FCP in the West

Meeting postponed a week to 13Feb

2012-02-06T10:13:00.001Z

Contrary to previous news reports, we're not able to bring our usual programme to you this week. The wefcpug meet has been put off to 13th Feb, Bristol BBC. With luck you won't all have to hack your ways out of the snowdrifts (and our star speaker will have his voice back).

Early warning that there'll quite possibly be a splinter group meeting of the travelling section of wefcpug (Earls Court chapter) at the BVE exhibition in London, next Tuesday - being the 14th Feb. If you're likely to be there on that day, email Phil or Richard or feel free to approach us in person with the code words (what are you drinking). (This is as close to organisation we get.)

Sell your big mac, the future is here...

2012-02-03T16:57:00.001Z

...the world has ended.   So it would seem in some quarters of the wonder interweb world.   The cause of the dismay?   A little app (and I mean app - for the iPad) called 'Avid Studio'.   I haven't tried it yet, lacking the vital hardware, but Elliot Bristow (and Richard) tipped me off.   According to the blurb, it's a video editing app for making storyboards, precision edits, with high-quality transitions, effects, and a soundtrack. Cutting to the strapline 'easy enough for the hobbyist, powerful enough for the pro'. Yes, there's 'export to Avid Studio' available.

So far so good, but the big news is the price - £2.99
Yes, you read it right, under three quid.   Not even worth claiming back the VAT (which you can't anyway because it's not a UK purchase).

Admittedly it's only out today, and untried and tested but I'm sure this hole will soon be filled. Remember, it's an iPad app, search through iTunes, not even the App Store...
What's going on here? It's a pretty aggressive move by Avid into the space we all thought FCP X was going to enter. The price? Well, Apple gets a cut of apps sold through the iTunes and app stores, so maybe Avid's thinking is to buy market share, get students and beginners familiar with the interface, hence build a group of wannabe producers and craft editors who have grown up with Avid, but not share too much of the revenue of what's probably a loss-leader anyway.   Unless they sell thousands and thousands of course. Being first is sometimes what counts in this space.

Based on my experience (watching someone else) of Avid Scorch - an impressive music score/transposition app for iPad at £1.99 - these guys know what they're doing.   Two real benefits for all of us: at this price-point it's gotta be good for competition, and secondly there's now a good business case for buying that iPad.

BBC generous with its cash

2012-02-02T14:19:00.001Z

I just received this in my email today. It can't be genuine, far too succinct (email and phone numbers erased to protect the innocent/gullible!). Or maybe they do have a jacuzzi of cash.

Web:www.bbc.co.uk/lottery
British Broadcasting Corporation
Broadcasting House --(Lottery Dept),
Portland Place,
London W1A 1AA
Dear Recipient,
Your e-Mail has won One Million British Pounds (1,000,000.00) in our BBC IplayCash-Out Award For claims, Email us your (Full Name,
Address/Country & Mobile No) to: bbccashout@XXXXXX.com or Call 0703590XXXX (intl. +44-703-590-XXXX),
Congratulations!
Regards;
Jeff Leach
Lottery Presenter/ Coordinator on BBC One.

Are we there yet?

2012-02-01T09:55:00.000Z

The promised 'upgrade' for FCP X made a stealthy appearance, as promised for early 2012, in the App Store yesterday (UK).   There's also an upgrade for Motion - both are free, (or rather, included in the price you've already paid for them) and both are hefty upgrades, weighing in at well over 1GB each. So don't try this on a limited broadband tariff!
Promised features include FCP X 10.0.3 are multicam editing and, in beta form only, video output for monitoring - using one of several interface cards/boxes (AJA, Matrox). The multicam looks promising - the FCP description page has links to a couple of videos, here. If camera toys are your thing, then you'll enjoy the 'Multicam Demo Video' - I did.
I like the look of the multicam tool, especially the manual choice of sync mechanism (marker, timecode, audio etc).   Too early for me to have tried it, but it promises to be a distinct improvement over the previous method for syncing multiple tracks of audio. (Which I found unintuitive and disappointing on a project this month).
Two caveats about the video monitoring output: it'll only work when the manufacturer of the interface box has finalised their driver (currently no statement from Matrox for instance) and it'll be OS X Lion only.   This will delay my adoption for several weeks, while I finish off the current batches of work. And do remember these are flagged as beta product.
Also in the mix is a rework of the XML that FCP X uses - we are promised a richer set of descriptions, which will make it possible to export a project to DaVinci Resolve for colour grading - and who knows, to Soundtrack Pro (or whatever next) for audio dubbing?   They haven't promised that, though.
This change to the XML means that existing FCP X projects (and I believe events) will have to be updated when opened in the new app - this will be a one-way trip of course. Echoes of previous FCP version changes, of course.
And the upgraded XML means there's now a convertor app, 7toX, for importing FCP 7 projects (or at least their XML) into FCP X. The app is available at the app store, it's from Philip Hodgett's company Intelligent Assistance and is a very reasonable £6.99 download. It won't answer all your prayers, and may lead to a lot of time spent chasing and relinking media - but fills a vital need for just about everyone, I'd think. Thanks to Nick btw, who was the first to spot the appearance of this app.
So the work continues to bring FCP X up to speed.   More chat and personal reviews no doubt at our next meet, Monday ~~next (6th Feb)~~ 13th Feb*, if you can make it through the streets of Bristol, currently twinned with Omsk, as far as the weather is concerned.

*We've had to postpone a week because of illness.

The new day dawns

2012-01-06T16:59:00.001Z

The now traditional cursory notice that the January wefcpug will indeed take place, next Monday, being the 9th January 2012. Usual place and time (BBC Bristol, 7pm onwards). The ink is still drying on the running order, but currently it looks as though Richard will be in motion, sorry in Motion, and Phil will be talking about What he Did on his Holiday. With a magic lantern show, all being well.

So shake the dust of 2011 off your feet, start the New Year with a stimulating ~~argument~~ discussion, and let's be having you.

And now a note from your sponsor

2011-12-08T15:02:00.001Z

Or, hopefully, several notes. This is the band I play in, our next gig is on Thursday 15th Dec, in the Bath area.
It's at Widcombe Social Club, and the google map link is here

I see it's described as a 'great venue for comedy, cabaret and live music' - we'll be aiming for the latter.

That's not me in the pic, that's Clive and Verity on alto sax (the only instrument to play of course). So far, we're looking to field 6 Altos, 2 Bari Sax, 3 clarinets, 3 trombones, 6 Trumpets, Bass Guitar, Drums and Keyboard, plus an MD and a vocalist. No ukuleles though.

Come along and recalibrate your ears to live music, Basie to Prince, with nods to Shaw and Coltrane.

/ end of sponsor's message

That was the year that was...

2011-12-08T12:48:00.001Z

Our wefcpug 2011 ended* with the December meet, in the BBC at Bristol. Richard celebrated his attainment of Jedi status (FCP X accreditation, congrats) with his own canter through the app. Opinions were voiced, eyebrows were raised, tuts were tutted.   As the Chinese were alleged to say about the French Revolution's effect, it's 'too early to say'.   We're still at the point where we're (all, I think it fair to say) are impressed by the speed and power of the thing, but no-one amongst the paying customers has used it for paying work.   For the future? Sure, how long are you planning/guessing for?   There's no doubt that eyes and credit cards are wandering towards Avid's Media Composer: the one thing we all (subject to later recount!!) seemed to agree on is that knowing the MC toolset and workflow is, right now, compulsory for craft editors in Broadcast/Film. And especially so as we'll move into collaborative working in 2012 and beyond.

As for the rest (Premiere, Lightworks, FCP X next gen) it's going to be an interesting year to come. I'm not (this is Phil, folks) declaring 'end of days' for FCP just yet, but I do feel like a big reset button has been pressed for those of us still somehow in the broadcast/film/post-production industry and we're back in year 2000.   This time, the impetus and the brains are with Adobe; Avid 2011 seems a different beast to Avid 1990's, and Apple are playing elsewhere.   And this time the intriguing outsider might turn out to be an old favourite, Lightworks.   Or they might all go bust (apart from Apple and their cash mountain).

I shall try, and succeed, resisting the temptation to download any free trials for the holiday period. There are other fish to fry, or turkeys to roast at least.   There may well be further trivia on this blog, possibly even a review of the year, before we meet again in 2012. If you have been reading, thank you, and have an enjoyable holiday.   Unless you've failed to commission/employ us. Further important news follows on the blog.

*except for the 2011 meal out, probably in the Indian restaurant in the Ashton Gate area, probably on Tuesday 20th.   You may well know more than I do by the time you read this.

Another wider view

2011-11-29T11:55:00.001Z

This should be on the lines of 'people who enjoyed that last post also...' My attention has been drawn to the views of the intelligent*, witty man-of-film Mark Kermode on similar matters, especially the demise of the projectionist in the multiplex. Mark's got a book out 'The Good, the Bad, and the Multiplex' (available at all good...) and there's a smart piece on his blog here which I missed first time out, this September. Do watch to the end, there's a sneaky visual joke in the last shot. I hope it's deliberate, anyway.

*Disclaimer - he bought me a drink at the Watershed when I was there to review a conversation he chaired (admirably).

A wider view

2011-11-29T11:19:00.001Z

Back in the salad days of wefcpug, when we met in a place with no bar, but closer to the inns of Bristol, no visit to the watering-holes was complete without a tally of TV screens showing sport in the wrong aspect ratio. Even in the days of analogue TV, the TV would be resolutely tuned to the 4:3 feed, and then some hapless member of the bar staff would press random buttons on the remote to make the picture stretch to the screen width. More often than not, it would be the letterboxed conversion, not even making full height. Since it was only football, none of us cared about the spherical people waddling around the pitch, and anyway it was one way to find out whose round it was first (first to mention).
With luck the advent of analog switch off and HDMI connections has done away with all this (but never underestimate the ability of man-in-pub to mess up) - but in yesterday's paper came word that someone else cares. Read all about Charlie Brooker's aspect ratio rage here.

A tale of two launches

2011-11-27T12:47:00.001Z

That's launches, not lunches (just checking).   The successful launch first, of the NASA Mars lab yesterday afternoon our time.   How times change - whereas in the previous century we had to make do with grainy black and white coverage courtesy of the BBC, complete with techno-babble commentary from the likes of Sir Patrick Moore or James Burke, now it's possible to watch a live HD stream from Cape Kennedy itself, complete with NASA's own voice-track.

There's a good service provided by the folk at wired.com which offers a couple of links to streams - and you can add comments too. Still here.

The countdown is something of a strange non-linear affair - as happened yesterday, the clock is stopped at T-4 minutes for status checks, which took around 10 minutes on yesterday's launch.   All went off well in the end, of course - let's hope for a succesful landing and mission, in 8 months or so.   One fact that I'd forgotten: unmanned launches presumably can allow higher G forces - yesterday's acceleration was such that, 5 minutes after launch, the payload was moving at 10,000 mph.

News arrives today of a delay in a second launch.   The countdown to the launch of 'Lightworks' is currently on hold - with news today that the planned 29th November date won't be met.   The good news is they're now talking about both the Windows and Mac/Linux versions.   Let's hope it's not an 8 month wait for this.   (And that it's not over Christmas week).

Dec 2011 meeting - Monday 5 Dec

2011-11-27T12:44:00.001Z

The final wefcpug of 2011 is currently being wheeled out to the launch pad. As promised at the November meeting, Richard will be examining the entrails of FCP X as it now stands, and making his predictions. Usual place and time (BBC Club, Bristol, 7pm), Monday 5 Dec - email me or Richard to book your place through border control.

So and So's.

2011-11-21T14:41:00.001Z

This morning’s ‘Today’ programme on BBC Radio 4 had an item decrying a trend in current speech (and especially prominent in interviews) that’s been my number 2 annoyance for several months - the rise of the so and so’s.   This is the habit of beginning every response with ‘So’. I reckon this all began in the US, specifically in the world of Tech and corporate media.   I’ve noticed, and been especially annoyed by, the prevalence of ‘people who say so’ in promo videos on (and about) the internet, with anything connected to Web 2.0 and later most susceptible. Anyone who styles himself (it’s nearly always men, btw) a CEO or a CTO of a start-up company, and especially a small company, will, I guarantee it, be a ‘so-sayer’.   Also (but less irritating) the small army of well-meaning folk who produce their own how-to videos for YouTube - the ones that are just a camera pointed at screen, or a screen grab, with a muttered voice-over that starts something like “So here’s how to...’

Now the expert on Today put it down to insecurity, an audible form of inert filler, which enabled the speaker’s brain to formulate the next sentence (or, usually, the first sentence), but I’m less forgiving; to me the ‘So’ has an undercurrent of ‘Let me explain this in simple terms for you ignorant folk’. Fine if it's a freebie YouTube video (AND you do know what you're talking about); not so fine if you're taking part in an interview.   And very not so fine if you keep on doing it for every answer.

Here’s a handy guide for ‘so’ spotting, in corporate media at least. The ‘so’ speaker phenomenon is often associated with a particular design and costume aesthetic. Be alert any time you see interviewer and interviewee dressed in matching, or complementary coloured shirts that still bear the fold-lines from their packaging. Other signs to recognise: they’ll be striving to be cool, to transmit an atmosphere of informal chat (which often makes the conversation seem even more forced and artificial); they’ll be in a white or black ‘limbo’ set.

In historic times, ‘however’ was the word to avoid. (It still is, by the way).   Perhaps I should be kinder, and say ‘however’ was the editor’s friend, the ready-made marker for the razor-blade.   That was rule 2 of the quick edit - rule 1 being to remove the first line (or paragraph, depending on the interviewee’s loquaciousness). Rules that the ‘Today’ programme, being live for the most part, must envy.

The number 1 annoyance? Another time - for the moment let’s just say presenter eyelines. Maybe my next piece will be titled ‘Look at me when you’re talking to me’.

First view / Last Chance to see

2011-11-17T09:53:00.001Z

The newest exhibition space in Bristol is now open for business, the M-Shed in the harbourside area. If you haven't yet been to see the Martin Parr photos, you've got until the 27th November.
The details are here.

Finally the area seems to be getting its act together - there's the makings of a good harbourside walk from the SS Great Britain back to the MShed area, with a fine view across the water to the (disappointing) newly built bank HQs and the city skyline. Admittedly the Bristol harbourside lacks the natural beauty of Salford Quays, but it surely can't be long until someone puts a broadcast centre there?

Worst Nightmare in Post?

2011-11-15T15:24:00.001Z

It's a wrap, the final 'cut' has been called. If you're old school (and forgetful) you might shout 'check the gate' (of the film camera, for any slivers of celluloid that are lodged in there). Otherwise you box and label the tape (still old school) or, heart in mouth, eject the chip and backup/store safely.
Assuming all that has happened, what can possibly go wrong?
Imagine you've taped an exclusive interview with the boss of Apple (at the time, the ex-boss) but your base is across the pond: and some time in the next few days the master tapes become missing air-freight.

That's what happened, way back, to the production team of 'Triumph of the Nerds'. At the time, they got on with the material they had - but some 20 years later, the VHS copies have been dusted off. Read what happened next (with satisfyingly technical sidelines) here and then here.

PS Paul, if you're reading this, my lips are sealed :-)

November 2011 meeting

2011-11-02T16:43:00.002Z

Coming up next Monday, that's the 7th November 2011: another 'show 'n tell' session, this time as promised Don Fairservice will be showcasing his recent work. There'll be a chance to catch up with events in the outside world, with news of forthcoming software releases too - all in Phil's web roundup. Plus, if time, we'll continue last month's doc / critique sessions with more from John Burgan - and possibly other materials currently being trawled!

See you on Monday next, 7pm at the BBC Club, Bristol.

A last quack from the duck

2011-10-29T12:37:00.000+01:00

Many of you will know of Automatic Duck, the first and best inventors of software (in the pre 'apps' days) to transfer edit information between FCP, Avid, and AE, as well as ProTools. Not only did their software work, and work well, but they always struck me as nice guys to do business with.   Time after time I've come across posts from Wes Plate (founder of the company) explaining how to do stuff, or promising to make something happen.   For many a pressured editor, Automatic Duck came to the rescue like the seventh cavalry. And let's face it, it's a great name for a company.

Alas, it looks like the Duck has become the first victim of the new order represented by FCP X - in what would appear to be a chilly climate for third-party suppliers, it's been announced that the company will no longer be updating their software or able to support customers in the manner accustomed.   Wes himself now works for Adobe systems.

But they're going out in style; they've made the current offers free to download, even including the recent FCP X to AAF/OMF export.   That's a generously good-spirited offer back to the community, and well deserving of a round of applause here at the wefcblog.

Read more of the background / link to the downloads here. (It's a now rare dotted IP address in the link, btw, offered by the Duck because of the delays in DNS promulgations.)

Our connected world

2011-10-28T10:58:00.001+01:00

What comes first to your mind when you think of Thailand? The food, the exotic architecture, or more recently (though blink and you'd miss the reports) the floods that are devastating the country? Bet you didn't think of Thailand as a major manufacturer, especially of hard drives (which they are, or rather were).
It seems that ALL of the major HD manufacturers (Hitachi, Samsung, Western Digital, Seagate, Toshiba) either have plant in Thailand, or are dependent on Thai suppliers.
As one headline put it, 'Brace yourself..for the coming HD shortage'.

My first notification came from another direction - with a call from my opticians to say that Hoya couldn't supply a particular lens for several weeks. I've been looking around the usual HD suppliers, and there are already price rises and 'sold out' labels across the board.

It's probably too late already to avoid problems, if you need large numbers - otherwise there's always SSD to consider.

Piece by piece the good news arrives (FCP X)

2011-10-21T16:56:00.000+01:00

Or, given the context, maybe that should be tile by tile (colour joke).
We've mentioned the unbelievably free colour correction software Da Vinci Resolve frequently at the wefcpug, with a promise of a run-down/review soon. Which is to say, once I've read my way through the 300+ pages of the manual and conquered the usual fear-of-unknown-interface problems.

As of today, there's more reason to do this - and to rejoice. Following the update of FCP X, adding XML import/export to the app (admittedly its own very special dialect of FCP X), there's now an update to da Vinci Resolve (yes, including the free version) that speaks this dialect. So FCP X'ers are liberated from the underwhelming colour correction interface in 'X' and can turn to Resolve.
It's a very welcome development - according to Blackmagic:

The new Resolve 8.1 software update includes support for Apple Final Cut Pro X XML round trip, new layer node composite effects, ACES colorspace support, compatibility with Avid AAF for round trip with Avid Media Composer™, Final Cut Pro 7 clip size and position support, new copy commands for grades, upgraded EDL features, support for UltraStudio 3D for Thunderbolt™ and compatibility with the 2011 MacBook Pro 15” computer.

With this new update, DaVinci Resolve can now import and export Final Cut Pro X timelines using the new Final Cut Pro rich XML file format. When working in Final Cut Pro X, customers will get full timeline round trip where projects can be moved between Final Cut Pro X and DaVinci Resolve,retaining the multi track timeline with frame accurate cuts, dissolves and even speed changes. DaVinci Resolve will also use rich XML from Final Cut Pro X to link to original camera footage. DaVinci Resolve supports full media management for Final Cut Pro X projects including additional source clip folders and alternate image source when conforming edits in Resolve.

Because DaVinci Resolve supports grading of high resolution and bit depth files, edits can be exported out of Final Cut Pro for finishing in the highest quality. An alternative workflow is to use DaVinci Resolve 8.1 to manage extremely high resolution raw image formats such as RED, ARRI, CinemaDNG and DNxHD and then to grade and render to ProRes or uncompressed media for Final Cut Pro X.

Read all about it here

Download the software (and the hefty manual) by registering here

This is big news for FCP - not just for colour graders but (fingers crossed) someone somewhere might be creating linkages for the rest of the post-production work that's done. Soundtrack Pro (or better) - it's you we're talking about.

Blame the algorithm

2011-10-18T16:33:00.002+01:00

Observant readers (aren't you all?), depending on how this blog is accessed, will have noted the tasteful ads served up by Google in between the pearls of wisdom. For the most part, the ads, which are chosen by the gnomes in the googleplex, are presumably picked for their pertinence to the aforesaid pearls. So, it's the usual suspects: hardware vendors, edit software trainers, broadcast-related manufacturers. But yesterday's post about the RTS meeting, which contained words such as 'Twitter', 'Reporter', and 'Journalist', brought forth an ad for pest control advisors.

Another event in Bristol, 25th October.

2011-10-17T15:19:00.001+01:00

The Bristol Centre of the RTS is hosting a talk by Matthew Eltringham, who is editor at the BBC's college of journalism. It's title is 'Can TV News keep up? The battle between web and telly.'

Here's the precis of the talk:

The coverage of the Summer Riots (2011) proved that online beats rolling TV news in breaking live coverage. For the news audience, the web was the winner as TV and Radio struggled to keep up with events across the country.
The live web coverage from mainstream media operators like the BBC, Guardian and Daily Telegraph had the speed, immediacy and breadth to reveal the full extent of the crisis on our streets. Traditional platforms were left trailing as the Web, Twitter and YouTube stole the march.
All big news media organisations are plunging into the world of social newsgathering with its potential to engage audiences and share content. But #ukriots taught us why journalists need to use the power of social media and also to understand its many pitfalls, to avoid giving credence to half-truths, rumours and factoids. It also showed how flexible and compelling these new platforms are in telling news stories.

Open to all, not just RTS members (though it might be advisable to write) - see www.rts.org.uk/bristol

BBC conference room, Bristol

7.30pm on Tuesday 25th October 2011

November 2011 Bristol event

2011-10-14T16:05:00.002+01:00

An early pointer that this year's Encounter festivals are almost upon us. The 2011 season is the 17th of this international film festival, which incorporates Brief Encounters and Animated Encounters.

As usual, it's at the Watershed - dates this year 16-20 November.

Much more, in colour and with pix of Wallace and Gromit, here

coming soon to Bristol

2011-10-14T16:01:00.002+01:00

Very soon, in fact tomorrow - Saturday 15 October @1530 - there's a special screening at the Watershed of 'How the world got mixed up', a BBC doc at feature length which forms part of BBC2's 'Mixed Race' season.

Following the screening, the programme's director David Okuefuna (who was previously a BBC director based in Bristol) and Bristol-based executive producer Michael Poole will lead a discussion on some of the issues raised.

This event is the first in what's to be badged a 'Made In Bristol' preview: this one is presented in partnership with BBC Bristol as part of Black History Month at Watershed.

Full details for this free event here (Watershed site)

when the dust settled...report on Oct11 wefcpug

2011-10-14T15:55:00.000+01:00

It may have been a Monday night, and after work, but there was plenty of lively discussion and a widespread divergence of views and opinion at this month's wefcpug. For once, we weren't arguing the future of editing tools, but important topics like narratives and story-telling. And what provoked this outbreak? Viewing of just one of the graduate films from the Newport School of Film Doc, with many thanks to John Burgan, who brought the material along.

Sure, the discussion did range around FCP X versus the rest - with a growing group that comprises 'the rest'. There'll be another exclusive screening at next month's wefcpug, when distinguished editor and wefcpug member Don Fairservice shows his current work. Keep following this blog for details - the date is 7th November 2011.

In the meantime, we'll be keeping tabs on the tech developments, both in FCP X and in Lightworks, as they move out of beta phase / continue their update paths {delete where appropriate}

wefcpug aside, there's an eventful media calendar in Bristol - see the next entries.

wefcpug Oct 2011 - Monday 10th

2011-10-07T11:58:00.001+01:00

Monday's wefcpug continues the conversations from last month, with a unique chance to view new work from rising talents at one of Wales' leading film schools:

Documentary at the Newport Film School

Founded by the father of British documentary John Grierson in 1966, Newport Film School is one of the oldest film schools in the UK. It all started with just one clockwork Bolex camera, but Grierson was unapologetic – “Give them a box, a cardboard box with a hole in it. You don’t need sophisticated equipment. What you are going to say is more important.”

Ten years ago the film school launched the UK’s only BA (Hons) course solely focused on documentary film-making which has grown steadily since then. Programme Leader John Burgan will present a selection of shorts from the current crop of graduates.

And we return to the new boy on the block, FCP X. With the recent .1 update is the package ready for the real world yet? As they say everywhere, your voice counts...

Join us at BBC Bristol, 7pm on Monday 10th Oct - email me or Richard to be sure your name is on the list for the guys at security. There is no charge for entry to this meeting.

The inevitable day

2011-10-07T11:48:00.000+01:00

Given that this blog and our group wouldn't have happened without the work of Steve Jobs, it would seem wrong not to mark his passing. So a tip of the hat to a genius who's affected our lives and our careers, and a pause to reflect before business continues.