Ripple Training has a great video tutorial up on creating non-standard codecs and format presets in Apple Compressor (direct MOV link). So you could purchase a Flip4Mac WMV export license, and then use Compressor to do the heavy lifting. It’s worth noting that a cheaper WMV export option exists, but it does require a Windows PC and some duct-tape.

Imagineer Systems has reduced the license cost for two popular software packages. Monet v2.1.2 and Mokey v4.1.2 are both now priced at €4,050 / $5,590 USD node locked and €5,185/ $7,195 USD floating. Registered users can download the latest versions online. Contact Imagineer for trial keys if you wish to test drive the software.

(Thanks Randall)

Anthony Burokas has an Adobe CS3 for Mac review in print and also up at EventDV.com. He goes pretty in-depth on the Premiere Pro interface, and spends some time comparing specific features and capabilities vs. Final Cut Pro. Excellent review on a highly-anticipated new software package. And as a FCP editor, I found his comparisons extremely informative and helpful. While it doesn’t sound like Adobe will be replacing my primary NLE anytime soon, it could be a worthy addition to the editors toolkit, particularly if one needs some of the other interesting features and integration offered in the CS3 Production Suite.

Apple has released an iLife ‘08 update that includes a few new features for iMovie.

“Among the new features delivered with the release is Multiple Clip Selection, which lets users select multiple clips in order to assign keywords, paste adjustments or reorganize clips in projects more quickly than before. Similarly, a Fine Tuning feature allows users to quickly refine the start or end frame for any clip without leaving the Project view. iMovie 7.1 also introduces Still Frame Creation, which freezes the video action for creating a dramatic ending or applying the “Ken Burnsâ€? effect on any frame of a video clip. Other features delivered in the release include Frame-by-Frame trimming, Audio Ducking level control, Manual Audio Fades, a duration settings for Transitions and Stills, an option to show the current playhead time, and other performance improvements that allow users to enjoy their video more quickly by switching between Events.”

Apple’s highly-anticipated new operating system revision, OS X Leopard, is due out next month (barring any more iPhone related delays). In a curious move, Adobe Systems has admitted that Creative Suite 3, their flagship new software collection for multimedia creatives, may not be fully compatible with the new OS from Cupertino. Stating that Adobe has “not received a final copy of Leopard,” Exec Bruce Chizen revealed that “CS3 hasn’t fully been tested under Leopard,” and promised “If it doesn’t work, we will make the necessary adjustments.”

This nervous corporate posturing strikes me as odd…how do you read it? Why has Adobe made this announcement now, prior to the Leopard release? Is this an attempt to take a pass at Apple publically for making them wait to test the new OS? Maybe shame them into sending a copy earlier? Or perhaps Adobe suspects a specific incompatibility and is attempting to position the blame on Apple? The bottom line is that if you depend on CS3, you may need to consider holding off on the Leopard upgrade for the present. They don’t call it the bleeding edge for no reason.

(Thanks for the tip, Randall)

While much of the online community salivates over recent RED One announcements, Silicon Imaging’s proven SI-2K digital cinema camera has quietly gotten some very interesting upgrades. For starters, they have a film camera-style optical viewfinder option now, as well as an OLED EVF option (with secondary HDMI tap). There is a new MINI-Rig for handheld/shoulder mount use, and of course the beautiful (and upgradeable) enclosure designed by P+S Technik (shown here in our NAB Expo coverage).

Other new features include the option to frame-accurate synch multiple SI-2K cameras for multi-camera or stereo 3D applications. This feature would also be useful with multiple SI-2K MINI heads for Matrix-like effects and shots. There is also now the option to record CineForm RAW directly to QuickTime format as well as a few other handy user-configurable capabilities (like extended shutter durations).

The SI-2K currently lists for $28,500, the remote MINI head can be had for $17,500. You can obtain the optional new OLED viewfinder for $4000. This fall will see the release of the B4-mount optical viewfinder, with a PL-mount version coming early next year. You can find more info on the SI-2K at www.siliconimaging.com

Mike Curtis has written two fantastic articles for DV Magazine that cover audio monitoring options for both Mac and PC editing workstations.

*Upgrade Your Images with Audio - A primer on audio monitoring for (Mac) HD video editors.
*Upgrade Your Images with Audio: PC Edition - A primer on audio monitoring for Windows-based HD video editors.

You’ll find discussion on the two articles as well as a few updates and notes over at HD For Indies.

Zen Films has a quick tutorial on using the DSLR noise reduction program Neat Image to remove grain and artifacting from video clips.

“…first output a clip from After Effects as a sequence of TIF images. Then, in Neat Image (NI) I load in a test frame…and practice getting a good output image using various noise filter settings…Once I’m satisfied, I save the noise profile and filter setting. Now the batch processing can begin…”

Great use of a non-video tool!

In an attempt to further drive awareness and development of the free Open-Source 3D tool Blender, The Blender Foundation has announced another “Open Movie” project. This after last year’s Elephants Dream project which was really more of a tech demonstration than a cohesive film.

Incognito is a simple Windows executable that will search through a large number of images in a sequence and tell you which one(s) are missing. It was created to specifically deal with the issue of the After Effects plugin Nucleo deleting images from a sequence. The utility was originally commissioned by Zen Films, and is offered free to the community.

* it’ll check an image sequence and tell you which files are missing
* it’ll copy one image sequence (source) and paste it into another sequence (target), renaming and renumbering to match the target.

Why is this useful?
Scenario One: Well, let’s say I have a composition that’s about 32000 images long, all rendered in HiDef. If I need to make adjustments to a part of the composition, I’ll just render the changed images. Problem: for some reason, the After Effects plug-in Nucleo “accidentally” deletes one image before the start of the newly rendered images - leaving me an image short. It’s a pain in the arse but worse if I have to look through a heap of files to find it. Not any more with Incognito :)

Scenario Two: I’ve broken large compositions into smaller comps to make the projects easier to deal with. If I then want to stitch all the comps together, I can now use Incognito to copy and paste from various comp names into a new final image sequence without manually renaming (practically unworkable) or creating an Uber-composition and re-rendering.

You can get your hands on the executable at the Zen Films blog.

Ever since Boris FX acquired Media 100 in 2005, they have been making major strides in development to bring the venerable NLE’s featureset up to a respectable level. In June they announced Intel Mac support with the Version 11.6.2 Universal Binary upgrade. And they have now announced Media 100 version 12, which offers a number of (overdue) features and improvements.

“Media 100 Version 12 will add support for progressive frame formats as well as deeper integration with Boris RED, Boris FX, and Boris Graffiti. With version 12, you will be able to acquire, edit, and master progressive formats such as 480p, 720p 23.98, 720p 50, 720p 59.94, 720p 60, 1080PsF 23.98, 1080PsF 24, 1080p 25, 1080p 29.97, and 1080p 30. The enhanced integration with Boris FX plug-ins will allow you to apply Boris filters and preset effects directly to individual clips - right from the Media 100 timeline!”

The Media100 Version 12 expected release window is September 2007. Here is the official press release.

Creative Cow has a “Wisdom of the Cow” writeup on Apple’s new ProRes codec. They kick things off by explaining what ProRes is not, and then go into what the codec actually offers. Very detailed, and they cover many of the grey areas in what people do/don’t know about this new codec.

(Via Camcorderinfo)

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’

Silicon Imaging has posted a video tutorial on how to use the SiliconDVR software to record from the SI-2K to hard drive.

(Via HD For Indies)

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)