I’ve seen insecurity in producers, directors, other actors—any number of individuals, many times over.  Much is expected of them, they’re carrying a lot of weight on their shoulders and a great deal is riding on their ability to produce a quality performance or product that’s going to be well received and generate top ratings or big box office numbers.  I eventually developed a sense as to when poor conduct is project driven as opposed to, shall we say, strictly ego driven.  I was told a long time ago to put myself in their shoes, which I was eventually able to do.  And on a smaller scale, I’ve learned firsthand what it’s like to have to pull something off I’m not at all confident I can do, even though others are counting on me to make it happen.  The anxiety and fear can be intense.  Add to that a lack of sleep, and you can see how easily someone’s normally pleasant, well-mannered demeanor can fall by the wayside.

Knowing why it’s happening doesn’t excuse the outbursts, rudeness and temper tantrums, but understanding that it has nothing to do with you, and that you can’t take it personally will help you get through it.

When someone pushes your buttons, instead of striking back, let him know you understand, you’re on his side and you’re there to help.  When I see someone I’m working with bouncing off the walls, I can often diffuse the tense situation by walking up to that person and purposefully asking, “What can I do to help you?”  You have to put your bruised feelings aside, and instead of walking away from an unpleasant person, direct the offender’s attention to the job at hand.  Remind him that you’re both there for the same purpose, and if you can, try to get him to see another perspective.  Let him know you’re there to help, offer solutions, and try to convince him you’re on his side—that you’re there to support him, to do your job and to be the best (PA/assistant/whatever) he’s ever had.

Read More in the full article

Raise questions, drop hints, leave riddles half-solved — whatever it takes to keep them interested and turning the page. Novelists have a lot to teach us about this trick.

Imagine you’re playing a game with the script reader, and that game is called Keep Them Reading at All Costs. Ideally, the reader who picks up your script will not put it down again until she’s finished. When the phone rings, she ignores it. Her stomach growls, but there’s no time for food, because she has to see what happens on the next page. You’re communicating directly to that reader through your script, making her read at the pace you set. You’re the puppetmaster and the reader is your own personal marionette.

Sounds good, right? And the best part is that all those tricks you use to keep the reader reading? They’re also valuable narrative devices that will make your script more dramatic and your characters more dynamic and interesting.

But what about the slow parts of the story? Even a rollercoaster has boring points – slow uphill climbs and straight sections. How do you keep the reader’s attention through those quieter parts of the script?

Read More in the full article

When a group intends to function as a repertory company, as Fassbinder’s did in his early films, the cycle of performance and critical viewing can get actors past the stage of horrid fascination with their own image, and working instead on the places where their resistances and growth lie. This is a long process. It needs a committed, resident cast and a trusted director: without these conditions it is unlikely to be productive. Once you start final shooting it is usually a bad idea to let the cast see themselves until the shoot is complete. This is because:

• People are normally appalled to see themselves onscreen and this feeds their insecurities.
• Anticipating the judgment of other cast members makes staying inside their own characters’ thoughts and experiences harder.
• Actors who depended on your judgment may now apply their own corrective actions, giving you new problems.
• Untrusting actors—often those who think themselves superior in reputation—may begin directing not only themselves but each other.

Read more in the full article

A webinar is online video training. Keeping our skills sharp is critical — but finding time is hard. So we created “Webinars on Wednesday” – a LIVE, weekly opportunity to improve your skills and answer your questions without leaving your home, edit suite, or office.

Larry Jordan hosts each focused one-hour online training covering the new technology in Final Cut Pro, Adobe, and many other editing topics. Watch and listen as he demonstrates software, provides solutions to common problems, and answers your questions via the live, interactive chat.

Plus, all our live webinars are available for download or subscription – so you get exactly the information you need – when and wherever you need it.

Nobody presents like Larry Jordan – his energy and knowledge are amazing! Whether you are just starting out or are a seasoned pro, you’ll learn dozens of tips, tricks, and techniques you can put to work immediately every week.

We guarantee it!

Read More in the full article

The decision to stop selling digital cameras along with pocket video cameras and digital picture frames marks the end of an era for Kodak, which also invented the handheld camera.

Kodak, which filed for bankruptcy protection last month, said on Thursday that getting out of cameras would result in “significant” job losses. Most of the 400 people in that business are based in Rochester, New York, and work in research and development and marketing.

The news comes as Kodak meets obstacles in another cost cutting move tied to its illustrious past. The company will be unable to end its 20-year sponsorship of the Hollywood Theater that hosts the Academy Awards before this year’s Oscars.

Along with its reputation for making easy-to-use cameras for consumers, Kodak is also famous for its camera and photographic film contributions in movies.

Now, instead of designing its own cameras, Kodak will try to license its brand to other camera makers, several of which have already expressed “significant interest,” said spokesman Christopher Veronda.

Read More in the full article

Websites: www.tarasamuel.com | Tara’s imdb page

Tara’s Reel:

Avid, maker of high-end digital video and audio production tools, is bringing its “pro-sumer” video editing software to the iPad.

The app is available starting Thursday as part of the Avid Studio suite. The app will run on iPad only, though Avid says it’s exploring other mobile operating systems.

Avid Studio for iPad costs $4.99 to start; after 30 days, the price will jump to $7.99.

That’s still much less than what other current desktop editing applications cost, including Avid’s own Avid Studio ($129.99), Adobe Premiere Elements ($99.99), Apple’s Final Cut Pro X ($299.99), and Sony’s Vegas Movie Studio HD Platinum ($59.95).

The iPad app marks the Burlington, Mass.-based company’s first video editing application for tablets. Video editing software generally requires a substantial desktop system or a bulky laptop; using video editing apps on relatively small smartphone screens can be cumbersome. Avid is hoping its app hits somewhere in the middle.

“We’ve seen a shift in how creation is happening, and it’s really happening on almost any device,” said Tanguy Leborgne, vice president of consumer and mobile technology strategy at Avid. “We think the tablet is more than just a consumer device; more and more people are creating on it.”

Read More in the full article

Web video is everywhere, playing on laptops, through video game consoles, in digital magazines on tablet computers, and even on TVs and mobile phones.

There are many web enabled devices (electronics which connect to the Internet) that produce video and have made quite an impact on our everyday lives. All this web video comes from somewhere, but most camcorders typically don’t record video fit for immediate viewing on the web. Herein lies the challenge: how to get our video playing on the web, and to make sure it looks its best! Some tweaking to the video is needed; our video must be compressed for the web.

Video compression is needed to change our large video files into smaller video files so that they can be shared more easily and viewed online. Luckily for us, there’s a whole world of video compression software to get our video ready for the web. Basic video editing software like Windows Live Movie Maker, usually includes an AVI compressor option for the web. Professional video editing software like Adobe Premiere Pro CS5, gives us more advanced, detailed compression options. There are even stand-alone compression software tools like Sorenson’s Squeeze, Apple’s Compressor 4 and MPEG Streamclip that handle video compression without the need for any other software. So whether you want your video looking its best on YouTube, or playing loud and proud on an iPad, video compression software makes it happen.

Read More in the full article

Are you ready to add Adobe software to your stack of monthly power, cable, and water bills? Announced in October, Adobe is offering an alternative to their typical software upgrade cycle — instead of buying their forthcoming CS6 suite, you can sign up for Creative Cloud, launching “first half of 2012,” for $49.99 a month. This will get you access to the forthcoming CS6 apps, their new Touch apps, and 20GB of cloud storage. They’re also killing their old upgrade policy — partially.

CS5 and CS5.5 will be upgrade-eligible for discount CS6 pricing, but older versions of Creative Suite will not UPDATE: Adobe has since instituted a CS3/CS4 upgrade policy. There are a couple of things going on here — one is Adobe’s attempt to thwart piraters, who likely make up the majority of Adobe’s installed based worldwide. The second reason Adobe is moving to the Cloud is to integrate (and make indispensable) their online collaboration tools, like CS Live, which is complimentary until April. My guess is that Adobe will push Creative Cloud harder and harder as part of a long-term transition plan to get everyone to use not just their software but also their online extensions. If a SaaS-like model does not make sense for you, you can stick to the once-a-year (roughly) upgrade cycle, though once Adobe has moved to subscription software, they could even kill off the Creative Suite and just release apps as individual upgrades are available.

Read More in the full article

When Arri released the SUP 4.0 firmware for the ALEXA, they also added the ability to create color ‘Looks’ to load into the camera. These Look files are similar to scene files found in other cameras, but they aren’t burned into the Log C recording of the camera. Instead, they can be used in post by converting them to LUTs using Arri’s LUT Generator. These looks then travel as metadata with the clips recorded (through the XML file). Look files can be created by saving a still from the camera and loading it into the Arri Look Creator, which can then modify the still and output a look. A company called Pomfort, based out of Munich, was actually the first to work with Arri Looks. Their software, Silverstack SET, manages data on set and allows the manipulating of Arri Looks before sending them into a NLE or Color Grading suite. Silverstack SET is a fantastic tool for working with ALEXA material in general, and now Pomfort has come up with a new piece of software to take the process of Look creation a step further.

Read More in the full article