Fans of Google’s Gmail and Calendar services may be happy to note that the Gmail Notifier has been updated on August 18th to include Google Calendar notifications. They have also made it a little quicker to see the last few messages by including snippets in the main notifier menu.

Note that this isn’t an upgrade, so much as a replacement application (at least on the Mac version, haven’t tested the windows version yet). The older version was called “Gmail Notifier”, this version is “Google Notifier”. Update: The latest Windows version does not offer Calendar functionality. At this time, that feature is available for Mac users only.

This looks like the first major shot across iCal’s bow. They have also recently announced the beginnings of a branded office suite for businesses, it stands to reason that the Notifier will become more and more integral to Google’s services. What other features do you see Google rolling into the app in future revisions?

OnSuper8 has recently offered a few handy resources for Super 8 film shooters and editors. They’ve compiled a couple PDF’s with information on various Super8 film stocks and labs that process 8mm film for digital editors. I have found OnSuper8 to be a fantastic resource for the film shooter.

Calling all YouTube addicts…you know who you are. I just saw mention of this FrontRow-like interface for accessing YouTube content in OSX, complete with a slick interface and quick exporting of content to your trusty iPod Video. Neato. Unfortunately there is no demo or available downloads at this time. I anticipate this tool being released with a nominal price tag.

Get that pesky Windows Media 10 and 11 DRM out of your music with FairUse4WM. This should prove to be somewhat worriesome for subscription services like Napster…they give you unlimited access to music catalogs, which is revoked when you cancel the service (The Digital Rights Management essentially “expires” the music you have already downloaded). It will be interesting to see how this plays out. ForSure.

Scott Simmons liked our Top 10 FCP Tips so much that he made a list of his own additions. Good stuff, Apple-based editors should take notice.

DVGuru recently launched weekly video contests that center around a specific theme. Week 2’s theme was “Slow Motion”, and the winning entry was some gorgeous slo-mo footage submitted by Mike Prevette. Why was it so pretty? Good composition, interesting lighting and focus…oh, and 1000fps capture. Yeah, that helps. Here’s another slow mo clip from Mike.

Mike’s footage is from his tests of the Phantom V4 camera from Vision Research. The V4.3 captures 1000fps at 800×600 resolution.

You may also recall that during NAB FresHDV broke the news of the latest models from VR, the Phantom HD and Phantom 65 high-speed camera systems.

Apple has recalled nearly 2 million iBook and Powerbook batteries, these are Sony-sourced battery units much like the ones recalled recently by Dell. Dell’s recall affected over 4 million units. That is a lot of Sony batteries, and I understand that Sony is covering a large chunk of the replacement costs of both recalls.

It would behoove you to make sure you are not affected by the recall by visiting the above listed site to check your serial number(s). I believe that Dell has also recently expanded the range of serial numbers requiring replacement in it’s recall, so if you’ve already checked once you might want to check again.

The latest Apple recall does not affect Macbook or Macbook Pro models, though there was a recall earlier this year on a small number of early 15″ Macbook Pro batts, apparently due to performance (and not the potential of asploding and rendering you sterile).

Studio Daily has a wake-up-and-smell-the-risk article that relates one videographer’s experiences in the wake of hurricane Katrina. Todd Monnim’s entire studio and the vast majority of production equipment was lost in the storm…and he soon discovered that there wasn’t enough insurance coverage to replace everything. Todd suggests looking into Loss of Income/Business Interruption insurance also. This article is a great wake up call to independent production companies and small businesses. The bottom line is, what can you afford to lose?

Panasonic has announced a new P2 “drive” (don’t they mean “reader”?) which allows you to mount up to five 8 GB P2 cards concurrently. If you can afford that many 8gig solid-state cards, the device would allow you to simultaneously access all 100 minutes of 720/24p DVCPROHD footage spread across the cards. The “drive” can be installed into a standard 5.25″ computer tower bay, or used externally via the included USB 2.0 or IEEE 1394b (that would be Firewire 800) interfaces on both Mac OS X and Windows computers and notebooks.

MSRP suggests that the AJ-PCD20 will set you back nearly $2000.

System Shootouts brings us a Mac Pro vs. Dell Precision desktop computer comparison. Contrary to the commonly held notion that Apple hardware tends to be more expensive, the Mac Pro wins this comparison. Bring your own salt as always, as some of the comparisons are somewhat subjective and the value of certain features will be regarded much differently by different people.

(Via DVGuru)

Sony has a another fantastic offering in the mid to high-end handheld recorder arena, a beautiful replacement to aging DAT or MiniDisc recorders. The Sony PCM-D1 Linear Recorder is a portable handheld recorder that is both equally impressive and costly.

It features top-mounted electret condenser mics, can record for up to 13hrs to 4GB internal flash memory (at the lowest quality setting), captures at sample rates up to 96 kHz/24 bits (2hrs capacity at that setting), offers USB 2.0 for quick audio transfers to a PC, and runs five hours on the included rechargable NMH AA batteries (but only two hours on standard alkaline AA’s).

Audio transfers to a computer are pretty painless…device connects via USB2 cable and simply shows up as a storage device in Windows Explorer or on the Mac Desktop. Recorded WAV files and folders can be transferred by drag and drop.

The D1’s built in microphones are located in an XY pattern at the top of the device. They have been getting excellent reviews, which is somewhat suprising for a built-in mic setup. Though the word on the street is that when used handheld, the mics tend to pickup handling noises. But set the recorder down or mount it on a stand via the threads on the bottom of the device, and the pickup quality really shines.

The recorder sports retro-looking analog-style VU meters on the front for monitoring recording and playback, a 1/8 stereo mini jack input, and a 1/8 headphone out. Operation of the device is reportedly very intuitive, with buttons spaced far enough apart so as not to cause mistakes with fumbling fingers. For additional recording capacity, you can also utilize Sony Memory Stick media, (which currently come in capacities up to 4GB).

The PCM-D1 records at the following sample rates and resolutions:
16bit/22.05kHz
16bit/44.1kHz
24bit/44.1kHz
16bit/48kHz
24bit/48kHz
16bit/96kHz
24bit/96kHz

MSRP on the Sony PCM-D1 Linear Recorder is just under $2000.00

What I like:
*Form factor. This recorder was laid out thoughtfully, and gives you plenty of controls and options. The side-mounted knobs are particularly well designed.
*Recording options. Tons. Pick one and the PCM-D1 does it. It includes most of the options you’ll likely need, and a few you won’t.
*Capacity. With 4GB of built-in flash storage, you’ve got fantastic capabilities right out of the box (and rightly so, it’s $2K!!!). The inclusion of a MemoryStick expansion slot was a thoughtful addition.

What I don’t like:
*No balanced input or output. I am somewhat suprised that a device at this price point doesn’t include XLR options, my guess is that it was a size consideration. Though with care, a good audio hand can deliver pristine results via the mini stereo jacks. You may just have to carry a few more adapters in your bag.
*Battery run time. 5hrs recording time is acceptable, though it is unfortunate that the runtime is only 2hrs on alkaline batts. Can’t have it all.
*Price. This device hits the wallet pretty hard at nearly 2000 USD. The price for quality I suppose. Again, you can’t have it all.

Outside Hollywood offers insightful commentary on the the somewhat uncertain future of Shake, Apple’s high-end compositing and production application.

The genesis of this discussion was Apple’s decision to slash Shake pricing from $2500 per seat to $499, a move that caught basically everyone by suprise. The announcement has delighted countless independent filmmakers, as you can imagine.

But what is to come of all this? Was Apple not selling enough copies? Are they discontinuing the Shake line, or re-working the program entirely? Read on…

The following are my Top 10 Final Cut Pro Tips, with many thanks to the talented guru’s over at ProAppTips. These tips have either made my life as an editor easier, enhanced the creative workflow process, or are just really cool. Here they are, in no particular order.

*FCP BIG Keyframe Editor - Expand your Motion/Filters tab keyframing area to a much larger space for fine-tuning keyframes.

*FCP EZ Add Video Without Audio - Use Control-I and Control-O to effortlessly drop video sans audio to your timeline.

FCP fit to window shortcut - We all do it. Fire off a few quick keystrokes to zoom the timeline…before realizing that the browser or canvas is selected instead. Fortunately the fix is just as easy to do…simply use Shift-Z to toggle the canvas/viewer back to “Fit To Window” mode and correct your mistake sans profanity.

*FCP Open Bins in a seperate browser tab - Option+Double-Click on bins to open them in a new Tab.

*FCP Moving a clip just a little in Canvas - Single-pixel clip pan/crop/motion adjustments.

*FCP Creating a Multiple Filter Favorite Folder - Create a bin in your Filter Favorites folder that contains multiple oft-used filters or a “look recipe”.

*FCP using Motion scanline transitions in projects - Create a scanline transition in Motion 2, and utilize that as a transition in FCP. Examples and project files included.

*FCP Color Correcting Multi-clips already in timeline - Use Final Cut’s powerful Find feature to locate clips in your timeline that originated from uniquely named clips. Drop/paste correction filters or attributes, and presto-chango you are done.

*FCP Shane’s Stock Answers - This compilation wouldn’t be complete without Shane’s extensive list of stock answers to common questions. Ranging from exporting a still from FCP to the differences between 24p and 24pA, there’s something for everyone here.

*FCP fast timecode entry tricks - Get around the timeline faster with these tips for timecode navigation.

I hope that one or more of the tips on this list help you as an editor. They have all been helpful to me at one time or another. For tons more tips and workflow tricks, check out the ProAppTips site. And if you have something that other editors could use, consider contributing it.

The always-resourceful Shane Ross has posted a mini-howto on making your own Popsicle Stick RAID setup. This is version two of his popsicle-stick “drive tray” design, and looks a little more robust without the previous version’s unfortunate dependence on decaying rubber bands.

So if you don’t have a new Mac Pro with it’s four integrated drive trays, and you can’t afford one of the other PowerMac G5 internal drive expansion options, this DIY solution might be just what the confectioner ordered.

The title says it all. Studio Daily has a good case study on shooting an Indie Feature with the Sony Z1U, and what steps the creators took to limit pain in post-production and deliver the best quality for potential film-out.

One comment that caught my eye…the footage was shot at 50i, with the intention of slowing the framerate of 25fps down to 24fps in post. The workflow looked something like this:

The project’s 45 HDV tapes were ingested by Final Cut 5 for an HDV-native rough cut. Cinema Tools won’t convert an MPEG file to 23.98 progressive because MPEG is an interframe codec, so that cut was converted using the media manager to DVCPRO 50i, which Cinema Tools then converted to 23.98 progressive.

“We had our footage in DVCPRO HD 50i codec playing at 23.98 progressive,� Haubrich says. “It’s funky, but it works great. Now you have a progressive 24p timeline that we can output in HD using our Kona LH card right to the monitor. It’s a beautiful way to shoot HDV 50i and end up with a 1080p24 timeline in real time.�

(Via HD For Indies)