It's moving day. For Lower Thirds.
For years I've been blogging here; about my job, my clients, everything production and post production related. And I'm going to keep blogging...just not here. As of today, I'm officially moving my Lower Thirds blog over to Tumblr.
So please join me over there, by following me here.
So it's not goodbye, it's just, see you over there.
Thanks guys.
KMB
Larry Jordan has been working hard. Very hard. And so has his team at Larry Jordan & Associates and the Digital Production BuZZ. For the past 7 years, the Digital Production BuZZ has teamed up with the NAB Show as an offical media partner, and year after year, Larry and his team simply raise the bar.
Every year.
And I know personally, because every year I've worked with his entire crew - booking interviews, pitching them on interview ideas and potential guests. And I know first-hand the work that goes into producing this show.
So I was very happy for them to learn the results of their latests endeavors at NAB 2014. Congratualtions guys! Now get some rest (although I know you won't)!
Check out the news from their latest press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Larry Jordan’s Digital Production BuZZ Coverage of the 2014 NAB Show Drives Record Growth, Expanded Listenership
The BuZZ Reports 230% Increase in Listeners during the 2014 NAB Show,
and 35% Year-Over-Year Growth; Draws Listeners from 182 Countries Worldwide
Burbank, CA (May 6 , 2014) – Larry Jordan & Associates, Inc. and the Digital Production BuZZ (www.digitalproductionbuzz.com) are reporting record growth in its worldwide audience, and its most successful year as an Official Media Partner of the 2014 NAB Show. During the month of April 2014, which includes its 2014 NAB Show coverage, the Digital Production BuZZ experienced a 230% jump in listeners, drawing an expanded audience from 182 countries worldwide.
The Digital Production BuZZ is also reporting an overall 35% year-over-year growth in its audience. This significant growth is attributed to the caliber of influential and engaging guests and content presented throughout the year, and during major industry conferences such as NAB, BVE, DV Expo and Creatasphere. Additionally, the Digital Production BuZZ has garnered the support of some of the industry’s biggest players, such as Blackmagic Design, Adobe Systems, Moviola, G-Technology, Promise Technology, and Shutterstock.
During NAB 2014, the Digital Production BuZZ successfully delivered over 80 live and recorded interviews with the production and post production industry’s most influential players. In addition to its audio broadcasts, the BuZZ delivered video broadcasts of its interviews as a result of its partnership with Moviola.
"The 2014 NAB Show was our most ambitious effort to date;" said Larry Jordan, executive producer and host of the Digital Production BuZZ. "We set some lofty goals to showcase the best of NAB to the world, and I’m delighted to say we succeeded. Our team of 30 incredibly talented people worked around the clock to deliver the news from the show. I also need to thank our amazing sponsors; they are the backbone that makes the BuZZ possible. Without their support we would not be able to produce the kind of show that draws thousands of people into our global community week after week."
The Digital Production BuZZ has been an Official Media Partner of the NAB Show since 2008 and has brought listeners the hottest news, insights and perspectives from the production and post production community’s most influential players.
About the Digital Production BuZZ
Heard in over 182 countries around the world, the Digital Production BuZZ is the industry’s longest-running podcast covering creative content producers and tech news for media production, post-production, marketing and distribution.
New episodes of the weekly Digital Production BuZZ air every Thursday from 6:00 to 7:00 pm PDT. Listen live here or download the program later on iTunes. Listeners can also sign up for the free, weekly BuZZ Newsletter and get a sneak peak of each week’s show by visiting www.digitalproductionbuzz.com.
Larry Jordan is the executive producer and host of the Digital Production BuZZ. Larry is a renowned media expert, Apple-certified trainer specializing in Final Cut Pro and Adobe Premiere training, author, and member of the Directors Guild of America and Producers Guild of America. Co-host Michael Horton is also an influential, experienced member of the creative community, and is well known as an actor, film editor and is the co-founder and co-producer of the world-renowned CPUG SuperMeet. Cirina Catania, supervising producer of the BuZZ, is a writer/director/journalist and member of the Producers Guild of America and the Writers Guild of America. To schedule an interview on the Digital Production BuZZ, contact Cirina at [email protected].
Debbie Price is the Special Events Producer of all the 2014 NAB Show coverage for the Digital Production BuZZ. She also produces the 2 Reel Guys video webisodes, all live seminars and events, and directs operations at Larry Jordan & Associates, Inc.
Simply stated, these guys are hot. If you're an editor, compositor, VFX artist on a budget and deadline - I've just described all of you - then you should check these guys out.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Rampant Design Tools Launches Massive New Libraries of Optical Light Transition and FX Elements for Filmmakers, Editors
Stage Light Transitions, Speed Lights, Light Impacts and Gradient Overlays Deliver Nearly 1,000 Visually Stunning Quicktime Based Drag and Drop Elements; Rampant Adds New Online Training Resource for Customers
Orlando, FL (September 26, 2013) – Rampant Design Tools (www.rampantdesigntools.com) today announced it has launched four massive new libraries of its signature Quicktime-based Drag-and-Drop VFX elements for filmmakers, VFX artists and video editors, delivering nearly 1,000 new high definition, visually stunning themed optical transitions and overlays.
Rampant Design Tools also announced today it has developed a comprehensive resource for customers to help make the most of their workflow using Rampant’s elements. RDT Training (http://tuts.rampantdesigntools.com) offers completely free training in Adobe After Effects, Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X, Motion, Avid and more. In addition to singular tutorials, Rampant has started two training series; Practical Effects for Editors, hosted by Rampant founder and renowned VFX artist, Sean Mullen, shows editors how to add complex visual effects techniques to their workflow with the software they already have. Learning Final Cut Pro X, hosted by Apple Certified Expert Stefanie Mullen, brings customers up to speed quickly on Apple's latest editing apps.
New Elements from Rampant
Available immediately from www.rampantdesigntools.com, Rampant Design Tools new libraries include Rampant Stage Light Transitions, Rampant Speed Lights, Rampant Light Impacts and Rampant Gradient Overlays. Each library is priced at $99.00 USD.
Rampant Design Tools offers a unique, time-saving approach for budget- and time-crunched editors who need to quickly add quality VFX or design elements to their projects. Rampant Design Tools solutions are compatible with all editing platforms and compositing applications that are able to read Quicktime files, including Adobe Creative Suite (After Effects and Premiere), Sony Vegas, Media 100, Apple Motion, NUKE, Apple Final Cut Pro, FCP X and Avid Media Composer. They are also designed to complement filmmakers and VFX artists existing workflows and integrate well with pipelines comprised of industry-leading VFX and color correction solutions.
All of Rampant Design Tools newly launched solutions are available immediately and are priced at $99.00 USD each. For more information or to purchase any of Rampant Design Tools solutions, please visit www.rampantdesigntools.com.
About Rampant Design
Rampant was founded by Visual Effects Artist Sean Mullen. With over 60 credits in feature film and television, Sean has shot and created VFX elements for network shows, feature films, private hollywood libraries and has created content for many of the major stock companies His work has touched such acclaimed Hollywood and television productions as Charmed, Ally McBeal, NCIS, Felicity, Nip/Tuck, Idle Hands, Lake Placid and Any Given Sunday. Sean was inspired by his editor friends to create the first Rampant Design Tools - elements for his friends to mix and match and drop on their timelines that would instantly add a unique look / flavor to their videos. This inspiration essentially gave birth to many of the product lines you see at Rampant today. For more information, please visit www.rampantdesigntools.com.
Today is a big day for Red Giant. After two years of development, months of beta testing and community involvement, Red Giant BulletProof v1.0 is shipping!
Since Red Giant first debuted BulletProof at NAB 2013, the reaction from the community has been amazing. From the beginning, it's resonated with users - everyone from filmmakers and cinematographers to shooter/editors. Anyone who knows the tedium (and anxiety) of moving footage on set from the camera and getting those files over to an editor is taking a close look at BulletProof. That gap - between the camera and the editor - is a stressful one.
Red Giant's president and co-founder, Andrew Little, talks about the Company, it's journey over the past 12 years, and the events that have brought them to this point. Read it here. It's an honest, refreshing and interesting look into what goes on at a place like Red Giant.
New Products, New Suites
Red Giant also announced it's shipping some new suites: the Red Giant Shooter Suite (which includes BulletProof) and the Red Giant Color Suite, which is essentially replaces the Magic Bullet Suite. They're streamlining their product lines, organizing them more around their customers, how they work and what they look for to solve real problems every day. In talking about the new suites and why they did it, Andrew Little says:
"We got serious about refocusing our company around what's important to our customers, and delivering suites of products thoughtfully designed and paired together to solve real problems. Shooters have different needs than editors, and motion graphics artists have different needs from shooters. But they all have one thing in common - they all need suites of tools in which every product in there is useful, valuable and meaningful to their daily workflow."
The team behind Red Giant Films, led by director of communities, Aharon Rabinowitz, has also put together an incredible trove of videos, providing great clarity around what these new products and suites are, what they do and who they're for. He and his team (people like Harry Frank, Simon Walker and Seth Worley) have put together some incredible tutorials as well - thoughtfully developed to help step users through each product.
You can find them all at Red Giant Films, or here are some useful links as well:
Red Giant BulletProof
•https://vimeo.com/70938591
Red Giant Shooter Suite 12
•https://vimeo.com/70970783
Red Giant Color Suite
•https://vimeo.com/71280738
Red Giant Trapcode Suite 12
•https://vimeo.com/70970784
Red Giant Keying Suite
•https://vimeo.com/70971014
Red Giant Effects Suite 11
•https://vimeo.com/70970781
It's a pretty huge day for Red Giant, and I'd say, for the industry as well. Congratulations guys!
I wanted to keep you in the loop on BulletProof development, and how it’s progressing through beta as we prepare to ship version 1.0 later this summer. Last week, we released the Final Public Beta Release of BulletProof. We are making this new update available to our beta testers, as well as to any new customers who haven’t yet participated in the free public beta.
Is Facebook finally collapsing under its own weight? It it time to say goodbye?
Lately, I've been feeling it's time. I'm done. Maybe I am getting bored with it - I'm not too sure.
Then there was this announcement: Facebook is now charging big dollars if you want your posts to actually reach your 'friends.'
I tolerated the Farmville onslaughts, survived the 2012 (and 2008) elections, and the friend requests from people from my distant past, who let's just say, are in the distant past for a reason (no offense to nobody!).
But this seems to have done it for me. I thought about it, wrestled with it for a long time - 'it's the biggest social media movement ever! I have to be a part of it! What about all those connections, interactions? Can I just walk away?'
The more I thought about it, how I actually use Facebook - and more importantly - how my 'friends' were using it, the decision become easier. For me, social media is about connecting and engaging with people - mostly people in the industry. I want to share with them what's going on with me, my clients and general happenings in the industry. While I enjoy the sneak peaks into peoples' daily lives, it is really just that - sneak peaks and passing glances. There is no interaction, no dialogue. There was plenty of dialogue about Mitt Romney, Barack Obama - with colorful details and insights into peoples' political expertise and their solutions for what's ailing this country. Sorry. Ain't interested. In fact, I found it disturbing. I had to look away.
And I've been doing that a lot more lately. Looking away.
But what about interacting and sharing useful, interesting information in social media circles?
In a word - Twitter.
I joined Twitter when it launched, not sure what to make of it. In fact, I thought it was kind of goofy. But I gave it a try. I waded into the waters. Not too committal, just....observing, listening and watching.
And over time, I observed something really interesting. I watched as the post production/production industry embraced it. They were talking to eachother! Actual dialogues between people who shared the same passions and visions, and who were willing to help solve problems. Hashtag groups started to emerge. And not just the #OMGicantbelieveiatethewholepizza kind of hashtags. Meaningful, useful ones. Groups that started 'meeting' once a week to talk about any given topic, or to host a special guest. It was great! It IS great! And it continues to get better.
To date, Twitter isn't packaged, marketed and overly contrived - at least not in these circles of filmmakers, cinematographers, editors and VFX artists.
Hanging out with Stu Maschwitz a few weeks ago, he described Twitter as like going to a cocktail party, filled with interesting groups of people talking about interesting things. "I can wander from group to group, topic to topic, and just pop in to a conversation for a bit to see what's going on. I love that about Twitter!"
That conversation really got me thinking.
I'm spending a lot more time on Twitter these days, and less on Facebook. In fact, I've even been experimenting with Google+ as a possible replacement to Facebook - but that's another conversation.
But what do you think? As filmmakers/editors/VFX artists/cinematographers - are you feeling the same way?
Tell me what you think...
As promised, Red Giant announced yesterday it has released Denoiser II - a new rebuild of the popular noise reduction tool, part of the Magic Bullet Suite. This release is for After Effects only, but new revs that will support more host apps are in development already. And no worries, the Company's Red Pledge guarantees that if you buy it today, when the new versions come out with expanded host support, you'll get the update - free! No hassles.
Here are the details from the press release:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Red Giant Releases Magic Bullet Denoiser II
Denoiser II Cleans Up “Noisy” Footage; Free Upgrade for Magic Bullet Suite Customers Delivers Reliable Performance, Sharp Results for After Effects Users
Portland, OR (February 28, 2012) – Red Giant today released Magic Bullet Denoiser II, a completely re-built version of its popular Denoiser 1.0 tool for removing unwanted noise and artifacts from video footage. Available as a free update for Denoiser 1.0 and Magic Bullet Suite customers, Denoiser II features intelligent default settings that provide immediate clean-up results when first applied to footage. Unlike other denoising tools and methods that can blur fine detail, Denoiser II’s smart default settings, along with advanced noise reducing tools, deliver sharp, clean and professional video results out of the gate.
Throughout the development process for Denoiser II, Red Giant worked closely with industry professionals to ensure its defaults deliver the perfect balance between noise reduction and sharpness. Denoiser II’s powerful cleanup features work right away, but for difficult noise situations, users can easily fine tune their footage with advanced controls.
Denoiser II: Powerful Features for Professional Results
Denoiser II combines data over several frames to separate the noise from the image, giving users a professionally smoothed result that preserves fine details. Options like Frame Sample, Motion Estimation, Noise Hint and Shadow Offset create new sample frames, preserve fast-moving action, reduce chroma blotches, or clean up shadow areas, and are ideal for a number of workflow issues, such as:
Motion estimation for high and low motion: High-speed camera movements are different than slow pans, but Denoiser II can preserve detail even in fast-moving action sequences. Its Motion Estimation technology/feature compares successive frames to learn what is natural motion vs noise in the scene.
Chromakeying and other fine tuning: Denosier II offers a number of fine tuning features that allow users to minimize over-smoothing, correct green chroma tinge, focus on shadows or de-emphasize highlights, all without losing image detail.
Footage shot in low light: Denoiser II helps with low light conditions, making video clean and smooth. Noise Reduction and Noise Hint controls set how much noise you do (or don't!) want to see.
Separate Video and Film modes: Two modes let users characterize the noise so Denoiser II can achieve the most accurate results. Video mode adjusts the Luma and Chroma channels for better smoothing in black-and-white or full color. Film mode has adjustments for Red, Green and Blue channels that are ideal for material shot on film.
Joey Morelli is the founder of DigiDojo, a small post production and visual effects shop that handles just about every aspect of post for his clients, from motion graphics design and compositing, to 3D design, animation, color grading and editing. Joey, a long-time Red Giant customer, has been beta testing Denoiser II and had this to say:
“As a ‘multi-tool artist,’ I need access to the best applications available - but they have to be affordable. With DSLR shoots dominating our market, noise is commonly introduced into otherwise gorgeous footage, and there just isn't an efficient, artful, affordable tool to turn to. Denoiser 1.0 worked, but it was finicky and unstable. So while working on the Denoiser II BETA, I picked one of the noisiest clips I could find, dropped Denoiser II on it, and within a few parameter tweaks, my jaw was on the floor! So then I set out to break it. I stacked a bunch of plug-ins like Magic Bullet Looks on it, adjusted the parameters for hours, and it remained rock solid and stable. No crashing! If I could sum up my experience with this tool: QUALITY + STABILITY = Denoiser II. That makes it worth every penny and it’s now my go-to noise reduction tool.”
Pricing and Availability
Magic Bullet Denoiser II for After Effects is available immediately and is priced at $99.00 USD for new customers, and is available as a free update for existing customers. Magic Bullet Suite 11.3 including Denoiser II is also available immediately and is priced at $799.00 USD for new customers.
For more information or to purchase Magic Bullet Denoiser II, please visit https://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/denoiser-II/. For more information or to purchase the Magic Bullet Suite, please visit http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/products/all/magic-bullet-suite/.
The Red Pledge
At Red Giant, we love working with artists, and we love giving you the tools and resources to help you do great work. We're inspired by, and share in, your passion because Red Giant is made up of filmmakers, animators and designers just like you. It's that level of passion which flows through everything we do as a company, and ensures that everything about our relationship with you just works. And that's Red Pledge - our full-on commitment to your complete happiness. The Red Pledge is our guarantee that we will always be reasonable and fair. We believe in no hassles. Just happiness.
About Red Giant
Founded in 2002, Red Giant (www.redgiant.com) creates an ever-expanding universe of effects tools ranging from plug-in suites, applications and mobile apps to Guru Presets, free products and sharing communities. We provide software for motion design, photography and color correction that is used for everything from major motion pictures to worldwide television programming to web production. Red Giant offers the industry-leading Trapcode tools for broadcast design; Magic Bullet Suite for color correction; and over 60 products that run in After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Premiere Pro, Photoshop, Lightroom, Aperture, Avid, Vegas, Nuke, and Avid Studio. Our effects have enhanced dozens of feature films such as Angels & Demons and The Social Network, and added sparkle to networks like NBC Universal, ESPN, Disney, CNN, Comedy Central, MTV, and TNT. Join us on Facebook (RedGiantSoftware), follow us on Twitter (@RedGiantNews) and get free content at Redgiantpeople.com.
###
| Sun | Mon | Tue | Wed | Thu | Fri | Sat |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | |||
| 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
| 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16 | 17 | 18 |
| 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 24 | 25 |
| 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
