TheFourthRail.com loves “Mastermind Excello”

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Don MacPherson of TheFourthRail.com has reviewed “Amazing Fantasy” #15, the anthology comic book featuring stories from six Marvel writers. Here’s what he has to say about “Mastermind Excello,” written by Greg Pak:

The shining star of this issue is Greg Pak’s “Mastermind Excello,” featuring a genius teen’s efforts to live life on the lam, out of the hands of those who would try to control him and put his brain to nefarious use. Pak cleverly compares this being of pure brains to a being of pure brawn, but despite being at opposite ends of the power spectrum, they have a lot in common. Miyazawa’s art is a great choice for the property, as the artist captures the main character’s youth and almost mischievous nature quite well. More importantly, he also manages to turn his wholly non-visual powers into a dazzling display (no doubt thanks to some direction from the writer).

“Amazing Fantasy” #15 goes on sale Wednesday, November 30. Marvel will run an online poll to determine which of the characters will get his or her own miniseries — feel free to vote for “Mastermind Excello” at Marvel.com.

In FCP, “Color Corrector” better than “Brightness and Contrast” for adjusting brightness and contrast

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While working in Final Cut Pro on a new short film, I discovered that, strangely enough, the “Color Corrector” tool works far better than the “Brightness and Contrast” filter for adjusting the brightness and contrast of an image.
The Brightness and Contrast filter can be found at Effects > Video Filters > Image Control > Brightness and Contrast (Bezier). I could use the Brightness setting to lighten an image, but the image would appear washed out. And when I used the Contrast setting to fill in the blacks, the colors would begin to blow and the image would begin to look almost solarized.
The Color Corrector tool can be found at Effects > Video Filters > Color Correction > Color Corrector. Tweaking with the “Whites,” “Mids” and “Blacks” settings gave me the kind of control I needed to brighten the image and adjust the contrast without degrading the image.
System: Macintosh G4 533 MHz Dual Processor running FCP HD 4.5

Six preview pages of “What If: Submariner” now online

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IGN has six preview pages of the upcoming comic book “What If: Submariner,” written by Greg Pak with pencils by David Lopez. From the article:

“Namor is the ruler of Atlantis ó but his father was a surface-dwelling human,” explains editor Mark Paniccia. “We’re using our What If? story to explore Namor’s human heritage, to imagine how his life and the course of history would have changed if he had been raised by his father on land rather than his mother in the sea.”

The book hits comic book stores on December 14. To read the full article and see the preview pages, visit IGN.

In FCP, “Color Corrector” better than “Brightness and Contrast” for adjusting brightness and contrast

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By Greg Pak
While working in Final Cut Pro on a new short film, I discovered that, strangely enough, the “Color Corrector” tool works far better than the “Brightness and Contrast” filter for adjusting the brightness and contrast of an image.
The Brightness and Contrast filter can be found at Effects > Video Filters > Image Control > Brightness and Contrast (Bezier). I could use the Brightness setting to lighten an image, but the image would appear washed out. And when I used the Contrast setting to fill in the blacks, the colors would begin to blow and the image would begin to look almost solarized.
The Color Corrector tool can be found at Effects > Video Filters > Color Correction > Color Corrector. Tweaking with the “Whites,” “Mids” and “Blacks” settings gave me the kind of control I needed to brighten the image and adjust the contrast without degrading the image.
System: Macintosh G4 533 MHz Dual Processor running FCP HD 4.5

Video darkens when converting to MPEG-2 for DVD production — problem and solution

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By Greg Pak
I recently noticed that my new short film looked considerably darker on DVD than in Final Cut Pro. I hadn’t seen this problem with DVDs I’d made of other projects I’d cut in Final Cut Pro.
The problem: The project was shot with the Panasonic DVX100 in 24P. The sequence in Final Cut Pro was set at 23.98 frames per second. I had been exporting this sequence directly to NTSC MPEG-2 for the DVDs. Apparently, FCP makes images darker and more contrasty when exporting from a 23.98 fps sequence to an NTSC MPEG-2.
The solution: I exported the 23.98 fps sequence to a 29.97 fps DV/DVCPRO – NTSC Best Quality QuickTime file. I then cut that QuickTime file back into a 29.97 fps FCP sequence and exported to MPEG-2. And now there’s no noticable darkening of the image.
I did notice that the process of exporting the 23.98 fps sequence to the 29.97 fps DV/DVCPRO file seems to have affected the colors very slightly, making them a touch warmer. It’s a faint enough adjustment that it doesn’t bother me — and it’s vastly preferable to the darkening which had been happening before.
System: Macintosh G4 533 MHz Dual Processor running FCP HD 4.5

Greg Pak to write “Incredible Hulk” comic book series

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Marvel Comics has announced that Greg Pak will be the writer of the “Planet Hulk” storyline, which begins in Issue 92 of “The Incredible Hulk.” Visit Newsarama to read the press release. Here’s an excerpt:

“‘Planet Hulk’ thrusts the Hulk into a savage world in which a corrupt empire uses the spectacle of bloody gladiatorial combat to distract its citizens, discipline its slaves, and dispose of its enemies,” says Pak. “In a world in which might makes right and he who wins in the arena has the chance to influence thousands, what path will the Hulk take? Will the monster become a hero? Or will he become the worst tyrant the universe has ever seen?”

Interior pencils are by Carlo Pagulayan; covers are by Ladronn.

Marvel.com to poll readers to decide which “Amazing Fantasy” 15 character gets miniseries

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Comicon’s PULSE has published a new article about “Amazing Fantasy” Number 15, the anthology comic featuring updates of old Marvel characters by six of Marvel’s “Terrific Ten” writers. The latest news:

Readers of the series, take note: Marvel wants your feedback! The week this comic hits stands, there will be a special poll on Marvel.com where you, the fans, get to decide which of the characters introduced in Amazing Fantasy #15 will get their own mini-series!

Greg Pak’s contribution is “Mastermind Excello,” about a genius kid on the run, with art by Takeshi Miyazawa. The book goes on sale November 30.