Apple has released the 10.5.4 update for Leopard with a bunch of updates and fixes under the hood. As always if your mid project or do not need a current fix wait for the poor souls eager enough to jump on the new updates. If you have a test machine then go for it. My usual steps are to clone my drive before an update, disconnect all external devices except the keyboard and mouse, get the update via the web download on Apple’s site versus the software updater(there are a few different builds when updates come out) and repair permissions as a just-in case.
Additional Information
What’s included?
The 10.5.4 Update is recommended for all users running Mac OS X Leopard and includes general operating system fixes that enhance the stability, compatibility and security of your Mac.
Resolves an issue with saving and reopening Adobe Creative Suite 3 files on a remote server.
Includes additional RAW image support for several cameras.
Addresses an issue that may result in a partially installed X11 application.
Improves L2TP VPN client reliability.
AirPort
Addresses AirPort reliability issues with 5GHz networks.
Addresses AirPort issues that may result in slower performance in Logic Studio or MainStage.
iCal
Improves overall iCal reliability for meeting requests, cancellation notices, delegation, and syncing with iPhone.
Resolves an issue that prevents deleting an iCal event without notifying the creator.
Addresses an issue in which events in all calendars affect availability. A checkbox now enables information-only calendars to be transparent from free/busy lookups.
Resolves a UI issue preventing delegated calendars from showing up as a separate window.
Addresses an issue with copying and pasting attendees from one event to another.
Resolves an issue in which iCal may not delete events after a specified time interval, even when set to do so in iCal preferences.
Addresses an issue in which To Dos cannot be marked private.
Safari
Addresses a potential performance issue when loading secure web pages.
Resolves issues that may be encountered when accessing secure web pages with client certificates that reside on a smart card.
Spaces and Exposé
Addresses an issue in which switching from a space with a Finder window keeps the Finder as the active application instead of the application residing in the destination space.
Fixes an issue in which dragging an application from the list of application assignments in Spaces System Preferences does not assign the application to the desired space.
Resolves an Exposé issue that may result in only a subset of windows being shown.
Awesome new term listings are up at FXPHD.com for the July 08 term and man what a stellar listing of training you can take. Some of the highlights for me are the Stop motion /Miniatures , Afx 301 with Mark Coleran/Mark Christensen on screen UI , Tim Clapham back with C4D/AE goodness,RED ,Nuke, Matte painting and just way to many good ones to keep listing. All together there about 15 brand new classes with some popular classes being revisited for those new to FXPHD. Those of you worried about having access to some of the higher end software like Nuke and Maya do not worry FXPHD has VPN access for some of the classes on both Mac and PC.
I have said it many times that since joining FXPHD over a year ago that it has been a HUGE plus for me and have made a bunch of friends and contacts. The classes are beyond high end and no one is doing anything near the level that FXPHD does . Being able to have contact with other industry pro’s is tremendous bonus . People have asked to just have access to the forums alone , that says something for the community, professors and staff at FXPHD. Do yourself a favor and check out the info on the main page and keep and eye out for the 0 week class which will probably be up in a week or so .
Renowned providers of online training for VFX professionals - Fxphd – have teamed up with The Foundry to bring you ‘The Compositor’s Guide To Nuke’. fxphd.com professor, Sean Devereaux, takes you through the core elements of this powerful compositing application.
I have been a post grad at FXPHD since early 2007 and the level at which they do everything is at a higher caliber then anything out there for training in the visual effects,post production,3d and motion graphics field. The new summer term is coming up in about a week so check out the 0 or zero week sneak peek that will be up on the site(link below). FXPHD partners with so many great professionals in so many mediums from Stu Machwitz(Prolost),Mark Christensen(Flowseeker) and way to many heavy hitters in the post ,vfx and 3d industry.The training on Nuke has been especially good being that Shake has been left to wallow (even though still heavily used by me and alot of others). The Foundry has stepped it up nicely with Nuke 5 and a nice revamp to the UI and so many other features I will just let you be the judge . If you are into learning about editing,compositing,RED,Maya,Motion tracking ,3d, Color ,Cinema 4d(the list goes on) it would be in your best interest to check out FXPHD.COM
I have been waiting a few months for this to come out while keeping tabs on the development stages of this customizable playback software.Tweak Software is releasing RV, the company’s first commercially available software package, announced Seth Rosenthal, founder and president. RV is a highly customizable cross-platform image and sequence viewer that is capable of playing back uncompressed film resolution clips. Free downloadable trial versions of the software are available upon request at Tweaksoftware.com
RV is a real-time, film resolution, high-dynamic-range image and sequence viewer for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux. The application can play back uncompressed film resolution sequences, and includes native support for stereo 3D. RV combines a flexible architecture and a hardware accelerated compositing pipeline with a lean, polished design tailored to professional digital artists.
Key Features of RV:
Real-time playback for desktop, dailies and projection
Customizable, extensible architecture
Real-time hardware color correction
High dynamic range, floating point image pipeline
Advanced color management with support for OpenExr style linear-light scene-referred workflow
Native stereoscopic 3D support
RVIO—a stand alone batch image-processing tool to convert, conform, slate, color correct and composite image sequences
Comparison, tiling, compositing and playback of any number of sources
Multi-channel audio with real-time floating point re-sampling
Open source session file format (with Python/C++ tools)
RV is the first application to be commercially released from Tweak Software. It was developed by artists, for artists, to handle the company’s own high-end VFX projects. Founders Jim Hourihan and Seth Rosenthal spun off Tweak Software from Tweak Films in 2007. Tweak Films earned a VES Award for work on the memorable New York tidal wave sequence in The Day After Tomorrow and a Hong Kong Film award for VFX on Hero. The company established a reputation for tackling R&D intensive projects and has developed several proprietary VFX tools since it was founded in 2001.“High-end shops typically rely on home-grown playback tools that are hard to replace because they are deeply entwined in artist workflows,” explained Rosenthal.
“RV is very customizable and that makes it the first effective replacement for those proprietary viewers. But more importantly, if your work is all about images, you should have a great image viewer. Jim has a long history of creating refined tools for artists, and he designed RV from the ground up to be the kind of tool we wanted to use ourselves. RV has spread quite quickly in its pre-release form just through word of mouth, and based on feedback from our early adopters, we are taking the right approach.”RV is coming to market in a release version 3.4, having undergone multiple generations of development for internal use at Tweak Films. To date, RV has benefited Tweak’s projects as well as projects for a select group of major effects facilities, including WETA Digital, which adopted a pre-release version in 2006. RV is currently available directly through Tweak Software Tweaksoftware.com at the price of $299 per node locked license and $369 per floating license.
This is about 10 months old but man every time I find the link in my bookmarks I just have to laugh and cry at the same time. Here is to the saviors of long VFX nights and even shorter deadlines. The life of a Digital Grunt so sad but so true.
Wired has a nice read on the Dark Knight filming and how Dir. Christopher Nolan likes to do 8k home movie tests with IMAX cameras. He mentions how he likes to shoot as much practical shots as he can without using CG. This should be another great movie coming out this summer. Wired Story
Just a reminder that this Thursday (June 26) is our next meeting of After Effects New York. Here’s the info:
The meeting is free, thanks to our sponsors:
Next meeting:Thursday, June 26, 2008
The Time: 6:45 PM - 9:00 PM
We have a new location that can sit up to 400 people!!!!
The Place:
P.S. 41 116 W est 11th St., NYC(corner of 11th Street and 6th Ave.)
The food:Sorry - but due to site rules - no food this time. If you can live for 2 hours without eating, you’ll have a great time!
Our Lineup Includes:
Visual Designer, Mark Coleran, whose work has been seen in films like The Bourne Ultimatum, Domino, Alien vs. Predator, The Bourne Identity, Blade II, Lara Croft: Tomb Raider, The World Is Not Enough - just to name a few.
Visual effects artist John Montgomery - co-founder of the online visual effects news site fxguide, as well as the training site fxphd. Clients include McDonald’s, Disney,Budweiser, Miller, Hallmark, Morgan Stanley, ESPN and CBS.
This one might be a little biased since I have been skateboarding for 19 years . This gem of inspiration comes from DVS Shoes /Podium Distribution with direction/filming/VFX by Colin Kennedy and Bucky Fukumoto. You can get the download to DVS High Quality content direct from there iTunes streams located HERE. Not only have skateboarders been breaking all types of barriers in Art,Music,Cinematography,business and pretty much every medium ,skateboarding keeps you young .(inside and out) There are some amazing talents out there like Ty Evans, Jason Hernandez, Spike Jonze to name just a few who are pushing cinematography in skateboarding and movies.So enjoy this nice spot by Colin and Bucky/DVS crew.
The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival is back for its 5th year! Our Call For Entries has officially opened, so now is your chance to send us your 10 minute or under animated short for a chance to win great prizes!
Enter the festival and you’ll have a chance to see your short on-air and online! Not to mention, your chance to win amazing prizes, like this year’s Grand Prize, the Nick Development Award!
The Nicktoons Network Animation Festival accepts any animated short ten minutes and under, created in any style, using any type of animation process, so enter your original work now!
To enter the Nicktoons Network Animation Festival you’ll need to download and complete these forms: Entry Form and Agreement and send them along with your animated short.
In partnership with the Executive Producer of OFFF NY, I’m pleased to announce F5, a two-day festival of creativity taking place in New York City. Although the event won’t be until the spring of 2009, I want to put it on your radars now and encourage you to subscribe for updates on the F5 site. In addition to getting F5 news before everyone else, subscribers will get advanced access to ticket sales, which will be limited.I’m not going to say anything more about the event right now, except that it’s going to be amazing. F5 goes beyond just motion graphics into the fields of filmmaking, photography, graphic design, art, music, interactive design, advertising and experience design. The goal of F5 is to change the way you look at creativity, and in so doing, change the way you look at your work and your life.
You bet your butt I will be there and AENY will be supporting Justin @ Motionographer on this venture . Mark those 2009 calendars now it will be here before you know it.
Wired has a nice read on the Dark Knight filming and how Dir. Christopher Nolan likes to do 8k home movie tests with IMAX cameras. He mentions how he likes to shoot as much practical shots as he can without using CG. This should be another great movie coming out this summer. 
