Using the GoPro HD Hero2 and the 3D Hero System with CineForm Software
Whether you love it or hate it, 3D Stereography is here for awhile. And if you’re totally into it like I am, you quickly realize that there are few turnkey workflows out there to capture and process 3D Stereo video that’s easy to setup, shoot and edit Stereo pairs. Sure, there are a lot of high-end (expensive to rent) systems for two cameras to shoot, software to sync/mux the footage and rigs you can build to edit it, but GoPro has brought it together with a fun and easy-to-use system that anyone can use.
After Effects Apprentice Free Video: Creating 3D Objects using Adobe Repoussé
Chris and Trish Meyer | 11/21- 08:00 AM
If you don’t have access to a dedicated 3D program or plug-in, here’s a way to use Photoshop Extended to create extruded logos and text.
As we mentioned earlier, we’ve been busy this year creating an extensive, multi-course video training series based on our popular beginner’s book After Effects Apprentice. Each course has two or more movies that are free for all to view; we’re re-posting those videos here on PVC to make sure you don’t miss them. This movie explains the ins and outs of using Adobe Repoussé to create 3D objects that may then be imported into After Effects.
After Effects Apprentice Free Video: Understanding Axis Modes
Chris and Trish Meyer | 11/14- 08:00 AM
Moving layers relative to the world, the current view, or themselves.
As we mentioned earlier, we’ve been busy this year creating an extensive, multi-course video training series based on our popular beginner’s book After Effects Apprentice. Each course has two or more movies that are free for all to view; we’re re-posting those videos here on PVC to make sure you don’t miss them. This movie explains the differences between the three axis display modes in After Effects.
After Effects Apprentice Free Video: Creating an Orbit Camera Rig
Chris and Trish Meyer | 11/08- 08:00 AM
Techniques to make your camera move in a perfect arc.
As we mentioned earlier, we’ve been busy this year creating an extensive, multi-course video training series based on our popular beginner’s book After Effects Apprentice. Each course has two or more movies that are free for all to view; we’re re-posting those videos here on PVC to make sure you don’t miss them. This movie demonstrates how to build an orbit camera rig in After Effects, both manually and by using the new menu command added in AE CS5.5.
What’s cooking in the lab (and apparently close enough to tease us with).
Adobe’s big annual MAX conference finished a couple of weeks ago, and as part of it they included a series of technology sneak peeks. I’ve gone through the videos posted on AdobeTV and pulled out the ones of most interest to us video folks:
CMG Hidden Gems: Chapter 40 – Integrating with 3D Applications
Chris and Trish Meyer | 09/22- 09:09 PM
Another selection of “hidden gems” (and essential advice), this time from Chapter 40 of Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects.
We’re going through our book Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects 5th Edition (CMG5) and pulling out a few “hidden gems” from each chapter. These will include essential advice for new users, plus timesaving tips that experienced users may not be aware of.
Real 3D programs have several advantages over After Effects: For example, their objects have real depth, and the texturing and lighting options are far more advanced. However, After Effects is the better tool in which to refine the final look of your 3D renders, as well as composite other elements on top of them. Offloading portions of the work from your 3D program to After Effects will save time while giving you more power and flexibility - but it requires some planning to set up.
In this chapter in CMG, we give advice on how to successfully integrate your 3D program with After Effects. Unfortunately, there is no one universal file format to bring information from a 3D application into After Effects, so in the book we focus on using Maxon Cinema 4D as it currently has the tightest integration with After Effects, plus is the 3D program we personally use. However, many of the concepts we cover are universal and can be applied to other programs as well. A few of the more universal tips from that chapter are included here.
Blackmagic delivers its first Thunderbolt-based i/o interface, the UltraStudio 3D
Allan Tépper | 09/05- 07:39 AM
Blackmagic Design has begun shipping its first Thunderbolt based audio/video i/o interface, which is officially known as the UltraStudio 3D. As its suffix indicates, it is capable of 3D stereoscopic workflows, although it is certainly capable of 2D workflows too. However, we must be diligent and refer to it with its full name (including the “3D” suffix) in order to differentiate it from other Blackmagic models whose names also begin with “UltraStudio”. This first look at the US$995 UltraStudio 3D will cover its features, specs, and even an initial limitation for HP DreamColor monitors, together with a somewhat costly workaround. You’ll also learn everything you need to know about the UltraStudio 3D’s end-point Thunderbolt connection and its current limitations.
A joint Adobe-NVIDIA research project demonstrating accelerated ray-traced 3D.
At this week’s SIGGRAPH convention in Vancouver, Adobe and NVIDIA are giving a technology presentation of ray-traced extruded text and shapes inside a “motion graphics environment” (you can read for yourself what the menu bar says; before getting too excited, note this is a technology prototype and not an announced or released product). Obviously, there are a lot of questions left unanswered at this point in time - but as we’ve seen in the past, a lot of other Adobe technology demos eventually become products; fingers crossed that this is the case here.
Edit and Optimize 2D Stereo Pairs from a 3D Video Camera or Twin Cameras with a Modified Stereo 3D Rig in After Effects CS5.5
Adobe included a 1-step option to create a 3D Stereo Camera Rig in After Effects CS5.5, to everyone’s enthusiasm for a simpler workflow in 3D space. Great if you are working in 3D space in After Effects, but what about an easy option for 3D Stereo pairs captured by a 3D camera or twin cameras on a rig? In this tutorial I’ll show you how to quickly modify the Stereo 3D Rig in After Effects to quickly mux your L&R video files and adjust the convergence for anaglyph, interlaced or stereo pairs output.
A contracted article, sponsored by Datavideo Corporation.
Our friends at Datavideo recently asked me to write an article called How to get the “24p” look for your live-switched multicam shoot. The article covers many factors involved in accomplishing that goal, including framerate, aperture, shutter speed, depth of field, and menu settings in Datavideo’s digital HD video mixers (“switchers”) and recorders, and also the menu settings in several pro cameras from Canon, Panasonic, and Sony. The included chart explains which of the cameras have a direct HD-SDI output, and which require an optional converter to go from HDMI to HD-SDI to connect to the Datavideo digital HD video mixer. As you’ll see in the article, the approach is quite different from the workflows I normally cover, which are more appropriate when programs are to be edited, as opposed to when they are shot —and potentially broadcast— live. The graphics for this article were done by Victory Elliot of Datavideo Corporation.
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