Join Apple Certified Trainer Richard Harrington as he explains how to change your Final Cut Pro sequence settings to find the settings that will produce the best results.



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Most users avoid the QuickTime transitions folder. We’re not sure why—perhaps it’s because the transitions are oddly named. Try the following transitions out when you seem to be running low on ideas:

• Explode: This warps the outgoing clip into a tunnel-like wipe. We find this particularly useful when going between graphics and an incoming clip. Offset the center of the wipe to match the focal point of the incoming clip.
• Iris: The QuickTime Iris transition is worlds better than the Final Cut Pro Iris transition. Choose from 26 different shapes. Particularly nice is the ability to repeat the Iris pattern with separate controls horizontally and vertically. Be certain to check this one out.
• Radial: With similar options to the Iris transition and 39 patterns to choose from, this effect needs to be on your radar screen.
• Wipe: This one transition has more options and possibilities of all the transitions contained in Final Cut Pro’s wipe category.

Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

Join Apple Certified Trainer Chris Phrommayon as he explains how to use Final Cut Pro to play and edit multiple camera angles simultaneously. This is part 1 (of 2).



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Rack Focus effects are often used by camera ops to add a feeling of movement in the image without actually moving the camera. Typically, these effects happen at the head of a clip to act as a transition. From time to time we’ve found the need to simulate a rack focus. Fortunately, this is really easy using a Gaussian Blur filter.

1. Load the clip you’d like to effect into the Viewer and choose Effects > Video Filters > Blur > Gaussian Blur.
2. Position the playhead at the head of the clip and set a keyframe for the Radius parameter with a pretty high value; something like 50 works well.
3. Move about one second forward into the clip (further for a slower rack) and change the Radius parameter to 0 (a new keyframe is automatically inserted).
   

Play back the clip. Now that’s Racking! Oh sorry, Rocking!


Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

Those who know me personally, know I am very passionate about podcasting. I have been hard at work for the last year on a new book on just that, video podcasting. My business partner, Mark Weiser, and I have taken many of the hard lessons learned at RHED Pixel and put them into a book. The book is full color and richly illustrated, plus there will also be a companion website and podcast launching in January.

The book ships in February, but you can get the biggest discount by pre-ordering it from Amazon.com.

The new schedule for Photoshop World Conference & Expo is posted. Visit the updated website to see the offerings. The conference is to be held in Orlando, FL on April 2-4, 2008. Here’s the link. I'll be teaching a few classes on the show floor (which are free) as well as these great classes on using Photoshop for video and multimedia.

Motion Graphics Track:

• Put Your Portfolio on DVD
• Motion Control 3D
• Typography in Motion

I wanted to let you all know about a great training conference coming up, the Editors Retreat. I've been to this event five times now and it is fantastic. It's a chance to network and learn from the bet editors in the business. It is truly an amazing event and I encourage you to have a look.

Here are some sessions I look forward to attending.

• Scene it: Color Correction as a Storytelling Tool – Steve Hullfish
• Keynote Presentation – Oscar-nominated Editor, Sally Menke
• Everything You Need to Know About Audio – Coll Anderson
• Your Professional Future: What To Do in The Next Year to Stay Ahead –Bob Donlon
• Keynote Presentation – Emmy-nominated Editor, David Helfand

Join Apple Certified Trainer Richard Harrington as he shows you how to use Photoshop in conjunction with Final Cut Pro to edit your stills and graphics.



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If you have several drives or a large storage network hooked up to your edit system, finding files or reconnecting clips can be very time-consuming. You can streamline the search process by harnessing the power of Search Folders. By customizing the Search Folder list with specific directories (such as drives or project folders) you can limit your media searching to a specific destination. When reconnecting offline media you can use the Search Folder list to speed up the re-linking process.

To add or replace a search folder:

1. Open up your System Settings window by pressing Shift + Q. and choose the Search Folders tab. It is empty until you add a search folder.
2. Click the last Set button in the list to add a new search folder. You can click the Set button next to an existing search folder to change it.
3. Use the File dialog box to select a folder. Select a folder, then click Choose.
4. Click OK to store the list of search folders.
   

Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

I've taken part in MacUpdate's bundle deals for a while now... here's their latest and greatest. This deal runs out soon.

“MacUpdate has partnered with 11 Mac developers to bring you a great software bundle. You can buy this bundle for $49.99 instead of $666.74, a savings of $616.75 This amazing offer is time limited so buy today.”

Here are my favorites from the bundle

• ForkLift – A useful FTP application
• RapidWeaver – A great website and blogging tool, how this website is made.
• Xslimmer –Trim an applications by removing universal versions (going to just PPC or Intel) as well as Internationalization files.
• Yep – A really cool cataloging tool for PDF files
• SRS iWOW – Makes iTunes sound great on a laptop.
• XMIND 2008 Pro – A mind-mapping application that helps creative types get their ideas down.
• iStabilize – A REALLY good image stabilization program for shaky footage.
• PulpMotion – A surprisingly useful motion graphics tool with some cool templates

Join Apple Certified Trainer Abba Shapiro as he explains how to encode and burn your DVDs with DVD Studio Pro. This is part 2 (of 2).



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You’re working on a clip in the Viewer, but you can’t remember if you loaded it from your Browser or the Timeline—not a problem. Final Cut Pro distinguishes between clips opened from the Browser and clips opened from the Timeline. Clips opened from the Browser have a plain scrubber bar; those loaded from the Timeline have two rows of dots in the scrubber bar, similar to the sprocket holes in a strip of film.



Like this tip? It comes from the book
Final Cut Studio On the Spot from Focal Press.

I am very proud to tell you that the new book Final Cut Studio on the Spot is shipping. This third edition has a ton of new things including dedicated chapters on Multi-camera Editing and HD (and the audio chapter is HUGE). In told, more then half the book is new... so if you own a past edition, this update is worth it (and if you don't have it.. then go now). This time Robbie Carman came on board with some helpful tips and tricks.

• Optimize system performance
• Create impressive titles with Generators, Motion, LiveType, and Photoshop
• Work quickly with buttons and keyboard shortcuts
• Color correct to save vital shots, and keep them broadcast legal
• Fix and mix for professional-quality audio
• Design and import graphics seamlessly
• Integrate with other applications including Motion, Soundtrack Pro and Color
• Manage media and backup strategies
• Export and publish finished projects to tape, DVD, or the Web

Get the book here for the best price.