Circumventing the Pesky DVD Region Code on Your Mac

One of the bizarrely distressing aspects about using a Mac to watch DVDs is the 5 time limit that you can switch the region code of your DVD player. Although less and less of an issue now that we can download movies, it’s still annoying when I want to watch a DVD that was manufactured in another country.

Down to my last allowed region switch on my Mac, I had to make a commitment to the US region 1 which effectively locked me out of watching any of my foreign purchased DVDs ever again on my laptop. So I sought a way to circumvent the security measure. … Continue Reading

Why Macs are the Best Computers for Period Sensitive Movie Scenes

Showing the passage of time in a movie without hitting the viewer over the head with obviousness is a subtle art. Too little visual period reference and your viewer is lost in time. Too much, and you alienate your viewer. And even though you may announce the year with a text graphic, the scenes need to visually reinforce what you declare. Unfortunately visually creating a period can be a challenge for low budgets so your choice of time marking items is somewhat critical when funds are tight. … Continue Reading

Why haven’t I heard of this before? Optimize your Mac for Photographic work

I’ve just stumbled upon this site that seems to answer all of a photographer’s questions about how to optimize their Mac computer to work most effectively with photo-centered applications. The Mac Performance Guide is really up to date too – I found it after noticing a mention of optimizing your mac for Photoshop CS5! You can even buy pre-configured systems from them that are pre-optimized for you.

Now, if only he would do this for Final Cut we’d be off to the races

Aperture 3 reviews round-up

Apple released Aperture 3 about a month ago now. So what’s been the reception among software reviewers? Photocine News went a-hunting to find a cross-section of reaction.

One noticeable thing about Aperture 3 is its increased consumer-friendliness. Features that started life in iPhoto, such as Faces, Places, and direct posting to Facebook and Flickr, have now appeared in the pro software.

… Continue Reading