danwagner's blog

The Video Encoding Guide: Codecs, Formats, Containers And Settings Explained

from MASTER NEW MEDIA:

Video encoding is the science of codifying the bits of data that make up a digital video recording into a unified whole according to a set of specific standards and parameters. If it sounds techy, it should. In simpler words, video encoding is the process of taking your original movie, as recorded by your camcorder, mobile phone or webcam, and preparing it for delivery in a digital format according to specific technical standards. This MasterNewMedia guide brings you everything you need to know about the key differences between major video file formats / containers and codecs.

READ MORE here

This is an amazingly great resource! - dw

How Apple's iPad Streamlines Work On Set

from HD MAGAZINE:

Apple’s iPad is being used extensively on a new feature film being shot with Canon’s 5D Mk II, often with a multi-camera setup. The pace of shooting, along with the multi-camera setup, generates a vast number of clips. The iPad, is used to log clip details on-set – the database is then synchronised with the main database running on a server in the edit suite. This allows the editor instant access to all the clips logged for the scene he is editing, along with information on the matching sound files, log notes, Directors comments, and information from the script supervisor’s notes. The database also stores reference stills from each scene.

The iPads are also used to view and annotate the script, using the elegant iAnnotate PDF reader and annotation app. Notes added from iAnnotate can be exported and are available on the production office’s desktop PDF readers.

READ MORE . . . 

Bot Spotting on Twitter

from CLICK Z:

The vast majority of bots you will come across on Twitter are the obvious type:

• Re-spun RSS feeds
• A link in every tweet
• Reaching out with no "conversation"
• Direct messages en masse

Really, they are the equivalent of e-mail spam or a bad mail merge letter. 

Some people however have started to take the practice into more natural profile creations and these are far harder to spot. As long as they aren't causing a problem, most people will be unaware of the subtle messages they give out and the data they collect. But if you don't like the idea of anything automated interacting with you, then here is [our] guide to spotting the tell-tale signs.

READ MORE . . .

Google/Verizon "Open Internet" Proposal Draws Mixed Reviews

from WEB PRO NEWS:

Today Google and Verizon held a joint press conference, and issued a joint policy proposal for an Open Internet, as they say. The companies appear to be promoting an Open Internet indeed, but there remains a great deal of skepticism about the policy proposal. Really, could it have gone any other way? 

READ MORE

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more on this story from WIRED:

For a document with no actual authority behind it, the Verizon/Google policy proposal on openness rules for the [USA's] wired and wireless networks has caused quite the media storm.
READ MORE

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here's what THE ATLANTIC had to say:

Open Internet Advocates Dismayed With Google

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and left-wing online publication ALTER NET looks at it this way:

Google is pushing to place tollbooths on the Internet that are in nobody's interest but Verizon's and other decrepit companies like AT&T

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What do you think?

Cinematographer vs. Producer

on DSLR's in filmmaking

from XTRANORMAL.  Here's the link: http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/6823505/

Growing lungs in a lab: researchers move closer to goal

from THE LOS ANGELES TIMES . . . 

One study succeeds in engineering an organ that can sustain a rat, an achievement that could hasten the time when artificial human lungs can be produced. Another study creates a mimicking device for toxicology tests.

READ MORE [particularly about half way down the article, where it talks about Nanomaterials]

YouPhonics Launches Music Collaboration Tool

from READ WRITE WEB . . . 

July 1 mark[ed] the soft launch of the music collaboration startupYouPhonics, [which] allows users to record, share, and compose tracks together via a web-based interface

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VBrick Encodes Gulf-Bottom Oil Spill Footage

from GOVERNMENT VIDEO...

That footage of oil spewing from the Earth at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico has a long trip to the Internet.

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And HERE's the video.

Vimeo Launches First-Ever Festival & Awards

from STUDIO DAILY:

Starting today (3rd June in the US), people around the world can submit their videos for consideration across nine judged categories. The judges will choose the Best Online Video from the top videos in each category, and that winner will receive a $25,000 grant to produce new work. Videos must have debuted online within the past two years to be considered. Vimeo will announce the winners during an awards ceremony at the close of its two-day festival on October 8-9 in New York City. Additionally, Vimeo will preview some of the finalists’ work at a screening event in Amsterdam in September.

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Editing Gets small On iPhone 4

from STUDIO DAILY:

Editing on the iPhone isn’t going to make dedicated NLE workstations obsolete, of course, but it’s another step toward mobilizing — and miniaturizing — the creation of content. While the quality of HD video shot on your phone will be dubious, there may be some situations where pros get a kick out of using their iPhone to shoot and string together some video clips. But having this kind of functionality on a palm-sized device carries clear implications for the entire PC hardware market.

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