In a message dated 10/27/98 8:22:57 PM, videomax@pipeline.com wrote:
>I see a lot of productions being cut on
>these lower end NL tools such as the Premier... I see them alot on cable
>access shows. Only once have I walked into a pro, broadcast, or corp video
>house and seen a premier in an edit suite; it was for consumer and low-end
>broadcast editing use.
"lower end NL tools such as Premier[e]"
In a message dated 10/27/98 8:16:01 PM, halstead@journeyman.com wrote:
>2) AVID is the broadcast industry standard- the benchmark by which all others
>are judged, and the skill set which is looked for by employers in the
>post-production field.
...
>Is [premiere] lower end? Hell yes! It a slower way to do basic
>cuts-and-dissolves editing? Sho 'nuff. ...
>These are different tools for different markets.
"Avid is the standard" , "lower end" and "different markets"
In a message dated 10/27/98 8:16:01 PM, pchristy@electrotex.com wrote:
> I have to pay for my own tools...therefore, I will live with lesser
> products which aren't so obscenely overpriced, and which _do work_.
"lesser products"
In a message dated 10/28/98 10:21:21 AM, docavid@hotpop.com wrote:
> I have been there and done that in the educational side- And seen
> college students who completed an Avid Composer class (based on an
> alongated Avid Approved Educational Center book) get hired for Assistant
> editor gigs in less then 2 weeks. The "gotta use an Avid" is based on the
> fact I have seen over and over again: "wanna get a great job, gotta know
> how to use an Avid"
It's sort of a self-propigating standard.... the small shop, (or school,
as kvp@erinet.com noted) in order to look professional and sell itself, gets
an Avid. They need the name recognition.* it's too difficult to master on
their own so they look for a trained editor. Students seel the installed base
(and perhaps the high turnover) and see how easy it is to get a job so they
learn only Avid.
Kind of makes me thing of the original Apple 1984 commercial... except
everyone in the audience is saying the mantra Avid.. Avid.. Avid...
In a message dated 10/27/98 9:10:01 PM, RJones@fullerton.edu wrote:
>I would have no trouble preparing for an Avid session with a FireMax EDL,
>but I would lose quality transcoding to MJPEG from my native DV format.
I think that's debatable and must take into consideration data rate and
hardware capability. If you want to compare both codecs at their best, MJPEG
is a 4:2:2 and DV is 4:1:1, it's obvious the MJPEG codec provides more of the
original picture after compression.
But this is where we were a year ago, before DV turned the world on it's
head. We were in a place where everyone asked what teh compression ratio was.
2:1 or better was the grail. Sure Avid tried to muddy the watters with "AVR"
levels, but the facts were there. The lower the compression ratio, the better
the image.
Then DV came into the fray and produced a great image by using some color
space tricks and different MJPEG coding (I won't get into specifics). So the
only way to differentiat the systems now is what? The application you use?
If Premiere runs on a Targa that's able to handle dual-stream 2:1
compressed vieo for real time transitions and ICE'd effects, there are still
people (maybe the people at the top of the list) who would say it's "lower
end" because it is Premiere.
And, in comparison, I can buy a G3 with built-in video I/O hardware and
run Avid software... and produce images that are way crappier, and projects
take 100 times longer to complete. But it's Avid software. Avid Cinema
software.
I think philipmh@charisma.com.au put it best
(maybe because he sees everything from down under)...
> It's not the software interface, it's the experience and practice.
> Good work can be made with any tools. Avid make[s] a great set of
> relatively expensive tools that the vast majority of video editors
> will never use.
...
>It's about choosing appropriate tools, without being hung up on any sense
>of "best". Who knows what those learning now will actually create during
>their careers - it'll go a long way beyond bitmap images over time (aka
>video). That's only one class of data out of about 8 or 9 that will be
>carried in the MPEG 4 container.
That's my point.
In a message dated 10/28/98 9:05:45 AM, MoovyMagic@aol.com wrote:
> In our case, however, we are far more interested in seeing something a
>person had edited---a finished piece of work---than we are in which machine
>tool was used to fabricate it. An editor with talent can learn ANY machine's
>idiocyncracies and specifics. The developed talent of storytelling remains
>paramount, however; and will survive any set of currently in vogue tools.
Well said.
MoovyMagic@aol.com also wrote (after the compliment, which I appreciated):
> Storytelling is the key skill, not machine operation. Software use ---no
> matter how advanced---is a form of machine-tool skill. Satisfying
> storytelling is the crucial intellectual skill.
--- and now, cars.
philipmh@charisma.com.au continued
> You don't teach driver ed on a porche either. (touche!) In fact, isn't
> most driver ed done on a relatively low priced vehicle? I wouldn't know,
> not being having attended an American high, but I'd be surprised if they
> taught drivers ed on the top of the range, most expensive and highly
> regarded motor vehicles?
The high school I went to currently uses a Dodge Neon (retail $6000 US) as
the Driver's Ed car. It's a loaner with the car place's logo emblazoned on it
in vinyl.
In a message dated 10/28/98 10:21:21 AM, docavid@hotpop.com wrote:
> To go on with the car anology (I live in Michigan for the moment, state
> law requires talking about cars!) Quite interesting that you mention the
> Formula1 example- always wanted to be out there on the pro track? The
> students mentioned allready have mastered the Hyundai Excel, or the Buick
> Skylark- cute lil 4 bangers that they are. The question at hand is "where
> to go from here?"
My girlfriend's brother races for Dodge. I think the circuit is SCAA but
it's basically stock cars and engines (special wheels and internal roll
cages). He drives a Neon and places in the top 5 of most of the races he
enters. In fact, he noted that the Neon can be special ordered from any dealer
in the SCAA configuration, roll bar cage included.
So there is somewhere to go.... :)
> Anthony- That is one of the best sig files I have seen. Makes ya think!
Yes it does.
If you have questions or concerns with the above excerpted thoughts, feel
free to write to the attributed individual. :)
Anthony
________
Anthony Burokas, Media Technician, IEBA Productions, Inc., Phila. PA
+ Digital Video Consulting and Integration + DV/ DVCAM Sales +
V: (215) 632-3283 + Fax: (215) 612-0663
Go to: <A HREF="http://ieba.com">IEBA.com</A> to find out more.
"Ok, so what's the speed of dark?"
* I just sold a set of 8 walkie talkies to a good sound guy in Philly. He was
sick and tired of paying Motorola prices, and getting what he considered to be
crap. multiple channels, but you had to remove the battery and adjust dipp
switches inside the unit. They ran out of power in half a day. Replacement
parts were hard to get and were more expensive than he liked.
I sold him some Midland radios. Multiple channels. Lockable. Run all day
on NiCds, NiMH can be used for double the run time. He broke one when he tried
to customize it. The replacement part was in his hands in two days for
something like five bucks. Half the cost of the Motorolas.
But all his clients just saw he Motorola name and were satisfied, even if
he wasn't.