Want to create your
own Motion templates for use in Final Cut Pro? In
this video lesson you’ll learn how to
combine After Effects and Motion into a template
project that can then be updated from within
Final Cut Pro.
It's
almost time for NAB – The National
Association of Broadcasters Conference. If you
want a free NAB pass for show floor or to save
$100 on any conference — then here's a
great offer. Thanks toCreative
Cow,
visithttp://tinyurl.com/nab10cowandenter code
CC01 and save — good thru February 19.
I found a great
series on YouTube... an old show called Horizon
from the BBC. This episode is entitled "How to
Film the Impossible" and features an in-depth
look at Industrial Light and Magic.
I recently
wrote a review for a new filter called Continuum
Cartoon Look for Layers Magazine.Here it
is.
Everywhere you turn, you’ll spot the
“look”: video footage transformed to
look like a cartoon. In a traditional workflow,
the process involves rotoscoping. An artist
literally traces animation frame by frame over
the original source. The technique was invented
by Max Fleischer around 1915, and has been used
by animators on classic films such as Snow White
and the Seven Dwarves and Cinderella, as well as
modern movies such as Titan A.E. and Waking Life.
The process is very tedious, however, so many
video pros and motion graphics artists have been
on a quest for an easier solution. These days
you’ll find several products on the market
to transform your video footage to look like
it’s a cartoon. Early options such as
Studio Artist ($379;www.synthetik.com)
and market leaders like ToonIt ($399;www.redgiantsoftware.com)
have all seen heavy use.
While they’re not new to the plug-in
market, Boris FX has released their own take on
cartoon filters. The Boris Continuum Unit:
Cartoon Look breaks out four filters from the
larger plug-in package Continuum Complete. The
set is only $199 (significantly less than
competitors) and runs in several host
applications including Adobe After Effects and
Premiere Pro, as well as Apple Final Cut Pro and
Motion. The four filters for stylizing your
footage include:
There are
lots of reasons to use Premiere Pro (even if
you’re a Final Cut Pro editor). One of the
most compelling is to organize After Effects
projects.
Create a new
Premiere Pro project and match its settings to
your primary footage format.
2 Import a folder of QuickTime movies into a
Premiere Pro project. You can even import a
Final Cut Pro XML file to bring a sequence in
without needed to do anymore media
management.
Edit the
clips as needed into sequences.
After your
clips are edited, just select them and press
Command+C to copy them to your clipboard.
5 Switch to an open After Effects project and
press Command+V to paste the clips using
Dynamic Link. The clips (with handles) will
move from Premiere Pro to After
Effects.
Starting with
Photoshop CS2, Adobe introduced a new feature
called data sets. This allows you to create a set
of data that applies variable text, variable
visibility settings, or pixel replacement for art
layers. This is a great feature for use with
templates, especially those for lower-third
titles.
By harnessing the power of data sets, you can
dramatically speed up the production of
repetitive graphics. In fact, by feeding in a
text file, hundreds of lower-third graphics can
be generated in a few clicks. The advantage of
this method is that a producer or production
assistant can gather all of the needed names and
titles into a single text file (easily created
with any word processor). This file can then be
loaded to generate as many graphics as needed.
While the process is a little tricky at first,
it’s pretty easy to get the hang of.
Read the complete article over
at Layer Magazine for
free...
"You've never seen a training camp like this!
Photoshop World is the ONLY Photoshop and digital
photography conference designed to put you at the
top of your game with fast and furious classes
from the world's leading experts. Photoshop World
is where Photoshop users go to learn hard and
play even harder!"
Creative Cow's NAB Party
Announced– Join Me & Dread
Zeppelin on Monday Night. Details here....
tickets will be free - but limited. It's
AWESOME!
"Well, it's official. Monday night, April 12,
2010, at the House of Blues in the Mandalay Bay
Hotel and Casino finds Creative COW: YEAR 10 in
full swing with a closing set by the legendary
Dread Zeppelin. We are celebrating because 2010
marks the 10th year of Creative COW, and who
better to welcome COW members to Las Vegas than a
reggae-based band of killer musicians playing Led
Zeppelin hooks with an Elvis impersonator leading
the band?"
Do you ever
need to size video for web or multimedia? Instead
of wasting time processing those clips with your
video compression software – use After
Effects. You can get cleaner scaling and much
faster processing times using AE.
To make things easier... I have made a template
project to save you several steps. You can
download it here.
These
templates are designed to convert an HD source to
a variety of output formats.
Select either
the 1080 or 720 source folder.
2 Locate the correct target format and open the
template.
3 Import a QuickTime movie of your HD source.
4 Highlight the layer called Replace Me.
5 Hold down the Option/Alt key and drag your
replacement footage onto the solid layer to
swap.
6 Change the comps duration to match your
footage layer’s length by choosing
Sequence > Settings.
7 Add to the Render Queue and render to
taste.
You can capture video for an After Effects
project using Premiere Pro. Learn how to quickly
switch applications to pull in new footage from
tape. To download sample files, visitwww.peachpit.com/videomac.
Transparency
plays a key role in the success of animation and
interactivity. By embedding transparency into
graphic elements, you can composite together
different elements created at different times,
allowing for true flexibility.
The alpha channel is the technology behind
transparency in computer graphics. It first
evolved in the late 1970s at the New York
Institute of Technology and then continued to be
refined at Lucasfilm and at Pixar. When you
employ alpha channels embedded into footage
layers, transparency data can travel seamlessly
between After Effects and Flash.
You
can create alpha channels in several ways. One
common technique you can use for video footage is
chroma key technology. By shooting elements
against a blue or green screen, you can easily
remove the background. This technology is hardly
new, making its first appearance at RKO Radio
Pictures in the 1930s. The popularity of chroma
key technology has grown immensely, bringing the
technology and tools within reach of most content
creators.
KEEP READING AT PEACHPIT.com
Get the
Book
Looking for a quick overview on how to control
text animation in After Effects? This video will
get you up and running quickly. You can also
visit the websitewww.peachpit.com/videomacin order to
download sample files.
In this video you’ll learn how to use the
Camera Raw dialog in Photoshop to process your
images. You can also visit the websitewww.peachpit.com/videomacin order to
download sample files.
Adobe has
announced that the next version of the software
will run on 64-bit Operating Systems only. It's
not all the apps in their suite, but the apps
that will most benefit.
"It’s common
knowledge among post-production pros that 64-bit
operating systems are the best choice for
top-of-the-line performance, especially when
producing HD or higher-resolution content. After
3 versions of simultaneous 64 bit and 32 bit
support for After Effects and Premiere Pro, we
wanted to let you know today that CS4 will be the
last version of Adobe’s leading video
applications to support 32 bit operating
systems."
Simon Hayhurst – The Senior Director of
Product Management for Dynamic Media
Our new
podcast,Video Made on a
Mac,
is in the New and Notable section of iTunes.
Richard Harrington and Robbie
Carman show you how to create professional video
on the Mac. In this series, they share videos and
project files using real world examples in Final
Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite. From
pre-production to post, and accomplishing it all
within a tight schedule, this podcast series
gives you a sample of what you can learn using
their book, Video Made on the a Mac.
Be sure to visit the site to get thefree downloadable
filesor order thebook. Be sure to use the code
VMMBOOK at checkout to receive a discount.
The
new podcast is brought to you by the fine folks
at Peachpit Press.
Terry White
just wrote a great review of our new
Understanding Photoshop Quick Fixes application.
Terry offers a detailed review about the features
and benefits of the app.
Here are a few excerpts:
"Rich tells
you just what you need to know to get the task
done!"
"This is a
good app to have a Photoshop Video Tutorial
Library with you at all times."
I have
literally just sent the last changes to the last
chapter in. The brand new bookAfter Effects for Flash | Flash
for After Effectsis going to print. I am
quite proud of the book and it explores some
amazing things. The book is designed for Flash
and After Effects users, and is meant to teach
them how to use both programs together (along
with Creative Suite 4). The book explores some
pretty revolutionary things, but also has
great primers to get new users up to speed
fast (you can’t put a race car on your
cover if the book doesn’t cover serious
ground).
The official blurb
Adobe Creative Suite
4 brings together two powerful animation tools,
each of which has its own specialized features
and workflow. Learning to integrate Adobe After
Effects and Adobe Flash Professional gives you
more options for your animations and effects and
the power to integrate video and motion graphics
into a richer user experience. In this book,
authors Richard Harrington and Marcus Geduld lead
both types of users, those who are more familiar
with either Flash or with After Effects, on using
the programs together for maximum efficiency and
creativity.
After walking you through the core features of
both programs, the authors then explore advanced
uses for each application. Each chapter focuses
on a particular function of the program, teaching
you how to create content for Flash with After
Effects, enhance your projects using 3D
environments, create professional-looking video
with Adobe Media Encoder, and add interactivity,
accessibility, and searchability to your video.
You’ll also get hands-on experience using
the project files on the accompanying DVD.
Within these easy-to-follow, step-by-step
lessons, you’ll learn to:
Seamlessly exchange
projects and assets between After Effects and
Flash
Shoot green screen
material correctly, work with Keylight, and
utilize embedded alpha channels
Create dynamic
text, vector-based animations, and
“animated” video using the tools in
Adobe Creative Suite 4
Work with 3D
cameras and lights and create 3D
environments
Convert Flash to
broadcast and DVD standards with After
Effects
Use
Adobe Media Encoder for professional
results
Create interactive
controls and use cue points in your
video
Optimize video for
accessibility and use Adobe® Soundbooth® for
video transcription
Use
ActionScript in your projects for more
innovative animations
The fine folks at Focal
Press have decided to release two free
updates. The popular booksPhotoshop for VideoandCreating Motion
Graphicsboth have free updates for
the Creative Suite 4 release.
Even if you don’t have these two books
(which I’d really suggest you check them
out)... the CS4 updates are absolutely free.
It’s
very common to use Photoshop and Illustrator to
prepare content for import into Adobe After
Effects. Here are some practical tips to avoid
problems when merging the
software.
Import Tips
Double-Click
in the AE Project Window
Shift-Click
Multiple Items
Organize in
Folder and Option+Drag (Alt+Drag) from
Desktop
Keep file
names less than 27 characters long
Photoshop
Assign unique
names to each layer
Avoid using
layer sets unless you want the layers to come
in as a nested composition
If layers are
not needed, reduce your render burden by
importing as a flattened file such as a PICT,
TIFF or TARGA
If you have
applied an adjustment layer in Photoshop such
as Levels, consider applying the effect
directly to the individual layers in Photoshop
instead
Illustrator
Be sure to
use layers in Adobe Illustrator to split up
elements
Change AI
preferences to use AICB format (not PDF) for
proper Copy/Paste
Learn how to use the Shape Tools to create
dynamic motion graphics elements. This tutorial
was recorded as part of a session at the 2007 NY
Post Production Conference (www.nypostconference.com).
I was over at YouTube
posting a new tutorial.... came across a great
clip that mixes multiple animation styles…
this is VERY cool. It’s nice to hear
the man so off-the-cuff… yet wise.
“In 1969, a 14-year-old Beatle fanatic
named Jerry Levitan, armed with a reel-to-reel
tape deck, snuck into John Lennon’s hotel
room in Toronto and convinced John to do an
interview about peace. 38 years later, Jerry has
produced a film about it. Using the original
interview recording as the soundtrack, director
Josh Raskin has woven a visual narrative which
tenderly romances Lennon’s every word in a
cascading flood of multipronged animation. Raskin
marries the terrifyingly genius pen work of James
Braithwaite with masterful digital illustration
by Alex Kurina, resulting in a spell-binding
vessel for Lennon’s boundless wit, and
timeless message.”
Learn more about ithere(and yes… I
missed this one somehow).
Want
30 minutes of free training on Adobe Photoshop
CS3? Adobe had me in their theater at NAB giving
lessons. Here's a recording from one of the days
so you can see what was taught.
If you want more free classes... visit theAdobe TV
site.
I promised
these hands-on practice files about the Puppet
Tool a while back. To make it up to you (my loyal
viewers) I've included an extra sample.
To get the hands on
filesclick
here.
To get a bonus video tutorial -click here.
Want to
create a cartoon effect for your video? Be sure
to check out this step-by-step tutorial I wrote
for Layers Magazine.
“Sure, clients want it…that
“cartoon look.” But let’s face
it; good animation is hard to come by. Unless you
have a gaggle of animators locked in your closet,
you’ll need to get creative. Sure, you
could break out the pencil and paper (or maybe
even try shadow puppets), but we’re here to
offer you a different solution. By harnessing the
power of Adobe CS3 Production Premium, you can
convert video frames into vector art into
film-resolution movie files. Curious? It’s
all possible with the power of the Production
Premium.Read on.”
If you are using
After Effects CS3... you have the Puppet Tool.
This awesome technology lets you create animation
from photos... be sure to check this out.
Looking for some
great training on post production, podcasting, or
new media? I'll be speaking at several
conferences located at this year's NAB
conference.
Choose the
training you need at NAB Show 2008 in Las Vegas,
Nevada:
Podcasting
Summit April
11 - 13
This is a can’t miss conference for
podcasting professionals and anyone interested in
diving into this evolving content delivery
method.
New Media 2.0 - Creating and
Delivering New Media to New
Audiences April 14 - 15
This new conference is designed for content
creators looking to harness the power of the
Internet for increased distribution and new
audiences. Post|Production World
Conference April
11 - 16
The largest event of its kind anywhere, this
conference delivers high-level training on the
latest production and post-production techniques
and software.
Producer | Director
Workshop April
11 - 13
This new conference is designed for those content
creators who are charged with managing and
developing content. Learn new techniques for
planning and managing successful video and new
media projects.
The World's
Best Instructors Coming To Orlando
Get instruction and inspiration from
more than 40 of the most recognized and respected
names in the industry.With more than 100 class
sessions, and learning tracks dedicated to
everything from photography and graphic art, to
motion graphics and Web design, Photoshop World
has something for you. For a complete list of instructors,
learning tracks, and class sessions, visit
www.photoshopworld.com.
I just wanted to
let you know that our new training on Apple Color
is shipping (Motion will be coming very soon as
well).
Absolute
Training for Final Cut Studio, Vol. 11
Introduction
to Color
Join
Apple Certified Trainer Jeff Greenberg as he
takes you through the basic and intermediate
features of Apple Color. As a leading presenter,
trainer, and creator of multimedia content, Jeff
guides viewers through the most important
features in Apple Color. His presentation style
empowers users to get up and running in Color
immediately.
Absolute
Training for Final Cut Studio, Vol. 12
Advanced Color
Join
Apple Certified Trainer Jeff Greenberg as he
takes you well beyond the basics in Advanced
Color from VASST. This DVD is designed for users
who want to take advantage of the high end
features found in Apple Color. As a leading
presenter, trainer, and creator of multimedia
content, Jeff’s presentation style allows
viewers master the advanced features in Color
quickly and easily.
The
new schedule for
Photoshop World
Conference & Expois posted. Visit
the updated website to see the offerings. The
conference is to be held in Orlando, FL on April
2-4, 2008.Here’s the
link.I'll be
teaching a few classes on the show floor
(which are free) as well as these great
classes on using Photoshop for video and
multimedia.
Motion
Graphics Track:
The
downloadable bonus chapter on Photoshop CS3
Extended is available to those who’ve
purchased “Photoshop for
Video.”
You will need the password found in the back
cover. This code isuniquefor
each book, so be sure to register your code.
If you have your code ready, please visithttp://booksite.focalpress.com/Harrington/and
start to download. You'll find a full-length
chapter plus all of the source media needed
for the exercises. It’s a big download,
so be sure to have a fast Internet connection
handy.
For problems or suggestions concerning the site,
please contact:Technical
Support.
If
you'll be at the Podcast and New Media Expo show
this weekend, consider checking out these free
classes on the show floor. Podango is offering
an“Unconference,”a
featured program of the Podcast and New Media
Expo (PNME) taking place September 28-30, at
the Ontario Convention Center.
Podango, the online video and audio network that
enables publishers and advertisers to “get
heard” by today’s hard-to-reach,
niche audiences, is heralding a wide range of
topics and speakers. They include: new media
pioneer Scott Bourne, host of The Apple Phone
Show; Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang,
hosts of MommyCast; as well as Jason Van Orden,
David Lawrence and others. Speakers will share
ideas for building and monetizing audiences in
today’s niche-oriented, interest-driven new
media marketplace.Read More...
If you need to
put together a storyboard, you have lots of
options. But the process of laying out the pages
and dealing with changes to shot order or
selection can get tedious. Fortunately there is a
free solution calledDirectors Boardswhich
alleviates most of the challenges (no, it
won't draw for you).
This great program is based on Filemaker, but
doesn't need you to have the full program
installed in order to run. You essentially load
in information regarding the shots including the
audio and video columns, shot number, and a
thumbnail image. Directors Boards then allows you
to organize the shots as well as create a
sldieshow presentation or print out professional
looking storyboards. The product is
cross-platform and free... what more do you need?
Well there is a more robust version called
Directors Notebook, which we are putting through
its paces and will have a detailed review soon.
If
you'll be at the Podcast and New Media Expo show
this weekend, consider checking out these free
classes on the show floor. Podango is offering
an“Unconference,”a
featured program of the Podcast and New Media
Expo (PNME) taking place September 28-30, at
the Ontario Convention Center.
Podango, the online video and audio network that
enables publishers and advertisers to “get
heard” by today’s hard-to-reach,
niche audiences, is heralding a wide range of
topics and speakers. They include: new media
pioneer Scott Bourne, host of The Apple Phone
Show; Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang,
hosts of MommyCast; as well as Jason Van Orden,
David Lawrence and others. Speakers will share
ideas for building and monetizing audiences in
today’s niche-oriented, interest-driven new
media marketplace.Read
More...
Interested in Motion
Graphics? The check out the evolvingMographWikiwhich has a nice
collection of user contributed content and
articles. Its a great place to browse for
ideas and talent. There's a lot of useful
things up here including:
Looking for some
After Effects training? One of my favorite
resources isThe Anvelrun by Dean
Velez. Besides a bunch of coolfreebies and
templates, Dean has a greatsubscription packageof After Effects
tutorials. Dean is a very experiences designer
with a few Emmys under his belt.
He generously shares this knowledge with others.
Dean's discs are great for ideas and I float them
amongst the RHED Pixel staff so they can try out
some new techniques.
If
you'll be at the Podcast and New Media Expo show
this weekend, consider checking out these free
classes on the show floor. Podango is offering
an“Unconference,”a
featured program of the Podcast and New Media
Expo (PNME) taking place September 28-30, at
the Ontario Convention Center.
Podango, the online video and audio network that
enables publishers and advertisers to “get
heard” by today’s hard-to-reach,
niche audiences, is heralding a wide range of
topics and speakers. They include: new media
pioneer Scott Bourne, host of The Apple Phone
Show; Paige Heninger and Gretchen Vogelzang,
hosts of MommyCast; as well as Jason Van Orden,
David Lawrence and others. Speakers will share
ideas for building and monetizing audiences in
today’s niche-oriented, interest-driven new
media marketplace.Read
More...
DIRTY ALPHA
Not happy with the
alpha channel you get when you cut a Motion
project into a Final Cut Pro timeline? Well, your
alpha may be off. Final Cut Pro sometimes
misinterprets the alpha channel data, expecting
you to have a straight alpha channel, when in
fact you may have a premultiplied alpha.
1. Select the Imported Motion project file in
your Browser.
I
know both of the authors on this book and I am
looking forward to reading it (as soon as I
finish my own updates that is). But if you have
no looming deadlines... I strongly suggest
checking out this cool title.
Apple Pro Training Series:
Motion Graphics and Effects in Final Cut
Studio
“This practical
book focuses on just the parts of Final Cut
Studio that editors and designers need to create
motion graphics in their daily work. Using
footage from the BBC archives along with Motion,
Final Cut Pro, and Live Type (all included in
Final Cut Studio), you’ll build
broadcast-quality titles, motion menus, show
bumpers, and news opens. As with the other titles
in the Apple Pro Training Series, each chapter in
this Apple-authorized guide represents a complete
lesson--with projects to complete and a review
section to reinforce the lessons. Author and
video editor/producers Mark Spencer and Jem
Schofield begin by introducing the basics of
creating an animated title sequence with Final
Cut Pro. From there, you’ll learn
everything from text animation, compositing, and
keyframing to 3D set creation and camera
animation. Step-by-step exercises and a DVD with
project and media files will have you creating
stunning motion graphics in no time.”
I have
personally experienced harassment first hand when
it comes to urban photography. In DC, one
routinely gets threatened or chased off in the
spirit of 'national security.' So it was with
great joy that I came acrossthis entryover atStu Maschwitz
blog.I also found another
helpfulpostat John Nack's prolific blog
on the same topic.
You can find agreat PDF herethat describes
the rights of photographers (and
videographers) within the U.S. Print this out
and place it into your gear bag for the next
time you get harassed.
Looking for
some training in the latest digital media tools
and trends? Then stop by theConsumer Electronics
Showin Las Vegas. There are
classes from January 8-10 with lots of great
topics to catch up on. I've got classes on
making great presentations using both
PowerPoint and Keynote, as well as harnessing
the power of online media with podcasting and
rich media. Plus there’s that whole
world's biggest trade show thing to attend.
Hope to see some of you there.
Date Time Session Title
1/8/2007 9:00 AM Creating Dynamic Presentations
with PowerPoint 2007
1/8/2007 2:30 PM Planning your Digital Video
Project
1/9/2007 9:00 AM Creating Dynamic Presentations
with Apple Keynote
1/9/2007 4:00 PM Using Rich Media to Attract
Customers
1/10/2007 10:30 AM Blogging and Podcasting: What
it Means to You (and Your Customers)
1/10/2007 2:30 PM Photos and Video on the Web:
Putting your Digital Media Online
1/10/2007 4:00 PM Web Technology Demystified:
Harnessing the Power of Flash Video, PDF
I've
edited together the highlights from a recent
class onvideo
podcasting. If
you attended my class at Digital Media DC,
then this is the advanced notes. If you
couldn't attend, then this is the next best
thing. If you open this file in iTunes you can
see the slides change in sync with the audio.
If the slides are not visible, click the Show
Artwork button in the lower left corner then
click the slide thumbnail to go full-screen.
You can also see the slides if you put the
file on an iPod with a screen. I hope you
enjoy and find thepresentationuseful.
It's that time
again... we've launched our survey for the month
of December. It's time for you to cast your vote
and have your voice/click heard.
This time we want to knowwhich new
tutorials to produce. Which Motion Graphics
design skill do you want to see more training
available? I'll produce both a for sale product
and an exclusive sample for those who vote and
comment. Be sure to leave a comment with your
email address and I'll contact you next month
with a free training module.
It's that time
again... we've launched our survey for the month
of November. It's time for you to cast your vote
and have your voice/click heard.
This time we want to know which technology two
things. First, What are your plans in regard to
High Definition DVDs? Are you an early adopter.
sitting on the fence, or just don't believe the
"hype?" Our second question, when do you finally
expect to see the Adobe Creative Suite CS3
finally shipping?
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I've just
posted an old article of mine that I really like.
It’s called “The Director’s
Cut– Digital Video and
the Power of the Macintosh.” It’s
a fun article that shares a bunch of ideas on
pre-production, production, and post. It was
originally published in MacDesign Magazine
(now calledLayers). The article is totally
free and showcases a lot of products and
techniques that we use to save time and money
over atRHED
Pixel. I hope you enjoy.
Continuing
their new Labs idea, Adobe has a preview release
of yet another new product. This time itsAdobe Soundboothwhich
is an audio editing tool for those who don't
need the power of Adobe Audition (or who find
all the features just a little confusing.) The
program is well suited for:
• Editing audio quickly.
• Cleaning up noisy audio.
• Visually identifying and removing
unwanted sounds.
• Recording and polishing voiceovers.
• Adding effects and filters.
Download nowbefore
the current Soundbooth beta expires on
February 28, 2007.
A great review of Soundbooth can be found
onCreative
Cow.
If you'll be
in New York City this week, be sure to say hi.
I'll be speaking at the NAB New York conference
this week on a variety of topics. Classes aren't
free (but the tradeshow is for advanced
registration). You can also get a one-session
free pass by stopping by theFuture Media
Conceptsbooth.
Here's my class schedule if you're coming to the
conference.
Monday -
October 23rd
10:00
- 1:00 Fast Start with Adobe Photoshop CS2
2:00 - 5:00 Fast Start with Adobe Photoshop CS2
for Video
Tuesday -
October 24th
9:00
- 10:15 Automating Photoshop CS2 for a Video
Workflow
12:30 - 1:30 When Multicam Shoots Go Right (and
Wrong)
Wednesday -
October 25th
1:45
- 3:00 HD Loops: Creative Looping Backgrounds
4:45 - 6:00 Interfaces in Motion – Bringing
Web Pages to Life
Thursday -
October 26th
9:00
- 10:15 Essential Color Correction Concepts
12:45 - 2:00 Motion Control 3D: How to Create
Movement within a Photo
2:15 - 3:30 Word Play: Title Design Workshop
It's that time
again... we've launched our survey for the month
of October. It's time for you to cast your vote
and have your voice/click heard.
This time we want to know which technology has
had the greatest impact on your career/hobby. To
clarify, we're talking hardware, software, or
both. If you had to pick one (and only one) which
would it be? Additionally, you have the option to
vote for the ubiquitous ‘other’ but
please be sure to identify it in the Comments
section. Feel free to offer other opinions in the
Comments feed as well.
The Editors
Retreat is an unparalleled industry event,
exclusive to highly experienced editors of
film, TV and video. To ensure that only the
best of the best attend, participation is
subject to an application and screening
process by a committee of peers. Running for 5
days and 4 nights, the Retreat will only be
open to approximately 75 qualified applicants.
The Retreat’s focus will be evenly split
between high-end technical sessions and
‘the world behind the timeline’
– the creativity and the craft of the
editor, and the business of creating a thriving
editing career. Presenters include award-winning
editors and icons from the editing world, alumni
of previous FMC ‘Master Editor’
programs and known industry power users.
I'll be at the
Podcast and Portable Media Expo next week in
California. This two day event is all about
podcasting and the such. If you plan to attend,
I'd love to catch up. I'll be sure to bring back
a report on all that I learn. I'll also be filing
reports forInside Media
Networksand will add
links as the stories go online. The event will
be held September 29 & 30 in Ontario,
California (not far from LA). Hope to see some
of you there.
One of the most
influential events I've ever attended was Avid's
Master Editor Workshop series. But it appears
that the workshop has gone the way of Umatic tape
machines. The replacement? A new event called
theEditors
Retreat. This is
truly a retreat, in that editors come to live
together and learn (did I mention the living
part happens in South Beach in January). The
event runs for 5 days and 4 nights, and is
open to approximately 75 qualified applicants.
The Retreat’s focus focusses on high-end
technical sessions and ‘the world behind
the timeline’ – the creativity and
the craft of the editor. Other classes delve
into the business side as well. Its a great
learning opportunity and worth checking out.
If
you couldn't make it to SIGGRAPH, be sure to
check out thesegreat video
reports. Over at the
Digital Production Buzz, you'll find several
video podcasts with the newsmakers at
SIGGRAPH. Additionally, you'll find additional
podcasts from NAB and E3. You can subscribe to
this occasional feed of
video-of-interesthere.
The
polls are now closed for our August survey.
We asked:
Which NLE do you prefer to use the most?
We set an all time record for responses. All
said, 510 users weighed in... and the results
were surprising.
1. Apple Final
Cut Pro/Final Cut Express (36.27%)
2. Avid Nonlinear Editing Systems
(31.96%)
3. Sony Vegas (14.12%)
4. Adobe Premiere Pro (13.73%)
5. Media 100 (3.92%)
Given the number of respondents, we have
determined that the survey is accurate within +/-
4%... That means Final Cut Pros lead was slim,
but it still took the top spot.
Hope to see some
of you at Photoshop World in Las Vegas. If you
plan to attend, I hope to see some of you there.
Here's my teaching schedule for those who'd like
to catch up.
Thursday
– September 7
Do No Harm - Non-Destructive
Color Correction
NAPP Expo
Theatre – 03:30-04:30 pm
A brand new
tutorial on building graphics for multiple video
formats just went online. You'll find it on DV
Magazines website in both online and print
formats. Learn how
to work in HD, but also create for multimedia,
DVD, and Podcast distribution. This is useful in
you need to generate multiple animations on a
budget or deadline.
The tutorial uses Adobe After Effects, and is not
version specific. If you'd like some extra
resources, visit theMagazine sectionas well.
UPDATE:For PC users
looking for a 10-bit codec... you can either
download theBlackmagiccodecs or
check outSheerVideo.
How good are
your eyes? Sure in the good old days you could
spot the fake dinosaurs and Spiderman was a stunt
man in a suit for every shot, These days we are
inundated with photorealistic CGI on TV and in
cinema. Just how good are your senses? Head over
to Autodesk (makers of 3D Studio Max and Maya) to
take thisquiz. I got 8 out
of 10 on my first try... take alookand stretch
your brain for two minutes. Thanks toScott Simmonsfor the
story.
While at the National Association of
Broadcaster's show, I picked up a copy of
Zaxwerks' ProAnimator. This product is both a
program and a plug-in. It is useful for creating
animated text or logos. You can import Adobe
Illustrator files, 3D models, or type original
text in using any system font. It's fast and easy
and give impressive results.
For more info.
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