Avid Media Composer 5 is out, and it is quite an upgrade.
I won't go through the list of improvements, others have done this here, here and here.
Over at the Editblog is a cool post linking yet even more reviews and posts!

My favorite improvements are the smart tool and the AMA architecture (reviewed in the links above).

Two little (major) improvements:
The first thing I noticed when editing is that while scrubbing the timeline, the cursor kept "snapping" to the IN points.
(This can be disabled temporarily by pressing COMMAND and scrubbing or permanently as show in the pic)

Also, one thing that really bugged me in MC4 was the default "Insert" into timeline with no way to change this... It was a damn hassle with lots of back-and-forths... Now finally, there's a way to select the default behavior. Ahhhhh, relief.

This is a great upgrade by an already great product.

Congratulations to the whole AVID team for placing a lot of thought and effort into this!
:)

To me, the most crucial part of any movie, are the first 10 minutes. If the opening act doesn't work, then why should I care what happens next, right?

In the book Aristotle's Poetics for Screenwriters, the author Michael Tierno states that all (great) movies have a simple question that needs to be answered by the end of the movie, and that this question should be planted by the beginning of the film.

I agree 100%.

I used to use the "sling-shot" method (wish I could remember who coined the phrase): What happens in the first part of your story is what is going to drive the rest of the movie. The whole weight of the first act has to thrust forward the rest of the movie.

Except that it didn't work for the biopic I am writing.

I found that this "Question/Answer" method would work much, much better than what I had.

I have no conclusion for this post, but I do have several examples from this "Question/Answer" method:

Rocky: Will Rocky succeed in "going the distance" with the champion (against incredible odds). Answer: Yes

The Shawshank Redemption: Will Andy Dufresne escape from Shawshank? Answer: Yes.

Scent of a Woman: Will Lt. Col. Frank Slade succeed in killing himself (after a great trip in New York). Answer: No (and that's ok). It's OK because the question gets answered. They closed the loop, and we got a great movie.

PS: It's also the job of a great filmmaker, to not only answer the question, but offer so much more.

Great book by Michael Tierno

How many times have you been caught up in life and no longer are following that seemingly distant dream of being a film-maker?

I have. Constantly.

As of lately, I've had a lot of work (work = $$$ = food = happy family), and many times I put off my screenwriting for a while (a week or so) and when it's time to come back and write, it is incredibly challenging because of several things:

• My inspiration is drained
• My momentum is lost
• Other stuff on my "to-do" list

One of the best things that has kept me focused are books about writing. Not the textbook kind, but more of the inspirational kind. I generally despise books that "tell" you how to do a screenplay or how to write. I prefer books with a deeper understanding of the spirit of a script.

Many times it's just enough to read one chapter, the fire inside my heart is lit and the ideas start flowing.

The main difference between a professional and an amateur is that a pro will make stuff happen even when he/she doesn't feel like it. A pro makes inspiration happen, while amateurs wait for the right moment (which may never come).
-Paraphrased from writer Seth Godin

Happy writing!

Just because there is a plethora of information available online, it doesn't make it good!

I've found most of my information on good ol' books!

It's amazing to me how many people overlook the gold that can be found at your local bookstore.

I've learned everything from cinematography, to writing, to editing, web design, financing, inspiration and all sorts of very useful stuff just by hanging out at the barnes and noble. (clean restrooms help too ;)

Go to your bookstore and ask for the film section, you won't regret it!

Back in the day, I use to subscribe to the idea that I "needed" an expensive camera case.
It's a great idea, however I didn't want to spend more than $200 on a "case".
Besides my cheap-ness, I was also scared that my camera could be stolen.
When a thief sees an expensive camera case, the obvious deduction is that there must be an expensive camera inside.
I just cannot afford to let my Panasonic HVX-200 be stolen!
It is what puts food on my family's table, and the occasional beer in my belly.
That being said, when I bought my HVX, I decided to make a case with the following:

• Traveling case (I got mine at wal-mart for $10)
• Foam (I got it from a delivery package)
• Soft/thick cloth (also from wal-mart)

The cool thing is that it doesn't look like you're carrying anything important and it doesn't look bad either.
I can go freelancing, still look professional AND nobody will want to steal a regular-looking bag.

Note: I put one foam on the bottom, and two foams on the sides.