk for $99

Regards,

Jeffery

Click here to check it out.

Going to DV Expon in LA?

2008-09-29T15:58:00.000-07:00

Here's a link for registering for DV Expo in LA if you're going.

Click here.

Art of the Title

2008-09-13T07:51:00.000-07:00

Ian + Alex: Team Art of the Title, have started an amazing website screening and analyzing Title Sequences:

"Remember when your heart sank just a little when you realized the Pink Panther movie wasn�t a cartoon?

Then, only a few years later, seeing Edward Gorey�s eerily fantastic opening to �Mystery!� capped with Vincent Price�s name on a headstone had your head spinning at the thought of the kind of stories those etchings could tell�if only the show was based on those illustrations.

Well, we want to see more of that. So watch and remember and create. And if you�ve got something to contribute, send it along."

Click here to get started.

Film Screening: Proof or Propaganda

2008-09-08T12:20:00.000-07:00

Director/Producer Patrick Gregston invites you to a preview of the
production:

Proof or Propaganda
Climate Change - It's Not What You Think

Fiesta 5 Theater
Screen Number Four

Thursday, September 18, 2008
7:30 pm

To gather audience reaction to the film as part of the creative process

Please RSVP: (805) 565-4143
Or email patrick@ceilingsunlimited.tv

We Would Greatly Appreciate Your Attendance

Click here to see the trailer at ProofOrPropaganda.com.

Larry Jordan Coming to SB

2008-07-08T04:27:00.000-07:00

Agoura Hills, CA (June 10, 2008) � Internationally-renowned editor, director and Apple-certified trainer Larry Jordan is launching his all-new PowerUP with Final Cut Studio North American seminar tour July 15-16, 2008 at The Canary Hotel in Santa Barbara, California.

Jordan will be presenting three seminars: Succeeding in the New World of Tapeless & HD, Integrating Adobe Products into a Final Cut Workflow, and Discover the Hidden Power in Final Cut Studio. Santa Barbara is the first stop of the Tour, which will visit 15 cities across North America through November.

�I�m looking forward to launching our Tour in Santa Barbara,� said Jordan. �We have some great new technology to cover and hot new industry trends to discuss. I can�t wait to show editors how to effectively put all this new technology to work � and, even better, how to make money using it.�

�Succeeding in the New World of Tapeless & HD Video� focuses on providing key organizational methods, insider trouble shooting tricks, and how to safely and effectively archive data across an ever-changing array of video formats, acquisition technology, storage devices and workflows. (4-hours, $179/session.)

�Integrating Adobe Products Into A Final Cut Workflow showcases how to use powerful but little known Adobe software features which do what can�t be done in Final Cut. This seminar is designed for editors who want to discover new techniques they can use to stand out from the competition and advance their editing skills to the next level. (4-hours, $179/session.)

�Discover the Hidden Power in a Final Cut Workflow� is designed for the experienced editor looking to make the most of their tools. The seminar covers topics including audio, compression for SD-DVD, Blu-Ray and Flash, effects, and more. (8-hour intensive, $299.)

Click here for more information.

Zoom-in to SBFinalCut.org

2008-06-11T09:48:00.000-07:00

When did this user group start? SBFinalCut - The Santa Barbara Final Cut User Group started officially on April 20th, 2003.
Who runs the group? Final Cut Pro Master Trainer - Jeffery Morse.
How many members do you have? 81 current members.

Click here for more at Zoom-in Online.

Sharing Projects in FCP

2008-06-03T07:23:00.000-07:00

I hear it everyday from AVID editors, � �But FCP can�t share projects!� My response is always the same, �So what! FCP doesn�t have to�.

If you�re accustomed to the Avid/Unity networked workflow, you�re probably thinking, �this guy is nuts� and misinformed�. I may be nuts, but I have years of experience proving that multiple editors can all work on a single show using the same media from the same shared storage and still make it home for dinner at a reasonable hour. It can be done, but you�re going to have to think differently.

Click here for Mark Raudonis' full article at Avid2FCP.com.

Silverado Announces OpenCut

2008-05-14T21:37:00.000-07:00

I wanted to extend an invitation to you to participate in OpenCut - the world's first open source film competition.

We are providing an entire set of 35mm film quality assets shot on the RED ONE Digital Cinema camera--including all video, audio, as well as storyboards and scripts. OpenCut will provide the material, and entrants will provide the editorial.

We are kicking off OpenCut with a short subject called "Susannah" which was directed by Evan Nicholas and executive produced by Joe Carnahan of "Smokin' Aces" and "NARC."

Entrants to the competition register at http://www.OpenCut.org and then send a blank hard drive to OpenCut. Our film personnel will transfer 170 Gb of RED ONE material along with supporting media to the hard drive.

At a set date, all hard drives are shipped back to the contestants. They have 30 days to complete their cut including all color correction, audio fixes, and anything that would need to be accomplished for a completed project.

At the end of the competition, all finished entries are uploaded to VUZE which is generously hosting files in HD for all entrants.

Judging will take place through July 6th and a winner is announced on July 7th.

The winner of OpenCut will receive a prize package from Silverado Systems including a brand new AJA IO HD. Further, the winning editor will be listed as the official "editor-of-record" at IMDB and the winning short will be submitted to film festivals around the country throughout 2008. We will also be finishing the winning entry on SCRATCH in native 4k resolution.

Click here for more information on OpenCut.

Sponsored by Silverado
Check out the Silverado 4k Market at www.silverado.cc.

New Sponsor - Home Planet Productions

2008-05-09T09:24:00.000-07:00

SBFinalCut would like to welcome Home Planet Productions as a new sponsor.

Home Planet Productions, High Definition Specialists, specializes in documentaries, newsmagazines, and 24p digital cinema productions.

Home Planet offers affordable high definition packages featuring Sony F900 Cinealta cameras, plus an arsenal of high def support gear.

Our start-to-finish HD solutions save you money! Conversions, editing and online using state-of-the-art Final Cut Pro, Avid Symphony Nitris and Teranex technology.

Click here for more information on Home Planet Productions.

Apple's Set to Screen Series

2008-04-17T13:54:00.001-07:00

Every few weeks through October, a new podcast episode from Baz and his production team will introduce you to another aspect of moviemaking, starting with on-set still photography, then moving on to costume design, cinematography, scoring, and more. You�ll get insights from the artists at work on Australia, watch them in action, view footage the rest of the world hasn�t seen yet, and follow along as the movie comes together.

Start your journey now.
Subscribe to the Set to Screen Series, and iTunes will automatically download each new episode that�s posted. Once you�ve watched an episode, come back here to check out the notes about the featured member of the production team, and�if there�s a challenge for that episode�get all the details you�ll need to participate. So start exploring your creativity. You could wind up anywhere, even Down Under.

Click here for more info at Apple.com.