[Tig] St. Diig

[Craig Leffel]

Quoting Tim Stipan <stipantim at yahoo.com>:

>> Big Iron Big Bucks! Yes you feel more comfortable buying hardware dependent
>> systems, but sytems like Scratch are GPU based and run on a fairly cheap PC.
>> So you can make a lot of money off of it and you dont have to be married to
>> expensive hardware. It does 2K at real time! The studios are all buying it
>> and Jeff is doing a 3D DI on it now. 

Tim, you know good and well that Scratch would not and does not support my
workflow. I have given the system a fair shake, and for what I do everyday, it's
not an option. The fact that studios are buying them means nothing to the TV
commercial Post world. Yes, they're cheap... so was a Yugo.


There are a lot of major post houses
>> using it, why? Becuase it is good and it's not expensive!

Really? Then how exactly, are they going to pay the "expensive" colorists we've
all heard about driving nice cars and eating sushi and going to concerts in the
first few rows? Cheap = lower rates eventually. Lower rates = poorly paid
colorists. I, for one, am hoping the de-valuing of our profession from the candy
you're pushing only lasts a short while.

 I love the
>> Baselight, its a great color corrector and your a foward thinking guy and I
>> am sure you will kick ass on it. The lustre can work in a commercial world
>> as well, yes it doesn't control a telecine, but as you know I made it work,
>> too bad my telecine was subpar or it would have been a successful operation.

Tim, you know how much I like you, but that last statement is tenuous at best.
The Lustre at the time you had it was plagued with *documented* problems, let alone
the un-documented. My opinion, for sure... but I did beta test, and sit with
engineers frequently. I never asked for it to control my telecine, didn't want
it to. As for your implication that I "couldn't" make it work... Sure, Tim -
keep thinking that if it makes you feel better about you're time on that box in
the situation(s) you were forced into.


>> The guys from the Nova scanner have created the box that allowed me to use
>> Lustre to control a Spirit or a Cintel, so it can work in a commercial
>> world, for some reason you didn't make it work! Maybe you had pulldown
>> issues, I am not sure, but I disagree with your statement that it is a
>> plagued system, rather it didn't work for me would be a kinder thing to
>> say!

Seriously? You know me better. I am not interested in "kind" when it comes to
opinion. Especially mine. This is a discussion forum, and I am merely talking
about my experience with any given products I use, as I have on this forum for
near 10 years or so... I have no interest in succumbing to "decorum" or whatever
it is you're suggesting. I buy equipment Tim, do you? I would rather see an open
dialog on this forum, than a bunch of panty-waists worrying about pissing off
some invisible sales guy who might be reading this. For my 2 cents, I wish you'd
step up on this one, and not suggest we all cower.


 Off the shelf systems and software only based vendors like Assimilates
>> Scratch are a safe way to go for the dollar conscience house and they have
>> comparable functions (ie. Unlimited power widows, tracking, keyers,
>> compositing, edit, deck control, ect.), and for a third of the price! Yes I
>> am biased because I use to work for them, and thats the reason I chimed in!
>> I would fall to the ground if I heard you say it was a "Plagued System" 

I didn't and won't. It does great for what it is. I'm sure many features and Red
camera work will use this workflow. I said "doesn't fit my needs" because it
doesn't. You know what kind of work I do... 6 clients behind me on a Scratch?
Don't think so....

>> I know and have worked on Davinci 2K, 888, Lustre, Scratch, and even Apples
>> color aka SC, and if didn't like a system I would say it didn't work for me
>> on a private/ somewhat public forum like this one because there are a lot of
>> people married to their systems and when a client hears that so and so's
>> system sucks for color grading spots.. then you could be jeopardizing
>> someones lively hood! 

Dude. At this point I'm going to assume you've taken a ride on the crazy train. 
Do you know any clients that read the TIG? Do you seriously know anyone who
reads this forum that takes my comments - the schmuck from Chicago - all *that*
seriously? There's 15 systems out there man!! And there's a gazillion colorists
all trying to horde their corner of the market on the new DI gear they're
buying!! They will all bad mouth each other's gear, and so will the
manufacturer's sales guys, the PR department, the producers, the GM and the CEO
of most companies... my claims that certain systems are "plagued" via personal
opinion and personal experience will have *zero* affect on what is coming.

Just wait until rates start to plummet. Wait until the guy doing sessions on
Color starts charging $100 an hour ( current ProTools rates I just heard from a
Rocker friend ) - because Color is "cheap"  - hey, it's only $1200.

It might be right around then that the colorists you're so worried about losing
their livelyhoods *actually* start to lose them. And guess what? my comments
about my experiences will be mute, yet you're claims that cheap-er is good-er,
might actually have done more damage than you think.

Have I cleared up my feelings about this for you? You're a better colorist, and
a smarter guy than this, Tim. I would expect you to have far more respect and
admiration for the talent, craftsmanship and artistry it takes to be a colorist
rather than to suggest that cheap = good. Good for who? It's the gear now, is it?

Quit drinking the Kool-aid and think about long term affects. You play a role in
this too.


All my best -


Craig Leffel