FinalCut & Shake - where do they fit in a production environment?

[cb911]

hi all,

i'm just learning Shake at college this semester, it's all good so far, what a fantastic one-of-a-kind app!

i'm just wondering where Shake and FinalCut Pro fit into a studio, in a production environment? what is the workflow between these two apps like?

for example: how much footage can Shake handle at one time?

i'm guessing that the footage would be edited into clips, or scenes in FinalCut, then exported to Shake for any effects work that needed to be done, then assembled back into FinalCut for the final output?

well if anyone from a studio could shed some light on the process, that would be great. since i'm a student i'm just trying to find out how these apps fit into the real world.

i might have more questions later on as well, but i think this will do for now, i've got a class to go to.

thanks.


edit>> on the subject of Shake... do you Shake users prefer the 'regular' or Tremor Shake layout? i'm just wondering what people's agruments are for either of the layouts. i realise that most of it comes down to personal preference, but i'm just wondering...

 

[drMinky]

I use shake full time (and I'm originally from Brisvegas, too! What college is teaching shake there? Who's the teacher?). Can't say the same for final cut (although it's great for cutting reels)

Typically, shake only handles one shot at a time. Usually, this would happen after the offline is completed and the footage is recaptured at a higher resolution/quality (online res or full res film scan).

>i'm guessing that the footage would be edited into clips, or scenes in FinalCut, then exported to Shake for any effects work that needed to be done, then assembled back into FinalCut for the final output?

..yep, that's pretty much it for video work. For film work, the shake compositor gets film scans to work with, then outputs the final product either back to neg, so it can be assembled by the neg cutters, or it is sent digitally to digital intermediate.

Most shake work is pretty specialised, we usually have very little to do with the editing process..

95% of shake users I've come across prefer the original (non-tremor) interface as it is better for expressions and getting under the hood, whereas the tremor interface was designed for speed and interactivity in a client-setting (the purpose that the now-defunct tremor was supposed to do). The more you use shake, the more you realise it is like leggo, a set of building blocks from which you can do more complex things. That's why you almost never see new nodes come out in new versions of shake. All the ingredients are there for you to build them yourself.

 

[cb911]

drMinky! great to have you here.

well i'm actually doing it at TAFE. it's been okay so far, but i'm expecting to get more done by myself just following tutorials than i'll get done there. i did have a look around for a place that taught it, there didn't seem to be anywhere that really specialised in that sort of stuff, Shake and FCP. the teacher was Garry, now it's changed and i can't remember the name of the new teacher. BTW, and places here in Bris that you know specialise in Shake?

well i'm glad you explained that, sorted out alot of things for me.

i guess i'll stick with the original interface, might change to Tremor just for a change and see what it's like to work with though.

 

[drMinky]

There are two facilities that I know of in Brisbane (and 1 on the Gold Coast) that use shake in a production environment. I used to work at one of them (Cutting Edge Post), the other is Beeps. I know that Cutting Edge are pretty good with setting up work experience if ask them nicely and are patient to wait your turn. Beeps, I imagine, should be pretty similar. If you ask for work experience, telling them that you have a SPECIFIC interest in shake, they'll probably be pretty impressed (lots of people didn't know what shake, or even compositing was a few years ago, when we did job interviews for junior compositors!!). I'm not sure, but Photon on the Gold Coast may not be so accomodating to work expereince, but might be still worth asking. That's probably the best advice I could give you if you are serious about joining the industry (ie, you don't value your suntan!)

..If you do go for work experience at 'the edge', be sure to say hi to Kate and Tim for me (if they are still there, of course)

cheers!

 

[cb911]

yeah, i knew about Beeps and Cutting Edge. never heard of Photon, might check them out as well. i will mention that i have a specific interest in Shake (or compositing) as well, never even though of that before.

okey, and i'll say hi to Kate and Time, from drMinky?

i'm also wondering how much i should learn before i go asking for work experience? should i just have the basics? a years worth of time in college doing Shake? just a few short clips to show them?

thanks heaps for your help.

and i'm sure i won't have too many problems with my suntan, i seem to always have a way of finding time for that stuff.