I need to use textures all the time when creating graphics. I recently found a great website with a bunch of free, high-resolution textures. Be sure to check out TextureArchive.com. “TextureArchive.com is devoted to providing a site which is useful for all types artists.”

Free is good... "good" free is even better.

Two more of my classes are now online at Kelby Training.

Photoshop for Video - Working With Photos
Richard Harrington uncovers techniques essential for video editors who are working with Photos in Photoshop. He shares his best practices for working with graphic and still images in a video environment.

Photoshop for Video - Technical Essentials
Join Adobe Certified Trainer Richard Harrington, as he uncovers the Technical Essentials of Adobe Photoshop CS3 for video professionals and enthusiasts.

You can access all the classes online for only $19.99 per month (besides mine there's a ton of great stuff up there).

Forgive the short blog posts... I'm a little busy for the next two weeks finishing this:

“Fully updated for Aperture 2, this comprehensive book-DVD training combo starts with the basics of image management and takes you step by step all the way through Aperture's powerful photo-editing, image-retouching, proofing, publishing, and archiving features. Aperture 2's new features are completely covered, including a new RAW-image processing engine, a streamlined interface, powerful new adjustment tools, and added integration with Mac OS X and other Apple products for instant web publishing and one-click portfolio syncing. Apple Pro Training Series: Aperture 2 delivers comprehensive training - the equivalent of a two-day course - in one project-based book. You'll learn time-saving techniques for sorting, ranking, and organizing images, effective methods for correcting and enhancing images, plus efficient ways to display images for client review, apply metadata, update your online portfolio automatically, and much more. Real-world exercises feature professional photography from a variety of genres, including photo-journalism, sports, wedding, commercial, and portraiture. All the files you need to complete the exercises are included on the DVD.”

And by fully-updated... its a completely new book with all-new photos and a ton of cool new things.

In the meantime... check out these free online videos and my review: Top 10 Reasons To Upgrade to Aperture 2.

Join Apple Certified Trainer Richard Harrington as he goes deeper into how to set your Final Cut Pro preferences so the program works best for you.



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Are you a 24p addict just like us? Don’t worry, there is nothing to be ashamed of! Some cameras, like Panasonic’s Varicam can record 24p (really 23.98) within a 720p60 signal. It does this by duplicating frames. To get back to 24p you can remove what is known as Advanced Pulldown to get the footage back to 24fps. You can do this on capture from a FireWire source (like Panasonic’s AJ HD1400).

1. Open your capture presets (Final Cut Pro > Audio Video Settings and choose the Capture Presets tab) and select a DVCPRO HD preset to edit.
2. Make sure the Remove Advanced Pulldown and/or Duplicate Frames from Firewire sources is checked.
3. If you forgot to do this you can always remove the duplicate frames after the fact. Select your clip in the Timeline and choose Tools > Remove Advanced Pulldown.
   

Ahhh, 24p! Love it!


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

My podcasting book is now off the presses and on its way to stores.

Here's Chapter 1

The initial reviews are in:

"This guide is full of solid information from people who know online video and are in the trenches doing it. It's a must read for anyone who wants to produce professional video podcasts." – Jason Van Orden, podcasting consultant and author of Promoting Your Podcast

"Required reading.Starting with a clear analysis of the nature and business of podcasting it covers the essentials of production and finishes with the all-important topics of delivery, RSS feeds, publishing, and hosting." – Tom Wolsky, vp editorial, National Podcasting System, www.nationalpod.com

"WOW, the accumulated knowledge from 1000s of hours of planning, production, post and delivery essentials delivered in a simple, concise fashiona professional resource manual that needs to be a part of every video production library" –. Gary Adcock, digital artist and technology trainer

"Not just a book about Podcasting, but a full primer on professional audio and video production and digital publishing that is lavishly illustrated and full of practical tips." – Philip Hodgetts, president and ceo, Open Television Network openTVnetwork.com

You can order the book here.

Join Apple Certified Trainer Richard Harrington explains how to set up Final Cut Pro so you can capture video more efficiently.



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One question we get asked a lot is, when working in HD, is progressive or interlaced better? The question is not as simple as it might seem. Here is some food for thought:

Consider progressive if:

• you might possibly be going back to film.
  • you might have to create additional versions of the show. It’s easier to create interlaced versions from a progressive master than the other way around.
  • you have a lot of motion. Progressive footage tends to look “smoother.”
  

Consider interlaced if

• compatibility with existing NTSC interlaced television is a must. Not having to convert from progressive reduces the possibility of introducing artifacts.
  • you have a lot of detail. Interlaced footage tends to look “sharper” when compared to progressive footage.

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

A lot of folks use Apple's Compressor to create podcast video files. That is when its running. I use Compressor all the time and think its a great application that harnesses the power of Apple hardware and software... but it can be a bit buggy.

Apple has posted a useful article on what to do when Compressor isn't starting up properly or performing normally.They offer basic troubleshooting steps to remedy the situation. This is the right place to start if you are attempting to to submit a batch and you see the following message:
Unable to submit to queue. Please restart your computer or verify your Compressor installation is correct.

Check out the whole article here.

Richard Harrington was recently a guest on the Plugged-In Podcast (presented by Toolfarm). The show was taped at Macworld and features several guests talking about the latest in Digital Media.

• Coby Rich – Sorenson Media
• Larry O'Connor – Other World Computing
• Richard Harrington – RHED Pixel
• Jon Schilling – CalDigit
• Marlon Braccia – Shiva Entertainment

You can listen to the show here

From Scott Kelby's Photoshop Insider Blog

We’ve posted our first online class from Digital Video Guru (and Photoshop World Instructor) Richard Harrington, and it’s one a lot of people have been asking for: Getting Started with Apple Motion. Here’s the link to Rich’s new online class over at KelbyTraining.com. Note: We’ve got a lot more classes coming from Rich very soon, so stayed tuned! (That’s TV talk. I thought Rich would appreciate that type of jargon).

Digital Media Wire has a very interesting article about the fate of HD-DVD. Seems Wal-Mart had dropped HD DVD (along with Best Buy and Netflix).
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Toshiba "is expected to pull the plug on its HD DVD format in the coming weeks." THR noted, however, that Toshiba says no official decision has been made.

"Given the market developments in the past month, Toshiba will continue to study the market impact and the value proposition for consumers, particularly in light of our recent price reductions on all HD DVD players," Jodi Sally, VP of marketing for Toshiba America Consumer Products, told THR. 

Toshiba had hoped that slashing the prices on its HD DVD players last month would help bolster sales, but subsequent sales data from NPD showed that Blu-ray maintained its wide sales lead despite the move. 
 

• http://www.walmartfacts.com/articles/5673.aspx
• http://tinyurl.com/2wn5fe (Hollywood Reporter)
• http://www.dmwmedia.com/news/2008/02/15/wal-mart-drops-hd-dvd%3B-toshiba-expected-pull-plug

I've just completed three new DVDs on Apple Motion. We shot the titles in HD, and the screen quality is awesome. On each title you get a regular DVD, iPod ready files, and HD files for viewing on a computer or Apple TV. There are three volumes at $59 each or a bundle of all three for $139. Each comes with hands on lesson files and a lot of cool stuff is covered.

“From beginner to master in one set, these three DVD’s will take you step by step through Apple Motion and have you ready to tackle complex projects in just hours. Join Richard Harrington in this three DVD set of clear, concise training that will have you producing higher quality work with Apple Motion in no time.”

You can get the training from VASST.com. If you want a discount code... Post a comment and I'll send it to you.

Join Apple Certified Trainer Richard Harrington as he explains how to set your Final Cut Pro preferences so the program works best for you.



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Want more training? Check out our DVDs.

Open format Timelines is one of our favorite features in Final Cut Pro 6. They become particularly useful when you need to integrate SD footage into an HD show. However, you need to make sure a couple of options are set up correctly.

1. Open up User Preferences by pressing Option + Q.
2. Choose the Editing tab and in the lower right-hand corner make sure Always scale clips to sequence size is checked. With this box checked, Final Cut Pro will scale your SD footage to the HD frame but it will not distort the aspect ratio. The result will be a blown up pillar boxed image.
3. Open up your sequence settings by choosing Sequence > Settings or Command + 0 and choose the Video Processing tab.
4. Change the Motion Filtering Quality pulldown to Best. This ensures Final Cut Pro will scale your SD clip using the highest quality. Click OK.
   

If, for whatever reason, you did not have the Always scale clips to sequence size checked in your User Preferences you would have ended up with your SD image centered in the HD frame as a small box. Don’t worry though, you can fix this.

1. Select the SD clip you want to scale.
2. Choose Modify > Scale to Sequence.
3. The clip’s scale has automatically been adjusted to fit the HD frame size.
   

While the scale to sequence method can be very helpful in working with SD footage in HD projects, scaling is happening (potentially a lot) so expect some degradation of the footage.

Note: Be wary of the Conform to Sequence command also found in the Modify menu. This command will adjust not only scale, but also aspect ratio possibly resulting in a stretched SD image if you conformed to an HD sequence. Conform to Sequence will also adjust field dominance by applying a Shift Fields filter if needed.


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

I saw this very cool product at Macworld Expo called Flow. It is a revolutionary workflow management technology designed to work with Adobe and Apple software. The product took Best of Show (and for good reason). You can see it in action in a video demo on their site. 

"Flow is a revolutionary approach to digital content management that dramatically simplifies the design process for creative professionals working on graphic design, web and video projects. Flow automatically tracks your work from idea to end result and manages your assets and applications for your most complex projects- all without changing the way you work."

Flow isn't shipping for a while, but GridIron is accepting sign-ups for beta testing.

Just wanted to let you know that Amazon is running a special on the new Final Cut book I co-authored. They've got the book for less than $20 (thats a third off the cover price).

Book Description
Packed with more than 500 techniques, this book delivers what you need to knowon the spot. It is suited to editors of all experience levels, whether you are:

• Migrating from another NLE
• Upgrading to Final Cut Studio 2
• Seeking a handy reference to raise your proficiency

Read More...

This is just awesome, Calibrated Software has a bunch of new plug-ins on tap that make it possible to work with MXF and DVCPRO HD codecs. This will streamline P2 workflow for both Mac and Windows users, as well as make it easier to move DVCPRO HD material to a PC. I promise a detailed review soon. The codecs cost $49 each. Here's the info.

QuickTime P2 MXF/DVCProHD Decode Components for Apple
For playing P2 MXF Files and QuickTime DVCProHD Files on Mac OSX (Intel) and importing native P2 MXF Files into Final Cut Pro Studio 2 Applications (see Read Me)
Please note: The P2 MXF plugin has NOT been tested in long form projects in FCP Studio 2 Applications and the DVCProHD Codec should NOT be installed if the Apple DVCProHD Codec is already installed.
Download BETA 1.0.0 (Build 18) for OSX 10.4 (Tiger) - Intel Only
Download BETA 1.0.0 (Build 18) for OSX 10.5 (Leopard) - Intel Only
Download Read Me
Download License Agreement

QuickTime P2 MXF/DVCProHD Decode Components for Windows
For playing P2 MXF Files and QuickTime DVCProHD Files on Windows (see Read Me)
Download BETA 1.0.0 (Build 18) for Windows
Download Read Me
Download License Agreement

Looking for some great training on post production, podcasting, or new media? I'll be speaking at several conferences located at this year's NAB conference.


Choose the training you need at NAB Show 2008 in Las Vegas, Nevada:

Podcasting Summit    April 11 - 13
This is a can’t miss conference for podcasting professionals and anyone interested in diving into this evolving content delivery method.

New Media 2.0 - Creating and Delivering New Media to New Audiences    April 14 - 15
This new conference is designed for content creators looking to harness the power of the Internet for increased distribution and new audiences.

Post|Production World Conference    April 11 - 16
The largest event of its kind anywhere, this conference delivers high-level training on the latest production and post-production techniques and software.

Producer | Director Workshop    April 11 - 13
This new conference is designed for those content creators who are charged with managing and developing content. Learn new techniques for planning and managing successful video and new media projects.

Lot of bugs lately with QuickTime (especially in pro video applications). We've personally seen issues in both Final Cut Pro and After Effects.

Apple has released a new update to QuickTime... lets hope it's elusive “improves compatibility with third-party applications” actually means something.
Visit http://www.apple.com/support/quicktime/ for more information.

Author and video podcaster Richard Harrington explains how you can compress your video for podcast with Stomp from Shiny White Box.



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So you’ve just completed your high definition masterpiece when you find out that you need to create a standard definition letterboxed version of the show. Thankfully, this is pretty easy inside Final Cut Pro.

1. Create a new sequence and load a new sequence preset (for example, Apple Pro Res 422 NTSC).
2. Take your high def sequence and nest it in the new one you just created.
3. If you’re asked if you want to conform this sequence to the new one, choose No.
4. Voila! You now have a letterboxed version of the show because FCP maintains aspect ratio of the original sequence its scale was reduced to fit in the 4x3 frame.
   

Additionally, after you nest the sequence you can open it in the Viewer and increase its scale to 70% (this will, of course, depend on your acquisition source—70% is derived from HDV footage). This will essentially edge crop the original HD sequence. Just be very careful—if the footage was not shot 4•3 safe—you could be cutting off important action and/or framing.



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

Join Apple Certified Trainer Richard Harrington as he explains how to make a self-playing DVD with DVD Studio Pro.



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