Monday, August 31, 2009

RED ROCKET - Now That's FAST!

Check out this video of the RED ROCKET in action as it transcodes 20 seconds worth of 4k frames in just 19 seconds! (In other words, faster than real time.)

Red Rocket from Ted Schilowitz on Vimeo.


The ROCKET is RED's new accelerator board for decoding, transcoding, de-Bayering and playback of files shot with the RED ONE camera. What is "de-Bayering?" I'm glad you asked!

The simple explanation is that digital video camcorders and digital cinema cameras such as the RED ONE employ a Bayer filter to optimize image capture and compression and emulate the way the human eye perceives chrominance and luminance. The result is that images shot using this filtering process end up with twice as many green pixels as blue or red pixels, and a "de-Bayer" process is required to ensure proper color balance on playback. What's noteworthy about the RED ROCKET is that it does all of that (and more) at breakneck speeds, for not a lot of money. This bodes well for 4K-capable desktop editing machines at even high performance benchmarks with lower costs in the near future.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

100 Websites and Blogs Where You Can Download Free Vector Graphics

The title says it all... Best Design Options has compiled this great list of resources where you can find free vector graphics - great elements for any motion graphics you might be working on. Bookmark this one!

Saturday, August 29, 2009

Cool Tool: Footage Calculator

Digital Rebellion has made available this fantastic tool for calculating the size in gigabytes of any length of any digital video codec and format. There are some other neat tools for depth of field, lens angle, pixel aspect and more - but I think the footage calculator is far and away the most useful. Bookmark it!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Lifehacker: Five Best Video-Sharing Sites

Lifehacker has posted a nice round-up of the "Five Best Video-Sharing Sites." Of course the usual suspects YouTube and Vimeo are on there, but a couple of their choices might surprise you. Give it a look!

Thursday, August 27, 2009

Free HD Greenscreen Plates

The fine folks at Hollywood Camera Work, makers of the excellent DVD series "Visual Effects for Directors," have posted some of the greenscreen plates and other VFX elements used in that series for educational use. Most are in 720p or 1080p HD and are available for you to experiment with techniques such as basic keying, 2D tracking, 3D matchmoving, and advanced keying with transparencies. Check them out here and get to work!

Thursday, August 20, 2009

Innovation: Video Ads in Magazines

From CNET:
Broadcast network CBS will be advertising its fall TV season with a video-chip ad embedded in an issue of Entertainment Weekly.

The September 18 issue of the Time Inc.-owned magazine will feature the first video ad to appear in print, George Schweitzer, CBS marketing president, said Wednesday at a press conference at the company's headquarters here.

Read the full article, or watch video-ad manufacturer Americhip's video on YouTube:


This technology represents the start of what will surely be a future filled with digital video applications of all shapes and sizes.

Wednesday, August 19, 2009

Green Soda VFX Blog - VFX Challenge II

Here's one for you VFX students! Green Soda VFX Blog is co-sponsoring a VFX Challenge in partnership with the folks at Hollywood Camera Work (makers of the excellent "Visual Effects for Directors" DVDs we just added to the UAT Library).

This challenge involves greenscreen compositing and matchmoving. The deadline is Sunday, September 13th. Get started now!

Tuesday, August 18, 2009

The After Effects Output Module Exposed

Here's a comprehensive (if a bit dull) explanation of every one of those pesky settings in the After Effects Output Module, courtesy of Topher Welsh at AE Tuts+. If you've ever struggled with rendering your comps in AE, this one is for you.

The After Effects Output Module Exposed

Monday, August 17, 2009

Red One, Canon 5D Mk II, and Panasonic Lumix GH1 Footage Comparison

Here's an amazing bit of footage posted by premiere Hollywood equipment rental house Birns and Sawyer on their Vimeo channel.

Red One, Canon 5D Mk II, and Panasonic Lumix GH1 Footage Comparison from Birns and Sawyer on Vimeo.


What's so amazing about it? It compares side-by-side-by side the output of three hype-worthy cameras - the 4k-capable digital cinema RED ONE camera (roughly $20k) and two DSLRs equipped with "movie" modes, the $3500 Canon 5D Mark II and the $2200 Panasonic Lumix GH1. This is the first time I've seen footage from the Panasonic, and the first time I have seen anyone cut together material from a RED with footage from a DSLR. What it shows is that the technology has definitely shifted and this new generation of DSLRs are game-changers in terms of comparing price to image quality.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Featured Project: Get Pade

This week's featured project comes from upperclassmen Daniel Sontag, Evan Sprague, and Ryan Loveland.

Get Pade Trailer from Daniel Sontag on Vimeo.

Coming soon...

Starring Jeff Skiba

Directed / Edited by Daniel Sontag
Writing / VFX by Evan Sprague
Director of Photography Ryan Loveland


This isn't the first time Sprague has written a movie about a hitman in need of a life change. Also check out "After All" from his stint in DVA241.

Thursday, August 13, 2009

Inspiration: Command+Z

Check out this great piece of visual effects filmmaking produced by a bunch of students at the Art Center College of Design

COMMAND+Z

With visuals obviously inspired by German expressionism and produced entirely on greenscreen, this is one you need to watch!

Monday, August 10, 2009

IFP/Phoenix to Host Production Assistant Workshop This Saturday

Here's a great educational opportunity all DV students should attend: The IFP/Phoenix Production Assistants Workshop!

This session will delve into a variety of skills that will help PAs graduate to more skilled positions on the set. Producers from actively hiring projects will be in attendance. This seminar is ideal for anyone with some experience, but who wants more in depth information. Join independent producer/director Joe Gruberman, veteran of four feature films and dozens of shorts and commercials in exploring the ins & outs of movie and commercial production.

August 15, 2009 from 1pm to 4pm

IFP/Phoenix Classroom
1700 N 7th Ave, #250
Phoenix, AZ 85007
602-955-6444
Map

TICKETS: $15 for IFP/PHX members, $20 for non-members

MORE INFO AT: http://ifpphx.org/events/production-assistants-workshop

Friday, August 7, 2009

Featured Project: Heart of the Sunrise

Heart of the Sunrise from UAT Digital Video on Vimeo.

Music video produced for classes DVA241 Digital Video Production and DVA274 Digital Video Editing by student Bryan Simcox. Summer 2009 Semester.

Music: "Heart of the Sunrise" by Yes.

Advice for Finding a Job in CG

From the StudioDaily blog:
Thousands of students packed into the meeting room [at SIGGRAPH] to listen to a panel discussion on “Getting a Job in CG” for film, television and/or videogames. The panel included job recruiters, producers and visual effects artists from ILM and LucasArts, Digital Domain, Sony Imageworks, Double Negative, Moving Picture Company and Microsoft Game Studios. The veteran panel laid out some sound advice for the wide-eyed crowd.
Read all their great advice here!

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Pixar's John Lasseter: Advice for Animation Students

From one of the most successful animation directors in the history of cinema come these jewels of wisdom - study the basics, learn to draw, learn film grammar, software doesn't make good movies... all the things you've been hearing from us at UAT...

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

DV Internship: UAT's IT Department

UAT's in-house Digital Media Producer Kari McBride is in need of not one but TWO DV interns for the Fall Semester.

Job Expectations for Video Internship
  • Produce bi-weekly videos for You Tube, and Flickr
  • Effectively communicate a theme in each video
  • Log old footage from the vault
  • Work with Marketing on UAT TV projects
  • Attend and record approved UAT events and edit them for use
Requirements
  • Should have basic knowledge of shooting, lighting, and editing on AVID
  • Have basic knowledge of different camcorders
  • Have Fun
Interested? Contact Kari McBride today!

Monday, August 3, 2009

Featured Project: Ticket to the Moon

This week's featured project is a surreal music video for ELO's "Ticket to the Moon," created by student Sean Walter for this semester's DVA241 Digital Video Production and DVA274 Digital Video Editing classes.



YouTube Link

Saturday, August 1, 2009

All Directors Should Be Animators First

I caught this one on Stu Maschwitz's ProLost blog a few days ago and had to share it. In this 1978 AFI seminar, Steven Spielberg talks about how he admires the pre-visualization skills of animators.



YouTube Link