Blip CEO Mike Hudack has a post today on the Blip blog that involves robots, Beowulf and the difference between 'web shows' and 'TV shows.'
The post is really deep and thought-provoking for indie producers. I highly recommend checking it out (click here). For some reason, Mike's post makes me think of this classic skit, courtesy of Upright Citizens Brigade:
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Online Video Update: Zombies + Train Wrecks = TV
I feel like I'm beating a dead horse, but there is still something fascinating about watching the slow death of TV. It's like a cross between a really bad zombie movie and a train wreck*. With the way things are going, we are headed for some major shifts in the way people view video.
Check out these stories for more information:
Saturday Morning Cartoons Are Canceled - Fox is canceling Saturday morning cartoons in favor of infomercials. Apparently, entertaining kids isn't nearly as profitable as running Mighty Puddy spots in the morning... Wow.
CW Network Regains Custody of Sunday Nights - After handing over their Sunday night programming to independent studio Media Rights Capital - in an extended time buy that actually resulted in original programming instead of Billy Mays commercials - the CW is reclaiming responsibility for their programming... Sort of. I can't wait to see what they use to fill the time slots. Maybe some kind of cheesy CW-ish sitcom STARRING Billy Mays? Kind of like the Truman Show, only worse and with more facial hair and shouting.
* - Wow... This is a pretty crazy train wreck video:
*
Monday, November 24, 2008
Filmmaking Tip #3: Lighting
These videos come via the News Videographer blog. This is an 8-part series taken from a Ken Henderson lecturer. The focus here is on lighting for portrait photography, but there are alot of good tips here for beginning and intermediate filmmakers.
There's alot here. Enjoy:
There's alot here. Enjoy:
Tuesday, November 18, 2008
FCP Tip #12: Free FCP Plugins
Just a quick post for anyone who is looking for some quality free FCP plugins. If you download these, please consider buying additional plugins from these creators.
Technicolor Plugins - Pistolera Post makes some great technicolor plugins - Two Strip, Three Strip and Three Strip Extreme.
Digital Heaven offers a variety of plugins at a variety of prices. Their free plugins are DH Grid and DH Guides. Check here for info on each. Personally, I use their DH_Box and DH_Subtitle plugins extensively for split screen and subtitling work. Those plugins cost $20 each and they're well worth it.
Nattress.com is the online home of Graeme Nattress... The man is a genius and he has helped me out of countless editing nightmares in the past. The guy knows his stuff and he's got a bunch of free FCP plugins available. He also has a bunch of great plugins that you have to pay for, but they are very valuable.
Note: If you're looking for the best film-look plugin for FCP, get the Nattress Film Effects Plugin. I used the plugin on my DV feature and it made DV look pretty damn good on a big screen. It costs $100 and it is worth way more than that.
Andy's FCP Plugins - I haven't used most of these, but I have used Andy's center-cut generator and it's pretty great.
Too Much Too Soon Free FCP Plugins - I've used many of these with no complaints. You have to enter your email address to receive these plugins. Please read the explanation carefully - the plugins are text files. I can't remember how to do it, but it is all explained on their website and it works.
*
Technicolor Plugins - Pistolera Post makes some great technicolor plugins - Two Strip, Three Strip and Three Strip Extreme.
Digital Heaven offers a variety of plugins at a variety of prices. Their free plugins are DH Grid and DH Guides. Check here for info on each. Personally, I use their DH_Box and DH_Subtitle plugins extensively for split screen and subtitling work. Those plugins cost $20 each and they're well worth it.
Nattress.com is the online home of Graeme Nattress... The man is a genius and he has helped me out of countless editing nightmares in the past. The guy knows his stuff and he's got a bunch of free FCP plugins available. He also has a bunch of great plugins that you have to pay for, but they are very valuable.
Note: If you're looking for the best film-look plugin for FCP, get the Nattress Film Effects Plugin. I used the plugin on my DV feature and it made DV look pretty damn good on a big screen. It costs $100 and it is worth way more than that.
Andy's FCP Plugins - I haven't used most of these, but I have used Andy's center-cut generator and it's pretty great.
Too Much Too Soon Free FCP Plugins - I've used many of these with no complaints. You have to enter your email address to receive these plugins. Please read the explanation carefully - the plugins are text files. I can't remember how to do it, but it is all explained on their website and it works.
*
Monday, November 17, 2008
Video Riff #2: Bring Out Your Dead
Time for another "Video Riff" - just some vague observations, open-ended questions and occasionally wild assumptions. Think of it as a a digital post-it note with ideas for future versions of the more complete "Online Video Report."
Just bear with me and leave comments if you think I may be on to something or if you think I should be put in a straitjacket. Here goes... Video Riff #2:
Glenn Pingul = Correct!
Glenn Pingul at MediaPost's Online Video Insider is optimistic about the state of online video advertising. I agree with him - online video ad rates may be falling but that is a symptom of the times, not an indication of the value of online advertising.
Pingul points out that online video advertising has many benefits:
"Online video advertising takes effectiveness and measurement to the proverbial next level. No one argues the impact of sight, sound and motion and the brand-building benefits of video. But coupled with the ability to drive direct response and gather deep insight into performance, video is taking a powerful new role in the marketing mix. "
Right on the money. And TV advertising offers nothing in the way of deep insight - I've spoken to several network executives that tell me they don't trust TV ratings at all. Think about that for a second. TV networks don't even trust the yardstick by which they measure success. That would be like a football referee who doesn't trust the measuring chains or a cop that doesn't believe his radar gun so he guesses car speeds based on what he sees with his own eyes.
Look at Direct Response advertising on television - the success of campaigns are judged solely on the amount of phone calls or website hits that are received from each commercial airing. Online video advertising offers so much more in the way of targeting and tracking, I'm surprised Billy Mays isn't all over Blip TV (or maybe he tried and Blip won't have him!).
Bring Out Your Dead
There are plenty of experts that would have you believe online video advertising isn't ready for prime time. I think they are in a rush to dismiss the whole "genre" of ads because it threatens the networks and the agencies. The networks realize that online targeting and tracking will expose TV buys as grossly overpriced, while the agencies simply haven't got a collective clue about what they are doing in the space. The whole thing kind of reminds me of the "Bring Out Your Dead" scene from Monty Python's "Holy Grail":
Whatever... The point is, online video ain't dead yet. Not by a longshot. Take it from Glenn Pingul:
"Advertisers are demanding answers to questions on what works and doesn’t, an understanding of the efficacy of their advertising spend and creative, and an ability to act on it. Online video advertising is poised to be a steady and consistent answer, both in good times and in bad. And yes, it always takes guts for marketers to break new ground, but with video, they have numerous means to measure what really works, getting a true gut check as to whether they’re on track all along the way."
*
Just bear with me and leave comments if you think I may be on to something or if you think I should be put in a straitjacket. Here goes... Video Riff #2:
Glenn Pingul = Correct!
Glenn Pingul at MediaPost's Online Video Insider is optimistic about the state of online video advertising. I agree with him - online video ad rates may be falling but that is a symptom of the times, not an indication of the value of online advertising.
Pingul points out that online video advertising has many benefits:
"Online video advertising takes effectiveness and measurement to the proverbial next level. No one argues the impact of sight, sound and motion and the brand-building benefits of video. But coupled with the ability to drive direct response and gather deep insight into performance, video is taking a powerful new role in the marketing mix. "
Right on the money. And TV advertising offers nothing in the way of deep insight - I've spoken to several network executives that tell me they don't trust TV ratings at all. Think about that for a second. TV networks don't even trust the yardstick by which they measure success. That would be like a football referee who doesn't trust the measuring chains or a cop that doesn't believe his radar gun so he guesses car speeds based on what he sees with his own eyes.
Look at Direct Response advertising on television - the success of campaigns are judged solely on the amount of phone calls or website hits that are received from each commercial airing. Online video advertising offers so much more in the way of targeting and tracking, I'm surprised Billy Mays isn't all over Blip TV (or maybe he tried and Blip won't have him!).
Bring Out Your Dead
There are plenty of experts that would have you believe online video advertising isn't ready for prime time. I think they are in a rush to dismiss the whole "genre" of ads because it threatens the networks and the agencies. The networks realize that online targeting and tracking will expose TV buys as grossly overpriced, while the agencies simply haven't got a collective clue about what they are doing in the space. The whole thing kind of reminds me of the "Bring Out Your Dead" scene from Monty Python's "Holy Grail":
Whatever... The point is, online video ain't dead yet. Not by a longshot. Take it from Glenn Pingul:
"Advertisers are demanding answers to questions on what works and doesn’t, an understanding of the efficacy of their advertising spend and creative, and an ability to act on it. Online video advertising is poised to be a steady and consistent answer, both in good times and in bad. And yes, it always takes guts for marketers to break new ground, but with video, they have numerous means to measure what really works, getting a true gut check as to whether they’re on track all along the way."
*
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Video Riff #1: Set Top Boxes and Ms. Pac Man
New feature time... I'm gonna call this the "Video Riff" - just some vague observations, open-ended questions and occasionally wild assumptions. Think of it as a a digital post-it note with ideas for future versions of the more complete "Online Video Report."
Just bear with me and leave comments if you think I may be on to something or if you think I should be put in a straitjacket. Here goes... Video Riff #1:
Set-Top Boxes Are the Future of TV
The future of TV lies in set-top boxes. The technology isn't ready for prime time, but it is getting there quickly. Apple TV seems to be leading the way, but Netflix and Blockbuster recently entered the space.
There is also the open-source box Neuros, but I want to focus on Apple, Netflix and Blockbuster for the purposes of this riff.
Apple, Netflix and Blockbuster all have their own sources of content. It stands to reason that a content creator might have a tough time gaining any traction if he couldn't get listed on iTunes or carried by Netflix or Blockbuster. It would seem that if the future of distribution was in the set-top boxes and the market was dominated by these three companies, then the major networks and studios would dominate the market.
That's equally scary and boring. Ugh.
Apple FTW?
I believe Apple will make iTunes more accessible to indie producers in the future, just like they've opened up iTunes to indie musicians. If Apple can dominate the video distribution market like they've been able to dominate the digital music market, there is a pretty good chance that indies will have a healthy shot at finding an audience in a future dominated by set top boxes.
But what about Ms. Pac Man?
Right. Ms. Pac-Man... I think the evolution of set top boxes will be influenced by modifications (aka "hacks") done by users who want to maximize the usefulness of the boxes. One of the coolest examples I've seen so far is Boxee - a tool for making it easier to find content and share it with your friends. This kind of stuff makes it easier for the user and it pushes the manufacturer to add more features and ultimately make content easily accessible.
But this will probably get messy - while hacking a set top box could open up a world of possibilities for the end user, it could just as easily open a pandora's box of lawsuits for the hacker. Computer manufacturers, Hollywood studios and cable providers love them some lawsuits, so you can bet it will happen at some point.
There is a precedent for what might be about to happen - that's where Ms.Pac-Man comes in. Check out this episode of OnNetwork's "Play Value." It tells the story of two MIT students - Doug Macrae and Kevin Curran - who modified arcade games in the early 1980s. In addition to being a fascinating story, it really could foreshadow the future of digital set top boxes.
Although the modifications of Macrae and Curren were embraced by arcade owners and end users, Atari went after them in court... but there is a happy ending. Let's hope something similar comes of the soon to be written future history of digital set top boxes:
Friday, November 14, 2008
FCP Tip #11: Ripping a DVD to Edit in FCP
This is a great tip from MindBites. If your client asks you to edit content that is already on a DVD, it can be messy. Here's how you do it using a program called Mac the Ripper:
Ripping a DVD to Edit in Final Cut Pro
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Ripping a DVD to Edit in Final Cut Pro
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