DC Metro Final Cut Pros

Testimonial:
Donna Perry Thomas commented on your link:

“Sean was my trainer at FMC Final Cut Pro class. Cool guy, great class, learned a lot – got me started on the road to great video editing.”

Come on out and meet Sean and get a free deep dive on Apple Motion!

Future Media Concepts’ trainers hold manufacturer certifications, have extensive teaching experience and an intimate knowledge of their discipline, obtained through years of practical application. In addition, many hold New York State Department of Education teaching licenses. When not in the classroom, they work as video and film editors, CD-ROM authors, animators, digital illustrators, web-site designers, programmers and consultants. The ability of their trainers to relate their real-life work experience to the class lessons, combined with the manufacturer-authorized curriculum and FMC small class size, makes each course at FMC an ideal learning situation.

Sean Casella is an Apple Certified Pro Apps Trainer, Digidesign Pro Tools HD Certified Expert and an Adobe Certified Instructor for After Effects, Premiere Pro and Encore DVD. His applications of expertise are DVD Studio Pro, Motion, Final Cut Pro, Soundtrack Pro and Pro Tools HD.

Sean has been working in the entertainment and training industries for over 15 years, and has a large list of high profile clients. He has produced many TV shows, DVD’s and Music projects worldwide. Sean was the Technical Editor for the Official Apple Certified Courseware for DVD Studio Pro versions 1- 3, published by Peachpit Press. Furthermore, for 8 years he served as the Lead Instructor for the International Academy of Design-Tampa, in the Digital Media Production Department.

Sean has taught many technical and certification conference sessions at the NAB Post|Production World, Post|Production New York, DigitalMediaDC and the DV Expo LA.

Sean holds an Associate’s Degree in Music and Video Business from The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Administration from Florida Metropolitan University.

Come on out and meet Sean and get a free deep dive on Apple Motion!

UPDATE 6/2/10:

GRAND PRIZE in our DC Winner’s Circle raffle is an iPod Touch!!

Raffle prizes up to $4,800 so far! Don’t wait, sign up today to attend!!

The Latest Digital Entertainment Creation Solutions for Film and Television

In order to make the most of our June DCFCPUG event, members should make time between now and 8 June to prepare questions for the featured presenters after learning more about the Autodesk Smoke capabilities and features.

IMPORTANT: Please INVITE your friends and colleagues to attend the meeting in JUNE!  There is considerable expense in bringing quality event to DC so let’s show our vendors/sponsors that it is worth the effort!

Don’t forget to check out the Essential Tutorials for Smoke...this will give you a up close and personal look at the User Interface. Read the articles from Issue 4, starting on page 257 of the SuperMagazine to hear a point of view from a FCP/Avid Editor on Smoke 2010 and the new version, 2011.

This post is written to provide some helpful links to aid in your learning and exploring of this high end finishing tool.

High-Quality Commercial Post Production Software

Autodesk® Smoke® 2011 software offers a timeline-based, all-in-one creative toolset for editorial finishing that spans color correction, keying, tracking, paint, cleanup, titling and 3D visual effects. Smoke 2011 won “Best of Show” at NAB this year (2010)!

Autodesk® Smoke® software is a leader in creative editorial finishing for high-quality commercial and broadcast projects. With an intuitive, timeline-based workflow, Smoke offers an all-in-one editorial finishing toolset for standard and stereoscopic 3D work.Smoke is available as a software-only application for the Apple® Mac OS® X operating system or as Autodesk® Smoke® Advanced, a turnkey solution on the Linux® operating system. For increased productivity, integrate Smoke into your workflow and share media and timelines with Autodesk® Flame® 2011 and Autodesk® Lustre® 2011 software. Learn More About Smoke on the Mac

• Creative toolset for NLE, color correction, paint, cleanup, titling, audio, 3D compositing, and finishing.
• 3D visual effects tools within Action, a 3D compositing environment that enables you to combine lights, 3D text, geometry, and a 3D camera system.
• Keying and color correction tools use Autodesk Modular Keyer, Master Keyer, and Colour Warper™ technologies.
• Adjacent workflow with EDL, AAF, and XML file support for conforming from Final Cut Pro® or Media Composer® creative cut applications.
• Timeline and visual effects tools for finishing standard and stereoscopic 3D projects.
• Native support for industry standard formats: Panasonic® P2 MXF files, Sony XDCam, Avid DNxHD® media, Apple® QuickTime® files (ProRes on the Mac® operating system), and RED® files.

For an overview of Autodesk Smoke, view the Essentials Tutorials.

• Brochure
• What’s New Brochure
• Top Reasons to Buy Autodesk Smoke
• Release 2011 Smoke – ON DEMAND videos from 2010 NAB show
• Video discussing the new features in Smoke 2011 on the Mac – “Grant Kay interview”

Smoke on the Mac brought to you by Oceana Digital Ltd NYC

Production Notes

Event Timeline: October 2009

The team headed into Washington DC to setup at the Mansion on O Street for the American Forest Foundation (AFF) performance.

So let’s talk at bit about Chuck Leavell a bit…

Chuck is definitely one of the Who’s Who in Rock and Roll… and a tree conservationist to boot!

Chuck is one of the most respected and sought-after piano players and keyboardists in modern music history. He is also one of the most dedicated and revered conservationists in the world. He has worked with other members of The Rolling Stones, Eric Clapton, George Harrison (Beatles), The Allman Brothers Band, The Black Crowes, etc… Also, Chuck is an inductee in the Georgia Music Hall of Fame and the Alabama Music Hall of Fame.

Here is Chuck with the Rolling Stones…

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Chuck is the fifth person from the left…

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As mentioned in our DC Final Cut Pro User Group meeting in September, I was asked by Jennifer of National Geographic to post member activities, with one example being the SRO concert series, Mike Greenberg and I worked on the 15th of October 2009.

This was a DCFCPUG collaboration with Konspiracy Studios and Treadmillproductions

SRO Concert Series Link

The Venue: O Street Museum Foundation

Talent: Chuck Leavell, Keyboardist for THE ROLLING STONES

The Story: Great Talent. Magical Venue, Saving our National Forests

Washington’s best kept secret is also the most intimate, personal and exclusive venue to experience some of the most talented artists in the industry. Offering a wide range of genres from jazz, blues, rock, gospel and country, to swing, R&B, pop, and indie, the SRO concert series hosts the most prolific performers and songwriters around.

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Here was the public advertisement for the event that brought in the likes of prominent US Government officials such as Rep. Collin Peterson and other government, private citizens and philanthropists.

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The crew setup four Panasonic P2 HD camera in key positions in this challenging venue. I also brought some CANON EOS Mark II/III photography gear to capture the still shots below. The first challenge of the day was the environment we had to shoot in. It was dark, cramped and a definite challenge for any professional production crew. It was a delicate balance with the site management to make concessions/tradeoffs and on the spot changes, but we made the best of the options available.

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As the introductions of the distinguished guests were announced, the presenter could not locate Chuck, and told the audience that he must have stepped out for a moment. What he didn’t know was that this gentleman was hiding out with us in the back of the venue but his shoes gave him away.

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So, while Chuck made his way to the front of the venue to be introduced, we had a few minutes to explore the Mansion. This is a very eclectic place to explore… I got to meet the owner, H. Mansion and she is a woman that knows what she wants.. Here is one of her collected items that caught my eye.

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Now it was time to return to the AFF announcements and initial introductions. One of the musical scores had Rep Collins and Chuck Leavell playing in harmony. Rep Collins on the guitar and Chuck on keyboards.

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It was really cool to see how government representatives can show their talents beyond the office. Now, we settled down to see Dick, interview Chuck, about his career that has spanned numerous decades.

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Once Dick was finished having that intimate conversation about Chuck’s awesome accomplishments in life and career, Chuck jumped right in to his routine and showed us all why he is such a fantastic performer and human being.

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Chuck played a number of sets and pulled off an unbelievable performance. He received a standing ovation for a number of minutes and thanked all for their efforts in conservation.

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Chuck was such the gentleman that he even came back stage to give us all a photo op for the great work we did for the American Forest Foundation (AFF). We all felt very privileged that evening as we were able to get photos of the crew that work the event below with Chuck.

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[Left] Chuck Leavell, and [Right] Rodney Mitchell, President of DC Final Cut Pro Users Group & Rich Media productions

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[Left] Chuck Leavell, and [Right] Mike Greenburg, Konspiracy Studios

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[Left] Chuck Leavell, and [Right] Mark Finkelpearl, Treadmill Productions

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[Left] Chuck Leavell, and [Right] Jesse Rivkin, HD Cameraman

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[Left] Chuck Leavell, and [Right] Andrew Roberts, Audio Production

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[Left to Right - first row] Andrews, Mark, Chuck, Rodney, Mike with Jesse on second row, [not shown] but present, Roberta “CJ” Mitchell behind one of the digital cameras. She did an awesome job and we thank her for her contribution to the event.

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Enjoy the highlights!

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- Rich Media Productions will be a new place for me to explore my production activities in 2010! Check it out in 2010!

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Rodney Mitchell
President & Apple Ambassador
DC Final Cut Pro User Group

Don’t wait till the last minute, sign up NOW!!!

Thanks to our members and invited guests for a record turnout last night!

For those that missed our meeting last night, you missed a treat!

Manny from AJA gave us a thorough overview of the AJA product line.  We had real product in the room for members and non-members to see, touch and feel.  After an awesome demo of the KiPro and its exoskeleton mounting gear, we watched a showreel of footage in which AJA products were featured.

KiPro components and other relevant AJA products were passed around the room which stimulated lots of good dialog between AJA and our audience.  We had a robust Question and Answer period for FCP and the intersection of AJA gear which could have gone on for hours….

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Attendance was in record numbers for a cold Tuesday night in DC and our venue sponsor outdid themselves from 2009 by providing refreshments and food (lots of awesome Pizza). Thanks Future Media Concepts (FMC)!

As a special SURPRISE bonus for the January meeting, FMC gave away a FREE FMC FCP course to a lucky attendee. We conducted our famous WINNER’S CIRCLE raffle in which nearly $2,000 worth of valuable sponsor items were raffled off.

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Congrats to our winners from last night. I’m sure you will put those tools to work in your next creative piece.  Start prepping your best works as we will begin to showcase our member’s works soon.

Since the meeting is all about members networking and learning, I deferred the DCFCPUG status to our next meeting in February (just a couple of weeks away – 10 Feb) and since you have the agenda posted, you can think about questions for the next meeting since our invited guest is the famous, yet humble LARRY JORDAN – FCP EXPERT extraordinaire!

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SEND ME YOUR “STUMP THE EXPERT” QUESTIONS NOW!  As a courtesy, I will provide those to Larry before the meeting so he can be best prepared to get you answer during our meeting timeframe.  For the full FCP immersion, take his very reasonably priced course during the day (see prior post on this subject). SIGN UP NOW as we have an additional discount for DCFCPUG members. Email me for details, if interested.

Yeah, next time, you should sign up EARLY and attend because you never know what might happen at a DCFCPUG meeting!

Again, I would like to thank our NEW and returning members for coming out last night, our venue and corporate sponsors for outstanding support and Manny for our “business meeting” at the Sushi house afterwards.  ;-)

I’ll have the meeting details up for the February meeting soon so check back often and don’t forget to tell your friends and colleagues to REGISTER FOR FREE MEMBERSHIP, AND sign up EARLY for EVENTS which helps us forecast resources (chairs, food, drinks, etc)

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P.S: New sponsors are signing up to support us (I’ll announce those new sponsors in a separate post shortly….)

Well, gotta go do real work now…

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All the best and edit the rest!

Rodney Mitchell
President, FCP Leader and Apple Ambassador
Washington DC Metro Final Cut Pro Users Group

http://www.dcfcpug.org

email: rodney<at>dcfcpug.org

Buy some raffle tickets and come on out on the 26th January for our monthly meeting featuring a presentation of the new KiPro from AJA!

Registered members need to be LOGGED IN to see the MEMBER’S ONLY discount code/link on this page ## Please Login or Register to read the rest of this content. ## for entry and event registration for the upcoming January 26 meeting! Non members can become members for FREE.

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Don’t delay, REGISTER NOW!