Sunday, August 17, 2008

After Effects Tips - Installment 1

Trish Meyer | 08/17- 07:11 PM

Learn something new everyday…

In contrast to the columns and tutorials we’ve been posting so far in CMG Keyframes, we thought it would be useful to also post quick-hit random tips for working more productively with Adobe After Effects CS3. This is the first installment; hope you enjoy it. Please feel free to add your own questions and alternative solutions in the Comments field at the end.

Tuesday, August 12, 2008

Maxon delivers fully loaded Cinema 4d R11

Chris Meyer | 08/12- 11:26 AM

Next Generation Product Suite Offers Non-Linear Animation plus many other new features

MAXON Computer, a leading developer of professional 3D modeling, painting, animation and rendering solutions, today unveiled CINEMA 4D Release 11 (R11), the next generation of its highly acclaimed 3D animation software suite. The super-charged release is packed with advanced capabilities that deliver dramatically improved ease of use and workflow, image quality and integration into any production pipeline. CINEMA 4D R11 highlights include a non-linear animation system, new global illumination render engine and dramatically improved render speed. Customers also benefit from the powerful Projection Man matte painting system, developed by MAXON for Sony Pictures Imageworks, support for the COLLADA file format and CineMan — a RenderMan-compliant tool that connects to Pixar’s industry-leading rendering solution. Additionally, multiple improvements were made to MAXON’s popular texture painting toolset BodyPaint 3D Release 4. All of these capabilities and more serve to underscore MAXON’s ongoing and deep commitment to helping 3D digital artists further advance creativity and control.

“MAXON has spent the last 20 years developing some of the industry’s most advanced 3D software technologies; continually raising the bar for 3D animation software excellence,” said Harald Egel, CEO and co-founder, MAXON. “CINEMA 4D R11 is no exception. This release contains the next-generation features our customers worldwide have come to expect from MAXON.”

Monday, August 11, 2008

Red Giant Software releases Magic Bullet Steady

Chris Meyer | 08/11- 07:06 AM

A new tool to remove camera shake, jitter, and noise.

Red Giant Software, with popular products Magic Bullet, Knoll Light Factory and Trapcode, today launched Magic Bullet Steady, a new tool to remove camera shake, jitter, and noise. Magic Bullet Steady is a plug-in for users of Final Cut Pro 6 and After Effects CS3 (Mac and Windows). The stabilizer function removes unwanted camera movement which can be distracting and disturbing to viewers. Magic Bullet Steady is also included in the newly updated Magic Bullet Suite 2008.

Magic Bullet Steady offers powerful algorithms which analyze the video, detect motion, and apply one of four filtering modes. The result is a smooth, stabilized motion that preserves camera pans and other desired movements while eliminating jarring shake. A second filter removes noise and other low-light artifacts. Priced at $199, Magic Bullet Steady is available for purchase from Red Giant Software. 

Highlights

Stabilization
Camera movement and tough shooting conditions can cause distracting, jerky motion; and film sprocket damage on old footage can cause gate jitter and weave. The Stabilizer feature uses a software-based 2D translation to repair this type of footage in near real-time.

Noise Reduction
Too often, noise reduction means everything gets very blurry. Not so with Magic Bullet Steady. It uses spatial and temporal data to work out true image values, and customizable settings give you control over block size. Adjust the optional detail protection feature to find the right results for your desired output. 

Blistering Speed
Compared to the built-in stabilization features in After Effects or Final Cut Pro, Magic Bullet Steady yields great results in record time.

For more information, visit the Magic Bullet Steady page.

Why to Buy

• Use instead of a Steadicam on small projects
• Add sophistication to amateur or archival footage
• Faster than built-in solutions available in the host applications

Pricing and Availability

Magic Bullet Steady is available now for $199 USD and supports After Effects CS3 on Windows XP/Vista and Mac OS X. The software also runs in Final Cut Pro on Mac OS X. This software is included as part of the updated Magic Bullet Suite 2008.

About Red Giant Software

Red Giant Software LLC is a San Francisco-based company that develops professional tools for digital video production. Products are available as plug-ins for popular video editing and effects applications including After Effects, Final Cut Pro, Motion, Premiere Pro, and Avid. All tools are based on production-proven technology developed by visual effects veterans.

All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their respective owners. 

Monday, July 28, 2008

Ten Reasons To Switch To Final Cut Studio

Kevin P. McAuliffe | 07/28- 02:15 PM

With all the editing programs and packages on the market today, deciding on which one is right for you can be difficult and confusing.  I thought I would take a look and list my top ten reasons why you should either switch to Final Cut Studio 2 or make it your first choice when buying for the first time!

10. SMOOTHCAM AND THE INTRODUCTION OF BACKGROUND PROCESSING

Anyone who has used Shake will be familiar with SmoothCam.  It was designed to, as the name says, smooth out camera bumps and shakes in your footage.  Most people might look at this and think that it is not really that big a deal, but believe me, it is.  Why you ask?  SmoothCam not only lets you smooth your footage out, but it introduces a new feature to Final Cut Pro that let’s you process the effect “live” in the background.  The way the effect works is that once you add it to your timeline, FCP immediately starts analyzing the original clip to see what is happening inside the frame.  Keep in mind, if the shot you captured was an hour long, it will process the whole hour long clip.  In most cases, with anything that needs processing or analyzing, you would need to stop and wait for it to finish.  Not anymore!  Now, Final Cut Pro will analyze while you are working.  Once you hit play on your timeline to see what you are working on, the analyzing will pause, and once you stop playing to do effects work, titles, etc, it will keep processing until it is done.

Monday, July 28, 2008

3-D Objects in Photoshop Part 2 - Photoshop for Video #86

Richard Harrington | 07/28- 08:29 AM

Instructor Richard Harrington how to work with 3-D objects in Photoshop CS3. Part 2 of 2.

Sunday, July 27, 2008

3-D Objects in Photoshop Part 1 - Photoshop for Video #85

Richard Harrington | 07/27- 08:27 AM

Instructor Richard Harrington how to work with 3-D objects in Photoshop CS3. Part 1 of 2.

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