http://www.dvguru.com DV Guru http://www.dvguru.com/media/feedlogo.gif http://www.dvguru.com en-us Copyright 2008 Blogsmith, LLC. The contents of this feed are available for non-commercial use only. Blogsmith http://www.blogsmith.com/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/fcp-what-the-heck-are-these-scope-thingys/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/fcp-what-the-heck-are-these-scope-thingys/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/fcp-what-the-heck-are-these-scope-thingys/#commentsFiled under: Editing

Scopes make great eye candy that can impress a client, but they can also be very helpful when you are editing. Here's an excerpt from Larry Jordan's Final Cut Pro 5 Essentials Effects series that explains what scopes are used for and how you can use them in the editing process. It's an excellent video to check out if you are new to the scope scene.

[via FresHDV]

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]]>final cut proFinalCutProhow-toscopesvectorscopeswaveformSheila Ward2007-01-31T10:08:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/pixel-aspect-ratio-basics-explained/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/pixel-aspect-ratio-basics-explained/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/pixel-aspect-ratio-basics-explained/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Post-production

720x480, 640x480, 1920x1080... what is the significance behind these and other aspect ratios we sometimes love to hate? This Artbeats document presents a straightforward introduction to the significance of video aspect ratios, and how video differs when presented on computer screens and televisions, and captured on camcorders. Unfortunately, knowing a lot of these tedious factoids becomes invaluable when working with different format (SD vs. HD, NTSC vs. PAL) video. There's no such thing as a universal pixel aspect ratio, and learning the differences between formats will give you a better understanding of exactly how video is displayed.

(via FresHDV)

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]]>hdntscpalpixel aspect ratioPixelAspectRatiopost-productionsdBrian Liloia2007-01-31T09:20:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/macbreak-conversations-with-other-women-continued/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/macbreak-conversations-with-other-women-continued/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/31/macbreak-conversations-with-other-women-continued/#commentsFiled under: The Little Guy, Editing, Post-production

MacBreak continues in the world of movie magic with some more tricks from Conversations with Other Women. Episode 61 shows how After Effects was used to create a ballroom dancing scene from different pieces of video. There's not a lot of how-to detail (I want the nitty gritty stuff) but it's still an interesting discussion and proof of what today's tools and imagination can produce.

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]]>after effectsconversations with other womenConversationsWithOtherWomenmacbreakpost productionSheila Ward2007-01-31T05:04:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/30/final-cut-pro-keyboard-shortcuts/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/30/final-cut-pro-keyboard-shortcuts/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/30/final-cut-pro-keyboard-shortcuts/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software, Post-production, Beginner, Intermediate

Knowing your keyboard shortcuts will take you to the next level in your mastery of Final Cut Pro. For some help with memorization, try printing out this shortcut document and keep it on your desk while you edit. Thankfully, it's nicely organized so you can learn a block of shortcuts at a time. Thanks to Flippant for the tip.

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]]>editingfinal cut proFinalCutProflippantkeyboard shortcutsKeyboardShortcutspost-productionsoftwareBrian Liloia2007-01-30T17:00:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/29/dvd-teaches-final-cut-pro-and-dvx100-tips/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/29/dvd-teaches-final-cut-pro-and-dvx100-tips/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/29/dvd-teaches-final-cut-pro-and-dvx100-tips/#commentsFiled under: Cameras, Editing, The Shoot, Post-production

Callbox has released a Tutorial dvd that teaches users how to maximize shooting with a DVX100 and editing in Final Cut Pro. The tutorial is taught by Noah Kadner. If you use the 2-pop forums, you will have surely seen his name or even recieved assistance from him. Topics include: Output for 35mm Film, Cinema Tools, SDI vs. Firewire Capture and, of coure, Advanced Pulldown Removal. Priced at $75.

(via Macworld)

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]]>dvxdvx100final cut proFinalCutProAjit Anthony2007-01-29T21:26:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/25/speededit-finally-shipping/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/25/speededit-finally-shipping/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/25/speededit-finally-shipping/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software

The 6 city launch party took place in November without a product, but NewTek has finally announced that SpeedEDIT is now shipping. Boasting a tagline of The Worlds Fastest Video Editor, SpeedEDIT breaks away from traditional NLE workflows that are based around the film mentality and focuses on a resolution independent digital workflow. I couldn't find a trial version on their website, but I hear one will be offered. If your curious (like me), you can download the user guide and get a better understanding of how the app works. SpeedEDIT costs $495 but if you are a Lightwave owner you can get it at a special price of $295.

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]]>editorlightwavenewtekspeededitvideo editingSheila Ward2007-01-25T23:21:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/24/jvc-sr-dvm700-mini-dv-dvd-and-hard-drive-player-recorder/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/24/jvc-sr-dvm700-mini-dv-dvd-and-hard-drive-player-recorder/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/24/jvc-sr-dvm700-mini-dv-dvd-and-hard-drive-player-recorder/#commentsFiled under: Production, Editing, Hardware, Gear

The JVC SR-DVM700 is a versatile media storage vessel for anyone who needs to offload video footage from a variety of sources and/or needs to move around a lot of media in various formats. The SR-DVM700 can offload and copy media from Mini DV tapes, DVD-R/RWs, DVD-RAM, and pretty much any other analog device. It also has its own 250GB internal hard drive for storing media. The device is expected to be hitting Japanese stores pretty soon. No word on releases in other territories.

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]]>hddJVCrecorderSR-DVM700Chris Tew2007-01-24T15:20:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/20/aspect-aspect-ratio-widget/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/20/aspect-aspect-ratio-widget/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/20/aspect-aspect-ratio-widget/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software, Post-production

Scott Simmons over at the editblog unearthed a pretty spiffy aspect ratio dashboard widget for OS X, appropriately named Aspect. This little bit of software takes 'popular ratios used in video and film and calculates any size you need based on the height or width and pixel aspect.' Simple, quick, and effective. Grab the 209Kb download here.

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]]>aspectaspect raitoAspectRaitoeditingmacos xOsXpost-productionsoftwarewidgetBrian Liloia2007-01-20T15:19:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/19/editing-avchd-files/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/19/editing-avchd-files/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/19/editing-avchd-files/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Post-production

Currently, there is no established workflow for editing AVCHD video, the latest HD format introduced by Panasonic and Sony. Proper editing software for editing raw AVCHD files will not be made available until at least March, however, resourceful reader Jake Ludington has discovered a workaround to editing the raw video produced by the Sony HDR-SR1. It's quite a complicated process and can only be accomplished on a PC due to the software that is involved, but if you need to be able to edit MT2S and cannot wait until the proper tools are released, this method might be your only solution. Be warned that is requires PowerDVD Ultra, VirtualDubMod, and AVIsynth, and a hearty helping of patience. But, there you have it! Thanks, Jake.

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]]>avchdeditingmt2spost-productionBrian Liloia2007-01-19T11:19:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/16/external-drive-basics-for-your-editing-system/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/16/external-drive-basics-for-your-editing-system/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/16/external-drive-basics-for-your-editing-system/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Hardware, Media

Final Cut Pro guru Larry Jordan provides some basic information about external storage solutions in this video over at Studio Daily. Topics include Firewire, SATA and data transfer rate comparisons. If you are just getting started in editing and new to the external storage game, this will give you a good start.

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]]>external storagefirewirehard drivelarry jordanLarryJordansatastorageSheila Ward2007-01-16T20:20:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/10/a-look-at-media-100-producer/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/10/a-look-at-media-100-producer/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/10/a-look-at-media-100-producer/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software

You might have used Media 100 in the past, or you might be curious about the product since there have been several announcements in the past few months. Media 100 is definitely trying to make a surge and get back in the NLE game. Nick Griffin used Media 100 around the 1995-2002 time frame, but switched to Final Cut Pro when new NLE's where hitting the market with additional features and Media 100 was kinda standing still. So Griffin decided to take a look at the new Media 100 Producer software and he shares his thoughts about where the software is today.

Previous users of Media 100 will enjoy this article that is written with the theme of "You never forget your first girlfriend, right?"

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]]>media 100media 100 producerMedia100nlereviewSheila Ward2007-01-10T23:26:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/08/obscure-objects-in-final-cut-pro-cops-style/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/08/obscure-objects-in-final-cut-pro-cops-style/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/08/obscure-objects-in-final-cut-pro-cops-style/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Post-production

How about a break from all the new announcements today. Here's another tutorial on how to "blur" objects or people so they can't be recognized in your video. The previous tutorial I posted used Premiere and After Effects and this one shows you how to do it in Final Cut Pro. It all comes down to motion tracking. When you learn how to use it in your editor you can do all sorts of fun stuff.

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]]>fcpfinal cut prohow-tomattemotion tracktutorialSheila Ward2007-01-08T22:37:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/08/sonys-blu-ray-equipped-vaio-rm-hd-editing-system/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/08/sonys-blu-ray-equipped-vaio-rm-hd-editing-system/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/08/sonys-blu-ray-equipped-vaio-rm-hd-editing-system/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Hardware, Gear

Here's a strange beast, indeed: Sony's VAIO RM HD video editing system is high-ish end setup with a writable Blu-Ray drive. With 1TB of storage, 2GB of RAM, a USB jog dial, just one Core 2 Duo processor, and lacking high speed FireWire 800 ports, the somewhat unbalanced setup comes at a very high cost, despites its inclusion of Adobe Premiere 2: $3,500. Coupled with the unconventional design, it's hard to tell just what Sony is aiming for with this system. Is it just a weak push to advance the Blu-Ray format with the inclusion of a writable drive? Anyway, get the full lowdown on Sony's site.

(via Engadget)

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]]>blu-raycescomputereditinghardwarehdsonyvaio rmVaioRmBrian Liloia2007-01-08T11:38:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/07/corel-getting-busy-announces-avchd-support-for-intervideo-windv/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/07/corel-getting-busy-announces-avchd-support-for-intervideo-windv/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/07/corel-getting-busy-announces-avchd-support-for-intervideo-windv/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software, Media

The folks at Corel have been busy bees the past couple months. They finished up the acquisition of InterVideo, completed an update to Ulead VideoStudio 10 which earned Vista certification and released an update to InterVideo DVD Copy 5 to support Tivo, Zune and iPod. What's next? Today they announced support for AVCHD in their InterVideo WinDVD 8 playback software. Future product releases of InterVideo and Ulead video and DVD products will also support AVCHD. At least we are starting to see some support for this format, hopefully other companies will be announcing support soon.

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]]>avchdcoreldvdintervideouleadvideostudiovistawindvdSheila Ward2007-01-07T15:03:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/07/avid-set-to-launch-open-beta-for-intel-mac-users/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/07/avid-set-to-launch-open-beta-for-intel-mac-users/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/07/avid-set-to-launch-open-beta-for-intel-mac-users/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software

Avid Technology is expected to give Intel Mac users a look at what's under development with the announcement of an open beta program next week. According to information on AppleInsider, the program will only be available to Avid contract customers that have licenses for the current versions of Avid programs. If you're behind a version or two, you'll have to upgrade to the current version before you can participate. More info should hit the streets next week at Macworld.

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]]>avidbetaintelmacmedia composernleSheila Ward2007-01-07T00:26:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/sandisk-rolls-out-32gb-flash-based-hard-drive/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/sandisk-rolls-out-32gb-flash-based-hard-drive/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/sandisk-rolls-out-32gb-flash-based-hard-drive/#commentsFiled under: Trends, Editing, Hardware, Post-production

Kids, especially you HVX200 sporting P2-lovers out there, our day is on the horizon: Solid state hard drives are on their way! SanDisk is going to show off their first 32GB flash-based hard drive at CES, and says the drive could be released as early as the first half of this year! The transfer between a P2 card and a flash-based drive would be so minimal, it'd feel virtually instantaneous.

For those of you not up on your geek knowledge, typically the slowest part of a computer has been the spinning discs of magnetic hard drives. Video folks have gotten around the annoyance of those pokey hard drives by chaining them together in RAID arrays. Now, though, the problem could be eliminated almost entirely, with these flash-based drives.

Keep in mind, the drive is supposed to be a laptop drive, so we're not sure exactly how that'll play in a video world, but regardless, we're one step closer to greatness.

[Note: The image is of the Super Talent 8gb laptop flash drive]

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]]>flashhard driveHardDrivesandiskRandall Bennett2007-01-04T08:46:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/macbreak-episode-conversations-with-other-women/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/macbreak-episode-conversations-with-other-women/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/macbreak-episode-conversations-with-other-women/#commentsFiled under: Editing

MacBreak has a great episode, number 36, that you should check out. The guest is Kwesi Collisson, producer of Conversations with other Women. The movie was shot using the Sony CineAlta F900 and ediited with Final Cut Pro. And when you watch this episode, you'll see that there was a whole lot of After Effects action going on too.

You might learn a trick or two from this digital-movie-making-magic episode. Great stuff.

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]]>after effectscinealta f900conversations with other womenfinal cut prokwesi collissonKwesiCollissonmacbreaksonySheila Ward2007-01-04T06:46:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/adobe-production-studio-coming-to-macs/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/adobe-production-studio-coming-to-macs/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/04/adobe-production-studio-coming-to-macs/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software

Well look at this. Today Adobe announced that the next version of Adobe Production Studio will be available for both the Windows and Mac platforms. Adobe will have a demo of the new version at Macworld next week and are expected to ship the final product mid-2007. As far as which Macs will be supported, here's the word from Adobe:

Adobe Production Studio as well as Adobe Premiere Pro, Adobe Encore DVD, and Adobe Soundbooth will be available for Intel-based Macintosh computers; the next releases of Adobe After Effects, Adobe Photoshop, and Adobe Illustrator will be offered as Universal Binaries for the Macintosh. Adobe Production Studio and all its components will continue to be available for the Windows platform.

As a recent switcher to the Mac, I miss working with Production Studio because Premiere Pro is a darn good product and doesn't really get the credit it deserves. I admit I'm still getting used to Final Cut Pro, but there's nothing earth shattering about it compared to Premiere. Plus, I still do all my audio work on a PC in Audition, which is also an awesome product. Adobe did a great job with product integration via Dynamic Link and I think overall Production Studio will put some fear in Final Cut Studio. What do you think?

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]]>adobeintelmacpowerpcproduction studiowindowsSheila Ward2007-01-04T01:45:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/02/xml-and-final-cut-pro/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/02/xml-and-final-cut-pro/http://www.dvguru.com/2007/01/02/xml-and-final-cut-pro/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software

Add XML to the list of acronyms you might want to learn a bit about. If you've done any web programming you may already be familiar with it. Look at a raw RSS feed, it's probably XML based. So what does this have to do with Final Cut Pro? Take a look at this article by Philip Hodgetts and you will get a better understanding of XML and how it can be useful to the video editor. You may find some tools you didn't know existed, or be able to create your own scripts to enhance your workflow. Don't be afraid to try!

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]]>applicationsexportfinal cut prophilip hodgettsprogramxmlSheila Ward2007-01-02T15:19:00+00:00http://www.dvguru.com/2006/12/30/color-grading-with-the-grading-sweet/http://www.dvguru.com/2006/12/30/color-grading-with-the-grading-sweet/http://www.dvguru.com/2006/12/30/color-grading-with-the-grading-sweet/#commentsFiled under: Editing, Software, Post-production

If you need to do a little color grading, you might try The Grading Sweet. This set of Final Cut Pro plug-ins was designed by cinematographer Ben Allan who has quite a bit of experience under his belt grading films and video. Jude Cotter takes a look at these plug-ins and posts some screenshots that will give you a feel for what these filters can do. You can also get a free demo and give them a whirl yourself. The standard version of The Grading Sweet is currently on special for $89. The Pro version runs $750.

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]]>ben allanBenAllancolor correctioncolor gradingfinal cut proFinalCutProlafcpugplug-intelecineSheila Ward2006-12-30T20:20:00+00:00