DC Metro FCP UG

Control Apple Color from your iPad

• vWave-Lite allows you to control Color as distributed in Apple’s Final Cut Studio suite of tools.
• The three “virtual” trackerballs allow you to control the colour differential and masters in the Primary In, Secondaries and Primary Out rooms in Color, just like you would with our CP200 or Wave panels.
• You can use vWave-Lite at the same time as your CP200 or Wave but you do not need either of these panels for it to work.
• All the controls on vWave-Lite can be used simultaneously.
• Connection to Color is via wireless network.
• vWave-Lite is FREE to download and use from the Apple iTunes store!

Important: You will need the v3.8 or greater Tangent Color Support Package. Click here to download this.

Requirements

• Tangent Color Support Package v3.8 or greater which is FREE. Click here to download this.
• Color v1.5 or greater.
• Any Mac capable of running Color v1.5 or greater.
• Mac OS X 10.6 (or greater)
• Any iPad with the latest OS installed.
• Wireless network connection to the Mac running Color.

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Courtesy/Source: TangentDevices

The DCFCPUG is working with the team at “The Art of the Guillotine” to help promote a international collaborative bi-weekly series with the American Cinema Editors (ACE), the Australian Screen Editors(ASE) and the Canadian Cinema Editors (CCE).

Film Editing Associations from around the world have contributed videos from editor talks, panels and tutorials. Learn from the best film editors here!

Editing Association Video Series

ASE presents:
ASE Demystifying Codecs, part 1 of 12

Enjoy – DCFCPUG

Courtesy of our DCFCPUG friends at :

The handle attaches to a quick release plate to which we occasionally mount a gyro stabilizer. This solution works very well and no longer requires the operator to touch the camera to trigger video recording. Instead, just a small thumb press and the camera blinks to life.

This was built specifically for a Canon T2i, but would also work with a 7D and 5Dmk2. Total parts cost about $10.

Enjoy,

Rodney Mitchell
DCFCPUG Leader and Apple Ambassador

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

The Adobe Mercury Playback technology also allows users to get more power from their CPUs and GPUs. By using the CPUs and GPUs in parallel, you get unbelievable performance running in a clean, 64-bit operating system (remember, all future versions of Premiere are 64 bit ONLY, which means a minimum of OSX 10.6 (Snow Leopard or Windows 7 64 bit). By running in parallel, the CPU can take over tasks where the GPU is not used.

Important note to Adobe product users!
Don’t buy any 32 bit hardware or system software if you plan on upgrading to the next version whenever it ships. This new technology runs in a pure, 64 bit software and hardware operating environment.

MOVING TO 64-BIT SYSTEMS

Today’s video production workflows benefit tremendously from applications that are designed to run natively on 64-bit operating systems. This is why Adobe Premiere Pro and Adobe After Effects® will be 64-bit native applications in the next release and no longer support 32-bit operating systems. To take full advantage of Adobe software’s extensive optimizations for 64-bit systems now, and native 64-bit support in the future, Adobe recommends the following:

For PC users:

Most PCs purchased since 2005 are already running 64-bit operating systems or can be easily upgraded. To upgrade your computer, we recommend you install:

• A 64-bit edition of Microsoft® Windows Vista® or Windows® 7
• Hardware drivers for Windows Vista 64 bit (NOTE: 64-bit drivers are necessary to run the hardware; 32-bit drivers do not work)
• Service Pack 1 for Windows Vista

For Mac users:

Mac OS X and Snow Leopard (v10.6) are already 64-bit capable. All you need to do is add more RAM.

Upgrading your RAM:

For high-end workflows, more memory improves performance significantly, making a 64-bit operating system essential. These guidelines will help you:

For optimal performance, we recommend a minimum of 12GB of RAM.

ADOBE MERCURY PLAYBACK ENGINE

Adobe is working on a playback and rendering engine for Adobe Premiere Pro called the Mercury Playback Engine. This new engine is NVIDIA® GPU-accelerated, 64-bit native, and architected for the future. Native 64-bit support enables you to work more fluidly on HD and higher resolution projects, and GPU acceleration speeds effects processing and rendering.

The Mercury Playback Engine offers these benefits:

• Open projects faster, refine effects-rich HD and higher resolution sequences in real time, enjoy smooth scrubbing, and play back complex projects without rendering.
• See results instantly when applying multiple color corrections and effects across many video layers.
• Work in real time on complex timelines and long-form projects with thousands of clips — whether your project is SD, HD, 2K, 4K, or beyond.

Ensure your system is ready to take advantage of the Mercury Playback Engine in a future version of Adobe Premiere Pro. The Mercury Playback Engine works hand-in-hand with NVIDIA® CUDA™ technology to give you amazingly fluid, real-time performance. See it in action

If you’re interested in upgrading your system today, the following graphics cards are supported by the Mercury Playback Engine:

• GeForce GTX 285 (Windows and Mac)
• Quadro FX 3800 (Windows)
• Quadro FX 4800 (Windows and Mac)
• Quadro FX 5800 (Windows)
• Quadro CX

Adobe is planning on supporting additional cards as they become available, including some of the new NVIDIA solutions based on the upcoming Fermi parallel computing architecture.

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Change is a constant in this environment…
Rodney – DCFCPUG Leader

A new colleague I met in San Francisco (Kevan, who just happens to be a two time Oscar winner) is working on this amazing new capability between NVIDIA and Adobe. Keep your eye on this one, it seems to be foretelling where the next leap in editing is heading.

GET READY FOR WHAT’S COMING! <--Click to see the video demos!
What are you waiting for? Ensure your system is ready for the Adobe® Mercury Playback Engine and the highly anticipated future release of Adobe® Premiere® Pro. With this breakthrough CUDA™-based technology, get an amazingly fluid, real-time video editing experience. Upgrade today to a required NVIDIA® Quadro® solution to get an immediate boost in performance with your Adobe® Creative Suite® 4 and be ready for what’s coming next.

• Experience real-time results when applying multiple color corrections and effects across more than three video layers – but only if the system has Quadro
• Enjoy smooth scrubbing and playback of complex projects with real-time effects
• Refine effects-rich HD and higher-resolution sequences in real-time
• Work in real-time on complex timelines and large projects with thousands of clips – whether your source is SD, HD, 2K, 4K or beyond

Enjoy being one of the first to hear about it here at DCFCPUG!

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Rodney – DCFCPUG Leader

The San Francisco SUPERMEET was a good time to meet new sponsors and catch up on new products that enhance/streamline digital workflow. My favorites are in BLUE:

One such group leader is Taz Goldstein and the associates at Handheld Hollywood.

The idea behind Hand Held Hollywood is to explore how Apple’s ubiquitous iPhone (and iPod Touch) can be used in nearly every aspect of film and video production. Hand Held Hollywood provides a destination for those wishing to discus and discover the latest techniques and technology; a place where every gadget obsessed writer, producer, director, cinematographer, composer, editor, actor, and otherwise can call home.

The founder of Hand Held Hollywood, Taz Goldstein, is a Los Angeles based Director who launched Hand Held Hollywood to satisfy his own filmmaking and gadget addictions.

With 20 years experience, Goldstein’s work has spanned nearly every medium. His award winning films have been showcased at festivals from Savannah to Singapore. His commercial directing garnered the Radius Award at the Cannes International Advertising Festival. And his television work has been seen by more than 30 million viewers (HBO Networks, Fox Television Studios, Food Network, MTV, FX and the Prime Time Emmy Awards).

Goldstein has lectured at numerous industry events including NAB, Macworld, and the DV Expo.

This presentation was recorded at the FCPUG San Francisco SuperMeet, February 2010.

Watch Taz Goldstein’s presentation at the SuperMeet in San Francisco at MacVideo here.

Here are some of the cool accessories I spotted that might be of interest to DCFCPUG users:

Watch the presentation to hear Taz talk first hand about each one….

OWLE BUBO – The grip that adds stability and functionality to your iPhone 3Gs, letting you take significantly better video.

PROPROMPTER WING – A small camera mount that helps turn your iPhone or iPod Touch into a low cost Teleprompter.

PROPROMPTER PROMAG – The Wing’s big brother that allows for professional, through-the-lens teleprompting. The just announced a new version for the iPad. Look for our full review coming soon.

FSTOP WIRELESS RECEIVER – Remotely control your camera’s lens with this incredible combo of hardware and iPhone/iPod Touch software. Even control more than one camera at once.

For new iPhone/iPod Touch related apps targeted for film editors/makers:

CINEMEK STORYBOARD COMPOSER - Compose fully animated storyboards right on your iPhone and iPod Touch. Simply amazing.

ARTEMIS DIRECTOR’S VIEWFINDER - Turns your iPhone 3Gs into an incredibly powerful director’s viewfinder, complete with a wide variety of formats, cameras and lenses.

MOVIE*SLATE - Our favoriate clapboard app that lets you log your shots for easy import into Final Cut Pro. The new version has added a very cool Music Video feature.

REELDIRECTOR – Let’s you edit video on your iPhone. Let’s you trim, re-arrange, add transitions, titles, and audio. It even creates Ken-Burns-ish slideshows from your photos.

PROPROMPTER – This is the teleprompting app I showed alongside the ProPrompter Wing early in my presentation. The new version allows you to wirelessly control the playback speed with a second iPhone or iPod Touch! Awesome!

SCREENPLAY – Let’s you write a script right on your iPhone. Better yet, the app can import and export documents from Final Draft 8!

iKEYSTOGO: FINAL CUT PRO – A complete guide to all of Final Cut’s commands and shortcuts. A great reference for FCP editors.

MOVIOLA PRO VIDEO GUIDE - A complete reference guide for the digital media maker. It’s a great source of technical info.

BABY NAMES PLUS - A great tool for writers looking for a character name reference. Let’s you search by multiple criteria, and even shows you the most popular names for any given year.

Other interesting apps:

MatchLens – a calculator that computes the equivalent lens focal length between two cameras with different aperture/sensor sizes.

RUNPEE Mobile – Tells you when it’s safe to go to the bathroom when your out at the movies. ‘Nuff said.

Enjoy the presentation and visit HHH for your next iPhone/iPod Touch app for film…

Rodney – DCFCPUG

Available via iTunes App Store under App Store > Reference > Moviola Studios

Summary:

Moviola’s Pro Video Guide is a detailed, practical resource for those working with current and emerging technologies, whether for standard definition (SD), high definition (HD), 2K, or 4K. The Pro Video Guide comes from the Academy Award winning company, Moviola, the #1 professional video training center in Hollywood. If you’ve found yourself confused by the new formats and standards and how they differ from one another or simply want to expand your knowledge of these subjects further — this is the app — for you.

Works on iPod Touch and iPhone

This app is a must for :

• Cinematographers
• Editors and assistants
• Event videographers
• Student filmmakers
• Video Hobbyists

For creating content for:

• Theatrical films
• Broadcast television
• iPhones and iPods
• YouTube, Facebook or Vimeo
• Blu-Ray and DVD Authoring
• Advertising and Marketing

If you own or use:

• Apple’s Final Cut Pro
• Avid Media Composer
• Adobe Premiere
• iMovie
• Pinnacle Studio
• Sony Vegas
• Sony, RED, Panasonic or JVC cameras
• Hybrid DSLR camers like the Canon 5D or 7D

Get information on subjects like:

• Video formats
• Color Spaces
• Resolution
• Aspect ratios
• Cameras like the RED series
• Compression formats for the web, broadcast and film outputs

Get answers to questions like these:

• What is 24p?
• What’s the difference between 1080i60 and 1080p24?
• How can you compare HDV vs. AVCHD vs. DVCPRO HD?
• What frame rate should you shoot and how does it affect what you’ll deliver to DVD, Blu-Ray, the web, broadcast or film delivery?
• What’s the difference between recording to a P2 card or to videotape?
• What’s a 3:2 pulldown and why should you care?
• How many channels of audio can you output to an HDCAM SR?

Through the Pro Video Guide you’ll find information on topics like these and many more..
Additional screenshots available on the iTunes App Store page!
Listen to the Digital Production BuZZ interview on Moviola for more…

All for $1.99!

Enjoy!

Rodney Mitchell
DCFCPUG Leader

Members:

Help me pack the house for our January meeting!

We are assembling some awesome prizes to warm you up from all this cold weather and put a smile on your face as you walk out the door with the best deals in town!

Here are some of the sponsors supporting this month’s raffle:

AJA

ARTBEATS

GENARTS

DIGITAL ANARCHY

NOISE INDUSTRIES

DIGIEFFECTS

NATTRESS

more coming everyday!

The member with the most guests or better yet, guest that become members and attend, just MIGHT be pleasantly surprised with my response….

Let’s show the sponsors that we appreciate their support of our monthly meetings and investment in us!

Click on their sponsor links to find out more about their products and services supporting the FCP community!

Rodney Mitchell
DCFCPUG Leader

From our colleagues at Studio Daily (Scott Simmons), 28 Dec 2009

As 2009 winds to a close, I thought it might be nice to recap the tools, applications and utilities featured this year in one of our most popular categories: Useful Tools for Editors. While the idea for this topic began long ago (June 19, 2006 to be exact) as a way to highlight things that might come in handy for editors and their supporting post-production software, it has evolved to highlight a number of tools that move beyond the non-linear editing application into the Mac OS itself, as well as the occasional hardware product and iPhone app. There are a lot of good downloads here so it’s a good way to kill some time and some money.

Check out the full list below by CLICKING ON LINKS!

2009’s Useful Tools for Editors, in ascending order of post date:
January 12 – Useful tools for editors (and writers): Scrivener
February 3 – Useful tools for editors: Templater
February 9 – Useful tools for RED editors: Clipfinder
February 24 – Useful tools for editors: ShoveBox
March 12 – Useful tools for editors with an iPhone: iTC Calc
April 15 – Lots of useful tools being updated
May 13 – Useful tool updated: Loader to 1.1
May 28 – Useful tools for editors: PluralEyes
June 5 – Useful plug-ins for editors: nVeil
June 14 – Useful tool if your ExpressCard port has been taken away
June 18 – Useful web tools for editors
June 27 – Useful tools for editors: ParticleMetrix
July 10 – Useful tools for editors: mocha
July 21 – Useful service for editors: Movie Repair
August 4 – Useful tools for editors: RollingShutter
August 15 – Free tilt-shift effect for FCP available until Wednesday
August 17 – Latest Pro Video iPhone App: DVD Bit Budget Assistant
August 25 – Useful Tools for Editors: Lock and Load
August 27 – Really Useful Tools for FCP Editors: FCP Maintenance Pack
September 14 – Useful tools for your iPhone: Keymote
September 29 – Useful tools for editors: MediaMover for Final Cut Pro
October 8 – Useful Tools for Editors: Post Haste
October 28 – Useful tools for editors: GridIron Flow
November 4 – Sorenson Squeeze 6: a whole new Squeeze
November 21 – Useful tools for PAL editors: 5DtoFCP
December 10 – Useful Hardware Tool: Silverado ColoRig
December 11 – Useful tools for editors: FCP Versioner
December 12 – AJA Releases Free DataCalc for iPhone