Truelove Tech
Supplying Apple-based technical solutions for video productions.
- Design, sell, implement and support video editing systems for all sizes of Production.
- Remote Tech Support and Post-Production Supervision.
Services
- Sales
- System Design
- Workflow Design
- Integration
- Digital Asset Management
- Site Audits
- Support
- Archiving/Backup
- We offer practical solutions based on popular hardware and software providing high-quality, reliable, easy to use, versatile, low-risk systems.
- We are experts in all tapeless workflows, capture and delivery formats and migrating productions to realise the benefits in File-based workflows.
Updates
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Details on a MacMini Xsan… tempting, it's bloody cheap! http://t.co/JkAJbnUI5 days ago
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“@rodclarkdotcom: I guess they couldn't call it OSX Cougar ...” LOL5 days ago
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“@chrisportal: A Valentines present from Canon - The MXF ingest plugin for Final Cut Pro X http://t.co/O9BgLmVg via @FCPdotCO”7 days ago
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30 Tips for being a Pro Camera Assistant - In my 30yrs in the industry, these tips are absolutely vital! http://t.co/wWNOM9Kp7 days ago
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“@TheEditDoctor: http://t.co/jLB4ksMH” Ident and organise your rushes automatically into Final Cut Pro with QRSlate7 days ago
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“@jayfriesen: Thank you @hurkman for getting the word out: http://t.co/ndoZ6JUt "But it's Just For the Web" #colorgrading”7 days ago
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“@MediaComposer: Now available—Media Composer 6.0.1, Symphony 6.0.1. Free download for ver 6.0/10.0 customers. http://t.co/a9wy0I1h #Avid”2 weeks ago
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'Powerful enough for the pro' http://t.co/GmQUUw6D #Avid2 weeks ago
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“@Blackmagic_News: Download the new Desktop Video 9.2 beta for Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 broadcast monitoring support!”3 weeks ago
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“@digitalreb: Apple just published an FCPX guide for FCP7 editors (PDF link): http://t.co/M0ajadLr”3 weeks ago
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10.0.3 update taking longer than expected... Hadn't bothered to do the 10.0.2 :(3 weeks ago
Wall Photos
Xsan Art
Videos
Updates
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Details on a MacMini Xsan… tempting, it's bloody cheap! http://t.co/JkAJbnUI
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“@rodclarkdotcom: I guess they couldn't call it OSX Cougar ...” LOL
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“@chrisportal: A Valentines present from Canon - The MXF ingest plugin for Final Cut Pro X http://t.co/O9BgLmVg via @FCPdotCO”
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30 Tips for being a Pro Camera Assistant - In my 30yrs in the industry, these tips are absolutely vital! http://t.co/wWNOM9Kp
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“@TheEditDoctor: http://t.co/jLB4ksMH” Ident and organise your rushes automatically into Final Cut Pro with QRSlate
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“@jayfriesen: Thank you @hurkman for getting the word out: http://t.co/ndoZ6JUt "But it's Just For the Web" #colorgrading”
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“@MediaComposer: Now available—Media Composer 6.0.1, Symphony 6.0.1. Free download for ver 6.0/10.0 customers. http://t.co/a9wy0I1h #Avid”
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'Powerful enough for the pro' http://t.co/GmQUUw6D #Avid
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“@Blackmagic_News: Download the new Desktop Video 9.2 beta for Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 broadcast monitoring support!”
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“@digitalreb: Apple just published an FCPX guide for FCP7 editors (PDF link): http://t.co/M0ajadLr”
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10.0.3 update taking longer than expected... Hadn't bothered to do the 10.0.2 :(
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First Look: Final Cut Pro X 10.0.3 restores professional features; adds notable new ones http://t.co/iJ8iNPNt - semi-official review #fcpx
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7toX for Final Cut Pro http://t.co/1DRw7MLs $9.99, thanks Phil (& Greg)
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Media relink!!!! #fcpx
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“@freshdv: James Cameron’s Top 10 Rules for 3D Filmmaking: From the filmmaker on the forefront of 3d production,... http://t.co/9Q3WlQgY”
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"Still No Apple MacPro Update Should Make Video Pros Nervous | Video News http://t.co/2oZFBXj7 " on the other hand...
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“@OFFHOLLYWOOD: New MacPro coming.” sounds confident!
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@Archiware Hope you've got a backup :-)
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“@Archiware: Due to a huge water damage we are completely cut off right now. No telephone, servers are down, website is offline.” :(
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Adobe #Prelude http://t.co/fkTCQiYx can't wait to see more
Posts
I noticed I haven't posted anything here since 21st June (and we all know what happened then!), I guess I've been in shock.
Disruptive technology is a big thing at the moment. Apple is especially famous for it, usually by creating something so compelling that it turns a market on it's head. This time they've created something (FCP X) so uncompelling (at least in my market) that it turns a market on it's head.
So, we are living in exciting times:
The bad news is that all the Apple Pro Apps tricks we learned over the last 10 years are out of date.
The good news that after being forced to look at the alternatives we've discovered that while Apple have been focused elsewhere, Avid & Adobe have been working hard to provide solutions for file-based, multi-user workflows that we'd been hoping FCP8 would supply.
So it's a time of ecdysis, a time to grow.
MSP
What's that all about?
FCPX File Menu:
No "Open Project" in iMovie either. You see all available Projects in the "Project Browser" after opening the App
iMovie Project Browser:
But where are those Projects? How do we share them?
This is going to be fun! MSP
UPDATE...........................15/06/11 21:15 AEST
well this triggered some interesting debate on Twitter and sent me back to iMovie to do some more research.
It appears that Asset Management for FCP X is nothing new, it's been around in iMovie for a couple of years at least (although the only metadata iMovie allows you to attach to a clip is 'favourite').
The media and 'Project' are completely separate in iMovie and Project is nothing more than a single timeline (hopeful multiple timelines with Compound Clips in FCP X). Perfect for living in the iCloud.
iMovie Project Browser
The Media is presented in the 'Event Library', which is in fact another view of the File System and metadata such as 'subclips' and 'markers' are stored with the media for a 'smart browser' to view.
iMovie Event Library
The same 'project' on an external drive in Finder.
Phil Hodgetts described the 'Event Library' as a mini-DAM, but as somebody who often works on and sets up projects to be accessed by multiple people it seems an ideal way for multiple people to access and maintain a single source of metadata (especially compared to the horror of multiple people accessing a single FCP project).
And it's elegant and usable by end users as much as Final Cut Server wasn't.
Currently iMovie won't access ethernet shared storage, but I can't imagine FCP X having that restriction.
Can't wait.
MSP
Ok you think I'm joking, but just because the world & technology weren't ready for it 10 years ago doesn't mean there's anything wrong with it.
It's definitely time for a redesign, I bought my first PowerMac G5 before my daughter was born and it's her 8th birthday on Monday, that G5 looked identical to today's MacPro.There's been speculation about the next MacPro being like a taller MacMini, sounds about right, all the IO can be handled by daisy-chained Thunderbolt & USB (maybe Firewire for legacy devices for the moment), No need for PCI slots.
It will need some serious cooling for those 12-core and more CPUs, the Cube had a central tunnel designed to keep G4s cool by convection without any noisy fans, but noisy fans are a problem that Apple solved years ago by using large slow moving fans.
If you remove the need for gravity cooling you can make vertical/horizontal orientation a user preference. What if the cube/tower was aprox. 9.5ins high? You could put 2 side by side in a rack and cool them front to back like a Xserve, great for an Xsan setup or a render farm.
How about something to announce at WWDC if the iPhone5 is going to be delayed by couple of months and the talk will be about Lion? I should say that I know absolutely nothing about Apple's plans, but when's that stopped anyone speculating about their future? MSP
As part of my handout notes for the Data Wrangling course I gave for AFTRS I put together a Glossary of some of the obscure terms that we use, feel free to point out anything I've omitted.
.mov quicktime container file format.mxf a video container file format
1080i50 interlaced 50fps HD spec (1980 x 1080)
1080p25 progressive 25fps HD spec (1980 x 1080)
720p progressive HD spec (1270 x 720)
AVCHD a Codec
Blu-ray An Optical disk format for storing lots of data
CF Card a generic data card format
Checksum a check for the integrity of a copied file.
Codec enCode-Decode - an algorithm used for compressing video files
Contour small rugged HD file-based camera
DAM Digital Asset Management
DSLR Digital SLR
EX1 Sony File-based camera
EX3 Sony File-based camera
H264 a Codec
HD High Definition
Hero small rugged HD file-based camera
LTO Data tape format
Metadata Data about data
P2 Panasonic data card format
Proxy A low-res copy of the primary representation
R3D Red RAW format
RAID Redundant Array of Inexpensive Disks
RAW Data straight of the camera's sensor
redundancy Multiple copies for security
SD Standard Definition
SD Card a generic data card format
SXS Sony data card form-factor
XDCAM Sony file format
XML a file format for storing metadata
GoPro same as Hero
Cheers
MSP
There's a lot of talking on the internets at the moment about Twixtor, particularly this video.
But I want to draw your attention to another of their products Reel Smart Motion Blur.
I discovered this product when I was researching a retiming tool and playing around with twixtor and also Kronos from The Foundry.
I needed something that could produce an acceptable result in a PAL broadcast environment from gopro footage shot at 30fps, the added spice was that the gopro shoots with autoexposure and when the it light it's exposing for gets bright it starts to increase the shutter speed.
RSMB applied to the footage at 30fps before the retiming fixed it all up beautifully. I've also discovered that it works very nicely on motion graphics created within FCP, infinitely better than the excreble 'Motion Blur' option in the Motion tab and much more convenient than 'sending' to Apple Motion or creating the graphics in Adobe After Effects.NB. You have to nest your graphics and apply the effect to the sequence rather than apply the effect to the graphic elements directly. Did I say it cost $89.00! and works inside FCP
http://www.revisionfx.com/products/rsmb/overview/ Try to ignore the terrible website, the product is actually quite good. MSP
The ability to assimilate large amounts of information in a short time and to be able to 'dump' this information quickly to make room for the next project.
MSP
I really like the look of Storm. Although The Foundry are heavily backing it as a Red solution I see the style of workflow as being the future of moving images. Just like in stills photography where RAW shooting has become the standard professional practice using programs such as Aperture and Lightroom to manage the data (in fact decoding of RAW images is even built into OS X). I think the same thing will become universal in video... The DIgital Negative.
At the moment this workflow has been pioneered by Red with lots of stumbles along the way, but just as all serious still camera manufacturers offer a RAW shooting option, all video cameras will have this, starting at the top end with Arri etc, but before too long Sony, Canon etc.
I also like the way it integrates into FCP, as Apple looses interest in the Pro market others move in to fill the gaps in it's products. Thanks to Apple's forsight in designing the project files around XML even as the FCP the program dies it's being reborn.
I can see Storm growing into something more as well, all the current surviving professional NLE's are over 10 years old and have their foundations (and still a lot of their code) in Mac OS 9. There needs to be an application that is written from the ground up to fit the current requirements for new media. When these Apps were created video editing was a niche within a niche, but now video has become the mainstream tool for communication.
The Finder has changed over the last 10 years to give us Coverflow and Quickview wouldn't that sort of sophistication be great in an NLE browser alongside the metadata.
And it already has a multi-layered timeline.
And the price... first taste is free (well first 3 months) and after that $375 and it runs on a Macbook Pro with 2GB of RAM. We thought the price of Resolve we amazing, but this really is cheap, The Foundry are obviously going for a mass market, a market bigger than the 1000s of Red Camera owners out there.
I can't wait to get my hands on a copy in November.
Cheap over-cranked HD footage using DSLR cameras. (NB.this technique can be used with any camera that shoots progressive footage at high frame rates)
Ingredients:
- Canon 7D 60D or 550D, GoProHD, Kodak Zi8 (for the real cheap-arses (yes, I have one))
- Apple Final Cut Studio 3
As well as shooting 1080P, Canon’s 7D and 550D can shoot 720P HD footage at 50fps and 60fps.
You can use Apple’s Compressor to conform this footage to 25 or 24fps to allow playback of the footage as HD Slo-mo.
Tip: in Australia (and probably the rest of the world) there is little traditional footage “Broadcast” at 25fps, nominally PAL specification. Most material finished on HD is consumed on computers either from Blu-ray or (more importantly for the future) file formats or Youtube or Vimeo, so broadcast specs such as 25 or 29.98fps are irrelevant, therefore I would shoot at 60fps and conform to 24fps to get the greatest ratio of speed change.
Duplicate the Apple Compressor setting Apple Prores 422 (HQ) (Setting not particularly important, but this is a good basis for editing in FCP and maintaining maximum quality)
A new setting will appear under the Custom setting folder.
Double click on the new setting to open the inspector.
Go into the second tab in the inspector Encoder and click on video settings, and change the frame rate from current to 24fps.
Also in the second tab set Audio to disabled.
Go into the third tab on the inspector Frame Controls and set Frame controls on (if the tab is greyed out click on the little gear icon to enable it)
Ignore the main body of the inspector and check the radio button “so source frames play at 24.00 fps”
Tip: You can save this Setting for later use, or use in Final Cut Server.
Submit your batch and you will end up with stuff like this:
Shot on a Canon 550D
Focus at the Forum from Mark Stewart-Pearson on Vimeo.
Shot on a Kodak Zi8
Kid on the Trampoline 2 from Mark Stewart-Pearson on Vimeo.
MSP
It is very important when starting an Xsan using Promise Raids with J-class expansion racks to start the J-class units manually first and then to leave them to fully boot up for about 3 minutes before starting their attached E-class units.
The controllers in the E-class units need to have the J-class units fully operational during their power up in order to see the additional disks.
If you don't start them up in this order you might find that some of the disks appear to be off-line.
I just got back from Future Reality's (http://www.future.com.au/future/Home.html ) launch of the new DaVinci Resolve V7 (http://decklink.com/davinci/resolve/ ), the biggest news as I sure you all know is that the company was bought by Melbourne-based video card maker Blackmagic and their flagship grading product has gone from a hardware solution priced in the 100s of thousands to software solution running on Mac OS X starting at $1300au.
There were 3 systems on display, a Macbook Pro-based setup with a Tangent Wave control surface (http://www.tangentdevices.co.uk/products_wave.asp ), a MacPro-based setup, with a RedRocket for realtime debayering of raw RED footage and a full DaVinci USB-based control surface and a full Linux-based system (which also included a very nice Blackmagic Ultrascope setup).
I had a play with the Macbook Pro system and loved the Tangent Wave and found the software worked fine on the low-end hardware.
native support for most Apple codecs inc. H264 from DSLR and all forms of ProRes.
Stereoscopic support on all systems
Tight integration with Blackmagic's Decklink HD Extreme 3D (http://www.blackmagic-design.com/products/decklinkhdextreme/ )
Project and clip-based variation of all RED settings Did I mention the price?
MSP
Sent from my iPad
