4/30/2011
422: DVL 07 MAIKE DÖHLING
I did an interview with actress Maike Döhling for her showreel. There wasn't actually a plan to make a Dream Vision Life Video, but I decided to pick some stuff out and make one. Enjoy...
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4/27/2011
421: ISMONO
Chris Iskandar made this new animation. Thanks a lot!
I made the sounddesign. It's not 100% final, but for now I like it. Feedback is quite welcome.
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4/26/2011
4/24/2011
4/22/2011
419: DREAMER
A friend of mine asked me to help him with some headshots. This is an unintended ones, but I love the dreamy look in combination with the suit.
Plus here is another one as a black & white conversion.
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4/20/2011
4/19/2011
TECH TALK: Final Cut Pro X (Some other editor's thoughts)
I found an interesting blogpost about the upcoming FCPX. Check it out if you like. Link. (It might redirect you to your country's Gizmodo. Just change it to US and you'll find the post)
Here some keypoints, that I like to point out:
"…instead of fixing them, they just decided to change everything."
"This all seems well and good, except it's completely unimportant for professional editors who aren't finishing in Final Cut. Some of us color correct in a da Vinci with a professional colorist and then conform in a Flame. Steinauer's point proves the underlying key of FCPX: that it really isn't for professional editors."
"The biggest, most apparent change is the absence of the source monitor: it's the iMovie-ing of non-linear editing."
"Editing, for me, is still where the magic is. It's one thing to make changes for the sake of the people you claim are your clients and quite another to make changes for the sake of people who aren't. That's what these changes are, they are changes for the sake of making editing more accessible, not more functional."
Edit: Here is another interesting blogpost. Link.
"Apple is approaching other markets with FCP X, chiefly photographers. Adobe and Apple beat each-other up for these users, as the pro-sumer photography market is huge and growing by the day....Apple sees the future and it's got the software to lead these users into a new area where the lines clearly blur from editor, to photographer, to the two-guy shop speeding through web productions. "
Comment or more Info? Click me.
Here some keypoints, that I like to point out:
"…instead of fixing them, they just decided to change everything."
"This all seems well and good, except it's completely unimportant for professional editors who aren't finishing in Final Cut. Some of us color correct in a da Vinci with a professional colorist and then conform in a Flame. Steinauer's point proves the underlying key of FCPX: that it really isn't for professional editors."
"The biggest, most apparent change is the absence of the source monitor: it's the iMovie-ing of non-linear editing."
"Editing, for me, is still where the magic is. It's one thing to make changes for the sake of the people you claim are your clients and quite another to make changes for the sake of people who aren't. That's what these changes are, they are changes for the sake of making editing more accessible, not more functional."
Edit: Here is another interesting blogpost. Link.
"Apple is approaching other markets with FCP X, chiefly photographers. Adobe and Apple beat each-other up for these users, as the pro-sumer photography market is huge and growing by the day....Apple sees the future and it's got the software to lead these users into a new area where the lines clearly blur from editor, to photographer, to the two-guy shop speeding through web productions. "
Comment or more Info? Click me.
4/18/2011
4/17/2011
THOUGHT: On being Perfect or having something perfect
I just saw this billboard, translated it says "You're not Gisele Bündchen. You're not Kate Moss. You're perfect."
Makes me wonder what is perfect and can you actually achieve it? I guess perfect is a subjective definition, but is it really reachable?
I believe man will never reach perfection itself, because we always strive for more. We always see something that we think is "better". Or in the worst case greed will turn us evil.
Therefore it could be hard to be happy and to reach perfection. The hunger for more will taint the thought or state of perfection.
So I guess you better be grateful for everything you have and for who you are right now. That's probably what makes you perfect.
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4/15/2011
4/14/2011
TECH TALK: Final Cut Pro X Preview (My thoughts)
Yesterday Final Cut Pro X was previewed. You can read about some of the facts in this post by Larry Jordan. I will not go into the facts, but I wanted to write down some of my thoughts and wonderings about this new upcoming release.
First and foremost I must say, that I started my career as a film editor with Final Cut Pro. It was easy to learn and quite fun to work with. A couple of years later I realized the flaws in Final Cut Pro. Moreover I started working with Avid (since that is mostly used in commercial film productions here in Germany).
By no means do I believe that Avid is flawless and perfect, but it feels more solid in my opinion. At least in the "classic" post-production workflow. I would say that FCP is like a swiss army knife that can do a lot of things, but Avid acts like a real tool. And I rather build a house with the proper tool than a swiss army knife.
The new Final Cut Pro X does look promising at first glance. I can understand that just reading about the new features, can make this new release pretty exciting. But I can't help but wonder if the mayor gripes that at least I do have with all the versions up to now are resolved.
I always hate FCP for the way it deals with render files. For instance: Why do I have to re-render a sequence just because I just switched the visibility of a video track on and off? I did not change anything, just find the old render files!
Another thing about the recent FCP is the gamma shift problem. Exporting files always ends with having slightly brighter files. I read that this has something to do with the way FCP handles RGB and 601 color spaces, although I'm not quite sure if that is the real reason.
File handling and moving files is also a little cumbersome in my opinion. If you move the files from one place to another (Backup reasons), sometimes during relink process I get error messages like "file X has different Timecodes. Can't relink!" I still don't have any clue why FCP does have such problems, but in Avid you just (because of the proprietary filesystem) copy the Mediafolder and it's more or less done. Ok with the introduction of the AMA file system, you could run into the same problems, but up to now I've been able to stay clear of that new feature.
These are just a couple of things that make me choose Avid over Final Cut Pro, nevertheless I am looking forward to see what Final Cut Pro X has to offer and how the pricetag of $299.- will change the game. By the way the pricetag leaves me skeptical about how mature the new release will be, but on the other hand FCP Studio was always quite affordable.
I would love to hear what others have to say about the new FCP X or what you think about my thoughts. Comment below...
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4/13/2011
415: ANNE CATHRINE
Two weeks ago I took a couple of shots for the EP of a new artist. EP and more info about her coming soon.
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4/11/2011
INSPIRATION: ONE SPRING DAY
Lately I'm really into BMX. Just got a new Bike by the way (Thanks to Mike L. and the gang). And I found this video. I can't stand the tilt and shift look anymore, but I haven't seen it in a BMX or any "extreme" Sport video yet. Overall the DOP did some good work.
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4/08/2011
INSPIRATION: THE LABYRINTH
Just watched Jim Henson's "The Labyrinth". I can't believe that I haven't watched it before.
It's a fantasy movie where everything is actually hand made. No Cgi, maybe just two bluescreen scenes. Even if you do not like fantasy, I highly recommend watching this movie.
It's amazing how they built the sets and created all the characters. And since this was shot in 1986,it definitely was quite groundbreaking.
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4/06/2011
INSPIRATION: THE NEXT TIME
I'm usually not a big fan of splitscreens, but in this short they add quite well to the story without distracting that much.
She is incredible, but I think they could have casted a better guy. I'm not too fond of his acting, although she makes up for it...
Made by
A76 Presents
A film by Duffy Higgins and John Jaxheimer
for Pret-A-Surf ('10/'11 Resort Line)
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4/04/2011
INSPIRATION: IRON
These visuals are incredible! I needed a little to get used to the song, but now I'm really liking it.
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4/03/2011
4/01/2011
