Quintessential Studios' Weblog

In 2012, the first Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire, NAB [National Association of Broadcasters], KISS [by Monster Mini Golf] Mini Golf Tournament (INKMINIGT) was born.

What is it and why do I throw this party?

It is indoor glow-in-the dark mini-golf in a KISS (the band) theme. And, yes, that is all that it sounds like it is! And, it is a fun way to start off NAB.

“Way back” in 2009, I went to my first NAB. I was also on Twitter at that time and I made a lot of friends in post production. Going to NAB was like a class-reunion or a coming home week. I got to meet all my friends face to face, or as they say these days, IRL (in real life).

The NAB Show is very cool and overwhelming but it’s the time after hours that really shines. There are big events and parties galore. This is where you get to see people with their hair down, so to speak.

Each year it’s the same and only gets better. Sure, sometimes I think, ah maybe I won’t go this year. But, I end up going and it has always been the best decision because it really, really pumps me up for the rest of the year.

Anyway, the first and second year, we used to meet at the Yardhouse on the Sunday night that starts NAB. It was okay but it kind of dwindled down and was kind of boring. In 2010-2011, I saw a movie that had an indoor GITD monster mini golf course in it and thought that would be fun to do and soon learned that soon a KISS themed one was opening in Vegas, just before the 2012 NAB. The rest is history.

Because I also founded the Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire (ifotie.com), I had connections to sponsors and I enlisted their help in prize contributions. (Who are more than eager to support it by the way! So big props to our sponsors because they get it!) So far, with the exception of 2014, when my friends over at Going Postal Show (http://www.goingpostalshow.com/) ran the party, I have used my own money to throw the party. Yes, the ticket costs money to attend, but for each and every person that attends, I personally have to outlay about $15. That adds up and one day I hope to get sponsorship money to make up that difference, but for now, it’s just my gift to my friends in the filmmaking community. And it’s worth it! This community is my second family.

Now on to the prizes for this year:
• An UltraStudio Mini Monitor from BlackMagic Design
• An UltraStudio Mini Recorder from BlackMagic Design
• 2 copies of audio master suite from Sony Creative Software (one for MAC and one for PC)
• Some copies of DIGISUITE from DigiEffects
• A couple Imagine Products Power Banks
  Have you ever been on set or location and realized your phone or tablet is about to die? No electrical outlet in sight, right? No worries, We’ve Got Your Back(up!). These power banks use the USB cord from your phone or tablet to re-charge your device in less than an hour from 0 to 100%. We’ve always helped you protect your assets, now we are helping you stay in touch.

• Three (3) $100 credit packages from Revostock
• One $100 credit for any of Intelligent Assistance apps
• Two $500 vouchers from ArtBeats
• Prizes from Digital Rebellion
• 2x Atmospheres from That Studio
• 1x CONFORM STUDIO from That Studio
• A copy of ScopeBox from Divergent Media
• A copy of EditReady from Divergent Media
• 3 iOgrapher cases and a wide and telephoto lens for each
• 8x Certificate for a Focal Press book of your choice
• Media Composer from Avid
• The following Toolfarm training classes:
  • After Effects Expressions Series 1 – 6
  • Toolfarm Professional Keying with Keylight: Toolfarm Expert Series
  • Toolfarm Professional Training for Primatte Keyer Pro: Toolfarm Expert Series
  • Toolfarm Professional Training for the After Effects Camera: Toolfarm Expert Series
  • Toolfarm Professional Training with Trapcode 3S: Toolfarm Expert Series
  • Toolfarm University After Effects and CINEMA 4D – 3D Tracker Training
• Adobe Swag
• Special Limited Edition Surprise from THAT Studio! (You’re going to want this one folks!)
• A subscription to Adobe CC
• 2 individual product downloads of choice from Rampant Design Tools
• A copy of Magic Bullet Looks from Red Giant Software
• $100 gift card to the Wooden Camera webstore
• A copy of Zombie Apocalypse Sound Effects Library from Blastwave FX
• $100 Gift Card from Maxon
• Some T-Shirts from Maxon
• 5 HDRI Steel Balls from Maxon

To register for the event go to: http://inkminigt2015.eventbrite.com

Well folks, April is around the corner and that means the annual migration of “broadercasters*” to Las Vegas for the NAB Show.

Since 2009, I have been attending NAB and as I’ve mentioned over and over again, I think I will always try to find a way to go.

In 2012, I threw the first #INKMINIGT (Independent Filmmakers of the Inland Empire KISS Mini Golf Tournament) and we will be throwing the fourth one this year, on Sunday, April 12, 2015 at 9 PM.

Tickets can be purchased here: https://inkminigt2015.eventbrite.com.

I am dedicating this year’s party to the memory of one of our regular attendees and all around great video production person and friend that we lost in 2014, Brad Hagen. He was the founder of Video Resources and a personal inspiration to me and many others.

I will be attending NAB and going to #INKMINIGT, MediaMotion Ball and Supermeet.

Stay tuned for news and updates. Follow my twitter feed for the most up-to-date information!

Divergent Media announced today immediate availability of EditReady 1.2 with support for AVCHD and HDV camera footage, integrated from their industry leading ClipWrap application. Upgrade pricing is available for existing ClipWrap users.

March 2, 2015 San Francisco, CA – Since its launch in mid-2014, EditReady has quickly gained a reputation as the fastest, easiest transcoding tool on the Mac. With frequent updates, it has gained support for formats like MXF and Sony’s XAVC-L. EditReady 1.2 adds support for hundreds of the most popular cameras which shoot to AVCHD and HDV transport streams.

“By combining the rock solid AVCHD and HDV format support from ClipWrap with the advanced hardware acceleration, GPU filtering and modern user interface of EditReady,” said CEO Mike Woodworth, “we’re one step closer to our goal of a single application for users to prep any footage for edit, dailies, or delivery.”

Consolidating the two products gives EditReady users access to a huge collection of newly supported source cameras. ClipWrap users transitioning to EditReady will be able to take advantage of EditReady’s clean user interface, video preview, metadata editing, and hardware accelerated pipeline.

About EditReady

Rewraps and transcodes HDV and AVCHD, QuickTime, MP4 and MXF input
In addition to the various AVCHD and HDV cameras supported by ClipWrap, EditReady can transcode footage from MXF and Quicktime cameras such as the GoPro, iPhone, Arri Alexa, Blackmagic Cinema Camera, Sony F7, digital SLRs and many more.

Preview videos and see thumbnails
EditReady shows thumbnails of clips for at-a-glance review and organization. GPU accelerated preview allows quick review of footage before transcode and even supports LUTs (look up tables) for simple color correction.

Custom metadata and file naming
EditReady’s metadata editor makes it simple to check the metadata embedded by the camera, correct problems, and add additional info. Any of the metadata can be used to build custom naming schemes for output files.

Fast
EditReady was written from the ground up to use hardware accelerated encode and decode available in many modern Macs, as well as GPU based color transforms. EditReady takes the power and speed of ClipWrap and turns it up to 11.

Availability
EditReady 1.2 is available as a free update for existing EditReady users, and as a $29.95 crossgrade for existing ClipWrap users.

To learn more about EditReady, visit http://www.divergentmedia.com/editready.

About Divergent Media

Divergent Media is a San Francisco, CA based software company providing flexible tools for video monitoring, acquisition, transcoding, and quality assurance. In business for over 10 years, we pride ourselves on making well made tools for video professionals.