Editors' Lounge Archive

The Editors' Panel: Why Do We Make That Edit?

2011-10-28T23:30:00.000-07:00

Moderated Discussion About the Creative Storytelling Side of Editing

The Editors' Lounge was thrilled to present another installment of the Editors' Panel, a series of moderated discussions with industry-leading editors on a variety of topics affecting the editing community!

This panel's discussion engaged in a fascinating free-ranging discussion centered on the creative side of editing—why we make specific editing choices rather than how. This month's panel included:
Debra Kaufman (moderator) • Founder / Editor, MobilizedTV
Mark Goldblatt • Feature Film Editor
Andrew Seklir • Episodic TV Editor
Derek McCants • Reality TV Editor
Bee Ottinger • Photographer/Music Video Editor

The Editors' Lounge and AlphaDogs would like to thank the fine folks at the American Legion Post 150 in Burbank for providing a great space for our huge crowd.

Visit the Editors' Lounge Vimeo Channel and watch the discussion yourself. It's even in HD! (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3 and Part 4)

Editing Options: Exploring the Alternatives

2011-09-30T22:31:00.000-07:00

Demonstrations from Adobe and Blackmagic Design

The Editors' Lounge was excited to welcome everyone back from our little summer hiatus! We all know that a certain recent product announcement has rocked the editing world to its core, and many people are now looking around for an alternative. A knockout crowd joined us on September 30 for an evening of demos by Adobe and Blackmagic Design, to see if they offered the solution.

Adobe presented Premiere Pro Creative Suite 5.5, a fully-featured professional editing workflow offering breakthrough performance with Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop Extended, and more...
• Timesaving integration between Premiere Pro and After Effects and Photoshop
• Real-time effects and color correction, accelerated rendering, and superior multilayer performance
• Broad native format support (import and export virtually any format—even FCP 7 projects), skip time-consuming transcoding for file-based and DSLR footage
• Advanced audio editing in Adobe Audition and timesaving integration with Premiere Pro

Rich Montez showed off Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve and discussed what's new in the recently released version 8
• Node-based image processing with sequential and parallel connections
• 3D tracking for locking Power Windows™ to on-screen objects
• Real-time stereoscopic and Raw RED workflows

Blackmagic Design also showed several of their new products including the UltraStudio 3D Thunderbolt-based capture/playback, Decklink 4K capture/playback card and several new Mini Converters.

As a special treat, Don McDonell of Ciphertex Data Security displayed some of their portable, hardware-encrypted, key-based hard drives and arrays designed to securely store digital assets when unattended or during transit between locations. Products shown included the CX-RANGER-E RAID array and CX-5000NAS NAS Server, featuring:
• AES 256-bit hardware encryption and password protection
• hot-swappable drives, with automatic hot rebuild

It's an important time right now to have a look at all the options available to the editing and color correcting communities, and the Editors' Lounge is here to help!

Integrated Post Workflows… Supercharged!

2011-06-24T22:41:00.000-07:00

Product Demonstrations to Start Your Summer Right!

The Editors' Lounge on June 24 showcased the best-of-breed post production workflow enabling technologies. From ingest, to asset management and manipulation, to media management, backup and synchronization, all feeding and pulling from a single collaborative shared storage network. It’s the framework behind the creative process, the foundation of modern post production.

Presentation and demonstration highlights included:

Facilis Technology's TerraBlock 5.0 with Facilis Shared File System

• Virtual Volume storage with Multi-user Write access across platforms

Square Box Systems' CatDV 9.0

• network-based ingest and playout for HD SDI, cross-platform workflows

StorageDNA's DNA Evolution

• data management for file-based workflows, backup and archiving

and much, much more...

As an added bonus, Philip Hodgetts was on hand to talk about Final Cut Pro X and discuss his brand-new book, Conquering the Metadata Foundations of Final Cut Pro X.

All in all, it was a fantastically successful evening with a record turnout. Many thanks to all who participated!

Lucky 13: Avid's 2011 NAB Product Announcements

2011-05-13T22:14:00.000-07:00

An Evening with Greenfield and the Avid Products Team

The Editors’ Lounge pulled out all the stops at AlphaDogs on Friday May 13 with an exciting event: Avid was back this year to show off their 2011 NAB product lineup! A massive crowd joined us for a packed evening of demonstrations, presentations and discussions.

In a repeat of one of last year's biggest highlights, CEO Gary Greenfield joined Director of Product Management, David Colantuoni, to discuss Avid's plans for today's changing post-production landscape and their vision of where Avid is headed. This was a rare opportunity to meet senior management face-to-face and share questions and concerns.

Editors also looking to get their start working on 3D projects heard from Director of Architecture and Design VD&O, Steve McNeill, on how to simplify and manage 3D stereoscopic editing workflows. He discussed how to avoid pitfalls that are common to the world of 3D post and how Avid is working to make dealing with them easier.

Consulting Product Designer, Frank Capria, demonstrated the new Phrase Find feature in Media Composer 5.5, a revolutionary way of finding the right clips quickly along with numerous other innovative timesavers.

Principal Product Designer, Doug Hasel, showed off the Artist Series of control surfaces for Pro Tools, Media Composer and more, acquired by Avid through last year's purchase of Euphonix.

All in all, it was an exciting and memorable evening. Thanks Avid!

8th Annual Pre-NAB Discussion Panel

2011-03-29T17:30:00.000-07:00

Our Famous Prognosticators Prognosticate...

Our friends at Key Code Media once again helped the Editors' Lounge put on the famous (infamous?!) Pre-NAB Discussion Panel. This 8th rendition of our annual look ahead at NAB, enlightened us all with heated discussion about trends and predictions for post-production and the film/TV business for the rest of 2011 and beyond. Topics included Final Cut Pro update rumors, radical changes coming to current post production business models, the impact of the disaster in Japan on video tape, and the ever-present 300-pound-gorilla in the room: 3-D. This year's panel featured:

Debra Kaufman (moderator) • Founder / Editor, MobilizedTV
Lucas Wilson • Director Business Development, 3ality Digital
Steve Cohen • Film+TV Editor / Blogger / Author Avid Agility
Mark Raudonis • VP Post Production, Bunim/Murray Prods
Michael Bravin • Technical Consultant
Terence Curren • Editor+Colorist / Founder, AlphaDogs

As a special treat, the Sony BVME250 OLED master monitor that was discussed at last month's Editors' Lounge was actually be on hand for guests to oooh and aaah over.

You can watch the panel discussion right now on our Vimeo channel (Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4). Be sure to check out other past video presentations there.

A great big thanks to our fiends at Key Code Media for hosting us!

The Great Big Sony Event

2011-02-25T23:00:00.000-08:00

A record crowd braved heavy rains to attend the February Editors' Lounge at Key Code Media featuring a full evening of Sony presentations. Sony Sales Support Engineer, Mike DesRoches, guided attendees through the many features of Sony's PMW-F3 camera, as well as SR 2.0 memory and file-based tape-to-Avid import. He was followed by Avid Application Specialist, Casey Richards, who wrapped up the evening showing XDCAM proxy video with hi-res audio, and many other new features in Media Composer 5.5.

You can watch presentation highlights right now on our Vimeo channel (Part 1 and Part 2). Be sure to check out other past video presentations there.

A great big thanks to our fiends at Key Code Media for hosting us!

Triple Demo Action!

2011-01-28T19:00:00.000-08:00

Boris Continuum Complete 7, mocha Pro, and FCP plug-ins from Intelligent Assistance

The Editors' Lounge got off to a great start for 2011 with a jam-packed event in January.

James Rankin was on hand to demonstrate the power and flexibility of Boris FX's Continuum Complete 7 plugins package. BCC is one of the most popular NLE visual effects plugins packages out there, and it was amazing to see what can be achieved with version 7. James was kind enough to do some follow-up research regarding the plugin package; for those who's questions couldn't be answered during the presentation, you find his notes online here.

Mary Poplin from Imagineer Systems dropped by to show off their latest mocha offering. The all-new mocha Pro combines their amazing tracking and roto tools from mocha with the matchmoving and correction/stabilization tools from mokey and monet for an all-in-one compositing solution.

Philip Hodgetts demonstrated the amazing things that can be accomplished with the various Intelligent Assistance plugins for Final Cut. From automated syncing and matchbacks to sequencing and log note tools and much more, there are plugins to solve every problem and speed editing workflows.

Thanks to all the presenters and everyone who showed up!

Panels Aplenty!

2010-10-01T22:53:00.000-07:00

Editors' Discussion Panel and Blackmagic Design's DaVinci Resolve

The last Editors' Lounge of 2010 was a knockout event! A capacity crowd of over 100 guests joined us for a double-take on the meaning of PANEL...

pan•el ('panl) - noun
1. a flat board on which instruments or controls are fixed
2. a small group of people brought together to discuss a particular matter

Definition #1: Mark Thompson of Blackmagic Design was on hand for their premiere demonstration of the new DaVinci Resolve control panel and software solution for colorists. Scalable high-end grading at competitive cost - this product announcement has had plenty of buzz and people jumped at the chance to see it up close and in person!

Definition #2: Another edition of the Editors' Discussion Panel series, this time talking with editors and assistants about how they collaborate. The panel included editor Diana Friedberg (co-author of Make the Cut: A Guide to Becoming a Successful Assistant Editor in Film and TV), Emmy®-winning editor Steven Cohen (author of Avid Agility), and assistant editors Carsten Kurpanek and Peter Mergus. Discussion was moderated by writer Debra Kaufman (editor and founder of MobilizedTV).

If you missed the event, you can watch the Editors' Discussion Panel: Assistants any time online. Check out other event videos on the Editors' Lounge Vimeo Channel.

Networking... Hawaiian Style!

2010-08-27T19:30:00.000-07:00

Casual Editors' Lounge Gathering to Network and Socialize

The August Editors' Lounge was a mellow affair, all about peer networking! A large turnout joined us for a casual Hawaiian Friday. We did an old-school mix and mingle—no sales pitches or long speeches, just friends and peers gathering for a good time swapping stories and making connections.

Triple-Header: MediaSilo, BrockBox and Adobe CS5

2010-06-25T22:51:00.000-07:00

Web-based media tools, affordable i/o for Avid, and all-in-one post-production

There was no June gloom at the Editors' Lounge: we had a wide variety of presentations to light up your post production workflows. Dan Green of MediaSilo presented their web-based media collaboration and content management tools, Howard Brock demonstrated his low-cost high-quality Avid i/o solution, the BrockBox, and Jacob Rosenberg showed off the latest features and post-production workflows of Adobe's Creative Suite Production Premium 5 toolset.

Avid 2010: The Post-NAB Product Lineup

2010-05-14T23:30:00.000-07:00

An Evening with Avid's Top Brass and New Product Demonstrations

The Editors’ Lounge was very proud to bring together a very special event for the merry month of May: Avid was in town to show off their NAB product announcements! An overflow crowd joined us for a hands-on look at all their cool stuff in the intimate Editors’ Lounge style. Over 140 guests came and saw the exciting new features and enhancements found in Media Composer 5, and learned about Avid's upcoming "cloud"-based editing tools. Read all the details about the event at the Editors Guild.

As a special treat, visitors also had a unique chance to speak directly with key people from Avid who were eager to hear public feedback. Who were these "key" Avid people? How about President and CEO Gary Greenfield, Executive VP and COO Kirk Arnold, and Senior Product Designer Frank Capria for starters!

Many thanks to everyone for their hard work in pulling this fantastic event off without a hitch!

The 7th Annual NAB Discussion Panel

2010-03-26T22:24:00.000-07:00

A Talk With the Experts about NAB 2010 and a Look Ahead at Post Production

It’s that time of year once again and our popular panel returned to break out their crystal balls, Tarot cards and tea leaves, and discuss what 2010 will mean for post production, with an emphasis on trends expected for NAB 2010. Many of your favorite Editors’ Lounge panelists were back: Howard Brock (Emmy™-winning editor/Co-founder, Matchframe Video), Terence Curren (Founder/Ceo, AlphaDogs Inc.), Mark Raudonis (VP Post Production, Bunim/Murray Productions) and Lucas Wilson (Assimilate Inc.). New to the panel this year was cinematographer, editor and educator, Bill Megalos. Debra Kaufman moderated what turned out to be a very lively discussion with lots of laughs, conflicting viewpoints and occasional consensus.

Thank you to GenArts for their ongoing sponsorship of the Editors' Lounge raffle. An extra-special thank you to Ruth and everyone at Key Code Media for providing us with a wonderful space to hold the event and for going many extra miles with help and support. Couldn’t have done it without you!

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch the 7th NAB Discussion Panel any time online. Check out other event videos on the Editors' Lounge Vimeo Channel.

Professional Monitors v.2.0.1.0

2010-02-26T23:17:00.000-08:00

Our Semi-Annual Review of Reference-Grade Flat Panel Monitors for Post Production

The Editors' Lounge kicked off 2010 with a bang: our February event presented a lineup of professional LCD reference-grade monitors. Visitors were able to see the latest flat panel broadcast monitors side-by-side for easy comparison. Company reps were on hand to answer questions.

The featured monitors were set up in one room with subdued backlighting and neutral backdrops, and were fed the same 4:4:4 signal of clips and test patterns for easy side-by-side comparison. On display were: Cine-tal Systems’ Cinemage B230, Flanders Scientific’s LM-2470W, Sony’s BVM-L231, and TV Logic’s XVM-245W. Additional monitors included JVC’s DT-VS4L3DY (PDF) and Sony’s BVM-L170, PVM-L2300, and PVM-L3200. As an extra treat, we also had a JVC GD-463D10U 3D monitor.

The event was a huge success, and AlphaDogs would like to thank all the vendors for their participation. Special thanks go to Key Code Media for invaluable logistic and technical assistance, and to GenArts for their generous 2010 raffle sponsorship.

•

About AlphaDogs

Founded in 2002, Burbank-based AlphaDogs, Inc. quickly established themselves as leaders and innovators in the rapidly changing digital post arena. The company maintains an early adopters edge; testing and assimilating leading technologies to keep ahead of the pack with solutions such as the RED camera and were the ﬁrst post house in Los Angeles to take delivery of the Avid Symphony HD editing system. Personal attention from a seasoned award-winning team assures client satisfaction accompanies each cost-effective delivery of superior post production services—from editing and audio re-recording to broadcast design & effects.

AlphaDogs is home to the popular Editors' Lounge and headquarters of the growing media transfer specialty service Digital Service Station; now serving California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois and Ohio. AlphaDogs is located at 1612 West Olive, Suite 200, Burbank, CA 91506.

Visit the AlphaDogs team on the web: www.alphadogs.tv.

Plug-ins, Pixels and Pumpkins

2009-10-30T23:03:00.000-07:00

A Look at Tools That Take Your NLE to the Next Level... and Then Some!

Just in time for the Halloween witches and spooks, the October Editors' Lounge shaped up to be a ghoulish treat. We featured a full lineup of plugins that can extend your NLE and add polish and pizazz to your projects.

Toolfarm's Michele Yamazaki demoed Continuum Complete from Boris FX, while GenArts' Todd Prives showed off their latest Sapphire plugins. Marco Paolini from Digital Film Tools demonstrated various plugins including Composite Suite Pro, zMatte and Tiffen Dfx Filter Suite. To round out the evening, effects editor Jan Lucas showed off how to use Imagineer Systems' mocha for Final Cut to pull off some amazing tracking.

The evening was a great success and we would like to thank all of the vendors and demonstrators for their time and generosity.

Sony XDCAM II: The Sequel!

2009-09-25T23:00:00.000-07:00

Sony is Back and Showing off the Latest in XDCAM Workflows and More!

Our Sony XDCAM Event last year was a jam-packed evening, and the September Lounge promised to be no different. Guests came to see the latest updates to the XDCAM lineup and hear from experts about improved workflows.

Sony's Mike Desroches showed off the new XDCAM PDW-F800 camera featuring 24p 1920x1080 4:2:2 and the companion PDW-F1600 deck. Discussion included current TV productions using XDCAM. Editor Jess Bushyhead demonstrated the latest XDCAM workflows for the Avid. Bunim/Murray Productions VP of Post, Mark Raudonis, discussed Final Cut 7 XDCAM workflows. Finally, Gabriel Dimitri of Matrox explained how their MXO2 works with realtime XDCAM outputs. As an added bonus, Gary Mandle from Sony dropped by with the latest BVM-L231 and PVM-L2300 HD monitors.

World Premiere Demonstration: Final Cut Studio

2009-08-21T22:30:00.000-07:00

Apple is Back and Showing off What's New in Final Cut Pro, Color, Motion and More!

People saw it here first! Apple was back in town with a whole slew of updates to Final Cut Studio and they came to the Editors' Lounge to show them all to a record-breaking number of guests. Over 115 attendees came and saw the new features in Final Cut Pro, Color, Motion, Compressor, and Final Cut Server and took advantage of the rare opportunity to talk to the brains behind them all.

That's right, a bunch of Apple Pro Video Product Managers and Representatives were there! Steve Bayes, Sr. Product Manager Final Cut Pro, Color, ProRes and Cinema Tools, Charles Meyer, Product Manager Motion, and Luke Tristram, Sr. Product Manager Final Cut Server and Compressor, were all on hand to discuss, demonstrate, and answer questions. Learn more from the source about Final Cut Studio.

It was an amazing evening for everyone, and AlphaDogs would like to say thanks to everyone from Apple who made it happen, as well as the folks from AJA Video Systems, Key Code Media, and GenArts for their invaluable assistance.

Adobe CS4 and FORscene

2009-07-31T19:00:00.000-07:00

Integrating Adobe CS4 Production Premium and FORscene into Your Post Workflow

Forbidden Technologies founder, Stephen Streater, joined us live from London in a dramatic demostration of FORscene, their web-based video post-production software. Full-featured multi-user reviewing, logging and editing tools can be accessed via the web from anywhere in the world. Learn more about FORscene.

Adobe returned to the Editors' Lounge with a more in-depth look at Production Premium CS4. Adobe Digital Workflow Specialist and 20-year film/TV veteran, Kevan O'Brien, demonstrated how you can seamlessly integrate CS4 into your post-production workflow. Highlights included: the latest tapeless formats like RED, P2 and AVCHD; importing projects from Avid; using Speech Search for speech-to-text conversion; Photoshop and after Effects integration; multiple video delivery options like Blu-ray discs and Flash for web. Learn more about CS4 Production Premium.

Let's Talk NAB!

2009-05-11T11:50:00.000-07:00

The 2009 Post-NAB Discussion Panel

Back by popular demand, the 6th Annual Editors' Lounge NAB Discussion Panel was transformed from the usual Pre-NAB Fortunetelling Session into a Post-NAB Play-by-Play Analysis and "Post" Mortem.

The entertaining and informative panel featured the usual suspects: Lucas Wilson (guru of D.I., RED and other post-solutions), Mark Raudonis (VP of Post for Bunim/Murray Productions), Howard Brock (Emmy™ winning editor and President of Runway, Inc), and Terence Curren (editor/colorist, founder of AlphaDogs, Inc and vocal member of the Editor's Curmudgeon Guild). The discussion was moderated by Debra Kaufman of StudioDaily.com.

The panelists were in rare form with a very lively discussion. Attendees who weren't able to go to NAB this year were treated to unique perspectives on the significant products that were shown (and what was missing from the show floor), and what this all means for the coming year in post-production.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online here, here, here, here, and here courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

The Craft of Editing

2009-03-27T11:20:00.000-07:00

A Moderated Panel Discussion with Editors on Their Craft

The March 2009 Editors' Lounge was a very special event featuring a moderated discussion with a panel of distinguished editors. Editors representing all the major fields of their craft from film to reality television to online editing and more, were on hand to discuss the paths they took to become the editors they are today and talk about the craft of editing. The overflow crowd had the oppurtunity to ask questions afterwards.

The discussion panel included 2-time Oscar™ nominated film editor, Billy Weber, seasoned finishing editor and colorist, Terence Curren, veteran reality-television editor, Glenn Morgan, and Emmy™ nominated trailer editor, Carol Streit. The discussion was deftly moderated by Debra Kaufman of StudioDaily.com.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch the Editors' Discussion Panel: Careers any time online. Check out other event videos on the Editors Lounge Vimeo Channel.

Storage Options: Which One Is Right for Me?

2009-02-27T17:39:00.000-08:00

A Full Lineup of Storage and Backup Solutions on Display for Your Evaluation

Networked storage solutions. Automated backup systems. Hi-speed data transfers. Firewire. eSATA. USB2. Aaack, there are so many different options! How do I know which solution will fit my current needs? Will it efficiently scale with me over time?

The Editors' Lounge heard your cries, and invited vendors from all over to set up shop at our place so guests could see see their products and services up close and personal (and do a little comparing, too). Avid's Unity, Apple's XSAN, Facilis' Terrablock with Cache-A's LTO-4 backup, CalDigit's HDPro and CalDigit VR, Tandberg Data's RDX QuikStor and LTO Tape, LaCie's 4big Quadra, Rimage's Producer 7100N, Archion's Synergy HDu, Sonnet's Fusion DX800RAID and Fusion F2, Maxx Digital's Evo2 HD and Edit Vault, and StorageDNA's DNASync-ISAN were all on display.

Instead of round-robin presentations like past Lounges, attendees were free to wander from room to room, focusing on those systems and solutions that most interested them. By all accounts the evening was a resounding success, and the folks at AlphaDogs would like to extend thanks to all of the vendors who participated. An extra special thank you goes to Key Code Media and J-KAM Digital for helping make the event possible.

See video highlights of the event, courtesy of AlphaDogs (please note the page might not load properly in Firefox).

Digital Vision, Matrox and More!

2009-01-30T12:14:00.000-08:00

Film Master, MXO 2 and Sync-N-Link Product Demonstrations

Welcome to the 6th year of the Editors' Lounge!

Eliot Milbourn from Digital Vision returned to the Lounge to demonstrate the latest release of Film Master, now with native RED R3D support. Guests were impressed with how this amazing software integrates with Avid MXF and DNxHD workflows for grading and image enhancement at resolutions up to 4K. To learn more about Film Master, visit Digital Vision.

Additionally, Gabriel Mitri from Matrox was on hand to show off their MXO 2 — a full-featured I/O box for Final Cut Studio. This amazing device offers full-bandwidth 10-bit HD SDI in a very portable footprint. Plus, Gabriel discussed how the original MXO integrates seamlessly as a monitoring device for both Avid and Final Cut systems. Visit Matrox to learn more about the MXO family of products.

Finally, Philip Hodgetts from The Assistant Editor premiered his brand new tool for Final Cut. Sync-N-Link brings the functionality of Avid's Auto-Synch to FCP, with additional sync features to streamline your workflow. You can learn more about Sync-N-Link at The Assistant Editor.

See video highlights of the event, courtesy of AlphaDogs (please note the page might not load properly in Firefox).

October is For Editorial Candy — the Good Stuff

2008-10-24T17:27:00.000-07:00

Editing Plug-ins and FCP Enhancements

Todd Prives of Genarts stopped by to demonstrate the latest Sapphire plugins, including a special sneak peek at Sapphire V3 for Avid. Learn more.

Rainer Standke was on hand to demo his assorted XML applications for easing FCP workflows, plus, he may have a new surprise ready to show. Learn more.

Ron Diamond showed off UserMatic, a new application which gives FCP editors one of the advantages of the Avid world, individual user settings! Learn more.

And Philip Hodgetts demonstrated the inner workings of First Cuts, his new automated editor (you heard it right!), and Finisher, which automates placing lower thirds and B-Roll. Learn more.

Adobe Night: CS4

2008-09-26T12:39:00.000-07:00

CS4 Product Demos and Q&A

September 26 turned out to be the must-see event of the Fall, when the Editors’ Lounge hosted a special Adobe Night featuring one of the earliest previews of the soon-to-be-released CS4 Production Premium suite.

Before a packed house, Adobe Systems Engineer for Video Kevan O’Brien was joined by filmmaker Jacob Rosenburg to show off the hottest new features and improved workflows that this amazing suite has to offer.

See these amazing features yourself and visit Adobe today to learn details about the new features coming to CS4.

See video highlights of the event, courtesy of AlphaDogs (please note the page might not load properly in Firefox).

July Mega Event

2008-07-25T12:45:00.000-07:00

Three Aamazing Product Demos and Q&A

To make up for the long summer break, we were excited to host 3 amazing product presentations at the July Editors’ Lounge.

Eliot Milbourne of Digital Vision stopped by to demonstrate their exciting Film Master product. Attendees looking for a 2K/4K color grading and high quality mastering and image enhancement solution that is fully integrated into an Avid environment without transcoding, moving media or redigitizing learned that Film Master is the answer!

In another room, Wes Plate from Automatic Duck was on hand to show off the latest features of their Pro Export 4.0 plug-in for Final Cut Pro. Guests learned about improvements to the FCP-to-Avid and FCP-to-ProTools workflows, and much more.

In addition, Merlyn Morgan from Marketec demonstrated the Sonarae from Graham-Patten. This audio monitoring system was specifically designed for NLEs based on feedback from editors.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online (Automatic Duck and Sonarae) courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

Avid's Post-NAB Product Roundup

2008-04-25T13:18:00.000-07:00

Avid Presents their Post-NAB Product Roundup

Avid presenters were on hand to demo and discuss their hottest product announcements from NAB 2008. Nearly 150 guests had a chance to see the Media Composer Mojo DX, Media Composer Nitris DX, and Symphony Nitris DX in action, and learn about the benefits of each.

This very special Editors’ Lounge was so huge we held it at Video Symphony in Burbank! Many thanks to our friends at Avid and Video Symphony for a very memorable event.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

The Annual Pre-NAB Panel of Experts

2008-03-28T13:26:00.000-07:00

Round-Table Discussion on All Things Post

The Editors’ Lounge turned 5 years old this month! Many guests joined us for our annual gathering of experts who gazed into their crystal balls and read their tea leaves to see what NAB will bring us this year.

The "usual suspects" - Lucas Wilson from Assimilate, Mark Raudonis from Bunim/Murray Productions, Howard Brock from Runway, and AlphaDogs’ own Terry Curren - were on hand to discuss the state of post-production in 2007 and offer up their views on emerging trends for 2008 and beyond. Debra Kaufman from Studio Daily moderated what turned out to be a lively discussion.

How to Post with the RED ONE™ Camera!

2008-02-29T14:13:00.000-08:00

How to Post with the RED ONE™ Camera!

You’ve heard the hype...

Now see it in the real world! Over 150 people showed up for a very special Editors’ Lounge all about the RED ONE Camera and how to successfully handle its data all the way through post.

To start the evening off, cinematographer James Mathers was on hand with his RED ONE camera to demonstrate its use. Staff from the Digital Service Station demonstrated file preparation in RED Alert! and REDCINE. Apple's Keith Hatounian showed off Final Cut Pro workflow tips for RED, and Avid's Bob Russo did the same for Media Composer. Apple's Roland Wood demonstrated how to polish the edited result in Color. And finally, Lucas Wilson and Tony Cacciarelli from Assimilate showed us true native-file DI (up to 4K!) using SCRATCH. Ted Schilowitz and other representatives from RED were on hand to answer everyone's questions.

See video highlights of the event, courtesy of AlphaDogs (please note the page might not load properly in Firefox).

Sony’s PMW-EX1 XDCAM and BVM-L230 LCD

2008-01-25T14:17:00.000-08:00

Quality HD for the rest of us

Finally, a true 1920x1080 HD camera for less than $7,000! The catch...

It’s file-based.

On January 25 a large crowd convened at AlphaDogs in Burbank, to learn all about handling EX file ingest from SxS PRO memory cards and XDCAM Blu-ray optical discs, managing data workflows, and learning the tricks of editing XDCAM on Avid and Final Cut Pro systems. The event was a great chance to see how an affordable HD image can also be astonishingly good looking and actually useable in post.

Learn more about the Sony PMW-EX1.

As an added bonus, the folks from Sony showed-off their high-end LCD monitor, the BVM-L230. Learn more about it here.

See video highlights of the event, courtesy of AlphaDogs (please note the page might not load properly in Firefox).

Year's-end Blow-out!

2007-11-16T14:27:00.000-08:00

Come take a break!

What, no product demo!? That’s right! We knew that you had been swamped with deadlines and pressure; it had been nothing but work, work, work! In recognition of everyone’s exhaustion, the last Editors’ Lounge of 2007 was a casual party. Guests came and recharged and relaxed with their peers! No thinking caps required!

Guests brought their favorite drinks, and we supplied the munchies...

Digital Media Distribution from Signiant

2007-09-28T14:35:00.000-07:00

Demo and Q&A

Tom Ohanian from Signiant joined us at the September Editors’ Lounge, to demonstrate how you can supercharge your Avid media management and distribution.

Guests came and learned how Signiant’s web-based tools can significantly improve data transfer rates on your network and across the web, while providing impressive automation to your workflow and robust encryption and authentication features to protect your media.

Learn mork at Signiant’s web site.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

CRT is Dead; Long Live LCD!

2007-08-03T14:39:00.000-07:00

Demos and Q&A

View coverage of the event at StudioDaily.com

Guests joined us in August for an extra special Editors’ Lounge, where numerous LCD monitor manufacturers were on hand to demonstrate their latest products. Guests entered the darkened Room of Monitors to evaluate for themselves.

As an added treat, we hosted the world premiere unveiling of the new DPX monitors from eCinema. Seeing is believing, and until you see the DPX, you won’t believe that an LCD is capable of producing TRUE black!

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

syncVUE and Xprove

2007-06-01T14:43:00.000-07:00

VoIP Post-Production Collaboration Demos and Q&A

View demo highlights on the web at StudioDaily.com

Tired of driving to work? Do you want to edit at home and have other creatives join you at a moment’s notice? Guests came to June's Editors’ Lounge to learn how!

Michael Buday of Intelligent Gadgets and Frank Capria of Xprove have joined forces to combine their syncVUE and Xprove products into a cutting-edge collaborative review and approval process over the Internet. Find out how you can review your timeline with producers across town and designers around the world, in perfect synchronization using Skype. Click to learn more about syncVUE and Xprove.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

Post-NAB Apple Presentation

2007-04-27T14:48:00.000-07:00

Demo, Presentation and Q&A

If you thought the March pre-NAB Editors’ Lounge would be a tough act to follow, the April post-NAB Lounge managed to deliver! Why? One word...

Apple

That's right, the folks from Apple Inc. jetted over straight from NAB, to give the Editors’ Lounge Southern California’s first up-close-and-personal look at their NAB 2007 product announcements. Over 80 editors and other post-production professionals were on hand to see a demo of Apple's new Color application, as well as in-depth Keynote presentations on the broadcast and post-production workflows using Final Cut Server and Final Cut Studio 2.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch attendees' reactions to Color online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

4th Annual Pre-NAB Extravaganza

2007-03-30T14:51:00.000-07:00

NAB 2007 - The Experts Predict... Panel Discussion and Q&A

That "most wonderful time of the year" had nearly arrived! That's right, NAB 2007 was just around the corner and Editor's Lounge helped you make the most of your trip to Vegas. Guests got the buzz before the buzz with our panel of experts, who discussed continuing and emerging trends in post-production and what they expected to see (and not see!) on the show floor this year.

This event lived up to the promises to be a lively discussion, as panelists Lucas Wilson (Assimilate), Howard Brock (Runway), Terence Curren (AlphaDogs) and Mark Raudonis (Bunim/Murray Prods.) broke out their crystal balls and attempted to prognosticate on this year's trade show. Guests RSVP'd early to not miss the Pre-NAB Lounge, as it always fills up quickly!!!

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

Understanding HDV Workflows

2007-02-23T15:00:00.000-08:00

Panel Discussion and Q&A

For the February 2007 installment of the Editors' Lounge, we dove into the world of HDV! Our panel of experts fielded all of your questions regarding this format, as well as provided their own insights into the workflows associated with HDV. Guests came prepared with their questions, comments, and concerns, as it proved to be a lively discussion. RSVP's filled up quickly again for this one.

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

Panasonic is in the House!

2007-01-26T15:09:00.000-08:00

HD VTRs and Workflows in the Real World

Welcome to the Editors' Lounge 2007 Edition! To start the year off with a bang, we brought Panasonic engineers in to demonstrate proper use of their HD VTRs and answer your questions on practical workflows. This was your chance to ask all those questions that have been nagging you since NAB 2006! We lined up demo and discussion on the D-5 VTR and on HD P2 workflows. This proved to be as exciting and popular as the similar Sony event we had back in August 2006...

If you were unable to attend the event, you can watch selected highlights online courtesy of StudioDaily.com.

Casual Editors' Lounge

2006-10-27T15:14:00.000-07:00

Salespitch-Free Gathering!

Since November and December bring us end-of-the-year holidays, October was the last Lounge of 2006. Guests joined us for informal discussions and networking with their peers. We had some awesome catered food on hand, and guests brought some of their favorite "beverages"!

Sony HD Demystified

2006-08-25T15:17:00.000-07:00

VTR Demonstrations and Q&A

Sure, you can hit play — anyone can do that. But can you configure the deck to downconvert from 1080/23.98 to 30i with a 30-frame TC window and a 24-frame TC window? With a client watching and the session clock ticking? Do you know how to reset the deck to the proper HD format that your tapes were recoded at? Guests at the August 2006 Editors' Lounge do!

Not all were "doing HD" yet, but they expected to, so guests to this month's Editors' Lounge met the experts from Sony who showed them the ins and outs of their HD VTR5. Guests brought all their burning questions because this hands-on opportunity doesn't come around very often.

Boris Blue and Edifis Finaliser

2006-06-30T15:26:00.000-07:00

Product Demonstrations and Q&A

View Boris and Edifis highlights at StudioDaily.com

Guests joined us for a special Editors’ Lounge, to get the low-down on some exciting products. First, Grant Carroll from Boris FX will demonstrated Boris Blue, a standalone application for real-time 3D compositing and motion graphics. This was a great chance to revisit what you saw at NAB and ask questions.

Then, Edifis President Pete Challenger demonstrated the Finaliser — a product that blends the speed, power, and control finesse of a traditional DaVinci style color corrector with NLE-style instant access and source-based grading. Finaliser has been used in London on episodic TV, indie movies and a variety of other high profile programs, and Pete discussed how and where it might fit over here.

Visit borisfx.com and edifis.us to learn more about the products.

Avid NAB Product Wrap-up

2006-05-25T15:31:00.000-07:00

Product Demonstration and Q&A

In May, guests joined us for a special Editors’ Lounge at the Dolby Laboratories Theater, to get the low-down on Avid’s NAB announcements. Avid Application Editor Steve Holyhead demonstrated advanced tapeless file-based workflows including P2. Senior Product Manager Tim Wilson demonstrated the new software release of Media Composer® for the Mac. Avid executives and personnel were on hand to answer all of the burning questions.

Special thanks to Avid for co-hosting this event, and to Dolby Laboratories.

2006 Pre-NAB Discussion Panel

2006-03-31T15:37:00.000-08:00

Expert Panel Discussion and Q&A

View the event online! See the links below.

Guests in March joined us for an extra-special Editors' Lounge, where our panel of experts gazed into their crystal balls to reveal the year's coming trends in post-production. Featured speakers included, Mark Raudonis (Bunim/Murray Prods.), Philip Hodgetts (Digital Production BuZZ), Terence Curren (AlphaDogs), and Lucas Wilson (Assimilate). Moderator Jon Silberg (Videography.com) lead the discussion on topics including Avid & Apple, Adobe, HD & HDV, DI, podcasting & streaming video, and digital workflows.

QuickTime - higher quality - lower quality
Windows Media - higher quality - lower quality
RealMedia - download

If you experience problems viewing the movies with Safari or Internet Explorer, try using FireFox.
Downloads sponsored by Creative Planet's Digital Production BuZZ.

"PLUG IN" TO PLUG-INS with Automatic Duck and Sapphire 2

2006-02-17T15:43:00.000-08:00

Product Demos and Q&A

Wes Plate demonstrated the latest tools from Automatic Duck, and Todd Prives of Genarts demostrated the Sapphire 2 plug-ins. Guests came to see how these tools could streamline their workflow and boost their creativity.

Visit Automatic Duck and Genarts for product info.

Facillis' TerraBlock SAN and eCinema's DCM23 HD Monitor

2005-11-18T15:49:00.000-08:00

Product Demos and Q&A

In the final installment of Editors' Lounge for 2005, James McKenna of Facilis demonstrated their TerraBlock high-performance SAN solution, recently installed at AlphaDogs. Grady Sellards of AMP demostrated eCinema System's DCM23 LCD reference-grade monitor for color-critical applications.

Visit Facilis Technology and eCinema Systems for product info.

Avid Xpress Pro and HDV

2005-09-30T15:59:00.000-07:00

Workflow Demo and Q&A

At the September 2005 Editors' Lounge, Avid rolled out its HDV release for its PC editors a few weeks early, and we got to see it here first! Guests came to see the whole ball of wax -- Sony, JVC, Canon, 720, 1080, 24P -- and how everything fits together. Mix HDV with DVCPro HD and SD, all in real time. Avid made it so unbelievably easy, that it didn't take long to present. Avid Senior Product Marketing Manager Tim Wilson dug into Avid Xpress Pro for tips and tricks to enlighten both the greenest and most seasoned of Avid editors.

Silicon Color Final Touch

2005-08-26T16:04:00.000-07:00

Product Demo and Q&A

Final Touch is an amazing product. It has been compared to a daVinci color corrector for a fraction of the price. Using XML, you can import your Final Cut Pro sequence and send it back to FCP when you are done correcting it. Learn more at siliconcolor.com.

Boris Continuum Complete

2005-07-29T16:07:00.000-07:00

Product Demo and Q&A

Anne Renehan of Boris FX will be demonstrating the new Boris Continuum Complete package. If you haven't seen this yet, you really need to. Available for Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro and Avid & Discreet products.

Visit Boris FX for more information on their products.

Editors' Lounge Summer Groove

2005-06-24T16:14:00.000-07:00

A Casual Meet and Mingle

No special guests or product evaluations this month! After May's phenomenally successful Avid Film and HD Workflows presentation and discussion with Michael Phillips, we felt that we (and you) needed a mental break. This month we celebrated summer by returning to our roots as a casual forum for editors and post production professionals to meet and mingle.

Guests brought their inquiring minds, perplexing questions, and topics they wanted to discuss, and as always, brought their beverage of choice and we provided something for the munchies.

Avid Workflows - Film and HD

2005-05-17T16:26:00.000-07:00

Product Demo and Q&A

Our special guests in May were Avid's Michael Phillips and Chas Smith. Michael Philips, Avid's in-house expert on assorted workflows including film and HD, was here to explain everything you need to know about working with varying formats and frame rates. You can check out some of his work at his website www.24P.com. Avid's Chas Smith was here to discuss present and future plans for the Avid line-up and hear your suggestions.

NAB '05 Preview and the Future of Post Production

2005-03-25T16:40:00.000-08:00

Our expert panel assured a lively and informative discussion.

DANIEL RESTUCCIO, Moderator - Daniel is West Coast Bureau Chief of Post Magazine. He reports on projects, trends and news and has covered digital content creators from their pioneering early days.

LUCAS WILSON, Panelist - Lucas is an Emmy nominated editor, Former "DS Guru" and Quantel Specialist. Current DI and 2K/4K Expert for Assimilate.

MICHAEL BUDAY, Panelist - Mike started his editing career with the BBC in London. In 1998, he cut the first major HDTV program to be broadcast digitally in the U.S., CBS's Chicago Hope. Currently, he edits and consultants for networks and studios worldwide.

JEFF SENGPIEHL, Panelist - Known as "Doc Avid", Jeff is currently an Avid Tech Support and Systems Expert. With over 13 years experience in Avid workflow and shared storage environments, he's established himself an expert in the field.

MARK RAUDONIS, Panelist -Two time Emmy nominee, currently the Vice President of Post Productions for Bunim-Murray Productions. Mark supervises over 100 editors and assistant editors and who have recently made the switch over to Apple's Final Cut Pro and Xsan.

Media 100 HD Editing System

2005-02-25T16:44:00.000-08:00

J.P. Cardosa demonstrated the new HD system

Media 100’s J.P. Cardosa showcased the features and benefits of the new HD editing system. M100 HD is designed and tuned for the Power Mac® G5, giving editors affordable, flexible support for HD and SD applications in a single 10-bit editing system.

Cardosa is manager of the Field Application Specialist Team at Media 100. He is also a professor of video post-production at Boston University, as well as an editor.

Apple's Xsan and Its Impact

2005-01-28T16:52:00.000-08:00

Product Demo and Q&A

In the first Editors' Lounge of 2005, Apple’s Doug Cunningham discussed the Xsan™ file system software for post-production professionals using Mac OS X and Mark Raudonis, director of post-production, Bunim-Murray Productions, will review the new software.

Earlier in the month, Raudonis stated that, “Xsan is the holy grail of shared storage for Final Cut Pro.” Raudonis’ projects have included MTV’s The Real World and Road Rules and FOX’s The Simple Life.

Avid Demonstration

2004-10-29T16:57:00.000-07:00

The last event of 2004 focused on Avid’s Xpress Studio Complete for post-production

The AlphaDogs team demonstrated and answered questions about the Avid Xpress Studio Complete®, designed to be all-in-one content creation suite for post-production. The event provided a thorough overview of Xpress Studio Complete features, including integrated video editing, audio production, 3-D animation, compositing and titling, and DVD authoring software, and professional video and audio production hardware.

The demonstration also showed editors how to use Xpress Studio Complete’s five applications to create sophisticated, professional projects: Avid Express Pro, Avid 3D, Avid FX, Avid Mojo, and Avid Pro Tools LE.

Leverage Digidesign's Pro Tools

2004-09-24T17:00:00.000-07:00

Alpha Dogs Editors' Lounge will help Post Professionals leverage Digidesign's Pro Tools.

At the event, Nick Couscouris, the latest member of the AlphaDogs team, demonstrated and discussed Digidesign’s Pro Tools® for post-production. Pro Tools gives post professionals a total production environment for conforming, recording, editing, processing, mixing, mastering, remote collaboration and multi-format delivery.

The demonstration showed editors how to efficiently manage deadline-driven, TDM-based Pro Tools operations. Other topics covered included key command focus, using the Pro Tools keyboard as an edit controller, synchronization, advanced control surfaces for post applications, collaboration options and functionality.

Promax Presents Sony's Vegas 5

2004-07-30T17:06:00.000-07:00

Video Editor to Demo Sony's Vegas 5

In association with Promax, a provider of DV, SD, and HD digital video editing systems.

At the event, noted video editor Tim Duncan demonstrated Sony’s Vegas® 5 software, then led a question-and-answer session about the product.

Vegas® 5 is a comprehensive software package for editing video and audio on the PC platform. It is designed for audio/video production, multitrack recording, compositing, titling, scoring and finishing in nearly any format—from NTSC and PAL to RealVideo®, Apple® QuickTime®, and Windows Media® file formats. Vegas 5 software provides an integrated solution for scalable DV production, sound editing, mixing, surround sound production, and more.

Quantel Presents -eQ- Multi Resolution Workflows

2004-06-25T17:10:00.000-07:00

Quantel Demonstration and Q&A

The June Editors' Lounge focused on Quantel’s eQ system for post-production

At the event, Lucas Wilson of Quantel demonstrated and discussed the company’s eQ system, which the company calls “a completely new post production editing workhorse.” Designed for online finishing, effects editing and as a hub system, eQ delivers state-of-the-art productivity and quality for HD and SD applications.

During the Editors’ Lounge, Wilson will focused on such topics as:
Multi Resolution Workflows
4:4:4 HD RGB & HDCAM SR
The Media Hub with QXML & Qshare

United Kingdom-based Quantel has been at the forefront of digital technology as a creative tool for 30 years, and is now using its experience to create tools for the new digital age—from terrestrial and multi-channel television, to broadband internet, DVD and d-cinema.

Sony's XPRI Post System

2004-05-21T17:36:00.000-07:00

Product Demo and Q&A

The May Editors' Lounge event provided a key discussion venue for trends in production and post-production

At the event, Mike Buday, a technology developer, demonstrated and discussed Sony’s XPRI system for post-production. The system, prominently featured in Sony’s booth at the recent NAB conference, has been enhanced to include a number of new features for nonlinear editing.

Post NAB 2004 Wrap-up

2004-04-30T17:15:00.000-07:00

Discussion and Q&A

Editor's Lounge welcomes special guest, Apple's Doug Cunningham to discuss NAB 2004.

NAB 2004 Preview and the Future of Post Production

2004-03-26T17:38:00.000-08:00

Panel Discussion and Q&A

March's Editors' Lounge previed the upcoming NAB 2004 with a panel discussion that included Scott Templeton, executive producer/co-owner, Pietown Productions; Howard Brock, former owner of Matchframe Video; and Ramy Katrib, CEO of Digital Film Tree, among other speakers.

Preparing for Pro Tools Audio

2004-02-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

DVD Studio Pro

2004-01-30T17:50:00.000-08:00

Promax Presents 10 Bit HD 4:4:4 Decklink card

2003-11-14T17:51:00.000-08:00

Cinewave 4 with Final Cut Pro 4 in High Definition

2003-09-26T17:51:00.000-07:00

Editor's Open Forum

2003-07-25T17:52:00.000-07:00

Boris Red

2003-06-27T17:53:00.000-07:00

Final Cut Pro 4.0

2003-05-30T17:53:00.000-07:00

Second Editors' Lounge

2003-04-25T17:54:00.000-07:00

Alpha Dogs Presents their second Editor's Lounge

Time flies and the time has come to have our second EDITORS LOUNGE.
The Lounge was held on Friday the 25th, at 7 p.m. at the Alphadogs office, located at 1612 W. Olive Ave. Suite 200, Burbank, CA.
At this meeting it seemed appropriate to discuss the latest and greatest from NAB. Range of topics included but were not limited to:
- Avid new releases such as Adrenaline, Nitrous and Mojo
- Quantel EQ
- Final Cut Pro
- Media Storage
- DV
- Cameras such as JVC, Panasonic
- Disk media vs. tape
The purpose of the Editors Lounge is to create a place where discussion can take place about trends and equipment, sharing of operating tips, and other information that we as editors might need.
Don't forget, you are always welcome to bring a friend and price of admission is your beverage of choice.
Please drop a line to let me know that you are coming by phone (818) 729-9262 or email so that we have enough food.
Thanks
Terence Curren