Re: Smoke in a mac

Sorry for the double post, still dont know how to use this thing properly :)


[Alan Okey] "There's a huge difference between having Smoke and being a Smoke artist. Even if you gave Smoke away for free, it wouldn't make it an easy application to master. Talent is still the ultimate differentiator, not what software one uses."


i agree with Alan. The learning curve is steep, followed only by the high level of client expectations.


[Rick Turners] "Although online editing is hardly an art.. (when gfx, color etc are not part of the job)"


Online IS very much an art, and it usually does involve gfx and color in most situations, specifically color. And in general, with smoke, on top of other things, you are expected to be a skilled compositor with a good design and artistic sense and with a strong understanding/background in color. There is a good reason why editors on smoke are generally referred to as "smoke Artists".

When you are driving a box (that is highly capable with a proven set of tools perfected over the past sixteen or seventeen years or so, and peeps around you know about it) you are expected a world, and are expected to simply MAKE THINGS WORK no matter what, on the spot that is, with your happy face on as you entertain your clients with your funny weekend/bar story. Anything less, and you may be the reason for the stress levels in the room.

With online, the only hurdle between your output and its being on air is fedex. You are the final and last link before that couple of hundred thousand dollars worth of spot, that beautiful master piece of your clients that they have nurtured and cherished, goes on the air. Its you who is searching for any minor dirt spec, a tiny tape drop out, any inconsistency in audio levels, etc., as you output and then playback off of tape to ensure everything is good. Therefore. the magnitude of responsibility riding on your shoulders is quite high, not everyone' cup of tea. Different ball game altogether, you can only know/feel it, once you are actually in it.

Clients in a Smoke room (paying a good chunk), in general, tend to be more demanding in terms of color and other technicalities. A simple shift in reds or blues or something like that in the end tag or in skin tones on the final master (noticed after the tape has been shipped to china) could easily spiral into something causing a staff meeting the next day and could easily cost the next big job from the same client. Like it or not, thats how it is.


[Rick Turners] "Worst case scenario that I can think of is that everyone pirates Smoke for Mac and there are as many Smoke artists as FCP editors."


Smoke artists and FCP/AE editors are NOT in the same category, and the expectations vary accordingly, rightfully so.