Made with After Effects

In what is become an annual tradition, the good folks over at motion.tv run a Made with After Effects competition. We participate in critiquing the entries, including pointing out the strong points as well as sharing our years of experience in suggesting ways to improve the work even further. The resulting discussion - as well as viewing the winners - is something we think is educational for all users looking to raise their game.

Want To Fly In First Class On Your Next Gig?  Here’s How!

I just got back from a whirlwind cross-country trip for a freelance gig I’m working on.  Between me, my field producer and my audio operator, we managed to boil down our equipment complement to six checked bags and three carry-ons. Now prices vary on different airlines, but the way it worked for me was this:

We flew USAirways from Cleveland to Phoenix, changing planes in Charlotte.  When I got online to check us in the night before, I was resigned to paying $60 in checked bag fees for each of us ($25 for the first bag and $35 for the second, all meticulously packed and weighed to be less than 50 pounds.)  However, in the middle of the check-in procedure, a pop-up box asked me if I would like to upgrade my entire party to first class - for $50 each.  On USAirways, this upgrade includes TWO FREE CHECKED BAGS.  (Bonus:  They can then weigh up to 70 pounds.)  In the time it took me to click the “yes” box, I had saved $30 overall and managed to get prime seating for the crew, and moved to the head of the boarding queue to guarantee overhead-compartment space for the two cameras and backpack-full-of-computers-and-iPad we were carrying onboard.  I call that a bargain at twice the price!

Coming home at the end of the shoot from Tucson to Madison, I played the same game on United.  Since both of those flights were on regional jets, first class was not offered, but once again the cost of checking two bags and first-call boarding was less than the cost of checking the bags alone.  While it is easy to imagine scenarios where this technique may not work (e.g., first class is booked full) it is a trick that I will be trying every time I need to check bags from this day forward.

Got any travel tricks of your own you’d like to share?  Let’s hear them!

Is TV Broken?

I don’t generally re-post links to articles, but this one from CNN’s Business Insider Matt Rosoff caught my eye.  Give it a read, but the thumbnail is this:

What is so flawed about the television watching experience that Steve Jobs devoted his final months of life to changing it?  It’s a good, quick read.  What do you think?  Is TV broken?

Workarounds For FCP X Shortcomings?

In this latest episode of “The Terence & Philip Show” we start by discussing the release of Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1.  We know what features are in this release and what else is coming in “early 2012″ but what will Apple do for Version 2?

We also cover, Intelligent Assistance’s new release of Project X27 for transferring Final Cut Pro X XML to Final Cut Pro 7 XML for use in Color, Soundtrack Pro, Premiere Pro CS 5.5, OMF export and beyond. This leads to a discussion about the various flavors of XML and the differences in data structures between the two versions of Final Cut Pro. The differences between the publicly available FCPXML and the internal AXEL XML format used by Apple internally and for the Automatic Duck OMF/AAF export from Final Cut Pro X.

We briefly discuss the Automatic Duck changes in that context.

Back to the Final Cut Pro X discussion we talk about how fast Final Cut Pro X is in practical editing, and where the deal breakers may be for certain editors.

Click on the link below and join the conversation.

Film Is Dead!

In this episode Philip & I cover a series of topics starting with large sensor cameras in production, the November 3 announcements from Canon Professional video, RED and Avid. Then on to the death of film, the cinema experience, and the problems of 3D.

We’ve been predicting the demise of the Mac Pro in the current form fact for some time, and during this early October recording, we discuss what has this week become rumor: the demise of the heavy iron workstation. (And the value of SSD.)

I report from the Monitor shootout day sponsored by the Hollywood Post Alliance, and HPA sponsored workflows.

We also get onto the future of Apple after the loss of Steve Jobs (just like everyone else!), leading to a discussion of who invented what?

The implications of Siri for postproduction: specialist tools vs generalists tools.

To join us just click on the player link below.

Quick Notes: ETE Panel; MTE Open House

Meets The Eye’s Studio A during its first production.

Next week I’ll be involved in two public events, one in Burbank (a panel on production technology) and the other in San Carlos CA (our shooting stages open house). Come by to visit, to ask questions, to complain, or to throw things. Also: what’s in the pipeline after that.

The Templatorization of “Creativity”

The trend toward basing creative endeavors on templates has been with us for many years, culminating in Hollywood’s use of its history as templates for its current production.

Whether this is a good or bad thing depends on whether you value your personal creativity, or you’re pushing a budget to get a project finished.

Click on the link below to play the latest Terence & Philip Show as we confront the good, the bad and the ugly of formulaic content creation.

Canon’s Big News

According to the invitation originally circulated by Engadget.com, Canon will be making “An Historic Global Announcement” November 3rd in Hollywood.  The event is rumored to be held at Paramount Studios, but this is unconfirmed. Speculations from the world of HDSLR seem to vary.  Here are some quotes from the who’s who of the HDSLR filmmaking world.

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