Fortress Of Freedom Board

[Maurice Ali]

Well it didn’t last and back to the real world. But we did start another website:

[Maurice Ali]

I got the last cable for the Pocket 4K (a USBC cable that screws down to the cage to safeguard the camera motherboard and loss of data if the cable catches on something), and with that we are done with purchases for
awhile!



The new website for the movie has already started showing up in the searches with the website as the top search - mission accomplished….




Creative Post back in the day!



On a whim, I googled a post production house I used to get the “Fortress TV Show” and the “Life and Times of Donald Boots Brasseur” on network TV. That place was called “Creative Post” and was huge in the Toronto broadcast scene back in the day. Last actual activity online was three years ago. The website is abandoned now and the phone lines are abandoned or used by someone else it seems. When I used them you would hear and see them finishing up TV shows here in Canada.




Creative Post back in the day!



With Don Brasseur it was Anne of Green Gables or Road to AvonLea (reformatting maybe to 16X9 or HD?) you could hear it as they formatted my show to broadcast DVCAM. I had an editor on the first show adjust the audio and make a video correction and that was good enough




Broadcast Captioning back in the day!



I hate seeing parts of your past and the industry in general disappear before your eyes. The guy who ran Creative Post was this theatre dude with a booming voice and exaggerated expressions all from a career on stage. Even the companies that I went to get tapes and stuff were broadcast and professional and not commercial - it was its own secret universe back then and I was in it!




The final tape with the Global TV cue sheet!



Now it looks like I’m going to be one of the last standing with my business school adherence to keeping fixed costs down. But I did not say all costs down - just the fixed costs. Those are the ones that end up killing you. Buy a camera - just sacrifice a bit and pay it off, but a lease is sort of like forever and start adding on other stuff that never goes away and you set the stage for failure when the money can’t cover it. Note I did not say “money runs out” but if it dips to where you can’t pay the fixed costs you are doomed…..




The actual Digitale Betacam tape for the show - wow, a barcode!


So by having corporations that can run on vapours they have survived 21 years of operations. And they continue unaffected by changes in tech and market ups and downs. There is something to that philosophy.




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

The Worldwide Vote app is configured for Android 16.


I’m checking on a lot of things at the office. Boring but they have to be done…..



One thing I was thinking about was “going for it” as opposed to “playing it safe”. Playing it safe means keeping your pennie’s and living for a comfortable future. It means sacrificing your youthful ambitions and indulgences for a more comfortable future.



Now that I have a few years on the clock, it seems that if you are of average abilities you should play it safe and live a comfortable lifestyle. However, if you have abilities beyond the others you should go for it. First of all is that “moral imperative” that if people of ability don’t step up and try to make the world a better place - all hell will break loose with those lesser ability and morals filling the void. The other aspect is later realizing what you gave up for security and being miserable about it.



As a viable minority, I went for it but did it intelligently. So corporations that run on vapours enough to get me to the places I needed to be at. So far so good and all options for the future and I guess that isn the best I could hope for.



In reality the folk who played it safe are sort of pissed off - or dead - yes, many who saved for the future died before they got there! Slate that for what it is.



Nothing is for sure and as far as we went with the advocacy - I still wonder. The fact I still wonder is reason enough to continue. If I close up shop - that is it and no going back. So we just keep going for it…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

Taking care of family stuff…..



However some stuff did happen.



I went and bought an SSD holder for the Pocket 4K as it was in a store just a few miles away. Then, after buying that - I went and bought a fast 2tb SSD drive that fits on it. That one I got from Amazon so as I wait for that I had to figure out where to put that holder.



Consensus was on the top left where my shotgun microphone was. But where to put the shotgun microphone now? It turns out there is a secret cold shoe on the right and it doesn’t impact the use of those buttons - thank you “Tilta”!



I’ll have some photos of that but that camera no longer looks like a camera and more like a video cinema camera…..



Other than that I have real juicy intel - but I can’t talk about it. Mostly I don’t want to get sued. So while these updates can get boring and tedious - stuff is going on…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

Well, I got another royalty payment from Amazon because of books sales.







What this means is that out of everything I did over the last 21 years, the books have now sold more and made more revenue than anything else I did at this organization! However, note that I said “I”, the music sales are in another universe. Especially at the beginning, an artist could pull in thousands during the year just off of sales alone. Boy are those days gone!




The irony of it all is that CDs are making a comeback of all things. I would also say that DVDs and Blurays are making a comeback as people are getting sick of paying subscriptions to platforms that then go and takedown their favourite movies and shows.




Remember the saying: He who laughs last laughs the best….. Hahahaha…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/vvkIF0NlIzA?si=hM6nqOgl6_i1JY39

[Maurice Ali]

I should receive my external hard drive on Saturday.



That should do it for the cameras. I did get another SSD mount for the Pocket 4 as mounts for Tilta cages are almost non-existent now. I even tried buying it from Tilta direct and no go. That one holder from the AV Shop in Markham was the only one in Toronto! None of any kind to be had in the GTA now. I wanted an early version that accepted the screw mount for the SSD. None for the T7 SSD anywhere in the world - but the shorter T5 mounts would still fit the new T7 units. Again, none at Vistek / Henry’s / AV Shop . None at Amazon - that was a shocker but thy did have the universal holders like I got at the AV Shop. None - other than the universal ones at B&H Photo in New York! I had to go on Ebay and buy one from some guy in Luxembourg - with the funny part being I felt lucky to get that…..




But for now I will just use the universal holder and start shooting. I’ll give you all the updated pics of the new camera all accessories with cables and mounts hopefully later on this evening.



That is all the 4K cameras I need. Don’t talk to me about the 6K cameras as they will crop in the sensor if you shoot 4K on the Blackmagic 6K units in Braw. So you have to shoot all the time in high bit rate 6K for maybe slightly better 4K files and some say the Pocket 4 image is better in the end. Wait for the 8K versions with hopefully a global shutter as the 6K units have really bad rolling shutter issues. Anyway, I’m happy how all this turned out!


Other than that it’s cleaning the rear windows on the car and doing back yard work at my parent’s house. That’s some reality there…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

So what happens to the bucket list of things you wanted to do when you were young?



Well, one thing I wanted was a real sports car. It had to have independent suspension, four wheel disc breaks, aluminum body panels, and a top speed over 150mph. Unsaid but relevant today - two door. I did get that with my current Mustang - everything including the top speed which hits 157 (260kph) with the governed off as it is now. The problem with the old 5.0 V8s I owned was no aluminum body panels, drum brakes on the rear, and a top speed of only 142mph. So the current Mustang met all the conditions - never saw that coming…..



But I also - later - wanted a Corvette. This was a more grown up thing for me, the sports car definition was the big deal - but the Corvette was fibreglass. I even seriously took to looking to buy one early on. Anyway, I had basically given up on the idea but it did dawn on my that night that if you don’t honor your dreams and wishes of the past - you never really accomplished anything. Could I still buy a Corvette and scratch that off my things to do list? So I’m looking at maybe - maybe - getting one and then fooling around with it and selling it just to scratch the itch. I’m not crazy about the idea as long term ownership is never a good idea. We shall see.



Movie update:




SSD installed and microphone moved to the other side!



I got the 2tb T7 SSD and it works! It is cream coloured as nobody wants that colour so I got it cheaper than black or blue. This is all moot as I’m peeling off the rubber “shield” to make it fit a T5 holder. So in the end it (the colour) doesn’t matter but I doubled the capacity for sixty bucks (one fifth the total cost) doing it this way over the 1tb black SSD. The connectors are all in including the HDMI. They all screw in or lock to prevent accidental disengagement. I also attached the shotgun microphone - everything works!




Rear view of the changes!



The question about having an SD and SSD attached at the same time was answered. It defaults to the SD, but go into the menu and select the SSD and you are good to go. I checked and everything seems to work so we move on to the next stage of production.




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

The weekend was nice for a change. I cleaned out the back seat and windows in the Mustang and then cleaned out the engine bay for good measure. This is the best car I ever owned. A Corvette will be an absolute disaster. Seeing a Corvette C8 owner pushing his new car to the sides if the road drives that home to me as an epiphany




I actually was looking at this car in 2018!



I hear about people I know getting chronic medical problems now and you realize your time is almost up. The advocacy is the priority, but if you wanted to do anything - you had better do it quick! So getting the Corvette and selling it quick is on the bucket list. The difference between buying and selling is the price for living that dream.



The cinema camera was a much more minor thing - but a thing. Like you are not a real filmmaker without a camera that takes interchangeable lenses. No internal stabilization or ND filers requiring a matt box, and a camera that has to be rigged out. I got that with the Pocket 4K…..




Before!




After!



Officially the Pocket 4K took three weeks and two days to complete. It’s good to go now but was a much more involved project than the Canon camcorder. But I have finally got my cinema camera! The cheapest cinema camera - but like my Mustang - it checked all the boxes. All in all the camera and rig cost 3,750.00 which is as cheap as it gets including lenses. If I went 6K you are looking at over 7 grand as the lenses are way more expensive - for example. Actually at that price you could start looking at an RED camera! And as I said you get the same sensor size in Braw as the Pocket 4K. Prores will use the whole sensor and shrinks it to 4K but no adjustable raw file which is what everyone wants. Given it all, the 4K is the way to go. If the upgrade was 8K - then that’s a game changer - but at 6K which samples to 4K and delivered in HD, it’s not worth the hassle and expense - hehehehehe…..


I’m keeping the SSD and fast Angelbird V60 SD card in there as redundancy if I need it.



So all that is done…..



And some of you will rejoice getting back to regular updates…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

Diana at IAIJ has another concert article and this one is about Martin Garrix:

[Maurice Ali]

I have nothing to purchase when it comes to guitars and now video equipment.



At one point I thought the guitar stuff would never end. The last thing was getting the tried and true Helix electronic pedal board and lamenting the new Helix at double the price. Fast forward two months and I could not care less - the cheap OG was the way to go.



Like the guitars, getting the cheap Pocket 4K against the hype of the Pocket 6K cameras was the way to go. Using raw the 6K crops the sensor so you basically get the Pocket 4K resolution in the 6K camera. For any advantage you have to do it all 6K which means huge file sizes and gaming computers to handle the files and all the rest. After a few weeks - like the Helix pedal board - sanity has set in. And play the latest greatest “video gear game” and you just know a new product is about to be launched with influencers foaming at the mouth about how good it is. The funniest part is the guys that jumped on the new Pocket 6K which was quickly succeeded by other 6K models and discontinued - but the Pocket 4K is still in production!



In other news is the class action law suit against Amazon that when you buy a movie you don’t keep it forever but that sooner or later it just disappears! Once again, the kids laughing at the troglodytes buying discs - are eating their words! Give up that Prime subscription - then all your purchased movies just disappear - like poof! I have little sympathy - now go buy physical media - there are new stores opening up all over the place manned by hip beautiful asian women with a bone pierced through their nose and tattoos all over the place (like at my local place). “Discs” are now cool again - maybe even for games but we shall see…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

Today…..



First off, for those of you that applied for the class action lawsuit against Apple for throttling on the old iPhones with defective or old batteries - the deadline has passed to contest whether you can get the money. But if you were not contacted and are approved you may still get your money later this year.



Movie making corner:



I tested the zooming in capabilities of the Canon and Pocket 4K and the Canon zooms in the most. I would say the Canon is the security shot rig for the interviews - but I will still shoot in a format that allows for a LUT. This is so that I can better match the two camera images and cut between the two. A better zoom lens would help the Pocket 4K but this is not a competition. This is finding the right camera for the shot out of the tools I have available. The Pocket 4K is all set up, but I will download the LUTs for the Canon and I’m mostly set in colour science.



As for whether the Pocket 4K is a “cinema camera” as defined by the industry - actually it is. This definition is all about whether the footage is of the same quality and bit rate depth so it can seamlessly be used with the files made by the more professional and expensive traditional movie cameras on big budget movies. As a “B cam” / “C cam” or “crash cam” on a major movie set it is used. It was used as a “B cam” in “Avengers: Age of Ultron” for car interior shots. Other “know” movies include “Hacksaw Ridge” “Spider-man Homecoming” to name a few. Anyway, I just found that interesting.




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

I’m checking storage hard drives to make sure they still spin. They all did but two legacy drives in cases don’t and that got me worried. That data is still around - but now the drives are actually failing.




Yes, even hard drives will fail! They say you need at least three copies today to say you have the file. I’m sure I have two so I should probably do a third even if it exists somewhere. Especially the video as I do ot want to run hundreds of tapes that may or may not work after 20 years!




So instead of buying a green screen - I may buy a large hard drive and start copying drives just to make sure. And I guess that is the plan for the long weekend. With the old HDV camcorder busted I can’t even go to the original tapes to get lost video. I guess I should check to see if anyone’s is selling used Canon HDV camcorders before they disappear for good.




All this points to the fact you are getting old and everything from equipment to yourself is getting old and unreliable. It’s slightly depressing but you have to carry on…..




Goodnight…..

[Maurice Ali]

So I went and bought two large drives as I found out two more storage drives would not spin. They were not with the editors so probably not media drives - but - wow! A 1tb and a 4tb. They were in an enclosed case that had power issues so that could be the reason. Anyway I checked all the media drives and three of the four drives with the HDV video did not have copies. The SD video had at least two copies but how could I have left myself so vulnerable with the HDV stuff! And add to the fact the Canon camcorder that shot all the video stopped working - well there is nobody to blame than me!



So I got an 8tb drive for that and a 2tb drive for the SD stuff. The critical job is the copies of the HDV Canon video. I still can’t believe how vulnerable I left myself with that!



Anyway, by now I probably have half the videos copied. The rest should be done tomorrow and then I can relax. Oh well, getting back into the video game means bringing everything up to date and the cameras are one thing and the filing systems are another…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/74LdMwDe2Qk?si=1vnD5GhFVHwqHkpL

[Maurice Ali]

I’m probably going to go down to the UN during General Assembly as I already have a couple of invitations. I have hotel reservations the entire first week and will finalize all that in a week or two.







This General Assembly is an interesting one for the world and for me, and at the conference call this morning we agreed this trip was worth the money to go - so I go. You only live once and you have stuff to get out to everyone with power and they are there - so this is the place to be that week!



Guitar Corner -




My subscription free Helix Floor!



I’m looking at the guitars again. I’m liking the purchase of the old but still sold new Helix Floor. Boss has a new pedal and slyly is offering new Tone for a price, and to make it worse it may just be more of a new subscription in that pedal board. Let hope the backlash sends a message. The problem with the new Helix Stadium that just came out is the internet connection needed to work several functions. With that internet connection comes crap like subscriptions and ending the subscription enables the host company to turn off stuff from the pedal board - not for me!




Everyone needs a 7 string!



Anyway, I’m the worst guitar player in the world, but I ran a record label for over twenty years and started a music advocacy association and made
a few musical notes myself. I’m registered with SOCAN after my intro music made it on CTV. I am a musician which is important if you founded and run musical organizations. My guitar collection is for real and I cherish them as I play them. So I’m a musician - I guess…..


Anyway…..




Movie corner - (like the way I use the dash instead of the colon?)



I’m almost at the 3/4 point in copying the HDV files. This is more of a bugger than you realize. However, it must be done given all the circumstances at play.



That’s it for now…..




Goodnight…..





https://youtu.be/D688OCYjmZE?si=fJYpl4QlaTyFpUAD

[Maurice Ali]

Disaster has struck!




I actually finished the labour intensive and tedious babysitting the cloning of the drives onto the new hard drive. When done, I took it out of the editing drive bays and put the original drive back in there. Went over to a solo drive enclosure I knew worked and - nothing! Humm - So I went back to the original drive bay where it worked and slid it back in and turned it on - and then I smelled something bad like electronics being fried and shut it down. Took out the shitty Segate drive and tried to power it up in a bay enclosure. No go - all the other backup drives in the enclosure were fried also.



So you do what you always do when some fantastical shit just happened - You just walk away and collect your thoughts. I eventually came back and tested all the drives - all dead. The bad thing here is that there really is no way to get modern drives spinning again if the mother boards are fried!



Gone (in the words of a Titanic survivor)!



Now this was the backup and finishing enclosure as the video files were in another enclosure. So I turned on the editor and turned on all the video drives and hoped for the best. As far as I can see it’s all there from start to finish so that is one bit of good news. I also found backups of the theatrical movie and short, and DNxHD files of our two TV shows. I also found the 720HD shows on YouTube. I also found a bunch of full HD shows also.



I eventually should be able to mostly get back what I lost - for a price. So it is now back to cloning the HDV files back on a new hard drive as a BestBuy was strangely open on this holiday today. I also bought a new “toaster” hard drive dock and started the process again.



Apart from that nightmare - I got more stuff for the Pocket 4K from Amazon and Ebay. What I got was two more batteries and that SSD holder with the proper screw down mount attachment. So the camera is finished and time to start shooting.



Then again it’s September and any outside the house maintenance has to be done now. For Monday it is cutting down branches and cutting them down for pickup as the yard waste day is tomorrow.




Also I’ve been in this old man funk lately. Wondering how much time I have left and what kind of quality it would be. Depressing stuff you do not think about when you are young. I’m not young anymore - so I think about it - a lot!




Goodnight…..