Author: Philip

Automating Final Cut Pro X

Post author By Philip
Post date August 1, 2016

Since starting work on the Lunch with Philip and GregÂ I’ve battled a little with the multicam. Largely because I’m using it in an atypical way, although I suspect setups like mine will become more common in the future.

My solution was Automator actions, triggered by Function keys and activating an AppleScript, so that the mode is first switched to Video Only (for angles 1 or 2) or Audio only (3, 4 and 5) before switching to the angle. Â It reduces a lot of repetitive strain injury potential!

The tutorial is over at FCP.com, but here’s a little background.

Assisted Editing

New IntelligentAssistance.com Website

Post author By Philip
Post date July 29, 2016

We just published a new version of the IntelligentAssistance.com. It was time! Each of our host apps – Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro CC and Final Cut Pro 7 – has their own tab on the home page, and customized app pages.

While I expect computers to take on more and more of the pre-editing functions, we’re losing the Assisted Editing branding. It made sense when we first used it. Back then we had books, training products, The Digital Production BuZZ as well as the software.

The BuZZ went to Larry Jordan, we discontinued our training products and the books rightly came here to my personal site.

So, Intelligent Assistance Software, Inc makes metadata based workflow tools for Final Cut Pro X, Premiere Pro CC and Final Cut Pro 7. That’s all we do. As a company.

Greg and I are also behind LumberjackSystem.com, of course.

Both this new site and LumberjackSystem.com are built using Adobe Muse, which I really like for this type of sales brochure website. In both sites, store functions are outside the Muse site.

Interesting Technology Media Consumption Video Technology

Augmented Reality is already huge!

Post author By Philip
Post date July 28, 2016
1 Comment on Augmented Reality is already huge!

While Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality often get conflated, they are very different beasts.

Apple

Apple slowly moves into original programming

Post author By Philip
Post date July 27, 2016
1 Comment on Apple slowly moves into original programming

While Apple’s Eddy Cue says they’re not interested in original programming, that’s not 100% true. Cue said that Apple was only interested in the content space when the projects are tied to its existing products.

That makes sense as a lot of the original programming has been music oriented, like Apple Music Festival and Car Pool KaraokeÂ being used to promote Apple Music.

But it does not explain Planet of the Apps! I think Apple will be interested in original programming as soon as its seen to be strategically valuable. It’s a topic I’ve written on before in an article from December 2009.

What if Apple or Google simply bypassed Networks and Studios?Â which does some rough financial calculations which show that Apple could fund as much TV Show and Movie production as they want!

I’m also not the only one who thinks there will be more Apple original programming in the future:

From Variety:Â Apple Eyes Move Into Original Programming

Fast Company (as part of a bigger piece) suggest Apple is covertly pursuing original television programming deals.

And in yesterday’s Q3 Earnings Report Apple CEO Tim Cook said that we have to think about the Apple TV (current generation with tvOS) in a different way.

Cook: The introduction of the Apple TV and tvOS last October and the subsequent OS releases, whatâ€™s coming out this fallâ€¦ think of that as sort of building the foundation for what we believe can be aÂ broader business over time.Â I donâ€™t want to be more precise than that, but you shouldnâ€™t look at whatâ€™s there today and think:Â â€œweâ€™ve done what we want to do.â€Â Weâ€™ve built a foundation that we can do something bigger off of.

Given that Apple are slowly repositioning themselves to rely more on services revenue, and Apple TV is a foundation… Let the speculation begin.

Metadata The Business of Production

Spanish Broadcaster for Rio Olympics Relies on Metadata

Post author By Philip
Post date July 26, 2016

Avid Media Composer has always been great at tracking metadata. Without accurate timecode, Media Composer would have never become established. Over the years Avid have continued to add metadata support to the app.

Reading an Avid blog on Spanish Broadcaster RTVE’s technical deployment in Rio, I was struck by this:

All of the cataloging and indexing process will be carried out by means of an autometadata software developed by the CorporaciÃ³n itself, which will enable the use of metadata provided by OBS and those selected by TVEâ€™s documentary makers.

I’d love to know more about what the “Corporation” has done. Maybe we can set up a meeting for October when we’ll be back in Barcelona!

Spoiler alert: they use a lot of Avid technology!

Interesting Technology

IBM Watson hosted AI takes over Legal Firm’s Bankruptcy Practice

Post author By Philip
Post date July 25, 2016
2 Comments on IBM Watson hosted AI takes over Legal Firm’s Bankruptcy Practice

Only a few days ago I wrote about smart APIs that developers can use to enhance their apps. Today, John Hauer on TechCrunch postulates that he could not find one job that someday won’t be dehumanized.

Distribution Metadata

Metadata for Distribution: Case Studies from Metadata Madness

Post author By Philip
Post date July 22, 2016

A few days ago I wrote about metadata’s application to distribution. A recent panel discussion at the Rights and Metadata Madness conferenceÂ outlined some of the challenges and case studies from Rovi, MLB and Viacom outlining their metadata needs and the practices they’ve developed to deal with them.

The article is worth a read, but I’ll highlight the challenge outlined by Michael Jeffrey, VP of market solutions at Rovi:

A feature-length movie with a sports theme and containing content that includes music from other properties can have assets from 20-50 separate entities.

And each of those entities can have restrictions on what the maker of that movie can show, he said, adding that itâ€™s possible you canâ€™t show any beer cans or canâ€™t use an actor in any promotions.

Now let’s add the formatting, duration, and other issues from my earlier post!

Assisted Editing Interesting Technology Metadata The Business of Production

Google adds to smart APIs

Post author By Philip
Post date July 20, 2016

Google today launched a new API to help parse natural language. An API is anÂ Application Programming Interface, that developers can use to send data to, and get a response back. Natural Language Parsing is used to understand language that is available in computer-readable form (text). Google’s API joins an increasingly long list of very smart APIs that will understand language, recognize images and much more.

A lot has changed since I last wrote about Advances in Content Recognition late last year.

Apple Pro Apps Assisted Editing Lumberjack Metadata

Final Cut Pro X Creative Summit 2016 Discount

Post author By Philip
Post date July 19, 2016

The Final Cut Pro X Creative SummitÂ is on again in October this year.

Three days of cutting-edge training on the latest FCPX and Motion.
Hear directly from Apple Product Managers. Learn from top industry experts.

Apparently I slip in as an ‘industry expert’ with these sessions

10:30am SaturdayÂ Using Transcripts in FCPX
10:30am Sunday Â Â Production Kit in a Bag

Greg and I will also be showing the Intelligent Assistance Software apps, and will have some amazing things to show with Lumberjack System.

Metadata

Production in the Cloud

Post author By Philip
Post date July 18, 2016

Metadata is one of the most useful tools we have, if we have the tools to use it! Aside from the obvious problems when no metadata is gathered during the shoot, or insufficient metadata is gathered, other issues arise because there are not always tools in the production chain that use the metadata that has been gathered!

A recent student film was used as a template by the Entertainment Technology Center at USC with the purpose of realizingÂ the long-hoped for promise of production metadata, with some fairly ambitious goals.

The results are interesting and important, particularly considering that this is what I would categorize as Technical metadata, rather than Content metadata.