NoHo West Project

With geological earthquakes, community care facilities, and rainless days now North Hollywood 91605 faces its largest and most unsustainable planned retail behemoth called NoHo West Project. In a time of unprecedented drought, we again welcome new and interesting developments, but they cannot be built to 2015 standards, but at least 2050 standards akin the the Living Building Challenge. Our representative will be at Victory Elementary School from 5:00 PM – 8:00 PM 6315 Radford Ave, North Hollywood, CA 91606 for the obligatory Open House Scoping Session on 16 April 2015.

ILC Sony Alpha NEX-5T

I’m typically late to the party or not invited at all. Over the last decade I’ve been waiting for video equipment to meet my budget and technical needs. In the 1980’s I used some great Panasonic S-VHS camcorders at University. Then came the 1990’s and DV, where I used a imported Sony DCR-VX700 which was so cutting edge at the time, did not include a IEEE-1394 port. In the late 2000’s I purchased the HDSLR Nikon D7000, which offered a glimpse of the possibilies with H.264 recording. For 2015, I’ve moved on to a Sony NEX-5T, just on the verge it’s discontinuation.

When the NEX-5T dropped in price by half to around $239 after incentives, I was ready to order. This ILC uses an E-Mount lens on a full APS-C which integrates into a whole family of E-Mount and A-Mount lens from Sony and Minolta. Sigma Corporation makes a compatible family of prime Art Lenses at a $200 each price range too (19mm f/2.8, 30mm f/2.8, and a 60mm f/2.8). A Zacuto Z-Finder and directional Sony ECM-SST1 stereo microphone complete the ILC rig. For somewhere shy of $600, you have a AVCHD 1080/24p or 1080p 60p camcorder, rivaling the broadcast worthy $2,850 NEXFS100. Video posts soon.

How to Use My Images and Videos

The world has changed, and because information is ubiquitous, some think they can acquire hard work for their own purposes for both personal or commercial use. The music and movie industry looses billions to pirates, thiefs, and ignorant folk that think when they buy a blu-ray or CD that allows them to do whatever they want with the media. False! You get a license to view the product or listen to the music for non-commercial purposes only. If you can figure out a way to share the image, give an attribute to the creator too.

Any photograph or video I put online belong to me, or we can license the images for your own use and manipulation for a fee to be determined. The fines for infringement range from $750 to $30,000 per image or video by USA law.

I will use a simple Creative Commons license for images:

Creative Commons License
This work by Ismael Rosales is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This work by Ismael Rosales is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

I will use a simple creative commons license for video:

Creative Commons License
This work by Ismael Rosales is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

Creative Commons License
This work by Ismael Rosales is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/.

NAB 2007 From the Sidelines

The Apple and Mac application user community basked in the announcements from The National Association of Broadcasters 2007 Electronic Media Show (NAB2007). Participating in the NAB2007 show from a distance gives one an opportunity to forage the web for podcasts, webcasts, blogs, and news from the show. Final Cut Studio 2 will once again transform the industry with an impressive toolset including the new applications Final Cut Pro 6, Motion 3, Soundtrack Pro 2, Color, Cinema Tools 4, and Compressor 3, along with stalwart applications DVD Studio Pro 4 and LiveType 2.

The Final Cut Studio 2 suite introduces long requested features like surround sound, 3D support, and a post production HD codec, which Apple calls ProRes 422. Apple leveraged its intellectual property acquisitions like Shake and Logic to bolster it’s core Final Cut Studio 2 products. As Final Cut Pro burst the barriers to afford HD, Apple Color may just open the door to color grading for the rest of us. Previous systems working on 2K digital intermediates like Autodesk Lustre, IRIDAS SpeedGrade, and Silicon Color FinalTouch started at $24,995 and with control surfaces and hardware requirements easily topped $100,000 value, but Apple in its pursuit to make high end production tools affordable, decided to include Color, based on the FinalTouch acquisition, in the Final Cut Studio for no premium beyond the $1,299 asking price (upgrades begin at $499).

Other developers like Avid, Adobe, and Autodesk have various product support for Mac OS X, but none can compare to the value and tight integration of the Final Cut Studio 2 bundle.

For your Listening, Watching, and Reading Pleasure

Software Announcements
Apple Final Cut Studio 2
Adobe NAB2007 Webcast
Microsoft NAB2007 Site

Hardware Announcements
Panasonic NAB2007 USA Site
Panasonic NAB2007 Global Site
Sony Virtual NAB2007 Tradeshow
Sony NAB2007 Global Site

Color Grading Software
Apple Color
IRIDAS SpeedGrade
Autodesk Lustre
Autodesk IBC Lustre Demonstration

Post Production Codec
Apple ProRes 422 White Paper
Avid DNxHD
CineForm CineForm Intermediate

NAB2007 Blogs
Avid Savannah College of Art and Design Blog
Zoom-In NAB2007 Blog
HD for Indies Blog
Digital Content Producer NAB2007 Blogs
FreshDV Video NAB2007 Blog
CineForm Insider Blog

NAB2007 Podcasts
Digital Production Buzz NAB2007 Podcasts
fxguide NAB2007 Day 01 Podcast
fxguide NAB2007 Day 02 Podcast
fxguide NAB2007 Day 03 Podcast
fxguide NAB2007 Day 04 Podcast

NAB 2006 Wrap-Up

2006 ushers in the year of affordable high quality high definition (HD) capture, edit, and output, with all the pieces finally becoming widely available. Camera manufacturers large and small showed off their wears to the marketplace. The very largest electronics vendors had monstrous booths with entry pavilion theaters with breathtaking visuals. Sony Electronics featured their 4K SXRD projectors with a spectacular 4096 x 2160 pixel resolution. Sony showcased the 70 mm film Baraka, by Ron Fricke, with scenes of Japanese Macaque (Snow Monkey) and volcanoes. Matsushita Electric Industrial under their Panasonic brand headlined the versatility, workflow, and color accuracy of the AG-HVX200 DVCPRO HD solid state camcorder. NHK showcased the North American premiere of Super Hi-vision with an astounding 7680 x 4320 pixels, for a near IMAX experience with digital cinema.

The entry into the HD realm starts with 720p, followed by 1080p, and then reaches into the stratosphere with 2K, 4K, and 8K systems. JVC previewed the GY-HD200U a 720p camcorder and Panasonic celebrated the 720p and 1080p AG-HVX200 camcorder. Sony delivered on the 1080i XDCAM HD series, and RED digital cinema promoted a future 4K RED ONE camera.

On the post production side, Mac based editing solutions include Avid and Apple. Compositing software is more diverse with Apple Shake, Boris FX Blue and Red, Autodesk Combustion, and Adobe After Effects. With the rapid move toward Universal applications and Intel based workstations, every software vendor is rapidly moving toward the PowerPC and Intel binaries, but no one faster the Apple Computer. Already Final Cut Studio and very soon Shake will be fully qualified on the Power Mac G5 series, MacBook Pro series, and future platforms.

NAB HD 2006 poster
NAB HD 2006 poster
apple NAB 2006 booth HD
apple NAB 2006 booth HD
panasonic NAB 2006 booth AG-HVX200
panasonic NAB 2006 booth AG-HVX200
century optics NAB 2006 booth fisheye adapter on panasonic HVX200
century optics NAB 2006 booth fisheye adapter on panasonic HVX200
DSC labs NAB 2006 booth test charts
DSC labs NAB 2006 booth test charts
RED digital cinema NAB 2006 booth RED ONE prototype
RED digital cinema NAB 2006 booth RED ONE prototype
las vegas strip looking west from wynn
las vegas strip looking west from wynn