MacFilmmakers

Whoops! Say, wasn't there a rug underneath my feet a few minutes ago...?

2010-02-12T15:11:00.000-08:00

Rumors have been flying and, in my silence, perhaps understandably so. One rumor is true, one is false. Here's to setting the record straight.

(1) Rumor: MacFilmmakers has disbanded.

Reality: FALSE. MacFilmmakers HAS been on hiatus, mostly planned--first through the November/December holiday period and then through January (for Sundance, where I was out of town for the latter half of the month)--but we are most definitely NOT "disbanded". We do plan to meet again and on a regular, if reduced, schedule (see below). That said...

(2) Rumor: Apple has announced that user groups, such as MacFilmmakers, can no longer schedule rooms on the Apple campus.

Reality: Sadly, this rumor is TRUE. I have confirmed with the powers that be that, as of this moment, the proverbial rug has been yanked out from under our feet as we (and all other user groups) will NOT be allowed to use Apple meeting rooms going forward. However, that is not necessarily the final word on the subject as I am aggressively (but nicely, of course) following through to see if there are creative and/or agreeable workarounds; I'll have more to say about this after such internal exploration has happened. Naturally, even if this icky status quo remains in place, there are other meeting locations that might be available.

So, pending finding a suitable location for March-ish, we are likely to have a MacFilmmakers meeting. Going forward, however, we might be looking at a different kind of schedule, i.e., rather than monthly meetings perhaps quarterly meetings. And/or perhaps more "co-sponsored" meetings, ourselves with other established groups, and then splitting costs that might be associated with room fees (if any).

And, independent of meeting room challenges, there are other ways we can stay vital and viable as a group. For example, there is a short filmmaking project tentatively scheduled for production at the end of March/early April that could involve large portions of our membership--more information on this as the schedule is fleshed out in pre-production.

Anyway, my apologies for my lack of communication. I had planned to send out an update in January before I left for Sundance--and then promptly got sick for the two weeks preceding Sundance. Then, the day I got back from Sundance, I got sick again for another week-ish. Nothing scary either time--and thankfully I was in perfect health during Sundance--but both illnesses were enough to knock me on my keister for those several weeks.

--Kevin

YES, we are meeting Wed. Nov. 11th!

2009-11-09T21:07:00.000-08:00

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

Next meeting TBA in October

2009-09-30T06:06:00.000-07:00

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,

NO MEETING THIS WEDNESDAY, 8/26

2009-08-24T14:36:00.000-07:00

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

This Wednesday's (July 29th) Meeting

2009-07-28T19:24:00.000-07:00

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!

Next mtg Wed. July 29th

2009-07-23T07:34:00.000-07:00

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!

Agenda for tomorrow night, Wed. June 24th

2009-06-23T12:27:00.000-07:00

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.

We ARE meeting Wed. June 24th

2009-06-20T11:24:00.000-07:00

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.

Next meeting is NOT June 17th, read more...

2009-06-16T15:09:00.000-07:00

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...

Next meeting is June 17th or 24th TBA

2009-05-26T07:18:00.000-07:00

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.)

Next Meeting is Wed., April 29th, 7:00 pm

2009-04-28T13:46:00.000-07:00

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.

Next Meeting is Wed., April 29th

2009-03-24T11:12:00.000-07:00

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.

Meeting: March 11, 7PM, Garage I (Postponed from February 25)

2009-03-10T08:38:00.000-07:00

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.

TONIGHT'S MEETING POSTPONED!

2009-02-25T10:16:00.001-08:00

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.

Meeting: February 25, 7PM, Garage I/II

2009-02-23T18:36:00.000-08:00

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?

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.

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.

Lost our room; next meeting in February

2009-01-27T15:16:00.000-08:00

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.

YES, we are meeting tomorrow, Dec. 17, in Garage 1/2

2008-12-16T10:19:00.000-08:00

YES, we are meeting tomorrow, Dec. 17, in Garage 1/2. This month we are combining forces with the Digital Cinema Society to bring you what will likely be the biggest meeting we've had in years. Here is the lineup for the evening:

6.30 Doors open
7.00 Meeting starts (late arrivals will find a phone number on the lobby doors)
7.15 Sony present EX3 - Q & A follows
8.00 Pizza break
8.15 Draw raffle
8.20 Sony present HD Displays
8.30 F35 segment, Art and Adam demo the F35, show their F35 spot and talk about
production. Discussion of S-log, Hyper gammas - Q&A follows.
9.40 Wrap.

The Garage 1&2 rooms are located directly upstairs from Town Hall in Apple's Building 4 at 1 Infinite Loop. To find it, just pretend you are headed to the Town Hall facility, enter the main lobby doors, but instead go up the stairs to your far left to find The Garages rooms.

To locate the meeting room on a map, go to maps.google.com and search for "1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino CA". Building 4 will be on the backside of the loop towards the top right corner (northeast) of the map.

Good News, Bad News...

2008-11-18T15:38:00.000-08:00

First, the Bad News:

Mid-November came up so fast from our previous meeting there just wasn't enough time to put together a credible/complete agenda for a November meeting. Sorry, so no meeting this month...but I think the good news will more than make up for it.

Now, the Good News:

Our next meeting will be in December, specifically, December 17th. And it is going to be KILLER! I am thrilled to announce that we will be co-hosting the December meeting with the Bay Area's new Digital Cinema Society, a worldwide filmmaking organization now with a local chapter under the leadership of Simon Sommerfeld. Our special guests for the evening will be SONY showing off their HD FILMMAKING SOLUTIONS. Not only that but it's also a PARTY!

More details will be posted as December approaches, but DO mark your calendar for 12/17/08 as MacFilmmakers and the Digital Cinema Society will be partying like it's...well, 2008.

Tonight's Meeting BONUS: COOKIES!

2008-10-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

As the subject line says, as an added bonus for tonight's meeting, our Fabulous Pizza Break will once again feature those amazingly good cookies from San Francisco's Hot Cookie. Yay!

Of course, this means there will have to be a 50% increase in the entry fee at the door. Let me do the math here. Let's see, zero admission charge, times a factor of 1.5, equals...umm...oh yeah, that's still FREE!

See y'all tonight.

Next Meeting is Wed., Oct. 29th, BEATLES meeting room

2008-10-26T08:39:00.000-07:00

The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is this coming Wednesday evening, October 29, at 7:00 pm in Apple's Beatles meeting room in the De Anza 3 building. Note that the Beatles meeting room is a new space. Full details below.

Wednesday, October 29

Apple's campus, Cupertino, CA

Beatles meeting room, located in the De Anza 3 building (Use the building entrance that faces onto Mariani Ave. Yes, this is a different entrance on the opposite side from what we are used to using previously.)

Doors Open 6:30 pm

Admission is Free!
Parking is Free!
The Pizza Break is Free!

_______________________________

7:00 – 8:00 PM
NATE GENTNER
Product Manager for Adobe's Encore

“Adobe's Blu-ray Authoring Workflow"
While Blu-ray may be a "bag of hurt", what really hurts is that Apple does not (yet?) offer video professinals a Blu-ray authoring solution. Aargh! No problem, Adobe has a workflow solution.

With Adobe's Encore, you can author fully professional Blu-ray discs and, using third party hardware, burn your own Blu-ray movies. While Encore is, of course, part of Adobe's Premiere Pro editing suite of software, it also works well in an Apple Final Cut workflow.

Come, release your authoring pain! Blu-ray no longer needs to be a "bag of hurt".

http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/encore/
http://www.adobe.com/products/premiere/
http://www.adobe.com/products/creativesuite/production/

_______________________________

8:00 PM
Pizza Break
Once again, filling that gnawing void in filmmakers' lives (i.e., hungry tummies) since 2002, we present our always fabulous Pizza Break. Pizza and soft drinks are provided for everybody and at no cost (although kindly donations are never turned down), just show up and enjoy.

_______________________________

8:30 – 8:45 PM
LISHKA DEVOSS
Kranky Kids

“Size Matters, Especially if Your Video Is Being Shown as Part of a Presentation"
Lishka DeVoss of Kranky Kids walks us through what happens when you:

1. Set-up a basic Keynote presentation and then -
2. Grab some sound effects from Soundtrack Pro and do a simple edit of them in GarageBand (because you think Soundtrack Pro is too difficult to learn and all you wanted were those sound effects) and then -
3. Add your FCP edited videos to Keynote and see what the same QuickTime compression of your videos from three different cameras looks like when they are blown-up and projected to a size they were not intended to be viewed at because you just wanted to put them on the web, right? (Except someone asked for you to show them as a preso . . . for work, or at school, or you really think people will invest money in your BIG film idea and you thought it might be nice if everyone didn't all have to gather around a computer monitor . . .)

The camera output into a Keynote Presentation will be from:

• a Sony TRV9 (Yes! The Original!)
• a Canon XL1-S (Another dinosaur!)
• and The Flip ULtra (The hottest little consumer Flash-based camera on the market for people who just want to shoot video for YouTube or the family computer using no tape and which only needs to have regular AA batteries on hand to make the little monster work!)

http://www.krankykids.com/

_______________________________

8:45 – 9:30 PM
ADAM WILT
filmmaker, writer

"Making 'One Man, One Vote'"
Adam Wilt talks about the production and postproduction of a seven-minute short film.

- Mistakes made in production, and how they had to be fixed and fudged in post.
- How to use three cameras, including a cellphone cam, for a single image.
- Simple compositing and VFX using FCP, Motion, and Photoshop.
- Color correction and creating a look (even if it wasn't the look we planned on).
- Reworking an interlaced program for progressive displays.

http://provideocoalition.com
http://www.adamwilt.com/

Next Meeting is Wed., Oct. 29th

2008-10-24T14:53:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting is Wednesday, October 29. One of our confirmed guest speakers will be Adobe presenting solutions for creating/burning Blu-ray DVDs on the Mac. More details to be posted later.

Noren Acoustilock 24 unit cabinet "Virtual Giveaway!"

2008-09-30T13:58:00.001-07:00

***NOTICE: LISTSERV IS DOWN FOR MAINTENANCE, should be back up within 24 hours***

Hey, My Fellow MacFilmmakers--

Kevin Johnson here. The following is a ONCE IN A LIFETIME DEAL on a Noren Acoustilock 24 unit cabinet. These are those giant sound-reducing racks for post-production and A/V studios that will house all your noisy computer equipment. This particular one was previously the top of the line model, a 24 unit cabinet. (It is not the current 24TD; it is, I believe, the previous configuration, whatever those were designated.) It could hold, for example:
(2) Mac Pros
(1-2) XServes
(2-3) XServe RAIDs
(Many) smaller FW drives
possibly even a UPS unit
a picture of your Mom smiling at you, proud of your good fortune

So, here's the aforementioned once in a lifetime deal. These things go for, literally, way over $3,000 plus shipping. I just bought a used one in great condition off eBay for...drumroll, please...

FIFTY TWO BUCKS!

And...

Since I already own my own Acoustilock, I'm selling this one to the first friend/person who confirms with 100% absolute certainty that they want it for...

FIFTY TWO BUCKS!

To check out the concluded eBay auction, go to this link:
eBay link

Know that it is a local pickup only in Menlo Park and it is up a flight of stairs (no elevator, apparently) so you'll need a truck, a refrigerator dolly and some strong-armed friends (and while I may be your friend, I probably can't be there to help you move it) to get it. Here's the deal:

Give me FIFTY TWO BUCKS and a firm, absolute commitment that YOU will PICK IT UP and USE IT YOURSELF (NO, do NOT use this as an opportunity to resell it and make money off someone else, that would only ROYALLY piss me off, and you do NOT want to do that!), it goes to the first person to contact me and say they will personally use it.

How do you contact me? If you already have my email address use that, I check it frequently (and will see timestamps for the first-come, first-serve thingy). Or, if you already have my cell phone, call me (and be sure to leave a message). If you have neither of those, then try leaving a comment here and I'll check in here from time to time until it is confirmed as sold.

--Kevin

MFM meets next week, Wed., Sept. 24

2008-09-17T13:53:00.000-07:00

The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is next week, Wednesday evening, September 24, at 7:00 pm in Apple's Garage II meeting room. Full details below.

Wednesday, September 24
Apple's campus, Cupertino, CA
Garage II (inside Bldg 4, upstairs from Town Hall)
Doors Open 6:30 pm
Admission is Free!
Parking is Free!

The Pizza Break is Free!
Tonight's Raffle (a full copy of CS4 Production Suite!) is Free!
Unsolicited Opinions Regarding Your Haircut are Free!

7:00 – 8:00 PM
MARK SPENCER
“Apple Motion workflow tips and tricks”
Mark Spencer is a bay area-based producer, editor, teacher and writer. He owns Day Street Productions, Inc. (www.daystreet.com), a production and post studio focused on corporate video. Mark is also an Apple-certified instructor and the author of Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut Studio from Peachpit Press and the author of our Motion 3 Fast Forward and Deep Dive tutorials.
See Mark’s video tutorials and more at:
www.applemotion.net/

8:00 PM
Pizza Break
Once again, filling that gnawing void in filmmakers' lives (i.e., hungry tummies) since 2002, we present our always fabulous Pizza Break. Pizza and soft drinks are provided for everybody and at no cost (although kindly donations are never turned down), just show up and enjoy.

8:30 – 9:30 PM
KEVAN O'BRIEN
“Adobe CS4 Production Suite, workflow with Final Cut Studio”
Kevan O’Brien was post production consultant for Peter and the Wolf,
2008 Academy Award Winner for best Short Film (Animated). Adobe officially launches CS4 on Tuesday 9/23. There will be a special web broadcast on September 23 (the day before our meeting). To register to view the broadcast go to:
www.adobe.com/go/somethingbrilliant

9:30 PM
Raffle
At the conclusion of tonight’s meeting we will raffle off a full version of the Adobe CS4 Production Suite! As stated above, this raffle will cost you...well, nothing at all, it is absolutely free! Naturally, you must be present to win. And, you know, own a computer to put it on.

Oh, and by the way, while we are truly sorry that our previous month's (August) meeting was cancelled, we'd have to kind of say that tonight's line up, well, pretty much MORE than makes up for that! Indeed, you might want to arrive a wee bit early just to make sure you get a seat for what will likely be a standing room only event.

And, finally, very special recognition goes out to our own Chip Curry for acting as the Grand Poobah to coordinate tonight's lineup. THANK YOU, CHIP!

August 27 meeting cancelled;September 24 meeting with MARK SPENCER

2008-08-26T13:21:00.000-07:00

This is a Good News, Bad News announcement.

BAD NEWS: Tomorrow night's scheduled AUGUST 27 meeting of MacFilmmakers unfortunately needs to be CANCELLED. I have come down with either the flu or a really, really severe cold (can't tell yet, but I am totally bummed out 'cuz I had essentially what started out as these same symptoms only a few months ago, ick) and Mark Calice is out of town. Since our current arrangement requires ONE of us co-hosts to be present to facilitate we will have to postpone our August meeting. That's the bad news.

GOOD NEWS: For the SEPTEMBER 24 meeting, we have MARK SPENCER coming in to present Apple's Motion, part of Final Cut Studio. Mark is THE GUY when it comes to understanding and training Motion as he is the author of several books including three on Motion itself! Additional info will be added to the blog much later, but know for now that September 24 is a GO with Mark Spencer in Apple's "Garage I" room at 7:00 pm.

To whet your appetite for the September meeting (and to be a tiny ersatz substitute for tomorrow night's lack of a meeting), here is a link to a short podcast (with a curiously long musical intro) from last Fall that features Mark discussing Motion with DMN's David Basulto:

http://podcasts.digitalmediaonlineinc.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=188795

MacFilmmakers meeting for Wed. July 30th, 7:00PM, NEW LOCATION in Apple's "GARAGE II"

2008-07-28T14:58:00.000-07:00

This coming Wednesday night, July 30th, promises to be an amazing evening for MacFilmmakers. For this meeting, we have not one but TWO BRAND-NEW SHORT FILMS to present in their entirety along with THE FILMMAKERS for Q&A DISCUSSIONS. Also, we will feature your DEMO REELS and or SHORTS and, in celebration of tonight's program, we will again enjoy our FABULOUS PIZZA BREAK! Here's all the details:

We are meeting in a new space tonight. The room is called "Garage II" (as in roman numeral 2), but it is in a familiar Apple campus location in Cupertino. Located directly upstairs from Town Hall in Apple's Building 4 at 1 Infinite Loop, Garage II is our temporary home while renovations continue on other venues. To find Garage II, just pretend you are headed to our regular Town Hall facility, enter the main lobby doors, but instead go up the stairs to your far left to find Garage II.

Doors open at 6:30 pm. Meetings are free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free. To locate the meeting room on a map, go to maps.google.com and search for "1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino CA". Building 4 will be on the backside of the loop towards the top right corner (northeast) of the map.

"Timba Mania" with Chip Curry and Stephen Vahle

Film Director and Editor CHIP CURRY recently finished work on "TIMBA MANIA", a Latin Music Video. Featuring the music of percussionist/drummer STEPHEN VAHLE (who also served as the film's Producer), the soundtrack is deep rooted in the music of the great triangle of rhythm: Africa, Cuba and Brazil.

Chip, a San Jose filmmaker with 25 years experience, will be on hand to show this video and discuss production, band organization, special microphone techniques, dual system audio, studio construction, lighting, camera control, editing effects, etc. Also, as an incredibly special treat, Stephen Vahle himself will be in attendance exclusively for our MacFilmmakers audience! And, as if all that weren't enough, Chip will have the SonyEXDCAM EX-1 available for anyone wanting a close-up look. Yowza!

Footage was acquired with a Sony XDCAM EX-1 and Sony VX 2000. English. 5 minutes.

Chip Curry's website is at:
www.ChrysalisFilms.com

"Julie, Julie" with Mark Calice

MARK CALICE just finished sound design and audio post on a short HD film, "JULIE, JULIE", directed by local filmmaker LIAM CREIGHTON. Fresh from its world premiere at this month's Sacramento French Film Festival, Mark will be showing this new short in it's entirety exclusively for our MacFilmmakers audience. Following the film, Mark, a Grammy-nominated audio engineer and owner of Ardenwood Sound & DVD, will participate in a Q&A discussing his work with the 2-track and 5.1 surround audio mixes.

He will also attempt to answer some questions on the technical aspects and logistics involved in the making of the film such as costs and working with SAG, from notes provided by the filmmaker.

Shot on a Panasonic HVX200 adapted for professional Zeiss prime lenses and edited in Final Cut Pro. English soundtrack and French with English subtitles. 21 minutes.

Here is the link to the film's trailer:
Julie, Julie trailer

Here is the link to a blog interview with Liam Creighton:
Liam Creighton interview

Mark Calice's Ardenwood Sound & DVD website is at:
www.ardenwoodsnd-dvd.com

Demo Reels and Shorts

Tonight is all about short film presentations. Do you have a short film you'd like to show off? If your film or demo reel is 12 minutes or less (yes, that is an extension to our usual 5 minute limit, just for this meeting), tonight is the night to present it! Slots for demo reels and shorts are filled on a a first-come, first-serve basis, so be sure to alert us when you arrive that you have a demo/short to show.

Pizza Break

And what would a night at MacFilmmakers be without our Fabulous Pizza Break? Yup, pizza and soft drinks--included with your FREE ADMISSION!--will be served up at the mid-point of the evening. Take the opportunity to not only fill your tummy but to also network with your fellow filmmakers.

NOTE: As we will not be within view or earshot of the main lobby doors, please do your best to arrive by 7:00 pm. For those arriving past 7:00, a notice will be posted on the lobby doors with a cell phone number you can call to get in.

Next Meeting is Wed., July 30th

2008-07-28T11:15:00.000-07:00

Just a quick announcement to say YES, we are meeting this Wednesday night, July 30th, 7:00 pm. We are in a new meeting space called "Garage II", just upstairs from Town Hall (so, enter the lobby of Apple's building 4 as if you were going to go to Town Hall, but then ascend the staircase to the "Garage II" room.)

We have a FULL AGENDA, details coming up in the next several minutes (as fast as my fingers can type it all up).

June Meeting Cancelled

2008-06-24T16:27:00.000-07:00

Hi, All. Disappointingly, our June guest speaker (rescheduled from last month to this month) has recently and unexpectedly become unavailable again. As I had anticipated that the planned presentation--music/sound for film--would essentially take up the entire evening, I had not arranged for any secondary or backup presentations. Therefore, with great regret, I am must call for a cancellation of any official gathering of MacFilmmakers for June. (Of course, if people still wish to gather unofficially at a restaurant/pub/whatever, please feel free to do so.)

We will regroup for a full meeting on July 30th (and have redundancy built into the evening should whoever our speaker/s is/are become unavailable we will still have presentations ready to go).

Next Meeting is Wed. May 28, De Anza 3, 7PM

2008-05-27T20:45:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting is Wednesday, May 28, 7:00 pm, in Apple's De Anza 3 Auditorium. Apologies for this extreme last minute update but we quite unexpectedly lost our long-planned speaker and were scrambling to recover. Fortunately, Sabrina Nelson, who you will remember from our previous April meeting, has graciously agreed to speak again, following up on her very well-received presentation from last month. Thank you, Sabrina!

Indeed, we will continue on right from where we left off with "Editing 101, Part Two: Critiquing". Sabrina will bring in several samples of her students' work which we will view and then discuss from the perspective of successful editing. Following the student work, we will then view your Demo Reels (up to 5 minutes in length) and again participate in a group critique. For this special demo reels/critiquing session, please show work that is narrative or documentary in content, i.e., storytelling, not experimental/slideshow type of work. In particular, if we did not have time to view/discuss your project last meeting, or if you've since updated a piece we did critique last session and you would like to show your new edits, please DO bring in those demos!

We will follow this instructional/group particpation session with our as-always Fabulous Pizza Break. For those who are new to MacFilmmakers, we provide free pizza and soft drinks for everybody (completely optional donations cheerfully accepted!) and tonight, as a thank you for your loyal patience in getting this late notice, cookies from San Francisco's world-famous Hot Cookies will also be provided! The pizza/soda/cookies Pizza Break will cap off our meeting.

As always, our meeting is free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free as well. Note that the De Anza Three auditorium is at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino and is the room we have been using for our last few meetings. If you are uncertain about the location, simply go to maps.google.com and search for:

10500 N de Anza Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014

The green arrow indicates the building where we will be; DA3 auditorium (and parking) is on the backside of that building.

Next Meeting is Wed. May 28, De Anza 3, 7PM

2008-05-24T18:07:00.001-07:00

Like the title says...

More info soon.

January '08 Meeting Info & Photos

2008-05-04T13:08:00.000-07:00

Hello all,

Mark, your itinerate MacFilmmakers sound guru here. I've been taking some pictures at our meetings recently with a new Nikon D40x SLR I received this last holiday season. Thought I would start posting some of these for all to see.

Our January session was very informative with Kevin Johnson and myself presenting. I presented a talk on "Duplication vs. Replication... What you don't know". Though the meeting was lightly attended, a lively discussion ensued, running well overtime as I detailed the substantial list of pitfalls and caveats that you never think about relating to the subject. I even touched on the Blu-ray format.

There have been requests to repeat the presentation again as many did not get sufficient warning of the meeting day so let me or Kevin know if you would like a reprise.

Kevin's presentation was very interesting, covering his January Sundance Film Festival trip. The photos he returned with included a myriad of industry shakers and Hollywood actors and were very entertaining. He also covered a subject, I never even thought about before... the only still cameras allowed on the sets of major film productions because of their stealthy, sound-related characteristics. Unfortunely, we learned that they are all discontinued models now so you can only get them as used items from Amazon.com, eBay and the like.

I have some pictures from the April meeting that I will upload soon. Later...

Mark Calice

Ardenwood Sound & DVD

http://www.ardenwoodsnd-dvd.com

Instant Gratification

2008-04-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

Here is the email address (spelled out to avoid spambots from grabbing it) we just discussed at our meeting:

sabrina007 at mac dot com

Note: those are two zeroes in the address, as in James Bond.

Next Meeting is Wed. April 30, De Anza 3, 7PM

2008-04-28T19:55:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 30, 7:00 pm, in Apple's De Anza 3 Auditorium. Our topic for the evening is the aesthetics of film editing. Here is an overview of the meeting:

Agenda:
Editing 101, Part One: The Basics
The Fabulous Pizza Break
Editing 101, Part Two: Demo Reels Critique

Editing 101, Part One:
The Basics

Presented by MacFilmmaker's member Sabrina Nelson, this instructional presentation will cover:

• The How, When and What to Cut

• Practical Applications of Eisenstein's Theory of Montage

• Cut, Color, Size, Shape, Direction: What Do They Mean in Editing

Following the Part One presentation we will have--are you quaking with anticipation?--YES, our Fabulous Pizza Break! Stretch your legs in the De Anza 3 lobby while you munch on pizza and network with your fellow filmmakers.

After pizza we reconvene for:

Editing 101, Part Two:
Demo Reels Critique

As part of Sabrina's presentation, we will also discuss demo reels/samples of our members' work. All members are therefore encouraged tonight to bring short sequences (maximum of 5 minutes) of either your narrative or documentary work for viewing and discussion. We will take 3 samples from the pool of submissions, view them and then use them as a point of discussion as we talk about editing. Samples can be complete shorts or excerpts from larger pieces and can be either finished work or works-in-progress. Please note the focus of this presentation is storytelling, so we are looking for traditional sequential scenes or pieces, not experimental or slideshow type of samples.

Sabrina Nelson, a Final Cut Pro expert and 17-year veteran in all manner of video, TV and film production, is currently teaching at the Academy of Art.

As always, our meeting is free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free as well. Note that the De Anza Three auditorium is at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino. For those in attendace last month at our March meeting, DA3 is the room we used--and where, by the way, we had near-record breaking attendance at an estimated 210 attendees (see photo below). If you are uncertain about the location, simply go to maps.google.com and search for:

10500 N de Anza Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014

The green arrow indicates the building where we will be; DA3 auditorium (and parking) is on the backside of that building.

MARCH MEETING: Lance Trumbull, Filmmaker/Producer of "Everest: A Climb for Peace", addresses the MacFilmmakers audience.

Meeting is April 30th

2008-04-23T16:22:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting is Wednesday, April 30th (keeping in mind that our new schedule is now the LAST Wednesday of the month).

3/26 LAST-SECOND ROOM CHANGE: MEETING MOVED TO DE ANZA 3

2008-03-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

As can happen with our booking arrangement with Apple (and can, as with tonight's meeting, happen with virtually zero notice), for tonight's 3/26 MacFilmmakers meeting we just were bumped from Town Hall and are now meeting in De Anza 3!

Please help spread the word that the meeting is now in DE ANZA 3 AUDITORIUM.

Here is the official street address:

10500 N de Anza Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014

If you do a Google Maps search (http://maps.google.com/), note that the green arrow indicates the building where we will be; DA3 auditorium (and parking) is on the backside of that building.

MacFilmmakers this Wednesday, 3/26, UPDATE

2008-03-24T13:14:00.000-07:00

Hi, Folks--

This is an update about this Wednesday's special showing of "Everest: A Climb for Peace".

ANTICIPATED SCHEDULE for MARCH 26:

6:30 - 7:00 pm
Doors open to Town Hall (Apple's Building 4 at 1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA)
Informal reception in lobby and adjacent Piano Lounge (snacks and drinks)

7:00 - 7:15 pm
Welcome
Introduction of filmmaker Lance Trumbull
Introduction of one of the film's sponsors (and the co-sponsor of tonight's showing), REI

7:15 - 8:20 pm
Showing of "Everest: A Climb for Peace" (runtime: 63 minutes)

8:20 - 9:00 pm
Hosted discussion with filmmaker
Audience Q&A
A raffle giveaway of $100 in gift certificates courtesy of REI will end the evening

**NOTE: There will NOT be a Pizza Break/intermission tonight.**

Naturally, all times are approximate, especially the ending time.

RAFFLE

Did you all notice that there will be a raffle tonight? See above for details.

SEATING

This event is getting a lot of publicity outside of the usual MacFilmmakers channels. As such, we may get a much larger than normal attendance. So, just in case, let me say that seating is on a first-come first-serve basis. (Lord, let a 300-seat auditorium be a problem!)

IF YOU MISS THIS WEDNESDAY'S SHOWING

You can catch the film at one of its next screenings, including a charity event for people in need in Nepal showing in Edmonton, Canada in April, or at the Eilat Internaional Film Festival in Israel in May. Yeah, probably a wee bit easier just to catch it while it is here in Cupertino... ;^)

You can stay up to date on Lance's film via the film's website:
http://www.everestpeaceproject.org

Next Meeting is Wed. March 26, 7PM, Town Hall

2008-03-16T07:12:00.000-07:00

Our next meeting is Wednesday, March 26, 7:00 pm, in Apple's Town Hall auditorium. Our presentation for February is "Everest: A Climb for Peace". Produced by Lance Trumbull (whom many of you will remember meeting at MacFilmmakers many moons ago) and narrated by Orlando Bloom (who, sadly, has not yet appeared at one of our meetings, but there's always hope), this brand-new one-hour documentary is being featured at film festivals around the globe. We are fortunate to be able to show it at MacFilmmakers in its entirety, followed by a very special "Actor's Studio" style interview and discussion with Lance.

This meeting is free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free as well. Town Hall is located at Apple's main campus inside Building 4. For a map, go to maps.google.com and search for:

1 Infinite Loop, Cupertino, CA 95014

The green arrow indicates the main six-building complex; Town Hall (and parking) is on the backside of that complex up towards the freeway. Note that to allow time for tonight's special presentation, Demo Reels will be held off until our April meeting.

Feb. Meeting: Visualizing Your Film

2008-02-26T13:21:00.000-08:00

Our next meeting is Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 pm, in Apple's De Anza 3 auditorium. In addition to our usual Demo Reels and the ever-popular Fabulous Pizza Break, our major topic for February is:

Visualizing Your Film

Presented by MacFilmmakers' own Kevin Johnson, this full-length presentation will cover:

• The "Grammar" of Shot Composition

basic blocking

types of shots

framing and composition

what an actor MUST know

• The Line of Action

finding the line of action

the eyeline

the 180 degree rule/crossing the line (and why you shouldn't)

• Camera Movement

types of movement

zoom vs. dolly, etc.

using the eyeline to motivate camera placement

POV and camera

establishing a new action line in moving shots

• Previz: Barebones Storyboarding Technique

yes, even you can draw simple stick figures

software packages

• Resources

including a nifty handout for all attendees

As always, our meeting is free and open to the public. Parking is plentiful and free as well. Note that the De Anza Three auditorium is at Apple's headquarters in Cupertino but is located across Mariani Ave. from our usual Town Hall location. If you are uncertain, simply go to maps.google.com and search for:

10500 N de Anza Blvd, Cupertino, CA 95014

The green arrow indicates the building where we will be; DA3 auditorium (and parking) is on the backside of that building.

Remember, for Demo Reels, we ask that you please limit your reel to a maximum of 5 minutes. Thanks, and we hope to see you at our February meeting!

Looking Ahead to March...

Believe it or not, we already have our March program booked and ready to go!!! For Wednesday, March 26, we will be presenting "Everest: A Climb for Peace". Produced by Lance Trumbull (whom many of you will remember meeting at MacFilmmakers many moons ago) and narrated by Orlando Bloom (who, sadly, has not yet appeared at one of our meetings, but there's always hope), this brand-new one-hour documentary is being featured at film festivals around the globe. We are fortunate to be able to show it at MacFilmmakers in its entirety, followed by a very special "Actor's Studio" style interview and discussion with Lance. As always, more details will be posted later.

Next Meeting is Wed. Feb. 27, 7PM, De Anza 3 Auditorium

2008-02-20T17:34:00.000-08:00

Just an ultra quick post to say that our next meeting is Wednesday, February 27, 7:00 pm, in De Anza Three auditorium. Note that we were originally scheduled for Town Hall, but Apple needed to move us over to DA3.

Speaker/topic TBA.

Next Meeting is Wed. Jan. 30, 7PM, Town Hall

2008-01-22T13:05:00.000-08:00

The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is Wednesday, January 30, 7:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm) in Apple's Town Hall. As always, the meeting is free and open to the public with plenty of free parking in the Apple lot.

Speakers will include our own Mark Calice presenting "CD/DVD Duplication vs. Replication - What you don't know...", a followup to the engaging DVD discussion we had at a previous meeting. More info on topics/speakers will come later this week, as soon as I return from the Sundance Film Festival (and you can expect a micro report on the Festival as well).

--Kevin

Free and Uneasy: The First Year Out

2007-11-29T20:52:00.000-08:00

In past meetings we have explored the idea of telling narrative stories as filmmakers, but without using film or video footage. Today I ran across just such a story, its title posted above as the title of this blog entry. This short film is an excellent example of compelling storytelling, yet it was created using only stills and audio. Running just under six minutes, I daresay it is a few minutes that can leave you, perhaps ever so slightly, a changed person.

To view "Free and Uneasy: The First Year Out", click the link below:
Free and Uneasy: The First Year Out

Or copy/paste the following text into your browser:
http://www.nytimes.com/packages/html/nyregion/20071125_DNA_FEATURE/index.html

As always, feel free to add your comments as desired.

--Kevin

Planning meeting set for Wed., Dec. 5th

2007-11-28T10:08:00.000-08:00

OK, here's the (revised) scoop. The next meeting of MacFilmmakers WILL be a planning and organizational meeting, but NOT tonight as previously announced. This planning meeting is now scheduled for one week from today, the evening of Wednesday, December 5th. This new date has been chosen to allow several people who voiced a desire to attend, but could not make a Nov. 28 gathering, the chance to plan accordingly. The agenda is simple: dinner and discussion. No guest speakers, no presentations, just planning for future meetings.

We will be gathering in Palo Alto at the Cheesecake Factory, 375 University Avenue, Palo Alto, CA, 94301, (650) 473-9622. We expect to be seated for dinner between 6:15 and 6:30; those who arrive earlier may wish to gather informally in the bar/lounge area. For this dinner-oriented gathering, your food and drink purchases are "dutch treat". To help you budget accordingly, the Cheesecake Factory features an extensive and varied menu with dinner entree prices ranging from $8 to $29, soft drinks at $3 and fancier drinks starting at $6 and up.

While all are welcome to attend, this will be a business-oriented meeting. If you do plan to join us, an RSVP in the affirmative is helpful (by simply leaving a comment attached to this entry or by communicating directly with me) but not required. I look forward to seeing you next week!

--Kevin

November meeting will be 11/28

2007-11-21T11:10:00.000-08:00

Hi. Our November meeting will be on Wednesday, 11/28. No details at this time. It may (is likely to) turn out to be a planning/organizing meeting (I can hear the collective "yays" reverberating through the ether) at a local restaurant, TBA.

Note that the Apple campus is/has been closed this entire week, so no "third Wednesday" meeting was possible in our usual auditoriums.

October meeting CANCELLED

2007-10-23T18:34:00.000-07:00

Summary:

The MacFilmmakers meeting for October 24th has been cancelled. 8^(

The Whole Story:

Many, many ideas were put forth for possible speakers/topics for tomorrow night. Thank you to Mary F., Warren H. and Walt G. for those ideas (and my apologies if I've missed anyone). Indeed, all of these suggestions will be incorporated into future meetings. Unfortunately, we just didn't have enough "stuff" confirmed for tomorrow night to justify calling it a meeting. I did try, though, I really did.

For example, I liked the suggestion for a Logic Studio preso--thanks, Walt, for the idea--and tried to line up a capable presenter, looking both within Apple and externally. Unfortunately, no one I contacted was available for this particular Wednesday. A future meeting? Yes, just not this month.

Mary, you obviously put a LOT of effort into the several suggestions you posted a few days ago--thank you!--but there just wasn't enough time to implement them for this month. Still, you have provided a very tasty and complete assortment of ideas for upcoming meetings and, yes, we will eventually do them all! Let's talk very soon about lining up some of your presentation ideas/speakers.

Warren, I really do want to have you introduce us to the Omni-Tracker camera dolly system, and I know you would have been available for this month, but, as it has been turning out, you would have been the sole presenter. Now, even though I personally find the Omni-Tracker to be fascinating, I don't think on its own, without any other topics/presenters, it would bring in a satisfactory audience. However, held for presentation another month with support from a full agenda, many more people will see it. Can we bring you in another month?

So, gentle people, with personal regret, I have to say there just wasn't enough content to have an official meeting tomorrow night. Now, should anyone want to unofficially gather anyway just as a social event, perhaps at a Cupertino-area restaurant for dinner kind of thing, please, please do feel free to do that. Indeed, we have over the years occasionally done exactly that and the impromptu gatherings, while typically small in numbers, have been fun and relaxing. If someone wants to coordinate such an effort, post your intentions here and/or on the ListServ.

--Kevin

October meeting

2007-10-15T14:10:00.000-07:00

The October meeting will not be on the (supposedly) third Wednesday this month but instead will be the fourth Wednesday. As such, our meeting is scheduled for:

Wednesday, October 24
7:00 pm
Town Hall

So, we've got a date, a time and a room all confirmed--what we don't have yet is a speaker or a topic(!). Suggestions, anyone? Please add your thoughts either here as a comment and/or post to the listserv as desired.

TONIGHT'S MEETING, 9/26, 7pm, Town Hall

2007-09-26T11:35:00.000-07:00

A reminder, tonight's meeting is in TOWN HALL at 7:00 pm. For those unfamiliar with Town Hall's location on the Apple Campus, here is a link to a map:

http://www.macfilmmakers.com/nearmap.html

On the map, pay attention to the red "Town Hall" designation (and ignore the funky "October 23rd Meeting" thing). Parking is plentiful and free as is the meeting, and all are welcome to attend. Doors open at 6:30 pm.

The agenda overview looks like this:

(1) RED ONE
(2) Pizza Break
(3) Demo Reels

The agenda details are below.

(1) RED ONE:
Torrey Loomis of Silverado Systems will have, live on our Town Hall stage, a complete RED ONE system! This is an actual production model, one of the very first released. Not only will he talk about its features, our audience members will have an opportunity to get a bit of hands-on time with the camera (not a lot of time, of course, given how many people will likely want to line up to try it, but definitely a bit). Torrey will also show some original footage captured by this camera from a recent shoot at Lake Tahoe.

(2) Pizza Break:
The fabulous Pizza Break is back, now in its 273rd magnificent year! Once again MacFilmmakers continues to fill the tummies and expand the waistlines of filmmakers everywhere. Pizza, munchies/candy and soft drinks, all at the low, low cost of...umm...nothing at all. Yup, it's all free. And, tonight, dinner is served in the classy Piano Lounge adjacent to Town Hall.

(3) Demo Reels:
Given that it has been a couple of months since we've had a regular meeting, I'm going to guess there might be a bit of a backlog on demo reels to show. Tonight we have plenty of time for reels. Do feel free to share your recent work of up to 8 minutes. (Normally we cap demo reels at 5 minutes, but the extra time in tonight's schedule allows us a bit more breathing room.) Note: if anyone does have a longer reel/sample/short they would like to show sometime, contact me in advance and we will see what can be arranged.

Next Meeting: Wed., Sept. 26, 7pm, Apple's Town Hall

2007-09-18T20:26:00.000-07:00

The next meeting of MacFilmmakers is in one week, Wednesday, Sept. 26, 7:00 pm in Apple's Town Hall. The main event for the evening is (drum roll, please):

The RED ONE CAMERA!

Live and in person we will have an actual RED ONE on our stage, courtesy of Torrey Loomis of Silverado Systems. Details will be posted later, but I wanted to get this much info out right away.

As easy as falling off a (b)log

2007-09-18T19:56:00.000-07:00

Greetings, earthlings. This spiffy new MacFilmmakers blog is courtesy of the fabulous efforts of Andrew Tokuda. Many, many thanks and kudos go out to you, sir, for getting this up and running and for making it so easy for a non-blogger like myself to warm up to it! And many thanks go out as well to the many members who previously offered their input into as to how we might take MacFilmmakers' internal communications forward. This blog is a direct result of that earlier Listserv conversation.

Speaking of the Listserv, it will, of course, remain active, along with this new blog. The Website, however, is going to go dormant for now—or, I guess I should more accurately say, REMAIN dormant for now. When I get a chance, I'll update the home page with some kind of generic welcome message, but the Website will no longer be used for meeting announcements—at least for the foreseeable future.