HitFilm 3 Pro for free if you own HitFilm Plug-ins

FXHOME has announced HitFilm 3 Pro, now pre-ordering for release in late November 2014 for $299. Hitfilm, available for Mac and Windows, supports modern filmmaking workflows that require you to be an editor, VFX artist, and colorist at the same time.

There's great news for some: if you already own HitFilm Plug-ins, you’ll get HitFilm 3 Pro for free.

Read the rest at PVC...

Seamless jump cuts + weekly roundup @ PVC

Seamless edits for jump cuts on current and future solutions, and a weekly roundup for After Effects and Production Premium were posted on PVC. It was busy again last week, with iExpressions (a new approach to leverage expressions), tutorials from Red Giant, workflow, cameras, and Avid moving things forward.

Another round of (200) layoffs for Avid

Missed amongst the noise, Avid Announces Restructuring, Lays off 10% of Workforce according to SonicScoop and others:

"This is a corporation that laid off 120 people in 2010, and 410 employees the year before that – 15% of its staff at the time. It was all a part of five rounds of Avid layoffs that took place between 2006-2009 alone, and a reflection of the company’s overall declining financial health. 

Don’t forget that Avid’s product lines also span essential video editing and finishing systems (DS,Media Composer, Symphony Nitris). The VENUE live consoles are in the mix, as are a raft of popular audio brands that the company acquired over the years, notably M-Audio, System 5, and Sibelius. Clearly, none of these lines have been making enough of a difference to stop Avid from its ongoing advance in the wrong direction."

Update: from Walter Murch at a recent Final Cut event, followed by part of his presentation:

'If you didn’t use FCP, where would you go? “I’ve used Avid in the past, so I know it well. There are some very good things that Avid has, but I’m also curious about Premiere since I’m interested in technology.”'

Seems like Adobe should introduce him to Premiere with a CUDA card.



Update: the full video of the Murch presentation is available.

The 100th Monkey and the future of post

Is it April Fools already? The Editblog on PVC notes opposing "expert" opinions on the future of post-production and a movie edited on Final Cut by a chimp or some monkey with ESP.

Reports don't go far beyond YouTube, so you knows if "JT" really did it:

After Effects for documentaries + cutting rhythms

Richard Harrington notes some Useful Videos About Documentary Editing, including An Overview of After Effects for Documentary Editors, a presentation by Steve Audette and Mark Dugas given at a PBS conference. Embedded below, it's pretty basic but very effectively shows how a little bit of AE can add a lot of style. Harrington also notes other videos by Audette like "Thoughts on Documentary Editing."

For similar resources to liven up static content, see Animate a Photo Mosaic in After Effects, The Ken Burns Effect — and beyond, and other AEP resources for multiplane animation.

Also interesting is Todd Kopriva's notes on free chapters from Karen Pearlman’s Cutting Rhythms and podcasts available through the Art of the Guillotine, a very useful aggregator website on editing.

The Particular After Effects of After Effects

Note to self on perspective: this little psunami video from Japan, if you watch the first 3 minutes only it's like "oh whatever" -- but stick with it. Via @seanbonner, @petebw, etc. Plus, a state of emergency at five nuclear reactors! The Atlantic has pictures of the aftermath. Godzilla is an interesting metaphor, and those mocking Japan now about Pearl Harbor (see Ignorant and Online) aren't immune to natural disasters. 

Ok, Carpal tunnel's not as bad a tsunami, but still these cartoons hit home. There's another one as well...

Update: hiding beneath the funny... the "Bear" dies, and via Andrew Sullivan, an analysis of the recent NPR takedown by James O'Keefe (more), infamous for his manipulation of video on ACORN. Does raw video of NPR expose reveal questionable editing & tactics? is from "The Blaze, a Web site owned by Glenn Beck and edited by Scott Baker, a co-founder and former editor of Breitbart.tv..."

Eye Tracking & editing

Matt Jeppsen introduces eye tracking in Analyzing what you see in a film frame at FreshDV @ PVC.

He referrs to the most interesting piece on eye tracking seen here since sitting in the subject chair at the polytechnic (but then who follows Eye Tracking Update?). By the way, there's more good stuff at David Bordwell's Website on Cinema (like Unsteadicam Chronicles and Anatomy of the Action Picture) in addition to the new guest post on eye tracking, Watching you watch THERE WILL BE BLOOD.

Stop by PVC after a peek at this:

There Will Be Blood with gaze locations of 11 viewers from TheDIEMProject on Vimeo.

Auto-fade audio in AE when voice track starts

In AE Help, Todd Kopriva lists instructions for the Convert Audio To Keyframes keyframe assistant and some Online resources for converting audio to keyframes.

Among them is a reference to Ducking Audio Expressions posted at Video Copilot forums, meant to automate music fades as voice tracks start:

"Nathan Gambles provides an expression on the Video Copilot website that ducks (reduces the volume of) audio on one layer when the volume of audio on another layer increases. This technique is useful, for example, for automatically decreasing the volume of a soundtrack when dialog occurs. This expression for the Stereo Mixer effect depends on the Convert Audio To Keyframes keyframe assistant having been applied to the other audio layer."

Update: Motion Graphics Exchange listed this last year and has newer related related auto-fading and more.

Behind the scenes of food TV

There's undoubtedly more behind the scenes, but here's a few appetizers for the Julia Child black & white segment on editing (with kitchen utensils) & Dan Ackroyd's SNL homage (or Daily Motion or bad Youtube) below:

• Essential Pepin: Behind the Scenes at KQED

• Food Network spices up production facilities by Michael Grotticelli and Scripps Networks: DIY By Design by Dustin Driver

• [update] see the bumper and bits of info in Cooking Channel’s Celebrates First Christmas at The Art & Business of Motion.

The French Chef
Uploaded by y10566. - Watch more comedy videos and sitcoms.

After Effects-customized transitions for NLEs

Rob Mize has a new After Effects tutorial video on how to Create Customized Transitions for editing systems like Final Cut Pro, Premiere Pro and Avid. Rob uses Auto-Trace and the "Puppet Tool to animate a bug graphic; then uses CC Particle World to duplicate and control the graphic for the transition."

A Plug-in Round-up for editors

Oliver Peters recently surveyed some of the latest filters available for Avid, Final Cut, and After Effects users in Plug-in Round-up.

Wohl on Final Cut & the future of editing

@idustrialrev (the plug-in maker) notes 2 old videos from YAKTV where original Final Cut team member Michael Wohl discusses the development of Final Cut and the future of editing:

'In conclusion, Michael Wohl says "Final Cut will disappear" A must watch. http://vimeo.com/8665513'

It looks like Apple will need more of this because knee jerk reflex (this post included) about reports like Apple to delay FCP-8 till August 2011 “The writing is on the wall” (apparently referring to this). Meanwhile Adobe is running a full court press; see for example Is Premiere Pro outshining Final Cut Pro? and the Switch to Premiere Pro series from Chris Fenwick.

Update: Chris Fenwick's series is good, but does show the difficulties in switching between apps with only slightly different UI models; see comments to his video on mistakes in 3 Things Premiere Pro Can't Do.

Artbeats Lower Thirds?

Ninja Crayon has a funny take on the new Artbeats collection in Artbeats Lower Thirds?

This post has been expanded and update, see Free lower thirds and tutorials: Leverage Photoshop, Premiere, and After Effects at PVC.

Adobe DSLR Video + Tapeless Workflow with FCP

In a new video embedded below, Adobe Evangelist Jason Levine explains DSLR Video Editing for Photographers (see also Importing, transferring, capturing, and digitizing in Premiere Help). It seems like a sensible market niche to target, since even youthful users in the Avid and Apple camps aren't taking the "BBC is switching" bait -- see responses from …A FINALCUTPRO USER'S BLOG and The Final Rewrite, and background in Final Cut Studio 4: a double scoop.

Meanwhile, Shane Ross is on a roll producing Final Cut video tutorials; see for example FCP: Tapeless Offline / Online Workflow and Tapeless Workflow with Final Cut Pro 7 on tapeless ingest workflows using Log and Transfer in Final Cut Pro 7and XDCAM EX, P2 AVCIntra, P2 DVCPRO HD, AVCHD, and Canon DSLR (5D, 7D).

Will CS5 and MC5 toast FCP?

Oliver Peters has a thoughtful post on the state of editing software (with links to other recent reviews of Adobe and Avid releases) in Will CS5 and MC5 toast FCP? Here's a sample:

"It’s the ecosystem around FCP that changed it from an amateur DV editing software into a viable professional product. On the other hand, if you are working in news, then it’s more likely to be Avid than Final Cut. The main reason is the robustness of Avid’s news and shared storage solutions. Plus direct, professional support from the company, not a reseller.

In the case of Avid, Adobe and Apple, part of the business model is the suite of software that comes in the whole retail package. Avid Media Composer is typically considered as just the editing application, but in fact, the retail (boxed) version includes the Production Suite of 3rd party applications (Squeeze, BCC filters, Avid FX, Avid DVD and SmartSound). Although the emphasis is on Media Composer, this bundle offers you much of the same functionality as Apple Final Cut Studio or Adobe Production Premium CS5.

The other software is part of what people have built their businesses around. For example, design with Photoshop, build motion graphics with After Effects or Motion, color grade with Color and author with DVD Studio Pro, Encore or Avid DVD. All of these revenue streams factor into the decision of which way to go, aside from the simple choice of which editor to use. Swapping out the core platform is not a decision most owners take lightly in a challenged economy."

Data Baby & beyond

A few month ago AEP noted some background on Data Baby, a generative graphics spot from IBM. More of the background is fleshed out by Ian Failes of Vfxblog in his Fxguide interview with visual effects supervisor John Fragomeni and art director Angela Zhu.

Coincidentally, Mitchell Whitelaw considers the same series of commercials at his blog This Teeming Void in This is Data? Arguing with Data Baby.

"Data does not just happen; it is created in specific and deliberate ways. It is generated by sensors, not babies; and those sensors are designed to measure specific parameters for specific reasons, at certain rates, with certain resolutions. Or more correctly: it is gathered by people, for specific reasons, with a certain view of the world in mind, a certain concept of what the problem or the subject is. The people use the sensors, to gather the data, to measure a certain chosen aspect of the world.
[...]
Collapsing the real, complex, human / social / technological processes around data into a cloud of wafting particles is a brilliant piece of visual rhetoric; it's a powerful and beautiful story, but it's full of holes. If IBM is right - and I think they probably are - about the dawning age of data everywhere, then we need more than a sort of corporate-sponsored data mythology. We need real, broad-based, practical and critical data skills and literacies, an understanding of how to make data and do things with it."

This view mirrors earlier arguments in public policy circles on energy and economic modeling and forecasting. See also AEP's How to Lie with Video Data and Smashing Magazine's Imagine A Pie Chart Stomping On An Infographic Forever.

"Film is truth 24 times a second, and every cut is a lie..."
--Jean-Luc Godard
"The camera lies all the time. It lies 24 times a second."
-- Brian De Palma

Update: here's a slight return for The Kuleshov Effect, a montage effect demonstrated by Russian filmmaker Lev Kuleshov, which is explained near the end of the interview with Hitchcock (he explains three types of editing).

Using FCP Trim mode like Avid Trim mode + Premiere

Paul Del Vecchio has a post and some video on Using FCP's trim mode like Avid's trim mode (sorta), plus an Overview of Avid Media Composer and Avid Trim Mode. Adobe Premiere Pro also gets some attention and a couple of useful feature suggestions. Read the post for details not in the videos, and to give Paul feedback:






Update: in The Zen of Trim Steve Cohen explains the power of Avid’s trim model,

"My point was this: Most of my cuts are overlapped. When I adjust picture, I usually want to adjust sound somewhere else to stay in sync. With MC, I can trim all parts of an overlap while playing and watching any one of them. When I stop, I’m done.

The ability to see realtime video while the cut is made, and to observe what’s happening at any part of the cut, audio or video, a-side or b-side, while keeping everything else in sync, is something I can’t get anywhere else. Not to mention the ability to do asymmetrical trimming, or trim two heads or tails, slip or slide, etc., all while watching, or listening to, any portion of the cut."

Grading with Color Wheels

Olivers Peters has results of his casual testing of Grading with Color Wheels in a variety of apps including Avid, Apple Color, Aperture, Magic Bullet Looks, Colorista, Adobe Premiere Pro, and Color Finesse. There's plenty in this article which may pique your curiosity to compare further. Oliver was interested in:

"how each treated the image when you used the color wheels. After I did a quick test, it was obvious that FCP and Avid don’t process the image in quite the same way, even when you push what appears to be the equivalent control in the same direction. So I decided to dig a bit deeper. [snip]

In my opinion, Synthetic Aperture Color Finesse produced the most pleasing results out of all of these video images. A version of Color Finesse is also available as a standalone grading application, which uses a similar workflow to Apple Color. In any case, it’s right inside Adobe After Effects [it ships on the install disc], though many editors aren’t even aware of the power they already own if they have the CS3 or CS4 bundle!"

Update: see also Controlling the Color Wheels in Final Cut and Apple's Color by Patrick Inhofer.

Smoke on the Mac is shipping + demos

via Oliver Peters, Autodesk Smoke on the Mac is shipping today and there's a 30-day free trial version available. Check out the Fxguide coverage Smoke on Mac Part 1: Overview and various tutorials in Autodesk Area (essentials).

There's also various presentations, like in SF today and LA & NY, and a Technology Preview Webcast on Thursday December 17.

Update: the Smoke on OS X blog by Scott Malkie has an overview of resources; Autodesk also posted some movies on YouTube -- here's one,

Sneak Peek: Adobe Mercury Playback Engine

Adobe has slowly released info on its Mercury Playback Engine since September and now is showing a Sneak Peek of this technology presented by Dave Helmly at Adobe TV. Helmly also notes a "See How it was made" link for a peek of the workflow for the movie "Avatar."

In this video you can see "AVCHD playback and scrubbing, working with DSLR cameras like the Canon 5D & 7D, 9 Layers of P2, Native Red 4K Multicam editing and RED keying [at about 9:20] and ...accelerated rendering for exports. ...Currently, all you need is a Windows or OSX system that supports any of these cards: Geforce GTX285, nVidia Quadro CX,FX4800, or FX5800."