[Walter Soyka]

[Jeff Cadge] “I come from a commercial still photography background where usage always comes into play when estimating work. Why should music and actors have a rates based upon usage and not directors, editors, or production companies?”

In light of your background, do you think that a usage pricing model is still competitive? Or that it’s applicable in cases like corporate video, where media is custom-produced, without the opportunity for resale to another buyer?

Both photographers and composers are currently under a lot of pricing pressure from a proliferation of low-cost, buyout stock media that’s “good enough.” I know photographers and composers who are re-thinking the way they run their businesses because this competition is so stiff.

[Jeff Cadge] “I believe if you are doing a web video for a small non-profit you simply can’t and shouldn’t charge the same as if it were producing a web video for a large corporation…”

In my experience, large companies have the strictest cost controls. It’s pretty common for a large company to require you to offer them the lowest rate you offer to anyone for a specific service as a condition of the purchase order.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

One note on safety — support requirements are different outside. Drape panels and the screen itself can catch the wind like a sail.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

I’m surprised to hear that you haven’t gotten a response to your emails. I’ve found them to be very responsive in the past, and I know others here have as well. I think they list a phone number on their website if need to get in touch.

You do not need a Matrox DualHead2Go. PBP will run the operator’s monitor on your laptop screen, and will run full-screen video on your external video (MiniDP/DVI/VGA).

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

[Bob King] “Currently, we use Grass Valley Turbos. If sync rolled using the Shot Box, they will hold sync for at least 15 minutes. I have done this on a 7 projector blend fed with four HD stream from four Turbos and the image is seamless. “

DDRs are another great playback option, though they are in a higher pricing tier than the DVD synchronizers.

If you’re thinking about using DDRs for a two-screen sync roll, the new Grass Valley T2 has two output channels and can do an internal sync roll. The Doremi V1HD is designed for stereoscopic playback, so it too is capable of an internal two-channel sync roll. I’ve used both reliably with looping media for hours of show. The caveats: the T2 is extremely picky about its input formats, and the V1HD’s user interface is not intuitive.

[Bob King] “Look at the AJA KiPro. they are supposed to be releasing a new firmware this summer that will allow for sync rolling via timecode or machine control.”

I have been eagerly awaiting this update. Bob, I’d love to hear about your experience with it when it’s released.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

[Eric Steinberg] “BTW, do you know if Playback Pro buffers upcoming video clips so the playback will start immediately?”

Yes. First you select a clip, which loads it into preview; next, you take the clip live to program. The take is instantaneous. The software scales with the available hardware, so a good graphics card and fast storage lead to better performance.

Playback Pro was designed by a live events tape operator, so it’s built with live events requirements and sensibilities in mind.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

This was recently discussed here in this thread.

Specifically, I’d refer you to this post by Todd Kopriva from Adobe about why they made the change, and how to go back to the “old, wrong numbers.”

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

[Bob Zelin] “Just because something theoretically works (mr smartie pants) does not mean that your editing application will work properly with it. This is the reason you can NEVER ASK an IT person for advice on a video editing system.”

“In theory, theory and practice are the same. In practice, they are different.”

I’m surprised to hear that NFS even works in theory. I would have thought it would be completely unsupported.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

Hi Marc — I’ve got a couple questions for you on your post, if you don’t mind.

[Marc Morel] “Although I understand your interest in using HDD players, they’re compact and quite reliable. I’ve had some playing 24/7 in a museum environment for 8 months at a time, I’ve yet to find a way to synchronize them properly”

I’m curious as to which units you’ve used, and what connection the vendor recommending for running sync (Ethernet, RS-232, GPIO). I’ve heard conflicting reports on how well they’re working, and I’m trying to figure out which systems work as advertised and which are causing users trouble.

[Marc Morel] “I’ve heard good things about the Dave Jones system and I’ve had bulletproof results with this device: https://www.technovision.com/kpc2.html “

I specified the Technovision synchronizer for an install 5 or 6 years ago, and like you said, it ran flawlessly. Do you happen to know if they have a Bluray solution?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

[Mac Stevens] “You can also check out openfiler if you want to dedicate a box to this. I know it works well from the PC side but I haven’t tried it against a Mac. “

I don’t believe Openfiler supports AFP. Has anyone even tried realtime video on a Mac with SMB or NFS?

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events

[Walter Soyka]

[Eric Steinberg] “The timeline interface is only slightly important because that’s what I’m used to from working in NLEs, and I think I would have a better feel for things using a timeline. But it is not a necessity, just a preference.”

I think you’ll find the Program/Preview model very easy to use. It works like a video switcher; you pre-load clips into Preview, and then take them live to Program with a keystroke.

Walter Soyka
Principal & Designer at Keen Live
Motion Graphics, Widescreen Events, Presentation Design, and Consulting
RenderBreak Blog – What I’m thinking when my workstation’s thinking
Creative Cow Forum Host: Live & Stage Events