ProVideo Coalition

Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra has a pro-grade camera system

Mon, 18 Jan 2021 17:27:35 GMT

Videographers are going to love this: for the first time on a Galaxy smartphone, you can shoot in 4K at 60fps across all lenses so you can shift to a different perspective with the same quality.

Unveiled online, as so many other products these days, the Galaxy S21 Ultra is the newest smartphone from Samsung, a flagship that pushes the boundaries of what a smartphone can do. Starting on January 29, 2021, Galaxy S21 Ultra will be widely available in carrier and unlocked by Samsung versions through Samsung.com, carriers and retailers online, with a pricing that starts at $1,199.99.

The Galaxy S21 Ultra will be available in two bold colors featuring deluxe haze finishes, Phantom Silver, a 128GB model with 12GB RAM and Phantom Black, offered in three versions: a 128GB model with 12GB RAM, 256GB model with 12GB RAM or 512GB model with 16GB RAM. Samsung says that additional colors will be available exclusively on Samsung.com including Phantom Titanium, Phantom Navy and Phantom Brown.

The new Samsung smartphone is the newest chapter in the Galaxy S series’ decade-long legacy of delivering cutting-edge mobile experiences. It’s built for users who demand top-of-the-line technology to stay connected with the people and things that matter most. From a design that sets it apart to the functions it offers, the Ultra offers the best Galaxy performance in a smartphone yet, says Samsung. You’ll find details about its ample list of functions in any website specialized in smartphones. Here at ProVideo Coalition we look at the features that will attract photographers and videographers.

Display: 120Hz refresh rate and Quad HD+

The Galaxy S21 Ultra is the largest member of the Galaxy S21 series with a 6.8-inch Dynamic AMOLED 2X display. It is Samsung’s most intelligent screen yet, the company claims, adding that “for the first time, users no longer have to decide between the smoothness of a 120Hz refresh rate and a Quad HD+ display — on S21 Ultra, you can choose both.”

The screen’s refresh rate adjusts, according to Samsung, to the content you’re viewing from 10Hz to 120Hz to ensure you enjoy the best image while staying power efficient to stretch your battery life even further. Compared with the Galaxy S20, S21 Ultra offers a 25% brighter picture at a 1,500nits of peak brightness, the brightest on a Galaxy smartphone. With a 50% improved contrast ratio, it delivers crystal-clear, immersive images, even when outside. And like the Galaxy S21 and S21+, Galaxy S21 Ultra has Eye Comfort Shield to help reduce eye fatigue.

It’s not just the display, which Samsung says is its brightest, most intelligent display, users will also discover the company’s most advanced pro-grade camera system. The first thing users will note is the new bold style of the phone, which introduces a new, iconic Contour Cut Camera housing that seamlessly blends into the device’s metal frame for a sleek, yet striking, aesthetic. But its what under the hood that will make photographers and videographers want to put their hands on the Galaxy S21 Ultra.

4K at 60fps across all lenses and 12-bit HDR

Samsung’s flagship smartphone features a quad rear camera (ultra-wide, wide and dual tele-lenses) that includes an upgraded 108MP pro sensor, from which you can capture 12-bit HDR photos with 64 times richer color data and more than three times wider dynamic range. For the first time on a Galaxy smartphone, you can shoot in 4K at 60fps across all lenses including front and rear four lenses, so you can shift to a different perspective with the same quality. Plus, with a 12-bit RAW file option in Pro mode, you won’t miss a single detail when editing photos.

When zooming in on S21 Ultra, says Samsung, you don’t have to worry about sacrificing clarity. The Galaxy S21 Ultra features 100x Space Zoom which is powered by Samsung’s first-ever Dual-tele lens system – one optical 3x and one optical 10x both equipped Dual Pixel (2PD) AF – so you can capture clear shots even when you are away from the action.

Galaxy S21 Ultra’s improved Bright Night sensor is Samsung’s biggest leap yet in low-light photography. With improved Night Mode, noise reduction and 12MP Nona-binning technology, you can capture challenging shots – like a dimly-lit room, or a landscape at night – quickly and with excellent quality.

First S series compatible with Samsung’s S Pen

The ground-breaking camera, display and connectivity capabilities of the Galaxy S21 Ultra, are powered by the most advanced chipset in a Galaxy device. It offers faster speed, advanced computing and greater energy efficiency. And when the battery gets low, Galaxy S21 Ultra can reach a 50% charge in just 30 minutes. The smartphone also takes productivity and creativity up a notch by bringing the popular S Pen experience to the Galaxy S series for the first time.

The fan favorite S Pen experience brings Wacom’s technology to the Galaxy S21 Ultra. From drawing to note-taking to editing photos and signing documents, now you can unlock the power of the S Pen on the Galaxy S21 Ultra. Use an existing S Pen from a Galaxy Note or Galaxy Tab or purchase an S Pen separately on its own or with a compatible case.

“Galaxy S21 Ultra is another example of how Samsung is driving meaningful innovation forward to give people personalized experiences that enrich their lives and empower them to express who they are,” said TM Roh, President and Head of Mobile Communications Business, Samsung Electronics. “Given how indispensable technology has been to our lives during these times, we wanted to take another leap forward and push the boundaries of what a smartphone can do.”

REVIEW – Sapphire 2021 for Media Composer

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 21:43:05 GMT

Many people ask me why I always recommend third-party tools when it comes to doing tasks in Media Composer. The answer is quite simple. In most cases, once something is added to Media Composer, that’s it. It doesn’t get many major updates past the point of implementation (Titler+ is an exception to that, and the reason it’s getting major updates is that it was a complete dog when first added). Companies like Boris FX bridge the gap between what our NLE does, and tasks we need it to do. I did a write up recently about Continuum 2021 for Media Composer, and how it’s taken a huge leap forward for editors, with the inclusion of DFT “cinematographer” effects. In this “In-Depth”, I want to take a look at the new release of Sapphire 2021, and what has been added for subscribers and new users alike!

PRICING

Again, I’m sure that people wonder why I always add a pricing section in my reviews, but I think it’s very important as most people still associate Continuum and Sapphire for Media Composer as $2000 products, which is not true. First, the cost to purchase Sapphire outright is $1695 US, with a free, watermarked, unlimited trial available. As always, I always tell people not to bother with that option, as the best, and most cost effective option is the subscription, which is $495 per year. This way you can subscribe to Sapphire for three years for less than the price to purchase, and you’ll get all the updates, bug fixes, etc for that entire length of time, as opposed to only the year of updates and bug fixes that come along with the full purchase. I noticed that Boris FX also gives you the option of subscribing monthly for $62 per month, but that would be more for situations where you have set everything up in the trial, and only want to pay for a month or two to activate the project, render it out, and you’re good to go. Alright, let’s get to what’s new in the 2021 update!

WHAT’S NEW

I want to get the smaller items out of the way first, before we jump into the new effects.

METAL GPU ACCELERATION FOR MAC

Available through all of the host applications for Sapphire 2021, Metal GPU Acceleration is now available for over sixty effects in Sapphire 2021. The minimum requirement is macOS Mojave (10.14), but keep in mind that for the best stability and results, you should use macOS Catalina (10.15) and macOS Big Sur (11.01). The next big question is what effects are supported, and how much time, really, will you be saving utilizing Metal acceleration. Well, Boris FX has broken the effects down into a detailed list showing which effects are supported, and the speed increase since 2020.5. Very helpful….if you’re a Mac user.

LENS FLARE ADDITIONS

Sapphire 2021 adds two new features to the flare designer, ten new Lens Flares and 45 new presets to get you rolling! The ten new flares are the presets are fairly self explanatory.

But what about the two new actual features to the Flare Designer itself? Well, the first thing to keep in mind is that Lens Flares are something that happen naturally, and on axis. Meaning that, for the most part, the flare itself happens along a specific line or access, and that doesn’t change, as it’s the nature of the way lens flares happen. Well, as designers, sometimes we like to get in and mess around with nature, and sometimes throw the elements off access, which is one of the features we’re now allowed to adjust.

You also have the ability to adjust their relative speeds, without adjusting their position or relationship to the main hotspot.

ULTRA GLOW

Sapphire has the best glow period. S_Glow has been my go to glow effect for every project that I work on, no matter what host application I’m working in. It’s simple, straightforward, and gives me the best looking glow out there…..until now. Good by S_Glow, it was nice knowing you, as S_UltraGlow has easly taken it’s place by a landslide. Designed to simulate an optical glow, you can start out super simple by creating a “Primary” glow that would look the way it does in S_Glow.

Now, organized in a nice, simple, logical order, you can push your glows farther than before by adding parameters like Afterglow….

My absolute favorite, Edge Detect….

As well as Atmosphere and even Highlights. What I really like about the effect and the implementation of these new parameters, is that they follow a very logical thought process and workflow. Start out with the standard Primary Glow and then work your way from there. I should also point out there there twenty-eight presets for Ultra Glow to get you rolling in the right direction!

This, of course leads us to the next new effect inside of Sapphire 2021.

ULTRA ZAP

Zap is Sapphire’s Lightning effect (why it’s not called S_Lightning I don’t know), and if you take a look at it in the Media Composer Effects Editor, you’ll see it’s biggest update to go from Zap to Ultra Zap is to basically add the Ultra Glow parameter set into S_Zap, to make it S_UltraZap!

With that said, I always found S_Zap to be an overlooked effect as most people consider it to be a fairly straightforward effect, but there’s a lot of things happening under the S_UltraZap hood that I want to mention.

First of all, I’ll only be using S_UltraZap from now on, as it obviously contains not only the Zap parameters, but also UltraGlow parameters to make it a “one-stop-shop” for any type of effect I want to create with a bit of buzz! The effect works a little differently in Media Composer, as the After Effects version has the Media Composer capabilities, plus the ability to add it to After Effects masks, which Media Composer obviously doesn’t have. Using the effects on it’s base settings, when applied, will give you the default lightning effect with a start, middle arc point and end point.

I believe the purpose of adding the three points is to show the user that they can create fairly elaborate lightning arc’s, right out of the gate. One thing that I really like is that you don’t have to jump back to the Effects Editor to activate any of the additional 3 points at your disposal. You can simply grab the one you want, move it, and it will immediately activate, and be ready to animate.

At this point, you can then get in and animate the actual structure of the bolt (Width, Length, Curve, Feather, Start/End Color, as well as varying widths, endpoints, etc). The “Structure” parameter establishes the look of the bolt itself.

It’s also animated by default, and that animation can be altered as much or as little as you like under “Bolt Animation”. Everything from its speed to wiggle, jitter and even noise can be added or removed to get you the pinpoint look you want.

One little “hidden in plain sight” feature is the little Left/Right arrows above the start and end points. I’ve always seen them there, but never really gave them much thought, until I started playing around with them in this article. If you grab the one above the start point, it will rotate the start point around the end point. If you have additional points added, they will move relative to the start point. Take a look below.

Much like many of the effects in Sapphire, there is the ability to utilize integrated Mocha Tracking inside of the effect, and I was a bit curious as to how that would work. Once you click “Edit Mocha”, you’re brought to the familiar integrated Mocha interface. Once there, you’ll see the six Zap points that you had access to in the Effect Editor, the big difference is that you can track up to six (which is the max available in the Effects Editor and in Mocha) points, with pinpoint accuracy in Mocha, and then send that info right back to your Media Composer timeline super fast.

To be honest, Mocha is really what makes effects like Zap worth using. Unless your shot was locked off, it would be a super pain in the butt to work with an effect like this, but Mocha makes the job so simple. You can now spend all your time perfecting the look of the effect, and little to no time, setting up its movement.

IS THE UPDATE WORTH IT?

To be perfectly honest, this is the type of update I expect from Sapphire. There are so many great effects in this package, and taking what was already great, and making it even better is what I want. As I said before, S_Glow no more for me, I’m now S_UltraGlow for life, and as I also mentioned before, I expect that most people who are using any of the Boris FX products have switched over to the yearly subscription plan and if you have, this update is of course, included in your subscription. Also, if you were smart to jump on the subscription train, the Boris FX team typically has a .5 update throughout the life cycle, with updates and bug fixes, so always keep an eye out on the Boris FX website, Twitter and Facebook account for updates as they become available. Sapphire has always been the absolute best for high end visual effects in your editing and compositing application, and that really has not changed in Sapphire 2021. For more info, and to download a free watermarked trial of Sapphire 2021, you can check it out at www.borisfx.com .

FTC disclosure

Boris FX is not paying me to write this review. Boris FX does, however, sponsor my tutorial series on my personal YouTube channel. This does not change my opinion of this product in any way. All opinions posted in this article are my own.

ART OF THE CUT on editing PIXAR’s "Soul” with Kevin Nolting, ACE

Sun, 17 Jan 2021 21:07:59 GMT

Today, we discuss animation editing with Kevin Nolting, ACE, and his work as editor on PIXAR’s Soul with director, Pete Docter.

Kevin’s last two animated features won ACE Eddies – for editing Inside Out and Up.

He also worked as an additional or second editor on Toy Story 4, Monsters University, Wall-E, Cars, and Finding Nemo. His live-action narrative credits include assistant or associate editor work on Shanghai Noon, The Insider, Indecent Proposal, and The Naked Gun 2 and a half.

This interview is available as a podcast.

(This interview was transcribed with SpeedScriber. Thanks to Martin Baker at Digital Heaven)

HULLFISH: Did you come from more of a live-action narrative background?

NOLTING: Yeah. Strictly live action.

HULLFISH: What was that transition like?

NOLTING: It was completely different. Cutting storyboards is strangely difficult and requires a lot of patience and can be very tedious.

Over the years at Pixar, we’ll bring good editors from live-action to help us and some people take to it immediately and others just don’t take to it. I took to it pretty quickly. It just inherently came to me.

HULLFISH: There’s so much freedom. I wonder if that’s what trips some people up? If you want a close-up, somebody goes off and draws you a close-up. You’re literally only limited by your imagination.

NOLTING: That’s definitely a thing because limitations are often good. Working with Pete Docter, I’ve been thinking about exploration versus execution. Over the three movies I’ve done with Pete — with Up we had a pretty solid script when we started. It changed a lot, but the structure of it was pretty solid. And then Inside Out was a little more loose and Soul was just completely a journey in exploration.

The execution part of it — from an editing point of view — is actually very short because we were constantly doing big changes to the movie.

HULLFISH: And that’s the exploration you’re talking about.

NOLTING: Yeah and with Pete, it’s really fun because you’re not just exploring making a movie you’re exploring themes. We spend a lot of time just reading and talking to people about the thing we’re making the movie about. So it becomes almost like a college course or something where you just get to explore all these different ideas and then making the movie almost becomes a way of writing your final paper. You condense all these ideas in dramatic form.

HULLFISH: I think of animation editing similarly to workshopping of a play. It’s kind of like that. You have an idea — a concept — you bring the actors in and you say, What should the scene be? And then they play it and you say, “That line wasn’t quite working.”.

ALL THAT JAZZ – In Pixar Animation Studios’ upcoming feature film “Soul,” Joe Gardner is a middle-school band teacher whose true passion is playing jazz. A single unexpected step sends him to the cosmic realms where he finds the “You Seminar”—a fantastical place where Joe is forced to think again about what it truly means to have soul. Jamie Foxx was tapped to voice Joe. Directed by Academy Award® winner Pete Docter (“Inside Out,” “Up”), co-directed by Kemp Powers and produced by Academy Award® nominee Dana Murray (Pixar short “Lou”), “Soul” will debut exclusively on Disney+ (where Disney+ is available) on December 25, 2020. © 2020 Disney/Pixar. All Rights Reserved.

NOLTING: That’s definitely true with the way we work with Pete.

We have writers, and I don’t want to discount what they do.

HULLFISH: Sure.

NOLTING: They’re good writers and they do a great job, but the writing process — I think he just sees it as a leaping-off point.

As you said, we workshop with story a lot and the writers are always there when we’re working with story artists but it’s definitely a workshop feel. In fact, Ronnie del Carmen is one of the most amazing story artists I’ve worked with. He was the story lead on Up and the co-director on Inside Out.

He uses that word “workshop.” That’s his favorite verb.

HULLFISH: For those who might not be familiar with animation editing, that phrase “story artists” might need some explanation. These are the guys that actually draw the boards but they’re more than just artists, right? They’re really trying to come up with concepts and gags and all that kind of stuff.

Tell me a little bit about your relationship to the story artists.

NOLTING: I work extremely closely with them. We usually make the movie for two, almost three years before we go into production. We just make the movie with the story artists. So in a sense, they’re co-writers. Some of them are really good visual artists — like Ronnie — he speaks visually and he expresses himself, but a lot of the story artists are good draftsmen and they’re OK artists, but they’re really into story theory. They’re somewhere between a story artist and a writer and they’re more verbal type people.

So usually the story team will have a good mix of those different kinds of people. Some people are just inherently great with the camera and great visually and then others are giving us the more verbal side of the storytelling process.

PROGRESSION IMAGE 1 of 5: STORYBOARD – To create a sequence in Disney and Pixar’s “Soul,” one of the early steps in the production pipeline is building storyboards. Artists sketch the key beats in a sequence, suggesting possible set positioning, camera angles and character poses. This sequence is called “Buskers” and shows Joe watching a busker perform music in a New York City subway station. This storyboard, specifically drawn by story artist Jamie Baker, is one of approximately 1,341 boards delivered to editorial for this particular sequence. In total, 73,811 storyboards were delivered for the entire film.

HULLFISH: It’s so interesting that you would talk about the camera. So a listener who’s not familiar with animation editing might think that somebody who’s drawing storyboards — what do they have to do with a camera? But when they draw a board they are deciding where the camera is going to be placed and what the “lens” is, to see the characters or see the action, correct? That’s what you’re talking about.

NOLTING: Yeah. They’re basically building shots and we approach it like shots. It’s just not animated 24 frames a second. It’s more like maybe every 12 frames — depending on the kind of shot it is. And we use a lot of their staging when we get into camera and layout (two later stages of animation where the 2D shots are turned into 3D).

We’ll use their staging as a basis and then once we’re in the actual set with a “real camera” we can explore a lot more and discover what we were missing because we actually have a “set” out to work with. But they’re the early stage of the camera process.

HULLFISH: I worked for a couple of years for a Big Idea — VeggieTales — while they were making their two animated feature films and their TV shows, so I’ve been a part of that same process.

Those story artists are the heart and soul of the movie.

Talk to me a little bit about music for this film. It’s so deeply embedded and interwoven into the film. When did things transition from temp score to score and licensed music?

PROGRESSION IMAGE 3 of 5: LAYOUT – The Layout department uses the principles of cinematography and film language to translate each moment of the hand-drawn storyboards into the three-dimensional cinematic shots that make up the finished film. This team determines the compositions of each shot, as well as the choreography of camera movement and character blocking within the virtual sets. They work closely with the Director and the Editorial teams to determine the exact timing and sequence of shots that most effectively tell the story.

NOLTING: We started off with the Arrival soundtrack by Johan Johansson. It just fit this movie perfectly, especially the early scenes — the pre-life world. It just fit beautifully. So that was sort of our standard there.

And then the other score we used was Captain Fantastic. That’s a sort of ethereal, gritty sound also mixed in there. That was all for the non-Earth world. Then we were always going to use jazz for the Earth stuff because he was a jazz musician.

The music process started much earlier on this film than usual because once Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross decided to do the film — they work very early with David Fincher.

They’ll send him a piece of the music befoer they begin shooting and he’ll use that music as an influence on the shooting I think. So they were used to that. For us they came in fairly early — about halfway through the process and I think they sent us nine five-seven minute tracks that were just explorations. Multi-tracks with all of these beautiful sounds and melodies and we just started playing around with those in the cut.

Then eventually they would come to screenings and we’d send them copies and then it just started. It was just a much longer process than usual. And the same with Jon Batiste (jazz musician) we did a couple of sessions fairly early on in a studio and he brought in some session players and did a lot of the Jazz cues.

A cue for the audition at the beginning of the movie when he goes into his zone — did like seven or eight takes of that and then various jazz cues over the years. I think we did three or four sessions with him.

PROGRESSION IMAGE 4 of 5: ANIMATION – To create a sequence in “Soul,” the animation team works with the suggested layout and recorded dialogue to create the physical and emotional character performances. This moment shows Joe’s focus on the busker performing music in a New York City subway station amid the noise and bustle of the environment.

HULLFISH: When you switched between the temp and the final score or the music that was licensed. Did that require some re-editing or re-timing of edits?

Trent and Atticus work pretty loosely. In the past, they said they rarely scored specifically to picture. They would give the show pieces of music that they thought worked and the music editor would make it work.

As time went on on this show they became more and more specific but they were generally being specific to our picture. The scene toward the end — when Joe plays his life — we call it “Epiphany” — that one required some re-cutting. We also changed it conceptually at a certain point, but it was really just frames.

It sounds like Trent and Atticus are not into what you might call “mickey-mousing” a score — where you can really feel where the cues hit, synced very solidly to motions or moments or cuts or beats in the picture.

NOLTING: Well, they did get very specific a few times. Sometimes we’d send them scenes where we’d cut in their music underneath and they’d respond that the timing of the cue was wrong… they wanted certain moments to sync.

HULLFISH: Very interesting.

Some of the animation is really conceptual. Were those concept pieces storyboarded in a typical form or was it harder because of the conceptual nature?

NOLTING: Mainly, those lines drawing counselors — we call them “The Jerrys” — in storyboards we couldn’t even imagine what they were going to look like. Somebody in the art department did these wire sculptures and then put a light on the side and moved the light around and showed how you could make these characters that are essentially defined by light and line. And it was a huge technical challenge just to rig that for animation.

PROGRESSION IMAGE 2 of 5: ART – Once the storyline for a sequence is determined, concept art is created by the production designer and art department to determine the look and feel of the film. This concept art piece was created by Ernesto Nemesio, and showcases the exploration of color and design for the characters and new environments, including the character scale and attention to detail within the New York City subway station.

Of course, all of those scenes were the last things to go into animation because that was always the part of the story that was most “up in the air” so they didn’t have a lot of time to work with it and they ended up having a core group of four or five animators who just mastered those characters.

As they were animating the scenes they essentially learned how to define how they could move and what they would do.

HULLFISH: Those “Jerrys” seemed very Picasso-like to me.

NOLTING: It’s sort of a Picasso Miro weird combination of abstraction.

HULLFISH: As I watched the film, one of the things that I thought about was the balance of that real conceptual out-of-body stuff and then the stuff that’s on the earth. Was that a big debate between you and Peter and the other people on the team to decide how much happens on Earth and how much happens in this other place?

NOLTING: The first version of the movie — they never went to Earth. We did that actually for a couple versions and we got around it by having this pavilion in the pre-Earth part where you could play back your life, and a lot of the movie was 22 taking Joe there to show him his life and then him going back to look at different parts of his life.

The story evolved and they never went to Earth. After about a year, I think, of doing that, we sort of hit a wall with the movie and Mike Jones — he was writing alone at that time before Kemp Powers came on — he went off and did this version of the movie that introduced this going back to Earth body swap idea and that sort of launched us in that direction.

HULLFISH: That’s really interesting.

NOLTING: But the initial goal was to NOT go to Earth. To keep it up in that world. But it turned out to be a really difficult thing.

PROGRESSION IMAGE 2 of 5: ART – showing one of the “Jerrys”

HULLFISH: I would think that a change that big would be really difficult.

NOLTING: I don’t know. I’ve gotten used to it with Pete over the years. I know that not everybody works that way at Pixar but we’ve sort of evolved this way of working that I personally love, where the first year on the movie we don’t take things too seriously. We don’t dig into details a lot. It’s almost very broad strokes of a movie. It’s a very impressionistic way to approach it.

You put these scenes up — and there were specific scenes where we’d get into the nitty-gritty and try to really hit the emotion — but it was more about just finding the overall movement of the movie and the tone and then slowly over the years we hone in on the details.

You have to really have a lot of confidence but a lot of faith that people aren’t going to lose faith in you in a sense because we have this process at Pixar where every four months we put the movie up in the big theater and we invite different departments from the studio — who haven’t seen the movie before — to see the movie.

Then after we run the movie, we go into a room and we talk about the movie with people like Andrew Stanton and Brad Bird — people who are pretty harsh critics at that point. So it took us a long time to sort of have the faith to throw a movie up there that we knew was broken, that we hadn’t polished at all. We were presenting ideas essentially and asking for help in how to mold this into a more dramatic structure.

But we’ve been doing that now for a few years and it’s turned out to be a really great way to work.

HULLFISH: Is that a difficult thing on your ego? Or do you just say, “I know that this is the process and this is what they’re expecting out of me.”.

PROGRESSION IMAGE 1 of 5: STORYBOARD – To create a sequence in Disney and Pixar’s “Soul,” one of the early steps in the production pipeline is building storyboards. Artists sketch the key beats in a sequence, suggesting possible set positioning, camera angles, and character poses. This sequence is called “Tracking” and shows counselors in the Soul World giving a tour to souls while Joe and 22 observe from a distance. This storyboard, specifically drawn by story artist Hyein Park, is one of approximately 266 boards delivered to editorial for this particular sequence. In total, 73,811 storyboards were delivered for the entire film.

NOLTING: That was actually the biggest obstacle to working this way, for me. You’re presenting this thing to your peers — to people in the company who are waiting for this movie to come out in four years and everybody’s really anxious — especially with a Pete movie to see how they’re going to evolve.

It’s just brutal knowing that — I would never show this to anybody. It took me a long time just to do it with Pete where I’d be working on a scene — and in animation, you have the luxury of, if I decide halfway through the scene it’s not working, how much time do you want to put into it? Because I know we can rewrite it and I know we’re going to rewrite it.

So early on I learned to just call Pete in at a certain point if I didn’t think a scene was working and just say, “Take a look at this. Should we pursue this or not?” So we saved a lot of time that way because he could see right away that we needed to go in and re-write it. So it sort of evolved to the point where we show more and more people the movie in that state — where we’re clearly going to go back in and rework it.

Film Editor Kevin Nolting is photographed on August 7, 2014 at Pixar Animation Studios in Emeryville, Calif. (Photo by Deborah Coleman / Pixar)

It’s a good obligation to do a reality check every four months and see where you are because we do have a production schedule we have to stick to. So it’s good to get the movie out there every four months and take a reading on what’s not working.

HULLFISH: Was that decision about deciding you were going to go to Earth kind of a place where you felt like, “OK, we broke the story and now things are headed in the right direction?”.

NOLTING: Yeah. For me, it’s a mixed blessing and still is. In fact, I just watched today the first version of the movie and there’s so much in there that I love that we had to let go of when we decided to do that.

But also I could see the movie wasn’t working in that state. So in order to meet the schedule and to actually have a movie that makes sense, it was definitely the best thing to do.

HULLFISH: It’s so interesting that there are great parts of a movie that have to get dumped because there’s no way to get that movie to be part of the next version of the movie. Can you talk a little bit about how those decisions get made and how you have to kill your babies, right?

NOLTING: Yeah. That’s really what it is. That’s the hardest thing for all of us, I think.

In animation, I think it’s a little harder because you’re really writing the movie as you’re making the movie. So you’re seeing a lot more of that writing process than you normally would in a live-action scenario. But the longer you do it, it just gets easier to just say, “Yeah. We’ve done this before and we survived and we actually made the movie better. I’m not going to hold on to this.”

When I was running it today, there were all these lines that we had thrown out that I absolutely love, but I wouldn’t have remembered had I not run the movie again.

HULLFISH: Speaking of those lines, I saw that Tina Fey (who plays 22) and some others did some additional dialogue writing. Do you remember how some of that was added or what the process was to bring those people in?

NOLTING: We started doing this on Inside Out. On Inside Out we had a really hard time finding the character Joy and making her appealing because if you analyze it, she is a pretty unappealing character in what she’s trying to do. And it wasn’t till Amy Poehler came and that we really started to find the character. And Amy Poehler, being a writer, went off with Pete to New York and did a few writing sessions and it really made the character come to life and made an appealing character.

So when Tina Fey came on to this show, it became a no-brainer to do that. I think she’s very comfortable writing and so that was sort of a natural evolution because Pete had done it with Amy Poehler before and Amy and Tina are friends and Bill Hader has been involved since Inside Out. He came on the Inside Out and did a week of writing with us. He didn’t get credit, but I believe he was on Soul, too.

HULLFISH: There were some deeply funny, laugh-out-loud moments, and also some very profound moments in this movie. Animation editing is so much more of a PROCESS than traditional feature films. Can you talk about the moments of revelation or discovery that happened throughout that process and trying to balance the tone of comedy and the more deep moments?

NOLTING: That’s the ongoing struggle for me at Pixar — and especially with Pete. I wouldn’t call it a struggle — that’s just the ongoing conversation.

You could take Pete’s ideas and go completely serious and adult. And that’s actually our instinct at first. We’re constantly having to take the note that it’s not entertaining enough, it’s not funny enough, and trying to build that into the story. That’s one way to approach it and that’s the way Pete likes to approach it, I think, is to get the heart of the story — sort of the adult story — solid, and then start making it appealing to a broader audience and to kids and try to make it funny. That’s just sort of the way he’s been working the last few years.

Working on his movies — so collaborative, and the personalities involved. If you analyze the personalities involved you will find a funny person, a serious person, and that’s how Pixar sort of evolved. If you go back to the original movies — Toy Story, Andrew Stanton, Pete Docter, Lee Unkrich and John Lasseter — and you can see where that was just sort of a perfect combination of their approach to moviemaking, their approach toward movies, what they like in movies, and that’s all there.

I think Pete sort of continued that tradition. He’s very collaborative. We sit in a story room and you can see that there is a person that is going to bring the comedy, there’s a person who’s going to bring the heart, and that’s the process basically.

Then over the years, we just try to find the right balance of all of that, so the movie plays for everybody. It’s really a hard thing to make something play for an eight-year-old and for a 60-year-old.

HULLFISH: How much do you feel like you’re kind of in the middle of that as the editor trying to offer suggestions especially about balance. I think editors have a unique place in choosing the balance of action versus quieter moments and deep moments versus funny moments. Talk to me about your role in that.

NOLTING: Well I mean all editors have deep influence on all of that and in animation that’s sort of magnified in a sense because it’s such a long process. And again I’ve just learned to have patience and present the ideas at the right time. And there’s an art to that.

The nice thing we have — especially in animation — that all editors can do: I sit in a room full of story people and writers and everybody’s pitching ideas and talking and sort of arguing for their idea, but editors can quietly go back to our room and cut a version of a scene that presents our ideas. We have the advantage of actually projecting it and letting the director see it in the environment he’s going to see the movie as a movie as opposed to a discussion or script page.

So I just try to use that not just to MY advantage but to the MOVIE’S advantage. I work very closely with the head of story. if we’re talking and we agree a scene isn’t working or we think we can approach a part of the movie a different way, we can sit down and — I used to do this with Ronnie del Carmen all the time — and just reconceive a scene quickly.

He could sketch it out and I could cut it quickly. Throw up music in there and we could show it to Pete and say, “What do you think? Does this work better?”

HULLFISH: I want to pick up on something that you mentioned briefly which is that it depends on not only having an idea but knowing when to share it.

I think we’re in this unique position of being psychologists and therapists and political scientists. Tell me a little bit about what you mean by sharing an idea at the right time.

NOLTING: As I said, we show the movie to a different group of people — 200 people — and when they introduce the movie, the producer stands up and says, We’d love your feedback. Here’s my email address. We even have a preview form online called “Note-xar” where you can give notes on the movie and the director just gets bombarded with ideas.

Pixar is full of very smart people — smart, creative people. It’s not like they’re bad ideas, but we’re on a schedule and we have to make this movie for a certain amount of money and in a certain amount of time, just like anyone else, and you’ve got two hundred smart people sending in their thoughts, opinions, ideas.

I can’t even imagine how overwhelming that is. And a young director can easily get confused. So as an editor — and as somebody who has Pete’s ear — I’ve learned patience, and if I feel strongly about something I just have a sense — and I wait until we’re in the cutting room together. I might give an alt version and just quietly show it to him at the right time.

If you try to give a director your opinion and ideas when he’s in the middle of reading 200 other ideas, you’re just contributing to the noise.

HULLFISH: Is that something that you also feel was a skill that you used when you were doing live-action? You have to know when to pitch an idea or when to voice an objection?

NOLTING: Oh, I think so. Directors are people. They have moods. they have bad days, good days. They have fights with their wives and they come to work and they’re not hearing anything.

So in any sort of collaborative, creative process, I think it’s about learning how to “read the room” and know when to say things.

HULLFISH: “Learn how to read the room.” That’s some good editing advice right there.

There’s an amazing montage that happens — I called it “The Purpose montage” — when he realizes the purpose and he puts these talismans above the keyboard to almost read them as music. Talk to me about that montage — building it and designing it.

NOLTING: So that actually was in the first version of the movie. Trevor Jimenez — one of the story leads, just an amazing artist in the vein of Ronnie del Carmen — draws really evocative, soulful drawings, so he would be given these kinds of scenes.

Or he would come up with them actually a lot of times. Originally it was Joe playing his life after he had had this epiphany. In the first couple of versions, logically, if you think about it — the scene has score that is playing through there and the piano is overlaid, it’s playing a long score. And we have a separate piano track so that we could mix from piano into the score. Originally it was conceived that he was playing jazz music because if he’s going to replay his life, he should improvise that.

And we tried doing that with a Herbie Hancock cue and trying to manipulate the music so that he’s looking at these things and then the music he would play coincided with the memory.

So there was a scene where the sewing machine was running and I tried to find a piece of music where it sounded more rhythmic, like a sewing machine. The whole construct of the scene, emotionally, wasn’t right because essentially to get into that place, to play that way, he had already realized what his mistake was and he had this epiphany and then it just became almost like this mechanical thing where he sat down to play it. But he wasn’t learning anything as he played.

So once we got past that and decided not to try to manipulate the jazz to do that and started using score — we used this Captain Fantastic piece of score — one of the music editors at Pixar, Andrew Vernon who is good on the piano, so we had him do a piano version of it so we could start with him playing the piano and then sort of bleed in the score.

And then it started to come together emotionally when we realized that if a montage is just sort of repeating information that’s when montages are boring frankly, so we re-conceived it so that he was having the revelation as he played.

At the beginning of the scene, It’s weird. He’s remembering things through his head that 22 had done in his body and as he plays, it drifts into his own memories. And then in the acting, you see him sort of having this epiphany so that at the end of the cue and the montage, he knows what to do.

So once we started approaching it that way it really came together and started feeling emotional as opposed to an exercise.

HULLFISH: I love that answer. That’s really interesting. Wow. What have you learned from the film that you could tell me?

NOLTING: Just the way we work with Pete, I’m such a fan of working loose and then getting more detailed — just to find the tone and find the big picture.

I’ve worked with directors at Pixar who love to dig into the gags. You’d be working on a scene — and as I’m working on the scene, I’m thinking, “Does this even belong in the movie?” And the director is wanting to work till midnight to fine-tune these gags. We made them funny, but then we’d run the movie and you’d realize that the scene is not even going to be in the movie. Maybe we can use the gag somewhere.

So, that’s just sort of the lesson I learned over the years with Pete is having the confidence to air your dirty laundry in a sense and just show your stuff ugly. You know it’s going to turn out well eventually if you work hard enough.

HULLFISH: That’s a great lesson, but think through this with me a little bit: it probably depends on the director.

NOLTING: Very much. Oh yeah. Oh definitely. And so the flip side of that is learning how to work with a specific director. I’ve learned that with Pete, and so if I have to go back to the other way of working, I’m gonna have to learn their way. Because ultimately, it’s the director’s movie and they need to work the way they need to work and how to work that way and still get to where you think you need to get with the movie would be a challenge for me right now because I’ve been doing it this way for so long.

HULLFISH: Do you think you’ll go back to live action at any point? Are you an animation editor at this point?

NOLTING: There is something so appealing about live-action. Animation editing is a long, long slog — well, I won’t call it a “slog” —

About ten years ago a group of us at Pixar did four or five 48 hour film festivals. I love these 48-hour film festivals. We did one 24 hour one and I just loved it. We did one animated one, but most were live-action, and just the thrill of making something that fast and finishing it and just having to be really quick and responsive to ideas was such a relief.

I would love to edit live-action. You know how it is though in the entertainment world. You get into a thing and those are the people you know and that’s what people see you as and that’s pretty much sort of the path you go down. But I continue to do live-action things on the side.

HULLFISH: These movies — this one and Up — I think have such great emotion. Talk to me about trying to have a sense of emotion not going over the top, feeling it, being empathetic to that emotion. Tell me a little bit about how that works with an editor.

NOLTING: In my case, working with Pete, the thing I always hammer home is that you can’t create emotion. You can’t say, We’re gonna make the audience cry here, so we’ll do it through animation or through music.

It’s all about earning it. It’s all about laying the groundwork for the emotion from the very first scene in the movie and that’s constantly how I’m always thinking is: What is this leading to? Where do we want it to go?

The early part of the movie is more important than the scene where you actually get the emotion. You’ve done your homework — so to speak. If you’ve laid the groundwork, then the emotion will come, if you’ve been authentic about building the character and finding those moments that are real and authentic in the character.

HULLFISH: I work with a director and a producer and they’re always talking about “paying it into the movie” and then “cashing it out.” That’s their analogy. The emotional value that you want to “cash-out” during a certain scene has to be paid in to earlier in the film.

NOLTING: And if you haven’t done that, you can make people cry, certainly, but is it going to feel authentic or not?

HULLFISH: Off-line you mentioned this idea which sounded really like a Pixar philosophy to me and a really smart philosophy of “giving yourself the luxury of failing.” Tell me a little bit about that.

NOLTING: Pixar was really lucky in the early days to have Steve Jobs. He was the owner and then when they went public he retained 51 percent of the stock.

He was a famous risk taker and he just instilled this idea — he did it at Apple — of quality above everything else. He gave the filmmakers the luxury of failing. They could try things, and if it didn’t work he would take the hit and let them try again.

I’ve just seen it come up over the years — and especially now that we’re more of an established company — how important it is to hold on to that and not get comfortable.

I see it in young filmmakers. Sometimes they’re developing an idea and then they start second-guessing: “What are the people who are going to give the green light going to want?” as opposed to what I want to do.

Finding that balance and making sure you just keep the creative juices going without getting this fear of failing all the time.

HULLFISH: I’ve talked to other editors about that. That you can’t edit to please a director. You can’t think about that in a first cut. You’ve got to edit the scene the way you think YOU want to cut it.

NOLTING: Right. I think that’s very important. I have the luxury of having worked with Pete for so long, I think I can align pretty quickly, but if I have ideas or if I’m not sure about what the scene is about or if I don’t think they presented the scene in a way that is communicating what it’s really about, then I have the complete liberty to go and fail essentially. To try to do something and put it out there.

HULLFISH: What’s the value of that for an editor — knowing that a director will give you that ability to fail? What does that do for you?

NOLTING: For me, it makes sure that there aren’t any ideas that are going to go undiscovered. If you’re afraid to put something out there because somebody is not going to like it then there could be a great idea you’ve come across that nobody will ever get to see. That’s the biggest thing for me.

HULLFISH: That’s super powerful. It’s a great lesson for beginning filmmakers of any type but editors or directors or writers.

Speaking of writers — you brought up to me this famous David Mamet memo to his writing staff on The Unit. I’ve seen that before, but for those who might not have read it or seen it or know about it could you kind of explain what it is and how that affects you or how you use that to think about things when you’re editing?

NOLTING: It’s pretty famous.

I think the motivation for it was that the writers on The Unit were getting a lot of notes from executives wanting everything explained and I think it was derailing the writing process a little bit.

Again, it may even point to this second-guessing yourself concept — trying to answer questions that nobody’s really asking yet. But Mamet gave them three questions they should be addressing in every scene: Who wants what? What happens if they don’t get it? And why now?

I keep those three handy on a notecard on my desk. If I’m getting lost in a scene or if I’m starting to question what the thing might be about, I look at those questions and approach the scene from that point of view to try to get on track. And if I can’t answer them, then I’ll bring it up with the writer or the director and try to get to what the idea of the scene is really about.

HULLFISH: Those questions: Who wants what? What happens if they don’t get it? And why now? seem really plot-based. But how can those questions help you with even visual choices or cutaways or reaction shots? Other things that are more editorial in nature?

NOLTING: I see what you mean and I don’t use them as gospel. If I’m getting lost in a scene and you have so many ways you can approach it or there’s just a lot of ideas there, just to sort of rein things in to give yourself a jumping-off-point to start working again.

I sometimes get lost in the weeds with stuff.

HULLFISH: I think we all do that.

NOLTING: Those questions just sort of bring it back to, “Let’s look at it from that point of view and try to at least get a spine to this.”.

HULLFISH: I love that idea. That seems a little bit more like something you do in animation editing where you’re a little bit more part of the writing process. Do you also feel that that has value in traditional narrative editing?

NOLTING: Yeah. It could but you’re right, it definitely helps us because we have the luxury of rewriting a whole scene if it’s not working. But certainly from script to shooting a scene to editing a scene, a lot of changes can be made inadvertently, and the director on the set can get a little bit lost once they start veering from the script.

So I don’t think it’s a bad thing to use even in a live-action setting where you are restricted to footage.

HULLFISH: Those are some great points. Kevin, thank you so much for a wonderful interview. Thank you for helping to make a great movie. Soul was really a wonderful journey.

NOLTING: Thank you. Thanks for having me.

(This interview was transcribed with SpeedScriber. Thanks to Martin Baker at Digital Heaven)

To read more interviews in the Art of the Cut series, check out THIS LINK and follow me on Twitter @stevehullfish or on imdb.

The first 50 interviews in the series provided the material for the book, “Art of the Cut: Conversations with Film and TV Editors.” This is a unique book that breaks down interviews with many of the world’s best editors and organizes it into a virtual roundtable discussion centering on the topics editors care about. It is a powerful tool for experienced and aspiring editors alike. Cinemontage and CinemaEditor magazine both gave it rave reviews. No other book provides the breadth of opinion and experience. Combined, the editors featured in the book have edited for over 1,000 years on many of the most iconic, critically acclaimed, and biggest box office hits in the history of cinema.

Preparing Yourself To Cover Inauguration Protests

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 23:02:52 GMT

Cover the news these days, and you are a target. By now, most of us saw the video of the insurrection on January 6th. We saw people waving blue Trump flags rush the Capitol building as both Houses of Congress sheltered into any safe place they could find. One video I find especially troubling showed the tense moments an AP Photographer was attacked, dragged, and narrowly escaping intact. I link the video here: The link below will play an AD first, sorry.

I’ll write it again. If you cover the news, you are a target. I know the words I just wrote are true because I was a target. While covering an abandoned building fire north of Nashville, a man saw my marked news vehicle and decided he did not want the liberal media there. In an encounter that happened entirely too fast and forever imprinted on my mind. He pulled a gun, waved it around, put it in his back pocket, and spun around. The gun fell on the ground pointing directly at me. My eyes bugged out of my head, already in the process of walking briskly to my marked news car, I hustled. He picked up the gun and waved it at me in a threatening manner.

The day was Sunday, November 1st. On November 3rd, Election day, I white-knuckled my way into work. My encounter was brief compared to the events of January 6th. I cannot imagine what the AP Photographer must be going through now.

Photo by Athena Kulb

If you cover the news, you are a target. Best to be prepared. In no way am I an expert on conflict photography and video. However, I am a pretty decent news photographer who has been to more than his fair share of protests, MAGA rallies, Tornados, and Hurricanes.

Your Competition In Now Your Friend

One of my favorite movies is “The Bang Bang Club,” based on four combat photographers’ true-life experiences capturing the final days of apartheid in South Africa. One of the book’s lessons is how Kevin Carter, Greg Marinovich, Ken Oosterbroek, and João Silva worked together even though they worked as freelancers for different outlets. Your across town competition is going to be at the same rally as you. Make contact with your competition, and if protests get weird, you can watch out for each other. I did just this during the Stop The Steal rallies in Nashville.

Lighten Your Anxiety Load

Any protest during a pandemic is riff with anxiety. You do not need your audio cable that sometimes fuzzes to occupy your headspace suddenly. Get your gear in order and prepared for a day of unrest. I organize my smaller equipment into small ThinkTank bags. I do this so I can blindly grab a bag and know what is inside. I also follow the motto of one = none, two = one, and three is enough. Here is what I mean, If you only have one mic, it will break, but if you have two good options and a backup option, you can be secure knowing you have what you need. This, of course, is meant to be kept within reason. You cannot haul all your gear along an entire march route. That slider… yea, it isn’t protesting equipment. The Ronin S probably isn’t either.

Record the Events Happening Around You

One of the problems with my November 1st incident was I did not record the interaction on my camera. In fact, the man surprised me right as I turned off my camera. I couldn’t show what I saw. Recently I bought a GoPro and Shoulder Strap mount to capture the scene as I work during protests and rallies on the off chance I run into another gun-wielding fan of the liberal media. The only reason we have video of the January 6th assault on the AP Photographer is that an NYTimes photographer’s helmet-mounted GoPro captured the incident. I think about this more than I should.

Make Contact

A smart move is to let people know you are there covering the rally. Make contact with Police. Your editors or producers need to know you are there too. Actually, if you work for a company, they should have a detailed plan for protests this week. If you are a freelancer, I’d be hesitant to walk into a demonstration without someone knowing you are there and without a good exit strategy or buddy. One of the thoughts I noticed has worked in the past is it is hard to demonize someone you’ve had a conversation with earlier in the day. Earlier is better too because people’s emotions are not whipped up yet. Be polite. Being polite can disarm someone and be unexpected when the crowd’s emotions are high.

Pre-Planning

Know who is going to be where. Are other crews out there, and where will they be? You cannot over-communicate. Plan for “rally points” and “drop off” or “pick up” locations. Plan for contingencies and worse-case scenarios. Where are you going to park? Is it near the protest or farther away? Is the vehicle parked, so a driver needs not to reverse to pull out of a parking spot? Are any curfews in place? What roads are closed down? I think it is wise to over plan for weeks like this one.

Become an NPPA Member

I cannot stress this enough. If you are shooting news, freelance, or for a company, become an NPPA Member. The legal guidance and community are worth the small membership fee. This week, the NPPA put out a “Lessons earned from D.C.: Tips to prepare and know your journalistic rights on evidence” post. It is well worth a read if you even think you may cover protests or rallies this week. Yesterday, the NPPA had a webinar to help prepare journalists who may cover demonstrations this week. It was invaluable. Here is a link to the NPPA’s “practical advice about covering high profile news stories.”

Freelance?

Your protections, legal and otherwise, need to be spelled out by the hiring company. Running into the fray without a clear understanding of your legal protection may leave you unprotected. Talk to your hiring company to learn what they have planned if you get hurt or legal trouble while working for them.

It’s Just Gear

If your life is in danger, you can drop your gear and get the hell out. No shot or camera is worth more than your life. From January 6th, the AP left their television gear when demonstrators surrounded them. The equipment was eventually destroyed, but it was just gear and replaceable. You are not.

Protest personal protection

Do you buy a helmet? A gas mask? First Aid equipment? There are no easy answers to these questions. You want to be prepared for the worst-case scenario, but you do not wish to weigh yourself down too much. Remember, you bring just the essentials. Goggles are a must, and these goggles must be rated to take an impact, or they could shatter and cause more damage. If you feel the need for a gas mask, make sure the eye covering portion is impact-rated. For canisters, you will need ones made explicitly for Tear Gas.

If the situation develops to a point where you need more personal protection, you must know how you will get it or have it brought to you. You can always take a moment on the edge of the crowd to pull off a pack and grab stowed away safety gear. Here is a shopping list compiled by the good folks at the NPPA. It is a very exhaustive list made by a photographer who is also an EMT. Link here:

Stay out of the middle of the Protest

If the demonstration crowd starts compacting or moving to a new location, it is best to stay out of the middle. Find an area on the side of the protest. To goal here is to be able to leave quickly and easily if necessary. If you look at the AP Photographer attack video above, the photographers are surrounded by rioters. You may not be the crowd’s favorite person, and you’ll need a bit of spidey sense to know when a group turns on you if you are surrounded. Following the FBI’s round up of January 6th rioters, I expect most MAGA protesters will be less than pleased to see you taking their photo. Understanding this is important for your safety.

Difference between Police and military

The Police are trained to handle press/media. The military is not. If you run into the National Guard or other military, they may not recognize you are a journalist and covering the demonstration. Do not expect the military to treat you the same as the Police.

Big Camera vs Small Camera

If the crowd is large and angry, a big Sony or Panasonic news camera might be an easy target for angry protesters to see and locate. At times, a small camera can get the job done just as well. I rigged my Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K as a hand-held riot camera. I used a Zacuto camera cage with handles on the sides. I hope to have zero need to run back to my news vehicle to grab it.

If you just have the news-style ENG camera, you can use the extended zoom range to your advantage.

TVUs and LiveUs

These transmitters for live shots tend to come in their own branded backpacks. No one says you must use the distinctive blue and orange accented LiveU backpack. The actual LiveU is small and can fit in a Camera backpack that can hold other gear too. I have an older LowePro camera bag I may use to keep my equipment altogether, including the LiveU.

Know your fitness

Believe it or not, I am pretty fit. I still run sub-eight-minute miles regularly. I know some of my colleagues are not quite as fit. The person on the team who is struggling the most gets to voice the next move. This past summer, my security and I launched up a steep hill to get ahead of protesters, only to have to wait on our reporter, who struggled. We didn’t need to put him in that situation. You are there on the scene together, and you must support each other to do the best jobs you can do.

Escape routes

Plan your exit. You can always back off a safe distance and still do your job. No shot is worth your life.

Canon’s invitation: use our satellite to "shoot” your own photos of Earth

Fri, 15 Jan 2021 17:27:29 GMT

With roughly the size of a wine barrel, Canon’s the CE-SAT-1 satellite has an invitation for photographers: discover how the platform allows us to take photos of Earth.

At CES 2021, Canon premiered an interactive digital experience through five unexpected experiences and innovation cornerstones to celebrate how people can use Canon products and solutions to help redefine the limits they face. Attendees can be inspired to transcend limits by capturing the marvels of space, the splendor of wildlife, and the nostalgia of a lost iconic sports setting.

The five experiences allow the public to discover how Canon redefined how we experience sports and entertainment, through the use of its Volumetric Video System, or how software tools such as the EOS Webcam Utility and the upcoming AMLOS Camera System, is redefining how we see, engage and interact with each other through gesture-based imaging technology.

Canon also created an interactive timeline, which allows the public to peek behind the curtain and learn how Canon is collaborating with Tufts University and Mori to scale aqueous silks in order to tackle food waste and plastic pollution. This experience reveals how Canon redefines the way we shape the future. The two remaining experiences are designed with photographers in mind: one of them takes them to Yellowstone, the other to outer space.

Wolves in Yellowstone

In the “Canon Redefines the Way We Capture Life” multi-level interactive experience, attendees will be able to join Canon Explorer of Light and renowned wildlife photographer Charles Glatzer, who traveled to snowy Yellowstone National Park with his EOS R5 camera to photograph the famous Yellowstone wolves to showcase how the monitoring of the wolves has helped preserve the national park and its valuable inhabitants.

The experience allows users to take control of an EOS R5 camera themselves using some of the mirrorless camera’s most remarkable features, such as animal detection and the coordinated in-body stabilization. It’s a path to help people connect with the critical wildlife and natural ecosystems that are continuing to disappear around us in a period where the pandemic has forced many to stay home.

The other experience, “Canon Redefines How We See Our Planet” takes us to outer space. Or, to see Earth from Canon’s CE-SAT-1 satellite, which is orbiting around the blue planet since 2017, when a rocket carrying the micro satellite, developed by Canon Electronics, was launched from a space center in southern India. At 17 minutes and one second after liftoff, the micro satellite entered space, successfully reaching its scheduled orbit. This tiny satellite, measuring only 500 mm x 500 mm x 850 mm, was a major step forward for Canon Electronics. The further miniaturized CE-SAT-III measures 100 mm x 100 mm x 300 mm.

Two Canon satellites

Canon interest for satellites is a long story that goes back to 2009, an adventure that you can read about following the link to the pages dedicated to the company’s satellite development. There you discover that the micro satellite CE-SAT-1 includes such components as a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera with a catadioptric optical system and a compact camera for wide-angle image capture.

The result was the CE-SAT-1. In a small chassis, the company fit such components as a digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera – EOS 5D Mark III – with a catadioptric optical system and a compact camera – PowerShot S110 – for wide-angle image capture. Using the DSLR camera, the imaging system can provide a 0.9 m ground resolution from a 500 km orbit within a 5 km x 3 km frame size, making possible the identification of individual cars on a road. The compact camera can capture wide-angle shots within a 740 km x 560 km frame.

Currently, says Canon, the CE-SAT-1 is operating smoothly and sends image data to Earth every day. The company also has another satellite circling Earth, the CE SAT-2B, launched October 2020 to replace the original CE-SAT-1B, which was destroyed on launch. The CE SAT-2B includes a primary telephoto system connected to a super high sensitivity camera with a mirror diameter of 200 mm, a secondary telephoto – EOS M100 – and a PowerShot G9X Mark II used for wide-angle images.

Create your own snapshots of Earth

For the experience revealed at CES 2021 Canon invites attendees to join astronaut Marsha Ivins in a recreation of space to discover Canon’s compact imaging satellites, the CE-SAT-1 and 2B, and see how these cost-efficient, high-resolution satellites are making space imaging more accessible. The experience is an invitation to take snapshots of Earth using the equipment onboard the CE-SAT-1. Canon believes that by making high-resolution space imaging more accessible, we can develop a more holistic view of our planet, and “make better decisions to create a brighter future for everyone in it”.

The snapshooting session is limited to certain areas around the world, shown on a map. There is also a note that the website where the experience resides is for informational purposes and intended for individuals residing and located in the United States. Still, if you’re elsewhere, you can try and snap some images… or simply check the available gallery, which shows what can be captured with the cameras in the micro satellite.

Attendees can navigate different locations around the world, using high-resolution images from the CE-SAT-1, they can take their own snapshots and save their favorites as backgrounds for their compatible mobile device. In addition to lending her voice to the experience, astronaut Marsha Ivins is also taking part in a pre-recorded Canon hosted panel discussion, accessible through the cornerstone, with fellow astronaut and filmmaker Colonel Terry Virts, where they’ll discuss the profound impact space imaging has on humanity and our planet. Surely something to watch over the weekend and share with the family and friends.

FUJINON Premista 19-45mm T2.9 Lens To Be Released January 28th.

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 20:29:10 GMT

Newly announced the FUJINON Premista 19-45mm T2.9 (“Premista 19-45mm”) lens to be released on January 28, 2021. This lens is the third model to join the Premista Series of cinema zooms that support Large Format sensors.

Fujinon Premista 19-45mm Features

Stunning optical performance delivers the full benefits of a large format sensor
Natural depictions with little distortion throughout the entire zoom range
Durability and lightweight thanks to lens barrel assembly with high accuracy
Covering 19mm to 45mm and achieving T2.9
Comfortable operability
Compatible with the “ZEISS eXtended Data” system

The Premista 19-45mm is a short, lightweight wide-angle zoom that produces images with natural and beautiful bokeh, outstanding high resolution, accurate color rendition, and controllable flare with minimal ghosting for capturing high dynamic range (HDR). The lens shows minimal distortion throughout the entire zoom range, alleviating the burden of correcting footage after shooting and allowing high-quality cinematic images to be created more efficiently.

When the new lens is combined with the standard zoom (28-100mm) and telephoto zoom (80-250mm) in the Premista Series, the kit covers focal lengths from 19mm to 250mm, catering to a wide range of shooting scenes from wide-angle to telephoto. All three lenses also share the same front diameter and gear position for the focus, zoom, and iris operating rings, enabling efficient operability and production of high-quality images. Additionally, the focus ring has a wide rotation angle of 280 degrees and gives smooth torque during rotation for precise focusing and excellent control. Fluorescent paint is applied to index marks on the focus, zoom and iris rings, allowing these settings to be visibly checked in dark environments.

In addition to prime lenses compatible with Large Format sensors, the demand for zoom lenses is increasing due to their ability to efficiently capture high-quality footage without the delays caused by frequent lens changes, and without taking actors out of character.

“The response we’ve seen to the Premista lenses since their 2019 launch has been tremendous both in terms of excitement and usage across feature film, high-end TV productions, and commercials,” said Thomas Fletcher, director of marketing, Optical Devices Division, FUJIFILM North America Corporation.” Now, with stricter safety and efficiency needs on set, there is a growing demand for high-quality zoom lenses that match the quality and ‘look’ of prime lenses and efficiently capture images without the hassle of having to change lenses frequently. The Premista family checks all the boxes, with no compromise.”

The new Premista 19-45mm T2.9 offers a constant T-stop of 2.9 across its focal length range from 19mm to 45mm, covering focal lengths equivalent to five prime lenses, thereby reducing the need to change lenses for fast and efficient video shooting. Featuring large-diameter aspherical lens elements polished to ultimate precision with Fujifilm’s unique zooming system to effectively correct chromatic aberration issues, the lens achieves an astonishing level of edge-to-edge sharpness.

Additionally, distortion is effectively controlled even at the widest focal lengths, delivering natural footage with minimal distortion across the zoom range regardless of subject distance and zoom position. The Premista 19-45mm also features a flange focal distance adjustment mechanism, allowing users to easily adjust the flange focal distance by simply rotating a ring on the lens barrel to correct shifts caused by rapid temperature changes.

The use of proprietary optical simulation technology and mechanical design technology has resulted in a compact yet robust lens body measuring 230mm and weighing 3.3kg (7.3 lbs). This means the lens can be used for handheld shooting using a Steadicam or high-angle shooting using a crane.

Like the standard and telephoto zooms, the Premista 19-45mm T2.9 lens supports ZEISS eXtended Data, which can record metadata when shooting, thereby reducing video editing workload in post-production and facilitating efficient video production.

The new FUJINON 19-45mm lens is expected to begin shipping on January 28, 2021. The suggested Retail Price is $49,900 USD.

Art Of The Cut Podcast Eps. 82 ("Soul” Editor Kevin Nolting, ACE)

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 19:43:13 GMT

The Art of the Cut podcast brings the fantastic conversations that Steve Hullfish has with world renowned editors into your car, living room, editing suite and beyond. In each episode, Steve talks with editors ranging from emerging stars to Oscar and Emmy winners. Hear from the top editors of today about their careers, editing workflows and about their work on some of the biggest films and TV shows of the year.

On todays episode of the Art of the Cut Podcast, Steve talks with Kevin Nolting, ACE about editing the new Disney+ film “Soul.” Kevin won ACE Eddies for editing both “Inside Out” and “Up.” He was also an additional editor on “Toy Story 4”, “WALL-E”, “Finding Nemo” and “Cars.” Outside of his work in animation, Kevin was an associate editor on “Shanghai Noon” and a first assistant film editor on “The Naked Gun 2.5: The Smell of Fear.” Enjoy the episode!

Todays episode of the Art of the Cut Podcast is brought to you by Filmtools.com, Hollywoods trusted one-stop shop for all things production and post. Make sure to use coupon code AOTC10 for 10% off thousands of products when shopping on Filmtools.com. Save big on your next equipment purchase with Filmtools!

Want to read/ listen to more interviews from Steve Hullfish? Check out the Art of the Cut Archive for more than 200 interviews with some of the top film and TV editors of today!

The Art of the Cut podcast is available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Anchor, Google Podcasts, Breaker, Pocket Casts, Overcast and Radio Public. If you like the podcast, make sure to subscribe on your favorite podcast app and tell a friend!

Asus shows professional monitors at CES 2021

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 17:11:27 GMT

Featuring an IPS panel with 100% sRGB colour gamut, the Asus ProArt Display PA329CV brings 4K and accurate colors to the big screen. The portable PA148CTV features Asus Dial and Virtual Control Panel.

The ProArt Display PA329CV monitor Asus shows at CES 2021 is not a surprise announcement, as the first news about the monitor appeared close to NAB Show in Las Vegas in 2020, which was also moved online, as so many other events, due to Covid-19. Now the ProArt Display PA329CV, which brings 4K and accurate colors to the big screen, makes it to another all-digital event, CES 2021.

The ASUS ProArt Display PA329CV also has a smaller brother, the PA279CV, with which it shares many specifications, but this model offers them in a larger 32-inch display, with the detail available – 3840 x 2160 4K UHD – and the ideal working space for photographers, videographers and other creative artists. The monitor features an IPS panel with 100% sRGB colour gamut. Asus says it is “Calman Verified and factory pre-calibrated to provide Delta E < 2 colour accuracy, and it is also VESA DisplayHDR 400 compliant” and in addition “ProArt Preset and ProArt Palette software are pre-loaded for swift and easy colour adjustments.”

PA148CTV, a monitor built for creators

With an array of connectivity options, including two HDMI, one DisplayPort, and one USB-C port DisplayPort Alt Mode, 90-watt power delivery and superfast data transfers, the monitor features an ergonomic design that includes a four-way adjustable stand, function buttons on the front fascia and, if you’re worried it may fill to much space on your desk, an optional C-clamp table-mount stand.

The star of the show, though, is the Asus ProArt Display PA148CTV, a 14-inch FHD IPS portable monitor designed to efficiently enhance the workflows of content creators. The display features Asus Dial and Virtual Control Panel for streamlining creative processes with shortcuts and programmable hotkeys, which enhance ease-of-use with Adobe creative tools such as Adobe Photoshop, After Effects, Premiere and Lightroom Classic.

Asus claims that the PA148CTV “delivers exceptional color thanks to 100% sRGB and 100% Rec. 709 color spaces, and it is world’s first portable monitor that reach Calman Verified certification and factory pre-calibrated to provide a Delta E < 2 color difference. The anti-glare IPS panel features wide viewing angles with minimal color shift, even when viewed from off-center positions.” The display also features a responsive 10-point multi-touch panel, which has an anti-glare film to reduce distractions.

Tailor the interface to your work style

Virtual Control Panel on ProArt Display PA148CTV provides the user access to adjustment dials, sliders, buttons and wheels, delivering programmable hotkeys that enhance the precision and detail of creative work. ASUS Dial is a physical dial at the rear of the display that allows users to control compatible Adobe software and Microsoft Surface Dial features, enabling adjustments while staying focused on the task at hand. Turning the dial gives you access to customized shortcuts for tasks such as zooming in and out of images and adjusting brush size or brightness settings. You can even tailor the default interface to suit your own work style.

The integrated on-screen display (OSD) controller allows for performing further monitor adjustments quickly and easily. In addition, ProArt Preset software enables users to quickly adjust color gamut, and various display parameters can be set via ProArt Palette. Asus says that support for additional Adobe software will be available in the future. ProArt Creator Hub is required and will be available in Q2 2021.

PA148CTV offers a host of ports to cater to the needs of content creators. The two USB-C ports deliver audio, video and power input over a single cable, while the micro HDMI port provides connectivity to a wide variety of input sources. A tripod socket allows for mounting the display onto a tripod, and an adjustable metal kickstand props the display up to deliver ideal viewing and working positions, making it perfect for work on the go. PA148CTV also comes with a leather sleeve for elegant portability.

Zoom.us establishes 25p as worldwide framerate—Best practices?

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 13:48:28 GMT

Thanks to a panelist on Alex Lindsay’s Office Hours, I discovered (and later verified myself) that Zoom.us has established exact 25p as the de facto worldwide framerate for video teleconferencing. Zoom.us is one of the most popular teleconference services, and there is no setting. We have confirmed that the video sent by Zoom.us (and the provided video file from Zoom.us) is 25p CFR (constant framerate) no matter what the source video framerate may be. This article is about what that means for us, and the best practices to maintain framerate consistency throughout a workflow to avoid unnecessary cadence conversions, especially when the video is only for the web. I also cover what to do in those cases when the final video absolutely must go to air in an ex-NTSC region… or in the event you need to create Blu-ray or DVD for such an ex-NTSC region.

Scope of this article about Zoom.us

This short article is only about temporal resolution (i.e. framerate) with Zoom.us. It does not cover the spatial resolution for Zoom.us (which I covered previously in this article) or audio for Zoom.us (which I have covered before, and will likely cover again).

Set the camera to a matching (or even multiple)

If your production cameras offer 25p…

If your cameras offer 25p, set them to 25p. (See note below.)
If your camera offers setting the shutter as angle, set it to 180 degrees. Otherwise, set it to 1/50 or the closes available setting to get a 180 degree shutter.

If your cameras don’t offer 25p but do offer 50p…

If your cameras don’t offer 25p but do offer 50p, set them to 50p.
Set the shutter speed to 1/50 or the closest available setting. That’s because Zoom.us will throw away half of the incoming 50 frames to make them 25 only 25 frames per second, so you’ll end up with a 180 degree shutter.

Regarding concern about potential flicker in 60 Hz countries: I know that sometimes, depending upon the lighting technology used in a 60 Hz countries, there can be flicker if shooting at 25p or 50p. However, this only happens with certain types of lighting. If you discover this is a problem for you, consider substituting your lighting with one that is immune from this.

If you are going to do external screen recording…

Considering that Zoom.us only sends 25p, if you are going to do screen recording which includes a feed from Zoom.us, you should set your graphic system to match it (or more often, a 2x version). In other words, you should set the display setting in the computer’s graphics to be either 25 or 50 Hz. This is so the screen signal will either match the original cadence, without conversion.

In macOS in Castilian (castellano), that will be as shown above with the 50 Hertz setting. In macOS in English, it will be as shown below:

Below, ScreenFlow settings:

After that, if you are using a tool like ScreenFlow from Telestream, you should set it for 25 as shown above in Castilian (castellano) or below in English.

Editing at 25p

If your video editing software allows for setting the framerate, set it to 25p manually when creating the project. If you are using iMovie, dragging your first clip at 25p will set the project framerate to 25p.

How to distribute the 25p footage from Zoom.us

If it is for the web, leave it alone as 25p.
If it is for DVD or Blu-ray where it’s okay to have a PAL-derived rate, leave it alone. Your DVD or Blu-ray authoring software will automatically know whether to leave it alone, convert it into 25PsF for DVD (quasi 50i with the same temporal information in each quasi field) or repeat frames for 50p for Blu-ray. If your DVD or Blu-ray players accept those rates, it’s the cleanest way to handle it.
If it is for over-the-air TV in an ex-NTSC region where they demand a derived NTSC framerate like ≈23.976, ≈29.97 or ≈59.94, do whatever they demand, but only with the final version for them.
If it is for DVD or Blu-ray where the players are NTSC-derived only, then you will have no choice but to convert the last version for that distribution. It could be slowed down from 25 to ≈23.976 with pitch correction or it could be standards converted via an app to ≈29.97 or ≈59.94.

Conclusions

Zoom.us has set the de facto worldwide framerate for teleconferencing to 25p. As long as your final delivery allows for 25p, this is definitely a situation where it’s better to join them then fight them. That’s why I have covered how to shoot, potentially edit and distribute at the native 25p established by Zoom.us. If you absolutely must deliver ≈23.976, ≈29.97 or ≈59.94 to some venues, follow the instructions I covered in the article.

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No manufacturer is specifically paying Allan Tépper or TecnoTur LLC to write this article. Some of the other manufacturers listed above have contracted Tépper and/or TecnoTur LLC to carry out consulting and/or translations/localizations/transcreations. Many of the manufacturers listed above have sent Allan Tépper review units. So far, none of the manufacturers listed above is/are sponsors of the TecnoTur , BeyondPodcasting CapicúaFM or TuSaludSecreta programs, although they are welcome to do so, and some are, may be (or may have been) sponsors of ProVideo Coalition magazine. Some links to third parties listed in this article and/or on this web page may indirectly benefit TecnoTur LLC via affiliate programs. Allan Tépper’s opinions are his own. Allan Tépper is not liable for misuse or misunderstanding of information he shares.

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AJA releases two new 12G-SDI openGear solutions

Thu, 14 Jan 2021 13:32:07 GMT

Designed for use in high-density openGear 2RU frames and compatible with Ross DashBoard software for flexible device control and monitoring, the new AJA 12G-SDI openGear solutions are now available.

The new 12G-SDI openGear solutions, AJA OG-12GM and AJA OG-FiDO-TR-12G expand the family of AJA openGear compatible converter cards, essential for critical broadcast and IP applications, to provide the highest levels of quality and reliability for use in openGear frames, including AJA’s OG-X-FR.

Featuring support for up to 4K/UltraHD content, OG-12GM is a 12G-SDI to/from quad-link 3G-SDI Muxer/DeMuxer, and OG-FiDO-TR-12G is a state-of-the-art 12G-SDI/Fiber transceiver. Both are designed for use in high-density openGear 2RU frames and compatible with Ross DashBoard software for flexible device control and monitoring.

“As demand for high raster 4K/UltraHD content increases, convenient 12G-SDI solutions are critical to simplifying cabling and transport of high bandwidth content,” said Nick Rashby, President, AJA Video Systems. “In response to industry demand, we’re bolstering our lineup of 12G-SDI workflow tools with the new OG-12GM card and OG-FiDO-TR-12G transceiver, which feature industry-wide compatibility in openGear frames.”

The new converter cards from AJA

OG-12GM is an openGear-compatible SDI transport converter that supports single-link 12G-SDI to/from quad-link 3G-SDI, two Sample Interleave (2SI) to/from Square Division (Quadrant) pixel mapping, and selectable Distribution Amplifier (1×4). It provides detailed timing analysis for validating alignment of quad-link SDI inputs via a unique timing analyzer that quickly helps to identify possible timing issues for quad-link signals. Ideal for critical broadcast applications where high-quality conversion and reliability are required, OG-12GM features openGear’s high-density architecture and DashBoard support on Windows, macOS or Linux for monitoring and control over a local network or remotely.

OG-FiDO-TR-12G offers unmatched flexibility and cost-efficiency for 12G-SDI to Fiber conversion and Fiber to 12G-SDI conversion with single-link LC connectivity, enabling long cable runs up to 10km for single mode. OG-FiDO-TR-12G is compatible with all certified openGear products and supports Ross DashBoard software for convenient remote control and monitoring over a PC or local network to further simplify production workflows.

OG-12GM and OG-FiDO-TR-12G are now available through AJA’s worldwide reseller network for $895 and $1325, respectively.

Renderro – powerful cloud computer for your post-production and creative tasks

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 19:33:51 GMT

Renderro is your high-performance cloud computer for your everyday video editing, graphic design, and animation tasks. It is an answer to all your hardware and collaboration challenges in a single platform.

As professional post-production artists, you need a lot of computing power to make your work fast and efficient. This type of hardware usually comes with a high price, can be unreliable, and still doesn’t deal with all the daily speed bumps.

Just try to remind yourself of the last time you had a tight deadline – the rendering took forever, or you were still waiting for the files upload to finish. In none of those cases, it was about your skill.

The only thing that limits the artists nowadays is the hardware.

So now try to think of the same scenario, but with a Renderro cloud computer.

The moment you need more power, you can adjust your setup to the task at hand and scale it any time. Just editing? Connect to a computer similar to the one you are using daily, where you can install any software and operate on any files. Need the power of a render farm? Use a computer with a 4x NVIDIA M60 graphic card, which cuts the time you need to complete any rendering process. All adjustable with a few clicks.

Now, when you are done with your work, there’s not much more you have to do to keep your files safe. All your work is stored in Renderro cloud drive with almost unlimited storage space. You can operate on it just like you operate on your standard computer drive – create directories, edit/delete files and make copies.

If you want to share your files with your team, you can all access it from the Renderro, and work on the files. Forget about hour-long file transfers or throwing around portable drives – all your work is easily accessible at any time in Renderro.

Sounds hard to get on going with all that? On the contrary. Renderro keeps things simple, so you can connect with a single click from any device with an internet connection. The power of a $10k video-editing workstation on your mobile phone.

For precise, pixel-perfect editing, you can connect with a desktop application available for macOS and Windows.

To answer your freelancing needs…

If you are a freelancer, you have to invest up-front in an expensive workstation to even start. Of course, when times are good, your workstation pays itself off, but what about the moments when the jobs aren’t pouring down the sky?

You are left with either a credit or an expensive piece of setup, that just lays there sad, unused, and without a purpose.

With Renderro’s pay-as-you-go model, you use only the resources you need, exactly when you need them. No matter if you need to set up additional computers, or cut the costs to 0 – both can be done in minutes.

If you need to apply some small changes to the project, you set up Renderro turbo computer in minutes, do your magic with a blazing-fast experience, render them in seconds and send the v2 to your customer in just a few hours from receiving the customer notes.

…and your studio’s challenges

With all the lockdown going on, our industry had to make significant changes to our workflow. One of them is remote work.

More than ever studios need a fast way to synchronize the work of all their teams – a good file transfer system and machines powerful enough to be able to work from home.

That wasn’t possible with the current technology. The file transfer always depends on the team members’ bandwidth and the Virtual Desktops are not the solution for remote, precise editing.

Renderro solves both of those challenges, giving the team an easy way to share and collaborate on the same files, and have unlimited computing power with a multi-monitor, high-quality connection.

Pricing and availability

Renderro is built upon a pay-as-you-go model, meaning that you pay only for the resources you use. The price ranges from $1.60 to $10 per hour, depending on how strong your computer needs to be.

Like any other computer, your cloud computers need a drive, where you store and operate all your files. This storage comes in a monthly subscription, starting at $10 for 200GB, customizable up to 10TB.

If you are a studio looking for a customized set up, you can reach out to the Renderro team and ask for a personalized quote.

All new users get a free monthly trial and $10 to spend on any computer, to try if Renderro works for you. Simply go to their website and register for free.

What do you think about Renderro? Do you think cloud computers could replace our standard workstations soon? Let us know in the comments.

D-Link introduces a new USB-C 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet adapter

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 18:10:44 GMT

D-Link showed at CES 2021 its new USB-C to 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (DUB-E250), for lightning-fast connections without having to install a new network card.

The all-digital 2021 Consumer Electronics Show was chosen by D-Link to show the company’s newest networking innovations including, Wi-Fi 6, mydlink smart home, 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet, and 5G technology products. Transforming how households use networking to remotely work, stay in touch, and protect their loved ones, D-Link is lowering the barrier for customer adoption of new and updated technologies to best adapt to today’s pandemic.

One of the highlights of D-Link’s presentation is the world’s smallest 2.5 Gigabit USB adapter. A 2021 CES Innovation Award Honoree, the portable adapter enables 2.5X the bandwidth of current Gigabit connections allowing more high-performance online activities than previously possible. D-Link also showcases a new Multi-Gigabit Unmanaged Switch (DMS-106XT) for home and business use.

“2.5GbE is one of the fastest-growing and highly-discussed technology trends of today. Current digital activities and productivity outpace the capabilities of existing Gigabit Ethernet connectivity,” said Raman Bridwell, vice president, products and services at D-Link Systems. “Our new multi-gig unmanaged switch and adapter are helping today’s consumer and business users upgrade their systems ushering in more reliable, stable, and improved network performance.”

Access to lightning-fast connections

Answering the high-bandwidth requirements of Wi-Fi 6 along with the increased data traffic straining wired systems, the USB-C to 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (DUB-E250) provides an affordable, worry-free transition to high-performance networking. With many of today’s PCs only offering USB-C connectivity, the DUB-E250 allows customers to connect their PC to multi-gigabit switches such as D-Link’s DMS-106XT. This provides the power and speeds needed by content creators who need wider data pipelines for file storage and uploads or gamers who want to improve low latency performance.

With ultra-fast 2.5Gbps data transfer rates, 25 times faster transfer speeds compared to previous 100 Mbps Fast Ethernet standards, the mini DUB-E250 measures smaller in size than a pack of gum, making it easily portable with simple connectivity to an existing PC or laptop. The DUB-E250 USB-C-to-2.5G Ethernet Adapter plugs into any available USB Type-C or Thunderbolt 3 port on your computer and enables you to connect to an Ethernet network.

The adapter is backward compatible with existing network equipment eliminating costly, time-consuming equipment updates or replacement costs. With the adapter it becomes possible to have access to lightning-fast connections without having to install a new network card. High-speed 2.5-Gigabit Ethernet allows you to transfer large files in no time, or make light work of backups to a server or network storage device. Where wireless connectivity is inconsistent or unavailable, this adapter, says D-Link, offers a seamless wired alternative.

Compatible with Windows and Mac

Here are the key features of the new D-Link USB-C to 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (DUB-E250):

2.5G Ethernet Connectivity for ultra-high data transfer rates
USB-C Connector for fast and simple installation
Auto Speed Detection for hassle-free connections
Crossover Detection eliminates cable confusion
Full-Duplex Mode for up to 4.6 Gbps throughput
Two LED indicators for visual diagnostics
No power adapter required means no cable clutter
Virtual CD for convenient driver installation (Windows)
Backwards compatible (10/100/1000 Mbps) to work with all of your devices

The DUB-E250 is compatible with major operating systems (Windows 7/8/10, Mac OS 10.6 or higher) to conveniently work with many of your devices. Simply plug into your laptop or network device and you’re ready to take data transfer to multi-Gigabit speeds.

D-Link also introduced its Multi-Gigabit Unmanaged Switch (DMS-106XT). The innovative DMS-106XT unmanaged switch offers five 2.5G Ethernet ports that accelerate network efficiency and provide uninterrupted Wi-Fi 6 online experiences to 2.5GbE PC notebooks, 4K/HD streaming services, and gaming consoles.

Price and availability

In addition, a 10GB Ethernet port allows users to connect a NAS storage device for quick data restoring and backup. With exclusive Smart Turbo Mode, the switch activates extremely low latency for high-quality performance with just the push of a button. Each port is backward-compatible for seamless network integration, and a front-facing LED display provides users simple performance alerts.

Here are the key features of the Multi-Gigabit Unmanaged Switch DMS-106XT:

5 x 2.5 Gbps Ethernet Ports for unrestricted Wi-Fi 6 or surveillance connectivity
1 x 10 Gbps Ethernet port for uplink or NAS server connection
Smart Turbo Mode delivers Quality of Service (QoS) and port-based priority for uninterrupted online gaming and 4K streaming
Fanless operation for enhanced reliability and soundless performance

The USB-C to 2.5 Gigabit Ethernet Adapter (DUB-E250) will be available the first quarter of 2021, priced at $49.99. The Multi-Gigabit Unmanaged Switch (DMS-106XT) will be available in the second quarter, with a price of $299.99.

Sony launches the compact 35mm F1.4 G Master

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 16:14:32 GMT

Delivering first-class image quality and beautiful bokeh in a compact and lightweight design, the FE 35mm F1.4 GM is perfect for a wide range of uses for both stills and video.

The newest addition to the Sony G Master full-frame lens series is a small, bright 35 for breathtaking images. Sony’s most advanced technology is packed into this high-performance E-mount lens, delivering eye-opening G Master resolution and bokeh with extraordinary AF speed and precision. For a large aperture 35-mm lens it is remarkably compact, and a great choice for applications where an ideal blend of mobility and superb image quality is required.

When paired with an E-mount camera body, the lens offers Sony’s industry-leading AF (autofocus) capabilities – perfect for a wide range of uses such as shooting landscapes, portraits and street photography, for both stills and video. It offers amazing resolution in a compact 35-mm prime for any situation, thanks to two XA (extreme aspherical) elements in a G Master design take advantage of the short mirrorless flange-back distance to deliver stunning contrast and resolution in a compact lens. ~

Further enhancing the lens’s superior optical quality are an ED (Extra-low Dispersion) glass element that suppresses chromatic aberration. and other optical refinements, including Sony’s Nano AR Coating II that maintains superb image clarity even in any lighting conditions. This means that the lens performs well in difficult lighting while still offering breathtaking results.

Fits in the palm of your hand

“At Sony, our purpose is to fill the world with emotion through the power of creativity and technology so we designed the FE 35mm F1.4 GM to perfectly capture the moments that need to be saved forever,” said Neal Manowitz, deputy president for Imaging Products and Solutions Americas at Sony Electronics. “With exquisite resolution and intelligent focusing technology, all in a small, lightweight design, this is an indispensable lens that does not compromise on image quality.”

The company adds that Sony’s advanced optical design and manufacturing technology brings extraordinary resolution, beautiful bokeh, and precise focusing performance to a compact lens that fits comfortably in the palm of your hand, weighing just 18.5 ounces (524 grams) and measuring 3 inches dia. x 3 ⅞ inches (76 mm dia. x 96 mm) with a filter diameter of Φ67mm.

Bokeh and control

Here are a few more highlights from the new Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM compact and lightweight lens:

Beautiful Bokeh
The FE 35mm F1.4 GM delivers an almost circular aperture thanks to its 11-blade construction – a rare level of quality for a compact lens. Spherical aberration control at both the design and the manufacturing stages contributes to beautiful bokeh – a signature characteristic of Sony’s G Master lens lineup.
The two innovative XA elements contribute to impressive close-ups with smooth, creamy background bokeh. The combination of F1.4 maximum aperture and the flexibility to choose the perfect shooting distance (minimum focusing distance of just 10.6 inches (27cm) with a maximum magnification of 0.23x in autofocus mode) allows for ultimate control and stunning bokeh when shooting both stills and video.
Advanced Focus For Enhanced Imagery
Two of Sony’s XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors provide the high thrust efficiency needed for precise AF (autofocus) and tracking – resulting in outstanding resolution at any distance. State-of-the-art control algorithms, developed specifically for the XD Linear Motors, improve control response and precision while minimizing vibration and noise for fast, smooth and silent AF performance.
Advanced focusing can also be achieved when shooting at a high frame rate
Linear Response MF ensures the focus ring responds to subtle control when focusing manually and is ideal for creative focusing effects when shooting video. The focus ring rotation translates directly to a corresponding change in focus, so control feels immediate and precise.
Professional Control And Reliability
The FE 35mm F1.4 GM offers full professional control including an aperture ring with switchable click stops, a customizable focus hold button and a focus mode switch that all support smooth, efficient operation. The focus hold button can be assigned to several other functions via a camera body menu, providing direct access to functions that are vital to both photographers and videographers.
When mounted to an APS-C or Super 35 camera, the compact and lightweight FE 35mm F1.4 GM can be used as a standard lens equivalent to 52.5mm full-frame equivalent angle of view, making the it the perfect choice for creating videos. Additional video advantages include the de-clickable aperture, fast linear AF and linear response manual focus.The FE 35mm F1.4 GM features a dust and moisture resistant design and a fluorine front element coating that repels water, oil and other contaminants.

Pricing and availability

The new FE 35mm F1.4 GM will be available in February and will be sold for approximately $1,399.99 USD and $1,899.99 CAD. It will be sold at a variety of Sony’s authorized dealers throughout North America.

WhatsApp: How to abandon it the right way

Wed, 13 Jan 2021 15:32:39 GMT

This article is not about why to abandon WhatsApp before the end of January 2021. That has been amply covered —and continually debated— in many other places. In this extremely short article, I am only covering the right way to do it, if you make that decision as I did. Avoiding an essential step could be counterproductive when people try to contact you and may not be aware that you have left, and likely switched to Signal or Telegram (or both).

Steps

Open WhatsApp.
Tap More options > Settings > Account > Delete my account.
Enter your phone number in full international format and tap DELETE MY ACCOUNT.
Select a reason for why you’re deleting your account in the dropdown.
Tap DELETE MY ACCOUNT.

To see this short article with the steps in Castilian (castellano), click here.

(Re-)Subscribe for upcoming articles, reviews, radio shows, books and seminars/webinars

Si deseas suscribirte (o volver a suscribirte) a mi lista en castellano, visita aquí. Si prefieres, puedes suscribirte a ambas listas (castellano e inglés).

Suscribe to my BeyondPodcasting show in English or CapicúaFM en castellano.

FTC disclosure

Copyright and use of this article

The articles contained in the TecnoTur channel in ProVideo Coalition magazine are copyright Allan Tépper/TecnoTur LLC, except where otherwise attributed. Unauthorized use is prohibited without prior approval, except for short quotes which link back to this page, which are encouraged!

PVC Podcast Eps 31: Doing it all –"Monsters of Man” Director Mark Toia on ...

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 22:25:55 GMT

On todays episode of the PVC podcast, guest hosts Matt Jeppsen and Dean Friske chat with director Mark Toia about the making of his killer robot debut feature “Monsters of Man.” Matt and Dean talk with Mark about how he created the slick sci-fi thriller, and the challenges in self-financing and self-distributing the film. Enjoy the episode:

“Monsters of Man” is now available to rent on Amazon Prime, YouTube, Apple TV and more. You can also watch the trailer here:

The PVC Podcast is available on Apple, Anchor, Spotify, Google Podcasts, and more. Subscribe so you don’t miss future episodes! Have a question/ comment? Shoot us a message on Instagram(@provideocoalition) or send us an email: social@provideocoalition.com.

Western Digital: the new 4TB portable SSDs

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 17:21:41 GMT

Consumers and professionals now have more space to create, as the new 4TB drives from Western Digital are built to keep up with today’s high-quality content demands.

SanDisk, WD_BLACK and My Passport are three Western Digital brands consumers know well, and the whole lineup is now offered with expanded capacity options, as the company announced it’s now delivering 4TB portable SSDs across its consumer brand portfolio. Giving consumers and professionals more space to create, the new drives are built to keep up with today’s high-quality content demands.

The four drives now announced offer gamers, content creators, enthusiasts and creative professionals the performance, durability and greater capacity they need to capture, move and save their files. The drives bring consumers and professionals more choice when it comes to fast, durable digital storage, in different formats.

“This milestone allows us to deliver a new era of solutions with the capacity and performance our customers have been asking for. Our consumer brand products are used by millions of professionals and consumers around the world, and we continue to drive technology forward to deliver the performance, reliability and leading products they demand,” said Jim Welsh, senior vice president and general manager of Consumer Solutions Products, Western Digital.

Western Digital is focused on delivering industry-leading solutions that keep up with the rich content created by consumers and pros alike. Whether using your smartphone to capture family milestones, backing up or expanding your video game library, or in the studio or out in the field creating a feature film, the company’s range of offerings are built to reliably store today’s massive files.

“As a Director of Photography in film and television production, I rely on technology to achieve my creative vision and protect my work. SanDisk SSDs are a critical asset when I’m out in the field or at the studio working with multiple 12K and 8K cameras,” said Sam Nicholson, ASC, SanDisk Extreme Team member. “High-capacity, high-performance SSDs make it easy to reliably manage these files, and the SanDisk Extreme Pro portable SSDs are my go-to drive when I’m shooting on location. With added capacity, I have even more freedom to continue creating amazing content.”

SanDisk, WD_Black and Passport

The four new drives, represent a powerful 4TB portable SSD portfolio which, says the company, “offers an unmatched combination of performance and capacity to help fuel today’s content-rich world.” Here are the highlights of the new products:

SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD
Save time storing and transferring data with powerful NVMe solid state performance featuring up to 2000MB/s read and up to 2000MB/s write speeds. A forged aluminum chassis acts as a heatsink to deliver higher sustained speeds in a portable form factor.Pricing/Availability: The 4TB SanDisk Extreme Pro Portable SSD is expected to be available later this calendar quarter at select retailers and the Western Digital Store at an estimated U.S. MSRP of $749.99.
SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD
Get NVMe solid state performance featuring up to 1050MB/s read and up to 1000MB/s write speeds in a portable, high-capacity drive that’s perfect for creating amazing content or capturing incredible footage. For added durability, the drive features up to two-meter drop protection and IP55 water and dust resistance.Pricing/Availability: The 4TB SanDisk Extreme Portable SSD is expected to be available later this calendar quarter at select retailers and the Western Digital Store at an estimated U.S. MSRP of $699.99.
WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD
Purpose-built for gamers, this drive is shaped by performance with SSD read speeds up to 2000MB/s to decrease load screen times and get you into the game faster. Premium storage expansion lets you save new games and is compatible with your PC, PlayStation 4 or Xbox One game library.Pricing/availability: The WD_BLACK P50 Game Drive SSD is expected to be available later this calendar quarter at select retailers and the Western Digital Store at an estimated U.S. MSRP of $749.99.
My Passport SSD from WD
Bold metal design that is both stylish and durable. The drive is shock and vibration resistant and drop resistant up to 6.5 feet (1.98m), and comes in a range of colors including Gray, Blue, Red, Gold and Silver. Blazing fast NVMe technology with read speeds of up to 1050MB/s and write speeds of up to 1000MB/s enables everyday content creators, curators and hobbyists to keep productivity flowing.Pricing/Availability: The 4TB My Passport SSD is expected to be available later this calendar quarter at select retailers and the Western Digital Store at an estimated U.S. MSRP of $679.99.

Western Digital offers a broad range of external and internal SSDs. Follow the link for more details on the company’s complete SSD portfolio.

Review: DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor Part 2 – Multicam and Multi-camera Editing

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 12:00:29 GMT

This is Part 2 of my DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor review. In Part 1, I covered the hardware, trimming, a lot of the Cut page and basic editing with the Speed Editor. This second part is all about multicam and multicamera editing with the Speed Editor and the Cut Page. I don’t think you can really talk at length about the Speed Editor, and especially mulitcam editing, without including the Cut Page in that discussion. They go hand in hand. While you can have mulitcam editing in the Cut Page without the Speed Editor you sure can’t edit mulitcam with the Speed Editor without the Cut page. Who made who? I don’t know but they go hand in hand.

One look at the Speed Editor and you can see that mulitcam editing was at the top of the list when it was designed.

The Multicam editing experience

One of the things that I think the Speed Editor is intended to eliminate is the seeming complexity of the creation of multicam clips and multicam editing overall. We have both the Cut page Sync Bin and a third of the entire Speed Editor surface editor dedicated entirely to multicam editing. The proper operation of these things works best when your multicam shoot has sync timecode. But if you have sync timecode the complexity of traditional mulitcam clip creation is mostly eliminated as it’s a one-click operation to create a multicam clip in the Edit page. Even a novice editor can pickup mulitcam editing with relative ease.

That begs the question: Is Resolve’s Cut page/Speed Editor integration better for multicam editing? That was certainly one of the featured aspects of the Speed Editor during the product introduction. Just a quick glance at the device and you’ll see the middle of the product is dedicated to mulitcam editing with nine CAM (Camera) buttons waiting to be pressed. If you’ve ever done any mulitcam editing using mulitcam tools in any of the NLEs you’ll immediately recognize the layout: it looks a lot like a 9-split mulitcam screen where the viewer is divided into nine quadrants, one for each camera angle.

The Multicam editing buttons on the DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor take a prominent place on the device.

For my review of the Speed Editor, I used it extensively on 5 camera (10 cameras if you count the 2 passes) mulitcam music show with sync timecode that went to broadcast. There was a Line Cut but we really didn’t use it. Like all my reviews I try my best to use the products on real-world editing jobs. The sync timecode meant it was a great testbed for both the Cut page Sync Bin and the Speed Editor. Admittedly I had to forget some of what I had learned to embrace the Cut Page way of mulitcam editing. As one who loves to learn new and better post-production ways to work, I embraced this challenge.

One thing the Cut page Sync Bin often requires besides sync timecode is a Camera #, or creation date or it might not work properly if you have a lot of media. At least that is what it seemed to me after reading the manual about the Cut Page Sync Bin. I found this out the hard way as several mulitcam projects I tested wouldn’t sync in the Cut Page/Sync Bin. It’s always good to RTFM but we all know you often don’t, especially if you think you know what you’re doing. Twitter helps too.

It needs to have same date of creation as it is designed to handle shoots across days. You can change this in the inspector via multi select.

— Rohit Gupta (@rohit_bmd) December 20, 2020

If your camera didn’t record the proper metadata you can add it or change it yourself in the Inspector but that is a complexity that sort of negates the ease of use the Cut Page/Sync Bin is trying to create. You can use the Sync Clips window (a little button at the top of the Cut page Media Pool) to manually sync up clips and save that sync for use in the Sync Bin.

Honesty I think both the Cut Page Sync Bin (as well as the Sync Clips window) is tricky, especially if you’re robust in normal multicam editing. I can take a number of different mulitcam projects that work perfectly when using the Edit page Create New Mulitcam Clip Using Selected Clips option (Or Premiere, or Final Cut Pro, or Avid Media Composer) that won’t sync properly in the Cut Page without some work. I traced most of that back to Date Created differences.

Resolve has a new Metadata View that will display a scrubbable thumbnail as well as different metadata parameters in the different tiles.

⬆️ The image above is my trusty numbered clips project that is a bunch of … numbered clips with matching timecode. This new Metadata View shows the matching 00:00:00:00 timecode as well as the creation dates, some of which differ.

⬆️ This image above is the numbered clips synced in the Resolve Edit page Create New Mulitcam Clip Using Selected Clips, Angle Sync > Timecode, Angle Name> Clip Name. Syncs perfectly.

⬆️ Here is that same batch of clips in the Cut page Sync Bin. I would have thought they’d all be in perfect multicam sync. If you’re faced with a situation like this you can scroll through the Sync Bin and see what all you have and what ends up in sync but if you have a lot of media shot over a long period of time you could be scrolling endlessly. What the Sync Bin needs is an easy way to see a Sync Map of your entire bin.

⬆️ A little sleuthing around in List View and you can see the Sync Bin seems to be grouping by Date Created. When in List View you can’t sort by the list column heading so you have to use that menu on the right to change the sort order. Date Time will sort by Date Created.

⬆️ There’s another little tool on the Cut page that might be hugely important when setting up a mulitcam edit and that its the Sync Clips window.

⬆️ Opening the Sync Clips window gives me a lot more information. Finally, I can see a proper Sync Map and use this window to fix any sync if faced with syncing difficulties.

This Sync Clips tool is a great tool where you can sync by timecode, audio waveform, clip IN or OUT. It feels a bit like what Red Giant’s Plural Eyes should have evolved into. I love the idea of a dedicated syncing tool for mulitcam so having this built-in is nice. One thing missing is the ability to sync by markers that are placed on the clips.

But upon further inspection, some of that greatness wears off as I could not find any way to add some video tracks in the Sync Clips tool and get these 15 clips in sync via timecode. It all comes down to those differing creation dates for these clips.

⬆️ But this should be an easy fix. Using the Inspector I could change the Date Created on multiple clips at once. This changes the date and not the time. I also didn’t add a Camera #.

⬆️ This is the result in the Sync Bin after the dates changed to match. I see 9 of the clips but not all 15. And they aren’t in order. ????‍♂️ This wasn’t exactly my expected result.

⬆️ After the Date Created change, the Sync Clips tool properly shows all the 15 angles in sync via timecode. I can now hit Save Sync and this sync shows properly in the Sync Bin. But as you can see the cameras aren’t arranged properly by number. I would have thought a sort by Clip Name would have arranged clip 01.mov as Camera 1. Note I’m going between the Sync Bin and the Sync Clips window.

⬆️ You can add a Camera # with the File tab of the Inspector. There is a really nice feature where you check the Auto Select Next Unsorted Clip and that makes changing lots of single clip metadata quite fast.

⬆️ With matching creation dates and camera number metadata these clips that sync in about 5 seconds using traditional multicam tools finally sync properly! ????

Multicam editing via the Sync Bin begins a little differently that a mulitcam clip

The setup of a Cut Page Sync Bin multicam edit is built around a base layer as opposed to some kind of mulitcam clip. Once you have everything setup from a mulitcam metadata standpoint you’re ready to edit. The Sync Bin asks for a “base angle” to be laid into the timeline and angles added from there.

⬆️ With all the metadata setup and the sync saved, a multicam edit can begin. In the image above the clip 01 is my “base angle” and everything syncs that that clip. Edits like the Source Overwrite, Close Up and Place on Top use the timecode from the base angle to make the edits so no need to place an IN point in the timeline. In the edit above I have 15 angles but the Speed Editor only has 9 mulitcam buttons. ????

Honestly, using these numbered clips (which I’ve been using for year as demo and tutorial media) to test out Sync Bin editing took way more work that I ever thought it would take.

Here’s a couple of other shoots that I tossed into the mix.

I don’t know why some of the cameras from this mulitcam shoot, while getting synced timecode, didn’t get the same creation date metadata. This was a five-camera shoot with a line cut so six angles I was working with.

This is that same shoot in the Sync Clips window. It looks like the clips with different Date Created metadata is being read differently and placed at the front.

When you go to the Sync Bin for this shoot it can be quite confusing if you don’t know what you have. In this shoot I had to scan forward past all of those single clips before I could see my angles in sync. I would strongly advise using the Sync Clips window first to get a visual idea of what you have for a mulitcam shoot even if you think your timecode is solid. You can then adjust and resync clips as need be and save that sync for editing.

When I create a Mulitcam Clip with all of these clips in the Edit page all 5 angles and the Line Cut sync properly even though my single timeline is a mess without adding some camera angle or reel metadata to the clips.

Good multicam editing is only as good and as easy as the setup so I always like to assign camera and angle metadata before syncing, no matter the sync method.

I added Camera # and reel metadata before syncing. This can be done in a batch operation with the Inspector’s File tab.

With that camera and reel metadata added I can get a very nice and very fast, organized mulitcam sync in the Edit Page. I can see that using the Open In Timeline command on my mulitcam clip. A nice sync map awaits.

Yes, that image above is the Edit Page and not the Cut Page. But boy oh boy, if I have to add and adjust metadata then the Edit Page is a simple way to work.

This same multicam sync didn’t get any better in the Cut Page Sync Clip window after adding camera and reel metadata. It must be the date.

Back to the Inspector to change the Date Created.

With the Date Created all matching on all of the angles in this shoot, we finally get the multicam syncing result that was expected. It works perfectly in both the Sync Clips window above and the Sync Bin.

Whew. That feels like it took a lot more work than it should have to get this multicam sync right on with the Sync Bin for mulitcam editing on the Cut Page. Perhaps I am overthinking it. Perhaps …

I’m encumbered by the weight of traditional mulitcam editing.

If you watch the Resolve presentations from Blackmagic CEO Grant Petty he makes it look easy as he demos the Sync Bin with a cooking show. All this works well if you have that perfect combination of footage metadata but I am going to argue that is not the norm and you might be frustrated with the Sync Bin. But not as frustrated as you might be with actual multicam editing via the Sync Bin and the Speed Editor. More on that in a second.

I’m going to add another example of the Sync Clip/Sync Bin not working as expected. In this case, I have a three-camera interview, no timecode but scratch audio. The main camera was recording the hero audio and the other two cameras using their built-in mics. One angle was a DSLR so it ended up with several clips instead of two clips for the other angles.

⬆️ Above are the clips for this three-camera interview. I assigned a Camera # to all of the clips for each angle and changed the Date Created so they all match. Often with low-budget interviews you might not have cameras that can assign good metadata so you have to change it in Resolve.

⬆️ Opening these clips in the Sync Clips window and you can see two clips for each of the two main angles and 5 clips for the DSLR that was on a slider. Admittedly the scratch audio on the cameras isn’t great. I’ve set the Sync by option to audio.

⬆️ This is the result. I’m not sure where some of the clips went. Since all the creation dates matched I would have thought this would have been an easy sync. It did a good job on those three clips!

⬆️ As a comparison and tossed this whole shoot into PluralEyes and it synced just fine.

I’m not sure what this simple shoot didn’t work better when it came to syncing in Resolve.

And then there’s the actual mulitcam editing

Besides just the syncing issues, the actual task of multicam editing with the Cut Page/Speed Editor seems overly complex when it comes to what is the brilliance of good mulitcam editing: getting into a flow where you cut from one angle to another during playback.

Assuming you have perfect timecode and all your camera metadata is spot on, multicam editing with the Sync Bin means laying down a base angle that is essentially your master angle and then adding cutaways on top of that base angle. With this method, whenever you call up the Sync Bin every angle at the timecode of your base angle will be visible at that point in the Sync Bin. Quite brilliant in concept actually. You can then use the camera (CAM) buttons on the Speed Editor to choose other angles or just click them directly in the multicam viewer of the Cut page.

Using my trusty numbered clips as my example:

⬆️ I’m laying clip 01 in for my base angle. Take notice of the camera # metadata on the left of the column view as that is how the Media Pool is sorted.

⬆️ Jump into the Sync Bin you can see the angle viewer and all the angles in sync with the playhead in the timeline. Notice how the cameras don’t sort in the multicam viewer that aren’t numbered properly with a zero: 01, 02, 03 etc. Metadata is important.

⬆️ Hit play then when it’s time to make an edit, hit the CAM 5 on the Speed Editor or you can click the angle in the multicam viewer. But when you choose your desired angle something strange happens … at least it will be strange if you’re used to traditional mulitcam editing and mulitcam-switching. The cut doesn’t switch to camera 5.

This is the point where the flaws of Cut Page multicam editing begin to show. Despite what appear to be normal multicam editing controls you aren’t switching/cutting from one angle to another. Choosing another angle switches the Cut page multicam split viewer from the split to another viewer where you see the chosen angle in full with a default IN to OUT duration of 5 seconds. If 5 seconds is good (how often will that be the case?) then you can use some of the Speed Editor buttons to edit the clip into the timeline. Or you can use any of the standard Resolve edit functions to edit that clip.

These unique Resolve edits are both on the Speed Editor hardware and buttons in the Cut Page interface.

There’s some real power in Sync Bin tools like SRC O/WR (source overwrite) that will edit the clip into the timeline at the matching timecode sync but some of that power goes away when you start to have more than a few angles. Or secondary audio as your main audio source. In fact multicam audio and some of the complexities that come with that (multiple audio channels, music, live and pre-recorded mix) seem like an afterthought in the Cut Page.

⬆️ If the 5 seconds that is the IN to OUT default when you choose a new angle isn’t what you want you can use the tools of the Speed Editor to adjust. It’s easy with the search dial. In the image above I’ve changed the IN to OUT duration to 22 frames as can be seen in the upper right corner. If you want to get back out to the multicam viewer without making an edit hit the ESC (Escape) button or click the little x in the upper left of the Viewer.

So what do you do when you just want to get out of all things multicam and just watch your edit? You have to go back to the Media Pool tab for general viewing of the timeline. Notice there is no Media Pool button on the Speed Editor.

As I mentioned before, unless you’re brand new to multicam editing you’ll constantly compare the Sync Bin way of multicam editing to a traditional multicam/group clip. I struggle to see any scenario where the Sync Bin will be better. Even with the Speed Editor you’re constantly jumping between Sync Bin, angle selection, timeline and hitting lots of buttons while moving around to choose your angle, make the edit and then see the result.

Being “in the zone” or that ever-important “editing flow”

Editors often talk about “editing flow” and being “in the zone” while cutting. Having to fiddle with buttons and interface elements can break that up. Traditional multicam editing where you have a multicam clip loaded in the timeline and a multicam split viewer open beside your cut allows you to playback the multicam and then in real-time cut to different angles.

There’s something simply elegant about a plain old mulitcam clip and switching it in real-time as you play the timeline.

Want to make a change or view what you’ve done? Jump back a few seconds and keep going. It’s often a single keystroke to open and close the “normal” mulitcam viewer and you can move in and out of angle cutting/switching with ease. You can get into a real multicam “editing flow” in a way that just doesn’t feel the same with the Sync Bin. And this “editing flow” is vitally important when cutting multicam music performances. You can get into a nice “editing flow” when you’ve got a ton of broll and you enabled the Cut Page Source Tape option. Then you’ll fly around with the Speed Editor as you build your edit. With that in mind …

Some places the Cut Page/Speed Editor giveth, some places it taketh away.

There is a button on the Speed Editor called LIVE O/WR (Live Overwrite) and I had hoped that would allow for a more live multicam switch but it does not. It’s an interesting implementation of multicam in that going into Live Overwrite allows you to “paint” on a different angle by holding a CAM (camera) button and then spinning the Search Dial forward. If you don’t know what “paint” means when it comes to multicam editing check out the Introducing DaVinci Resolve 17 video at about 1:42:00 and you can see it in action. It’s basically using the Search Dial to lay in different angles when in Live Overwrite mode via a spin of the dial.

I rarely ever embed YouTube clips in my reviews but I think this one below illustrates some of these editing techniques quickly and easily. If you click over to the YouTube page you can see the different sections easily via the chapter markers he embeds or hit play below to see the section where he demos the “painting” in of the mulitcam angles.

This “painting” in of different angles is nice and fun for a few minutes and could be useful here and there but something vital is missing. What you’re not doing is playing the media in real time. Part of the real joy of mulitcam editing is playing that media back in realtime to perform the edit. When you “paint” on an angle you can’t even hear it!

The LIVE O/WR (Live Overwrite) button, as well as the VIDEO ONLY and AUDIO ONLY buttons, have a little LED light that toggle on and off. When you toggle on that LIVE O/WR (Live Overwrite) light I had more hope that maybe that mode would be a live, realtime switch but it isn’t. That does allow you to “paint” on your angles without having to hold down the CAM buttons but you’re still not able to hit the Play button and do this in realtime.

For some reason this Live Overwrite mode doesn’t work when you hit the STOP/PLAY button and actually play the media. In fact, pretty much all of that Speed Editor introduction video and the video embedded above is about using the Search Dial and rarely ever playing your media in real-time. While it all works nicely the way it was designed you’re doing a disservice to what is the actual video if you’re discouraged from playing media in real-time by your hardware and software.

The transition buttons in the lower-left also have a red LED light that can be toggled on.

The light toggle is a feature where you can set the Cut Page to add a default transition to an edit every time you choose a new angle in the Sync Bin. That actually could come in quite handy for a music show where you’re working on a slow song and want a dissolve instead of a cut. What will you never want to do though? To add a SMTH CUT (smooth cut) to every edit in a mulitcam edit. This brings me to…

My button soapbox again

I won’t go into my thoughts on dedicating an entire button to the little-used and often avoided at all costs smooth cut transition as I did that in both Part 1 of this review and when I looked at the Resolve Editor keyboard. On the surface, it seems to make even less sense that it’s even an option to choose the smooth cut as a default transition when mulitcam editing but I guess an argument could be made that if you have just a talking head you might want to use the smooth cut a lot. But enough to have a dedicated SMTH CUT button? ????

There is one more design decision where I think they missed the boat on the Speed Editor and mulitcam editing. The CAM (camera) buttons are setup to reflect a numeric keypad with CAM 7 being the first angle button in the top left. This is the opposite of how the multicam split is setup on-screen with CAM 1 being the first angle on-screen in the top left. Why not make the Speed Editor mulitcam keys match what you see on the screen? This was one of my quicktips from way back from 2009 to remap your extended keypad to match the 9-split.

⬆️ Does this make sense to have the Speed Editor multicam buttons arranged differently than the mulitcam viewer? I guess it would have looked too weird if the Speed Editor CAM buttons didn’t match a traditional keyboard’s numeric keypad but it sure could make multicam editing use a couple less brain cycles.

A few random observations from working with the Speed Editor for Sync Bin/Cut Page mulitcam editing

Despite what would appear to be perfect controls on the Speed Editor for true, live mulitcam angle switching the Cut Page / Sync Bin mulitcam paradigm just doesn’t work that way. The way it works is different but to not have an option for true multicam switching seems like a big missed opportunity considering the Speed Editor hardware.
When assigning camera numbers be sure they are numbered with a proper zero in the single-camera digits (01, 02, 03) or they might not sort properly when Sync Bin editing. If you have a camera 3 you want that to be in the Camera 3 position of your multicam viewer.
While you can Save Sync in the Sync Clips window saving that sync data appears to only be for use in the Sync Bin. Unfortunately, you can’t use the Sync Clips window to sync (and check sync) for a multicam clip in the Edit Page. It could really be a true PluralEyes replacement if that was possible. It seems like a missed opportunity to not have more of that functionality flow from the Cut Page to the Edit Page.
Some of the cool, new edit functions of the Cut Page do not have keyboard shortcuts. Smart Insert, Close Up and Source Overwrite don’t have keyboard shortcuts when searching them in Keyboard Customization.
While there isn’t a battery light indicator on the Speed Editor Resolve will alert you from within Resolve if your battery is getting low:

The battery indicator will pop up when your Speed Editor battery gets low. Thanks to Tony Lindkold for permission to use this image he posted in the DaVinci Resolve User Group on Facebook.

Wrap-Up

As I said in Part 1 of my DaVinci Resolve Speed Editor review, it fits right in with other hardware you might already have.

For many (if not most) multicam edit tasks, I do not think the Cut Page Sync Bin/Speed Editor will be faster than traditional Multicam Clip-style editing (something Resolve does exceptionally well). In many instances, it won’t be faster to set up for the edit. It won’t necessairly be faster to see what all the different angles are doing at any given point in an edit. It won’t be faster to step through all the different angles at any given moment. It won’t be faster if you need to cheat an angle at a different part of the show. It won’t be that much faster when the director says “what is camera 5 doing at this point?” And it certainly won’t be faster when you move into more complex multicam edits with 10, 15, 20 angles or music shows that have multiples passes of the same song.

I go back to a word we don’t get to use very often when editing a lot of the content that editor have to edit these days … fun. Using the Speed Editor search dial to do most anything while you’re editing is fun. While I will debate if the Sync Bin/Cut Page would ever be that much faster for mulitcam editing, actually “painting” on your angles is kinda fun and unique. If you’re just editing a talking head or something that isn’t at all complex the Sync Bin/Cut Page could be just as quick as regular mulitcam. But if you know traditional multicam editing and like how it works then the novelty of the Sync Bin/Cut Page will probably wear off and you’ll go back to the Edit Page way of doing it. Hopefully, upgrades in the future can add more traditional live camera switching to the Sync Bin/Cut Page as well as the ability to use the Speed Editor to live switch a mulitcam clip on the Edit Page. Resolve is constantly getting upgrades to we can hope those upgrades flow into the Speed Editor hardware as well.

Sony’s 360 Reality Audio now gets video

Tue, 12 Jan 2021 01:14:30 GMT

Introduced in 2019, Sony’s 360 Reality Audio gets an update in time for CES 2021, with the expansion of the services, which include adding new video streaming capabilities and content creation tools.

Sony’s 360 Reality Audio is a revolutionary musical experience, powered by Sony’s spatial sound technologies, that evokes feelings of being in a music studio or live concert venue – all without leaving the comfort of home. Introduced in 2019, the service makes it possible for artists and creators to produce music by mapping sound sources such as vocals, chorus and instruments with positional information and placing them within a spherical space.

Listeners can currently access approximately 4,000 songs in 360 Reality Audio from artists like Alicia Keys, Lil Nas X, Megan Thee Stallion, Noah Cyrus, Zara Larsson, and more, for an experience that is almost like being there at the concert hall, listening to the music. If you close your eyes you can almost imagine you’re there. Now, thanks to Sony, you’ll also be able to do it with your eyes wide open.

In fact, Sony took to CES 2021 to reveal the expansion of its 360 Reality Audio services and product offerings, including adding new video streaming capabilities and content creation tools. Sony announced during the all-digital event that the company is introducing live performance video content with immersive 360 Reality Audio sound. To showcase these new video capabilities, Sony Music Entertainment artist Zara Larsson released an exclusive live performance in 360 Reality Audio on January 11, just after the announcement.

A lifelike music experience

Viewers can stream this performance with the Artist Connection app installed on a smartphone. The app is available for both iOS and Android. I downloaded the Android version and spent quite some time listening – and watching – both the video on demand of the live performance and some other videos that show how the 360 Reality Audio system works.

If you want to take the experience to a whole new level, in terms of audio, the Sony | Headphones Connect app, also available for iOS and Android, will work with select Sony headphones to offer you more control. With this app users can also optimize their experience by analyzing their individual ear shape to enjoy a custom immersive musical field that is perfectly optimized for them.

According to Sony, 360 Reality Audio makes it possible to create a lifelike music experience, giving listeners the impression that they are in a live concert setting. Sony hopes to leverage this spatial sound technology to create an innovative solution for music lovers who are not able to enjoy live concerts due to COVID-19.

New video content later in 2021

Now, with the expansion of the audio system with the first-ever Video Streaming Service in 360 Reality Audio signaling the introduction of live performance video content with immersive 360 Reality Audio sound Sony makes it even more “real” to listen to music. Sony, major music labels and service providers are working together to begin streaming this new video content later this year.

One more note: 360 Reality Audio requires subscription to compatible online music service and third-party terms, conditions, account and fees may apply.

Sony also introduced at CES 2021 a new 360 Reality Audio Creative Suite. Developed by Sony and Virtual Sonics, Inc. the new content creation software enables easier creation of 360 Reality Audio content by musicians and creators. The 360 Reality Audio Creative Suite plugin software is compatible with popular digital audio workstation (DAW). Virtual Sonics, Inc., through its subsidiary Audio Futures, Inc., will release the software at the end of this month.

Additionally, Sony and Music.com, with distribution by The Orchard, are launching a Creators’ Program, which makes it possible for creators to produce 360 Reality Audio content using the 360 Reality Audio Creative Suite and then stream their content.

Sony reveals its Airpeak drone at CES 2021

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 23:50:41 GMT

Introduced as the world’s smallest drone capable to carry Alpha camera system, Sony’s Airpeak is the first step for a new business targeted for professional photography and video production.

Back in 2015 Provideo Coalition noted that Sony Mobile was about to enter the drone market, through the creation of a company named Aerosense, Inc. to develop develop and launch unmanned aerial vehicles, in partnership with ZMP. In August the same year a VTOL (Vertical Take-Off and Landing) plane and a quadcopter were the first signs of the partnership announced by Sony Mobile and robotics firm ZMP, but consumers should not expect to have their Sony drone and camera so soon.

Last November Sony announced the launch of its drone project. The company said then that “the recent proliferation of drones has contributed greatly to the delivery of previously unseen images, as well as to workflow efficiency and energy savings in the industrial sector. Sony has assigned the Airpeak brand to reflect its aspiration to contribute to the further evolvement and the creation of the unprecedented value through its imaging and sensing technology as well as 3R technologies (Reality, Real-time and Remote) in the drone area.”

Sony Airpeak aircraft at CES 2021

Sony also added that “Airpeak will support the creativity of video creators to the fullest extent possible, aiming to contribute to the further development of the entertainment industry as well as to improved efficiency and savings in various industries. Airpeak will also promote this project to enable drone-use with the highest level of safety and reliability in the environments where this has been difficult in the past” and promised to continue development preparing for the launch of the project in the Spring of 2021.

Well, it took five years since the first news were published, but finally Sony unveiled the Airpeak aircraft at CES 2021 as part of its drone project in the area of AI robotics. The launch of the Airpeak brand represents Sony’s goal to further develop today’s drone technology while achieving the utmost in value creation. As the first phase of this project, Sony will launch a new business targeted for professional photography and video production in the Spring of 2021. In order to fully support the creativity of video creators, the payload of the drone can be equipped with an Alpha mirrorless camera to capture high quality, full frame aerial photography and video.

Sony is seeking collaborators

Airpeak, which is a trademark of Sony Corporation, is the industry’s smallest class of drone that can be equipped with the Alpha system. The new drone is capable of dynamic filming and precise, stable flight, and aims to contribute to the world of entertainment while also pursuing new possibilities for creative expression.

Sony also announced that the company is obtaining feedback from professional drone users but is also seeking collaborators in the United States and Japan to participate in our Airpeak project; people and companies who currently use drones professionally to create content or provide additional services to customers. Benefits for those collaborators are as follows:

Receive updates on events and other activities hosted by Sony.
Opportunities to collaborate with products under development.
Receive the latest information on our product development.

Sony will continue to post project-related information going forward, and remains engaged in co-creation activities leading up to the launch of Airpeak in order to gain feedback from professional drone users.

SoKrispyMedia Uses Blackmagic Design To Bring Stick Figure War To Life

Mon, 11 Jan 2021 19:54:42 GMT

Blackmagic Design announced today that production company SoKrispyMedia’s newest release, “Stick Figure War” was shot in Blackmagic RAW using Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2 and Micro Studio Camera 4Ks, with post-work done in DaVinci Resolve Studio.

The 2016 “Stick Figure Battle,” which has garnered more than 23 million views, pitted two students against each other as they draw fighting stick figures on a classroom whiteboard. The recently released “Stick Figure War” increases the stakes, not only incorporating an entire classroom of students, but bringing extensive cutting edge visual effects to bear. Created by filmmakers Sam Wickert and Eric Leigh, the two are no strangers to pushing the envelope.

Production of the live-action took a single day, despite the 70 shots slated, and was shot entirely with the Blackmagic URSA Mini Pro 4.6K G2. “Blackmagic cameras are our current go-to cameras for any production we’re working on,” said SoKrispyMedia’s producer Micah Malinics. “From the early beginnings of this project, we knew we were going to shoot on the Ursa Mini Pro G2. We had previously used it on ‘Chalk Warfare 4’ and it really took our cinematography (and the total look of the film) to the next level. Blackmagic Design cameras fit perfectly into the mantra of our channel and our work. They allow us to capture an incredible image while operating on a very run and gun, small team style production.”

In preparation for extensive speed ramps in post, Wickert used the camera’s high frame rate capabilities during production. “We shot the actor’s performance sequences at 60 frames per second to allow for speed ramps later, and all in Blackmagic RAW,” said Wickert. “The Blackmagic Micro Studio Camera 4K, on a rail system fed into a Blackmagic Video Assist 7” monitor for recording, was used for the top-down hand shots for the students drawing. The portability of the Micro Studio Camera allowed us to also set up a matching top-down shot of a desk in our office for added shots later. This allowed us to always iterate and have a camera that was set up ready for us to shoot great new shots on the fly.”

With principal photography finished, the often arduous task of completing visual effects was accomplished quickly and efficiently with the combination of Unreal Engine and DaVinci Resolve Studio. Editing started in DaVinci Resolve Studio, while Wickert, who also served as Visual Effects Supervisor, worked with visual effects artist Brendan Forde in managing the elements to build each shot.

“We utilized Fusion for a number of shots,” said Forde. “Fusion’s 3D system makes it really easy to apply and manipulate our stick figures as textures once we track the paper that they are on, particularly for the airplane sequence. With the texture node, we can render UV passes of our rotation, and that allows us to retexture paper with our stick figures and have them respond to the bending and flexing of the paper in compositing, making iteration much quicker.”

The flexibility of DaVinci Resolve Studio proved valuable once again to Wickert. “We used every panel in Resolve. It was my one-stop shop for the entire post of the film. Brendan is the node man, so he loves the node-based architecture in the Fusion workflow. As for me, I was responsible for all editing and color. And it’s so easy because it’s all just in one package.”

For the previous installment of “Stick Figure Battle,” the team was required to manually render elements for each shot, using a massively time consuming iterative render process. For the newest film Wickert chose to incorporate Blackmagic Design camera and post-production technology with Epic Games’ Unreal Engine, the Dell XPS Precision 7750 mobile workstation and the NVIDIA Quadro RTX 5000 GPU, a combination which would provide real-time rendering, and immediate response both on set and in post.

“Working on a pipeline between Blackmagic Design cameras, DaVinci Resolve software and Unreal Engine was surprisingly easy and intuitive,” said Wickert. “Between the full Blackmagic ecosystem with cameras, capture and playback and Resolve, we’re able to quickly and easily get up and running and integrate with Unreal Engine’s virtual production tools. To be honest, I don’t think if we had tried it any other way, it would have worked. Our current pipeline is running so smoothly, and we’re really happy with the images we’re getting.”Throughout the process, the team realized they were only scratching the surface of what they could do by combining Blackmagic gear with tools like Unreal Engine. “We really feel Blackmagic cameras are the go-to solution for working with Unreal and virtual production,” said Malinics. “When a Blackmagic camera is connected via SDI to a computer using a DeckLink 8K Pro card, for example, you unlock access to the cameras feed through Unreal Engine’s plugins and Blueprint nodes. This literally allows you to directly access and code your video feed into your Unreal Engine scene.”

The process began with motion capture at MOTIVE School of Movement, where the team could live capture the action for the stick figures and view them directly through Unreal Engine. This ability to preview the animations even as they were captured gave the team-high confidence that what they were seeing would work. The stick figure characters themselves were built in 3D, then imported into Unreal, along with a variety of other models from the Unreal Engine Marketplace.
With the success of “Stick Figure Battle,” the team is already looking on to the next project, where they can take the existing technology and push it to the next level. “We are looking forward to doing some live virtual production in the future, where we can combine live video from our BMD cameras, live and/or prerecorded motion capture, and virtual assets all coming together inside the Unreal Engine workspace,” said Forde. “Blackmagic’s products and tools are the most accessible, being both easy to work with and affordable, for all our work.”

As virtual production quickly becomes the buzz word in the entertainment industry, SoKrispyMedia is eager to show off their capabilities, all done without massive budgets. “We’re on the brink of another big breakthrough for content creators in the form of 3D tools, CGI and real-time rendering,” said Wickert. “This type of technology, usually reserved for big VFX studios working on Hollywood blockbusters, is now becoming more accessible to small teams and creators on YouTube. Take that newfound technology and combine it with Blackmagic Design’s affordable yet ultra-powerful hardware and software, and now anybody can produce high quality content without massive budgets.”