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Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Quick Links

Download Autodesk Smoke 2013 Pre-Release Trial | AutoDesk
The pre-release trial of Smoke 2013 is now available:
Enjoy this free* Autodesk trial until September 15, 2012.
...we will send out updated versions of the trial, helpful tips and tricks, instructional how-to videos, and more via email.
And if you want to learn how to use Smoke, check out these tutorials:

Smoke Learning Channel | SmokeHowTos | YouTube
If you are new to Autodesk Smoke 2013, follow the movies in this Getting Started playlist and learn the basics. Topics include project creation, media management, editing, timeline FX and Connect FX node-based compositing. We strongly advise you to view these movies in sequence, from first to last, before moving to more advanced topics in other playlists.


Video Encoding Presets for Kindle Fire, Nook, iPad and Android Tablets
| Danny Greer | PremiumBeat
Presets for Adobe Media Encoder for the Apple iPad, Amazon Kindle Fire, Barnes and Noble Nook, and other tablets using the Android operating system:
Hot off the heels of the Creative Suite 6 release, Adobe is already making preset updates to Media Encoder. New tablet products mean more avenues for video playback. Adobe is making it simple to optimize your video encoding for tablet devices.


A Quick Guide to Image Stabilization | Jason Row | Light Stalking
A look at the principles behind different types of in-camera and lens stabilization:
As a rule of thumb, you should only use image stabilization when it is really needed. If you have good shutter speeds and sharp images, switch it off, as you are actually running the risk of degrading the image. Also most manufacturers recommend switching it of when the camera is mounted on a tripod. For all systems it is well worth having a read of the manufacturers manual so that you can truly optimize your use of this excellent technology.


Lighting for Film & TV: Colour Correction Filters Pt 1: What is Colour Temperature? | Chris Weaver | Film Camera Course
Color Theory!:
As you can see from this Colour Temperature scale, the lower the value of the light (or Degrees K) the more ‘red’ the light becomes. In the film and TV industry we categorize light in the 1000-4000 K range as being Warm. 


5 Things Cinematographers Look For In A Director And Project Before Taking A Job | Cybel Martin | Indie Wire
Some tips on choosing collaborators:
2. Visual references - My director must have a clear idea of how the film should feel and look. It need not be finalized but they should have some tangible means of explaining their vision. If the script calls for “creepy”, the director might envision “Texas Chainsaw Massacre” while I think “Rosemary’s Baby”. Almost nothing excites me more than to be inundated with photographs, film clips, paintings that resemble the mood I am to capture. They help me get inside the director’s head.


Canon 5D Mark III Review | Nasim Mansurov | Mansurovs
In-depth review of Canon 5D Mark III with comparisons to the 5D Mark II and Nikon D3s and D800:
To their surprise, Canon only partially addressed some of the requests and none of the groundbreaking capabilities made it to the Canon 5D Mark III. And when someone like Vincent Laforet, who pretty much made the Canon 5D Mark II popular for videography did not feel very excited about the video capabilities of the 5D Mark III, you know that Canon could have done better.


3 Low-Budget Film Traps to Consider | FilmmakerIQ
Good tips for filmmakers:
Location scout with bad days in mind
Our location is a remote wooded area. It looks beautiful and is far enough from any traffic that its also been pretty good for sound (not counting the critters of the night).
Then it started raining for 3 nights in a row. The result is a quagmire in which its difficult to even walk without sinking into the mud, let alone push carts or move trucks.


FINAL CUT PRO X – I HAD IT ALL WRONG. METADATA IS THE LIGHT | Joey
| Coffee and Celluloid
After rejecting Final Cut Pro X, he starts to rethink the usefulness of metadata:
Logging is actually enjoyable. I can focus on watching the footage and not the hassle of jumping back and forth between different programs and using hacks to tag and log footage.
Even if you have no intention of cutting in FCPX, I’d argue (especially for documentary filmmakers) that it’s worth the $300 alone just to log and manage your footage.


New iMac and Mac Pro reportedly coming in 2013 | Ben Kersey | Slash Gear
After the disappointing update, now Apple hints there will be something better next year for the Mac Pro:
There were some doubts raised over the future of the desktop models that Apple currently offers with such a heavy focus on notebooks, but Pogue was told by an Apple executive that updates to both models are coming: “An executive did assure me, however, that new models and new designs are under way, probably for release in 2013.”


Why I am no longer a Canon APS-C user | Andrew Reid | EOSHD
Andrew is disappointed that the video image quality of the Canon APS-C DSLRs hasn't improved:
I am aware the EOS line is a stills camera first and foremost and I am aware that $15,000 is money found down the back of a sofa for professional Hollywood filmmakers. But where is the Canon solution for me and people like me in the mass market – but wanting to do more than just consumer point and shoot video? What I don’t understand is why so many people are still shooting video on APS-C Canon DSLRs, it is the biggest and best marketing trick of the decade. Celebrity shooter endorsements and brand appeal seem to be all.


Company 3 Color Grades Prometheus | Below The Line
Short piece about the company that graded Prometheus - it did look very blue:
Nakamura graded the first pass to optimize the imagery for the brightness level of the standard RealD system and subsequently adjusted and fine-tuned the material for the higher-brightness 3-D versions. He then completed yet another pass to make the most of the 2-D version, which is screened with brighter projection and is absent the softening effect that 3-D glasses can introduce.


Sony NEX-FS 700 Review | Firewerkz Films | Vimeo






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