TED Talks presents another fantastic “look what’s coming” app called Photosynth. The creator Blaise Aguera y Arcas shows some of the amazing possibilities, it really has to be seen.

“Using photos of oft-snapped subjects (like Notre Dame) scraped from around the Web, Photosynth creates breathtaking multidimensional spaces with zoom and navigation features that outstrip all expectation.”

What’s really cool is that they are beautifully leveraging “the cloud”, the social community (in this case, Flickr) to source all the images that Photosynth then intelligently stitches together. Watch the video below.
Continue reading ‘Photosynth Leverages Flickr to Generate 3D Models’

Keyboard Magazine has a feature article entitled “Linux: It’s Not Just For Computer Geeks Anymore“ that delves specifically into Audio Production on the Linux platform. While I don’t believe the article as a whole quite delivers what the title suggests, they do present a nice summary of the better audio-related applications and options for the GNU/Linux platform.

Update: Readers were quick to point out some issues with the informal test. Frank retested, and ProRes 422 has been vindicated.
“Using the ProRes 422 (HQ) codec as intended… it delivers as promised and a bit better than expected…..Further, I have been able to determine that most of the difference spotted in the Difference mode tests in After Effects was due to some sort of a gamma shift.”

Frank Capria whipped up a quick codec compression test pitting Avid’s DNxHD 175 and DNxHD 115 codec flavors against the similar Apple ProRes 422 and ProRes 422 HQ codec options.

“After re-importing the results in After Effects, I placed each file in a composition along with the Uncompressed 10-bit 4:2:2 version and used the Difference transfer mode to illustrate where the compressed image varied from the uncompressed. The results were quite surprising. The DNxHD 175 file’s difference from the uncompressed was barely visible to the naked eye, but the ProRes 422 (HQ) codec showed significant differences. In fact, in my test, the DNxHD 115 codec also outperformed the ProRes (HQ)”

Obviously this was a very quick and informal test, as Frank himself is quick to note. But the differences are striking…Avid’s codec is absolutely killing ProRes in these examples. It will be interesting to see how ProRes performs in more extensive testing.

(Via Editblog)

Microsoft’s long-rumored Project Milan has been revealed, and it’s pretty sweet. The technology previously known as “PlayTable” and “Table” is a $10,000 multi-touch, gestural interface technology in a flat 30-inch display table format. I understand it is now being called “Surface” and is sort of an incubated technology demonstration at this time, as it seems that MS is still deciding how to best utilize the tech and in what markets. They are selling it to some casinos and other commercial clients at this time (look for it this fall), but it feels like they haven’t really decided what to do with it yet…right now it’s a very expensive and fun tabletop toy.

The Microsoft Mobile and Entertainment Division (MED) is primarily responsible for development of the Milan Project, so it follows that we’ll likely see this sort of tech trickle down to the Zune, Windows Mobile devices, and the XBOX. I understand that they are interested in other venues of distribution as well, so perhaps it’s use as a hands-on editing display isn’t too far-fetched (though likely to be prohibitively expensive in the short term). The other big company pushing multi-touch at this time is of course Apple, with the iPhone announcement. It will be interesting to see how use of the tech plays out between the two brands in the next several years. I’ve included a short demonstration video of the interface below…
Continue reading ‘Microsoft Reveals the Minority Report Table’

We mentioned Hitachi’s 7K1000 1TB hard disk announcement earlier this year. The drive utilizes Perpendicular Recording Technology to achieve the necessary high areal densities (take that, Superparamagnetic Effect). Here are two reviews of the drives, from Anandtech and Extremetech. Also, here is a RAID specs update from Anandtech on the drive. Prices are currently hovering around $400 for the drive, or 0.40 cents/gb.

A nearest-sized competitor the new Hitachi drives would be Seagate’s 750GB Barracuda 7200.10 drives, which are currently around $250 at Amazon (approx 0.33 cents/gb).

Flowseeker Blog has a few excellent After Effects related posts.
*It seems that certain motion trackers (*cough*Matchmover*cough*) don’t include all the data AE needs when exporting .ma files. Here are a few tips on dealing with that issue.
*The “Mythbusting” series of posts is a discussion on the viability of Adobe After Effects as a “high end” tool. Sub-question; “Is After Effects the software of choice at most high-end visual effects houses?” Read Part1, Part2, and Part3 then join the discussion.

Here’s a few interesting threads and discussion on the forthcoming camera from Red Digital Cinema, all gleaned from the Red 23 blog.
*White Balance Discussion/Summary.
*Behind the Scenes of Crossing The Line.
*Red One Recording Media Options.
Feel free to add any pertinent linkage in the comments.

 Freshdv's NAB 2007 Expo Video Coverage [1:05m]: Download

Myself, Matt Jeppsen and fellow Freshdv editor Kendal Miller will be sharing daily video podcast coverage of the NAB 2007 Showroom floor. We’ll be on the scene to bring you in-depth footage and info of the latest innovations and product offerings. We’ll also be sharing interviews with some of the leading industry pros. It all starts on April 15th, so subscribe now to the iTunes podcast feed and stay tuned. Podcasts will also be posted at www.freshdv.com/nab/

We have lined out a very busy schedule of booths and interviews to cover, but are open to additional suggestions for specific products or people to check out. We will do our best to be the eyes and ears of those who can’t make the trip to Las Vegas. Feel free to leave us your suggestions and requests in the comments below.

Coverage of NAB 2007 is presented by Videoguys, DV Info, and with the assistance of the good people at NAB.

I believe the following to be REQUIRED READING for independent and low-budget filmmakers embarking on a project. Mike Curtis has written up a list of Things Not To Do (That Will Make You Hate Your Life Later), and he pulls no punches.

Go read it. Three times. Before you start your project. And if you aren’t sure you’ve got a proven workflow in place, hire Mike (or someone smart like him) to help you get things straight. Think of it as hair insurance…

David Newman of CineForm has been conducting some greenscreen testing of their codec vs HDCAM SR (everything shot on a Viper). The results of the informal blind quality poll have been revealed, along with some more in-depth mathematical analysis.
Continue reading ‘CineForm vs HDCAM SR Shootout’

Taylor Wigton and Randy Wedick have written an extensive and informative article for showreel.org on the JVC HD100U camcorder coupled with Redrock’s M2 35mm lens adapter. The combo of tools were used on 3 seperate productions over the course of a year, and Randy and Taylor dish on the strengths and weaknesses of the pair. Here’s a quick excerpt:
Continue reading ‘JVC HD100 and the Redrock M2 adapter - 1 Year Later’

I caught up with Taylor Wigton recently, and found he’s been pretty busy. One of the articles he contributed to showreel.org is on real-world testing of the Canon HX A1 camcorder and it’s 24f mode. He conducted a variety of tests and comparisons on the “fake progressive” mode along with Randy Wedick, the Digital Cinema Tech at Band Pro.

“We captured footage in 24f and compared freezeframes of 24f versus a variety of processed 60i footage and also against true progressive capture…The final image from the tape is 1440×1080. This begins as a single field that is 1440×540. It is then processed and intelligently interpolated using a host of Canon’s processors, and the resulting image is smart up-rezzed to 1440×1080 and laid to tape. This image is much nicer looking than a line duplicated image. When you are watching it, it has a great deal more perceived resolution than a 1440×540 image.”
Continue reading ‘What is 24f? DP Taylor Wigton tests the Canon XH A1 camera’

Avid2FCP is a new site aimed at Avid editors who are eyeballing or have recently switched to Final Cut Pro. Industry pros Martin Baker (of plugin firm Digital Heaven), Jude Cotter, Victoria Parks-Murphy, Mark Raudonis and Shane Ross (Little Frog in HiDef) have committed to fielding questions in the forums, and have already authored a few articles on FCP capabilities.
Continue reading ‘Avid2FCP: Former Avid Editors talk Final Cut Pro’

IB Times has an interesting article on the fast-moving front of “smart” automated video surveillance technology. A lot of research and development is going into enabling these systems to detect and help deter potential threats and criminal activity in advance.

Researchers and security companies are developing cameras that not only watch the world but also interpret what they see. Soon, some cameras may be able to find unattended bags at airports, guess your height or analyze the way you walk to see if you are hiding something.
Continue reading ‘Big Brother grows up and gets automated’

There’s a fantastic article at DV.com by Mike Curtis on the topic of configuring a solid HD editing workstation. Detailed, in-depth, and informative. A must read for anyone getting into that workflow.

And in typical handy fashion, it’s broken down into 3 different feature levels, to allow for budgets of all shapes and sizes. The scope of the article focuses on building a Final Cut Studio editing workstation, but there are tips and info for Windows users as well. Plenty of good info to go around.

Mike has posted a few corrections to typos over at HD For Indies, so that’s a must-read also.