Top Ten Cheap Mac Apps

Here is my Top Ten List of cheap or free mac apps. Listed in no particular order, since they are all equally great.

Voltaic HD $39.99 - AVCHD converter for those pesky MTS and M2TS files.

WhatSize $12.99 - Find out what files are hogging your hard-drive space.

Transmit $34.00 - Super fast FTP client with simple interface.

Transmission Free! - BitTorrent client for all your software pirating needs.

Monolingual Free! - Strip away unnecessary language packs and free up some hard-drive space.

Nicecast $40.00 - Turn your mac into a internet streaming radio station.

AppZaper $12.95 - The fastest and coolest way to uninstall an app.

Handbrake Free! - You've got DVD's, and you want to convert them for your mobile device.

MPEG Streamclip Free! - The video encoder that is faster than Apple's Compressor.

Super Duper Free! - Make a cloned backup of your hard-drive, protect yourself.

You're welcome America.

Face Off Debuts on Syfy

Face Off is a competition/elimination series exploring the world of special-effects make-up artists and the unlimited imagination that allows them to create amazing works of living art. The contestants are tasked with elaborate feature challenges including executing full body paint make up on models and creating their own horror villain. Not only will the show incorporate effects make-up, it will include a wide range of skill sets including prosthetics, 3-D design, sculpting, eye enhancers, casting and molding. Each episode involves incredible reveals of the competitors' finished work, and the drama of one contestant being sent home by the panel of expert and celebrity judges. It all culminates in one winner and one grand prize that will launch a career.

To determine who emerges victorious, Syfy has signed three-time Academy Award winner Ve Neill (Pirates of the Caribbean, Edward Scissorhands) and Hollywood veterans Glenn Hetrick (Heroes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer, The X-Files) and Patrick Tatopoulos (Underworld, Independence Day, Resident Evil: Extinction) as Face Off's judges. Actress McKenzie Westmore hosts the series, bringing poise and a rich history to her role as part of the Westmore family, whose name is synonymous with the makeup effects field.

Face Off is a production of Mission Control Media with Michael Agbabian and Dwight D. Smith serving as executive producers.

Series premiere Wednesday January 26 10/9C.

Tascam Portastudio for iPad

Way, way, way back in the day, I had a Tascam Portastudio 4 Track Recorder. It looked cool, but the sound quality was s%@t due to using analog cassettes. Fast forward to 2010, and we can now relive our 4 Track dreams, or nightmares, with the iPad version of the iconic Portastudio.

I gave my old Portastudio to Rebecca. I wonder if she still has it?

Pros: Retro Design, No Tape Noise.

Cons: No Bouncing Capability, Only Records One Track at a Time.

List Price: $9.99

Airgrade - Coolest App Ever!

If you thought that the vWave-Lite app was cool, then you are going to love this. Airgrade, from the wizards at the Pixel Farm, lets you wirelessly control the Lift, Gamma and Gain of an image on your computer directly from your iPhone.

The resulting look can be saved in the ASC format developed by the American Society of Cinematographers.

And best of all, it's FREE!!!

Lightworks Public Beta

Lightworks, the old dinosaur of video editing, has made it's first step to relevancy with it's public beta of it's updated software. Long forgotten, but not yet dead, Lightworks was used to edit hundreds of Hollywood movies. It recently fell out of favor, having been replaced by Avid and Final Cut Pro. Hopefully this new version will spark some new interest in this old industry favorite.

Currently it is available only on the PC. Things will get really interesting in late 2011, when it will also support Linux and OSX.

Click here to download Lightworks Public Beta.

Open source is good:)

a Christmas Tree

A short film about my Mom's lovely Christmas Tree. Featuring a custom built IGUS camera slider. Filmed during the Thanksgiving Holidays, 2010. A Very Special Holiday Bokeh:)

Music by: Vince Guaraldi

No color correction or post processing.

Shot on a hacked Panasonic GH1 at ISO 100 to 640, 23.976 fps, with a Canon FL 55 f1.2, Canon FL 50mm f3.5 Macro with Life Size Adapter, Rainbow Imaging FL/FD Adapter.

IGUS 660mm Camera Slider, Bogen 3026 Double Action Ball Joint Head, 717AH Fluid Head, Benro C-298M8 Carbon HVC Flexpod.

Sansdisk Extreme Class 10 SDHC Card.

Edited in Final Cut Pro.

See it in HD on Vimeo.

See it in HD on YouTube.

P.S. If you look real close you can see me in the reflections, but at least I had my pants on, unlike these guys:)

Steve Weiss of Zacuto

Steve Weiss, Emmy Award winning director, and the main man behind Zacuto, took the time to critique my Doritos commercial, "Catch?"

Here is what he said.

"Michael,

You asked for my critique it, here you go:

Concept:
good, cute/funny

Shots, framing and screen direction
Excellent, good use of the 16x9 aspect ratio

Picture:
great

Lighting:
nice, nothing exceptional. I understand you made this all by yourself for no money so in that case you are limited with what you can do lighting wise. You got a nice day or may have called it off on previous days, regardless, it worked.

Editing:
Extremely well done, you did an excellent job of condensing time. I didn't feel rushed through the story which I do often in spots.

Sound:
The woman's response seems off to me, she sounds like she is ADR'd and the sync doesn't match. Plus I'm not in love with her performance. I would have probably liked it better if she said, "Now that's cool" but this is a directors choice and I respect the choice you made.

Overall, I really liked it, especially considering that you were a one man band. Well done.

Steve"

Not too shabby:) Thanks Steve.

vWave-Lite iPad Control Surface

Okay, I never really wanted an iPad until now. Tangent Devices have just come out with a super cool free iPad app that simulates the touch and feel of it's $1,500.00 Wave panel. vWave-Lite is an amazing app that gives you the real time feedback and interface that colorists have been enjoying for years in their million dollar color grading suites.

The fact that this works at all is amazing, the fact that it is free is incredible.

Control Apple Color from your iPad

• vWave-Lite allows you to control Color as distributed in Apple's Final Cut Studio suite of tools.
• The three "virtual" trackerballs allow you to control the colour differential and masters in the Primary In, Secondaries and Primary Out rooms in Color, just like you would with our CP200 or Wave panels.
• You can use vWave-Lite at the same time as your CP200 or Wave but you do not need either of these panels for it to work.
• All the controls on vWave-Lite can be used simultaneously.
• Connection to Color is via wireless network.
• vWave-Lite is FREE to download and use from the Apple iTunes store!

Me and Bear

Here's a picture of me and Bear during day four of shooting for the Doritos "Crash The Super Bowl" contest.

He's so photogenic, me on the other hand, not so much:)

Photo by: Janet Keijser

"Catch?" - Doritos Commercial

My entry for the 2011 Doritos "Crash The Super Bowl" Contest.

Starring: Thomas Meaney, Erin Cooney and Bear
Written, Directed, Edited by: Michael Eggert
Sound Design by: Marty Vites
Voice Over by: Kevin Thomas
Music by: Grieg - Peer Gynt Suites
Special Thanks to Erin Vites & Janet Keijser

Shot on a hacked Panasonic GH1 at ISO 100, 23.976 fps, with a Canon FL 55 f1.2, Canon FL 35mm f2.5, Kiron 28mm f2.0, Rainbow Imaging FL/FD Adapter and Fader ND.

717AH Fluid Head, Benro C-298M8 Carbon HVC Flexpod.

Sansdisk Extreme Class 10 SDHC Card.

Audio recorded on a Zoom H1.

Edited in Final Cut Pro.

Audio mix in Garage Band.

Composited and color graded in After Effects.

You can see my commercial and other entries at the "Crash The Super Bowl" website.

You can also see it in HD on YouTube.

Simultania - Pool Water

I just participated in the Simultania Project. Where people from all over the world film something at exactly the same time. I was really tired this morning, so all I could muster was a shot of myself watering my pool.

You can see in the frame grab above the time stamp that I recorded to make sure that the video was simultaneous with everyone else who was participating.

Click here to see the whole one minute video in glorious HD on my Vimeo page.

You can find out more about the upcoming art installations and online gallery at the SimultaniaProject.

Can I go back to bed now?