Recently in Compressor Category

Apple just released the new iMac's and they are incredible. For the first time you can get into a Quad core Final Cut system for under $3000. That's right the iMac line now has a quad core machine. If that's not enough the top end iMac now has a 27 inch screen with 2560 by 1440 resolution, and a 512MB ATI Radeon HD 4850 graphics card.

At GeniusDV we use iMac's in our classroom for our Final Cut Studio training. Aside from some limitations to what you can hook up to an iMac in terms of peripherals, the iMac's make for great Final Cut systems. I have personally edited  numerous jobs on an iMac, and find them to be quite satisfactory.

I always tell students that unless you need to have MacPro for whatever reason, consider getting both a MacBook Pro, and an iMac. I find that you can get so much accomplished having two systems. Personally I can't imagine not having a MacBook Pro, because I travel so much, and do plenty of editing at 30,000 feet. With this new iMac I can now have a powerful desktop system as the primary Final Cut Studio editing system, and the MacBook Pro system too, for thousands less than a high end MacPro system.

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!

There are a few ways to get your project from Final Cut into Compressor, whether you're producing a DVD, preparing a Quicktime movie for the Web, or prepping a clip for Apple TV. Lots of folks prefer to export a Quicktime movie from FCP, then import it into Compressor; others use the Export Using Compressor feature in FCP6. Going through a Quicktime movie noticeably reduces the quality of Compressor's output, but Final Cut Pro 6 makes using the superior Export To Compressor option fairly painful.

Our advice has changed with the new Final Cut Pro 7 upgrade, which has dramatically improved Final Cut's output workflow.

With the new upgrade, there's no longer a good excuse to sacrifice quality by exporting video to a Quicktime movie before bringing it into Compressor.

Ok, so we know that Mac just cannot support burning blu-ray discs at this point, but you're wondering how your colleagues are taking their projects from Final Cut Pro and burning them onto Blu-Ray discs?  Simple, especially now, that Final Cut Studio 3 has a newer version of Compressor that can encode and deliver onto Blu-Ray.

In a recent article from MacVideo magazine, the LG BE06 "is a breakthrough product for video editors.  It let's you burn 25 or 50 GB Blu-ray media from a Mac for archiving purposes."  Although  you can't use it to view a Blu-ray disc, you can use it to burn one.

For just around $400, the LG BE06 comes with a nice little bonus feature too:  LightScribe Disc Labeling, which is a laser printing technology that lets you create silkscreenlike labels right inside the drive.

Check out this article on DVD Authoring with HD media too.

Using Apple Compressor to convert Final Cut outputs to various formats is a very efficient way to compress and encode. Learning to use Apple Compressor boils down to simply applying a setting and a destination to whatever you have in the Batch Window, & submit. If you want to make adjustments to the attributes of a setting, you can duplicate the setting, which will place a copy of in the Custom folder. Once a setting is in the Custom folder, you can make adjustments to the attributes of the setting in the Inspector. Default settings cannot be adjusted until they have been duplicated into the Custom folder.

You can simplify the Compressor function, by creating what are called Droplets. Droplets are a way to automate Compressor settings. Once a droplet is created, you will not even have to launch Compressor. You can simply drag your Quicktime movie onto the Droplet, and allow the Droplet to initiate Compressor to process the movie to a preset Setting and Destination. To create a Droplet, you need to select a Setting, and click the Save Selection as Droplet button. Next you will need to name the Droplet, choose where the droplet will exist, & choose where the Droplet will place the processed media.



  If you duplicate a Settings Folder, the folder and the settings within it will appear in the Custom Settings folder, and the duplicated folder can be added to. Take for example if you were to duplicate both the DVD: Best Quality 90 minutes settings folder, & the H. 264 for Apple TV, & H.264 for iPod settings. You could add the H.264 settings to the DVD: Best Quality settings folder, and then create a droplet of that folder. Anything placed onto that droplet would be processed to all four of the settings in the folder. This makes your most used setting combinations very easy to use.