Thanks to user stooovie’s comment in the post where I belittle Premiere’s audio exporting capabilities, I have been made aware that Sony Vegas Pro 8 properly imports Reference AAFs exported by Premiere CS3.

The Reference AAF is created in Premiere by selecting Project > Export Project as AAF… and checking neither of the boxes available in the dialog box. You can then open Vegas, go to File > Import > AAF… and select the reference AAF ceated by Premiere. The project will open in Vegas as fully editable, with infinite handles on the audio and video, just as if you had edited it in Vegas.

After getting the project into Vegas, I was given a glimmer of hope when I found that Vegas Pro 8 can also export AAF! You can choose between the option of an “Edit Protocol Compliant AAF File” and an “Avid Legacy AAF File.” Surely, an old-school Avid-compliant AAF would get us into Nuendo, right?

Sadly, neither AAF options from Vegas were able to properly import into Nuendo. Actually, they showed up just the same as if I had opened the reference AAF as exported by Premiere.

I must humbly admit that after my long triad of unfavorable things said about Adobe’s inter-application support, they are probably not at fault when it comes to exporting an AAF file from Premiere and getting it into Nuendo. Nuendo’s AAF import is either not able to properly read the audio track it’s embedding from the AVI, or is improperly routing the stereo signal from the AVI to a mono track in the mix console.

A software created by Cui Bono Soft called EDL Convert may hold the keys to going from Vegas to Nuendo. Or, since Sony has really expanded the mixing capabilities of Vegas Pro 8, I may decide that it will suffice for doing the majority of audio editing and mixing and stay in Vegas.

Even if this case works for a good number of our in-house projects, it may not for all of our contracted clients. Being able to weave ourselves into their workflows is top priority.

Categories: Software, Tech Corner | 1 Comment »

Adobe has released their latest update to Premiere Pro 3.1.1, which now adds support for Mac OS X 10.5 and addresses some “minor” issues with P2 workflow.

Still awaiting an online changelog to see exactly what was fixed, and will again be prodding for any new audio workflow options.

Categories: Software, Tech Corner | No Comments »

If you haven’t heard of the band Sigur Ros, they make some of the most beautiful music. Hailing from the beautiful countrysides of Iceland, their music itself provokes visual imagery. Listening to their music is like a film for the ears.

The band recently did a small unannounced tour around Iceland, playing small towns all over the country, as a way to give back to their fans. “Heima” showcases footage captured from their Iceland tour, intimate documentary-style interviews with the band members and absolutely stunning landscape photography from all over Iceland.

The nature and landscape photography is enough reason to watch the film. After watching the 1080p HD Trailer, I have no doubt you will want to see it.

StudioDaily did an insightful interview with Director Dean DeBlois on which cameras they used, how they did camera setups for the concert and about what he did to save the initial idea from failure.

The DVD is officially available on December 4, 2007. I would gladly post a review of it, but it’s on my Christmas List so I’m not allowed to buy it or watch it yet :)  But expect a review of it when I receive it.

Heima - Official Site
Trailer (HD)
Order DVD

Categories: Concert Films, New Media, Screening Room | No Comments »

Capturing great quality video at a concert is more difficult than setting up a camera wherever you can find space and shooting. You have to navigate around the sea of people, find safe spots to setup your cameras and keep the drunk guy without his shirt on from spilling his beer on you after telling you how nice your camera is.

As has been our mantra thus far, Part 3 of this guide on How to Film Concerts will be about planning the video portion of your shoot. I will be going over how to decide where to place your cameras, which cameras I recommend you use and general tips for making the video portion of your shoot go smoothly.

Read more »

Categories: Concert Films, New Media, Software, Tech Corner, Titus Films, Tutorials | 6 Comments »

We have been hearing it since the days of dial-up: The Internet is the future of… everything. I am hard-pressed to find anything still unaffected by the connectivity of the Internet. As active members of the media creation industry, it is important to keep up on exactly what is happening today in our world.

This can be difficult because we are “in the now” and it may be hard to see when we are engulfed in it. But if we take a look back over the last decade, we can easily see how convergence has already happened, and begin to wonder what the next big step will be.

Read more »

Categories: New Media, Old Media | No Comments »