Pelicola translated from our native dialect means movie. Some creative guys here in Manila are launching a web site that aims to capitalize on their creative talents to produce short movies.

I had a short chat with Pelicola’s principal Noel Guevara.

TAM: Please give us a brief background about Pelicola

NG: Pelicola is Internet television. It’s the first of its kind here in the Philippines. Our aim is to provide our audience with gourmet video content.

Most of the videos are original productions (maybe only 10% would be third-party contributions) In as much as the concept is already inventive, the shows themselves are even more so.

TAM: What shows are you launching and when can we expect them?

NG: We’ve decided to partner with a renowned icon (in the show’s field or genre) for its production, in order to fully capture the spirit of the genre and subject matter.

The site (www.pelicola.tv) is launching on January 2009 along with 5 shows: Alive At The Womb, Rogue TV, Pelicola Insider, Story Films, and Fully Booked: the list.

Alive At The Womb is a live music recording show co-produced with Louie Talan of Razorback

Rogue TV is a show co-produced with Rogue magazine focusing on human interest pieces. mostly interviews and features.

Pelicola Insider is our very own experimental documentary show. it’s our probe team. we cover any topic that’s interesting, and present it in a very engaging, unorthodox manner.

Story Films, created with Story Philippines Magazine, showcasing sponsored short films. think BMW films and Cartier Love but it can be commissioned by different brands. It’s a form of adfilm that’s more film that it is an ad.

Fully Booked is a lively book review show co-produced with Fully Booked magazine.

TAM: What tools did you use to create your videos? (Mac and software)

NG: We use a MacBook Pro and and a Mac Pro for editing. We also use the MacBook Pro for dumping in the field (transferring of video files from the camera’s SD card to the computer) and we use Final Cut Pro, Compressor, and a special plugin for exporting to flv (which is our final product).

Both workstations are connected to 20″ Apple Cinema Displays the Mac Pro has 2 2.8 ghz quad-core Intel Xeon processors, with 2 GB ram and a 250gb hdd. it has an external 500gb eSATA drive for transporting files.

The MacBook Pro runs on a 2.5ghz Intel Core 2 Duo with 3 GB RAM and 250gb HDD. We use a set of bose music monitors when listening to the audio. What is really worth noting is that even with such a basic set of specs, we are able to perform a multitude of monolithic tasks that (based on my experience) could easily cripple a PC workstation the inherent stability and ruggedness (is there a word?) of the macs come into play and become obvious when we perform these heavy operations.

Considering that, the apparent ease-f-use of the software creates an incongruous atmosphere that is very much welcome.

I’ve been workin on PCs for 10 years, and I was surprised with the power, functionality, ease-of-use, and reliability of the macs and final cut pro. i mean, i can even edit in the field!

TAM: What would you like to say to our readers. Please invite them to watch out for Pelicola

NG: To catch a glimpse of Pelicola, you can check out the teaser clip we’ve uploaded on youtube. It’s the 2nd part of the first episode of “Alive at the Womb”. It really pales in comparison to the quality and download speed of the upcoming site, but it will give you a firm grasp of the show’s look and feel. If you’re on facebook, add up the pelicola fan page too! We’ll be sending updates through that page as well, which will include a heads-up on the launch of the teaser site (sometime in November).

Post from: EveryJoe

Made On A Mac: Pelicola

1. You’re one of the first people to get your hands on the iPod Touch. Where did you get it? How did you find out it was on stock?

I got it from Best Buy last Sep 15 here in the US.

I never knew that it’s already available not until I saw the demo unit and asked the salesperson.

2. What model did you get? Why did you get that over an iPhone?

Since I’m using the 30GB 5th Gen iPod, I decided to get the highest capacity available which is 16GB. How I wish a 32GB capacity were available, that would be my final choice. I simply sync only those collections that I want and copy it over to the iPod touch.

Why not iPhone, I considered it because it would reduce my monthly bill of $20 a month with my AT&T account. However as a Treo user, most of the 3rd party apps and Games are not yet available in the iPhone. Moreover, I don’t want to come to a point were I’ll have no more battery left in the middle of the day while I’m in public area and no means of charging the iPhone. I’m a heavy iPod user and I don’t want to compromise the voice calls when needed.

3. What are your impressions of the iPod Touch? How is it better than your previous iPod?

Initially I thought it’s an iPhone but it’s slimmer with aluminum polished back which make sense to be uniformed and categorized as an iPod though the black plastic cover at the top left is very distracting.

It’s better with my previous iPod because of Wi-Fi, able to add contacts directly from the unit, multi-touch and OS X liked User Interface.

4. Having had your iPod Touch, will you consider upgrading to an iPhone once it’s available in your area?

I have no plans of getting an iPhone yet not until the apps that I’m looking or an alternative becomes available.

5. What are the things that you’d like to see improved on the iPod Touch?

• Ability to add calendar events just like contacts were it is possible.
• Native apps which can found from the iPhone
• Cover Flow artwork to change while playing a music or podcast.
• Bluetooth
• External speaker
• A physical play/pause and volume control or at least a remote
• Matte Aluminum back casing
• iTunes Wi-Fi music store to be more robust like ability to search for videos.

Post from: EveryJoe

Yet Another iPod Touch Interview

I recently interviewed one of PhilMUG’s member who was lucky enough to get his hands on the iPod Touch before the Sept. 28th official release. By sheer luck, Byerly (Miguel Villalon) of PhilMUG was in an Apple Store in Hawaii just in time when the first shipments of the iPod Touch came in.

1. You’re one of the first people to get your hands on the iPod Touch. Where did you get it? How did you find out it was on stock?

I guess you can call it luck, a few days after Steve announced the new iPods I was headed to Hawaii to attend a wedding. A few days after I arrived I was off to the Apple store. I remembered reading online that the touch wouldn’t be available until the 28th so I didn’t bother asking about it when I got to the store. Instead I planned on playing with the Macs on display, one of the reasons I wanted to visit the Apple store was because I was seriously thinking of upgrading to the new Macbook Pros to replace my Powerbook G4. I decided to wait for new models to come out, I was happy with my last gen G4. I did spend a long time playing with the iPhones though, this was the first time I’ve ever seen one up close. I was amazed… I must have spent a good 30 minutes playing around with all the features, trying to make phone calls (only local calls were allowed), and sending out emails. Later
that night, back at the hotel, I was seriously thinking of picking up an iPhone. I figured I could get help from fellow Philmuggers
unlocking it when I got back home. The next day I was back in the Apple store helping my dad and sister get external hard drives for their Macbooks, as we were paying for the drives I joked around with one of the salespeople about being bummed that I was going to be back in the Philippines when the touches were going to be released. He gave another salesperson a look and told us to wait for a while as he was asked to go into the back. He came back out with a bunch of brown boxes, looked our way and asked if we wanted brand spanking new iPod touches that were only available in a few Apple stores across the states. Who could say no to that! I later found out that the shipment had just come in earlier that day.

I started a thread on Philmug if you want to check it out, I also posted my covert picture(not allowed to take pictures in the Apple store) of the salesperson opening the box of iPod touches.

2. What model did you get? Why did you get that over an iPhone?

I got a 16GB model, as the saying goes, bigger is better! haha. I did want an iPhone but I figured it might be a hassle because all it takes is one update from Apple to lock it up again. I really think waiting for the asian version would be best. Who knows, by that time Apple would have fixed some of the things people have been complaining about (caller I.D., cut and paste, more storage, etc). We might even see a 3G model.

3. What are your impressions of the iPod Touch? How is it better than your previous iPod?

The iPod touch is amazing, the first thing you’ll notice is that it’s thinner than the iPhone. The interface is pretty much the same,
without the phone features. The screen is bright, crisp, and the colors are insane! I actually think that navigating on the iPod touch
is much easier than on the previous iPods. It looks really good doing it too! Coverflow is so much better than scrolling through text, flicking through a song list is loads of fun, and pinching for websites and pictures is pure genius. The wifi though is icing on the cake, I also left the apple store with reloads for my iTunes account since now I have access to the iTunes store on my iPod Touch.

I have a 5.5G iPod and a first gen iPod nano. The 5.5G iPod was where I would store my music library as well as videos and podcasts, and the Nano I still use very often with my Nike+ sports kit. I never really loaded pictures on any of my iPods until I got the iPod Touch, looking at pictures on the older Ipods just didn’t seem right with the small screen.

4. Having had your iPod Touch, will you consider upgrading to an iPhone once it’s available in your area?

Yes, because I’m an Apple freak like that. haha! It will have to be the asian version though. Not the iPhones brought in that need to be hacked.

5. What are the things that you’d like to see improved on the iPod Touch?

Bigger storage would be better. 16GB isn’t enough for a device that can store video and music.

A camera would be nice.

Games, I hope Apple finds a way to put games into the Ipod Touch.

Mail, they got wifi into the iPod Touch, I wish they included Mail as well.

Being able to enter calendar events. Creating new contacts is allowed, but creating calendar events is not. Strange.

More pics…

Post from: EveryJoe

iPod Touch User Interview

About a few months ago my dad showed me a video on YouTube. It was a Filipina who produced her own video and put it up on YouTube for the whole world to enjoy. Since then, I’ve been hooked on what is now one of the more popular online video performers.

Christine, the girl behind HappySlip is a self confessed Mac user (That made me like her more). She’s been creating her videos on her Mac ever since she got her first one last 2001.

The After Mac is glad to have interviewed a fellow Filipino and Mac user. So now, on with the show.

TAM: First of all, let me just say. I’m a fan. I mean that in a non-patronizing way. I am really a fan. I am biased so I would say that my favorite video is Mac Beautiful but coming in a close, close second is Home.

HS: Hahaha, yeah Home is my only sentimental video. I want to do more of those but want it to come in a natural way, and not force it. Home was a bunch of stuff all rolled into one. It’s a big piece of my heart.

TAM: If I’m not mistaken, you said in your first video blog that you are Filipino but you were born in the United States.

HS: Yes.

TAM: How did your parents raise you? Filipino way? American way or a mix of both?

HS: Both, because although they spoke to us in English, there were still many things that were still very Filipino growing up.

TAM: So you are still very much connected to your Filipino roots?

HS: The whole extended family is pretty much here in the U.S. – so the culture that they have brought to me is still very much alive.

I wish I could say that I’ve been to the Philippines more recently but the only time I was there was when I was one, so someday soon I want to visit again.

TAM: Well. Maybe that will happen sooner than you think.

TAM: Ok, this being a Mac blog. Let’s get straight to the point… When did you start using a Mac? How did you get into using one?

HS: The first Mac I got was in 2001 and I bought it specifically because I wanted to edit my own little productions. I never thought about online stuff – I just wanted to do family skits etc.. for my own creative outlet.

TAM: What was your very first Mac?

HS: iMac the triangle looking ones. Ha ha. G3 Indigo blue. I still have it.

TAM: After that, what was the next one?

HS: My Powerbook G4 1.5 Ghz, which I use now.

TAM: That’s the main machine you use now for all your videos?

HS: Yes!

TAM: Apart from your powerbook, what are the other tools in your arsenal? both hardware and software.

HS: I have to move old videos over to my external hard drive to make room for editing new ones. I use a Sony DCR-TRV30 miniDV camcorder for recording. That’s the basic studio. Sometimes I use my piano the one in the “Mac Beautiful” video.

Oh, I use Garageband and iMovie HD.

TAM: So you just use the basic tools and software that came with the Powerbook?

HS: Yes.

TAM: Apart from that, what other apps can be found in your powerbook? Stuff that you use on a daily basis. Not just for work but for other things as well.

HS: iPhoto, iTunes, – and I suppose everything else I do is on the internet. Ha ha.

TAM: What’s your dream Mac now? Do you plan to upgrade anytime soon?

HS: Ha ha, upgrading would be nice someday. As in Mac Beautiful – I would get the biggest and fastest system.

Of course I got the monitor size wrong. It was a 30″ display. Not a 24″. I accidentally put what the biggest iMac display was.

TAM: That was one mistake I think people will not mind.

HS: Well, at least people will know that Apple didn’t pay me to do that video, or else I would’ve gotten that detail right!

TAM: What made you buy a Mac instead of a PC when you wanted to start editing videos?

HS: I had just always heard from artist friends that Macs were the best for graphics, and video. Plus it looked so simple with iMovie. Plus all their hardware looks so clean and nice. Enough to make me switch! Ha ha! I had an old PC prior to that.

TAM: Well I’m glad you saw the light..

HS: Ha Ha!

TAM: Do you have an iPod? what other mac/apple stuff do you own?

HS: I wish… one day. It would be nice if Apple gave me at least a shuffle for that Mac Beautiful vid I did. Ha ha ha ha.

TAM: Ok, we’ve done much of the geeky stuff.. Let’s move on to the creative stuff. I know that Happyslip isn’t your day job. Are you hoping one day it will be? What’s your vision for Happyslip?

HS: I work mostly for the business of HappySlip now…. just building it up. I haven’t had to do nursing for a while, just do that whenever I need to. My vision for HappySlip is that it can be a way for me to explore the full potential of my creativity and if it can be cultivated into bringing in some income that would be nice!

I’m figuring that $$ will come in either through other offers whether it be through TV or other websites offering work, but I’d still like to maintain HappySlip as much as possible.

TAM: I noticed that HappySlip uses Revver for your videos. They have revenue sharing for that right? Plus you have a Cafepress store as well.

HS: Yeah those are the only things so far that bring in a little bit of $$ not enough to call it a paying job though. Ha Ha Ha. Maybe it’ll help when YouTube starts sharing the revenue.

TAM: Have you always wanted to be an actress or filmmaker of sorts?

HS: I always had an interest in performing, but maybe only realized the dream of acting at about 10-11 years old.

TAM: So why take up nursing then?

HS: That was a backup plan, and something I knew would be flexible and a secure job. I didn’t want to depend solely on acting to bring in a paycheck, cause then I may be facing roles that I don’t really want to play but maybe thinking to do whatever roles just to pay rent. I didn’t want to be in that position.

TAM: When did you start HappySlip? What made you decide to go the online route instead of the traditional one?

HS: I started HappySlip September of last year, so around 5 months ago. I read about Brookers who is a 20 year old girl that was doing her creative little videos and that’s how I found out that you can have your own “channel” on YouTube. I didn’t know you could collect all your videos and host them free like that – so it was all too convenient.

TAM: In the span of 5 months, how has the ride been? You’re getting to be quite the popular girl.

HS: Ha ha ha, that’s weird to think of myself like that, cause I was very much the unpopular girl in school, nerdy girl – still am! Ha Ha Ha. The ride has been wonderful — to be able to essentially have my own show and have the people all around the world as my audience.

TAM: Do people start noticing you now? In the streets I mean.

HS: Ha ha ha, one person recognized me at an audition, and then I think a Filipino couple noticed me on the subway and were taking pics with their camera phone – but they seemed to shy to talk and I didn’t want to assume and say “hey, are you taking my picture” — because what if they weren’t! Ha ha ha.

TAM: So are those the only “celebrity moments” that you’ve had? Are there any more..

HS: I would be surprised if more of those moments come right now, because it seems like the fan base is spread all over the place – and it would be so random to run into someone — at least that’s what I think.

TAM: One more thing.. Is there anything you’d like to say to your Mac using fans?

HS: I would say “use your Mac to it’s fullest potential — it is the tool to bring out the best of your creativity!!”

Post from: EveryJoe

A Little Bit Of Happy… HappySlip That Is!

In our drive to make The After Mac a better Mac/Apple blog, we’re going to try and talk to a lot more Mac users. We want to find out why they love Apple and the Mac, why they’re using it, what their hardware is and how it improves their lives. Today, we bring you b5media’s very own Aaron Brazell. Aaron is b5media’s Technology Manager and can be seen blogging at Technosailor.

TAM: So Aaron when did you first find yourself using the Mac?

AB: Well, I’ve always liked the concept of the Mac and when OS X came around built on top of Unix, I immediately wanted it – all the power of the command line with all the ease of Apple’s world famous GUI. I had checked them out in the Apple Store for several years but did not actually get one until I began full time with b5media. That was Oct of 2006.

TAM: What’s your current Mac set-up now?

AB: I’ve got a Macbook Pro, 15″ Glossy screen, 2.16 Ghz, 1GB Ram, 100GB hard drive. It sits on my desk hooked up to a 24″ ViewSonic widescreen.

TAM: What’s your dream Mac machine right now?

AB: I’m pretty happy with my machine right now. I’d really like a 30″ Apple display though

TAM: Same here.

TAM: What are the essential apps that can be found on your MBP? Apps that you can’t live without.

AB: Well thankfully, Terminal is there and that is open all day. I also use Zend Development Environment which is a cross platform Java app. I use Fetch as my SFTP client, Adium and Skype for IM, Parallels so I can support those damn Windows users, Quicksilver because it makes my life easy, and Audacity, Soundflower and Audio Hijack Pro because I’m a podcaster.

TAM: Do you use textmate or any other text editor for your coding?

AB: Well I have Textedit for one off types of things. But anything that is development related is done in ZDE.

TAM: Having moved to the Mac platform, what are your thoughts on it? Was is it easier to get your job done now? What were the challenges that you faced when you moved to the platform?

AB: Well having come from the Windows world and only watched Mac from afar (never using it), I was a bit lost for the first few days. It was pretty disorienting when I was a Windows poer user due to my job. However, if I’m anything, I’m persistently curious about new things and I tried to push aside my confusion to dive down into the OS and learn how to do the things I did on Windows on a Mac. After a few days it all just suddenly made sense…

During the process, I spent a lot of times installing apps that did familiar things but not having any experience on a Mac, not knowing what would work the way it was intended or not.

At this point, I am more confused and lost going to Windows, but the truth is, I’ve become a Mac power user and a large part of that has to do, not with Mac, but with the Unix subsystem of which I am familiar.

TAM: I understand what you’re saying. The primary reason why I wanted to move to the mac as well was because of the Unix core.

AB: Yeah, in Windows you have to find an SSH client (I like Mindterm) and then go through all the routine to get it to work. And on Windows, SSH-keys are not supported automatically. Mac did away with that thanks to Unix.

TAM: Macs have always been popular with the “creative” people, how do you think it fairs now with the “developers”? People like you who are more technical, ex, programmers..

AB: Well it’s funny. I spend roughly 50% of my time in Starbucks – hardly a bastion of non-creative people, but I digress. I have taken to surveying the laptop users when I go into the store and 9 times out of 10, Macs outnumber PC-based laptps. Since I go to the same stores all the time, I’ve gotten to know some of the regular Mac users (because if death and taxes are the only guarantees in life, a Mac user having people talk to him in a public place is right behind) – most of the regulars are not artsy types, but business folks with technical backgrounds – systems guys and engineers. It’s a complete paradigm shift.

TAM: It’s awesome to see that there are more and more technical people who are using the Mac.

AB: I like it. :)

TAM: Is there anything that you see that can and should be improved about the Mac? If you had steve job’s ear, what would you tell him? What features would you have him put in the Mac?

AB: Give it a docking station. :) The isight should be HD as well. Don’t make me have to remember to “Eject” my external hard drive.

That’s a Unix thing, but I hate it – especially when I’m sneaking out for my laptop in the morning and don’t want to wake up the dog.

TAM: The eject is my pet peeve as well.

AB: Well when I’m trying to be quiet and move quickly, pulling the laptp out of sleep mode, typing my password just so I can eject the drive is silly.

TAM: Any parting words to The After Mac readers? What advice can you give people who’re thinking about making the switch?

AB: I’d say don’t be content with just owning a Mac. Apple does many things well but by getting your hands dirty, you can really own the machine. I’m still learning how to AppleScript but as well as that, the Unix world is your oyster. Read MAcOSXHints.com – subscribe in your feedreader. Take the tips and make the computer dance. Oh, and subscribe to technosailor.com too – I often do Mac writeups. ;-)

TAM: With that.. thanks for your time. I really appreciate it.

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview: Aaron Brazell, Technology Manager for b5media

Any interesting gossip with models and Macs?

The models usually have the least number of songs in their iPods. They have the slimmest collection of music. With my Mac computer setup in the studio, I end up teaching them and influencing them about all things Mac. I bring them to the iTunes music store where they are surprised they could browse and buy songs legally off the Internet. I show them the many different must-have accessories for their iPods. I am able to share with them new things they never thought was possible such as the podcasts and vidcasts. And they are amazed to learn something new. In other words, I become a resource to them that makes them appreciate their iPods more because they discover things they can do with it. They begin to renew their appreciation for their iPods. And since they are using my Mac to surf the net, browse sites, and check online emails, I end up influencing them to shift to the Mac from PC.

Their first-hand experience with the sleek Macs in my studio becomes a very positive force that makes them re-think about their crummy PCs at home. And, the shift is actually easy for them because they are surprised at how reasonably priced the Macs are. I must have converted a lot of people to the Mac already. Models, celebrities, politicians, socialites, and business/industry leaders. They fall in love with the Mac easily when given the chance for them to play with it, rather than to tell them why a Mac is better than their PC. The hard-sell strategy often does not work so well. When they are doing things on the Mac, and they begin to realize how easy, how fast, how convenient, and how elegant it is, they are the ones who convince themselves. If you think about it, because of the iPod, and the Mac, I have an easier time building rapport with my subjects and my clients. There, right there, is a subject we can talk about openly and extensively.

How do Macs give you an edge? Would it be very different if you were using a PC?

I am very tempted to come up with a kilometric laundry list of what kind of edge the Mac gives me over the PC. But that would be, ultimately, bragging. Enough to say, and it wouldn’t be an exaggeration at all, to say that everything about the Mac gives me a decided edge in everything that I do as a photographer. Everything, including photo shoots, client meetings, post-production, promotions, project managements, sales and business management — is easier, faster and better on the Mac. I can concentrate on what matters the most in my work, and I can focus on the important things, and I can be more productive, and I end up becoming a far better photographer because the Mac gives me the right tool and the framework with which to do things. In real life, you will realize that there are people whom when around makes us feel out-of-sorts, and then there are people who, when they are around, makes us feel great and confident, and in the process, brings out the best in us. A PC is a friend who makes us feel inadequate and out-of-sorts. A Mac is the kind of friend who makes us feel great and confident, and who brings out the best in us.

Any advice you can give to aspiring fashion photographers about equipment and attitude towards photography?

I’ve noticed that young photographers, particularly newcomers in the industry, are lured into photography for the wrong reasons. If I am not mistaken, I think they have the mistaken notion that photography is a very lucrative, money-making venture they can easily cash on. That is not the case at all. If a newcomer is thinking of photography simply as a means to make money, or as a business proposition, the likelihood of prospering is considerably less. While it is necessary to have business acumen, it is also necessary that one engages in photography because of the love and passion for it.

Photography, first and foremost, is both a craft and art. We become photographers because we have mastery and expertise over both aspects. And that kind of mastery can take years to develop and hone. It is not as if we can learn everything by simply taking the basic course of photography, and expect to be reasonably good at it. It takes more than that. It goes beyond acquiring a digital camera, enrolling in a primary course, and announcing to the world that one is a professional photographer. It takes long years to become proficient and to be truly a master of photography, and, to build a serious portfolio of works, and to gain the trust and confidence of clients.

I’ve been asked several times why I teach photography, and why I openly share my photo secrets and techniques to anyone and everyone who’d care to listen. I tell them that one of my goals is to fast-track the learning process of the new and young photographers. To make everyone I teach a measure of expertise and that they can individually develop on their own. I tell them that I want everyone to learn so that, in the end, we will end up competing on price, but instead, we will compete on quality.

As to equipment, I have 3 best advise. First is, get into the Mac/Apple hardware and software (iPhoto and Aperture are awesome addition to any photographer’s post-production and works well with Adobe Photoshop CS2). It’s not just the same when you’re on PC. And second, don’t rush to buy. Buy the best only when you can afford it. If you can’t afford it, postpone the buying decision. Buy only the top-of-the-line. And the 3rd advise is, love your work. The true measure of the love for photography is when you can afford to give up everything else.

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview with Dominique James Part III

His commercial, advertising and corporate clients include: Avon, Wella, Epson, Apple, Johnson & Johnson, Samsung, Philamlife, Beer na Beer, Swatch, Dolce et Gabanna, Mercedes Benz, Smart, Globe, SM Shoemart, San Beda College, etc.

To date, he has already presented almost 50 one-man and group photography exhibits (Beauty, Body Politics, The Botanical Sessions, Shoes, Famous, etc.) at Vargas Museum, The Alcove Gallery of the Filipinas Heritage Library, The Main Lobby of Philamlife in United Nations, among other venues. His latest solo exhibit is entitled Flowers Forever. One of his most recent photography shows is for Avon’s breast cancer awareness campaign entitled “Kiss Breast Cancer Goodbye” at the Shangri-La EDSA mall. More solo photo exhibits are being planned in the months to come.

How has your setup changed through the years? If you could start over, what would you have done?

Right from the start, I already knew what I wanted. And that is a good way of making sense out of the many different companies and brands out there clamoring for the attention of both hobbyists and professional photographers. Product research, product testing, brand comparisons all played a crucial role before making any product purchase. I am extremely lucky that we betted on almost all the right brands, companies and products. Except for one particular brand which we didn’t patronize from the start, all my equipment and purchase decision have been correct. If given the chance, we would have shifted early on to one other particularly crucial equipment brand. However, we still have no regret with our original choice and purchase decision, only because, it has served us well, and to this day, it actually continues to serve us well. The only downside, it seems, is that it isn’t what can be categorized as a “market leader” today. That’s not a major issue though.

I think, to be able to purchase the right kind of equipment, and to grow with it, one has to consider not only the usual factors that figure into any buying decision, but most specially, and particularly in photography, the ability to grow and expand from the original purchase based on the idea of “system”. Buying a camera means you also have to buy the lenses and the multitude of accessories that goes only with that camera system. The same thing with studio lights where the photographer can extend its usability and function simply by adding on an accessory here and there. My best advise to anyone who wants to purchase, acquire and build a studio is to buy right the first time rather than buying cheap and then sell at a loss later only to transfer to one’s own original and primary choice of system. It is always a logical, and often times the right decision, to buy the best and not to buy the most convenient and affordable.

Are there some brands of cameras that seem to work better with your Macs?

The Mac supports all major models of digital cameras. And wonder of wonders, that support is true plug-and-play for almost all digicams. For some strange reason, digital camera compatibility was never an issue. Just plug it, and it works. Right away. Anyone can be productive immediately. Both point-and-shoot cameras and professional-grade cameras are wonderfully supported either with the hardware, firmware, or software, and often, all at the same time. Most major brands of professional level digital SLRs will have practically no problem connecting to the Mac.

As a matter of personal preference, I prefer using the Fuji FinePix S3.

What is your preferred music playlist when shooting?

To date, we have amassed more than 30,000 song titles that we’ve neatly categorized in iTunes. All the song files are stored in our portable external G-Raid 320GB. In the studio, we play the songs from my 17“ PowerBook G4. On location, we play music from my iPod. Personally, I have 2 types of playlists that I like. I can play either a set of really well-chosen and hand-picked 5-star rated songs that spans diverse genres, or, a growing electronica/dance/house/lounge playlist.

However, my personal choices may not necessarily be the kind of music that our clients like. And in any of our shoots, we pay attention to the kind of music our clients, and our photo subjects, would like to listen to, in order for them to keep up their energy level and their good disposition or mood. Because of our extensive collection, we can actually play the kind of genre, and more often than not, the particular artists and songs, that the client likes or wants to listen to. In this case, it doesn’t really matter what I like to listen to but what the client or the subject wants to listen to. And then, there are cases when we ask our clients or subjects if they have iPods because we like hooking it up to our JBL Creature II speakers and play music off their iPods. This usually thrills them since they feel right at home listening to the kind of music they like. And to me, personally, it is an added bonus because I get to hear songs that are not in my collection. And we like the ”discovery“ of new songs. We get to hear something different each time. And what amazes me is that despite the 30,000 plus collection, my music remains woefully inadequate. It used to be that I would first hear a new song from the radio. And nowadays, I still do.

You can check out the Fabulous! podcast here.

To be continued

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview with Dominique James Part II

For those who still don’t know, please introduce yourself and tell us what do you do for a living?

Hi! My Name is Dominique James. My first name is Dominique, with a q-u-e. And my family name is James. Don’t ask me how I got that kind of family name. I just did. Friends call me by my first name, Dominique. Strangers mistakenly call me by my family name, James. Those who are really close to me call me DJ — which is the initials of my first and last names.

I’m a photographer by profession. I’ve been doing photography for the past 15 years. About 80 to 90 percent of my shots are about people. Celebrities, in particular, are mostly my subjects. At this point, I must have already photographed majority of the Philippine celebrities, models, socialites, and politicians. My photographs typically appear in billboards, print ads, magazine covers. It also pops up in a lot of other unexpected places.

I cannot imagine doing anything else. Photography is my life, my passion.

Give us a glimpse of the setup in your studio, including all the fancy gadgets you have lying around the floor.

My studio setup is actually very typical. We use a Manfrotto permanent and portable background support system with about a dozen different solid colors of seamless paper. We have a couple of Manfrotto heavy-duty tripods that serve as support and dock to whatever camera we happen to be using for our shoot. I typically shoot hand-held and don’t usually use the tripod for shooting except as a dock to securely place the camera when on standby.

We use a 12-head Broncolor lighting system with a wide array of essential light modifiers (e.g. barndoors, snoot, etc.) . We have about a dozen or so cameras, both film and digital. My DSLR workhorse is the Fuji FinePix S3 Pro, and we attach to it a “beloved” array of well-chosen Nikkor lenses (both prime and zoom lenses) that have been collected through the years. We also have the Fuji FinePix S1 and S2 as our back-up camera units. We use the reliable pro-grade CF cards of Lexar, Sandisk and Ridata. Compared to other camera brands, we love the Fuji FinePix because of its outstanding skin tone rendition thru its dual CCD RAW format. We also have both Medium and Large format cameras. My favorite Medium format cameras with Phase One digital backs are Mamiya and Hasselblad.

Through the years, we’ve amassed a lot of “props” that we regularly use in our photo shoots, and we have several that proves to be quite really useful and helps us in creating the right portraits. We love using these as “enhancements” but not necessarily to replace the essentials of making sure our subjects project the right kind of image and facial expression (to begin with). Two of these essential props are: a basketball and a bridal tulle. We also have several types of fabrics. To keep the mood, we play music from iTunes software and from the iPod thru our JBL Creature II speakers. We love listening to music while shooting.

I’ve come to own a whole gamut of accessories and equipment such as bags, cases, rechargeable batteries with chargers, extension cords, cleaning solutions, cleaning fabrics, and even non-photographic accessories that eventually proves to be very indispensable.

But the studio setup is simply half of the digital arsenal nowadays. Any self-respecting professional digital photographer today pays just as much attention to his digital post-production setup, equipment and workflow. In this case, the center of our digital darkroom and workflow is the Apple/Mac computers as the platform. We began migrating to an all-Mac system less than 2 years ago, and our biggest regret is that we didn’t do it any sooner. We should have been on the Mac platform to begin with, and right from the start. I found out that, and it became really apparent, that for anyone who’s into creative work should be fleshing out things with the Mac.

While PCs can do the job, Mac just have the edge when it comes to the creative process. There’s some connection there somewhere that Mac-based users are inspired to produce higher quality creative output. And productivity is really high on the Mac. We use the Mac computers (and among those that we use, I particularly love my all-around portable tool, the 17“ PowerBook G4), and connect them seamlessly into an internal network, into an Internet network, into an array of devices from numerous models of Epson large format and desktop color printers, Epson photo scanners (with film adaptors), external HDDs, CF card readers (both FireWire and USB), USB Samson microphones, iSight webcams, and anything and everything. It is truly an awesome productivity machine that allows us to do what we want to do, and accomplish our projects on time and with high quality.

To be continued

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview with Dominique James, fashion photographer

We here at The After Mac are happy to bring you a short interview with Allan Odgaard. The creator of TextMate. Arguablly one of the finest text editor around for Mac OS X. Allan comes from Denmark. He just turned 30. One of his other accomplisments is a Masters Degree in Computer Science from the University of Copenhagen. Ever since Allan was 12, he knew he was obssesed with computers.

TAM: So Allan, what made you decide to create TextMate?

AO: A personal need for a powerful text editor.

TAM: With the release of the Intel Macs, was it difficult to port TextMate into a universal binary?

AO: Not at all. Nothing is written in assembler, and I was already familiar with the endian differences of the two CPUs, so it was just adding a conditional variable to these locations (unfortunately I do have to know about endian format in my code, but only in very few places).

TAM: So far BBEdit is the leader/most popular html/text editor for the Mac, how does TextMate compare to BBEdit? In your opinion what makes TextMate a good alternative for BBEdit or other text editors for the Mac?

AO: BBEdit has been around for more than 13 years, so it likely has a larger installed base, but I don’t agree with your other assessments.

As for comparing the two, I am only superficially familiar with the product and naturally biased in how I value things, I mean, would I have created TextMate if I thought there was an ideal or better product out there? So you should ask someone else for such comparison.

Speaking generally, the strength of TextMate lies in its easy and powerful customization capabilities and extreme versatility.

In roughly 20 months TextMate has gone from supporting three languages to almost a hundred, and for many of these, the support is unmatched by most other general purpose text editors. The reason for this is that TextMate has a good infrastructure for it, and quickly got a large community supporting it.

TAM: What’s in store for TextMate’s future? Any new features, ideas you’d like to share with us?

AO: I am working on a 2.0 — but there is a lot of new concepts in this, so easier to just say wait and see :)

TAM: Are there any new products in the pipeline for Macromates?

AO: No — there are still many things I want to realize with TextMate.

TAM: Lastly, any parting words for our readers?

AO: If you think a text editor is just for writing text, and the difference among them are minor, go watch the screencasts which showcase some of the features unique to TextMate.

I recommend seeing them in the following order:

http://macromates.com/screencast/scopes_and_comments.mov (21:26)
http://macromates.com/screencast/math_and_column_selections.mov (11:41)
http://macromates.com/screencast/insert_html_tags.mov (7:19)
http://macromates.com/screencast/objective-c_part_1.mov (4:32)
http://macromates.com/screencast/objective_c_part_2.mov (10:39)

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview: Allan Odgaard

Kicking of the series is an interview with Ditoy Aguila, president of Sound Crew, a Filipino company doing original music and jingles for corporate AVPs, events, theater plays, TV, commercials and movies. Among their work are themes from Popular TV shows such as Saksi, Reporter’s Notebook and Emergency. All of which air on GMA 7, the no. 1 in network in the Philippines. Sound Crew also did audio production for Trumpet’s version of “The Little Mermaid”.

Ditoy is also the head of the Audio-post department at Ignite Media, a complete post-production outfit with film, video-editing and visual effects services. His work at Ignite has won him an award for best in sound for “Exodus: Tales from the Enchanted Kingdom” at the Metro Manila Film Festival last December.

Between 2003-2005, Ditoy also worked as the head of Sales and a specialist for Digital Media who is the distributor of Pro Tools in the Philippines. Assisting in the design and set-up of a various facilities and studios in Manila, from schools like UP and Ateneo, to big networks like GMA and ABS-CBN. Part of his job was to also train engineers in these facilities. Popular recording artists who were his past Pro Tools clients are Jay R, Gary V. and Keith Martin.

Training is still in Ditoy’s blood as he is currently teaching the faculty of the Konrad Adenauer Center for Journalism at the Ateneo De Manila University.

TAM: So, Ditoy gives a glimpse of what’s it like at your desk/work areas, What’s your set up like? Hardware, software?

Ditoy: Our main computer is a dual 2.7Ghz PowerMac G5, 4Gb RAM, dual 17” Flat LCDs, an Infocus projector to view video on a wall mounted screen. 5.1 Genelec 8050A powered speakers, and a Digidesign Pro Control with an Edit Pack control surface and surround panners. For all our audio work, we mainly use Pro Tools HD-3, with Sync I/O, 96 I/O and Avid Mojo to handle video tasks.

For sound design work and simple musical compositions I use a Powerbook 17” G4-1.67 with 1.5Gb RAM, 120Gb 5400 rpm hard drive, dual layer superdrive and best of all the big 1680×1050 screen resolution. I use Pro Tools LE 7 with the Mbox2. It’s convenient doing sound design work with a quicktime movie running simultaneously with Pro Tools with this wide workspace.

Pro Tools have become an industry standard both locally and worldwide, for commercial production and film-work for its power and flexibility. I had past projects where I collaborated with other studios and having the same software with them enabled me to just bring my hard drive and exchange files.

I also use software synthesizers like Sampletank, Sonic Synth, Kontakt, Stylus, Atmosphere.

TAM: How did your setup evolve through the years?

Ditoy: Well I think most studio musicians and engineers started with a PC. From a cheap PC studio in Sound Crew, we were able to bring in the Macs and invest in software as well.

At Ignite we use mostly Macs. From the reception area, there are the Imac G5s, to the Powerbooks of the personnel and the Powermacs for workstations.

TAM: How has Apple/Mac affected the way you work? What’s your typical workflow.

Ditoy: For a typical movie, the 1st stage is ADR (dialogue recording) then Foley (footsteps and recreated movement sound effects), then Sound Design (special sound effects beyond the Foley stage) and finally the Mixing stage.

The engineers just get the Pro Tools session files from another computer easily via the Mac Network. 3-4 Mac computers all running at the same time to meet project deadlines is do-able.

The ipod is also useful for playing back our projects, to check translation to other audio systems. I have also used it to present our audio work to clients. For projects with video material it’s best to use the Powerbook. We use iTunes to manage our library of past material, musical scores and sound effects.

TAM: In today’s competitive music/sound industry, how does Apple/Mac give you the edge?

Ditoy: Using the Mac has enabled the studio to become more efficient. Due to its bug-free and reliable performance, you are assured of optimal productivity with no downtime for troubleshooting or reformatting a crashed computer. Files are safe, projects are secure. No headaches!

iTunes has also helped us organize our audio library, and best of all it’s a FREE program that comes with the mac!

TAM: What kind of setup would you advise people/hobbyists who want an economical home recording studio.

Ditoy:

Level 1: Start-up

The cheapest Mac Mini G4 is a good start-up system. Garageband which is FREE with all macs is already capable of doing good audio-productions. The Mac Mini starts at around $599, that’s already a good deal. Buy a cheap USB-midi keyboard between $150-200 dollars so you can compose your own musical passages.

You can also get Logic Express for better MIDI and audio capabilities. That’s around $299.

Level 2: Better sound quality sound cards and microphones

Add these to the equipment above for an improved set-up.

An MBOX2 for under $500 will give you a desktop usb-audio interface with Pro Tools LE 7 included! (I remember Keith Martin using his 12” powerbook and the Mbox for his professional album work)

M-audio interfaces (from PCI cards for a little over $100 to a firewire multi-channel audio for less than $500)

Get Condenser microphones. The affordable ones are Shure, Audio Technica, Behringer between $150 to $400.

Level 3: More processing Power

For more track counts and effects, you will need more processing power. Enters the newer Intel dual core chips. For Pro Tools, there is still no support for the Intel Processors so the Powermac G5 dual or Quad is your best bet.

iMac Intel Core Duo starting at $1299
Powermac G5 dual starting at $1999

Level 4: PRO set up

If you have money to burn, get all the BEST available equipment to get the BEST sound possible. Investing in the best microphones, mic pre-amps, audio interfaces, sound-proofed vocal booths, cables, etc. will provide you with the best signal chain.

Rough estimate:

Powermac G5 with LCD maxed out $5000.00
Digidesign Pro Tools HD-3 TDM P $15,000.00
Digidesign 96 I/O audio interface $2000.00
Digidesign Pro Control and Edit Pack control surface $18,000.00
Focusrite Mic preamp $1,500.00
Blue or Neumann Microphone $1,500.00
Genelec 5080 powered speaker $2000 each
Software synthesizer software $600 each

So basically with a modest Level 1 set-up you can already start making music and audio productions. Remember that these are just the tools, the artist’s creativity is still the vital aspect for any masterpiece.

Post from: EveryJoe

Interview: Ditoy Aguila