FrameCalculator from Pomfort software does way more than the title implies. Besides being able to add and subtract time code, you can also use it to multiply and divide as well. You can choose from a variety of drop and non drop frame rates, calculate the total number of frames in a sequence, calculate the estimated disk space and capture time, as well as calculate the number of feet or meters of film. Phew! What a bargain for only 19 euros (US$25). The trial version is available from their site which will let you calculate time code to your heart's content but the other features will cost you. Looks like this one is only available for you Mac folks and it sure beats trying to do this stuff in your head.
YourBroadcaster.com is attempting to take social networking to a different level with their movie social networking site:
A movie social network promises to meet the requirements of any individual who has genuine interest in movies and filmmaking. A true movie buff would not pass up the chance to be part of the creation of a feature length film from casting the film, choosing the director or simply playing a major decision-making role throughout the entire production process. This is a test whether a film can be done with most of the major production decisions made through an online social network.
Launching in 2007, members of the YourBroadcaster social network can become involved in 5 different movie projects. Members will be able to upload scripts, auditions, characters, etc that will be voted on by all members to determine what will be used in the movie project. A subscription fee of $10 (one project) to $35 (multiple projects) is required for full participation. The 5 movie categories are bollywood, horror, thriller, drama and comedy. Advertisers can also get in on the movie making action with opportunities of product placement within each movie. This will be interesting to follow once the official site is launched and we get more details into how things will operate. The official site is yourbroadcaster.com but you can find more information at their corporate site, yourbroadcaster.tv.
This is very cool. WritersDreamTools.com provides all the things you would want to know about any decade from the 1650's on. Things like major historical events, catch phrases, who the major characters were, who died, the bad guys, what music played, what was the entertainment like and so on. You can see how useful this would be for a writer. It can also be very useful to directors, set designers, costume people and cinematographers. But even more than that, it is very nice way to learn history.
Short of ideas for a new video? Want to discuss your video ideas with other people? Are you great at video editing and want a project to work on? Well I think its time you started meeting some other video production enthusiast. A few weeks ago I started using meetup.com to meet up with other video and web enthusiasts. Unfortunately for me meetup.com is not that popular in the UK unless you are in London although I did get an invite to a Lesbian book reading!
However for anyone in the US meetup.com looks like a pretty useful way to find local people who share your enthusiasm for video, and who knows what ideas and ventures could spark.
Creative Cow is offering up a page from Creative Cow Magazine that's a cheat sheet of info about data rates, formats, codecs and how much storage all this stuff will take up on your hard drive. It is provided as a one page PDF download and it might be handy to have around when all the crazy format/codec jargon starts flying.
Final Draft has released an update to its popular scriptwriting software. It doesn't look like there is anything major added to this version, but it does include a few enhancement as well as bug fixes. For detailed info on the changes in 7.1.3, check out the readme file. Current version 7 users can update for free, new users can get a brand spankin' new copy for $229.
Avid will be hosting a webevent all about HD production. The goal is to make you aware of the new opportunities and challenges associated with an HD production. Here is a break down of the specifics:
What different HD formats exist, and what factors to consider when choosing one
How the editing process differs from SD to HD, and what tools are available in Avid Media Composer and Avid Xpress Pro to simplify HD production
HD output options, from outputting HD projects to SD tape or DVD, to a broadcast master, or to Blu-ray disc
Avid DNxHD Encoding -- what is it, and what purpose does it serve?
Using HD in film based workflows
You have to register beforehand so be sure to log on Wednesday, November 15 2006, at 1:00 PM ET but don't fret if you missed it because they keep an archive of all their webcasts.
So you just made a hit movie and your audience is clamoring for more. A sequel is in order but how should you title it? According to a paper in the October Journal of Consumer Research, sequels with titles are preffered to sequels with numbers. In one example, subjects were shown "Daredevil 2" or "Daredevil: Taking it to the Streets" and asked to read a sample plot summary. Those who saw the second title spent more time reading the plot summary and liked the hypothetical movie more. Many fear numbered sequels are just clones of the original and if you look back in film history not many movie franchises have a numbered series. Just imagine Star Wars 3? James Bond 12? Named sequels just may give you a slight edge in your movie's success. Now when is Daredevil: Taking it to the Streets coming out?
Paul Harrill at the excellent Self-Reliant filmmaking blog has written down some problems he has had with two screenwriting softwares, Final Draft and Celtx. His main problem with Final Draft is that it only allows two computers to be used with each purchased version. Sometimes, it even has problems recognizing those two. It also has horrible customer service. And there is, of course, the bugs. It has been a while since I used Final Draft, I have played with the recent demo's, so these issues are beyond me.
I have written about Celtx in length. And it is always interesting to read someone else's take on a product that you have been singing its praises. Here are some of Paul's points:
Mistaken tags - This happens from time to time. And it is frustrating.
Odd cursor behavior (a blinking cursor refuses to leave) - This is less of a Celtx problem than a Firefox problem which the Celtx framework is based upon. I encountered this problem often in previous versions of Firefox. I am guessing Celtx is using older Firefox code.
Underline problem - Works in regular text and not in script mode for me. Did not realize this till now. This has to be fixed.
Obligatory introductory menu - Paul hates it. I have grown to like it. I think this should be one of those things that should be left up to users.
File saving is confusing - I disagree and agree at the same time. If you want to carry the project anywhere. Just drag the folder. I would prefer to see the raw html maintained instead of it being compressed or zipped in some proprietary format. But there needs to be a single file that opens up the project/app.
But most of these are basically bugs that need to be ironed out. I still feel more comfortable using Celtx than Final Draft. However, I do have other issues with Celtx, here are some:
The lack of a better search tool. You can only search with the document you are currently writing on. Meaning, even within a project file, you can only search one text document at a time. A temporary fix would be to use Spotlight (on Mac) and Google Desktop Search (on PC) to search the project folder. Because the raw data files are basically HTML which Spotlight and GDS can index. But there needs to be a better tool within Celtx.
Better editing tools. There is a general lack of text editing options. Like Paul says, there needs to be a highlighting tool. Font and color editing tools should not be difficult to implement.
Allow users to use Firefox extensions. A lot of these needed feature can be suppressed temporarily if the user can find it somewhere else. Like the need for an highlight tool can be solved if someone could install the Scrapbook extension. I don't see this happening before th 1.0 release, sadly.
Import OPML files as a screenplay structure. I don't thiink other screenwriting softwares offer this but it should become standard. Outlining software export to OMPL, Screenwriting software should import them.
I was planning to do my usual extensive report on the new version of Celtx as I was able to get a sneak peak into this release a couple of weeks ago. As you faithful DVguru readers should know, writing about Celtx is one of my favorite things to do but because of my current schedule, writing an extensive review was hard to do. Another good reason to not to write one is that Chris at YouMakeMedia.com has already written the article that I would have liked to write.
With this new version, Celtx begins the differentiate itself from the competion. The biggest aspect of that differentiation is its web services. This new release takes these services to a different level. Look at the sample Wizard of Oz project on the web, this is fantastic! Celtx is going to going to save my ass in production. And I am guessing it will do the same for a lot of Indie filmmakers.
There are many other new features which you can find in the release notes. But the biggest changes have happened in the app's connection with the web services.
I have always been optimistic about the Celtx business model, free software and (eventually) paid web services, but with these new web services, it is time to question the business models of other screenplay and production apps. That is a pretty tough statement but as I see it, Celtx is connecting the dots from writing to production a lot better than any other app I have seen. Couple of screenwriting apps help with production but Celtx is moving faster on the web front where production is going to rely more and more on. And unlike other applications, it is providing its application for free so writers/ directors will be more inclined to use it. For indies, this is a no-brainer. And for commercial projects, the transition is surely coming, how can you resist an open-sourced, cross-platform application that works seamlessly online and offline?
I will try to write more about this release and Celtx very soon.
This is pretty neat. Stonehenge"is a one-day event held twice a year in Washington DC. If you're an actor, think of it as a mass audition...You'll be able to perform a monologue in front of 20 or more production companies looking to produce films in the next six months. If you're a filmmaker, think of Stonehenge as a mass casting tool, showing you over 100 actors whom you might call back to read for a specific part." Although nearly totally useless information for anyone outside of D.C., this is actually a really neat concept. Locating actors, casting, auditions... it can be a potentially tedious process for filmmakers, so wouldn't it be nice to get a taste of dozens of different and willing actors in one sitting?
Filmmaking.com has a very sensible article on how to write your business plan for yourself. Here are some of the questions that this article answers: What are the basic reasons you create a business plan? How do you measure, or describe, the uniqueness of your project? What are the elements that you should have in place and how do would you recommend they should be described? How do you test market your film before you make it? Can you summarize the contents of a business plan? Excellent read, highly recommended.
2nd Unit TV is a new site that has hit the ground running. The purpose of this site is to help the independent filmmaker better understand the complexities of High Definition filmmaking and filmmaking in general through the eyes and minds of guest cinematographers, producers, writers, directors and others actively engaged in the HD industry today. By understanding pixel ratios, compression, 1/3", 1/2" and 2/3" lenses, overcranking, undercranking, variable bit rates and a hundred other aspects to HD production, the independent filmmaker will be better equipped to produce quality pieces that the world accepts as professional grade productions.
They have 7 episodes posted, the most current on the subject of Gaffers and Grips. Other episodes include interviews with George Spiro Dibie and Jody Eldred.
Keep an eye on this site because they are a hard working bunch of guys and gals and have some great things planned for the future.
If you are just getting started in video, there is so much information available it can be overwhelming. The best place to start is with the basics. A simple understanding of terminology, equipment and techniques will make the journey a little smoother. I highly recommend the Video 101 website. Created by Mike Trinklein, this website is very simple, contains quick lessons and includes numerous pictures and video examples. Subjects covered include editing, camera settings, lighting, audio, tripods and much more. Check it out!
I have previously stated how much I love Celtx, so this post should come as no surprise to anyone. But I am just so impressed on how solid an application it is. Not one crash. I love working within the project mentality. I can have more that one script within one file, multiple texts. What did I do without this? I seriously don't know. I am working on a series of scripts for this video series, and I just loving having the scripts, the random notes in one place. I am finally using the production side of the application, I will have more on this later. The spell checker also works splendidly: click, dialog box opens, select word, done. The application feels a lot faster than previous versions. I do wish, though, the search tool would search all files instead of just the top most script. Anyways, if you have not tried it or have tried it before and did not like it, try it again and for an extended period because it is awesome.
YourBroadcaster.com is attempting to take social networking to a different level with their movie social networking site:
This is very cool. 
Short of ideas for a new video? Want to discuss your video ideas with other people? Are you great at video editing and want a project to work on? Well I think its time you started meeting some other video production enthusiast. A few weeks ago I started using meetup.com to meet up with other video and web enthusiasts. Unfortunately for me meetup.com is not that popular in the UK unless you are in London although I did get an invite to a Lesbian book reading!
Final Draft has released an update to its popular 
So you just made a hit movie and your audience is clamoring for more. A sequel is in order but how should you title it? According to a paper in the October 
Paul Harrill at the excellent Self-Reliant filmmaking blog has written down some 
This is pretty neat. 
2nd Unit TV 
If you are just getting started in video, there is so much information available it can be overwhelming. The best place to start is with the basics. A simple understanding of terminology, equipment and techniques will make the journey a little smoother. I highly recommend the 
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