Toward the end of summer last year we (as in the Nylon we) made a series of films for PRSF’s New Music 20×12 project. PRSF have commissioned twenty eminent composers to each create a twelve minute piece of music to commemorate the London Olympic. This project is part of the London 2012 cultural olympiad.

We were tasked with producing a short film about each of the composers and their respective pieces.  As you can imagine that’s a really exciting opportunity to make some interesting films and get to meet some brilliant (as in bright, not as in The Fast Show) people. So far so good, right? Right…Except for one thing. These brilliant-ers are dotted all over the UK. Cue a fevered bout of Machiavellian and labrynthine plotting. It’s no mean feat to get around the UK and fit in with the schedules of everybody else. Luckily, here at Nylon, we’re pretty brilliant ourselves so we got all of the filming done in time.

So, what about the post then? If the filming was a fevered race against time would the post production be any different? In a word no. There I was happily minding my own business and dreaming of the one codec to rule them all when suddenly the footage from twenty interviews lands on my desk.

Just managing and organising that much material is a task on it’s own. First I had to convert all of the Canon 5D footage into Apple Pro Res in order for FCP to be able to process it. Then I started to review the material. The problem with interviews of this kind is that they are far too interesting. There’s very little fat when talking to a composer about their process. This makes editing so much more of a challenge because everything seems important and all of the edit decisions seem ruthless from the start. Normally you don;t have to start being ruthless until long into the process. With a project like this you have to be nasty from the start.

After much furrowing of brow, gnashing of teeth and wailing of voice the offline edits were completed. At the same time as they were being completed we were producing the splendid motion graphic which starts each video. Then the two were spliced together and there was just one more stage to complete. Each film had to be passed through the beady digital eye and wondrous filters of Magic Bullet. Setting the filters took some time but the real time abyss was rendering all of the films once they had had the Magic Bullet treatment.

We’re really happy with the results. You can watch the videos and find out more about the PRSF New Music 20×12 project here. We hope you like them too.

So, what can we do about our turkey induced forgetfulness? One of the Nylon family fastidiously makes to-do lists. That same individual is also well know for their great pleasure in ticking things off from said lists (with a flourish) and a emphatic “done”. An incredibly effective (and apparently enjoyable) system but this is 2012. I don’t want to have lots of grubby post it notes I want to be able to write my lists electronically.

With that in mind I find myself scouring the murky depths of Apple’s App Store to find an “app for that”. It seems like Culturecode’s ‘Things’ is the benchmark when it comes to electronic to-do-listery but that weighs in with a whopping £34.99 price tag. Not too expensive for what seems to be a very useful app. It does, however, seem like a lot of money to replace a post it note with numbers down one side. Also, it’s new year and I’m broke.

I know what you’re thinking. You’re wondering if there are any cheaper alternatives. Hang on to your hats folks because there are plenty. I’ve plumped for Producteev (from Producteev Inc.) that is a full 100% cheaper, by which I mean that it’s free.

Is it any good though? The interface is simple, effective and quite attractive and it’s quickly evident how to use the software. It allows you to add tasks to your list and through a completely customisable labelling system categorise them quickly and effectively. You can also add deadline dates to each task and set reminders for specified times prior to the deadline. This same date system also allows you to set up tasks to repeat as and when required. Producteev is also web-based which meant that if you log into your producteev account from another terminal that you can view all of your tasks. I think that it may even be a little deeper in the way that it works but I don’t need it to be so I haven’t explored any of the other functionality.

So far so brilliant, right? I’m loathed to slam a quite excellent piece of software which is free and has web support (also free) but the visual interface is slow to update and often freezes certain function completely. This can effect checking tasks, off the list, as completed or even something as basic as moving the window around your desktop. In fact moving the window around really bugs me. It not smooth and feels like the graphics card is struggling to keep up. I had a look at activity monitor whilst I dragged the window across my desktop and the CPU% for Producteev jumped up to 85% when I was moving the window. This is alarmingly high when compared to moving a Finder window (3%). I’m not sure if this is the actual cause for the  unpleasant sensation when moving the window but it does seem like it may be a factor. I wonder if the developers could actually change the way the application runs in order to put less strain on graphics processing.

The other main grip that I have with Producteev is that it does not offer a calendar view from which all tasks can be viewed. This is an important function for planning and managing your time which surely is instrumental in completing all of your nicely logged tasks. That seems to be a bit of an own goal for a task managing software package.

I really like this app but it is quite difficult to use if it’s not working properly. Now I’m left pondering if I should just bit the bullet and buy ‘Things’ before I go too far down the road of using an app that is never going to work properly. The alternative is that I keep trying free apps until I find something that works but that’s not very helpful or productive for my actual work which defeats the object of the whole project. Who knew that making it easy to stay on top of things could be such hard work? Not I, until now, anyway.

Here at Nylon, we got an early peak at the festivities late last summer when we had the privilege of filming twenty of the UK’s top composers about new pieces of work they are creating for New Music 20×12 a feature of this year’s Cultural Olympiad.  Our commission took us across the UK, from tunnels on the West Coast of Scotland to ping pong pubs in East London as we spoke to the composers about their inspirations and creative process.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Howard Skempton was first to the finish line with Five Rings Triples, a piece he composed for eight bells and which was performed New Years Eve in All Saints Church in Kingston-Upon-Thames.  These are not hand bells mind, but bells weighing upwards of one thousand pounds, hanging high up in the church belfry. In composing his first-ever piece for church bells, Howard found he was fascinated by the strict mathematical rules that govern “change ringing,” or the method by which the bells are rung in systematically changing patterns.

5 Rings Triples will be rung out in village bellfrys across the UK as the Olympic Torch passes through. You can click here for the torch route if you want to catch it live http://www.london2012.com/olympic-torch-relay-map  or click here http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/console/b018mp23 for the recording made by  BBC Radio 3.

And so, we’re off!!!  Well done Howard and the 40,000 strong members of the Central Council of Church Bell Ringers and a very happy new year to you all.

To watch the entire version of the short film we created for PRSF, please visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rFHjc3vrdBA&list=UUMfVwqQchv1Ldga35wHpnpg&index=12&feature=plcp

I would like to take this  opportunity to pledge my undying gratitude for your wonderful Magic Bullet suite.  Where would I be without it?  Erm…still grading the 20 short films that Nylon made for PRSF I suspect!  Luckily I do have it and here I am writing to all of you about the wondrousness of Magic Bullet.

Some of you may be a tad mystified as to what I am blithering on about.  Indeed, some of you probably couldn’t care less.  For those that are still here I shall proffer a brief explanation.

Magic Bullet is an affordable and effective piece of  finishing software (available from Red Giant Software)  that plugs in to FCP or After Effects. It allows the user to quickly and effortlessly apply a filmic look to digital video.

There are various nicely defined presets and it is easy to get inside those presets and ratchet about with any of the pre-defined settings in order to compensate for any of your more troublesome footage.

So what’s the big deal, I hear you ask.  Well, this little product allows us to apply a hefty sheen of high quality finish with minimal effort.  There’s a saying about not being able to polish certain things.  Magic bullet has all but negated that phrase.

Your clients will be dazzled and people will marvel at how nice the footage looks while you just sit back and hope nobody knows about Magic Bullet.

Thank you Magic Bullet for further empowering my editing arm.

Lots of love

Dan

Our poor editor Dan has been cutting  this PRS gold dust till his mouse expired earlier today, with all the mileage it has endured skidding across the pad and dodging the biscuit crumbs and coffee ring stains.

Meanwhile, seasoned pro Louise and new arrival Paul are upto Highly Secret shenanigangs called a ‘pitch document’ which has everyone without a written excuse note from Head Girl aka Boss Lady (inna Trenchtown stylee)Helen..running aroind in circles..Heen it has to be said has a shady past and a tattoo..Ah! yes, Nylon is a funky and ‘down” hive of creative individuals. Ooops! Here comes Helen…I’m blogging off !

PS Very young, blonde and tanned Ellen has just got back from 3 weeks in Oz; avoiding spiders and possums and rampant fit lifeguards it seems. Even she is now working on the Secret Pitch Document

See you in September (the nameless Runner).

As a budding young writer, with a passion for film, Paul started his career in the industry in the most classic of ways – as a runner at Lucas Film. Whilst there he worked under producer Gary Kurtz on the blockbusters Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom and then alongside director Walter Murch on Return to Oz. His writing flair was spotted by Barry Cryer who hired him to write sketches for a new HBO series, cementing his transition from top tea maker!

Honing his skills in every facet of production followed. Paul has set up large scale commercials across the globe with Paul Weiland Films and Tony Scott at RSA, directed music videos for N Lee Lacy Associates in LA, been a TV presenter for ITV, on cult teenage show the Big E, producing his own slot featuring A list Hollywood stars and off beat reports across America. Returning to the UK, he formed a company to target the mushrooming youth market and won five commissions in his first year, three from Janet St Porter and two from Stephen Garrett at Channel Four.

Welcome to the team Paul!

The thing about RED is anything shot with it looks fantastic, but my gosh, it has its processes!

I am by no means a techie – I hire and book kit – I rely on excellent and experienced DOPs to talk me through what is needed for a shoot, look for supplier ensure the price is right and bobs your uncle its sorted. I work with amazing kit suppliers who understand the language too. So you can imagine – when I received a call from a panicked PA to say that footage shot with a RED had appeared yellow and over exposed, once downloaded into the edit – I wanted to hide under the table with some headphones on!

Helen (Producer) and I have since been learning the language on all things RED: raw files, metadata, red color levels, redcine-x, codecs, you name it, we got it! But getting my head around it has been like learning maths in GCSEs again – you really don’t want to do it, but you know ultimately its going to help you somewhere along the way (says the production manager!).  Needless to say, after conversations with those in the know, we have concluded that the software did not have the correct codec installed…Panic over….Now on to the Alexa!

Another thing that I have discovered, to my dismay, is that setting a sturdy Manfrotto tripod in humid conditions may lead to all of the water within your body attempting a mass escape via the pores of your skin!  Alas, this is not the best way to make a first impression – wrestling a metal, three-legged creature and dripping sweat all over somebody’s office is highly unlikely to endear!  Thankfully all of my victi…interviewees have received my moist visage with uncommon generosity and grace.  Thanks to all.

Tomorrow our Lady of The South and I will go on a mini filming tour of the northern half of our island.  Come back soon to find out what happened when I wrestled a tripod ‘oop north’.

Until next time…

Dan

We’ve had really positive feedback so far which is nice as a website does become quite personal if like us you agonise over every minute detail!!  Worryingly the thing that took us the longest time to sort out was the photos of all of us!  We couldn’t agree on whether to use baby photos ‘oversued now’, abstract body parts ‘a little peculiar’ or pictures of our Mum’s ‘some of them are dead so a little odd’!! So we went for good old fashioned mug shots – let us know what you think!!!

We’ve been slowly doing up our new offices here at Ugli campus since we moved in earlier this year and we are nearly done with the furniture and interior design.  Our new sofa is for the edit suite (or Dan’s Den as we refer to it) and completes the lovely new look we have here at Nylon HQ.