Avid, Final Cut Pro Support

Mac Pro the Fastest Mac Ever

Tue, 08 Aug 2006 09:13:22 -0500

Whether you run Avid Xpress Pro or Final Cut Pro and you have just entered the market for a new computer, then you have to check out Apple's new successor to the Power Mac, the "Mac Pro. With up to 4 million configurations possible, the Mac Pro can perform at speeds of up to 3GHz running on 2 Dual Core Intel Xeon Processors. It can also accommodate up to 2 Terabytes of storage, 16 GB of RAM, up to two Superdrives, has four PCI Express slots and more I/O ports. You also have your choice of three graphics cards: the NVIDIA GeForce 7300 GT (256MB), ATI Radeon X1900 XT (512MB), and the NVIDIA Quadro FX 4500 (512MB). You can also house as many as 4 of the 7300 GT graphics cards in this machine.

fcp upconverting

Tue, 01 Aug 2006 10:08:29 -0500

Your production house has finally gone HD and you shoot a project completely on on one of the shiny new High Def camcorders. When you're sitting in front of your Final Cut Pro editing bay, you discover that you need to add some SD footage in order to make your package complete.

Considering that we are in the middle of the transition from SD to HD video, this scenario has become commonplace for the editor. Upconverting SD media to HD media can be achieved by scaling the SD clip placed in the HD sequence.
Due to the fact that Final Cut Pro is resolution independent, you can add any clips in the browser to a sequence.

Scaling a 720X480 SD Clip into a 1280X720 HD sequence:

1. Open the SD clip in the Viewer

2. Click Motion Tab in viewer

3. Click the disclosure triangle, opening the Basic Motion parameters

4. Type 150 in the Scale field

5. click the disclosure triangle to open the Distort parameters

6. Type 12.5 for the Aspect Ratio

ntsc to pal in final cut pro

Mon, 17 Jul 2006 12:46:02 -0500

Can I convert something from NTSC or PAL within Final Cut Pro?
Yes, but sometimes the quality difference may not be acceptable. However, if you are in a jam, simply find your sequence within the Browser window and control click on it. Select the sequence settings. Within the sequence settings, change the sequence to PAL. You will then need to render your entire timeline.

final cut 4.5 preview disabled

Fri, 14 Jul 2006 15:12:10 -0500

If you are still unable to preview out to a monitor in Final Cut Pro after you have made the correct hardware connections, you may have just overlooked a simple configuration in FCP. If you are referring to your capture preview being disabled, please refer to this thread entitled FCP HD Preview Disabled. If you are unable to preview out to an external monitor, continue reading.

1 Go to User Settings and under the summary tab, make sure that your Device Control is set properly. If you are using a firewire connection out to a DV Camera or Deck, Firewire NTSC is where this preset should be at.

2 Choose FireWire NTSC (720x480) for the Video Playback option within the Summary tab pane under Audio/Video Settings. Click OK.

3 Go to View in the top menu then to External Video and choose the All Frames selection. You should now be able to preview out to that NTSC monitor.

A tip for rearranging clips in FCP!

jvc gy hd 250

Fri, 07 Jul 2006 15:43:44 -0500

Building on the success of the JVC GY-HD100U , JVC introduces two new cameras to its HD lineup at NAB 2006: The GY-HD200U and GY-HD250U. The 250U is at the top of the lineup. All models have interchangeable lens capability. Here are some of the features as mentioned in the JVC Press Release:

JVC GY-HD250U

- 60p Encoding

- HD-SDI Output with Embedded Audio

- Time Code Synchronization and Genlock

- Composite Video Outputs

- Pool Feed

- BNC Connectors

- Dual Media Recording on optional DR-HD100U hard Disk Drive Recorder or on tape.

This camera can also be transformed into a studio camera with the KA-HD 250 Studio Kit.

JVC GY-HD200U

- Can utilize JVC's exlusive HZ-CA 13U 16mm Film Lens Adapter with PL Mount giving it the ability to use a variety of prime zoom lenses.

- Has an Image Inversion Function enabling you to compensate for the reversed image of prime lenses. I HOPE THAT ALL OF THE MAJOR CAMERA MANUFACTURERS WILL SOON OFFER A FEATURE MUCH LIKE THIS ONE AS MORE VIDEOGRAPHERS ARE STARTING TO EXPERIMENT WITH 35MM LENS ADAPTERS AND PRIME LENSES.

- 60p Encoder

- Enhanced Cinema Gamma

This camera basically expands on the features that producers have come to love in the in the 100U.

Just in case you haven't heard, if you already own one of the early models of the HD100U, JVC is offering a free upgrade to the HD100 "A" model.

hvx200

Thu, 06 Jul 2006 11:30:31 -0500

Whether you are a loyal Panasonic HVX200 fan or just curious as to which HD cam to spring for, Panasonic has a great new microsite at panasonic.com that is all things HVX. This is a great opportunity for all of you Final Cut Pro and Avid Xpress Pro users to see what other people are doing with the HVX and to witness how it is being applied in the real world. If you're into pro videography, news gathering, independent filmmaking, HD production, or education, this site gives great information on the practicality of the HVX in each discipline. There are also in-depth reviews of the operability of the HVX from working producers who are using the camera in the field on a daily basis. This site is a treasure trove of HVX information.

If you are a fan of the Panasonic line of cameras or just an independent filmmaker in general, you also need to check out DVXUser.com. This site has to be one of the most comprehensive and active places on the internet for the independent filmmaking community. Whether you are loyal to Cannon, JVC, Sony, this online community is talking about it. The examples of other peoples projects is reason enough to check out dvxuser.com.

avid mojo

Fri, 30 Jun 2006 15:57:59 -0500

The Avid Mojo SDI allows for SDI I/O and AES/EBU digital audio I/O. Here's what it can offer you:

- SDI video I/O

- Flexible digital and analog audio

- Simultaneous output of video and effects to client monitor and tape

- Audio punch-in

The Avid Mojo SDI is going for $2,495.

shake

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 16:52:39 -0500

Great news for all of you Final Cut Studio users. Today, Apple has announced that its unified 2D and 3D compositor, Shake 4.1 Universal, will now be priced at 499 dollars as opposed to 2,999. Shake Universal 4.1 will run on Both Power PC and Intel Platforms and offers 32 bit float Keylight and Primatte Keyers to Open GL accelerated 3D multiplane compositing.

Here are some of the key features of Shake 4.1:

Unified 2D and 3D compositing: Multi-plane compositing is integrated directly into the node view so you can jump from 2D paint, rotoscoping and image processing into a 3D layered composite.

Advanced Image Processing: Includes shape-base morphing and warping, optical flow-based retiming, auto-align, and smoothcam and tracking

Open Customizable Architecture: Internal C-like scripting language and macros.

Shake 4.1 is now shipping.

apple livetype

Sat, 24 Jun 2006 08:29:32 -0500

A great way to learn LiveType or even Motion is to open up one of the pre-made templates and examine it carefully. When you open a template in LiveType, you have the benefit of being able to view every element, effect and the relationships used to forge that particular piece. Pick it apart, change and replace elements, try to recreate it in another project. You're not confined to a world made of presets! Since their is very little literature out there for LiveType, here is how to get to the presets:

1 Go to File > Open Template and peruse through the categories.

2 Select the format you will be working in (NTSC, PAL, HD) then choose a template and click the OK button.

By selecting a title clip in the timeline, the text opens up in the Text Entry Box for manipulation. The same goes for the other elements of the template.

If you are thinking of starting a video streaming business utilizing the MPEG-4 standard, you might want to check out this article first!

final cut pro classes in orlando, fl

Fri, 16 Jun 2006 08:45:17 -0500

Interested in some Final Cut Pro training? Check out these class schedules and descriptions and I think you'll find what you've been looking for! But don't just stop there, there's a whole lot more!

Apple (Final Cut Pro 5.0 HD)

Apple Final Cut Studio Training Bundle

Apple Motion 2.0

Adboe After Effects Intro 5-Day

Video Streaming

Apple (DVD Studio Pro 4.0)

Thinking Particles 2.0 for 3D Max

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 15:12:01 -0500

For all of you Avid Xpress Pro and Final Cut pro editors out there who also dabble in 3D animation, Thinking Particles 2.0 is an Autodesk Certified Animation Plug-in that works quite differently than most of its competition. 2.0 is a rule based particle emitter, as opposed to an event-based particle emitter, for Autodesk's 3D Studio Max. Event based particle emitters work just as the name suggests, they rely on triggers and time based events to determine particle behavior. Plane and simple, Thinking Particles 2.0 is free of constraints and lets you create the rules that govern all aspects of a particles life.

Thinking Particles 2.0 ships with 90 minutes of training videos created that were created by industry professionals, an in-depth set of tutorials and a comprehensive online reference guide. There is also a great web forum called ThinkingParticles2World for anyone who wants to converse directly with the professionals who helped test and shape this powerful visual effects tool.

Thinking Particles is run on the PC format and is shipping for around 1,295 dollars.

jvc hd100 24p final cut pro

Thu, 15 Jun 2006 10:07:32 -0500

The latest version of Lumiere HD claims to have now given Final Cut Pro users support for the JVC HD100 in 24p, 25p, 30p and back to tape in 720p24 and 30. There is alot of frustation right now about how to handle the 24p footage grabbed by the HD100 camcorder in FCP, so make sure you do your research. We are all trying to ride the bleeding edge of technology here so, speed bumps along the way are inevitable. Seek out forums and ask if anyone else has used this product and get their take on it. I hope this helps and happy shooting!

final cut pro manual

Wed, 14 Jun 2006 09:04:56 -0500

This Final Cut Pro HD courseware includes over 1,000 full color images to help you learn the Final Cut Pro software. The courseware manual is contained within an acrobat .pdf file and is available for download only. It is fully bookmarked for easy reading. Optional Final Cut Pro project files and full broadcast DV media files are available. The Final Cut Pro training modules include, setting up OS X for Final Cut Pro. the FCP interface, keeping your material organized, editing in the timeline, Final Cut Pro audio video settings, how to capture and input video, three-point editing, using the trimming functions, working with audio, transitions and filters, using multiple video layers, creating titles, creating a moving filmstrip, using alpha mattes, how to properly output, final cut pro user preferences, Final Cut Pro system settings, and a full glossary of video editing terms.

final cut pro green and red stripes

Tue, 13 Jun 2006 10:33:36 -0500

If by surprise you are receiving either red or green lines througout your video in the canvas, you have probably pressed Control and Z by accident. When you see these zebra lines, Final Cut Pro is checking the luminance levels of your video, this is called Range Checking.

Along with these stripes you will also receive one of three symbols at the top of the current clip located in the Canvas Window. A checkmark in a green circle signifies that luminance levels for the current frame are safe and below 90 percent. There are usually no zebra lines present when this lone checkmark is present.

The next symbol is a checkmark in a green cirle with an arrow pointing upwards. This signifies that some of the luma levels are between 90 and 100 percent and you will see the suspect areas shrouded in green zebra stripes. This is also an acceptable level.

The next symbol is a yellow warning icon, which means your levels are over 100 percent. This icon is accompanied with red stripes over the problem areas.

Press Control Z to activate this function and press them again to deactivate it.

Mac convert "NTSC to PAL" final cut pro

Mon, 12 Jun 2006 10:37:36 -0500

You can convert NTSC to PAL in Final Cut Pro, but sometimes the quality difference may not be acceptable. However, if you are in a jam, simply find your sequence within the Browser window and control click on it. Select the sequence settings. Within the sequence settings, change the sequence to PAL. You will then need to render your entire timeline.