Post Production

MacBook Pro goes to 17 Inches (A Video Look)

My look at the MacBook Pro 17 Inch at Macworld Expo

By Richard Harrington | January 24, 2009

My look at the MacBook Pro 17 and its features for Pros Read More

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iMovie Pro?

Reading between the lines of Randy Ubillo's astonishing comment at Macworld Expo

By Allan Tépper | January 24, 2009

Even though I have never gone to a Macworld Expo (and now probably never will, since Apple will no longer present there), I have always enjoyed watching Apple's infamous keynote presentations via Internet. However, being so familiar with Final Cut Pro, I never thought I would be blown away by the presentation about iMovie 09, which you will see later in this article. I was quite surprised when I heard who was going to present it (Randy Ubillos), by the new features in iMovie 09, and even more so by Randy's astonishing comment, which I will visit later in this article. Read More

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Schneider Optics Sings the Blues

Schneider's new 1/2, 1/4 and 1/8 CTB filters have "RED" and "Phantom" written all over them

By Art Adams | January 21, 2009

All silicon sensors are daylight native, although most cameras hide this fact so well it's never an issue. Not so with cameras like the RED and Phantom HD, which may need a little help under tungsten light. Read More

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Color Correction Tutorial #11

Intro to Apple Color's Color FX Room

By Steve Hullfish | January 15, 2009

After a brief hiatus, my color correction tutorials are back.This tutorial is about 8 minutes long and provides a glimpse into how to use the Color FX Room in Apple's Color. The Color FX room is very cool. It is a "nodal" or "process tree" based process where you add nodes (effects) together by graphically linking them into a "tree" that allows MANY effects to be linked in novel and complex ways. This tutorial shows how you can start THINKING about using the nodes to create effects. I'll do another tutorial later to give some more complex examples of process trees and how they can be built.I still have a dozen more from the revised edition of my first color correction book - "Color Correction for Video." The original book was co-authored with Jaime Fowler and was called "Color Correction for Digital Video." The revised edition is completely re-written with a great DVD that has more than two hours of video tutorials and sample footage to play with. You'll be able to use the book no matter which application (or even OS) you prefer for color correction. Read More

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After Effects Apprentice Video Tutorial #1

Learning your way around the AE CS4 interface.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | January 09, 2009

We've just released After Effects Apprentice (2nd Edition). This book was designed for students looking to learn After Effects from scratch, as well as those who do not use AE full time (such as editors or web designers). It starts gently with an introduction to keyframing, and progresses through the important features (such as masks, mattes, effects, text, audio, 3D space, shape layers, expressions, parenting, and building advanced hierarchies of compositions) until you end up keying, stablizing, and compositing a shot in high def. The second edition has been fully revamped for After Effects CS4, and includes integration with Photoshop CS4 Extended and Flash Professional CS4.The DVD-ROM that comes with the book includes an hour and a half of video tutorials that provide gentle introductions to major features inside After Effects, such as text and expressions. Here is the first video, which provides an overview of the After Effects user interface, including managing and rearranging it to best fit your needs. Included is an introduction to the new Composition Navigator and Mini Flowchart that were added in CS4. Click on the Play Video link below, and enjoy!(Note: For those who are hearing-impaired, lynda.com has added Closed Captioning to these tutorials. They are available here. We are also in the process of creating video training for all of the After Effects Apprentice lessons; they will also appear on lynda.com. If you do not have a lynda.com subscription, click here for a free 7-day pass.)After Effects Apprentice was designed for students looking to learn After Effects from scratch, as well as those who do not use AE full time (such as editors or web designers). It starts gently with an introduction to keyframing, and progresses through the important features (such as masks, mattes, effects, text, audio, 3D space, shape layers, expressions, parenting, and building advanced hierarchies of compositions) until you end up keying, stabilizing, and compositing a shot in high def. The second edition has been fully revamped for After Effects CS4, and includes integration with Photoshop CS4 Extended and Flash Professional CS4.The content contained in After Effects Apprentice - as well as the CMG Blogs and CMG Keyframes posts on ProVideoCoalition - are copyright Crish Design, except where otherwise attributed. Read More

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Universal HDV deck (almost)

To avoid having to buy two HDV decks, many people desperately seek a universal model

By Allan Tépper | January 09, 2009

Up until now, post-production facilities that accept HDV footage have confronted a major dilemma: If they bought a JVC BR-HD50 deck (US$3,399 list), the only HD recordings they could play were HDV 720p from JVC (none of the HDV 1080i tapes from Canon or Sony). On the other hand, if they bought one of the professional Sony HDV decks (currently between US$2,480 and US$8,290 list), they could play any HDV 1080i tape, but as soon as they tried to play an HDV 720p tape, the IEEE-1394's video output would mysteriously go blank. Out of desperation, some facilities went to the extreme of buying two HDV decks: one JVC and one Sony. In other cases, people bought a Sony HDV deck only, and then settled for an analog capture from HDV 720p recordings, with its noticeable D>A>D conversion as shown in this breathtaking video (courtesy of Convergent Design and JVC Italy), and in some cases (as with the HVR-M15 and HVR-M15A when playing HDV 720p tapes), a forced, undesired cross-conversion from 720p to 1080i. This is a nightmare for a purist! But hold on... Read More

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Universal HDV deck (almost)

To avoid having to buy two HDV decks, many people desperately seek a universal model

By Allan Tépper | January 08, 2009

Up until now, post-production facilities that accept HDV footage have confronted a major dilemma: If they bought a JVC BR-HD50 deck (US$3,399 list), the only HD recordings they could play were HDV 720p from JVC (none of the HDV 1080i tapes from Canon or Sony). On the other hand, if they bought one of the professional Sony HDV decks (currently between US$2,480 and US$8,290 list), they could play any HDV 1080i tape, but as soon as they tried to play an HDV 720p tape, the IEEE-1394's video output would mysteriously go blank. Out of desperation, some facilities went to the extreme of buying two HDV decks: one JVC and one Sony. In other cases, people bought a Sony HDV deck only, and then settled for an analog capture from HDV 720p recordings, with its noticeable D>A>D conversion as shown in this breathtaking video (courtesy of Convergent Design and JVC Italy), and in some cases (as with the HVR-M15 and HVR-M15A when playing HDV 720p tapes), a forced, undesired cross-conversion from 720p to 1080i. This is a nightmare for a purist! But hold on...The rest of this article has been moved to Allan's PVC channel. Click here to view it. Read More

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That Wasn’t In the Script…

Beware: Scripts with UIs can crash AE CS4.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | January 08, 2009

First, the bad news: There are two ways you can ensure After Effects CS4 will crash on exit:1) Boot AE CS4 with an add-on script open in a docked panel.2) Quit AE CS4 with an add-on script open in a docked panel.Now, the good news: It's a relatively benevolent crash; you won't lose data or take down any other programs as well. Also, it's fairly easy to work around this bug: Either open your scripts that have user interfaces in undocked (floating) panels, or make sure all scripts (such as Ease and Wizz, or TrackerViz) are closed when you quit - perhaps create a Workspace that has them all closed, and select that before quitting.Yes, Adobe is well aware of the problem. No, it is not fixed in the AE 9.0.1 update. But at least now you know what's going on, should you be suffering persistent and mysterious crashes on exit...The content contained in our books, videos, blogs, and articles for other sites are all copyright Crish Design, except where otherwise attributed. Read More

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Explaining the Yellow Line in NFL Coverage

Actually a llittle more complex than I thought.

By Scott Gentry | January 06, 2009

Read More

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Why capture HDV via HDMI?

Visual frame accuracy, picture quality, and recapturability are only some of the many advantages of HDMI capture.

By Allan Tépper | January 05, 2009

For many reasons explained in my recent article, it makes a lot of sense to capture your HDV footage directly to an editing i-frame códec like ProRes422. One of the best way to do that nowadays from HDV is via HDMI. Editing directly from ProRes422 files (as opposed to hybrid editing or native editing, as explained in the prior article,) offers you visually frame-accurate editing, which is critical whenever your project includes:Critical multilayer editingIndependently recorded 48 KHz audio which needs to be lip-syncedIf you try to do either of those two things from your raw long-GOP HDV footage directly, you'll find that what you see is rarely what you eventually get. This has nothing to do with choosing to shoot in HDV or not; but it has everything to do with how to post-produce your HDV footage, especially when your production will include either of those two demanding facets mentioned above. (If your production includes neither of those facets, and you are very short on space, then hybrid editing or native editing would work, but you would miss out on some of the other advantages you're about to discover.) Advantages of capturing via HDMI directly (or via HD-SDI) as opposed to other methods include:Avoiding unnecessary D>A (digital>analog) and A>D (analog>digital) conversions by keeping your HD signal as digital (as opposed to capturing via component analog). Click here to see a breathtaking comparison video, courtesy of Convergent Design and JVC Italy. The same HDV 720p25 footage was captured from the same HDV tape both via component analog HD and via HDMI>HD-SDI, and compared. This video is in 1280x720 in WMV. If you are on a Mac and have not done so yet, please download Flip4Mac's free WMV component for QuickTime here, which will allow you to see WMV in your QuickTime Player.Taking advantage of the HDV deck's correction circuit (which is unfortunately bypassed via IEEE-1394).You can get a more universal HDV player (see details later in the next article, Universal HDV deck, coming January 8th).You can save time and space (as opposed to capturing via 1394 and converting later)You retain Log & Capture, deck control, original timecode, and (as a result) recapture capability (as opposed to using FCP's HDV-ProRes422 capture preset via 1394, where you sadly lose all of these four features) Read More

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Realistic Screen Compositing

Make your screen composites photorealistic

By David Torno | January 04, 2009

The "Realistic Screen Compositing" tutorial shows a simple yet effective way of reintroducing an existing screen reflection back into a composite. This not only adds life to the final piece, but also makes the final composite believable. I take you through step by step showing you how to achieve this effect and what tips to keep in mind if you are actually planning a screen composite shoot. Always good to shoot it correctly before going to post, I always say. Hopefully you'll find it informative and very useful. Read More

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Syntheyes 101

3D Motion Tracking

By David Torno | January 04, 2009

Learn Syntheyes, a 3D motion tracking application. I'll show you step by step how to import, track, solve and export the track data as well as a few other pointers.

This is an oldie, but a goodie. I've received numerous emails about this tutorial from all over the world since I originally released it in early 2008. I'm actually quite shocked as to how well it was received considering it was my first ever attempt at a video tutorial. I've been wanting to bring this tutorial over to share with my PVC readers for awhile and have now been able to do so as of today. Please continue to spread the word, I'm glad it has helped so many people already and I hope it continues to to do so here.I am in the works on an updated version of this tutorial for the current version of Syntheyes 2008, but can't really say when I plan on having it done. I will say that nearly everything I talk about in this tutorial is still completely valid for Syntheyes 2008.The "Syntheyes 101" tutorial is a basic start to finish look at how to motion track a video clip and export the track data.I cover the following topics:- The UI (user interface)- Opening a video clip- Properties panels- Spotting and adjusting troublesome trackers- Solving the shot- Color coding solved trackers for your own sanity- Using the Coordinate System- Adding a 3D reference object- Tips on checking overall track for accuracy- Exporting the track- Also various hotkeys are mentioned throughout the videoEnjoy and happy tracking.

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Why capture HDV via HDMI?

Visual frame accuracy, picture quality, and recapturability are only some of the many advantages of HDMI capture.

By Allan Tépper | January 04, 2009

For many reasons explained in my recent article, it makes a lot of sense to capture your HDV footage directly to an editing i-frame códec like ProRes422. One of the best way to do that nowadays from HDV is via HDMI. Editing directly from ProRes422 files (as opposed to hybrid editing or native editing, as explained in the prior article,) offers you visually frame-accurate editing, which is critical whenever your project includes:Critical multilayer editingIndependently recorded 48 KHz audio which needs to be lip-syncedIf you try to do either of those two things from your raw long-GOP HDV footage directly, you'll find that what you see is rarely what you eventually get. This has nothing to do with choosing to shoot in HDV or not; but it has everything to do with how to post-produce your HDV footage, especially when your production will include either of those two demanding facets mentioned above. (If your production includes neither of those facets, and you are very short on space, then hybrid editing or native editing would work, but you would miss out on some of the other advantages you're about to discover.) Advantages of capturing via HDMI directly (or via HD-SDI) as opposed to other methods include:Avoiding unnecessary D>A (digital>analog) and A>D (analog>digital) conversions by keeping your HD signal as digital (as opposed to capturing via component analog). Click here to see a breathtaking comparison video, courtesy of Convergent Design and JVC Italy. The same HDV 720p25 footage was captured from the same HDV tape both via component analog HD and via HDMI>HD-SDI, and compared. This video is in 1280x720 in WMV. If you are on a Mac and have not done so yet, please download Flip4Mac's free WMV component for QuickTime here, which will allow you to see WMV in your QuickTime Player.Taking advantage of the HDV deck's correction circuit (which is unfortunately bypassed via IEEE-1394).You can get a more universal HDV player (see details later in the next article, Universal HDV deck, coming January 8th).You can save time and space (as opposed to capturing via 1394 and converting later)You retain Log & Capture, deck control, original timecode, and (as a result) recapture capability (as opposed to using FCP's HDV-ProRes422 capture preset via 1394, where you sadly lose all of these four features)The rest of this article has been moved to Allan's PVC channel. Click here to view it. Read More

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Revisiting HDV’s Virtues

Some videographers would "rather fight than switch" from tape

By Allan Tépper | December 31, 2008

Among my clients and friends who are video professionals, many of those who produce commercials, corporate, and music videos have already embraced tapeless acquisition with such cameras as JVC's high definition Everio, Panasonic's AG-HMC150/151, and Sony's EX1 & EX3. However, those who shoot events (Bar Mitzvahs, Quinces/Sixteen Parties, Weddings) -and some of those who shoot documentaries- are relentless in defending their need to shoot on tape. They cite the following HDV advantages over tapeless acquisition:There is always an original tape for future use.The original HDV tape is the permanent archive.The original HDV tape is very inexpensive.Although they have to capture in real time before editing, they don't have to worry about the time or expense of other types of long-term archival methods required with tapeless acquisition. Read More

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Revisiting HDV’s Virtues

Some videographers would "rather fight than switch" from tape

By Allan Tépper | December 31, 2008

Among my clients and friends who are video professionals, many of those who produce commercials, corporate, and music videos have already embraced tapeless acquisition with such cameras as JVC's high definition Everio, Panasonic's AG-HMC150/151, and Sony's EX1 & EX3. However, those who shoot events (Bar Mitzvahs, Quinces/Sixteen Parties, Weddings) -and some of those who shoot documentaries- are relentless in defending their need to shoot on tape. They cite the following HDV advantages over tapeless acquisition:There is always an original tape for future use.The original HDV tape is the permanent archive.The original HDV tape is very inexpensive.Although they have to capture in real time before editing, they don't have to worry about the time or expense of other types of long-term archival methods required with tapeless acquisition.The rest of this article has been moved to Allan's PVC channel. Click here to view it. Read More

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Automated Video Production

How good is good enough?

By Chris and Trish Meyer | December 26, 2008

We've all been there: A client asks for a job that requires complex editing and effects, and they say (as part of the negotiation over price): "Don't you have software where you press a button and it does it automatically?" Read More

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OpenEXR Support in After Effects CS4

A little-heralded improvement in AE CS4 will be of interest to high-end effects houses.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | December 26, 2008

After Effects CS4 now comes with the ProEXR plug-in set from fnord software (available free for CS3 from fnordware.com). This offers enhanced support of the OpenEXR format commonly used by high-end effects houses. ProEXR's benefits include:

Support for all the OpenEXR compression options, including B44 compression.Output as RGB or Luminance/Chroma channels. Retention of EXR color space information. Support for both 32-bit and 16-bit floating point. Full control over alpha channel processing.The ProEXR package contains the EXtractoR and IDentifier plug-ins, which allows access to the additional non-image channels in an OpenEXR file - including Object and Material IDs. This will be of particular interest to hardcore 3D users who have been looking for more sophisticated ways to further manipulate their renders inside After Effects. Lutz Albrecht has written a pair of articles for Adobe Developer Connection that goes into more detail on this procedure.For more information, download the ProEXR manual and jump to the ProEXR in After Effects section, which starts about halfway in.The content contained in our books, videos, blogs, and articles for other sites are all copyright Crish Design, except where otherwise attributed. Read More

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Scene vs. Display Referred Profiles

A subtle but important change to color management in After Effects CS4.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | December 19, 2008

Color management has been improved in After Effects CS4 to now recognize and compensate for the differences between "scene-referred" and "display-referred" color profiles. The short explanation is "Don't worry - CS4 is merely more accurate now. Leave the option File > Project Settings > Compensate for Scene-referred Profiles enabled when using color management, and in some scenarios your output will now be even more accurate than it was before." For a longer explanation, read on; these changes affect Photoshop CS4 as well. Read More

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On Artbeats.com: Intro to Color Finesse

Learning to use this powerful tool many of you get for free.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | December 10, 2008

As more of us acquire our own media and import it directly into our computers, the art of color correction becomes more important. However, many - particularly non-editors - shy away from it. Well, if you have a recent copy of After Effects, you have no excuse, as a very powerful color correction tool - Synthetic Aperture's Color Finesse (CF) - comes bundled free with the program. This article we just wrote for Artbeats.com will give you a quick tour of the CF interface, and then walk you through a sample correction using footage archived with the article so you can compare your results.

Click here to download a .zip file containing a PDF of the "Introduction to Color Finesse" plus associated footage.

By they way, credit where credit is due: Steve Hullfish's own color correction videos here on PVC are what prompted us to get back into color correction ourselves. His recent video on using Color Finesse is what prompted us to focus more in our piece for Artbeats on using the Waveform Monitor rather than the familiar old Histograms.The content contained in our books, videos, blogs, and articles for other sites are all copyright Crish Design, except where otherwise attributed. Read More

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Avid Gems 9

user tips on effects

By Steve Hullfish | December 09, 2008

This column on Avid tips and tricks was originally designed to include hidden "gems" from the Avid user manual, but today we're going to feature a bunch of nice "gems" from one of our readers, Josh Petok as well as a stream-of-conscious of gems from me. Manuals? We don't need no stinkin' manuals for these gems! Josh's gems are definitely included in the list of tips that I know I learned at one point but I'd stored them away in that section of my brain that has the giant dust bunnies and is crawling with spiders. That doesn't mean that they're not great tips! Far from it. These are excellent tips and Josh has reminded me that I need to store them somewhere closer to the frontal lobe with the important information like my wife's birthday and our anniversary. Read More

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