TIFF 2017 Robert Guediguian & Ariane Ascaride discussion

Great discussion with Robert Guediguian & Ariane Ascaride at TIFF last September.
(It's in French. Google Auto-Translate to English is pretty terrible.)

Excerpts:

- We do not do cinema for nothing. Films must serve justice, ask questions, try to understand the world, denounce and fight injustice and offer alternatives. We think and speak for others. There is always a point of view.

- Working with others is trusting them to propose ideas, and then choose. Not imposing your preconceived ideas onto others. Directing is simple, it's just saying yes or no.

- I cannot live in a ghetto, I must rub with people and know how people live in their own world. Some people have much more pressing stories to tell than the stories we tell in the west. These are the stories I'm interested with.

- Identities are chosen, I see them as juxtaposition, as layers. You are responsible for your own identity.

You are one of a kind! Thank you Robert!!

Also, AF Toronto, can you please QC your videos...? That's the problem with direct upload, you do not see the results until it's posted. Oops! Too late!  Guess what NLE is being used?

Adobe Creative Cloud Price increase in March 2018

Here we go... Adobe raising the monthly fee for CC from $49.99 to $52.99 in March of 2018.

https://blogs.adobe.com/creativecloud/redefining-modern-creativity-with-the-next-generation-of-creative-cloud/

Adobe is invested in accelerating the creative process for everyone with the world’s best creative apps. After more than five years of continuous innovation, we’re making a modest adjustment in Creative Cloud commercial pricing for North America customers, which will take effect on March 1 or at the next contract renewal. Until then, renewing subscribers can experience the value of the new features and products announced and available today and new subscribers can lock in a year subscription at the current price with no additional charge:

• Our current STE Student/Education, Creative Cloud Photography and XD plans will see no pricing adjustment.
• Creative Cloud for Individuals All and Single App plans will increase by 6%. For example, the new price for Creative Cloud All Apps annual plan will be $52.99 per month from $49.99.
• Creative Cloud for Teams plans will increase by 14%. For example, the new price for Creative Cloud for Teams All Apps annual plan will be $79.99 per month from $69.99.

For more on what we’re sharing with the creative community at Adobe MAX this year, watch the Adobe MAX keynotes or learn more on Adobe.com.

Modest adjustment? I say this sucks. I already think $49.99 is TOO MUCH since I am not using all apps or services offered for this price.

Adobe, you must widen your offering. I would like a "pick your apps" plan let you select 1, 2, 3, 4 or more apps for a more affordable price.

There are a bunch of apps in this bouquet that I never use (Dreamweaver, XD, Character Animator) and probably never will. Look at this list! Red crosses everywhere...

Currently I'm only using 8 out of 58 apps or services (14%.) !!!

But I pay for all of it = 100%. Is this fair?

Even with a sort of a weighting system, I use 6 out of 29 Desktop Apps (20%), 1 out of 18 iOs Apps (6%), 1 out of 11 Services (9%)

Even considering the non-Desktop apps as fluff - which they aren't when you need them and use them for work. Even considering that some apps weigh more than others: Photoshop say, I'm not hitting HALF of the value.

What's your stance with this? 

How to Find and Install Previous Versions of Apps in Adobe Creative Cloud 2018

From the Creative Cloud App Manager, select the Apps Tab and select either All Apps, or My Apps.

Next to each app, you will see a button marked Open with a small arrow/triangle to its right.

Click on the triangle, it will reveal a short pull down menu. In the case of Photoshop CC, you will see:

- View Tutorials
- Other Versions
- Uninstall

Click on Other Versions and you will see a list of available previous versions for installation.

Click on Install to Install the version of your choice.

Note that the list depends on the App. Audition CC (2018) for example only offers CC 6.0 and CS6 5.0

Adobe Creative Cloud 2018 Individual Apps Installers - No more - Now Dolby AC3, MTS is missing

Adobe CC 2018 is here!  Wait... It's still 2017. Oh well, Adobe Apps still look like it's 1983.

Update from the Adobe CC App Manager, or download individual installers from this Adobe page: https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/kb/creative-cloud-apps-download.html

UPDATE:

1) As of 10-31-17 Adobe has removed these individual installers links from their webpage. Only update option now is through the App Manager.

2) There seem to be some sneaky business going on as Adobe removed Dolby AC3  from Media Encoder 2018 without telling users - all the while raising their subscription price, thank you. Shameful non-communication on Adobe's part.

Possible workaround to bring back Dolby codecs to AME 2018 here. (Update: this page has been deleted by Adobe - Thanks!)

If you are upgrading, be safe and deselect the Remove Old Versions option. Although there is no guarantee it will keep the Dolby Codec in place.  Any user can confirm this?

On my other machine, I have Encore CS6 (the last available version) with Media Encoder CS6, so the Dolby options are still there in the old version of AME, but I wonder if I install 2018, will it be gone from CS6 as well?  I don't want to risk it.

UPDATE:

Dolby is still there in AME CS6 after the 2018 upgrade. I paid attention to not Remove Old Versions of AME. I also re-installed AME 2017 on my other machine, and AC3 is back on it as well. Crisis avoided. For now.

Updated to Avid Media Composer 8.9.2 on macOs Sierra 10.12.6

Updated "manually" again via downloading the installer from my Avid Master Account.

I always Uninstall the previous version completely before I install the new one. Worked great this time, no problem whatsoever, all plug-ins up to date, all good. :))

If you are updating via the Avid Application Manager, a reminder that the app downloads the installer(s) into the following folder: MacHD/Library/Caches/Avid/AppManager/Downloads

From the AppManager, I update in two steps: I click "Update" in the App Manager window. It first downloads the installer - you will see a progress bar.

Step 1 - Downloading

When this is done I do not click "Install" from the App Manager, instead I Quit the app, go to the Installer, and move it to a different location.

Step 2 - At this point, Quit the app, do not click "Install".

Step 3 - Copy/Move the installer to wherever you want it.

(I keep all installers together in case I need them later.)

Step 4 -  install "manually" from the newly copied installer.

This way I'm not dependent on AppManager behavior and I can keep the installer where I want it. After installation, the app restarts automatically.

Done.

In the case of MC itself  I can uninstall before I install, note that the Installer for the AppManager does not offer the option to uninstall.

I've had less problems doing it this way than blindly clicking "Install" from the AppManager.

How to copy a Mask Path into a Shape Path in After Effects

I always forget this...

Select the Layer containing the Mask
Hit "M" on the keyboard to reveal the Mask, or expand Mask > Mask
Click on the Mask Path with the Hourglass next to it and Copy
Select or create the Shape Layer
Select the Pen Tool and draw any kind of shape, this will create a new Shape/Path within the Shape layer
Expand Content > Shape > Path1 > Path to reveal the Path with the Hourglass next to it.
Paste the Mask Path into this newly created Path. Voilà!

The trick is to Copy / Paste the actual keyframes from the Mask Path to the Shape Path. The Path is actually buried one step below what you expect. You have to see the Hourglass to copy the keyframes, else you only copy the Mask from Layer 1 to a new Mask on Layer 2. 

Has anyone found a solution to Apple Motion banding Light Object???

Here I am outputting some Motion (5.3.2) graphics with light, and again it has banding all over the exported QT file. 😩

Doesn't matter if it's set to Normal, Best, with or without Alpha, ProRes 422, ProRes4444XQ, Normal Gamut, Wide Gamut, export directly from Motion, send to Compressor, Dither, Anti-Alias - They all fail and they all have nasty banding! Why?

This is a year later and this problem is still not fixed. Actually, a quick Google search shows this problem creeping as early as 2011.
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/170/870329
https://discussions.apple.com/thread/3310058?start=15&tstart=0
http://www.fcp.co/forum/4-final-cut-pro-x-fcpx/16928-prores-banding-in-quicktime-player-not-in-motion-or-fcpx
https://forums.creativecow.net/thread/344/39931

That was the early Motion version 5, we are now at 5.3.2

Anyway, as it is Motion is useless as soon as you want to lit your scene. No light, all is good and dandy. Add a Light Object, all goes down to the drain 'cause... ugly banding.

And no, adding noise is not a fix. Adding noise does not clean the banding away. It just adds noise and your graphic is all dirty instead of clean with a smooth gradient.

Indeed, exporting using Compressor Settings and selecting Animation Codec results in a smooth gradient. And because of the codec, QT Player has to convert the file before opening it.

Mind you it looks perfect in Motion's Canvas, but on QT export, ugly banding all over. Exporting a single frame as TIFF or PNG looks just fine though. So why? Why can Motion export a still perfectly but not a .mov?

See for yourself (click on images to see larger versions):

Motion Canvas, just fine.

QT export (ProRes4444XQ Best) - Terrible ugly BANDING!

Exported as single PNG - No banding, looks just fine

Rahhh! Now I have to recreate my graphics in After Effects.

I resubmitted feedback to Apple. Do so yourself if this is driving you crazy as well.