HD Olympics is an unofficial, behind the scenes blog that is disseminating information on the production and technicalities of the HD broadcast of the Olympic games at Torino, Italy.

This is really interesting stuff folks, the engineer that is blogging has posted all kinds of pictures and he’s really delving into some of the technical details that whet my appetite. An excellent read.

(Via DVGuru)

FresHDV Review
Wedding Videographer’s Resource Series
By Matthew Jeppsen
February 16, 2006

$90
EventVideographer
www.eventvideographer.com

I had opportunity recently to review the Wedding Videographer’s Resource Series, produced by Joel Peregrine of Wedding Films. Joel has been involved in the wedding and event industry for over 10+ years and widely respected by his peers as an artist, businessman, and requisite professional. As expected, this training series is no exception. The series is aimed directly at wedding videographers, but there also a ton of excellent information inside that carries over to event shooting and videography in general. The Wedding Videographer’s Resource Series is available at www.eventvideographer.com.

David Chandler-Gick wrote a review of the WVRS back in August, for EventDV magazine. It’s a fantastic overview of the series, and in my opinion very accurately represents the training material, so I’ll try not to double up too much on that information here. As a matter of fact, I suggest that you read it first. The main reason for my review is that there have been recent updates the WVRS series, updates that address a few minor concerns in the EventDV review.

The Resource Series is split up into two DVD’s. Volume One covers the Highlights Montage, Same-Day Edit, Photo Montages and Preparations. Volume Two covers the Ceremony, Post-Ceremony, Reception, Bloopers, and Opening/Recap Montages.

Hit Play Movie on Volume 1, and you are presented with several examples of client Highlights Montages, all played in sequence. Next, you’ll see several Same-Day Edit presentations, again all played in sequence. In this latest iteration of the series, Joel has revamped the main DVD menus, adding detailed chapter menus with previews to make finding a specific segment or clip much easier. These changes have simplified navigation greatly.

Watching the excellent shooting and editing work is training enough, but the real strength of this series is the audio commentary. I’d recommend that one watch the series beginning to end first, then watch it again with the audio commentary enabled. You’ll have a great appreciation and grasp of the material from your first viewing, and will be better able to absorb all the little tricks and tips that Joel talks about. There is a ton of wisdom and experience in the commentary, from both a shooting and editing standpoint. I found it very informative to see a certain effect onscreen while Joel explains and highlights the specific filters and techniques he used to accomplish it.

Volume 2 also has the updated DVD navigation improvements. One of the main things this volume delves into is shooting a 4 camera wedding ceremony with a single videographer. If you’ve ever shot a wedding ceremony, you’ll know how difficult they can be to capture properly, even with a backup cameraperson. This section will give you many insights into making your next shoot progress without issues, whether you shoot alone or not.

Again, the audio commentary track is the real meat of the training here. You’ll hear a thorough explanation of how audio is captured, how cameras are configured, setup and positioned, how specific key scenes are captured, and much more. Amazingly, you’ll find that Joel will move certain cameras during the course of a ceremony to take advantage of better angles and viewpoints. Wow.
The editing insights that are offered in the commentary are very helpful. You should come away from this DVD series with a better understanding of what shots you need to make an edit flow more quickly, smoothly and with a minimum of effort and pain.

In closing…there is a veritable plethora of material presented in these two DVD’s. Joel’s commentary is easy to listen to, and very informative. Editors, shooters, and producers alike will glean many insights from the WVRS DVD’s, and I cannot recommend the series highly enough.

It’s worth mentioning that Joel has a new DVD coming out soon entitled Wedding Films 2005. It’s described as “A new collection of Preparation sequences, Highlights Montages and Same-Day Edits. Includes a commentary track with insights into the production techniques and editing process.� If it’s anything like the WVRS series, it should prove to be an excellent addition to your training collection. But don’t take my word for it, check it out for yourself…

The Wedding Videographer’s Resource Series can be purchased online at www.eventvideographer.com. You may contact Joel Peregrine directly at joel@weddingfilms.com
Read David Chandler-Gick’s EventDV review of WVRS at http://www.eventdv.net/Articles/ReadArticle.aspx?ArticleID=10360

Mike Curtis has posted a few thoughts on changing the theatrical experience for the consumer. He makes excellent points, and offers some suggestions for improving the theater experience.

This comment sums things up nicely:
“As somebody pointed out, restaurants, take-out food, and home cooking all happily coexist, just in varying ratios. How big a slice of the pie will theaters get? It is up to them to differentiate from the increasing competition.”

By Matt Jeppsen | e-mail the author

I had recently had opportunity to interview Josh Oakhurst, Indie filmmaker and Senior Editor at SportsHD. In his spare time, Josh maintains a blog at www.joshoakhurst.com where he regularly opines and rants on various topics pertaining to shooting, editing and production.

What follows is Part1 of our two-part interview. In Part2, you’ll hear Josh rant on 720 vs 1080, Progressive acquisition in broadcast, and Film Look vs Video Look. Stay tuned we’ll post Part2 later this week.

Thanks for taking the time for this open dialogue. We’ve had several conversations prior to this, and I’ve been impressed with your knowledge of production, and your strong opinions on the subjects we all care about. For starters, what really excites you about this profession?

Filmmaking is an extension of my brain. I think in moving pictures and fun things like cameras, friends, scripts, lights and computers allow me to take the moving pictures out of my head and show them to other people. I like telling stories, and people respond to light and sound very well.

So, could you tell me a little about yourself? Where you’re from, how you got your start in production and what are you currently doing?

I’m originally from Kansas City, Missouri. As a young kid, I played with my Dad’s VHS camcorder at lot but didn’t begin frequently shooting stuff until I was 16. One year my friend Mark got a Hi8 camera for Christmas and we pretty much shot on it every weekend. It started off as typical teenage drive-thru-bullshit but then became a chance to experiment with real stories.

In 1999 I started editing on an ole’ no-name VTR-to-VTR controller and quickly learned how fun editing is. I took a Broadcast Journalism class in HS and from there stepped up to my first digital non-linear editor in the Casablanca Macro System. The Casablanca was basically one big microwave looking thing attached to a keyboard, trackball, CD player, VTR, and 6GB shoe-sized removable hard drives. We almost crapped our pants when the 9GB drives came out.

Broadcast Journalism was basically just one big “lets see how many inside jokes we can sneak past he administrators� class. We had to write stories and do research, but most of the time it was an excuse just to goof off with the cameras.

In late 2000, I put together a 45-minute documentary of a bunch of stupid bullshit from those early days. I’d like to say something of substance came out of my teenage years, but it was really just crap. There are still a few VHS copies of that documentary floating around and I’m sure one day I’ll end up having to answer a bunch of questions like, “Uh, THIS is how you got started?â€?

“Yup.�

The biggest benefit of filming and editing goofy material was that I logged hundreds of hours of shooting and editing even before I graduated HS.

I ended up very bored at Missouri State University and spent all the money I had saved up to buy an iMac, Final Cut (version 1), and a Canon GL-1 upon moving to California. After 10 months of some trendy, “coming of ageâ€? revelations and about two years of writing and no shooting, I moved to Denver and dove into FCP2. I took advantage of “tuition paid for” computer time and camera rentals at The University of Colorado at Denver and learned as much as I could. Looking back, I wish I would of had the balls to forgo school entirely and spend the money I now owe in student loans on my own set of gear. I taught myself photography, FCP, After Effects, Photoshop, and Flash and now I have a $30,000 piece of paper my current employer doesn’t give a shit about (BA in Communications and Multi-Media).

In December of 2003, I shot my first music video for a crappy local band the day after graduating from college. From there came a few more music videos, a couple of shorts, a commercial or two, a small snowboard video that aired somewhere on Fuel TV, and a whole bunch more nonsense in between.

Through it all, I learned how to frame a shot or two and fell in love with writing.

For the last couple years I have bounced around in TV by first helping a graphic design firm start up their own Broadcast division, then freelancing, and then to HDNet/ HDNet Movies as a promotional editor. In 2005, I was hired away from HDNet by a former HDNet producer to help start SportsHD productions under the title of Senior Editor (officially) and Chief Engineer (un-officially).

At heart, I bleed for filmmaking and yearn everyday to quit my job in TV so I can write and tell my own stories for a change. I’m slowly working towards that goal.

So would you recommend a similar path to others that wish to break into this industry? How do talented people get a foot in the door in this day and age?

The only suggestions I would make to those interested in pursuing a career of, by, and for moving pictures is to start shooting, pay attention to the industry, and stop making excuses. You get your foot in the door by busting it down and not waiting for Daddy to call you in a favor (that could be my first of many shots directed at film school students).

What are your current weapons of choice? What are you shooting, editing and cutting with, how do you store and transfer your projects and media, what do you generally deliver your projects on?

For editing and magic making, I use Final Cut Pro 5 (of course) and various Apple PowerMac, XSAN, XRAID, XSERVE, and firewire architecture. I use Photoshop CS everyday and while I love After Effects, I try to stay away from motion work because I realize it’s not my strong suit. I’ve done a bit of Maya work in the past and I’d prefer to never open that program again. 3D work is just way too nerdy for me, and consequently, I have the utmost respect for anyone who’s strictly working in the motion design field.

As far as cameras go, I own a DVX 100 but have been shooting everything recently on the Z1U. I doubt I’ll be using the Panny much more but keep it around because it’s the first camera I ever loved.

My professional HD workflow generally happens in via HDCAM edited in the DVCPRO HD codec and is delivered via HDCAM tapes. I also do quite a bit of HDV work. Moving forward, I’ll probably never shoot a frame of film in my life, and I really don’t care to. Film looks great, but MAKE THE DIGITAL SWITCH. Progression is natural.

My next short is being shot on the F900.

In your experience, what are some of the strengths and weaknesses of the tools you use every day (both hardware and software)? Tell me about your workflow…give me a few examples of what steps you must take to bring a project from acquisition to fruition.

Haha, you know it’s funny - on a daily basis I come sit around $50,000 dollars of post-production equipment and I’m constantly frustrated with how problematic it can be. PEOPLE STILL MATTER. Engineers, or at least a knack for engineering is very much required for advanced stages or HD storage architecture. I love Apple, and I’ve never felt at home on an Avid - but machines still crash routinely. There are tons of cables and wires and settings and off switches between ingesting and exporting footage that can and will break/stumble/fail to recognize/ and quit while deadlines are approaching. Nothing is bombproof - and money will not bail you out unless you can afford people smarter than you to help.

I’ve often referred to Editing on an Avid as 95% editing and 5% engineering, while using a tricked out FCP edit bay is more like 65% editing and 35% engineering. At editing’s most basic level, you’re simply a media manager - and that’s it. Editing won’t happen unless you set up your shit right in the backend so the editing comes naturally. Editing is one of my favorite aspects of filmmaking because that’s where all the magic happens. Good editors fix mistakes and find ways to hide the shortcomings of production.

Workflow is entirely dependent on budgets and I jump around constantly depending on the project. Smart people at Apple and AJA have made those Post-Production jumps easier. Format choices still abound and will continue to increase as manufacturers figure out a way to migrate from tape to hard disk recording. P2 is not the answer. Hard drives still fail, but the future will find away to acquire 4:4:4 in a much smaller way.

Two recording formats in the news a lot lately; HDV and more recently DVCPROHD. Tell us what kind of real-world experience you have had with both formats. Also, I see mention from time to time about HDV motion artifacting, is this an issue in your experience? Tell me about other emerging tech and equipment have you have had opportunity to work with? What are some of the production and workflow issues you are seeing?

DVCPRO HD is a better codec than acquisition format. Because they resemble MiniDV tapes on steroids, DVCPRO HD tapes are great, but few Indies will find shooting DVCPRO HD useful. For DVCPRO HD costs, one can generally acquire in HDCAM, which is preferred in my opinion.
As far as DVCPRO HD acquired on P2 media - I’m sorry but P2 is not the future. I know many Indies want the HVX to be the final piece in bringing their masterpieces to life, but shooting 1080p on P2 media isn’t the solution. The $900 8GB P2 cards hold less than 2 minutes of 1080p footage. That is completely asinine. As a one-man crew, carrying a laptop around or strapping a hard drive to the camera is not an option. I believe the industry will eventually progress to a tape less format, but P2 is not the answer.

HDV motion artifacting is not generally a problem for experienced users of the Z1U (users being cameramen and editors). So much of the artifacting I see is based on the shutter speed and bad lighting. The CCDs are really small for high def work so it’s a good idea to over light more than you would for DV. Is there artifacting? Absolutely, but I don’t feel the Z1U’s artifacting to be a significant downfall to people worried about using the camera. If you’re creative, you find ways to work around shortfalls. THATS WHAT INDIE PRODUCTIONS ARE ALL ABOUT. We can’t have THE BEST equipment all the time. Deal with it. Think on your feet - get creative in post. Use the motion artifacting to your advantage, cut around it, or smooth out your camera movements. HDV is a limited codec and sometimes it breaks down. All the manufacturers are still trying to figure this HD in a small package thing out. There’s no perfect camera on the market.

On the back-end, I’m dealing with more bleeding edge technology in the XSAN storage arena. XSAN is great, but it’s not very user friendly to troubleshoot. Even Apple’s own XSAN guru guy who set up our storage at SportsHD has trouble with it. It’s become my job to manage and route the two PowerMacs, XRAIDS, XSERVE, XSAN, and other miscellaneous peripherals to allow simultaneous access of all our media. Add in Final Cut, Kona, HDCAM, and Firewire deck nuances and things start getting complex. This shit isn’t plug and play. It’s close - but not quite.

As to production, what are some of the tools that have been deprecated, and how do your new workflows compare with the old? Can you give us a few examples of what has changed in your world…and what has remained the same?

For starters, take the Casablanca system I first used as an example. The company is still around but WHY USE A PROPRIETARY FORMAT? “Gee, here’s my Casablanca project…what do you mean you can’t open it?” And at least for me, huge Avid-type ROOMS are also a thing of the past. Faster desktop computers and cheaper storage have also made big, expensive, and proprietary edit bays a thing of the past.

And deprecated? Shit, Canon. I mean, thank you Canon for pushing MiniDV and for bringing us the XL1, but no one’s going to buy your stupid XL-H1 until the price comes down. The XL1 had a large part in starting the digital revolution, but where is Canon now? The XL-H1 is a great camera but there’s no need for it yet even in the broadcast world. Canon, your interchangeable lenses are great, but Indies don’t care about you anymore. Are the Canon A and D guys asleep as to what else is happening in the industry? QUIT SLACKING! We know you guys can do it. I’ve shot a ton of stuff on the XL1 but shudder when I look at the camera now because it seems, so….out-dated. Come on Canon.

And this one’s timely: Anyone (especially you quirky film schoolers trolling the message boards) know where several of Panasonic’s old formats are? How about MII? That ring a bell for anyone? Panasonic’s MII was supposed to take over BetaCam SP, and their 6mm tapes were supposedly bleeding edge, but where are those formats now? P2 is next in line to vanish. PRINT IT.

To be continued…

We’ll be posting Part2 of this interview later this week. In the meantime, feel free to leave a comment or opinion of your own, and take a gander at Josh’s blog, www.joshoakhurst.com.
If you have specific questions raised by this interview that you’d like to hear Josh address, please post them below, or send them directly to info@freshdv.com.

Part2 of the interview has been posted, read it here.

Steve Mullen breaks down what makes up 1080i. This is Part 2, Part 1 is available here.

HDBeat reports on a new survey by Kagan Research.

“For the first time ever, they expect high definition televisions to make up the majority of TV’s sold this year. As prices continue to slide and programming continues to increase, more and more people replacing their existing televisions will pick up HDTVs.
All this will add up to 20 million HDTVs sold this year, and 104 million by 2008.”

Pardon my skepticism…but 20 million doesn’t sound like a lot of TVs. Have I missed something?

Red Giant has introduced a new plugin for After Effects called Film Fix. The software is designed to (automatically, for the most part) restore and repair damaged footage.

“The tools allow editors to repair seams with the only automated tear-repair tool on the market as well as stabilize footage with fast, software-based 2D translation. Users can also automatically eliminate severe non-linear inter-frame brightness fluctuations as well as dust and sparkle defects using motion detection information.”

The software is available directly from Red Giant with a limited time discount of $500 Mac OSX versions are available, and current Windows customers can get a free OS cross-grade.

Avid is sponsoring a 60-second video contest. The Grand Prize winner will receive a trip to NAB ‘06 Las Vegas, and a copy of Avid Xpress Pro. 5 runner-ups will receive a copy of Avid Xpress Pro.

Create a a video no longer than 60-seconds, about what you’re avid for. It can be just about anything…
Use whatever you want to create it: camera, crayons, computer—you choose your tools.

Submissions are due March 15, 2006.

(Via IDiography)

Patrick Inhofer has has updated his “Avid versus Final Cut: 2006, One Editor’s Perspective” article. He goes over some key differences between the two editing solutions, and it’s solid, well-thought out information. A far cry from the messageboad NLE vs NLE flamewars we are all familiar with…

He concludes by stating:
“…Avid and Final Cut are both professional-level apps. No doubt about it. With the exception of Unity-style media management, Final Cut Pro has no real inherent limitations when compared to Avid. So to all those producers out there wondering if they should avoid or seek out editors working on Final Cut Pro…

…buy the editor, not the software. If you follow that advice, most all of the issues discussed above will be completely invisible to you because good talent will overcome software and workflow issues.”

And that folks, is the voice of reason.

(Via DVGuru)

Quicktime Wiki has an excellent howto on the subject of encoding Quicktime for the web. They clearly and succinctly walk the reader through all the arcane options that a user can adjust when encoding QT.

(Via LifeHacker)

The Yak lives!

(via HDForIndies)

Graeme Nattress commented on yesterday’s HDV workflow post with another HDV workflow link, an article by Lumiere Media. They have PDF files from a presentation on the subject, available at this link.

The content available includes “Power Tools: HD Production & Workflow” sample slides on the following topics:
Lighting: (pdf format: 4.2 MB)
Planning your workflow: (pdf format: 71K)
Sample 50i to 24p Workflow: (pdf format: 71K)
The lighting and 50i>24p PDF’s are really nice. 50i>24p is a sweet flowchart that outlines all the steps necessary for such a conversion, using native FCP tools and Nattress filters.

There is also a PDF for the complete presentation entitled “S134: The Coming HD Video Revolution”, it’s kinda a general overview of the state of HD video. A good read.

Thanks for the link, Graeme!

StudioDaily has a quickie article about the limitations of the HDV codec, and ways to combat the problems that arise (motion artifacting, specifically).

SD also has another great HDV-related article that deals with the nuances of planning and producing an HDV project, from start to completion. Great insights, nice long article! It’s split into well thought-out sections, each written by a professional with specific experience in that area.

Article overview:
*Consider Going PAL and Adjusting Your Audio for 24p - Nick Tucker
*The Right Camera; Matching Settings; Cineform Mode - Jody Eldred
*Know When to Use The Sony Z1U and/or the JVC GY-HD100U - Steve Gibby
*Focus on the Fly with the JVC-HD100U - Bernie Mitchell
*Get Rid of MPEG-2 Noise With an HD-SDI Converter and HDCAM Deck - Andreas Timmes
*Get a Film look with 35mm lenses - Tom Camarda
*Shoot with a Healthy Exposure - Kevin W. C. Wong
*Shoot CinemaScope on the HVR-Z1U for Film-Out - Frederic Haubrich
*Before You Shoot: Start at the Finish - Marge Janssen
*Panning; Audio; On-Set Monitors - Douglas Spotted Eagle
*Shoot CineFrame Mode on Z1U and Handle as Progressive through Post - Tim Kolb
*Starting in MPEG doesn’t mean you have to stay that way - Frederic Haubrich
*Go DI; Convert to 24p; Use a Proxy - Douglas Spotted Eagle
*Conform HDV to Large-Format, Uncompressed HD - Michael Cioni

Tons of tips and tricks there, read the whole enchilada for the good stuff.

Have been swamped lately, but just wanted to mention that FresHDV has a very interesting interview we’ll be posting sometime in the next few days…so keep your eyes peeled and check back soon.

Google Video has all the aired (and un-aired) Super Bowl XL commercials.
Airtime this year cost a record 5 million dollars per minute.

(Via iDiography)