Student Filmmakers - June 2008 - (Page 13) to be nimble and responsive to these technological changes. Both Avid and Final Cut had some compatibility issues with frame rates and resolutions, but both companies continue to release updates to support the different forms of HD editing. Hardware components like Avid’s Mojo and Nitris, as well as AJA’s Kona cards are aimed at bridging the gap of many different HD formats. Also make sure to consider where you will store the enormous files that result from HD shooting, and the amount of throughput needed to play and manipulate these files in real time on your editing system. • Improved portable hard drives. With portable drives now holding terabytes of information, becoming more stable, and connecting with faster cables - like eSATA (1.5 to 3.0 Gbit/ s) - portable hard drives may still have a purpose as working drives. Workflow So we come full circle back to our original dilemma: how to make the change to HD production. With research, individual producers can decide on a format, camera, storage solution and NLE that fits their needs. Large institutions, like the college I teach at, are addressing changes to over fifty edit suites, fifty graphics stations, and three-dozen HD camera packages, impacting hundreds of students in the process. When you need to plan at this level, new factors such as networked storage and workflow issues arise. What is the easiest, most efficient, foolproof system that will allow hundreds of students to produce and post their HD projects? Some possible solutions may include: • A streamlined and standardized workflow based on a single HD camera model and/or a single file type. This would help to clearly define a correct workflow and ensure compatibility with all installed post-production software. The danger here lies in choosing a model or format that may be phased out in the rapidly evolving world of HD production. • Installation of a central media server to store all students’ files, removing the need for external hard drives or RAIDs that may be prone to failure or damage. This also allows access to those files from anywhere on the fiber optic lines installed throughout the campus labs, making collaboration between editing labs, graphics labs and sound mix suites easy. The challenge here is in managing the time required to transfer files recorded on cards/hard drives into the central system. • Proxy editing, where very low resolution copies are made of all the HD files, allowing students to access these low-res files even over the internet. Time code will allow for uprez/relink and color correction in a finishing suite on campus. • Offline editing, where standard definition copies are made of all HD files, allowing students to work with improved images, but at a much lower throughput demand on the central server. Uprez/relink will happen in an online suite upon completion. • Remote online editing, where high-speed fiber connects limited remote labs to the central media server. This rapid change to HD is challenging as it overturns established aesthetic techniques and makes last year’s wonder-products outdated. I clearly remember the day that my home theatre was delivered. I set up my eight-foot screen, placed my HD projector on its stand, plugged in my surround sound stereo and fired it up. I realized life would never be the same again. Once you’ve experienced the heart pounding sound, life-like clarity, and amazing scope of HD you’ll understand why every producer is scrambling to make their mark in this new world of 16:9. Think about it. •Film Editing •Film Directing •Independent Filmmaking •Visual Effects •Cinematography •Assistant Director Scholarships are Available Transfer Students Welcome 305 N. Service Road Dix Hills, New York 11746 email: admissions@ftc.edu 631.656.2110 June 2008 studentfilmmakers 1 http://www.ftc.edu
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