Tech News: If It’s Animation Or Special Effects, It’s Linux

Movies are normally scanned at 2k wide resolution and 16-bits per pixel component. A significant difference between Gimp and Film Gimp is color depth. Gimp uses 8-bit component (24-bit rgb), and Film Gimp uses 16-bit component (48-bit rgb). Even though you can’t display uncompressed 16-bit on a conventional monitor, it becomes apparent if you work in 8-bit and later print back to film. Film has more dynamic range. 1

It seems you are correct, but can you believe there is no solid article about the details out there. They converted entirely to OSX when the new G5’s first came out, all creative/design work, and not to mention any computer in the office. They are still using linux because in terms of filesystem performance and clustering it has clear advantages in speed and ease to tweak, not to mention it costs a fraction of what it would take to comprise the same setup out of Xserves. 2

Y’CbCr is the color space used by film equipment. Y represents luminance, while Cb and Cr are color difference signals. Consumer DV (digital video) cameras typically use a 4:1:1 Y’CbCr format, in which luminance is sampled for each pixel, while Cb and Cr are sampled at every fourth pixel. SD (standard definition) cameras use a 4:2:2 Y’CbCr format. HD cameras can use 4:2:2, or a 4:2:0 format based on “spatial” samples of 2×2-pixel squares. So 4:4:4, then, is really just RGB, with equal bandwidth for each component color. 3

OSX has only one menubar on the screen at the time. This menubar is displayed at the top of the screen with clock and system tray icons. Gnome doesn’t have this kind of bar at default, but it is possible to make one. What you need is gnome-panel that is 24 pixels high. Use OSX-like background image for your panel. You can download it below. Just select the one that is correct to your resolution. If there is not version available for your resolution, it’s not difficult to create one with GIMP. 4

The non-profit Tux-loving Linux Foundation has recently welcomed a new member into its ranks, the financial supporter the popular distribution known as Ubuntu. In addition to backing Ubuntu, Canonical supports other open saucy project like Bazaar, Storm and Upstart so it should be a solid addition to the Linux Foundation. 5