Digital Video - October 2008 - (Page 24)

& A WHO ARE THE CUTTERS? ART ALDRICH (Odyssey Tek, www.odysseytek.net) New Jersey-based Aldrich is a Final Cut Pro editor specializing in television production. Art’s credits include a stint as one of the original editors for The Howard Stern Show on WWOR in Secaucus, as well as cinematographer and editor on the digital indie feature Court Jesters. In 2007, Aldrich set up and implemented a P2 workflow for the Iditarod Trail Committee, who produced the sled dog races but were newbies to FCP and tapeless editing. ALEC CARTIO (Atlantis Pictures) A veteran of the Stockholm School of Media & Television, Cartio became an editor after being frustrated by communication with editors who were cutting projects that he directed. Now working with Adobe Premiere, his work includes music videos (The Fugees’ “Pras Michael” and live videos for Brian McKnight), commercials for Budweiser and Isadora, and a video collection for Middle Eastern superstar Googoosh. TOM CHARTRAND (Shoreline Digital Productions, Inc.) A versatile producer and videographer as well as an editor, Massachusetts-based Chartrand runs his own Shoreline Digital Productions, where his clients have included CVS Pharmacy, the Boston Bruins Foundation and Infor Corp. Most recently, Chartrand used Panasonic’s P2 HD technology and acted as lead editor for a workflow demonstration at NAB 2008. LENNY MESINA A 10-year veteran of the editorial world, Mesina attended film school at the San Francisco Academy of Art. He was enlisted to cut his fellow students’ projects, paving the way for a career in music videos (Blink 182’s “Down”), documentaries (including one of his favorites, Beautiful Losers, directed by Aaron Rose and Joshua Leonard) and primetime network commercial work (including “Perfectly Aligned” for Lexus). ERIC POYDAR (Bootleg Productions) After shooting home movie footage on Hi-8 while studying abroad, Poydar was inspired by Robert Rodriguez’s book Rebel Without a Crew and embarked on his first editing work with a linear deck-to-deck system. Poydar’s credits include Dead Dog, Outside Providence and his own documentary, Larry (the actor). Currently making the festival rounds, that project began life as a DV25-shot feature starring character actor Lionel Mark Smith, which, for creative reasons, was distilled into a 30-minute monologue finished to HDCAM. SCOTT WITTHAUS (1708 Editorial, www.1708editorial.com) A 27-year production veteran, Witthaus gravitated toward editorial and post in 1993 and hasn’t looked back since. A triple threat whose work includes stints in management (as VP of Operations for Washington, D.C.-based Henninger Media Services), ownership (as a founding member of Greybox Editorial) and hands-on senior editing, the Virginia-based Witthaus currently heads 1708 Editorial. His editorial credits include commercial work for Geico, Circuit City, Anthem Blue Cross/Blue Shield, Advance Auto and Carmax. — J.R. Bookwalter so well by Final Cut Pro. I remember being told by the Accom engineers that broadcast video will never be able to be edited over FireWire and thinking, “What?” It was a challenge in my mind and why I was an early believer in FCP 2. Since moving my company over to P2 HD, I can do any level of production I want. I can keep nearmaster quality all the way through the production process. MESINA: Mini DV, DigiBeta — but, whatever they give me, I’m comfortable using it. As long as it can be digitized, I’m good — no preferences or favorites. POYDAR: As of late, I’ve been running and gunning with Mini DV more than anything because it’s the cheapest for me. Sure, I’d prefer to be shooting and cutting HD at all times, but I’m still waiting for all those prices to dip just a bit more. Plus, if you have a good DP, decent vision and good post support, your stuff is gonna look good. Larry (the actor) looked as good on the big screen as any of the flicks it screened with. And I’m talking about resolution here — it wasn’t a pixel party up there, it looked legit. WITTHAUS: I’ve edited with P2 and XDCAM footage. I have no preference as both have a good image and the workflow is getting better and better for each. There are still kinks in the workflow to be worked out when using these file-based systems in the “offlineonline” scenario, but I see that being solved sooner rather than later. DV: What are your thoughts on the advance of tapeless post? ALDRICH: My production company has been tapeless for three years now, using P2 exclusively. I like the metadata aspect of P2, and the format flexibility. Overall, I think it’s great — edit anywhere without tons of gear. Metadata has made my life easier; the ability to shoot and edit directly from a memory card has changed a lot of things. Archive is still the biggest challenge, however. CARTIO: Easier and fast importing/exporting of footage with no capturing required. MESINA: Tapeless post is here to stay. I think productions have turned a corner in going digital — rather than wait for tapes to be dubbed and digitized in real time, now all you need to do is wait for a download to start your offline. And no more having to sift through mountains of tapes during your online when you can just do a batch import instead of a batch digitize. Ones and zeroes racing back and forth from the digital source will eventually make both production and post more cost-effective. And with the rising demand for affordable Web-based entertainment and viral marketing productions, I see the trend just becoming more and more popular. POYDAR: Well, it already feels tapeless to me! Once my media is captured, I try to work 1:1 when I can, so my original tapes often serve as just a backup as I cut and finish from the newly created media. As far as tapeless cams and all that — there’s something really weird about not having anything physical to hold up, like a tape. Sort of the way “old-school” film people insist on cutting on Steenbecks. I can relate — they just feel things are more tangible that way, more real and not a bunch of ones and zeroes. WITTHAUS: Get used to it — learn it! Understand the process before you sell a client on it. It’s coming at us faster than we think, but there are still plenty of pitfalls in the process if one is not aware. DV: In your opinion, what is the biggest advance since the introduction of NLE? dv october 2008 1 2 3 4 5 6 24 www.dv.com http://www.odysseytek.net http://www.1708editorial.com http://www.dv.com

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Digital Video - October 2008

Digital Video - October 2008 Contents First Look: Creative Suite 4 D800 Raid Edirol F-1 Video Field Recorder Universal Dolly BT-LH1760 Monitor Bench Test: XDCAM EX PMW-EX1 Camcorder The Dead Can Dance Cutting Crew Unrest In Peace DV101 Production Diary

Digital Video - October 2008

For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.