Blog Archives

Earlier today, Data Robotics released the new Drobo FS. Drobo is a hard disk RAID family that I like a lot. Last week, I had a chance to talk with Mark Fuccio, Senior Director of Business Development for Data Robotics …

As many of you may know, I write a monthly newsletter covering Final Cut Studio. (Sign-up for your FREE subscription here.) We are now in our sixth year of publishing, each issue generally runs around 40 pages. For many years, …

Recently, there’s been a big flutter on the web about whether professional video can be encoded using the H.264 codec. The reason is that the H.264 license agreement essentially states, in part, that the H.264 codec can only be used …

Tucked in a small corner at the Broadcast Video Expo 2010 in London was a brand-new product designed for independent producers to help them shoot in 3D — BinoRig. They were displaying a prototype of a camera mount that allows …

Sorenson Media released Squeeze 6 today. Normally, I put product releases in the Latest News section of the Digital Production BuZZ website, but in this case, I have a bit more information about this product which I want to share …

Recently, Philip Hodgetts began writing about “The Death of Advertising” in his blog. His thoughts resonated with me because, like many of us, I’m looking for ways to reach new customers, and to help other companies reach new customers through …

This morning Apple announced a plethora of new hardware, some of which looks pretty interesting — as long as you aren’t interested in editing video. You see, Apple removed the FireWire port from the MacBook – again. A few iterations …

I’ve been asked to speak at the upcoming Association of Video Professionals (AVP) conference – January 28 – 30th in Los Angeles. I’ve had the great pleasure of speaking to this group before and have always found them to be …

Apple announced a new video format, dubbed iFrame, specifically to improve the import and editing of HD images. Apple’s support site states: The iFrame Video format is designed by Apple to speed up importing and editing by keeping the content …

As part of the interviews we did during Digital Video Expo 2009 last week (click here – www.dvexpobuzz.com – for details), I spoke with Philip Hodgetts, who was presenting a conference session on client management and finding work. Given all …

With the release of the latest version of Final Cut Studio, I’m already working on a detailed look at it for my next newsletter. However, that issue won’t be out for a couple of weeks. In the meantime, Bruce Nazarian …

Because of all the news related to the new Final Cut Studio release, we are changing our coverage for the Digital Production Buzz tonight to focus on all the news. I just finished talking with Richard Townhill, Director of Video …

Scott Simmons just wrote about this on the Studio Daily blog, but this could be a great service and I wanted to let you know about it. It’s called Movie Repair. Scott writes: It looks to operate like this: if …

Michael Rubin sent me the following: I don’t know if you know me – i’ve written frequently about editing over the decades… anyway, I recently posted a link to my book DROIDMAKER, (which chronicles, among other things, the birth of …

Apple this week announced revisions to their 13″ and 15″ MacBook Pro laptop line. Most of the time, when these sorts of things get announced, I just nod my head, acknowledge the new release and move on. I’m not buying …

One of the most frequent requests I get is for me to present a Final Cut seminar that covers material not presented as part of the traditional Apple training classes. I’ve been giving this a lot of thought recently, because …

After months of conversations, petitions, and negotiations, the International Digital Media Alliance (IDMA) has announced on their website that licensing costs for Blu-ray Discs are significantly decreasing. This means it is now much more affordable for independent producers to author …

I don’t need to tell you that times are difficult right now. Which means that finding, closing, and keeping clients is a key priority. The problem is that, for many of us, the business side of the business is much …

One of the highlights of my job is traveling around the world, meeting with editors, and helping them learn how to become better at their craft. Thanks to the hard work of Ben Balser, founder of the South Louisiana Final …

During the Digital Production BuZZ coverage of the 2009 NAB Show, we conducted more than 200 interviews and created 37 NAB News Briefs. Here is a list of companies and guests, and the News Brief they appeared in. (Due to …

Just in case you were interested, and because I find this stuff fascinating, I thought I’d share a few numbers with you from our recent work with the Digital Production BuZZ at the 2009 NAB Show. Our NAB News Brief …

At 9:00 AM this morning, the 2009 NAB Show opened the doors to its trade show, the crowds rushed in, and the Digital Production BuZZ went to work. After two days tuning our systems, we were in full operation today …

Shur Harewood sent me a reminder this morning that April, 2009, is the tenth anniversary of the release of Final Cut Pro. In a 2002 press release Apple wrote: Since its introduction in April 1999, Final Cut Pro has become …

Mike Horton asked me to remind you to attend the Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet if you are attending the 2009 NAB Show in Las Vegas. Personally, I’m looking forward to showing the world-premiere of a brand-new musical plug-in …

Eric Harnden, of Quintessential Studios, sent me the following: I know you’ve covered disk-based archiving vs. tape-based archiving before but I ran across this white-paper that I think is very interesting. http://edge.networkworld.com/whitepapers/nww/pdf/tape_and_disk_square_off.pdf This is a 12-page PDF document, published in …

Brad Hagen sent me the following announcement: This Wednesday, MCAI presents four experts to address the critical needs of high-end HD Production: Do you really need a DITech? How important is on-set color correction? What are the hidden issues of …

The road to a product review is rarely smooth, but a review that I’m currently working on was especially rocky – mostly due to me – but the back-story is interesting, so I thought I’d share it with you here. …

I had an interesting “learning” experience this week that I wanted to share with you. At the end of each of my seminars, and most of my classes for that matter, I hand out a survey to everyone attending. This …

I’ve gone on record saying that in most cases, shooting 24 fps video material is not appropriate for most situations. I’ve read that the only reason shooting film at 24 fps was selected by film producers in the 1920’s was …

One of the hot topics in my seminars and email is the question of how producers can make money on their projects. Clearly, if they are commissioned by a client, your money comes from the fee you charge. But what …

First, I’ve discovered it is colder in Scotland than it is in LA. Wow! However, it is a beautiful day in central Glasgow and I’m looking forward to meeting everyone tomorrow at Dundee College. NOTE: If you have the time, …

Monday morning, I head overseas to present Final Cut Studio training in three countries in two weeks. Plus, I’ll also be speaking – a lot – at the Broadcast / Video Forum 2009 trade show. If you are anywhere close, …

This last weekend, I had the opportunity to speak at a training conference in Orlando, Florida, hosted by the Association of Video Professionals. This is the second time I’ve spoken there, and I’m really impressed with the group. Not all …

With recent online reports about the latest release of iLife not even mentioning iDVD, Apple’s continued interest in extending its download business to include both SD and HD movies, and the lack of native support for Blu-ray Discs on the …

Bruce Nazarian, president of the IDMA, and I just completed a one-hour special report on the state of Blu-ray technology. We aired the show live yesterday on The BuZZ and posted it this evening. You can find it here: http://www.digitalproductionbuzz.com/Archives/ShowNotes.php?date=2009-01-21 …

Philip Hodgetts sent me a fascinating blog post from Justin Evans, who is both a filmmaker and camera rental house owner. In it, Justin suggests that the total number of RED cameras currently in the market exceeds the number of …

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know when I say that earning a living will be a challenge in 2009. In times like these, folks are saying “No!” first, then thinking about your question later. So, today, while …