Picture Elements
A certified instructor for Adobe and Apple, Rich is a practiced expert in motion graphic design and digital video. His producing skills were also recognized by AV Multimedia Producer Magazine who named him as one of the Top Producers of 2004.
Rich is a member of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals Instructor Dream Team, and a popular speaker on the digital video circuit. He is also an instructor at the Art Institute of Washington and the American University in Washington, D.C.
Rich is an internationally published author. His bo...
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We Put Three Cameras Through Their Paces and Try Out Some New Gear as Well
By Richard Harrington | November 26, 2009
DPs Jim Ball and Matt Gottshalk set the cameras for our studio test. Lenses and camera settings were matched as closely as possible.
I am truly excited by the convergence of technology that is occurring with DSLR cameras and video recording. The format allows for the recording of some truly amazing images due to sensor size and lens selection. But like all technologies, it suffers from some constraints that need to be overcome.
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How to author Blu-ray discs with the new Final Cut Studio
By Richard Harrington | October 29, 2009
There's a good chance that HD has become a major player (or even the only format) in your work. With the latest incarnation of Final Cut Studio, Apple offers several ways to deliver HD. You can of course go back to tape or create downloadable and streaming H.264 files. Most requested though, is the ability to create Blu-ray discs.
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Learn how to seamlessly move footage without wasting time or disk space.
By Richard Harrington | October 02, 2009
Getting your footage from Final Cut Pro to After Effects is a very common workflow. In fact, so many people choose to work this way that there are several free and for sale workflow tools on the market. While the task may seem as easy as a batch export, there is often precious metadata and organizational work that you'll want to take from Final Cut Pro into After Effects.
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An introduction to using Keylight with Adobe After Effects
By Richard Harrington | August 31, 2009
Looking for another way to key? Be sure to check out this video for a detailed demonstration of keying with Keylight in After Effects. You'll also learn a few advanced tricks to finalize the shot.
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Field Monitors See Significant Improvements and Increased Importance in Wake of HD Productions
By Richard Harrington | August 28, 2009
I've recently spent a lot of time evaluating our production processes looking for ways to improve efficiency. There were two motivating factors. First, we've pretty much abandoned Standard Definition production, relegating it only to live web events where we are streaming the content or where the client demands it. Second, I was working on a new book, Video Made on a Mac: Production and Postproduction Using Apple Final Cut Studio and Adobe Creative Suite with Robbie Carman. In it we try to evaluate ways to efficiently integrate Apple and Adobe software into best practices for production and post.We discovered a lot along the way, in particular that "field" monitors have taken on a whole new life of usefulness. Here are a few of the things we discovered in the last few months of HD production.
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How a "consumer" electronic device can save you time, money, and frustration
By Richard Harrington | July 31, 2009
Image courtesy Apple
My production company, like many of yours, has jumped with both feet into the HD waters. Production is easier than ever with great tapeless acquisition formats. Post keeps getting simpler with powerful desktop solutions and great breakout boxes. Seems like the only place it really falls apart is the client review stage.Sure, you can compress HD clips for web delivery. Problem is most clients don't have the monitor resolution, RAM, etc. to view HD (and don't even get me started on color and contrast issues with the average PC monitor). You could burn a Blu-ray disc, except at $12 a pop (plus rush courier) that gets pretty expensive (and time consuming). So what's a discerning post company to do? No the answer is not VHS... it's Apple TV.
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All of the Knowledge... With No Weight
By Richard Harrington | July 24, 2009
Need to know the latest about Final Cut Studio? Want to look something up about ProRes from your iPhone? Hate those big printed manuals that waste paper?While its not a revolutionary step (others like Adobe have already placed their docs online) it is still a welcomed event. Some might wonder if trimming the manuals out allowed the huge price cut?Regardless... the manuals and an even better Workflows document are now online.
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Poking around... I found the most comprehensive list of new features
By Richard Harrington | July 23, 2009
Like many of you, I went digging to find the most information about the new Final Cut Studio release. Sure.. there are tutorials and flashy pages on Apple's site. These have some great info... but I'm a details kinda guy. After so poking and prodding... I found these great documents.
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In a surprise move... Apple lowers prices in everyone's favor.
By Richard Harrington | July 23, 2009
Yes we all new it would eventually come... the "new Final Cut Studio" was announced.We'll let the cheers and moans begin after a few days of testing the final release (just ordered mine 30 minutes ago).But there are a few surprises.. mainly price!
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Tired of searching for the latest Panasonic drivers?
By Richard Harrington | July 11, 2009
Just last month Panasonic updated their P2 software and drivers. Of course its not always easy to find where this software lives. Sure you can bookmark the page, but seems like I always need it when I'm in an edit suite or trying to help someone else out through their problems. So, I have solved the problem once and for all (I hope).
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Commercial for reinvented Olympus Pen is true art
By Richard Harrington | July 10, 2009
Olympus has released a re-imagined Pen Camera. The original was released 50 years ago, and cost about a a third less than conventional cameras. The camera was known for trying new technologies and innovative ideas throughout its history.The new camera allows for several lenses as well as HD video.To celebrate the new launch, the company commissioned a very cool stop motion commercial. - Shot 60.000 pictures- Developed 9.600 prints- Shot over 1.800 pictures again. Oh... and no post production!
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Apple Addresses Many Performance Issues and Adds Features
By Richard Harrington | June 23, 2009
A new Final Cut Pro update has arrived... FCP 6.0.6. Your Software Update may have alerted you. On first glance it looks pretty minor,as it addresses only 1 major fix. But once you dig into the release notes it gets interesting. The 6.05 update (which also gets installed if you hadn't updated, has a TON of features.
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Combine the power of Flash and Soundbooth to create searchable video
By Richard Harrington | June 15, 2009
With the proliferation of video on the Web, access to information is getting easier to find and understand (for most). The challenge is twofold: first is getting people to find and search your video for the right information and second is if the individual has an auditory impairment, so much information is only available in the audio track. This is why there has been such a big push to make video searchable online and more accessible. In this article you'll use Adobe's tool set to set up your video content for both goals.
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New light panels for larger productions. Ultra portable lights.
By Richard Harrington | June 05, 2009
Author and video podcaster Richard Harrington examines the new Zylight (http://www.zylight.com) product at NAB 2009.
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Be sure to pick up the latest update
By Richard Harrington | December 02, 2008
Apple has just released a set of Pro Applications Updates which improve reliability add add new features. The applications included in the update: Final Cut Pro 6.0.5 Compressor 3.0.5 Color 1.0.3 Shake 4.1.1. Here are some of the highlights of the updates (the full list is here).
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Learn to animate Text in Motion
By Richard Harrington | December 02, 2008
Join Apple Certified Trainer Mason Dixon as he shows you how to animate text with keyframes in Motion.
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Don't Panic
By Richard Harrington | November 30, 2008
Most people assume the worst when their edit system starts acting up. If you're getting a signal or device control problem, it might not be your machine (or even your software). A $10 cable can tear down an entire edit session. Follow these steps:
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Long days in the field... phone keeps going
By Richard Harrington | November 23, 2008
I know some of you hate iPhone posts (sorry)....But here's something I just had to gush about.... The mophie Juice Pack iPhone battery is shipping. I had the original battery pack, but with the new form-factor for the 3G phones, I had to upgrade. Here's the specs: * Standby Time - Up to 350 hours * Talk Time - 6 additional hours on 3G | 12 hours on 2G * Internet Use - 6 additional hours on 3G | 7 hours on Wi-Fi * Audio Playback - 28 additional hours * Video Playback - 8 additional hoursThis device is absolutely awesome and lets me get through a long day of business.
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DBA Createasphere