unity-design team mailing list archive

["frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx" <frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx>]

On Fri, Dec 10, 2010 at 01:12, Jason DeRose <jderose@xxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:

>  <frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
> > Hi Jason,
> >
> > well, this is what i've been waiting for all along:
> > professional post production software for Ubuntu!
>
> On Wed, Dec 8, 2010 at 3:53 AM, frederik.nnaji@xxxxxxxxx
> Music to my ears. :)
>
> For anyone who missed earlier emails, discussion is about this pro
> file import UX design:
>
> https://wiki.ubuntu.com/AyatanaDmediaLovefest
>
>  In your pro audio work, are you typically importing from cards, or
> recording directly to your workstation?


Direct HD recording with realtime DSPs in the monitoring chain.
File and session transfer via USB media or temporary file hosts such as
sendspace.com etc.

We need to support both, but right now we're trying to make the most common
> HDSLR hardware setup
> work very smoothly... which pretty much means recording on a Zoom H4n
> or similar, importing from SD cards.
>

yeah, my colleague got one of those (Zoom), and he's not used to having disk
space issues on his recording device..
Archiving the imported material in an orderly and accessible way would help
a lot with this.

Out of curiosity, have you used any of AVID's Media Asset Management
> software?  If so, what do you think of it, any features stand out as
> especially worthwhile?
>

no, i don't use the extra software, since i'm good with files and folders
myself, as are most of the studio people i work with, and extra software
costs extra money ;)
What i DO use is the file>import dialog, because it sports some features an
ordinary file chooser wouldn't have:

* convert sample rate
* preview file with seek bar and volume slider/meter
* unsupported files are automatically filtered
* work on copy vs work on original file
* import to project folder

ProTools also has an "file>import>session data":
* import an entire channel with all regions and audio files on it, settings,
plugins etc.

and i use the "file>save a copy of session as.." feature:
* duplicate the whole session with all related files and subfolders

"Region List" offers the possibility to remove unused files from a session:
* select unused
* remove from session
* remove from session and delete from disk

and for exporting audiofiles:
* select and consolidate
* Region List: "export regions as files.."


That's my thinking... why shouldn't creative professionals have some
> first-class DE features just for them?
>
> IHMO, there is a *huge* opportunity right now to bring creative
> professionals to Ubuntu, especially in the big-data, compute-intensive
> areas of pro video and audio.  Like what already has happened with
> super computing, I think Linux will become the preferred platform for
> creative professionals.


the only purpose my Windoze has is to run ProTools.
I do all accounting, webstuff, watching movies, emails, filetransfers and
what have you in linux.
I feel free, when using a free OS, i feel "cheated", bargained with,
limited, compromised, when using proprietary software.

It's much easier to live with a bug, if you know you can do something about
it yourself.
Proprietary systems do not handle bug triage so transparently, so you never
feel reassured about whether a problem will ever be fixed.

Hollywood special effects and 3d animation
> have been done almost exclusively on Linux for some time, and from
> talking to a friend that works in the industry, production shops are
> foaming at the mouth to move to a *fully* Linux-based solution... they
> just need a suitable video editor, suitable Media Asset Management.
>

ILM too, right?


> I personally think Apple sees the writing on the wall already... I
> think there is clear evidence that Apple isn't making further serious
> investment in its pro content creation software.  It's all about iOS
> and content consumption.  And that has opened the door for Ubuntu to
> provide a new home for a lot of creative professionals.
>

to me there is Art and there is Entertainment.
Art is when you make something truly outstanding.
Entertainment is when you get paid to do something that is not necessarily
unique, but can entertain for a moment.
The ideas and philosophy behind Free software are much more scalable, than
concepts grounded in making profit.
Sustainable and scalable software will evolve, provided its creation stands
above the need for revenue.


> > keep me posted as the software becomes available for testing, i for one
> > can't wait to get professional post production work done in desktop
> Linux.
>
> So the features described in this UX design should almost all land in
> dmedia 0.2, which will be released on December 30th:
>
> https://launchpad.net/dmedia/+milestone/0.2
>
> Although the content of the RenderMenu will still be quiet rough and
> cards wont automatically be formatted yet.
>
> I'll let you know when it's available!  Thanks again for the feedback!
>

anytime ;)