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<title>bentreston.com</title><link>http://www.bentreston.com/index.html</link><description>blog</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2011 Ben Treston</dc:rights><dc:date>2012-03-17T14:45:00+00:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Sat, 15 Jan 2011 10:59:13 +0000</lastBuildDate><item><title>Total Upheaval</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><category>production</category><dc:date>2012-03-17T14:45:00+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/total_upheaval.html#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/total_upheaval.html#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Looking back over the previous posts, it has amazed me how so much has changed and up-ended in such a short time - WRC television went from ESPN to nothing at all, F1 is now split between the BBC and Sky and yet work and demand for automotive video content continues to thrive like never before.


There is so much to say on all of the above in individual posts however the irony seems that as a premier motorsport spectator (at least the in the UK) it is now nigh on impossible to watch both premier categories on terrestrial TV. ...  With the F1, a lot of people in the know I work with, say that Sky has been spending obscene amounts of money on the coverage compared to the BBC - which is not surprising, however there was nothing fundamentally wrong with the BBC coverage in the first place. 

...With the World Rally Championship and the collapse of CSI and North One Sport, this has caused the television coverage to become a piecemeal effort that is now the responsibility of the rallies themselves, which is totally unfair - even though the coverage has been adequate, I now wish for the days of coverage on ESPN, let alone on Dave or even better Channel 4. 

...And yet, with the turmoil for your armchair motorsport fan, I am run off my feet with work - the hunger for content still remains, however the majority of work I do is not for a broadcaster, it is direct from manufacturer/team/client to fan or the public.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>What ever happened to the user experience?</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>tech</category><dc:date>2011-11-27T16:19:16+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/what_ever_happened_to_the_user_experience.html#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/what_ever_happened_to_the_user_experience.html#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Now finally getting a chance to read &ldquo;Steve Jobs&rdquo;, the biography of the late Apple co-founder it has made me very curious, not necessarily about Apple - rather it&rsquo;s competitors and their way of working.


...It becomes more and more apparent throughout the book, that time and time again, Apple&rsquo;s fastidious focus on user experience completely catches a lot of competitors &ldquo;flat-footed&rdquo;. ...  Surely, making hardware or software means that the user should be your number one priority - they are your customer, your word of mouth and more importantly, if treated right, your customer again the next time.


...Dealing with complex on screen menus, incompatible remotes, multiple confusing inputs - I can see why Steve and Apple felt like they might be able to do something there. 

...(hint - smooth and seamlessly) It is going to take some new innovation here in the TV space to show how it should be done, and I&rsquo;m afraid it is going to be the big A to drag them kicking and screaming into the future&hellip; again.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Citroen Championship Conundrum</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><dc:date>2011-09-08T21:35:58+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/the_citroen_championship_conundrum.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/the_citroen_championship_conundrum.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It has been a while since my last blog entry due to very hectic filming schedules, but I thought it best to raise an important point as we enter the final third of the WRC 2011 season.


...This is a major question that Citroen Racing are going to have to answer soon, as they are starting to run into a sticky situation that was exacerbated in Rally Germany this year, with the upstart Sebastien Ogier taking victory from the sure-bet Sebastien Loeb.


Admittedly, the decision of who to let win the event was written off when to everyone&rsquo;s surprise Sebastien Loeb had a puncture on the last stage on Saturday - therefore negating the effect of team orders as to who was to slow and let the other pass. 

...However late last year it was now becoming apparent that the student no longer thought of himself as the student anymore, he wanted to be an equal.


This mentality (and the fact that it is believed there was no &ldquo;number one&rdquo; driver status agreed) means that you have two drivers looking to best each other on every stage at every event. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Final Cut Pro X Furore</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>production</category><category>tech</category><dc:date>2011-07-06T17:26:18+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/final_cut_pro_X_furore.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/final_cut_pro_X_furore.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Now that the dust has settled a little on the launch of Apple&rsquo;s Final Cut Pro X - it&rsquo;s time to take stock of the situation with a clear head.


...When Apple first debuted the preview of FCPX at NAB this year, editors went wild for the speed and features demonstrated - now there is a significant amount of pro users who are saying they will jump ship and move to Avid or even Premiere.


...Of course people would have been upset, but at least they would not find this out at launch and then witness the rather surprising backlash that occurred.


Final Cut Pro X is a fundamental re-write and re-think of media management, non-linear editing and full use of all the core technologies in OS X - I am not surprised that there were going to be a few bumps on the way, perhaps the surprise is how loud and public they have been.


No professional editor would ever adopt a brand new piece of software mid project, so at the moment the prudent idea would be to assess the software and see if it is worth getting on board in future. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>This just got real... From Playstation to racing circuit</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><dc:date>2011-06-16T22:24:39+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/from_playstation_to_racing_circuit.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/from_playstation_to_racing_circuit.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Having just spent two days working on the filming for Nissan&rsquo;s GT5 Academy Programme, it was very interesting to see something a few years ago I thought may actually turn out to be a reality - the search for a racing driver via your gaming console.


Drivers from around Europe were selected after competing on Grand Turismo 5 on their Playstation 3 - they had to set lap times and the fastest from specific areas in the EU were all put through a series of challenges culminating in the tasks I witnessed - which involved tests of strength, endurance and of course, racing.


...Seeing them get into a Nissan GT4 racing car today and go very quickly over the Stowe circuit at Silverstone really made me wonder if all of the practice on the PS3 had paid off - the concepts of late braking, apex and car control all derived from a game. 

...I am sure the adrenaline was running high, compared to being on the sofa - and as a few of them learnt, there is no reset button to put your car gracefully back on the circuit again.


Of course, nothing can beat track time in a real car from a young age, but indeed seeing the commitment of all of the drivers present gives real thought about how realistic some driving games are getting and how this can filter down to driving in the real world. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Mini WRC&#x2c; maximum impact</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><dc:date>2011-05-17T20:08:52+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/mini_wrc_maximum_impact.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/mini_wrc_maximum_impact.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It was with great interest that I was able to check out the debut of the Mini World Rally Car (the first official outing on UK soil) at Cornbury Park in Oxfordshire over the weekend.


This car has been long rumoured in world rally circles and last year it broke cover, with a very strong driver line-up of Kris Meeke and Dani Sordo.


...However as soon as the car launched itself into the asphalt stage (on gravel tyres) it was apparent that it is extremely nimble, agile and pointed. 

...The biggest win may not be on the stages just yet, the buzz around this car and the column inches it has generated has been a huge PR coup for Mini / BMW, and this is very promising not just for them, but bringing the much needed attention to the WRC in general.   This season has been the best in years, and throwing a new car into the mix (albeit briefly), has really had the maximum impact the WRC needs.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Final Cut Pro X - A leap into the unknown</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>production</category><category>tech</category><dc:date>2011-05-04T22:59:40+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/final_cut_pro_x_thoughts.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/final_cut_pro_x_thoughts.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[With the amount of pre-event leaks and whispers in the post production business it would have been a huge disappointment if they had not shown anything, but they took the wraps off the new baby with a room full of overly excited editors to witness it.


...Sure, the basic window layout and some of the buttons and controls borrow from it&rsquo;s consumer sibling, however rather than iMovie feeding Final Cut Pro, I think it was the early builds of Final Cut Pro X that internally at Apple fed iMovie, and now we have the results of their labour to view. 

...The biggest requests I have been wanting (Cocoa, 64-bit, background rendering) were all shown off in full glory, and better yet there was mentions of Open CL and Grand Central, so finally now Apple is now laying the pro-app groundwork for the future, and laying it down properly.


There looks like a learning curve for sure - I don&rsquo;t use clip linking and unlinking a lot, however in FCP X this now looks like a really easy way of sub-sequencing and seems very intuitive, being able to nest sets of clips deeper and deeper so you have a very compact looking timeline. 

...It&rsquo;s a really new way of working so I imagine those resistant to change may be scared off or angry that it&rsquo;s now how it was - but that is the price of progress and this feels like a massive change in the right direction for Final Cut Pro. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Fire and Ice</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><dc:date>2011-02-22T21:13:05+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/fire_and_ice.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/fire_and_ice.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The WRC started 2011 in magnificent style with Rally Sweden getting a thick layer of snow, but more importantly a new layer of competition thanks to the new 1.6 litre turbo World Rally Cars. 

...Seeing small gaps and fights up and down the field made for a great event, and this surely means great things for the future of the WRC now - if only people in the UK could see it.


Having just recently got back from filming the F1 testing in a warmer Barcelona, it was also good to see the pit and paddock back into action again for the new season. 

...Lotus (the green one) was probably the most bubbly team in the paddock and it was good to see them enjoying their time at the test.


It looks to be a very interesting year, and yet I am far more excited about the new WRC regulations than the F1 - time for the underdog to come out of the shadows? ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>DVD = Development Very Difficult...</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>tech</category><category>production</category><dc:date>2011-02-02T20:43:09+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/dvd_development_very_difficult.html#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/dvd_development_very_difficult.html#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It has been a little while since I have had to get involved with DVD authoring directly at work, and to be honest I am truly surprised that it is still the same frustrating, infuriating process it was before.


...When dealing with a recent DVD for a client, DVD Studio Pro did not properly recognise a menu asset imported, which stopped us in our tracks, so it meant over to Encore, which had no problem with the same asset.


With more clients requesting Blu Ray discs, Encore seems like the natural solution, as you can set every new project as a Blu Ray project and then target either a DVD or Blu Ray disc in the Build stage - this also means you can import H.264 high quality files in, and let Encore handle the transcoding to MPEG2 for the DVD version.


However this elegant solution crashes and burns when you try to burn the DVD version, as for some unknown reason, the pixel aspect ratio is not right (the video shows black lines on each side of the video). 

...Creating buttons and overlays in both DVD Studio Pro and Encore is a exercise in sheer frustration as well - I actually have to take about six steps per button in Encore to get the overlay to highlight a layer, as well as having the text of the button included.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>WRC TV&#x27;s deathmarch towards ESPN</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><dc:date>2011-01-26T20:46:30+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/wrc_tv_deathmarch_to_espn.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/wrc_tv_deathmarch_to_espn.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[With the news now settling about the WRC&rsquo;s new deal with ESPN for UK TV coverage in 2011 it is becoming apparent that this decision is going to be a huge step backwards for the viewing public in the UK.


Everyone understands that we don&rsquo;t have the former glory days of the World Rally Championship in the UK, with McRae and Burns fighting each other at the last round in Wales for the world championship - sadly those days are becoming a distant memory.   That time was also the glory days for TV coverage, with Channel 4 offering a highlights package on each day of the event with a &lsquo;virtual studio&rsquo; and good a good commentary panel with Penny Mallory, Robbie Head and Jon Desborough.


With the sad premature passing of Richard Burns, and the late Colin McRae not being a front runner with the new generation of WRC machinery that came in with Sebastien Loeb - the UK&rsquo;s position as a producer of world-class rally driver was fading fast and sure enough so did the TV coverage to go with it. 


...One would assume that these improvements were leading to a renewal of this deal, but late last year, it was becoming apparent that the deal with Dave was not going to be renewed in 2011. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>iTunes and Safari - An integration too far?</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>tech</category><dc:date>2011-01-17T21:12:11+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/itunes_and_safari_an_integration_too_far.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/itunes_and_safari_an_integration_too_far.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[We won&rsquo;t know until Apple does it, and if they do it would have to be done in a way that is  beneficial for both apps and I can&rsquo;t see that from here. 

...Not so much 64-bit out of the starting blocks but as people&rsquo;s iTunes libraries are growing larger and larger this may end up being one of the largest folders on someone&rsquo;s Mac or PC, so therefore a 64-bit rewrite is not out of the question. 

...Of course both iTunes and Safari use the underlying WebKit rendering engine (and share this with other apps as well) which actually means Apple already has millions of WebKit browsers already installed on PC&rsquo;s as iTunes - but are people going to want to browse the web though it as well?   I find it odd that while on the iTunes store or App Store links are not parsed as clickable URLs (no doubt a security measure for them) but is that a sign that this is looming?


...Some even argue that iTunes should be split up, so the stores are separate apps (al la Mac App Store) and perhaps even syncing is done though iSync (an idea which I like) as combining all functions is becoming a little cumbersome and creating a monster of an app with a UI and performance limitations.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>New Website</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>personal</category><dc:date>2011-01-15T11:38:26+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/new_website_online.html#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/new_website_online.html#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Well hooray, I finally get around to putting together a new website that is remotely up to date with what has been happening.   I guess that is a big &ldquo;tick&rdquo; off the list for 2011..   Of course there is only a few things here to start, but there is sure to be more to follow as time goes on.   Finally getting my video hosted properly (sorry MobileMe..) and there will be plenty more blog updates to come, so stay tuned folks.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Ford WRC at Autosport International</title><dc:creator>Ben Treston</dc:creator><category>auto</category><dc:date>2011-01-13T11:26:30+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/ford_wrc_at_autosport.html#unique-entry-id-0</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.bentreston.com/blog/files/ford_wrc_at_autosport.html#unique-entry-id-0</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It was great to see Mikko Hirvonen at Autosport International the other day while filming for a client.   The Fiesta WRC also looked suitably mean - can&rsquo;t wait to see it in action on the stages.   Of course he said that he is really up for the fight, and I really do hope he is, after his terrible 2010.   Both him and Jari deserve a dominant year for a change.   We shall wait and see after Sweden if this might be case in 2011.]]></content:encoded></item></channel>
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