Final Cut Pro, Avid, and After Effects Training

Editing Effect Templates in Final Cut Pro X

2012-04-27T03:19:10Z

If you are a Final Cut Pro X user, you may find that certain built-in effects and generators are fairly limited in terms of parameters that you can adjust.

For example, the built-in gradient generator doesn't allow you to change colors.

Well, the fix is simple. This tutorial requires that you have Motion 5 installed. If you have Motion 5, you can make changes to any built-in effect within Final Cut Pro X. You can then create new effects with all the parameters and adjustments that you need.

Check out this short tutorial on how to publish new parameters within Final Cut Pro X by using Motion 5.

Click on the title of this blog for the full tutorial.
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It turns out these effects are actual Motion 5 Projects.

This means that if you have Motion 5 installed you can make changes to the effect, and then save it as a customized version.

Let’s say you want to add a gradient to your Final Cut Pro project.

For example, in this project, I’m going to replace this background clip with the gradient generator that’s built into Final Cut Pro X.

When I click on the gradient clip within my project, you will notice you do not have the ability to change the colors of the gradient.

So, don’t worry.

If you have Motion 5 installed, all you need to do is right click on the gradient generator and choose open a copy in Motion.

After Motion opens, navigate to layers window, and twirl down the disclosure triangle for the generator layer.

Then click on the gradient layer.

Then click on the inspector tab.

Within the inspector window, twirl down the disclosure triangle for the gradient color bar.

Click on the first RGB color stop off to the left.

Then click on disclosure arrow for the color parameter and choose publish.

Then click on the second RGB color stop.

Click on the disclosure arrow again and choose publish.

Now navigate back to the layers menu, and click on the project layer.

You can now rename the published parameters.

This will give a description of the published parameter that you will see when you move back to Final Cut Pro X.

Then navigate to the file menu and choose save as.

Give your new template a name.

You can use the keyboard shortcut command H to hide Apple Motion to get back to Final Cut Pro X.

So now, you will see your new customized generator within Final Cut Pro X.

A quick note: If you are using the original template in your project, will you need to replace your original clip with the new generator in order to see the new parameters.

Then, click on the new generator clip within your project.

Now you will see the additional parameters that you published from Motion within the inspector window.

So now, I can change the colors of the gradient.

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in a Final Cut Pro X training course, visit GeniusDV.com

Animating Lights in Marquee with Keyframes

2012-04-25T18:31:03Z

If you are an Avid Media Composer user, you've probably realized that the Marquee Title tool is extremely powerful.

While many parts of the software are extremely intuitive, there are some things that make your head spin. One of those things, is the ability to view keyframes when animating lights.

Check out this short tutorial on how to the view the keyframe graph for light objects within the Avid Marquee title tool.

Click on the title of this article to view the tutorial.
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For starters, make sure you are working with the expert animation toolset.

Next, make sure you have an object selected within the canvas area.

Then make sure the enable lighting button is turned on within the surface properties box for your text object.

Now click on the light tool within the Marquee toolbar.

By default, Marquee always starts out with one active light.

Notice how the light affects the selected object.

In this example, I’m going to move this light up to the corner of the screen which will provide the main source of light for my text object.

To create a new light right click within the Canvas area and choose add light.

Then right click on the new light, and choose light type – spot.

Position the spot portion of the light off to the left side of the object.

Now in order to see the keyframe graph for a light object, navigate to the timeline menu and choose view lights.

Then navigate to the bottom right of the timeline, and click on this button which is officially called the collapse button.

Now you’ll see separate tracks for each light within your scene.

Go ahead and select your second light within the canvas window and then navigate back to lower right corner of the timeline.

Click on the show curves button for the highlighted track.

Off to the left, you will see a series of check boxes for all the available graphs.

Place a check within the light category.

This will allow you to see a graph for the spot part of the light.

So now you will notice the red graph line will move as I move the spot for the light.

Now a quick side note: If you want to see a graph for the light object itself, that’s part of the transform category.

However, in this example, let’s focus on animating the spot light portion of the light.

Click on the animation mode button within the Marquee toolbar.

Move down to the timeline window and move the playhead indicator forward 1 second.

Then move the spot portion of the light off to the right side of the text object.

Notice a keyframe was created based on the position of the playhead indicator.

Okay, now you can see you’ve got an animated spot light.

Now go ahead and turn off the animation mode button.

Navigate to the properties window and click on the light tab.

Go ahead and adjust the spot size and the intensity of the light.

Notice how the graph within the timeline moves based on the adjustments that you make.

Okay, there you go!

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in a certified Avid Media Composer training class, visit GeniusDV.com

Color Mask in Final Cut Pro X

2012-04-09T15:40:05Z

Learn how to use a color mask in Final Cut Pro X to change the color of a specific area within a video clip.

Click on the title of this article for the full FCP X tutorial.

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Start by editing a clip to a new project.

Press the B key to activate the Blade Tool.

Click in the middle of your clip to break it into two pieces.

Then press the A key to re-activate the Select Tool.

Click on the second half of the clip segment to select it.

Use the keyboard shortcut Command 4 to bring forward the inspector window.

Look for the Correction 1 effect.

Click on the eye dropper to add a color mask.

Then move over to the viewer window and click and drag until you’ve selected the color you want to change.

Move back over to the inspector window and click the show correction slide arrow.

This will bring forward the color board.

You see four circles that will allow you to adjust the colors of the selected clip.

The three circle off to the left allow you to adjust colors within the shadows, midtones, and highlights.

The circle off to the left will adjust all the color spaces globally, which is what we want in this example.

Slide the circle over to the color you want to add, and then move it upwards to increase the amount of color.

Since we have a mask, only the masked area will be affected.

Okay, that looks fairly decent.

For the last step, let’s add a dissolve between the two clip segments in our project.

To do this, click on the transition point between the two clip segments.

Use the keyboard shortcut command T to add a cross dissolve between the two clip segments.

Okay, that’s it!

Back up and play the through the project.

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in a Final Cut Pro X training class, visit GeniusDV.com

Importing Hi-Res Images into Final Cut Pro X

2012-03-25T17:25:13Z

Here is short tutorial on how to import hi-res images from iPhoto into Final Cut Pro X. Also, In this tutorial you will learn the following:

Creating a video slideshow from your hi-res photos
Changing the duration of all your clips at the same time
Adding multiple transitions all at the same time

Click on the title of this blog to read the full tutorial.

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Check out this short tutorial on how to create a video slideshow using Final Cut Pro X.

For starters, import some pictures into iPhoto.

Then go back to the Final Cut Pro X application.

Navigate to the Final Cut Pro toolbar and click on the Photo Browser button.

This will bring forward the Photo Browser window which will give you access to all your images within iPhoto.

Select a group of photos and drag them to the timeline window.

A dialogue box may appear saying the video properties are not recognized.

Go ahead and choose the video properties that you’d like to use and press the okay button.

Now, if you’re not happy with the default duration of your still images, it’s easy to change the duration of all your clips at the same time.

Verify that all your clips are still selected within the timeline window and then press Control D.

Then enter the new duration within the timecode dashboard display area.

This will automatically adjust the duration of all your clips within the timeline.

Okay, if you are working with any of the HD widescreen video properties, your standard digital photos won’t fill the screen area.

To fix this, click on the transform effect icon in the bottom left corner of the viewer window.

Then drag one of the blue handles in the corner of the image to scale it so it fits the screen.

Now all the clips have been properly been formatted for a 16 x 9 screen size.

Now, you may also need to adjust the areas of the picture that are displayed within the widescreen area.

Go ahead and place the playhead indicator above a clip within the timeline and then adjust the image within the viewer window.

You can also add a transition to all of your clips at the same time.

To do this, click on the transitions button.

Within the transitions browser window, double click on the transition that you would like to use between all your clips.

Okay, it’s that easy!

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in a Final Cut Pro X training class, visit GeniusDV.com

Multi Camera Editing in Avid Media Composer

2012-03-09T13:24:10Z

Check out this short Avid Media Composer tutorial that has been updated from my previous multi-camera tutorial.

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Check it out.

To start, you can see I have four clips within a bin.

Each clip represents one camera angle.

The first step is to find a sync point for each camera.

So, I’ll drag the first clip into the source window, and I’m going to mark an in-point at the point where the girl jumps into the air.

Okay, so I’ve marked the same point in time for my other three clips where the girl is jumping into the air.

After you’ve found a sync point for all four clips, select the clips within the bin.

Then navigate to the bin menu and choose group clips.

Click okay to group by the in-points.

This will create a grouped clip in your bin.

The next step is to drag your grouped clip into an empty timeline.

This will create an untitled sequence.

I recommended that you give your sequence a name.

Now navigate to the special menu and choose multi-camera mode.

Now, as I back up through the timeline, you can see all the camera angles are in sync.

So now as soon as you press the play button, you can cut between the different camera angles in real time.

If you decide to make a change to one of the angles, park the playhead indicator over the segment you want to change within the timeline, and then hold down the alt key and click on a camera angle to switch out.

However, there’s one catch.

Notice how Media Composer kept the audio from the first camera and only performed video cuts.

To fix this, navigate to the project window and click on the settings tab.

Then double click on the composer settings.

Within the composer settings, under the window tab, click on the option to display two rows of data.

In the upper left corner of the source window, you will now see a multi-cam icon.

In this menu you can tell Media Composer to cut your audio and video together.

You can also switch out a specific audio or video segment by selecting a different camera angle.

So in this case, I’ll choose the audio from the Lockdown camera.

And remember, you’ll still have access to all the standard Media Composer editing features even after you choose to leave multi-camera mode.

For example, if I made a particular camera edit at the wrong point in time, I can enter into trim mode by dragging a lasso around an edit point, and make a quick adjustment.

Then click on the timecode track to enter back into Multi-camera mode.

It’s that easy!

For other advanced multi camera techniques, check out our certified Media Composer training classes at GeniusDV.com

Auto-Save Attic Avid Media Composer

2012-03-05T00:36:37Z

The latest version of Avid Media Composer 6.0 has 99 undos. However, there are a couple of scenarios that may require an additional steps to recover from a bad situation.

If you close your project, the undo list will reset.
If you accidentally delete a sequence from a bin, you cannot undo that function.
If an Avid Media Composer bin becomes corrupted, the undo command won't help out.

Here's a short Media Composer tutorial that show how to recover a bin from an earlier point in time.

Before watching this tutorial keeps the following in mind:

There are many different version's of Avid Media Composer out there. The latest version is 6.01. Unfortunately, the location of the Avid Attic has changed over time.

There directory location is different locations for PC and MAC.

As of today (Media Composer 6.01) the Avid Attic is located at:

On a MAC: Internal HD / Shared / AvidMediaComposer / Avid Attic
On a PC: C:/ Users / Public / Documents / Avid Media Composer / Avid Attic

Click the Title of this article to continue reading the tutorial.

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Avid Media Composer features something called an Attic that allows you to recover older versions of bins.

Click on the settings tab within the project window.

Double click on the Bin Settings.

This is where you tell Media Composer how often to auto-save.

Notice the default setting is to auto-save every 15 minutes.

When Media Composer performs an auto-save, it saves copies of all your bins.

It’s in this window where you can tell Avid Media Composer how many versions of those bins to keep.

Click on the bins tab.

The most important bin is the one that contains your sequence.

Therefore, it’s really important that you keep your bins labeled within Avid Media Composer.

So if I double click on my sequences bin, you can see I’ve got a sequence inside there.

If a bin is accidentally deleted, or you need to recover an earlier version of a bin you can find older copies of your bin in the Avid Attic.

The easiest way to find the Avid’s attic is to do a quick keyword search on your internal drive.

If you are on a MAC, hold down the command key and press the spacebar.

Type the keyword attic within the spotlight search box.

Press the return key to open the Avid Attic folder.

Within the Avid Attic folder, you will see a list of Avid Projects.

Inside each project folder, you will see a list of all your bins.

Click on one of the bins that you would like to recover.

The most likely candidate would be the bin that contains your sequence.

In this example, I have 23 different saved versions of my sequences bin.

Next, you must either copy or move the bin outside the Avid Attic folder.

So, I’ll grab the last saved version and move it to the desktop.

After you have moved or copied bin that you want to recover, you can re-open it within Avid Media Composer.

Okay, but before you can do this, you must make sure any previous versions of that bin are closed, otherwise you will get an error.

Next navigate to the file menu and choose open bin.

It’s important that you change this enable pull-down menu to ‘any’.

Otherwise you will not be able to open the bin.

Then you’ll be able to select the bin that you’ve copied to the desktop in order to open it.

This bin will now appear within the project window and it will be located within a folder called other bins.

There you go, you’ve now recovered an earlier version of your bin.

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in an Avid Media Composer training class, visit GeniusDV.com

3D Objects in Avid Marquee

2012-03-02T19:27:32Z

Learn how to create 3D objects in a true 3D environment using Avid Media Composer's Marquee Software.

Continue reading for a full text transcript of this tutorial.

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Now, to simplify this tutorial I’ve already built a basic text object in Marquee.

If you are not familiar with Avid’s Marquee title tool, please refer to my other tutorials on how to create a basic title within Avid Marquee.

I also have a separate tutorial that demonstrates how to create the light rays shining around the ring.

First, navigate to the toolsets menu and verify that you are using the Expert Animation toolset.

Then navigate to the lower right corner of the canvas area and right click on the title duration preferences.

Change the duration to one second to prevent unnecessary rendering for this particular lesson.

Then click on the Ellipse tool within the Marquee tool bar.

Draw a large circle while holding down the shift key, the shift key will maintain a perfect circle while you drag.

Then click on the edit tool which will make the white circle the selected object.

With the object selected you can reposition the circle.

Now navigate to the library window and click on the texture tab.

Drag a texture onto the edge area of the white cylinder in the surface properties window.

Then click on the enable lighting checkbox for the edge.

This white cylinder represents the face surface, edge, and extruded areas of your object.

Now click on the surface area of the white cylinder.

Uncheck the enable surface checkbox.

So now you’ll be left with just an edge for your selected object.

Click on the effect tab within the properties window.

Choose an edge type from the pull down menu.

So now your selected object has just a gold edge.

Next, click on the animation mode button.

Move the playhead indicator to the end of your sequence.

Click on the rotate tool.

Move the mouse cursor over the blue Y axis ring.

When the cursor turns into a crosshair icon hold down the shift key and drag the ring 180 degrees.

Holding down the shift key ensures that you’ll end up at a perfect 180 degrees, because it will limit your adjustments in 15 degree increments.

Okay, let me back up and play through the timeline.

Now, notice there’s something strange about the animation.

The gold ring is on its own 3D plane and it spins in front of the title.

To fix this, navigate to the layers tab.

You should see one layer that contains your shape and your text box.

Right click on Layer 1 and change the layer type from 2D to 3D.

Okay, now when you play through the timeline, your scene is within one 3D plane, and the gold circle spins around the title.

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in an Avid Certified Media Composer training class, visit GeniusDV.com

Import FCP 7 projects into FCP X

2012-02-01T19:12:29Z

With the latest update to Final Cut Pro X (10.0.3), you can now import your Final Cut Pro 7 projects into FCP X.

There's a company called Intelligent Assistance that makes an application for converting your old Final Cut Pro 7 projects to Final Cut Pro X projects. Don't worry, for those of you who want to go the other way.... meaning FCP X to FCP 7, they have an app for that as well.

You can purchase the application through the Mac App store. It's only $10.00!

So, I did a basic test converting a project with some cross dissolves and an audio track from Final Cut Pro 7 into Final Cut Pro X, and it worked flawlessly!

Now, the only odd-ball thing, is that each sequence is converted into something called a Compound Clip into Final Cut Pro X. It's really not that big of a deal, but you'll need to break apart your compound clip in order to see all the video and audio clips.

Don't worry, the documentation provides very simple methods that walk you through on how to accomplish that.

I'm very impressed with the number of elements that can be converted. Some quick notes that caught my interested include the ability to convert the following:

Nested Sequences are Converted to Compound Clips
MultiClips are Converted to FCP X Multiclips
Split edits are maintained
Audio Levels (including keyframes and pans) are maintained
Motion Tab Settings are converted directly over including (scale, opacity, distort, position and composition settings)
Constant Speed changes
Markers
31 compatible transitions
72 FxPlug and FXScript plugins are converted over
32 various audio filters

*This is NOT a complete list, but it contains a few things that caught my eye as being a good thing!

There are a couple of items that will not carry over which include:

Titles Created with Title 3D title tool
Variable Speed Changes
Filter Settings
Drop Shadows and Blurs using the Motion Tab
Travel Mattes using the Alpha or Luma Composite Modes

Again, this is not a complete list, so please ready the documentation.

Apple Updates Final Cut Pro X

2012-01-31T21:30:19Z

Today Apple has updated Final Cut Pro X through the App Store.

Important notes of interest include:

Multicam editing with support up to 64 angles.
New advanced controls for chroma keying
Ability to manually relink projects and events to media
XML 1.1 support

XML support is a huge addition to uses who want to convert old Final Cut Pro 7 projects to Final Cut Pro X projects. The application from Intelligence Assistance is available through the Mac App Store and only costs $10.00

There are also updates for Motion 5 and Compressor 4.

GeniusDV now offers classes for learning Final Cut Pro X.

Exporting from Final Cut Pro

2011-12-29T20:21:32Z

Exporting from Final Cut Pro can sometimes be frustrating. This is especially true if you run into video interlace problems.

I had originally intended to write this article for Final Cut Pro X users. However, this article will also benefit users who are using Final Cut Pro 7 along with Compressor 3.0. So please, forgive me a ahead of time if you are not a Final Cut Pro X user.

I was inspired to write this article, because GeniusDV has received support calls from frustrated customers who are having issues exporting high quality video that looks clean on a progressive display.

Don't worry, the steps in this tutorial are identical for Compressor 3.0 and 4.0.

(Click on the title of the blog to continue reading the full article)
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Before I move on, if your video camera supports a progressive mode (i.e, 24p, 30p), it is in your best interest to always shoot in a progressive format. This will eliminate having to read through the following convoluted steps to fix your video.

That being said, your eventually going to encounter the millions of users who have mini-dv or hdv tape cassettes that were recorded in 30i. So what do you do with those old video formats that were recorded in an interlaced format? The answer is to de-interlace the footage.

Yes, Final Cut Pro 7 does have a De-interlace filter, but it's limited to removing or duplicating fields.

Good news: If you are a Final Cut Pro 7 user, you will have a copy of Compressor 3 that is included in the Final Cut Studio suite of applications.

Bad news: If you are a Final Cut Pro X user, you will need to purchase Compressor 4 from the App Store.

Compressor 4.0 is a download purchase only, and It's $50.00.

Final Cut Pro X Users: Unfortunately, for Final Cut Pro X users, it is an absolute necessity that you purchase Compressor 4.0 if you plan on using Final Cut Pro X in a professional environment. Without Compressor 4.0, your export options will be extremely limited, and you will not have the ability to de-interlace footage.

Now, I'm being serious, this screen shot below shows the only export options available within Final Cut Pro X. For the most part you are limited to a QuickTime movie encoded as ProRes or DV at full resolution. That's it!

This is a real bummer if you are used to all the export options that were available directly from Final Cut Pro 7.0. The fix is to purchase Compressor 4.0. Then you'll have all the export options that you have been used to.

Final Cut Pro 7 Users: Even though FCP 7 has all the export options, Compressor is still useful for advanced compression techniques. This includes the ability blur interlaced fields, instead of simply removing one of the fields.

Compressor Tutorial for Dei-nterlacing Media

The following steps are the same for both FCP 7 and FCP X.

* Quick Side Note: While I'm on the subject of adjusting presets in Compressor, you might want to check out this short tutorial on creating a droplet in Apple Compressor. This will allow you to use your preset for processing media outside of Final Cut Pro.

Step 1: Launch Compressor, and look for settings window.

Step 2: Duplicate one of the available settings within the presets that are listed. For example: Since Apple ProRes 422 has become one of the industry standards for exporting video, that might be a good starting point. In Compressor 4.0, It's located under the Apple / ProRes group of folders.

That being said, you won't be able to make any adjustments to the parameters in Compressor unless you either duplicate an existing setting, or create a new one. Trust me, It's much easier to duplicate an existing setting than to create a new one from scratch.

Step 3: After you duplicate a setting, Final Cut Pro will create a custom setting that you can make changes to.

Step 4: Select the preset within the custom setting. Then look for the inspector window. First, you may want to give your new preset a name. In this, I've named it FCP X De-interlace.

Click on filters button which is the fourth button to the right. Scroll down through the filter list and activate Deinterlacing. Then choose your algorithm. I've found that Blur seems to work best in most cases.

Important: At the bottom of the settings window (not shown here), press save after you've adjusted your preset.

Step 5: Export your content from Final Cut Pro.

Final Cut Pro X users: Navigate to the share menu, and choose export using Compressor Settings. Then press the next button (not shown) to export the final movie.

Final Cut Pro 7.0 users: Navigate to the file menu and choose share. Within the share window, pull down the menu that says 'other'. From there you'll see your Compressor Preset. Then press the export button.

So, here's the Final Result of the preset to de-interlace footage.

I hope you found this short tutorial useful. If so, be sure to check out GeniusDV's classroom training and on-site training services for learning Final Cut Pro.

Free Final Cut Pro 7.0 Tutorials

2011-12-05T20:20:07Z

In an effort to celebrate the now 'retired' Final Cut Studio software, GeniusDV is giving away all of our Final Cut Pro 7.0 tutorials!

GeniusDV is offering one last Final Cut Studio class that starts Jan 23rd - Jan 26th in Orlando, FL. Seating is limited to the first 5 individuals. That being said, because of the continued popularity of Final Cut Pro 7.0 we will still continue to offer 'onsite' and customized Final Cut Pro 7.0 training.

If you decide to make the jump to Final Cut Pro X, be sure to check out our updated training class schedule!

Enjoy the following tutorials!

Final Cut Pro Tutorials for effects
Camera Flash effect with freeze frame Part 1
Photo Flash Frame Effect Part 2
Camera Flash Freeze effect using Apple Motion Part 3
Pleasantville tutorial
Wind Blur tutorial
Blur Face in Final Cut Pro
Transport Beam tutorial
Light Zoom filter tutorial
Ken Burns effect
Creating a Moving Filmstrip
Creating customized wipes in Final Cut Pro
Creating a running timer or counter in Final Cut Pro
Luma Key Effect
Speed Ramp Effect with curves in Final Cut Pro
Play a clip backwards in Final Cut Pro
Alpha Wipe Transition Effect
Rotated Motion Path in Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro Tutorials for editing
Using the Add-Edit tool versus the Blade tool in Final Cut Pro
Re-formatting 4:3 Media for a 16:9 Hi Def Sequence in Final Cut Pro
Importing AVCHD - H264 Media into Final Cut Pro
Multi-camera Editing tutorial for Final Cut Pro
Learn to use modifier keys with Final Cut Pro
Exporting (WMV) Windows Media Files from Final Cut Pro
Trimming Clips in Final Cut Pro
Importing Image Sequences or using Stop Motion in Final Cut Pro
Using Media Manager in Final Cut Pro
Reformatting 4x3 Media for Hi def in Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro / Boris 3D Tutorials
Creating 3D text using Boris Title 3D
Title Crawl effect with glow
Title 3D type on effect
Title 3D effect using the tracking parameter
Creating Glass text effect with Boris Title 3D

Apple Motion Tutorials
Cloning or Repairing an image using Apple Motion
Creating 3D extruded text in Apple Motion
Tracking a Mask in Apple Motion for Color Correction
Using Masks to re-fill a tequila bottle in Apple Motion
Creating a glowing title in Apple Motion
Human Torch effect in Apple Motion
3D reflection in water with Apple Motion
Creating Text on a Path with Apple Motion
Fogwriter effect with Apple Motion
Image stabilization with Apple Motion
Using Apple Motion Audio Behaviors
Using lights with Ken Burns effect
Creating Particles on a Path
Light Streak effect using Apple Motion
Wrapping text around an object in Apple Motion
Flying Stars using Character Map with Motion
Animated Masks and Tracking with Apple Motion (jump through fire)
Four Point tracking in Apple Motion (replacing television image)
Hold Out Matte using Final Cut Pro and Motion (glowing football player)
Exploding Text effect
3D lighting in Apple Motion
Sequencing Text effect in Apple Motion

Apple Color Tutorials
Creating the Pleasantville effect in Apple Color
Introduction to Color Interface
Using Tracking Data in Apple Color for Color Correction
Configuring Preferences in Apple Color
Using Secondary Color Correction to fix a bad shot in Apple Color

SoundTrack Pro Tutorials
Removing audio noise with FCP and SoundTrack Pro
Removing audio pops using SoundTrack Pro and Final Cut Pro
Time shift effect using SoundTrack Pro and Final Cut Pro

Compressor / DVD Studio Pro Tutorials
FCP to DVD Studio Pro workflow tutorial
Creating Droplets with Apple Compressor

Photoshop for Final Cut Pro Video Tutorials
Creating a glass bug with Photoshop
Using photoshop filters on video clip

Pleasantville Effect Media Composer 6

2011-12-01T17:03:23Z

With the introduction of Avid Media Composer 6, we'll be hard at work redoing many of our popular tutorials.

Check out this short tutorial on creating the Pleasantville effect using the new Media Composer 6 interface.

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It's easy to create the Pleasantville effect in Avid Media Composer 6.

To start find a clip with a color that you would like to isolate.

Drag your clip to the timeline.

Go ahead and add a new video track by using the keyboard shortcut command Y.

Then drag an exact copy of your clip on top of itself.

Navigate over to the project window and click on the effect palette button.

Click on the image category.

Look for the Color Effect.

Drag the color effect onto the bottom clip in your sequence.

Navigate to the upper left corner of the timeline and click on the effect mode button.

The effect editor window will appear.

Within the effect editor window, find the saturation slider and drag it all the way to the left.

Go back to your sequence and move this monitor icon up a track to V2.

You should now have a color image covering your black and white image.

Navigate back over to the project window and click on the key category.

Find the SpectraMatte effect.

Drag the SpectraMatte onto the clip that's on V2.

Move back over to the effect editor window and click on this color picker box.

Hold down the mouse button and drag the mouse cursor into the Composer window.

Pick a color that you'd like to isolate.

Notice how the orange is keyed out and you are now seeing the black and white image underneath.

Move back over to the effect editor window and click on this 3D button to promote the SpectraMatte effect.

Twirl down the disclosure triangle for the Foreground.

Scroll down the list of parameters and click on the option for invert key.

Okay, there you go, check is out!

For other great tips like this, or to enroll in an Avid certified Media Composer training class, visit GeniusDV.com

Adobe On Location

2011-11-22T21:21:06Z

Whether you are a Final Cut Pro user, Avid Media Composer user, or Premiere user, we'd like to introduce you to Adobe On Location. In our opinion, this is an incredible application that is sometimes overlooked in the professional video industry.

It ships with the Adobe Creative Suite Production Premium. Trust us on this one, this software is really a nice addition to any video production professional.

Do you own a HDV camera which records to MiniDV cassette tapes, and have wondered what to do about it? I have given my Canon XHA1S the evil eye for some time now, but have not decided to upgrade to another model. The technological advances come so fast that it is difficult to make a reasonable choice, and waiting a few months may be priceless.

Adobe On Location may be the tool that helps you improve your footage until you are certain of what to do after HDV.

]]> HDV cameras plug into a laptop by firewire cable. Even a 15 ft firewire cable produces perfect capture. I use a 6-pin to 6-pin 15 ft cable from my camera to a LaCie external drive (Rugged) that is plugged into the laptop. At times, I prefer a more mobile camera. By putting wheels under my tripod and attaching the laptop to the cross-struts with Velcro, and attaching the external drive to the wheelbase, I am able to move the camera reasonably well from location to location.

Turn on the camera before starting on Location.

*Please note: You can click on any of the images below for a hi-res version of the screenshot.

Open a project.

In the upper left is the Field Monitor.

The taskbar shows timecode, then two levels of Zebra stripes (default: 100 and 75), a zoom tool (“Fit”), a split screen option, safe zone lines, a still grabber and an option to set a poster frame. The button in the upper right corner allows you to undock the panel, change the monitor input, check the recording format and adjust the monitor and zebra settings.

To the right there is the audiometer, which shows the exact dB level that is being recorded.

Next there is the waveform monitor which analyzes the luminance of the frame.

Underneath you will find the Vectorscope.

By going to Window > Histogram, the waveform monitor will be replaced by a histogram of the frame.

Finally, the upper right panel serves to display the Comment area where you can add comments and observations while recording. One can also prepare inserts prior to shooting. The middle tab in the panel houses the media browser, and the right tab contains all the metadata for the project.

The whole lower project is dedicated to the project files.

It is populated with placeholders for a project imported from Adobe Story. Start recording by clicking on the red button in the field monitor panel.

Click twice to start a new clip which will go to the bottom of you placeholder list. Insert notes in the Turbo Comments which will appear on playback as sticky notes in the timeline.

On Location allows you to balance exposure, white balance and overall appearance of your frame before you start shooting. On Location not only records directly to the laptop’s hard-drive, but gives you a waveform monitor to judge exposure and distribution of brightness in the frame, and a Vectorscope and Histogram to analyze the color space. In addition, there is ample space to add Metadata to each clip as you record. A focus chart allows error-free focusing on the spot in your frame that you wish to be in perfect focus. The chart can be downloaded from Adobe.

While planning a shoot there is the option of pre-populating the project with placeholders from the shot list. Additional placeholders are easily created when there is more than one take by clicking on the Add placeholder rectangles at the left top of the project panel. The same place allows you to create a time-stamped placeholder.

If you go to Window > click on Camera Setup Assistant a window appears which allows you to check the adequacy of your camera setup.

The goal is to extend the blue lines as far to the right as your settings allow.

After you finish recording, the clips are easily imported into Premiere Pro for editing or export as Quicktime.mov.

Adobe Story is a web-based application that is designed to help script development as well as creating a shot list. Go to https://story.adobe.com and sign in with your AdobeID and password. Your Story account is free until April 12, 2012. Story allows you to organize your materials and set up scripts .

There is adequate space to add all additional items that might be required for a successful production.

By subdividing the script into scenes, one can download the script to On Location where it will create placeholders for all the scenes in the script while storing the screen directions and dialog in the Metadata.

Special thanks to Ed Gfeller, who is a former GeniusDV customer for submitting this tutorial. Thanks again Ed!

Importing video from a camera in Final Cut Pro X

2011-11-10T17:12:20Z

FCPX's Import Camera tool makes it stunningly easy to import video from your camera and jump right into editing. This brief walkthrough illustrates just how easy that can be, whether you intend to import all of the video from a camera, some of the shots, or even selected portions of shots on the camera. Enjoy the video, and see the bonus protip after the jump...

]]> Start and End points—in the Camera Import window, you can import those portions of clips quickly by pressing the Return key twice. The first Return displays the Import Settings pane, and the second Return confirms that you want to import using those settings. After a while, you may get annoyed that it takes almost a full second for the Import Settings pane to fly out from the top of the screen, then fly back off-screen when you confirm.

There's a hidden system preference that controls the animation speed of that pane. Needless to say, we couldn't possibly recommend tinkering around with hidden system preferences, especially on machines with anything valuable on them. But if you, at your own risk, wanted to play around with the free TinkerTool software, you could speed up the pane animation, which would speed up your workflow in the Import Camera window:

Running Final Cut Pro on a PC with Windows

2011-11-09T20:26:53Z

UPDATE: I've got some bad news for Windows fans who were hoping Final Cut Pro would run on a Windows operating system. With the introduction of Final Cut Pro X, it's unlikely you will ever see a version that will run natively in Windows. Apple has rewritten FCP using more than just modern coding techniques like 64-bit programming. The new Final Cut Pro X is built on technologies exclusive to Apple's Mac OS X operating system.

If you're committed to editing on a Windows machine, Adobe Premiere is the most direct alternative to Final Cut Pro. Avid Media Composer also runs on Windows. It's popular in high-end workflows, but more expensive and more difficult to learn. We teach Adobe Premiere and Media Composer classes for both Windows and Mac.

The good news is that moving to the most popular editing software in the industry is cheaper and easier than ever. Even an entry-level MacBook Air ($999 at time of writing) will run FCPX, albeit slowly—and the price of Final Cut Pro has plummeted to just $299 for a license good on every Mac you own or use. There's even a free, full-featured trial available for your Mac if you want to test drive Mac OS and Final Cut.

]]> Final Cut Pro WILL NOT run on Windows. However, you can still install a full copy of Windows XP / Vista or Windows 7 on any Intel Mac (that is, any Mac manufactured since 2006). When you start up the computer, you can decide whether you want to work with Final Cut Pro in Mac OS X or just work in Windows. In my experience, it's actually easier to install Windows 7 on a Mac than on a PC. How crazy is that?

As far as Windows is concerned, your Mac is a PC just like any other since it has an Intel chipset. Theoretically, you could even delete Mac OS X and only run Windows on it. Trust me, at that point, your Mac will have no idea that it's a Mac. Of course, if you delete Mac OS X, you can't run Final Cut Pro any more, which is the reason you got the Mac in the first place!

The bottom line is.... Final Cut Studio will only run on Mac OS X (currently 10.7, "Lion"). I honestly don't see Apple ever releasing Final Cut Pro for Windows 7. There are just too many variables in terms of hardware to make it worth Apple's time.

A Mac isn't as expensive as you might think. The majority of us can get away with a system in the $1500 to $2000 price range, including the cost of software. I recently purchased a 6-month-old MacBook Pro for under $1000 and loaded a copy of Final Cut Pro X that I'd purchased earlier for $299. I couldn't be happier! At the risk of sounding biased, it will be the best money you ever spend.

Now, the first question you must ask yourself, should you purchase a Mac Pro tower, a MacBook Air, a MacBook Pro, or an iMac? An iMac system includes a screen and starts at $1199. With a student discount, it's even less. The entry-level iMac is a great starter machine for editing. It's powerful, its roomy display is built-in, and it's got bells and whistles like the Thunderbolt port that will give you some room to expand as your business grows. It's not as expandable as a Mac Pro tower, but by the time you bump against those limits you'll be doing the sort of complex work that means you can afford the tower.

On the high end, a fully tricked out Mac Pro tower might easily run you $12,000–and that's before you add broadcast monitors, an IO box, decks, and exotic peripherals. The total price could easily top $20,000 for a full-fat system, although that sort of system is absolutely overkill unless you're doing more advanced visual effects work than Final Cut Pro X does.

If portability is a priority, a MacBook Pro might be all the system you need. If you can afford upgrades from the base models, max out the RAM and upgrade to the 7200RPM disk drive. Personally I provide freelance editing to one of the biggest entertainment companies in America with a base model MacBook Pro. It's more than enough to accomplish most video production. The MacBook Air line can be used to run Final Cut and Motion, but their limited disk space, few ports, and missing optical drive may give you headaches as you get into larger projects.

If you're shopping for Final Cut Pro, chances are you're thinking about cameras as well. The majority of cameras available today use memory cards or disk drives instead of tapes. Go with the trend. Disk-based formats are easier and more efficient than tape. They involve fewer moving parts, they support higher-quality recordings, and they dramatically cut back the wait to bring your video into the computer for editing.

For the best balance of quality and price at the broad-market professional level, we really like the Sony EX1. With that $6000 camera, a $1500 laptop, and $300 worth of software, you have everything you need to produce top-quality video. And with any Final Cut Pro editing system the only additional hardware that you truly need is external storage. This will allow you to keep your media/project folder on a separate drive from the one running the OS & Final Cut, which will improve both system responsiveness & versatility.

If you're after a cheaper camera solution, consider the Canon EOS 5D DSLR that has taken the professional production world by storm. This camera, available in kits with body and lens for under $2000, is first and foremost a still camera, and a fairly good one at that. But it also records full HD video. It's not going to replace dedicated video cameras for serious work, but the 5D is an affordable and useful camera to have in your arsenal for that glossy work.

Our production pros teach both the EX-1 and the 5D one-on-one with you at your studio or business with our on-site training and consulting.

But back to Final Cut Pro! GeniusDV specializes in training a contemporary Final Cut Studio workflow. Click here if you are interested in receiving Final Cut Studio training.

For those who are bound and determined to install Final Cut Pro on a PC running Windows, I've actually seen hacks using a Mac OS X emulator with Final Cut Pro installed. However, trust me on this..... it wasn't anywhere close to functional in a real-world environment.

Finally, there is one other way to run Final Cut Pro on a machine running Windows...