VFX Unions: Scott Ross Vs. Scott Ross

An excellent article on effects editors as artist needing portable benefits, employers who respect labor laws, and retirement plans...

VFX Unions: Scott Ross Vs. Scott Ross

Here is some news, while VFX facilities and Scott Ross have talked the talk about giving artists portable benefits, respecting labor laws, and creating retirement plans, The Animation Guild has walked the walk for almost the past 60 years.

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Micro Four Thirds and 3D

To disparage Micro Four Thirds as being a consumer standard does a dis-service to the era that we are all involved in. Not only do they have the coolest logo, but the number of manufacturers onboard is only eclipsed by the number of lenses and camera bodies they have released since the standard came together.

Now Panasonic has announced a 3D lens in the format. Danger Will Robinson.

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Red's EPIC/Scarlett Problems {Update}

July 6 Update: A new Jannard post says the EPIC bug has been found and demented (and insinuates that it was the same bug that was holding back the Scarlet) and insists that they are back on the road of building the most best great and ultimate. A hint that the manufacturer is found, by saying that it will be built in the US, though that is not explicitly stated. The delivery dates are not hinted at, though some versions will definitely be in 2011 since the 28K sensor won't be available since then. 

Jim Jannard continued his excellent client experiment by filling everyone in on further bug and manufacturing delays in a 14 June reduser.com post;

... we have a bug. It has held us up now for two months. We have working cameras, as you know. But we aren't going to release anything until the cameras are done and bug free. And we have stumbled on an issue that has caused us considerable grief. It is unexpected and it has us baffled.

The fix could be tomorrow. Or not.

We have been a "lucky" company up to this point. The moon and stars lined up for us for the RED ONE (since we didn't have a clue what we were doing in the beginning) and the RED ONE did all we asked. The M-X sensor is incredible... as you know. Our new ASICs for the EPIC and Scarlet are complicate times a million. And they work. Another miracle. Everything was late but on track. Then we hit a snag.

We have an army working on this. 24/7. Trust me when I tell you that we have been humbled. I have questioned our aggressive goals every day.

So what does this mean? Obviously another delay. To compound matters, the company that was to make Scarlet has made an incredible announcement recently and has significant issues. You can probably figure out who this is. This will force us to find a new manufacturing partner for that product. When we 1st got wind of this, we decided to make EPIC in the US, hoping that the company would find a solution in time for Scarlet production. That now seems unlikely so we are now scrambling for a new partner.

The manufacturing problem that is mentioned is presumed to be tied to Foxconn in China who is undergoing some major restructuring. It has to have several manufacturers scrabbling. For example, Apple has long made iPhone and other products with this group.

The EPIC and Scarlet camera are meant to bridge the original RED ONE, the Scarlet with 3K resolution and 5K or better for the EPIC. As recently as April, the EPIC was slatted for shipping in July, the Scarlet in August. 

Richard Lackey's http://dcinema.wordpress.com/ has a great synopsis.

Bloom Compares DSLRs [Updated]

Details of the damned, but for just this one moment, these are those details for a handful of cameras that make the cut, manual control being the main hurdle. Take away point: There will be something better soon, so concentrate on lenses and skills.

Which… “Video DSLR” to buy? | Philip Bloom

The comments section is just as important...

[Update - 26 August] There is now an announcement for a Canon 60D, in between the Ti2 and the 7D. As one of the commenters says: "The camera you have always takes a better picture than the one you are waiting to be released."