98 Productions Blog » 98 Pros Ask the Experts

SCAD Fashion Show in Blu-Ray

tjenkins — Sat, 15 May 2010 02:34:34 +0000

We delivered the intro video for the SCAD Fashion Show 2010 in HD Blu-Ray today. For Clients present and future we now offer full HD finish for projects in either Blu-Ray or digital file format.

Working On A Buzz?

admin — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 02:29:50 +0000

Are you working on a buzz? Editing late nights trying to stay energized? Maybe you’re driving, solving math equations, baking a cake, working or creating. Whatever the case; you’re soaking in some caffeine to keep on going: Red Bull, Starbucks, Coca-Cola! Well, we’ve found the website for you (or what we think you might find interesting). EnergyFiend.com provides a complete list of Caffeine content in drinks and, most interesting, food! You can organize their list in a variety of formats including milligrams per ounce (mg/oz), in which a Starbucks Tall Coffee contains 22.5, Diet Coke only contains 3.8, and of course our favorite, Fixx Extreme, contains 2,352! Houston we have lift off!

Help Haiti

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 16:26:24 +0000

It doesn’t take a second to realize the gift of each new day in which you don’t have to face a natural disaster. Haiti is in dire need of assistance. Here are some quick links to sites that can help:

Clinton Bush Haiti Fund

CNN Impact Your World

MAP International

Data Backup with BackBlaze

tjenkins — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 06:05:50 +0000

Looking for a means to protect your data? For your personal and business data storage needs we recommend trying out backblaze.com The deal: For $5 per month they’ll back up all the files (up to 4GBs) on your computer to an online storage center. Visit them online at http://www.backblaze.com

Disruptive Technology: Pogoplug

tjenkins — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 19:40:56 +0000

Digital workflow just got a lot easier thanks to CloudEngines’ newest device: Pogoplug. As their website states: “The Pogoplug connects your USB drive to the Internet so you can easily share and access your files from anywhere.” It’s true. We suggest you check it out at www.Pogoplug.com, and begin to “operate from the cloud…”

Canon VIXIA HF S100 1080p Camcorder

tjenkins — Sat, 14 Nov 2009 14:38:40 +0000

When asked by friends and colleagues what camcorder to use for filmming your daily life with a professional look; I always recommend the VIXIA HF S100 by Canon (retails for around $900 USD). This tiny 1080p HD camera delivers brilliant video and photos through a Canon exclusive 8.59 megapixel CMOS image sensor and the latest version of the advanced image processor, DIGIC DV III. It is lightweight, compact in size and easy to use (flash memory cards). We use this camera as a ‘floater’ for documentaries, concerts, weddings, interviews, fun stuff! We sup it up with additional audio packaging for more involved work, however the on board volume recording controls of a small camera like this one are really killer. A friend of mine in South Africa took this little camera for a test drive and loaded up the footage online that he had shot of his mother’s restaurant and I was sold! The VIXIA HF S100 can record up to 6 hours of crisp, high definition video to a removable SDHC card. What’s more, the VIXIA HF S100 allows you to record at up to 24Mbps, the highest bit rate in AVCHD format, for the highest quality image. The VIXIA HF S100’s Canon Exclusive features – such as the genuine Canon 10x HD video lens, sophisticated genuine Canon face detection capability, SuperRange optical image stabilization and a host of control and creative options – makes the flash memory camcorder unmistakably Canon. The entire VIXIA camcorder line is pretty cool, but the HF S100 is the way to go!

Panasonic HVX200 In-Camera Settings

tjenkins — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 21:27:37 +0000

Here are some important in-camera settings we recommend when filmming with the Panasonic HVX 200, knowing that you are going to have to color balance the footage with a different variety of cameras later in post.

On the back of the Camera turn the Scene File to F2 >SCENE FLVO.

Press Menu and Select:

1. Scene File
Operation Type > Film Camera
Syncro Scan > 180.0d
Set All Settings from Detail Level to Color Temp > 0

2. Camera Setup
Aspect Conv > Squeeze

3. SW Mode
Mid Gain > 6db
High Gain > 12db
ATW > Off
All Other Settings In This Category Should be Operator’s Preference

4. Auto SW
Leave Default

5.Recording Setup
Select Whichever Format Production Requires

6.AV IN/OUT SETUP
CPMNT OUT Sel > 1080i
HP MODE > RECORDING

7.DISPLAY SETUP
Operator’s Preference

8, Card Functions
Refers to SD HD Card Information if You want stored settings

9.OTHER FUNCTIONS
Remote > VCR 1
1394 Control > OFF
1394 CMD Sel > Record P
PC Mode > 1394 Device

Exit Menu

Now Press ‘Shutter’ on the side of the Camera
Switch shutter to 180.d if light levels allow (Use 1/24 if low light)

Time Machine Troubles

tjenkins — Sun, 11 Oct 2009 00:43:52 +0000

One of our computers (iMac 2007 4GB Ram) was being really slow and was not handling High Definition in Final Cut Pro, and was giving the spinning wheel of death prior to every edit for most FCP sessions. Well we solved the problem yesterday. As FCP was acting super duper slow, we noticed the TimeMachine was backing up the computer…in the middle of the afternoon. Switched TimeMachine software OFF and the iMac’s running FCP and DVDStudio Pro and all applications like a speedy sewing machine. Guess the TimeMachine program uses a large portion of the memory! Anyh0w, thought you would be interested. If anyone else you know if experiencing slowdown this might be the issue.

BLU RAY

tjenkins — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:22:22 +0000

After much research and setup, the 98 Studio is finally able to offer Blu-Ray full HD authoring to our clients. We’ll enable your project to start and finish in full HD 1080i quality. As Buzz Lightyear once remarked “To Infinity….And Beyond!!”

Summer Internships / Production Companies

tjenkins — Thu, 03 Apr 2008 01:33:23 +0000

This is a list of some very cool production companies and studios we recommend interning with for those of you looking to get started on your career track in music video and commercial production.

Most of these companies are located in Los Angeles, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Montreal or Paris. This is just a beginning list to get you started, so here we go:

The Directors’ Bureau