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New $1,300 LaCie Thunderbolt 2 External Drive is Lightning Fast

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April 9, 2014

LaCie’s Little Big Disk Thunderbolt 2 is an external storage drive with four times the data transfer speed of USB 3. The $1,300 device is unique in its ability to handle two simultaneous streams through a single cable, making it ideal for transferring large 4K video files. It can support daisy chaining up to six peripherals, such as other hard drives, cameras and monitors. The chipsets for the technology are already built into the Mac Pro and the latest MacBook Pro with Retina display. Continue reading New $1,300 LaCie Thunderbolt 2 External Drive is Lightning Fast

Samsung Unveils New PC Monitors, Including $700 4K Model

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April 1, 2014

Samsung announced its new line of consumer monitors this week, including the UD590, its first Ultra HD 4K display designed for desktop use. The 28-inch desktop monitor, featuring a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels, is currently available for pre-order at $700. Other 4K models due out this year are expected to cost $1,000 or more. Samsung also announced two 24-inch and two 27-inch 1080p displays ($250-$330), all featuring PLS-WVA panels with wide, 178-degree viewing angles. Continue reading Samsung Unveils New PC Monitors, Including $700 4K Model

HPA Tech Retreat Wraps With a Look at “Breaking the Model”

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February 24, 2014

Disruptive content creation models and the resulting vulnerability of content assets were recurring themes at the 2014 HPA Tech Retreat last week, and the topics of discussion on the event’s last day. NSS Labs Sales Director Kari Grubin moderated a panel on “Breaking the Model” that took a look at both issues. She recounted her own “aha moment” at last year’s Tech Retreat, during an ETC panel featuring USC students talking about their media consumption patterns. Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat Wraps With a Look at “Breaking the Model”

HPA Tech Retreat Gets Underway This Week in Palm Springs

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February 19, 2014

The Hollywood Post Alliance’s Tech Retreat began its first full day of programming Tuesday morning, marking the 20th consecutive year of the event. Held at the Hyatt Regency in Indian Wells, CA, the event is a combination tech symposium and trade show, which brings together professionals working in various aspects of motion picture and television post-production to discuss emerging trends and technologies. Tuesday’s program featured a daylong session: “The New Normal is Anything But — How Digital Technology from Creation to Consumption Impacts Everything.” Continue reading HPA Tech Retreat Gets Underway This Week in Palm Springs

New Animation Technology to Save Production Time and Cost

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November 26, 2013

A team from Disney Research Zürich led by Wojciech Jarosz has developed a new rendering technique that is expected to save animators significant time in the editing process of feature films. The new computational algorithm, which is being presented at this week’s ACM SIGGRAPH Asia conference in Hong Kong, can reduce rendering times for scenes that are affected by light — like those with water and smoke — by a factor of up to 1,000. Continue reading New Animation Technology to Save Production Time and Cost

YouTube Capture for iOS Update Includes Splicing and Music

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November 14, 2013

YouTube Capture is an easy-to-use app that allows smartphone and tablet owners to record videos of any length that can then be edited and shared. Google updated YouTube Capture for iOS this week with new editing features geared toward those who want to take their creativity beyond simple Vine and Instagram options. With the update, users can easily record video footage, edit, rearrange multiple clips and add music to create a single video. Continue reading YouTube Capture for iOS Update Includes Splicing and Music

Apple Takes New Direction by Offering Free Operating System

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October 23, 2013

In addition to the new iPads unveiled yesterday, Apple made several announcements regarding its hardware and software products. The new MacBook Pro and MacBook Air laptops will go on sale immediately, while the $2,999 Mac Pro desktop will ship before the end of the year. Apple’s iWork and iLife suites of office and creative software are now free with every hardware purchase. Another surprise is the company’s decision to offer its Mac operating system, OS X Mavericks, as a free download. Continue reading Apple Takes New Direction by Offering Free Operating System

MixBit Takes On Vine and Instagram with Video Sharing App

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August 12, 2013

Chad Hurley and Steven Chen, the founders of YouTube, have released a new video creation and sharing app called MixBit. It is similar to other video apps such as Twitter’s Vine and Facebook’s Instagram. The app will allow users to capture 16 seconds of video, while Vine’s maximum is six seconds and Instagram’s limit is 15 seconds. MixBit is different from its competitors in that it allows video editing, but others may soon introduce this feature as well. Continue reading MixBit Takes On Vine and Instagram with Video Sharing App

NAB 2013: Cloud-Based Production with Adobe Anywhere

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April 5, 2013

First announced at last year’s NAB, cloud-based production service Adobe Anywhere is scheduled to launch in May and will be on display at next week’s NAB (booth SL3910) in Las Vegas. The toolset enables collaboration for creative professionals using Adobe Premiere, After Effects and logging tool Prelude. It uses Adobe’s Mercury streaming engine, a server that streams relevant video frames and scales quality based on available bandwidth. Continue reading NAB 2013: Cloud-Based Production with Adobe Anywhere

Will Apple Win Back Pro Editors with Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1 Update?

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September 26, 2011
  • In response to negative reviews and public outcry regarding FCP X, Apple made Final Cut 7 available again for editors frustrated by the upgrade’s reported limitations. ETCentric posted a story last week explaining that the company was reintroducing the previous version via Apple telesales for a limited and unspecified time.
  • Now Apple has released a new update (Final Cut Pro X 10.0.1) that contains a number of promised features.
  • Additions to the new update include: XML import and export of project and event information, intelligent stem export from project timelines using Roles, timecode start customization, GPU acceleration for export, a camera import SDK designed to ensure Pro X-compatible hardware and a fullscreen mode in OS X Lion.
  • “Townhill admits, however, that several promised features have yet to be implemented, above all multicam editing and broadcast video monitoring,” reports MacNN in response to statements made by Richard Townhill, Apple’s director of pro video product marketing. “He elaborates that Apple is ‘fully committed’ to adding the options in a 2012 update.”
  • Apple is also trying to win back alienated customers with a 30-day free trial and a PDF booklet that introduces Pro X to Pro 7 editors.

Apple Responds to Pros by Making Final Cut 7 Available (For Now)

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September 19, 2011
  • In response to the public outcry from video enthusiasts and professional editors regarding the reported feature limitations of FCP X, Apple announced it has reintroduced Final Cut 7.
  • However, it will only be available through Apple telesales and at the original $1,000 price (the newer version costs $300, plus $50 each to add Compressor and Motion). According to the New York Times, the deal is for a limited and unspecified time.
  • The article suggests one drawback: “…it is impossible to import work from Final Cut 7 to Final Cut X. That means partially finished Final Cut 7 projects must be completed in 7. That also means many pro editors will have to keep both products on their computers for some time to come.”
  • The move is reportedly meant to appease producers who are in the process of assembling a film. “For the rest of us, especially the video dabblers, it makes more sense to get used to Final Cut Pro X, which more than serves most amateur needs,” suggests the article.

YouTube Unveils New Video Editor: Skateboarding Dogs Rejoice

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September 16, 2011
  • YouTube introduced a new video editing tool this week that allows users to make basic changes to uploaded video content without losing the video’s URL, view count and comments.
  • In addition to basic trim edits to make up for shaky camerawork, the new editor includes features such as picture rotation, contrast and color adjustment, and image stabilization. There is also an option for reverting back to the original video at a later date.
  • “YouTube has joined up with photo-editing website Picnik, both Google owned, to offer some striking color treatments of videos, including Lomo-ish, cross process and thermal,” reports Digital Trends. “Whether YouTube will later offer Picnik’s premium color treatments, for a fee, remains to be seen, although no doubt it’s something they’re looking into.”
  • The post includes an interesting video introduction to the new editing options.

Professional Editor Offers a Different Slant on the Future of FCP X

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September 14, 2011
  • “CSI: Miami” editor and creator of 2-pop FCP informational site, Lawrence Jordan A.C.E., provides an alternative analysis of Apple’s much maligned Final Cut Pro X release.
  • In his recent Editors Guild Magazine article, Jordan discusses the history of FCP emerging as an affordable alternative to Avid, the unveiling of FCP X at the SuperMeet in Las Vegas, the subsequent negative backlash and comparisons to iMovie, Apple’s response to the debacle, and a refreshingly optimistic view of FCP’s future.
  • “Marketing debacles aside, once you dig in and start to really understand the breadth and depth of the things it can do, it’s hard to argue that Final Cut Pro X is not groundbreaking,” he writes. “It’s a slick, sophisticated and innovative rethinking of the editing paradigm that, considering Apple’s weight and power in the marketplace, will very likely be embraced by an entire new generation of media creators — people who will be crafting stories into the future, for platforms and devices that don’t even exist yet.”
  • Jordan concludes on a promising note: “Although I can’t recommend it to my fellow editors for editing features or television in its current incarnation (after all, it is only version 1.0), I look forward to what Final Cut Pro X will have to offer as it matures and as Apple begins to deliver on promises of a professional-level product that meets the needs and expectations of both its new and experienced users. I guess we will just all have to wait and see.”

Adobe Announces Acquisition of IRIDAS Film and Video Technology

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September 13, 2011
  • Adobe announced at IBC in Amsterdam that it has acquired certain assets of IRIDAS, “a leader in high-performance tools for digital color grading and enhancement of professional film and video content, including stereoscopic technology.”
  • The deal is part of Adobe’s efforts to invest in its own video software solutions, Premiere Pro and After Effects, at a time when videography is democratizing (especially with the arrival of video SLRs) and some consumers are frustrated by changes to Final Cut Pro.
  • “The IRIDAS Speedgrade software offers the ability to refine video in a number of ways, notably what’s called color grading, which can shift a video’s color tones to give a particular look,” reports CNET.
  • According to Adobe’s press release: “With the addition of IRIDAS technology, Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium and Adobe Creative Suite Master Collection, the world’s leading video tools for professionals, are expected to gain a comprehensive set of tools so video editors can manipulate color and light for any type of content, including professional film and television. The addition of premier color grading tools exemplifies Adobe’s commitment and leadership in the digital film and video space.”
  • Adobe also explained that the deal will help the company move forward in regards to the growing trend in 3D video.

Review: Apple Final Cut Pro X by Oliver Peters

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July 22, 2011
  • Oliver Peters, writing for digital filmmaker resource site 2-pop.com, provides a detailed analysis of Apple’s recently released Final Cut Pro X editing platform. He describes the new version as “a tool intended to be easier to use by people who aren’t necessarily full-time editors — meaning event videographers, video journalists, producer/directors who occasionally edit and corporate presentation professionals.”
  • Peters adds, “The sweet spot today for Final Cut Pro X is a production that is file-based and can be started and finished entirely within FCP X without the need for interchange with other applications.”
  • The review is divided into the following areas: Speed, User Interface, Events Database, Projects and Storylines, Effects and Color, and How To Get In and Out of FCP X.
  • For those interested in a thorough evaluation with helpful suggestions for utilities and workarounds, Peters’ review is ideal.
  • The bottom line: “If you can deal with the current ‘version 1.0’ limitations and are dying to see whether Apple’s re-imagining of nonlinear editing is a better way for you to tell the story, then Final Cut Pro X might be right for you. But if you are a professional user with established, advanced workflows, it will likely be a frustrating experience in that scenario. FCP X is ready for prime time now, although Prime Time might not be ready for it!”

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