A Look Back on 2010

In this episode of the Terence and Philip Show – with able assistance from Secret HQ’s Greg Huson – take a look back on what changed in 2010 from our perspective.

There’s a lot in this show from Resolve to dissolve.

Getting Animated About Human Rights

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.

What AE’s Still Missing…

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.

New Year’s Resolution List

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.

SlashCAM’s Camcorder Database

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.

Ultimate Insider Gifts

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:

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