I hate post production
Okay, I don’t hate it, but man, it can be tedious and frustrating. Frustrating because my computer, good as it is, decides randomly to fail to analyze frames for Warp Stabilization in After Effects, but only randomly. If it fails once, it might succeed next time, the 3rd or maybe the 5th try. It might also just work the way you expect it to, but only sometimes. Tedious because when it DOES work, then I have to go through and remove 100’s of sync points by click-and-dragging around my actors every few frames and then waiting for the recalibration. It’s taking me 90+ minutes to do this 27-second shot, which, admittedly, is a long shot, but still, more than 90 minutes.
The good thing about post production is that you CAN do all this stuff. If I’m anal retentive and crazy enough, I really can smooth out the shaky footage I shot with my glidecam (the BMPC4K is just too damn heavy for it AND for my damn weak arms) and make it look way better. And I’m learning all sorts of tips and tricks to make the stuff look a ton better in the final edit, so go me.
That all said, I have another mini-shoot scheduled tonight, so that’s good. one way or the other, I’ll be finished with this by then…
Back in May of 2013, I visited South Africa’s wine country an hour or so north of Cape Town for a couple days and loved it. As you can see by the pictures below, I couldn’t get enough of the mist atop the mountains on morning 1. The views were breathtaking and the weather was perfect.
From bizarre museums to beautiful baths, Budapest really had a lot to offer. Again, more than a year later, I’m thinking about the things I didn’t photograph and wishing I had, which is strange for someone who takes so many pictures. But nothing of our weird AirBnB accommodations, nothing of the baths (which was, I believe, against the rules anyway), and nothing of any of the places we ate, which, while not spectacular, were at least enjoyable and unique.
With all this talk about travel, it occurs to me that during my 2+ year layoff where I didn’t post, some things happened that I’d like to have record of, here, somewhere, wherever. So I’ll break those things up into some posts and put them up as I think of them.
Believe it or not, it’s time for Yet Another Computer Refresh and associated post. These are really nice for me to be able to reference, so I post it for all to see and to judge. I expect to field “Why aren’t you using Intel/Nvidia, you n00b?!?” questions starting anytime now. since these things tend to be long, I’m going to put the entire post after the fold. There will be pictures, both ones that I took (dusty computer innards!) and press shots of components I’ve stuffed in here.
