[Tim Kolb]

[Bob Cole] “Find the best cinematographer you can, who will let you sweep the floor, carry the cases, etc., for no or low pay, just so you can hang out and see what he/she does.”

Engrave these words on a coffee mug or something.

I’ve been in the field for 20 years and I learn more every year than I did during the last one it seems. The schools that are up to date on technology do seem to lose focus on technique, but I’ve also found that schools that focus on technique can go too far in the other direction and either end up oblivious of advanced technology, or somehow imply that technologies like digital cinematography somehow “pollute the art”.

Bottom line is you need to blend both. Schools can have difficulty with that as most suffer from limited resources of varying types and degrees.

The guys in the field that are dealing with the realities of staying current with technology to maintain workflow compatibility with the industry and who also keep their skills honed to stay in demand are the ones to learn from…and there isn’t a college course out there that can be created, approved, and made available before various advancements have made it obsolete in some sense…

While I understand (and fully endorse) the technique training you are seeking, a purely “Cinematography” degree may not carry the weight in seeking employment that you’re anticipating a few years from now…

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

[l_vaughan] “was hoping for some feedback from people that may have used the camera and have an un-biased, independent opinion.
I

[Tim Kolb]

I have used Ultra Cons and Black diffusion to good result, but all this tends to be an “individual taste” thing. Others prefer to diffuse highlights…

I might look at what looks the students are most interested in…

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

Thanks Kathlyn,

I think that no person as ugly as me has ever had his face displayed in so many places…

I’ve been working with the Xena product line for a while now and I’m impressed with the product, but most important for professionals, I’m impressed with the support.

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

I agree with Wil…in Nathan’s case it certainly sounds like the Sapphire plug is creating the issue, not PPro, or the PSD file.

If the problem can be recreated by simply replacing the Sapphire effect…that’s about as solid a diagnostic as you can do…

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

I wouldn’t scale at all.

If you shot 16:9 letterbox, that means that the file itself is 4:3…with a letterboxed 16:9 image in the middle right?

I’d simply set up a black mask using photoshop of the titler that matches the black top and bottom of the 16:9 content and effectively “crop” the 4:3 stuff into the same visual space as the 16:9 letterbox. (probably will need some vertical repositioning to not cut the roof off of every 4:3 shot)

…if you wanted to push it a bit harder for effect, the new mask could make a harsher crop than 16:9 if you want and make it all “super” letter box…simply run the letterbox PSD or title document on a higher track than where you’re editing…like V10…that gives you nine visual tracks to play with and you don’t need to bother constantly messing with it.

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

I’d look at conecting with corporate production companies in your area through MCA-I or some other organization. You ultimately want to be a resource for the production companies I would think…as opposed to having to find your own clients, etc.

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

This may not fit completely, but this week I was finalizing some regional spots that had been viewed multiple times…stop motion…the director uses photographs in 3 dimensional space…VERY cool and different look…anyway, one spot had the lead character in one of those padded Sumo (sp?) wrestler outfits…

Anyway, on the final day, the client decides that they didn’t really care for the nipples and belly button on the costume.

How many of you can say that you spent the afternoon removing nipples and a belly button from a costume frame by frame in a shot?

…it really doesn’t fit the thread because there was no battle or anything…it was what the client wanted so we did it…however, I thought my 6 year old son was going to spew milk out of his nose when I told him how I spent my afternoon.

I can’t figure out what else I would EVER do for a living that’s this amusing…

🙂

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

In addition to what was already mentioned, Elements only works with DV/HDV project settings.

Most pros need more options (at least I do) as I work in SD uncompressed and various HD settings all the time.

If you are only using DV or HDV and doing relatively simple editing…PPro might be overkill for you and maybe Elements is all you need…

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net

[Tim Kolb]

When was the last time you de-fragmented the harddrive you’re using to store the compressed video? I’ve seen that bring the process to its knees…

Does the same material preview render and export to tape properly?

TimK,

Kolb Productions,
Creative Cow Host,
Author/Trainer
http://www.focalpress.com
http://www.classondemand.net