DEFIANT is a hybrid publication, a little bit like a magazine, a little bit like a YouTube or Vimeo channel and also like a TV show. We hope to use all the best bits from those media types and present a weekly newscast for our professional video industry. As DEFIANT is weekly we will have a definite news agenda but also present interviews that you’ll be able to read in our monthly print and digital issues. Welcome to Issue 1 – we hope you enjoy it.
09-15 APRIL 2020
THE WEEKLY VIDEO NEWSCAST FROM DEFINITION MAGAZINE
The tech that keeps us working REMOTE TRIBES This week’s remote workers
roduction has stopped, which impacts editing, grading, VFX and associated industries. But the ‘content without capture’ worlds like animation carry on. Remote working has accelerated and so has the technology behind it, which is why we’re dedicating our second issue to the evolving tech keeping us working and the brilliant people using it...
JULIAN MITCHELL
04 THE WALL OF TRIBE Our tribute to the remote workers in the industry 06 REMOTE WORKING – COLOUR The colourists at Cheat Colour and Finishing have their blackouts ready 08 REMOTE WORKING – VFX Discover how and why Jellyfish Pictures is ahead of the remote curve 10 HOW TO WORK REMOTELY Escape Technology lays down your remote working options 12 GEAR MAKER’S DIARY Brad Hurndell from Shotover and Stephen Strong from Quasar on life in the shadow of Covid-19 14 REMOTE WORKING – FRAME IO Meet the ‘workflow from home’ series
ABOVE A glimpse into Amber Reohorn’s home office. The Satore Studio business co-ordinator keeps her remote working area pretty tech free. satorestudio.com
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@definitionmags @definitionmags @definitionmagazine
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REMOTE WORK ING | THE TR I BE ASSEMBLES
ABOVE Lee Clappison at Suite TV is grading using Resolve 16 on a MacBook Pro
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THE TR I BE ASSEMBLES | REMOTE WORK ING
ABOVE Manuel Reyes, VFX supervisor at Jellyfish Pictures – not a merman
ABOVE Chief colourist at Cheat Toby Tomkins. His work light levels below
Thanks to Oblong for helping put these images together. They’re a collection of international freelance VFX artists based in London.
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REMOTE WORK ING | GRAD I NG AND F I N I SH I NG GRADING STUDIOS HAVE LIGHT TESTS Remotely controlling a grading studio has the extra challenge of managing light sources
INTERV I EW BY JUL IAN MI TCHELL
heat is an award-winning colour grading and finishing studio in East London. The company is now fully remote with team members working from their various homes. To make this happen, Toby Tomkins has had to fast-track his plan to increase the company’s remote technology.
ABOVE Studio in work mode. Right: Tomkins at home
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GRAD I NG AND F I N I SH I NG | REMOTE WORK ING
ABOVE Toby Tomkins of Cheat Colour and Finishing Studios in the UK
TOBY TOMKINS Tomkins is founder and senior colourist at Cheat. Some of his notable founding projects include Ellie Goulding’s Love Me Like You Do , which went on to become the most watched music video of 2015, an Amstel commercial that gained him a nomination for Best Colourist at British Arrows, and a music video for Izzy Bizu’s Give Me Love , which got him a nomination for Best Colourist at UKMVA. His work on award-winning films include The Machine and Stutterer, which were lauded at Raindance and the Academy Awards respectively.
We have three remote working approaches, then generally we go for a hybrid solution ”
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REMOTE WORK ING | AN IMAT ION
THE ANIMATION STUDIO THAT SAW IT COMING Jellyfish Pictures had already been through the process of virtualising its studios when Covid-19 struck ABOVE Jellyfish Pictures was already working on a major animation feature from Dreamworks
INTERV I EW BY JUL IAN MI TCHELL
did see signs of something approaching through the activity on the financial market. That’s when he took action.
hile Jellyfish’s Phil Dobree didn’t see the TED Talk from Bill Gates warning of the chances of a global pandemic, he
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AN IMAT ION | REMOTE WORK ING
ABOVE Jellyfish Pictures Phil Dobree speaking yesterday from his main studio in London, rather ironically
Entirely virtual means no computers in that studio; it was all PC over IP with a thin client on the desk ”
PHIL DOBREE Dobree co-founded Jellyfish Pictures in 2001 and has overseen its growth to become one of the most respected independent companies in the industry. During his career, he has worked in all genres of content creation including film, commercials, animation, games and broadcast TV, winning multiple Bafta, VES, RTS and Emmy awards. Dobree has overseen the development of pioneering cloud technology, resulting in seamless hybrid rendering solutions and the virtualisation of all Jellyfish studios, a first for the industry.
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REMOTE WORK ING | A TECHNOLOGY BREAKDOWN ESCAPE TECHNOLOGY’S REMOTE TECH Reseller Escape Technology has been installing remote working systems for years. If you have questions, then listen up!
INTERV I EW BY JUL IAN MI TCHELL
f you haven’t yet looked into remote working, you should have. Lee Danskin and Jason Jenner from Escape Technology are here to help explain the
basics and what your options are. The fact is this global health crisis has quickened the pace of remote working technology massively, making this a must-listen.
ABOVE The company’s CTO Lee Danskin and commercial director Jason Jenner chat yesterday to Julian Mitchell, DEFIANT editor
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A TECHNOLOGY BREAKDOWN | REMOTE WORK ING
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GEAR MAKER ’ S DIARY | SHOTOVER & QUASAR SC I ENCE TECHNOLOGY IN COVID-19’S SHADOW Our new series on manufacturers’ lives under coronavirus begins with New Zealand’s Shotover and US’s Quasar Science
INTERV I EWS BY CHELSEA FEARNLEY
ABOVE Shotover’s CEO Brad Hurndell
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SHOTOVER & QUASAR SC I ENCE | GEAR MAKER ’ S DIARY
STEPHEN STRONG
Strong is the CEO of Quasar Science, an LED lighting company founded by light technicians. Its first product was a light bulb, in the company’s signature tubular shape, but was soon favoured by gaffers as a fixture. This prompted Quasar Science to evolve and bring out products with features archetypal of a modern lighting fixture, like its Rainbow light in 2017.
ABOVE Quasar Science’s CEO Stephen Strong
This has given the planet a chance to breath ”
BRAD HURNDELL Hurndell is the CEO of Kiwi company, Shotover Camera Systems. Since launching more than 12 years ago, the company has been nominated and awarded for its continuous commitment to innovation. In 2018, Hurndell and three other design engineers won an Academy Award for the concept, design, engineering and implementation of the Shotover K1.
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FEATURE | FRAME . IO
In a new series, Frame.io explains how its collaboration systems can keep you working – wherever you are A WORKFLOW FROM HOME
SETTING UP AT HOME: youtu.be/LtXX2zWBpio
AIR GAP EDITING: youtu.be/koxNz2EEeZw
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FRAME . IO | FEATURE
A REMOTE POST HOUSE: youtu.be/a109aR0kVk8
OFFLINE TEAM EDITING: youtu.be/M6rHlFIDKHo
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