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One of our newest 2 day training classes, Google Sketchup, will be offered at our Orlando training facility November 5th & 6th, 2009. We are offering a special price for the November class!Google's Sketchup is an amazing 3D modeling program that has users from all walks of life from professionals to first timers. Whether you're an architect, civil engineer, or filmmaker, you will be astounded at what Sketchup can do for you. And the best part? It's one of the easiest programs out there to learn and use. With Sketchup, you can build everything from basic 3D models to entire scenes with a virtual walk-through, and it allows you to add your 3D elements into your video projects.
Other features of Sketchup is the ability to facilitate the placement of models in Google Earth, which is a great tool for video producers when trying to figure out where your shadows lie at a specific time of day during a video shoot. Another great feature is the ability to use the 3D Warehouse, which lets users search for models that are created by other users and lets users contribute their own models to the warehouse.There's no limit to what you can create with Google's Sketchup. There is a limit however to our class size, so call today to reserve your spot!
When it comes to DVD authoring we are in a very unique time. It is relatively inexpensive to purchase a High Definition camera and many editors are facing the dilemma of what is the best work flow for getting their HD media converted to SD but also possibly output a Blue Ray disc.
The first thing that needs to be done is an export from your editing application. Once you have edited your high-def sequence, it is important that you export it in the appropriate codec for the best quality and for use in all of the different formats. If you are working on an Apple then I have found the best codec is Quicktime using the Apple Prores 422 HQ. This gives excellent results in either SD or a HD Blue-Ray disc. If you are on a windows machine I still recommend using Quicktime but just use the Photo Jpeg settings. I know it is tempting to use the Animation codec but this codec is must to large for compression software and it is unnecessary to achieve the desired results. If you want more info on Codecs check out Codec resource, it lists all of the codecs and what they do. Just check across the top for the type of sampling you require.
Continue reading DVD Authoring with HD Media.
Creating menus in Encore has never been easier. With many different options to choose from in the Library you can be up and running with a very professional looking menu in a matter of minutes. All you need to do is add your desired text, route your buttons, and you are ready for DVD navigation. The great thing is if you want to create a very custom looking menu system then it is still very easy. You can begin with a predesigned layout but then modify it to your needs. An easy way to begin a project is to base your menu on the predesigned menus, buttons, images, and shapes found in the Library panel. You can add still images, buttons, or other assets to a menu. The technique you use depends on the source of the object. To automatically create buttons and build the links to those assets, simply drag the assets (such as video, menus, or timelines) to a menu. Buttons, in order to function as individual navigation links, cannot overlap each other. As you add buttons to a menu, Encore highlights any that overlap with a bright red outline. In addition to SD, Encore provides an assortment of HD menu templates and other assets, and distinguishes them with HD in their names. These can be used for any type of project (DVD, Blu-ray, or Flash) and Encore will automatically scale them to the desired menu size when you build the project.
We offer a complete training class to get you up and running in Adobe Encore. Sign up now and start making professional DVD's!
You can find more compression settings articles in our Supercharging Compressor series index.Note: There's something about me and GOP articles ... just as I did on the first part of this article, I seem to have accidentally published a blank draft a few hours ago. This is the finished version. My apologies.
Compressor, like most reasonably advanced MPEG2 compression tools, offers you some control over the size and structure of your GOPs. You'll recall from the first part of this article that 15-frame (1/2-second) GOPs are the norm for MPEG-2 video, and this is appropriate for a wide range of video types. Similarly, Compressor defaults to using a lot of "B"-frames -- those are the frames that take the least information to represent, but that depend most heavily on neighboring frames of video.
Read on for situations when you might want to change this around ...
Continue reading Advanced GOP-ology.
You can find more compression settings articles in our Supercharging Compressor series index.Update: Sorry, I seem to have erroneously published an empty draft of this article. My apologies. Here's the text ...
As you may be aware, the DVD standard uses a form of video compression called MPEG-2. There are a few aspects of this codec that can impact the quality of your finished video -- and many of them stem from the fact that the codec works not in terms of frames, like the rest of your video process, but in terms of "Groups of Pictures," or GOPs.
Continue reading What's In a GOP?.
