[Bob Cole]

update: on both the CalDigit site and at B&H, most of the T4 configurations are now available. Back in December, when I contacted CalDigit, they said it was simply a problem in their supply chain. I’ve read that there have been quite a few disruptions of this sort, in many industries. So who knows? That might have been the truth.

Meanwhile, Bob Z., do you have any insight as to whether CalDigit is still a good option? I’ve been very impressed, over quite a few years, by their tech support.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Thank you very much. Food for thought. I have to learn about the DNG file format.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Thanks for these replies, Mark and Tony. Very helpful. I did not know about the designated areas around the U.S. Capitol.

Re the tripod being the essential dividing line between tolerated and non-tolerated: I believe you. But at D.C.’s Tidal Basin, when the cherry trees were blossoming, I found that even without a tripod, just using a professional-looking camera was not permitted. (This was a while ago, and the camera was a Bolex 16mm!) More recently, on assignment for a national cable outfit, I tried to get some hand-held video on the sidewalk behind a large Federal national-security building, and was almost immediately confronted by a helmeted guard who approached me with his hand on his holster. (Which reminded me that, although I have always been extremely meek, mild, and well-behaved, when I was in the airport in the 1970s, I was frequently singled out for extra security inspections. Usually there were two of us, one “extra-large,” who looked like either a Black Panther or a Hell’s Angel, and then skinny little me. But I digress.)

I thought you might be interested in a discussion I had with a time-lapse creator who has worked in quite a few cities, including D.C. Time-lapse, of course, requires two things that are problematic: tripods and TIME. You can’t just run-and-gun (unfortunate word) with a time-lapse. So I asked him how he did it. He said, essentially, that he doesn’t get permits – he just does it as quickly as possible, with several assistants, and that he does get run off. In his case, it isn’t even just one camera and tripods – it’s several, to get various fields of view, angles, and motion controlled moves.

[Bob Cole]

Resolve has a nice basic design which makes intuitive sense. It is also quite stable.

Resolve is also very deep, with integrated “pages” for color, audio, motion graphics, and export. It is very handy to be able to address other aspects of editing without having to fire up another program, and export and import media. I like the ability to pop over into a very capable Color page, fix a problem, and then quickly resume with the Edit page, where I can see how the color change in one clip works within the timeline. To be honest, I have not yet become very comfortable with Fairlight and Fusion (I still use other programs for most audio and motion graphics), but I anticipate being able to take advantage of those features, again within the workflow of editing.

My favorite “little thing” is “smooth cut,” to make unwanted jump cuts disappear.

I don’t like stuttery playback, but to be fair, I’m using an older computer which does not meet Resolve’s recommended requirements.

Did I mention the price? And no subscription?

The best NLE is the one that you already know how to use. (Though, if you know FCP7 or PP, you will pick up Resolve rapidly.) And the “critical mass” argument is a very strong one; if you need to be able to hire other editors to jump in on a project, this is probably not your best choice.

But if you’re editing for yourself, you should at least give Resolve a try.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

If someone could provide more specifics I’d really appreciate it. I understand the importance of the graphics card. But deciding on a particular card is extremely difficult, as their prices vary tremendously. I don’t want to buy any more than I really need, for 4k editing, about 3 layers of video usually, color correction, and compositing.

Like Michael, I have to stick with Windows or OSX so I can run some software that is only available on those platforms.

Thanks in advance.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

In reply to Tim: I’m still running FCP 7 myself, when collaborating with a colleague who still uses it as his principal NLE. It is getting creaky, and I have to be careful NOT to update my Mac, which might make my copy of FCP 7 obsolete.

In reply to Michael: switching to PC for awhile is a very, very interesting idea. I do prefer OSX, but I’ve deliberately kept my Windows “chops” active, just so I don’t become Windows-illiterate. That might pay off big time. I would appreciate being pointed to some discussion of a good Windows configuration. Yes, I’ve read the Blackmagic configuration guide. But the days of being interested in all the details are way in my past. I’d just like some straightforward “BUY THIS” suggestions.

[Bob Cole]

Right. Re-record.

Or, of course, you could show the dog earlier in the video. Louis Malle began his Phantom India series with a montage of people staring into the camera, often 10-15 of them in a crowd. The narrator says something like “Get used to this. In India, we were the exotic outsiders, and wherever we went, people looked at us.” From that point on, not a single shot was “ruined” by people looking into the lens – it was all part of the story.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

This raises another issue: Production in the time of C-19. When they produced this video advocating social distancing, were they social distancing?

There’s a nice commercial airing now, where the set-up shot is of a bunch of people grouped together jamming or dancing around; then each person is framed and “lifted” from the group shot to reveal that they’re actually separated and Zooming. But that first shot? They’re together, right?

I’m very curious about production in general. The late night hosts seemingly started out with very rudimentary set-ups. Sometimes Stephen Colbert seemed to be filmed by his wife. But that has evolved and now there seems to be a professional crew in the room.

There have been so many different approaches to keeping the beast going. The host of the PBS News Hour was the only staffer in the studio for awhile, before she moved home to broadcast from there. My guilty pleasure is “Survivor,” and for the finale, instead of a live show before an audience in a big studio, it was just Jeff Probst in his garage, in front of a background that was shipped to him. Little video camera on a tripod. Rudimentary, but it works for the current mood.

I’m not indignant or anything of the kind. Just curious.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Robert: Resolve may not work well on your particular computer. Have you checked out their recommended hardware spec’s?

There are many nonlinear editors out there which may not have as much capability, but would work better for your hardware.

Bob C

[Bob Cole]

Robert:

Just to be sure we’re talking about the same thing, you might want to look at the Resolve manual. Open the manual, and type in “Jog Control” in the “find” window, to get the most recent information on this.

The jog control is under the monitors, to the left of the main transport controls. It looks like this:

” < • > ” (but the “o” is a larger, filled-in dot)

The display setting I was discussing is in the Apple preferences. Click the little apple icon on the top bar, choose Display, and fiddle with it. Maybe your screen is too small to display the jog control. An external monitor might help.

At any rate, this jog control is not necessary. To jog, I just use the left-right arrow keys on the keyboard. In Resolve, choose Timeline/Audio Scrubbing in order to hear the audio while you scrub with the left-right arrow keys.

Good luck and let us know what you have found.

Bob C