The Return of Blogwad

I used to have a semi-regular feature on hdforindies.com where I’d just scoop up all the interesting things that weren’t quite worth their own articles, and publish those as what I called a blogwad. Today I’m bringin’ it back, with a nice little collection showing my current interests these days - an article on why after-the-fact stereoscopic conversion is weak/lame/bad, a review of the LensBaby selective focus system (which is designed for still lenses, but no reason why I couldn’t use it on my Red with my Nikon mount adaptor), and an article on data recovery and good backup techniques (relevant since I accidentally trashed my 800GB iPhoto library recently, and have been poking along at getting it all back together). NEW - Also stuff on Canon 5D Mk II 24p firmware problems and AJA updates.

Continues after the jump.

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Motion Tip: Alpha Channels and Outlines

I recently saw a question about how to create an outline around a graphic in Motion. It’s not as easy as I thought it would be, but it’s not too difficult either. Here’s a method that is quick and flexible.

Q&A with the creator of FCS Maintenance Pack

If you’re a serious Final Cut Pro user then you are probably aware of Digital Rebellion and the tools that they make. Be it their popular Video Footage Calculator, Preference Manager for Final Cut Studio or the recently released FCP Versioner (which I reviewed on PVC) these tools tend not to be flashy… more »

Video Tools from PMA and WPPI

While visiting the recent PMA and WPPI photography expo’s, FreshDV got some video coverage from the tradeshow floor. We’ve posted everything over at ProPhoto Coalition, and also pared out a few segments that should be of interest to those of us in the video and filmmaking industry.

You can watch these select video-related segments here. Product notes and links can be found below.

Deeper Modes of Expression, Part 3: Deeper Into Arrays

We’re in the process of serializing the Deeper Modes of Expression bonus chapter from our book Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects into a set of 12 posts here on PVC. One of the more mystifying areas of expressions - especially for nonprogrammers - is dealing with arrays. Problems with arrays are the cause of a large bulk of the error messages you will encounter with expressions. Here we will recap the basics, dive into performing additional math operations on arrays, and end with a couple of nice expressions that can measure the distance between layers, or cause one layer to automatically face another.

Cineform Neo 3D Tutorial

For a few years now, Cineform has been quietly developing some incredible tools for 3D post-production. We caught up with them last year at NAB 2009 and talked for a solid half hour about their tools and 3D production in general, you can watch those videos here. So I was excited to see that David Newman has also recently posted a video tutorial on how to use Neo 3D to sync and mux multiple 3D footage sources. Watch below.

Daily Inspiration - Coldplay’s Strawberry Swing

Strawberry Swing is a visually stunning stop-motion video starring Coldplay’s Chris Martin in the lead role as a flying superhero fighting giant squirrels, sea monsters, and ultimately, getting the girl. It was created in collaboration with the group Shynola, and utilizes an overhead stop-motion animation style that has come into vogue in recent years. But this video takes it to a whole new level, using perspective and live elements in a way that hasn’t been done before. You’ll no doubt watch this video a few times over, trying to solve the inevitable “how did they do that?!?” questions. Enough talk, watch below.

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Editing a multicamera concert shot on Canon 5Ds

It’s no secret that Canon 5Ds are everywhere. They’ve shot music videos, short films, commercials and more Vimeo videos than anyone can imagine. One place where I haven’t heard about a lot of usage (as of yet anyway) is in multicamera concert production. There’s very real reasons why you wouldn’t want to use any small-form-factor DSLRs (with no gen lock, timecode input or external monitoring) in a multicam production. But that doesn’t mean that they can’t get the job done.

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What about a low rez to hi rez conform option for 7D footage on an Avid?

There’s a forum topic over at Reduser.net that I’ve been following for quite a while. It’s called new Jamfuze info new Jamfuze info and is a discussion about a Macintosh software product, written by a user, that works to process RED .R3D media into mfx files for direct importing into Avid Media Composer. That thread eventually moved into a discussion of a similar product that might include processing of Canon 7D (and I assume 5D, 1D, Rebel T2i) footage as well. What might become 7Dfuze was born.

Is a Visual Effects Guild to Materialize this Decade?

The decade of the twenty-teens is only a couple of months old - or hasn’t started yet - but already, there has been something of a shot heard ‘round the world for VFX artists, particularly those located in the U.S. Lee Stranahan’s Open Letter to James Cameron: Fairness for Visual Effects Artists has become a hot topic of discussion among VFX artists across… more »

Adobe Creative Suite Buzz Hub

Check out the Creative Suite Buzz Hub where you can glimpse into the future of Adobe Creative Suite Technologies. Watch insider sneak peaks of your favorite products and follow the Creative Suite evangelists as they travel around the world. Stay tuned to the daily buzz to be the first to hear what’s new.