Stu at Prolost has a great article on pimping out After Effects, what settings he uses, and some must have scripts.
On the scripts, BG Renderer is a must, at $29.99 it allows you to not only render in the background, but also to e-mail you when a render is done, so you can walk way, and know right when it is ready continue.
And of course Stu’s own DV Rebel Tools are also another must have.
Scott Simmons from the Edit Blog at the Prod Video Coalition has a must have article on Media Composer 6. It is a must read for some of it’s gotchas on ProRES.
While it can fast import ProRES footage like it can with DNxHD footage, it cannot then Consolidate ProRES footage, which means copying without recompressing, it can still only do that with Avid compressed footage. You have to Transcode ProRES footage, so it adds another layer of compression into the mix.
This is really a must read for all switchers from Final Cut Pro 7 to Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5, as it gives a full rundown of the similarities and differences in the 2 different timelines!
Walter Biscardi from Biscardi Creative, has a great article on beta testing AVID Media Composer 6 over at Creative Cow.
It is most interesting because he was a die hard Final Cut Pro user, who only used AVID when it first came out, but now seems totally sold on AVID. And says it is more rock solid with an AJA Kona 3 than Final Cut Pro ever was, and way better with it than Adobe Premiere is.
Way to go AVID! I just think they should permanently make the upgrade from FCP $1000 instead o $1500, but any which way they are going to slaughter the market, I just hope Adobe is up to making enough competition to keep the innovative, just like Apple did for them.
Stu at prolost has a good article on the Canon EOS C300. It goes into their features as per their FAQ.
As Stu says this will be interesting to see which turns out to be the better camera, the EOS or the less expensive Scarlet.
Mike Curtis from HD for Indies has a good article on the newly announced RED Scarlet. And it’s pros and cons. It is well worth a read.
It does seem that the Scarlet is the better deal here, though the process is harder to shoot with, but the results should be better.
The Canon lenses issue is the same with both Cameras, and could actually be solved with the new Canon EF Cine lenses they are releasing with the EOS C3800.
I still think both cameras are a bit too expensive, and the Scarlet will have beta issues as it is s RED.
Mike Curtis from HD For Indies, has a good take on the C300 with good and bad. It looks like the Camera is aimed at the Sony F3, and not the red one.
It has some better features, but some not as good.
As I said elsewhere, why can the less expensive scarlet autofocus with Canon EF lenses, but the Canon cannot. It also cannot do 444 out, like the Sony can (with an expensive upgrade) which would bypass the Long GOP MPEG 2 compression, making the Sony seem the better choice, especially with it’s higher frame rate (1080p60 vs 24) and 444 capabilities (even if both are after a firmware upgrade to the F3.
Personally I think Canon screwed the pooch a bit, as they missed the price point. At under $10,000 this would be huge, but at $16-20,000 it is too expensive, without enough high end features. And for film it seems that the Scarlet would be better, though of course it does have a much harder workflow.
Canonrumors has the info, and they were right the EOS C300 has been announced.
And there is a PL mount version and an EF version, and a slew of new EF cinema quality lenses.
They are also opening a Canon center in Hollywood to deal with the cameras and really push into Cinema.
A bit more expensive than I had hoped, and I want to know more about compression and codec.
After reading this report from AppleInsider I wrote the following letter to Apple and left it to them as feedback. I know they won’t listen and don’t really care, but I sure do.
AppleInsider is reporting that Apple is considering killing the MacPro as it is no longer profitable.
What I don’t think you get is how many graphics houses and editing houses will be leaving the Mac completely if this happens.
Without NVIDIA cards you can barely edit with Premiere Pro or even use programs like SMOKE, and if the artists are going to move to PC, there whole facilities will go PC, and Apple will lose a lot of it’s coolness, and a lot more business than they think they will.
AVID already gives you PC and Mac Versions on one disc, and without a MacPro, and it’s PCI cards you lose a lot of functionality, like AJA or Blackmagic cards (and no the thunderbolt cards are not as good, and there is no SAS storage solutions for thunderbolt).
Still an Alienware is looking better and better. Kick ass NVIDIA graphics make it the only choice for an editing laptop (since Premiere Pro needs an NVIDIA card), and if the MacPro goes, then it is time to move PC.
I already feel betrayed by you for what you did to Final Cut Pro X, as I have been an avid Final Cut Pro supporter since version 3, and Final Cut Pro X is not it’s replacement, but a program that has some of it’s functionality and is not superior to AVID or Premiere Pro, and if you get rid of the MacPro that will be the last straw.
I am not a windows fan, and think the fact that the main programming language for Windows 8 being HTML 5 is just shooting themselves in the foot, but at least I can use high end graphics and will still have PCI slots!
Please Apple I love you, and have since my Apple IIC, but more and more it looks like you are leaving me the graphic pro and video editor behind, and it makes me sad, but you are making a PC and windows look more and more attractive.
Please keep making MacPro’s and keep updating them (quicker than you have been) and make them compatible with more graphics cards, because we will keep buying them, but if you stop making them we will be leaving the Mac in Droves.
Jonah Lee Walker
Video Editor and Graphics Artist
