Mac-using video people in London have two conferences to choose from this month, with MacVideo Expo this Thursday (June 9) and a Final Cut Pro User Group SuperMeet on June 23, writes David Fox.
As Apple’s latest Final Cut Pro X is also due this month, there will be a lot to talk about, although with such manufacturers as Adobe, AJA Video Systems, Autodesk, Avid, Blackmagic Design and Matrox all strong players in the Mac market, and all present at one or both of the shows, there will be lots of other new products to discuss too, along with case studies from various Mac users.
On Thursday, the MacVideo Expo (its second) takes place at The Royal Society of Medicine (One Wimpole Street, London W1G 0AE), and the £10 ticket gets you presentations, an exhibition, and food throughout the evening.
It opens at 4pm, with a session at 4:15 by Producer/Director/Editor, Rick Young talking about location filming and being prepared for whatever the client throws at you. At 5pm there will be an exhibitors showcase, food and drink, and an opportunity to network.
The main show starts at 6.30pm, and will include: a discussion on preparing for Final Cut Pro X; a look at the new features of Adobe CS5 (which recently got a fairly major upgrade to 5.5); Hangman Studios director, James Tonkin, will talk about workflows used on several recent projects, including using DSLRs for a live 10-camera concert shoot and filming with Sony’s latest Super 35mm cameras, the NEX-FS100 and PMW-F3; AJA Video Systems will have a session on recording with ProRes and a look at its latest products; AVID will talk about Media Composer 5.5; and M dot Strange, a self-taught 3D animator known for single-handedly producing We Are The Strange, an animated feature film, will preview, for the first time, excerpts from his new movie: Heart String Marionette.
FCPUG SuperMeet
This is also the second SuperMeet in London (it was previously held in 2009), and it will again be held in the Great Hall at the Kensington Conference and Event Centre.
The recent Las Vegas SuperMeet, during NAB, was where Apple chose to grant a first public look at FCPX, to a crowd of more than 1,800. “It was an amazing night,” said Daniel Berube, head of the Boston Final Cut Pro User Group and SuperMeet co-producer. “Apple surprised us and the world by showing off portions of Final Cut Pro X and the reaction was nothing short of exuberant. But the presentation left us with more questions than answers. So in London, we hope to answer many of those questions. Assuming FCPX is released by then.”
“This is certainly shaping up to be the year of Final Cut Pro X,” added Michael Horton(pictured), head of the Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group and co-producer of the SuperMeet. “We are hopeful that FCPX will be released by June 23 and if it is, then we intend to show it off. If it’s not, we have plenty of new and unique FCP tips, tricks and workflow ideas to show. It’s going to be an exciting night, that we can guarantee.”
The final agenda will not be announced until shortly before the event date. Amongst those confirmed so far are: producer, director, editor, consultant and Apple-Certified trainer Larry Jordan, who will present on Final Cut Pro; Colourist Alexis Van Hurkman, demonstrating the latest version of DaVinci Resolve from Blackmagic Design (five copies of which will be won in the traditional SuperMeet raffle – alongside lots of other goodies from the likes of Adobe, Matrox and Telestream); Autodesk’s Grant Kay will demo Smoke on Mac OSX; and there will be presentations from Red Giant Software and Genarts.
Doors open at about 19:00 with the SuperMeet Digital Showcase, featuring more than 15 software and hardware developers including: Blackmagic Design, AV3/GET, Genarts, G-Tech, Jigsaw, LaCie, Red Giant, Qube Master and others.
“This London SuperMeet will be our second time here and the second time we have done a stand alone SuperMeet that is not tied to a trade show,” added Berube. “It will not be our last either, as we move forward to distance ourselves from trade shows and further build our global community with unique offerings. We have brilliant support in the UK from the creative community and we expect another excellent turnout.”
It is expected the London SuperMeet will sell out as historically SuperMeets always sell out. Tickets are £15.