Movie Production Relies on iChat
April 15th, 2008 at 3:00 PM - News by Bryan Chaffin
While many people might expect to find movie makers praising MacBook Pros or Final Cut Pro, at least one production team has found iChat to be the killer app they canit do without. In his Apple a Day column for the Baltimore Sun, David Zeiler tells the story of how iChat holds the editing process together for one film production team, helps with additional dialog recording (ADR), and keeps families separated by thousands of miles connected.
Mr. Zeiler was originally chasing down a photo of Generation Kill writer David Simon using a Mac, and found the iChat connection when talking to Greg Spence, who is managing the post-production process for the mini-series.
"We use iChat religiously in our cutting rooms, as do most sound and picture editors and assistants," Mr. Spence told the Sun. "Sometimes it is as short-range as a person in an intense screening or editorial meeting sending messages to someone just outside the door, or it can be as distant as across the globe."
Even more interesting is the use of iChat to manage the ADR process. "We sign on iChat, set up cameras, the director talks to the talent, they record the line," Mr. Spence said. "After each line the recordist simply drops it into the iChat window and we pull it down in Los Angeles. Lots of low-budget shows do this now and save up to $1,200 per hour."
Less surprising is that Mr. Spence personally uses iChat to keep in touch with his family when separated by work. Read more in the current Apple a Day column at the Sun.
Recent Headlines - Updated November 22nd
- Fri, 7:07 PM
- Games - Soccer Sim Championship Manager 2010 Released for Mac
- 6:47 PM
- Games - EA Publishes Original Monopoly for iPhone
- 6:15 PM
- News - Original Apple I on Ebay for $50K, w/Letter from Steve Jobs
- 6:11 PM
- Games - New iPhone Games: Secret of the Lost Cavern Ep 1, New DJ Nights, More
- 5:47 PM
- Games - Star Trek D-A-C Game Headed to the Mac Next Month
- 4:57 PM
- Product News - TidBITS Releases “Take Control of Syncing Data in Snow Leopard”
- 4:26 PM
- John Martellaro's Blog - Particle Debris (week ending 11/20) Stationery Pads Go Poof
- 2:59 PM
- Free on iTunes - Musée du Louvre, Art Lite, SketchBook Mobile X and More.
- 1:50 PM
- Deal Brothers - Acer P215H bmid 21.5” Widescreen LCD Monitor: $139.99
- 11:24 AM
- TMO Appearances - Jeff Gamet Shares More Holiday Gift Ideas on MacJury
- 10:43 AM
- Product News - Cocktail 4.5 for Leopard Adds QuickLook Cache Clearing
- 10:06 AM
- News - Hack Enables Mac OS X 10.6.2 on Netbooks
The Mac Observer Reader Specials
- TypeStyler For Mac OS X is Now Shipping! Download The Free Fully Functional 60 Day Tryout at www.typestyler.com
OWC: Plug & Play Hardware RAID up to 8.0TB. High Performance, Data Redundant Solutions. FireWire 800, FireWire 400, USB2, or eSATA. Hot Swappable Bays, Data Rates over 200MB/s. Click here
If you're using a Mac, then you've gotta check out Full Tilt Poker for Mac. This Full Tilt Poker bonus code does the unthinkable, it actually rewards!For the latest Apple products use Ciao, a price comparison website, to find laptops like MacBook Air. Then find the best prices on MP3 players and use our comparison tool to evaluate mobile phones like the Apple iPhone.
Laptop Hardware Provided by TechRestore - Overnight Mac & iPod Repairs.


The Evolved Canon Digital Rebel XSi 12MP Camera: $583.03 Delivered - $16.00 Drop
Panasonic Lumix 10MP Digital Camera: $275.95 Delivered - Additional $6 Drop!