How to get the “24p” look for your live-switched multicam shoot

Our friends at Datavideo recently asked me to write an article called How to get the “24p” look for your live-switched multicam shoot. The article covers many factors involved in accomplishing that goal, including framerate, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, and menu settings in Datavideo’s digital HD video mixers (“switchers”) and recorders, and also the menu settings in several pro cameras from Canon, Panasonic, and Sony. The included chart explains which of the cameras have a direct HD-SDI output, and which require an optional converter to go from HDMI to HD-SDI to connect to the Datavideo digital HD video mixer. As you’ll see in the article, the approach is quite different from the workflows I normally cover, which are more appropriate when programs are to be edited, as opposed to when they are shot —and potentially broadcast— live. The graphics for this article were done by Victory Elliot of Datavideo Corporation.

Avid now lets you edit video on your iPad for US$4.99. Should you?

I was privileged to find out a few hours in advance of the public announcement of Avid Studio for iPad, since Avid contracted me to translate and localize the press release, as fortunately they often do. There was something about this press release that really intrigued me. It wasn’t so much the specific advantages that Avid Studio for iPad has over other editing apps for iPad, like offering both Storyboard and Timeline views in a single iPad app, or being able to import source material from anywhere inside or outside of the iPad. It was more the fact that the announcement was coming from Avid, and the spirit of the two quotes that appear at the end of the press release. In this article, I’ll give a first look at the app, define what it is (and what it isn’t), and extrapolate about what this can mean for video editing in the short, mid, and long term. Of course, I’ll include those two quotes that intrigued me so much.

AJA’s Io XT w/ Thunderbolt is now available, but it is not Riker: What’s the cover-up?

AJA is now shipping its US$1495 Io XT, AJA’s first Thunderbolt device which I covered in detail when it was first announced in September 2011. Some of you have asked me whether the Io XT is the same as the prototype code-named “Riker” product that AJA showed at NAB back in April 2011. The answer is no. This article will explain why the Io XT is not Riker, review the currently-available Thunderbolt audio/video i/o devices I’ve covered so far (including the Pegasus Thunderbolt RAID), and clarify William Riker’s involvement in the Pegasus cover-up, as well as that of Leo Laporte, who recently declared Thunderbolt to be “D.O.A.” and “too late” on MacBreak Weekly. Even though neither is true, I think Leo had a very good reason to say those things.

Pegasus Thunderbolt RAID5 from PROMISE

As many ProVideo Coalition readers may recall, I have written about disk arrays from PROMISE before, although the last time it was primarily to be used with a computer with an eSATA port. Now that all Mac computers (except for the MacPro tower) use a Thunderbolt port, many are looking for a disk array which will have the appropriate connection and that will be at least as fast as what they got previously with eSATA. In this article, you’ll find my results with the Pegasus from PROMISE, used both with a Mac Mini and a MacBook Air. You’ll also find PROMISE’s official position on journaling or non-journaling with this device, since this was not previously documented anywhere to my knowledge.

Can a professional really use Premiere Elements 10?

I first wrote about Premiere Elements back when version 9 was first released for the Mac. At that point, I received an NFR (Not For Resale) copy from Adobe but was so concerned about its lack of direct support for PsF in AVCHD that I delayed writing about it again while I exchanged e-mails with the Premiere Elements team. In the meantime, I kept myself quite busy covering other topics, and earlier this week, I published chapter 9 in the PsF’s missing workflow about how to get around Premiere Elements’ current lack of direct support for PsF in AVCHD, and even direct support for native 23.976p (“24p”) in AVCHD. In this article, I answer a logical question: Can a professional really use Premiere Elements? This sub-US$100 program is available for Mac or Windows. Here are the answers.

PsF’s missing workflow, Part 9: Premiere Elements 10

In parts 1-3 of the PsF’s missing workflow series, we introduced the terms benign PsF & malignant PsF, and revealed the PsF status of several AVCHD cameras from 3 manufacturers. In #4, we did the same with several HD recorders. In #5, we revealed how one recorder manufacturer is offering its own software to counteract the inappropriate signals offered over HDMI by many cameras. In #6, I published an open letter to all pro AVCHD manufacturers. In #7, I covered how to deal with PsF on a progressive sequence in Premiere Pro CS5.5. In #8, I showed how ClipWrap is an excellent solution for many Mac editors. Now in #9, I’ll discuss PsF with the sub US$100 Adobe Premiere Elements 10.

Sony’s FS100 camera to become “WorldCam” via free firmware update

Sony USA has just officially announced that the (so-far) segregated 59.94Hz FS100 camera (officially known as the NEX-FS100, often followed by a regional suffix, and then sometimes by the letter “K” to indicate that it is a kit, packaged with a lens) is about to go “WorldCam” via a free firmware update sometime at the beginning of 2012. “WorldCam” is a term used to indicate that a camera has the necessary framerates to be used worldwide, similar to an unlocked quad-band GSM phone that I have used for more than a decade to travel internationally without roaming charges. Beyond using a camera worldwide, having a WorldCam camera is also helpful when a producer needs to acquire content to be broadcast primarily in another country which uses a different framerate. This article will cover the novelistic history of the FS100’s uncertain potential capacity to become WorldCam, as well as some other improvements included in the upcoming firmware update… and some other improvements that are still missing.

Sony’s NX70 camera to receive its missing 29.97p framerate via free firmware update

Sony has just announced that the NXCAM camera model known officially as the HXR-NX70 (often followed by a regional suffix) —but colloquially known simply as the NX70— will receive the vital 29.97p framerate via a free downloadable firmware, sometime in the first quarter of 2012.  Well, let me get a little more specific: The 59.94Hz segregated versions of the NX70 will get 1080PsF29.97. This article will explain how vital this framerate is for many producers in ex-NTSC countries, and cover some other improvements included in this update, together with a few that are still missing.

PsF’s missing workflow, Part 8: ClipWrap to the rescue

In parts 1-3 of the PsF’s missing workflow series, we introduced the terms benign PsF & malignant PsF, and revealed the PsF status of several professional AVCHD cameras from 3 manufacturers (Canon, Panasonic, and Sony). In #4, we did the same with several HD video recorders from 6 different manufacturers. In #5, we revealed how one recorder manufacturer is offering its own “Band-Aid” software to counteract the inappropriate signals offered over HDMI by many camera manufacturers. In #6, I published an open letter to all pro AVCHD manufacturers. In #7, I covered how to deal with PsF on a progressive sequence in Premiere Pro CS5.5. Now in #8, I’ll reveal how the US$49.99 middleware known as ClipWrap will be the cure-all for all of AVCHD’s multiple weaknesses, including both types of PsF, at least in the short term.

PsF’s missing workflow, Part 7: Adobe Premiere Pro CS5.5.x

In parts 1-3 of the PsF’s missing workflow series, we introduced the terms benign PsF & malignant PsF, and revealed the PsF status of several professional AVCHD cameras from 3 manufacturers (Canon, Panasonic, and Sony). In part 4, we did the same with several file-based HD video recorders from 6 different manufacturers. In part 5, we revealed how one recorder manufacturer is offering its own “Band-Aid” software to counteract the inappropriate signals offered over HDMI by many camera manufacturers. In part 6, I published and Open Letter to all pro AVCHD manufacturers. Here in part 7, I’ll cover how to deal with 25PsF and 29.97PsF on a progressive sequence in Premiere Pro CS5.5.x.

PsF’s missing workflow, Part 6: Tépper asks the camera manufacturers…

In parts 1-3 of the PsF’s missing workflow series, we introduced the terms benign PsF & malignant PsF, and revealed the PsF status of several professional AVCHD cameras from 3 manufacturers (Canon, Panasonic, and Sony). In part 4, we did the same with several file-based HD video recorders from 6 different manufacturers. In part 5, we revealed how one recorder manufacturer is offering its own “Band-Aid” software to counteract the inappropriate signals offered over HDMI by many camera manufacturers. Starting with part 7, I’ll begin offering workarounds within several software editing programs, and with at least one external application. However, here in part 6, I am asking questions and making suggestions to the 3 professional AVCHD camera manufacturers who are responsible for creating this entire mess in the first place.

Page 1 of 5 pages  1 2 3 >  Last »