Back in the year 2000 I faced a crucial decision while building out my broadcast pipeline. Initially I thought I’d track down a used SGI Indigo2 or Octane running Discreet Logic Flint or Flame. The hourly rate for a system of that caliber averaged around $250. However, I had a bit of trepidation in my decision. I felt a vibration, and it was growing fast.
Apple QuickTime was finally maturing for broadcast-quality delivery, tapeless, and easily delivered on hard drives or DVD-RAM disks. No need for a tape machine for output changed the game for me immediately. I decided to build out a four workstation render farm for Adobe After Effects (AE) and Electric Image Animation System (EIAS).
I did end up adding a Sony J-30 output only deck for $9K. As fate would have it, I only used it once or twice because my clients, for the most part, were already delivering me 10-bit footage to use in our projects on portable hard drives. However, I did still use my Sony 13-inch SDI monitor in order to view fields, 3:2 pulldown, and any fine details that cause ringing in NTSC. We jokingly called NTSC “Never the same color twice.”
I always rendered with motion blur, lower field first 29.97. However, as time went on, I switched to 24 frames per second and added 3:2 pulldown. Renders were shorter and it gave my work a filmic quality. I later upgraded my workflow to 59.94 frames per second and then combined the fields upper field first for full 1920x1080 HD.
Too bad that so many people nowadays not only don’t color manage or professionally monitor their work with test equipment that engineers demand, they also render without motion blur, fields, and deliver QuickTime movies that are frame-based at 30 fps. Nothing looks smooth anymore. Everything is jarring and lacks a sense of high end production. That’s where my three plus decades of not only following production standards, but also elevating them back to pure form.
Building out a Watch Folder AE render farm was effortless, as was EIAS. My hourly rate, that to this day remains the same, was set at $100 an hour. My first year garnered a six-figure salary, but for me it was never about the money. I was given a precious gift that allowed me to follow my curiosities and passions for storytelling. The variety kept me curious.
Bringing stories to life in the form of broadcast promos and show branding was my jam, and I built up a reputation for never settling for second best. One job naturally led to another. Word of mouth advertising served me well. The only marketing I ever spent any money on were two runs of business cards and a simple one or two page website.
I think I handed out less than ten cards at trade shows like NAB and Siggraph. Instead I fostered friendships with various vendors ranging from editing and compositing software to broadcast monitoring hardware. One card I gave to Steve, the After Effects Project Manager at Adobe. That following year I answered Steve’s call to join him and three other artists at National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) in Las Vegas.
We shared projects showing off our various production and animation techniques with the crowds at the entertainment industry’s most revered trade show in Las Vegas. I think it was also around the same time I joined the After Effects Prerelease Program. I was an active member for about four years. Getting AE for free was a plus, but that had nothing to do with my active participation in the group. One cycle I made it into the top ten slot so I got my hands on an alpha version that next go round.
Bug squashing was key, but the majority of the time we discussed and tested UI changes, new features, and workflow enhancements. 32-bit compositing immediately lit a clear path back to a true call back to the traditional darkroom where we dodged, burned, and doubly exposed our photographic creative curiosities in elementary school. Pure magic.
“32-bit compositing immediately lit a clear path back to a true call back to the traditional darkroom where we dodged, burned, and doubly exposed our photographic creative curiosities in elementary school. Pure magic.”