Tim Wilson
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
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[Vincent Becquiot] “I’d say that the workflow for DVCPro is even worse than HDV on the editing side”
Another thread I think, but I’d love to hear why you think so. I have zero experience with this, but I read on the FCP board all the time that people are shooting HDV, and capturing to DVCPro via HD-SDI, because of what they see as workflow advantages.
[Vincent Becquiot] “it is my feeling that HDV may not be around that much longer”
I’ve wondered about this myself. I understand why it was developed — a way to get HD cameras, tapes, data rates and prices into the smallest footprints — but I can’t help see it as an interim step. A very, very relevant one that’s played a critical role in HD adoption, but….
Of course, I feel that Blu-ray and HD DVD are interim formats with a far shorter life ahead of them, so what do I know? 🙂
[Vincent Becquiot] “what do you like to edit with in that little bit of spare time you have left ?”
I have no spare time. 🙂 After wandering in the wilderness of linear editing, I started with Premiere in 1995, then moved to Media 100 in 1996 for my business. Mostly FCP once I moved to Boris. When I was at Avid, I spent a lot of time with Xpress Pro and Media Composer, vastly preferring the latter. (Nice that it’s available as software-only now.)
Now the wheel has turned, and I’m back to Premiere. I don’t edit much at all — mostly screen-capture movies from Camtasia — but there’s a lot of other things to do with Premiere that I’m also enjoying.
Far more time spent working on The COW magazine, though, where I’m getting to know InDesign, and COW podcasts, for which I’m using Audition. So definitely an Adobe dude….
Hey, drop me a line when you get a chance, tim(at)creativecow.net
Happy to hear from other folks too. Just don’t ask me any technical questions offline. 🙂 I know almost nothing compared to the sages here.
tw
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[Vincent Becquiot] “Most of us don’t, because it is very, very slow”
It was only a very few years ago when those of us in the NLE biz were playing the “my HDV’s more native than yours” game. My own pitch was “Our HDV is late, but we’re doing it right by making it native.”
So what’s your HDV workflow, Vincent?
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I have a custom-built, hand-tuned system from BolDATA Systems, and can’t recommend them highly enough. The thing positively screams, and their prices are very good for this kind of thing. More than Dell…but you’ll feel the difference.
[HHV_Pro] “Go with most CPU/Memory/graphics/storage that you can afford.”
Agreed entirely. In some ways (not all) these are as important as CPU speed — maybe even more. Premiere takes a lot of advantage of the graphics card, and fast ones are only a few hundred dollars. You won’t regret having “way too much” storage.
RAM in particular is a corner not to even think about cutting.
I know all of this is adding up fast, but better to spend now than be miserable every time you sit down in front of your computer.
FWIW.
Best,
Tim
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The Vanishing Point data that you export from Photoshop is in the .vpe format. The “stuff” you export is a series of PNG files, where AE uses that .vpe info to put the scene together.
You’ll find especially remarkable support for 3D compositing and texture editing in Photoshop Extended, one of many reasons to upgrade to that one instead of “regular” PS. My favorite 3D feature is edting textures on 3D models, in formats including including 3DS, OBJ, U3D..etc., etc. I assume that the primary workflow is simply saving the edited objects in their existing formats, or exporting flattened images and animations. (Animation is my overall favorite feature in PS Extended.)
That said, it doesn’t look to me like there’s support for actual 3D animation in Photoshop…
So close…..
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[rafalaos] ” I think that if everybody would use Diskwarrior or Techtools the number of posts in those forums would decrease in at least a 20%.”
Maybe more. I can’t even remember how long I’ve used DiskWarrior — 20 years I think, maybe more. It’s the one utility I’d never consider operating without. Truly indispensible.
TechTools is also a winner, and I’ve used it for daily maintenance. But DiskWarrior is the one that’s most often saved my life.
Which is why I used them both. The reason that using them will reduce the number of questions here is because they’ll reduce the number of problems you have. Buy ’em. Work better. Be happier.
Best,
Tim -
If you’re editing for the sake of use with After Effects, you’re going to be blown away by the integration between the two in CS3. You’ve heard the basics (opening sequences from one in the other, pasting keyframes, etc.), but it’s at a whole different level now.
One of my favorites is that you can now capture video directly from inside AE, using PPro’s capture module — absolutely seamless. It’s one of the many, many reasons why the hardest-core users of other NLEs on both platforms are going to be using PPro a whole lot more than they planned. Ditto the integrations with Photoshop and Flash.
I think there are other reasons that folks will find to use PPro, especially if they haven’t taken a look at it in a while (especially Mac users for example, and for obvious reasons). It’s a truly stunning revision that you’re going to be hearing a lot about.
And for heavy AE users? A no-brainer.
Best,
Tim -
Peter will correct me, but the last time I looked into it (5+ years ago), the cost of licensing dictionaries was too high to justify inclusion, especially for a free product.
Also, a significant part of the usage of Title 3D includes names, which are risky as well.
Have you tried the Spelling Module built into OS X? It’s at the bottom of the Edit menu. I haven’t tried using it with Title 3D, but you should check it out.
That’s free of course, but if you can spend $29, the best, best option is an app called Spell Catcher (nice name) that works in pretty much every app you’ve got on your computer, supports auto-completion, is easily customized, includes a thesaurus, etc. Comes with a free trial, too.
I don’t know if any Windows folks will read this, but it’s cross-platform too.
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[eric] “When is the cow going to get a edit button!?”
We’ve found that people tend to post more prudently when they know they can’t take their words back. 🙂
Although as you’ll see throughout The COW, emphasis is on the word “tend.”
Sorry about the typo thing, though. I can only suggest the preview button….which I have to confess I don’t use as often as I should…
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QuickTime Pro is one of the handiest utilities ever. Especially for losslessly trimming .mov files. 🙂
Tim
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[Adrian Tecson] “But i’m also trying to create a semblance of a workable schedule that a typical office has”
First, good on ya for trying to take care of your people and your office. You’re way, way ahead of the game as a boss, and I salute you.
Out of curiosity, have you asked your people for suggestions? They might think everything is fine as it is.
That said, creative people will keep going and going — they don’t have an off switch. They often pride themselves on working around the clock.
They’re (we’re) idiots.
To the extent that you want to support them being more sane, create a big fat wall between “on” time and “off” time. Get them to stop working AT ALL. (Much harder than it sounds.)
Otherwise, there’s a tendency to keep polishing, keep finding new tasks. Don’t let it happen. Prioritize deadlines, and if the deadline isn’t screaming hot, make your people take down time.
Let them know that you factor this into their evaluations: not taking enough time off is unacceptable. It’s not about driving yourself crazy hitting deadlines. It’s about getting there with sanity intact.
BTW, this is every bit as true for the self-employed. 🙂
[grinner] “This is just not a 9-5 kind of industry.”
Almost none are. There are a handful of jobs that have strictly regulated limits on hours, and should: pilots, surgeons, truck drivers, assembly line workers. We all pay the price if these folks work too long.
About the only 9-5 profession after that is receptionists I think.
Even among the not-all-that-creative parts of white collardom, a recent gig of mine was more or less 8-6:30 or 7, pretty much every day, frequently longer. The joke (sort of) was, “If you’re not in the office on Saturday, don’t bother coming to work Sunday.”
That said, I know an engineer — a true genius — who usually wanders in around noon, and never ever leaves earlier than ten pm. You have to be flexible enough to accomodate folks like this.
[grinner] “I’m at an age now where I see this as bass ackwards and while most of it was required to get where I am today…”
You know that thing about “when you’re on your deathbed you’ll never say ‘i wish i’d worked more”? There was a time not that long ago I’d have disputed that. There were things I really could have accomplished, people I really could have helped, if only I’d worked harder. I regretted not having more time to put into the job.
I was also an idiot.
I know a guy who sells suits for close to $200,000 a year. The nights he works until 9 are days when he started at noon. He loves his life. He paints, he’s a musician, he flies a plane and has a great time with his family.
I haven’t figured out what’s wrong with this picture yet, except for the part about me being an idiot.