fxguide quick takes

Money, webcasts, podcasts: A few facts and a few thoughts

Mike Seymour — Mon, 12 May 2008 01:23:19 +0000

So in the field of Post - just how viable is online videos, webcasts, vblogs and iTV? Anyone can be famous on the internet (starwars kid, Mentos guys, Free hug guy, etc) but a completely different issue to make money on the net.

Just who is making money, how much and exactly how? And - should I really think about giving up my day job ?

If you listened to last week’s fxphd podcast (fxphdod) or the fxguide podcast you’ll know that we have decided to post the odd reflection on the industry here in our Quick Takes section. This is not a policy shift, we remain focused on post. It is just us following our original rule of thumb “if it is of interest to us, - it might be of interest to you”.
Click the Read More to read about the state of online post from a commercial point of view. (no cat videos - no baby videos allowed)
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Red Centre #5

Mike Seymour — Fri, 09 May 2008 01:53:32 +0000

The new Red Centre #5 is out. In this podcast Jason and Mike discuss offline editing and RED.
A key aspect of the RED offline workflow currently is the use of Crimson and the guys talk this week to Crimson founder Ian Bloom about his software and his approach to just solving problems.

There is also a chance to win stuff for your RED camera.

Note: Sydney Red User Group is WED 14th at 5pm - email for an invitation or details*****

Please post comments below or email red@fxguide.com

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Keynote Comes of Age

John Montgomery — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:08:46 +0000

We never expected we would be posting about keynote here on fxguide.com but one of the surprising things at the Autodesk User group was the amazingly cool graphic design presentation that the team used. Normally we would run a mile than sit through a Powerpoint presentation but with the new Keynote 2, the product has turned into a serious tool for designers.

Of course, without great graphic design at its root, we probably wouldn’t have covered Keynote here. The stunning presentation ran continuously for almost two hours moving from product to product, screen insert to message points as if one continuous animation. The presentation was designed by Alex Olegnowic and the team @ Imarion with implementation by Autodesk Japan’s Hiroyuki Toba.

Click through for a QuickTime movie and interview with the team.
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Blind wins 2 Telly Awards for Justin Timberlake’s “Lovestoned”

Mike Seymour — Thu, 08 May 2008 06:07:09 +0000

After the award-winning success of Gnarls Barkely’s “Crazy”, HSI director Robert Hales and BL:ND creative director Vanessa Marzaroli teamed up again to create Justin Timberlake’s “Lovestoned.” Blind won awards in the 29th Annual Telly Awards. “Lovestoned,” won two Bronze Telly statuettes: one in the Music Video category, and another in the Use of Animation category Working with director Hale.

Blind was brought in early on to figure out the execution and animation of Justin Timberlake.
First, the Blind team created style frames representing Robert Hales’s idea, to have Timberlake to be made up of sound waves that vibrate to the music. Blind supervised the green screen shoot in Manchester, England, where the video was filmed on location. The green screen footage was shot using HD camera with multiple takes of Timberlake performing: wide, medium, close up shots etc.

The editor then took the footage, editing together the video’s 149 shots, to create a sharp, aggressive video. Once the edit was locked, Blind converted the footage to black and white, then recreated the style frame using AfterEffects filters. Blind also used Maya to track some of the 3D movement of sound waves to Timberlake’s dance moves. Alan Latteri did the final flame work on the spot.

After working for 17 days straight with a team of 7 animators, Blind created a rhythmic visual narrative interpreting the music and lyrics.

Production Company: HSI, Los Angeles Director: Robert Hales
Executive Producer: Coleen Haynes
Post Producer: Oualid Mouaness Editor: Ken Mowe
Creative Director: Vanessa Marzaroli
Flame Artist: Alan Latteri Environment VFX Design: Subvert, Venice, CA
Flame: 20/twenty, LA

You can see the video at justin-timberlake-lovestoned

Autodesk Acquires Assets of REALVIZ

Jeff Heusser — Wed, 07 May 2008 13:25:45 +0000

SAN RAFAEL, Calif., May 7 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that it has completed the acquisition of substantially all of the assets of REALVIZ S.A., the privately held developer of image-based content creation software. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.

REALVIZ was founded in 1998 and is headquartered in Sophia Antipolis, France. REALVIZ’s technology provides efficient ways to generate 3D content and visual effects from photo imaging and 2D environments. Its products are used for panoramic photography, image-based modeling, match moving and optical motion capture. REALVIZ’s flagship products are Stitcher software for the creation of panoramas and 360 degree virtual tours, and ImageModeler software to produce 3D models from photographs.
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neo stolen

Mike Seymour — Mon, 05 May 2008 02:21:31 +0000

Quantel’s regional office in Burbank was broken into last week, and the company’s brand new Neo control panel for its Pablo color correction system was taken. Quantel introduced Neo at NAB in Las Vegas. The stolen Neo was one of only a few in existence, and was slated for use in a series of upcoming demo sessions, says Quantel. And while its impressive design “might have caught the thief’s attention, the unit is worthless without a companion Pablo system and the company’s V4 code to drive it” commented the company. Searches on ebay has failed to spot it. Any leads regarding Neo’s disappearance can be directed to the company

Red Centre # 4

Mike Seymour — Thu, 01 May 2008 09:08:40 +0000

Our latest podcast looks at the RED announcements and includes an in depth technical interview with Graeme Natress CTO of RED. (Yes, it gets very technical)

Mike Seymour and Jason Wingrove also discuss the Red Ray, Land Sea and Air Camera options, and more.

See the podcast block on the right side of this page or subscribe in iTunes.

click read more below for show notes:

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fxguidetv #027 - NAB report #2

John Montgomery — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 19:12:17 +0000

A new ep of fxguidetv is up, covering da vinci and a new workflow spark called informer. This is our last one from NAB — thanks for all the emails and comments about our efforts from Las Vegas. We appreciate hearing from you.

Visit the fxguidetv page for download and iTunes links.

fxguidetv #026 - NAB report #1

Jeff Heusser — Thu, 17 Apr 2008 01:12:42 +0000

fxguidetv #26 is on the air! This episode comes to you from NAB in Las Vegas and features an exclusive interview with Ted Schilowitz from RED, a look a what the wizards at the Foundry are working on to improve stereoscopic workflow and we’ll also explain why Angie suddenly has many tattoos.

red centre #3 - NAB report

Jeff Heusser — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 01:19:24 +0000

Our newest podcast looks in depth at the RED announcements that were made Monday at the National Association of Broadcasters convention in Las Vegas.

Mike Seymour and Jason Wingrove discuss the new 5K camera “Epic”, the pocket professional camera “Scarlet”, RED Ray and more. RED is once again the longest line for a booth at NAB and we’ve got all the information for you.

See the podcast block on the right side of this page or subscribe in iTunes.