MediaNet Tech and Equipment news 2 Dec 09

1)Congratulations to MediaNet member Ry Moran (Ryan Bresser) on his win for Best Original Score at the Aboriginal Music Awards.
2) MediaNet closes at 12 noon on Friday Dec 4
3) Reminder – Pickups at 9:30, Returns at 9 AM
4) Intro to Final Cut seminar on Sat 5 Dec – 11 to 5 – Equipment pick ups must be before 11 am
5) Open Cinema presents “Fuel” at the Imax Theatre 7 pm Wed 10 Dec
6) ViFPA presents Motown High Sat Dec 12, 10 AM at the Cap 6 downtown
7) MediaNet Fundraiser, Friday 18 Dec at Open Space
8) MediaNet Closes for Xmas on Dec 19
9) A favourite Final Cut Site – Ken Stone’s Final Cut page

1)Congratulations to MediaNet member Ry Moran (Ryan Bresser) on his win for Best Original Score at the Aboriginal Music Awards as well as his nomination for best Folk Acoustic Album . And congrats as well to MN member Janet Rogers on her nomination for best Female Traditional Cultural Artist

2) MediaNet will be closing at 12 Noon on Friday Dec 4. Sorry for any inconvenience.

3) A Reminder – Equipment Returns are between 9 and 9:30 AM. Equipment Pick Up is between 9:30 and 10 AM.  If you do not return equipment on time you will be charged for an additional day’s rental. If you do not pick your equipment up on time we will assume that the booking is cancelled and may rent the equipment to another member. Arrangements can be made for later pick up or drop off but alternate arrangements must be made at least 24 hours in advance.

4) This Sat, Dec 5, there will be a Final Cut Introductory workshop 11 am to 5 pm. We have had a cancellation so there is one space available. Email communications@media-net.bc.ca to reserve. Cost is $50 members, $80 non members.  Members should note that after 11 am on Sat equipment access is restricted and the edit suites, except for the G5 in the outer office, will not be available.

5) OPEN CINEMA Screening Series presents the Victoria premiere of FUEL. Presented in collaboration with  Cowichan Alternative Energy and The BC Sustainable Energy Association. December 10, 2009, at the IMAX Theatre    A fundraiser for Cowichan Alternative Energy  Doors at 7pm, screening at 7:30 Suggested donation $10-$20

6) Victoria Independent Producers Association present MoTown High on Sat Dec 12 at 10 AM at the Capitol 6 Downtown. Admission is by suggested $5 donation. Created by Barbara Hagar of Aarrow Productions, Motown High is the longer, theatrical version of the story of how Motown legend Martha Reeves came to Vic High, inspiring and thrilling the Vic High R&B band. Watch the trailer at Aarrow productions See the full movie and meet the filmmaker on Sat Dec 12 at 10 am

7) Seasonal Pageant Disorder : MediaNet / Open Space fundraising party December 18, 2009, 7pm- midnight at Open Space, 510 Fort St. MediaNet and Open Space will be holding a fundraising event in support of joint programming. Featuring music by Slim Sandy and Ry Moran, live drawing by Eden Veudry with cello accompaniment by Jared Brandle, and the films of Scott Amos. food, drink and a silent auction with fabulous local artwork, goods and services Come and escape the Christmas rush with us! If you can donate anything to the silent auction, or would like to help with the fundraiser, please contact Catlin info@media-net.bc.ca

8) MediaNet will close for our annual Christmas hiatus on Sat 19 December. The traditional equipment switch over day is tentatively scheduled for Dec 28

9) A site that everyone who edits in FCP or FCE should visit is Ken Stone’s Final Cut page at http://www.kenstone.net/fcp_homepage/fcp_homepage_index.html . Great tutorials, articles and reviews

G5′s for sale, Blender interest group, Relative Syncronicity

1) Relative Synchronicity: black and white images and coloured sound  – July 20 – August 1, 2009
$60 includes 1 roll of b+w film (2 1/2 mins), with hand-processing and video transfer, hands-on soundtrack workshop where you will learn the elements of sound shaping and manipulation and post-production facilities.
A two-week workshop.
Week 1: shoot a roll of b+w super 8 film and edit it in camera.
Week 2: create a digital soundscape using manipulated sound for your film.
The film will be projected and the sound played in relative synchronicity at a special screening in Week 3   For more information, or to register, contact Kirk technical@media-net.bc.ca

2) Blender interest group
The first blender workshop was held on Sat July 4th and the Blender interest group and discussion will be held here at MediaNet on Friday July 17th. All members with an interest in Blender are invited to drop in and share their tips and insights into this full features (but sometimes complicated) 3D animation program
3) Interested in taking an Intro to Final Cut 1 day hands on seminar this summer? Let me know and I will try to schedule one for a Sat or Sun soon. I need 5 people to commit to a date before I can confirm the workshop

4) MediaNet G5′s for sale
We are selling  our Dual G5 Mac Pro Suites (all have firewire 400 and 1 x firewire 800 ports)
* Dual 2 GHz Power PC – 2.5 Gig ram, DVD Burner, ATI Radon 9600 Pro Video Card, 2 x 160 gig internal drives, keyboard and mouse.  $800
* Dual 2 GHz Power PC – 2.5 Gig ram, DVD Burner, GeForce FX 5200 Video Card, 1 x 500 gig internal drive, keyboard and mouse  $800
* Dual 2.7 GHz Power PC – 2.5 Gig Ram, pioneer DVR-109 DV burner, AH Radon 9600 Video Card, 250 gig boot drive, 500 gig spare drive, Keyboard and mouse  $850
* 2 x Samsung CRT 997 monitors – free to first G5 purchaser who wants them
also
PowerMac G4 2.8 GHz, 320 meg sdram, ATY rage 128 grapics card, 120 Gig internal drive, DVD rom, firewire 400, Acer G772 CRT monitor, Keyboard and mouse $125
** offered to MediaNet members first – unsold will be placed on Craig’s list July 15th.

Call 250-381-4428 between 9 and 2 weekdays or 9 to 12 on Saturday for more info or just leave a response

MediaNet equipment discussion

The discussion of  equipment selection priorities, strategies and what are MediaNet’s most current needs, is in full swing (and thanks to MediaNet member Chris Ruffell for jumpstarting the debate).

There are a couple of things to bear in mind as we progress through these issues.

1) the debate has 2 edges – equipment purchasing strategy: eg. when in MediaNet’s operating cycle do we most need a new camera and who does it serve and how does it further our aims; secondly, when we get to the aquisition point, what is the best piece of equipment to fulfill our needs

2) As an organization funded by the Canada Council our decisions and discussion must be shaped by the CC’s funding of MediaNet and we must do our best to work realistically within those boundaries.

3) We have a responsibility to serve all MediaNet members and equipment discussions must take into account the full range of member needs as well as the needs of the programing MediaNet put on for it’s members.

Now, with that in mind, let me share a couple of general observations about Equipment pressure and needs. The HD cameras, whether the higher end Sony Z1U and FX1 or the Canon HV20, are in heavy demand. We are experienceing increased pressure for the less expensive outreach cameras for youth and colaborative programs with organizations like the Art Gallery of Greater Victoria and some schools. As well, program initiatives at MediaNet must be taken into account – including Dance for the Camera, the Engaged Body and the “Eco-doc” project we are working on for the fall.

so, with all that in mind, lets start talking. I will post some of the comments here and all of the comments somewhere.

thanks

K.

New Lighting Equipment Arrives

It was just today that Paul Croy of Croy & Co Lighting here in Victoria dropped off some new lighting and grip equipment. So as of today we have:

2 Selecon Acclaim 4 1/2 in fresnels which can come equiped with 300 or 650 W bulbs

1 Selecon 7″ High Performance Fresnel, 1,000 W

Although originally designed for the stage these lights are used in professional film and video work. Paul tells me that the 4.5″ fresnels were used in the DaVinci Code for lighting some scenes shot in the Louvre.

1 x 40″ Avenger C stand and 1 x 30″ Avenger C stand with an adjustable leg

1 x Chimera Cameo Kit (bounce or diffusion – 42″x42″)

and he also dropped off a pack of gels for use with the lights as a bonus.

I think you will all find these lights both easy to use and extra easy to use with gels and diffusion.
good shooting

K.

A New camera at MediaNet

We’ve been experiencing a lot of camera “pressure” lately having added some new members and programs. But given the uncertainty of what’s coming next technologically in our budget range (prosumer and basic professional) we haven’t wanted to make a major purchase. Sony has announced the release of some exciting new cameras (check out the info at DVuser.co.uk – thanks for the link, Dorin) in the fall that will be within our price range – but add to that the fact that when one of the major manufacturers adds new products or innovates that motivates many of the others manufacturers follow. So we will wait a while before squeezing our budget for a professional camera (and as a non profit organization there is not a lot of budget to squeeze so we have to be careful).

That being said, we have gone so far as to purchase a Canon HV20 camcorder. (check out the review on camcorderinfo.com) It records in standard def or high def (using the HDV codec) and shoots in as true a 24p mode as you can get on consumer or prosumer camcorders. The images are great, it has an HDMI output for your hi def TV as well as firewire for capturing in Final Cut. It’s not perfect but it more than stands up to the competition in its class. (look at the conclusions/comparisons on camcorder info for a fairly honest pro and con comparison) It will be ready for member rental next week although we are waiting on a second battery that will improve its shooting usefulness.

Good Shooting

K.

some new audio equipment at MediaNet

It is true that our audio equipment needs to be bumped up a bit. One of the greatest challenges for starting filmmakers (and for experienced filmmakers as well) is getting good audio. Camera noise and improper mic-ing all contribute. But some little things can make a difference. We have two Senheisser mics with both the ME 66 shotgun capsule and the ME 65 cartiod capsule. And we just recieved a Rode NTG-2 shotgun mic. To complement them we have purchased 3 rode SM3 suspension shock mounts that fit into the hot shoe slot on most video cameras. So now we have proper mic mounting capability for our Sony FX1, as well as our smaller cameras like the Sony HC1000. Good shooting. K.

PS: I have added our camera and mic manuals in pdf to our main web site. You can download them from here