OnLocation
CS3
OnLocation is one of the two Serious Magic acquisitions
(along with Ultra) which has been included in CS3: Production Premium.
Other than the name change, it is still exactly the same as it was when Serious
Magic owned it. Unfortunately, from the perspective of folks who are used to using
programs with Adobe’s streamlined layout, this is going to feel very clunky,
as you have no top menu to choose from. Instead, all of your choices are accessed
either by a right click menu or by a shortcut key. Unfortunately, the most crucial
option in the software isn’t in any menu that we could find and can only
be accessed by a shortcut key, so, if you happen to be shooting and don’t
have your manual with you, you could be in trouble. The crucial option in question
is the ability to switch from previewing clips to actively viewing through your
camera, which is essential for any sort of onsite logging of takes and typing
in XML data. If you don’t know that pressing ‘F7’ is the shortcut
key for this feature, you literally have to reboot the software each time you
want to switch from viewing a clip to looking at your camera’s live perspective.
Once
you get past this initial hiccup, OnLocation is a great asset. I co-directed
a film recently with it (which you can read about in this issue’s article)
and loved being able to capture our footage directly and type in information on
the best takes. Besides being able to monitor everything you’re shooting
with professional guides, two zera options, color monitors, and sound meters,
there are a number of under-the-hood options that make this the best way to record
footage for editing on the market. First off, OnLocation comes with a streamlined
.AVI codec that automatically formats things for simple import into Premiere
Pro. (It also has choices for a universal .AVI for other PC editors and .QT
for other Mac editors, so you aren’t limited to only using Adobe’s
products.) If you choose to take advantage of this Premiere Pro streamlined
.AVI codec, OnLocation can actually interpret certain pulldown patterns
and exclude frames on the fly. This is awesomely useful for folks using the very
popular Panasonic DVX100 and HVX200 cameras, which have a special 24PA option
that is designed to recreate true 24 fps after a special pulldown regimen is applied.
Because OnLocation runs this pulldown automatically, you only record 24
fps per second, rather than the 29.97 that the camera tape is recording prior
to the pulldown application. This translates into 20% hard drive savings. (Now,
if you’re new to Panasonic cameras and own the DVX100, this only holds true
to the 24PA setting. Some folks accidentally choose 24P, which will not have OnLocation
remove the Pulldown from it on the fly.)
Another
great under the hood feature is the option for flipping footage, which is extremely
useful for 35mm lens adapters which shoot everything upside down, like Redrock
Micro’s M2 and the P+S Technik Mini35. Because Serious Magic actually had
a prior arrangement with Redrock Micro, there’s actually a specific Redrock
Micro M2 preset as one of the footage flipping option. (Unfortunately, for Redrock
Micro fans, the deal between Serious Magic and Redrock Micro fell through when
Adobe purchased them. Hopefully, Adobe will set up a new arrangement with them,
since it would make sense to have a basic version of OnLocation CS3
bundled with the Redrock Micro M2.) This makes setting up, focusing, and using
35mm lens adapters so much easier than it’s ever been before, especially
since you can artificially zoom in on the screen to make sure you’re really
in focus.
For Mac users, OnLocation is included in PC format (as there is no Mac translation of Serious Magic's software), so you will need to use Bootcamp or Parallels to make use of this software. I have no doubt that
as Adobe conforms the Serious Magic programs to a more Adobe-style look for the
CS4 release, they will also convert this package to Mac compatibility.
Check out our article on using OnLocation CS3 in this issue.
Ultra CS3
Ultra CS3 is the other Serious Magic acquisition, designed as a
standalone keyer. This is the only progam that Mac users don't get included with their package. This is due to the fact that Ultra CS3 is a PC-only program that won't work with Bootcamp or Parallels.
