REVIEW: METAGRID

This time we review an iOS application MetaGrid from developer Metassytem. This app is like a close companion for your DAW, your NLE or any other application on you computer. There are some other similar apps available like Keymand, but we will show you why we like MetaGrid so much. Yes…… it will work on Mac and Windows. To get it all to work you first have to download the iOS app from the iTunes store. From the Metasystem website you have to download Metaserver for Windows or Mac. Metaserver connects de app to your computer, it uses WIFI, LAN or an USB cable.

It is obvious the app's basic idea was to be used for the audio-world DAW’s like Pro-Tools, Cubase, Logic and more. But it also works with any other app. Metasystem has already very nice videos about Metagrid online for these audio programs we just made a short video in how you can use this for example in your NLE or animation software. We choose Final Cut Pro X and Motion. It will also function on Adobe Premiere, AVID, Davinci resolve, After effects among others. In the app you can find some presets, but it is very easy to make them yourself…. and it is fun too!

BB: We read on the Metagrid facebookpage that version 1.5 will be released soon ( the end of september ).
Our question is this… it is November, when will it be released?
Przemek: Yes, we plan a significant v1.5 update - originally we planned it till the end of September but we have decided to move it a bit due to some development reasons. The next iteration will come till the end of this year - so currently Metagrid stays as is.

BB: We like making our own templates in the App… it is just a very nice option of the app. It is for us the Core functionality that makes it more than just some buttons for use in an app. Changing templates to your likes.. is just awesome. But we were still curious if more templates wil be involved in version 1,5 or future versions? Like Motion, iMovie, Garageband, Wirecast etc.

Przemek: Yes, v1.5 will include import/export functionality and we will add more viewsets for various apps.

BB: At BroadcastBrazil we work mostly with FCPX. For us some functionality within the NLE, but this also counts for other programs, is that you cannot be so precise with a mouse or Trackpad. The buttons for volume up en down are already awesome compared to doing the same thing with a mouse or trackpad. But what would be even more awesome is if we have a fader type of function within Metagrid… is this a possible function for the future?

Przemek: Yes, v1.5 will include very powerful customisable faders.

BB: In DAW’s and NLE’s we use a lot of plugins. Will it be possible in the future to also add those in Metagrid?

Przemek: We have some great plans for Metagrid being a central workflow hub for various workflow-enhancement modules. Currently, it contains only Action Grid (buttons) but we want to add various other modules - look at artsunmuted.com and see our products for Liine Lemur - we want to port most of our ideas and concepts to Metagrid for iOS.

We performed our tests on 2 different Apple computers:

-1- A MacBook Pro from 2014 with Final Cut Pro X version 10.3.3
-2- An iMac 5K from 2016 with Final Cut Pro X version 10.3.4

We want to thank Przemek for the answers and also a little look in the future of MetaGrid. If we have any updates from MetaGrid we will update this blog-post. The forthcoming update 1.5 will be very interesting so stay tuned.

Metagrid is besides a very nice companion for your Audio / Video production software also a tool that can speedup your job and workflow extremely. We gained a lot of time just by using the “Volume Up and Down” function to change our levels thru the whole edit in once… and more easy and precise than when using a mouse or trackpad. Besides you will win some time in which can be very handy, the app will look incredible cool in your setup.

The MIDI part of the app is very interesting too, we did not tried it yet, but it will open some amazing possibilities, also for NLE’s like sending MIDI messages to your AudioInterface.

METAGRID is available from the Appstore for $ 14.99 , No in-App Purchases!

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mentioned:

METAGRID : Website - iTunes - Store - facebook - Twitter - YouTube
Final CutPro X : Website

Motion : Website

Artsunmuted : Website - facebook - Twitter - YouTube
Keyman : Website -iTunes-Store

Tags: REVIEW, Application, App, Videoedit, FinalCutPro, Motion, DAW, NLE, Pro Tools, Cubase, LogicX, Post Production

Director of Photography, Filmmaker and Editor Hopi Chapman

Christopher Robin Hopi Boomerang Chapman is his full name but he is normally called Hopi Chapman. We met Hopi on Facebook some years ago and later alive at the #RIO2016 Olympic Games. This Director of Photography, Filmmaker and Editor works in the South of Brazil at Flow Filmes. But his heritage is from Amsterdam, the Netherlands. He spoke very well english, so we invited him for our blog to listen to his adventures and projects in Brazil and elsewhere.

BB: How long have you been working in the TV business?
Hopi: Firstly I studied Cinema and TV at the University of Amsterdam. Then I worked as a trainee for a local TV station called Belissima TV, doing script, camera, directing and editing of short videos. Thereafter I worked two years for the Amsterdam TV station “AT5” as a cameraman for a sports program. As a freelancer I filmed and edited a lot of commercial videos, for the perfume chain Douglas but also a video about the national liberty day, and a music event in Amsterdam visited by fifty thousand people.

Hopi commenting a documentary at the screening 2014

I have been In Brazil since 1999. For one year I worked as a cameraman and editor for a fashion program and an extreme sports program. Then I worked for two years for an advertisement agency, making commercials, filming, editing and directing. Here I learned a lot about how advertisement works. I made a lot of political advertisements too, participating in six political campaigns as a cameraman and an editor. And I started to give editing lessons in Adobe premiere and After Effects. The last 7 years I made a lot of documentaries funded by the state and the Brazilian government.

Making a film for an organization of bankworkers and their vacations in the south of Brazil, RS, SC, PR and SP

BB: Is communicating in the english language important for your job?
Hopi: Working in Brazil, mostly I do not use English although I did a few important jobs with Dutch and American people when English was fundamental to do the job. Speaking English is important in our business.

BB: On location at international events, is it difficult for you to talk with Brazilians ?
Hopi: It is not difficult for me to speak with Brazilians because I have lived for 19 years in Brazil. I speak Portuguese very well.

BB: Did you see a growth past years in international events in Brazil?
Hopi: Yes I saw a growth of international events like the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup soccer.

BB: What did this mean for your business?
Hopi: I worked on both events. During the World Cup I worked for a Dutch television company in Porto Alegre and the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro for Connecting Media who produced live webcasts for Facebook USA. It was great to be part of a crew that promotes these events to a lot of people.

BB: How was your job at the Olympic Games 2016 in Brazil?
Hopi: It was a nice job and great experience working together with Connecting Media for a company like Facebook and NBC. We had an international crew of Brazilian, American, Australian and Dutch crew members and it worked very well together.

Camera for live webcast facebook at Olympic Games 2016 for ConnectingMedia

BB: Do you work besides Brazil also in other regions on the planet or do you have plans for that?
Hopi: I worked in a lot of places in Brazil, Uruguai, the Netherlands, Germany and Spain but for now I have no plans to work in other countries.

BB: Are there any surprising challenges you had at events past years?
Hopi: At the Olympic Games we had the challenge to transmit by Facebook interviews with atletes, comentators and special guests. And it went great. One challenge I have this year is making a tv series for TV Brasil and university tv channels, called Culturando. It is about young people of the periphery who work together in groups, creatively and productively.

Filming and directing a documentary about the painter Karin Lambrecht

BB: You edit on Final Cut Pro. Do you still use it or did you update to Final Cut Pro X, Adobe Premiere, Davinci Resolve or AVID?
Hopi: I was only editing on Final Cut Pro for the last 10 years, but this year, after upgrading, my Mac did not accept it any more. I am using and Premiere CC a lot and I like it very much. It exceeded my expectations.

BB: Do you plan to learn other solutions, for example AfterEffects, Fusion or Apple Motion?
Hopi: I also use AfterEffects and give lessons in both After Effects and Premiere CC nowadays.

BB: Did you attended Exhibitions this year like SET EXPO, Church Expo, IBC or AES Brasil?
Hopi: This year I went to the Rio Content Market exhibition. It is a good opportunity to sell programs, documentaries and content to Brazilian and foreign TV Stations. There are people from all over the world.

Directing and filming a documentary about a group of artists, called Nervo Óptico that is shown on channel Arte 1, TV//RS and TV Justiça

Productions made by Hopi Chapman - Flowfilms:

Kaingang Wisdom
This documentary (Full HD, 26 min, 2015) shows the lifes of two ninety-year-old kaingang Indians, one living in the city and the other in the countryside. (Produced by Flow Films)

Tags: Olympic Games, WC2014, Worldcup, Rio2016, Broadcast, Video Edit, Videoedit, Post Production

We are having a nice interview with Paulo Barcellos of O2 Filmes. Paulo is the Post Production General Manager at O2 Filmes. We talk with him about a recent project for McDonalds in which O2 filmes used some special camera’s and also the grading software from Blackmagic Design.

BB: Tell us a little bit about O2 Filmes and yourself Paulo.
Paulo: O2 Filmes exist already 24 years and is a Brazilian Audio Visual production company. I work at O2 Filmes for 2 and a half years now as General Manager O2 Post. We produce for film, tv and commercials anywhere on the globe for major companies and brands. Advertising and the production of content such as TV series and Feature are the strongest sections for O2 Filmes.

BB:  Is communicating in the english language important at O2 Filmes? We noticed that your website besides Portuguese is also accessible in English.
Paulo:  Absolutely.

BB: Did you see a growth in audio/video related productions in 2015 for O2 Filmes and how do you see the broadcast market in 2015 due to the Olympic Games:
Paulo: Despite the deep recession Brazil is facing this year, we are still seeing growth for the Post Production of entertainment projects such as TV Series and Features. We believe the Olympics next year in Rio de Janeiro will drive the production of advertising content up in the first semester of the 2016.

BB: Are you partnering with other foreign companies?
Paulo: Not at the moment, but we are open for it.

BB: This production for McDonalds was done with BlackMagic Design Camera’s. Can you tell us why your choose for this brand and type of camera?
Paulo: We believe these Blackmagic Design cameras meet the quality (both build quality and image quality) requirements for production of advertising and entertainment content. We’ve recently acquired three URSAS and two BMPCC4K, and we started using them on the McDonald’s ad. We like Blackmagic Design for their forward thinking vision, fast pace updates, excellent support and affordable prices.

BB: Editing & Gradings was done in Davinci Resolve 12. Can you tell us why you edit in Davinci Resolve in stead of Adobe Premiere, Final Cut Pro X or Avid?
Paulo: All the editors that work at O2 Filmes are freelancers. Since Final Cut 7 was discontinued, lots of editors tried different software. Final Cut X was the natural choice, but it’s not been well received by editors, not because of lacking features (Apple has since addressed that with several updates) but specially because it brings a completely different form of editing and that was not well received by any pro editor that works with us. Premiere is much more friendly than FCPX, but Adobe subscription method has not been well adopted by the editors and since most of them learn on their own computer, most of them decided not to learn Premiere. A few editors that used it in projects outside O2 Filmes commented that for advertising it works well, but they don’t love it. Avid is excellent, but tends to be very bureaucratic for advertising work. We use it for feature films, but not for Ads. Finally, Blackmagic Design released DaVinci Resolve 12, and the internal joke the editors came up is that they are calling it “Final Cut 8”. It’s everything that the sucessor of Final Cut 7 was supposed to be. Editors were immediately familiar with the interface, and after we’ve done a few training sessions with them, everybody loved it. One of the most amazing feature of DaVinci is that both editing and color grading are done on the same app and a colorist can work simultaneously on the same project with an editor and that saves us a ton of time.

BB: Davinci Resolve is great for grading as we know. What was for O2 Filmes special (or not) to grade the footage from the URSA camera?
Paulo: We’ve shot RAW, it’s great because it enables a lot of small tweaks on the camera raw tab and we have a lot of freedom to manipulate the images. 

BB: Any surprising challenges in this production for McDonalds?
Paulo: The shot was supposed to be a one camera shoot, with the URSA, but we’ve decided to send the BMPCC 4K as an optional B camera, just in case the director wanted to do something handheld or get a few extra shots. The production ended up using both cameras almost all the time and that saved a lot of time in the shooting. Since the “B” camera was simple to assemble they didn’t require another camera crew for the B camera.

video of the final result:McDonalds Frappe

Tags: Post Production, Blackmagic Design, Grading, Video Edit