Hi, Gang--
"Good Things Come to Those Who Wait"
Or so they say. And that is certainly the theme for our next meeting. This coming Wednesday night, November 11th, we have a very special event lined up. Local filmmaker Amy Glazer--whose previous feature, "Drifting Elegant", starring Coby Bell ("Third Watch", "The Game") and which premiered at the 2006 Mill Valley Film Festival--is back with her newest feature film...and we get to see it first as a nearly-finished rough cut!
"Seducing Charlie Barker" stars Daphne Zuniga ("Melrose Place") and is currently under consideration for this year's Sundance Film Festival. Billed as "a satire of the Manhattan social/entertainment industry scene, in which a TV show producer encounters a chameleon-like social climber", we will see the film in its nearly completed form, before it undergoes final tweaks and minor edits. And--here's the really cool part--following the screening we will discuss the film, looking at it as filmmakers, and then collectively generate feedback and constructive criticism. These comments will then be forwarded to Ms. Glazer and her post-production team for their consideration during these penultimate stages of editing. Showtime for this screening is estimated to be at 7:30 pm with a runtime of approximately 90 minutes.
But that's not all! Preceding this special screening, when we open the doors at 7:00, we will show any Demo Reels y'all may have been sitting on these past few months. So, dust off that DVD or Blu-ray you've been dying to share, let's see what you've been up to.
Again, doors open at 7:00 pm in Apple's Garage I in Cupertino. And, oh yes indeed, there WILL also be pizza! For this special program, it will have been pre-ordered and served earlier than usual, with the Pizza Break happening somewhere in the first half hour of the meeting, chowing down right there in the meeting room. (Yes, I know, order lots of pepperoni.)
Anyway, it's good to be back. And I hope to see you all this Wednesday!
--Kevin
Monday, November 9, 2009
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Next meeting TBA in October
Dear MacFilmmakers friends, please accept my apologies for the lapse in meetings and communication. In the last couple of weeks I have been going though some pretty severe family drama that has commanded my attention. I hope to be through it soon and believe I'll be able to announce an October meeting date in the near future.
To be clear, there is no meeting scheduled yet, none for September, but an October date remains likely. Thank you for your patience and understanding,
To be clear, there is no meeting scheduled yet, none for September, but an October date remains likely. Thank you for your patience and understanding,
Monday, August 24, 2009
NO MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY, 8/26
We are having trouble getting a room reserved in our usual Wednesday slot. We are definitely NOT meeting THIS week but, past that, I cannot tell yet. I am still working with the scheduling office to find a suitable alternate room/date and will post that information here (and send out an email) once I have that info. Thanks in advance for your patience and flexibility.
--Kevin
--Kevin
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
This Wednesday's (July 29th) Meeting
OK, folks, unless you've been living under a rock these last few days, there's no way you haven't heard something about the new Final Cut Studio, which has been making headlines everywhere. Already available (and at a new, lower price) and with over 100 new features, the new Studio sounds like it is going to be fantastic. Charles Meyer and Steve Bayes of Apple will lead us through a major demonstration of what's new.
For details as to what IS new, here is a link to the press release:
Over 100 New Features in Final Cut Studio
The MacFilmmakers meeting is, as you know, Wednesday, July 29th, in Apple's Garage I/II rooms (upstairs in Building 4 at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA). Doors open at 6:30pm. Meeting starts at 7:00pm. The meeting is free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free. While we will have Demo Reels, we are going to play it by ear as to when during the meeting these are shown. We will also, of course, enjoy our hallmark Fabulous Pizza Break around the halfway point.
See you Wednesday!
For details as to what IS new, here is a link to the press release:
Over 100 New Features in Final Cut Studio
The MacFilmmakers meeting is, as you know, Wednesday, July 29th, in Apple's Garage I/II rooms (upstairs in Building 4 at One Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA). Doors open at 6:30pm. Meeting starts at 7:00pm. The meeting is free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free. While we will have Demo Reels, we are going to play it by ear as to when during the meeting these are shown. We will also, of course, enjoy our hallmark Fabulous Pizza Break around the halfway point.
See you Wednesday!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Next mtg Wed. July 29th
OK, this news is SO HOT, I am burning my fingertips trying to type it out. YES, we are meeting next Wednesday, July 29th, 7:00 PM in Apple's Garage I/II and, YES...drumroll, please...
Apple is confirmed as our special guest for the evening, presenting the just-announced new Final Cut Studio, including over 100 new features in Final Cut Pro 7 and more!
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/
Details will be posted here shortly, I just wanted to get this HOT, HOT, HOT news out FAST, FAST, FAST!
Apple is confirmed as our special guest for the evening, presenting the just-announced new Final Cut Studio, including over 100 new features in Final Cut Pro 7 and more!
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/
Details will be posted here shortly, I just wanted to get this HOT, HOT, HOT news out FAST, FAST, FAST!
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
Agenda for tomorrow night, Wed. June 24th
OK, gang, here is the rundown for tomorrow night's meeting (specific order/timing subject to change):
• Demo Reels
• RED+FCP+Color: Making It All Work by Adam Wilt
• Pizza Break
• Multiformat Editing for Indies: Starting a Multiformat Project, or Fixing One That Is Underway by Jesse Spencer
As always, the meeting opens up with your Demo Reels. Please keep your reel to a maximum of 5 minutes. Slots are limited and available on a first-come first serve basis.
Next up will be Adam Wilt presenting RED+FCP+Color: Making It All Work.
Recently, Adam shot a 30-second spot using the RED camera. Tonight we will take a look at how that footage was taken through Final Cut Pro and Color. We will see many different vignettes in Color and how much of a difference there can be. Adam's original article on this subject is posted over at:
Pro Video Coalition
Adam Wilt is a filmmaker with Meets The Eye LLC
Following Adam is the always fabulous Pizza Break. Free pizza, free soda and, according to a rumor I heard, YES, free cookies from San Francisco's famous Hot Cookies! So, skip your meals today, save that lunch money for filmmaking and chow down with us tonight!
Once we're all properly bloated from pizza, we round out the evening with Jesse Spencer presenting Multiformat Editing for Indies: Starting a Multiformat Project, or Fixing One That Is Underway.
Indie filmmakers often have the most challenging technical problems to solve, and unfairly, they have least amount or resources! This presentation will concentrate on the challenges of multiformat editing, and will reveal a few simple key tricks that are handily built into FCP to help indie filmmakers overcome them. Even when you need to plan your edit today, for a video format that won't debut until tomorrow!
This presentation will be discussing nuts-and-botls anatomy of the video anatomy... as well as feature a few in-the-timeline tricks for untangling a messy project.
Jesse Spencer has been editing for 23 years. FOr the past 13 he has worked as Video Arts in SF as an onliner/colorist finishing high end projects bound for Theatrical release, and Broadcast on ITVS. His offline editing in films have screened at Sundance, and have been distributed by Lions Gate. Jesse is now freelance, working in all aspects of post offline through mastering, but now concentrating on consulting and post-supervision for Indie Projects.
We are in Apple's Garage I/II. Doors open at 6:30, meeting starts at 7:00. For those arriving past 7:00 there will be a sign on the door with a cell phone number you can call to gain entry. Meetings are free and open to the public, all are invited to attend. Parking is plentiful and free.
Reminder: Garage I/II is upstairs in Apple's Building 4 (same location as Town Hall) at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
• Demo Reels
• RED+FCP+Color: Making It All Work by Adam Wilt
• Pizza Break
• Multiformat Editing for Indies: Starting a Multiformat Project, or Fixing One That Is Underway by Jesse Spencer
As always, the meeting opens up with your Demo Reels. Please keep your reel to a maximum of 5 minutes. Slots are limited and available on a first-come first serve basis.
Next up will be Adam Wilt presenting RED+FCP+Color: Making It All Work.
Recently, Adam shot a 30-second spot using the RED camera. Tonight we will take a look at how that footage was taken through Final Cut Pro and Color. We will see many different vignettes in Color and how much of a difference there can be. Adam's original article on this subject is posted over at:
Pro Video Coalition
Adam Wilt is a filmmaker with Meets The Eye LLC
Following Adam is the always fabulous Pizza Break. Free pizza, free soda and, according to a rumor I heard, YES, free cookies from San Francisco's famous Hot Cookies! So, skip your meals today, save that lunch money for filmmaking and chow down with us tonight!
Once we're all properly bloated from pizza, we round out the evening with Jesse Spencer presenting Multiformat Editing for Indies: Starting a Multiformat Project, or Fixing One That Is Underway.
Indie filmmakers often have the most challenging technical problems to solve, and unfairly, they have least amount or resources! This presentation will concentrate on the challenges of multiformat editing, and will reveal a few simple key tricks that are handily built into FCP to help indie filmmakers overcome them. Even when you need to plan your edit today, for a video format that won't debut until tomorrow!
This presentation will be discussing nuts-and-botls anatomy of the video anatomy... as well as feature a few in-the-timeline tricks for untangling a messy project.
Jesse Spencer has been editing for 23 years. FOr the past 13 he has worked as Video Arts in SF as an onliner/colorist finishing high end projects bound for Theatrical release, and Broadcast on ITVS. His offline editing in films have screened at Sundance, and have been distributed by Lions Gate. Jesse is now freelance, working in all aspects of post offline through mastering, but now concentrating on consulting and post-supervision for Indie Projects.
We are in Apple's Garage I/II. Doors open at 6:30, meeting starts at 7:00. For those arriving past 7:00 there will be a sign on the door with a cell phone number you can call to gain entry. Meetings are free and open to the public, all are invited to attend. Parking is plentiful and free.
Reminder: Garage I/II is upstairs in Apple's Building 4 (same location as Town Hall) at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
Saturday, June 20, 2009
We ARE meeting Wed. June 24th
Thank you, thank you, thank you to one and all for your generous support and suggestions for speakers. We now have an abundance of topics/presenters for this coming Wednesday, June 24th and therefore will be meeting. Indeed, I now need to coordinate with several offers to speak. While I won't mention those names here just yet, pending such individual confirmations, know that if you offered to speak yourself and/or connected me with another speaker, I will be contacting you or them in the next few hours to work out the details.
Again, thank you everybody, we will meet June 24th in Apple's Garage I/II meeting room.
Again, thank you everybody, we will meet June 24th in Apple's Garage I/II meeting room.
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Next meeting is NOT June 17th, read more...
OK, so as it turns out, the major Apple Pro Apps presentation which was planned for our June meeting has, at Apple's request, been postponed to July. So, immediately I can say there is no meeting on June 17th (tomorrow).
Now, at this moment, as I'd thought Apple was going to be our exclusive guest this month, while we do have a room for next Wednesday, June 24th, I have no speakers lined up. This is a call for assistance in helping to put together an agenda for 1 week from now, for Wednesday, June 24th. Please either add your comments here and/or email me directly with your ideas for available speakers.
If we can get a reasonable agenda lined up within the next couple of days--and that IS possible, we've done it many, many times over the years--then our next meeting will stay on track for next Wednesday, June 24th. OTOH, if collectively we cannot get at least one speaker/presentation lined up, preferably two, (along with the usual Demo Reels), then we are looking at no meeting this month but with the postponed Apple presentation happening July 29th. I will set the deadline for coordinating a decision to be this Friday, June 19th. For those who do not have it, my email address is (encoded to avoid spambots, but I'm sure you'll figure it out):
b o s s k e v a t p a c b e l l d a w t n e t
So, ladies and gentlemen, please start commenting as desired...
Now, at this moment, as I'd thought Apple was going to be our exclusive guest this month, while we do have a room for next Wednesday, June 24th, I have no speakers lined up. This is a call for assistance in helping to put together an agenda for 1 week from now, for Wednesday, June 24th. Please either add your comments here and/or email me directly with your ideas for available speakers.
If we can get a reasonable agenda lined up within the next couple of days--and that IS possible, we've done it many, many times over the years--then our next meeting will stay on track for next Wednesday, June 24th. OTOH, if collectively we cannot get at least one speaker/presentation lined up, preferably two, (along with the usual Demo Reels), then we are looking at no meeting this month but with the postponed Apple presentation happening July 29th. I will set the deadline for coordinating a decision to be this Friday, June 19th. For those who do not have it, my email address is (encoded to avoid spambots, but I'm sure you'll figure it out):
b o s s k e v a t p a c b e l l d a w t n e t
So, ladies and gentlemen, please start commenting as desired...
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Next meeting is June 17th or 24th TBA
The next meeting of MacFilmmakers will be either Wednesday, June 17th or 24th, to be determined very soon so stand by. (There will be no meeting in May.)
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Next Meeting is Wed., April 29th, 7:00 pm
The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is tomorrow night, Wednesday, April 29th, 7:00 pm, in Apple's Garage meeting room. It will be a low-key evening with a focus on iMovie '09 (which, as most of you know, is radically different from iMovie '06 and all earlier versions, and is a tremendous jump in capability over iMovie '08).
• Demo Reels
• iMovie '09--the basics
• iMovie '09--new/advanced features
• Pizza Break (with cookies!)
As always, the meeting is free and all are invited to attend.
• Demo Reels
• iMovie '09--the basics
• iMovie '09--new/advanced features
• Pizza Break (with cookies!)
As always, the meeting is free and all are invited to attend.
Tuesday, March 24, 2009
Next Meeting is Wed., April 29th
The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is Wednesday, April 29th, in Apple's Garage I meeting room. The meeting that was held two weeks ago on March 11th will have been our March meeting with no additional meetings this month. Just FYI.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Meeting: March 11, 7PM, Garage I (Postponed from February 25)
Let's do the Time Warp again...
OK. So, our postponed meeting IS happening. Also, the agenda has been updated to include a NEW PRESENTATION. See below:
Yes, we ARE meeting this Wednesday evening, March 11, at 7:00 pm, in Apple's Garage I meeting room.
Agenda:
• DVD Duplication vs. Replication: What You Don't Know...
• Blu-ray Duplication vs. Replication: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
• Fabulous Pizza Break, now with COOKIES!
• Demo Reels
• Inside Cinequest and EXIT Stage Left: Real World Social Media Networking
• Social Media Networking 101: How Do I Start?
Back by popular demand! Mark Calice will present a follow-up to his earlier presentation, "DVD Duplication vs. Replication: What You Don't Know...". Mark's original delivery on this topic was so well-received that, due to everybody getting involved in the discussion, we actually had to cut the presentation short! Tonight, we have set aside enough time to fit it all in.
On top of that, Mark will also include updated and expanded Blu-ray information, including all that is currently known in "Blu-ray Duplication vs. Replication: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly". It's like getting two presentations in one...well...'cuz it is two presentations in one!
Mark's presentation is structured as an informational Q&A session, so your questions and participation are definitely encouraged.
Following Mark's preso will be our Fabulous Pizza Break. Once again filling the tummies of Bay Area filmmakers with really good pizza and a variety of soft drinks, the Pizza Break is, as always, free with your unpaid admission!
And tonight, as a thank you for your understanding and patience about the postponement, we will also have cookies from San Francisco's world famous Hot Cookie!
Next up will be your Demo Reels. Use our stunning 1080p DLP projection system (complete with Blu-ray player) to show us a work-in-progress, sample clips or a complete short, but please keep the total running time to under 5 minutes. Check in early with your demo reel as timeslots tonight will be limited.
After that will be "Inside Cinequest and EXIT Stage Left: Real World Social Media Networking". Sinohui Hinojosa of Emerging Artist Productions has been a busy, busy guy. I mean...BUSY! Just wrapping up his round-the-clock coverage of Cinequest filmmakers and celebrities with Inside Cinequest, and previously having produced an ongoing web series titled EXIT Stage Left, Sinohui is a perfect example of a real-world social media networking success story. Tonight we will hear how this all came to be and also see samples of these productions.
Rounding out the evening, Kevin Johnson will present a mini-talk about "Social Media Networking 101: How Do I Start?". So, now you are all jazzed from the previous presentation about social media networking. But, how do you start? And what are the sites/tools you should consider...Facebook? MySpace? LinkedIn? Twitter? Blogspot? How do they compare? What are the privacy issues and how can you minimize any such dangers? Kevin will give a short introduction/comparison to these and related social media networking sites/tools, laying out the basics you want to know.
And, if it just so happens you already are using such sites, please feel free to jump into the conversation with your own experiences or opinions, both pro and con. It's 2009, folks--just having your own website may no longer be enough. (And, no, you do not need to be a 20-something "kid" to benefit...)
Doors open at 6:30. Meetings are free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free.
Reminder: Garage I is upstairs in Apple's Building 4 (same location as Town Hall) at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
Yes, we ARE meeting this Wednesday evening, March 11, at 7:00 pm, in Apple's Garage I meeting room.
Agenda:
• DVD Duplication vs. Replication: What You Don't Know...
• Blu-ray Duplication vs. Replication: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
• Fabulous Pizza Break, now with COOKIES!
• Demo Reels
• Inside Cinequest and EXIT Stage Left: Real World Social Media Networking
• Social Media Networking 101: How Do I Start?
Back by popular demand! Mark Calice will present a follow-up to his earlier presentation, "DVD Duplication vs. Replication: What You Don't Know...". Mark's original delivery on this topic was so well-received that, due to everybody getting involved in the discussion, we actually had to cut the presentation short! Tonight, we have set aside enough time to fit it all in.
On top of that, Mark will also include updated and expanded Blu-ray information, including all that is currently known in "Blu-ray Duplication vs. Replication: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly". It's like getting two presentations in one...well...'cuz it is two presentations in one!
Mark's presentation is structured as an informational Q&A session, so your questions and participation are definitely encouraged.
Following Mark's preso will be our Fabulous Pizza Break. Once again filling the tummies of Bay Area filmmakers with really good pizza and a variety of soft drinks, the Pizza Break is, as always, free with your unpaid admission!
And tonight, as a thank you for your understanding and patience about the postponement, we will also have cookies from San Francisco's world famous Hot Cookie!
Next up will be your Demo Reels. Use our stunning 1080p DLP projection system (complete with Blu-ray player) to show us a work-in-progress, sample clips or a complete short, but please keep the total running time to under 5 minutes. Check in early with your demo reel as timeslots tonight will be limited.
After that will be "Inside Cinequest and EXIT Stage Left: Real World Social Media Networking". Sinohui Hinojosa of Emerging Artist Productions has been a busy, busy guy. I mean...BUSY! Just wrapping up his round-the-clock coverage of Cinequest filmmakers and celebrities with Inside Cinequest, and previously having produced an ongoing web series titled EXIT Stage Left, Sinohui is a perfect example of a real-world social media networking success story. Tonight we will hear how this all came to be and also see samples of these productions.
Rounding out the evening, Kevin Johnson will present a mini-talk about "Social Media Networking 101: How Do I Start?". So, now you are all jazzed from the previous presentation about social media networking. But, how do you start? And what are the sites/tools you should consider...Facebook? MySpace? LinkedIn? Twitter? Blogspot? How do they compare? What are the privacy issues and how can you minimize any such dangers? Kevin will give a short introduction/comparison to these and related social media networking sites/tools, laying out the basics you want to know.
And, if it just so happens you already are using such sites, please feel free to jump into the conversation with your own experiences or opinions, both pro and con. It's 2009, folks--just having your own website may no longer be enough. (And, no, you do not need to be a 20-something "kid" to benefit...)
Doors open at 6:30. Meetings are free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free.
Reminder: Garage I is upstairs in Apple's Building 4 (same location as Town Hall) at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
TONIGHT'S MEETING POSTPONED!
ACK! Our main speaker for this evening, Mark Calice, has quickly (and, of course, unexpectedly) come down quite ill and will not be able to speak. As Mark was our primary speaker for the evening--and my talk was a secondary and much shorter "intro" piece--I am pained to say that we are going to POSTPONE OUR MEETING UNTIL WEDNESDAY, MARCH 11.
I've just spoken with Mark, he is on board for that new date. I've also spoken with Apple scheduling, we do have a room for the 11th, the very same Garage I space. So, we will move the meeting to 3/11.
PLEASE HELP SPREAD THE WORD. Most people will check this blog and/or get the email I am about to send out to the listserv, but some listserv folks are still in digest mode, meaning there is a chance they won't see that message until after this evening.
AGAIN, TONIGHT'S MEETING IS CANCELLED AND HAS BEEN RESCHEDULED FOR MARCH 11.
Regarding what was to have been my topic for the evening, Social Media Networking 101, I will at least post some mission-critical "bullet point" info here on the blog by this weekend.
In the meantime, the Cinequest Film Festival starts today, so, going with the old make-lemonade-from-lemons adage, maybe take this opportunity to go out and, you know, actually see a movie.
Monday, February 23, 2009
Meeting: February 25, 7PM, Garage I/II
Yes, we ARE meeting this Wednesday evening, February 25th, at 7:00 pm, in Apple's Garage I/II meeting room.
Agenda:
• DVD Duplication vs. Replication: What You Don't Know...
• Blu-ray Duplication vs. Replication: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly
• Fabulous Pizza Break
• Demo Reels
• Social Media Networking 101: WTH is That?
Back by popular demand! Mark Calice will present a follow-up to his earlier presentation, "DVD Duplication vs. Replication: What You Don't Know...". Mark's original delivery on this topic was so well-received that, due to everybody getting involved in the discussion, we actually had to cut the presentation short! Tonight, we have set aside enough time to fit it all in.
On top of that, Mark will also include updated and expanded Blu-ray information, including all that is currently known in "Blu-ray Duplication vs. Replication: The Good, the Bad & the Ugly". It's like getting two presentations in one...well...'cuz it is two presentations in one!
Mark's presentation is structured as an informational Q&A session, so your questions and participation are definitely encouraged.
Following Mark's preso will be our Fabulous Pizza Break. Once again filling the tummies of Bay Area filmmakers with really good pizza and a variety of soft drinks, the Pizza Break is, as always, free with your unpaid admission!
Next up will be your Demo Reels. Use our stunning 1080p DLP projection system (complete with Blu-ray player) to show us a work-in-progress, sample clips or a complete short, but please keep the total running time to under 5 minutes.
Rounding out the evening, Kevin Johnson will present "Social Media Networking 101: WTH is That?". Sure, you've heard of them: Facebook. MySpace. LinkedIn. Twitter. Etc. But, what in the heck are they? Blogging? Micro-blogging? How do these relate to YouTube or Flickr? And, as a creative professional, should you care? Yes, you should! Kevin will give an introduction to these and related social media networking sites, laying out the basics you want to know.
• What are these sites? How do they compare?
• How might you use them to further your career?
• What are the privacy issues? How can you minimize any such dangers?
• What are good resources to get you started?
And, if it just so happens you already are using such sites, please feel free to jump into the conversation with your own experiences or opinions, both pro and con. It's 2009, folks--just having your own website may no longer be enough. (And, no, you do not need to be a 20-something "kid" to benefit...)
Doors open at 6:30. Meetings are free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free.
Reminder: Garage I/II is upstairs in Apple's Building 4 (same location as Town Hall) at 1 Infinite Loop in Cupertino.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Lost our room; next meeting in February
Hi, Gang. Bad news--we lost our room this month at Apple. Apparently a high-level manager claimed all rooms of any size for tomorrow night and all that was leftover were tiny rooms not suitable for our meeting purposes. It happens.
So, what would have been our January meeting will be rescheduled for February 25th. For that rescheduled date, our own Mark Calice will be making a presentation and other presenters will be announced later.
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