Choice of NLE platform can be considered similar to choice of religion. There are those who cut on the one true platform and dismiss all the other editors as heretics. If the analogy fits, then Media 100 editors would be considered something like Zoroastrianism. An ancient and passionate group of believers knowing that while they’re not the largest group out there, at least they’re right.

Media 100 was there at the beginning of the Non-Linear Editing revolution. I’ve tried my hand at several versions of the software over the years, and it’s definately a good clean cutter. The guys at Monster Quest seem to think so too, in the press release below you can see some of their rationale for choosing Media 100 over the more widely used solutions. Maybe it’s time to try an editing software that doesn’t begin with the letter “A”?

Press Release Below:

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I just had an interesting conversation which sparked my interest in Video On Demand. Why is it that V.O.D. never caught on? In my personal opinion, it’s what the general public wants. I think that the problem was it has never been marketed correctly. Personally, I think that the future of V.O.D. will become attaching the service to cell phones, MP3s, you name it. All of the technologies will slowly merge together. And consumers will be able to order movies, tv shows, webisodes, download programs, etc. Through their small gadgets & gizmos. I’m curious to see what all of you think. Netfix just reached 10,000 million subs. So the potential is there. What is the future of V.O.D.?

Are you ready for a video challenge? The 3rd annual Film Racing Tour is preparing to “race” across North America and all you need to enter is some creativity, a camera, and the guts to get it done in 24 hours.

Sponsored by NYC Midnight Movie Making Madness, this annual video challenge is open to anyone wishing to participate, as long as they can follow the guidelines, work in the cities the race reaches and deliver a finished product by the deadline. Rules and sponsor cities can be found on the website: www.filmracing.com

How one of these Video Races work is, typically, after you’ve signed up and been accepted, you pull together a team of local producers, and then wait for your Midnight Assignment. You can’t start working on your video project until you have an idea of your Theme, or assignment requires,  such as a particular prop, or a line that needs to be spoken, or even the genre you’re required to film in, like Western, Sci-Fi, Romance, etc.

Most of us are lone wolf producers, and challenges like these are great ways to network with other videographers in your community and get some creative juices going. Read the press release below to find out more, and get ready to race!

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It might be full-on winter right now, but if you have visions of shooting underwater videography of sharks or just the kids in the backyard pool this summer, check out the latest gadget from Canon.

Canon just announced a new WP-V1 Waterproof Case for the VIXIA HF20 and VIXIA HF200 Flash Memory Camcorders. You can dive up to depths of 130 feet to capture exciting underwater adventures. The compact and light-weight housing hugs the camcorder like a wet suit, enabling easy on-camera operation and control.

Checking in at $600, the housing isn’t cheap, but none of the true underwater housings are. The VIXIA HF200, pictured here, has an MSRP of $750 and the VIXIA HF20 runs about $900. Both will be on the market this coming April.

A rule of thumb for anyone wishing to do any underwater shooting, do your research on the housing first, then decide on the camera. In most cases, one size does NOT fit all.

Read our underwater shooting tips here: In Depth Video Tips and Dive in! The Water’s Fine.

Find our more about the Vixia HF-20/200 AVCHD camcorders on our blog here: http://videomaker.com/community/blogs/videonews/tag/vixia/

And more on Canon’s underwater housing from this press release issued Feb. 18th, 2009: Read the rest of this entry »

Noise Industries released FxFactory 2.0.6 update that adds new features to the popular Mac plug-in suite. FxFactory is compatible with Final Cut Studio, Express, and After Effects on the Mac platform, and this release adds thumbnail previews of the effects inside the host application, as well as some new generators and under the hood improvements.

Press Release Below:

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Taking a look at the camcorders available at CES this year, I came to the conclusion that for the first time, the acquisition quality of consumer video cameras has far outstripped the distribution quality of consumer video. Let that sink in for a bit. The camcorders for the most part shoot in HD (either HDV or AVCHD), while currently distribution of video is still done for the most part on standard definition DVD, and online video. The quality gap in terms of resolution makes these consumer camcorders easily high enough quality for mastering SD content, in other words the famed “broadcast quality” of yesteryear.

I remember back in the standard definition 4:3 tube TV days, where first generation hi8 or S-VHS was just barely acceptable video, and if you wanted to get something that was broadcast quality you had to go up to the pro end of Beta SP. Well now, with most distribution still in SD, or even smaller resolutions, you now have a “broadcast quality” camcorder in the palm of your hand.

I’m being a bit loose with the term “broadcast quality”, so I should probably qualify that a bit by saying that consumer camcorders still aren’t HD broadcast quality, but if you’re not shooting for an HD network or outputting Blu-ray discs, it doesn’t matter. The HD camcorder you have more than likely has enough resolution that when you downscale it to SD DVD (still the most common distribution format) it is of higher quality than if you had shot it with a broadcast level SD camcorder.

Consumer HD camcorders coupled with low cost 35mm lens adapters are capable of some surprisingly beautiful and cinematic images as well. Using the shallow depth of field characteristics of 35mm film, makes these small consumer camcorders really shine. There’s a new era of Micro Cinema abounding, and it’s a very exciting time for those who used to lust after broadcast level camcorders, but had to make do with what we could afford. Now what we can afford is pretty amazing.