Studio Monthly articles from July 2005

Studio Monthly archives from July 2005

Practical magic.(editor's note)
July 1, 2005... I've been pining for a dose of those far out yet freakishly familiar concepts we see yearly in SIGGRAPH's Emerging Technology Pavilion. There is always something completely nutty or, as the Japanese refer to it, kawaii, in the teddy bear robots...

Res up your HDV.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... Miranda Technologies' new HD-Bridge DEC lets you convert your high-quality HDV clips to uncompressed HD-SDI 1080i/720p files with embedded audio and Time Code. The interface accepts HDV via an IEEE-1394 (iLink, FireWire) connection and also...

More HDV disk capture options.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... Tapeless capture just keeps on getting better--and cheaper. Taiwanese company Shining Technology's CitiDISK HDV, an aggressively priced external hard disk line that automatically detects incoming MiniDV/DVCAM/DVCPRO, DVCPR050 or HDV streams....

Keys to the HD kingdom.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... ULTRA 2, Serious Magic's recent upgrade to its chroma-key virtual set software, now supports HD and HDV cameras (720p, 1080i and 1080p). In this new version, graphics are powered by GPU processing, dramatically increasing output speed. There's...

Look ma, no tape!(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... Ikegami has been showing off the hard-disk recording options of its Editcam HD camcorder, which employs a data rate of 140 Mbps for 1080/60i, 1080/24p and 720/60p recording and playback to the company's FieldPak2 recording media. The camcorder...

Tascam on track with new hybrid daw.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... The new X-48 from Tascam is a 48-track hybrid hard disk workstation that offers the features of stand-alone hard disk recorders as well as the GUI, editing features and plug-in compatibility of computer-based digital audio workstations. The...

Rocket science for the post crowd.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... Building on its computer architecture technology designed for rocket scientists, SGI has launched its new Prism open IT platform, which is intended to improve digital workflows for post-production professionals as they transition from analog to...

Can we talk? Export help from FCP to Pro Tools.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... Automatic Duck has extended new sound design features to its timeline integration plug-in for Apple Final Cut Pro users. With Pro Export FCP 3.0, users can now export OMF files from Final Cut Pro with embedded audio directly into Pro Tools, or...

Around the world in an Artbeat.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
July 1, 2005... Extending its library of royalty-free stock footage, Artbeats has added more than a dozen new high definition international lifestyle and establishment collections. Derived from seven film shoots in twelve countries, the newest titles feature...

Adobe Video Collection 2.5: Premiere Pro 1.5, Encore 1.5, and After Effects 6.5.(ROI reviews)
July 1, 2005... Disguised as a software suite, the Adobe Video Collection v2.5 is really a virtual turnkey workstation. Packed with five of Adobe's most powerful applications, this suite runs well on a modest contemporary PC that likely costs less than the...

Sony ACID Pro 5: three years between versions, this super looper gets even better.(ROI reviews)
July 1, 2005... Success has its drawbacks. Once your competitors figure out what you're doing, you become everyone's favorite target. Lower your guard, and your lead can suddenly evaporate. That's the challenge faced by Sony Media Software's ACID Pro, which is...

Roxio Toast 6 Titanium: an easy-to-use and elegant disc-burning tool.(ROI reviews)
July 1, 2005... Many applications, including Apple Macs, have the ability to burn CDs and/or DVDs without additional software. However, if you do a lot of burning, you might want to consider using Roxio Toast 6 Titanium--it's a more elegant and versatile...

Create animated sweep NURBS with MAXON Cinema 4D.(how)
July 1, 2005... STEP 1 Set the render camera Open a new project in Cinema 4D and set a render camera. While you have a choice of cameras to use, the TARGET CAMERA is easiest to use for this project. Select the target camera from the Standard toolbar,...

Create edgy looping backgrounds fast in Adobe After Effects.(how)
July 1, 2005... LOOPING METHOD 1 Create a unique crossfade This isn't your simple, run-of-the-mill crossfade. It doesn't work for all types of backgrounds, but it does work great for a wide variety of imagery. You want to crossfade between two copies...

Unfair use: while I still spend a lot of money and time on technology, I spend more on trying to acquire rights to footage that doesn't bust my budget.(issues)
July 1, 2005... Remember when low-cost HD cameras were $60,000 and cheap HD editing systems ran $150,000? With genuinely (if not universally) useful HD tools now available for less than a tenth of those prices, some corporate clients and a couple of...

Flat-panel monitors and urban legends: we've all heard them. But if any of these tall tales are true, what can you do about it?(issues)
July 1, 2005... As I sit here in my studio and read the latest research and market price information on LCD and plasma monitors, I have to remind myself that only a decade ago, these products weren't even a blip on anyone's radar in the production community....

Mind your own business: if your business has grown, as most good ones do, you'll need more than a level head to keep track of new projects.(the biz)
July 1, 2005... Anyone who runs a production company can tell you that there are two constant challenges: Keeping your clients happy and managing your business. Both are essential for the health of the firm. Like most of us in this industry, I spend the...

Even as the HD DVD and Blu-ray format war rages on, high-def authoring tools are already in pre-release. How are the competing specs--and the other variants in the mix--redefining the future of authoring?(Technology: DVD Opens Wide)
July 1, 2005... HIGH-DEFINITION DVD has finally begun to hit its stride. The HD pipeline is being fed by a slew of new and soon-to-come products, from cameras to editing software, and DVD authoring will soon be all the more robust because of it. Producers,...

Holographic storage: the final solution? No longer just a sci-fi fantasy, 300 GB+ holographic storage is already light years ahead of HD DVD and Blu-ray capacities, and is poised to leap fearlessly into terabyte terrain within the next five years.(Technology: Holographic Storage)
July 1, 2005... The very word holograph--a three-dimensional image derived from two interfering laser beams--conjures up the sci-fi notion of chimeras emerging from thin air. As it turns out, truth is stranger than fiction--even science fiction--and holography...

At SugarboX, the audio sounds mighty suite.(STUDIOS ON THE RISE)
July 1, 2005... WHAT'S THEIR GIG? After running Company X, a creative editorial house in New York City's Chelsea neighborhood for the past three years with partner/video editor Barney Miller, composer/partner Andrew Hollander has launched SugarboX, an...

Dealing with what the client wants.(WEIRD BUT TRUE TALES FROM THE STUDIO)(Cartoon)
July 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. [ILLUSTRATION OMITTED] ...