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Tip #1603: 6 Tips for a Successful Grass Roots Release

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1603: 6 Tips for a Successful Grass Roots Release

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The key is to start marketing early – and to your most invested base.

Image courtesy of No Small Matter.

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by Laura Wilson Fallsgraff and Jon Reiss , first appeared in Filmmaker Magazine.com. This is a summary.

The past year has thrown everything but the kitchen sink at filmmakers, disrupting distribution timelines, cutting the legs out from under theaters, and depriving our community of opportunities for networking, sales, and press. But there have also been bright spots. While contending with major disappointments this year, many filmmakers have successfully pivoted to unique and impactful releases — models that are worth learning from and iterating on in the years ahead.

Following its completion in 2018, our own feature documentary No Small Matter had run into the familiar distribution hurdles faced by many other filmmakers.

Yet, No Small Matter has reached millions of people all over the world through more than 1,300 grassroots screenings, DIY educational distribution and 13 million social media impressions.

The secret sauce for this successful grassroots release? We built a direct, long-term, and authentic relationship with our core audience — primarily, early educators around the country and the organizations that reach them — starting in pre-production.

Here are our tips:

  1. Launch Your Impact Campaign During Pre-Production
  2. Early Funder Support
  3. Think Outside Your Feature Film
  4. Seek National, Networked Partners
  5. Build A Robust Impact Team (That Can Pay For Itself)
  6. Jump At Timely Impact Opportunities

EXTRA CREDIT

The article has lots of details on each of these steps, written by the producers of the film: No Small Matter.

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Tip #1602: Animation Fundamentals

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1602: Animation Fundamentals

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Animation is all about getting the details right. These are the details.

Image courtesy of Disney Books.

Topic $TipTopic

This article, written by John Rodriguez, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is a summary.

Implementing the fundamentals of animation is no easy task. Here’s a quick guide to understanding and applying the basics in animation.

Disney animators Ollie Johnston and Frank Thomas put together twelve animation fundamentals in their book The Illusion of Life. When I first studied these fundamentals, I realized that there were so many details in life I never saw. Since we’re so familiar with all the motion in our day-to-day lives, we become blind to the details.

  • Easing. Nothing moves in a linear fashion. As an object moves, it accelerates and decelerates, also called easing. In animation, you’ll have more frames of an object condensed in a smaller area at the beginning and end of the movement.
  • Anticipation. Anticipation is basically the action before the main action. You can see an example of anticipation in Pixar Studio’s opening animation. When the lamp shrinks down to get ready to jump on the letter, that hesitation is anticipation. Without the buildup of energy, the proceeding motion wouldn’t feel natural or believable. Anticipation is definitely one of the hardest fundamentals to get right.
  • Follow-Through. Follow-through and anticipation are sort of the same thing, but on opposite ends of the action. Inertia is introduced with follow-through. Follow-through helps your object obey the laws of physics. The object can bend, stretch, and jiggle to indicate this motion. You can use this to help give hints at what material your object is made of.

One thing people don’t keep in mind is that these fundamentals apply to all motion media. From 3D to cell animation, think of the twelve fundamentals of animation as the bible for motion design.

EXTRA CREDIT

The link above includes a video where the Disney authors outline all 12 principles of animation. It is well worth watching.

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Tip #1601: Divergent Thoughts on New M1 iMacs

… for Random Weirdness

Tip #1601: Divergent Thoughts on the New M1 iMacs

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The new M1 iMacs have performance, but they are still entry level.

Image courtesy of Apple.

Topic $TipTopic

Here are two takes on the new M1 iMac. The first is from PremiumBeat, the second from Larry Jordan.

This section, written by Mike Maher, first appeared in PremiumBeat.com. This is an excerpt.

Apple announced a colorful new line of iMac computers that can finally use highspeed GPU render engines once exclusive to PCs.

Apple has announced the newly redesigned iMac featuring the company’s powerful M1 chip. The machine features a 24-inch screen, HD FaceTime camera, new keyboard with Touch ID, and is available in seven different colors.

Apple has certainly put a focus on promoting their own Final Cut Pro X. The latest version was released with the last line of MacBook Pro laptops that also feature the M1 chip and accelerated performance on Metal, Apple’s hardware-accelerated 3D graphic and compute shader API. The new iMac will feature these same M1 chips, and we’ll likely see the release of a new iMac Pro in the next year.

[Given that these new machines haven’t shipped yet, final performance specs are only guesswork. But,] Final Cut Pro is seeing render performance increased up to 20%, with iMac users looking to see up to 35% faster. Editors can work with 8K RED RAW up to three times faster, depending on their model machine. Rendering your timelines is said to be up to six times faster, with increased playback for 4K and 8K projects.

As for Adobe Premiere Pro and the rest of the Creative Cloud, in December, the team announced that M1 builds of Adobe products were underway, with early betas available for Premiere Pro.

Cinema 4D has long been on both PC and Mac, but when it came to rendering power, PC dominated the 3D market with NVIDIA’s powerful GPU rendering power. Now those render engines once exclusive to NVIDIA have been ported over to Apple’s M1.

This is one of the most artist-friendly drops in quite some time for Apple. Vast improvements make a difference not only on the technical side for rendering, but also improved stability in all sorts of apps for video creation, music making, motion design, and 3D. The last MacBook Pro release and these iMacs are the way to the future for Mac to catch up on all the creatives they were losing to the PC market.

Larry Jordan shares his thoughts on the new iMacs. While he is impressed with their performance, they are still lacking when it comes to GPU speed, ports, RAM and Ethernet. “Keep in mind that Apple still considers the M1 as an entry level chip.”

Read his thoughts here: Configuring an M1 24″ iMac for Video Editing.

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Tip #1594: What the Keyframe Controls Do

… for Apple Motion

Tip #1594: What the Keyframe Controls Do

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

The Timing Pane displays and edits keyframes for any selected element.

The Keyframes list in the Timing Pane. The three tools on the right add and modify keyframes.

Topic $TipTopic

Most of the time, we don’t need to access keyframes as a group. But, when we do, the Timing Pane has the tools you’ll need.

When you open the Timing pane, depending upon which display option you select, you can view all the keyframes that are associated with the selected element.

To view keyframes:

  • Select the element you want to review in the Layers pane.
  • Display the Timing Pane (Window > Show Timing Pane)
  • Click the “3 Diamonds” in the top right corner (top red arrow in screen shot).
  • Select All from the Untitled Set menu on the top left (left red arrow in screen shot). This reveals all keyframes associated with the selected element.
  • Arrow. Double-click a keyframe dot to edit its value or position.
  • Pencil. Sketch keyframes tool. Select a keyframe from the list on the left, then drag the Pencil to manually draw an animation curve for that setting.
  • Rectangle. Transform keyframes tool. Use the Transform Keyframes tool to drag a selection rectangle around multiple keyframes and then manipulate their positions by dragging the bounding box or adjusting its handles. Dragging the bounding box moves the selected keyframes in whatever direction you move.

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Tip #1593: How to View Motion Keyframes

… for Apple Motion

Tip #1593: How to View Motion Keyframes

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Each keyframe can be repositioned and modified from within the Timing Pane.

Keyframes displayed in the Timing Pane.

Topic $TipTopic

Most of the time, the mini-Timeline in Motion, combined with the Inspector, allows us to adjust keyframes without getting bogged down in too many details.

But, when you need to see all the keyframes associated with an elements, the Timing Pane is the answer.

To reveal it, choose Window > Show Timing Pane.

Then, to see keyframes, click the 3 Diamonds icon in the top right corner (red arrow in screen shot).

This opens the keyframe display where you can see and modify keyframes as necessary.

EXTRA CREDIT

Tip #1594 explains how to modify keyframes.

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Tip #1592: A “Better” Way to Adjust Audio in Motion

… for Apple Motion

Tip #1592: A “Better” Way to Adjust Audio in Motion

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Nothing about audio in Motion is easy. Here’s proof.

Enable keyframe display (top), Audio timeline (middle), Keyframe Editor (bottom).

Topic $TipTopic

Audio always seems like an afterthought in Motion. Audio clips are impossible to find and almost impossible to adjust. But, here’s a trick that makes setting levels a bit easier.

Import an audio clip into Motion, then:

  • Reveal the Timeline (Shortcut: F6).
  • Click the Audio icon in the top right corner (top red arrow). This reveals the audio clip in the middle of the pane (middle section of screen shot).
  • Click the Keyframe icon (lower red arrow).
  • Put the playhead where you want the first keyframe to appear and select the audio clip in the Timeline pane.
  • Go to Inspector > Audio Track and add a keyframe for Audio Level. A small red dot appears below the audio clip in the Timeline pane. (Middle portion of the screen shot.)

NOTE: You would think you could adjust the keyframe audio level by dragging it. You would be wrong.

  • Adjust the audio level for that keyframe in the Inspector.
  • Move the playhead to where you want the next keyframe to appear and repeat the keyframe setting process.

NOTE: You would think the keyframes in the Timeline would indicate the different levels. You would be wrong.

  • To see audio levels once they are set, Control-click the keyframe and choose Show in Keyframe Editor. (Lower section of screen shot.)

NOTE: You would think Motion would make adjusting audio easier. You would be wrong.

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Tip #1600: What Effects Software Runs on M1 Macs?

… for Visual Effects

Tip #1600: What Effects Software Runs on M1 Macs?

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

M1 compatibility is still “a work in progress.”

Image courtesy of Toolfarm.com.

Topic $TipTopic

Toolfarm has published and recently updated a list of effects titles and their compatibility with M1 Macs. This list of over 100 applications includes those with both Rosetta and native compatibility.

Here’s the link.

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Tip #1599: Does Foundry Support M1 Macs?

… for Visual Effects

Tip #1599: Does Foundry Support M1 Macs?

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Progress continues, but full compatibility is a ways off.

Image courtesy of Foundry.com.

Topic $TipTopic

Here’s the latest update from Foundry on their support for Big Sur and M1 Macs.

The latest macOS version, Big Sur, is not currently supported across our Foundry product portfolio. Our product teams are testing this macOS release and looking to qualify it as soon as possible. 

Apple’s new processing hardware Apple silicon including the recently released Apple M1 chip, is due to be reviewed by each product and support will be planned based on the individual review results.

Here is the latest status of supported macOS versions across our Foundry products: 

Product macOS Catalina (10.15) macOS Big Sur (11.0) Apple M1 Chips
Nuke family 12.1v1 onwards 13.0v1 onwards Not supported
Modo 13.2v1 onwards 15.0v1 onwards Not supported (in testing)
Colorway 3.1v1 onwards Not supported (in testing) Not supported
Mari 4.6v3 onwards Not supported Not supported
Flix 6.3.6 onwards Not supported Not supported
Katana Katana is not available on macOS.

EXTRA CREDIT

Foundry updated this on April 22, 2021. Link.

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Tip #1595: Re:Vision Effects Goes Beta for M1 Mac

… for Visual Effects

Tip #1595: Re:Vision Effects Goes Beta for M1 Mac

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

Re-Vision Effects now offers betas versions for M1 Macs

Topic $TipTopic

Re:Vision Effects sent an update email late last week:

We’re in the process of updating the current versions of our plug-ins for M1 support. Sorry, but older versions can’t be retrofitted so you will need to upgrade.

All of our product for OpenFX are now available with an M1 version. The installer will now detect the machine type and you will have an option to install M1, Intel or both. These have been tested in the Resolve 17 M1 build and should work with other OpenFX hosts (e.g. Nuke, Scratch,…) as they release M1 builds.

We’ve released Twixtor regular as FxPlug 4 for M1 and labeled the release M1 beta. On an Intel machine you will still use the old plug-ins. Bonus: more support for Motion with Twixtor is coming soon, we’ll announce when the update is ready.

For more information, visit: www.revisionfx.com

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Tip #1598: What is an NVMe SSD?

… for Codecs & Media

Tip #1598: What is an NVMe SSD?

Larry Jordan – LarryJordan.com

NVMe is the technology behind the fastest SSDs available today.

A Western Digital Black NVMe SSD.

Topic $TipTopic

[ The information in this tip is from a Western Digital blog. ]

NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express) is a new protocol for accessing high-speed storage media that brings many advantages compared to legacy protocols. But what is NVMe and why is it important for data-driven businesses?

The first flash-based SSDs leveraged legacy SATA/SAS physical interfaces, protocols, and form factors to minimize changes in the existing hard drive (HDD)-based enterprise server/ storage systems. However, none of these interfaces and protocols were designed for high-speed storage media (i.e. NAND and/ or persistent memory). Because of the interface speed, performance of the new storage media, and proximity to the CPU, PCI Express (PCIe) was the next logical storage interface.

PCIe slots directly connect to the CPU providing memory-like access and can run a very efficient software stack. However, early PCIe interface SSDs did not have industry standards nor enterprise features. PCIe SSDs leveraged proprietary firmware, which was particularly challenging for system scaling for various reasons, including: a) running and maintaining device firmware, b) firmware/ device incompatibilities with different system software, c) not always making best use of available lanes and CPU proximity, and d) lack of value-add features for enterprise workloads. The NVMe specifications emerged primarily because of these challenges.

NVMe is a high-performance, NUMA (Non Uniform Memory Access) optimized, and highly scalable storage protocol, that connects the host to the memory subsystem. The protocol is relatively new, feature-rich, and designed from the ground up for non-volatile memory media (NAND and Persistent Memory) directly connected to CPU via PCIe interface (See diagram #1). The protocol is built on high speed PCIe lanes. PCIe Gen 3.0 link can offer transfer speed more than 2x than that of SATA interface.

The NVMe protocol capitalizes on parallel, low latency data paths to the underlying media, similar to high performance processor architectures. This offers significantly higher performance and lower latencies compared to legacy SAS and SATA protocols.

EXTRA CREDIT

The Western Digital blog, linked above, goes into much more detail and, best of all, it is clearly written and easy to understand.

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