[Bob Bonniol]

It’s worth noting that you don’t have to store DSLR lapse frames on the card, if you can park a laptop with a hardrive next to it. I’ve shot long (14 hour plus) series of frames using my Canon 20D and the software that ships with it, which allows for camera control via the computer (allows for setting frame rate for time lapse)… And storing out via firewire back to the computer.

The whole influence or maybe more properly confluence of DSLR technology, Big old CMOS sensors, The new Nikon shooting HD (with all those delicious glass options), the Crimson from RED… We’re all going to be getting a lot more frame rate options and a lot more pixels… So it’s an interesting period to be examining temporal tools. We’re right at the cusp of some widespread power. Sniffing along the path of what’s doable with DSLR is surely a solid direction.

Cheers,
Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

Kyle,

The following is not meant to discourage: If you actually get a gig in either LA or NYC before you move there, slog it out, inject yourself into the flow, it would be a miracle… Seriously.

In addition to creating content for shows, I also teach at CalArts. One of the fundamental things I try to impart in the general strategy for making a living department is, you have to be IN the game to PLAY it. The only way to break into the scene in these places is to go there. Join the local users groups. Make lists of the local post houses, find out WHO is doing the killer work, and then go IN PERSON and make sure they know you… I have never, ever, in my whole life heard of anybody getting a high line gig from a reel sent cold, in the mail, unsolicited.

The people who make it at that level in this business never give up; they want it really bad; they work relentlessly to sharpen their skills; to plug into the scene; to know the players; and to be able to anticipate where something might open up. You need to find out not just which post house is making stuff you want to do, you also need to know everything they’ve done, who the principals are, and who among them does the hiring… Then you have to launch imaginative, persistent, and persuasive campaigns to get yourself noticed by those people. You should be looking at Production Assistant or Edit Assistant slots… Get the coffee for a bit. Show that you’re funny… that you are cool when the chips are down… that you are a team player… a total cinephile… an artist… a geek… that you have ‘it’… that intangible thing that separates people who understand three point editing, from those who can reach out and make you cry exactly when they want to by shaving those three frames off…

My advice. Pick a coast, pick a town… Save as much cash as you can, and GO… You’ll never know if you’ve got it, until you try…

Best,

Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

Well, odd as it may sound… Mac may not be the way here. Don’t get me wrong… I own more than a dozen Mac machines that I use to create content. But in terms of playback, odd as it sounds, the most reliable and popular systems are windows based.

I’m not a big fan of the windows OS, particularly Vista. But very reliable and powerful DMX controllable media servers like Hippotizer or Pandoras Box are using Windows based platforms very effectively. Much of this has to do with the trend in the media server industry to use gaming graphics technologies and Direct-X in particular to leverage superior performance. All of the millions of dollars spent in PC gaming research and development enable these windows boxes to render effects and multiple layers in real time. My personal favorite are the Hippotizers. I’ve used them this year on Journey, Nickelback, Nine Inch Nails, as well as multiple big corporate and theatrical events, and they have yet to let me down. Multiple outputs, convenient remote interface control over standard gigabit ethernet, a robust timeline, DMX control (of course), as well as the ability to blend unlimited outputs into big panoramic images.

If you are absolutely not going to move from Mac, then your options for DMX controllable media servers that will be able to handle multiple outputs are limited to Catalyst, and PRG’s M-Box.

On the topic of previsualizing, I’m not sure what capability WYSWYG now has (I last used it a couple of years ago), but I can tell you that I use ESP Vision all the time to visualize lighting programming, and ESP has the capability to take video inputs and playback content ‘on screen’ right within your lighting previs. It even has correcty modeled photo-metrics and optical simulations for most of the leading brands of projectors… Very useful.

In any case good luck.

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

Well hang on: Catalyst is also not ideal for a 5 screen gig. IF I were going to list proper platforms created for multiscreen control/playback they would be:

Barco Encore
Vista SPyder
Hippotizer
Pandoras Box
Watchout
Wings

Then, maybe Catalyst.

One of your criteria seems to be making it work on Mac, yes ? Why are you looking for solutions besides Watchout if budget is not a problem ? It’s powerful, easy to use, and totally appropriate. If you are trying to run 5 screens off ONE mac, I’d have to say that’s not ideal at all… It can be done with a couple of Matrox Triple Head adapters, and I have used Arkaos and Livid to do this in events, but it was difficult and not something I’d want to do if precision and intra screen sync is key. Perhaps you should explain a bit more about what you are trying to do.

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

I need to protest… Only as a point of honor for some friends: Catalyst has been a leading media server for going on 8 or so years now. In terms of stability I haven’t even heard of a crash since v2, and that’s over 3 years ago. There’s a reason Catalyst has been used on many of the biggest gigs worldwide: It’s utterly reliable.

Speaking however, to ‘friendly’: Catalyst was primarily created to be controlled by a DMX lighting controller. It also works with MIDI controllers, and in it’s latest version I believe it has a timeline control option on board. So it can be a little daunting if you don’t have experience in the world of lighting controllers.

My suggestion (apart from those already made, and predicated on your need for a tight budget) is to use VJ software like Livid Union, Resolume, or Arkaos in conjunction with a dual or triple head to go adapter. Any of those apps is going to be cheaper than anything mentioned here, and they are all surprisingly powerful. Powerful enough that all of those folks making media serving solutions that cost 100 times as much are watching very nervously… Come to think of it I may need to write an article for the magazine about this…

Best,
Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

Grinner,

Shouldn’t you be tending to a turkey, or watching football, or something ? Go give thanks you big lunk…

Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

The campaigns first amendment complaint is that they were using the song in the context of political speech, and that curtailing that is what the 1st amendment specifically is targeted at… (among other things).

So…. I guess (and I’m just ‘trying’ to analyze this from their legal/opportunistic perspective) they are claiming that they made ‘fair use’ of the song by, uh, what ? Parody ? Parody is definitely defendable fair use. But that seems contrary to the ‘spirit’ of the ad I saw which clearly had the tune as being supportive of the McCain message.

But Parody is pretty wide ranging in definition. It’s NOT inconceivable to me that the RNC could support a fair use claim in the cloak of political commentary via parody. Remember: These guys successfully put an administration in place that ruled the free world via COURT ORDER. Whatever your politics might be, you have to admire their super jedi use of litigation for political end. You think they’re afraid of copyright p’shaw…

Much love to some old cows around here… Long time…

Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

I’ve most DEFINITELY had issues with mixing RAM manufacturers and types… Pull that original APple RAM and see what happens…

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

It’s not impossible that you can get permission. It’s unlikely that there won’t be some kind of licensing fee though.

You should contact Discovery Channe, and the aforementioned production company collectively and see. Much will depend on the planned method of delivery. If it’s solely for internet distribution (as so much indie music video is these days) it might be really cheap. If it’s for Broadcast it probably won’t be cheap. But even MTV doesn’t broadcast musch music video anymore…

Is the footage really ubiquitous or unique somehow ? Many of the Doc channels (Discovery, History, TLC, etc) use LOTS of stock, particularly from Artbeats and Getty Images. You can try going direct to their source and seeing if you can find some more economical stock footage that gets the job done.

Our studios focus is on Music Videos, and video design elements for concerts (big screens etc)… We have really good luck with the stock option quite a bit of the time.

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader

[Bob Bonniol]

Enable time remapping. Extend the comp for as long as you need the clip to ‘hold’. Copy the last keyframe (of the two) provided by the time remap, and paste it at the end of the newly extended comp. The clip will play, hit the last moving frame, and then hold there as long as you have defined…

Best,

Bob Bonniol

MODE Studios
http://www.modestudios.com
Contributing Editor, Entertainment Design Magazine
Art of the Edit Forum Leader
Live & Stage Event Forum Leader
HD Forum Leader