October 25 , 2006

Compression is an art as much as editing, yet very few of us understand it. Why can't our videos look and play like the movie trailers we see on Apple dot com? Oh sure, these movies look great to begin with, but is it that simple? Well, nothing is simple is it. So tonight we devote most of the evening to learning how to get our movies onto the web at the most efficient file size and the most beautiful look and sound

Plus we will have another round of Stump the Gurus, Show and Tells, and of course World Famous Raffle. Agenda will be set one week before the meeting date.

6:45- 7:15PM - Stump the Gurus
Join FCP Gurus Andrew Balis,KD Gulko, Victor Maldonado and Philip Hodgetts as they will attempt to answer all of your questions and solve all of your problems concerning FCP. If they can't solve your problem or answer your How 2, then you go home with a problem but you still got out of the house, so that's not a bad thing.

7:20PM - 8:00PM - "Compression Recipes" - Philip Hodgetts
From Final Cut Pro to the web via Windows Media, Flash, MPEG-4, H.264, AVI, DivX... an editor could go nuts trying to figure all this out. Instead Final Cut Pro and distribution guru Philip Hodgetts will break it down in simple recipes. When do you use each of the formats if they're all good for something? How do you make it look good at the smallest bandwidth in plain simple language.

You won't become the World's Greatest Compressionist, but you will get the magic formula for consistent quality results at the minimum bandwidth

8:05PM - 8:30PM - 'Making the leap' - Michael Friedman
Taking a break from encoding for the web we welcome Emmy Award ("Amazing Race," "Laguna Beach," "The Sureal Life") editor Michael Friedman who will talk about the path from being on the 'outside' to moving up the food chain to a Emmy winning network show. - Including - how to get hired - do you need a reel? - getting asked back - who to call - etc.

8:30PM - 8:50PM - Break
This is a chance to hang out and meet and greet and get your problems solved. Lots of Gurus come to lafcpug meetings and ths is your chance to network and make contacts. Snacks and Beer and Wine will be on sale in the lobby. Proceeds go to the Gallery Theater.

8:55PM - 9:25PM -"How the big boys do it"- Dan DiPola
We are pleased to bring you one of the giants in the digital production field, Dan DiPaola. Dan will discuss what tools and techniques the "Big Boys"(such as the folks who do those movie trailers on Apple) use to produce the results they do. And no it's not because these films were shot on 35mm film.
About Dan:
Dan DiPaola, President of Digital Production Racks (DPR)™, is a seasoned entertainment professional who has spent his career on the cutting edge of technology delivering creative solutions for 25 years. Right out of college, he joined Francis Ford Coppola's Zoetrope Studios where he spent five years pushing the early digital invasion of Hollywood. Since the 1980s, DiPaola has been a featured speaker at technology and entertainment conferences, always making technology accessible to the average user. n late 2003, he began accessing the emerging HD market and analyzing what products or services would advance the use of HD and make it affordable for most productions. After 18 months of research and testing, he launched Digital Production Racks, linking pre-production-post by organizing every aspect into one location with access to all key players.

9:30PM - 9:45PM - Exporting Widescreen Movies for the Web" - Brian Gary
Compressor Guru Brian Gary will show us how to export a widescreen movie to the web without those annoying black bars.

9:50PM - 10:00PM -"Armageddon On Your Mind" - (Show and Tell) - Dave Edison
From Dave:
It's a video for our website of a patriotic song parody called "Armageddon On Your Mind" (based on "Heaven On Their Minds" from Jesus Christ Superstar).

10:00PM - World Famous Raffle
1 volume HD royalty free Stock animation images - Motionstream
100 credits for the royalty free stock video clips of your choice - Revolution Stock Media
2 copies of the "Repair Collection" plug-ins for FCP - CHV Electronics
Various training DVDs from Ripple Training
Copy of DVDxDVPro - DVDxDV
WMV Studio Pro - Flip4Mac
DV Enlightenment DVD - DVCreators.net
After Effects 7 DVD - DVCreators.net
Copy of Inside Flash 8- Magnet Media
Copy of Inside Final Cut Pro 5 - Magnet Media
Learning Soundtrack Pro DVD - Larry Jordan
Soundtrack Pro Audio Filters DVD - Larry Jordan
Motion 2 - Essential Training - Larry Jordan
Copy of DVD Studio Pro 4 (book) - McGraw Hill
50% off Training class at Moviola - Moviola
FCP Keyboard KeyGuide - Neotron Design
Plug-in package of your choice - Lyric Media
Copy of Final Draft or Final Draft AV - Final Draft
Killer Titles for Live Type and Calligraphy - Intelligent Assistance
Practical Color Correction For FCP - Intelligent Assistance
101 Final Cut Pro Tips -Intelligent Assistance

Special thanks to ProMax for footing the bill and Victor Maldanado and Dean Cleary for taping the show