Michael Phillips
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COW Coin
Forum Replies Created
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I don’t know yet as I have yet to get the demo, but from press releases and such it appears to be both – I am curious as to how tied in these all are with the LUT and FrameFlex features or is this version really about applying actions HD camera originals already in matching Rec.79 color space, resolution (scale only), and frame rate? In the one marketing still, it didn’t appear to have settings that could be called up as part of the AMA rules so I am doubting it can at this time. Maybe in Phase 2.
Michael
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Many of those are overdue and certainly welcomed! It will be interesting to see how integrated the pan & zoom for video is to all parts of the editorial process – not just via source settings but within all the effects where a resize is used or needed – for example, if I do a picture in picture where the frame starts at one size and end up another as it moves – is it using the original image’s pixels or the scaled image as HD? Testing will tell. Also curious to see how that information travels to other finishing systems.
Certainly LUTs are welcome – again will be interesting to see how integrated those are up to and within the color corrector. Looks like just source LUTs for now and now export or integrated monitoring ones.
All the AMA changes were needed, and looks like a lot of work was done with watched folders and actions. I wonder how tied that is to LUT and such? Can a system be used as ingest into a system on shared storage? Not so much for feature type dailies, but for reality shows and such will be a real time-saver – I wonder if it handles different frame rates as well so one doesn’t have to make specific projects each time but can set up a rule/action to take care of that “virtually”.
Symphony as an option – interesting. Some interesting marketing here: in the end you have a MC at $999 and a Symphony (er option) for a total of $2500 (the old MC price). So a price drop for MC/Symphony functionality. Basically keeping the brand of Symphony while no longer offering it as a product but now have a longer named product called Media Composer with Symphony option. I believe that the option is enabled ala PhraseFind/ScriptSync with another set of software license. I wish they would move to an iLok type license for those of us who use dongles – especially rental houses with multiple systems. No mention of Universal Mastering which I assume it also gets as part of the option, but no mention (yet) whether is was still tied to Avid hardware only.
Storage/Interplay pricing change is fantastic – I am looking forward to the more “post” version of the product. Post encompasses a lot of different “personas”. I still feel that companies that own their own content are prime candidates for this – in the rental market it is has diminishing value due to setup overhead, support, etc. I will be looking to see if it can manage the non-Avid assets with all the new AMA stuff.
Michael
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The tape-based Universal Mastering is the other major difference that is tied to Avid hardware (don’t know why though from an I/O perspective). I am writing up a workflow where you can do file-based universal mastering with pitch correction with Media Composer – albeit a few more steps, it is files based which more and more of the deliverables seem to be.
The other difference in the software is advanced color correction comparatively speaking to Media Composer which one can argue should have been part of Media Composer by now – but that is open for debate. Maybe portions of it like secondary as it has more metadata related tricks such as relational color correction and a few more control tabs as well as sequence/source control. It will be interesting to see if there is actually more control available other than existing Symphony color correction as an option to Media Composer – since in the end, that’s just a Symphony. Depends on the pricing for option, upgrades, and what happens to existing Symphony owners – what is their path/upgrade? There certainly has been rumblings by owners in the past that they paid more for upgrades when there was nothing new, specific to Symphony to justify the cost difference. So they have been paying for that advanced color correction many times over through the years.
😉
The news will start rolling out in about 3.5 hours. I’ll be on a plane making my way to Las Vegas so I’ll get to the details after I check in.
Michael
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Not that PluralEyes doesn’t have a place, as it can be invaluable, but for me, and especially with Media Composer, it is the “Hail Mary” pass of choices I would make, meaning if nothing else was provided it can be a lifesaver.
But in this scenario, planned interview type shooting and not run and gun scenarios and such there could easily have been planned:
1. Lavs and a boom via a mixer directly to the Canon 5D – for great controlled sound and no syncing needed.
2. Clapboard for each interview, not only for easy sync identification, but logging info, etc. and is the cheapest solution for high quality audio and guaranteed sync.
The issue seems to be that productions see this as the first means of syncing, which it shouldn’t be. I have a meeting with Red Giant planned at NAB to go over the issues I have that can be fixed and make the whole Media Composer much easier that I hope they will consider.
With a little more planning (and budget) you can always use a timecode audio recorder synced to a Horita LTC generator that gets recorded to the Canon 5D – then a simple “Read Audio Timecode” with a batch AutoSync could have also been considered.
Michael
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Did you use a slate for this? Frankly, if there is a slate it might be faster to sync manually than the whole process of using PluralEyes with Media Composer. If not, then the following adjustments to your workflow:
Once AAF comes back from PluralEyes, go through sequence, Mark IN and OUT for each “take”in the sequence and drop it into a bin. This creates a new sequence that has only one event. Rename it to whatever that source is (scene/take, etc.) Once done, highlight all the single event sequences and do “AutoSync” – this will create a subclip that is much easier to use as source when editing, also allows for sync breaks and such to be used.
Michael
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Yup – that was quick! I knew I should have taken a screen shot! 😉
Joel copy/pasted the verbiage anyway of what was there in his original post.Usually Avid does its Press Conference Sunday early evening, so everything should go live then.
Michael
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This is intriguing… a Symphony option to a Media Composer… hmmmm. What is everyone’s interpretation of that?
Michael
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Well I’m 1/2 French living in the US… 😉 grew up in Nice for almost 10 years till I was 17.
I have been reading about the economy of Spain, Greece, Europe, and well the world. But Spain has been hurting for a while. To some extent there is some of that in the US as well – the middle of the market fell out so we are left with fewer very large tentpole features out of the studios, then all the Independent films at the lower end. Television seems to be picking up on the scripted stuff, but it is still a lot of what we just shoot and cut into a story type programming. There was a story recently on Variety or The Hollywood Reporter about the glut of writers and lack of anything for them to do (and the mental state, etc.).
For freelancers, it’s is fight for the few jobs on the tentpoles, or “work for credit” on the indies – making a basic living is getting more difficult. Many refer to it as the race to the bottom – but even junkies can hit bottom and pull themselves up again – I am counting on the same for the industry.
On one hand, the amount of content being created is going up, but combined with barrier of entry going down and huge amount of talent coming out of film schools, certificate programs, and such, competition is very high. A producer can grind down the prices as they will almost always find someone who is willing to do it cheaper. Now whether the quality is there or not is the question – and whether they care or the viewing public cares in the bigger question.
They do reach a point where the lowest bid will cost them more – we seem to be in that exploratory phase right now, where Producers are looking for that tipping point. Look at the VFX industry upheaval going on right now. The impact is everywhere.
Studios are becoming facilities, facilities are now creating original content, camera rentals are now dailies providers, labs are expanding into camera rentals – Manufacturers need to go after volume to keep up existing revenue streams – everyone is getting into everyone else’s business and is very confusing –
But we are seeing Over The Top providers getting into content creation and seem to be doing what the broadcasters have been doing less of – high quality scripted content with Netflix, Amazon, and others on the way. The television models are being tested with content everywhere – where is the value and the loyalty? Is it the show, the producer, the broadcast channel? Everyone wants to own the brand… even the end consumer is getting confused with so many services of the same content being available on 6 different platforms (thus the unique differentiation of original content creation). Cost of exclusive licensing versus producing one own’s content seems to be on par.
It’s the wild wild west, and like the wild wild west, there will be winners and losers, and they may not be the same players as in the previous generation.
Michael
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The whole need for workarounds and such is always part of the new technology adoption curve. That was before AMA and such in Media Composer where dealing with such formats was problematic on both the media and metadata side of things. And with Media Composer currently being limited to HD resolutions, dealing with 2K+ can still be challenging if not properly planned for. In case you haven’t read it, I suggest a read through the Cinema Camera Whitepaper that is somewhat difficult to find on avid.com:
With NAB 3 days away, it will be interesting. And now it seems that a repost of picture via Twitter hints at Blackmagic offering more on-set color management as well as an “online editor” … the plot thickens:
Thank you for the kind words – you are welcome.
Michael
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Great feedback Glenn, thanks. I love DS as well, and have used it in a variety of ways the same way I am now looking at smoke. Aside from functionality, the conform has been one of the stronger benefits of DS when working with an MC offline. What are your feelings on pace of development, and dare I say innovation in the DS line? While smoke may compare more or less (depending on functionality) with DS, I feel that its development, communication, and such is at a faster pace than DS. I agree that a smoke on Windows OS might make this conversation a moot point.
Michael