Apple has been known for being very ‘i’ centric with it’s devices – often only allowing Mac-able applications to run on many of the products Apple sells. So we were all taken aback with the big news coming from Avid’s corner that Avid Studio editing software will now run on Apple’s iPad.

Avid is known for Big Processing and Blockbuster Movie editing, but a few years ago they acquired Pinnacle Studio, which was an entry level editing software. Avid changed its name to Avid Studio and re-wrote its code to be more like mainstream entry level systems and more stable than it was in the past. Now Avid Studio is being released to edit on an iPad and we think the user abilities have many possibilities. Read the rest of this entry »

Holiday Shopping List for Video Producers

So that special one-day-a-year holiday is upon us. The day many people, young and old, anxiously await. When people scurry down the halls in their slippers and jammies, hoping to get a peek at that one item they’ve been hoping to own – a one of a kind super-duper priced item only found at a Black Friday sale.

The malls open before dawn, other stores are open all night, stores are so anxious to make a sale that they offer huge doorbusters and loss leaders just to get you to buy. And people all over town lose their senses.

Does anyone feel like me and think this stuff is getting a bit out of hand? I often wonder what non-Christmas celebrants think about all the noise? How do you dim the din?

It’s tough not to get engaged in all the commercialism, but let’s face it – a sale is a sale and if you’re a video producer,  you can NEVER have enough stuff. If it’s just a new tabletop tripod or another hard drive, if I can get it marked down, I’m happy, regardless of the time of year.

Making a List

But since this is the time of year many people expect to get or buy more toys,  and you’re a video producer – what would be the BEST video gift you’d like to receive? We have a few hints you might want to whisper in Santa’s ear. Our Uber Associate, Videomaker writer Doug Dixon has a great “Holiday Gadget List” just for you. Check it out.

Checking it Twice

According to the Consumer Electronics Association, [CEA], more than half of American citizens are expected to shop this weekend. Now if you’re making plans to do some heavy lifting…er,shopping, don’t walk out the door or tickle the keys until you’ve read some hints from our friends at Retrevo. We told you about Retrevo a few years ago, a wonderful “Go To” site for electronics research. From the Good to the Bad, [OK, I'll throw in the Ugly, too!] the folks at Retrevo take their research seriously and offers a lot of insight to products’ reliability and price comparison, among other cool tidbits. They even have tips for making your gadget world Earth-friendly.

Among some of the tips are lists for:

1. Nationwide Black Friday Deals

2. Nationwide Black Friday Duds

3. Nationwide Black Friday Store Hours

What video gadget gift would you like to receive? Talk to us! Send us your wish list, we’re curious to know what our readers are looking for this year.

Who’s Naughty or Nice?

Many people seek deals online and if you prefer to cruise online rather than on the crowded streets, make sure you shop safe. We’re video producers, so we should know technology better than the average consumer, but sometimes a good deal is hard to pass up. The biggest online shopping days are December 5-15th, or thereabouts, so you can relax and enjoy your 4-day Thanksgiving weekend in peace, and wait until next week to do any heavy shopping. But, before you go anywhere to shop online, check out McAfee’s “12 Scams of the Holidays” list.

These are for scammers, but what about retailers that seem legit, and when you excitedly open your delivery box you find you didn’t get everything you thought you were buying? Check out Videomaker‘s  Buyer Beware article that offers some good advice for camcorder shopping online.

And if you’re out and about looking for a deal, Jennifer Waters, with “Market Watch” has a good list of “2011 Secrets to Finding the Best Holiday Deals”. Check it out.

Admire The Grinch

Finally, if you don’t want to appear to be a lemming running with the pack or “Bah, humbug!” is your motto, then there’s always “Do Nothing Day”, a movement to stop the madness of over-shopping and consumerism.

As for me? Well, love me or hate me, admire me or curse me, but I’ve had all my holiday shopping done since before Halloween, so if I do get a chance to venture out, it will be for gifts for number 1: Me.

Happy Shopping, everyone!

How good is your video art – really? Good enough to stand alongside the likes of Warhol, van Gogh and Picasso? Here’s your chance to find out.

Ignored for years by art curators and critics,  still photo shooters and video creators alike are finally getting the recognition they deserve. Now that digital imaging has become so ubiquitous, the art world has finally accepted that what we do IS art – well, what some of us do – As we video “artists” know, many people just pick a camera off the rack, hit the red record button and flay the camera around and think THAT is capturing video, which it is, but we true artists know the difference, and now the art experts want us to prove it to them.

YouTube users have the chance to have their work featured among the art masters of the world at one of the world’s most renowned art establishments, the Guggenheim Museum.

Usually the curatorial process can take years to result in Guggenheim exposure, but winners of YouTube Play’s contest will be displayed at the Guggenheim in October this year.

Guggenheim and YouTube Play’s partnership was developed to uncover the “most creative video content in the world.” The Guggenheim will select a shortlist of submissions to be evaluated by an international jury of experts and celebrities from the worlds of art, design, film and video, with the final 20 videos on display at the Museum.

So do you think you’ve got what it takes – really? By being a Videomaker reader you KNOW video production, so you’ve already been cut from the pack and have your place amongst the elite - here’ s your chance to prove you’ve got the chops to create true video art, and get the recognition you deserve by one of the most prestigious art galleries in the world.

But don’t sit around contemplating this too long, the entry deadline is at the end of July.  Find out more at http://www.youtube.com/user/playbiennial for submission details.