January 27, 2012
by maxafter.com
Click on the three images below for a direct link and preview, as well as detailed item description and tutorials, to these FREE after effects templates. While you’re there, feel free to check out their other paid templates.
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FREELOGO01 |
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FREETEXT01 |
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FREESHARP |
January 25, 2012
This past week I posed the question: What are the absolute BEST yet FREE After Effects tutorial sites out there? via LinkedIn After Effects and Motion User’s Groups. I appreciate those that took the time to respond…
2. http://www.videocopilot.net/
3. http://www.motionworks.com.au/
5. http://www.redgiantsoftware.com/videos/redgianttv/
6. http://ae.tutsplus.com/ (not all free)
8. http://library.creativecow.net/tutorials/adobeaftereffects (AE), then http://library.creativecow.net/tutorials/applemotion (Motion)
9. youtube
10. http://greyscalegorilla.com/blog/
12. http://www.applemotion.net/macbreak-studio/ (Motion)
13. http://www.finalcutking.com/tutorials/motion.html
14. http://allbetsareoff.com/category/tutorials/
15. http://www.claygasbury.com/
Of course this listing is not a complete one and only comes with years of motion graphics creation. Feel free, by all means, to tell us YOUR favorite free tutorial websites so we can add them to our growing list. We’ll be happy to post updates as we receive them!
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January 24, 2012
This week I posed the question: Whats the BEST and FREE FCP Tutorial sites out there? on LinkedIn Final Cut and Editors user’s groups and this is a nice list of what was provided. Kudos to everyone who responded to my poll! Check them out, as I will, and feel free to post your comments and feedback back here…
1. Creative Cow
2. YouTube (such as: http://www.youtube.com/user/TimesaverTutorials )
3. appleshakeguru via YouTube
4. http://www.fcptutorials.com/http://fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorialshttp://www.geniusdv.com/news_and_tutorials/2011/12/free_final_cut_pro_70_tutorials.php
5. http://www.finalcutking.com/
7. http://www.rippletraining.com/powertips.html
8. http://www.larryjordan.biz/editing-resource-library/ (newsletter and blog)
9. http://www.pixelcorps.tv/macbreak_studio
10. http://www.filmmakingwebinars.com/webinars/ (some free)
11. http://www.izzyvideo.com/final-cut-pro/
12. http://www.fcptutorials.com/
13. http://fcp.co/final-cut-pro/tutorials
14. http://www.geniusdv.com/news_and_tutorials/2011/12/free_final_cut_pro_70_tutorials.php
15. http://www.colorgradingcentral.com/
Stay tuned tomorrow for a complete list of What are the absolute BEST yet FREE After Effects tutorial sites out there? via LinkedIn After Effects and Motion User’s Groups.
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January 23, 2012
Here’s a blog I came across in my research for even more Final Cut Pro tutorials. The first few pages deal with FCPX while the later include FCP7 tutorials. Here’s just a taste of what premiumbeat.com has to offer the FCP user (other tuts on Avid, After Effects, etc– are on the sidebar)…
By Ashley Kennedy on 12/18/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro X Video Editing
Xto7 for Final Cut Pro (by Assisted Editing) allows you to take your Final Cut Pro X timeline to Final Cut Pro 7. You can also go directly to other Final Cut Pro 7 XML workflow programs, as well as to Adobe Premiere Pro (and to After Effects via dynamic link). It’s available in the App Store for $49.99.
By Danny Greer on 12/17/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro X Product Reviews Video Editing
Singular Software releases their popular Plural Eyes support application for Final Cut Pro X. Available as a free public beta version, this application automates the syncing of audio and video files in your project’s timeline.
By Danny Greer on 12/2/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro Tutorials Final Cut Pro X Product Reviews
In this post we’ll take a look at Event Manager X, an application that allows you to choose what events and projects show up in your FInal Cut Pro X interface. A timesaver and organizational tool, Event Manager X fills a gap in FCPX file management.
By Danny Greer on 11/26/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro Tutorials Final Cut Pro X
Learn how to export footage from Final Cut Pro X with a preserved alpha channel! Great for taking your footage into other applications, such as Motion and After Effects, for compositing and graphics work.
By Danny Greer on 11/18/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro Tutorials Final Cut Pro X Video Editing
Learn which types of audio files work best in Final Cut Pro! Avoid the common mistake of integrating low resolution files into your projects. Instead, learn how to convert your audio files to FCP (and FCPX) friendly formats!
By Ashley Kennedy on 11/15/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro Tutorials Final Cut Pro X Tutorials Video Editing
If Final Cut Pro X won’t launch, crashes while launching, or crashes while open, there are some basic troubleshooting tips you can follow to try to quickly get yourself back up-and-running. Check out this tutorial to equip yourself with the proper technical expertise!
By Danny Greer on 11/11/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro Tutorials Final Cut Pro X Video Editing
In this post we’ll take a look at the newest feature addition to Final Cut Pro X, the introduction of roles. Learn how you can use roles to export out audio and video stem files from your FCPX projects…great for working in third party applications and for archiving!
By Danny Greer on 10/26/11 Category: Avid Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro X Product Reviews Video Editing
Digital Rebellion releases two new applications to organize and manage your video editing project files and footage. Compatible with AVID, Premiere, FCP and FCPX, Digital Rebellion’s Pro Maintenance Tools and Pro Media Tools will streamline your workflow and troubleshoot common editing application errors.
By Ashley Kennedy on 10/18/11 Category: Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro Tutorials Final Cut Pro X Tutorials Video Editing
When you add transitions in Final Cut Pro X, the default behavior is to use material already edited in the Timeline, rather than to use material from your shots’ handles. This makes the duration of your A-side and B-side shots—as well as the entire sequence—shorter with each transition you apply. Check out this tutorial to discover why this probably isn’t the best workflow, as well as how to switch this behavior back to traditional methods.
By Danny Greer on 10/14/11 Category: Avid Final Cut Pro Final Cut Pro X Product Reviews Video Editing
Want to open your Final Cut Pro projects in FCPX? CatDV is a third party application that acts as a “translator” of XML data…allowing you to open a cuts-only sequence of your FCP7 (or earlier version) in Final Cut Pro X and vice versa. Save time and keep your edits organized using this powerful support application!
January 22, 2012
by Alex Gollner
Alex Gollner’s FCP effects and tweaks have been around for many years and now he’s updated and added new ones for the new Final Cut Pro X. These six effects give you more control over the way transform and trim effects work in Final Cut Pro X.
You can choose how values change between keyframes – effect the shape of the value curves for x position, y position, rotation, scale and edge trim amount:
You can also control the order of these effects. You can trim before scaling, then scale before rotating and rotate before setting x and y position. You do this by choosing the order you apply the effects the clip. If you change your mind about the order, you can drag effects up and down within Video panel of the clip inspector.
In the scale and rotation effects you can also set the centre around which the clip is scaled and rotated:
Here are the controls for all six effects:
Click here to view the rest of Alex Gollner‘s article.
January 21, 2012
| Motiongraphics.nu |
For those interested in broadcast design and motion graphics, this is a must bookmark site. Tons of CGI based commercials and demo reels, as well as music videos and experimental shorts. Showcasing some of the best work being done today, MotionGraphics.nu is a curated collection of interesting and high-quality videos. |
| Motionspire |
Like MotionGraphics.nu, Motionspire showcases top work in communication design and graphics. One of the highlights of this site is it’s simple layout and easy search functionality. Find videos in popular categories (stop motion, typography and visual effects to name a few) or dig back in the archives to find past favorites. Motionspire is updated often and like the name implies, it’s a great source of motion graphics inspiration! |
| Devour |
With the vast amount of videos uploaded each day online, finding the best videos can be like looking for a needle in a haystack. “Devour sifts out the best videos and posts the well-curated collection every weekday,” from across the web. From rising YouTube stars, quirky music videos and hilarious commercials, Devour serves up interesting content that’s great for video production and editing inspiration. You can also follow Devour on Facebook or Twitter to get all the latest. |
| Shots.net |
For those serious about getting the latest ideas and creative inspiration there’s Shots.net. Shots highlights cutting edge television commercials and online video campaigns, as well as provides in-depth behind the scenes coverage of commercial production and director interviews. Geared toward ad agencies, Shots is a subscription-based service that includes full access to the site as well as DVDs and magazines. With over 6,000 archived commercial spots, find out who directed, shot and cut some of the world’s most cutting edge commercials. |
| Creativity |
Creativity Online highlights the very best of advertising, marketing and entertainment. From television commercials to viral videos and online interactive projects, the site showcases the most creative projects happening today, and the behind-the-scenes production work. Creativity Online is more than just a gallery of work…interviews and industry news keep readers abreast of the latest developments. See what some of the best and brightest are creating! |
| Best Ads on TV |
Although the site features the best advertisements across many platforms (online, print, outdoor) the highlight here is the television adverts. Updated weekly, the site features unique commercials and provides full credits for each of the productions (director, producer, agency and more). Get editing and graphic design inspiration, and stay abreast of some of the most interesting ads to hit the market. |
| The Cool Hunter |
Popular site, The Cool Hunter, showcases what’s “cool, thoughtful, innovative and original” in both culture and design. Among the topics covered on the site is “advertising” and the videos featured on the site definitely live up to that. Check out trendy television commercials and unique viral videos…great for getting creative ideas for your video projects. |
| Motionographer |
Motionographer serves up a daily dose of inspiration with their featured videos and commercials, as well as stories highlighting the most talented designers and firms in the business. Learn about the creative process behind innovative projects, including full credits and in some cases a list of software and equipment used in the production and post. Sign up for their daily digest and get the newest content delivered for free regularly! |
| Motion Graphics Served |
MotionServed.com is a collection of high quality motion graphics projects, part of the Behance Creative Network. Curated and updated often, Motion Graphics Served dishes out the best in animation, CGI and digital animation. Music videos, title sequences and broadcast commercials make up the majority of the work showcased. While you’re on the site, check out the Job Board to learn about current industry-related job openings around the world. |
| Vimeo |
Most video professionals are familiar with Vimeo, but we’d be remiss to exclude it from our list of sites for motion graphics and video editing inspiration. With most of the content on the site available in HD, Vimeo highlights some of the best work being done in independent film and video production. Vimeo staff curate the “videos we like” feature on the site’s homepage…an always interesting selection of unique videos, perfect for gaining ideas and inspiration.
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January 19, 2012
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that 10 films remain in the running in the Visual Effects category for the 84th Academy Awards. All members of the Visual Effects Branch will be invited to view 10-minute excerpts from each of the 10 shortlisted films on Thursday, January 19. Following the screenings, the members will vote to nominate five films for final Oscar consideration.
The films are listed below in alphabetical order:
The 84th Academy Awards nominations will be announced live on Tuesday, January 24, at 5:30 a.m. PT in the Academy’s Samuel Goldwyn Theater.
Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2011 will be presented on Sunday, February 26, at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood & Highland Center, and televised live by the ABC Television Network. The Oscar presentation also will be televised live in more than 225 countries worldwide.
The Academy has also produced its trailer for the 84th Academy Awards in conjunction with Funny Or Die. The trailer features host Billy Crystal and celebrity cameo appearances by Robin Williams, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox, William Fichtner and Vinnie Jones. You can watch it below:
“We wanted to try something a little bit different this year instead of a traditional, clip-based piece,” said Academy Chief Marketing Officer Christina Kounelias. “The trailer has a fun twist that conveys how excited everyone is to have Billy back.”
Source: http://www.oscars.org
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January 17, 2012
by Jesse Rosten
This commercial isn’t real, neither are society’s standards of beauty.
January 15, 2012
By Michele Yamazaki, Toolfarm.com
In honor of adding DropDrop Templates to our store, we’re giving away the free DropDrop After Effects project with 77 compositions inside.
To download:
Check out all of the cool DropDrop Templates available at Toolfarm. Each has a video sample and the templates are 1920×1080. Some require third party plug-ins but most do not. Have a look at the System Requirements for that information.
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January 14, 2012
by NoiseIndustries.com
Install FxFactory to use free effects and trial versions of commercial effects.
No purchase required to use free products.
Commercial products can be purchased and unlocked as needed.
Installing and using FxFactory
Introduction to FxFactoryMac OS X Snow Leopard or Lion
Version 10.6.3 / Version 10.7
ATI, NVIDIA or Intel HD graphics1
January 13, 2012
By Michele Yamazaki, Toolfarm.com
Someone on one of the groups on Facebook was talking about using templates and how they make a great jumping off point for projects. I’ve heard of other people get really down on templates though, saying that they are cheating. So let’s play the little game of Pros and Cons for using templates and presets.
Sample: CrumplePop Crafty Titles
I’m sure you all know Aharon Rabinowitz of Red Giant Software. We were talking a few years ago about how people copy his work and the work of Andrew Kramer’s crew at Video Copilot. Their work is great, right? Indeed. He had told me that someone he talked to had lost out on a job because someone else had turned in a reel that was full of Video Copilot tutorials and templates with their own content. Now this, in my opinion is unacceptable.
Sample: Professional Video Templates Frames & Roses for After Effects
To summarize my views, think of templates and presets like a seamstress uses a pattern. The pattern may be from Buttrick, but the seamstress chooses the fabric, the trim, and makes modifications to suit the person who will wear the dress. Another analogy, a cookbook. Sure, following a recipe to the T may give you perfect results but how many times have you swapped pecans for walnuts or ground turkey for ground beef? You change the amount of spice, salt and sugar to suit your taste, too. You can learn techniques and flavor combinations by reading cookbooks. Looking at recipes is also a great way to give you inspiration in the kitchen and but in the end, the dish is usually unique. The same thing should be said for templates and presets. Get inspired, learn from them and make them your own.
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January 12, 2012
Most people think that video editing is only about cutting out all the stuff that doesn’t look good, mistakes, shaky shots and the footage of you filming your feet because you forgot to turn off the camera 
Video editing sure is all that but certainly a lot more than that. It is the most important part of your video production, the part where emotions and drama is created.
Video editing is actually the process of adding stuff, not taking it away. It is not only about trimming the footage; it is about adding flow, emotions, illusions and creating an entertainment factor.
It is also about communicating with your audience, not only bringing pictures across, but bringing feelings across.
Video editing requires your both brain halves to work together. One side for the technical part, the other for the creative. When those two are working right, video editing can be a wonderful thing.
On the other hand, when the technical part isn’t working properly, it can be very frustrating. Choose your video editing software carefully and take time to get to know it. Take a course or follow some tutorials. This avoids frustrations along the line.
Also, figure out what the message is you want to bring across in your movie. Some cool effects alone won’t make a great movie. Get the essence of a story or your message down on paper before you start filming and editing.
These tips should get you started easily and will help you with the most essential basics of video editing.
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January 11, 2012
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The main tools you’ll need to get your hands on are a drill and a stationary vise. It’s possible to do it without the vise, but it’s far more difficult and potentially dangerous. You can buy a vise for about $15 from Home Depot or Lowes and it’s well worth the money if you are going to do any future projects. It’s meant to be table mounted, but I just bolted it to a big board that I can stand on while I use it. Mounting it is important. I tried doing this once without mounting it (didn’t have spare board at the time) . It was a p-a-i-n. | ||||||||||||
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You’ll need drill and a 1/4″ drill bit that can go into galvanized steel. So, cheap wood bits will probably not survive this project. This happens to be a very nice drill in this picture, but any power drill will do. | ||||||||||||
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You also need a wrench, screwdriver (type depends on the bolts you get), and a hammer. I had a little combo thingy I got from the dollar store. It actually works pretty well because the wrench part is a little bit clawed, so it grips pipes really nicely. | ||||||||||||
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Pipes First you’ll need three pipes. I like to use 1/2″ galvanized steel or black iron. It’s strong, threaded at the ends, and a comfortable thickness. You can use any length pipes you like, but this project uses three 10″ pipes (about $1.50 each). |
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End caps You’ll also need three end caps. You can get away with just two, but the last one is used to cover up those nasty sharp threads on the end of the pipes. I’ve gotten cuts while building these things by accidentally grabbing the threads too hard . These are about 80 cents a piece. Make sure they fit the pipes, 1/2″ diameter. |
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Tee Basic T-joint. Again, make sure it fits the pipes. If your standard hardware store doesn’t have this, you can try a plumbing store. About $1.30. |
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Weight This is just a simple barbell weight from a sports store. The one shown in the picture is 2.5 pounds, but you can buy any weight you want. But, anything heavier than 5 pounds starts getting too heavy to carry around. Get a weight that has a 1″ diameter hole. These are about $3. |
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Other small parts Here’s a break down of what you’ll need: A – two 1-1/2″ 1/4″ machine bolts B – one 1/4″ wing nut C – three 1-1/2″ diameter flange washers for 1/4″ bolts D – three lock washers for 1/4″ bolts. E – two 1/4″ machine nuts. |
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| All these together costs about two dollars. You sometimes can find these for really cheap at a specialty hardware store. General hardware stores tend to charge a lot for the specialty washers and nuts.
Total Cost: 3 x $1.50 + 3 x $0.80 + $1.50 + $2.00 + $3.00 = $13.40 (yours will vary)
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| Assembling the Handle | |||||||||||||
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This first step is pretty easy. Just attach the tee and end cap to one of the pipes to form a basic handle. Feel free to tighten these parts together as much as you like. I recommend using the vise and a wrench. Don’t use your hands, you’ll just hurt yourself and not get it tight enough. | ||||||||||||
| Drilling the End Caps | |||||||||||||
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Put one of the end caps in the vise as shown. Then drill a 1/4″ hole in the center of the cap. It’s doesn’t have to be perfectly in the center, but the closer the better. You really want to use the vise because you’re drilling through a quarter inch of galvanized steel. It’s enough to bring weak drills to a dead stop and will definitely do a number on your hand if you just try to hold it. Not mention it can get hot. Protective eyeware such as safety goggles should AWLAYS be used when using any powertool! Also little bit of machine oil (or even vegetable oil) can make this easier as well as preserve your drill bit.I like using a slow speed because when the bit comes out the other side it’ll jerk from grabbing onto the metal. It’s far more pleasant to have a slow jerk than to have the drill suddenly fly out of your hand. Do this in a place that’s easy to clean up. You’ll make lots of metal shards. Outside is where I did it. And don’t use you fingers to wipe away the shreds!!! They’ll get in your skin. Use a brush, or blow the shards away.Do this for two end caps. | ||||||||||||
| The Camera Mount | |||||||||||||
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The mounting requires the parts in the picture on the left. Bolt, two lock washers, flange washer, nut, wing nut, and a drilled end cap. Put a lock washer on the bolt and the put it through the end cap with the bottom of the bolt coming out of the top of the outside of the end cap like in the middle picture. Put another lock washer on and then the nut. Put the end cap in the vise and tighten with a wrench. The lock washer will keep the bolt from turning.You’ll want to make this really tight because this is where your camera attaches. You want it tight not because it’ll fall off or anything, but because putting the camera on and taking it off requires lots of turning action. If it loosens, the bolt will pivot around as will your camera making hard it to keep still. If this happens while you’re filming, you’ll have to stop and find a wrench. This schematic viewmay be a little clearer than the pictures.Use a hammer to dent the center of the flange washer. You can do this by putting the washer across the hole of the weight, putting the head of the bolt on the hole, and hammer the bolt. You want to have the center area of the washer higher than the rim. So when you attached the mount to the camera, as shown in the right picture, the rim of the washer pushes up against the area around the bolt. This washer will distribute the force away from the single point of contact. So, the wider the washer the better. If you don’t use the washer, the camera will shake a lot right at this connection as well as putting a great deal of stress on this one tiny spot that could damage your camera. So if you lose this washer, I don’t recommend using this stabilizer without it.
Use your fingers to tighten the wing nut on the mounting. DO NOT use a wrench. You may risk stripping the threads on your camera or breaking the tripod mount. Both are equally bad. |
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| The Counter Weight | |||||||||||||
| You’ll need the barbell weight and the parts shown in the pictures below. They’ll go together in the pattern shown in the next picture. The bolt goes through two washers that sandwich the weight. Then stick on the end cap, put on the lock washer, and then finally the nut. Hand tighten the parts until they are snug. This schematic viewmay be a little clearer than the pictures.The lock washer deep inside the end cap will keep a grip on the nut. So, you don’t have to stick pliers down there to turn it. Just turn the cap. Stick the cap in the vise shown on the bottom left. Then you can use the screwdriver to tighten the bolt, or just grab the weight and turn it. The weight should turn the bolt, and the vise will keep the cap from turning.
I like to tighten it until the outer washer starts to bend inwards. This reduces the amount the bolt sticks out – good for when you want to put it down on the base. If you do use the base as stand (not highly recommended because it’s easy to knock over), you can buy rounded bolts and little rubber feet. These will make a much nicer base that won’t wobble. You can tell I like to do this and I say it easy to knock over from experience. My camera still seems to work okay, though. |
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| All Together Now… | |||||||||||||
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Lastly, take the remaining two pipes, screw them into the T joint of the handle, and attached the base and the mounting. And your done! You can tighten these parts as much as you’d like. Either give them a good hand tightening or the full fledged vise and wrench tightening. The only reason not to do the vise-wrench tighten is if you want to be able to collapse this or swap components. You can vary the pipe lengths and barbell weight however you like.I would probably refer to this combination as the sport model. Mostly because it’s balance point (with camera) is near the T-joint and can be spun around by the handle pretty well. It’s really agile. Longer bars and heavier weights change the handling.
When you store it without the camera, the mounting washer is left hanging on the end. I recommend taking off the wing nut, putting on the washer, and then screwing the wing nut back on. That will help keep it from getting lost. |
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| Using Your Stabilizer | |||||||||||||
The side handle is used to stabilize side-to-side rocking. The vertical shaking is pretty much dampened by the weight. You may hold it however you’d like. The way I like holding it is shown in the picture. How you use it is 80% of the smoothness. This even is true for the professional stuff with all the fancy shocks and hydraulics. Don’t expect this thing to perform miracles, you have to practice using your arms and body to create a smooth motion. Watch your hands while you walk, and see how level you can keep them relative to the ground. Watching the shadow of your hands on a sunny say is an easy way to isolate thier movement. Keep your legs bent and learn how to “glide”. I talked with someone who has used professional stabilizers and they said this was, “really, just as good.” Getting good results is not so much about the equipment, but how you use it. That’s really true about everything.WARNING: Improper or irresponsible use of a camera stabilizer can quickly result in the destruction of your equipment and/or injury to yourself and others. Be careful, watch where you are going, pay attention to where you are swinging your camera, and just try not to do anything stupid for your own sake.
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January 10, 2012
by Adorama TV
Adorama is great for selling all sorts of video, media & photo products…but did you know they also have almost 31,000 subscribers to their hundreds of photography tutorials on youtube?
Why don’t you go here to check them out and perhaps stay awhile…?
We are pros with a passion for helping our customers make extraordinary pictures! Whether you’re a professional or a beginner, we’re here to provide educational resources to make you the best photographer you can be.
Visit us on these other sites:
Twitter: @adoramatv
Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/peopl…
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/Ado…
January 8, 2012
Take your time, some of the loops are almost imperceptible, the beauty laying in the subtlety of it all.
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(To see more on this subject of animated gifs and cinemagraphs, click here and here.)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1964)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Shining (1980)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
January 7, 2012
by cinema5
A look at the new RED Scarlet-X 4K camera.
Basic configuration, minimum accessories and weight.
See the related article on cinema5D:
cinema5d.com/news/?p=9409
Part 1/2 Touch it, feel it, a quick look at the exterior of a basic Scarlet-X shooting package.
In the first video I presented the following products by RED digital cinema:
- Scarlet-X Brain
- Canon EF Aluminum mount
- SSD Side Module
- 2x 64GB SSD’s
- Side Handle
- 4 RedVolt Batteries
- 2 Travel Chargers
- Red Station
- Red Pro Touch Lcd 5″
In the second video I present the following 3rd party accessories:
Many of these accessories are also available by RED and other manufacturers. I’ve contacted most of the manufacturers of 3rd party equipment. However Arri was the only company that was kind enough to lend me their stuff and most importantly provide it on time (2-5 weeks…). Their equipment is equally reliable, certainly this reliability comes at a slightly higher price.
I was not able to get my hands on an acceptable handheld rig solution. While I have received many promises none of the manufacturers delivered samples. I believe a good solution for handheld does not exist at this time or requires some DIY and a lot of assembly. We try to find such a solution in the buyers guide.
15mm:
- Arri 15mm LW support.
- Arri MMB-2
- Arri MFF-2 (not MFF-1!)
- TvLogic VFM-056W lcd
- Wooden Camera UVF mount (with a diy construction to fit lcd)
- Tokina 11-16mm lens
19mm:
- Arri Bridgeplate BP-8
- Arri MatteBox MB-29
- Matser Prime 25mm T1.3
- Arri Follow Focus FF-5
Harddisk Recorder:
- Atomos Samurai
- BNC / HD-SDI cable
Note: The Atomos Samurai does not have a means to measure exposure yet. So unless there’s a way to see an exposure histogram for the Scarlet-X HD-SDI feed you can only judge correct Samurai recording exposure by judging what you see on the Samurai monitor.
Here’s the growing Scarlet-X buyers guide for accessories compatible with the Scarlet-X:
(please add stuff there)
Testing of the Scarlet-X:
- Scarlet-X motion & grading video
- Scarlet-X 2K vs 4K shootig: frame comparison
- Scarlet-X sensor detail on a 28mm photo prime
- Low light comparison between the RED Scarlet & Canon C300
- Photos of the Scarlet-X
- Lensport height problem explained
January 5, 2012
by Imagineer Systems, Studio Monthly and Nino Del Padre
Click here for more information...
This Incredibly Fast 64-bit Planar Tracker Will Help Any Facility Save Time Changing Elements in Even the Most Complicated ScenesThe sleight of hand we, as video editors, have to accomplish on a daily basis gets a little maddening at times. It’s considered an easy day when all you have to do is blur out a copyrighted logo on someone’s shirt who is moving in place slightly. No biggie. Then a couple of days before the deadline, the client calls and says legal can’t clear a billboard and it needs to be removed. You know, that one behind his head… and a clump of trees… while the camera pans around them. That’s when a good planar tracker comes in.To handle that billboard, I typically go into After Effects, manually place the insert for the billboard and create and animate a mask for the object that is in front of said trees and talent. At least that’s how I used to do it. Then I found Mocha, from Imagineer Systems. |
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Mocha Pro is the latest version of the company’s planar tracking software. It combines the functionality of previously available products into one single package, making it easier to get the job done faster. Mocha Pro, like the original Mocha, uses planar tracking to track regions of planar surfaces in your footage, not just a few local pixels, computing not only second variables, such as X-Y movement, rotation and scale, but 3D elements such as perspective, for ultra-convincing replacement of any part of your scene. Not spending much time creating visual effects I was surprised how useful a tool like Mocha was to a full-time editor for situations like he billboard, and a great deal of other things, too. Mocha’s primary uses include brand replacement, item removal and logo replacement. We once had to remove a controversial book from a bookshelf in the background in one project and it came in very handy. Mocha Pro also helped us on a recent project, a promotional video for a client’s upcoming iPad app. The app itself is still in beta and too early for a copy to work on a native iPad, so we had to get by on simple animations based on developer screenshots. As we all know from software development, a project can have features, menus and graphic elements added, moved or deleted all together, potentially making some of our user footage obsolete or misleading, and in effect, worthless. We took care of this problem ahead of time by shooting the iPad usage with an all-green wallpaper, giving us a good solid base to use Mocha Pro’s color tracking abilities. (It wasn’t until later I learned that this step wasn’t necessary, as the program would have had no problem with an image on screen and would have been better with perhaps just a black screen to keep some of the natural reflections from the screen.)
With a few quick splines, we were able to insert footage of the most updated versions of the app using the same original shot and create a clean roto for out talent’s hands (the results are seen below). Without Mocha we would have had to re-shoot again just to show a slightly different menu in use.
Feature SetsIn addition to its existing planar tracker and rotoscoping tools, Mocha Pro adds a number of other features that help get the job done swiftly and efficiently. Mocha Pro’s “Insert” feature tackles even tough movement situations, such as motion blur, with great results, and includes the ability to render out inserts with alphas so they are usable in other scenes. For further refinement, the mesh warp tool lets you distort the insert and make them “bend” around objects with more difficult angles. The 3D offset means you can further tweak tracking data, such as depth and rotation, making even subtle changes to the perspective of the surface easy to compensate for. With Mocha Pro’s removal tools, tracked layers are analyzed, taking lighting and shifts in luminance into consideration. With this tool, you can accurately remove objects behind other objects by “predicting” what is behind it; the calculations are based on what it found elsewhere in the footage. Removing simple things like boom mikes or even entire objects takes much less time than it did in the previous version. You can even get granular and use the software to remove blemishes and do digital makeup retouching. All of your planar tracking and roto data can be exported to After Effects, Flame, Fusion, Nuke and a bunch of other important hosts. A Very Easy Learning CurveI found Mocha Pro much easier to use and learn than point tracking, where you draw a little box around a few pixels that have a high contrast and a bigger box around the area that you want to search. Point tracking works as long as you have a clear point to track. However, as the light in your scene changes, the perspective changes or the point is inevitably blocked by something else and the track will get lost and wander off. Mocha Pro is a separate program and opens on your system onto one large window, which can be re-sized and moved around. The controls are laid out very well and once you figure out what the icons mean, it is pretty straightforward. The tutorials on the Imagineer web site are really well done and offer in-depth lessons on almost every one of Mocha Pro’s many parts. The online manual is also really good, with step-by-step instructions with pictures. PerformanceMocha Pro is fast and we’ve found that it moves pretty quickly through HD files, producing amazing results. It takes a few minutes to make the tracks, depending on how complex and long they are. The way the software makes roto-masks and tracks them is where it really shines, however. The speed with which it does this means you’ll blaze through most of your rotoscoping tasks. I’m talking about cutting times in half and, sometimes, even cutting the time down to 10% of the original. We’ve saved hours on each rotoscope job. Nino Del Padre launched his Del Padre Digital in 1991. Today he oversees a business that now encompasses digital cinematography services, animation and interactive design solutions to ad agencies, corporate clients, broadcast networks and the entertainment industry, as well as partnerships with institutions as diverse as LEGO, Hasbro and NASA.
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January 3, 2012
Edit Smarter with Larry Jordan contains hundreds of articles and tutorials of everything video from current to past!
Keyframes are at the heart of all video animation; though, in some cases they are hidden in a Motion behavior or pre-built effect. In this tutorial, I will show you how to add keyframes in the Final Cut Pro X Timeline to animate an effect.
Action Safe and Title Safe boundaries were invented decades ago to solve two problems with televisions that had picture tubes. This technique explains what they are and how to display them.
Valentine’s Day is coming up, so I thought I would use it as the example for one of my favorite effects – putting video inside a shape. This effect is also called a “traveling matte.”
Welcome to the latest edition of my monthly Final Cut Studio newsletter for December, 2011. This newsletter provides tutorials, tips and other information essential to the interested user of Final Cut Pro.
Adding timecode to clips or projects is a great way to allow clients to review your projects and relate their comments to a specific time in the project. (This process is also called “timecode burn-in” – or “burning in timecode.”) This technique explains what you need to know.
Let’s pretend we want to share a group of clips with multiple projects. The easiest way to move a clip, or a group of clips, between projects is to use copy and paste. This article explains how, along with variations on Copy and Paste.
In this technique, you’ll learn how to save custom audio filter settings in both Final Cut Pro X (FCP X) and Soundtrack Pro.
This color correction technique in Final Cut Pro X isn’t perfect, but it is REALLY fast and gets you close enough to keep your job
A picture-in-picture effect is a very popular effect
A hearty happy new year to everyone and anyone out there among the 40,000+ viewers of my “Everything Video” blog in 2011. The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2011 annual report for this blog, for your eyes only (or anyone you forward to…)
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Syndey Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 40,000 times in 2011. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 15 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
December 30, 2011
by Appleserialnumberinfo.com (Thanks to Guy Noffsinger for posting)
Serial numbers are a manufacturers way of tracking model and build information.
Also in case of production flaws serial numbers are very handy tools to see where the flaw
occurred and which models are affected. Appleserialnumberinfo enables you to look-up the
information of any Mac, iPod, iPhone, AppleTV and many more Apple products. We support
most devices dating back to 2000 and we can show you where your product was built, when
it was built and even the build number. Besides detailed information about the hardware you
can also see if there is a repair program available for your product, if the warranty is still valid
and a list of important updates. Type your serial number in the search field to see what it can
tell you about your Apple product!
What's in a serial number anyway?
A serial number is a unique, identifying number or group of numbers and letters assigned to an individual piece of hardware or software. It’s used for various things depending on the product / brand but what is your Mac’s serial number for and more importantly… what is it hiding and what can it do for you ? Serial numbers are used by manufacturers to track individual items, usually for quality control. This way it’s easier to track down production issues, production numbers, determine warranty etc.
Serial numbers are valuable in quality control, as once a defect is found in the production of a particular batch of product, the serial number will quickly identify which units are affected. Serial numbers are also used as a deterrent against theft and counterfeit products in that serial numbers can be recorded, and stolen or otherwise irregular goods can be identified. In your Mac’s case it holds a lot more info.
A serial number only holds hardware information, not personal information.
Only the store where the hardware was purchased holds records with the name, purchase date etc.
Appleserialnumberinfo.com can only read out the hardware information since we are not linked to any
store databases.
Appleserialnumberinfo.com attempts to support all major Apple products dating back to the year 2000, this is done by help from the users. Every day many users submit their hardware info to help our database become bigger, better and more reliable. Without that submitted information the site would not be what it is today.
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