Real World Workflow

I just got word that there is now a leopard compatible version of the software out now at their website.

http://www.econtechnologies.com

What about that darn leopard anyways? Who’s psyched about it?

Running from job to job, I’ve found three things that hold true in the digital tech world no matter what job or client you’re on:

1) Always be on time (read early)

2) Always have storage available.

3) Be prepared to stay late. (You did negotiate overtime, along with rate and payment beforehand, right?)

No.’s 1 and 3 are no-brainers. If you want to be late to a job or whine about being the last person off set, do something else for a career. 3rd assistant would be a good choice. As a tech your ass is front and center the whole day so deal with it accordingly.

Number 2, aside from the obvious joke, is where I’m at today. I find that no matter what job I’m on, whether a big ad job running towers, or location laptop shooting, storage is always an issue. What form of delivery does the client want–Finals on DVD, Client HD, online proofs–these are things to determine before the job starts, but sometime things don’t go according to plan. That’s why I always have my pocket HD’s. They allow me a level of flexibility to accommodate whatever gets thrown my way.

More importantly, they allow me an extra(read that personal for my own peace of mind) level of backup in case something happens on the other end–server crashed, tape bu trashed, tower stolen off delivery truck–all these things have happened. In addition to standard bu procedures, I always try to make my own bu of the session, or worse case (studio closes and they’re kicking you out because the producer won’t allow overtime) I bu the selects to my pocket drive and get packing. Note that this is always with the photographers permission, and these files are proprietary. Nothing gets distributed to anyone without the photographer’s consent. More than a few times I’ve had a call about some disaster and saving the day makes you look golden, until the sun sets and it’s on to the next shoot.

The two brands of drives that I like to use are OtherWorld Computing and Wiebetech. Both are triple interface hd’s, typically FW 400/800 and USlessB 2.0. I only use USB when I have to, which is basically never. 800 is preferred. My next drive will probably have a eSATA interface as this continues to become available on systems. The OWC drive is a 7200 rpm 80GB unit that screams. I love this drive, and the built-in heatsink gives it great cooling for it’s size. The purple/magenta activity lights, along with the stylish translucent case always gets a comment from clients, and that’s never a bad thing. The Wiebetech ToughTechMini is more of a girl-next-door when it comes to appearance, but after a date or two, you’ll be in love. The kind of golden summer in fields of wheat, swinging from a tire in an old oak tree kind of love. The ToughTech is small and the housing is solid. This particular unit has a 5400 rpm 120 gb hd that is noticeably slower when it comes to read/write. I’d definitely recommend the 7200 rpm unit. What I really like is how the drive/board assembly sits on rubber cushions which act as mini shock absorbers, and while I don’t recommend playing soccer with it, I have had a few spills here and there and am glad for this design.

I don’t think you can go wrong with either one, but my ideal pocket drive would be a combo of the two, shock mounted with a heatsink. Not being a drive engineer, I’m sure both companies could tell me why this isn’t possible, but that’s what would work better for me. Both these drives allow you to swap out another hd in minutes, and I think this is a necessity. Where both companies could use some help is in their supplied cases. I know, you’re buying the hd not a case, but the supplied cases just don’t do it for me. The Wiebe is sexy alligator leather like, but no room for cables. OWC’s is much more pedestrian, but you can at least store a couple of cables with it. Neither offer any kind of shock protection. I’ve found these cases from Case Logic, and they work very well for me.

Lastly, make sure you label your drives, just in case shit happens. Also don’t forget the FW800 to 400 piggy cable. It’s a godsend.

This year has been moving by so quickly it seems Santa came early and dropped this puppy off at my doorstep. It’s a Cambo WDS. and while not quite the sexy bitch dog that the Alpa is, it will do just fine for the time being. I’ve been testing it out this week with the P25 and have found a few interesting things:

Aritifacting with the crisp 35mm Digitar occurs every now and again, check the “Pattern Noise” box in the focus tab of C1 to remove it.

Smearing of detail, long known to be a P45 and P30 issue is occurring with the P25 as well. Pull the slider in the noise tab to the left to bring it back.

Many thanks to Dave Gallagher at Capture Integration for his exceptional service and support. Somehow he managed to FedEx this thing at 4:30 in the afternoon so I could play with it over the holiday weekend. Also he’s snagged Lance Schad, who I know from back in the Phase days, for his Miami office. Lance is a great guy and it’s great to have him in the mix again.

One more for the road…

Back by popular demand!

All Assistants and Digital Techs in the LA Area are invited for a networking mixer.

When: Sunday December 2, 2007
4pm until 8ish…
Where: 5957 W. 86th Place
Los Angeles, CA 90045

Come over to my house and bring your beverage of choice. I’ll have some good stuff to munch on and we’ll talk shop and have some beers.

**Don’t forget your business cards! You’re guaranteed to meet some new people who are dying to check out your website.

Amy Goalen
Digital Tech & Software Trainer
ProDigital Consulting

http://prodigitalconsulting.com

310-590-5844
amy_goalen@prodigitalconsulting.com

Few things, it’s for G5’s and Intels, no G4 systems, and os 10.4.9 or higher. Supposedly plays nice with Leopard, but I’m not trying just yet. I’ve noticed the tagging is now autosaved, but renaming is still not enabled yet.

http://leafamerica.com/downloads_form.asp

Eric I. sends pretty shots of beautiful models and the beach. I get skeletons.