[Markh]

So if inquiring with Avid, they would recommend to use Symphony and Nitris DX for editing, finishing and color correction. Asking other people, I’m guessing folks are selecting Media Composer over Symphony (in most cases, because they don’t see the value in paying $3,500 more for Symphony). Once using MC, perhaps most folks are using DaVinci for color correction? If going down the MC and DaVinci path, I guess it begs the question as to whether one would need Nitris DX unless there are some very specific needs that only Nitris DX can offer within MC, because the AJA Kona 3G is significantly less, and the Decklink family of cards even less than AJA. I’m assuming Davinici also only works with the Decklink family and doesn’t support monitoring output on Nitris DX.

[Markh]

Hi Bryce,

Thanks for the clarification. For folks like myself who are still learning Smoke through training *and* using the free Smoke for Mac 2012 Education License from Autodeak, we don’t have the ability to stay “current” in the sense that we cannot access any SfM 2012 add-ons. That means whatever is available in the SfM 2012 SP1 release, that is what we have to work with – while commercial customers with an active subscription get to take advantages of the current (latest & greatest) features that have been released by Autodesk since the last base release. That is the reason why I was trying to get a better understanding on the differences between the Kona 3 and 3G. I’m grateful for the opportunity Autodesk has provided to learn the software (something I could only wish for a decade ago). At the same time AJA has done an amazing job by making the hardware available at reasonable prices while still making a high quality product that all the top facilities have come to rely on. I definitely don’t want my thread to have come across as if I’m complaining, because I’m certainly not at all, I am just trying to drill down to what’s viable for me today as I progress through the learning stages. Thanks again for your input. It’s very helpful! 🙂

[Markh]

I contacted someone on ebay who said they updated the firmware of their Kona 3 to the 3G firmware. If you go there and search for Kona 3G Upgrade the listing will show.

[Markh]

This has been really helpful. It’s been a while since I’ve done anything commercially and the industry has changed so much since the last time I was involved. At the same time, companies like Autodesk and Avid have changed significantly over the years and the tools are within reach for someone like myself. I’m still learning and being educated (which helps being able to obtain these tools without breaking the bank), but now I truly have the opportunity to arm myself with knowledge, talent, and skills where as 10 years ago it was very hard to do on any of these platforms. I see it as a great opportunity that wasn’t feasible before.

Thanks again for everyones contribution.

[Markh]

So much great feedback. Thanks everyone for your time and patience in answering questions and putting “real world” perspective around things.

[Markh]

Thanks for that info. I’m just trying to get my head around the difference between Smoke for Mac and Symphony. Most folks I know don’t think of Smoke as the best editor, although you can edit, but it’s excellent for finishing. If Symphony takes the best of of editing from Media Composer and adds top of the line color correction and finishing, then is the “better” platform just a matter of opinion? Or is there still a compelling reason to select one over the other. Either way, they both support the Kona 3G, so from an I/O perspective I assume all things are equal. I would imagine having the Avid solution and potentially Pro Tools if needed would also add serious value, still for a much lower price than Smoke.

[Markh]

The cleanest way is to use Photoshop, type your logo with your favorite font, break it down into layers, then import the PSD with its layers into After Effects. Use the write-on effect to reveal each layer. It takes a little time but is really clean.

You’ll get the idea if you watch Jayse’s (excellent) video on making elements grow.

https://www.creativecow.net/articles/hansen_jaysen/growing/growing_things.html

[Markh]

Yes, I emailed Red Giant already. Their reply was “We don’t have a a release date for Trapcode FPC” – however, I never asked for a release date. My original email was only two sentences long and asked “…will the plugins be compatible with G5 and Intel Macs?”. Frustrating. :/

[Markh]

I’ve emailed Bluefish twice asking if they plan to release a PCI Express card and I have basically emailed into a black hole as I never heard back. Blackmagic has been great as they’ve helped answer some of questions about the upcoming Multibridge Extreme. I’ve been trying desperately to get Eyeon (Digital Fusion) to support Decklink in their release of Fusion 5 later this year. But now that I’m so “hooked” on Combustion I’m not going to care as much. :p

[Markh]

Based on everything I’ve read the 32-bit software application would work in x64, but any hardware using drivers would need specific x64 drivers. Not sure when BMD will release them.