[Arthur Puig]

I have a similar problem but I need to upconvert a NTSC SD program to HD 59.94. Any ideas on best workflow?

[Arthur Puig]

I’ve been reading a lot about the comparison with the Avid vs FCP case. And I agree in most part, but it is known, with a few exceptions like Walter Murch, that most professional movies are still cut with Avid. Could this be done in FCP as well? Absolutely! But I think brand perception here also plays a big role, and their talent as editors get perceived different too, most people I spoke with they told me that the pros use Avid, or it gets perceived that way, and this world we live is all about perception, isn’t it? I mean, i don’t think I’m a bad looking guy but I’ve never seen so many women stare at me the day I borrowed my friend’s Porsche for a little ride.
So, whinning about it ain’t gonna do anything, I would have like to see some input from BM folks, but we all know they’re in the business of selling cheap cards, so no surprises there, I could almost make a prediction for NAB 2012, DaVinci Resolve for Mac (not the light version) comes for free for anybody who buys any Balckmagic card.

I wonder what would happen if the DaVinci development team leaves BM to form their own company?

[Arthur Puig]

[Robert Houllahan] “DaVinci, are a software company”

Not anymore, DaVinci now is a hardware company, and cheap hardware we’re talking about.

[Arthur Puig]

Yeah, that was my mistake, it must have been Flame premium what I was playing with then, because the Smoke color tools are not that deep.

Now going back to the price debacle, I’m not complaining that Resolve costs $1K, (although I’d pay $5K), I’m complaining that is freaking FREE!!!

And what’s alarming to me, and all this started with Color, is the pace at which movies with terrible color correction jobs are growing , forget about scene-to scene matching, I’m talking about making stuff so dark that you cannot see the actor’s eyes, or shots with blacks way above the zero line (and some movies I’m talking about have Oscar winning actors), which tells me two things:

1 – The director or editor (which sometimes is the same person) is doing the color correction in his house, probably on a laptop, or they hired an iMac-mouse color timer which charge $800 to do the whole movie (I’ve seen this in Craigslist) now probably on a Davinci Resolve

2 – They and their producers cannot tell that the job is bad, or they don’t care, they’re just happy they saved money.

Which comes to the final conclusion:

Yes, talent is important, but what happens when it doesn’t get recognized? Or even worse, is the art of color timing also getting devaluated along with Resolve?

[Arthur Puig]

I think even if you have compositing features like in a Pablo for example, which are not that many BTW, you still go out for most things, there’s not one box that can do everything. Scratch now includes a “Export to Nuke” function.

I like the workflow of color timing in Resolve, and then going to Smoke instead of going back to Final Cut, and from there if there is any adjustment I need to do as far as color I can do it in Smoke, as well as some dirt removal, de-graining and what not, but from there is easier and cleaner to get the final product out.

And now that we can do multi-track and XML export, is going to be even better, Smoke works really well with FCP XML

[Arthur Puig]

I can tell you for sure it is way better than a Pablo, Pablo renders, even on one cascade, it converts R3D to DPX, killing all metadata on ingest.

[Arthur Puig]

I think the reason is obvious, to sell more hardware, you still need a card to see the picture on a bigger size than the preview window.

I guess that’s the difference with companies that make software to sell hardware, than the ones that makes software to sell software.

[Arthur Puig]

This was my first trip to NAB, and I realized I should have done it ealier. But being there it gives you a better perspective, although nothing is certain, of where everything is going, you get a perfect snapshot of the current situation in today’s post world. I wouldn’t get this by reading the news.

And like I said before, I’m fighting internally two opposing feelings, one is extreme admiration and happiness over the amazing job the Blackmagic’s DaVinci folks have done with Resolve, and the other one is sadness to see such a professional tool destined to be misunderstood as a prosumer tool.

But isn’t Blackmagic a company that targets prosumers, making prosumer products in the end? And if you have doubts about it, just compare the control panel on a AJA Kona and a Blackmagic Decklink 3D.

I understand now why Autodesk will never support Blackmagic on Smoke.

And thinking about where the industry is flowing, I think is clear to me that color correction alone won’t be enough on a pro level anymore if you need to compete with prosumer Display Port-mouse grading, we have to embrace finishing as a whole, with VFX, compositing, color timing, and repairs, I would choose Smoke being the central hub. And I wouldn’t hesitate including Avid MC, Scratch and Nuke, and of course I’ll include DaVinci out of pure love, but not as my main tool anymore.

[Arthur Puig]

hopefully in the next term of FXPHD they’ll have both the intro level and the intermediate level, sometimes they do that, I guess we’ll find out in a couple of days when the new term is announced.

[Arthur Puig]

[Simon Astbury] “how happy would a client be sitting in your room, paying $200 per hour with you grading their precious show on a plastic panel which can’t access a great many of the features of the software”

If you do that so that clients can be happier you’re wasting your money. Clients couldn’t care less about what panels you’re using, let’s be realistic, most don’t even care what software you’re using. And as far as functions only available on the DaVInci panels, the ones that mattered are available now in the menu.
Not that the panels aren’t great, I do think they are overpriced, but its’ Blackmagic, I’m afraid of shelling out 30K when next year could be going for half price.

And regarding the Porsce and Ferrari, I think they are cheesy cars, far from classy, all they became now is a symbol for people trying to show off or pretend status, new money mostly, and in desperate need of approval.