Just saw this video and thought it was really impressive. Not only are the VFX done really well, but they perfectly serve the purpose of film. I love these types of documentaries that actually explore the best way to visually represent a subject rather than sticking to the interview, cutaway, moco still, reconstruction formula.
Avatar Days from Piranha Bar on Vimeo.
Friday, 28 May 2010
Sunday, 25 April 2010
Update on the Alexa and Avid
Just wanted to update a couple of my recent posts. Having now seen footage from the Alexa I am even more convinces that it is going to be THE camera of the next few years. The DOF fall off looks better than the red to me, and the rolling shutter doesn't seem to be much of issue, and if the greater latitude is true then this would be my camera of choice if I was going to be shooting a feature or spot tomorrow.
ARRI Alexa World Cup from Stargate Studios on Vimeo.
Also, my recent post about Avid vs FCP needs a some new discussion now that Avid have announced Avid MC5.0 will have native RED support (and apparently can debayer to HD video in real time????) and also will be able to playback QT videos natively without transcoding to an Avid codec. The other interesting announcement is that you will be able to use a Matrox MXO2 Mini as an IN/OUT, which is unprecedented for Avid to say the least. Seems like an odd choice until you think about the fact that this box will only give you HDMI and Component sockets. So it gives a cheap (around £350) monitoring option for low level Avid users without really threatening the sales of any of Avid's own boxes which will give you HD-SDI etc.
ARRI Alexa World Cup from Stargate Studios on Vimeo.
Also, my recent post about Avid vs FCP needs a some new discussion now that Avid have announced Avid MC5.0 will have native RED support (and apparently can debayer to HD video in real time????) and also will be able to playback QT videos natively without transcoding to an Avid codec. The other interesting announcement is that you will be able to use a Matrox MXO2 Mini as an IN/OUT, which is unprecedented for Avid to say the least. Seems like an odd choice until you think about the fact that this box will only give you HDMI and Component sockets. So it gives a cheap (around £350) monitoring option for low level Avid users without really threatening the sales of any of Avid's own boxes which will give you HD-SDI etc.
Saturday, 10 April 2010
RED KILLER!!!
Avid vs Final Cut
I'm not gonna pretend this is a fair or unbiased contest. I learnt Avid first and I think it's brilliant, but for what its worth he're s a few why Avid is better than FCP and a few reasons why FCP is better than Avid. Here I am comparing only the systems I use, Avid Media Composer 4 (usually with an Adrenaline) and Final Cut Studio 3
AVID
Real Time
When Avid says real time it means it. Yes you have to use computer that's up to it, yes you have to use Avid codecs to edit in, but if you do that then you know without a shadow of a doubt that everything that has a little green dot will play back, without delay at a full frame rate and with full resolution. No rendering (except for the occasional complex effect), none of this Unlimited RT business (what kind of use is realtime playback if its not the full res and framerate??), it just works. And now that Avid accepts multiple resolutions and framerates within a sequence (and still manages realtime playback) there really are no arguments here.
Trimming
After using Final Cut for a while I rejoiced the first time I got back on an Avid and used trim mode. It just makes sense. Its fast, efficient and lets me analyse every cut with ease and make sure the pace is frame perfect, (which is and editors job yes?). FCP7 has brought in some features that are pretty similar to trim mode and I appreciate the effort on their part, but I still prefer the way Avid works. In terms of my editing workflow, going into trim mode after I have done my first assemble just makes sense to me.
Media Management
If you plan your media management well then FCP can be great. Certainly relinking to media when it goes offline is a hell of a lot easier. But I find that FCP allows you to be sloppy all too easily, and evidently people will be sloppy when they are allowed to be. Doing online work for independent films can feel like a military operation to get all the media you need. Avid is strict but that forces you to be neat. All your media is kept together and when you consolidate it works reliably.
FCP
Color
Without a doubt the main reason I use FCP. So much better and so much more intuitive than trying to use Media Composer to grade, this tool sets my work apart from others. No, its not as quick or accurate as a DaVinci or Pogle or anything, but chuck a Blackmagic or AJA card and a broadcast monitor on your MacPro and you have a viable broadcast finishing solution for a ridiculous fraction of the cost of the those other systems.
Red Codec Support
Can't argue with FCPs RED support. Alot of the projects I work on are shot on RED so its good to have a viable workflow that will allow you to at finish your project at a 2 or 4k resolution from the original R3D files (although this will eat your MacPro for breakfast). In defence of Media Composer, it has never claimed to be a finishing solution, it is a cutting machine. And it does offline RED footage well.
ProRes 4444
It was a close call in the codec wars until Apple released this. I only use this to transcode RED stuff too if I'm not going to have the time to go back to the R3D. If it's just HDV or XDCAM or something then 422HQ is good enough. Grading from it in colour is amazingly quick and painless and you can certainly push things further than you would dare with 422 or DNxHD.
AVID
Real Time
When Avid says real time it means it. Yes you have to use computer that's up to it, yes you have to use Avid codecs to edit in, but if you do that then you know without a shadow of a doubt that everything that has a little green dot will play back, without delay at a full frame rate and with full resolution. No rendering (except for the occasional complex effect), none of this Unlimited RT business (what kind of use is realtime playback if its not the full res and framerate??), it just works. And now that Avid accepts multiple resolutions and framerates within a sequence (and still manages realtime playback) there really are no arguments here.
Trimming
After using Final Cut for a while I rejoiced the first time I got back on an Avid and used trim mode. It just makes sense. Its fast, efficient and lets me analyse every cut with ease and make sure the pace is frame perfect, (which is and editors job yes?). FCP7 has brought in some features that are pretty similar to trim mode and I appreciate the effort on their part, but I still prefer the way Avid works. In terms of my editing workflow, going into trim mode after I have done my first assemble just makes sense to me.
Media Management
If you plan your media management well then FCP can be great. Certainly relinking to media when it goes offline is a hell of a lot easier. But I find that FCP allows you to be sloppy all too easily, and evidently people will be sloppy when they are allowed to be. Doing online work for independent films can feel like a military operation to get all the media you need. Avid is strict but that forces you to be neat. All your media is kept together and when you consolidate it works reliably.
FCP
Color
Without a doubt the main reason I use FCP. So much better and so much more intuitive than trying to use Media Composer to grade, this tool sets my work apart from others. No, its not as quick or accurate as a DaVinci or Pogle or anything, but chuck a Blackmagic or AJA card and a broadcast monitor on your MacPro and you have a viable broadcast finishing solution for a ridiculous fraction of the cost of the those other systems.
Red Codec Support
Can't argue with FCPs RED support. Alot of the projects I work on are shot on RED so its good to have a viable workflow that will allow you to at finish your project at a 2 or 4k resolution from the original R3D files (although this will eat your MacPro for breakfast). In defence of Media Composer, it has never claimed to be a finishing solution, it is a cutting machine. And it does offline RED footage well.
ProRes 4444
It was a close call in the codec wars until Apple released this. I only use this to transcode RED stuff too if I'm not going to have the time to go back to the R3D. If it's just HDV or XDCAM or something then 422HQ is good enough. Grading from it in colour is amazingly quick and painless and you can certainly push things further than you would dare with 422 or DNxHD.
Friday, 12 March 2010
The Light of Life
The Light of Life from daihei shibata on Vimeo.
Thought I would share this stunning piece of animation. I am always in awe when I see these types of organic artistic pieces of CGI executed so well. To turn something that is completely digital and fabricated into something so beautiful is a talent I just don't possess (or at least not yet). My work is still very much grounded in the real world, but this is something else entirely and it blows me away. Check it out.
Wednesday, 3 March 2010
Beeple
instrumental video nine from beeple on Vimeo.
Not the most original idea ever but extremely well executed. This guy is scarily talented. Not many people have such a great eye for design and composition and such a great ear for music and sound. He makes lots of VJ footage which he releases under creative commons for all to use, so get your fill.
Star Trek: The Wrath of the Lens Flare
Just finally got round to watching JJ Abrams Star Trek. The visual effects were stunning, the story was as good as that kind of formulaic American blockbuster can be, the sound was amazing (especially the first space battle with Kirk's dad, the subjective sound focusing in on the baby crying over all the battle going on in the background) and even the performances were pretty decent considering the cliched characters the actors had to work with. But the lens flares. What the hell was going on?
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