Macworld attendees, the FCPUG Final Cut Pro SuperMeet agenda has been announced, and it looks to be another fantastic event. Here’s all the details.

The agenda has now been set for the 8th Annual FCPUG “SuperMeet” to be held Wednesday, January 7, 2009 at the UCSF Mission Bay Conference Center in San Francisco, CA. Doors open at 4:30pm and presentations begin at 7pm and continue until 10PM. This SuperMeet promises to be the single largest gathering of Final Cut Pro users and Gurus during Macworld Conference and Expo SF.

- Apple: The latest on Final Cut Studio - JVC: Craig Yanagi of JVC will announce the world’s first acquisition product developed especially for Final Cut post production. Come and be a part of this historic event.

- BlackMagic Design presents M. Dot Strange: Filmmaker M.Dot Strange will bring his magic to the SuperMeet.

- Bruce Nazarian: Blu-Ray on the Cheap. How to build a compatible Blu-Ray Disk and burn it on DVD-R media without a Blu-Ray burner.

- Christine Steele: FCP Tips and Tricks

- Eric Escobar: “Plug-Ins Won’t Save You” A plug-in package alone won’t create the “look” of your movie. A “look” is a combination of preproduction, design, performance, camera work and post wizardry. Eric will show us how to deconstruct a “look” from a TV show or movie, and reconstruct it on-the-cheap.

- Yun Suh: Clips from the documentary film “City of Borders” (Show and Tell)

Rounding out the evening will be the always raucous “World Famous Raffle” with over $40,000.00 worth of prizes to be handed out to several lucky winners. 300 “SuperBag” Goodie Bags filled with over $200.00 worth of learning resources will be handed to the first 300 people through the door. Food (snacks) and drinks will be available throughout the evening. Tickets are now on sale for only $10.00 each and it is expected this SuperMeet will sell out. At this writing over 50% of the tickets are gone. Historically every SuperMeet sells out.

For complete details on the SuperMeet including driving and transit directions and instructions, a current list of raffle prizes and a link to where to buy tickets, visit the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro (lafcpug) web site.

In a blog post entitled “Scarlet = No More Excuses“, Tyler Ginter muses on the enormity of what Red Scarlet’s featureset will mean to videographers and low-budget filmmakers. Tyler is a platoon leader for US Army Combat Camera, we interviewed him recently in the latest FreshDV Podcast.

In the blog post, Tyler focuses on the significance of Scarlet’s announced 2/3″ sensor design, and what an upgrade that will be over the current crop of HD offerings. The HVX200’s 1/3″ sensors, the PMW-EX1’s 1/2″ sensors, etc. He also speaks to the ability to use interchangeable lenses and increased dynamic range. I am uncertain of Scarlet’s proposed latitude goals, but know that has always been a priority for Red, and certainly Red’s fan base. Here’s an excerpt from the post:

“… Scarlet will provide the FIRST prosumer camera capable of delivering not only a 2/3″ sensor starting at 2,500 dollars, but also 120fps, 3K resolution, RAW data to control in post (white balance, exposure, etc.), and interchangeable lenses all wrapped up into a modular/upgradeable package. Most of these additional features aren’t even included in cameras 10 times its price…

So are you beginning to see what is about to happen here? The camera is the last piece of the puzzle we are missing, yet it is the most critical tool needed inside a budget filmmakers toolkit. We have professional lights, audio, NLEs, Color Correction/VFX/3D apps all within our budget right now. Many films have already proven that Final Cut Studio is practically all you need in post to create a feature length film…

Soon enough there will be NO more excuses.”

These are great points, and if Red delivers on their announced specs and shipping deadlines, expect the filmmaking bar to rise. As Tyler goes on to mention, the screenplay, acting and directing will become more important as the quality of filmmaking improves. Expectations rise, and so must the backbone of the film.

Quick note, and yes I’m picking at straws…the specs announced for the $3000 Scarlet include a fixed zoom lens ($3750 for a “full kit.” That is to say, $3750 for a kit you can shoot with). Not necessarily a bad thing, mind you. There is a Scarlet model priced at $2500, but it is for the “brain” sans lens and lens mount. It’s not clear to me exactly how much common lens mounts will cost, but given the pricing for the Red One Nikon mount, I’d guess it will be under $500. So for interchangeable lens mount + Scarlet + batteries and EVF, expect to spend somewhere around $4000. Finally, bear in mind that the comparisons aren’t perfect across these models… the HVX-200 features (3) 1/3″ CCD sensors, the EX1 offers (3) 1/2″ CMOS sensors, and Scarlet is a single 2/3″ CMOS sensor. Not that any of this invalidates Tyler’s points, I’m just reminding FreshDV readers of the geeky minutia involved. You’re welcome. -MJ

Recently I reviewed Loader, a helper app for Final Cut Pro editors that simplifies importing assets, helps maintain rigid media management, and takes the pain out of audio format conversions. You can read my review here.

Here’s another great review of the $49.00 software solution, over at Ken Stone’s excellent review site. If you’re an FCP editor that has overlooked Loader, I recommend you take a quick look again and see what it can do for you. You may be surprised at the amount of time and frustration it can save you. There is a free 14-day trial on the website.

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Here at FreshDV we’ve kept pretty close tabs on two DSLR / HD video convergence cameras since they arrived earlier this year. I’m referring of course to the Nikon D90 and the Canon 5D Mark II. One of the 5D exposure control tutorials that was posted recently was created by Tyler Ginter. Tyler is a US Army 3rd platoon leader in the 55th Combat Camera, responsible for documenting operations with photos and video for internal, news, and historical use.

In this hour-long podcast, Tyler, Kendal and I discuss the tools that Combat Camera is using in the field, the challenges of their unique workflow in Iraq and Afganistan, and specifically why they are looking hard at the Canon 5D MKII as a possible upgrade to their current kit. Along the way we also delve into Red Scarlet, and other convergence cameras. It’s a fascinating discussion, and we think you’ll enjoy the listen if you are interested in this new crop of cameras or just what it is that Combat Camera does. You can see media from Tyler’s group at www.dvidshub.net/units/JCCCI

Listen to the podcast by subscribing to our podcast feed

Best wishes from the FreshDV team this year! We’ll return to the regularly scheduled madness in a few days. Until then, enjoy the holiday season and time with friends and family.

We’ve previously reviewed a number of popular Follow Focus units here at FreshDV, you can watch those reviews at this link. About the same time that we were reviewing those units, we had a look at a pre-production version of Cinevate’s single-rod follow focus design. It’s come a long way since then, and I’m excited to learn that they’ve recently launched the production version.

The sub-$900 Durus follow focus uses a single-15mm-rod clamping design, is CNC-machined out of solid aluminum, and soon can be adapted for use with 19mm rods. My first impression is that it appears to be a solid design. I’m of course interested to see how it works in the field. They posted a video recently that shows off the unit and walks through the basic featureset. As a bonus, you get to see Dennis Wood hang a complete EX1 rig from the unit as a strength demonstration. You can watch it here at Cinevate’s Video University.

Here at FreshDV we’ve been posting a lot recently about the $2700 Canon 5D MarkII DSLR (still not in stock at B&H, by the way). Lest you think we’ve forgotten about the $840 Nikon D90, here’s a great music video shot on the 720p-capable still camera. There’s also a nice behind the scenes vignette showing the filmmakers fully-rigged out D90 on a Redrock DSLR support kit. Very cool stuff.

Here is the tenth installment of our continuing series on the role of a Director and Assistant Director both on and off a production set. This part 10 segment offers practical tips and tricks aimed at new directors, those just learning the ropes. This includes a discussion on the oft-overlooked work that is pre-production.

Watch all ten segments in the playlist below or at FreshTV, and please stay tuned for the final installment of this extensive series in the next few days. Detailed descriptions follow the video playlist…

If you enjoyed this tutorial series, please tell a friend or post the link in your favorite forum. Thanks for watching.

Part 1 was a 15-minute introductory video that discusses the basic qualifications, job description and overall tasks a director is responsible for in a production.

Part 9 is a discussion on the Director’s role in post-production, and how he or she can best collaborate with the editor to bring the project to fruition.

For those that have been tracking developments on the Canon 5D MarkII front, here’s a few music video test shoots by photographer-turned-videographer Michael Sugrue. Simple, yet inspiring stuff.

Jerry Hannan test from Michael Sugrue on Vimeo.

Jerry Hannan Test 2 from Michael Sugrue on Vimeo.

(Via Flowseeker)

Adobe Creative Suite 4 includes a speech transcription feature, available in both Premiere Pro CS4 and Soundbooth CS4. Scott Simmons kicked the tires on it recently, here’s what he found.

Here is the ninth installment of our continuing series on the role of a Director and Assistant Director both on and off a production set. This part 9 segment deals specifically with a Director’s role in post-production, and how he or she can best collaborate with the editor to bring the project to fruition.

Watch all nine segments in the playlist below or at FreshTV, and please stay tuned for the next installment of this extensive series in the next few days (we are just a few episodes from wrapping up the entire series). Detailed descriptions follow the video playlist…

If you enjoyed this tutorial series, please tell a friend or post the link in your favorite forum. Thanks for watching.

Part 1 was a 15-minute introductory video that discusses the basic qualifications, job description and overall tasks a director is responsible for in a production.

Part 8 deals specifically with an AD’s job on set, general set etiquette, and how an AD can take the load off a Director during production. There’s also a basic introduction to the order of commands and “calls” an AD makes during a take.

Here’s a Mac-specific tutorial on how to get the most out of the new Youtube HD.

That is right guys until the 26th of December this phenomenal series is $279 rather than the $399 list price. If you are not familiar with this series its on my top ten resource list. Whats it all about? Well this six DVD set is all about high end camera blocking and I strongly suggest you check it out.

The primary goal of The Master Course in High-End Blocking and Staging is to do the most effective blocking with the highest production-value, and to build a vast repertoire of techniques to make Directing more expressive — and ultimately more fun. The course also deals with the problem that blocking often grabs so much of our attention that we’re forced to choose between doing camera work or nurturing great performances. If we choose acting, the camera work suffers. If we choose camera work, the actors are often left to direct themselves. One of the key goals of the course is to have great camera work become so automatic that we can do both at the same time.

When shooting, we also too often abandon many great shots we had planned. When we’re under pressure, we far too often revert to tried and tested techniques like two reverses and a master. Even if we know plenty of techniques, we often only use the ones we know extremely well, and another key goal of the course is to know techniques so well that we use them.

The higher purpose of the course is to do as meaningful and expressive camera work as possible. While the course spends a lot of time getting good at technical things like complex line-issues, the deeper goal is to have a profound understanding of the how and why of everything. Ultimately, the goal is to have as clear and precise an emotional impact as possible. All the hot moves we can create (and we do create a lot) are really means to that end.

Snag it here while the getting is good!!

The Guardian has an interesting article on color recovery research. The technique involves analyzing faint “chromadots” embedded in the image, and retained even on black and white film. The software is then able to regenerate near-accurate colors from these old tv program archives. More reading on this topic here and here.