Author Archives: Scott Simmons

409 articles found

A Discussion on Tape, Tapeless and Shooting Ratios

There’s a great post over at the blog Little Frog in Hi Def prompting a discussion that needs to be had, about an issue that everyone in post-production is surely experiencing right now. As film and tape have given way to … more »

The NLE as a Modular Product

Here we sit just a few short weeks from NAB, right after another upgrade to Avid Media Composer and possibly on the verge of what might be the biggest Final Cut Pro upgrade ever. Add to that what will probably … more »

Media Composer 5.5 Ships

Earlier today (Tuesday, 3/8/11) Avid began shipping the next update to Media Composer, 5.5. The software was recently announced and we discussed the news here, as did StudioDaily editor Beth Marchant on StudioDaily’s main page. It’s available immediately from the Avid store. … more »

Useful editing tools for iPhone owners: Panoptik Timecode

A new timecode calculator is available for the iPhone. It’s called Panoptik Timecode (iTunes link), and it’s worth highlighting. It’s one of the most well-designed iOS timecode calculators I’ve seen. It sports a dark user interface, and it looks as … more »

Video diversion Gary Hecker: Master Foley artist at work

SoundWorks Collection: Gary Hecker – Veteran Foley Artist from Michael Coleman on Vimeo. Here’s a nice little video diversion for the movie fans out there on Oscar weekend. It’s a video profile of veteran and award-winning Foley artist Gary Hecker … more »

Beware of (Some) YouTube FCP Tutorial Videos

A couple of weeks ago I came across a YouTube Final Cut Pro tutorial about how to edit a music video. It popped up in my RSS feed, as the “tutorial” was embedded on a website. As one who often … more »

Avid Upgrades Media Composer Yet Again, to v. 5.5

When talking software I think of new versions in two ways: updates and upgrades. Updates are more like the smaller “dot” releases that take a piece of software from version 2.0 to 2.0.1 or 2.1. Then there’s upgrades that move … more »

Useful Tools for Editors: Luca Visual FX

One relatively common though quite cool visual effect you might see floating around is the filmic-style grunge, scratches, edge fog and light leaks. These looks are often used for transitions or just as a stylistic treatment over footage. It’s ironic … more »

Quantel Pablo PA – Yet Another Software-Only Post Tool

I’m not sure how I missed this product announcement that came from Quantel at IBC last year but today Quantel has released Pablo PA. This is yet another software-only version of what has been a high-end, high-dollar post-production system. Let’s … more »

Get, the FCP Phonetic Search Tool, Is Now Available for Rent

One of the hottest products I saw at NAB 2010 was AV3 Software’s Get, a phonetic search tool for Final Cut Pro. The idea for Get is simple: using some crazy voodoo-like “patented phonetic search technology” you let Get index … more »