I saw an interested discussion on Twitter between Shawn Nelson and Emery Wells. It goes like this:
Shawn: "what's a good way to understand Nuke vs Flame vs Inferno vs Smoke vs Fusion and how they fit together or dont?"
Emery: "Think Nuke for one shot a time. Smoke for bringing it all together. Flame is like Nuke and Smoke combined. Fusion me no likey."
Shawn: "Thanks man! Which ones do you use in your pipeline? Or do you not handle that side of post?"
Emery: "Scratch for grading, Nuke for compositing, and getting Smoke for finishing."
Shawn: "Scratch for grading? I loved the results of the Quantel Pablo! I'm also interested to see Lustre in action. Why go Scratch?"
Then, Yohance Brown jumps in with this:
Yohance: "...price. Scratch $70K, Lustre $150K, Pablo $400K"
Emery adds: "Scratch still has the strongest red support in my opinion. Pablo is great but 6 times the cost. Bout 400k..."
These are all GREAT people you should be following:
http://twitter.com/ShawnNelson
http://twitter.com/emerywells
http://twitter.com/yohance_brown
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
Question: Is a $2000 industrial plasma good enough for critical monitoring?
Adam Wilt reports on a science experiment conducted by Pete Putman via HPA:
"Question: is a $2000 industrial plasma good enough for critical monitoring? (LCD problems: costly, high black levels, off-axis color/tone shifts, bad color gamut on CCFL backlights). Took stock Panasonic TH-42PF11UK and tweaked with calibration tools. Got stable gamma with a couple of “speed bumps”, consistent if not perfect RGB tracking, great blacks."
"Color gamut exceeded 709, even large portion of P3. Green was a bit shifted towards cyan (for brightness). Gamma at 120 nits was 2.5; looked very smooth (movie mode), a bit of a bump in 2.2 gamma. Max gray drift was 145K in the shadows; bit of a blue bump around 70%. Brightness 100-120 nits (29-35 ft-Lamberts), contrast 1189:1 (checkerboard), 11370:1 sequential (gamma 2.2), black level 0.124 nits."
"Wanted better; got a Cine-tal Davio using a 3D LUT to correct residual color and gamma errors (as seen in the demo room). After calibration, color accuracy was comparable to reference-grade CRT. Best of all: a very cost-effective solution."
You can read more on this--plus other fantastic reports over at Adam Wilt's excellent HPA 2010 coverage on Pro Video Coalition.
"Question: is a $2000 industrial plasma good enough for critical monitoring? (LCD problems: costly, high black levels, off-axis color/tone shifts, bad color gamut on CCFL backlights). Took stock Panasonic TH-42PF11UK and tweaked with calibration tools. Got stable gamma with a couple of “speed bumps”, consistent if not perfect RGB tracking, great blacks."
"Color gamut exceeded 709, even large portion of P3. Green was a bit shifted towards cyan (for brightness). Gamma at 120 nits was 2.5; looked very smooth (movie mode), a bit of a bump in 2.2 gamma. Max gray drift was 145K in the shadows; bit of a blue bump around 70%. Brightness 100-120 nits (29-35 ft-Lamberts), contrast 1189:1 (checkerboard), 11370:1 sequential (gamma 2.2), black level 0.124 nits."
"Wanted better; got a Cine-tal Davio using a 3D LUT to correct residual color and gamma errors (as seen in the demo room). After calibration, color accuracy was comparable to reference-grade CRT. Best of all: a very cost-effective solution."
You can read more on this--plus other fantastic reports over at Adam Wilt's excellent HPA 2010 coverage on Pro Video Coalition.
Wednesday, February 17, 2010
RED versus F35 versus Canon 7D...what would you rather shoot?
Take a look at the zone plate shot below:
RED MX-REDcode 42 versus Sony F35 versus Canon 7D
What sensor would you rather shoot?
Full discussion here:
7D Zone Plate Discussion on REDUser
RED MX-REDcode 42 versus Sony F35 versus Canon 7D
What sensor would you rather shoot?
Full discussion here:
7D Zone Plate Discussion on REDUser
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Stunning RAID results with SOHOTANK and ATTO R380 card...+820 MB/s
We did some testing in the shop today with new firmware on the ATTO R380 SAS card and the Stardom SOHOTANK ST8-U5 running Hitachi 2.0 TB drives. The results were some of the best I've ever seen in an 8-drive RAID 5.
Using a 16.0 GB sized file in 2048x1556 10-bit RGB format, the drive pushed 705 MB/s writes and 775 MB/s reads.
Further, using a 16.0 GB sized file in DVCProHD 1080i60 format, the drive pushed over 822 MB/s read speeds.
Results are nothing short of awesome for this price point. You can't get a faster RAID 5 for under $5000.
You can get your own Stardom SOHOTANK ST8-U5 with a free Apple iPad through the end of February.
Using a 16.0 GB sized file in 2048x1556 10-bit RGB format, the drive pushed 705 MB/s writes and 775 MB/s reads.
Further, using a 16.0 GB sized file in DVCProHD 1080i60 format, the drive pushed over 822 MB/s read speeds.
Results are nothing short of awesome for this price point. You can't get a faster RAID 5 for under $5000.
You can get your own Stardom SOHOTANK ST8-U5 with a free Apple iPad through the end of February.
Thursday, January 28, 2010
Free Apple iPad with new 16TB RAID's
From now until end of February, all Stardom RAID units configured as 16.0 TB will receive a free Apple iPad when they start shipping in late March (16GB model Wi-Fi model. You can opt to pay the difference and receive a higher end model, too). More info:
Stardom SOHOTANK ST5-U8 Mini-SAS RAID with free Apple iPad
Monday, January 25, 2010
Can you get an external 16.0 TB PCIe RAID 5 unit for under $5000?
Question: Can you get an external 16.0 TB PCIe RAID 5 unit for under $5000?
Yep--we just introduced the Stardom SOHOTANK ST5-U8 Mini-SAS RAID - powered by ATTO R380 SAS card with DriveAssure™ technology. Available in 8.0TB or 16.0 TB for under $5000.
Check it out here:
Stardom SOHOTANK ST5-U8 Mini-SAS RAID
A lesson for identity thieves and crooks...
Please, I am getting SO tired of getting these messages. I just got a message from wesleystore2010@aol.com who urgently needs a bunch of cartridges via next day air:
If you REALLY wanted to get me to look closer at this request, you need to change up your approach big time.
First, my name is on the Silverado website. Everything else aside, could you take the time to find my name and say "Hey Torrey!" or "Dear Mr. Loomis," or something like that?
Second, enough with the ALL CAPS. NO ONE WANTS TO READ A MESSAGE WHEN IT APPEARS YOU ARE SHOUTING AT THEM.
Third, no one believes you are with "Wesley Store" when your email comes from Yahoo or AOL or Gmail. Please--get a regular domain name that goes back to a legitimate site. I run domains all the time to see where they are setup and when the site was opened.
Fourth, do you even know what business we are in? Silverado sells HD editing systems, not inkjet supplies. Sure, every now and then we order printers for someone as part of a bigger sale, but its not our bread-and-butter. So--when you write asking for dozens of products we don't typically sell--I am sending your email to the trash.
Fifth--learn English and use spell check. Its that simple...
Sixth--you say you are in Atlanta, but want the items freighted to Gardena? Another red flag...
Seventh--going back to your English lessons: you need to structure your sentences better. The way you write is a dead giveaway you are writing these with a group of other idiots who can't write either. Find one of you who can write and spell correctly, and then COPY their fraudulent messages. At least I'll respect you more when I delete you.
tl
CALCULATE ME THE TOTAL COST AND THE SHIPPING COST OF THE BELOW LISTED ITEMS TO GARDENA,CA 90249, USA VIA NEXT DAY AIR
HP OEM ORIGINAL INKJET CATRIDGE
C1823D ..... 50QTYS
C6578DN ..... 50QTYS
Sony PDV 184N DV tape - 1 x 184min ........ 100 Qty
WAITING TO READ FROM YOU ASAP AND ALSO THE ACCEPTABLE CREDIT CARDS FOR THE
PAYMENT
REGARDS
Richard Peterson
WESLEY STORE
1961 VALLEY RIDGE DR SW
ATLANTA
30331
If you REALLY wanted to get me to look closer at this request, you need to change up your approach big time.
First, my name is on the Silverado website. Everything else aside, could you take the time to find my name and say "Hey Torrey!" or "Dear Mr. Loomis," or something like that?
Second, enough with the ALL CAPS. NO ONE WANTS TO READ A MESSAGE WHEN IT APPEARS YOU ARE SHOUTING AT THEM.
Third, no one believes you are with "Wesley Store" when your email comes from Yahoo or AOL or Gmail. Please--get a regular domain name that goes back to a legitimate site. I run domains all the time to see where they are setup and when the site was opened.
Fourth, do you even know what business we are in? Silverado sells HD editing systems, not inkjet supplies. Sure, every now and then we order printers for someone as part of a bigger sale, but its not our bread-and-butter. So--when you write asking for dozens of products we don't typically sell--I am sending your email to the trash.
Fifth--learn English and use spell check. Its that simple...
Sixth--you say you are in Atlanta, but want the items freighted to Gardena? Another red flag...
Seventh--going back to your English lessons: you need to structure your sentences better. The way you write is a dead giveaway you are writing these with a group of other idiots who can't write either. Find one of you who can write and spell correctly, and then COPY their fraudulent messages. At least I'll respect you more when I delete you.
tl
Wednesday, January 20, 2010
Now on demo at Silverado: Ostendo CRVD™ Curved Display
We are receiving a brand new Ostendo CRVD™ Curved Display today. We'll have this on display in one of our edit suites for the next two weeks, then we're scheduled to show it at the San Francisco FCPUG SuperMeet.
Come by and check it out!
Sunday, January 10, 2010
The best CG/VFX I have ever seen...
Alex Roman is one extremely talented individual. I've yet to see anything better than this...
If he hadn't stated that it was CG, I still would have been very impressed at his skills and his eye. That this is 99% CG with a little green screen mixed in is unbelievable.
The Third & The Seventh from Alex Roman on Vimeo.
If he hadn't stated that it was CG, I still would have been very impressed at his skills and his eye. That this is 99% CG with a little green screen mixed in is unbelievable.
BREAKING...Ted from RED unveils Scarlet proto and some tidbits on release dates
Ted Schilowitz from RED Digital Cinema showed the latest version of Scarlet for the Gizmodo crew
RED Scarlet and Bomb EVF surprise hands-on!
Check out the section of the video where he mentions "Scarlet is 4-6 months out and EPIC is one month or so away..."
RED Scarlet and Bomb EVF surprise hands-on!
Check out the section of the video where he mentions "Scarlet is 4-6 months out and EPIC is one month or so away..."
Saturday, January 9, 2010
One of the most exciting products I've seen in a long time...Christie Microtiles
Check this out:
Christie Microtiles
This product is awesome. The possibilities are endless with something like this.
Christie Microtiles
This product is awesome. The possibilities are endless with something like this.
Fixing Final Cut Pro...the Bob Zelin Way
I saw a particularly good post from Bob Zelin on FCP-L about trashing preferences and resetting FCP, especially if you are having difficulty with an AJA card:
Trash your preferences. You must do this "all the way".
This is how to delete the Final Cut Pro preferences:
Quit Final Cut Pro.
on your MAC internal hard drive, navigate to /users/yourloginname/library/preferences, and delete this file - com.apple.FinalCutPro.plist
navigate to
/user/yourloginname/library/preferences/FinalCutProUserData
and delete these three files -
Final Cut Pro 6.0 Preferences
Final Cut Pro Obj Cache
Final Cut Pro Prof Cache
thats is ! Relaunch Final Cut Pro, and you will be "starting from scratch".
Now, launch FCP. Right away, to to EASY SETUPS. Choose an EASY SETUP that relates to the AJA Kona LHi drivers, not 8 bit uncompressed or DV/NTSC, or something like that. Choose something like AJA Kona NTSC 8 bit uncompressed, etc. OK, now CREATE A NEW SEQUENCE (file>new sequence), and click on this new sequence. Try to open up color bars on your timeline from the film strip. Do you see color bars ? Is it on your TV ? Go to VIEW>EXTERNAL VIDEO>ALL FRAMES. Is it on your TV ?
If the answer is still NO, then your FCP install is corrupt and you must reinstall FCP.
Of course--you follow this at your own risk and if you toss the wrong file its your responsibility. However, I've done this before with positive results.
Trash your preferences. You must do this "all the way".
This is how to delete the Final Cut Pro preferences:
Quit Final Cut Pro.
on your MAC internal hard drive, navigate to /users/yourloginname/library/preferences, and delete this file - com.apple.FinalCutPro.plist
navigate to
/user/yourloginname/library/preferences/FinalCutProUserData
and delete these three files -
Final Cut Pro 6.0 Preferences
Final Cut Pro Obj Cache
Final Cut Pro Prof Cache
thats is ! Relaunch Final Cut Pro, and you will be "starting from scratch".
Now, launch FCP. Right away, to to EASY SETUPS. Choose an EASY SETUP that relates to the AJA Kona LHi drivers, not 8 bit uncompressed or DV/NTSC, or something like that. Choose something like AJA Kona NTSC 8 bit uncompressed, etc. OK, now CREATE A NEW SEQUENCE (file>new sequence), and click on this new sequence. Try to open up color bars on your timeline from the film strip. Do you see color bars ? Is it on your TV ? Go to VIEW>EXTERNAL VIDEO>ALL FRAMES. Is it on your TV ?
If the answer is still NO, then your FCP install is corrupt and you must reinstall FCP.
Of course--you follow this at your own risk and if you toss the wrong file its your responsibility. However, I've done this before with positive results.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
Saturday, January 2, 2010
Thursday, December 31, 2009
This pretty much sums up 2009...
Terence Curren from www.alphadogs.tv just sent these wishes out. I think it sums up 2009 very well.
As this year draws to a close, I am taking this opportunity to once again thank all of you who make this a group effort.
2009 will be remembered as a very tough year for most of us. Many changes in our industry, combined with a painful recession combined to create a challenging environment to say the least. Those who have survived, are stronger for it. And to those who have left this industry, I wish you well.
2010 promises to be another challenging year that will present both hardship and opportunity. I hope for all of you to find the latter and prosper in new and interesting ways.
It will be interesting to see what hardships and opportunities arise in 2010...
tl
As this year draws to a close, I am taking this opportunity to once again thank all of you who make this a group effort.
2009 will be remembered as a very tough year for most of us. Many changes in our industry, combined with a painful recession combined to create a challenging environment to say the least. Those who have survived, are stronger for it. And to those who have left this industry, I wish you well.
2010 promises to be another challenging year that will present both hardship and opportunity. I hope for all of you to find the latter and prosper in new and interesting ways.
It will be interesting to see what hardships and opportunities arise in 2010...
tl
The Pros I Know - Eric Maddox
Eric Maddox - awesome editor, motion gfx, shooter with a great eye: http://bit.ly/5A9qOe
Wednesday, December 23, 2009
CONFLICT ALERT! Autodesk Smoke and RED Rocket
Please make sure you're aware of the following conflict before installing Autodesk Smoke (demo or full version) on your RED Rocket system.
Smoke requires native 64-bit OS whereas RED Rocket drivers works in 32-bit space. So, if you install Smoke and boot in 64-bit, RED Rocket will not work since the drivers will be unable to load.
There is no solution to this for now besides using one or the other at a time.
Tip: if you want to boot in 32-bit, hold down 3+2 on your Mac when booting. If you need to boot in 64-bit, then hold down 6+4. Otherwise, your operating system will make the choice for you when you boot up--either 64 or 32.
If you've installed Smoke and now you can't see your Rocket, simply reboot holding down 3+2.
tl
(Hey Tyler, you can thank me later...)
Smoke requires native 64-bit OS whereas RED Rocket drivers works in 32-bit space. So, if you install Smoke and boot in 64-bit, RED Rocket will not work since the drivers will be unable to load.
There is no solution to this for now besides using one or the other at a time.
Tip: if you want to boot in 32-bit, hold down 3+2 on your Mac when booting. If you need to boot in 64-bit, then hold down 6+4. Otherwise, your operating system will make the choice for you when you boot up--either 64 or 32.
If you've installed Smoke and now you can't see your Rocket, simply reboot holding down 3+2.
tl
(Hey Tyler, you can thank me later...)
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
SCRATCH 5.0 Released!!
This just in from the ASSIMILATE Team
SCRATCH v5.0 and SCRATCH CINE v5.0 are released! SCRATCH owners with access can visit the Assimilate support site for detailed documentation on this release.
As of v5.0, SCRATCH and SCRATCH CINE are released as native 64-bit applications only and will NOT run on a 32-bit operating system. The target OS for v5.0 is Windows 7 64-bit (any edition). Be aware that NOT all graphics cards are fully functional with Windows 7. Assimilate urge you to plan your upgrade to v 5.0 and READ CAREFULLY the article on the support site for ‘SCRATCH v5.0 Drivers and Installation issues’. This covers NVIDIA graphics card support, downloading a suitable driver for Windows 7 and additional hardware issues you need to be aware of.
What is new in SCRATCH v5.0? Here is a just a teaser of the exciting tools now available and more fixes and workflow improvements are detailed on the support site.
More information here:
Assimilate SCRATCH 5.0
SCRATCH v5.0 and SCRATCH CINE v5.0 are released! SCRATCH owners with access can visit the Assimilate support site for detailed documentation on this release.
As of v5.0, SCRATCH and SCRATCH CINE are released as native 64-bit applications only and will NOT run on a 32-bit operating system. The target OS for v5.0 is Windows 7 64-bit (any edition). Be aware that NOT all graphics cards are fully functional with Windows 7. Assimilate urge you to plan your upgrade to v 5.0 and READ CAREFULLY the article on the support site for ‘SCRATCH v5.0 Drivers and Installation issues’. This covers NVIDIA graphics card support, downloading a suitable driver for Windows 7 and additional hardware issues you need to be aware of.
What is new in SCRATCH v5.0? Here is a just a teaser of the exciting tools now available and more fixes and workflow improvements are detailed on the support site.
- New 64 bit means more memory support and larger memory address space supported equals better support for 4k workflow and beyond!
- New RED Rocket support
- FAST playback of FULL resolution RED media!
- New Implementation of NVIDIA’s CUDA Technology*
- New Real time 32 bit Full Histogram*
- New Real time32 bit Waveform Monitor*
- New Real time32 bit Vector Scope*
- New XML Scripting capabilities
More information here:
Assimilate SCRATCH 5.0
Thursday, December 17, 2009
Raising money in 2009: Strike Two--Five Star Bank
This is a follow-up to this article about obtaining financing for expansion:
Raising money in 2009: Are banks lending to small business?
In the ongoing attempts to establish funding, we submitted an application to Five Star Bank...and it was turned down because the personal score for the submitter was not high enough.
That was it. That was the sole reason listed.
Folks--we're going on 8 years old as a company. Our expansion project will take us to three new metro areas and quadruple the size of our company. SBA is covering 90% of the risk on these new loans.
It doesn't matter--its exactly what I have said before: banks are not lending to small businesses. When you have a mature company--not a startup--with a significant growth initiative that can't get funding, the banks are just hoarding cash...
As I mentioned in the last blog post--we have three positions we could hire for immediately, but the funding for the growth project needs to be there first. Banks are squatting on billions in federal dollars and the government has otherwise failed to allocate funding to anything worthwhile, yet they are still pushing forward with "health care reform" and raising the debt limit to an amount so big, we couldn't pay it back for 100 years.
Do you know anyone who got an SBA loan lately?
I don't.
tl
Raising money in 2009: Are banks lending to small business?
In the ongoing attempts to establish funding, we submitted an application to Five Star Bank...and it was turned down because the personal score for the submitter was not high enough.
That was it. That was the sole reason listed.
Folks--we're going on 8 years old as a company. Our expansion project will take us to three new metro areas and quadruple the size of our company. SBA is covering 90% of the risk on these new loans.
It doesn't matter--its exactly what I have said before: banks are not lending to small businesses. When you have a mature company--not a startup--with a significant growth initiative that can't get funding, the banks are just hoarding cash...
As I mentioned in the last blog post--we have three positions we could hire for immediately, but the funding for the growth project needs to be there first. Banks are squatting on billions in federal dollars and the government has otherwise failed to allocate funding to anything worthwhile, yet they are still pushing forward with "health care reform" and raising the debt limit to an amount so big, we couldn't pay it back for 100 years.
Do you know anyone who got an SBA loan lately?
I don't.
tl
Wednesday, December 16, 2009
Raising money in 2009: My plan for cutting unemployment in half in 30 days
DISCLAIMER--please note I am a registered Independent. My point of view comes from being a small business owner--not the left or the right.
If you are angry at the way things are being handled by Washington--please read this over and sound off below.
President Obama's dispersal of stimulus funds has been a total joke so far. If you look at the actual jobs created, the expense of the program has been monstrous:
http://bit.ly/4qw9cB
American Prospect associate editor Ezra Klein wrote in November 2008 "The stimulus package cannot be understood as spending divided by jobs...The envisioned stimulus is much bigger than simple job creation. It's infrastructure construction and aid to states and the preservation of the safety net..."
Please--tell that to someone out of work who is about to lose their "safety net."
The dispersal of federal funds by the feds and the banks should end. Immediately. The banks aren't loaning to small businesses and the feds waste the money. Give it to small businesses instead with the requirement that the funds are used to hire the unemployed.
In November, the "official" unemployment numbers was 15.4 million people and the rate was 10%. Small business owners could right this ship overnight by implementing the following program:
1. Provide direct employment loans to small businesses who promise to hire 1-2 currently unemployed personnel
2. Defer repayment of this loan to 2011.
3. Cap the interest at 5%
If you hired 7,500,000 million people this way at $45,000 per year, the unemployment rate would go to 5%. The cost of this would be $337,500,000,000. I don't know what the default rate would be, but if you assumed 85% of businesses repaid the loan with 5% interest, the real federal cost would be $36,281,250,000. This is significantly lower than the untold hundreds of billions that are being wasted by Washington right now.
If you had a 95% repayment rate, there would be no net cost to the government and this would not require a cent in tax hikes.
As a small business owner, I can tell you right now I would hire three people overnight if this program was available. I already know who they are--the job offers would go out before the ink was dry on the loan paperwork.
But I'm not a politician, so what do I know...
Torrey
-----------------------------------------------
Torrey Loomis
President & CEO - Silverado Systems, Inc.
(916) 760-0032 • FAX (916) 404-5258
torrey@silverado.cc
Web http://www.Silverado.cc
Blog http://silveradosys.blogspot.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/silveradosys
If you are angry at the way things are being handled by Washington--please read this over and sound off below.
President Obama's dispersal of stimulus funds has been a total joke so far. If you look at the actual jobs created, the expense of the program has been monstrous:
http://bit.ly/4qw9cB
American Prospect associate editor Ezra Klein wrote in November 2008 "The stimulus package cannot be understood as spending divided by jobs...The envisioned stimulus is much bigger than simple job creation. It's infrastructure construction and aid to states and the preservation of the safety net..."
Please--tell that to someone out of work who is about to lose their "safety net."
The dispersal of federal funds by the feds and the banks should end. Immediately. The banks aren't loaning to small businesses and the feds waste the money. Give it to small businesses instead with the requirement that the funds are used to hire the unemployed.
In November, the "official" unemployment numbers was 15.4 million people and the rate was 10%. Small business owners could right this ship overnight by implementing the following program:
1. Provide direct employment loans to small businesses who promise to hire 1-2 currently unemployed personnel
2. Defer repayment of this loan to 2011.
3. Cap the interest at 5%
If you hired 7,500,000 million people this way at $45,000 per year, the unemployment rate would go to 5%. The cost of this would be $337,500,000,000. I don't know what the default rate would be, but if you assumed 85% of businesses repaid the loan with 5% interest, the real federal cost would be $36,281,250,000. This is significantly lower than the untold hundreds of billions that are being wasted by Washington right now.
If you had a 95% repayment rate, there would be no net cost to the government and this would not require a cent in tax hikes.
As a small business owner, I can tell you right now I would hire three people overnight if this program was available. I already know who they are--the job offers would go out before the ink was dry on the loan paperwork.
But I'm not a politician, so what do I know...
Torrey
-----------------------------------------------
Torrey Loomis
President & CEO - Silverado Systems, Inc.
(916) 760-0032 • FAX (916) 404-5258
torrey@silverado.cc
Web http://www.Silverado.cc
Blog http://silveradosys.blogspot.com
Twitter http://www.twitter.com/silveradosys
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