Creative Cow forum host: Walter Biscardi

Walter Biscardi Biscardi Creative Media Buford, Georgia USA

Of himself, Walter writes:

Accomplishments:Pitched a Perfect Game and had a .704 batting average at age 17.Once viewed "Little Mermaid" over 125 times while working as a projectionist.
Favorite Movie: Toss-up between 'Toy Story 2' and 'It's a Wonderful Life.'
Favorite Actor: Jimmy Stewart (and of the current actors: Will Smith)
If I could be in a movie: I would be Buzz Lightyear
If I wasn't doing TV: I would either own a restaurant or a movie theater.
Former Dream Job: Anything at Disney Studios in Orlando
Current Dream Job: Editing a Ken Burns Documentary
My mantra: "We don't stop playing because we grow old, we grow old because we stop playing." -- Anonymous.
Favorite Toy of all times: A HUGE TinkerToy set mom gave me when I was 5. I still have it and play with it often.

But let's get back to his more recent stuff...

Walter's friends call him Wally. He founded d' Arte in 2001 with one simple idea: "Bringing Art to Digital Media." About this new venture, Wally says: "Nothing is impossible, whatever you can envision, can be created. Do not compromise your ideas and visions because a production company 'doesn't have the latest widget to do that effect.' Use all the tools at hand, including the biggest tool of all -- your mind -- to bring the vision to life."

More than anything else, Wally is a storyteller. He believes that "...every person, every company, every song, every event has a story to tell. You have to be willing to open your eyes and let the story tell itself -- that is a vital part of this craft." With 12 years now under his belt in all facets of Media Production and Post-Production, Wally has broadened his skills to include Producing, Directing and Writing for television.

He started his career at CNN in 1990 where he quickly became one of the senior editors for the weekly series "Network Earth." While there, he and the show were honored with numerous awards including a National Emmy award, CableACE awards and New York Festival awards. Wally was nominated for "Editing in a Television Series" at the 1994 New York Fesitvals.

In 1995 Wally was hired by the largest casino in the world, Foxwoods Resort Casino in Connecticut, to design and manage a new production facility. Given a budget of $3 million, he designed a full production facility that encompassed on-line linear post-production, non-linear post production, audio recording, 3D animation, field production and full tape library system. The linear suite was built around the Accom Axial edit controller with the Philips Diamond Digital Switcher and had a unique console that allowed the editor and producer to sit face to face. The 3D suite featured Alias Animation packages running on SGI Challenge machines. The facility turned out over 300 completed projects the first year of operation. In addition, the team was honored with several Telly Awards.

In 1997, Wally was hired back to Atlanta by Primerica Financial Services to be their Senior Editor for the DirecTV business network, EPN-TV. He set about re-creating the entire on-air graphics package and overall network image using a combination of Media 100, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe After Effects.

In 1998, he left Primerica with his former boss and the two started ACME Digital Design just north of Atlanta. Featuring Post Production for both Corporate and Broadcast, ACME was part of 12 Emmy awards in just three years. Wally was honored with a National ITVA Achievement in Editing award in 1998.

Then along came 2001 and the start of d' Arte.

Built around the foundation of Final Cut Pro and the Pinnacle CineWave SD/HDTV card, d' Arte features full Post-Production services at a rate that won't break your budget. Throw in complimentary Limousine service, lodging, a wooded lot to call home and a 25 mile lake around the corner and you have the perfect place to create. Specializing in long form broadcast and corporate communications, d' Arte is establishing itself as a quality shop with a low-key atmosphere. Look for an expanded d' Arte media creations sometime before the end of 2002.

In September 2001, Wally became one of four founding members of Thunder Road Entertainment which is developing original programming for broadcast. Wally wrote and produced the first Pilot for the company that is currently being shopped to various networks. In all, TRE has about 6 programs in various stages of development.

When at home, Wally enjoys cooking, cooking and more cooking. An Italian-American by birth, the house often has the fragrant aroma of garlic, basil and tomatoes. He features his special 'pizza on the grill' for friends and just recently completed his first 'Christmas Eve Feast' which included some 27 items on the menu. Other hobbies are toys, woodworking, toys, photography, toys, Christmas (he has a HUGE display featuring Charlie Brown and the Grinch) and spending time at the lake with his dogs.

Wally married his wife Rebecca in 1995.

COW Master Series Titles

Stop Staring and Start Grading with Apple Color

You can find Walter Biscardi hosting in Creative COW's Adobe Premiere Pro, COW: The Community Speaks, AJA Kona - Mac, Autodesk Smoke, WalterBiscardi.com, Flanders Scientific, and Autodesk Smoke 2013 Forums.

Articles by Walter Biscardi

	NAB Expo Tips for Attending NAB 2013 From A Convention Veteran Walter Biscardi tells us, "Once again, springtime is upon us, so of course, it's time for the annual National Association of Broadcasters convention. Last year y'all seemed to like the before you go tips, so may I present the 2013 edition of 'Tips from an NAB Veteran to make the best use of your time'." Editorial, Feature

	Business & Marketing Get Hired! Be Professional and Pay Attention to Detail "As technology gets better, communications skills seem to get worse." So says Creative COW leader and Contributing Editor Walter Biscardi, one of the industry's most respected business owners. "The same talented people who can create amazing things on screen have absolutely no idea how to represent themselves via a resume or online demo. Most of what I'm about to say seems to be common sense, but apparently it isn't." You definitely don't want to miss this potentially career-changing advice from an industry luminary! Editorial, Feature

	Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate Workflow Update: iMac, Adobe & the X Factor With five edit suites currently running at Biscardi Creative Media, and four more on standby, Walter Biscardi and crew need the best possible performance our of their workflow and machines. Here, Walter describes the power (yes, power) of the iMac, the workhorse Adobe Premiere Pro, and some never say never insight on FCP X. Editorial, Feature

	What Computer Should I Buy? ProMAX ONE: Looking at the Hero ProMAX has put together a beast of a creative workstation designed to serve a host of needs in production, particularly Post, and Walter Biscardi put the beast to a grueling test. Review, Editorial, Tutorial

	Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate A Cautionary Tale for the FCP Switcher Herein lies the cautionary tale of a long-time user of Final Cut Pro, penned for those who would consider switching NLEs. Are there tools that will positively replace FCP 7? Are there NLEs that are even more powerful than our now evanescent favorite? Editorial

	NAB Expo NAB 2012 is in the books, final thoughts... Walter Biscardi went to NAB 2012 with every intention of documenting each day and sharing the vast (and often overwhelming) wealth of information he would glean from the NAB SHOW floor. Well, day one left him needing tons of caffeine, and a lot more sleep - so we're wrapping up now, after a flight home and some time for Walter to catch his breath. Feature

	NAB Expo Walter Biscardi: NAB 2012, Day One Sometimes, our first impressions are the most powerful, and as Walter Biscardi walked the NAB floor on Day One, he had some definite strong first impressions. Read about what he saw, and reap vicariously the wealth of new information on sparkly new product releases from NAB 2012. Feature

	Autodesk Smoke Walter Biscardi: Yes, Autodesk Smoke 2013 Changes Everything "From the moment I saw Autodesk Smoke 2013, I knew the entire post production world as we knew it had changed." So says Creative COW Contributing Editor Walter Biscardi in an overview that covers Smoke's new editor-centered (and Mac-friendly) interface, ease of use, support for FCP 7 and Avid projects and keyboard mapping, and advanced, integrated effects and color tools -- including several that had previously been available in Autodesk Flame. Oh yeah, a price drop to $3495. See why Walter says, "For the traditional editor, this is completely game-changing." Feature

	Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate What a Long, Strange Year It's Been! Apple imploding. Adobe ascending. Avid opening up. Who could have seen it coming? Here's Walter's look at what happens when the blinders come off. Feature, People / Interview

	Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate Media Composer 6: Avid kept their promise. Walter Biscardi has been beta testing Media Composer and gives his "Avid from a Final Cut Pro" point of notes in this article. This is not a full review, Walter tells us, but a point by point relay on Avid test systems, AJA Kona support, storage support, promises kept, and where it goes from here. Editorial

	Apple FCPX or Not: The Debate Post Production: Did Everything Change in Post? In this article, Walter Biscardi discusses the state of Post Production as he sees it in these months since the June release of FCPX, including comments on the latest 10.0.1 release. Editorial

	Apple FCPX - Final Cut Pro X FCPX: What Pros Find Missing in Final Cut Pro X June 21st, 2011, was met with the news that Final Cut Pro X was finally available and what a thrill ride it has been! Professionals all over the COW -- all over the world -- have been debating, scurrying to test and review Apple's newest app. One such pro, Walter Biscardi, ran straight to purchase FCP X with all the enthusiasm of a kid going to the circus or a great new comic flick, but did he find what he wanted? Read on the see what Walter has to say about FCPX. Review

	Art of the Edit Anatomy of an Edit Suite Walter Biscardi of Biscardi Creative Media is often asked about what makes a comfortable and efficient edit suite. After designing five different facilities, each with the same essential design, but each refined and upgraded, we can be assured that Walter knows how to streamline design for an arrangement that works! Feature

	NAB Expo The Future of Editing Thousands of members of Creative COW were at the 2011 NAB Show, and we are pleased to bring you some of their reports. In this entry, Walter Biscardi looks at the future of editing, FCP X, AVID, Adobe and what's on the table now for tomorrow. Feature

	NAB Expo FilmLight Baselight for FCP. It's a serious color tool. Thousands of members of Creative COW were at the 2011 NAB Show, and we are pleased to bring you some of their reports. In this entry, Walter Biscardi at NAB 2011, had the opportunity for a 1 on 1 demo of the full Baselight color correction system and it's "little cousin", the plug-in that "allows you to bring a ridiculously powerful color correction system directly inside of Final Cut Pro" (and other hosts). Feature

	NAB Expo Kevin Smith @ NAB Thousands of members of Creative COW were at the 2011 NAB Show, and we are pleased to bring you some of their reports. In this entry, Walter Biscardi found that Director Kevin Smith has such passion for his craft, with working as a director during the day and cutting at night, and sharing his edits with the crew the next morning, he energizes all around him. After spending a few moments with Kevin, Walter was ready to go straight to his office and start working! Feature, People / Interview

	Apple Final Cut Pro FCP Tip: Broadcast Safe in Final Cut Pro It is possible to achieve true broadcast safe using only the tools in Final Cut Pro if you follow the right steps. In this quick tip, Walter Biscardi, Jr. shows you how he has delivered shows to broadcasters worldwide using only the built in FCP filter Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Final Cut Pro Editing Tip: Still Image dpi vs. pixels There is much confusion about dpi vs. pixels when it comes to still images and video editing. In this short tip, Walter Biscardi, Jr. helps to take some of the mystery out of the process. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Broadcast Video Best Nonlinear Editing System Report As the three companies showing their best wares in the Nonlinear Editing System category vie for attention in the broadcasting and post-production world at NAB 2010, some of the glitter caught Walter Biscardi's eye, but others left him wondering if they can keep up. Read on for more insight on what he saw at NAB... Review, People / Interview

	Apple Color Euphonix MC Color Control Panel In this article Walter Biscardi, Jr. tries out the new MC Color controller from Euphonix. Review

	Apple Color Tangent Wave Control Panel Review In this article Walter Biscardi, Jr. takes an in depth look at the new Tangent Wave Control Panel. Review

	Business & Marketing Small Steps to Big Success Thinking big doesn't always mean having the whole vision at once. For Walter Biscardi, it combines client service, calculated risks, and big investments - especially during down markets. Editorial, People / Interview

	SAN - Storage Area Networks Shared Media Storage Without Breaking the Bank In this article Walter Biscardi, Jr. shows how he was able to add expandable, shared media storage in his facility for less than you would expect. And he was able to keep all of his current storage options in place, working right alongside the shared array. Feature

	Telestream Episode Telestream Episode Pro Recently, Creative COW leader and business owner Walter Biscardi needed a very flexible and fast compression tool that also provided extremely high quality end products for his clients. Oh, and it needed to be easy to use. Enter Telestream's Episode and Episode Pro. In this review, he's using Episode Pro 5.1.1 and he'll explain the differences between the two at the end of this article. Review

	Business & Marketing Building and Running Your Business Okay, so youve taken the big plunge and started your own business. Youve got the office set up, youve got the cards printed...now what? In part 3 of his series, Creative COW leader and business owner Walter Biscardi tells you what you need to know to get the word out, how to manage money...and manage clients! If youre even thinking about starting your own business, start here. Feature, Business

	Apple Final Cut Pro Preparing Your Sequences to Go From FCP to Color Yes, Apple Color is connected to Final Cut Pro...but not exactly integrated. Creative Cow leader Walter Biscardi, one of the worlds most respected experts on the connection between the two, will help guide your sequences safely from FCP to Color -- and show you why its worth the effort. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Final Cut Pro Maximum FCP Efficiency with Tabs Because Final Cut Pro can do so much, it can be easy to get lost inside its interface as you start to do more and more at once. Let Creative Cow leader and Final Cut Pro expert Walter Biscardi show you how to take back control of your workspace and work more quickly and efficiently with FCPs tabs. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Final Cut Pro Walter Biscardis Secrets for Real-time Sequences Its late, youre running late, and you cant figure out why your sequence isnt playing in real time. Fortunately, Creative Cow leader and Final Cut Pro expert Walter Biscardi is here to help. You know that somethings wrong, Walter knows what, and he tells you how to fix it here. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Broadcast Video Read The Book! Real-world Broadcast Specs Your TV show isn't ready to air until the STATION says it's ready to air. The good news is that they're clear about what they want from you. Longtime TV vet and Creative COW leader Walter Biscardi tells you some of the things to look for...and some of the things to look OUT for. Feature

	Apple Color Introducing: Stop Staring and Start Grading with Apple Color Allow us to introduce one of the most eagerly anticipated DVDs in Creative Cow Master Series history, Walter Biscardi's overview of Apple Color. Building on nearly 20 years of professional editing experience, as well as years of experience with Apple Color (and FInal Touch HD before it), he's got the perfect perspective to make working in Color easier than you imagined. It's the disk he wished he had when he started using Color. Feature

	Business & Marketing Your Own Business, Part 2: Setting Up Shop In Part 1 of this series, Creative COW leader and contributing editor Walter Biscardi laid out the issues you need to address before you can answer the question, Are you ready to start your own business? If you have thought long and hard and your answer is Yes, then join Walter to explore setting up your company and getting ready to open those doors! Feature, Business

	Apple Color Apple Color: Building Vignettes in the ColorFX Room Apple Color offers a variety of tools for custom effects, each with different features. Answering a commonly asked question, broadcast editor and Creative Cow leader Walter Biscardi shows you how to take advantage Colors node-based compositing to create a vignette in the ColorFX room. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Business & Marketing Your Own Business, Part 1: Are you ready? Creative Cow leader Walter Biscardi is a 17 year veteran of broadcast and corporate video production who owns Biscardi Creative Media in the Atlanta, Georgia area.. Along the way, he's learned a few things to do, and not do, in order to be successful. But before you can succeed building your business in the creative industry, you have to know: are you ready? Feature, Business

	Apple Final Cut Pro Machine Rooms: The Bob Zelin Way Walter Biscardi reports on the recent upgrade of his studio by fellow Creative COW leader, Bob Zelin. Feature

	Apple Color Apple Color: Auto Balance Feature In this short Apple Color video tutorial, Walter Biscardi demonstrates the auto balance feature in color. This is a basic level tutorial. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Color Should you use Final Cut Pro or Color? Should you use Final Cut Pro or Color? In this short video tutorial, Walter Biscardi demonstrates some of the differences and why you might use one program over the other. This is a basic level tutorial. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Color Apple Color: First Time You Launch In this Apple Color video tutorial, Walter Biscardi demonstrates everything you need to know the first time you launch Apple Color. This is a basic level tutorial. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Business & Marketing How To Write Press Releases That Get Your Business Seen In this article from The Creative COW Magazine, Walter Biscardi discusses how to write great press releases to increase the publicity of your business. Tutorial

	Broadcasting syncVUE Review Synchronizing Client/Editor/Team Remote Video File Viewing. Created by an editor for editors, syncVUE is a workflow support tool to assist reviewing video files via the internet, synchronizing Quicktime movie playback and viewing across multiple locations. In this Creative COW Magazine article, Walter Biscardi reviews syncVUE and how it might help your workflow in a real world video production environment. Review

	AVID Editing A Talk with Medéa and Avid An exclusive report from the Creative COW Magazine, a talk with Andy Dale of Avid & Martin Bock of Medéa, regarding Avid's recent purchase of Medéa Corporation. What does Avid see ahead for the company that changed the video hard drive market forever? People / Interview

	HDV Format High Definition for the Road Thanks to formats like DVCPro HD and HDV, High Definition can now be edited pretty much anywhere on just about any computer. Yeah, this is cool and you can really make your friends jealous just cutting away with your super slick laptop. But you know what's really slick? Editing Uncompressed High Definition anywhere. How about an Uncompressed editing workstation in a 25'' square box? No way? Way! Read on to find out about Wally's Traveling Box of Mystery and Intrigue... Tutorial, Feature

	Cinematography First Look: AspectCorrect(TM) We've all done this at least once in our careers. You're shooting with a standard camera but you know you're going to letterbox later so you tape two pieces of paper to 'crop' the field monitor. Or you're trying to make sure an element in the shot is in safe title, so you use a grease pencil and approximate where safe title will be. You do what you have to do when you're out in the field, but of course you're never quite sure if it's accurate until you get back into the edit suite. In this article, Creativecow leader Walter Biscardi takes a first look at a handy 'widget' developed by Cinematographer and fellow COW leader, Clay Walker called AspectCorrect and determines that ''...This is just one of those cool little things that should make camera operators lives easier.'' Review

	G-Tech The G-Tech G-Raid For years Medea Corporation has been the hallmark of reliability when it comes to storage for the media industry. If you wanted big, fast storage with mission critical reliability, Medea was the drive array for you. Now comes its little brother, G-Technology Corporation. In this article, Creativecow leader reviews the G-Tech G-Raid and concludes...''This is the most versatile unit I've ever used with its ability to work seamlessly with anything up to 10bit uncompressed and just remain solid no matter the situation or machine it's connected to. ''' Review

	Adobe Premiere Pro basics LaCie Bigggest Disk F800 Creative COW leader Walter Biscardi reviews the LaCie Biggest F800 and concludes that ''.... LaCie has targeted the F800 squarely at the DV marketplace by bringing these users a large capacity unit with a very small footprint. If your workflow is primarily DV, HDV or DVCPro HD and you're looking for a lot of storage with considerable real-time functionality, this is definitely a unit to consider.'' Review

	Apple Final Cut Pro Travel Mattes in FCP: Part Three, Enhance Your Interviews In this Final Cut Pro video tutorial, Walter Biscardi demonstrates the basics of travel mattes in FCP. This is lesson 3 in a 3-part series. Walter will show a real world application for using travel mattes - one of his favorite uses to enhance an interview. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Final Cut Pro Travel Mattes in FCP: Part Two, Adding Animation and Drop Shadows In this Apple Final Cut Pro video tutorial Walter Biscardi demonstrates the basics of travel mattes in Final Cut Pro. In this second lesson in the 3-part series well learn some simple animation and drop shadows. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Apple Final Cut Pro Travel Mattes in FCP: Part One, The Basics Walter Biscardi demonstrates the basics of travel mattes in this Apple Final Cut Pro Video Tutorial. Learn what travel mattes are and the difference between alpha mattes and luma mattes. This is part one of a 3 part series on travel mattes in FCP. Tutorial, Video Tutorial

	Aurora Video Systems Aurora PipePro Aurora's PipePro is a single-slot PCI card with SDI/Firewire input with embedded audio, analog component, S-Video and composite output, 4 channel AES audio in, 6 channel AES audio out, RS-422 control, Genlock and many other features -- all for $799 (US). Here is Walter's report for Cow members. Review

	HD High-End LaCie d2 Big Disk Extreme A few months back Walter Biscardi had the eye opening experience of testing one of the first Firewire 800 drives to come along. At that time, he did not believe all the hype about FW800 being able to run Uncompressed video with any reliability. But that test sure made a believer out of him. Now Firewire 800 is making the evolution from a single drive unit, to multiple drive units striped together in RAID format with LaCie introducing the d2 Big Disk Extreme series. In this article, Walter takes this new offering from LaCie for a test drive. Walter Biscardi is a leader in both our Final Cut Pro and Pinnacle CinéWave forum communities where Cow members have long appreciated his friendly and insightful input. Review

	Pinnacle CineWave CineWave v4.5 Apple has really changed the face of Post Production with the power and affordability of Final Cut Pro. In Creativecow leader, Walter Biscardi's view, the real power of the product is its flexibility. From offline to uncompressed HDTV, from laptop to desktop, FCP gives us unparalleled flexibility as creators. Recently Walter took FCP on the road for a three day corporate shoot and found it to be a major tool in the project. Editorial

	HD High-End Laird Telemedia LTM Walter Biscardi is a leader in both our Final Cut Pro and Pinnacle CinéWave forum communities where Cow members have long appreciated his friendly and insightful input. In this article, Walter gives us a quick irst look field review of Laird Telemedias new LTM-LCAM series of cameras. He says, These things ROCK! at a major cost savings. I love this thing and will be getting a second one shortly! Read the review to see what else he says about it. Review

	FireStore WiebeTECH Firestore 800 Drives Walter Biscardi is a leader in both our Final Cut Pro and Pinnacle CinéWave forum communities where Cow members have long appreciated his friendly and insightful input. Firewire drives have become the backbone of many video editors and producers and with the advent of Firewire 800, the possibility that Uncompressed Video Editing via Firewire has been raised. In this article, Walter takes a look at the WiebeTECH Firestore 800. Review

	Apple Final Cut Pro Field Editing & Production Using Final Cut Pro Apple has really changed the face of Post Production with the power and affordability of Final Cut Pro. In Creativecow leader, Walter Biscardi's view, the real power of the product is its flexibility. From offline to uncompressed HDTV, from laptop to desktop, FCP gives us unparalleled flexibility as creators. Recently Walter took FCP on the road for a three day corporate shoot and found it to be a major tool in the project. Tutorial

	Pinnacle CineWave Cinewave 4 Walter Biscardi is a leader in both our Final Cut Pro and Pinnacle CineWave forum communities where Cow members have long appreciated his friendly and insightful input. In this article, Walter explores the new powers found in Pinnacle's CineWave 4. Walter is a longtime user of CineWave, having used it in many projects in his studio where he serves a long list of corporate and broadcast clients. How does the new CineWave meet his demands and expectations, along with those of his clients? Walter takes CineWave 4 out for a demanding ride and gives Cow members his verdict as a user whose own investment is behind his opinions. This is no editorial done by a trade journalist with a unit for review, these are the words of a guy whose own investment and decisions either makes or breaks his company's future. See what he thinks of CineWave after owning one for quite some time and growing with the system as it has developed... Review