Friday 24th 2003f October 2003
« « C5| Drink » »Xploding Plastix
The meeting at C5 went well. I just have to wait and see where it leads, now, if anywhere. It was kind of fun to stand beside Al as he handed a CD to an intern to “run it over to the Coens”. >sigh< . Will I ever stop being star struck?
I went to a gig last night, here in Greenpoint. Roomie Liza’s brother Neil is staying with her for a couple of days. (Not that Liza is roomy – far from it. I mean that she’s my roommate). We went to a club called Galapagos, which was pretty cool, with a big reflecting pool and a bar. What more do you need?
There was also a band – a strange, dancy, Norweigan band called the Xploding PlastiX. They were the last act in something called the CMJ Music Marathon. It was a fun gig, although nobody was dancing. I don’t think there were enough people present, or enough alcohol. I single handedly caused an encore by yelling out “more!” when they were leaving the stage, which was picked up by a couple of other people. They really weren’t ready, and seemed a bit bemused. Don’t they do encores in Norway? Here’s a picture, of sorts.
When that was over, we went another club nearby, called the Laila Lounge. Here I learned something interesting. There are no licensing laws in New York! All right, there are laws, but they don’t involve a specific closing time. Now, both the places we were at did close around two, but the possibilities…
And it is odd to see people shivering outside pubs smoking, but you’ll all be getting used to that soon enough. I have to say, being able to go to a pub and then wear the same clothes the next day is kind of nice.
The poll. I shall continue to write reviews, not because of the nine who wish me to, or for the two who are indifferent, but for the one wants me to stop.
There’s a new poll now. This is the laptop I’m looking at. I want it so baaaad…
I know, I know…
and just because, here’s a picture of the Empire State I took from the roof of C5 the other evening. They’ve got great views there.
Comment ID: 1154
At 2:34 pm on Friday 24th 2003f October 2003, Douglas Murray channelledTry an iMac and save one large. The MBox is good. Do you really need it though?
Get a job!
Doug
Comment ID: 1155
At 8:06 pm on Friday 24th 2003f October 2003, Anthony attestedI’m a PC guy, Doug. Always have been, always will be. And I’d like a laptop rather than a desktop because I’m never going to have a permanent office.
As to whether I need it, well, I don’t really know. I’m trying to figure out what my best chances of getting work are. I don’t think, from asking around, that I’m just going to land a job on a feature, or anything else properly paid, based on my resume. There are too many people ahead of me in that queue, and it’s been quiet for a while, so everybody’s free and eager.
I think my best shot is to get in somewhere doing shorts and impress people with my efficiency and sparkling personality. Having my own workstation, however basic, will increase the number of low budget jobs that I can go for – I don’t have enough of an in anywhere to just blag a proper system for a week. Almost all low-end freelance sound editors here that I’ve spoken to have their own systems.
There’s a strong possibility (I think) that Al in C5 will get me to do at least one short in there, on one of their systems. This would be perfect. The problem is that pretty soon they have some big jobs coming in and none of their systems will be free. If I had my own system, I could possibly do a short under their aegis, use their library, and mix in their room, even if they don’t have a system free for me to use.
I haven’t explored all the possibilities – I’m just speculating about a hypothesis. I am struck by how many people that I’ve met have some kind of rig of their own. Whether it’s doing them any good is another question. And it’s a lot of money I don’t actually, well, have.
Thoughts?
Comment ID: 1156
At 1:57 pm on Saturday 25th 2003f October 2003, Nigel realised it was important that we all should understandAnthony,
Doug is right! I love my Powerbook and there’s no way I’d go for a PC laptop. Even people I know love my Powerbook. They’re the labrador puppies of the computer world. Click below and enjoy!
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70303/wo/fe6BrZKuAuXB2n02rIaaJwwfkxh/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.1.1.1.0.0.1.0
http://store.apple.com/1-800-MY-APPLE/WebObjects/AppleStore.woa/70303/wo/fe6BrZKuAuXB2n02rIaaJwwfkxh/0.0.7.1.0.5.21.1.1.1.0.0.0.1.0
Comment ID: 1157
At 2:11 pm on Saturday 25th 2003f October 2003, Douglas Murray assertedWell you seem to have decided that this expense would be a way to get started in the NY work world, so it shouldn’t require too much more thought. Don’t forget to allow $$ for the ancillary gear for dealing with video (can your PC laptop do FireWire?) such as a Canopus DV to analog video (or DV camera if you have one), video monitor, external drive(s), and DV Toolkit to make the Pro Tools LE system work with OMF, AAF, timecode, feet & frames, and pulldown.
On the plus side, as this expense is for work, you can depreciate the cost and deduct it from your taxes over the next few years. You might want to get an accountant, or at least some good advice on USA taxes.
And having your own gear gives you greater flexibility in getting your own work, and may help your entree into the local work world. As you say.
Good luck with it. But remember, Pro Tools and Macs may be a better fit. Don’t you already have a PC?
Doug
Comment ID: 1158
At 5:10 pm on Saturday 25th 2003f October 2003, Anthony blurtedI’m far from decided. I do have a PC, and it does have firewire, but it’s getting on a bit. PTLE6.1 seems to run very well with WinXP, by all accounts, but not on my current machine. I tend towards a PC because you get more bang for your buck, what with actual competition between manufacturers, and they’re more easily upgradeable than Macs. But I’m sure that PT will run better on Macs for a while, and if I’m buying a single purpose machine, it does make sense to go with the one that the software works best with. I will still have my PC for other stuff, like this website. Hmm…
I’m not sure I would need DV toolkit. I’d certainly need DigiTranslator. On the NYC Midnight yoke I was using exactly that setup – MBox, PTLE 6.1, OSX (that took a bit of getting used to), and Digitranslator. The picture was cut on a Final Cut Pro system, and the sequences were exported as OMF and Quicktime movies, delivered on a firewire drive. No need for loading, and another argument for going with Mac.
Please correct me if I’m wrong, but I think I’d only need DVToolkit if I was planning to use the laptop in a mix situation, which I don’t think I would. I’ve increasingly been doing elementary FX pre-dubs in sessions to save mix time, but I would never try to do a dialogue pre-dub or any kind of a final without proper monitoring, (or indeed a proper mixer!) so all I’d need to deliver to the stage is a popped session, which I wouldn’t need DVToolkit for. And it costs $995.
I would need a monitor, though. Wouldn’t an old TV do? Would an IBook have an appropriate video out built in, or would I need to buy some kind of box to spit out the QT movie? On the Midnight thing I was cutting to the small picture on the screen – no separate monitor. That was fun. (See how much techno-babble I spared you, Eleanor?)
Thoughts?
Comment ID: 1159
At 5:25 pm on Saturday 25th 2003f October 2003, Anthony declared(one visit to the apple website later)
Nigel, your links don’t work, but I see what you’re getting at. Nobody is denying that Macs are cooler, they just aren’t good value.
Maybe I’d be better off with an iMac after all – they do look pretty portable, and it would save me a grand.
But I just don’t have the money.
Comment ID: 1160
At 9:37 am on Sunday 26th 2003f October 2003, D realised it was important that we all should understandDraw up a ‘business plan’ with realistic estimates of the likely income flow the investment could deliver. Do not forget the very high cost of borrowing via credit cards. Perhaps you should’nt even think about it until you are earning something somehow.
D
Comment ID: 1161
At 2:09 am on Monday 27th 2003f October 2003, Douglas Murray wroteDV Toolkit makes LE display timecode, feet & frames, and pulldown. It also includes DigiTranslator, DINR and VocAlign. This is not to be confused with what you need to use ProTools LE in a mix situation: a pulled down S/PDIF word clock source and a smpte to midi timceode to USB converter. (This is the equivalent of a USD, which doesn’t do the job for LE systems.)
I believe Apple laptops are more competetive these days. But you can do the job with a PC, though it may require more do$h and more work.
A business plan is a good idea. Remember, whatever you buy will be obsolete all too soon.
Comment ID: 1162
At 11:04 am on Monday 27th 2003f October 2003, Anthony started typing, with this resultWould I need a timecode display if I had a QT movie with BITC? And I find I cut ADR faster without Vocalign than with it, although maybe I’m just to lazy to learn it properly. Pulldown – OK, maybe that’s a point, but surely not if I’m getting an OMF? I appreciate that DVToolkit would increase the flexibility of the system, but I wouldn’t be selling myself on flexibility on that level (HD or DV, sound on camera). Anybody who’s shooting 35mm double system can damn well pay for a proper system.
I can’t really make a business plan, because I don’t have enough information. My fear is that the difference between having this system and not is not the difference between “more income” and “less income”, but between “some income” and “no income”.
Anyway, I’m going to hold off until I get more of a sense of my employment chances here. It’s early days. No need to panic yet. Thanks for all input. Any further thoughts are more than welcome.
Comment ID: 1163
At 4:40 pm on Monday 27th 2003f October 2003, Nigel testifiedOMFs don’t require pulldown? Anthony! Are you mad?! We had this conversation a year ago remember! Or have I misunderstood you?
The exception is material originated on NTSC video as there’s obviously no need down to slow 29.97 to it’s own speed. In the interests of absolute scientific accuracy I’ll check on my Avid tomorrow as luckily my job is an NTSC one. Don’t forget that I’m one of those weird people here who actually LIKES working in NTSC!
Oh and my Avids are working now. We got a Unity dongle today that works. I doubt we’ll ever know why the one that was working fine a couple of weeks ago decided not to work after the system was shipped!
Comment ID: 1164
At 10:33 am on Tuesday 28th 2003f October 2003, Anthony assertedTo clarify: I would intend to use the laptop system purely for no/lo budget jobs – jobs that were shot on DV, sound recorded onto the camera, and cut in Final Cut Pro. I would get an exported QT movie and an OMF. Would I need pulldown? I don’t think so.
I know it’s not flexible at all, but anybody that needs to do anything more complicated needs to go to a proper facility. There seeems to be quite an amount of shorts taking that precise route, and I think I’d be in a good position to service them, if I had an MBox system with Digitranslator.
Anyway, it’s moot. I’m going to hold off for a while, and stop thinking about it. Thanks for input!
Comment ID: 1165
At 10:41 am on Tuesday 28th 2003f October 2003, Nigel discoursedYou’re quite right about the DV thing. No pulldown required.