Thursday, January 01, 2009

Getting Animated About Human Rights

Chris Meyer | 01/01- 01:01 AM

A stunning animation brings a simple text document to life.

I greatly admired this video when I first saw it during the past election season, but could never carve out time to write about it. Perhaps this will serve as a good way to finish off the holiday season and kick off the New Year, both creatively and spiritually.

Monday, December 29, 2008

What AE’s Still Missing…

Chris and Trish Meyer | 12/29- 10:05 PM

...plus where to find it from third-party vendors.

We had an idea here on PVC that we would make lists of what has been most interesting this previous year, and what we anticipate in the new year ahead. Several of us planned to write these, but unfortunately few of us have so far. You know - we’ve been busy with work, the holidays, and such. After all, there’s only so much a person can do.

Well, it’s the same for many software tools as well, such as our main tool After Effects. AE CS3 was (in our opinion) one of the best updates ever for motion graphics artists, and AE CS4 has its charms (here is our roundup of the new features that caught our eye; here is Todd Kopriva’s more comprehensive list). Still, there are many features that remain unimplemented or underimplemented - because either resources weren’t available, a new feature caught a programmer’s eye, or not enough people have jumped up and down screaming for the feature we personally want.

Following are some of the features we’re still waiting for. As we have a personal policy of “you’re not allowed to complain about something unless you are also willing to offer a solution,” we’ll also mention some ideas for cheats and workarounds inside AE, from third parties, and in alternate applications such as Apple’s Motion. The first two pages will focus on issues in 3D space, and then we’ll move onto issues such as mask shapes and text.

Sunday, December 21, 2008

New Year’s Resolution List

Steve Hullfish | 12/21- 11:40 AM

Things to pledge to do - and NOT to do - next year!

So the grand poobahs at ProVideoCoalition wanted all of us gurus to write a few year end lists. There are all kinds of things that are important to editors and video professionals that could be turned into lists: plug-ins, equipment, innovative productions.

My list is of none of these things. But hopefully, it will be even more helpful and valuable. Oftentimes I get called in to fix projects that have been started by other editors, so I see a lot of other people’s work. There are a few common mistakes that I see over and over again. So welcome to “My New Year’s Resolution List of Mistakes That You Should Avoid Next Year.” Some are technical. Some are creative. And some are business mistakes or client relationship mistakes. There are also a few positive “to dos” to add to your New Year’s Resolution list.

Thursday, December 11, 2008

SlashCAM’s Camcorder Database

Adam Wilt | 12/11- 10:21 PM

Test results with images, to compare and contrast.

Our minders here at PVC have been gently encouraging us to write up “holiday lists”. They say, “people love lists—so publish a list already, or we’ll send the holiday ravens ‘round to peck out your eyeballs!” Well, I ain’t got no list (yet), but the folks at slashCAM have posted a database of over 80 camcorders, so you can compare and contrast ‘em based on your own particular criteria, and make your own danged list.

Thursday, December 04, 2008

Ultimate Insider Gifts

Chris Meyer | 12/04- 08:02 PM

Obscure (and cheap) gifts for the industry friend who has everything.

Shopping for holiday gifts? For a peer or co-worker who already has every book, video, and plug-in imaginable? And don’t want to go broke in the process? Here are a couple of gift ideas guaranteed to impress (or at the very least, puzzle) that favorite nerd in your life:

Wednesday, December 03, 2008

The Top Ten Things After Effects Users Love and Hate about Motion

Mark Spencer | 12/03- 07:07 AM

I teach Motion to a lot of After Effects users. Sometimes they end up in my class because they want to be there; other times their organization has sent them and they arrive kicking and screaming, ready for a fight. Either way, after clearing away a lot of misconceptions and getting them to actually use Motion for 3 days, I find almost every After Effects user comes away with a new respect for - and frustration with - this wonderful yet sometimes annoying application.

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