Digital Motion dot net

Interesting take on NAB from a video editor/Windows Media team member. Nice, homey, take on the NAB experience.

http://drewkeller.vox.com/library/post/nab-2007.html

Map design is fascinating. It is one of the highest forms of information design. How to convey complex information so that it is instantly accessible. The map showing Napolean’s foray into Russia in Edward Tufte’s books where he plots the size of the the army vs their penetration into the country is a classic example.

Subway and bus maps are especially interesting because they have to serve multiple purposes: they have to be legible from a distance (across a crowded subway car), they have to convey data quickly (should I get off here or is the next stop closer to where I want to go) and they have to be useful to locals, who know their geography and tourists who may not know where they are immediately.

Eddie Jabbour of Kick Design has redesigned the NYC subway map. His new map is clearer and easier to parse visually, but he has abandoned spatial continuity. The comparisons on his site between the old and new are obvious and even if you don’t like his proposed map, the design is instructive.

[via basement.org]

wow, this is a great resource

Using dummy clips for automation
Making a wet-dry control for the rack

[via Creative Cow Forums]

Also, The Hush Sound – The Lions Roar

Open Source Resistance

This is an associated website for the new Nine Inch Nails album. They are soliciting propaganda in multiple media and then distributing it. So far it looks like the submitted work is mostly posters. The work on the site is fairly high quality. Could become a nice resource for design ideas when you are stuck.

In the “do it because it is there” category…

The Covert Operators

My favorite live blogging is always from Engadget.

My summary:

• New Final Cut Digital Asset Management/Transcoding Server: $999/10 users or $1999 for unlimited users (available summer)
• Final Cut Studio 2
  • Final Cut Pro 6
    • ProRes 422: compression for HD (1TB -> 170GB “at same quality”)
    • Support for Sony’s new HDCAM SR 1080p60, Silicon Imaging’s Red Camera
    • Aja-built IO-HD input box for encoding ProRes 422 in real-time on external box ($3495)
    • Open-format timeline: mix formats, resolutions, framerates
    • Smooth-cam camera shake elimination (from Shake)
    • Better Motion integration
  • Motion3
    • Match-moving
    • more 3D
    • Paint
    • Audio-driven animation
  • SoundtrackPro2
    • Better 5.1 support
    • 5.1 and stereo in same project
    • frequency spectrum editing (ripped off from Audition/Soundbooth)
    • Video HUD for better synching
    • “conform” feature (not sure what that is yet)
  • Compressor3
    • Faster
    • More codecs
    • Preview overlays and watermarks with a before and after slider
    • Integrated chapter markers
    • Better multi-threading
  • $499 upgrade, $1299 new, $699 to upgrade from FCP
  • Available May
• Color (new application)
  • Color grading
  • looks like this what at least part of the Shake team is doing now (my guess)
  • Same UI for 3-way color correction with
    • RGB and luma curves
    • lift
    • gamma
    • gain
    • visualization of color in 3D space
  • Mattes from chroma, luma, saturation, custom vignettes, hue and saturation curves
  • Color effects — string them together with a node tree
  • Geometry
  • included in Final Cut Studio 2

Wow, so FCS 2 was expected, but a lot more was also expected in this announcement given that Apple announced the 8-core MacPro a couple weeks ago with crummy video cards and no new iLife for ’07 and lappys and iPod designs getting a little stale. Wonder what else would have been announced today if Apple hadn’t announced the delay of Leopard earlier this week?

I just realized that there was no update to DVD Studio Pro. Hrm, wonder why…

[added links to the apple website and comment about DVD Studio later at 3:51 pm]

This article about moms growing their own businesses as photographers thanks to the new generation of inexpensive high-end digital SLRs got me thinking again about the opportunities. Not just the ones for the moms, but also the businesses mentioned in the article, BluDomain and BigBlackBag who are small start-ups catering to the DIY-folks and have their own interesting (and inexpensive to start) business models.

Finally, this article on advertainment (also from NYT) reminded me how the driving force financially behind most creative businesses is the advertising agency. This is a bit of a tougher market to get into for individuals, but little studios can get attention for themselves, starting small, and get into this business eventually.

Then again, why do work for hire if you don’t have to?

Change this to independant media creators and it still makes sense in these days when you can do it all yourself if you are willing to do the work.

[via This Week In Media]