Originally posted April 2011. I wish to continue my notes about developments in large-sensor cameras, but of course the magnesium-powder newsflash sucking up all the oxygen at NAB today is Apple’s stealth sneak peek at Final Cut Pro X last night. Apple hasn’t officially attended NAB for several years—many of us miss the consummate showmanship of their former press conferences—so when news broke on the eve of NAB that an entire slate of speakers at the 10th annual FCP User Group SuperMeet had been swept aside for a special guest, Apple fever took hold. The event sold out in a […]
by David Leitner on Nov 27, 2011Originally posted April 2011. The big NAB show in Las Vegas opened Monday, and I’ll be filing reports for Filmmaker’s readers at the end of every day through Thursday, when the show floor closes. For those unfamiliar with NAB, it stands for National Association of Broadcasters, a powerful trade association and influential Washington lobby, no bastion of progressive politics. But for filmmakers and indie producers, it also stands for the huge annual April trade show in Vegas, where the latest in cameras, lenses, recorders, lighting, audio, and all manner of production gear are introduced. TV execs, techies, DPs, and crew […]
by David Leitner on Nov 27, 2011by David Leitner on Nov 12, 2011
Since Aesop the fable has been told of the snake or scorpion whose life is being saved by a farmer, turtle, or frog, and who then turns around and inflicts a mortal bite or sting upon its benefactor, perforce sealing its own fate too. The point of the fable is not that snakes or scorpions are evil, but that we each possess an essential nature that drives our behavior, and that others ignore our essential nature at their peril. Hold on to that thought. We’ll come back to it. Since posting my initial notes on FCP X, FIRST MUSINGS, […]
by David Leitner on Jul 19, 2011Final Cut Pro X (version 10.0) arrived 8:30 a.m. yesterday morning at the App Store for $299, unleashing torrents of criticism about missing features and a perceived drift from professional product to one that consumers might find friendlier. So far, so good. Let me explain. I, too, had an advance copy (version 9.9.1.77) and wrestled to overcome personal expectations of what a 64-bit next-gen Final Cut should be, given the countless hours of my life spent in front of this revolutionary NLE since it first introduced us to FireWire and DV editing back in 1999. As I wrote last night […]
by David Leitner on Jun 22, 2011
David Leitner examines the latest crop of large-sensor HD cameras.