video

After Effects ExtendScript Training: Ep. 7

2013-05-19T06:24:00+00:00

Welcome to episode 7 of the After Effects ExtendScript Training series. This week we will be creating new comps and folders as well as creating Nulls, Solids and Text layers.

NAB 2013: Atomos Ninja-2 Price Drop & DSLR Support

2013-05-15T01:29:00+00:00

After discovering Atomos back in January of 2013 at the San Francisco Supermeet, I was intrigued by the Ninja-2 especially when I realized a pending firmware update for the 5D Mark III would make it compatible with the Ninja-2.

This portable field recorder and...

Archiving Final Cut Pro X Projects and Media

2013-05-14T13:23:00+00:00

This week on MacBreak Studio, Steve Martin from Ripple Training talks about archiving your projects in Final Cut Pro X.

Once you've delivered your edit to your client, they've approved it and you've been paid, how do you go about saving that project and storing it...

NAB 2013: Canon XA20 & XA25 Camcorder

2013-05-13T23:54:00+00:00

Canon released to new entry level pro camcorders at NAB 2013, the XA20 and XA25.

The XA20/XA25 both posses a "...new high-sensitivity 2.91-megapixel 1/2.84-inch HD CMOS image sensor and the new Canon DIGIC DV 4 image processor",...

After Effects ExtendScript Training: Ep. 6

2013-05-12T23:38:00+00:00

Welcome to episode 6 of the After Effects ExtendScript Training series. This week we will be learning to collect data from multiple assets into an Array() via a loop. We are also going to learn how to set various values of comps, layers and properties via ExtendScript.

OS X: Fixing AVCHD media to avoid the dreaded “CANNOT OPEN”

2013-05-11T04:03:00+00:00

If you’re using OS X and you copy AVCHD media folders to a NAS (network-attached storage) or a case-sensitive disk, you may run into problems: opening the media in 10.8’s Finder gives you “CANNOT OPEN” instead of a clip browser, FCP X can’t see the clips, and so...

Two Questions About Video Scopes

2013-05-09T23:40:00+00:00

In this inaugural post of my new question-and-answer column, I tackle two kickoff queries about video scopes from colleague Scott Simmons, who thoughtfully saved me from having to come up with something on my own. If you have a question about color grading, postproduction workflow, or any interesting intersection of production and post, send it my way at ahurkman@procoalitions.com. I'll answer via this column as time permits.

Premiere Pro (and all the Adobe apps) are going cloud only

2013-05-09T21:59:00+00:00

It’s been an eventful few days in and around the general world of film and video post-production. If you haven’t heard (but of course you have) Adobe made the decision to move all of their software licensing to the cloud, their Creative Cloud, and charge $50 a month to access to everything they make. No more paying some $1,500 up front for the Production Premium and having a box shipped to your door. While it would be nice to have a less expensive monthly access to only those video-centric apps (I’m never going to use Dreamweaver, InDesign or Muse among others) you really do get a lot for that $50 (check out the pricing page for other price options that could lower your monthly bill to Adobe).

NAB 2013: The Blackmagic Production Camera 4K

2013-05-08T08:15:00+00:00

Blackmagic Design uleashed a campaign of "shock and awe" with the announcement of not just one but two cameras at NAB2013.

In this video, HDSLRShooter talks to Kendall Eckman about each surprise package, starting with the...

NAB 2013: The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera

2013-05-08T00:35:00+00:00

At NAB 2013, Blackmagic Design offered two big suprises, and while the Blackmagic Production Camera 4K was a surprise, the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera was the show stopper. We're still reeling from the implications of this tiny titan, and how it may shape the future of...

Text Animation in Motion

2013-05-07T13:08:00+00:00

This week on MacBreak Studio, I show Steve Martin from Ripple Training a few tricks for animating text in Motion.

Text, like shapes, particles, replicators, cameras, and other objects in Motion, has a dedicated set of behaviors available for animating it in various ways. In...

Useful Tools for Editors: After NAB Edition

2013-05-06T02:10:00+00:00

Another NAB has come and gone so things can begin to get back to normal. With that end to NAB let’s have a new entry into the Useful Tools for Editors category with our After NAB Edition. We talk PCs, relinking, keyboard emulators, slideshows and (of course) FxFactory.

After Effects ExtendScript Training: Ep. 5

2013-05-04T19:52:00+00:00

Welcome to episode 5, this week we will be accessing renderqueue items, templates, outputmodules, as well as the file output name and path. I will also be taking the single item access approach from last week and will now show you how to access multiple items. To do this we will be...

Visualizing hard drive speeds with the Blackmagic Disk Speed Test

2013-05-03T11:27:00+00:00

I was having a discussion with some students recently about hard drive speeds and why it’s important to have a fast drive for editing. All the discussion of data rates and different types of connections can only go so far as students new to editing need to see that speed in action. The Blackmagic Disk Speed Test (Mac App Store link) is a good way to visualize drive speed but we didn’t have that handy so here’s those big speedometers scaling from USB up to a very fast Thunderbolt connection.

Image Quality and the Contemporary Cine Lens

2013-05-01T21:28:00+00:00

The proliferation of digital cinema cameras over the past half-decade has seen an accompanying expansion in new cine lens designs and Canon has become an increasingly active player in this exciting new arena by developing nine new cine lens models in just the past year alone. The February 6th...

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

2013-05-01T15:16:00+00:00

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...

Creating a DVD - Without the DVD

2013-04-30T13:18:00+00:00

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,...

After Effects ExtendScript Training: Ep. 4

2013-04-28T04:21:00+00:00

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...

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

2013-04-26T14:43:00+00:00

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...

Using Behaviors in Motion

2013-04-23T13:06:00+00:00

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...