Studio Monthly articles from January 2005

Studio Monthly archives from January 2005

This is not your father's AV Video Multimedia Producer.(publisher's letter)
January 1, 2005... Normally it's on a page like this that the publisher (me) would tell you all about the last 26 years of AV Video Multimedia Producer and the wonderful ride it's been. I'm not going to do that. I haven't been here long and don't have that...

Roll credits.(editor's note)
January 1, 2005... Last month I hinted at the impact of the new design and content to come in this issue. Now that you've got the remixed Studio/monthly in your hands, I can point out the cool visual details that made this new magazine worth the wait. Visual...

Flash forward: Macromedia takes users on a how-they-did-it tour of Volvo's V50 web site.(quick cuts)
January 1, 2005... Think you've seen everything the ubiquitous yet divine vector-based animation software can do? As developers working with Flash's newer video features have found, the tool knows few boundaries, especially when it comes to video playback...

Pioneer Yamaha 01V96 mixers.(What I'm Using Now)
January 1, 2005... MARK ULANO President, Ulano Sound Services, Los Angeles Favorite gear: A pair of Pioneer Yamaha 01V96 (version 2) mixers List: $2,499 Why I love them: It's not often that I get excited about gear, but the 01V96 has literally...

40 gigs in your pocket.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
January 1, 2005... Focus Enhancements' new FireStore DV hard-drive recorder comes in two models--the FS-4 and FS-4 Pro. Both feature a 40 GB internal disk drive, two 6-pin FireWire connectors--one for interfacing with camcorders and the other for editing or file...

Handy RAID.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
January 1, 2005... ProMax's FireMAX-R series removable two-bay RAID system handles multiple streams of DV, HDV and uncompressed SD with all popular NLE applications on both Mac and Windows XP platforms. Expect a four-bay version of the FireMAX-R in early 2005....

Rugged road checks.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
January 1, 2005... Datavideo's TLM-70 DV input monitor is a small, rugged video and audio monitor for field and display applications. It works on 12 VDC and includes speakers as well as an RCA line level out for connection to a separate audio system. Features...

Real-time recording.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
January 1, 2005... Sonic Foundry's Mediasite RL400 standalone recorder lets users capture and replay presentations without a back-end server connection. Mediasite RL400's dual-channel recording captures both analog and digital output. Every aspect of a production...

Switch hitter.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
January 1, 2005... Panasonic's AJ-SDC615 DVCPRO camcorder has a built-in IEEE 1394 interface for in-field transfer of digital component video to a laptop nonlinear editing system. Switchable between 16 X 9 and 4 X 3 aspect ratios, the AJ-SDC615's three 2/3-inch...

Peak performance.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
January 1, 2005... Panasonic Broadcast's seventh-generation plasma displays consist of five new 7-Series models: the 65-inch TH-65PHD7UY, 50-inch TH-50PHD7UY and 42-inch TH-42PHD7UY high-definition panels; and the 42-inch TH-42PWD7UY and 37-inch TH-37PWD7UY...

Canon XL2: optics and DV rock, but HDV is missed.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... Canon takes a great leap forward in DV cameras with its new XL2, offering redesigned features and the promise of a new shooting experience. As a DP, I've had the opportunity to shoot with cameras of all kinds and prices, but I've never had much...

Pinnacle Liquid Edition 6: a comprehensive and integrated suite of media tools at a killer price.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... Liquid Edition Version 6, Pinnacle's latest addition to its Liquid family of editing systems, is one of the most comprehensive and integrated suites of media tools ever produced. At $499 it's a steal. Liquid Edition Pro, at $999, adds a...

Sony XDCAM PDW-530: the beginning of the end of tape.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... The World of Tomorrow was delivered to my studio recently, neatly packaged in two massive blue shipping crates. Inside was a new XDCAM PDW-530 system, Sony's shining disc-based camcorder that leaves behind the limitations of tape. The PDW-530...

Sonic DVDit 5: a solid combo of complexity, speed and one great price.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... When Sonic Solutions launched DVDit, it was one of a kind. Sonic was singlehandedly inventing the prosumer DVD-authoring application, and DVDit was a study in compromise between power and simplicity. Today, with new competitors redefining the...

Hitachi's CP-X1250 projector: a luggable, versatile and easy-to-use performer.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... In all the excitement over the new two- and three-pound projectors, it's easy to forget that similar advances are occurring at the other end of the spectrum. Projectors weighing 15 to 20 pounds are beginning to replace 30-to-40-pound projectors...

Serious Magic software saves time, money and hassles in the field.(Advertisement)
January 1, 2005... DV Rack is the first product that can prevent video disasters, let you shoot faster, and help you get visibly better quality from your camera. It's powerful software that runs on a PC or laptop connected to your DV camera and includes ten...

Avid Xpress Pro Studio Complete: a full-featured post solution at a very cool price.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... As Avid's low-end DNA editing product, last year Xpress Pro with Mojo started a trend toward improving software editing performance with dedicated hardware. Now Avid has decided to push this trend even farther with Xpress Pro Studio Complete, a...

DigiEffects Fantazm: a digital spice rack of 36 plug-ins for After Effects.(ROI reviews)
January 1, 2005... Any After Effects artist knows that a plug-in is rarely used alone, and many artists have their own recipes for creating signature looks. DigiEffects Fantazm, then, could be called a new spice rack, one with powerful and unique flavors, for the...

Going tapeless: how one production company plunged into the optical workflow with Sony's XDCAM and learned a thing or two about media, proxies and digitizing.(TECHNOLOGY)
January 1, 2005... A soldier friend of mine once told me you don't really know someone until you've been in battle together. Personally, I prefer to get to know someone over a cup of warm caffeine. But he has a point: Until you're under pressure, you can't know...

Which studio are you? From solo to mega-staffed shops.(@WORK)
January 1, 2005... The word "studio" used to conjure some very specific images--cavernous broadcast sets, post-production facilities and/or Hollywood lots with casts of thousands spilling out of cookie-cutter warehouses. But over the past several years, thanks in...

The Machine That Goes Ping! Everything I needed to know about client expectations, I learned from Monty Python.(issues)
January 1, 2005... I want a Machine That Goes Ping! Most of us probably do. If we didn't, we'd all be happy writing poetry, painting landscapes, or creating some other form of Luddite media. The point Monty Python makes near the beginning of The Meaning of...

Hand me a better codec: if MPEG-2 is straining to keep up with HD content on DVD playback, what's next?(issues)
January 1, 2005... Last October, I attended the AVS Forum Home Theater Cruise for the first time. One panel in particular covered the emerging high-definition DVD standards. If you haven't heard by now, there are two proposed formats: Blu-ray Disc (BD), which is...

Build a title sequence in Apple Motion.(how)
January 1, 2005... STEP 1 Create your project and preferences Make sure to set the project preferences to Broadcast SD. Open the preferences and make sure Create Object At is set to Current Frame--this means new elements will be added where the playhead...

Modify a title in Avid Xpress Pro/DV while keeping the original intact.(how)
January 1, 2005... STEP 1 Set your position Park the Position Indicator over a title segment in your Timeline (make sure the segment's track is turned on). STEP 2 Enter your mode Enter the Effect Mode by clicking the Effect Mode button, or...

Bring vintage still photographs to life in Media 100 844/X.(how)
January 1, 2005... STEP 1 Import your source material We start by importing a scanned image from an old Ballets Russes program into 844/X and place it in the timeline. We paste a copy of that still image on top of itself and enter the Matte Tool, then...

Edit a 1080p uncompressed day-for-night scene in Apple FCP HD.(how)
January 1, 2005... STEP 1 Create your project and preferences Director Nick Vallelonga wanted a dark, mysterious night interior. Unfortunately, time and money dictated this scene be shot in the day. And the location had nothing but white walls. You can...

Get film-style slow motion effects with the Panasonic DVX100A.(how)
January 1, 2005... STEP 1 Coaxing slo-mo out of video Film and video approach slow motion very differently. Film sets the "gold standard" for exquisite slow motion--film cameras shoot more frames per second, then play that footage back at the normal...

How to move seamlessly between Adobe Premiere Pro and After Effects within one project.(train up)
January 1, 2005... step 1 To illustrate this process, look at this example from a documentary on earthquakes. In the timeline, we see the title, a Photoshop CS file brought into Premiere Pro, over a shot of the San Andreas fault line in California. step...

Getting it together.(ultimate kit)
January 1, 2005... Thinking of working with Panasonic's AJ-SDX900? Here's some expert advice on three different strategies for dressing it up at different budget levels. kit 1 The "Get in the Door" Package (about $750 a day) For those scraping up...

Hollywood's PlasterCITY puts post first.(STUDIOS ON THE RISE)
January 1, 2005... THE COOL FACTOR Don't hate them because they're all under 30 and run their own post facility in Hollywood. Or because they did it just a few years after graduating together from film school. Or even because they started out working for...

From soup to nuts: how do you build an in-house creative services department from scratch?(the biz)
January 1, 2005... For many years, the general rule of business at the Campbell Soup Company in Camden, New Jersey, was to outsource all its video and media projects as they developed. Indie production teams and a string of freelancers comprised the majority of...

Dealing with voice talent.(WEIRD BUT TRUE TALES FROM THE STUDIO)(Cartoon)
January 1, 2005... Tom Beland is a cartoonist based in San Juan, Puerto Rico. He is also the creator of the Eisner Comic Industry Award-nominated series, True Story: Swear to God, published by AiT/Planet Lar, www.ait-planetlar.com. Have a production disaster...

Professional series.
January 1, 2005... Panasonic's new Professional Series plasmas boast phenomenal image quality, high contrast (4000:1 on SD models and 3000:1 on HD models) and multi-slot functionality, plus they incorporate significant improvements in peak brightness, displayable...

How to build a presentation studio on a budget.(NEW WORKFLOW IDEAS YOU CAN USE)
January 1, 2005... We feel your pain: Your media department has job orders up the wazoo for company- or school-wide video presentations. Your legacy gear has been cobbled together with random upgrades and now can't keep up with demand. Where is that technical AV...