tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.comments2019-07-26T00:01:54.730-07:00Circle of ConfusionCraig Mieritzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-86987688757984610882016-04-22T04:56:55.366-07:002016-04-22T04:56:55.366-07:00Faisal- thank you for your kind words. It is a st...Faisal- thank you for your kind words. It is a standard blogger template. Thanks for pointing out the Triton site. It looks like the best developed product line for LED lighting that I've seen. The education page is top rate as well. It's surprising how little consumers know about the lighting that they're using.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-55822056002169870382016-04-22T04:39:28.456-07:002016-04-22T04:39:28.456-07:00I’m really amazed with your posting skills as well...I’m really amazed with your posting skills as well as with the layout on your blog site. Is this a paid style or did you modify it yourself? Either way keep up the pleasant quality writing, it is rare to see a great site such as this one these days.I recently came to know about http://tritonlighting.com/, their Elements Of Lighting are very effective.<br /><a href="http://tritonlighting.com/lighting-academy/elements-of-lighting/" rel="nofollow">Elements Of Lighting</a><br />Faysal Ahmedhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10114907827621049167noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-41505921622068201272012-08-15T17:05:21.208-07:002012-08-15T17:05:21.208-07:00Hi Craig. I was just watching Laurel Canyon and do...Hi Craig. I was just watching Laurel Canyon and doing a little background check on the film and your blog came up. What are the odds? I loved this film, btw.<br />Jessiqahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11083612515456036128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-61552237896668014582012-08-15T17:02:23.681-07:002012-08-15T17:02:23.681-07:00I watched Laurel Canyon a couple of times in the l...I watched Laurel Canyon a couple of times in the last few days and I was just trying to find the budget of this film. Your blog popped up. What are the odds!Jessiqahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11083612515456036128noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-23179505401203713232010-09-21T08:49:52.325-07:002010-09-21T08:49:52.325-07:00Thank you for the insightful commentary.Thank you for the insightful commentary.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-59383888167147206992010-09-12T05:03:28.871-07:002010-09-12T05:03:28.871-07:00Not surprisingly, it's very similar in the UK....Not surprisingly, it's very similar in the UK. All the incumbents (ISPs, mobile, phone, cable) slow the pace of technological development to ensure not very much changes. <br /><br />I vividly recall reading a plan from about a decade ago, from a Canadian network research institute (CANARIE), proposing fibre to the home by 2005 - for about the cost of ADSL. <br /><br />They were talking about delivering 100Mb networking over a publicly owned network - it's just real estate really - with open competition providing services from the network boxes. (There are lots of cities like this, in Sweden, Canada, the US.)<br /><br />The thinking: networks are the roads for the digital economy. It's basic infrastructure. Fibre is highly redundant. There are robots to install in through the public sewers. Access rights are everything. Maintenance is low. <br /><br />But Canada seems to have gone the way of the US/UK and decided to let incumbent businesses deliver innovation. And the incumbents make *way* more money going slow. From the point of view of profit, going fast is idiotic. They'd just make themselves obsolete, with little time to figure out how to survive and thrive. <br /><br />Anyway, 10 years and thousands of pounds later, I am uploading TV commercials for distribution to TV stations: it's a 1Gb file and it takes 6 hours over a 350Kbps line (6Mbps down/0.36Mbps up). Once TV stations download the files, that's it for the internet.<br /><br />TV isn't delivered via the internet. There are no neighborhood boxes with competing services available. I do not get my phone via the internet. I do not get mobile telephony via the internet. Nor can I log into a desktop environment on a server across town. (We spend 1 entire day per week commuting via the 19th century subway network.)<br /><br />Apple miraculously gets FCP/iChat to work, but we should be able to do that in HD, just as we should be able to deliver the TV spot for distribution to channels in real time. But I ramble...<br /><br />It's not that we don't have the technology. The research network was able to deliver 'DVD' movie downloads in 1/4 of a second - 10 years ago. For them, hard disks were considered a bottleneck!<br /><br />We have the tech. We collectively just don't feel like using it. It's too disruptive - which to the rest of us means, economically powerful and productive.bradbellhttp://bradbell.tvnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-75048359219693038692010-07-06T09:21:12.648-07:002010-07-06T09:21:12.648-07:00don't forget the blacks too!don't forget the blacks too!Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-19102518012400504722010-06-30T16:29:00.108-07:002010-06-30T16:29:00.108-07:00ie, the art of white balancing in post! =)ie, the art of white balancing in post! =)Averanhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/02117541837279202324noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-81098494525900416432010-06-08T09:19:49.125-07:002010-06-08T09:19:49.125-07:00Thank you for taking the time to write such a thou...Thank you for taking the time to write such a thoughtful response. <br /><br />I had many of the same thoughts/concerns that you expressed while writing this post. In the interest of brevity, I kept the post a little more general, more to use as a starting point. I had even considered the use of quotations around "personal" experience but the voice of an ex-girlfriend/editor popped into my head telling me that I tend to overuse them. But in this case, I do believe that they are entirely justified.<br /><br />I think, in the end, my remarks were aiming for a more aspirational view of future media creation, as opposed to going straight to the form it will probably assume. My experience as a fine artist has taught me that, to one degree, the consumption of nearly all art involves a bit of a lie. People who buy paintings or other fine art seem to really want to be buying a piece of the artist/charisma, their brand, their experience . Now, I need to be careful because this is territory that has been well-covered by people a lot smarter than I am.<br /><br />I guess that ultimately my point is directed to the intelligent people out there who may have a narrow window of opportunity to create something new and visionary and make money outside of the heavy machinery of the corporate media structure. Ultimately, it's really exciting (and scary) that the very way we structure communication is changing in such a radical way. Yes, the dark side from the command/control insecurity-inducing-so-you buy forces will probably carry the day in the end, but that can't be everything.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-48020932348047878372010-06-07T14:43:48.337-07:002010-06-07T14:43:48.337-07:00An interesting and thoughtful post, Craig, and I&#...An interesting and thoughtful post, Craig, and I'm glad to see you are maintaining a sense of positivity in the face of technological and industrial change.<br /><br />But -- and maybe this is the historian in me talking, the guy who likes to think about old things -- I am a bit concerned about the impact of technology on our ability to think deeply. As the NYT article points out, our brains don't seem to do that good a job at handling the massive amounts of data inputs that many new technologies presume we can. We lose focus, perform poorly at tasks and become grouchy if we don't get the immediate fix of new e-mails or FB updates or friends. We also lose the ability to think reflectively and possibly deeply -- to understand structural causes and remedies. This does not bode well for a world that is facing a large number of structural problems: overpopulation, inequitable wealth distribution, the breakdown of capitalism, etc.<br /><br />I don't think that the next wave of media producers will craft experiences that are more "personal"; they'll craft experiences that can be <i>sold</i> as personal. We'll all still be using the same gadgets with the same apps offering the same programs; how an individual mixes and matches those elements will be called "personal," but I'm not sure that's a good way to look at it. It serves the goals of the mammoth corporations that will produce gadgets, apps and programs, but it doesn't help us with the deep thinking -- it is neither an example of deep thinking or something that fosters it. Of course, deep thinking leads to lower consumption levels....<br /><br />Boy, I sound like a Luddite Dana Carvey ("back in the day we burned our fingers trying to keep the torches lit so we could use our magic lanterns to see images so faint that we eventually all went blind like little mole people... <i>and we liked it!!!</i>). I think your larger point, that the film industry and film schools might not be preparing for the kind of future that technological changes are helping to craft. What that means for <i>quality</i> cinema and television remains to be seen.DMOhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17788733884750799811noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-14745393661643798922010-03-19T11:57:48.945-07:002010-03-19T11:57:48.945-07:00Amen!Amen!Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-57127824383528588342010-03-19T09:51:58.574-07:002010-03-19T09:51:58.574-07:00Thanks Craig!Thanks Craig!Ben Cainhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01623830826132116291noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-77464061071842629082010-02-18T03:21:45.405-08:002010-02-18T03:21:45.405-08:00Great post. I've always belIeved that you shou...Great post. I've always belIeved that you shouldn't chase the dream,but be yourself. Once you can do that really well, the rest will fall into place. Be your own brand.monsterzerohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/01841182747117076656noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-81004831313403058382010-02-13T13:50:51.869-08:002010-02-13T13:50:51.869-08:00Yeah, saw that. What is hard to understand is why...Yeah, saw that. What is hard to understand is why Panasonic is so slow to react to the marketplace with these products. A single card P2 card reader seems like a no brainer and should've been on the market years ago.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-26491182591432230252010-02-13T13:31:50.024-08:002010-02-13T13:31:50.024-08:00BTW, the single card reader is here...
http://www...BTW, the single card reader is here...<br /><br />http://www.studiodaily.com/main/news/prc/11907.htmlQuintessential Studioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280779637378022810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-55123188599716471102009-12-21T13:45:06.776-08:002009-12-21T13:45:06.776-08:00Just got off the line with them. No video conferen...Just got off the line with them. No video conferencing (Connect Pro used to be Breeze) account close options on their site. Can't even change the cc I'm paying with. Useless support forums. Unbelievably bad website (impossible to navigate/find what you're looking for). And yes, talked to a couple nice people in India sitting on their asses making dirt money reading support scripts. Why do companies f_k their customers with this nonsense. Not to mention their software is bizarrely configured (to the liking of software engineers, not customers) Never buying Adobe again.David CC Ericksonhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05414137328572720120noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-57400397723734171752009-09-27T12:20:48.809-07:002009-09-27T12:20:48.809-07:00I don't know about SxS but my stated "fee...I don't know about SxS but my stated "feeling" was more of an observation that for the lower-budgeted filmmaker, Panasonic itself is moving away from P2 media, witness the AG-HMC series using SD cards.<br /><br />I mean if you have the bucks, you could just buy one of their multi-card readers anyway.<br /><br />I own three working duel adapters. I say "working" because the one I used to have died and I figured I better have backups. I own three because I bought them used and at a good deal, but I am still looking for other alternatives. (I really like the old G4 Powerbook w/PCMCIA slot solution.)<br /><br />In the end, my cheap compaq PC laptop with a Western Digital MyBook external drive (which can be read by both Mac and PC) have always been my die-hard stand by. <br /><br />I also can't comment on the people screaming for Panasonic to come up with something new, as I am not aware of that. (Only because I'm not <i>that</i> into the fray.)<br /><br />Don't get me wrong, I love my HVX and the P2 format and so do a number of my friends. The cameras are quite versatile and the quality is great. I much prefer p2 to any AVCHD workflow, that's for sure.<br /><br />My comment was more to point to the fact that everything <i>seems</i> to be going in the AVCHD direction.Quintessential Studioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280779637378022810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-86217766676877607472009-09-27T10:09:15.064-07:002009-09-27T10:09:15.064-07:00How is P2 more long in the tooth than SxS? It'...How is P2 more long in the tooth than SxS? It's just one professional storage medium among many. Panasonic has done something that everyone is always screaming about: consistency. Now that they are giving consistency, people are screaming because they haven't come up with something new. I do think that their possible sin was being tone-deaf to the needs/budgets of the indie/no-budget film makers that that came up from DVX's to their HD products.<br /><br />Their new, improved codec (AVC Intra), is still consistent with the existing workflow. There is no need to buy new storage. The cards are meant for professional use, extreme conditions and virtually unlimited number of uses (the A series, anyways). This is why they are not cheap. Maybe they should have created a cheap, throw-away version.<br /><br />The biggest advantage of SxS was entirely unintentional: that people would be able to us off-the-shelf flash memory as a replacement.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-6084323626716365422009-09-26T21:21:23.387-07:002009-09-26T21:21:23.387-07:00One of the filmmakers I know on Twitter had this v...One of the filmmakers I know on Twitter had this very problem. Glad to hear that from Panny but at the same time, I'm starting to feel P2's a little long in the tooth!Quintessential Studioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280779637378022810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-41105385134053256292009-06-05T04:30:20.609-07:002009-06-05T04:30:20.609-07:00They're Customer Support has to be about the w...They're Customer Support has to be about the worst I've ever seen. I don't think it's even possible to get to someone in the US anymore. They seem to have totally put their CS site on an Indian island. <br /><br />And I actually feel a bit sorry for the folks in India who seem to want to help but have no recourse to escalate. <br /><br />I can't even get a serial number for a product I purchased. It's a problem that many people are having but all they can do is walk you through a process (which doesn't work) and then log a case (which you never hear about again). <br /><br />They still have some good software but it's sad to hear Adobe has gone downhill so much when it comes to support. <br /><br />http://forums.adobe.com/message/2014486;jsessionid=4782B80766F07DA0EDA456F5C8C6523B.node0Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-68047896516882865592009-05-29T14:15:06.382-07:002009-05-29T14:15:06.382-07:00Great post!
I agree, building sustainable filmmak...Great post!<br /><br />I agree, building sustainable filmmaking economies is necessary to build sustainable filmmaking communities.<br /><br />I think the question becomes, for me at least, do we think of the films we create as the product that is sold, at a profit, to sustain this economy and build these communities?<br /><br />The model we're experimenting with at Kontent is producing other types of filmed content (ads and brand videos, mostly), and then rolling over the profit from those ventures into low and no budget projects that are not dependent on recouping a financial investment. They "pay back" in other, non-monetary, ways.<br /><br />The problem I run into with the "art-as-commerce" model is that it shapes the type of scripts I write, and the movies I shoot. I end up trying to compete with an industry that is specifically defined as "art-as-commerce".<br /><br />Roger Corman pioneered the low-cost, quick return on independent film, so there is a model. But I'm not that interested in doing the genre stuff.Eric Escobarhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03388087473000410206noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-91222470592638960822009-04-18T15:07:00.000-07:002009-04-18T15:07:00.000-07:00The one with the color samples on the clapper, it'...The one with the color samples on the clapper, it's an Earl slate.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-84096272789932003942009-04-18T15:05:00.000-07:002009-04-18T15:05:00.000-07:00The first (multicolor) one or the last one?The first (multicolor) one or the last one?Quintessential Studioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280779637378022810noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-11057107544461474462009-04-10T14:25:00.000-07:002009-04-10T14:25:00.000-07:00Hey, thanks for the link. Interesting discussion ...Hey, thanks for the link. Interesting discussion about the camera set-up for Slumdog in the show notes too.Craig Mieritzhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06848601235943327168noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-221365589686353854.post-20025430101768024072009-04-09T21:09:00.000-07:002009-04-09T21:09:00.000-07:00Yes, I think the actors "killed" film. I referenc...Yes, I think the actors "killed" film. I reference an interview by 24 DP, Rodney Charters, here: http://www.fxguide.com/redcentre (#029)Quintessential Studioshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05280779637378022810noreply@blogger.com