Bob Zelin
7
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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Bill is completely correct. I have not read thru the entire post and all the threads, but the game has totally changed. Everything is based on IP today. Believe me, for someone who comes from a background of broadcast monitors, scopes, patch bays, routing switchers, etc. and to see all of this “out the window” is hard for me to take, but it’s the reality of what is going on. When you see demos from Adobe and Blackmagic for Resolve and Premiere and After Effects, they are not outputting to Sony and FSI broadcast monitors. I recently did an install for a company with all new iMac Pro’s, and they had to get new thunderbolt 3 Blackmagic products, because they “had to ” feed their antique Sony LMD 20″ 1080i monitors that look like a joke compared to anything you get at WalMart or Best Buy. “But how are we going to see an interlaced signal”. Hey – they paid me. But this is 2018. The world has changed, but some people don’t want to change.
Today a modern facility is your computers (Mac’s or Win PC’s) and a big shared storage system, all interconnected with a network. While you can get out to your monitors with AJA and Blackmagic products, you can feed the 4K signals today via HDMI or Display Port to monitors from HP, Eizo, Dell, as well as consumer LG and Samsung products. WHAT ! you say ? I am in the same boat you are in. I don’t come from that background, but that’s how it goes. The reality of plugging in a thunderbolt to HDMI dock from OWC, Promise, Sonnet or CalDigit to feed an HDMI monitor, instead of dealing with the more established AJA, Blackmagic, Matrox, etc. is a common reality. Scopes ? What’s a scope ! And of course, everything ties back (usually with 10G ethernet, and occationally with fiber channel) back to a shared storage system. That’s a modern post production facility.
Just keep your mind open, and accept the fact that its nothing like the way it used to be.
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
one thing we ALL can agree on –
LONG LIVE THE COW !
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
Hey Andrew –
gee, I could be wrong, but it appears that a dinosaur like me is one of the only people who seem willing to assist others on these forums with storage issues. I could be wrong, but it appears that almost every company will not assist anyone on any of these forums unless 1) you give them a lot of money, and 2) you pay for their support contract, and 3) if you expect free support, you are getting nothing. Now granted, I do this in hopes that people might say “hey, this guy seems to know what he’s doing – maybe we should hire him to help us”. Which is exactly why I participate. I have been fortunate enough to have this happen on a regular basis, which is why I participate on Cow, and several other forums related to our industry. I don’t see the “warm friendly faces” of other manufacturers coming here (and other forums) to give out free advice. It’s the very reason people give presentations at user groups and trade shows. They do it to “promote their business and themselves” – and not to “give back to the community to help others”.
It appears that others, that are actively involved in on line training or reviews in technology, are not doing it because they are “nice guys” but to get lots of “hits” on things like YouTube and Instagram, to turn it into a business model. When you give accurate training and information, on things like how to do complex stuff in Davinci Resolve (for example) – the purpose of doing this is to present yourself as an expert, and in turn, people who need experts will hire you. To think that it’s being done solely for philanthropic reasons “to give back to the community” – well, I don’t think anyone does this.And with that said – back to the original story – the intern who is willing to stick it out at Blackbird Studios in Nashville – you know, the kid that’s cleaning the toilets, and getting lunch. That kid, who sticks it out, will ultimately be given the opportunity to learn the equipment, to assist in sessions, to work with budget new artists that don’t have the budget to work with bigger engineers. And perhaps one of those young artists will start to make it, and take that intern and bring them on the road to mix for them live.
You guys should watch the wonderful movie “Sound City” – about this dumpy recording studio in Van Nuys. Many interns, and people that worked for crap money became famous from working at that studio, and went on to have thriving careers in the recording industry. It represents what “sticking it out” means. And not to kill the movie, but many of these “interns” who learned, eventually took Sound City’s client base, and Sound City eventually went under. That’s how it works – you work for someone, they make money from your labor, you learn the business, you learn THEIR BUSINESS, you open your own company, you steal their business, the “evil owners” (you know – the ones that made you clean the toilets) – they GO OUT of business. You win. Screw them. It’s war.
Keep fighting.
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
your perception of everything is “interesting” and “innocent”. I know this will not be a nice reply, but it’s an accurate one, in my opinion. It’s the way I view the world. It’s the way I believe that many people who are successful in business view the world.
This has nothing to do with race (black/white/Hispanic/indian/Asian) or gender (male/female/LBGQT). It has to do with competition.
As you know, I am currently involved in the shared storage industry, and have been involved with video engineering and installation for a long time. I usually compete with other white men, that happen to be very nice people. While I may view them as “nice people” – they are basically my enemies. It is MY JOB to make sure that people hire ME, and to make sure that they do not hire THEM. That means that I get as much of the piece of pie as possible, leaving their families and themselves starving. I don’t care if they go out of business – I hope they go out of business. It is the job of Apple to make sure that people use FCP X and not Resolve, and not AVID, and not Adobe. And it’s Adobe’s job to make sure that people use Adobe and not FCP X, etc. And if those other companies collapse, and go out of business, well that’s GREAT – they can get another job in another industry. It’s dog eat dog, and I don’t care what the business is – if you make movies, you want people to see your movie – screw the other movie. If you have a post production company, you want all the agencies to use your post house – screw the other post production houses. You do everything you can to make sure that YOU win. Well – what about all the nice people that are in these other companies. Who cares – all that matters is that YOU get all or most of the business, and you learn what you have to learn, and invest in what you have to invest in, so that YOU get hired for the next production, and the other guy never gets hired again.
This mindset (which I have developed myself after doing this for a long time) is how business works. And in real life, with all the “crying babies” out there, I observe what is really happening in the world in the big picture. You look at life in the Foxxconn factory where Apple products are made. Are these people’s lives better or worse than the poor interns that had to clean the bathrooms in the nice recording studio in Nashville ? They are worse – are we all going to stop buying Apple products because of this ?
So it relates to me, because as you may know, I am heavily involved now with Chinese manufacturers who are “kicking the butt’s” of the American companies that I have dealt with for years. And I am friendly with all the American companies, and their owners, and engineers – and they are all nice guys. But they will ultimately be pushed out of business because of these Chinese companies, and their low prices. The American companies can’t complete with these prices. After all, they and their employees need to pay for medical insurance, etc. And how do the Chinese companies have such low prices ? I am sure that their employees are suffering – much worse than the intern who had to clean the bathroom. But do I really care ? Do any of my customers (yes, all you people on Cow) – really care about these American employees ? NO – you just want your LOW prices, so you can make as much money as you can, so you can get your medical insurance, send your kids to college, and have a nice vacation.This is all a miserable example, but it’s the way the world works. Life is unfair. You have to fight, and some people will suffer. The playing field is not level. People who don’t deserve opportunities, get the opportunities, and perhaps you, who is dramatically more qualified should have those opportunities. And when you lose out on those opportunities, it’s your JOB to go after that person (not physically, but in business) and STOP THEM FROM WORKING – to discredit them, to show how much better that you are, and that (once you get in) that THEY will NEVER work again with your clients, and that YOU are the only one that your client will ever want to work with.
I mean after all – isn’t that what Creative Cow did almost single handedly to the print business in the video industry. Do you think that Ron Lindeboom and Tim Wilson feel bad for killing off Videography, Post (still barely in business), Broadcast Engineering, and SO MANY OTHER publications ? Creative Cow was a nuclear bomb to these publications, and only a small handful (like ProVideo Coalition and FCP.CO) could continue to compete. The other companies DIED. Their employees are now unemployed and had to find other things to do for work. Does Ron and Tim feel bad about this every evening ? I don’t think so.
The minute you are “fair”, someone else (perhaps in another country) will not be fair – and they will take your job. You have to do whatever it takes – especially in a competitive industry like we are in.
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
well, as I read more about this –
these “interns” were working at this place –
https://www.blackbirdstudio.com/so it’s a nice recording studio in Nashville. When I got into working, and I wanted to be in this business (entertainment – audio, video, it didn’t make a difference) – I was willing to do anything, just to get in. When you have an entry level employee, or an intern – do they actually expect that they are going to be mixing an album, because they are willing to work for free ? Exactly why would anyone want an intern in their facility – to “give back to the younger generation” ? As an intern, you take this free work, to get experience, to learn whatever you can while you are there (in between getting coffee). I was recently reading a bio on guitarist Slash, who got a job at a recording studio in Los Angles. The first thing they did was to hand him some money, and told him to get lunch for everyone. He did not like that, and took the money, and never went back. That was his decision. If I wanted to learn recording techniques, and this was my opportunity to get in, I would do whatever it would take. This is EXCACTLY what Jon Bon Jovi did for Power Station studios in NY City (when he worked for his uncle Tony Bonjiovi) – he cleaned toilets, and got a chance to record at night when the studio was not being used. Was he paid some measly sum – I have no idea – perhaps. If he made minimum wage cleaning those toilets, was that degrading for him ? Should he have missed this opportunity. As you may know, he “made it” soon after that opportunity.
Those of you, who have been doing this for a while – you see the “kids” that come in – some are aggressive, and ambitious and “make it” (as editors, colorists, mixers, DP’s, etc.) and some NEVER make it. So is this “unfair” to the weaker kids, that are not as ambitious, and aggressive ? Should everything be fair, with a level playing field ?
Are we talking about real life here ?and from this article (on Billy Joel) –
https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/entertainment/music/sdut-billy-joel-interview-2016may07-htmlstory.html
A: Oh, yeah, I sneaked in places without a ticket. I went to see Jimi Hendrix back in the late 1960s. He was playing at what is now Flushing Meadows Tennis Stadium, where they have the U.S. Open. I went with a friend and made believe I was one of Hendrix’s roadies. I had on a baseball cap and wrapped some (electrical) cable around my shoulder. I started to try to talk with an English accent: ‘Jimi’s got these cables I need to take to him.’ I made my way closer and closer inside the venue, and I finally got close to backstage.Then. Jimi’s famous roadie, Keith Robertson, motioned to me, and said: ‘You, come over here! You’re pretty good. Now, I’m going to put you to work.’ He had me lug Hendrix’s huge Marshall (speaker cabinets) onstage. … I spent the entire concert on the edge of the rotating stage, watching Hendrix perform — and watching my friends in the audience. I couldn’t believe it, and neither could they! I did that (phony roadie) thing a number of times.
So Billy Joel “lugged and setup equipment for free” for Jimi Hendrix. With all the retroactive lawsuits these days, perhaps Billy Joel can successfully sue the estate of Jimi Hendrix.
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
new Mac systems that have SSD boot drives will format with the new Apple APFS file format, not HFS+.
If your drive is formatted with AFPS, this cannot be read on an Mac with an older operating system.https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_File_System
https://support.apple.com/en-us/ht208033
from the above doc –
•APFS requires macOS High Sierra. Earlier versions of the Mac operating system don’t mount APFS-formatted volumes.Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
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Hi David –
I will summarize what I am saying.
Imagine that your air conditioning stopped working.
Imagine that your car stopped working.
Imagine that your wife/girlfriend needed minor surgery.And you could SOLVE your AC/auto/girlfriend issues for $262.
OH NO – I can save $262 – why would I care if I chance my car not working, my AC not working, my wife/girlfriend becoming more ill – I CAN SAVE $262.
If you were a student, I would not be so insulting. But I go see “amateur” bands every weekend – every Thursday and Friday night. These guys make $75 a night (about $300 – $400 for the entire band). And they have THE BEST equipment – the best Fender/Gibson guitars, the best drums, the best Yamaha/QSC PA systems. The best in ear monitors from Sennenheisser.
And here we are – a bunch of “professionals”. Making “professional” money – I know exactly what you, or your company charges – it’s on your website. And you posted that you are not getting the performance that you want.
And you can resolve this issue for TWO NIGHTS of playing that the local crappy bar that I hang out at, on Thursday and Friday nights – the SAME BAR that these guys have all this GREAT musical equipment.WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU DAVID. Can you imagine that you signed up for UBER, and your tires were becoming bald, and you said “well, I can go to the tire store, and get four new Goodyear tires for $800 – but I will go to the getto, and get four patched tires for $200, and save $600 !!!! EXACTLY WHO on this Creative Cow forum would get into your cab ? Exactly who (Lyft, UBER, etc.) would hire you with FOUR BALD, PATCHED TIRES ? And WHO would ask “well, I hear there is this new gas additive that will reduce my fuel costs, so I am HOPING that in 2019, I can add this to my Ford Pinto UBER with bald tires, and REDUCE my expense for gas, so I can make more of a profit !
WHAT IS GOING ON HERE. Are we NOT PROFESSIONALS ? Is Creative Cow becoming a forum for people that have less money to invest than STUDENTS whose parents are typically spending $60,000 a year to get into our industry.
How much do parents of the students that are taking your LSAT program intend to spend, so their children can become legal professionals ? There was a recent post on the Blackmagic Forum, from a woman that was a legal aid professional, that wanted advice on Blackmagic equipment – yet she had no money, but she was a lawyer – (perhaps she paid $199 per month to take your LSAT course). I would like to get a will and power of attorney made up – can you advise me on how I can get this FOR FREE in exchange for setting up a network attached storage system ? If I advise her on how to put together a Blackmagic Design studio system for free within her budget, will she create a will and power of attorney for free for me ? After all – she is doing legal aid for FREE – can I get some free help here ? You are providing LSAT courses for $199 a month plus $200 startup fees. Can you do this for free if I show you how to do shared storage FOR FREE without spending that extra $269 to get the correct equipment, so that you can have all your editors do shared storage with your system ?Exactly what can I get for free, if I can show you how to save $269 in total investment ?
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
well David – you have ordered the wrong switch.
As per here –
https://www.netgear.com/business/products/switches/smart/MS510TX.aspx#tab-techspecsyou get four 1G ports, two 2.5 G ports, two 5G ports and one shared 10G/SFP+ port. So you will never get the proper speeds that you need.
It is beyond me that your joy in only spending $327.95, as opposed to $589 – and your savings of $262 is going to give you inferior performance on ALL of your computers. Please tell me exactly how long it takes to generate
$262 of revenue for your company. Perhaps you are a student film maker, and have no money.People pay $199 per month for Blueprint LSAT, plus $200 for all initial materials. You are telling me that you could not get the extra $262 together. Do you not have one or two customers, so you can actually invest in your company ?
Let’s just say that thunderbolt 3 network bridging actually worked well. With a distance limitation of 2 meters,
(the Cal Digit is the longest cable at 2 meters) –
https://www.caldigit.com/Thunderbolt-3-USB-C-Type-C-Charge-Cable/#Thunderbolt3do you actually run your professional editorial team all sitting around a desk, at a max distance of 6′ away from each other ?
Am I being rude here, or are you being professionally crazy ?
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com -
I LOVE that picture – it actually looks like my mother !
Bob Zelin
Bob Zelin
Rescue 1, Inc.
bobzelin@icloud.com