Mark Raudonis
3
COW Coins
Forum Replies Created
-
I didn’t mean to offend you.
I’m merely pointing out that there isn’t always an “EASY BUTTON”.
Knowing this stuff is what we get paid for. If it’s what you do for a living… learn it.
Mark
-
[Mark Scudder] “I wish this sort of process was simpler”
Perhaps you should be looking for a different line of work?
Dealing with these issues comes with the territory. If you’re getting paid to edit, then it’s your responsibility to know the tools of your trade. Understanding workflow, media management, and basic computer concepts is part and parcel to that.
Mark
-
What you want is called “Off-line RT HD”. It’s a very compressed format that takes up approx 1/30th
the size of full rez. SD resolution is 320 X 240. HD is alittle bigger.You need to convert ALL your footage to this format BEFORE you start editing. Either you retain the full rez version on your drives somewhere, or UPREZ once you’ve locked picture.
There are plenty of “gotchas” in this workflow. I’d suggest you find someone who’s done it before to walk you through it. Having said that, we’ve successfully worked this way for years. The secret is to plan for enough time to do the uprez AND check for frame accuracy or inconsistencies. Speed ramps, “non video” elements like GRFX or Stills will NOT go smoothly. Know that and plan accordingly.
Good luck.
Mark
-
Geeez Aaron, lighten up.
You got off easy! On the Zelin “rant scale” that post barely even registered a “1”.
I happen to agree with Bob that if you’re doing this stuff for a living you should know these things. You got the answer you needed from Bob (Sync generator). Just ‘cuz your ego was bruised don’t shoot the messenger.
mark
-
This has been a great thread. Email vs phone… for the record, I love email. As pointed out, when it’s appropriate can be much more effective than a “live” phone call.
Back to the original post. It seems that much of the frustration and angst caused by the “no answer” comes from the notion that “time is money” and by NOT responding the client is spending YOUR time and cutting into YOUR profits. Simple solution. Include a time frame for response into the contract. 24 hrs. 48 hours. Whatever. Anything more than that becomes an “overage” that they will be billed for. Now, the ball’s in their court, and you’re free to relax on THEIR dime. Trust me. Nothing compels a response like the notion that NO response will cost you money.
Politeness and etiquette aside, if it’s a business communication, then place the “cost” of not responding on them, and you’ll be amazed at how quick you’ll get an answer.
mark
-
Couple of things: Distributed rendering “reaches out” and looks for systems with available CPU cycles to speed along the process. If someone is actively using FCP, and you’ve designated that computer as “available” then you’re stretching the resources of that CPU and it may cause a failure.
One way to avoid this is to NOT designate CPU’s as part of a cluster if you know that they will be in heavy use. When we set up our cluster, we specifically EXCLUDE certain computers that we know are going to be in heavy use (The GRFX or On-line systems, for example).
Here’s a tip. “Apple Remote Desktop” is extremely helpful in “resetting” the cluster.
Mark
-
Max,
See that box up above that says “Search”?
Type this in there: 2 FCP stations on one Xserve RAID
Mark
-
I agree with Scott on this.
I’ve gone to “Fabric Barn” and bought a few yards of green cloth, hung it from a rod and shot
perfectly usable green screen interviews. It’s all about the subject lighting, not the background.Google this topic and you’ll find tons of hints, suggestions, and tutorials. Well worth researching before you shoot.
Good luck.
mark
-
I agree completely with Shane. There are just so many things to know that if you’ve never done this before, you’re just asking for problems.
TO CHRIS: “some of this jargon is a little more “engineer speak” than it needs to be. reminds me of a legal document”
In a sense, it IS a legal document. If you don’t hit these specs, then they can kick it back to you. You then are LEGALLY in default of the contract…. no acceptable delivery, no pay day!
Some networks are more leniant than others, but at the end of the day, it’s YOUR responsibility to know how to meet these specs. Otherwise, pay someone who does know how to do it.
Mark
-
Five years of running X-SAN and I’ve NEVER, EVER defragged it. Performance has remained the same.
We’ve also filled it up too far, but after deleting enough media, performance returns to normal.
There’s plenty of other maintenance procedures that we do on a regular basis, like running “CVFSCK”, but that has nothing to do with “defragging”.
mark