16 04 2004
Yesterday was a bit of a highs-and-lows kinda day. It started off with me bringing in some new hardware for work. We’re finally upgrading the video editing suite. Here’s what we’ve got after all the upgrades are done:
- Pentium 4 2.8 GHz - 800 MHz bus, Hyperthreading, 1 MB cache and Prescott 90 nm core
- 1 GB of Corsair Dual-channel DDR400 - the RAM is rated up to 500 MHz, so I could logically overclock the machine to 3.5 GHz
- Asus P4P800 Deluxe motherboard with SATA, RAID and onboard FireWire
- Antec Case and 350W PSU
- 80 GB + 120 GB hard drives - both Western Digital with 8MB cache
- Matrox RT.100 Xtreme video capture and accelerator board
- Dual flatscreen CRTs - Samsung 753DF
The point is, I’ve built this system to be completely void of bottlenecks. The only thing I could do better is get some Serial ATA hard drives, but the current two drives will be coming out of the old system… so buying new hard drive(s) would add another few hundred to the already steep price tag.
Unfortunately, the hardware came about a week too late. We’re already ramping up for Livewire’s busiest time of the year. Yesterday was filled with frustration after frustration. So by the time I had to go downtown for my final Video and Sound Editing I class, I was in a pretty miserable mood.
Compounded on that was the knowledge that I COULD be going downtown to watch the preview showing of “The Punisher” with the tickets I won. Additionally, everyone I tried to give the tickets to had to turn them down for the same reason I did - last week of classes. So, one day after the fact, the prize is still proudly punctured with a push-pin and displayed on the corkboard at home. Wasted.
After I got marked for my less-than-inspired edit of a music video (live performance of Eric Andersen doing “You Can’t Relive The Past”) we all went to this hole of a bar just off the Ryerson campus. I can’t remember the name, but it’s a block-and-a-half East of Yonge St. on Dundas. There’s a bar on the main floor (where the patrons look really depressed every time I’ve passed it) and a “drinking room” upstairs. We caught the last period of the Canadiens’ 5-1 slaughter over Boston and waited 10 full minutes for a waitress. Finally, I flagged the waitress with a frantically waving arm from across the room. I didn’t see what she did after that, but one of my classmates at the same table said he could read that the next words out of her lips weren’t pleasant.
She came over, inconvenienced, and took our orders. By the time Alan (the class Prof) showed up, I was ready to order another pint of Keith’s. The waitress we had on the second round couldn’t care less for my existence on the planet, but that was a far better reception than the first one gave - who seemed to hate me.
This part of the evening was a real high for me, and even made up for missing the movie. We bumped back and forth between round-table discussions, and asking Alan specific questions about The Industry or his own career. Apparently, he’s yet another Film Industry veteran who got his start thanks to Roger Corman.
Considering the fact that I’m looking at going into editing myself, this was also a perfect opportunity to answer all the minute questions about BECOMING an editor. There was another guy there (can’t remember his name) who seemed to be in the same boat as I… 50% learning Everything I Ever Wanted To Know About Editing and 50% getting face-time with someone who might be able to help a newbie’s career at some later time.
Last night was part of what I was hoping for by taking these classes. I even came out and started NETWORKING during this term! Anyone who knows me understands how averted I am to meeting new people. I just don’t tend to take the initiative. However, this first term I got to know a few people. And in The Industry, that’s pretty much essential to attaining any degree of success.
So, all-in-all this was a very good term. I’ve learned a few things and made a few connections…
…looks like there might be something to this whole Film Industry… Thing.
