Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Giant Sand Storm!



Langit sore yang cerah tiba-tiba gelap seperti mendung. Saat menatap jendela, awan pasir hitam pekat sudah menutup langit. Creepy!

When The Kids Meet The Old PowerBook 170




Got this dead dusty PowerBook 170 in Kuwait flea market for $6. Interesting to see how our kids react when they see this 20 years old artefact. Arwen is asking "What's floppy disk?"

Recorded & edited on iPhone 4.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

iMovie on The Original iPad

When I heard that Apple finally release iMovie for iPad I was so freakin excited.
Then officially they ditch the compatibility for the original iPad. I was like... "NOOOOOOOOOOOO!" (doing Anakin's scream for Padme - btw our iPad name is iPadme Amidala.)

So why does Apple ditch the original iPad from iMovie's love?

Jason Snell (Macworld):
I was able to install my sample copy on an original iPad and it seemed to work fine, though as projects got more complex it got a little sluggish. This may be one of those cases where Apple decided that if the product didn't worth smoothly and flawlessly on the original iPad, it wasn't worth supporting at all. (article link)
Sluggish? Really?
Trying to download the iMovie app to the original iPad, this is what I got:


Front facing camera? Really?

iTunes & AppStores are refusing to install the iMovie to my original iPad. This is pure evil!
Then I got this trick. The iMovie finally installed in my original iPad.

After import some footages from iPhone 4, then I begin to edit a short video.
Is it sluggish? Is it good?
It. Is. Beautiful!


iPhone 4 > Camera Connection Kit > iMovie on original iPad



It's only 30 seconds project but at least everything works relatively fine. Not snappy quicky perfect but everything is there. The audio waveforms are there. The scrubbing footages are there. The smooth transitions are there.
And best of all - been doing finger-editing on iMovie for iPhone for months - now I'm doing finger-editing on 10 inch screen!
It. Is. Beautiful!



iMovie isn't built for a long duration/complex/multi layered video editing project. It's only for fun, family video, video-blogging, online video. I think the original iPad is sufficient enough for that kind of task.

So again, why do you ditch original iPad from iMovie's love, Apple?


(crossposting blog. also posted in here.)


Monday, March 07, 2011

Is The iPhone 4 Ready For Video Post Processing?

It depends.
If you're doing it for fun, video-blogging, you may force the iPhone 4 to do video post-processing.
If you're doing it for pro, record on the iPhone 4 then edit it on desktop (yes you can put 'semi' word before 'pro' ^_^)

2 reasons.

1. It's a phone.
Its main function is a communication device. Rendering a video can take forever on this device & some apps are not natively multiprocessing. Anticipate a phone call while rendering. A phone call means interrupted rendering process. Not to mention the battery life. Don't try to render your edited video while far from electricity outlet. "Sorry I can't get your call, my phone is still rendering & the battery is low."


Takes 30 mins to render this 45 seconds video. 30 mins without receiving any phone call :D

And since it's a phone, you have to get used to edit in a small multitouch screen with your finger. iMovie for iPhone is great, but keep in mind that from desktop to tiny multitouch screen is another learning curve: finger editing.

2. Quality matters.
Color-correction is a critical process in video post processing. Without proper compression method, the video file will be 'damaged' due to inappropriate lossy data compression algorithm.
For instance, CinemaFX for video is the coolest color-grading app for iPhone 4. Problem is, by default it compresses the video from the Camera Roll, means that you'll get a video with blocky compressed quality - not the original.

Don't expect some Sorenson, DV-Pal or any professional video compression codecs for iOS anytime soon.


Try watch the video in HD to see the comparison.

iMovie for iPhone on the other hand, is using H.264 compression, which is good enough for final video. But not good enough to do multiple post-procs.

Is it ready for video post-processing?
"Hello? I'm shooting a video right now with my iPhone. Can I call you back?"

Saturday, March 05, 2011

The Tale of A Father & Three Kids



Begini kalau papin sendirian ngangon 3 bocah menjelang jam tidur. Arwen habis mandi besok sekolah, Leia makan malam, Neo ngga tidur-tidur.