TV

MSNBC mainstreams the radio/TV term “rundown”

Beyond its baseball and common use, “rundown” has a very specific use in media production, especially in live news.

By Allan Tépper | May 03, 2013

Although the word “rundown” is used in baseball and in common US English as a “quick summary of main points of information”, its very unique meaning in radio and TV production has been (up until very recently) unknown beyond media professionals. In fact, many media... Read More

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Combining Cartoon with Brainstorm

Using one tool to show you what another can do.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | May 01, 2013

Ever feel like you’re getting the same old looks out of Cartoon, no matter what you try? In this third and final installment of learning how to get better results with the Cartoon effect, we will show you how to combine Cartoon with the After Effects Brainstorm module to get unexpected looks out of Cartoon, including images that look like they were created with a fine pencil, fat markers, or a photocopy machine.

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JVC commits to adding SFTP (Secure FTP) to GY-HM650 camera

In addition to live streaming, JVC is adding SFTP to the GY-HM650 camera.

By Allan Tépper | May 01, 2013

After an Open Letter in 2009 about the importance of using SFTP (Secure FTP) in order to have our passwords travel through the Internet encrypted, followed by two short articles about JVC’s GY-HM650 news camera, I am glad to report that JVC has now committed to adding SFTP to the GY-HM650... Read More

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Enhancing the Cartoon Effect

Just as you shouldn’t use all effects at their defaults, don’t be shy about combining them with other effects.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | April 30, 2013

In this second installment of learning how to get better results with the Cartoon effect, we will go beyond altering Cartoon’s own parameters from their less-than-ideal defaults and explore pre- and post-processing the video clip getting the Cartoon treatment.

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Creating a DVD - Without the DVD

This week on MacBreak Studio

By Mark Spencer | April 30, 2013

This week on MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin from Ripple Training shows us a neat trick for creating a "diskless" DVD straight from Final Cut Pro X.

Although DVDs are becoming less prevalent due to the rapid rise in web-delivered HD video, some clients still require them. Plus,... Read More

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Using Cartoon in After Effects

Go beyond the defaults to get more interesting looks.

By Chris and Trish Meyer | April 29, 2013

As we’ve mentioned before, we updated our After Effects Apprentice video courses last year. As part of adding and reorganizing material, some movies got cut. But we hate to see anything go to waste, so we’re reposting them here for free - including a three-movie set on using the Cartoon effect.

Cartoon may be one of the most unfairly maligned tools in After Effects. Some of that is due to burn-out based on the popularity of the this look a few years ago; a lot of that is due to the less-than-attractive default settings for Cartoon. But if you’re reading this, you know to go beyond the default settings - and learning those settings is the basis of this first movie.

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After Effects ExtendScript Training: Ep. 4

ExtendScript Script Writing Training

By David Torno | April 27, 2013

Welcome to episode 4 of the After Effects ExtendScript Training series. This week we will be diving into the After effects Object Model structure learning the order in how we can access After Effects via ExtendScript. I'll also go over some helpful tips on preparing your script... Read More

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Canon’s new XA20 and XA25 cameras fulfill wishes from my Open Letter to pro AVCHD cam manufacturers

In addition to adding many other general improvements, Canon is first to fulfill wishes from my Open Letter.

By Allan Tépper | April 26, 2013

Back in November 2011 (17 months ago) I published an Open Letter to pro AVCHD camera manufacturers. With their introduction of their new XA20 and XA25 cameras at NAB 2013, Canon has fulfilled some of the key wishes I had expressed in that Open Letter, in addition to making other improvements... Read More

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Using Behaviors in Motion

On this week's MacBreak Studio

By Mark Spencer | April 23, 2013

This week on MacBreak Studio, I talk with Steve Martin from Ripple Training about using behaviors instead of keyframes for creating animation in Motion.

Almost everything in Motion can be animated either with traditional keyframing methods or by using procedural objects... Read More

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Rubén Abruña tests his Blackmagic Cinema Camera with waterwheel short

See Rubén’s grading workflow from uncompressed CinemaDNG RAW 12-bit to DaVinci Resolve & FCP X.

By Allan Tépper | April 22, 2013

Rubén Abruña (who now lives in Zurich, Switzerland) recently received his new Blackmagic Cinema Camera which he had ordered in July of 2012. Rubén decided to take a one-day break from the grading of his La Casa Ausente documentary to test his new camera and its... Read More

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After Effects ExtendScript Training: Ep. 1, 2 & 3

ExtendScript Script Writing Training

By David Torno | April 19, 2013

Welcome to the After Effects ExtendScript Script Writing Training series. My name is David Torno and I will be taking you through the process of creating scripts using Adobe's scripting language called ExtendScript. This is a weekly series focused on teaching you, the After... Read More

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NewTek commits to adding internal waveform monitor to TriCaster 40

Sometime in 2013, even the entry model TriCaster 40 will have an inboard waveform monitor to facilitate camera matching.

By Allan Tépper | April 19, 2013

After expressing my profound constructive criticism about the lack of an internal waveform monitor in the TriCaster 40 (both publicly (in ProVideo Coalition magazine and privately) in 2012, I am now delighted to report that I have just received written confirmation of NewTek’s... Read More

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Fountain & Slugline: How to Write Screenplays in 2013

How I abandoned Final Draft and learned to love writing in Fountain and Slugline

By Eric Escobar | April 19, 2013

Screenwriting software is not a sexy area of technology development. There are no "game changer" releases like in camera-land. I have yet to see a "one more thing" moment of shininess, like with a new computer hardware introduction. At best, a screenwriting application is a practical workhorse... Read More

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NAB 2013: X-Keys

They're just a bunch of buttons but boy do they look handy.

By Scott Simmons | April 18, 2013

I know I probably shouldn’t get excited by something as simple as a bunch of buttons but I have to say that one of my favorite things that I saw at the 2013 NAB show were the X-keys Sticks from P.I. Engineering. These things are just a strip of 4, 8, or 16 buttons that I envisioned as an extra set of function keys. I know it seems silly but boy did I immediately see a big use for something like that. I’ve tried so many different input devices over the years but nothing seems quite a nice as buttons.

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How to make the Lumix GH3 camera deliver proper, recordable 1080p over HDMI

With the firmware update + menu settings, you should be able to get the native 1080p framerate over HDMI.

By Allan Tépper | April 17, 2013

Many initial users of the Panasonic Lumix GH3 camera who tried to record its 1080p signal externally have been disappointed to see that it wouldn’t work. That’s because as shipped from the factory, the GH3 does not output its native framerate over HDMI. For example, in 1080/25p... Read More

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NAB 2013: Átomos expands Connect converter line with CONNECT-AC; lowers prices

Lower prices on the original H2S and S2H converters + new AC-only models.

By Allan Tépper | April 17, 2013

Back in October 2012, I published a review of the Connect H2S (HDMI>SDI converter) from Átomos (link ahead), which includes onboard pulldown removal and a test pattern generator. The original H2S and S2H include a battery, charger, and external AC power supply. Now at NAB... Read More

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NAB 2013: The TitaniumZ-5 from Small Tree

Need portable network storage for up to 6 editors?

By Scott Simmons | April 17, 2013

Not everyone in post-production has the need for shared storage and probably even less of those need portable shared storage but if you’re one of those that do look no further than the TitaniumZ–5 from Small Tree. It’s got some impressive specs and an eye-catching, yet useful form factor. It looks like it would be the perfect fit for certain editing situations.

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Mark, Replace, Slip

On this week's MacBreak Studio

By Mark Spencer | April 16, 2013

This week on MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin from Ripple Training shows us a cool trick for performing a particular kind of replace edit in Final Cut Pro X.

Replace edits are quite powerful tools for swapping out one clip in a project for another or adjusting (slipping) an... Read More

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NAB 2013: The ProMAX ONE and ProMAX ONE+ powerhouse PCs

They're not MacPros though the look like one and are probably much faster

By Scott Simmons | April 16, 2013

One thing I noticed when walking the South Hall of the 2013 NAB show was there are quite a new more PCs in the various booths running various software demos. There were also quite a new vendors offering fast, customizable PC workstations. One of those vendors is ProMAX and their very MacPro looking machines are called the ProMAX ONE and One+. I loved the description of the machine from the ProMAX rep I talked to: It’s like a “higher end MacPro … it doesn’t run OSX.”

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NAB 2013: Avid Media Composer 7 and Lightworks for Mac

I took a few minutes and actually played with Lightworks Mac!

By Scott Simmons | April 11, 2013

We’ve already talked about Adobe and their next version of Premiere Pro but the other NLEs on the show floor creating buzz were Avid Media Composer 7 (here’s my take from their press conference) and … wait for it … Lightworks for Mac. That’s just an early alpha of the Lightworks Mac but it was running and I played with it. It’ll be fun to watch how the biz takes to it when the Mac version finally ships which should be later this year.

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