Whether you’ve always wanted to gain new production skills – or brush up a few rusty ones – channelAustin is offering an amazing bargain – 50% off on all training during the remainder of August. Don’t delay, classes are filling quickly – and everything is first booked, first trained. Please contact channelAustin for details and availability.
Please help a great cause, a great song, and a local producer – all at once. Go watch a heartfelt new song by Austin’s own Jesse Dayton, ‘I’m Comin’ Home’ – dedicated to the brave young women and men fighting for us in Iraq. CMT is tallying up your viewers, and with enough support – the Austin production will be featured nationally.
The music video represents the joint efforts of Voices of a Grateful Nation, Soldiers Angels, and Jesse Dayton to raise awareness for the over 300,000 Traumatic Brain Injured veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan. The song is a tribute to the men and women serving in the U.S. Military and their families – and is but one of the songs featured on Voices of a Grateful Nation, Volume One – the proceeds to benefit the Welcome Home Project and Soldiers’ Angels.
The video is the work of Austin producer Don Swaynos [weblink], who both directed and edited the piece in Final Cut. Steve Metze’s footage captured on the fly during his tour in Iraq, provides the emotional tug that brings it all together. Don’s editing, and the solid emotional performance by Dayton combine to make it a video worth viewing – and sharing.
CMT will feature this Austin-produced tribute on national television if enough people watch it and respond. Please share this video with your friends by sending them here: ‘I’m Comin’ Home’ by Jesse Dayton
As President Obama has promised – combat troops will be returning home this month. Jesse Dayton’s song, and Don Swaynos’ video are the perfect way to welcome our troops home.
We plan on featuring Don and his excellent Final Cut work at a Final Cut SIG meetup soon.
With the flood of new Apple products earlier this week, you may have missed the launch yesterday of the The $500 HDC-SDX1 by Panasonic – which they’re calling the world’s lightest 1080i HD camcorder.
Besides weighing in at just 185 grams — about the same weight as the first iPod — the camcorder can be attached to a Mac and used as a webcam to stream event video. And like the much-less expensive HM-TA1, the SDX1 supports Apple’s iFrame format, which speeds footage ingest and workflow.
The new camera also includes a 35.8mm wide-angle lens, 23x zoom and a new optical-electrical hybrid image-stabilization system.
We hope to feature a demo at a future FinalCutSIG MeetUp.
Capturing Hi-Definition Video by Philip Hodgetts
Read a great excerpt from Philip Hodgetts’ book The HD Survival Handbook. There are six ways to capture Hi-Def video. Component Anaog, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI, HDMI, Data Transfer (USB 2.0 or Fire Wire) or a Sold State media card. Component Analog, HD-SDI, Dual Link HD-SDI and HDMI capture all require the addition of some third party box or card to convert the incoming signal into something that an NLE can use. For Final Cut Pro, Blackmagic Design and AJA both have a range of solutions for capture.
Direct data transfer over USB 2.0 or FireWire, or plugging in a solid-state media card directly to a computer’s ExpressCard34 or PC Card slot requires no additional hardware.
We had a great Final Cut SIG tonight! Thanks to everyone that attended. Below are some links that I promised to post. These are links to tutorials & resources for Final Cut:
Apple Final Cut Express Support
http://www.apple.com/support/finalcutexpress/
Apple Final Cut Express Quick Tour
http://www.apple.com/finalcutexpress/index.html#overview
Apple Final Cut Studio Resources
http://www.apple.com/finalcutstudio/resources/
Lynda.com – Final Cut Express Tutorials
http://www.lynda.com/home/ViewCourses.aspx?lpk0=250
Creative COW (Communities of the World): The Basics of Final Cut
http://forums.creativecow.net/applefinalcutbasics
Los Angeles Final Cut Pro User Group Tutorials & Troubleshooting
http://www.lafcpug.org/tutorials.html#anchor10864305
Final Cut Tutorial
https://wiki.brown.edu/confluence/display/CISDOC/Final+Cut+Tutorial
YouTube: Final Cut Pro Tutorial – Creating the Apple Reflection Look (There are other FC tutorials on YouTube that are very helpful)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK8TbsAAtfY
Creative Planet Communities: Final Cut Pro
http://www.2-popforums.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=1601d48c660d02848a3c2006388848b6&f=137
I’m looking forward to seeing you at our August Final Cut Meetup featuring Karla Saldaña and Orlando Lopez from channelAustin presenting a demo of multi-cam shooting and editing solutions.
Humberto
Apple has great news for video producers who’ve wished they could preview their full-frame HD productions as they work on a laptop. Apple also announced the release of a new 27″ LED Cinema Display featuring a resolution of 2560×1440. The latest Apple screen features an iSight video camera, microphone and speakers:
“With built-in MagSafe charging, iSight camera, speakers, and USB ports, the LED Cinema Display is ideal for MacBook and MacBook Pro users,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With its massive 2560 x 1440 resolution, the new 27-inch LED Cinema Display is a perfect fit with our powerful new Mac Pro, and it gives iMac users an easy way to double their screen real estate.”
The 27″ display also features a 16:9 aspect ratio, a MagSafe charger as well as a 3-port USB 2.0 hub. An ambient light sensor automatically adjusts the screen’s brightness based on the lighting conditions.
The new LED Cinema Display will be available in September for a price of $999. It requires a Mac with Mini DisplayPort connectivity.
Apple has also dropped the price on its existing 24″ LED Cinema Display to $799 from its previous $899 price point.
Now the magic of pinch, scroll, tap, and touch can always be at your fingertips – Apple today released the Magic Trackpad – the perfect addition to any multimedia production suite.
The new Magic Trackpad is the first Multi-Touch trackpad designed to work with your Mac desktop computer. It uses the same Multi-Touch technology you’ve grown to love on the MacBook Pro.
The new accessory supports a full set of gestures, including two-finger scrolling, pinching to zoom, rotating with your fingertips, three-finger swiping and four finger recognition. Meanwhile, tapping or double tapping on the surface initiates clicking.
The Magic Trackpad connects via wireless Bluetooth and is powered by two AA batteries. The Magic Trackpad sells for $69.00 and is shipping immediately. Apple also released a $29 Battery Charger to keep the trackpad charged, and ready for use.
For those seeking a cost-effective platform for desktop video production – Apple today launched new iMacs featuring the latest Intel Core i3, Core i5 and Core i7 processors and powerful new graphics cards. With a full size high-definition LED display – they are perfect for video production and playback.
“We took the world’s best all-in-one and made it even better,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With the latest processors, high-performance graphics and signature aluminum and glass design, customers are going to love the latest iMac.”
The new iMacs all feature dedicated graphics cards rather than relying on slower integrated graphics chips, and offer a variety of configurations:
$1199 / 21.5″ / 3.06GHz Core i3 / 4GB / 500MB / ATI Radeon HD 4670
$1499 / 21.5″ / 3.20GHz Core i3 / 4GB / 1TB / ATI Radeon HD 5670
$1699 27″ / 3.20GHz Core i3 / 4GB / 1TB / ATI Radeon HD 5670
$1999 27″ / 2.8GHz Quad-Core Core i5 / 4GB / 1TB / ATI Radeon HD 5750
+$200 27″ / 2.93 GHz Quad-Core Core i7 BTO option
Apple today announced an update to its Mac Pro line, offering up to 12 cores of processing power for up to 50% greater performance than the previous generation. The new Mac Pro also ships with new ATI Radeon HD 5770 graphics hardware, with the Radeon HD 5870 available as a build-to-order-option – making it perfect for video and motion-graphics production.
“The new Mac Pro is the most powerful and configurable Mac we’ve ever made,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Product Marketing. “With up to 12 cores, the new Mac Pro outperforms our previous top-of-the-line system by up to 50 percent, and with over a billion possible configurations, our customers can create exactly the system they want.”
Also available for the first time are standard display connectivity of two Mini DisplayPorts and one dual-link DVI port, as well as build-to-order options for 512 GB solid state drives (SSD).
Base configurations include:
- $2499: 1x 2.8 GHz Quad-Core / 3GB RAM / 1 TB HD
- $3499: 2x 2.4 GHz Quad-Core / 6 GB RAM / 1 TB HD
12-core options at either 2.66 GHz or 2.93 GHz push the starting price to $4999. All models are set to begin shipping in August.
Topic: Final Cut Express 4.0 The Basics
channelAustin studios | 1143 Northwestern Av Austin TX 78702 [map link]
This month’s topic will cover the basics of Final Cut Express 4.0. We will take a look at capturing, setting up your workflow, editing, and exporting.
If you have any video projects that you are working on using Final Cut Express 4.0, and you would like to get some feedback &/or demonstrate your workflow to our members at the meeting please leave us a comment here.
Anyone with an interest in video editing and production is invited to attend. Refreshments will be served, and everyone attending is eligible in the drawing for a free door prize.
Meetings will be held every fourth Tuesday, from 7:00p – 9:00p in the main conference room at channelAustin, 1143 Northwestern Av; Austin TX 78702 [map link] Meetings are free and open to everyone.
FinalCut SIG is a sponsored by the CapMac Users Group and channelAustin as a non-profit community and educational outreach.