A clever trick for working around Final Cut’s resetting of transitions is supplied by subscriber, Richard Day, using a temporarily set up dummy edit.
In addressing a subscriber’s question we look at what makes 3D work, what’s required to best create the desired effect in Motion and what makes them difficult.
While at the Director’s Guild of America’s “Digital Day,” I was impressed by a fabulous presentation given by Scott Billups called, “Zero Post.” In this article we’ll take a look at this process and the great opportunity it offers us.
Here are a series of thoughts I jotted down during the presentations at DGA Digital Day, specifically during a long session devoted to 3D video.
In this article we examine how SmoothCam is processor-dependent, faster computers working this program more quickly, and recommend a couple of options to speed up the process without upgrading your system.
Ben Balser had a client whose audio filters were grayed out in the Effects > Video Filters list. The problem was Effects Availability. In this article we walk you through how you can control which effects are displayed from the Effects tab in the Browser.
A quick question about preserving LiveType settings when upgrading to Final Cut Pro 7 is asked and easily answered.
A variable-speed clip is one that changes speed during playback; as opposed to a “slow-motion” clip, which remains at the same speed for the duration of the clip. There are two ways these variable speed effects can be created and this article shows you the technique.
What happens when you change Final Cut’s display background to any color except black? Much less than you think. Here’s why.
What’s the difference between 8-bit and 10-bit video and why should editors care? Well, if you are doing a lot of effects, you should care a lot and this article explains why.
New with FCP 5 are render settings and video processing controls that help keep your video “broadcast safe.” This article explains how they work while giving you techniques for using them.
Vignettes are a great technique for highlighting something or softening edges. This article explains how to create a vignette in Final Cut Pro, as well as some ideas on how to adjust it to create different effects.
Those green visibility lights on the far left of the Timeline have some very useful functions; and hidden keyboard shortcuts. Learn what they are here.
Those glowing green lights on the extreme left side of the Timeline have a very important purpose – especially if you are trying to see tracks below other tracks, output, or export. This article shows you their secrets.
Dealing with shifting color temperatures during shooting presents a raft of problems during editing. This article describes what you can do during shooting to compensate for color temperature changes, as well as how to “fix it in post.”
Here’s a technique that can totally change how you think about sequences, nests, and the special effects you can create with them.
Video images are not the same as computer images — and what you don’t know WILL get you in trouble. This article explains what you need to know to keep your tapes from being rejected for technical reasons.
New with Final Cut Pro 7 are two shortcuts: Zoom In/Out at Playhead on Timeline. However, they don’t do anything until you assign them to a keyboard shortcut. But, what if you want to assign them to your mouse? This article shows you what you need to know to do it.
Rendering is the bane of an editor’s life. Waiting for the computer to calculate an effect can seem interminable. What can be done to speed rendering and what causes it to slow down in the first place? This short article answers these questions.
You’ll find that you can retouch images directly in Photoshop. You will need Photoshop Extended CS3 or CS4. In fact, I created a video tutorial that shows you how.
The problem with reverb is that the effect needs to continue after the clip ends. While Soundtrack Pro has some great audio filters, often there just isn’t time to move your project from Final Cut to STP. In this tutorial, you’ll learn how to use nesting to create a reverb effect inside Final Cut that can last long after the clip itself is over. Best of all, this is both quick and easy.
You know the drill. The client didn’t have the money for makeup when they were shooting the video, then is horrified to discover in post that their star/kid/sweetie has a humongous zit that spoils all the close-ups of the video they dumped in your lap to edit.
NewBlue is new to the Mac, but not to creating effects. They’ve been producing video effect for Windows users for years. This product review takes a look at several of their new plug-ins for Final Cut Pro/Express/Motion. Featuring a very easy to use interface, there is a lot to like.
Ganging two movies together in Final Cut Pro means that you can easily compare, frame-by-frame, two different movies. One in the Viewer and the other in the Timeline. This has been a feature of Final Cut for many years, but its hard to find. This article explains how to do it.
Trashing your Final Cut preference files also deletes all the entries in your Effects > Favorites folder. Which can be a bummer. This technique provides a fast and easy way to backup your Favorites prior to trashing preferences so you don’t lose a thing. Cool.
Understanding how to read the Waveform Monitor and Vectorscope are essential to getting the best possible pictures out of Final Cut Pro. This article gives you an overview of how to read them and what they mean.
In this article Larry handles a question regarding whether a series of continuous time code cuts will translate into the OMF or be ignored.
Sheffield Softworks creates filters specifically designed for video retouching. They have a suite of products – Electronic Makeup Artist, Digital Coverup, and Look Sweet – which make the process of fixing your video much simpler, In this article, we take an in-depth look at each of the three, illustrate how it can best be used, and show you how to use it.
Still images, especially when you move on them, create weird shimmer, or moiré, patterns. This article describes what they are and how to fix them.
Here’s a simple technique to apply a filter to a portion of clip — then use the Slip tool to move it where you need it.
The quality of slo-mo footage processing can vary by the level of equipment you possess. However, does this mean that you should upgrade? There are three possible answers here: Yes, No, and Maybe.
This article grew out of a reader question about how to create special effects in Final Cut.
Creating smooth moves on stills is at the heart of many documentaries. Final Cut makes creating moves easy. But smoothness is sometimes much harder to achieve. Take a look at what these editors have to say about the best way to get your images to move.
Smoothcam, Final Cut Pro’s motion stabilization filter, can really smooth out some very shaky shots. But it can take a long time to do so. This article shows you what you can do to speed this process up.
Creating stills that you can do moves on in Final Cut is tricky. My email In-box will attest to that. This article describes what you need to know to make sure your images are the right size and how to import them.
Here are a series of tips to create great looking text in Final Cut Pro.
Here’s another technique that grew out of a recent webinar — creating cast shadows using Boris Title 3D. Title 3D is bundled with your version of Final Cut, so you already have this installed on your system.
If you’ve tried matching text sizes between Final Cut and Motion, you’ve discovered they aren’t the same. This article explains why.
Many times we need to use the same text formatting for multiple text clips. Here’s a fast and easy way to create text favorites, including drop shadows, that make the whole process simple.
Here’s a simple technique that creates a very interesting effect using one of the ugliest generated texts in Final Cut.
Simply editing a text clip to the timeline isn’t enough. If you are planning on keying your text, use superimpose instead. This article shows you the three-step process and tells you why its important.
Working with still images in Final Cut Pro is very, very confusing. Not least because video ignore the DPI settings of your image. In this short article, I explain what you need to know to size your images appropriately.
With the release of Final Cut Pro v5.1.2, Apple added 53 new filters. Here’s an article that shows you how to create interesting “trail” effects.
Travel mattes are a fascinating multi-layer effect with countless uses. Here, we use a travel matte to blur portions of an image to prevent identification, or to draw attention to the portions that are in-focus.
This is a great technique when you have a large image, but only want to display portions of it moving around the frame.
Here’s a great technique you can use if your camera only shoots 4:3, but you want it to look like 16:9. This works for any standard-def video format; you don’t need it when shooting HD, because HD is already 16:9.
Handles are critical for transitions and trimming. In this article, discover what handles are and why they are necessary.
Larry finally gets the chance to answer the question he’s been waiting for : What is the “Color Thingy”?
If you’ve ever had to convert a 16:9 sequence into a 4:3 letterbox video, this explains how to do it.
Unlike video, which has a fixed duration, still images are assigned a duration when they are imported into Final Cut.
