Call Box's 24P Digital Post Production with Final Cut Pro and the DVX100
is a new instructional DVD that features Noah Kadner, one of the early adopters of the DVX100, talking about different workflows and best practices when using those two eponymous (and ubiquitous) tools of independent filmmaking.
The DVD runs 90 minutes, and it's divided into several small episodes in which Kadner discusses lots of basics (e.g., what's a slate and how to use it, recommended tape stock) and some intermediate techniques (e.g., why and how to use CinemaTools, exporting projects for Color Correction at a post house, etc.). While some of the topics that Kadner covers seem pretty basic for anyone familiar with the DVXUser.com discussion boards, my suspicion is that this DVD grew out issues that Kadner has seen over and over in his consulting gigs. Sometimes the biggest problems that consultants solve stem from very simple things that were overlooked at the beginning of a project.
The video is well-shot on a bare-bones set, which puts the focus on Kadner, who is an engaging teacher. The DVD presentation is professional; it can be watched in one sitting, or chapter-by-chapter, which is useful if there's one topic you particularly want to revisit. I do wish that it was a DVD-Rom, perhaps to include some quicktime files to practice with, but I suppose Kadner assumes we wouldn't be watching if we didn't already have these tools ourselves.
Do note that this DVD focuses almost entirely on circumventing workflow problems using the DVX100 and FCP. This is NOT a "how-to-edit" in Final Cut Pro DVD, nor is it a manual on how to get the most of the DVX100's sophisticated imaging settings. (For an instructional guide on how to use FCP, I recommend Larry Jordan's Final Cur Pro 5 Essential Editing, Beyond the Basics, and Essential Effects DVDs. For a guide on making the most of the DVX100's image options, check out Barry Green's The DVX Book, which sometimes ships with new DVX100s.)
If you've shot and completed a few projects without any hitches using 24pAdvanced footage, 24P Digital Post Production with Final Cut Pro and the DVX100 probably isn't for you. But beginning to intermediate users venturing into 24p production would do well to spend 90 minutes with this disc before racing into production. Some might hesitate at the $75 pricetag but, as Kadner points out on the DVD, he gets paid $75 an hour to solve other filmmakers' problems. I guess you could think of this as preventive medicine (at 2/3 of the cost).
More information can be found at Call Box.
