The present and future of post production business and technology

Now that the agenda is up for the Supermeet next Tuesday at the RIO, I can’t help wonder if the Supermeet team haven’t accidentally revealed part of Avid’s announcements?

“Editor Misha Tenenbaum will discuss production from an editor’s point of view and explore his use of the AMA plugin architecture with Sony XDCam HD and Canon EOS 7D cameras for his new show, Handicapped John.”

AFAIK AMA  (Avid Media Architecture) does not support 7D footage in the current release. Now it’s possible that is just a little careless in the wording and what is really meant it “use of the AMA plugin architecture with Sony XDCAM HD, and how he also used the Canon EOS 7D camera for the show” – two separate thoughts. Or else, Avid have an awesome feature coming up that will smooth DSLR workflows and propel them to the lead of the pack.

More on Avid after their press event on Sunday – I’ll be doing a special report for the NAB Show BuZZ and analysis here.

The rest of the Supermeet Agenda is A-mazing: Avid, Adobe and Apple on the same agenda – a world first I beleive.

3D – lots of 3D and much more. Definitely the place to be Tuesday night.

Check out the full agenda at Supermeet.com.

Webkit2 announced by Apple http://bit.ly/cP1EJw That’ll put some “HTML5” power into all the webkit clients

Webkit is the core technology that renders HTML to the screen in Safari, Mobile Safari, Chrome, most mobile web browsers and much more. Rolling all the technologies into one framework is going to make it all work faster.

This is a good thing as this power is needed for smooth “Flash-like” presentations in “HTML5” (HTML5’s <video> tag, Javascript, Canvas and CSS in reality). Apple are pushing hard down this direction by banning Flash (and even compiled Flash in the v4 iPhone OS) so they need to make HTML5 “work” in its place.

Avid in the cloud – edit any media anywhere http://bit.ly/bnNPUQ Wonder how they solve the bandwidth problem? This is exciting if it’s true.

There are immense issues to solve regarding remotely accessing media. One solution would be an advanced version of Remote Access (VNC, shared desktop etc) where you’re only accessing the screen. This would be viable with large enough bandwith.

Really sharing the media – pulling media from a remote location to a Media Composer near you, would seem to be science fiction just yet.

I guess we’ll have the answer in a few days. I’ll be covering the Avid Media Event for the NAB BuZZ and for this blog. I hear there are more good things to come without knowing details. But maybe the Supermeet announcement has leaked something? (See my next post later today).

Update: Thanks to Oliver Peters I’ve learned that Avid’s “Edit in the Cloud” technology comes from a July 2008 purchase of Maximum Throughput’s MAXedit Web Edition. From the Videography Magazine Vidy Awards from that year’s NAB:

Maximum Throughput’s MAXedit Web Edition is a subscription-based online service that lets videographers reporting from the field upload SD or HD content—including HDV, DVCPRO, MPEG-2 and H.264 formats—to the online server and edit it and share it with other editors via a Web browser interface. Because the editing is executed on the online server, editors are free to use inexpensive, standard PCs or laptops in their studios or in the field. By eliminating the need for expensive, high-powered NLE workstations, storage systems and LANs, MAXedit Web Edition offers operational savings without compromising high-quality production standards. The MAXedit Web Edition service will be launched this fall.

Canon releases two new 50 Mbit MPEG2 Pro cameras http://bit.ly/9cVcLj I was expecting more. Looks like XDCAM EX for acquisition is default.

I was hoping for something truly remarkable from Canon this NAB. Instead we get two very competent Compact Flash cameras recording the XDCAM EX format (as do JVC’s GY-HM100 / GY-HM700 cameras from last year). The Canon’s record up to 50 Mibit 4:2:2 as previously announced. Nice but not exciting.

The cameras themselves – XF305 AND XF300 – are priced at $8000 and $6800 respectively, with full raster 1920 x 1080 sensors. Ony the XF305 model features HD-SDI out, Genlock and Timecode in and out. Interestingly, Canon note that the Timecode in/out is for “multi-camera or 3D productions”.

Hard to justify the price when the Canon 5D Mk II is well under half the cost, although without video camera features like Genlock and TC.

Can Twitter predict the success of a movie? http://bit.ly/blPtoA Probably only major releases, rather than indie films.

Analyzing data is always interesting. While it seems that this algorithm can predict the success of a movie it would seem that:

a) The prediction of success happens way too late in the process to make any real difference; and

b) It seems to only work with big-name “tent-pole” movies – the ‘blockbusters’.

So, while it’s interesting, I don’t see how it’s relevant except as an indicator of what can be derived from large pools of data, and that interests me.

The DMCA may be unconstitutional http://bit.ly/cQtMT7 Would suit me, the process is very open to abuse.

I’m no fan of the Digital Millenium Copyright Act: it extends copyright way longer than the Founding Fathers ever intended (and even then copyright was recognized as a compromise as it stifled free speech) and it is very easy to abuse because ISPs have to act on a DMCA takedown notice or lose their Safe Harbor protections.

There have been way too many cases where someone who does not hold copyright has forced a takedown because they simply didn’t like what was being said about them. If there’s gong to be a DMCA then the penalty for making a false copyright claim must be the same as for infringing copyright, and an automatic fine. Level the playing field.

JVC intros flagship ProHD GY-HM790 camcorder http://bit.ly/9a0Fje Looks like a year of camera updates.

Along with this new JVC camcorder, Pansonic have announced the HPX-370 as an update to the HPX-300 (that was the top ranked, sub $10K camcorder in the 2009-2010 edition of the HD Survival Handbook).

The GY-HM790 is somewhat more expensive than the other models in the range, but sports 3 x 1/3″ CCDs (so no CMOS image wobble or slanting) with a modular design so that ANSI or BNC connectors can be added, to suit different peripherals or purpose-specific modules (like microwave uplink). Supports all major video formats.

Panasonic’s just-announced the upgraded HPX-370 from the HPX-300 (good deals were available on the run-out). Same size sensors but a sensor upgrade for lower noise and better sensitivity. Other than the upgraded sensor (at the same price) the HPX-370 is pretty much the same camera as the HPX-300. The AVC-Intra support makes it the highest record quality field acquisition camera under $10K (street price).

I was hoping for an NAB of radically new cameras with large sensors. I still have hope for Canon who have the best pedigree (of the majors) for large sensors, except they’re in the DSLR division, not the video camera one. Hopefully there are some bridges within the  company!

Should you blog during production? http://bit.ly/d9JEVH Director v money (and the answer is yes!) Great discussion of the issues.

It’s long been part of my discourse that producers and directors (at a minimum) should be blogging their production from the first story ideas. It’s a fundamental part of building an audience for an independent production (as opposed to throwing $47 million at marketing a $35-50 million movie as MGM/UA did for Hot Tub Time Machine). It never occurred to me that there was a potential argument against it!

As it turns out, once Raymond De Felitta wrote that he’d been asked to stop posting by his “money people” the response changed those minds and the blog of outtakes, stories etc now gets thousands of hits per day.

“As to what message I’m sending by complying with the request to not show the dailies, clearly I’m agreeing that the last century and its thinking is still correct, that the world order is unchanged, that 19th- and 20th-century notions of ownership and control (as well as 19th- and 20th-century fears) are still wagging the dog. But let’s face it: Even large corporations realize that in the current world, any viral presence is a help, not a hindrance. Clips of movies on YouTube are a non-starter in terms of harming people’s copyrights. Clips are clips. Not movies. They are their to educate you on the existence of the finished product, not rob you of the opportunity to see it.”

Brand inclusion starting earlier in the production cycle and pushed from the brand side. http://bit.ly/8XBvQo

Yet another data point that traditional advertising isn’t going to be the “solution” for the future. Brand or product placement definitely provides better value for the brand and less intrusion for the viewer.

Pretty much fulfilling the predictions I made in my Nov 2006 Keynote Presentation to the Academy of Television Arts and Science’s NEXT TV: What’s next for your career symposium.