apple

CTRL+Console still looking for funding as the Kickstarter winds down

2012-11-21T17:42:00+00:00

It's just about a week to go in the CTRL+Console Kickstarter campaign for this cool non-linear editing control interface for iPhone and iPad. I posted about it a while back and one issue I had was that the lack of tactile control on an iPad meant the demo had the editor looking away from the screen way too often to look at the iPad. But a recent update lists out a number of gestures that will accomplish tasks without looking down at the screen. Now we're talking.

Remember DV Guru?

2012-11-14T09:38:00+00:00

If you've been around this Internet / blog thing for a while you might remember the old article aggregator DV Guru. If I remember correctly this site was part of the old Weblogs Inc. network back when it was a collection of blogs on just about every topic under the sun. I happened upon DV Guru the other day as it's still online. It's a great snapshot into what the film / video / post-production world was like back in 2007 and a couple of years before. Their last post was on January 31, 2007 and the first looks to have been mid–2005. It's a fun way to kill some time just clicking back through. And what kinds of articles can you expect to find?

Will CTRL+Console be an editing console that editors actually use?

2012-11-05T09:20:00+00:00

This is a very cool looking Kickstarter campaign that popped up a few days ago. CTRL+Console is an iOS-based non-linear editing controller that looks to be built from the ground up specifically for the task of video editing. The interface looks quite futuristic and well designed but unfortunately its downfall might be the iPad itself.

Multi-Camera Import in Final Cut Pro X

2012-10-30T23:07:00+00:00

The Final Cut Pro X 10.0.6 update includes many workflow improvements across the entire editing process. In this episode of MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin from Ripple Training talks with me about the new import features including the unified import window, the ability to import from a variety of cameras sources, and the ability to quickly import selection ranges.

Kicking the tires on Final Cut Pro X 10.0.6

2012-10-29T07:27:00+00:00

Apple has dropped a new release of Final Cut Pro X. 10.0.6 came down from the cloud on Tuesday, October 23 and delivered on the new features that Apple discussed back in April at NAB 2012. Dual viewers, RED camera support, better audio tools and MXF support are all now a reality in some form or another. This update also saw a lot of feature improvements as well including the often requested return of paste attributes. There's been a lot of what's new and first looks all over the web since release. I wanted to take a more honest look at some of the features as opposed to just listing out bullet points.

Quick Test: FCPX 10.0.6

2012-10-24T11:56:00+00:00

Someone has to be the first to stick a toe in the water when a new update comes out, so I jumped in with both feet. I'm running FCPX 10.0.6 on two different Macs, and so far, everything is OK. I plan to upgrade Mac #3 later today.

Final Cut Pro 10.0.6 Quick Look

2012-10-24T03:47:00+00:00

Today Apple released an updated to Final Cut Pro X. This 10.0.6 version (a free download to current FCP X owners through the App Store) includes several features already mentioned by Apple, as well as some nice surprises. Overall, I think it's an outstanding update that seems to be based directly on user feedback. I'll have more to say later, but for now here are a few screenshots and descriptions of some of the key new features.

An NLE companion app is what I really wanted out of Avid Studio for iPad

2012-09-05T07:36:00+00:00

If you’ve been a user of the Avid Studio for iPad editing app then it’s worth noting that last week the new owners of the app, Corel, introduced the rebranded app as Pinnacle Studio 2.0. It’s a bit confusing as Avid sold the product (and a number of other assets) to Corel, Corel rebranded the iPad app to Pinnacle, there doesn’t seem to be a mention of it on Corel’s website, and while there is info on the Pinnacle site it still has an Avid banner at the top. Yes it’s confusing. Pinnacle Studio is free for now so go grab it if you have an iPad 2 or later. While it’s good to hear that Avid is recommitting itself to its professional users (hence selling consumer video products to Corel) I can’t help but lament the loss of the iPad app as there was some potential professional promise in that app that was never realized.

HP DreamColor Mac connectivity & functionality: update 2012.2

2012-08-15T20:48:00+00:00

When I published HP DreamColor Mac connectivity & functionality: update 2012.1 on July 3, I had a feeling that there would likely be plenty of more news this year. That turned out to be so, and that’s why i am now publishing HP DreamColor Mac connectivity & functionality: update 2012.2. Here you’ll find out the first round of strange and ironic results when testing the HP DreamColor Monitor with the Retina version of the MacBook Pro (June 2012), and wonder why Apple is -so far- favoring Windows 7 over Mac OS 10.7 and 10.8 for the DreamColor. Thanks to readers Andrew Huebscher and Noel Adams for their input for this article.

Working with multicam in Adobe Premiere Pro CS6

2012-08-15T07:50:00+00:00

I’ll be the first to admit that while multi-camera editing tools have been available in Adobe Premiere Pro for quite a while I hadn’t ever touched them until Premiere Pro CS6. I think that may be true for a lot of editors when it comes to a lot of features of Premiere Pro in general. While I had used Premiere Pro on sort of a semi-regular basis since CS4, CS6 has become a regular tool. I finally gave Premiere Pro’s multicam a shot recently … and it’s very nice. It works well, is quite powerful when it comes to setup and adjustment of multicam angles but it's missing a couple of important features that some of its competitors have.

An[other] OS X 10.6 to 10.8 Survival Guide for Editors

2012-08-15T06:20:00+00:00

Test rig: 10.7.4 MacBook Air, 10.6.8 MacBook Air, three different kinds of antacids, dual-boot 10.6.8/10.8 Mac mini (display; mini itself hidden behind MacBook Pro), 10.8 MacBook Pro.

With the release of Mac OS X 10.8 (the word "Mac" has been struck from the name of the OS), an increasing number of apps requiring 10.7 or later, and the presumed end of Apple's support for 10.6, it's getting to the point where Mac users have to decide to make the jump, or remain forever on 10.6. I've spent the last two weeks systematically testing 10.8 in real-world scenarios, and I've got both good news and bad news, or, more precisely: the good, the bad, and the ugly... and the just plain "think different" stuff... and how to fix [most of] what's broken.[Updates: 2012-17: contact info added; 2012-8-15: MPEG Streamclip works; Canon XF importers won't install, but there's a workaround.]

Product Review: Magic Bullet Denoiser II

2012-08-13T18:28:00+00:00

Today's DSLRs and HD Camcorders allow us to shoot at higher ISO and lower light scenarios than ever before - but with the smaller sensor sizes typical in prosumer cameras, this capability also introduces a great deal of noise. Thankfully, Red Giant has updated Magic Bullet Denoiser II (v 1.3) - available as a stand-alone plugin or part of the Magic Bullet Suite to help eliminate the noise while retaining the details.

Blackmagic’s camera - The dark art of digital cinematography (part4)

2012-08-09T06:40:00+00:00

Blackmagic Design attracted a huge amount of attention with their plans to release a digital camera. John Brawley, an Australian cinematographer, has been helping Blackmagic with the development by using the camera in real-world production environments to give them professional feedback. In our final part, John talk about post-production with the camera and the benefits of a RAW workflow.

Blackmagic’s camera - The dark art of digital cinematography (part3)

2012-08-09T06:23:00+00:00

Blackmagic Design attracted a huge amount of attention with their plans to release a digital camera. John Brawley, an Australian cinematographer, has been helping Blackmagic with the development by using the camera in real-world production environments to give them professional feedback. In this four-part video interview, we chat about the art of cinematography, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera, and answer all your questions.

An iPad Sick Day

2012-07-26T00:54:00+00:00

Last Friday was not a fun day in that I was pretty much laid up in bed sick all day. I’ll keep the gory details to myself but it’s quite the rarity in that (thankfully) I’m usually a rather healthy person. But there were a number of things to do that day (work related in addition to being entertained) and I was surprised to see exactly how perfect the iPad was to allow for a productive sick day.

Looking back at Software from the Future

2012-07-12T08:30:00+00:00

A long time ago (running from 2007 to 2009) I used to have a category on the old Editblog called Software From the Future. The idea was to write up and mock up ideas for features that would be useful inside of non-linear editing applications. I didn’t do a ton of them but recently I was looking back at those old entries. Here we are many years later and some of the features have been implement in different ways in different NLEs. I’m still waiting on my idea checks.

Part 2 of Making the Switch from FCP to Avid MC

2012-07-11T01:40:00+00:00

In Part 1 we covered the JKL keys for playing footage and the IO keys with various modifiers to mark and clear in and out points. We also covered zooming in the timeline. In this installment, we'll cover the Insert, Overwrite and Replace buttons; and the Pen Tool.

Making the Switch from FCP7 to Avid MC6

2012-07-08T01:01:00+00:00

With so many people looking for an NLE to replace FCP7, it's natural that people are turning to Avid.

I've moved between editing systems often, and I can relate to the apprehension and frustration of moving to a new NLE. I often describe this process like learning a new language: you already know how to communicate, but now you need to do it with new words and new grammar.

HP DreamColor Mac connectivity & functionality: update 2012.1

2012-07-03T19:21:00+00:00

After a period of non-disclosure from HP, I finally have lots of information to report about news regarding DreamColor connectivity and functionality with Mac. In this article, you’ll find out about new DreamColor software for Mac (you no longer need temporary access to Microsoft Windows to calibrate the DreamColor in a pro video environment with a pro video i/o interface), problems and solutions resulting from Apple’s surprising switch to YUV instead of RGB on the Mini DisplayPort/Thunderbolt output on Macs released starting in 2011, and more. I have called this article DreamColor Mac connectivity and functionality: update 2012.1 because I expect there to be several more this year.

The State of the Union of Final Cut Pro

2012-06-21T07:30:00+00:00

Here we are one year after the release of Final Cut Pro X so it’s time for the inevitable slew of FCPX one year later blog posts so I’ll add one more to the list … we are called The Editblog after all. Opinions on FCPX are still all over the map. Many people like it, some love it, a lot still hate it and there’s the group who have largely ignored it. In truth there are many things to like about FCPX, some certain features that I absolutely love but others that I hate and still wonder if the designers actually used the product outside of their own bubble. One thing this blog strives to be is totally honest about products we discuss and I hope we’ve been just that with Final Cut Pro X.