Author: Casual Dog Productions Web Master

  • New Phone?

    Or is it a new camera?  The new Red Hydrogen One phone is intriguing…  And apparently real, not just vaporware.  Holographic capabilities, insane computing power, and more expensive than my first car by far.  Will it lead to a revolution?  Interesting times, at least. https://www.redsharknews.com/technology/item/5506-red-s-hydrogen-phone-is-real-and-is-the-beginning-of-a-very-long-programme  

  • Editors? We don’t need no stinking editors!

    This article by Dan Selakovich makes the strong case for why films benefit from a skilled editor, separate from the director: http://www.watchindie.net/2015/10/27/why-a-director-shouldnt-edit-their-own-movie/ It boils down to objectivity, to getting away from all the baggage of remembering what happened on set.  He makes a compelling case, and his advice is the conventional wisdom.  It reminds me of WIlliam…

  • Are Filmmakers all ADHD?

    I think most of the filmmakers I admire – Doc and Narrative alike – are ADHD.  That is, have attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.  Enough so that it should maybe be called attention-deficit hyperactivity superpower instead… I just saw this article: http://www.alternet.org/adhd-brains-are-most-creative-why-do-we-treat-it-disability?page=0%2C1 It postulates just that – that ADHD may have some incredible positive sides, and that our…

  • How to Fight Final Cut Pro X and Win

    I tried it again.  Final Cut Pro X, Apple’s oops of a slap in the face to professional editors and post production workers – especially those who depend on collaborative workflows. One of the basic phases of post production is audio mixing.  As a former audio engineer, this is my comfort zone.  In normal NLEs…

  • Doc Short Contenders Announced by Academy

    I was supposed to be editing…  I had been fighting gremlins for weeks – some of my own making, many that appear to be bugs idiosyncrasies features in Adobe Premiere Pro CC.  You know, Adobe – the company who got themselves hacked, meaning my credit card number stolen, so that I had to update every…

  • My Premiere Pro multi-cam premier

    So we did this little shoot.  Three cameras, plus multitrack audio.  Slated most of the takes, like I said… Here is the workflow we evolved: Shoot seven takes total of three different pieces by the aerialist team, Charity and Jon. Ingest – Broadcast wav in multitrack Pro Tools sessions for audio Canon AVCHD files from two…

  • Bugs and workarounds editing multi-cam

    We recently did a small multicam shoot for some circus artist friends, and were reminded not to cut corners in prep…  Specifically, don’t rely on software to sync your clips for you!  It is worth taking the time to carefully and correctly slate every take.  Editing, and the entire post process, will be so much…

  • Guerilla filmmaking at its best!

    My first short film, Kid Stuff, featured some guerilla filmmaking – shots of a pawn shop, in particular. So I am always heartened and intrigued to learn of the guerilla tactics of others. This is quite a coup, though: shooting a feature at Disney World!   http://www.fastcocreate.com/3017814/how-the-makers-of-escape-from-tomorrow-made-a-twisted-disney-world-horror-without-disneys-ok    

  • Some Documentary News – Ronn Pitts Dies, Freedom of the Press May Too

    1) A passing in Chicago: Ronn Pitts Famous documentary filmmaker Ronn Pitts has died.  A mentor to many, he also filmed many  historic events in his town, Chicago. He is routinely credited with desegregating the Chicago filmmaking and news communities. Some remembrances from Kartemquin films are here: https://kartemquin.com/news/remembering-ronn-pitts 2) A blow to freedom of the press…

  • A Documentary Oops.

    Or maybe more that National Geographic has gone “Reality TV” in their ethics.  In any case, it seems that this Fox broadcast piece on the death of a US soldier was broadcast without much thought or sympathy: http://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/tv/war-widow-sues-fox-over-inside-afghan-er-documentary-featuring-husbands-death/2012/11/12/82ab22ca-2d06-11e2-b631-2aad9d9c73ac_story.html Any comments?