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Griggsy · Sep 23, 2002, 04:13 AM

Started working in an Advertising Agency as their online designer and (all of a sudden) their previs animator, what we have started to notice is especially in this work climate, that a lot of the TV work that we farmout to Post houses could actually be managed and produced pretty well in house.

Now I have a lot of experience in Previs and producing animation for digital and online environments in Flash After FX and Lightwave, but we have started wondering about taking that to the next level and producing stuff for broadcast output.

Assume that we are starting from nothing kit wise and that we want to produce animated segments using graphic componenets rather than ful video edits.

What do we need to set up an effective Mac workstation to create broadcast ready bits and bobs.

Any pointers appreciated

Griggsy · Sep 24, 2002, 03:36 AM

go on don't be shy, just a wee pointer is all i ask

godzookie2k · Sep 24, 2002, 06:25 AM

Dualie G4 with AE production Bundle, and all the trimmings, internal SCSI RAID, as much RAM as it can hold, A stack of firewire drives, and perhaps a digicam, because even if you are just animating graphic components, you may need to shoot reference occasionally. Having either a render server or a back up computer (I used to use a Tibook as my backup, worked well) for when your comp is rendering. Dual Monitor setup will serve you well. An NTSC monitor attached is also a must. Think audio capture, you'll probably need a deck of some kind....VCR's, betamax's, dvd, are all video storage/preview means.......bah, stream of conscious--ing, too early in the a.m. to think straight. hope that gets the gears turning.

Griggsy · Sep 24, 2002, 06:44 AM

An NTSC monitor attached is also a must.

will be in PAL, cos am in Norn Ireland, does it have to be one of those specific breakout monitors or can it be just a bog standard tv? (with requisite inputs of course!)

Chaaaosss · Sep 24, 2002, 05:58 PM

Well if you're doing broadcast, you're going to want some sort of reference monitor as well as a waveform/vectorscope to monitor the output. I don't think a standard TV, while acceptable, would do the trick.

dlefebvre · Sep 24, 2002, 06:08 PM

Maybe you can use a good TV, one of them Sony Vega and use the scopes in Final Cut Pro which you should add on your list. After Effects is a great package for compositing but editing and working with sound in AE is a real pain. But a real PAL Monitor will be a better reference than a TV even if it's a good TV. You could also add Automatic Duck to the package. It will alow you to import Final Cut Projects in After Effects. A real time saver.

misc · Sep 24, 2002, 08:38 PM

If you are thinking about using a sound desk as opposed to a computer for mixing lemme know, I can tell you what you need to get. Best models, best price, and my personal reviews for the products.

Griggsy · Sep 25, 2002, 03:05 AM

intriguiging what's the best way to output to tape (or files for tape) from afx or fcp, am used to doing it in quicktime but not sure if there's stuff to watch out for when tapes involved, also is it best to do it to vhs or digi-beta

Chaaaosss · Sep 26, 2002, 07:08 PM

If you're going to online anything, it's going to have to be out to a format that's got more resolution than VHS most definitely. Digi-Beta or DVCAM should do the trick. It all depends on your clients' needs. They'll be able to tell you the format and since you work with Quicktime and FCP, you'll be able to accomodate whatever they ask for by simply adding a deck to your setup.