ImageCutter

FCP X

2011-10-17T11:00:00.000-07:00

So as the debate still rages over Apples latest version of Final Cut, and editors consider moving to new software, I am reminded of my migration from AVID DS to Final Cut 4 years ago. As those of you familiar with the DS know, I really wasn't able to bring previously produced projects over to my new editing platform. So after I became comfortable with the new software I developed a procedure for saving my projects that would allow me to easily migrate to any new editing system in the future. I created a checklist of all the files I would need to edit the project on any another system.

Feel free to copy it and modify it for yourself, it has already saved my a number of times.

Project:__________________________________________________ Date:
Client:_____________________________Division/Department__________________________
Producer________________________________ Editor:_____________________________

CHECKLIST:
Final Master QT
ProRes422(HQ) or Native
PhotoJPEG or Animation

Final UNFONTED Master QT
ProRes422(HQ) or Native
PhotoJPEG or Animation

Unmixed Files
OMF
AIFF
WAV

Final Cut Timeline
XML 1 Timeline

Music/SFX/VO

Consolidated Final Cut Folder
Consolidated Timeline
Media Folder

After Effects Files
Project Files
Assets Used
Renders

DVD Mpegs
DVD Studio Pro dspproj File
DVD Master

Web Files
Flash Files
WMV
QT h264

Other:

Recent Project

2011-02-19T11:13:00.000-08:00

I recently finished a music video for the song Out of Many. It has been very well received and is currently on it's way to the White House. Please read the letter to President Obama below, and check out the video at Out of Many
February 17, 2011

President Barack Obama
The White House
Washington, D.C.

Dear President Obama,

This is our moment, this is our time… is a phrase you spoke at your victory speech in Chicago. This phrase inspired a collaborative project here in Connecticut that includes some amazingly talented musicians from the Nutmeg State. I have co-written a song with Joan Spear titled, Out of Many We are One, with words and phrases collected from your stirring speeches in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

This song is a gift to you because your message of unity and change inspired us to create a song. It is our hope that this song can become an anthem that will spark a new direction for America. Out of Many We are One was written to be given away, to inspire, to initiate change and as an offering for harmony and accord. If enough people believe in your words and the message of this song, change willhappen.

Out of Many We are One was written with the hope that we can all find common ground to work together as one nation; one people. We believe in the power of music; we believe a song can unite us.
The song and an inspiring YouTube video created by an EMMY Award winning artist Ken Harper can be found at .

An outstanding group of Connecticut musicians collaborated with us, and donated their talents and time, in order to help this project become a reality. Of note are 2010 GRAMMY Award winning cellist, David Darling and GRAMMY nominated Native American Flute Player Joseph Firecrow. Joseph is also this year’s NAMMY (Native American Music Awards) Winning Artist of the Year and Native American Flute Player of the Year.

We released the song four weeks ago and we’ve had responses from as far away as Australia and Dubai. The following are some quotes we’ve gotten via the internet:

What a gift to our nation! Thank you both for the inspiration you followed that in turn will inspire so much good in others.

Thank you for putting this positive energy out into the world. It is so important for all of us – artists, teachers, parents, people of all walks of life – to approach our lives, and the lives of those we encounter, with compassion. The media is powerful – and, as we have seen in recent days, when used with negative intent it can have tragic repercussions. We need to take back the airwaves and fill them with joy. This beautiful song does just that. I hope this is just the beginning, and that it inspires many of us to radiate the energy of love and compassion into the one world we all share.

Thomasina, this is a marvelous gift that I am going to share with my elementary song-writing residency classes! Yes and again I say, “Yes!”

WOW! This song reaches out to us all calling us to join together with all our similarities and differences. . .being an advocate of “diversity” this song rang out to me. I, too, am going to send it to the teachers as another way to open their students minds to the “bigger picture”. I applaud you both and give Joan a heartfelt congratulations.
This song will pass the test of time…my grandchildren will now sing this song!

Mr. President, we thank you for your inspiration and service to this country we love so dearly.

With gratitude,

Thomasina Levy and Joan Spear

P.S. It is our sincerest desire to help you spread your message with this song.

Meeting a Challenge

2011-02-11T07:28:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was asked to put together a demo which showed the many different interview styles we have used over the years. Traditionally you have two ways to do that, the first being a music video. Pick a track and cut together a series of examples of different shooting styles. The second choice is to string together segments from a variety of projects again showing the different shooting and lighting styles. Been there done that.

So I decided to take a less travelled road. We have been marketing ourselves as storytellers for the last 18 years so why not demo that talent as well. I opened the video archives and told Our Story using selected clips from different projects we have produced over the years. Enjoy!

An Emmy

2010-05-24T05:40:00.001-07:00

Recently, the documentary I edited for Connecticut Public Television received an Emmy. Here is a description of the program taken from the press release.

In the half-hour documentary, Living Modern in Connecticut, host and producer Diane Smith tells the story of notable buildings, erected in the middle of the Twentieth Century. They range from the Glass House in New Canaan, to the Phoenix Companies’ “boat building” in Hartford, to a hockey rink shaped like a whale in New Haven, and a “floating tower” on Long Wharf. The world-renowned architects who designed these buildings took advantage of new technologies and materials to reshape our cities and suburbs. But, just 50 years later, many of these landmarks are threatened. As the documentary makes clear, historic preservation has progressed far beyond saving that colonial home on the town green.

In a stunning review of the bold and innovative designs that set modern buildings apart, Smith tracks the history of the modernist movement in Connecticut. From New Canaan to New Haven to Main Street in Suffield, Smith examines the increasing threat to modern buildings now considered ‘gems’ in the world of architecture, through interviews with Robert A.M. Stern, the dean of Yale University’s School of Architecture, modernist architect Kevin Roche, architect and preservationist Jared Edwards, architect John Johansen, the last surviving member of the “Harvard Five” and others.

While I have been editing commercials for over 25 years, this was my first program. Thanks to Diane Smith and Jennifer Boyd for giving me this opportunity.

Here is a link to the show.
Living Modern in CT

One Head Many Hats

2009-09-29T08:26:00.000-07:00

Recently, I attended an excellent HD Workshop & Mini-Expo presented by Digital CONNtent Creators http://www.digitalct.org/ at Tripeg Studios in Hamden, CT. This event was very informative and I am still amazed by how rapidly the technology in our industry evolves and grows. There is no question that in order to survive these changes you must understand and embrace them, so thanks to Keith Larsen and the rest of the crew that put this show together. This November marks my 25th anniversary in this industry and throughout my career I’ve witnessed the many changes in the tools we use to do our jobs, but how we do it remains the same. The expertise we employ, lighting directing, scriptwriting, producing, editing have changed little over the years, and it is these skills that we need to be continually honing and refining. While it is important to remain current with the tech used in our industry, knowing how to effectively apply our talent and creative nature to the project is still the most valuable asset we have. Having a hammer does not make you a carpenter. The brush is the tool that allows the artist to create. So as you grow your tech, remember to grow your talent.

I asked Keith Larsen to add to my thoughts;

Keith Larsen: That talent has now become the idea of being a “jack of all trades”. While in the past, it seemed a detriment to you as a professional to strive for expertise in every facet of production, you now must be prepared to do exactly that. In a struggling economy, the modern client seeks the one-man band. The one-stop shop, and “good enough” is the mantra ringing through edit suites from coast-to-coast as clients seek ways to get what they need at prices lower than they paid out in the past. So, as you now take on the multiple roles of producer/director/shooter/editor/compressionist, you must hone your creative talent, business acumen, and technological prowess in order to survive. Finding the balance? That’s up to you.

Power of Light

2009-07-14T06:25:00.001-07:00

Lighting is a key element in creating compelling images. The most effective films have always used lighting as a tool to evoke emotion. This video features many of the best in the field of cinema lighting and is full of illuminating commmentary. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6snm0mHkfSE

Elements of Good Media

2009-05-05T08:00:00.000-07:00

There are three elements to a good media project.

1. A Good Story
2. Good Images
3. The Right Music

A good story should tell itself. Don't allow yourself to force parts together that don't fit if the dialog isn't there. Use narration to bridge caps and make connections between thoughts, but only if needed.

Good images are well lit and composed. They tell a story all their own.

The right music is probably the most important of the 3. You can set moods and generate emotions with the right music. You can set the pace of the story with the right rhythm.

If you are not having a custom score created than the most important skill to develope is the ability to hit the beats. Here is a great tutorial on how to do just that. Edit to the beats

It is the editors job to weave these parts together and hopefully bring the clients vision to life.

Transcripts

2009-04-19T15:36:00.000-07:00

A long time collegue, Director Tom, taught me years ago the power of the transcript. It is the single most important step in producing an unscripted, interview based video. Anyone who has had to shutlle back and forth through hours of raw footage, trying to cobble together some kind of a message, will certainly appreciate the advantage of a timecoded transcript. The most obvious benefit is having the client highlight the important points and strike the irrelavent and erroneous ones. Now you have a timecoded list of all the pertinent statements to digitize and work with, saving you hours of hunt and peck editing.

21st Century Cave Paintings

2009-02-21T18:12:00.000-08:00

Are you ready for adventure?

Interested in discovering lost treasure?

Prepared to unlock the secrets of a lost civilization?

Then grab you bull whip, don your fedora, and climb aboard your keyboard as we set out to discover those gems of insight, thought, humor, and education buried deep within the layers of electronic gossamer which make up the internet. But unlike archiologists of the past we do not have to physically travel the globe digging through ruins to unearth these treasure. They are all here in your laptop. Yet finding the jewels that interest you buried beneath a mountain of data is just as daunting a task. And instead of picks and shovels, we use googles and yahoos. But as with those diggers of old a keen mind and instinct are still your best tools. And the treasures of which I speak are blogs. But let me switch gears here for a moment and explain how I see the internet. I have said in earlier posts that I believe that the internet is the new age of broadcasting, and by this definition that is true.

broad⋅cast⋅ing;

1 : to scatter or sow (as seed) over a broad area

2 : to make widely known

3 : to transmit or make public by means of radio or television

"broadcast." Merriam-Webster Online Dictionary. 2009.

All the major TV and cable networks are now rebroadcasting their programs, and websites like Hulu, and YouTube are also providing content. Now while I believe the internet can be considered the next step in the evolution of communications, it has in other areas taken a step back. It makes information available in the manner of a library, storing vast amounts of information in one place. But to truly understand my point, you need to consider for a moment the birth of communications. Most agree that it begins with early cave paintings. The earliest known European cave paintings date to 32,000 years ago.

The purpose of the paleolithic cave paintings is not known. The evidence suggests that they were not merely decorations of living areas, since the caves in which they have been found do not have signs of ongoing habitation. Also, they are often in areas of caves that are not easily accessed. Some theories hold that they may have been a way of transmitting information.

And just like those early humans I sit hear in front of my keyboard sketching out a story with words on the walls of my blog, hoping that someday someone will happen upon it and understand its meaning.

So go forth, whip in hand and hat on head and sift the bits and bytes at your finger tips, urging these hidden wonders to the surface.

It's About The Story

2009-02-17T08:25:00.001-08:00

What we need to remember is that at the end of the day what we do as editors is tell stories. It is our responsibility to connect the client and the target viewer with a clear and focused message, because every story has the power to bring about change. Change to the audience and the world around us. We need to make sure that our clients message is understood, and that the viewer is moved to action. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o6Enk5l7LUw&feature=channel_page

Fertile Ground For Advertising

2009-02-16T12:27:00.000-08:00

There is little doubt that the internet is fertile ground for advertising. It is hard to find a link or page that doesn't have an ad or pop-up. Videos are the next big trend but targeting them to your market can be hit or miss. Research is indicating a way to maximize your reach through the blogger community.

Here is a link that explains this well.

corporate-eye

What do you think?

Redefining Broadcasting

2009-02-16T04:52:00.000-08:00

During the last 3 decades there have been 3 major innovations that have reshaped and expanded the reach of broadcasting. The first was a Community antenna that would redirect transmitted signals to areas with poor reception bringing television to remote areas. This simple concept led to the second advance by opening a door for future “broadcasters” like ESPN to enter millions of homes without the huge cost of a transmitter and antenna. The third is broadband internet. Websites like YouTube and Google video are giving people the ability to communicate ideas and messages to millions of views around the world. This has led to an explosion of content with little or no focus. This is however just the beginning, still in it's infancy this new arena will provide countless opportunities for future innovations.

So what do you think? How can we utilize this new tool better?