Studio Monthly articles from March 2005

Studio Monthly archives from March 2005

Blinded by the light.(editor's note)
March 1, 2005... One reader, referring to our new direction, told me, "Whatever you do, hit lighting and audio hard." Lights and sound bites, the middle children of video production, often get sidelined by all those scene-stealing, first-born cameras and NLEs....

54,000 video pros subscribe to Studio/monthly. Here's what some of them had to say about the first issue (01/05).(feedback)
March 1, 2005... I just received my first issue of Studio/monthly magazine. I was a bit skeptical at first, thinking it was just another one of the usual video trade magazines. I was wrong. I have to say you and your team have an outstanding publication. I...

Corrections.(Correction Notice)
March 1, 2005... We incorrectly listed the price of Discreet flame in the "What I'm Using Now" article on page 4 of the February issue. Pricing of Discreet flame varies based on system configuration. For information, please contact Discreet sales at...

BOXX workstations and render nodes.(What I'm Using Now)
March 1, 2005... CIARIN QUINN Art director/senior animator, Cinema Concepts, Atlanta, GA Favorite gear: BOXX workstations and render nodes List: Render BOXX (Opteron), $2,123; Render BOXX (Xeon), $2,252; 3DBOXX workstation (Xeon), $2,788 Why I...

A camera's eye view of the Sudan crisis: Channel One News anchor crosses borders with a miniDV and a mission.(quick cuts)
March 1, 2005... Seth Doane, an intrepid and startlingly young anchor/correspondent with Channel One News (he's 26), has already seen more of suffering than many a jaded foreign correspondent. His job, gathering and reporting news for the ubiquitous in-school...

Thomson broadens customer base with new HD camera, new vision.(quick cuts)
March 1, 2005... Thomson, traditionally known for high-end broadcast equipment, is now making inroads in a broader direction by starting to offer HD products to a new targeted user. The company most recently introduced the LDK 4000, a Grass Valley brand camera,...

Solid HD for pros.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
March 1, 2005... Aimed at creating an acquisition-through-editing HD system that's affordable for content creators with a decent but not huge budget, Panasonic began shipping its AJ-HDX400 1080i DVCPRO HD camcorder. The camera features three 2/3-inch 1-million...

Huge opens its vault.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
March 1, 2005... Huge Systems, Inc. has introduced two new storage options, MediaVault U320R Max and U320RX Dual Max RAID storage arrays, priced for the boutique to mid-level studio professional. Integrating seamlessly with popular nonlinear editing...

Discreet explodes with combustion.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
March 1, 2005... Discreet brings out a visually advanced combustion 4, for both Windows and Macintosh, which features a complete set of sophisticated tools for visual effects creation, including vector paint, particles, effects, animation and 3D compositing...

Anything but flat.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
March 1, 2005... HP's latest desktop system LCD monitors may be exceedingly angular and sleek, but the 17-inch L1740 and 19-inch L1940 displays dish up a well-rounded assortment of features such as ergonomic style and performance improvements in brightness,...

Message in a box.(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
March 1, 2005... Chyron, aiming its broadcasting R & D at the emerging digital signage market, has created a new video message system, ChyTV, intended for restaurants, schools, sports arenas and corporate headquarters-anywhere anywhere there's a television and...

Which way is up?(DETAILING YOUR STUDIO)
March 1, 2005... Leitch Technology Corporation's X75 HD up/down/cross converter features HD frame sync and extensive video and audio processing in a 1RU package. It can handle any facility you throw at it, whether analog, digital, or high-definition hybrid...

Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY display: a business-class plasma that delivers cinema-quality video.(ROI reviews)
March 1, 2005... Panasonic claims a 3000:1 contrast ratio and 11-bit dynamic range for its new 50-inch color gas plasma display, the TH50PHD7UY. Naturally, I wasted no time putting this claim to the test. After unpacking the double-boxed wide-screen behemoth, I...

Serious Magic DV Rack: virtual test gear, and a whole lot more.(ROI reviews)
March 1, 2005... Serious Magic's DV Rack is an elegant software package that handles all the typical signal monitoring functions of studio test gear, while packing in a variety of handy production features. Using the "virtual instrument" metaphor that is...

Macromedia Contribute 3: easy content management, but lacks robust tools.(ROI Reviews)
March 1, 2005... Contribute is Macromedia's attempt to streamline the workflow of professional Webmasters by pushing at least part of the HTML data entry process into the hands of content managers, researchers, developers, engineers and marketing...

New software increases video quality and saves production time.(Advertisement)
March 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...

Apple 30-inch Cinema HD Display: your very own high-res multiplex.(ROI reviews)
March 1, 2005... Hate wishy-washy reviews? You won't find one here. Apple's 30-inch Cinema HD Display is the best computer monitor I've ever used (or have ever seen anyone else use). Period. Why is it the best? That takes a bit of explaining. Many video...

Lighting a video interview with Arri Fresnels.(how)
March 1, 2005... STEP 1 Set up the main light source The key light is the main source used to light the subject. Its direction and ratio to other light used establishes the mood of the illumination. An Arri 650-watt fresnel is used for the key in this...

Render out a 3D object in Eovia Carrara 4 for final compositing in After Effects 6.5.(how)
March 1, 2005... STEP 1 Enter the Render Room Double click on your 3D object file. [A future online version of this tutorial will include an object file, "00_detailed_lamp_v_009.car," to use while following this tutorial online.] When Carrara 4 asks...

How to MPEG on the Mac with Optibase MovieMaker (part two).(how)
March 1, 2005... STEP 8 Making an encode: defining segments MPEG Composer lets multiple segments be defined for a particular clip. With multiple segments defined, MPEG Composer will assemble the multiple segments into a single finished MPEG stream...

How to set up a Canon projector for fool-proof media presentations on the road.(train up)
March 1, 2005... step 1 Match your screen size to your room The first thing you always want to do before setting up your projector is determine the size of the room and the people filling it. The more people you have in the room the larger you want the...

Return of the hotrodders: when building out audio and video mods becomes the equivalent of rigging tuned headers.(issues)
March 1, 2005... If England is a nation of shopkeepers, then the U.S. is a nation of hotrodders. From Thomas Jefferson's hillside plows, through Alexander Graham Bell's harmonic telegraph, to Randall Smith's Fender Princeton Guitar amp mods, Americans have...

Pick a resolution, any resolution: why saddle yourself with standard video formats when you could think outside the box?(issues)
March 1, 2005... For those of you engaged in day-to-day production of media, you no doubt are aware that there's more than one way to skin a cat when it comes to your acquisition format. There are 704 X 480p/24, 1280 X 720p/30, and now (courtesy of Sony) 1920 X...

Take control of your lighting: tips for everyday productions.(TECHNIQUE)
March 1, 2005... I was once told that a producer was only as good as his or her last production, and that the key to good production is inevitably the lighting. Whether you're shooting DV, HD or film, a well-lit scene is always going to take you, and your...

Loop it up: when to use loops, needle drops--or both--in your project music.(TECHNIQUE)
March 1, 2005... The term "loop" has a long and varied history in sound media. It's the long-time shorthand for ADR work, and the way drums and percussion have come to be fitted into music tracks and beds, starting with the Bee Gee's "Stayin' Alive," for which...

Superior production all under one roof.(STUDIOS ON THE RISE)
March 1, 2005... THE COOL FACTOR It's a concept that took flight early last year--a collective of more than 22 independently owned and run production, post, advertising and audio companies all coming together in one building to form The Superior Production...

Creating a co-op studio: if expensive real estate is keeping you from setting up shop, how do you hang your shingle and still stay afloat? Collaborate.(the biz)
March 1, 2005... In this time of escalating real-estate costs and high inflation, co-op studios are becoming the norm. For me, this all came from necessity. My business/creative partner Anne-Lise and I had been sharing a live/work space in lower Manhattan for...

Getting it together.(ultimate kit)
March 1, 2005... Need to light a speaker or small awards ceremony at your next trade show, corporate shindig or retail gig? Here's some expert advice on two different rental kits-for two different budgets-that will keep your audience focused on the main event....

Value central.
March 1, 2005... cameras AG-DVC60 Shoulder-mount Mini-DV Camcorder More than $360 in free accessories with purchase of DVC60 The rock-solid, shoulder-mount AG-DVC60 Mini-DV camcorder just got even more appealing thanks to a free accessories offer!...

Dealing with deadbeat clients.(WEIRD BUT TRUE TALES FROM THE STUDIO)(Cartoon)
March 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...