-
What would really make you excited …
-
[Chris Harlan] “Dang, Bill! Cranky and dismissive as ever! Who says there’s nothing constant in the Universe!
“
If someone were to isolate just all OUR discussions over the past 10 years – there’s your ipso facto evidence of “consistency” right there!
Be well. ????
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
“it’s better than good – It’s finished”.
Now, DGMW, this is 180 degrees from my personal POV. But a lot of what I see in the news biz is like that. It used to be that time was the major driver in how you acquired and presented stories. While that remains a factor, the overriding factor now is cost and ROI.
You see it in cable news a lot, where they always prefer a satellite studio shot of somebody in a chair talking, to going out with a crew and developing a story on location.
I see it in local news coverage where the cameraman “covers” an event by showing up before it happens, grabbing 3 minutes of interview with one of the principals, spraying the first three minutes of the event for wide shots and cut-aways, with just his shotgun for wild audio, (even though there is a mult feeding quality sound from the podium or whatever) and bailing to go to his next assignment. Whatever happened or was said after the first three minutes, you’ll never know. That night you’ll get a minute thirty composed of b-roll with voice-over and one, fifteen-second quote pulled from that three minutes of interview. That’s “news” coverage now. Feel informed?
What grinds my gears even harder is video for the web with crap audio, no camera framing and no editing, and no lighting, …. not because they couldn’t afford it, but because the decision-maker thinks the lack of artifice ( a word they don’t actually know) adds “authenticity” and the appeal of innocence. Please. And they justify it by saying: “it’s just for You Tube”. “Just” … as if twenty-five and a half million subscribers is nothing, because you don’t watch this on a TV with an antenna?
I’m out of time, gotta go yell at clouds and get a new onion to tie on my belt.
-
Because Apple adds a feature you don’t use, but everyone else will use, including people who use X, Apple stands a chance to stop dreaming big?
I don’t know, Bill. This is far fetched, even from you.
-
[Bill Davis] “But I realized looking back that there are circumstances where quality SIMPLY doesn’t matter any more. What matters is businesses working in their EXPECTED pre-set system.”
Maybe it was just quicker/easier for the station to go with their bird in the air as opposed to approving, paying for, and licensing your footage? I still see stringer courtesy bugs on the local news so if your footage had been the only footage available they probably would’ve taken it.
But on the general topic of quality… news and other shows that rely on real life footage tend to be less concerned about quality the more unique the footage is. From the Zapruder film to grainy, 15fps convenience store security cameras to World’s Scariest Police Chases to America’s Funniest Home Videos, there have always been exceptions to the ‘broadcast quality’ barrier.
[Bill Davis] “When was the last time you paid to watch a Movie that was popular more than 2-3 years ago? And put another way – how many OPTIONS did you REJECT and not pay – along the way towards any of those that you actually watched? “
Any time someone pays for a subscription service (Netflix, cable/sat, Amazon, HBO GO, etc.,) they are paying for old movies and TV shows (and probably not watching the vast majority of them).
Discovery and monetization are certainly the problems of the day which is why inexpensive tools and free self-distribution options aren’t as much of a boon as they seem to be at first blush.
-
[Jeremy Garchow] “Because Apple adds a feature you don’t use, but everyone else will use, including people who use X, Apple stands a chance to stop dreaming big?
I don’t know, Bill. This is far fetched, even from you.
“It’s completely ridiculous. ALL software development is driven by input from users in some way.
-
[Bill Davis] “What I can’t abide is thinking that Apple will start chasing all those things the “experienced” editors are focused on – and start trying to nibble away at those – and in doing so diminish the REAL potential progress that it represented by NEW THINKING and CREATIVITY. I don’t want them to play SMALL BALL here. I want them to dream big.”
What exactly are you expecting from Apple? Other than a trackless editing paradigm how did Apple think big or creative? Fast Multimedia’s/Pinnacle Liquid Edition gave us background rendering and GPU acceleration which was innovative at the time (also impressive at the Apple FCPX Keynote) but it did not stop the Liquid Edition users from making feature requests.
[Bill Davis] “THAT’s the voice I want to be.
An advocate for Apple keeping focus on the BIG ideas. Lets be clear here – I’m the FIRST to admit I’m not qualified nor bright enough to conceive what that would be. I have the same exact constraints that I see in ALL the people arguing for dup detection or better keyframing – EVERYONE can see that. It’s NOT transformational enough to be interesting.”
If you don’t find other people’s request all that impressive could you please list the transformational features that impress you about FCPX?
[Bill Davis] “Plus, I don’t have enough fundamental understanding of what’s practical nor possible and what’s imaginary and more trouble than it’s worth.”
Don’t worry about what can or cannot be done. Just simply list something you would like to see added.
[Bill Davis] “So I LEAVE that up to the people on the X team – because it’s a team bespoke assembled to figure those types of things out.”
Like the awesome 3-D titling tool of FCPX?
[Bill Davis] “I just argue for a constant focus on the MAGIC. In the midst of these lists of the prosaic.”
Perhaps what you see as Apple Magic I would consider a simple sleight of hand trick.
[Bill Davis] “There’s NOTHING wrong with these sorts of lists. Just when they’re posted, expect one voice over here in the corner arguing for something MORE than just what it’s easy to identify and bitch about.”
I think perhaps you used FCP and then moved to FCPX and never tried any other NLE. As long as FCP improves here and there you see it as the greatest thing since sliced bread. As I stated earlier I don’t consider 3-D titles Magic. To me it is nothing more than a simple sleight of hand trick that would only impress those who are not in on the trick.
-
[Jeremy Garchow] “Because Apple adds a feature you don’t use, but everyone else will use, including people who use X, Apple stands a chance to stop dreaming big?
I don’t know, Bill. This is far fetched, even from you.”
Jeremy,
Nothing I say is ever going to preclude the CHANCE of anyone dreaming small, big or in-between.
It’s a shift in the PRIORITY of dreaming big that I fear..
A difference WITH a distinction.
Creator of XinTwo – https://www.xintwo.com
The shortest path to FCP X mastery. -
[Andrew Kimery] “Look at the iOS app store, for instance. The average price for an app is $0.89… I’ve worked with online companies that face similar problems with videos. “
Andrew, the challenges you’re describing for mass-market opportunities are brutal. I’d agree that selling low-cost, low-margin work directly to consumers is a scale game. I’m less interested in that space than I am in higher-margin work that goes to narrower audiences.
That said, I’m trying to express this idea of yours as the opportunity here:
[Andrew Kimery] “maybe we’ll see a swing back in the other direction in the future as companies that are very small now learn how to navigate the new playing field and grow into medium sized companies.”
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
[Simon Ubsdell] “What sort of numbers constitute “a small team” in your view?”
A small team tops out at maybe 6 or 7 people.
Have you heard of Jeff Bezos’s two-pizza team rule? The idea is that a team should not require more than two pizzas to feed. Here’s a quick explanation of growing a team linearly results in increasing communication exponentially:
https://blog.idonethis.com/two-pizza-team/At some point at or around 10 people, a new management layer becomes necessary.
[Simon Ubsdell] “The “middle” often suffers from a weight of management considerations which are inimical to a healthy business. “
Maybe we should seek a definition on “the middle?”
There are at least two. There’s a big difference between a freelancer and a small team (as defined above). There’s another big difference between a small team (which can be flat and requires no management) and an organization which may consist of several small teams and a management layer.
Walter Soyka
Designer & Mad Scientist at Keen Live [link]
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
@keenlive | RenderBreak [blog] | Profile [LinkedIn] -
[Walter Soyka] “Have you heard of Jeff Bezos’s two-pizza team rule?”
I hadn’t heard it before, but now that I have it makes perfect sense and chimes with actual experience.
Thank you!
Simon Ubsdell
tokyo productions
hawaiki
Reply to this Discussion! Login or Sign Up