CUT.N.COLOR
Steve Hullfish has been producing and editing award-winning television since the mid-1980s. He has written four books, countless magazine articles and hosted an Avid training DVD. He has lectured at NAB, DVExpo and the Master Editor seminars. He has edited on Avid since 1992 and was named to Avid's first group of Master Editors. His client list includes: Universal Studios, NBC Television, PBS TV, Turner Networks, The Oprah Winfrey Show, "Investigative Reports" and "Cold Cases" with Bill Kurtis for A&E, Jim Henson Home Entertainment, HIT Enterta...
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H-264 hardware encoding enabled and waiting
By Steve Hullfish | June 07, 2013
Before I received the NVIDIA K5000, I read about it and was excited that it had H.264 encoding capability on the board. I tend to do a lot of H.264-encoded deliverables. Unfortunately my excitement was short lived when I found out that while NVIDIA had delivered on their end, nobody else had...
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Lighting for Color Grading
By Steve Hullfish | June 07, 2013
In my first book on color correction, “Color Correction for Video – 2nd Edition” there’s a great story about an early color grading pioneer. When they built his color correction suite, they made it like a “smoking room,” with warm, incandescent lighting and...
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Does a specific color indicate a specific emotion?
By Steve Hullfish | July 19, 2012
So, I've spent a lot of the last decade thinking, writing, talking and speaking about color. One of the things that I thought would be more clear in talking to creative people about color would be the emotional impact of specific colors.
While colors certainly deliver valuable story and emotional clues, the question among colorists and directors of photography is whether a specific color provides a specific emotional cue that is the same for all people. Most colorists believe that color cues are dependent on context and culture.
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Delete, shift-delete, Mark Clip and Marker
By Steve Hullfish | July 12, 2012
In Part 1 we covered the JKL keys, IO keys and zooming in the timeline. In the previous installment, we covered Insert, Overwrite, Replace and the Pen Tool.
In this, the 3rd part of our FCP to Avid thesaurus, we'll translate the delete and shift-delete functionality of FCP; Mark Clip and Marker.
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Insert, Overwrite, Replace and Pen Tool
By Steve Hullfish | July 10, 2012
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.
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FCP to MC6 Thesaurus
By Steve Hullfish | July 07, 2012
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.
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By Steve Hullfish | June 28, 2012
The ability to work well in a shared, creative community is a key requisite for any professional editing solution used in producing today's feature films and prime time TV shows. As the hands-down leader in the development of integrated media environments for the post production industry, Avid understands this better than most.
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Test your skills, improve your eye
By Steve Hullfish | May 05, 2012
I found a very cool little site that tests your ability to match a specific color based on hue, saturation and brightness. At first, I thought it was just kind of cute, but the more I played it, the more valuable I felt it was to improving your skills as a colorist. Trying to see and match colors is critical to a colorist. Also, as I played numerous iterations of the game, I realized that my eyes must have a specific deficiency in a hue range that is just on the magenta side of red. I was getting perfect and very good scores all the way around the color wheel, but in that specific area I was rarely getting very good scores.
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Part 2 on the editing and delivery of a RED feature to theaters
By Steve Hullfish | October 24, 2011
The first part of this article dealt with the capture, transcode, preparation and off-line edit of the feature film, "Courageous," for which I was one of three editors. In this article I'll discuss the on-line process which primarily took place at PostWorks New York.The main personnel involved with the on-line editing were Post production Supervisor, Clarke Gallivan, on-line editor George Bunce, colorist Scot Olive, and Joe Beirne, head of all things technical at PostWorks.
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The off-line edit of a RED feature film
By Steve Hullfish | October 15, 2011
Last October, I had the rare opportunity to edit a feature film called "Courageous," which is in theaters now. "Courageous" was the number one new movie the weekend it opened (September 30th) and the number four movie over all and it's stayed in the top six for the last three weeks, with its per-theater box office at the number one spot for two weeks, and still at number 2.You can download the trailer here.This article and the follow up will discuss the entire workflow of getting the R3D files from the camera, archiving them, transcoding them, organizing the files, making editing decisions with the director, and eventually, delivering the edit and raw files to PostWorks in NY and following the entire on-line post-production workflow getting the RED files and a Final Cut Pro 7 sequence up on the big screen in over 1,200 theaters nationwide.
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What if Cupertino was "Houston?"
By Steve Hullfish | July 27, 2011
When astronauts had a problem out in space, you heard the familiar "Houston, we have a problem" radio call. With FCP X, the problem is in Cupertino. What if Steve Jobs was running NASA?This story was inspired by Oliver Peters and the following really cool web site.http://360vr.com/2011/06/22-discovery-flight-deck-opf_6236/index.html
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Apple publicly admits that FCP X is just iMovie!
By Steve Hullfish | June 25, 2011
If you still have doubts that FCP X is really just iMovie on steroids - and the fact that the first thing it asks to import from IS iMovie and that's not enough of a clue - then take a very close look at the launch screen for FCP X.
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Marrying Avid, a 5D Mark II and a ZOOM H4N
By Steve Hullfish | June 20, 2011
PluralEyes has really made a name for itself with editors as the DSLR workflows have been explored more and more. PluralEyes is a software solution that allows you to automatically sync up the separate audio and video files from, say, a 5D Mark II DSLR with an audio file from a handheld digital recorder, like the ZOOM.
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The Big Chip Camera Shootout!
By Steve Hullfish | April 13, 2011
At the request of Zacuto in Chicago, Bob Primes, ASC led a group of over 100 intrepid volunteers and ASC colleagues in the creation of The Single Chip Camera Evaluation. Basically, a well-planned and fairly comprehensive shootout between the Arri Alexa, Sony F35, RED MX, Phantom Flex, WeissCam, Sony F3, Panny AF100. Canon 5D, 1D, 7D, Nikon D7000 and Kodak 5213 film.
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Rumors over Supermeet are flying!
By Steve Hullfish | April 05, 2011
Rumors are flying that Apple will be using the Vegas Supermeet to announce the next version of Final Cut Pro. Supposedly, Apple will be taking over the entire event for their announcement, canceling all other sponsors, including AJA, Avid, Canon, BlackMagic, Autodesk and others, who were set to give presentations.I am waiting for some confirmations from inside sources at various companies but some of the "proof" that is public so far:Daniel Berube, a co-producer of the event with Michael Horton, has rushed back to Vegas early from LA due to changes at Supermeet.UPDATE: Philip Bloom just confirmed with me that Canon has canceled his appearance at the Supermeet, though he still may present (possibly as a guest of Apple.) At present he doesn't know if he will speak or not. Canon was told last night that Apple has demanded ALL "lecturn" or stage time exclusively. Some sponsors who were not using presenters may continue to sponsor the Vegas event, but none of them will be presenting on the stage. I can't imagine any news that would warrant this kind of "take-over" other than to announce and demonstrate the next full version of Final Cut Pro and possibly an entirely newly designed FCS4.Frank Capria mentioned on the Avid-L2 that Avid would find another venue to present director Kevin Smith, who was scheduled to present at Supermeet. (UPDATE: Avid confirmed that Supermeet (Michael Horton) told them last night that their sponsorship had been canceled. According to Avid, "Apple doesn't want anyone to have stage time but them.") (UPDATE: Avid will be hosting Kevin Smith at other venues during NAB, for more information: http://community.avid.com/forums/p/95640/547333.aspx#547333)AJA offered a "no comment" on their Supermeet sponsorship and referred all questions to Michael Horton (who runs Supermeet). AJA has their own party that night at a different location, so it probably doesn't affect their plans too much.Black Magic also gave me a no comment, though they acknowledged that something was happening with their Supermeet sponsorship.I'm still waiting to hear from Michael Horton and Black Magic. UPDATE: 8:44pm, April 5th) The Supermeet website recently changed, dropping all previously mentioned presenters and mentioning a "very special guest" with a "sneak peak at something very special." This basically confirms most of the rumors. (http://www.supermeet.com/)UPDATE: Here is the statement I just received from Autodesk (6:15pm Central time, April 5):Autodesk will not be presenting on the main stage at Las Vegas SuperMeet during NAB, but will be participating in the SuperMeet Digital Showcase. For more information on the SuperMeet event, please contact the FCPUG organizers. During NAB, there will be numerous opportunities to see Smoke in action, both through customers presentations and Autodesk demonstrations on the Autodesk tradeshow booth SL2120. We are also providing free hands-on Smoke training in the North Hall on Monday & Tuesday.UPDATE: Black Magic Design has confirmed that they - and actually most of the sponsors - are STILL sponsors of the Supermeet. The main thing that changed with the addition of the Apple announcements is that the STAGE presenters have been changed. BMD is excited to be giving away over $20,000 of prizes at the event.Stay Tuned for more!!! Keep checking back for updates or add me to your RSS feed.
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Canon first to jump on Apple Bandwagon
By Steve Hullfish | March 11, 2011
So, when Apple recently announced support for Thunderbolt the biggest question after the release by many in the video community was: "Who else is going to support this?"The answer has come from a major player: Canon. This is a natural partner who can obviously utilize Thunderbolt's 10Gbps port.
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The most chatter about the least info
By Steve Hullfish | February 24, 2011
So for the last few days the internet has been abuzz - or at least the part of the internet that I pay attention to - with the news that Apple unveiled the new version of Final Cut Pro to a small group of industry vets and influencers.The humorous thing is that everyone who actually knows anything can't SAY anything. And everyone who doesn't know anything… well, they CAN say anything, but really have nothing to say. I would fall completely into the second category.I was not at the event, but have heard all of the rumors. If you have actually been working - for example EDITING - and haven't had time to catch up on the latest FCP gossip, I will try to fill you in quickly.The one rumor that can be firmly squashed that has been floating around angrily for the last year is that Apple has given up on Final Cut Pro and is abandoning development. This was crazy rumor to begin with. Apple's had a very capable development team chugging away doing SOMETHING. Soon, we'll find out exactly what they've been spending their time on.64-bit will supposedly be coming to a FCP suite near you soon. Just how much capability, before the release of Apple's impending Lion system software release, is - as lazy journalists like to say - "yet to be seen."The big question is how radical a change this software is. From varying reports, it seems to be a pretty radical change. It may even be radical enough that I may have to use my least favorite, most overused, over-hyped word on the internet: "paradigm shift." From what I've heard, we're not simply talking about adding all of those juicy feature requests that so many people have been throwing around. We're talking about a radical rethinking of the entire application. If that's true, then it may leave a lot of people either clinging to their old FCP7 release until it dies, or looking for new editing solutions. It could also mean that whatever this re-thunk FCP app looks like, you adapt or die. One largely circulated quote from someone who'd seen the new version is "The biggest overhaul to Final Cut Pro since the original version was created 10 years ago."I've heard rumors that this massively rethought FCP (let's call it FXPx) has headed down the iMovie path in many ways. Now, I love iMovie. There are some very cool things about it, but I do NOT want to edit a feature film or a TV show with it. Of course, Apple has plenty of big-time, famous editors that it turns to for advice when determining what to do with FCP, so I can't believe they'd agree to a radical dumbing down of FCP, making it, in essence, iMoviePro. But it is possible that many of the thought processes or technologies of iMovie will be coming to FCPx. Many editors will embrace that. Many will revolt.Speculation about all of this should come to an end relatively soon because the release is due for sometime this spring. Apple is not on the official list of exhibitors formally at NAB, but they could - as in years past - present off-site. Apple has increasingly refused to tie their product releases to industry meetings and conventions like NAB, MacWorld and the rest.
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Network Attached storage as sexy as I could make it
By Steve Hullfish | November 20, 2010
Why do other guys on PVC do all the sexy reviews about stuff like new cameras and I always choose to write about unsexy stuff like waveform monitors and network attached storage?Probably because when I write about something it's because I just need something that is going to do a job for me in the background while I get the work done with my clients and creative partners. Hence, another unsexy, but critical review of something to make your life a little better while you get out and get stuff done. May I present the QNAP TS-659 Pro? QNAP has a bunch of other NAS and server products, but this one seems pretty well suited for my small business.
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Darkroom on your desktop
By Steve Hullfish | November 18, 2010
Capture One has been the professional photographer's well-kept secret for a number of years. I am not a professional photographer and learned about it from a friend who is. We were discussing Apple's Aperture and Adobe Lightroom and he said, "But there's a better option." That option is Capture One from Phase One. (http://www.phaseone.com/en/Software.aspx)
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Technology that's just WAY too cool!
By Steve Hullfish | November 13, 2010
Tangent Devices' iPad Color Controller from Steve Hullfish on Vimeo.
Tangent Devices, which is one of the major color correction console manufacturers, came out with a FREE version of its Tangent Devices WAVE panel for iPad. The app allows your iPad to control the Primary and Secondary Rooms of Apple's Color application WIRELESSLY. I'm sorry for all the CAPS, but I'm as giddy as a school girl as I write this. If you're on DIGG or StumbleUpon, please pop this up as a favorite. It's like a little geeky parlor trick.I learned about this free app from my friend Bob Sliga in a post on the Yahoo group, Colorlist. This is technology that was shown at IBC.
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DBA Createasphere