Andrew Kimery
Forum Replies Created
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[Bill Davis] “The Apple bet is that there are more people who want a smaller set of newer tools, than who need to remain compatible with historical broadcast and movie workflows. “
I would take that a step further and say that Apple bets there is a large and growing group of people that edit as part of the job but their job is not to be an editor. Accessibility is more important when the user isn’t spending day in and day out on the software and I think that was a major factor in the rethinking of FCP.
As far as web-centric uses goes, I think FCP X having a leg up depends on the situation. I’ve spent a number of years working primarily with web/digital content for large companies like Viacom, AT&T, Sony, Microsoft, etc., and web-ready files rarely ever came out of our NLE’s. We’d generate high quality exports and hand those off to either our in-house compression team or directly to the client who would then have their own team. We cut on FCP legend and I don’t think using X would’ve made a difference when it came to delivering our final cuts. As an aside, they are still using FCP 7 over there and are leaning towards Pr as that would most seamlessly drop into the existing workflows (a dozen producers and editors are working on overlapping projects year round so change is always deliberate and methodical). I think the updates in CS Next might finally get them to pull the trigger and switch.
On the flip side I was an assistant editor on an indie doc ***shameless plug*** called American Winter about the crumbling middle class in the US which you can catch on HBO/HBO GO ***shameless plug*** cut on FCP Legend where we used Vimeo to share cuts and having a direct Share to Vimeo feature would’ve made my life easier.
As you and Dennis have said, time will tell in the end but the different approaches are interesting. Apple seemed to jump feet first into new workflows and then spent a lot of time ‘adding back’ features that didn’t make the initial jump while Adobe and Avid have been adding new workflow features at a steady pace and are easing into the future rather than jumping into it.
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Like the article says, YouTube viewership is measured in minutes per day while TV viewership is measured in hours. YouTube wants desperately to be more like traditional distribution because traditional distributors make money. Cat videos do not make money. YouTube’s overhead for being a global depository of video is huge (70hrs of new video is uploaded each minute) and only a small fraction of all the content they host can be meaningfully monetized. Hence the push for more premium and original content on YT. That push isn’t without pain either
Hulu, Neflix and even Amazon w/it’s streaming service are in better positions to expand delivery away from traditional outlets than YT, IMO.
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[Franz Bieberkopf] “I have to say that I’m amazed at the low light stuff I’ve been working with off of Red Epic. Late dusk. Early dawn.”
Recently I worked with some RED stuff natively in Color and the extra control you get is awesome. From a grading perspective it’s great. Until you go to render it all out, lol.
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Isn’t this par for the course for shooting on film? Exposure, focus and framing in the field and then grade to your liking in post? Obviously that’s an oversimplification as everyone (dir, dp, wardrobe, art department, etc.,) has to be on the same page in pre-pro as far as what the final look of the film should be.
A few years ago when I started grading a magazine-style TV show I really got into post lighting. The field lighting was typically pragmatic and unpredictable (sometimes an interview would be outside and other times in would be in an office the size of a closet) but in post using Color I helped shape the lighting to look more purposed. On the wide shots it was harder but on the close-ups I was usually able add separation between the subject and the background, giving the shot a sense of depth it lacked before.
Like in Tony’s example, a little bit of love can go a long way in taking a shot from ‘meh’ to ‘niiiiice’.
With more cameras coming out (and at cheaper prices) that have wide dynamic range and recording in raw or lightly compressed codecs the option for more people to light in post will be there, but I think the downsides to raw (storage requirements, processing power, etc.,) will keep a lot of people shooting in H.264 based codecs.
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Having never used the XML export/import feature in FCPX and never used CS7 I just want to say that one thing I really like about Avid is the ability to open another editor’s bin (as well as manipulate projects at the Finder level). Giving/receiving of things can happen invisibly in the background w/o anyone having to stop what they are doing. Working on big shows with a lot of editors and assists it’s a god send. Part of the reason I like it is probably because I like being able to get what I need w/o having disrupt someone else in the process. I am the type of person that likes aisle seats on planes because if I need to get up and use the restroom I won’t disturb anyone.
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[James Culbertson] “I wouldn’t mind having one. But my wife doesn’t feel compelled to get one since the 13” MacBook is good enough for her (and for most of the TV shows and movies we watch together it is good enough unfortunately). “
Statistically speaking I was certainly in the latter half of American’s to get an HDTV so I’m not a home theater junky or anything like that but it is nice to stretch out on the couch to watch a show or fire up the 360 (yes, getting an HD game system did impact my decision to make the jump to HD).
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[James Culbertson] “I have an HDTV in my studio office. But my wife prefers to curl up in our living room with me and watch TV shows streamed from Netflix on her little 13″ MacBook. We almost never view cable or broadcast anymore, but purely on-demand TV shows and movies. And most everyone I know in the Seattle area is similar (even if they do have an HDTV) in that many have jettisoned their cable service entirely in the same way they have cast off their land lines. But I agree theirre is a lot of variety in how people consume media at this time; options are good.”
Do you have an HDTV in the living room? Separately the GF and I will watch things on a laptop or whatever but if we are watching something together it’s on the TV (which is in the living room). We like to stretch out on the couch (or one person gets the couch and the other the love seat) so it’s not every conducive to sharing a laptop. Almost everything we watch is streaming, we don’t have cable and outside of football season we don’t use the antenna very much.
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[Bill Davis] “I’m not devaluing expertise here. Just looking at the trends and considering what kind of tools and which levels of “product specificity” – will be MOST valued in the coming decade.
Will it be better to be GREAT at one area and OK at a few others… or will it be better to be competent at a wider range of skills – at the expense of being really excellent at any one or two?”
Like almost every discussion here I think it depends on what segment of the market someone wants to get into. Some areas need generalists and others need specialists. The key is obviously to figure out which direction you need to go in order to achieve your goals.
Valve (the video game company) has a very interesting take creative office structure (all workstations are on wheels for easy mobility, no titles, etc.,) and they look for people with a “T-shaped” skill set (deep knowledge about one thing and superficial knowledge about many things).
Below is a link to their employee handbook which I think anyone here would find interesting reading.
https://assets.sbnation.com/assets/1074301/Valve_Handbook_LowRes.pdf
[Bill Davis] “So at some level, the “I want a living room where I can bring all my neighbors and friends inside to watch the big event” is what? What’s the need it’s fulfilling?
And this might sound judgmental, but at it’s base, it’s kinda an individuals way of saying “hey, look at the nice living room I have! It’s a social status thing as much as a functional necessity on any level.”
I think I missed the thread(s) you are referencing because I have no idea what you are talking about in this post. I was just saying that two or more adults cradling an tablet for 90 minutes is not a very comfortable viewing experience hence the desire to get a TV. I’m not talking about throwing superbowl parties or any big event like that but just casual viewing by 2 or more people. It’s a matter of pragmatism.
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Can’t find the link but I remember reading somewhere that there is a trend in the younger generation of delaying buying large items like TVs until they are more settled in. And it makes sense, if you are college age and on the go all the time a TV is a door stop as you’ll be getting what you need on the go. But once you’ve landed a job in the real world, have a steady relationship. etc., having multiple people curling up around the iPad to watch a movie just isn’t as cute as it was as a teenager, lol. Back in the day it was a TV or nothing but now there are more options.
There is also Aereo (https://www.aereo.com/) which lets people stream broadcast TV legally (though they are being sued right now). Basically Aereo has set up millions of tiny TV antennas and when someone signs up for the service they are renting one of those antennas. Only $80/yr for their premium plan which includes 40hrs of DVR space.
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It’s always interesting to see how the same thing is interpreted by different people.
I see Adobe Anywhere, and Avid’s Interplay Sphere, as giving editors an easier way to telecommute, for lack of a better term. I don’t think everyone and their brother is going to have a big server up and running but for production companies this can be a way to cost effectively add editors without having to add more physical seats. Instead of having day shifts and night shifts everyone could be working the same schedule though some people are in the office and some people are telecommuting. Instead of sending drives of footage editors could just connect remotely.
It certainly won’t fit everyone’s bill but it will be a nice option to have… assuming it works as advertised. 😉