MEL FX Labs

In two days I will start my internship with Makeup FX Laboratories!  This is a dream come true, working side by side with the geniuses who have inspired me since my childhood.  Don't know exactly what my duties will be, but I'll be learning the trade every day.

As an added benefit, I am familiar with the basic processes for most of the things they do at MEL FX--sculpting, molding, casting, painting, vacuum forming, and the like.  Heck, I'll have a half-hour conversation with you on the benefits of latex or silicone mold rubbers and the nuances of both... I love talking shop.

Mondays and Tuesdays, Hello Hollywood!

Rock DJ

Robbie Williams' music video Rock DJ won the MTV Special FX Award in 2001. Great makeup FX.  Definitely worth a look, but I warn you its a tad disturbing. NSFW.

Masters FX

These are the geniuses who brought you the creature design and makeup FX for Slither, Pathfinder, Elektra, First Contact, The Adams Family and Predator. Their slideshow is definitely worth a look.

http://www.mastersfx.com/

Warning: NSFW.

DV converters

If you're running a PC, finding a box to convert RCA to USB/FW800 is easy.  There's billions ranging from $49.95 to $5699.95.  Just take your pick.  

I checked out customer reviews for www.provantage.com and decided they seemed trustworthy. Ordered the ADS Pyro DV box from them, only to find that it claims to work on "PC and MAC"...but a month [!?!] later when it arrived, I found that it only works with the old Macs. Lame

If you're trying to import into FCP on a Mac, you've got few options.  The Apple Store pretty much sells every box that works, and they can fit them all on half a shelf.  The options are even more slim if you're running an Intel Mac.  I finally settled on Pinnacle's Dazzle for Mac.  At $99.95, it seemed like a good deal.  Plugged it in and installed the software...so easy to set up.  But unfortunately FCP would not recognize it.  So I tried the software: easiest capture program I've ever used.  4 clicks and you're done.  It captures in MPEG-4, which isn't too shabby, but I would like more options.  .MOV files don't need rendering in FCP like MPEG-4 files do.  Adjustable a/v quality settings are completely lacking, and it could use a few more ports in the back.  But that's what you get when you buy the 'home video' product instead of the $4k 'professional' one.

Great product for what it claims to do: make home video importing very easy.  But darn it, I'm too picky for that.