StudioDaily on AVID

I realized I hadn’t linked to this Studio Daily Article on the reductions at AVID.

By the third quarter AVID will be down to about 1500 after losing more than 350 more employees, and hasn’t said which facilities it will be closing.

I still say if AVID doesn’t really push there opportunity here they are fools. Look at what Autodesk has done with Smoke. I think it should be cheaper than $4000 ($3500 and $500 a year for upgrades and support), but it has moved into Media Composer Range, and it can do all Media Composer can and much more.

What I think AVID should have done

Personally I think AVID should have bit the bullet and pulled the price of Media Composer to $1000 to fight Premiere Pro (I don’t think they need to fight FCP X) and gain market share back. The $1000 that Apple charged for FCP 7 was really a sweat spot and other apps have gone bellow that).

And have made the cross grade even $500 from FInal Cut Pro, and make symphony a plug in that costs another $300-$500 (Or really just roll it in to Media Composer completely to have a unified product line). Now there sales for this year might be down (though they might have gone up do to the amount of sales they would have made), and there customer bass would have grown back to what it used to be, and they would make a ton of money in the future.

They need to focus on less products and make them less expensive. They have already been making Media Composer so much better, so they don’t have to worry about that, but it is there business decisions that seem iffy.

Doddle News on Five Ways Avid Could Stay Alive

An interesting article at Doddle news on how the foundering AVID (which just sold it’s consumer division including M-Audio, Pinacle and even the new iPad app) and cut another 20% of it’s work force after previously losing 10% not too long ago.

Some interesting ideas, though other than doubling down on protools and moving to the cloud like Adobe CS6, I don’t see them trying any of them.

Surgery Update Week 7

Wow, 7 weeks out. Didn’t seem like this point would every come, but I am recovering very well overall. Lost the scabs for my two chest tube wounds, and no scabs are coming back, so now they are just red and divots a bit. They will be worse than the main wound for sure.

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They may not look great, but they are so much better. No more gaping wound.

The main wound now that is weird. I guess the skin is really healing as it is pretty sore now, where it was not before, and not internally, but on the surface. It really doesn’t like anything touching it right now. On the good front, part of it is looking pretty white in the middle, so I guess that part is healing.

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You can see how the skin is getting white in the middle of the scar.

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And here is a wide shot of the whole thing.

Of course there is even more weirdness as there is what seems to be a pimple on the wound, though it could very well be an ingrown hair.

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That is the pimple or whatever it is near the top of the frame.

Other than that I am doing well. Still walking, though I seem to be hotter on the treadmill than walking outside, maybe since it is has a slight incline (and it has been too hot outside to walk much), but I have also started doing kettle bells again. Only a little bit, as not to make the wound any worse, but it doesn’t seem to bother me, at least with a 10 pound bell (vs a 20 I was doing before surgery). Even more surprising is how much less tired after doing it I am, though I can still feel it in my thighs, that is for sure.

Still coughing every day, though not as bad. Hopefully it is getting better.

My back is much better after the chiropractor, though he could only adjust my neck and use the activator on my back. It is better, but really needs a full adjustment, and is still pretty sore. Am icing it and heating it, to try and make it better. Have to wait till 12 weeks for a full adjustment though, but will probably be back for some more activator in the next couple of weeks.

Blood pressure has been good, though my heart beat has been up a bit in the evening, in the 90’s and even 100’s, though it does seem to calm down once I lay down.

One more week till I am cleared to go back to work. And I am up for it. And we really do need the money. Still nice to have one more week!

Zaxwerks releases 3D Invigorator Pro V6

3D Invigorator Prto

Zaxwerks has finally upgraded 3D Invigorator Pro to Version 6. And it had better be a whopper of an upgrade now that After Effects CS6 has Ray Traced Extruded Text and Shapes.

New features for Invigorator Pro include:

▪ Ray-Trace Reflectivity & Shadows! (NEW)
▪ Ultra Realistic Shadows with Ambient Occulusion (NEW)
▪ Create Glass or Water with Refraction (NEW)
▪ Super Easy Grid Creator (NEW)
▪ Increased Number of Sets and Layer Maps (NEW)

Here is what they have to say:

Our new Ray Trace renderer produces ultra-cool pictures, with reflections of objects in other objects, smooth realistic shadows, and glass refractions. Mmmmm. Sweet, sweet pictures.
New workflow features include the ability to trace pictures then map the picture back onto the object with one click; the ability to turn whole folders of images into 3D objects; and the ability to collect all project related files if you have to move the project from one computer to another. If you’re not a 3D-techie this means it’s now easier than ever to turn client artwork into flying 3D objects.
Best of all in version 6 are the new Object Fragmentation features. This set of features lets you slice, chop or crack your 3D objects into little fragments. Big deal, most 3D programs can do this, right? Not even close. What ProAnimator does is to turn fragmentation into a design tool where you can change your mind as the design evolves. Slice your logos into planks, strips, cubes, chips, chunks or shards. No pre-planning required. Change the fragmentation, change the text getting fragmented, change the bevels, change the color, change anything at anytime for the greatest flexibility imaginable.
ProAnimator 6 has also added more animation controls especially designed to take advantage of the thousands of pieces generated by the fragmentation features. So now you can take your thousands of fragments and spin, tumble, whip and cascade them in cooler, fresher and more eye-catching ways than before. Spill the fragments into the screen and watch them assemble into your logo. Drop the fragments and watch one word turn into another. This can be done with any text, logo or imported 3D object.
Stop for a moment and realize that now you can design on the fly with fragments as easily as full objects. It’s like a particle system that’s easy and fun to control and completely real-time and interactive. It’s all waiting at your fingertips to give your work an exciting edge over your competition.

It is $399 or $99 for an upgrade from 5.0.

VideoCopilot has released Element 3D

Element3D

VideoCopilot has finally released it’s long teased Element 3D plug in for After Effects for $149.95. or $195.50 with Pro Shaders, $249.50 with Motion Design Pack and Pro Shaders or $495 including all 6 3D packs and over 500 in 3D models to use with it.

Looks pretty damn cool actually and I would love to give it a try! Been watching videos for some time, and it looks really damn powerful without having to have extensive 3D skills.

Looks like you can do particle effects with real 3D elements, very very cool. I have some ideas just from looking at the footage.

Red Giant has Acquired Singular Software

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Got an e-mail from Singular Software this morning saying they have been purchased by Red Giant. Singular’s Plural Eyes is awesome software and I love Red Giant’s software as well, so hopefully it will be a match made in heaven. You can read about it at Red Giant’s Web Site. And you can continue to purchase Singular Software from their web site until everything is moved under the Red Giant brand.

They are taking the entire Singular Software Team, so the same great software should be coming including the upcoming Plural Eyes 3, which we have already seen the beta of.