Exactly what video editing software does Hollywood use for film and television? I have an update to our most popular episode from seven long years ago, and today we’ll reexamine the landscape and see how Hollywood has adapted since then, including a change from the big three solutions. The original “The Truth About Video Editing Software” in 2017 g…

Generative A.I. is the big sexy right now. Specifically creating audio, stills, and videos using AI. What’s often overlooked, however, is how useful Analytical A.I. is. In the context of video analysis, it would involve facial or location recognition, logo detection, sentiment analysis, and speech-to-text, just to name a few. And those analytical t…

Is the embedded video not working? Watch on YouTube: https://youtu.be/UO6e_wMAp_0 In 2019, MovieLabs, a not-for-profit group founded by the 5 major Hollywood Studios released a whitepaper called “The 2030 Vision”. This paper detailed the 10 Principles that each of the studios agree is how they want to usher in the next generation of Hollywood conte…

Not too long ago, I posted on several social media social platforms asking what questions YOU had on AI. Reddit | Facebook | Twitter | LinkedIn I’ve taken all of the 100+ responses, put them in nice neat little (5!) categories, and – wow – do I have a deluge for you. 1. Current AI Tools By far, the most asked question was “what tools are available …

Today we’re going to take a deep dive into the various ways to edit remotely with Adobe Premiere Pro, when you or your team, plus your computers and media just can’t be in the same place at the same time. Let’s get started. 1. Team Projects Team Projects in Premiere Pro – as well as for After Effects – has been around for quite a while. And it’s fr…

All of you are asking the same thing. “How can I edit remotely or work from home?” Today we’ll look at Avid, as they have many supported options, so you can cut with Media Composer from just about anywhere. Let’s get started. 1. Extending Your Desktop The first method we’ll look at is simply extending your desktop, that is – having your processing …

On this episode of 5 THINGS, we gonna get hiiiiiigh! In the clouds, with a primer on using the cloud for all things post-production. This is going to be a monster episode, so we better get started. 1. Why use the cloud for post-production? We in the Hollywood post industry are risk-averse. Yes, it’s true my fam, look in the mirror, and take a good …

On this episode of 5 THINGS, we’re checking out the 2018 Mac Mini from Apple, and the new eGPU Pro offering from Blackmagic and …well, Apple. We’re also running benchmarks against your favorite (or least favorite) NLEs: Final Cut X, DaVinci Resolve, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Avid Media Composer. Let’s get to it. NOTE: The eGPU Pro in this episode was…

On this episode of 5 THINGS, I’ve got a few tricks that you may not know about that will help you upload, manage, and make YouTube do your bidding. 1. Upload Tricks You probably have media on YouTube, and you probably think that after thousands of hours, you’ve mastered the ‘Tube. But there are some little-known upload tricks and workarounds, playb…

Have you ever thought about using a Hackintosh? Wondering how they perform? Or maybe you wanna build one? Fear not my tech friends, for in this episode, we’ve got you covered. 1. Why Build a Hackintosh? If you spend any amount of time following Apple, you’ve realized that they are a consumer technology juggernaut. Phones, tablets, watches, headphon…

In this episode, we’re going to dive deep into live streaming. Sure your phone can do it, but if you want a professional live stream to YouTube or Facebook or just about anywhere else, then this episode is for you. My friends at LiveU asked me to do a deep dive on their Solo streaming device. I suggested, “why not a shootout between the LiveU Solo …

1. What ways are there to create a Roku channel? When I cut the cord a few years ago, I still needed to find a way to enjoy video media without simply relying on Netflix and YouTube. And buying many of the other subscription-based apps, like HBO GO, would simply jack up my monthly charge…which is why I canceled cable in the first place! I looked at…

1. What does the Helo do? The AJA Helo, in a nutshell, does 2 distinct things: it records an SD or HD video signal and also streams a signal to just about any streaming service you can find. Pretty simple, right? But before I get too much deeper, let’s take a quick look at where the Helo may work for you in a production environment. Here we see a t…

1. YouTube needs compressed video Now, if you came to my live show, you may have already seen this. Did you know that you don’t have to upload a compressed version of your project to YouTube? You can actually upload much larger files like ProRes and DNx and YouTube will accept them. Yeah! Of course, who would want to actually do this? Well, I do, m…

You can follow along with these two workflow documents: 5 THINGS Post Production Workflow PDF 5 THINGS Distribution Workflow PDF 1. Pre-Production 5 THINGS sprang from my love of technology, but also the realization that the proliferation of creative tools has clouded the understanding of much of the underlying reasons for that technology. I also k…

NLE – Non linear editing – has been around for over 40 years, but it didn’t become common place in Hollywood – that is, being used for feature film and broadcast television – until the early 90’s. And that’s where we’ll start. But before I start, I do need to set a disclaimer. I also work for Key Code Media, who sells many of the tech solutions tha…

Great to meet-up with folks at NAB 2017! We’re back after a break for NAB. I’m still regaining my voice, and wanted to thank everyone who stopped and chatted with me at NAB….as well as attended or tuned in to the panels I was a part of plus the live episode of 5 THINGS thanks to Lumaforge. To everyone who reached out and chatted at the show, you RO…

Hey 5 THINGS fans: While the next episode of 5 THINGS is in production, I wanted to give you a quick update on other 5 THINGS news. So let’s get to it: NAB, the National Association of Broadcasters convention kicks off next week. It’s the annual tech nerd pilgrimage and business card exchange, and I’ll be there Friday, April 21st to Thursday, April…

1. Onset and Editorial Transcoding When does Post actually begin? Since we’ve moved from celluloid to digital, the answer to this query has quickly moved to production. In fact, over the past 20 years, a new position has emerged – the DIT, or Digital Imaging Technician, as a direct response to the need to coordinate between digital acquisition and …

Editor’s Note: This episode was not live-streamed. 1. What components do I need for live streaming? Getting started is pretty easy. Thanks to platforms like Facebook and YouTube, you can do it with a few clicks from your phone. But that won’t help you much when you want to up your production value. Here is what you need to get started. Live Streami…

1. Transcoding to a better codec will improve quality This is a very, very common question. It doesn’t matter what forum you contribute on, or troll on, this question is always asked. If I take my compressed camera footage, like an 8bit h.264, and convert it into a more robust codec, like 10bit ProRes or DNX – will it look better? And it does topic…

1. What is an Offline/Online workflow? Various flavors of tape used for offline (and sometimes tape online!) Like most things in the media industry, the term originates from the analog days of yore. We shot stuff on film. Now, cutting and splicing film, unless done really carefully, can easily cause damage. So we used workprints – film copies of th…

1. Mac, PC, Linux? So, how many of you are ready to argue?! Quite frankly, regardless of the information I share today, if you’re a Mac person, you’re probably gonna stay Mac. If you’re a PC person well, I suspect Bill Gates is gonna get some of your money. If you’re a Linux user, well, none of the major NLEs work on you, and you’re normally relega…

1. Dialogue Clarity Way before I got into the tech pontification racket, I was an audio editor, I sat in heavily padded rooms listening to the same bits and pieces of audio over and over and over. I was trying to squeeze the most intelligibility out of audio clips as humanly possible. Often, just like picture editing, it was more triage than pure c…

1. What is Media Archive? Ahh yes, Archive, the thing we rarely think about. Archive is a lot like that high school yearbook you’ve got tucked away. You only look at it when someone from your past crawls out of the woodwork, and many memories of that time have faded. The good part is that when you need it, it’s THERE. And that’s exactly what you wa…

1. What is Asset Management? Let’s face it, asset management isn’t sexy. Very few people work their butts off in the hopes they can, one day, administer asset management. However, the need for asset management is only growing on a daily basis. Truth: we’re not deleting media – we’re only acquiring more of it, and we need to find it and send it to m…

1. What is VR? “Whoa, it’s like I’m REALLY on camera talking about stuff!” I’m pretty sure by the time you clicked play on this video, you already have a pretty good idea as to what VR is, so I’ll make this as quick as possible so we can get into the good tech stuff. I’m not gonna focus on CGI based VR nor things like panoramic stills or really har…

1. What is LTO? For a Limited Time Only You have a License To Operate… Lettuce, Tomato, and Onion. No, tech friends, it’s yet another F*CKING storage medium, because, you know, spinning disk, solid-state, optical drives, and the cloud just didn’t keep us busy enough. It’s magnetic tape, and it’s the least sexy sibling in the storage family (and yes…

1. What is HDR? I love me some acronyms and today is no different. While yes, it does stand for High Dynamic Range, it takes on different meanings depending on where you lie in in the production process. If during acquisition, it’s more appropriately called HDRi or High Dynamic Range imaging. If it’s used to talk about monitoring, then we call it H…

Have you checked out the 2 prior episodes on shared storage? You should! This 3 part series consists of: Part 1: SANs, NASes, Bandwidth, and Connections. Part 2: Drives: Size, Spindles & Protection (RAID) Part 3: Management, Permissions & Support On this episode, we’ll be wrapping up our exciting storage adventure with part 3 in this 3 part series,…

Have you checked out the prior episode on shared storage? You should! This 3 part series consists of: Part 1: SANs, NASes, Bandwidth, and Connections. Part 2: Drives: Size, Spindles & Protection (RAID) Part 3: Management, Permissions & Support On this episode, we’ll be continuing with on our exciting storage adventure, and examining Drives: Size, S…

Be sure to check out the complete series on shared storage – 3 episodes! This 3 part series consists of: Part 1: SANs, NASes, Bandwidth, and Connections. Part 2: Drives: Size, Spindles & Protection (RAID) Part 3: Management, Permissions & Support What we won’t be covering is cloud, LTO or ODA storage. Simply spinning disk. However, I may cover thes…

Today we’re delving into the wonderfully geeky realm of codecs, the fundamentals of usage in post, and best practices. Let’s roll up our sleeves and get ready for some acronyms. 1. What is a codec? A codec is an abbreviation for “compressor-decompressor”. In the most basic descriptions, it’s the specific algorithm used to encode and decode a video …

Today we’re looking at Dialogue Search from Nexidia. Indexing and searching for content, based on audio. Let’s get geek started. 1. What is Nexidia’s Dialogue Search? When not being used by the Government to monitor your phone calls, office conversations, or noises in the bathroom, the underlying technology in Nexidia’s Dialogue Search can be used …

Today we’re looking at UHD and 4K. What you need to know for production and post-production, and how you can use it. For sake of simplicity, when I use the term “4K” know that I am referring to both UHD and true 4K resolutions. Let’s get started. 1. Why 4K? The reasons to shoot 4K are pretty decisive. In a world of HD, SD and horrible handheld cell…

Hello and welcome to the inaugural episode of 5 THINGS – an independent web series dedicated to answering the 5 burning tech questions you have about technologies and workflows in the media creation space. Tech stuff I dig, and how it’s used. I’m your host Michael Kammes. This episode we’ll be looking at one of my favorite new technologies: Adobe A…