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It's time to revisit the popular Carbon Copy Cloner program that allows you to create an exact copy of your source machine onto an external hard drive. 

I recently tested this by backing up my Mac Book Pro running Snow Leopard. It took about 1 1/2 hours to back up 80 Gigs to my portable pocket drive running at 5400 RPM. 

The latest version also allows you to create incremental backups that can be scheduled.  You can even back everything up to a remote Mac on a Network. To create a backup of your entire sytstem, just hook up an external drive and set it as the target.  That's it!

To test the copy, you can boot your Mac directly off the external drive by holding down the option key while you restart your Mac.  This will allow you to choose your external drive as the new Boot Drive. 

Okay, so how must does this software cost?  Guess what, it's free!  Yes, you read that correctly.  Bombich Software makes this very clear by running an occasional banner within the software program.  I recommend that you donate to Bomich Software for this amazing program. 

If you plan on cloning several machines using Carbon Copy Cloner there's one catch. Keep in mind those machines will be EXACT copies of each other.  This means, they will inherent all the same user names and passwords.  They'll also have all the same programs with the same serial numbers.  This means, you may have reset the serial numbers on certain software products that have license restrictions.

 

 

The newest versions of Photoshop now support image editing on video files.  The only catch is you must have the ‘Extended Version’, meaning Photoshop CS3 Extended, or CS4 Extended.  All of the creative suite bundles ship with the extended version.  Photoshop is a must have application for any video editor. Don't get me wrong, you'll still need your favorite non linear editing system such as Final Cut Pro or Avid to the majority of your video editing.

You can use Photoshop's extensive array of tools to perform color correction, and rotoscoping.  You can also use Photoshop's filter gallery to apply filters directly to a video file. It’s easy to get carried away with Photoshop’s ability to edit video files when you have the ability to create additional video layers, keyframe your effects, etc.,  That being said, you’re probably better off doing most things directly within your favorite video editing software.   

I’ve found Photoshop incredibly useful when I need to process a video clip with one of Photoshop’s built in filters.  You can easily create painted effects by using Photoshop's filter gallery. 

Processing video files with Photoshop is now incredibly easy.  In the past, it was quite tedious if you wanted to apply a filter to a video clip with Photoshop.  It involved a complex process of creating a droplet would run would a script to process an image sequence.  Now, it couldn’t be any easier.  There is basically only one important step so you don’t have to process each frame independently.

Here are the basic steps for applying a filter to a video file in Photoshop.

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!

I ran into a situation the other day where a client needed a Windows Media file for playback in a PowerPoint presentation on a Windows machine. I edit on a Mac and I am the OS X does not come native with any type of Windows Media codec. You will need to download a plug-in for your Quicktime player that will allow you to export to this codec. The answer is Flip4Mac.
Flip4Mac is a great, free, plug-in provides Windows Media video and audio playback in the QuickTime Player for your Mac OS X. It not only allow you to playback media but it also provides you the abilty to export. It is simple to use and the only requirment you need for export in Quicktime Pro (Standard Quicktime will allow playback only). Simpy open your media in Quicktime and navigate to File>Export>Windos Media File. There are several settings to choose from so choose the one that fits your end user. Download Flip4Mac now so you will be ready when you need to export to the Windows Media Format. 

Requirements for Flip4Mac:

-Intel or PowerPC G4 and G5
-Mac OS X version 10.4 or later
-QuickTime version 7.0 or later
-QuickTime Pro version 7.0 or later (for exporting movies in Player Pro, Studio, Studio Pro and Studio Pro HD)

In case you've taken notice. Avid's new Spectra Matte keyer allows for incredibly accurate keys with minimal adjustments.

If you are a seasoned Avid Media Composer or Avid Xpress user, you probably remember the old legacy ‘Chroma Key’ effect.  If you’re like me, you remember that it was a tortuous process of trying to obtain a good key.  Most of us ultimately gave up and used a third party keyer like ‘Ultimate’ or ‘After Effects’. Finally, those days are over with Avid’s new Spectra Matte keyer. 

If you’re still stuck using Avid Xpress, you are out of luck.  I highly recommend that you upgrade from Avid Xpress to Media Composer while Avid still offers an upgrade program.  The new Spectra Matte keyer is worth the price of the upgrade.

Also, I noticed in the latest revision of the 3.5X series of Media Composer software, you can now promote the old chroma keyer to the new Spectra Matte keyer.  Click on the promote to Spectramatte button in the lower right corner of the effect editor to use the new keyer. 

It also seems the old legacy Chroma Keyer is now using the same Algorithm as the new Spectra Matte code which produces excellent Chroma Key results with minimul adjustments

The new Spectra Matte keyer has been out for awhile, but there’s one key element that seems to be missing. The ability to invert the key is mysteriously missing from the Spectra Matte keyer.  This may not sound like much, but it’s a critical function if you want to create the ‘Pleasantville effect.’