I n Pacific Grove, a small town 150 miles south of San Francisco, sits Endorphin Productions Inc.(EPI), producers of high quality videos that have been seen on the History Channel, the Discovery Channel, and more. When most people think of California based industries, they are likely to think of movie production, but what sets EPI apart from other production houses is that EPI uses the beauty of California only minutes away from its doorstep in the movies it presents on its Web site, and they focus on the basics.
Endorphin Productionsi Web site has always been a popular spot for Net surfers looking for views of California, and the siteis high resolution content has been featured on Appleis QuickTime Web site. Little wonder, QuickTime and other Apple technologies are central to the creation of EPIis breathtaking movies.
"Iive been using Macs and QuickTime for about ten years," recalls Robert Franco, president of Endorphin Productions Inc., in an interview with TMO. "My first computer was a Kaypro. It had no RAM, no hard drive, and no GUI. Then I got an Atari Mega2 that had a whopping 2 MB of RAM! Since I make videos, the next and almost only other reasonable choice at the time, was an Amiga with VideoToaster. It crashed about twice an hour. Then came my first Mac, an 8100 Power PC, and I ran Media 100 starting with version 1.3. The new Mac was a revelation. A computer that worked! We were the first in our area to use a computer to edit and finish video rather that just offline video."
Macs, QuickTime, and other Apple product are at the core of EPIis creative environment, which has, in turn, allowed EPI to create first rate video for a cornucopia of clients.
"We now have around ten Macs in our studio including four dual processor machines," says Robert Franco. "We do everything on them from video editing, graphics, Web work, video compression, to RS 422 machine control. We edit many different kinds of video programing - local and regional TV commercials, corporate videos, QuickTime movies for the Web and CDs, DVDs, as well as broadcast TV. Over 80 Candid Camera TV shows for CBS were edited here on Macs. Our Mac-made videos have appeared on NBC, CBS, PBS, NHK Japan, Brazilian TV, The History Channel, The Learning Channel, etc. The experience Iive gained being in business over 15 years has gone into producing the videos that appear on our Web site. Apple Computer has used two of our videos on their MPEG 4 gallery as examples. We have no IT people here. Our main machines use OS X and Iive never experienced the level of reliability we have now."
With the announcement of Panther and the G5 Power Macs, many companies are looking forward to enhancing their production capabilities when the new machines and OS become available and EPI is not different. The company has recently purchased new Macs but is looking forward to getting G5 systems.
"Iim sure Final Cut Pro will scream on those machines. We do a lot of video compression which is another reason to get a faster machine," said Mr. Franco.
Whatis next for Endorphin Productions? How about offering even higher quality, large format video via the Internet? EPI is now offering 4 extreme videos, or Mega Movies, for your viewing pleasure. These videos require broadband access, a fairly new computer, and QuickTime 5 or 6 to view them.
"Our Mega Movies are a way of testing the waters to see if people are interested in seeing large videos on their computer screens," offers Mr. Franco. "If so, this could mark the beginning of making the computer a viable mainstream conduit of video entertainment. The computer would no longer be a curiosity showing little videos that are pixelated with bad sound and a jerky picture. When the TV in your living room is also a computer monitor and you can switch from an NBC show to an Endorphin movie and get the same viewer experience, the revolution will be complete. The reliability and quality of QuickTime will be at the heart of it. This is just the beginning as the Web grows up and broadband usage expands. There wonit be anymore i57 channels and nothing oni to paraphrase Bruce Springsteen."
Stop by Endorphin.com and take in some of the stunning videos available. Those of you with a fairly new computer, QuickTime 5 or 6, and a broadband connection to the Internet be sure to view all four Of Endorphin Productionsi Mega Movies.