First Impressions From NAB 2011

It’s amazing how much I both look forward to - and simultaneously dread - coming to NAB. 

Tantalizing News From Telestream

It’s no secret that I am a PC user.  I’m very happy with the performance of Adobe Premiere Pro CS5 (and all the other programs in the Adobe suite) on my HP Z800 machine.  However, some of my client’s end-users are Mac people, and have at different times demanded output in the Apple ProRez codec…

,,,which, of course, PCs cannot do.  At least, until now, if what Telestream has to say pans out.  Imagine my interest when I saw this headline in an email:

Telestream Enables Encoding to ProRes on Windows Server Products

Details as of now are hazy, and I have asked for clarification.  But if this turns out to be what it sounds like, it could be a great step forward in making peace between the Windows and Apple editing camps.

Sounds too good to be true, doesn’t it?  What do you think?

Has Shakycam Finally Run Its Course?

GREAT review of the new movie “Battle: Los Angeles” by Matt Zoller Seitz at Salon.com, taking the filmmakers to task for the evil combination of long zoom, short depth of field, and lack of shot stability that equates to nausea for the viewers.  Huzzah!  Huzzah!  Something that has needed to be said for over a decade!

Will it make a difference?  Doubtful.  You see as many faux-Steadicams as decent tripods at NAB, a travesty I expect to continue next month.  Anybody want to lay odds?

And no, I haven’t yet seen “Battle: Los Angeles,” but once it hits the Roku I promise to pop a few Dramamine and give it a go.

Maybe Facebook Is Good For Something After All

I’m not really a huge Facebook fan, but I can recognize a bargain when I see one.  If you are on Facebook and you “like” Smartsound, they’ll send you a free music track on February 15th.  Hey, what can it hurt?  It’s not like they want you to play Farmville or something. 

So You Think You Have An Original Idea?

Big thanks to Gary Bettan of Videoguys.com for pointing out a really interesting take on modern creativity.  It’s at a site called EverythingisaRemix.info .  A guy named Kirby Ferguson just disassembles two of the most sacred cows of the last forty years - Led Zeppelin and Star Wars - in a funny, deadpan way that makes “This American Life” sound like “Family Guy.”  And they aren’t the only victims here - be sure to hang on through the credits for even more fun!  There are currently two episodes out (of a promised four).  Even though there are embed links in this post, be sure to go to his site and click on the “Donate” button.  This guy deserves a little dough!

What $300 Buys These Days

OK, folks, have a look at “Lazy Teenage Superheroes,” a funny, really watchable (and slightly NSFW for language) 13-minute riff on science fiction:

Film-Office Tax Credits Scandal!

The Los Angeles Times has an interesting article about Iowa’s “alleged abuses of its film tax credit program.”  I don’t know how surprising this is, given that the Iowa film office apparently described their program as “half-priced filmmaking.”

It would be wrong not to note that the LA Times has a horse in this race - there is more than a hint of schadenfreud in this piece - but on the whole, this revisits well-trodden ground.  Jeez, even I wrote about it!

Not to pile on, but there is yet another article on the subject this morning from the New York Times (registration probably required), regarding New Jersey’s film subsidy program, which Republican Governor Chris Christie is looking to gut.  The intense problem of gauging these programs effectiveness is summed up in this one excellent paragraph, written by NYT reporter Michael Cieply:

Studies about the efficacy of film credits, which became widespread in the last eight years, have been maddeningly divergent in their conclusions, depending on methodology, the structure of the credit and, sometimes, who sponsors the report.

I believe we have a BINGO!

When I wrote about Wisconsin’s film subsidy program back in 2009, things were tough for state governments.  By all accounts, things are worse in 2011.  If I were a betting man, I’d wager that film subsidy programs are going to become an even more endangered species in the near future.

What do you think?

Let’s Clean Up That Shot - Beforehand!

We’ve all gotten our footage back to the edit bay and found something we didn’t want in the frame.  Light stand, audio cable, water bottle, you name it.  What if we could remove irritants from the picture BEFORE the fact - without actually moving anything?  Check the next page for an amazing demo.

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